Baby Mama vs. The Day the Earth Stood Still

KEY ELEMENTS

In Baby Mama, the elements that are most emphasized are the actors and what kind of characters they are depicting in the movie. It seems by the look on their faces that this is going to be a funny movie. The poster also has a lot of bright colors, which gives off the comedic and lightheartedness of the movie. The poster for The Day the Earth Stood Still has a more serious feel to it. The main element that is shown is the intriguing imagery both with the big moon being over the city, and the people who are walking towards it. It uses a lot of dark colors with gives off the more dramatic, almost epic feel.


GENRE

Baby Mama is a comedy. The comedic genre seems very prevalent to selling the movie. The Day the Earth Stood Still seems to be more of an action/suspense genre. Obviously, the darkness of the poster gives off a more dramatic feeling with little or if any comedy. It does seem to be important in the way the movie is being sold.


AUDIENCE

Baby Mama seems to be targeting more women than men. From the poster, one can tell it is about a woman who has a surrogate mother to have her baby. So, it may even be targeted to mothers, expecting mothers, and even grandmothers. Since it is a comedy, it also seems to be targeting younger people as well. The Day the Earth Stood Still target audience comes off as just the general public. Other than the names of the two actors, there really is no way of seeing who directed it or what the rating is. It comes off as being sort of an "epic" film that could be geared towards everyone.


TAGLINE

Baby Mama's tagline is "Would you put your eggs...in this basket?" The tagline suggests that is a comedy and that it is about motherhood. It also tells of how the woman (Tina Fey) who wants the baby, is a little unsure about the woman (Amy Poehler) who is to be the surrogate, who comes off a little to silly and quirky. The Day the Earth Stood Still does not have a tagline, but because of the imagery in the poster, it seems to be relying on its dramatic/suspense feel.



Lauren, Chris, Tori

27 Dresses & Pineapple Express

Tracy Roquet, Lori Enriquez

KEY ELEMENTS:
Some key elements about 27 Dresses were that the dress that the main character on the poster is wearing is made out of words, it would mostly be considered a "chick flick", and the actress is smiling confidently in the picture. In Pineapple Express, the poster depicted violence, that it was more masculine, and the actors on the poster had various expressions on their faces.

GENRE:
The genre of both films is definitely shown in the posters. 27 Dresses would be considered a drama/comedy while Pineapple express would be an action/comedy. The actress in 27 Dresses is again smiling with confidence in what seems to be a formal dress. This shows that the movie could be funny, but still including drama being that the main focus is a girl. Girls love drama! The Pineapple Express poster has one guy laughing, one guy with a confused sort of look on his face, and one guy with a determined look. They are all carrying guns and they look pretty dirty so it is concluded that it would be a comedy/action movie.

AUDIENCE:
27 Dresses is targeting women and Pineapple Express is targeting men. This is because the 27 Dresses poster has a girl with a dress on. Women love dresses! Pineapple Express has guns and men that look filthy. This relates more with men because they love action.

TAGLINE:
The tagline of 27 Dresses is "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." It helps sell the movie because women tend to be more interested in watching emotional situations. The tagline of Pineapple Express is "Put this in your pipe and smoke it." It suggests something illegal that men would most likely consider entertaining.

The Chronicle of Narnia-Prince Caspian and Day of the Dead

Ashley Bridges, Bianca Morin, Becky Sanchez

Blog: Movie Posters

Key Elements:

The elements that were most emphasized on the “Day of the Dead” poster were the picture and title; they were shown to attract an audience who are interested in horror movies. The director is also added at the top with the mention of another movie he directed in the same genre: “Halloween H2O.” “The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian” poster shows the younger actors who are in the movie in a “fantasy” type picture to attract the younger audience who likes fantasy.

Genre:

“Day of the Dead” – Horror

“The Chronicle of Narnia – Prince Caspian” – Young Adult Fantasy

They can attract viewers.

Audience:

Both posters are targeting a particular audience. “The Day of the Dead” poster is to attract an audience who enjoy watching horror. “The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian” poster is targeting an audience who are younger, for example young adult and younger who are interested in fantasy.

Tagline:

“Day of the Dead” has the tagline “D-day is coming.” It helps by instilling fear. The other poster didn’t have a tagline.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Brideshead Revisited

Victoria, Niktay, Marcus

Key Elements:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
The two chihuahuas are most emphasized on a stage, they have bling and admirers on the side. The dogs are being made to look like the center of attention. By Disney, looks like silly kid and family comedy. It also seems as if the dogs that are around the two main dogs in the center, seem ready to bow down to anything the other two dogs say. Almost like of since of getting ready for war.

Brideshead Revisited
The key elements are maybe some drama in a relationship, high society scandal, and focuses on the actors in a costume old fashioned era. The woman in the hat at the top of the poster seems to be emphasized since her picture is larger than any other picture on the poster. It seems that she is the main character in the story and that the story probably revolves around her.

Genre:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
The genre seems to be a comedy that attracts to little children first because of all the dogs make it seem like dog heaven. It also could be action because in small print it saids "50% warrior" with two dogs in the front that seem to be the king and queen over all the dogs. In this instance, it doesn't seem that the genre is important in this post because the dogs themselves attract your attention right away. Also it saids it is a Walt Disney production who usually makes children type movies.

Brideshead Revisited
The genre in this poster seems to be a period drama movie. The reason for this is how the three characters at the bottom of the poster are close together and hugging each other as if they needed comfort. Also the woman at the type looks like a luxurios woman who may potential cause drama for the three characters below. Yes, the genre is important in this poster because it seem like the type of movie that is designed to touch you emotionally.

Audience:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
This poster is mainly targeting kids and families with kids. The reason being is that there are dogs talking. It is not necessarily a cartoon, but the fact that there is animals being animated adds the fanasty element to it.

Brideshead Revisited
This poster seem like it is targeting women because you can tell it is a drama and a romance movie thus, most women would be interested in this movie. It could also be targeting a general audience by showing the some action and medieval times plus the literacy element that can come into play.

Tagline:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
The tagline is at the very top of this poster and reads "50% Warrior. 50% Lover. 100% Chihuahua." Based on the tagline, there is not much we can see or know about the movie, but when it is incorporated within the poster we can see more what it's about.

Brideshead Revisited
The tagline of this poster is "Privilege. Ambition. Desire. At Brideshead Everything Comes At A Price." From this tagline, we can see and get a good feeling at what the movie is going to be about. We can tell it will be a deceitful movie and that the characters will have many problems to deal with.

Posted by: Marcus H.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Stop-Loss

Key Elements

Forgetting Sarah Marshall:
The main elements emphasized in the poster is the large blue broken heart. The heart is not only broken into two pieces, but it is also broken into multiples sections. There is even a small piece laying on the floor next to his feet. The color of the heart can also be taken into account. For instance, when a heart is typically viewed in a graphic form it is pink or red, but in this poster is it blue; which implies suffocation, loneliness and is a color in the cold section of the color wheel. Jason Segel is the only character that is pictured in the poster; he is even in the very center; which implies that the movie is fully centered around this one character. Another key elements would be would be the advertise method of using almost half of the heart to portray other popular movies the directors have previously done; this is done to entice hesitant movie watchers to watch this movie as well.

Stop Loss:
For the movie Stop Loss there is not one defining key element. There is a group of people lounging around an old rugged four door Lincoln town car. There is an American flag superimposed in the background with soldiers even intermingled throughout the transparent image. Without viewing the movie the audience can assume that the main character is most likely the man sitting on the edge of the car; he is the only one wearing white, and the only one with graphics boldly printed on his T-shirt “Army”. A cowboy hat on Ryan Phillipe’s lap implies that this movie is set in the southern section of the Country; in particular Texas. The characters are as worn as the vehicle they are centered around. The main colors used in the poster are that of the American flag (red, white and blue), plus black. Illustrating a patriotic darkness.

Genre:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall:
The poster of this film surely signifies a clear understanding of the movie as being categorized in the Romantic Comedy genre. There is a large blue broken heart illustrating that it is about romance and a goofy sad man holding the heart providing the comic aspect of the film to be visible through the poster. The genre definitely is used to advertise the movie. For instance, in a quick-stumbled date decision it would be easy for the couple, or audience to see that this would be a safe funny movie, non-controversial and entertaining.

Stop-Loss:
The genre of this movie seems to be slightly more ambiguous, but leading towards a first glance of action drama. This interpretation can be justified be the patriotic symbolism displayed consistently throughout the poster. The group of friends with the army scene imposed in the background implies the present action, and the young and modern adults signifies that it is a current issue. As we all know, the societal issues of today are very controversial and instigate dramatic tones.

Audience:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall:
The audience of the first movie would be closer to a dating scene or a group of casual friends. Since it deals with love, and (as most romantic comedies do) it will probably close with a happy ending. It has a pretty broad target audience because if it’s relationship nature, it allows for almost anyone to relate to the film’s characters.

Stop-Loss:
The audience of the second film is much more specific, since many people just by looking at the poster would rule it out in many movie watching situations. For instance, it is fairly obvious that it will be about a controversial issue involving young people and the military; thus, it will not be a chipper movie night with friends movie as well.


Tagline:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall:
There is a tagline in this poster. “The Ultimate Romantic Disaster Movie”, however it is not the main captured element, since it does not need to be. The poster itself is very straight forward, simple and clear to the audience. Plus, the general romantic comedy has a typical plot line that can only be twisted in so many ways. The tagline suggests it would be ridiculous fictional, and funny. It does not seem to be a leading advertisement for the film, since it is some of the only font in black on the blue heart. Making it almost difficult to read and easily overlooked.

Stop-Loss:
The tagline of this movie is much more visible, “The bravest place to stand is by each other’s side”. It suggests that the movie encompasses a conflict within a group of friends, or their environment and that they will have to learn how to use each other to make it through their dilemmas. It helps sell the film by showing the dramatic side of the movie, and reassuring the audience that there is a possibility for a happy ending.

-Kevin Peterson, Taren Shelton and Daphne Clement

Indiana Jones and Burn After Reading

Leanne
Tim
Deborah

Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Burn After Reading

KEY ELEMENTS
In the poster of Indian Jones, the elements that are most emphasized are historical adventure and ancient time. The actor Harrison Ford is emphasized because not only is the image of him the main focal point but the fact that he is a familiar film star makes him recognizable. The other elements that are portrayed are the age of the characters and the exotic element because of the demographics displayed.

In the poster of Burn After Reading there is an element of mystery and depicting crime and it also emphasizes name recognition because of the bold names being displayed.

GENRE
For the movie Indiana Jones, the genre would be adventure and it is important for the movie to be sold because it targets audiences that like action packed movies. The fact that one character is on a motorcycle, one is carrying a sword, and one is running from what looks like an army of people shows how much action will take place during the movie.

For the movie Burn After Reading, the genre would be mystery and it is important for the movie to be sold because it is portrayed in its simplicity and it creates curiosity which will draw viewers to want to watch the movie. There really is no certain clue that explains what the movie will be about except that there is a spy and a man holding a gun which shows that some time of crime will most likely occur during the movie. It leaves the viewers with a sense of curiosity.

AUDIENCE

The Indiana Jones movie targets the older audience due to it being a sequel. This is because the movie makers want to see if the hype of the expectation from its previous films live up to what is being portrayed. The movie also wants to catch the attention of all the people who have seen the previous Indiana Jones movie by showing all of the character on the poster whether they are new or old.

Burn After Reading is targeting an older audience as well and to those who are intrigued with organized crime and possible esponage. This is because the only picture shown is a spy and an arm holding a gun. This represents that the movie will probably be geared more toward a mature audience due to crime.

TAGLINE

There is no tagline for the movie Indiana Jones.

The tagline for Burn After Reading is "Intelligence is Relative". This suggests that high intellect is required to figure out the mystery being portrayed. It helps sell the film because those people who are curious about things will be drawn to watch this movie so that they can have a chance to figure out a mystery.

Sex and the City vs. August Movie Posters

Catherine
Toddrick

KEY ELEMENTS
Sex and the City
The elements most emphasized in this poster are the title and the main Character, Carrie. In fact, they are the only elements of the poster.
August
In this poster the actor is emphasis. Another element emphasized is the city setting.

GENRE
Sex and the City
The poster advertising the movie doesn't really clue the viewer into what genre the movie is. There is only one person on the poster, and the title consumes the majority of it. A person who has never seen the show wouldn't know what the movie was about, other than it has something to do with sex. However, the character on the poster is laughing, and the one color on the poster is a bright one, which could be associated with a lighthearted film.
August
This poster gives more away about the genre of the film. Judging by the intense look on the actor's face in the poster, the movie is suspenseful. The poster itself is rather dramatic, which is most likely done to coincide with the movie's dramatic tone.

AUDIENCE
Sex and the City
This poster is targeting women. The only color on the poster is a bright pink, the majority of which sparkles. The character on the poster is dressed in a fabulous pink dress, which is the only other thing emphasized in color, which is also bright pink.
August
This poster is for a more general audience. There is no clear distinction of specific audience it is meant to appeal to. The presence of the attractive actor may interest women, while the suspenseful tone may appeal more to men. However, the general mystery of the poster is intriguing anyone.

TAGLINE
Sex and the City
The tagline on the Sex and the City poster is "Get Carried Away". Fans of the show understand that this is a play on words with the name of the main character, and probably think its cute and clever. However, for people who have not seen the show the tagline is effective as well. It implies that the movie is fun, and something the viewer can escape or get lost in.
August
When we first looked at this we didn't see a tagline. However, after a second look we discovered there was one at the very bottom that read, "Comes Just Before The Fall". We thought that this was just describing when the movie was coming out, but it is actually the tagline. This adds to the overall mystery that the poster implies. It definitely adds to the effect of the poster...once you figure out what it means.

Rambo & Vantage Point

Key Elements

Rambo: Action is the key selling point of this and all Rambo movies. Little verbiage, other than the word Rambo, is used on the poster because everyone knows that Sylvester Stallone is Rambo. This poster conveys a sense of impending violence and the overall gray/brown color scheme gives the viewers a feeling of moral neutrality in the nature of the violence. In addition, Rambo is carrying a hand held weapon there by implying that the violence, this time, is going to be up front, bloody and personal.
Vantage Point: The movie poster is made up from a series of thumb nail pictures in the shape of a gun carrying man. It portrays a sense of confusion, mystery and suspense as well as doing a good job of forcing viewers to stop and stare at it for a bit to figure out what they are looking at. The thumb nail pictures are interestingly arranged in a manner that reveals Little about the story and cleverly mirrors the confusing nature of the film. Although there are a number of well known actors in the film, none of them are given prominence in the poster. The collage carries the mystery of the film and the poster is designed to purposefully leave out any single headliners.

Genre

Rambo: With out a doubt, the Rambo poster portrays an action movie all the way. A big muscle bound man hulking about carrying a weapon with lots of dark shadows covering up parts of him. You can't beat that for impending violence and it sells the genre well. However, one could argue that there is a small element of the adventure genre to it as well. Sly does, after all, go to a foreign country first before he starts killing thousands of people.
Vantage Point: This movie poster sells the suspense genre big-time. Nothing in he poster is clear cut. You have multiple thumb nail pictures from multiple angles in a collage setting in the outline of a man with a gun. The gun aspect gives the suspense genre its edge by implying an unknown level of danger. Because of the more ambiguous nature of suspense movies, and the more low key nature of their release, this poster was probably more important to its marketing success than the Rambo poster was to the Rambo movie.

Audience

Rambo: This is an interesting question because at first glance you would presume the poster was targeting the young male teenage audience. However, because of the long standing, and well known nature of this particular series, and because of the market draw of the main actor, who is inseparable from the main character, we believe the movie poster is actually targeting a much broader audience that has grown up with the Rambo character or who at least is familiar with Sylvester Stallone.
Vantage Point: Because the poster does not have any noticeable hooks for a particular demographic and because suspense moves in general are targeted towards large audiences we believe Vantage Point is also a general audience film. Little pre-publicity was generated for this movie so the poster was one of the main selling points. We suspect that the poster designers paid special attention into not biasing the movie towards any given audience and purposefully gave the poster a safe neutral feel.

Tagline

Rambo: There is no tagline as such; however, the word Stallone is printed in big lettering above the movie title. Because Sly is so inseparable from this role you could construe that this is the tagline. Being the last chapter in the Rambo series must have been seen as enough to sell the film so the poster makers simply put the actor's name, the movie title and the state date on the movie poster and that was it.
Vantage Point: This poster does have a tagline, and like the graphics, is designed to elicit a sense of suspense. It complements the confused collage nature of the graphics and helps draw the viewer into the "Vantage Point" world. The tagline sets the movie patrons up by telling them right off that there are "8 strangers, 8 points of view, 1 truth". Nice suspenseful pull in.
Erika, Rollie, William

Fool's Gold & Cloverfield

Key elements:

The actors in Fool's Gold are the only thing you see when you look at the poster, so they are what is meant to bring in the audience. People know that these two actors have made a funny love story before and that is what you expect by looking at the poster.

In the Cloverfield poster, an image of a decapitated Statue of Liberty and a smoking New York City says a lot about what the movie is about. The hook is the genre/storyline because actors are nowhere to be found on the poster. According to the poster, actors are not important, what matters is just the storyline.

Genre:

In the Fool's Gold poster, you can tell it is a romantic movie because the way the two actors are looking at each others eyes and their body language. The genre appeals to young adults looking for a romantic comedy.

In the Cloverfield poster, you can tell from the start that it is an action/suspense/sci-fi movie because the New York Buildings are burning in the background, the Statue of Liberty's head is blown off and also the tagline leads you to believe it might be a sci-fi thriller.

Audience:

The Fool's Gold poster appeals to young adults looking for a romantic comedy. Actors, Kate Hudson and Mattew McConaughey are known for making romantic comedies and it targets women, men and couples.

The Cloverfield poster looks like it could be a sci-fi thriller and it would appeal to a mature audience because it shows a picture of a destroyed city in chaos.

Tagline:

The Fool's Gold poster does have a tagline, "This February true love takes a dive." The reference to the month of February signifies Valentine's Day as a lure for a date movie.

The Cloverfield poster also has a tagline, "Something has found us." This tagline suggests that aliens or some type of being has taken over the city and it appeals to sci-fi as well as thriller fans.

Mike G, Bethany, and Erin

CNN.com

Lanna Mayes, Lori Enriquez, Tracy Roquet

Top Featured Stories:

1. Girl, 10, says husband raped, abused her

The first thing that catches your eye after logging on to CNN.com is a picture of a 10 year old little girl from Yemen, Samaa. She was sent off to be married by her parents to a 30 year old man that raped and abused her. She filed for divorce and is now against the rules of marrying at a young age.

2. Oil plunges on supply increase

This story was basically about how the cost of barrels of oil has risen to an absurd amound making the cost of gas unheard of.

3. Inflation eats up paychecks

This story is about how the cost of food and other necessities has gone up drastically due to inflation. Americans are spending way more money than they need to in order to get the necessities that they need.

4. Secretive refinery plans spook farm town

This article was about how a refinery company plans to build a refinery to replace a farm. The idea causes controversy.

5. Remains identified as 2 Israeli soldiers

Israelis are proud of the 2 bodies that are found because they are a symbol of victory.

Most Popular/E-mailed Articles

http://www.cnn.com/mostpopular/?iref=hpallmostpop

These articles are mostly based on entertainment, political news, and the war in Iraq. The "front page" talks more about issues most important to Americans today, while the most popular articles have to do with entertainment.

The Site's Incorporation of Nontraditional News Formats/Journal-style Blogs

http://www.cnn.com/exchange/blogs/

Reporters/Journalists for CNN and experts on the particular issues are the bloggers of these blogs. They use people such as the CNN political ticker, Anderson Cooper, Jack Cafferty, CNN Sci Tech team, and the CNN medical unit.

Discussion Boards

Users have a space where they are allowed to comment on the articles. Most comments seem to be strictly with the article. Once in a while there is some conversation, but not a great amount.

Incorporation of Multimedia Content

http://www.cnn.com/video/

Videos are found in line with the top story on the "front page" of CNN.com. Video links relating to the story are embedded in the text of the articles, as well. CNN gives their own videos and use turner.com for the media players.

NEWSWEEK.COM

The top featured stories on newsweek.com are featured in a slide show and can be viewed with a photo and a sentence summary. If you click on the photo you can be immediately directed to the story and catch up and the world wide events



1.The Exchange-The prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbullah began, causing complicated effects for Hamas and Gaza. A picture accompanies the story and shows prisoners in handcuffs being lead along.



2. What Obama Believes- Obama is asked about his religion and his strong faith. This is the cover story and the photo on the cover is of Obama with his hands folded, head bent as if he is praying



3. Royally Squeezed-With financial crisis hitting hard, the Queen of England starts to feel the pressure of the crisis. The photo for the story is a simple photo of the Queen smiling.



4. A Bargain Bailout?-Policy makers announced a detail plan to buy shares in the companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac due to dropping mortgage rates. The stories has a photo to accompany it and displays a balance with money on one side and a house on the other.



5. Google This-McCain is critcized for not being able to use Google but argues that it is not a problem. A photo is published with the photo and is of McCain smiling for the camera.



Newsweek.com provides the top breaking news stories, but it also displays a list of the most popular articles. A top ten list is presented on the right side of the web page and allows the viewer to see the most popular stories of the day and the most emailed. These are different from the top five stories because the most popular and most emailed stories are stories that people are just interested in and stories that people viewed the most. It's not necessarily the hard hitting news, but it's stories the public takes interest in.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/146214
http://www.newsweek.com/id/145768
http://www.newsweek.com/id/94993



The site allows for all types and kinds of bloggers. Bloggers write columns or ideas and can leave comments. Bloggers who put their stories or ideas out there are reporters, Newsweek correspondents and Editors of the magazine. Bloggers can also post their comments about any type of story that is out there. The bloggers who post comments are mostly subscibers of the column. The link below is directly to the different blogs provided by Newsweek.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/38700



Newsweek.com provides discussion boards for their clintel. Anybody who wants to provide their thoughts or comments on a certain story or article they can. People can leave comments on the blog or articles. The articles vary between conversations like and people just leaving their thoughts. Some of the conversations are heated arguments on the topics that were discussed!



The site is great about providing photos with most of their stories. The site also provides videos for some of stories and even has a column of all the different videos available. The photos and videos are provided by Newsweek.com. These clips can be accessed to watch, to share, and to email to those that you wish to gain access about news from around the world.

To get all the videos go to http://www.newsweek.com/

or for just a few...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1243698382/bclid1659850332/bctid1668060695


Group: Erika, Rollie, William

FOXNEWS.COM

Catherine
Katelyn

Top Stories
1. Israel Swaps Terrorist for Remains of 2 Soldiers-includes pictures and video
A man convicted of murdering an Israeli man and his young daughter and 4 other prisoners are released in exchange for the mutilated remains of 2 Israeli soldiers.

2. Slain Mom's Cars, House Searched-includes pictures and video
The home and vehicles of a North Carolina woman who was killed were searched in order to gather evidence for an ongoing murder investigation.

3. House Atwitter Over Blogging Rules-includes an image and video
Texas representative, John Culberson is worried that new rules for Internet usage will affect communication with his constituents.

4. Red Planet Closeup-includes pictures
New photos of Mars provide more evidence that there was once water on the planet.

Most Popular/E-mailed articles
Foxnews.com does contain a list of most popular and most emailed articles. However, while the most popular are listed on the home page, the user must click on an article in order to view the list of most e-mailed articles.
Neither the most popular or most emailed articles are consistent with the top stories. Most of these articles are entertainment news, or ironic, sometimes humorous, news stories. All of the articles are very brief as opposed to the in depth reporting in the top stories.
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,383641,00.html

Nontraditional News Formats/Blogs
On the homepage there is link that takes the user to a list of blogs. There are several blogs listed on this page, http://www.foxnews.com/blogs/index.html
http://onthescene.blogs.foxnews.com/- On the Scene:Breaking News Blogs
As the title suggests, this blog is all about breaking news. The writers of this blog are various reporters.
http://greenroom.blogs.foxnews.com/- Alisyn in the Greenroom
This is a blog, written by Alisyn Camerota, is about the behind the scenes action at Fox News.
http://gretawire.foxnews.com/- GretaWire
In the blog Greta Van Susteren, host of On The Record with Greta Van Susteren, provides topics for users to comment on. Therefore, the real authors of the blogs are the users.
http://weather.blogs.foxnews.com/- Janice Dean the Weather Machine
Janice Dean, meteorologist for Fox News, blogs about the forecast. She does include a brief personal paragraph on most posts.

There are several other blogs available. Most of the authors are reporters or experts in the subject of the blog.

Discussion Boards
Users of Foxnews.com can comment on any of the articles as well share them through e-mail or post them to a myspace or facebook page. However, this site also offers a Fox Forum. In this forum some of the most opinionated contributors post editorial articles for the users to discuss. The discussion of these articles seem to be related directly to the article rather than the author themselves. They don't seem to have a conversational flow. Rather, they are individual opinions posted with no relation to one another. Users do not seem to comment on another user's comment.

Multimedia Content
Foxnews.com contains several images and video clips. There is a link on the home page to take the user directly to the list videos on the site. http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html
The source of all of the videos is Fox News. The clips are played directly form the site.

New York Times

Chris, Tori, Lauren

Top Stories

1. Consumer Prices, Driven by Fuel, Surge 1.1% in June- Fuel prices increasing more quickly then expected leading to more stress on the economy.

2. Airlines' Woes Seen in Delta and American Losses- Expensive jet fuel has caused airlines Delta and Americanto lose a little over a billion dollars.

3. Israel Frees Prisoners in Deal With Hezbollah- Hezbollah is giving Israel sildiers, in return for an Lebanese murderer, Samir Kuntar. Pictures are available of Samir Kuntar in 1979 and on Wednesday.

4. Democrats See a Need for Further Economic Stimulus- President Bush disagrees with the Democrats wanting to have a second stimulus. President Bush doesn't agree because the first economic stimulus has not yet been completed.

5. A.L. Win in Lengthy Farewell to Stadium- The All Star game was an exciting one for its fans and players, this was the last game that will be played in Yankee Stadium. A picture is shown of Justin Noreau sliding into home to score the winning run.

Popular Articles

New York Times does offer a most popular section or e-mailed, blogged, searched, and movies. The front page of the website is mostly based on econmic issues, where as the most popular page is more entertainment, but still including political issues. http://www.nytimes.com/gst/mostpopular.html

Journal-Style Blogs

New York Times website has a mixture of different subjects of blogs. The blogs are posted by The New York Times and independent authors. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/topnews/blog-index.html

Discussion Boards

Users can comment on opinion articles, most of the time the comments information purtain to the article itself instead of carrying on conversations about other subjects not related to the article. The comments are sharing opinions about the articles and others comments posted.

Videos

The videos on the New York Times website are uploaded from the New York Times. http://video.on.nytimes.com/

abcNEWS.com

Timothy Green
Leanne Meador
Deborah Reyes


2.
Israel Mourns Its Two 'Sons". This report covers the demise of two soldiers that have been kidnapped two years prior and are now pronounced dead. Also provides a link to a slide show.

US Envoy to Join Iran Nukes Meeting. US Envoy will make rare appearance with other powers at talks with Iranian envoy which are aimed at persuading to halt activities that could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Also provides a link to a slide show.

Economic Jitters Hitting Treasury Market? Analysts report reassurance to investors of the safety and stability of United States treasury bonds. Also provides a link to a slide show.

Delta, American Report Bleak Financial. Crippled by fuel prices, airlines report billions in quarterly net loss. Also provides a link to a slide show.

Obama Land(s). Race leads in Barack's direction but just enough doubts keep it close where polls suggest a wide spread between the candidates. Also provides a link to a slide show.

3.
Yes, this site does offer a list of the most popular and most emailed articles to the extent that they offer more video clips and visuals. http://abcnews.go.com/US/MostPopular

4.
This site offers other news formats such as blogs. For this web page there is a reporter such as Jake Trapper who is a senior National Correspondent for ABC News. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories. His particular blog is called Political Punch.

5.
Discussion boards are available for this site having comments that are strictly to the article while few are formatted as conversations with one another.

6.
ABC does incorporate multimedia content, in this instance it is the source itself. This site offers a link to videos that you can reach by clicking on the images.

CBS NEWS

CBSNEWS.COM

Group Members: Daphne Clement & Taren Shelton


TOP STORIES

• Inflation Skyrockets On Energy Costs - This article talks about inflation and how consumer prices have rapidly increased due to rising energy prices. This article also contained an image that consisted of a square with four different pictures. One picture showed an image of gas prices, one was a photo of the meat market at the grocery store, another was a flight attendant with his head in his hand and the last one was a hand holding one dollar bills.
• Hezebollah Returns Dead Israeli Soldiers - This article talks about two soldiers, Udi and Eldad, who were killed in the war in Lebanon. This one also contained a picture of the two coffins of the men who died.
  

These next three articles were not main stories but were still featured on the front page

- U.S. Envoy to meet Iran Nuke Negotiator: William Burn will be meeting with the Iranian envoy to talk about putting a stop to the making of atomic weapons.
- Obama: Mag cover insults Muslim Americans: Talks about the New Yorker satire of Obama and his wife as terrorists burning the American flag and talks about how Obabma reacted and feels about this issue.
- McCain to Outline Education Plans: This article is about how McCain will expand opportunities of education for children not doing well in school.

CBS NEWS offers a list of the most viewed articles.
* These stories do not differ a whole lot from the featured articles. They are mostly all about politics or serious national issues. The only one that went outside of the box was an article about how to cook different steaks, but even still the opening paragraph talked about increased prices in meat.

The CBS news site incorporates nontraditional news formats as journal style blogs. For example, Katie Couric, an anchor and managing editor of CBS evening news has even titled her blog as "Couric & CO." Couric and CO is a web log made up of CBS News producers and correspondents from around the world who cover the news. This web log is a forum type blog to engage readers in conversation. The blogger gives the reporters a way to talk back to the viewers and readers.
*Bloggers include a variety of reporters, political pundits, and experts on other issues.
Sharyl Attkisson - an investigative correspondent who focuses on government spending and tax payer issues.
Jeff Greenfield - a senior political correspondent who is a veteran political media and culture reporter.
Chip Reid - Capital Hill correspondent and has covered congress since 2004.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/couricandco/main500803.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/horserace/main502163.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/fromtheroad/main502443.shtml

CBS News also has discussion boards for engaged users. The comments on oil prices and where it comes from seem to be in converstion with one another. This conversation is strictly about the video clip that is posted. The commentators seem to be having an ongoing conversations with more than one user. Users can comment on news articles and opinion pieces as well.

There is also a link on the front page of the website that allows you to see all the videos they have posted. The videos come from the source itself, they are not uploaded by users.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?source=nav_video

MSNBC.COM

The name of our site was MSNBC.COM.

Ashley Bridges Bianca Morin Becky Sanchez Kim McComas

Question #2

This story had a photo slide show with images of the members handing over the bodies and also images of the family member in grief.

Fueled by Gas Prices, Inflation Rate Surges
Consumer prices shot up in June at the second fastest pace in 26 years. Two thirds of the increase was due to soaring energy prices.
This story had no images.

Poll: Obama isn’t closing racial divide
Blacks and whites still hold different views of Senator Barack Obama mainly because of race.
This story had an image of Barack Obama at the 99th annual convention.

World Court tells US to halt execution
On Wednesday the U.N.’s highest court ordered the US to stop the executions of five Mexicans on Texas death row pending review of their cases.
This story has an image of world court judges hearing arguments on the case.

Al wins Marathon All-Star game in 15th
The American league had a 4-3 victory at Yankee stadium.
This story had an image of all-star Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins sliding into home plate.

Question #3

The MSNBC.COM web site does offer a link to the most popular and most emailed news stories a well as links to the most popular and most viewed video stories as well. What you go to the web site you have to click on the tab that says “More News” and from there scroll down and you will see the space where it tells you the most viewed, top rated, and most emailed news articles. Then if you click on the tab for videos it takes you to an archive of videos with the same options of watching the most viewed, or most popular ones of the day. Most of the news articles as well as the video clips are different from what is on the main page of the website, there was however one stories about the oil and gas prices that was unanimous from front page to most popular to most emailed as well. Other than that, the stories were completely different.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25700149/ (news articles)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25589588/ (news articles)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25700027#25700027 (video clips)

Question #4

Under the category on the front page, subsection "communities" are two sections "world blogger" (http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/16/1201977.aspx)and "photoblog"(http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/). The World Blogger has a link on it that lists all of the journalists involved the world news; blogs are on particular issues. The Photoblog's multimedia editor is John Brecher; there posts of different pictures with blogs on each one. At the bottom there are also slideshows listed such as "Week in Pictures"; "Week In Sports", and "Celebrity Sightings". MSNBC.com offers a very comprehensive listing of active blogs for the blogging fan.
Ads of the Weird: The wacky world of advertising - http://adblog.msnbc.msn.com/
allDAY: The official TODAY blog - http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/
Alpha Channel: msnbc.com design and concepts - http://alphachannel.msnbc.msn.com/
At Bat: Baseball beyond the stats - http://atbat.msnbc.msn.com/
Beyond the Arc: College hoops blog - http://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/
The Body Odd: Strange medical findings - http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/
Clicked: What's happening on the Web - http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/
Cosmic Log: Explorations in space and science - http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/
Daily Nightly: The NBC Nightly News blog - http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/
Daryl Cagle's Cartoon Weblog: Political cartoons blog - http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/blog/
Deep Background: NBC News investigates - http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/
Does It Work? We test health products to find out - http://doesitwork.msnbc.msn.com/
Extra Points: College football blog - http://extrapoints.msnbc.msn.com/
Field Notes: NBC reports around the country - http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/
First Read: The day in politics - http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/
The Fit List: Workout tips from celebrity trainers - http://fitlist.msnbc.msn.com/
Hardblogger: Political blog from Hardball staff - http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/
Inside Dateline: Behind the scenes and stories - http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/
The News Hole: Countdown with Keith Olbermann - http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/
Open Mike: Looking beyond the sports scores - http://openmike.msnbc.msn.com/
Photoblog: Pictures that caught our eye - http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/
Red Tape Chronicles: Bureaucracy, scams & sneaks - http://redtape.msnbc.com/
Test Pattern: TV, Web and pop culture musings - http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/
World Blog: NBC reports from around the world - http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/Your Biz: Small business and entrepreneurs - http://yourbiz.msnbc.msn.com/
Zeitgeist: News and pop culture analysis - http://zeitgeist.msnbc.msn.com/

Question #5

When you click on any of the stories listed there is a link at the bottom to post a comment on Newsvine. Some of the comments are solely about the articles but most have at least a part of them devoted to responding to what someone else has said. There is even a place at the top to rate which of users is leading the conversation.

Question #6

MSNBC.COM incorporates a lot of the different kinds of media that are out there for the consumer to use and explore. When you go to their site there is a homepage for just the videos, and another page for the photos that they have, even a page related to community. All three of these have blogs that you can engage in as well as pod casts that can be downloaded to your phone or computer. There are even links to their shows that run on MSNBC and NBC networks. You can find what you missed from those shows. All the blogs that a person might want to respond to are at the bottom of the page under the community home page. MSNBC.COM is trying to reach out to as many people in a variety of different ways so that people can make the most out of their news and time.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032105/ (community page)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8004316/ (video page)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4999736/ (photos page)

Top Headlines:
1. Consumer Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in 26 Years
“Surge in prices blamed on rocketing energy prices, reflecting big gains for gasoline, home heating oil and natural gas”.

2. Still Grieving, Still Angry (video)
“Chandra Levy's parents discuss the unending pain of a murdered daughter and frustration at lack of progress in solving the case”. This is the only headline that contained a video, it is of her family "Rembering Chandra," and speaking of the difficulties that come with having her murder unsolved.

3. Hezbollah Returns Israeli Bodies
“Guerrillas hand over the remains of two captured soldiers as part of a prisoner swap with Israel.”

4. Some Accord on Afghanistan
“After weeks of verbal combat over Iraq, candidates offer Afghanistan plans with striking similarities”.

Most Popular:
These articles differ because this section has two articles that directly talk about the economy, but mainly while the articles have different titles; it revolves around the same topics, such as the war, the campaign trail and Chandra Levy.

Blogs:
The majority of the Blogs listed were either reporters or editorial columnists. They have several sections for differnt topics, including: Arts and Living, Business, Local, National, Opinions, Politics, Religion, Sports, World, and the Post. To us, this appeared to be the same as sections you would find in an actual newspaper.

Discussion Boards:
It really depended on the article when it came to the comments; listed on some articles were more conversational style but the majority just listed their facts regarding the article. However, It listed a place on most articles where you could comment and the website also listed direct discussion boards under the headings of news and opinions.

Multi-Media:
The multimedia on the Washington Post is uploaded by the source itself. They have a variety of videos listed for you to watch under several different headings. Some of these headings include: Personal Tech, Green, Small Biz and Leadership.

**click on underlined titles to be transfered to the site.

WWW.TIME.COM

Erin, Bethany, Mike

The top featured stories listed on the home or front page of Time.com are featured in a slide show with a picture, headline, and a brief summary of each top story. By clicking on the numbers below the brief summary changes the top story preview. The top five stories are as followed:

1. "Where Iraq and Iran Meet, Uneasily"
The stretch of border at Iraq's southeastern tip is still the most problematic for Iraqi military commanders despite the many military checkpoints because there are not enough troops to cover the lengthy border between Iran and Iraq.
-This top story does provide an image in the slide show of the Iraqi police patrolling the beach in the border town of Al-Faw.
-Also made available under the brief summary for this top story is a video: "Iraq Journal: The Road to Amara and Basra".

2. "Best (and Worst) Sports Executives"
TIME has chosen some of the distinguished-and not so notable- sports executives and asks for readers to rank each executive on a scale from 1-100.
-This top story does provide an image in the slide show of six sports executives in a box format.

3. "Obama's Conservative Mideast Pick"
The return of Dennis Ross, a career foreign service officer, to Barack Obama's Democratic party is a reassuring message to many in the United States.
-This top story does provide an image in the slide show of Barack Obama and Dennis Ross with very stern faces.

4. "Do Breast Self-Exams Do Any Good?"
A new report, just published, questions the usefulness of breast self-exams finding that they do not save lives and may lead to twice as many unneeded biopsies.
-This top story does provide an image in the slide show of a black women wearing only a thong performing a breast self-exam while standing.
-Also under the top story summary a link is provided to a special report, "The Changing Face of Breast Cancer".

5. "Coming this Fall: Free Textbooks"
A pilot project, Flat World Knowledge, aims to upend the publishing industry, and help strapped students, by offering textbooks free of charge online.
-This top story does provide an image in the slide show of three textbooks (spine facing inward) with an apple on top of the books, a very traditional image of school and books.
- Also provided under the brief summary is a link- "How to Make Great Teachers" -an article about teaching rewards and how they have come by their craft.

Time.com does offer both a list of the most popular and the most emailed articles on their home page that are updated every hour. The most popular and the most emailed articles themselves are different. The most popular articles have to do with the featured articles such as "Do Breast Self-Exams Do Any Good?" and "Obama's Conservative Mideast Pick". They also deal with a wide arrange of other topics from earthquakes to the truth about plastic. The most emailed articles mainly deal with health issues especially focusing on weight and wellness. This is possible because people are more concerned with their well-being and wants to express how they stay healthy. Also, readers find interesting facts that they would like to share with the public therefore they email them to Time.com.
Most Popular/Most Emailed Articles

There are blogs for nearly every category of news, politics, entertainment, work/jobs, technology, etc. The blogs on this site are as followed: Time.com Blogs

1. Swampland - Political
2. Tuned In - Entertainment
3. Curious Capitalist - Business
4. Real Clear Politics - Politics
5. Work in Progress - Jobs/Work
6. Looking Around - Books, Art, & Architecture
7. The Middle East Blog - News
8. Nerd World - Technology & Science
9. The China Blog - News
10. White House Photo Blog - Time Photography

Each blog, listed above, is directly related to a certain category that has authors that are directly related to their field. For instance, the Curious Capitalist blog has two bloggers: Justin Fox who has worked with Fortune for over a decade as the chief economics writer and Barbara Kiviat who has worked with TIME magazine for five years covering business and economics.

Not all blogs seem to be news-worthy. There are a few blogs that have stories that not today's headlines, just topics the authors are interested in. For example, The China Blog posts issues relevant only to China. This blog is written by authors who are experts about Asian culture or more plainly just interested in it. This site does incorporate nontraditional news formats such as the blog Work in Progress where a staff writer blogs about work. The most recent post in this blog is pictures of her new born baby and her decision on maternity leave.

Time.com does not have a discussion board per say but on the blogs people can post comments on the bloggers post. For example, in the Work in Progress blog she has a post about Pantyhose at Work and people have commented on this subject extensively. Most comments on this particular blog talk to the blogger as if they personally know her, as well as conversations between the people who have left comments. Time.com also has a Topics menu that can be used as a discussion board on the most news worthy issues that are listed. People can participate in discussions on any particular subject.

Time.com has an easy to use multimedia source with videos, podcasts, graphics, and photos. The source of this content, such as videos, are mainly posted by Time.com, the source itself. The graphics are unique in that they have graphs, maps, and other sources to help portray statistics. Also, Time.com has very interesting Podcasts categorized by channels such as Special Reports, Entertainment, Politics, and Environmental channels.
Photos
Graphics
Podcasts
Video

Dove evolution: October 2006

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Dove Evolution
First broadcast: October 2006

Our group chose this commercial because we believe that dove is showing us a good example of how young women are having distorted views of what beauty really is because of Hollywood, fashion models, and extreme dieting. This commercial shows us how an average looking women can be transformed from computer images into a super model. This commercial makes a very powerful statement of the "lack of reality," of beauty today in the media. The goal of this commercial was to be "an agent of change to educate and inspire girls on a wider definition of beauty and to make them feel more confident about themselves."
The Dove commercial is an informative commercial that shows a distorted view of how are culture is perceiving beauty. There are many similar commercials out today showing a false concept of beauty. Commercials such as the chanel no. 5 perfume shows a beautiful actress being chased by a man because of her scent. Most beauty commercials today only have actresses, anorexic models, and computer fixed faces on their advertisements when we really need to show society that beauty is not just skin deep.

Lanna Mayes
Tracy Roquet
Lori Enriquez

Truth-Typo

There are several different advertisements on television that protest against the dangers of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. Since the millenium, viewers have been watching a series of commercials aimed at giving their audience knowledge about the dangers of cigarettes and the truth tobacco companies try to hide. This particular commercial has a catchy tune that you find yourself humming along to. It also gives you important information that persuades you that smoking kills a dramatic number of people each year. We chose this ad because it also stimulated our group visually more with the use of animation, which we also imagined could be used to deter younger children from smoking. There are also younger actors starring in the ads to appeal to a younger crowd. The commercial is set in a very public place: in the middle of the street a major tobacco company stands on, and there are always people watching-usually with stunned expressions on their faces.

We decided to compare the truth commercials to other ads that try to dissuade people, especially those of a younger age, from using drugs or alcohol or smoking cigarettes. The ads that do that are the "My Anti-Drug," and "Living Above the Influence" commercials. Their main way to get their point across is to use dramatic scenes to truly show the dangers of drugs. The difference with the truth ads and this video is that instead of trying to scare you out of smoking or doing drugs, they give you important information and facts that make you think-while also entertaining you with catchy song and dance. This ad still sends out an important message but also leaves you humming a tune the rest of the day.

Group Members: Bethany, Mike and Erin

Dove - Evolution Commercial (October 2006)

Beauty is a strong aspect of status in our society. When we think about beauty we don’t see anything controversial about it. Young girls see these models and women on billboards as role models and someone they want to look like. Dove recently made a commercial that gives the audience a different look about beauty. For those who are unaware of the computer generated aspects of the beauty industry this clip will be eye-poppingly entertaining as the ad takes you from a rather plain looking woman and transforms her into a stunning billboard beauty queen. This Dove commercial expresses and criticizes the media and the pressures our world puts on beauty today. The music chosen gives the commercial a dramatic taste, which draws us in and makes us realize how beautiful this commercial is.
By pushing hard on the social consciences side of the spectrum, through its inner beauty adds, Dove is positioning itself as a supporter for women’s rights. Compared to Pantene, Dove did not try bluntly to sell its product, but expresses the monster of the corporate world and the standard placed on beauty. It is pushing its products by letting its unique social stand elevate its brand name while tying it to a social cause. It’s almost as if Dove is going against what they are initially after, which is to make their customers feel and look beautiful. What would people say if a video game company made a commercial on how video games badly affect children? This was a risky move on Dove’s part, but the message was clear
and overall awesome! Dove has given themselves a superior image to others and a fighter for all normal women.

No End In Sight - Movie Trailer - Bush Admin and Iraq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdU09oD-OU

V for Vendetta - V's TV Speech

V for Vendetta
2006

The group chose this movie clip not only for its action scenes and visual effects, but also because it makes valid points about government. The first point informs people about the negative capabilities a government can have on its people. For example, if an individual or a group of individuals obtain government positions, these individuals could possibly pass laws and regulations that would work against the people. The clip also states that a government has the capability to use fear and oppression as tools in order to convince the public that the government is supreme, and that it has the answers to solve the problems at hand. Finally, the movie points out that if people don’t like what a particular government is doing, the people should then question the governing methods that are being used. A government should serve its people instead of the people serving its government.

A movie that is similar to V for Vendetta is the film 1984. This movie has the same basic foundation. The people in these movies are fearful about the world around them. The people also feel that change is needed, but people are hesitant to take civil action. The freedom of expressing your opinions freely has been taken away and is looked down upon by the government in both movies. Also, the role of media played a vital role in both movies. The media told these people how to act in public, how to dress, and how to conduct themselves in private. The idea of “Big Brother is watching” is displayed in both movies.

Chris
Lauren
Tori

Soul Asylum's Runaway Train

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psP1bKKEtHg

Title: Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
Date of Release: 1993

This particular music video is interesting because compared to other music videos, it sends a message across to people all over the world. It not only shows missing children and the year that they have been missing since, but it updates the photos of the children depending on the area you are in (ex. USA and U.K.). The photos are not always the same missing kids. This music video features the names and pictures of missing kids in a public video service style, rather than just being shown on a milk carton. It not only entertains you by the music, but it actually helped people find their missing children, and it also helped missing children find their way home.

The music video by Collective Soul called "The World I know" is about a businessman who on his way to work reads the newspaper to find out all the bad things that are going on in society. He feels the sadness and attempts to jump off a building until a pigeon lands on his arm making him realize that life isn't all what it seems. So, this video just shows all the bad things going on and what it could possibly drive a person to do. However, the Soul Asylum video helped society find most of the missing children and actually made a difference in society. There are many music videos/songs that talk about helping or changing society, but this video goes above and beyond what a music video has to be.

Daphne
Kevin
Taren

God and Devil Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5SrGLjjC6Q

YouTube, God and Devil Show, December 20, 2006

We chose this clip because we felt that it drew immediate attention to the viewer because of who is being interviewed. It informs the audience of its historical background most likely persuading the audience to their own views and opinions of the topics being discussed. This clip entertains the audience with its format by using humor, language, and visual art. In this particular clip it demonstrates the different political issues that arise with George Bush. For instance, drug use, racism, and corruption, just to name a few.

This particular series is targeted towards the adult audience. This show puts cartoons in a different perspective because it is very straight forward and discusses real life issues that have been known to be controversial. We can compare this show to a program such as South Park which also depicts cartoons on societal issues on a different scale. However, this show is not accessible to main stream media such as tv.

Leanne Meador
Timothy Green
Deborah Reyes

IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!!

Greeting Media & Society Bloggers,

It has come to my attention that you all might run into some setbacks posting from YouTube to Blogger. Here's what you need to do:

Be sure you've registered as an author on Blogger (following the link from the email you got).

Set up an account on YouTube. This means you sign in on YouTube, and it saves your settings, knowing where you want to post things.

Once you are signed in to YouTube, click on "My Account." Go to "Blog Posting Settings." On the page that appears, you can add your blogger account by entering your blogger sign in name and password.

Then, when you are ready to post, the blog will be available on the you tube page under "share".

Get cracking! Remember this is due before class on Monday!

ET

Family Guy - Democracy Kicks In

Family Guy
Saving Private Brian
Original Air Date:5 November 2006 (Season 5, Episode 4)

We chose this particular clip because we felt it reflected policies that we have in our nation like the do not ask do not tell gay policy in the army and how it was so controversial at the time. For example, it shows how homophobic the military appeared to be at the time but also exploited the fact that the people who were saying “don’t ask do not tell” were homosexuals themselves.
Stewie and Brian shot themselves in the foot to try to get out of serving their term. However, being injured is not enough to leave. We see two dead people watching the ammunition. In the segment, they hint at the fact that we cannot afford to send people home because we do not have enough that want to go over there to serve. We also thought that serving as a function of the media, Family Guy was opposite of how the news portrays our troops being over there, they portray it as a patriotic act as opposed to having no choice, and they want to come home.
In addition, towards the end of the clip when “democracy kicks in” we see how our presence in the Middle East is really to try to Americanize them more than it is about weapons of mass destruction. It criticizes the “American way” and the government by showing us that they had faulty reasoning to go over there. Therefore, by showing the women in traditional Muslim dress versus American girls kissing in a car wash it is criticizing American culture by portraying us as being wild and not as fundamental as the women in traditional religious dress.
Looking at this clip altogether we see how Family Guy gives us a different perspective than the more realistic media and we can draw the connection between the segments that the overall theme is not only are we trying to say we’re better, but our troops do not really want to be there.
When we compare Family Guy to The Simpsons, we see that The Simpsons more often states their views as just jokes while as Family Guy gives off a more sarcastic view. In addition, to watch Family Guy you have to be more up on current events because they do not explain the news, they just make a joke about it, whereas The Simpsons give you more background on the news and then makes the joke, as if trying to explain it first.