iParticipate Fourteen

Semiotics definitely play a role in how women are perceived in the media. They are looked at as symbols, as things, and not as people. Reducing a human being to become a symbol is the first way acts of violence against women begin. You're not hurting a person; you're hurting a thing.

It is not fair game to Photoshop a woman to make her the "ideal" size and weight. As stated in the video, even Cindy Crawford wishes she looked like "Cindy Crawford." These models, these women who are seen as perfect, are Photoshopped beyond recognition sometimes. It gives real women a tough time feeling beautiful when faced with constant images of flawless beauty.

I agree with Jean that this is a public health problem that should be regulated. Eating disorders and suicide are big reasons to regulate this issue.

As a media consumer and producer, I do do things to combat these perceptions. I regularly post photos of myself on Facebook without makeup on, without editing the photos, and without hiding my "womanly" body. Another thing we can do is speak out, like Jean, about this epidemic. Something has to change.

iParticipate Thirteen

I chose to look at WKYU, WKU's radio program, for this blog post. I looked at their website and quickly found their EEO form. The form covers employment opportunities, open positions, and public interest attendance from March 2014 to March 2015. They attended a wide array of different events, from career discussion forums to capstone classes to Leadership Bowling Green (where they gave a station tour and career discussion).

WKYU seems to favor WKU events, which is understandable, since it is WKU's radio station. It seems as though they could attend more community events, rather than just sticking with the college campus.

I believe WKYU acts in the "public interest, convenience, or necessity." True, they cater more to the college crowd, but what they do is in the public's interest. I would venture to say the federal requirements compel it to do extraordinary things. They also do enough to merit their broadcast license.

iParticipate Twelve

After disabling the cookies on my laptop, I tried a few websites. Amazon and Yahoo! let me on with no problem. Facebook wouldn't even let me in without enabling cookies, as well as Blogger, I was surprised to find! I had to enable them to write this post.

I was semi-aware that cookies were tracking me, but I had no idea they were so necessary to progress online. I knew, from familiar advertisements from sites I had visited (and even items I had looked at) that cookies were tracking me.

My settings on my laptop were set to "Allow local data to be set (recommended)" regarding cookies, so I never had the sites ask permission before. I may very well do so in the future though.

Privacy and ethics on the web are haphazard at best. There are so many ways to collect your information online that it boggles the mind. This data collection could, in theory, be good, if you like seeing ads for things that strike your interest, but I think it's an invasion of privacy, and I think it stinks that we have no choice but to use cookies in order to access certain websites.

iParticipate Eleven

The top ten news stories on WKU's website are: "WKU ALIVE Center Hosting Campus and Community Network Meeting Nov. 12th," "Winners Announced in 2015 Jim Wayne Miller Writing Contest," "WKU Public Media Stations Part of New Ohio River Network," "WKU Forensics Team Wins at Largest Event of Fall Semester," "WKU Ranked Among Best for Vets for 6th Straight Year," "Karen Powell Crowned WKU's 2015 Homecoming Queen," "Family and Consumer Sciences Receives Gift from Alumnus," "Barren County School Receives WKU Libraries Grant," "WKU Honors 28 at Lexington Area Scholars Luncheon," and "View from the Hill -- Homecoming Float Preps."

All of these news stories would be classified as "soft news." None of these stories made it to the Bowling Green Daily News. I'm sure WKU has an impact on our local news (sometimes) but this is not one of those times. The size of the newspaper has a lot to do with this. When there are not any "hard news" stories to report, the staff has to come up with something to report in their paper. These stories, although important to the people directly affected within the stories, are not very important to the student body at large.

The level of the newspaper's reliance on WKU public relations is probably a bad thing for news reporting. They are less likely to report negative news as it relates to WKU, so the truth is not publicized. Overall, these stories are promoting a healthy dialogue in the community, but some other stories, such as the new smoking policy, for example (which has many very angry) doesn't get the attention it deserves in the press.

iParticipate Ten

I found American Recording Company, LLC based out of Louisville, KY with a quick Google search. Although they do not "specialize" in any certain type of music, they also work on music videos. Some of the artists they have recorded are listed at the bottom of this post. Admittedly, I have not heard of any of these bands, but there are quite a few listed!

On the "About" page, ARC boasted that they can do a quick turnaround by sending the recordings via the internet to their clients in "high definition for fast and easy delivery." The website does not tell how they distribute their recordings to consumers though.

From what I can tell, this is an independent recording company. They even list their prices online and have a way that the customer can upload their files directly to them without having to give them a hard copy.

It seems as though they do not advertise the bands that are on their label, other than listing them on their website. This is the biggest problem this label faces. If they don't promote their talent, they will not get air play. Perhaps they leave that to the talent to figure out.
 

16 Bones                                                                                              Gravemouth

64 West                                                                                                Heart of Kings

7 Day Sun                                                                                           J Kellz

Alex Gresham                                                                                  Jason William Allen Band

Attack of the Pacifists                                                                Joe Stevens

Banda San Bernardo                                                                     Jordan Patterson

Blue Rooster                                                                                      Justin Black Band

Brian White                                                                                        Lance Porter

Bury the Willing                                                                               Little Edge

Butch Williams Blues Band                                                        Local Guy Productions

C.J. Cumberland                                                                              Mascarade

Crescent Hill Radio                                                                        Momma Thai

Crow Haven                                                                                       Phil Of Da Ville

Cumberland Country                                                                   Poetry of the Dead

Daniel Jones                                                                                      Project Heavy Death

Dare To Care Food Bank                                                              Red On Tap

Dare To Dream                                                                                 Red Terraplane

Daryl Cook                                                                                       Revenue Band

Dead Horse Cowgirls                                                                    Rockaway Drive

Deven Roberts Band                                                                     Shooters Bar n Grill

Dick Sharpe’s Big Band                                                                Silent for the Struggle

DJ ICE                                                                                                   Some Kind Of Saint

Dominion                                                                                           St. Andrews Pub

Electric String Trio                                                                        Swisha Gang

Epik                                                                                                       The Band Leilani

Ethan Pentagraph                                                                        The Debauchees

Even Memory                                                                                  The Sanctuary Trio

Fright Night Film Fest                                                                The Tarnation’s Blues Band

FYL Entertainment                                                                      Trust Divided

Gerald Harris                                                                                   Wayne James Experience

Grandshaw                                                                                       We Are Not Alone

             ........................................   Just to name a few   ........................................

iParticipate Nine

For this blog post, I picked up a copy of Time Life Magazine, and it was a special issue on "History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories." Surprisingly enough (I suppose because it was a special issue) there were no ads in this magazine. It was full of stories, though, with interesting photographs. The contents were divided into sections, with "A Conspiracy Primer" as the first heading, with stories about conspiracy theorists. The second heading was "Scapegoats and Subversives," with stories ranging from witches to spies. The third heading was "What do the Feds Have to do With It?" with stories about governmental conspiracy theories. The final heading was "The Unfriendly Skies and Beyond," with stories about aliens and the moon landing.

The photographs in this issue were interesting, from a full two page spread of the back of a dollar bill with diagrams describing each component of the design, to a photo of Adolph Hitler, to a close up of JFK and his wife on the fated day he was assassinated. Photos of alien beings, the warning sign outside of Area 51, and of the Apollo 11 team on the moon round out the magazine.

The news photos in this issue of Time Life are definitely related in one way: they are about conspiracy theories. The lack of ads is perplexing, but again, I assume it is because this was a special edition.