Friday, November 30, 2007

Newspaper Election Media EC

For the presentation, I liked the atmosphere that was set in the small room and the chairmen in front. However what they focused on for old media vs new media in elections was not my cup of tea. I am not big on politics so it did get very boring. Although I wasn’t interested at first, it kept me wondering and questioning. (Kind of like questioning the authority.)

I liked some of the stats that they through out. Saying that only 9% of younger adults read the newspaper didn’t surprise me. As a young adult I could relate and I would not bother to spend money on a paper that I can just go online and read for free. The newspaper just doesn’t contend with the internet. However when they mentioned that what many people are reading online is just what they agree with, and so the news isn’t news anymore. When one perspective you don’t get the true news. You only get an opinion that you agree with which hurts education, I believe.

The entertainment that is taking over I can relate too but doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I could care less about Paris Hilton and what kind of dog she has, when she is going to jail, what she bought in Beverly Hills. Come to think of it, I can’t relate to that. It was just a filler in the news before but it has taken over. I could care less about a stars life, and why they continue to fail or act out of line.

Back to the election debate. I feel that papers don’t influence elections. They do keep the reader informed and the papers now and days will do anything to keep a reader reading. That is why the panel talked about why they investigate election candidates wives and personal life because it is entertainment, and that is what it is all about now. If we aren’t entertained, the why even read the paper?

The one thing I agree with is that I like that the larger papers are going local, such as the Star Tribune. I don’t know what is going on an China, and even if I did, how would it affect me personally? However I feel that the larger cities should stay international. They are major cities for a reason, and more than likely, more diverse than per say Minneapolis. I think that online journalism is a way to easily stay international too, having so much access on the web.

So overall, I liked the presentation and what was presented. It made you think about what online journalism was evolving into and what the newspapers are doing to keep our attention. It was nice to hear a professionals idea of what the media can do for us.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Another Scholarly Critique I accidently Did

Marcus Parisian
Prof. Ishida
Mass Comm
October 4, 2007

Scholarly Article Critique
Research topic and researcher- Multiple Sources in Advertising Appeals: When Product Endorsers Are Paid by the Advertising Sponsor, by David J. Moore, John C. Mowen, and Richard Reardon, in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 22:2 (Summer 1994), pp.234-243. Retrieved from Communication and Media Complete, on October 1, 2007.

Rationale of the study- The study was done for two reasons: 1:“to investigate the joint effects of single versus multiple sources” (P. 235). 2: The endorser affects of “payment versus non payment” (p.235). Then there are 4 subsections that combine the rationales for this study.
H1a: Higher positive thoughts with four sources rather than one when the endorser is not paid.
H1b: Positive thoughts are lower with four sources rather than one when the endorser is paid.
H2a: Attitude is more positive when endorsers are not paid when 4 sources present the message rather than one.
H2b: Attitude is less positive when endorsers are not paid when 4 sources present the message rather than one.

Literature Review-
• Source credibility is a main factor in persuasion (p. 234)
• Shimp (1976) showed 40% of ads used an endorser (p. 234).
• 64% of younger consumers think that endorsers only endorse for the money (p. 234).
• More sources appearing in the same ad tends to stimulate high levels of motivation to process the message (p. 235).
• When a single source is delivered in a message, the processing of that ad may be reduced because the target may think they have already heard what is about to be said (p. 235).
• Ads with “person-on-the-street” endorsers may still have negatively influences if they are perceived to have been paid by the sponsor (p. 235).
• If the product had any relation to “financial compensation” by the ad sponsor, tendencies were to feel negative towards the message (p.235).
• When doubt is upheld through the endorser, believability and trustworthiness is turned negative afflictions with the product (p.235).
• Trustworthiness by an endorser in a message can affect attitude toward message source, the brand, and the product itself (p. 235).

The research method used was a variety of ways. It was content analysis of the ads to go along with experimental sessions when students were given to evaluate print advertisements. For evaluations, there was a 3-minute thought-listing procedure for attitudes (237).
The way the research was conducted was 82 undergraduates were given 10 ads from “popular national magazines and local newspapers” which were related to a variety of products. Each ad was given a statement about the company sponsoring the ad. The end of the booklet of ads announced the intro of multivitamin tablets, VITAMAX. This was picked for the “scientific knowledge” and “wide range of consumers” (p.236). The students were asked to explain their attitude towards using and rank it on an ordinal scale of good, favorable, and beneficial. Then a 7-point scale was used for the attitude toward the brand from very unfavorable/very favorable.
The research finding was almost as predicted. First, students were asked to see if they could see a difference in a paid spokesperson and it was greater awareness of the paid source. The students agreed that when a paid spokesperson appears to not be genuine about the true benefits of the product in first person, they disbelieve in the product. For the positive and negative thoughts of a spokesperson, the difference in sources made a difference. One source for positive thoughts in unpaid spokespersons made it more credible, while vise versa for the paid. In the negative thoughts of paid versus unpaid, the paid had more negative thoughts for more sources, and the paid had less negative thoughts for more sources. (237-238). In conclusion, the attitude toward the brand “received the most favorable ratings when the message presented by unpaid sources.” The attitude toward the product was favorable toward using the product when the source was perceived as unpaid. Then for the attitude toward the source showed “subjects exposed to unpaid multiple sources expressed more favorable attitudes than those exposed to unpaid single sources” (p. 240).
In my opinion, the research done for this study withheld all my beliefs in what may happen. Some of the things the researchers did well were break down the study for the subjects to comprehend the ads. Before the VITAMAX ads were evaluated, subjects were actually given an ad for jewelry and test out the system so it was fair. The simplicity of the study was also done well, comparing only two amounts of sources (one vs. four). Then, for the rating of each ad kept it simple, using a rational and ordinal way to keep judgments simple. The simple things that they did made it easy to read the steps and how they went about getting their results.
Some of the negative things that the researchers had done were get away from that simplicity at times. For procedures, they went further out of their normal realm and got a little complicated on what they were doing and why they did it. It made me come up with more questions about the significance of the procedure. However, the results explained a good portion of the reasons why, but were very brief. In all, the research was very well done, and related to my thoughts with endorsements and media today.
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Marcus Parisian
Prof. Ishida
Mass Comm
October 5, 2007

Scholarly Article Critique
Research topic and researcher- Mapping the Blogosphere: Professional and Citizen-Based Media in the Global News Arena, by Reese, Rutigliano, Kideuk, and Jaekwan, in Journalism 8:3 (June 2007), pp. 235-261. Retrieved from Communication and Media Complete, on October 1, 2007.

Rational of the study- The study was done for a few reasons. Research was done on a few different blogs that included politics and news. These views were mainly focused on liberal and conservative and asked the following questions: 1- “What extent do blogs link to the professional news media and how are those references characterized?” (p. 241). 2- “How is political affiliation of blogs related to their linking to professional news media?” (p. 241). 3- “How is political affiliation of blogs related to the affiliation of their linking choices?” (p. 241). 4- “How is political affiliation of blogs related to their linking to international sites and authors?” (p. 241). These questions are asked to help the understanding of influence that bloggers create by this new trend on the web.

Literature Review-
• Political participation has gone global (237).
• “Internet’s potential for advancing more engaged and active citizenship around the world” (237).
• Journalism is a way to bring out conversation to the world (237).
• “Professional identity are changing technological capabilities,” especially in communication (237).
• Journalism online is now spreading to such a large range, “from mainstream news sites…to the sites that encourage a more open journalistic culture” (237).
• “Globlization and technology have produced a broader and more fluid journalistic conversation, a new global public sphere” (237).
• Content today that is online is still bombarded by the professional media like CNN, Yahoo, MSNBC, etc. (239).
• Many blogs of liberal and conservative themes were linked together (240).
• Even boundaries today are being pushed back, and given opinions from more than one perspective. For example US citizens talking about the war in Iraq, and then Iraqis talking about the war too. (240)

Research Method- The most used method was probably content analysis. The researchers searched the six different blogs and read what people had to say, how they said it, what perspective they were saying it, the importance of what they were saying, and who was reading what they had to say. It was an in depth looks at people’s point of views and how other people responded to those views.

Subject of the Study- There were six different blogs, Talking Points Memo, Atrios, Daily Kos for the liberal. And the conservative were Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan, and Little Green Footballs. (p. 242). Both liberal and conservative blogs were looked into how the boundaries of blogs are changing the way people interact and think about world issues. Each blog was carefully chosen and watched over to see what bloggers had to say. Then for each post, it was ranked or coded by the material.

Research Finding- All the blogs had a few comments, with the Daily Kos having the least at 14.8. Blogs were searched to also find first hand information. Three out of the six had no first hand observations making the material very opinionated but two out of the six came from liberal blogs. A majority of the blogs are linked with stories regarding the topics that are being talked about. These links are also a rating to see what stories are related to the blogging.

My Thoughts- I thought the research was well done. At times the writing got confusing, and the results being graphed can be over whelming. My personal thoughts about the research was that they did a good job on working with the changing of the web and the blogs. To stay updated and keep up with there work is tough to do, when it changes from day to day.
Some of the negative things that the researchers had done were get away from that simplicity at times. For procedures, they went further out of their normal realm and got a little complicated on what they were doing and why they did it. It made me come up with more questions about the significance of the procedure. However, the results explained a good portion of the reasons why. In all, the research was very well done, and related to my thought with the opening of the blogosphere.
Marcus Parisian
Prof. Ishida
Mass Comm
October 24, 2007

Scholarly Article Critique

Research Topic and Researcher- “Problem Gambling on the Internet: Implications for Internet Gambling Policy in North America,” by Robert Wood and Robert Williams. New Media & Society, June 2007, 9 (3), pp. 520-542. Access to the full text of this article via EBSCO databases: Communication and Mass Media Complete. Article Link.

Rationale of the Study- The study was done to see the amount of problem gambling that occurs, caused by internet gambling websites. It is unknown whether internet attracts pre-existing gamblers or is the cause to problem gambling (p. 524). These research questions were asked to help solve the problem: 1-“What extent do internet gamblers manifest propensity for problem gambling?” (p. 525). 2-“What, if any, are the correlates and predictors of problem gambling among internet gamblers?” (p. 525). 3-“In the event of an observed relationship between problem and internet gambling, how might governments best craft internet gambling policies that minimize the relationship?” (p. 525). These questions are asked to help the understanding of influences the internet has on problem gamblers.

Literature Review-
• Increase in gambling among the US adult population (p. 521).
• Consumer spending on internet gambling increased 75.41 percent from 2001-2003 (p. 522).
• Internet gambling is predicted to become a $10 billion dollar industry by the end of the decade (p. 522).
• “Problem gambling is gambling behavior that creates negative consequences for the gambler (p. 522).
• Casino gambling is available in every state, except Utah and Hawaii (p 521).
• There is more availability of gambling in Canada than the US (p. 521).
• Soon governments may a state of legalized and regulated internet gambling (p. 521).
• In 2001, there were “upwards 1400 different online gambling sites” (p. 523-524).
• Internet prevalence rate in 2004 was 1.2 percent (p. 524).
• Internet prevalence rates in 2002 for the US were only 0.3 percent (p. 524).
• “4 percent of adults in North America met the criteria for problem gambling in the past year” (p. 524).
• “Internet gamblers are more likely to be suffering from a gambling problem and at greater risk of developing one” (p. 524).
• “Internet gambling sites may provide an overall experience that facilitates the emergence of a gambling problem, where none might have emerged otherwise” (p. 525).
• “The conveinience and comfort of home internet may lead to a high than normal frequency of play” (p. 525).
• The more easy it is to play online, “may result in greater than normal gambling losses (p. 525).
Research Method- The method was online surveys (p. 526). The researchers searched through gambling sites and found three that “appeared to be similar to the typical gaming portal that one encounters online” (p. 526). The online survey that was created was targeted at people who were on the three sites, who clicked on an advertisement link that brought them to the survey. The survey’s homepage told the respondents about the research goals of the study (p. 527-529). There were a total of 46 closed and open-ended questions containing several sections (p.527). The survey asked them simple questions “about their demographic information” (p. 527). “The second asked respondents about the nature of their online gaming activity” (p. 527). The last segment was given for the “respondents to complete a version of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (GPGI), to determining the level of problem-gambling behavior” (527). CPGI is a procedure for respondents to answer nine easily questions ranked 0-27 overall and individual questions 0-3 (p. 527-528).

Subject of the Study- There were a total of 1844 surveys submitted and scanned for repeats (P. 527). The three gambling sites picked people randomly from places over North America, mostly the U.S. and Canada (p. 530). The survey only lasted an average of 10 minutes (p. 527). The research conducted responded to questions about employment, ethnic background, marital status, religion, and education. Then the surveys were evaluated to find gambling behavior, from what types of games, to time spent gambling (p. 532). These questions helped sum up the idea of internets relationship to problem gambling.

Research Finding- the research findings weren’t what they expected. Internet is more of a convenient way to gamble, because of disability, to employment, to a way to have fun (p. 530-533). More male than female were taken from the sample were problem-gamblers. The most problem gamblers came from age 18-19. U.S. was the most common nationality from the sample. High school as the highest education was the most common from the Education category. There were more unemployed and non-disabled people from the sample than employed and disabled (p. 531-532). The most common game was Blackjack by more than half of the respondents (p. 532). “The CPGI, 42.7 percent can be classified as either moderate or severe problem gamblers” (p. 533). “More time spent along with male gender and minority ethnic status are all characteristics that correlate to problem gambling” (p. 534). However, “problem gamblers prefer land-based gambling” (p.534). In conclusion, “internet gamblers are a high-risk group for problem gambling” (p. 537).

My Thoughts- The work by the researchers is very thorough. The work went about their work very well, from the surveys to the CPGI version for clear answers. The survey helped give a variety in their sample of the kinds of people who gamble and where gambling comes from.
Although the research was thorough, I felt that the question of whether internet and problem gambling relates wasn’t answered as well as it could be. I would like to see more content involving how internet may reach these gamblers and if internet is a main cause for problem gambling. I think that the researchers could have contrasted the before and after affect of beginners in the online gambling industry.
Over all, questions were answered about the topic, and I enjoyed seeing the danger in gambling online. It opens up my thoughts about playing online poker for money.