Caleb

Before I took this class, I thought of blogs as short, opinion-centered online posts. While some aspects of that turned out to be true, I have discovered there is more to it than meets the eye. Firstly, blog posts are a bit more difficult than I originally thought. After nearly eight weeks of blogging, I have realized that it becomes difficult to consistently come up with new ideas. After the first few weeks, I already found my posts getting repetitive. Additionally, I struggled to write posts in length because I ran out of ideas. Another piece of knowledge I gained while publishing these blogs was what I enjoyed writing about. It became increasingly obvious to me what was easy to write about, and what was not. For instance, when writing about the Baltimore Ravens, my favorite professional football team, I never had an issue forming ideas of what to say. However, when writing about national news, I found it difficult to engage in the content I was writing about. It felt like I was doing a mini research paper for each blog post. One other element that troubles me is making my blog posts look pleasing. I struggle to find pictures that fit my writing, because I am unsure which photos I can use and which I cannot. I know that the general rule is that if it does not belong to me than I should not use it. However, I feel as though that limits my options and hinders my ability to make my blog post look appealing. Granted, I am new to this, so I did not expect to understand everything right away. Despite my struggles, I am determined to keep trying to learn something new every week.

After 50 years, the infamous “Zodiac Killer” has been identified by a cold-case task force. The murderer who claimed to have killed as many as 37 people, has been revealed as Gary Francis Poste. The cold-case task force was able to connect Gary to another murder, Cheri Jo Bates. Cheri Bates was murdered 400 miles away from the Zodiac Killer’s murders in San Francisco. During his murder spree, the killer sent cryptic messages to the police who were unable to decipher them. However, recently the messages have been decoded and led police to the discovery of the killer.

In week 3 of the 2021 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens visited Detroit to face off against the Lions. After a record-setting 66-yard game winning field goal by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, Tucker’s name flooded sports media. However, one Ravens player who did not get praised by the press was wide receiver Marquise Brown. Nicknamed “Hollywood” due to his home town, Brown received criticism for dropping two sure touchdown passes from quarter back Lamar Jackson. With the heat rising, Hollywood responded the only way he knew how. Next week, Marquise made a spectacular touchdown catch on a 49-yard bomb from Lamar. The Ravens would go on to beat the Broncos 23-7 and Hollywood’s name was back in the media. This time, it was surrounded with praise instead of criticism. When in doubt, “call God”.

Going into the school year, there were a number of things that were uncertain in my life. As the semester ha progressed, one thing in particular had been weighing on me, choosing a major. Since August, deciding what major I was going to declare has been glooming over me. As a child, I had an interest in becoming a lawyer, but as I got older I changed my mind on going that route. Prior to enrolling at OU. I thought I was going to go into sports business, but that never formulated either. So, after I met with my advisor I told her I would just go into the semester undecided. Since then, I have been constantly thinking about which direction to go. Nearly halfway into the semester, I made my decision. I decided my major would be journalism, and that I would minor in sports business. Finally declaring a major lifted an enormous weight off my shoulders, and I am glad I was able to come to a decision.

California rapper Baby Keem released his debut studio album “The Melodic Blue” earlier this month. The album features many other rappers including his cousin, Kendrick Lamar. The album received praise from many, including Rolling Stone who said Keem is “sharp, focused and easy to like.” After hearing this appraisal, I gave the album a listen for myself. It is safe to say that the album lived up to my expectations. From the upbeat and aggressive tempo of “Trademark USA” to the more chill beat of “16” this album; this production checked all the boxes for me. Keem does a great job of combining lyrics with his unique voice to produce quality music song after song. I have listened to the album many times now, and I plan on listening to it frequently in the future as well.

When the Ravens and Chiefs face off, the scoreboard is certain to light up. Headed into the Monday night football matchup, the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens were 0-3 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Despite some close games over the last three years, Jackson was unable to defeat his ‘kryptonite’ in all three games. After an overtime loss to the Raiders in week 1, the Ravens were looking to get revenge on their in-conference rivals. After a crucial fumble recovery by rookie edge-rusher Odafe Oweh, the Ravens had a 1 point lead against the Chiefs with 1:05 left in the game. On 4th and 1 from within their own territory, Lamar took the ball himself and rushed for a crucial 2 yards to seal the game. Lamar said in a post-game conference that it was good to get the “monkey off his back” and finally beat the Chiefs. The Ravens will try to keep this momentum going into week 3 when they head to Motor City to take on Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions.

When a professional soccer player is competing against another team on their home turf, they do not expect it to be easy. They expect to be booed when they enter the pitch and jeered at when they make a bad play. The player expects to walk into an unpleasant environment, and the home supporters never fail to give the away team a harsh welcome. However, what they do not expect, nor should the tolerate, is to receive abuse based on their skin color. Racist abuse is a rampant issue throughout soccer, and it has been put up with for far too long. One country where racial abuse is extremely common is Italy. In Italy, many black soccer players have been victims of racial abuse in stadiums and online. The New York Times reported on one such incident of racial abuse directed towards 19-year-old Juventus striker Moise Kean. On April 2, 2019, Juventus (a professional Italian soccer club) travelled to face fellow Italian opponents Cagliari in a Serie A league match. However, what would take place inside the stadium would lead to players and pundits all over the soccer world to speak out against the unacceptable racial abuse that is still an ongoing problem in Italy and across the globe.

One song that I consider good music is “Rollin” by Calvin Harris. It is a pop song that features two hip-hop artists: Future and Khalid (Calvin Harris is the artist, but he does not have any vocals in this song). I believe that everyone should listen to this song because it is very catchy and uplifting. I like listening to it because of how it makes me feel and how it is put together. Firstly, listening to “Rollin” puts me in a good mood. The upbeat rhythm and the vocals make me want to move and sing along, and it gives off “musicality”. Another reason that this song should be considered good is because of the way it is constructed. The song features two different artists who’s different styles blend well together. Khalid mostly sings the chorus where his exceptional voice shines. Future mainly deal with the verses because of his special ability to make any words flow together and sound pleasing. For these two reasons (and many others), I believe that “Rollin” by Calvin Harris should be considered good music.

The first step in the critical media process is description. Description is quite cut and dry: what you can see. This includes but is not limited to names, images, people, and objects. For example, in a news broadcast, one may point out the names of the reporters, what the reporters are discussing, and what the room looks like. The description answers the “what” question.

The second step is analysis. When analyzing a piece of media, one must look for patterns or things that stand out. Common patterns may be bold lettering, flashing images, or color coordination. Continuing with the news broadcast example, the report may have big bold words on certain texts. Additionally, the camera may be centered on a certain individual.

The next step in breaking down media is interpretation. Interpretation has the job of answering the “so what” questions. In this step, one must decide what the patterns mean that were highlighted in the previous step. The reason that news editors bold certain words is because they want the readers to focus on that specific text. Furthermore, if the camera is solely focused on one person, they want that individual to be the focal point of the broadcast.

The fourth step in the process is evaluation. This is when the reader or viewer determines the quality of the piece of media; in other words, “is it good?”. This can sometimes be personal opinion but many times it goes back to the question of “did they achieve their goal?”.

The fifth, and final step of the critical media process is engagement. Engagement is decided by how many people interact or share the piece of media. For example, a YouTube video’s engagement can often be counted in how many views and comments it has.

The biggest question that I have regarding media is: how do journalists obtain their information? I have always been intrigued about how journalists navigate the media world. I constantly imagine all the conversations they have with various media officials and news reporters. However, I do not know exactly how they make these connections. Do they meet their colleagues at media events? Do they make them at news outlets and businesses? Or are they mostly made at common paces such as bars or restaurants? I have never met a journalist, but when I do, I will present these questions to them. Additionally, I imagine their lives to be crazy with their phones constantly blowing up, and a new story always on the verge of breaking. I am hoping to discover how these journalists stay organized throughout all this chaos. I am also curious as to what drives journalists (because I know it is different for everyone). Specifically, what drives them to get out of bed and go to work every day. Another question I have is: how are they able to stay so independent? While journalists obviously have many connections, they must rely on themselves to get their work done. I hope that throughout my media studies I will discover the answers to these questions.