Radio

Come up with a list of 5 radio stations in the Utah area (choose some FM and some AM stations – music and talk). Write a description of each station including format, advertising, and target audience. What makes each station successful?
Radio is described as “the most personal of the media,” why is that? Why do you think music is an important part in radio programming? Why is talk radio so popular?

Kawz FM 90.5- This station focuses on a Christian audience. They have Christian talk and gospel music that they play for their specialized audience.
KONY FM 94.3-- This is a country music station.
KLVR FM 89.7-- Another Christian radio station that focuses on "Positive and encouraging" broadcasting. They have self help programs where listeners can call in to get help with problems and they play music they claim to be uplifting.
1320 KFNZ AM -- This station specializes in broadcasting sports radio programs. It has specialist talk about particular sports and critique them as well as it has coverage of games and sporting events.

To stay alive in the media after television radio has had to be very personalized and look for niche markets. Each radiostation is much more specialized than television channels so that listeners can know exactly what they can get by listening to it. Also, a popular trope of the radiostation is the call in where listeners can actually call into the radiostation and communicate with and participate in the radio program itself. This is one aspect that makes talk radio so popular.
People go to the radio to listen to what new songs are popular. They can also listen to other selective groups to hear songs they know they like and also to find knew songs they didnt know they liked yet.

Newspapers

Many metropolitan daily newspapers have lost circulation and some have shut down. Why? Any examples? Community newspapers however, especially suburban weeklies, are booming. Why? Any examples?


For national news it is very likely that people do not need a large variety of news papers. Therefore it is a lot more competitive of a market. It is harder to compete in this small head market. The top news papers seem to stay afloat and do well but it is the ones on the bottom that struggle to stay in circulation.

Also, some of the papers are struggling to find a way to create revenue from online editions. Many people go online for their news so it is important for them to discover that method.

However the suburban weeklies are part of a niche market where people in those communities are dependent on the newspapers to get their their news of the goings-on of their community.

Magazine

Go to a bookstore (not BYU’s) and look at the different magazines. Select one that appeals to a highly specialized audience (different from one of your own interests). Read through the magazine and based on the magazine’s content (including the advertisements) prepare a description of the magazine’s “typical reader.” Give specific examples to justify your generalization.
What impact will/has the electronic media have/had on the magazine industry?

A magazine that I read that I typically wouldnt read was called Wired Magazine. This magazine I assumed appealed to a more tech savvy audience whose first blog ever wasnt for a comms 101 class just this sememster. The magazine talked a lot about how technology is used in different businesses from videogames to television to film. It also had a lot of political information about the upcomming elections. It uses works like geek and tech throughout different headlines so I think that it is tailored for an audience that identifies themselves as such.

The electronic media is why this magazine is in existence because it is a magazine ABOUT the electronic media. It talks about phone gadets and the impact different website creators have had on different business markets as well as entertainment.

Books

Poll 10 people by posing the question “Read any good books lately?” How many have they read in the past 6 months? What types of books have they read? What does this tell you about your sample and society?
Which would you prefer to use in your college classes, regular textbooks or electronic textbooks? Why? Which would you prefer for your leisure reading? Why?

Out of the 10 people I polled, 7 of them had read books for leisure in the last 6 months. The books they read were wide in variety most being best sellers but ranging in genera. Almost everyone reported reading paperback books though. The book categories all fell into fiction, non-fiction, and religious book. The fact that 70% of the people I asked had read books shows that book readers are in the majority (at least on a college campus) and I found it interesting that people mostly read popular books like the Twilight series. A lot of people claimed they read those books because they felt that since it seemed like everyone else was reading them it was important to read them as well.

Right now I would rather read regular textbooks for my college classes. Whenever I have electronic reading assignments it always takes me a lot longer to finish them. It takes a lot longer and is more strenuous for me to read on a computer screen. Plus, I typically like to read with a pen in my hand and all that writing on the screen makes a mess.

But in all seriousness, I have not had much of a chance to use the new e-book electronic readers that supposedly are very easy to read and can store hundreds of books. You can also take notes on those, but still, there is something to be said for being able to leaf through pages.

During pleasure reading it is even more important that I can have a traditional book than an electronic one. Again I have never really used one of those fancy reader gadgets but i like something i can hold and beat up. Take with me on a plane and not worry about loosing it or worry about spilling food on it as much. So all in all, I think that I still prefer books. Though I am open to letting some new gadget change my mind if it can.

Journal #2
• Do stereotypes exists in the media today? Explain and if yes, give examples - if no, explain why you believe they do not.
• There is the possibility that people will be immersing themselves in the world of mass media to a point to where they begin to tune out the real world. What might happen if people begin to overly distance themselves from the reality of the outside world? Are there examples of where this has already happened?


I see many stereotypes in the media today. College students are often depicted as over-indulgent party goers, binging on drugs, alcohol and sex.

Women are often depicted as vulnerable sex symbols.

Elderly are depicted as slow, senial, and an overall worthless burden on society. SEE SATIRICAL EXAMPLE

I think that it is very possible for people become overly immersed in the media to the point where their reality is distorted. I see a growing sentiment in my generation where people feel that they should be privileged to wealth and fame as an almost natural right because those are the lives they see depicted on MTV reality shows and in other areas of the media.
I have also heard about people becoming consumed by alternate universe role playing games like second life and world of warcraft. SEE EXAMPLE.