One concept, or ethics concern, I came across during this class (Intro to Media JMC-1013-020) was that of small-town pastoralism. The concept of small-town pastoralism is that people who live in lower-population towns are nicer than people who live in big cities, or that people who live in middle America are truer Americans. Basically, those living in small town America off coast and more towards The Great Plains are considered more American and have better mannerisms and respect. The term is definitely subjective, as “small-town life” varies by the person, and the region of the United States as well which is why the stereotype of small-town pastoralism should be abolished or defined properly. A “small town lifestyle” would typically be a slower pace of life with more blue-collar relying on industries in a community that is bonded together and with each other and nature. On the other hand, the city or urban lifestyle would resemble close to the opposite. This type of lifestyle would likely be a lot more fast paced and business-oriented and would likely include less of a community feel. While both have their perks, it is important to consider which types of media would do well in each. Videos and magazines would likely be more effective in the city as people are on the move and could watch a video on their phones and pick up a magazine at city stands. Outlets such as the local news would do well in small towns as a lot of Americans trust local outlets more than national outlets, which might do better in the city due to the publicity and reach. An article I viewed from medium.com analyzes small town outlets and why they are typically more trustworthy than national outlets. These are for reasons such as a larger percentage of the desired audience would read it, because national news can go unrecognized by a lot of citizens, while a small-town publishing would likely be read by the whole town. Another reason is that there is likely to be less views based off of solely controversy. In many scenarios, national outlets will get a ton of views without its desired purpose. For example, a national site putting out an article on a controversial topic can get a lot of views, but not quality views as they will be going viral for wrong reasons. Ultimately, I think small town pastoralism is not a huge issue and will continue to be a stereotype in heads of Americans. I think there needs to just be better acceptance for the varying lifestyles, as both have advantages and disadvantages and value their media in different ways.
Although media is not about dating, I have attached a pros and cons list of living in a fast-paced urban environment and a slower paced rural environment. I think this chart does have some useful information for advertisers and media such as there are more concerts and more young people in cities than small towns which can provide details of where to schedule or advertise certain events.
