A Lesson in PR

When Lilly said that Tuesday was the one class of the semester we wouldn't want to miss, she wasn't kidding. After all, it's not every day that you get to watch a real press conference unfold in your classroom.

Three San Jose State students, Anna Pogosova, LouLou Quintela, and Kelly Sherman, were chosen as finalists in a national advertising contest to come up with a Superbowl ad idea for Chevy. PR genius that she is, Professor Lilly Buchwitz was on top of the story and arranged a press conference with affiliates of CBS and NBC news...to be filmed in our classroom!

As a Journalism major, it was fascinating to see the process the media went through in creating the story. From watching CBS set up the cameras to observing them doing one-on-one interviews, it was an experience I will never forget. One detail I found interesting was how CBS dealt with a mass release from the class. Instead of filling out paperwork, they simply had us look into the camera and give consent for them to show our images.

I also found it interesting to compare what I observed during the press conference to what was aired by CBS that night. Understandably, they were not able to use a lot of the material that was filmed due to length restrictions. They also jazzed it up with some clips from previously run Superbowl ads. Overall, though, I felt that they did a pretty good job of covering the story. The fact that my face was clearly recognizable in the piece might have biased me in this regard.

This press conference had the benefit of hitting two birds with one stone for SJSU students; it gave us a chance to see the media at work, and it created some great press for our school. Appropriately, the topic for the day was media and public relations. I'd say we got a pretty good lesson. Thanks Lilly!

Small Carrot: A Big Step?

In this age of technological convergence, it seems that there is little left that handheld devices cannot do. Overnight (it seems), cell phones have evolved to the point where they can play music, videos, and more. With this technology has come a demand for a new kind of media. Enter Small Carrot, a sort of YouTube for cell phones. Artists can upload their content, and consumers can download for free.

Among the types of files that Small Carrot currently offers for download are animations, designs, and motion graphics for the "small screens" of iPods, PSPs, and cell phones. There are some short movies that Popgadget says "run the gamut from cute to freaky, surrealistic to stylish." Apparently, some artists have even created mini-series, and Small Carrot now offers a way to update users by email when new installments are uploaded.

Curious as to what these videos might be like, I sampled a few. Some, like the "Office Buddies" series, were worth a laugh. Others, like "Hello Kitty: Gifts of Dance and Trance", were just a little weird. I also previewed a clip called "Underwater Jungle Disco." Yes, it is as trippy as it sounds.

Darwin Goes Digital

The BBC reported today that Darwin's complete works are now being published online. Cambridge University, the force behind this project, plans to make over 500,000 pages of the evolutionary theorist's notes, complete with audio files, available to all.

Hopefully, this effort will promote dialogue about Darwin's theories, which remain controversial today. Though evidence strongly supports the Theory of Evolution, there is still strong resistance to this theory in some states because of many people's beliefs that it contradicts Christian teachings.

While the U.S. Supreme Court banned the teaching of creationism in public schools in 1987 on the grounds of separation of church and state, conservative educators have managed to work religious views into the curriculum through what they call "intelligent design," which others have taken to calling "creationism lite." In places like Dover, Pennsylvania, there are laws that insist this theory be taught alongside Darwinism. A Gallup poll reported that 37% of Americans favor teaching creationism instead of evolution. It comes as little wonder, then, that despite numerous archaeological findings that suggest otherwise, an astounding 45% also believe that God created man in present form. How depressing.

Besides the actual content of his works, there are other issues that arise with the online publication of Darwin's works. I wonder, how long will it be before all print works are made available online?

"Sirius" Stern: An Oxymoron

Who is Howard Stern? To me, he is the social outcast turned bully: the awkward, self-conscious kid who finds pleasure in verbally tearing others to shreds. His behavior has been reinforced by a society who gets a kick out of people who can get away with saying outrageous things on air. This "shock jock" as he's been so appropriately called, has made a lucrative career for himself simply by saying what's on his mind, however offensive or obscene. Furthermore, it has made him "cool," an image he seems to be stretching for with his dark shades and rock star duds.

For someone who has been called a revolutionary in shaping radio, Stern seems to have little to say that is of real importance. Sometimes it seems as if his sole purpose on his show is to say the most shocking thing he can think of. With a reputation for being the most heavily fined DJ in the history of radio, he is famous for pushing (and frequently crossing) the boundaries of what you can and can't say on air. If only he would put his intelligence and lack of inhibition to better use and ask female guests more relevant questions than, "Are those real breasts?"

To me, Howard Stern is a novelty, nothing more. His shallow rants and degrading attitude toward women wear thin rather quickly, and it was to my amusement to discover that many of his fans are apparently as shallow as he is, and have not stuck with him through his move to Sirius Satellite Radio. I believe his style of broadcasting is a fad that people will eventually get over, but hopefully remember as a lesson on what not to do.

The Three Most Important T.V. Shows Ever Created

1. Will & Grace- Throughout the history of T.V., there have been many shows important to issues of discrimination. Will & Grace's positive portrayal of homosexuals is helping to break down today's stereotypes of gays in the media. Will's character is the complete opposite of what many think of as the typical gay man; he is a masculine lawyer with solid values and a serious demeanor. His friend Jack, on the other hand, represents more of the traditional gay man; an effeminate actor with a tendency toward the dramatic. Yet Jack is so hysterically funny, it's impossible not to love him.

2. Candid Camera- This was one of the first T.V. shows to be unscripted and feature ordinary people rather than actors. Some call it the "granddaddy of the reality TV genre." Candid Camera opened up the door for today's reality T.V. craze: something that I have mixed feeling about, but will admit revolutionized T.V. and has become an important social phenomenon.

3. Oprah- Over the past 20 years that her talk show has been running, Oprah has become more than a person: she is an icon. She has influenced the nation on matters of race, religion, sexuality, poverty, and gender, to name a few. Any book introduced into her book club becomes an instant best-seller. In 1998, Mark Steyn of the National Review wrote that Oprah is "therapist to an entire nation."

A Face to Remember

"Ten thousand miles away from home...and I don't even know my name."
-Lonesome Rhodes

Kazan's 1957 classic, "A Face in the Crowd" will soon turn 50 years old. And I have to say, it's not bad for an old timer. The film has held up remarkably well over the last half century, so much that when I watched it last week I was startled by its relevance to today's society. With outstanding performances all around and a musical score that will give you the shivers, this one is definitely a must-see.

When "country boy" Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Andy Griffith) is discovered by the media in a small town jail, it isn't long before his boyish charm and infectious laughter propel him into celebrity on a national scale. The woman who discovered him (Patricia Neal) is soon swept along for the ride, and becomes the one person keeping him from teetering over the edge of reason once he becomes drunk with the power he has gained over the public. Throughout the film, we watch Rhodes' deteriorate, as his once carefree laughter takes on a maniacal tone as megalomania sets in.

We all know a "Lonesome Rhodes": a charismatic, lovable person who can easily win over the common man. These types of personas are everywhere in the media, and are the kind of people we love to love. What we aren't always aware of, and what "A Face in the Crowd" aims to make us aware of, is the power such people wield over our opinions. Kazan carefully weaves into this entertaining story a scathing social commentary on how we as the public allow ourselves to be led around by our noses by media personas we know little about. This is achieved by giving the audience a behind-the-scene look at the "real" Lonesome Rhodes, an egotistical drunk who has nothing but disdain for the "sheep" who watch his show.

Yet Lonesome Rhodes was not always the nasty egoist we see towards the end of the film. "A Face in the Crowd" gives us an inside look at the transformation Rhodes undergoes from an happy-go-lucky incarcerated hobo to a rich, influential, spoiled fake. We are always told that "power corrupts," but this film shows us the gory details of how fame can cause a man to rot from the inside out. And it is indeed with morbid fascination that the audience observes Rhodes' descent.

Rare is the film that can teach us a lesson and still be wildly entertaining. Yet "A Face in the Crowd" does this and more: 50 years later it is still teaching, and still entertaining audiences as much as ever. And I imagine it will for many years to come.

Gourmet Ads

As I looked in the rack for a magazine to analyze today, my stomach was rumbling. It was lunchtime. Unsurprisingly, I ended up with Gourmet, a magazine for food-lovers and chefs. Settling down with my choice, mouth watering, I flipped through the first few pages of ads. And flipped...and flipped. A whopping 26 pages later, I finally hit the editor's letter. It wasn't until page 40 that I found what I would consider another real article.

Is this what magazines have come to these days? A book of ads with a few articles in between? Silly me: I thought it was supposed to be the other way around.

Admitting defeat, I decided to abandon my idea of analyzing the articles and analyze the ads instead. After all, they appeared to make up the bulk of the magazine. In fact, by my count, full page ads took up 120 pages of this 246-page magazine, and many of the pages with articles also had partial-page ads. In other words, less than half the magazine was made up of articles.

So who were these ads trying to target? Before looking inside, I imagined the average reader of Gourmet to be chefs and serious food aficionados. I expected to see mostly ads for cookware, and gourmet food products. I did find ads for these things, however, the other products advertised ranged from lipstick, to cars, to paint, even. Seeing everyday items included makes me think that the readership of Gourmet is a little broader than I'd originally thought.

Another interesting thing I noticed about the ads was how they were tailored to fit the theme of food. Bloomingdale's, for example, included in their ad a frosting recipe, complete with pictures of cute, neatly frosted pink cupcakes. I thought that this was an clever way to grab the reader's eye while blending in with the overall theme of the magazine. But damn, it made me hungry.