Stereotype, Typecast, Label, Pigeonhole....It's your call...

When a person says the word stereotype, the pictures or thoughts that used to come to mind were either racial or negative stereotypes. I’ve recently come to change my thoughts and opinions on what I thought a stereotype is. The actual definition of a stereotype from dictionary.com is:
“a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.”
I used to feel that a stereotype was something derogatory about a group of people. After discussing stereotypes and their meanings since the beginning of the semester in various classes I now have a completely different understanding of stereotypes. A person can surely say that they are not racist or they never think about stereotypes when talking to or discussing other people. Where in reality, to me a stereotype is:
any type of thought or action that is thought about a single person or a group they belong to based on seeing the person, knowing a certain group the person belongs too, or by some action that person does.
A stereotype is not necessarily a bad thing, “what matters is the character of the stereotypes, and the gullibility with which we employ them (Lippmann Ch. 6 Part 3).” To me this means that if you believe and make stereotypes out of every little piece of gossip you hear, then in fact you are making the stereotypes negative. Whereas, if you hear a bit of gossip for example that some organization on your college campus is “smart” or “nerds” or “the brains” it could be true. I feel that what each person needs to do in this situation is if you hear something about someone or an organization, research it. If you’ve heard that this organization is full of smarty-pants research their combined GPA and compare it to other organizations on campus. If it’s true, it is a stereotype, but a positive one. If it’s not true than you might just find out something about that group of people you would have never known before.
The way I see it now, is that a stereotype can be positive or negative. It is the way that you let it affect you, how easily you believe it, and how you treat those people in that group based on that set stereotype.

Time Warner (AIM)

In a previous blog, I stated that instant messenger was my favorite media to use. The service provider that I use for instant messaging is AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). The company that runs and produces AIM is AOL, LLC. Ralph Hanson tells us in his Mass Communication book that AOL is one of the only 6 companies to control the majority of the media output in the United States. Those six companies are: Time Warner; Disney; Viacom, Bertelsmann, News Corporation, and General Electric. AOL made a bid to buy Time Warner in 2000 and the merger was completed in 2001 which made Time Warner the largest media company in the United States. Time Warner owns various book publishing companies, magazines, recording labels, cable networks, cable television operations, broadcast television networks, and movie studios.
I still have to say that although I’ve used various services and means of Time Warner media my favorite medium that Time Warner supplies is AIM. After researching and trying to find out a bit more on AIM and what exactly the gatekeepers do to supply me with this medium, I found out that instant messenger actually started in an early form in 1985 (neat…considering I was born that year)! Browsing this website from AOL I found out how AIM evolved from it’s origin to what it is today. The new AIM 6.0 has many features that the gatekeepers put in to allow the users to incorporate many types of media into their lives. Using AIM allows users to message, chat, and find up to date information about topics such as music or games. Users can even keep track of their business meetings and acquaintances which includes a heightened security feature. Time Warner also makes sure to provide each AIM user with the wonderful AIM Today page. This page includes various headlines, advertisements, and clips of upcoming movies that Warner has produced. This 'synergy' as mass communications likes to call it, allows Time Warner to use one media it provides to advertise other media as well—a joint effort to make sure both parts of the company succeed. Although of course the Time Warner gatekeepers are sure to monitor what content the media user is exposed to by only advertising and subjecting users to other mediums that Time Warner owns or produces. With all the built in features of AIM the Average Joe media user such as myself can keep track of all areas of their life while still keeping informed about new media, upcoming events, and keeping in touch with others all around the world.

media...what what?

i considered how i use media and i'm sure that my media use limits my reality in many ways...i never read the newspaper, i rarely watch the news, i sometimes see headlines on msn.com, really the only place i hear about any type of news is when i talk to my dad on the phone...this really limits my reality because while im here in my own lil bubble at westminster world war 3 could be starting and i wouldnt know about it because it might not be something my dad felt to tell me that was important...

if i engaged in more media i would probably be more knowledgeable about what was going on in the world as far as news goes by reading the newspapers and watching the news, but i also might not have as much time to work on my school work, hang out with my friends, talk on the phone, be on im :) but by spending more time on the phone/im/facebook i really am engaging in more media and am becoming more knowledgable by learning about what is important and what is going on in my friends and families lives

if you analyze messages, the meduim, and the gatekeepers critically you might never believe any of the news that you hear in the media....you might say o well this person couldnt possibly know this and this reporter wasnt actually there to film that story so they dont know exactly what happened...if you really analyzed the messages, meduim, and gatekeepers there would be at least one thing that you could find in each type of media that would keep you from either believing it, watching it, reading it, listening to it, etc.

i have a lot of stereotypes and pictures that fill my head that would pry take up this whole blog if i decided to type them all out...one of the major stereotypes that i have that helps me to navigate the media is that the newspaper is boring... therefore i will look through the newspaper at the pictures and ads and headlines and if anything catches my eye i might read about it (for example every friday when the holcad comes out i'm sure to snag one...take a look at the pics...if i see anyone i know or anything interesting i might skim the article...it really takes an interesting or really well written article to grab my attention to read the whole thing)...i would never just sit down and read the newspaper...also i love to travel and if i happen to see a headline about somewhere where i've been or really want to go i will usually read that article...

*MY* opinion

i had a hard time understanding the reading in public opinion...but one quote that did stand out to me was on page 24 "Privacy is insisted upon at all kinds of places in the area of what is called public affairs. It is often very illuminating, therefore, to ask yourself how you got at the facts on which you base your opinion. Who actually saw, heard, felt, counted, named the thing, about which you have an opinion?"

this kind of stood out to me because most people in the public eye try to keep some sort of privacy but anytime something gets out it is such a big deal...such as someone getting divorced, cheating on their loved one, having a baby, or blah blah...and then everyone has some type of opinion about what has happened....the thing that is intersting though is that you only have to hear this one time from pretty much any type of source a tv, magazine, internet and everyone seemes to believe it...but if you think about hearing what you believe so quickly should you really? i mean if you heard the same thing you are believing that quickly about your best friend...would you believe it or would you have to actually hear it from them to believe it? or from some type of trusted source....not just some dumb magazine...

My Fav. Media

*my favorite media to use is probably instant messenger....i love being able to look at what my friends are doing and be able to talk to them at any second of the day while i can do 800 million other tasks in my room at the same time...if for some reason it was gone forver i dont know what i would do i would probably be pretty sad and upset... i would miss being able to talk to my friends as much i probably wouldnt be able to keep in touch with as many people as i do now. it would be so much harder to have to write letters, emails, or phone all of the friends that i talk to on a regular basis on instant messenger if it happend to stop existing. so for now im glad that i can still use instant messenger :)

Media Checklist

1. I use my phone a lot more when I am at home. When I am at school I call my mom or my dad most often. When I am at home I call my best friend Carissa the most often.

2. I honestly can't remember the last time that I listened to a speech/public speaker when it was not for class.

3. I im very often throughout the day. If i come back to my computer and have messages i will often send a reply. Two people I frequently chat with are my friends Carissa and Colby.

4. I check my email about every three hours while I am at school.

5. The last time I paid for music to listen too was in October. It was the Elton John concert at the Mellon Arena.

6. The most recent thing that I watched on TV was something on TLC where they were remodeling a house. I was bored.

7. The last time I recorded a TV program was on Thursday. It was Grey's Anatomy. I had to miss it and recorded it so that I wouldn't miss what happened.

8. The most recent thing that i watched for fun at the theater was "The Holiday" on dvd was "Step Up" and "Talladega Nights"

9. The last radio station i listened too was kiss fm because it was the only radio station that didnt have commercials on at the time i was in the car.

10. The most recent book i read for me was a Daniell Steele book over Christmas break.

11. I dont really read the newspaper.

12. I pay for a magazine subscription for the year. I just read one yesterday.

13. I honestly can't remember the last time I wrote a letter and mailed it through snail mail!

14. I have Google for Educators bookmarked on my browser. The last time I visited was just the other day. I'm an El. Ed. major and I frequently use this site to come up with cute and creative ideas to help me teach!

15. I have a "Facebook" blog---it helps me stay connected with friends from all over and it's fun to leave them messages and see pictures and stuff that they post!