For this blog, please select 1 of the following 2 options:
Option #1: Think of all the
sources you use to obtain information about the world. What is your primary
source of news (where do you get most of your news from)? Have any of your
preferences/sources changed recently? Explain. What do you think are the most
important stories or issues of the day? Explain why you have come to feel this
way? What has convinced you that these are so important?
Option #2: Check the links to the websites and blogspots that are being created by the different groups in our class. Please post a blog/comment in response to the materials/questions/ideas that have been posted by the group you have selected (please do not respond to your own group's site). I'm sure these groups would appreciate your thoughtful feedback. Send me an email telling me which group you responded to so that I can make sure and give you credit.
Due: Tuesday, May 22 at 11:59 pm
Brett Lee
ReplyDeleteOption 1
I get all of my news information from the internet. I’ve always enjoyed reading the news and staying current on what is happening on a local, state, national, and global level. In high school I received all of my information from the Newspaper.
Today however, it has completely changed. I’ve found that the internet is a far more reliable source of information because I can cross-check information I find with other sources almost instantaneously. After I got off my mission and didn’t have access to a newspaper anymore, I started reading only Foxnews.com. After a few months of that, I got really sick of the obvious conservative bias and all of the unnecessary and stupid “news” centered around idiotic celebrities. I then experimented with CNN.com, and found the exact same problems only with a liberal bias. Currently I read USAToday.com on a daily basis and have found it to be informative and mostly unbiased. I also love RealClearPolitics.com, which is mostly concerned with political news, while pulling and highlighting articles found all over the web covering multiple opinions and biases about a variety of subjects. Getting unbiased information is very important to me, because I don’t like to be fed something from someone with an agenda. I like forming my own opinions.
In my opinion, the most important issues facing the country today involve the economic and social standard that we as a nation are setting for ourselves and our children’s generation. Things are happening today that are completely unprecedented and irresponsible regarding the economy and social issues. I am most worried about the financial crisis and how ignorant most Americans are to how bad it is. I also really worry about how it has been handled, and that our leaders will continue making the same expensive mistakes that affect the next generation. Also, as a Latter-day Saint, I worry about social issues that our Prophet has explicitly warned us about.
I think that I’ve come to these opinions because I finally hit a point in my life where I realized I needed to form my own opinions based on unbiased influence or information. I come from a very liberal community but was raised by very conservative parents. This is when I really started reading all kinds of material on both sides of every issue. In politics, most things usually aren’t black and white, and extensive research needs to happen before you can form or state an educated opinion.
Option #1
ReplyDeleteI get most of my news from the internet. I like getting my information there because I can access so many different sources. I get most of my news from three main sites: npr.org, cnn.com, and drudgereport.com. I usually try to read these three sites on a daily basis. They give me a nice view of a lot of different things that are going on. I really enjoy drudgereport.com because it links to a bunch of different news sites instead of reporting on everything themselves. Lately I've noticed that I've been going to reddit.com a lot more. Reddit gives me a good look at what is going on all over the internet, like drudgereport.com, but it focuses more on social media things. I think that I do that because I like being able to see all the new memes, ideas, and discussions that are going on. It doesn't really benefit as a human being, but more in my random knowledge.
The most important thing going on right now that I can think of is the future of America. That problem ranges from the national debt, to health care, to the obesity problem that we're facing, and even just the social decisions that are going on with the rights of LGBT community. I guess if I had to choose one I would focus on health care in America. America is one of the most developed nations in the world, but we have some of the worst health care. My wife is Canadian and so every time something comes up on the news about issues in America, she will start to trumpet the benefits and superiority of Canadian health insurance. I get really jealous when she talks about how things worked for her back home. I go from hearing that to reading an article on NPR about how a woman missed the sign up date for health insurance at her school by 1 day, and so she went the whole semester without insurance. During that time she got sick, and now has a stack of medical bills she has to pay. It doesn't seem right to me that in America we can't figure out something to cover people in times of need like that.
I guess I pretty much explained how I came to feeling this way; my wife tells me all the great things in Canada, I read all the horrible things going on in America, and now I want Canadian health insurance. This has become an important issue to me because I read loads of stories online about Americans struggling to provide health insurance for themselves and their families. I get freaked out thinking about the costs I'm going to have to pay to provide insurance for my family. It really concerns me.
I get most of my news from the Internet and television. Since I’ve been in college, it has primarily been the Internet because I don’t watch television nearly as often as before. I am on the Internet at least once a day. I get a lot of the news from Facebook as well either from articles posted or from my friends’ statuses. I used to get a lot of the news from the MSN home page, but now with the home page system set up differently on most computers, I don’t go to MSN hardly at all. I also get a lot of news from my parents. They keep me somewhat updated on the recent events they see and hear about. Right now I think politics are a big issue with the election coming up fairly soon. It seems like it has dominated the news and people’s minds. I also think natural disasters are a big topic lately. It seems, as though there have been a lot more disasters happening recently. There is always some sort of tragedy being discussed on the news. I think both of these topics are important because they greatly shape our world today. In a few months, we could have a completely different government with new people and ideas, which could potentially have a big impact on society. The natural disasters are also important because of their huge impact on people. Some disasters have completely destroyed people’s homes and everything familiar to them. They can be deadly with no way to prevent them. They are important for others to be aware of so that we can all be prepared for something to happen elsewhere and so we can know how to help those who are in need.
ReplyDeleteMy primary source of news is Twitter. I “follow” national news sources like the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Politico, the Huffington Post, ESPN, as well as local newspapers and broadcasters. On Twitter, I have slowly started to follow more and more of the actual reporters and news anchors themselves. For example, Greg Wrubell will post players’ statistics and up-to-date information on BYU football and basketball recruits year round. I feel that the internet has not only made news instantaneous, but it is allowing us to bypass the TV producers and newspaper editors filters, resulting in a less-packaged format of news.
ReplyDeleteThe most important stories and issues of the day for me are all political. The decisions that our federal and state governments make regarding taxes, regulation, the economy and foreign policy can have huge effects on our lives. I someday hope to work in the public sector as a city manager or state employee so I find it very interesting and relevant to my life.
Option 1.
ReplyDeleteI used to only get my news from the Utah local KSL news and when I was younger I would additionally get my news from ABC. I have also found that as I commute from my home to Provo I will listen to KSL on the radio and classical 89 with the BBC news. Because I have come to school and been in many classes that are related to current events, I have been prodded to read the newspaper. In my political science class our teacher suggested that we read the NYTimes because he knew many of us were conservative Mormons and he wanted us to have some exposure to news considered more liberal. Because of this, I have begun reading—not on a perfect daily basis, but more frequently than any other news outlet—the NYTimes. I never watch the news, but rather access the NYTimes online and follow other news organizations such as The BBC, AP, and Fox News on Twitter.
Some of the most important issues that are going on in the news are the political race, the economy, and some foreign affairs. I know that I think of them in that order because those happen to be the issues with which I am most concerned and therefore I have a particular bias to think that they are the most important issues. However, I know that in other countries and probably to many people, the American Presidential race is not the most important thing going on in the news. However, to me these issues are very important because they will shape the future for the next several years. And many of the issues addressed over the next few years will affect the United States for many years to come. (I do have to admit, there is a lot of hype about the Presidential campaign, which I think adds to the reason that I am interested in it.)
I guess my top two sources for news are the internet and word of mouth. I used to watch KSL news more often but my habits don't really allow for me to be in front of a television at 10 o'clock anymore. I regret to say that I have not been as good about pursuing news myself but am a passive recipient. My mom often shares things with me that she sees on the news or reads in the Salt Lake Tribune. I see trending articles online or posted information on Facebook that catches my attention.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that from this analysis I realize that I should be more actively pursuing news sources on a regular basis. I see the greatest change being my mission. Before my mission I used to read USA Today regularly, watch the news, occasionally peruse the paper, and obtain information from other random sources. I think that I was so conditioned to not following world events that I still haven't fully engaged in them.
I think that the most important news today centers around the decisions that the leaders of our county are making. The presidential election ebbs and flows into my awareness but I need to allow it to play a greater role in my life. When I was planning to be a Comms major I was certainly more aware of the media but since my interests have changed so has my attention to world events. This blog post is making me increasingly aware of that and I do have a desire to be more active in pursuing media.
I need to form some current opinions about what the most important issues of the day are, this I am learning from this assignment. I will set that personal goal and find some ways to reincorporate the habit of absorbing media.
Andrea Wise
ReplyDeleteOption #1
I honestly get my primary source of information on the Yahoo news page. I love that website. They always have the most interesting articles. I also like how the news articles are so accessible. How I get my news has not changed that much. I just have always looked at Yahoo news, but not as much as I do now. Sometimes on Facebook or Twitter some celebrities will post about things going on in the world, but I do not check those media sites often. To me, the most important stories of the day are major things that went on that day. This includes laws passed, deaths that occurred of important people, and things that have gone on with different celebrities. I also believe that articles that have news about the future of America are very important. I am very concerned with the direction our country is going in because it will affect my generation and my children's generation. I have to say I am worried about it, so I tend to be more interested in these types of things. I like to hear what is going on with the elections right now. Probably because there are many television ads and articles on the internet about it at this time. But I do believe the President can make or break our country, so I just hope that people really research who they want to vote for before they cast their vote. I have to admit I am not the best at keeping up with what is going on in the world, but I do try to stay informed.
My primary source of news at one point was my parents, then news talk radio, then online (Drudge Report, New York Times, Huffington Post) and now I scan twitter every once in a while to see if Fox news, New York Times or local papers have released anything interesting. I don't see my parents every day so I don't constantly hear their opinion on the world's events and I don't spend enough time in my car to hear a whole story on the radio either. Online I still scan the headlines every once in a while but I rarely read a full article because I don't have enough time, I usually feel like the article is bias and the info I get through twitter on my phone is more concise and faster. I enjoy keeping up on the news enough to know what the world is up to but I get wrapped up in it way too quickly so I have to keep my distance.
ReplyDeleteI would say that political agendas are the most important topic of the day because the Presidential election is coming up and everyone wants to know everything about the candidates and their plans for what to accomplish while in office. This is very interesting to most news consumers thus it is covered by every news station. Part of the reason so many people are interested in the presidential candidates is because the news media displays so much of it causing many people to converse about politics and more news coverage on the topic. The media has a very strong hand in telling us what to talk about.
Blog #7
ReplyDeleteOption #1
Sara Anderson
My primary sources of news is through push emails I receive from The Universe, LDS Living, PR Daily and I receive text messages from KSL News. I also check my Facebook and email numerous times a day.
Recently, because of my recent job change, I check The Universe news more frequently (because I work for The Universe.) I also check other internet sources less. I generally like to check the news from The Huffington Post or The NY Times everyday but with my busy schedule, I check what is in my email and around me more now.
Although I am not as well-informed as I would like to be, in my opinion the important issues of the day include the presidential election, gay marriage, the great national debt, conflicts in the Middle East, poverty in Africa and the unemployment problems many face around the world.
I have come to feel this way from my studies, media consumption, participation in social impact ( I used to work for The Ballard Center- social impact is their main focus) and my conversations with friends, family and acquaintances.
The people and media who I find the most credible seem to be most concerned about these issues. Some of these sources include: dowser.org, TEDxBYU, friends and acquaintances who have traveled internationally and are involved in programs around the globe. I would say these experiences and sources have convinced me of their importance in the world.