Thursday, October 23, 2008

MY REAL BLOG

This blog was created for a class, the blog that I actually write on is: www.reeveswritings.blogspot.com please check it out and comment :D

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Mass Media Concepts & Theories

Mass Media Concepts & Theories
1. Selective Perception—This perspective on how humans “see” the world is based on individual differences of upbringing, race, gender, socioeconomic status, life experiences. The result of these differences is that people perceive and interpret the world differently. Recognizing shared perceptions of the world is essential to understanding how individuals form communities.

• Selective Exposure: Individuals are exposed to different experiences and influences—some profound (like nationality or gender) and some subtle (like bigtown/smalltown)—that help shape how they see and make sense of the world, people, issues, culture, society.

• Selective Perception: As a result of these difference background and formative influences, individuals see and make sense of the world differently; we all create our own meanings of events around us, filtering information that reaches us through our own prejudices and prior knowledge, framing information so that it makes sense in our own context.

• Selective Retention: Based on how we see the world, individuals tend to pay attention to different kinds of information that is more or less relevant and familiar to their own experience. Some information flies right past us; some sticks.

2. Gatekeeping—There are gatekeepers in any communication system—interpersonal, written, mass communication. These are elements that make constant decisions about what information is or isn’t important enough to pass along—what information gets through the “gate” from the sender of a message to a receiver of that message. Not only does gatekeeping occur in deciding the end message (e.g., what stories get into the newspaper), but also as a reporter decides what stories to cover, what sources to interview, what questions to ask, and what parts of her reporter’s notebook are important enough to make it into the story. So there is both “front-end” gatekeeping as a media message is created, and a “back-end” gatekeeping as an editor decides what stories to put in the paper, on what page, with what headline, and what part of the reporter’s story gets edited out. Clearly, individual perceptions of the world and what things are
important in it (selective perception) are in play in this process. The ultimate gatekeeper in the mass communication process is the news reader/viewer—what do they think is important/relevant enough to permit through the “gates” of their conscious minds? In this context (and under agenda-setting, below), the media do not reflect “reality”; they filter,
shape and construct a “reality.” (Remember the principles of media literacy.)

3. Agenda-Setting—This theory holds that although the mass media can’t tell us what to think, the media are stunningly successful at telling us what to think about. That is, through their selection or de-selection of what is “news” (gatekeeping), the mass media serve to create an agenda for social discourse. When there were only three major national TV networks, and some 70-80% of Americans watched them nightly, a very clear national agenda of what’s most important was created. Even in such a monopolistic and dominated mass media system, the networks couldn’t make people think in certain ways (because of individual selective perception), but they were and are able to focus attention of some issues while ignoring others. (The Project Censored story is an illustration of what stories did not make the public’s agenda/consciousness.) Examples of how agenda-setting worked in society include: The OJ Simpson murder trial; the Clinton impeachment hearings following Zippergate; WMDs and the Iraq War/War on Terrorism. Consider the implications of agenda-setting for public policy debate and creation of laws. Another question: Who sets the agenda for the media agenda-setters?

4. Framing—This subset of agenda-setting concerns how news and information are “framed” or presented once through the news “gate” and on the public agenda. A media “frame” is the central organizing idea for a news story that supplies a context and emphasizes certain aspects of a story while minimizing or ignoring others. As media literacy theory tells us, media messages are constructions or representations of “reality.” It is impossible for a media message to be anything more than a summary or representation of the world. Thus, the question for message consumers is always: “What aspects of this story are not being told?” “What information lies outside the ‘frame’ of this message?” and, perhaps most importantly, “What might be the intent (ideological, intentional or inadvertent) of the senders (gatekeepers) of this message?” So framing suggests that the bottom line in news coverage is not just what to think about (agendasetting), but how to think about it, based on how the story is presented. Framing is not a conspiracy to skew the news (although it can be done that way); individuals, based on their selective perceptions, not only select different things as important, but inevitably frame them in different ways to conform to how they see the world. But what is the effect of that framing on the receiver of those messages, and on the larger society?

5. Cultivation—The images and impressions and topics (and how they are framed) that appear in the mass media serve to “cultivate” in all of us certain impressions of the world. These messages and the way they are framed—if they are a stable set of images consistent over time—may serve to change our own individual perceptual frame of the world around us. The mass media build and maintain a stable set of images—stories about our culture, our society, who we are—that govern our lives and how we see the world, and influence the decisions we make. Ultimately, mass media messages in sufficient accumulation may influence our behavior, attitudes, decisions and life choices. This has wide implications for both individuals and for societies. One example is
Gerbner’s “mean world syndrome,” in which research found that heavy viewers of news
tended to perceive the world as a more dangerous and scarier place than light TV viewers. Based on the amount and kind of stuff we include in our mass media diets, we may over time start to “cultivate” new perceptions of people, ideas, issues, etc., with which we have little direct involvement. In short, the cultivate media “reality” may become more real to us over time than real reality. This has important implications for mass media producers and consumers, and for the society in which we live— advertising, consumerism, society anxiety, racism, sexism, etc.

6. Third Person Effect (TPE)—Rather than examining media effects in terms of how media may effect the way individuals think about issues and people, TPE theory examines our beliefs about how media effects us and others. In other words—rather than taking the approach that media affect our perceptions, TPE considers how our perceptions shape our ideas about media effects. Research shows that most of us have the perception that media will not have its strongest impact on us—but on other people. In other words, media will influence other people—but have little influence over me personally. One result of this attitude/perception, according to research, is that people who have this perception, tend to overestimate media’s potential impact on others and underestimate potential impact on self. Another result of individuals’ perception that
media will significantly influence others, is that these individuals are more likely to
believe media need to be restricted and censored in order to avoid the media’s harmful
effects on others

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

aggiemail documents instructions

Aggiemail Instructions by David Baker

- First login to your Aggiemail, as if that wasn't obvious, once inside Aggiemail, to access Google Documents, look in the upper lefthand corner of the browser window for five blue hotlinks. The forth one should say "Documents." Click it.
- With the click, you will be wisked into the Docs section of your Aggiemail experience. From this window, you can create new documents, manage existing ones, create folders, hide stuff, trash stuff, share stuff and about a thousand other things that are far too advanced for any of our purposes.
- To create a new document, click on the "New" button in the toolbar. You will get a new drop-down menu that has fabulous things like folder, spreadsheet, presentation. We are interested in a standard document, so you click on that.
- Once your new document window pops up, it will be just like your standard word processing experience. A few things to remember, though: Aggiemail automatically saves your file, and it will name it whatever is the first line of text. So remember to type the filename you want at the top of your document. You can change it later, but there is a lot of paperwork and several forms of ID required to do so. It will then save periodically throughout, as well.
- After you are done with you typing, bolding and italicizing (and spellchecking because you can do that with a click on "CHECK SPELLING" button in the bottom lefthand corner), you will need to share your document with your group. To accomplish this:
1. Find the share tab located in the just above the toolbar on the righthand side of the page. Click it.
2. Once inside the share window, look to the left side where there is a rectangular white space just dying to be typed in. Satisfy it's urges by typing in the email addresses of those people you want to have access to this document.
3. Look above the box and below where it says "INVITE PEOPLE." IF you want people to be able to add comments or make changes to the document, which will be helpful in group situations, make sure the "as collaborators" button is full. IF you just want people to be able to view it, click on the "as viewers" button. The default is "as collaborators" that's the one you'll be using most, so you probably don't even have to worry about all the stuff I just spent three hours writing.
4. After you have to right email addresses in the box, and the right button clicked, you click the "INVITE COLLABORATORS" button below the box. Don't worry about checking or unchecking any of the boxes below. They are already configured for your success. So just click it, already.
5. When you click the "INVITE" button, a message box will pop up. It will ask you if you want to send an email to those people you invited, telling them the glorious news of their inclusion into the super-secret club that is your new Google Doc. Think of the email as glad tidings of great news, and just click the "SEND" button.
- After completing all those steps, you can click the gray "BACK TO EDITING" button near the top lefthand corner to go back to the word processing.
- To exit the document, click the "SAVE" button, which will be in about the same place as the "BACK TO EDITING" button -- the top lefthand corner.
- TO OPEN a shared document from a group member, go through the same steps to get into Google Docs as mentioned before. In your main window, in a folder called "Items not in folders" will be your new gift, the document or documents that were shared with you.
- OR, if an email was sent to the collaborators, you could also access the document by going into the email and clicking the link inside. That link will take you directly to the document.
- You can just click on the document and it will take you to the document where you can word process naughty things into the document (NOT suggested, especially since this stuff will be a part of something for your group that will be graded.) Once you're inside the document, look things over, type them in and save the document. When the all the people that have the document, including the owner, open it, your changes will be included.
- There's about a thousand other things you can do with Aggiemail, but that's the basics. Playing around with it will yield a bunch of interesting adventures, I'm sure.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Press Release 4 Final Draft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2008

Housing and Dining Services
Administrative Office
1295 East 1000 North
Logan, UT 84322

Contact Information:
Housing Director, Steve Jenson
435-797-3116
http://www.housing.usu.edu/

LOGAN, Utah— Utah State Housing Services’ annual Returning Residents’ Campaign is beginning Feb. 25th and will end on March 7th.

During this time residents can sign back up to live in housing and will be rewarded with $100 in credit toward Housing, Dining, Bookstore or Parking.

As part of this years campaign Housing has announced a $500,000 makeover for some of the older apartments. Most of that money will be spent renovating apartments in South Campus.

Steve Jenson, executive director of Housing said, “We’ll be getting brand new couches and love seats in all the apartments, the old mattresses will be replaced, we’ll be painting living rooms and adding color, replacing carpet where it’s needed most, and adding extra electrical outlets in some areas.”

For students who think that on-campus housing is only for freshman, the west side of Merrill Hall will now be just for returning residents.

“We encourage you to continue to make the best of your college experience both socially and academically by choosing to return to campus. Don’t just go to school, live the entire college life – live on campus!” said Jenson.

Beginning March 4th South Campus, Central Campus, and the Student Living Center will have renovated apartments to model the changes that will be made.

For more information please contact Kate Reeves at 801-722-9569 or by e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu

-###-

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

media pitch final

To: Jeff Hunter, editor, Cache Valley Magazine

Subject: Cache Valley group teaches about financial independence

Date: Feb. 27, 2008

Dear Jeff Hunter,

I am e-mailing to tell you about an organization that I think Cache Valley Magazine would be interested in writing about. The Cache Valley Area Investors Association is a group that aims to educate the community on financial matters.

This group is open to Cache Valley residents interested in learning about investment opportunities. They meet every other Thursday in the Cache County Chamber of Commerce at 7 p.m., anyone can attend and it's free of charge.

The CVAIA often bring in guest speakers like CPAs and mortgage brokers to answer questions for the group. Many of your readers could benefit from attending the meetings.

I look forward to talking to you more about this subject.

Thanks,
Kate Reeves

Public Relations Director, CVAIA

Phone: 801-555-5555

E-mail: kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu

Website: www.cvaia.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

Cache Valley Group Educating Community (e-mail pitch)

Dear Jeff Hunter,

I am e-mailing to tell you about an organization that I think Cache Valley Magazine would be interested in writing about. The Cache Valley Area Investors Association is a group that aims to educate the community on financial matters.

This group is open to Cache Valley residents interested in learning about investment opportunities. Preston Parker began the organization last August in the hopes of helping people become financially independent.

The CVAIA meets every other Thursday. They often bring in guest speakers like CPAs and mortgage brokers to answer questions for the group.

For more information you can contact me by e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.com or call at 801-722-9569.

Thanks,
Kate Reeves

Sunday, February 24, 2008

press release for housing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2008

Housing and Dining Services
Administrative Office
1295 East 1000 North
Logan, UT 84322

Contact Information:
Housing Director Steve Jenson
435-797-3116
http://www.housing.usu.edu/


LOGAN, Utah— Utah State Housing Services’ annual Returning Residents Campaign is beginning today and will end on March 7.

During this time residents can sign back up to live in housing and will be rewarded with $100 in credit toward Housing, Dining, Bookstore or Parking.

As part of this years campaign Housing has announced a $500,000 makeover for some of the older apartments. Most of that money will be spent renovating apartments in South Campus.

Steve Jenson, Executive Director of Housing said, “We’ll be getting brand new couches and love seats in all the apartments, the old mattresses will be replaced, we’ll be painting living rooms and adding color, replacing carpet where it’s needed most, and adding extra electrical outlets in some areas.”

For students who think that on-campus housing is only for freshman, the west side of Merrill Hall will now be just for returning residents.

“We encourage you to continue to make the best of your college experience both socially and academically by choosing to return to campus. Don’t just go to school, live the entire college life – live on campus!” said Jenson.

Beginning March 4 South Campus, Central Campus, and the Student Living Center will have renovated apartments to model the changes that will be made.

For more information please contact Kate Reeves at 801-722-9569 or by e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu

-###-

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Cache Valley Area Investors Association Final Draft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 11, 2008
Contact Information:
Preston Parker
Cache Valley Area Investors Association
four three five-seven five seven-four five six zero
cachevaia@gmail.com

Local Organization Encouraging Community to become Financially Independent

LOGAN, Utah— The Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) is an organization that educates members of the community on ways to make wise investments.

Preston Parker, president of CVAIA, created the organization to help people learn to think about opportunities and money differently. Parker said, “There is not a normal finance class in high school that teaches people about these opportunities.”

The CVAIA often brings in guest speakers like CPAs and mortgage brokers to answer questions for the group.

Parker said, “I’m sick of people hating their jobs and feeling stuck.” One of the goals of the group is to help people get enough passive income that they don’t have to work, “But they still can work, and they do and they love it!” said Parker.

CVAIA meetings are open to anyone. The group meets every other Thursday at 7 p.m. They meet at the Cache Chamber of Commerce at 116 N. Main St. The next meeting will be Feb. 21.

For more information contact Katie Reeves at 801-722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Cache Valley Area Investment Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 11, 2008

Contact Information:
Preston Parker
Cache Valley Area Investors Association
four three five-seven five seven-four five six zero
cachevaia@gmail.com

Local Organization Encouraging Community to become Financially Independent

LOGAN, Utah— The Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) is an organization that tries to educate members of the community on ways to get out of debt and make wise investments.

Preston Parker, president of CVAIA created the organization to help people learn to think about opportunities and money differently. Parker said, “There is not a normal finance class in high school that teaches people about these opportunities.”

The CVAIA meets bi-monthly and often brings in guest speakers like CPAs and mortgage brokers to answer questions for the group.

When asked about his motive for opening the group, Parker said, “I’m sick of people hating their jobs and feeling stuck.” One of the goals of the group is to help people get enough passive income that they don’t have to work, “But they still can work, and they do and they love it!” said Parker.

CVAIA meetings are open to anyone. The group meets every other Thursday at 7 p.m. They meet at the Cache Chamber of Commerce at 116 N. Main St. The next meeting will be Feb. 21.

For more information contact Katie Reeves at 801-722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Burger Planet Press Release Final Draft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 4, 2008

Burger Planet
123 Pretend St.
Gary IN 46401

Contact Information:
James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
(219) 555-5555
James.muellenbach3@fakemail.com
http://www.theburgerplanet.com/

Burger Planet Hires Fitness Guru to Help Promote New Healthy Menu Items

GARY, Ind.—International restaurant chain, Burger Planet, is hiring fitness guru, Jayne Petersen, as part of a new health conscious campaign.

Petersen is well known for her work in helping Opal Whitcomb get into shape. She has been a featured guest on her show more than a dozen times.

Burger Planet CEO, James E. Muellenbach III said that he hired Petersen because, “Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health.”

In the past year Burger Planet has introduced several new healthy menu options. In addition to its classic burgers, like the Saturn and Venus burgers, Burger Planet has added a white meat chicken breast to the menu. Customers can also purchase packets of five different types of fruit or one of the new 300 calorie gourmet salads.

Petersen has joined the Burger Planet team because, like she teaches in her best selling book, "Looking Good in a Leotard," it’s important to use moderation in dieting. Petersen said, “Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages."

Petersen will kick-off the new campaign on May 12 at the Burger Planet in Times Square. Petersen will then travel across the country with Corny the Clown, visiting franchises and shopping malls.

Burger Planet was founded in 1934. Its headquarters are in Gary, Ind. There are nearly 9,000 Burger Planet franchises world wide. They have served over 52 billion customers.

For more information contact: Kate Reeves at (801) 722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

-###-

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Burger Planet press release draft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 4, 2008
Burger Planet
123 Pretend Street, Gary IN 46401

Contact Information:
James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
(219) 555-5555
James.muellenbach3@fakemail.com
http://www.theburgerplanet.com/

Burger Planet Hires Fitness Guru to Help Promote New Healthy Menu Items

GARY, Indiana—International restaurant chain, Burger Planet, is hiring fitness guru, Jayne Petersen as part of a new health conscious campaign.

Petersen is well known for her work in helping Opal Whitcomb get into shape. She has been a featured guest on her show more than a dozen times.

Burger Planet CEO, James E. Muellenbach III said that he hired Petersen because, “Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health.”

In the past year Burger Planet has introduced several new healthy menu options.
In addition to its classic burgers, like the Saturn and Venus burgers, Burger Planet has added a white meat chicken breast to the menu. Customers can also purchase packets of five different types of fruit or one of the new 300 calorie gourmet salads.

Petersen has joined the Burger Planet team because, like she teaches in her best selling book, "Looking Good in a Leotard," it’s important to use moderation in dieting. Petersen said, “Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages."

Petersen will kick-off the new campaign on May 12 at the Burger Planet in Times Square. Petersen will then travel across the country with Corny the Clown, visiting franchises and shopping malls.

Burger Planet was founded in 1934. Its headquarters are in Gary Indiana. There are nearly 9,000 Burger Planet franchises world wide. They have served over 52 billion customers.

For more information contact: Kate Reeves at (801) 722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

-###-

Sunday, January 27, 2008

final draft real estate news realease

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 21, 2008
ABC Real Estate LLC
123 Creative Way, Logan UT 84341

Contact Information:
Pres. Bret Cob
801-555-4567

New Real Estate Company in Logan Looking for Investors

LOGAN, Utah—ABC Real Estate announced Wednesday that it is opening a new branch in Logan and is looking for people who want to invest in real estate.

ABC Real Estate uses beneficiary directed, equity holding land trusts. The concept has been around for years and many wealthy people have benefited from the investment program. Now Bret Cob, president of ABC Real Estate is offering this same investment opportunity to the people of Logan.

“Instead of just having a home owner and a tenant, these land trusts allow people to invest in a variety of ways. If someone has good credit they can invest that and get money in return,” said Pres. Bret Cob.

The program let’s people invest in different ways, and it also helps the residents of these homes. The residents own part of the home and will build credit just by paying their rent on time.

Cob’s business partner Evan Nielson said, “I can guarantee 10% returns on any investment, but it will likely be closer to 40%. This may sound too good to be true, but these land trusts do work. It is amazing that they haven’t been introduced to the Logan market before.”

ABC Real Estate takes care of all the paper work involved with the land trust and they make sure that the people who live in the house are paying their rent on time. This allows individuals to get involved without having to worry about negligent land lords or tenants.

ABC Real Estate is a Draper based company that began in August 2007. The company is looking for people in Logan who are interested in investing money or credit. They are also looking for people who want to be home owners.

For more information contact Kate Reeves at (801) 722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

-###-

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

real estate news release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 21, 2008
ABC Real Estate LLC
123 Creative Way, Logan UT 84341

Contact Information:
Pres. Bret Cob
801-555-4567

Local Real Estate Looking for Investors and Tenants

LOGAN, Utah— ABC Real Estate, a Draper based company, is looking for investors in Logan. The company began in August 2007 with the goal of bringing a different type of real estate to the Utah market.

ABC Real Estate uses beneficiary directed, equity holding land trusts. The concept has been around for years and many wealthy people have benefited from the investment program. Now Bret Cob, president of ABC Real Estate is offering this same investment opportunity to the people of Logan.

“Instead of just having a home owner and a tenant, these land trusts allow people to invest in a variety of ways. If someone has good credit they can invest that and get money in return,” said Pres. Bret Cob.

The program let’s people invest in different ways, and it also helps the residents of these homes. The residents own part of the home and will build credit just by paying their rent on time.

Cob’s business partner Evan Nielson said, “I can guarantee 10% returns on any investment, but it will likely be closer to 40%. This may sound too good to be true, but these land trusts do work. It is amazing that they haven’t been introduced to the Logan market before.”

ABC Real Estate takes care of all the paper work involved with the land trust and they make sure that the tenants are paying their rent on time. This allows people to get involved without having to worry about negligent land lords or tenants.

The company is looking for people interested in investing money or credit. They are also looking for people who want to be tenants.

For more information contact Kate Reeves at (801) 722-9569 or e-mail at kate.reeves@aggiemail.usu.edu.

-###-

Sunday, January 13, 2008

letter to my cousin

Dear Chelsea,

How are you doing? So you asked about what I’m doing, I am still at Utah State. I recently changed my major to public relations. I’ve heard PR described as business without the math.

Some people compare it to advertising, but instead of selling a product someone working in PR works to sell a company, brand name or individual. One of the main ways that PR groups do this is by writing press releases and sending them out to various news organizations. The news organizations use the releases to write stories.

In addition to generating good press, PR professionals do have to deal with the occasional crisis. In the 1980’s someone tampered with bottles of Tylenol and as a result seven people died. Rather than trying to cover it up the company used brilliant public relations. They were completely honest about the tragedy and pulled all of the bottles off the shelves, when they returned the product they put them in new tamper-evident bottles. Because of their honesty and genuine concern for the consumers, Tylenol remains a very popular product.

I am really excited to pursue a career in public relations. I think it will be a very rewarding job that will allow me to use more than my writing skills. I hope all is well for you. Good luck in pursuing your nursing degree.

Sincerely,

Kate

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

a bit about me

Hi,
My name is Katherine but I prefer to be called Kate. I am a student at Utah State University in beautiful Logan, Utah. I'm studying journalism and political science. I am also working on a minor in women and gender studies. I aspire to one day work PR for an international charity organization. I am very interested in current issues and have been closely following the 2008 presidential campaign. If you have any specifc questions about me I'd love to answer them!

Kate Reeves