The Ubiquitous Media
The news media is an ubiquitous presence in our times. Whether it is the switching of a television channel, turning a radio dial, signing on the Internet, or glancing at a newspaper, the media is present. It is a social infrastructure that was created to inform citizens of happenings, but has now become a multi-billion dollar association of corporations and advertising agencies. The real price of the media is incalculable because of how it shapes and molds our views of the world. This influence for the most part is positive and horizon expanding but may have negative connotations.
The news media is limitless. It provides for me all the basic factual information I need in order to be an informed citizen. By reading a newspaper or watching the evening news, I gain a wider view of the world. My opinions are formed partly by the news because of the facts given. My viewpoints are not formed entirely by the news media though; there is a definite difference between believing and simply listening.
Some of America tends to be easily inf...
First published in 1789, Volume I focuses on Equiano’s short time in Africa followed by his treacherous journey as a slave. He begins the narrative with an in depth description of his homeland of Nigeria, speaking of their food, clothes, and religious views. He then recounts the events following his kidnapping, as well as the treacherous expedition from Africa to the West Indies known as the Middle Passage. Once in the West Indies, Equiano saw firsthand the selling of his countrymen. While there, he was not purchased, so Equiano was taken to Virginia, where he labored in the fields of a plantation. Not long after arriving in Virginia, Equiano was sold to Henry Pascal, a lieutenant in the British navy. After purchasing Equiano, Pascal returned to England. During their journey, Pascal renamed Equiano Gustavus Vassa. Once in England, Equiano began to go to church with his new friend Robert Baker, who began to teach him to read and write. Pascal later sent Equiano to work for his sisters, the Guerins. The Guerins promoted his education and Christianity, and eventually, the sisters convinced Pascal to permit Equiano to be baptized. Eqiano was extremely loyal to Pascal, but after a few years the slave was sold to James Doran. Equiano was astonished th...
Equiano recalls his childhood in Essaka (an Igbo village formerly in northeast Nigeria), where he was adorned in the tradition of the "greatest warriors." He is unique in his recollection of traditional African life before the advent of the European slave trade. Equally significant is Equiano's life on the high seas, which included not only travels throughout the Americas, Turkey and the Mediterranean; but also participation in major naval battles during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), as well as in the search for a northwest passage led by the Phipps expedition of 1772-1773. Equiano also records his central role, along with Granville Sharpe, in the British Abolishionist Movement. As a major voice in this movement, Equiano petitioned the Queen of England in 1788. He was appointed to t...
The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, first published in 1789, is the first example of a slave narrative. Unlike most of the class, I took it upon myself to read the entire story of Equiano’s Travels, abridged and edited by Paul Edwards. In that version, as in the version represented in The Norton Anthology American Literature Shorter Fifth Edition, the journey of Olaudah Equiano is expressed in his own words, from his own point of view. That makes this writing a truly unique piece of literature. It is not only the first slave narrative but also one of the only ones written pre-civil war by a former slave, and someone seized from Africa. These facts give the writing a unique feel, for it is the words of a man that was born a free man, raised to be a ruler of his tribe, kidnapped and made into a slave as a young child, and then journeying through life to become once again free as a mature adult. Equiano experienced almost all parts of a slave’s existence. He was a slave throughout Africa, England, and the New World.
Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was born on July 13th in 100B.C. His full name is Gaius Julius Caesar, which was the same as his father’s name. Julius Caesar was the most famous Roman general and was one of the most influential political and military leaders in history. He helped establish the vast Roman Empire. Caesar gained all his power in four different areas. Those areas are politics, government, religion, and in the military. Using these amazing powers he controlled many aspects of Roman life. In 84B.C. Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of Lucis Cornelius Cinna, a noble who was Marious’ associate in revolution. Lucis Cornelius Sulla demanded they divorce in 83, but Caesar refused, risking his job and his life. Caesar went to Rhodes to study oratory. Pirates captured him on his way. His relatives paid a ransom and he was released. Once he was out he recruited private troops and captures the Pirates. Then he executed them. Caesar had won victories in Spain and had attracted many men in Rome. In 60B.C, Caesar and Pompey formed an alliance with Marcus Lucius ...
Cicero’s oration in defense of M. Caelius Rufus shows many substantive and stylistic borrowings from the Roman Theater, particularly the comedies of the 2nd century b.c.e. This would scarcely seem remarkable to Cicero, to employ such devices is only to make use of the tools of his trade, as a practical and practicing rhetorician. In this case using the theater as a framing device to guide his audience’s response.
Olaudah Equiano is well known historically as a narrative that overcame slavery in order to achieve the ideal that all men are created equally. At eleven years old when he was abducted, he went through troubling times as an African American and was able to tell his horrifying yet fascinating experience as a slave on the voyage known as The Middle Passage.
Olaudah Equiano, a Journalist, an activist. He was everything from a slave to an entrepreneur, but we still are not sure where he came from or even how old he truly was. But one thing that is more than evident, he was a self-made man who gained worldwide notoriety on a noble cause to bring attention to abolish slavery. When writing, Equiano’s Travel’s: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa the African, he, for the first time, through the narrative brought to everyone’s attention the appalling situations that slaves were facing. Where the validity in some of the Narrative is in question, there is no question in the result of the extensive work Olaudah did to bring attention to the travesty that resulted from slavery.
Looking the historical moment we are living at, it is undeniable that the media plays a crucial role on who we are both as individuals and as a society, and how we look at the...
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
The changing environments throughout the ages have caused the movement of thousands of families out of their homelands. Whether forced to make such decisions or doing so by their own desires, all immigrants have had to survive the physical and psychological challenges encountered along the way. To speak about the experiences of all these different people using the same ideas and examples would be quite inaccurate. They all, however, had to live through similar situations and deal with similar problems. Many of them succeeded and found the better future they were looking for. Many others found only hardship and experienced the destruction of their hopes and dreams. All of them were transformed.
The Power of the Media in Politics The mass media possesses a great deal of influence in society and politics in the United States. Newspapers, radio, magazines and television. are able to use their own judgment when reporting current events. The The power of the mass media is an asset to the government in some instances and a stumbling block in others. Recent technology and regulations related to The media have improved the means by which the public can get information.
The Mass Media is a unique feature of modern society; its development has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions and engagements, rapid social change, technological innovation, rising personal income and standard of living and the decline of some traditional forms of control and authority.
The current role of mass media in politics has definitely played a significant role in how view and react to certain events and issues of the nation. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio are some of the ways information is passed onto many of the citizens. The World Wide Web is also an information superhighway, but not all of the sources on the Internet are credible. Therefore, I will only focus on the main three types of media: written, viewed, and audible, and how they affect whether or not democracy is being upheld in the land of the free. The media includes several different outlets through which people can receive information on politics, such as radio, television, advertising and mailings. When campaigning, politicians spend large quantities of money on media to reach voters, concentrating on voters who are undecided. Politicians may use television commercials, advertisements or mailings to point out potentially negative qualities in their opponents while extolling their own virtues. The media can also influence politics by deciding what news the public needs to hear. Often, there are more potential news stories available to the media than time or space to devote to them, so the media chooses the stories that are the most important and the most sensational for the public to hear. This choice can often be shaped,
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. But how much influence does the mass media poses on our opinion? Guaranteed by the First Amendment in American Constitution, the media will always be there to inform us about the different events or issues they feel are important for the public. The media constantly bombards us with news, advertisements, etc, wher...