Things I learned about the media this week

I'm taking four mass communications/journalism classes this semester, so, needless to say, I'm picking up a lot of interesting info on the media these first few weeks. Here's just a few of the things that have surprised me:

1. First TV show to show racial diveristy? Star Trek. I found this rather amusing and also pretty cool because it represented diversity not only in the present, but also the future. Aparently Martin Luther King, Jr. thought it was pretty neat, too, because he ended up convincing Nichelle Nichols (who played the African-American ship's communication officer Uhura) to stay on the show as a symbol of equality. On an interesting side note, I came across an article which claims that the design of modern "flip phones" can trace it's origins to Star Trek. Read the article at http://www.rotten.com/library/culture/star-trek/ .

2. Commercial speech (advertising) had no legal protection under the 1st amendment until the '70's. It was regarded as less important than "pure speech," or speech that promotes open debate.

3. Hate speech must be directed at an individual before it can be called such and loses it's protection under the 1st amendment. Any other offensive speech aimed at a group can only be called "hateful speech." There must also be evidence that hate speech incites violent feelings in the victim.

4. There is a large industry of business-to-business (B2B) magazines that span virtually every trade. I imagine this is common knowledge for many people, but it was news to me. Who knew there were magazines with names like American Window Cleaner or Hard Hat News? One of the most amusing titles I've come across is Portable Restroom Operator. Good bathroom reading, I'm sure.

The Media and Me

Hi, I'm Nicole and I'm a mediaholic. Or at least it would seem that way looking at my media usage log for today. Let's see...I spent two hours this morning reading a book (Friday by Robert Heinlein, I highly recommend it), two hours in the afternoon checking email and surfing the web, an hour playing video games, a half hour reading the Mercury News, an hour and a half watching TV this evening, and at least another hour on the net after that. That's eight hours of media; the same length of time as an average workday. Whew, I'm getting tired just thinking about it! Come to think of it, the only time I can remember being away from the media is a camp I went to last fall, and even then we had music.

Anyway, for my first post I though I would answer some of the questions on the "You and the Media Survey" we got in class. Oh, and I welcome comments from anyone...fellow mediaholics, show yourselves!

What authors do you enjoy?
Among my favorites are Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Tim O’Brien, Orson Scott Card, Robert Heinlein, and Dan Brown, although I know there’s a few I’m forgetting. Some of my favorite books have been: Slaughterhouse Five, Tomcat in Love, The Things They Carried, The Da Vinci Code, Ender’s Game, White Oleander, and The Glass Castle.

What was the last book you read? What kind of impact did it have on your life?
The last book I finished was 1984 by George Orwell. It was a book I had been meaning to read for some time, and I was expecting quite a lot based on what I’d heard. I was disappointed. While I was struck by the chilling parallels between Orwell’s dystopia and our current society, overall 1984 did not have a great impact on me. I tend to respond better to books that leave me with at least a shred of hope. The ending of 1984 was just too dismal for my tastes.

What books would you read if you had more time?
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s Cat’s Cradle, Dan Brown’s Deception Point, Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and many others.

Do you read a newspaper regularly? If so, which one(s)? Why?
Back home I read the Press Democrat, which was the main daily newspaper in Sonoma County; here I’ve browsed through the San Jose Mercury News several times. I’ve noticed that it’s the only paper consistently in the rack where I live, and therefore out of laziness it’s all I’ve read since I moved here.Which magazines do you read regularly?None. I just subscribed to Harper’s and the Columbia Journalism Review through the university service, though, and am awaiting my first issue of both.

If you had more time, which magazines would you read?
If I had more time, and more money, I’d probably read the New Yorker.

Do you have a stereo, CD player, or tape player that you use regularly? Which kind? How often?
It seems I am now officially the last person in this country without an mp3 player. I have a portable CD player which I hook up to an FM tuner in my car, but other than that, I just listen to music on the radio or on my computer.

Do you listen to music frequently, rarely, occasionally? What types?
Rarely, unless you count when I go out dancing and technically am listening to music. I listen mostly to swing music and classic rock. Queen is definitely my favorite band.

What is your current favorite song?
“Crazy” by Knarls Barkley

Name three of your all-time favorite songs/pieces of music.
1. “Do You Love Me?” by The Contours
2. “Soft” by The Swing Session
3. “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen