Niche Media

One concept that I believed needs to be further discussed is that of niche media. Niche media are forms of communication geared to a narrowly defined audience. It is notably different from mass media which are designed to reach and influence very large audiences. Niche media tries to focus on audiences with special interests such as raising cattle, gardening, or automobile racing, or to an audience with a particular demographic or geographic characteristic. When considering the media and all of its affects, it is easy to look at mass media and overlook niche media as mass media is arguably the one to have a greater affect on any given population. However, niche media is also an important part of the rise of media as well. Niche media panders to the specifics and focus itself on what certain people are interested in rather than the general things that everyone is likely to be interested in. I think it is very important in that it acknowledges certain groups and their interests rather than just lumping everyone together.

Question 2 (Likes and Dislikes)

I think my favorite part of the class was how interactive it was. The discussions and comments that were assigned every week really made it easy for me to get to know the others students and get a sense of who they were and what they stood for. I’ve found that, in most college classes, you’re lucky to get to know a few people in between the professors lecturing. That wasn’t the case here. I also enjoyed the content and the useful information that was provided throughout this semester. I can’t really think of anything that I didn’t like about the class and, if it was up to me, I would keep it the same as it was this semester. Everything seemed to work just fine to me. All in all, it was probably the class I like the most this semester and I’m really glad that I signed up for it.

Question 1 (What I've Learned)

I have certainly learned a lot in the last few months and much of it can be attributed to all that I have learned in this course. This course has taught me what it truly means to make an argument as well as knowing the different types of arguments there are. I’ve learned that it is sometimes necessary to questions the things you believe to be true in order to leave room for other perspectives. I’ve learned about ethics, morals, fallacies and plenty of other concepts that I had never given much thought to before taking this class. However, I think the most important thing this course has taught me is how to approach situations with a rational mind in order to make better decision in my life. I can honestly say that I have applied several of the concepts and techniques that I’ve learned in this course in my everyday life. I believe this course has helped me to become a more open-minded and well rounded person.

Psuedoscience

The part of this chapter that I thought was really interesting was that of Psuedoscience. Psuedoscience is described in the text as being a body of explanations or hypotheses that masquerade as the truth. It is often based on emotional appeals, superstition and rhetoric rather than the scientific method and can therefore be considered unscientific. Examples of Psuedoscience are astrology, psychic healings, tarot card readings, mind readings and numerology. The principles of most Psuedosciences are so vague worded that it becomes difficult to test their validity in a scientific setting. For instance, Horoscopes offer ambiguous statements that could apply to just about anyone which makes it hard to determine if it is truly falsifiable. Another example would be faith healing because, when someone is not healed, their healer can simply say that they did not have enough faith. Faith is not tangible and thus there is no way to say whether or not the healer was wrong. 

Question 2 (Scientific Research)

When I was a child, I thought I could get behind the sun if I just went far enough. Whenever my family and I went on a long drive or on a trip, I would stare up at the sun and wait for our car to pass it. It took me a little while to learn, mostly through school and science class, that my ambition was impossible. I had been looking at the sun as if it was a coin in the sky with a front and a back to it that could be seen depending on where you were in relation to it. Through reading and learning more about scientific research, I found out that the sun is spherical—a giant ball of fire in our solar system— and that Earth revolves around it.  Therefore it doesn't matter where you go on the planet; you will never be able to see the front and then the back of the sun. This is but one of many ways in which scientific research has changed the way I see the world around me.

Question 1 (Falsifiable Horoscopes)

Today, Virgo, don't be too surprised if you have difficulty getting into a work frame of mind. It's likely that you'd rather daydream than be in the real world. You're susceptible to daydreaming and taking imaginative trips. Consider making a list of everything that you need to do to help you focus. This will help you meet your short-term objectives, and you can take it easy this evening

My horoscope basically says that I will have a hard time focusing at work today and that creating a list of what I need to do would help me keep track of my short term objectives. This prediction felt a little vague to me. Most people get distracted when they are trying to work and yes making a list can help you keep on track, but that would be true for just about anyone on any day of the week. I’m finding that horoscopes tend to give practical advice and disguise it as something that is unique to your circumstances, so that when it works, you get the feeling they knew the future. It would seem that this horoscope is falsifiable because all it would take is one Virgo to say that this prediction didn’t apply to them today, however, I think it would be difficult to find someone who wasn’t distracted at all and who wouldn’t benefit from making a list of what they need to do.

Bias in News

The part of this chapter that I thought was interesting was bias in the news. This part explained how aside from selecting stories that appeal to the largest audience, the news is often reported in a biased way to keep us tuned in. It said that reporters may exaggerate or play down certain aspects of the story in order to keep us interested in what was happening. They also try to stay away from stories that might offend their sponsors, thus the news can seem one-sided at times. Furthermore, there are certain gender biases in news, in that the news is usually reported from a male point of view. I thought this was interesting because, before reading this, I hadn’t realized how much the news was affected by outside sources. I could understand why television shows or commercials might be biased on some matters but I figured the news was above all of that.