Media plays a very big role in my life. I get a lot of my entertainment, information, and connections from the media. I constantly use media everyday whether it's social media, news media, or entertainment media. Media has a great role in our society because it influences our thoughts and opinions, it spreads news to all around the world, and it allows people to consume the content they are interested in. My understanding of the media's role throughout my time in the Media Scholars program has increased dramatically. Before being a media scholar, I never paid attention to the workings of media and how the content we consume can shape our opinions. After being a media scholar, I learned to become aware of what I was consuming, to fact check my news, to understand the meaning behind what I am consuming, and to understand the hidden messages that come with what is being broadcasted.
I have employed critical analysis of the Presidential election during the last three semesters. The last couple of months in the Media Scholars class we heavily analyzed the presidential race and election. We analyzed the fake news that had been present during this time and how we can fact check the information we are getting in order to make an informed unbiased decision on who to vote for. This year was the first time many of us could vote and it was very useful and important to have the skills to analyze the information we receive. Through this class I have learned to google various information from social media on search engines and compare the information on reputable news outlets. I have also been taught how to spot bias news in order to form my own opinions and not have the media skew them. It is important to not consume biased media content because it will cause a tunnel vision effect and make it seem like everything that you personally agree with is the right view. It is dangerous to consume biased media because that can lead to the thinking that other people's opinions are incorrect or not valid.
An example of media production and content that can be harmful is framing and stereotyping. In the media, I have seen many examples of unfair portrayals of black and people of color, which affects how people belonging to different minority groups are seen in our society. During the time of the Black Lives Matter protests and the protests for Justice for George Floyd, there was a lot of news coverage that created a negative view on these protests. News coverage used negative words to cover the protests describing them as riots, violence, looting, clashes, and much more. Often called the “protest paradigm”, the news stations create false narratives about protests in order to create a more dramatic effect. Some of the news stations coverage caused the protests to look more negative than positive. Some reports tried to insinuate that those who protested were inciting violence when in many cases it was often the police and/or those who were opposed to protesting inciting conflict. The use of images and videos that could be taken out of context were published which further damaged the protest’s reputation. I believe the framing and stereotyping in the media is very harmful because it creates a society that is discriminatory against different racial groups. No one should be looked down upon because of their differences and it is important that the media not spread false narratives because that causes many issues and division in our society.
I believe that being a critical consumer and producer of media means that you use media everyday as a way to get information and to also spread information. Critical consumers rely on media to get them through their everyday lives and create content to connect to others. A passive consumer will consume media less frequently and focus more on gathering information from real world experiences. I see myself as a critical consumer because I rely on the media for almost all of my information, entertainment, and social connections. I think I am this way because of my age because many of my peers around me are the same way. I believe where I am from influences this as well. Since I live between two cities Baltimore and Washington D.C., I believe that we are in a very social media driven culture because of the major cities that I am surrounded by. Lastly, I believe the pandemic that we are living in influences the type of media consumer I am because in order to keep myself and my family safe we have to adapt by being connected through the different forms of media.
The scholars class has brought me in contact with people who challenged my opinions. There have been class discussions where my point of view on things have differed from my peers but I learned a lot from them. I have learned new perspectives on various topics such as social issues, political views, and opinions on matters in our community. I find it to be important to surround myself with people who may not agree with everything I believe because that is how I broaden my views. During this class I began to understand that other people are not going to agree with everything that I do and it is healthy to have your beliefs challenged. I really appreciate the open discussions that occurred during class time because it is an interesting and beneficial way to learn.
My learning was improved by interacting with fellow Media Scholars. The ability to share ideas with each other has improved the way that I learned. I have worked in groups with different people in the scholars program and I got to see how others worked their way through college. I was able to see how my peers managed their time, how they went about completing their assignments, balanced their social lives, how they interpreted and used media which was all very beneficial to me. During the past three semesters I had struggled with the workings of school and with the help and support of my peers I have learned how to do many things that I was uncertain about. I also worked a lot with Rachael Termini and she became a close friend of mine. She taught me so much about topics that I was unsure of and we assisted each other in our college journeys.
I have not made as big an impact as I would hope to in the Media Scholars community. Smaller group discussions and more out of class opportunities to engage would make it easier to make more meaningful contributions to the scholars community. I feel like I did not get to engage with many of my classmates because of how large the program is. It was hard to communicate with other peers that I did not usually talk to because I felt that I did not have the chance to work with a multitude of different people. It was also intimidating to speak up in such a large classroom environment. I felt that a lot of the opportunities that were present were more geared towards students who were interested in communications and journalism, which is very understandable because this program is focused on media, but since my major is Education at I feel like I did not have many opportunities to contribute.
My scholars program experience will inform my future in many ways. I have applied for an internship with a media company that focuses on diversity within media and the media scholars program was a factor in my decision to apply for this. As I continue my college career and prepare for life after college, I will use every skill that I have learned in this class in order to be an informed consumer of media. I will learn to analyze the media that I come across and spread what I have learned to others so they can be aware of the role the media plays in their lives. I have become a more informed citizen because of the opportunity I had to be a part of these classes which I will always be thankful for.
I have employed critical analysis of the Presidential election during the last three semesters. The last couple of months in the Media Scholars class we heavily analyzed the presidential race and election. We analyzed the fake news that had been present during this time and how we can fact check the information we are getting in order to make an informed unbiased decision on who to vote for. This year was the first time many of us could vote and it was very useful and important to have the skills to analyze the information we receive. Through this class I have learned to google various information from social media on search engines and compare the information on reputable news outlets. I have also been taught how to spot bias news in order to form my own opinions and not have the media skew them. It is important to not consume biased media content because it will cause a tunnel vision effect and make it seem like everything that you personally agree with is the right view. It is dangerous to consume biased media because that can lead to the thinking that other people's opinions are incorrect or not valid.
An example of media production and content that can be harmful is framing and stereotyping. In the media, I have seen many examples of unfair portrayals of black and people of color, which affects how people belonging to different minority groups are seen in our society. During the time of the Black Lives Matter protests and the protests for Justice for George Floyd, there was a lot of news coverage that created a negative view on these protests. News coverage used negative words to cover the protests describing them as riots, violence, looting, clashes, and much more. Often called the “protest paradigm”, the news stations create false narratives about protests in order to create a more dramatic effect. Some of the news stations coverage caused the protests to look more negative than positive. Some reports tried to insinuate that those who protested were inciting violence when in many cases it was often the police and/or those who were opposed to protesting inciting conflict. The use of images and videos that could be taken out of context were published which further damaged the protest’s reputation. I believe the framing and stereotyping in the media is very harmful because it creates a society that is discriminatory against different racial groups. No one should be looked down upon because of their differences and it is important that the media not spread false narratives because that causes many issues and division in our society.
I believe that being a critical consumer and producer of media means that you use media everyday as a way to get information and to also spread information. Critical consumers rely on media to get them through their everyday lives and create content to connect to others. A passive consumer will consume media less frequently and focus more on gathering information from real world experiences. I see myself as a critical consumer because I rely on the media for almost all of my information, entertainment, and social connections. I think I am this way because of my age because many of my peers around me are the same way. I believe where I am from influences this as well. Since I live between two cities Baltimore and Washington D.C., I believe that we are in a very social media driven culture because of the major cities that I am surrounded by. Lastly, I believe the pandemic that we are living in influences the type of media consumer I am because in order to keep myself and my family safe we have to adapt by being connected through the different forms of media.
The scholars class has brought me in contact with people who challenged my opinions. There have been class discussions where my point of view on things have differed from my peers but I learned a lot from them. I have learned new perspectives on various topics such as social issues, political views, and opinions on matters in our community. I find it to be important to surround myself with people who may not agree with everything I believe because that is how I broaden my views. During this class I began to understand that other people are not going to agree with everything that I do and it is healthy to have your beliefs challenged. I really appreciate the open discussions that occurred during class time because it is an interesting and beneficial way to learn.
My learning was improved by interacting with fellow Media Scholars. The ability to share ideas with each other has improved the way that I learned. I have worked in groups with different people in the scholars program and I got to see how others worked their way through college. I was able to see how my peers managed their time, how they went about completing their assignments, balanced their social lives, how they interpreted and used media which was all very beneficial to me. During the past three semesters I had struggled with the workings of school and with the help and support of my peers I have learned how to do many things that I was uncertain about. I also worked a lot with Rachael Termini and she became a close friend of mine. She taught me so much about topics that I was unsure of and we assisted each other in our college journeys.
I have not made as big an impact as I would hope to in the Media Scholars community. Smaller group discussions and more out of class opportunities to engage would make it easier to make more meaningful contributions to the scholars community. I feel like I did not get to engage with many of my classmates because of how large the program is. It was hard to communicate with other peers that I did not usually talk to because I felt that I did not have the chance to work with a multitude of different people. It was also intimidating to speak up in such a large classroom environment. I felt that a lot of the opportunities that were present were more geared towards students who were interested in communications and journalism, which is very understandable because this program is focused on media, but since my major is Education at I feel like I did not have many opportunities to contribute.
My scholars program experience will inform my future in many ways. I have applied for an internship with a media company that focuses on diversity within media and the media scholars program was a factor in my decision to apply for this. As I continue my college career and prepare for life after college, I will use every skill that I have learned in this class in order to be an informed consumer of media. I will learn to analyze the media that I come across and spread what I have learned to others so they can be aware of the role the media plays in their lives. I have become a more informed citizen because of the opportunity I had to be a part of these classes which I will always be thankful for.