nicole-radio-television

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #10 - Netflix Interview

Overall, I enjoyed the New Yorker interview with Netflix’s CEO. Before this discussion, I had never thought about who ran the streaming platform. I thought the interviewer did a great job of asking tough, yet relevant questions through which I learned new information about the entertainment giant. Specifically, when the host asked Hastings to reveal what elements of television and movie entertainment are not included in Netflix’s business model, the CEO explained that the platform strays away from sports programming. Hasting’s does not think pay per view sports content fits his company’s business model as Netflix is not attempting to replace cable television. For Hastings, sports entertainment is a challenging marketplace, and the CEO would prefer to focus on bringing viewers better quality TV series and movies. In addition to sports, Hasting compared his company’s profit model to Amazon. Both companies operate at break even and value expansion over immediate profit. Accordingly, Hastings says that his company’s success is attributed primarily to long term growth. Further, I found it interesting that the host asked the CEO to explain how he feels about audiences viewing content on portable devices. Hastings said that the picture quality of our smartphones and laptops are dramatically improving, so he does not think that viewers miss out on the full experience.

Although I agreed with many of Hastings statements, I felt that the CEO underestimated the potential power of virtual reality (VR). For instance, when the host asked him whether or not VR will have a profound impact on the entertainment industry, the CEO said no. Specifically, he stated that VR would not impact television any more than it influenced the gaming industry. Similar statements from Hastings are reported in the RadioTimes article, “what is the future of TV technology?” The author, Ellie Harrison, provides a quote which reveals the CEO’s opinions on virtual reality, “you’re exhausted after 20 minutes”… “[Netflix is] more focused on a lean-back, relaxing experience.”

Nonetheless,  I believe that virtual reality has the potential to transform the way we consume media completely. Twenty years from now, technological developments in VR may allow viewers to become characters in a film and experience the events of a movie from a first-person perspective. Actors in a movie may respond to the predetermined actions and scripted lines of each viewer’s avatar. This sort of technology would be particularly exhilarating when one is watching a horror movie. Moreover, in the interview Hastings stated that movie theatres have prevented the film industry from progressing; specifically, because movie theatres have not seen any innovations in recent years. However, if theatres begin to build specialty screening rooms equipped for VR viewings, cinemas can fight back against the increasing prevalence of solitary media consumption. According to the RadioTimes article by Harrison, VR headsets will further isolate audiences and increase the extent to which viewers consume entertainment alone through their personal devices. To combat this, movie theatres can develop new infrastructure that might encourage viewers to leave the comfort of their living rooms and bedrooms. For instance, theatres can develop mechanical seats that move in coordination with the specific events of a film; when a scary creature pops out to scare audiences, the theatre seats might suddenly jerk forward.

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #8 - Gender and Representation

All in the Family, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Mohawk Girls, all contain female characters whose narratives are controlled by male characters that often view women as silly and incompetent. 

All in the Family 

As stated by Thompson’s book Television: A Biography, in “Meet the Bunkers” Archie Bunker is an “ignorant, opinionated, racist [and] intolerant of social change. He has very specific views and does not like it when his family members do not behave in ‘the right way.’ When Archie catches his daughter, Gloria, and her husband, Micheal, kissing in the living room, he becomes angry and says daylight hours should be reserved for respectable activities. Accordingly, Gloria spends a majority of the episode ‘tip-toeing’ around her stubborn father — who seems to think of his daughter as a ditzy housewife who reads too much Cosmopolitan. 

In Douglas’ reading, “Genies and Witches,” the author discusses Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking novel, The Feminine Mystique. Freidan’s work refuted the stereotype of the happy American housewife and discussed the emptiness, resentment, and self-doubt that affected many mothers who received little satisfaction from their domestic duties. As stated by Douglas, “Friedan reminded women of the unfinished work of the women's movement and urged her sisters to stop being doormats and to fight for equality.”

I Love Lucy 

In an episode of I Love Lucy entitled “Equal Rights,” Lucy’s husband, Ricky, becomes angry with his wife as she repeatedly interrupts his story. Rickey yells at his wife and says, “next time I tell a story, stay out of it,” to which Lucy obediently responds, “yes sir.” Ricky then says, “we’re going to run this household like they do in Cuba, where the man runs the household and the women do as she is told!” Lucy looks frightened as she quietly says “sí señor.” Lucy then realizes her husband's behaviour is unacceptable and demands that Ricky respect her. Lucy and her friend tell their spouses that they wish to have equal rights, and remains free from the control and subordination of men. 

According to Douglas, the conception of female power and independence is illustrated in TV shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Flying Nun, wherein female characters maintain mythical powers. 

“In each of these shows men were made impotent by these powers, and… were stripped of their male authority and made to look foolish and incompetent… Although the men insisted that their women not use these powers, [witch-like powers were often used to] to complete domestic chores, to compete over men, and to help the men out of embarrassing situations.” 

These shows contrast the patriarchal control within series like I Love Lucy. In Bewitched, women are depicted as more powerful and capable than their husbands. For instance, when Samantha Montgomery learns that her husband (Darrin) has lost an important business client, she uses her powers to write signs in the sky that tell people to eat at Perfect Pizza. Due to Samantha’s efforts, her husband regains his business account. Nonetheless, in an attempt to preserve his ego, Darrin implies that Samantha is useless, as he insists that he does not need her help and could have taken care of the situation himself. 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show 

The episode “Love is all Around” primarily revolves around Mary’s desire to start fresh; however, this new start seems to include the presence of a man, as Mary’s best friend encourages her to find a husband and get married. Interestingly, Mary’s friend can not help but explain her dissatisfaction with marriage, saying that being involved in a partnership involves surrendering to your husband by putting your ego aside and accommodating all his needs. Therefore, implying that a good woman should readily give up her personal identity to better accommodate the domestic needs of her family. 

Moreover, throughout the episode, Mary is frequently positioned as a sexual object that exists for the purpose of male pleasure. For instance, after Mary receives a new job, her boss comes to visit her apartment, and Mary believes he is trying to hit on her. Although Mary’s boss is the one who hired her, he does not seem to have any real purpose for her, as her position is made up. When Mary tells him she is bored at work and would like more to do, he tells her that he is too busy to give her work. Therefore, insinuating that Mary’s boss does not consider her an asset to her company and hired her simply on the basis of her looks. Moreover, when an old flame comes to visit Mary, he tries to initiate sex with her and even goes so far as to tell Mary that he loves her in order to get what he wants. 

Mohawk Girls 

Although Mohawk Girls is more contemporary when compared to programs like All in the Family, the show still places emphasis on the importance of finding a man. In “Welcome to our World,” a group of female friends is seen at a bar talking about how unimpressed they are with the dating pool in their small town, as one woman describes most men she meets as “buttholes.” Much of the females in this episode either speak directly to a man or talk about men when amongst themselves, meaning this show would have difficulty passing the Bechdel test, as each female narrative arc revolves around finding one's perfect match. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry # 7 - Kim’s Convenience

Kim’s Convenience and In The Long Run each bring attention to racial stereotypes, particularly, those within Chinese and African cultures. 

In the first episode of Kim’s Convenience — “Gay Discount,” Janet’s mother (Jean) wants her daughter to have “many children” and relentlessly tries to set up her up with boys at church. In one scene, the mother selects young men from her church that she thinks will be suitable for her daughter and invites them to come into her husband’s (Mr. Kim) convenience store for a job interview. Hence, the opening scenes of the first episode quickly establish a stereotype of a relatively conservative Canadian-Asian mother that wants her daughter to marry a “good” Christian boy. Moreover, the show reinforces Asian stereotypes through its use of accents. Both Janet’s mother and father speak broken English in seemingly over exaggerated Asian accents. In “Gay Discount” Mr. Kim (Janet’s father) meets a gay couple and discovers he has trouble pronouncing the word “homophobic.” Mr. Kim’s ignorance of homosexuality and his inability to properly pronounce the term appears to offend the gay customers. The second episode of Kim’s Convenience — “Janet’s Photo’s” explores the stereotype of the strict Asian parent. After Janet finds out that her father sold her photographs in his convenience store without her permission, she becomes angry with him. Instead of apologizing to his daughter, Mr. Kim grows increasingly stubborn and lashes out on Janet. Mr. Kim says Janet should be grateful that he is paying for her to go to OCAD. He then undermines Janet’s program by saying she is “only” in photography. In another scene, one of Jean’s Asian friends expresses obvious distaste when Jean informs her that Janet goes to OCAD University. Jean’s friend says her daughter is “brave” for pursuing photography and will likely become a “starving artist.” Although seemingly supportive, Janet’s mother and father ultimately represent two stereotypical Asian parents who would have preferred if their child studied medicine or law. Lastly, the very title of the show, sKim’s Convenience, reinforces a cultural stereotype that convenience stores in downtown Toronto are predominantly owned by middle-aged Asian men. 

[nicole-radio-television]

In The Long Run

In The Long Run tells the story of Walter, a factory worker living in England during the ’80s. At the beginning of the first episode, Walter’s mother describes Walter’s younger brother, Valentine, as “unruly.”  She is concerned about him, stating, “I am too old to be chasing him around with my shoe.” She sends Valentine to live with Walter, hoping that he will be able to keep a better eye on him. Instances of racial politics and prejudice are woven in throughout the plot of the show. For instance, when Walter’s wife, Agnes, pays a visit to her white neighbours, the caucasian couple begins to complain about the rapid increase of “coloureds” in their community. The white women then quickly tells Agnes, “no offence, love. I know you’re not like that.” Although this scene is brief, the white character does not explicitly define what she means by “that.” Nonetheless, the racial stereotypes that existed against African culture during this time lead audiences to assume that Agnes’ white neighbors consider families like hers to be second rate citizens, who did not belong.

 In the reading “Why Diverse TV Matters” by Morris and Poniewozik, the authors maintain that “small screen” productions tend to be more inclusive than blockbuster movies. Shows like black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat attempt to appeal to smaller, niche audiences, unlike big-budget Hollywood films, which aim to appeal to the widest audience possible, and are therefore likely to contain mostly white actors. Additionally, shows like Jane the Virgin and The Mindy Project were not created for an audience of “tens of millions of white people.” Instead, these shows aim to target younger viewers who feel they may not be adequately represented on television. The characters on these shows encourage diversity as they deal with issues involving race, religion, and sex; as stated by Morris and Poniewozik, “the less homogeneous TV is, the less boring it is.”

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #6 - Network

Thompson’s book, Television: A Biography, cites a key quote from the 1976 film Network. After the main character — Howard Beale is fired, the character launches into an angry tirade on live television, stating: “everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job…. we know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s wholesome local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes… I want you to get up… and yell ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’”

These rebellious remarks caused UBS (Union Broadcasting System’s) network ratings to spike and Beale is awarded his own segment — The Howard Beale Show, and subsequently becomes known as "the mad prophet of the airwaves.” Unsurprisingly, Beale’s talk show is filled with anti-capitalist/media conglomerate messaging. For instance, the host encourages his viewers to send letters to the White House urging officials to stop the CCA deal — which would allow UBS to be bought by a large Saudi Arabian media company.

Considering Beale’s beliefs, I find it ironic that the host does not express any distaste for the fact that he is profiting off of a show that is being produced by the very sort of capitalist network’s he despises. Similarly, the audience appears oblivious to Beale’s hypocrisy as they excitedly shout his catchphrase “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” before the start of each live taping. This notion of mindless media consumption is accurately reflected in Sanneh’s “The Reality Principle.” The author draws from media theorists Theo Adorno and Max Horkheimer as she discusses the “deceived masses” of spectators that comprise the “culture industry. ”

According to Thompson, Beale’s talk show on Network attempts to position “the News as a show.” Diana Christensen — the head of UBS’ programming department, envisions Beale using his segment to recreate terrorist robberies by dramatizing the news in a manner that old-fashioned journalism does not. As networks attempt to maximize profit potential, many stations look for opportunities to keep viewers watching — and often rely on the “shock factor” to achieve this. Christensen’s desire to position Beale as a “mad prophet” reminded me of Tomi Lahren’s questionable behaviour on both Twitter and her Fox News segment Final Thoughts. Whether or not Lahren is exaggerating her angry, whining opinions on American politics is unknown; nonetheless, her outrageous behaviour and online social media spats certainly garner her considerable media attention.

Finally, Thompson’s notion of “the News as a show” is demonstrated in the closing scene of Network. During a live taping of The Howard Beale Show, two armed gunmen rise from their seats and shoot Beale. Displaying no sign of visible shock, the cameraman automatically pans his device over Beale’s dead body. Although this particular example is fictional, when tragedies occur in real life, networks often scramble to broadcast them to the public. Thompson refers to events like Beale’s shooting as “authentic disaster[s]” — and when they occur in real life, networks often scramble to capture them. Accordingly, 9/11 was conceived as a live television event that elicited the active and dedicated viewership that newscasters crave.

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #5 - Cathy Come Home

The film Cathy Come Home is a noir melodrama that tells the story of a young couple's descent into homelessness. Several of the themes discussed in Glen Creeber’s reading “Killing us softly: Investigating the aesthetics, philosophy, and influence of Nordic Noir television” are prevalent throughout the film. According to Creeber, an important characteristic of noir films involves their “slow and melancholic pace, multilayered storylines and an interest in uncovering the dark underbelly of contemporary society.” The plot-line of Cathy Come Home is quite slow and spends lots of time setting the scene of the film. Through shots of dirty alleyways aligned with hanging laundry, crowded homes, and screaming children, the film sets the stage of a poor English apartment complex. Correspondingly, the dreary environment in which Cathy and Reg live reflect their moods. As stated by Creeber, the location and landscape of noir films frequently reflect the inner emotions and feelings of characters. Although the couple does not start out homeless, the crowded, old house the pair rented from Ms. Ally reveals that the couple has almost no money or savings and is struggling to make ends meet. Hence, Cathy frequently appears to be crying, stressed out or agitated. 

Moreover, instead of diving directly into the narrative of Cathy and Reg — the main characters in the film, the movie spent much time revealing the personal stories of many homeless characters. Although the stories of less-fortunate locals do not advance the plot of the film, Creeber might say the multilayered storylines revealed by these characters are crucial to understanding the conditions Cathy and Reg were forced to endure as they were evicted from state housing. For instance, when the couples was forced to move into a trailer park, a local instructs Reg on how to bathe without a shower, as their trailers do not have running water or electricity. Hence, scenes like this provide audiences with a depiction of how Britain’s struggling lower class lives. 

Mirroring the observations of Creeber, the film’s combination of a ‘Family Plot’ which describes the life of Cathy, Reg, and their children, and a ‘Poltical Plot’ which emphasizes the treatment of Britain’s lower-class adds complexity to the narrative, thereby illustrating another feature of noir melodramas. As Cathy and Reg’s financial situation worsens, the couple finds it increasingly difficult to find state housing. The couple is repeatedly told that there is little accommodation available as many shelters are full. However, when the family is finally able to find shelter, Cathy is told her husband is not welcome in the facility as only women and children are allowed. A series of shots show Cathy and her children living in cramped, diseased ridden rooms with not enough beds and inadequate food. Towards the end of the film, as Cathy is seen sobbing to state housing officials, begging them to place her and her children in a halfway house, the men in charge are quite strict, stern and unsympathetic. After one month they warn that she will be evicted from her current accommodations and have to fend for herself. The dirty conditions and full capacities of Britain’s homeless shelters appear to comment on the treatment of those less fortunate and the state of the United Kingdom’s state housing in the 1960s, thereby representing the “dark underbelly of contemporary [British] society.”

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #4 - The Good Wife

The Good Wife is an episodic problem/solution style series; hence, the narratives of its episodes follow many of the themes outlined in Tasker’s essay — “Sensation/investigation: crime television and the action aesthetic.”

Although I have not watched this series in its entirety, two of my favourite episodes are

“Hi” (season 1, episode 14) and “Nine hours” (season 2, episode 9).

[nicole-radio-television]

Montages

“Hi” follows state attorney Alicia Florrick as she defends a man who is convicted of killing his children’s babysitter. According to Tasker’s observations of crime dramas, similar series like Bones, CSI, and Hawaii five-0 often use montages to convey the time-consuming work of investigations. Accordingly, “Hi” uses montage-like scenes to illustrate Mrs. Florrick’s attempt to prove her client’s innocence in just 48 hours. In “nine hours” Mrs. Florrick has to prove her client’s innocence before he is executed by lethal injection later that evening. Hence, The Good Wife appears to rely heavily on montages as its characters frequently find themselves battling tight time constraints. Throughout each episode, the tightly edited montages of phone calls, research, and speaking to suspects and witnesses effectively builds tension throughout both of these episodes. As stated in the reading “Its all entertainment” by Peter Vorderer, the more empathetic stress that is felt before a resolution, the more relief audiences will feel afterward. As Alicia proves each of her clients innocent, as a spectator, I feel reassured. However, if everything always worked in Mrs. Florrick’s favor and she was presented with no obstacles, I would likely experience a much less satisfying form of relief. As stated in Vorderer’s reading, the shift from stress to relief that accompanies the end of a film is often referred to as excitation transfer: the rapid cognitive adjustment to the changing situation of a storyline — such as the sudden revelation of a character’s innocence. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Music

According to Tasker, music is yet another element that is frequently used to build tension in crime dramas. In both “Hi” and “Nine hours” when Alicia and her team are partaking in “shady” detective work, the music will typically switch to an ominous, mysterious beat. For instance, in the episode “Hi,” Alicia visits her client’s apartment to intentionally remove evidence that she believes will further implicate him. Right before the police burst into the room, the music becomes increasingly fast-paced and suspenseful to match the tone of the scene. Alicia quickly grabs a bra and a women’s hairbrush — believed to belong to the young women Alicia’s client is accused of murdering.

[nicole-radio-television]

Sex and Murder

The episode “Nine hours” opens with a sex scene — which according to Tasker is a frequent theme in many crime dramas. Moreover, in murder episodes like “Hi,” great emphasis is placed on the gruesome crime scene: a bathroom filled with blood and a young girl found dead in the shower. Elements of sex and death are crucial elements of sensationalism and are frequent themes in The Good Wife. Sexual affairs and horrific murders effectively present stories in a manner that makes them more interesting and exciting for viewers. It would be rather dull to watch a crime show about murders without seeing the scenes of each crime. Further, romantic relationships amongst characters add a layer of drama and complexity to the show, thereby allowing for a narrative that develops throughout the series. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Science

As stated in Tasker’s reading, many crime dramas include a visual staging of laboratory science. Although “Nine hours” did not have a scientist working against a clock to process a foreign DNA sample found on a corpse, the episode did focus heavily on pharmaceutical drugs. Particularly, the anesthetic sodium thiopental — a short-acting general anesthetic. The barbiturate is apart of the three-drug cocktail used to execute prisoners on death row. In this episode, Alicia is told that her latest client —  who is on death row for setting fire to the home of his ex-wife, will be executed in several hours. Despite this, Alicia is later informed that her client’s execution may be delayed as the prison is unable to obtain a vial of sodium thiopental. The remainder of this episode closely mirrors Steenberg’s observations in “Sensation/investigation: crime television and the action aesthetic.” Particularly, the scholar believes that there are “three sites around which the vocabulary of science, crime and expertise are organized: the victimized human body/corpse, the mind of the expert in action and the spectacle of data.” Later in the episode, Alicia and her team seek out the help of an arson expert, who determines that the fire was an accident and was not carried out purposely by Alicia’s client. After confirming this, the scientist writes an affidavit to the judge in Alicia’s case, thereby, releasing her client from death row.

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #3 - The Office

After watching both the UK and US versions of The Office, I found that the US adaptation of The Office made reference to American pop culture, while the UK version of the sitcom frequently borrowed American themes and seldom referenced its own cultural reference points.

The posts below outline specific examples from each show.

[nicole-radio-television]

Episode 1 -  Pilot

The Office (US) 

The manager at Dunder-Mifflin (Micheal Scott) tells his secretary (Pam) that she is fired as a result of corporate downsizing and her tendency to steal office supplies. After Pam expresses concern, Scott reveals he is joking. Later, the manager confides to the camera that he hates (even joking) about firing people. In this scene, Scott makes reference to American business icon Donald Trump by quoting his infamous line “you’re fired.” The tagline comes from the popular American reality show The Apprentice — which audiences in the UK may likely not be familiar with. Prior to Trump’s presidency, the show followed the journey of various entrepreneurs as they competed for a chance to work for Donald — who often rewards competitors who employ cut-throat tactics to beat out their competition. Thus, the intense, individualist structure of corporate America is made fun of and used as cultural reference point in this episode. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Episode 2 -  Diversity Day

The Office (US) 

Micheal Scott attempts to teach his employees the importance of cross-cross-culture understanding by playing a game of charades. Employees are instructed to wear a card indicating a specific ethnicity on their forehead while other colleagues attempt to act out characteristics typically associated with the culture that is shown on the card. The decision to focus on episode making fun of workplace diversity seems to comment on the cultural melting pot that is the United States. Particularly, upon becoming a US citizen, Americans are expected to identify and behave as Americans first, and then their own ethnicity. Scott makes reference to this idea when he encourages one employee to participate in the game of charades by saying “stir the melting pot!” Furthermore, this episode seems to comment on the historical prevalence of racism within American culture, as Scott encourages his employees to vocalize racial stereotypes about Chinese, Jewish and Indian people. For instance, Pam tells one college who is wearing a card that says Chinese that he might be a bad driver. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Episode 1 -  Work Experience

The Office (UK)

The manager at Wernham Hogg Paper Company (David Brent) is joking with several of his colleagues when he whips out his flip phone and uses it as a gun while he performs a Clint Eastwood impression despite Eastwood being a well-known American actor, filmmaker, and musician. Additionally, this same episode features several workers discussing Micheal Jackson — yet another American icon, while attempting to imitate his dance routines. The longtime dominance of the United States film industry may explain why its cultural references often appear in international television series. America — more specifically, Hollywood contains one of the largest, oldest, and most popular movie-making industries in the world — producing hundreds of movies each year. Comparatively, The UK’s film industry is relatively small, and on a global scale, is less influential than the United State’s entertainment industry. Thus, in attempts to deliver easily recognizable references to viewers, The Office UK may have opted to include references to American pop culture in its script. 

Nonetheless, the show does make some references to British culture, but less frequently than it does American. For example, one of the office workers is shown talking about his love for the English rock band — Queen. Additionally, Brent is filmed singing a song a female colleague believes is inspired by the death of Princess Diana. The manager sings, “then rushing through the Paris night they hounded you, you lost control …. we prayed you’d be alright…. the news came through your body cold.” Both Queen and Princess Diana have been, and still are, essential parts of British popular culture. The latter, was one of the most internationally recognized and beloved members of the royal family, while Queen is often regarded as one of the best bands of all time. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #2 - Left of the Dial

Left of the Dial — an episode within the HBO documentary series America Undercover discusses the significant concentration of ownership within mainstream media. Specifically, the episode follows a group of inexperienced radio hosts that set out to launch a liberal radio network — Air America.

Although the goal of Air America was to challenge the conservative, right-wing voices that dominated commercial radio — the network’s ex-chairman — Evan Cohen, mislead both investors and employees of the company’s finances in efforts to generate more profits; thereby, aligning Air America’s corporate practices with the very profit-hungry, anti-capitalist principles its employee’s detested. 

Half-way through the episode, Cohen is filmed fabricating the total gross sales of the network. Although he receives an estimate of $639,000 he tells the New York Time’s editorial board that the network is worth over a million dollars and that this is “a documentable fact.” These false financial claims confirm Cohen’s interpretation of Air America as profit-machine driven by advertisement dollars, rather than a progressive voice within the public sphere. The chairman’s fraudulent behaviour ultimately lead to Air America being take off the air within its two largest markets — Los Angeles and Chicago. I found this particularly disappointing considering the lack of competition against conservative stations during this time. 

Before the conception of Air America, there were no “watchdog” media stations that questioned and criticized the actions of right-winged politicians. The concentration of conservative news was particularly worrisome considering its potential to encourage what Nick Couldry refers to as ‘common sense’ ideologies, media bias, and reduced media accuracy and quality. Thus, it is crucial for the media landscape to become increasingly diversified so that citizens can critically analyze a variety of sources, and decide for themselves which outlets their values best align with. 

Variety in media is important, however, there is danger in filtering the news based on one’s personal beliefs. Although journalists and reporters should strive to present the news as objectively as possible, as mentioned by Johnathan Gray in Television Entertainment no human is free of bias, therefore, all shows are inherently political — there are no “innocent texts”. Accordingly, Trump’s Presidency has inspired an era of “fake news” wherein citizens are encouraged to question the credibility of news outlets that do not agree with their personal biases. The unwillingness to seek out new ideas and perspectives promotes the development of echo chambers — which represent an online environment wherein one’s personal beliefs and opinions are continually reinforced. For instance, if I frequently visa CNN for news, the latest stories published by this notoriously left-leaning outlet will likely dominate my feed. 

While watching Left of the Dial I was able to draw a comparison between the homogenized, conservative nature of America’s radio waves to the consolidation of the entertainment industry. As discussed in lecture, 6 major firms including; Disney, Viacom, CBS, Time Warner, Newscorp and Comcast, now control 90% of the media. As television and cinema remain mediums through which ideologies of the ruling class can be disseminated to passive audiences, the new era of the internet — web 2.0 promotes media diversity. For example, today virtually anyone with a microphone and a laptop can create a podcast. Additionally, video-sharing platforms like Youtube encourage users to become content creators and make videos that appeal to their personal interests or talents. 

[nicole-radio-television]

Entry #1 - Television & Politics

After watching the New Yorker festival panel on television and politics, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the socio-political commentary within shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, The Good Wife and Veep. I particularly enjoyed the commentary of Armando Iannucci and Walter Kamau Bell.