Bonus Blog 1: Gutenberg Bible

The Gutenberg Bible was the first substantial document created using movable type printing.  This is substantial because this technology had an enormous effect on jump starting western civilization.  Gutenberg obviously is considered a notable inventor from his ability to use previous attempts to manufacture book text and developing his movable type creation.  Historians believe that around 180 Bibles were ever printed and the Gutenberg bible is one of 5 examples that still exist in the U.S. which makes the fact that the Ransom Center has this copy very astounding.  The process in which the type was created seems like a very time consuming project and it is pointed out by the website that over 300 pieces of type were used in the Bible.

Blog 15: State of the Media

Some of the areas of media that did not seem to have significantly varying trends or surprising statistics include cable TV viewership and newspaper circulation.  These areas have reasonable trends correlating specifically with the change in technology in this era as well as the popularity of television viewership.  Radio and especially internet access have become so convenient that the usage of newspapers as a media information provider is dwindling.  Manufacturing and distribution of newspapers is expensive and with out the constant or growing influx of revenue from users, this medium may soon become sparse.  Cable television of course is extremely popular in this day in age due to the infatuation of viewers with reality shows in general.  Television is a very popular asset and will remain so due to its convenience and growing technology in increasing viewer pleasure.  One thing that I recognized that was some what surprising to me is the significant increase in listeners in regards to news/talk radio.  This may in fact directly correlate to the decrease in radio listeners and the move to internet broadcast due to internet popularity.  Many radio broadcasts are facing financial hardships and being forced to move strictly to internet broadcast.

Blog 14: Ethical Decision Making

I thought the plagiarism category of the website was interesting and concerning.  Plagiarism is a big concern in academia, journalism, as well as media and will continue to be until, as the website explains, the the journalism industry standardizes plagiarism restrictions and consequences.  Several of the discussions concerning plagiarism contained remarks that this crime can in fact be a psychological one in which a writer is pressured or any of a mix of situations and allows himself to plagiarize another individual.  I believe that this most certainly can prove true.  Writers and journalists as well as students are pressured in many ways like deadlines, procrastination and laziness.  The author argues the majority of offenders are honest and innocent people but do not entirely understand the breadth of material usage that could constitute plagiarism.  This is a big problem and could lead to many unnecessary law suits, trials, and conviction of individuals that were simply ill-advised in regards to plagiarism.  The industry needs to make a considerable effort to alleviate this confusion and provide journalists and students with a clear and concise explanation of plagiarism 

Blog 13: Internet Safety

There were pro's and con's to each site dedicated to internet safety for children.  I was least impressed with the AT&T safety game.  The font was too small and the directions were long winded and I could see kids getting bored reading the directions and change sites before even finishing.  Also the lack of audio directions or of a narrator speaking to you is undesirable and would be much more efficient if that was used as in the "Bad Guy Patrol" game.  The interactivity and simplicity of the objectives was good and would correlate well with child abilities.  The "Bad Guy Patrol" was my favorite and I believe most efficient in teaching children about internet safety.  To complete each objective the individual must answer several questions regarding internet safety and was rewarded for each correct answer and provided an explanation as to why this answer was correct or incorrect.  The narration was simple and fun but the special effects were limited and somewhat boring.  The "Keep Kids Safe" site was very attractive effects wise and I could see the games holding interest very well but the relevance and presence of internet safety instructions was limited.  The site as a whole would be difficult for a child to navigate.  I think all of these sites have good intentions with their games but need some adjustments in their presentation or level of difficulty.

Blog 12: Censoring Filthy Dirty Muck

Censoring of material on the internet and other media entities is quite necessary in this day in age.  I understand that to some effect there are things that are censored that could be considered completely PG but even in the least bit of misinterpretation from a child these could be construed inappropriately.  The initial example that came to mind was several of the "reality shows" on MTV or even CMT for that matter.  I feel its inappropriate and in no way entertaining to see 10 girls dressed very conspicuous, screaming and cursing at each other about who knows what and talking about what girl slept with with guy and what not etc.  The internet does in many cases censor material that I do not believe necessarily has to be censored, but no matter what people think or how this is regulated there will be people that will consistently disagree with either side.  So it does seem that this is a complicating issue and the efforts to give parents the ability to censor what they do not want their family to see is a great way for individuals to monitor that.  The audio commercial for "Chick-Fil-A" is amusing in that it is in some ways ridiculous the amount of censorship that is present on the internet and some television.

Blog 11: Green Screen Show

The green screen method of filming is a simple way of placing backgrounds and objects into a scene that is not originally there.  The way this works is as follows; the green screen is focused on by a color camera with RGB output and the green color that the camera sees is sent to a film editing device or software that has chroma key abilities.  Then adjustments are made on the camera to cancel out the green color leaving a blank screen ready to place a background.  But the trick is that all green colors (if a green screen is used rather than blue which is another commonly used color because they are the farthest from skin color) will appear invincible in the video.  So for example if a weatherman is wearing a green tie, the tie will appear invincible and you would be able to see right through it.  Weather broadcasts are the only other usage of a green screen that I have ever encountered and was able to see a demonstration on this as a kid.  I thought it was very interesting that what was being taped was a man standing in front of a green screen and what viewers saw was a full weather broadcast.  Weathermen are very talented in that they have to view what is shown behind them and then be able to point and incorporate themselves in the broadcast.

Blog 10: The Great Train Robbery

"The Great Train Robbery" was filmed in 1903 and directed by Edwin Porter.  This is a silent film only depicting the video and the actions of the characters and accompanied by music.  There are 4 robbers that raid a train station, first assaulting and tying up the station attendant after hiding from what is most likely the conductor and instructing the attendant to tell him something.  The robbers then hide behind a water tower as it is emptying water onto the train and they sneak onto the train.  They shoot and kill a man that is most likely the mail carrier and use explosives to open the safe holding cash or valuables.  They then kill a man on top of the train and throw him off the moving train.  They force the conductor to stop the train, unhook the engine portion of the train from the cargo and passenger cars, unload all the passengers and shoot a man as he tries to escape.  After robbing the passengers they get onto the engine with their stolen valuables and after a short while bail off of the train and escape to getaway horses staked at the bottom of a hill.  Back at the station a girl finds the man still tied up and when she unties him the station attendant goes to what seems like a saloon or dance hall.  There he finds men dancing and gets them to chase down the robbers.  They pursue the robbers on horseback and shoot one robber while riding away.  When the robbers gather around thinking that they have avoided capture and begin to evaluate their sacks the men sneak up on them on foot and shoot all the bandits.  The last scene of the bandit shooting at the screen is somewhat confusing considering that all of the outlaws had been shot the previous scene.