1F25 blog response 2: WANTED: The Media We Need

After reading other students blogs, I still firmly believe that as society, we want the media we get. Through the blogs I read, I am convinced many students agree with me. In saying this, I do not believe; however, that the media we want is the same as the media we need.

One student used the image of a mirror to represent media. “In all reality we are the mirror to the media and we accept the media we get which is us ‘wanting the media we get.’ As long as we allow ourselves to act as a mirror and follow what we are told and taught by the media our society will continue to spiral downwards.” (http://nhough95.wordpress.com). I never thought about examining the media in this manor, but feel it is a very good juxtaposition. In my opinion media we want is something to amuse, entertain, or inform us. The mirror is there for us to make us laugh, capture our attention, and show us how everything around us is behaving. I believe that the mirror is there to display this ‘want,’ which is infused with underlying meanings, as well as lies. Television shows such as Family Guy and The Simpsons have replica situations of that which is actually happening, while skits on late night television such as Saturday Night Live act out scenarios that are ongoing in the world. In my opinion this is what we use as news coverage. This form of media can be bias, and often blurs the genuine facts.

My media choices inform me about social matters, and minimally about political, cultural, or economical matters. I always know, for example, what’s going on with the latest fashion trends, what celebrities are eating at Menchies, and how Miley is doing with her ‘twerking,’ and yet I can honestly say that I still don’t know what countries were involved with the 9/11 terrorist attacks (other than the United States). I believe the reason I am so misinformed about matters of this level of importance is because I don’t take the steps to find out whats going on. All it would take is me to visit a news stations website, or flip on the TV, the real stories are not out of anyones reach. Matters of political, cultural, and economical materials represent the media we need, while the social matters is what I want, and therefore what I get. “In the end consumers want what they get, because they desire what media gives them...” (http://hecticglow.blogspot.ca).

Overall, I still believe that we receive the media we do, based on what the media wants us to believe.  After all, “the famous phrase in business is “the customer is always right” which is also true in [the] media.” (http://isaacc56.wordpress.com)