Race, Gender & Media

Race gender and media is something that we are bombarded with everyday. Although we may be unaware of exactly how much media we are exposed to on a daily basis, our entire lives revolve around the media. Whether we are on the internet, watching television, listening to the radio, reading a magazine etc., we are constantly interacting with the media. We rely on it for almost everything we do. It is sad to say, but it is hard to imagine what we did before the internet. It is the media that people go to for fast, immediate answers. However, a lot of people seem to be stuck in their own little "race" bubble or gender bubble and have skewed views of how other people really are. Regardless of if you are white, black, Asian, etc., it is important to be aware of everyone and not just a certain angle on that certain race.

While interacting with all of these different media vehicles, we are exposed to all different kinds of races and and also to gender differences. However, a lot of times, we overlook a lot of the different races. And some people feel that minorities are underrepresented in the news and/or media. I think that it is very important for journalists and reporters to do be extremely careful on what stories they are writing and reporting about when dealing with minorities. They need to realize that many people believe everything they see and hear on the news, internet, radio etc. and so they need to be careful the angle of their stories. Angles of stories can make all the difference in the world, but especially when dealing with gender and races.

Taking this class had made me realize how important race and gender are in media perception. I had never really given it as much deep thought as I do now. I think it is vitally important to realize how people are portrayed in the media and how it effects people's outlooks. This class has also taught me on how we all really need to open our eyes to things that are going on in the world and to not be locked in a little bubble of how you look at things. The world is constantly changing and it is important for us as journalists, PR practitioners, advertising specialists etc., to also keep our minds going and possibly even changing along with the times.

Blogging in this class has been very beneficial. I think that it helps all of us to voice our opinions and let them be seen by our fellow classmates. I think it is also beneficial to compare and contrast our opinions to those of our classmates. It helps you to get a different outlook on something you might not have thought about before. Not everyone speaks up in class so it is a way for all of us to talk with each other outside of class about things going on in the world and about issues that will most likely affect us in our future careers. It has also helped us to realize how everything has become extremely multimedia and that our careers are going to be consumed by multimedia. I also think that blogging helps many people express their ideas that they normally would not. It is a lot easier for some people to express thoughts and feelings when you can type them. The blogging assignments have also gotten us out of our normal realms and has helped us to explore many different aspects of race, gender and media that we normally would not.

I hope you enjoy these videos!!

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nIXUjzyMe0