Communications and the Law

Public Expression… Has it gone too far?
Our right to freedom of speech is protected in the United States Constitution, but have there been times when people have just gone too far. I think so. I live in Ephraim, UT which is about seven minutes away from Manti. Every year Manti puts on a pageant where LDS on non LDS members alike come together to watch a performance on the Manti Temple Hill. Of course there are always protesters and that is just fine but once the protesters showed some things that were extremely offensive. They showcased some very large and bloody pictures of aborted babies. The images were very disturbing and crude. Children who saw the pictures started crying. I think this specific demonstration was wrong for a couple of reasons. Number 1: who do they think they’re protesting to anyway? Mormons are generally against abortion. Number 2: Those images were too graphic and obscene to be shown in public, especially around a place where little children were present.
These types of demonstrations should not be allowed. Showcasing overly offensive material is not right. When public expressions harms the well-being of others, those expressions should be done away with.

Public Relations

Some would argue that the public relations activity, image consulting is not ethical because it is dishonest; it makes people out to be something that they’re not. I completely disagree. What’s wrong with trying to better yourself and getting a little help while doing it? Ethical PR representatives help people look good and act appropriately. They don’t try to cover up all of the bad in people; rather, they bring out the best in them. They can help people make a change for the better. Would we really rather have our role models be sleaze bags or would we rather have them be coached by PR people to donate to charities, say appropriate things in appropriate places, and get a hair cut every once-in-a-while? It’s as simple as that. Public relations image consulting is completely ethical.

Fake promotional methods are very popular in today’s market. Just watch five minutes of an infomercial. They make all sorts of outlandish promises that are impossible to keep. For example, just the other day I saw an infomercial about these hideous, gigantic sunglasses. The sellers promised full UV protection for your eyes and clearer vision. They were even trying to sell an additional pair of sunglasses to wear over the first pair so you could see clearly at night? Sunglasses at night?... I don’t think so.

MOVIES!!!

There’s no doubt that sex and violence are increasing in motion pictures today. But why is this? Are people just accepting what movie producers are giving them or do we demand the sexual and violent content. I think it goes both ways.
Sex sell, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Sexual content is stimulating and violence is exciting. Once people get a taste, they want more and more. So, the movie producers deliver to their audience whatever will give them the biggest profit.
Of course, not everyone enjoys these kinds of films, but they will watch them anyways because those are the only kinds of movies that are available to them. The plot of a movie may be very good but with a lot of bad “extra stuff” and most people will go and watch it regardless. Not too long ago my roommate brought home the movie Atonement for us to watch. The film received a lot of good ratings and was said to have beautiful cinematography, but it is rated R. I’m ashamed to say that I watched it anyway. It was a very good movie but it did contain a lot of violence, sex, and bad words.
Movie producers know what a lot of people want (sex and violence) so they cater to them. People who don’t particularly enjoy that sort of thing are likely to go watch a film with offensive content because they simply want to see the movie, so they just deal with the garbage.

What kind of movie would I make for a box-office hit in 2008?The most popular movies these days are the ones that were originally books. Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings are just a few examples of box-office hits that were first books. I would find a very popular book among children, teens, and adults alike and create a great movie from that. For some reason, people are fascinated and curious when a book becomes a movie; so much so that they just have to see it.

ADVERTISING

Advertising

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0SLJkA1A8w
Here is the link to my example of a good advertisement. It’s of the ipod nano. This commercial has good music and the traditional dancing silhouettes but what’s great about this commercial is the neat rays of light that protrude from the ipod. The people are having fun, being creative, and looking good all at the same time while listening to their ipods. The colors are very eye-catching. Anyone walking by a room with this commercial on the TV couldn’t help but stop and watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEsqELX5e4o
And this is the link for my bad commercial. First of all, this skittles commercial is a little disturbing and just doesn’t sit well. Second of all, if their product is so great, why would this man want to fix his skittles leak in his ceiling? I would think that he would put a bucket down underneath the hole and consider it a blessing from heaven. This commercial just proves that skittles are a problem to be fixed, not valuable, and certainly not a treat.


Is advertising effective? It certainly is. Masters of the trade have persuasion down to an art. Advertisements are made to be pleasing to the eye. Some are moving and captivating works of art. Other ads are hilarious and are talked about for years. Humans are usually emotional creatures and advertisers know just how to tap into that. They are no longer just trying to sell a product; they are making a statement and influencing the way people think. The ads that don’t simply sell a product but are well-thought-out, creative, and pleasing to look at are the most persuasive advertisements. It’s almost like they sell a better way of life. I’m such a sucker for Old Navy commercial products. The commercials are cute, colorful, and creative. There is always fun music playing in the background and the models always look cute. I’ve gone and bought clothes from Old Navy after seeing one of their commercials. On the other hand, I’ve seen commercials that actually persuade me against buying a product. The Superdell Totally Awesome Computers commercials with that really annoying guy were a total turnoff. Also those cheesy lawyer commercials with Bob Debry or Keith Barton make me never want to purchase their services.

The bottom line is, if advertising wasn’t effective it wouldn’t still be done. Companies wouldn’t spend thousands of dollars to show 30 seconds of their product on television. Advertising has the power to influence our decisions but it doesn’t make the decision for us. We ultimately make the choice. Advertising is powerful but it can’t make us do anything.

Television

TV Journal

November 27, 2008
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 30min.
The Errand of Angels 1hr.

November 28, 2008
None

November 29, 2008
Saturday Morning Cartoons (Spiderman and Ninja Turtles) 45 min.

November 30, 2008
No TV

December 1, 2008
Privileged 1hr.
Made 30 min.

December 2, 2008
Judge Judy 20 min.
Desperate Housewives 1hr.

December 3, 2008
CSI 45 min.
HGTV 30 min.

For me, television is a great time to unwind and relax. It helps me get my mind off stressful things and after I’ve watched it for about an hour I’m able to get back to work and keep living my life. Everyone needs some down time and for me that is television’s whole purpose.
When tracking my television watching habits, I’ve noticed that I love watching drama! I can’t get enough of it. I also don’t watch a whole lot of educational programming or the news which is probably not such a great thing, but, as I said before, TV time for me is relaxing time. I don’t really want to be learning during those few precious minutes in my hectic day.

Critiques argue that TV is trying to offend no one because the networks tend to offer programs to the lowest common denominator. On average, I believe that this is true. Most television shows don’t make people think or analyze. They are simply there to entertain. Shows like King of the Hill, a humorous program about white trash people and their lives, Blind Date, a show where people are set up on dates with people that they have never met before and there is usually violence and/or sexual content, and The Jerry Springer Show, where they put dysfunctional people on stage to duke out their problems, are made for the lowest common denominator. These kinds of shows are the norms for television. There are not many programs that are thought provoking and intelligent. However, there are some shows that are smart like Nova which explores planet earth, Myth Busters which uses science and math to solve problems, and Numbers in which the detectives use mathematical formulas to fight crime and solve mysteries. These programs are the exception and not the rule which just goes to show that networks are catering to the lowest common denominators in America.

Television has had the greatest impact on society than any other form of media. It’s safe to say that almost everyone has at least one television in their home. It’s also safe to say that almost every person in America watches at least some TV every single day. While most households have books, magazines, and newspapers, not as much time is devoted to reading these forms of media as is devoted to watching the TV. That gives television a lot of power. Networks put issues on the screen with the use of sound, moving picture, and words. This makes watching television a more memorable experience. Children who can’t read are more likely to watch TV because they can be entertained without having to be literate. Almost everyone enjoys watching television while the same can’t be said of book and newspaper reading and radio listening. Many studies have been done to show that TV affects the way people think and behave because it is such a driving force in our society. The television is the most powerful form of media to date.

Radio
K Bull 93.
This station plays country and only country, so of course in a hodunk place like Utah, it’s pretty popular. The country music is primarily the new stuff from Rascal Flats, Carey Underwood, and the like. The target audience is the younger generation of cowgirls and cowboys or anyone in general who likes the new country music. K bull has a lot of contests to win money and cds by playing name that song. They advertise a lot of upcoming events like country lovers concerts and things like Disney on Ice.

107.9 The Mix
The Mix plays all of the latest music ranging from Chris Brown, Fergie, and Daughtry. I listen to The Mix so I can know what the most recently released songs are. Every weekday they give away a free ipod during the early afternoon to attract people who “listen while you work” as their famous catch phrase goes. 107.9 advertises a lot of clothes and lingerie stores. Recently they have been advertising hip Halloween costume shops and the most frightening haunted houses. This station has fun dj’s and they even have a segment where you can be the dj over the phone for three songs. They try to get their audience very involved

My 99.5
99.5’s big thing is that right after they play a song, they name the artist and the song title. Their slogan is “More music, more variety, my 99.5.” 99.5 is similar to 107.9 in the types of songs that they play except they don’t play as recent songs as 107.9, and they also play a lot of 90’s music. 99.5 doesn’t bother with a lot of dj’s and games, they just give you the music which is attractive to a lot of people. They advertise concerts and upcoming events. Once in a while 99.5 will broadcast a news, weather, and traffic update.

KMTI
KMTI is an am station targeted towards Sanpete county farmers. There is a morning program that talks about the weather and has a thing called “tradio” where people advertise things that they need, things that they need to sell, and things that people are missing. In the afternoon Paul Harvey comes on with his The Rest of the Story. The type of music that the station plays for the rest of the day is country music, the old stuff with a twangy sound. If there is a local high school football or basketball game, it will be broadcasted on KMTI. KMTI mostly advertises for hardware stores and a few local businesses.

KSL 1160
KSL is a news radio station. They feature talk shows from Sean Hannity (a strong republican) and Clark Howard who primarily talks about economics. The morning news with Grant and Amanda is very popular and later in the afternoon the station does a segment called the Utah Noon News. A huge section of this radio station is dedicated to politics, probably because that is always such a hot topic. This station advertises all sorts of things ranging from tires, touring companies, and even other radio stations. They target the average Republican Utahan.

Radio is a very personal form of media. I think the main reason of this is because people usually listen to the radio in their cars when they are all alone. People love to have someone talking to them and that’s what a radio station does; it talks to you. The DJs and the talk radio hosts speak in a way that makes it sound like they are speaking directly to you. We choose the station that best fits our personality and the radio station does the rest. Sometimes I find myself talking back to the radio station DJs when they announce that they are going to play a song that I like I tell the host, “Thank you.” My dad listens to the Sean Hannity political talk show regularly and I’ve been in the car with him on a few occasions while he’s listening to it. He always talks back and gives his two cents even though nobody can hear him. Human being like to participate and feel like they are a part of something and radio helps them feel this way.

Newspapers
I think metropolitan papers have become less popular because they are general interest papers and not targeted to a specific audience. All forms of media have made changes so they are more audience specific such as books, radio stations, magazines, and T.V. stations. Metropolitan newspapers are sent to homes all across the country so their audience is very broad which makes it impossible to satisfy every reader. The stories and news presented there are general interest articles.
On the other hand, small community papers are booming with success. I think it’s because small community paper readers have something in common; they all live in the same area. People want to read stories that directly affect them. People want to know the latest gossip in their home town. In the local paper is where people find out who’s getting married, who’s going on a mission, and who has recently passed away. I think the best part of having a local paper is seeing pictures of yourself and people you know in a real newspaper. Moms eat that sort of stuff up because they can use the newspaper clippings for their child’s scrapbook. My local paper is called The Sanpete Messenger. It is online also so while I’m living in Provo, I check the local paper often so I can know what’s going on in my community. I never check the Daily Herald or the Tribune on the internet and I think that says something.

I analyzed the Deseret News. This paper has a lot of political and economical news. There is a whole section of the paper entitled Utah which has a whole bunch of Utah news including obituaries and special Utah news stories. In the Deseret News, there is a viewpoint section for letters to the editor and people who would like to get their opinion out there. The lifestyle section includes a lot of plays, musicals, and opera productions that will be playing in Utah. This section is mostly dedicated to the fine arts. There is a wall street section and of course there is a section dedicated to sports. The Deseret News favors BYU sports over Ute sports because they showcase huge, colored pictures of BYU players and dedicate whole, color layouts to BYU sports. U of U doesn’t get the same treatment. The paper is very conservative and Christian. There was an article entitled, “Obabma’s character remains highly suspect” and one called “Terrified Christian families flee Mosul.”
I don’t think this paper serves as a “watchdog.” It produces the stories its advertisers want it to produce and the paper writes stories that they feel most of Utah would like to read. The Deseret News targets LDS republicans and I think it does a pretty good job at it.