Athletes On & Off the Field

Athletes are famous, point blank. They want to get noticed and get their name out there, especially if there is money involved, such as doing commercials or representing a product. Who would not want to be richer? For instance, Tiger Woods had his own Gatorade thing going on, which made bank because he is the most famous golfer known to man, even if you do not watch golf, there is no doubt that you do not know him. But after his many sex scandals with various women, it changed his whole image. He lost many endorsements, along with his perfect family. Gatorade cut his line off because he was getting bad publicity, along with some of the other companies. They no longer wanted to be associated with someone like this because it would look bad for them. But you have to realize that athletes are people too, and they can make mistakes. But there are many people, kids especially, that look up to them. Many athletes do awesome things, like giving to charities and organizations to help a cause, but unfortunately some just do it for fame, it is not from the heart. They just want to give off the image that they are a giving kind of person. One that does actually care is Lance Armstrong. According to The Giving Back Fund, he was one of the top people to give. He even set up his own organization called the Lance Armstrong Foundation, to support people with cancer. He donated $5 million to it to help people with this. Which is awesome for him because he is a survior of this horrible condition, so it hits pretty close to home.

Being Noticed Leads to Fame

Nowadays, it is extremely easy to become famous, whether being on a reality show or getting fans on youtube. By being in the public's eye from television or music, your name gets out there. It is so easy to become noticed because people thrive on media. Since we have computers and other technology it is very accessible. Artists, like Colbie Colliat, posted her songs on Myspace which has made her famous because people liked her music. This is so easy to do because anyone in the world has access to it. Once records companies or other artists see this, they want to sign them because they know how popular the artist is and how rich it will make them. Just like Akon signing Lady Gaga, now he is making millions...along with her. Singing shows such as American Idol bring a lot of fame in the music world. Even if you do not win, you still have that chance of getting noticed if someone sees potential in you. And if people cannot even sing, but are funny, become famous because they do and say ridiculous things that will sell. Like the old man that came on the show this season singing his song he wrote entitled "Pants on the Ground". It is a pointless song, but it is funny. This is entertainment, this is what people want. Now that people know how to get noticed, it is only becoming easier and easier to do so. Because they mostly are getting noticed through the internet, it destroys the use of a cd because they could just get access to it there. I believe that the music industry is growing, but in a completely new way thanks to technology and tv shows.

Shouting the News: Commentators Today

The first person that comes to mind when I hear hear the word commentator is automatically Nancy Grace. She really shows her emotions and opinions while the show progresses. She talks about cases or stories that everyong wants to know more about, such as the Natalie Holloway story. Usually her guests are doctors or professionals that are used for evidence to convince the audience of their thoughts. Although she can get a little rowdy, she still gets the facts out there for America to know. With her there is definitely shouting because if you are not giving her the answer she wants she will attack you until she gets the answer she is looking for. People might say that she is biased, but most people would most certainly agree with her on the certain topics, I mean I surely do. On the other hand watching the Situation Room with Wolf Blizter is a whole other story. He commentates on mainly politics. He has a very clean cut demeanor, and I believe his issues are presented in a balanced way. When they bring up the down side of what Obama is doing, they always leave it kind of neutral by ending it off with something that makes it think they like him. At the end of each show they always have a question of the hour, which gets the audience involved, which I think does not make it as biased. Wolf Blitzer's way of commentating is definitely a way that is more respectful and boring, to be honest. I like to hear agruments and disputes, it is what makes something fun and interesting to watch.

Reality Television is Not Reality

MTV reality television shows are all set up. The fact of the matter is, is that people love to see drama and fights. Just like in the show Jersey Shore. There was more action in one episode than in a person's whole life. All of these people want to be noticed to become famous, that is the only reason people go on reality shows. Once they get on these shows and get noticed, they could potentially have their own show one day, just like New York from Flavor Flav. She was kicked off and then had her own show. For instance, the Real World, how ironic, represents nothing about the real world. People have to go on auditions, the director picks the people who he thinks will get the most attention, so viewers will actually want to watch it, because it is entertaining. I think these shows reflect how society could one day be. Not all people but some could possibly be influenced by watching these kind of shows, especially a younger kid who wants to be cool and fit in. On the other hand, MTV does have shows that are good influences such as Teen Mom. This shows the struggles and hardships of having a baby when young, and how difficult it is to start your life with this major hump in your way. These shows are not embarrassing to watch because sometimes they can be down right hilarious, but other times you feel sorry for them because of how dumb they just looked on national television. The truth is is that reality television is apart of everyones' lives now and whether it can potenially harm our society, it is out there for pure entertainment. They give the viewers what they want to see. You can see all of these shows in detail at www.mtv.com

Will the Dundalk Eagle Last?

More and more people are starting to stop reading the newspaper. Some say that it is boring or too long, but for others it is something they do as a daily routine. However, the Dundalk Eagle will always survive mainly because it is a community paper that shows was is going on in that particular area, compared to a worldwide newspaper that could easily be accessed online. What attracts people to the paper is that their own children could be in there, whether being for school or sports. The fact of the matter is is that people love to see people they know in the paper. It makes them appreciate it more and motivates them to actually buy and read it. Because it is a community paper more people are bound to buy it because who would not want to know what happening around them. Most people save clippings of their loved ones and put them on their fridge or put them in a scrap book. My parents have a yearly prescription for only $16, which is really cheap compared to buying them off of the shelf every Thursday for around 30 cents. The stories in this newspaper are mainly about certain events that happened or will happen (how CCBC is having a new play opening as shown above), it displays highlights of school sports, honor list, obituaries, and it even shows job openings and things that are for sale. One thing that will always attract all of Dundalk is that when we go on vacation and take a picture with the paper and send it in, we will be shown in the next week's paper. I know there are some people that love to go to yard sales on the weekends, or when they need something they will look for it in the back of the Dundalk Eagle for something cheap. Therefore, this paper will never die because it connects everyone to their community.

Magazines in the checkout line: Airbrush much?

When you look at magazines while going through the check-out line, you mostly find pictures of celebrities at their worst. This is what some people thrive on and what they want to see. They want to see stars exposed to either make themselves feel better or just to see that they can make mistakes as well. If celebs are not on the cover showing their flaws, they are using sex appeal. Whether the cover shows a male or female, the cover still portrays the same image, such as men without a shirt showing off their six-pack or women with hardly anything on. This makes people think that this is an ideal image of how a person should look, when really this is far from reality. The wealthy can afford to blow their money and drop thousands on any kind of body enhancement method. So when people see this they ask themselves, how can I be like that. In this case, when a person sees a magazine headline that says that you can lose 5 pounds in a week, it draws them in. Magazine buyers want to be entertained and informed to escape their own lives and to relate it to their own personal lives. According to Kristina Joukhadar, the cover is about 75 percent on why people actually buy a magazine off a stand. Even though magazine sells are declining, the value of the magazine is more important to the person rather than the price of it because it is what he or she wants to see or read about.

Reference: Koukhadar, Kristina. "Changing Rules of Newsstand Sales". PBAA.

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