Thursday, August 24, 2017

Complete Control

The more music in my life, the happier I am overall. Even the painful music that follows me into and digs a little deeper into the dark places, the complex music that requires that focused, sustained attention which I find it so difficult to give to anything, and the ambient trance-inducing genres all are part of what makes me feel really human. There may be little else than art which sets humans apart (at least in positive ways) from the rest of the animal kingdom. I would like to think that animals enjoy music too, but no matter what I try, neither my dog nor cat even seems to notice that music is playing, much less display preferences. Maybe I just don't play the stuff they like. Clearly this dude has figured out the secret.

Between compulsively sharing music with everyone I know, basking in live concert vibes, and trying to find my pets' jams, clearly I like to share music with anyone and everyone. So has there been a time when I thought to protect someone from certain music? I can't think of one, other than protecting myself from it sometimes. I protect myself in a couple different ways. I try and insulate myself a little bit from some of the radio pop tunes, mainly because I am afraid that they will dumb down my brain and make me satisfied with junk food music instead of the well-spiced and long-simmered goodness that music can be. This may seem like a silly fear, but I think that it's rational because it is exactly what happens in our society. I'm part of our society, so I have to try my best and be mindful of falling prey to some of its shortcomings. The other way that I protect myself a little is that if I'm hearing a lot of sexist, homophobic, or otherwise derogatory talk, I'm likely going to switch the song. I'm trying to help bring us up, I don't have time to be celebrating and bobbing my head to the mentalities that are bringing us down.

When it comes to other people, they can listen to what they want. I don't have a lot of kids in my life but if I did, I think I'd remember how I was about music when I was a kid. I wouldn't forbid them from listening to anything; I would simply try to introduce them to more than the status quo and also to challenge various themes in the music. Music is one more opportunity for learning and critical thinking. This is the main funtuon of art. It doesn't always have to be easy to swallow.

On the other hand, my own parents tried to shield me from "corrupting" music quite a lot growing up. It isn't hard to see why now - pop is highly sexualized and I was listening to this stuff as early as first grade. A lot of parents are going to get a little skeezed about their first-born, only daughter at the ripe old age of 8 singing Genie in a Bottle. However, it only made me want to delve into it deeper. It isn't really possible to shield people from things if they are determined to have access to them and they attend public schools.

I don't have a favorite music genre and it's really hard to narrow it down to 5 favorite artists. It is an eclectic mix so I will just say that right now, the first 5 that come to mind are Autechre, Amon Tobin, Gladys Knight, Television, The Clash, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Oddisee,...oh that's more than 5. It's really hard to choose.

If LBCC launched a student-led radio station I think that would be awesome. Unlike regular radio, usually the students who would be most interested are those who actually love sharing good music. I don't know if I'd listen to the radio or not, but giving them opportunity to create something which might end up being really good is important for any student's development. It does seem feasible to me because other community colleges have radio stations and LBCC has other small clubs, such as chess, horticulture, etc.

I think that in order to build a loyal niche audience, the station should be a mix of music and information. I'm thinking like KBOO style, but for Albany. I hear so so so often in Albany people just talk about how idiotic everyone in Portland is. I tend not to agree and in fact am super excited that I'll be moving to Portland and starting at PSU next month, but I'm curious - what do people in Albany want to hear about? Maybe a lot of them want it a bit less political than KBOO, but still relevant. Like can we talk about what's going on here as far as agriculture, local businesses, local artists, local scientists (especially student scientists), local drives (such as one last year to save a little boy of a bone marrow disease - you can learn all about the easy process of becoing a bone marrow donor here and even sign up here using my personal link and feel free to comment or e-mail me for more information at anastasia.hanna.7789@mail.linnbenton.edu)...I think all these sorts of things would be rad! And if the station does want to get political, there is plenty of socioeconomic stratification, school funding disparity, and local politics in our area to go around. Maybe a focus could be on really presenting factual, non-biased news. I know this would be a major challenge for most students, but isn't it exactly what we need right now? We don't just need "all sides." Sure, we need different perspecties, but at the core of the issue, we just need the truth. Can we, as college students, find and present that truth? Student radio could be at least great practice in investgative journalism for the students who participate and at best actually very impactful to the student body. Also, local Albany bands or music which Albany people are more interested in would be played. For instance, I pride myself on listening to almost every genre of music, but I really listen to zero country music. I challenge you, Albany: show me that country sweet spot that I haven't found yet.

Funding for a new endeavor might be tricky. Considering that even the LBCC Biology department seems perplexingly underfunded, a radio station is not likely to take priority (anyone take Bio 101 where we blew bubbles as our "lab" on survivorship curves? Get real, LB. Pull yourself together.) However, there are a few areas on campus that HAVE designated funding already in order to give to related causes. For example, I put on a presentation through the DAC (Diversity Achievement Center) and they paid for refreshments to be provided. Perhaps if the radio station could demsonstrate how it would encourage and celebrate campus diversity, the DAC could take on some of that funding. However, you'd probably have to search some additional avenues as well. Student DJs could host events which raise money for the radio station. It could also be part of the communications department as either part of curriculum (which, of course, our classes are paid) or as CWE, which is additional credits.

a song about the music industry

Overall, I think an LBCC radio station could be really fun. If we have a newspaper, why not a radio? Why not be the catalyst at starting a more vibrant music and social scene in Albany so that people don't feel like they have to go to other cities to go do things?

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Books and Magazines

I wish it were not so, but I have not done much pleasure reading these past few years. However, once I get down to 2014, then I start to find challenged books which I have read. From that year, I personally own Persepolis, the Bluest Eye, and the Kite Runner (though I admit I have yet to read this last one). From 2013, I no longer own any Captain Underpants, but when I was a kid you'd better believe that I read every one of those books. I also think it is mindblowing that, afterall of this time, people are still challenging classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, and The Color Purple. I have not read The Color Purple, but Posessing the Secret of Joy by the same author (Alice Walker) is one of my all time favorite books. I also really loved Persepolis because it takes people (Americans) into a world with which most are unfamiliar - the sociopolitical evolution of Iran and one girl's experience within it and outside of it. It puts a human face on this middle eastern country, which I think it incredibly important in our Arab-suspicious atmosphere. It is important to know the real story, from all perspectives.

Whether libraries and schools should limit access to various materials is a tough question. My initial reaction was, "No, libraries should not limit their materials whatsoever!," but then I thought, "What if the library carried porn? Is that ok? Would it need to be in a separate room?" It's not that I think porn itself should be outlawed, it's just that I expect to see it in specialty shops, not the library. Is it unsuitable for a library or is society being too prudish by relegating explicit sexual materials to little hidey holes of town (besides, you know, all over TV and magazines, but otherwise, little hidey holes). What about highly racist materials? Most people would find it off-putting to see explicitly white supremacist materials featured in our libraries. However, there are many classic authors who have racist undertones in their books. I don't mean books which feature and then aim to combat racism (ie. To Kill A Mockingbird), but books where the authors themselves were clearly a part of their own times and harbored some racist ideas that come out in their writings. For example, I absolutely love F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I was somewhat dismayed to read some of his short stories and find stereotipified, dumbed down versions of black people as non-central characters to his stories about white people. It's not so glaring (other than some terminology) that I could even quote a particular passage, but more the overall set-up. You can read one of this short stories for an example here.

We were instructed in the beginning of this class that we had to "pick a side" and go with it, but my side of life has always been that it is counterproductive to just pick a side and argue til the death. If I have to pick a side, I'd say no, we should not censor anything because then it becomes the discretion of the people who are already in power over what the people below them have access to. I know parents are all different and strive for varying degrees of control, some of them seeking quite a bit, but they always fail. Even very sheltered kids experience the various facets of life at some point or another, though they may be overwhelmed and ill prepared for it. There are some things which are probably inappropriate for children and should not be read as part of an elementary school curriculum, but the problem is that this is almost completely subjective and culturally based. As an obvious example, many societies are far more sex-positive/open from a younger age than we are, while others find it a taboo social topic throughout the lifespan. I remember my own mother was a bit alarmed when she picked up a book I was reading in late elementary school and saw that it featured a young girl who, among other things, was starting to experiment with masturbation. It was not a book about masturbation, but a book about a girl transitioning to middle school and ended up having scoliosis and having to deal with all the social aspects of that. From my mother's viewpoint, this added element was totally inappropriate for someone of my age. From my perspective, it was interesting, informative, fitting for the story, and gave me a word to describe something which I already was doing naturally. I think it is a shame to pull these types of books from the shelves just because they are topics that make people squeamish and ashamed. No one grows without exploring things outside of their comfort zone. Also, knowledge is so important for all of us. In stark contrast to my sex education at school and reading books about masturbation, my grandmother did not know what sex was until her wedding night. Her husband got to teach her. What a frightening power dynamic for a society to perpetuate.

My shelves are full of books. I have one entire bookshelf dedicated to books about herbal medicine or environmental literature. This lets people know that I have an interest (obsession?) with herbal medicine and the natural world, and that I like to enjoy it from both a practical (reference) and literary standpoint. My second bookshelf is "everything else," and it really doesn't have a main theme. I have classics (The Once and Future King, the "A Wrinkle in Time" series, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, A Brave New World...), feminist/anarchist literature, contemporary fiction, contemporary nonfiction, "instructional" type books (on meditation, etc), science-related, psychology-related, poetry (Howl, Diving Into the Wreck...), textbooks,...I think that a person who came into my room would likely find something which they wanted to read and also would see that I'm someone of varied interests with a heavy leaning towards the natural world. I love reading and I love gaining new perspectives.

Moving on to magazines, here are 3 I have read over the years:

1) National Geographic - I wrote my last blog on this, but honestly, it's the most relevant. It interests me because it's about the outdoors, animals, different cultures, traveling, science...all things I like. I like the attention to detail, the enriching content, and the great photos in this publication. Examples are up-close photos of tiny or quick-moving things, such as insects. The advertising within the magazine is mostly on-cue with the content, such as for cameras, Rosetta Stone, etc, but sometimes they are unrelated (medications, cars), and occasionally completely tasteless (like a diamond ring advertisement that says, "Does This Ring Make My Wallet Look Fat?") My interest in this publication says that I am interested in worldwide, real information, science-based content (as opposed to celebrity lives and quizzes about myself).

2) Yoga Journal
I subscribed to this one for a while because I like to do yoga and wanted to have continuing inspiration to push myself and try different things without having to go to classes or watch videos on a regular basis. I liked reading the different perspectives and information in the articles (though often they were a bit silly too) I liked the focus on the mind-body connection, the various "routines" you can follow, and particularly that each issue would have one particular pose to work up to. It would be something quite advanced and I'm not sure that I actually attained any of them, but it was ok because it gave you all different beginning poses to eventually get there, so you could feel yourself over time becoming stronger and stringer, getting closer to makign your way into that crazy looking pose, more focused on the journey than the pose itself (because when is it ever perfect, anyway?).These magazines are full of advertisements. Unfortunately, I think that encompasses our particular American brand of yoga - you've got to have the clothes, the right mat, all the accessories, etc. So, of course there are advertisements for all those things. Additionally, there are advertisements for various foods ("health foods," plant-based foods, organic/natural foods, smoothie-type stuff...), various trainings and therapies, natural beauty products...their advertisements stick pretty close to the subject and their audience. The fact that I subscribed to this says that I like yoga and would like to expand my practice. It doesn't say that I'm vegan or buy expensive yoga clothes.

3) ...Rolling Stone? I really don't know. I had a hard time thinking of a 3rd. Ok, let me be honest: Cosmo.
It was difficult to think of a 3rd, but I know that in the past, especially as a younger person, I would occasionally pick up a Cosmo. I'm sure reading Cosmo can mean different things for different people, but most of the time, I think it means an underlying insecurity about one's sexual know-how. Cosmo only strengthens this insecurity by perpetuating the myth that you have to be this complete freak, always bringing new exciting things into the bedroom, or your partner will lose interest. It is very heterosexual and based on women knowing how to have "good sex." Sometimes, this means having orgasms and whatnot, but more often, it means pleasing men. Younger women, such as teenagers, are too sexually inexperienced to understand all these nuances and so they fall prey and buy the magazine. I'm not sure if this is the magazine's intent or not; it may be that they find themselves very liberating and sex-positive to women. I can't say that there is no truth in this, but only that they could achieve this goal of empowerment in a much more effective way. I think that in recent years they have begun to get inklings of this and put somewhat more empowering articles in their publication. I don't have one of their magazines right now, so I had t look at their website. The advertisements are mainly make-up and fashion. This is in-line with their target audience, though I am neither much of a make-up wearer nor very fashionable. I think what this magazine says about me as a consumer is that I used to be much more insecure about living up to sexual stereotypes as a younger woman, and now that I am almost in my 30s, I'm still a young woman, but much more sure of myself and without need for all the extra input. So I haven't bought a Cosmo or any similar magazine in a few years.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

A Comparison of National Geographic Print and Online

Affluent world travelers. Poor student travelers. Tavern Trivia-Night Heroes. Passionate environmentalists. Studious biologists. "Cat people." Amateur historians. Hiking enthusiasts. People who prefer to just look at the pictures. Bored people in waiting rooms. What sort of magazine would connect all these people together? National Geographic, of course.

I chose to examine the differences between the on-line and print styles of National Geographic because it is a publication with an expressed mission. I wanted to evaluate if this mission (mainly, getting people off their asses and doing something) is still well-served during the time they spend on their asses in front of their computer. After all, is the point how many "clicks" the website gets on each article, or is it that the reader was inspired by the article(s) on which they clicked? Is it that they forward the article to their friend, or that they get together with that friend and enthusiastically share the spirit of the article through the noble oral tradition? In a digital age where we are bombarded with so much information that it is difficult for any of it to truly "reach" us, though we see all of it, it's difficult to say which is the best tactic. Has National Geographic simply settled for "clicks" as a good-enough indicator for now?

So what is the expressed mission of National Geographic? Their About Us page explains, "At National Geographic, we believe in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world." To this end, they have stories on a wide variety of topics (possibly the widest of any magazine I know), but all through the lens of what can broadly fit under science and/or culture (and the exploration of the two, generally in the interest of preserving something or telling its story). From this perspective, they can explore human events (current issues, historical events, and pre-historic speculations), human cultures (the widely known and the little known), and natural environments and the creatures which live within them (if any, as they also explore the environment of outer space quite frequently - talk about some amazing photos!). An example of articles which span these categories is this "cool" one from their website. It, like many of their articles, combines several of the themes from above - the science of low-tech cooling, the culture of and issues facing rural mid-Africa (Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Cameroon, and Chad, specifically. Look at a map if you are unsure. It drives me crazy when people just talk about "Africa" as some homogenous, desolate wasteland of starving people and not the enormous and diverse continent that it is), and the history of a life well-lived: one man's enduring legacy. It's enough to give anyone's inner nerd a hard on (and to include us ladies - totally swollen nerd-clit. Yeah, I said it. Deal.).

However, it might not be enough for that climactic nerd-gasm. The article illustrates one of the differences between the print and online versions of National Geographic. I subscribed to the print-version for about a year. The print version is organized in a really effective way, I believe. Either they have a few central, in-depth articles and then some smaller ones, -or- (my favorite, but obvious why they didn't do this all the time because it is dificult to coordinate) the entire issue will focus around a central topic. I think my most raging nerdgasm was when they put out an issue regarding all he different aspects and considerations surrounding Climate Change. It's been a little while now (Nov 2015), but I sill think it's one of the best examples of a themed issue.








On the other hand, the article to which I previously linked is just a little blurb. It barely touches on outcomes. It's a very cursory view of a larger issue. I got to the end and I was like, "what? that's it?" This isn't to say that the print issue doesn't have small little articles - it ha a lot of them. In fact, I'm sure that exact article probably showed up in the print version. It's just that when you have the print version, the organization of it tells you what the big articles or themes are going to be, and the rest are just little extra food for thought. Oftentimes, even if the entire issue isn't themed, they will complement the main articles in some way. For example, I have an older issue (Sept 2014) which has one of its focuses on the evolution of the human diet. It has a large in-depth article discussing the pros, cons, misconceptions, and realities of the "paleo" (and actual paleolithic) diets. It is very interesting, but it is also complemented by several smaller diet-related articles - 1) the "evolution" of the quality of the MRE, 2) the efficiency (and frequency across the globe) of eating insects for one's protein source 3) and even a tiny little blurb about how some dude made a truly repulsive product called Soylent (I can't find the original NG article, but this New Yorker article is pretty good too). They're just little spices on the main course. The website is more like a buffet, except that they only have the quantities of each item which they would have, had they put the meal together themselves. So the reader picks and chooses the articles which seem most interesting to them, but those are not always the articles which most interested the writers, so they may be very cursory and appear to be lazy or ineffective journalism, because they are out of context (or possibly because NG believes that its web readers want smaller, more digestible articles?)

So, let's look at their websites. Yes, plural - they actually have a dot com site and a dot org site (the latter specifically for the "National Geographic Society", but otherwise seems to be structured quite similarly). The print edition has always been known for its photographic excellence, but still, there is a focus on the written content. On the website, it's basically all pictures and you have to click on one if you're interested in reading anything. You can also, on the dot com site, navigate according to what topics you would like to see, the choices being Photography, Video, Science, Travel, Adventure, Animals, Environment, History, and Cultures. I appreciate that neither website is completely inundated with advertisements. The dot org has ZERO product advertisements while the dot com has just a few (though it does include an obnoxious one across the top - yours might be different, but when I visited, it was for flea products. I suppose pet lovers are going to make up a large portion of the National Geographic reader demographic). Other advertisements I found while flipping through various pages were for (nor surprisingly) REI and (more surprisingly) Coors Light (which tried to play up the whole mountain thing in their advertisement here). I find their websites to be fairly effective, but honestly a bit busy and uappealing compared to the print edition. I LOVE photography, but I don't love a collage of it all smashed together.

National Geographic has little competition for its scope. There are likely several magazines which focus on various parts of the mission, but they are not as large scale or long running. For example, Orion magazine focuses specifically on environmental issues, really a lot of the same issues as NG, but from a more literary perspective. It's a great publication as well, so if you're interested more in the literary and connecting with nature perspective, you will go with that. Or maybe you will do both, if you don't have to choose. It is difficult to think of a magazine competitor for NG, so perhaps their real competitor is pop culture and a busy world - the things which compete with people actively trying to expand their minds in their spare time. One can see how they compete with this by examining issues that may be, to varying degrees, in pop culture. For example, in their March 2017 issue, their main story covered Vikings.

National Geographic Magazine March 2017 Cover.jpg

There is (was?) a popular TV show called Vikings, plus Thor has been a beloved and dashing Avenger. So, naturally, National Geographic explores this topic. Obviously, what sets them apart from this competition is that they strive for historical accuracy and information more than entertainment. It seems that, at least in this case, National Geographic's philosophy is "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em...but stay true to yourelf while you do." So, a person can enjoy the Thor movies and the Vikings series, and additionally gain some historical perspective and insight from National Geographic to really impress all their friends at parties. Perhaps it will be a Viking themed party.

 Additionally, when one has an online presence as well, then in a sense you become your own competitor (you don't want one to take over the other; you want people to remain interested in both). I've highlighted some differences already between the two, but I will put it more succinctly here. These comparisons are between the two versions, not between NG and other publications.

PRINT VERSION
Unique Attributes:
- Comes out in monthly issues which are well organized around a central theme or article
- As you flip through, you see more words than pictures (in the online, there are more pictures than words)
- Includes a lot of visual aids for its articles, such as fold out maps and posters
Strengths
- As I have mentioned, it has a much better and more cohesive flow to read as a whole than the online version. It reads like a well crafted musical album, whereas the website it like a collection of single MP3s.
- The appearance is much more pleasing because they can play with space and the contrast of words and images. They can dedicate a page to an image so that you are focused only on that image. It is a much better platform from which to view both text and photos.
Weaknesses
- Actually has MORE advertisements than the online versions, which is surprising. The website seems to have about one advert per page on the dot com website, which is technically more advertisements if you are counting article-for-article, but because many are insconspicious and easily skipped, the print version feels more advertising-heavy, as full pages are dedicated to advertisements. Things they advertise include V8, Nokia Lumia, Kia Luxury Car, Cannon camera, Dyson vaccuum cleaner, and Prudential Finaincial. That is 6 advertisements in 6 pages. Wow. Because of all these advertisements, I actually go 10 pages in before I get to anything of substance. This is somewhat to be expected, as in magazines there is often a table of contents, letter from the editor, corrections, letters from readers, etc. However, the online version allows you to jump right in so ou don't have to flip around looking for articles in the sea of advertisements
-  The crease in the middle of the magazine interrupts stunning photography, a magazine in general is a physical thing which is fragile and fades. This is a comment on all print publications, but can be a consideration for NG especially because it is such an image-focused publication which aims for an enduring legacy. People magazine may have a lot of pictures as well, but no one cares about them next week, much less 5, 50, 100 years from now. Because of this, National Geographic has compensated for this weakness (and made more revenue) by backing up their content digitally AND, more importantly, putting out hardback collectors editions of their best photography throughout the years.

ONLINE VERSION
Unique Attributes:
- Ability to have different pages not related to publication itself, so a person can go to their "About Me" page, a page to directly Donate, their online Store, or other things which are not explicitly journalistic
- It is updated on an ongoing basis rather than put out as regular, physical, permanent publications
- Its content can include video or otherwise move in order to either catch your attention or give you a seizure
Strengths
-Fewer advertisements
- A person can choose exactly what they want to read. They can narrow search results by topic and they can, after reading an article they like, click on a suggested link to another similar article. This way, your content is not limited by what is in a physical issue, but is expanded to everything NG has ever done (or at least what they have up on their website). For example, right now, the first article which appears on the dot com site is about a 13-million year old ape skull. After reading that article, you can click a link to learn more about Orangutans, which is just a reference page they have up all the time, as they do for many animals.
- Can be instantly translated into Spanish or Arabic
Weaknesses
- The articles you read, even if they are on the front page, can be short and cursory. It can feel like a hodge-podge of unrelated information, which doesn't have the same journalistic impact as this publication has enjoyed for its (if my math is right) nearly 130 years in print.
- The look of the website is busy and unappealing, despite the beautiful photographs it is comprised of. The whole is lesser than the sum of its parts.

National Geographic targets curious, adventurous, hopeful sorts. I believe that can encompass many demographics of people, but it can be narrowed down to some themes. Educated people are more likely to read this publication (though, I would have to say that, from my experience, people being currently educated are less likely to read this publication or any other if it isn't for school :/ ). Science, art, or environmentally geared people will be more likely to read NG. People who like to travel will more likely read NG. So if well-travelled, educated people are the most likely to read NG, then probably a good chunk of its clientele enjoys some affluence, which is lucky for them since they do quite a bit based on donations. They even have forms where you can put the National Geographic Society into your will. However, knowledge is something which is not bought, it is attained by any means necessary by those who really seek it. So I am not affluent, but still like NG. 

I can tell that they are targeting the "curious, adventurous, and hopeful sorts" because all of their articles aim to inform the reader about a variety of scientific, cultural, and environmental topics. You can learn about what's going on in Nigeria, one of the moons of Pluto, the insides of your intestines...endless topics to explore for the type of people who just want to know about everything. If you're super worried that you're going to miss something, NG is a good magazine to add to your repertoire. They cater to the adventurous side by putting a LOT of attention on culture and travel. They actually have a separate magazine line dedicated JUST to traveling. These two topics seem somewhat separated in the print editions, but in the online editions, much of the travel topics (e.g. "9 Incredible Places to Slackline in the United States," "The World's Best Paddling Trips," etc) are all put into the same space. They also host lots of trips and expeditions. It is part of their mission to actively try to get people out enjoying the natural world, because they feel that people will want to be good stewards of a land with which they connect (a sentiment with which I agree). Finally, I can tell that they are hopeful and want to inspire hope in others because that is besically at the forefront of what they do. The National Geographic Society has a focus on conservation and scientific discovery. NG has a separate magazine line for kids and even another one for little kids (yes! indoctrinate the children!) They are all about protecting the future, and leaving things better than the way we found it. Also, although I think that they are very even handed and not laying claim to a particular political side, they may have some more love with the left than the right. Although their research is not politically based, their premise is inherently based on views shared by more liberals than conservatives (ex. nature is worth protecting despite human interests, all life is important, all people in every country have valid viewpoints and lifestyles [non-ethnocentrism]). There is nothing about these views that a more conservatively-leaning person couldn't have, I'm just speaking in general trends I in our present-day culture of extreme bipartisan viewpoints, so please don't allow this to offend, I'm just trying to thoroughly answer the question.

The ads usually fit the magazine (some off ones here and there). There are camera ads for aspiring photographers, REI ads for outdoors folks, and then lots of ads for things which are unrelated but the ad is geared as though it were related (Are they trying to trick us? I don't get it.) For instance, Geico (insurance) has nothing to do with NG (cool magazine about things not related to insurance), but I guess that you do get discounts through Geico if you are an NG member. So, there is this ad which joins the two:








Image result for geico nat geo
It is a bit silly.

I don't think there is anything offensive or stereotypical about this magazine, unless I am just not catching it. I feel that they purposely try and dispel a lot of myths and stereotypes rather than perpetuate them. When some idiotic idea is trending, NG is always there to, in a distinguished and polite manner, call bullshit. I think this is partially because they do something that Lara Setrakian, from our video last week, suggested for better journalism: don't be afraid of the complex. I think NG is really amazing at this, particularly in their themed publications, because they will explore an issue from so many different angles and try to show you all the different facets that make it such a complicated or debated topic, but in a fresh rather than a stale light. Man, I'm really making myself want to actually read more of this magazine again. I love the stuff I learn in school, but I can't wait for the days of pleasure reading to return. Anyway, moving on...

I personally like the print version much more. I don't think I will spend much time on the website, unless I need to research a topic and want to see what they have to say about it (one strenght of online). However, that doesn't mean that the online version doesn't serve its audience. Online is a convenient place to go if I want to, for instance, resubscribe (yeah, not going to mail in the little postcard thing). I could also sign up to get weekly or even daily newsletters, which would show me a photo of the day and various stories. There is not, at the end of the day, a huge difference in content between the two, only in how it is arranged. People who prefer the web as a medium will go there. They won't get the same experience, but they will still find plenty of things to interest them. Online is the magazine that doesn't end. You've never turned the last page.

I don't interact with NG beyond reading, but the reading has helped me beyond just filling my head with knowlede. For example, the climate change issue was a really helpful resource when I was writing a paper about the pros and cons of a carbon tax. The article about paleolithic diets helped me get some perspective on all the hype about "paleo" diets, sorting the wisdom from the fad, during a time in my life when I was in a holistic health program and was getting a lot of these extreme messages about diet (paleo, keto, autoimmune elimination...) that I felt I could not live up to and nor could hardly any of my future clients, long term.

National Geographic also has a social media presence. On Twitter, they post little blurbs type articles (nothing big or in-depth), but I actually like the format better than their website. If I'm looking for small, digestible articles, their Twitter is easy to navigate and has a more appealing photo-to-text layout. They have made 38,000 total tweets and have 18.8 million followers. You can tell that they have a wide following internationally because well, that would be 54% of the U.S. population (though only 0.25% of the world's population, if my math is right).

National Geographic has, over the decades, taken great strides toward achieving their goals of conservation. I had never looked at their website before this assignment or noticed how many advertisements they actually have in their magazine. I'm still impressed that it is such a great publication after all these years. I think they need to "come into their own" digitally to achieve that same level of excellence there. I hope they never have to do away with the magazine itself, because there is something really special about reading something from cover to cover. Even getting something which you wanted in the mail is special. Digital has taken over our music to where we mainly just get files, losing the magic of an album. I think I enjoyed it more when I had to buy a CD and listen to it on repeat than now that I have probably thousands more songs on my computer than I'll ever actually listen to (certainly more when you consider my access to youtube) (P.S. Yes, I am aware that a CD is digital, but the format is the same. It's not about the analog, it's about the attention put into making that whole album - such as a whole magazine - then breaking it apart into little pieces so that the effect is lost, even if you really do like that one song.) Perhaps I am being nostalgic, and maybe we progress to learn new ways to organize our art forms...but if so, this seems to be an in-between period, and we ain't there yet.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

The State of Journalism

I don't stay abreast of news nearly as well as I should. I go to school, I work, and have other responsibilities and hobbies, so I guess one could say that I don't make room for or prioritize news. This is partially laziness and busy-ness; it isn't that I don't care about it, in fact, I care deeply about a lot of it. It's also just because news is so poorly and biasedly presented, that sometimes I don't know where to start to find the truth, and once I find it, what to do about it. So, I mostly stay up-to-date on current events through in person discussion with others and sometimes in the classroom. Then, I look up what has been discussed. I'm sure that Google has created quite a little liberal bubble for me by now, try as I might to look at unbiased sources.

I also rely on radio programs for news, such as NPR, KBOO, OPB, etc. I rely on magazines I've subscribed to, such as National Geographic and Orion (neither is explicitly a news source, but they certainly use their particular lens to view and present current events). Making current events a more central part of my life is an extracurricular education that I desperately need to do, not only for my personal growth, but also for my social responsibility and my future career as a social worker. I realize this. It's just difficult to find the time. Whenever I see one issue, I feel the need to dig deep to the bottom until I find all the historical and cultural sources, including the ones no one here is telling us, and it all just seems so daunting. My answer to "How do you know the news source you are using is accurate and credible" is: I don't. That might be one of the only good things about having a President with a Twittering compulsion - at least we can see exactly what he said.

I don't generally pay for news sources. I'm not willing to pay not because I don't think good journalism and active media are worthwhile, but because I am unlikely to actually read what I have subscribed to. I read my textbooks and everything else I need to for school. Despite being a voracious reader from a very young age, at this point in my life, I ain't reading jack shit else. (except the occasional book I use for reference when I'm trying to figure something out).

So, this blog having been my confession, I would say that on a scale of 1-5 I am only a 2 as far as being informed, and the only reason that I'm not a 1 rather than a 2 is because I used to be much more on top of current events and politically active, so I have a good foundation upon which to understand current events, and I also have some really amazing friends of multiple ideologies, backgrounds, and communities who give me food for thought on a regular basis so that I have to go searching for more. If it weren't for surrounding myself with engaged individuals (which I am as well, just in different areas), I'd truly have been living under a rock since 2014.

As for Mr. Trump and his "fake news," I don't know if the issue is in the definition. I think "fake news" has expanded in meaning beyond just encompassing satirical news (like the Onion). He is actually using it in the same context that most of America is using it right now, except that what he labels as "fake" is just things which he doesn't appreciate, while he spouts many "fake" things out of his mouth as well. I can agree with him that the state of journalism is poor, but honestly, it is poor in his favor. Media is difficult to trust because it is based on what is popular (he is, while maybe not popular, at least very notorious), what is simple/digestible, and what will make money. The exact same corporate-run system that he supports is the one to which modern journalism has to answer to. i.e. if it's really so bad, it's his and his cronies' faults (at least partially; journalists and consumers bear much of the responsibility as well)

If the Russia scandal is "fake news" then so is Clinton's email scandal. However, Trump seems to think that the conservative media is the one being drowned out and that that is the source of the "fake news." Excuse me, isn't Fox News one of the biggest outlets? I really think that his campaign against the media, even the crappy media we have, is ridiculous. It is also (though potentially not entirely) harmful. For instance, most of us are aware that he did not win the popular vote. However, I work with many people who supported him. One of them kept talking all about the fake news that was being put out and how Hillary Clinton had only appeared to win because of widespread voter fraud and that a "large portion" of the people who had supposedly voted for her were actually already dead, but that the liberal media was just covering up the real story. My hope is that this idiocy brings people further away from this thinking and realize that actually our media does need to be better, stronger, and more even handed, but just not in the way Trump thinks.

So, he launched his own Facebook page of supposedly "real news." Some of the news sites he has criticized has some backlash against that, such as CNN:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/02/media/trump-real-news/index.html

I'm trying to think of the right adjective to describe what exactly it means when the person in one of the highest positions of power and visibility asks you to ignore everything else and trust that you can get your news directly from them. First, "terrifying" came to mind, but fear is immobilizing and not productive. I worry about what he may do in many ways, especially things like if we'll have any environment left once he is out of office, what he will do to divide all of our communities which had just begun making so much progress in working together and accepting each other, and escalating violence in the middle east and around the world as a backlash against his message of hate and superiority. I worry about a lot of things, but I know that he is a mortal and vulnerable human like the rest of us. So no, it is not terrifying. I don't want to say that it is laughable because, even though it is, it may have some not entirely humorous effects. Potentially, it is climactic. The exact person who is talking about the fake news is the one bringing about its climax. The push to wake us up and get us to topple the whole thing and find a better way to bring information to the people; one which is not ruled by greed, but instead by passion and integrity. We have a part in it, we are the key; we are the ones who wanted raccoon cat (cat raccoon?). Well, we've got ourselves raccoon cat, and he's got a super funny hair cut.

Democracy is weakend by a weak media and even further crippled when attempts to strengthen it are met with legal action. We've seen that in this week's video, as well as stories surrounding Wikileaks and other whistleblowers or platforms for whistleblowers. Democracy is also weakened by such an exhaustingly bipartisan system which creates burnout and apathy among its participants (us), who are just tired of dealing with the machine. Binary doesn't work for much of anything in life. How could it neatly package our ideologies? The media just feeds into this because, paradoxically, as much as we all hate the binary system, we still reward the system for perpetuating it. We are as afraid to step outside of it as we are weary of being within it. We see no hope for making a change, so we gripe on the internet (somewhat like this blog here).

On that note, I'm off to go make a ruckus.