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Me pursuing broadcast journalism after taking COMS 201

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What I wanted to learn from this course when I selected it to take this semester was; strengthening my academic writing skills, deepening my understanding of communication and where communication fails, and to understand the effects of modern media on our internal communication/perception.  These things have always been interesting and I love to expand my fluency in understanding and working with others through communicating. I plan to go into psychology and effective communication is an essential part of my future career, and while currently being a Lifeguard and an active team member through sports and work, I put these skills into practice every day. I would say the two things I am looking forward to the most within this course are the news making, advertising and brand culture units, with critical audience studies coming in a close second.

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A perfect demonstration of how intertwined Canadian identity has become with our media sources! https://site-cbc.radio-canada.ca/media/2987/soummission_fr_2222x

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The long-standing tool of communication has been used as a developer of nationalistic ideals and as a vehicle for a sense of community, a way for people to elaborate their ideas over the boundaries of space; the strength of communication as an empire-builder is not a new revelation. For a long time, Canada brainstormed ways to separate itself from the identity of being "a collection of colonies scattered across the vast northern half of North America." (Gasher et al., 2020, p. 46) As trade restrictions were enacted on these colonies, an urgency to create a sense of national identity and self-reliance was utilized to break away from the monetary hold that the US and Britain had on them. With a newfound responsibility to economically support itself, Canada would ultimately have to create a way for all its colonies to become a unified entity. For such a widely dispersed nation with distinct economic goals, the proposal of a rail system —a strong, long-distance, communication technology— and its endless commercial uses checked all the boxes.

This cross-country rail system was proposed shortly after Canadian Confederation by John A. Macdonald, with a goal of: "bind[ing] the country into a cohesive political economic unit with a 'ribbon of steel.'" (Gasher et al., 2020, p.46) The development of a transcontinental railway allowed for a physical "communication route across Canada's vast geography for things such as: people, mail and the telegraph," (Thrift, 2023, p.12) all of which set the stage for a massive increase in national communication while also providing a definitive boost towards an independant Canadian economy. Since the colonies were now physically bound together by this economic tool, Canadians became conscious in a nationalistic manner. A railway going coast-to-coast made goods that we previously imported accessible to produce right in our own backyards, furthering the development of national identity/pride while citizens partook in industries as both producers and consumers. This ability to purchase 'Canadian-made' dairy, produce, and meats has had a long-lasting ripple effect which consequently created a foundation for iconic national brand identities (A&W, Tim Hortons) while also positively impacting the economic growth of Canadian industries. Why would a shopper purchase imported ingredients in their meal when they could have locally grown ones, while simultaneously supporting fellow Canadians? This type of rhetorical questioning seems to be a no-brainer, but current nationalistic attitudes we carry today subsequently display the product of communication technologies "help[ing] foster both regional and national consciousness among people living in Canada." (Thrift, 2023, p.13)

Although this railway was effective with its economic goals, it also exposed a need for a national cultural identity to be developed; the fact that Canadians were conscious of each other physically was not enough to create a unified Canadian perspective culturally. The Broadcasting Act of 1932 was crucial to this development because "national media[s] were central to forging a “Canadian”
consciousness to the geographically dispersed, multicultural,
and politically diverse population" (Thrift, 2023, p. 15) that the current systems in place were narrowly succeeding at. The success of being ultra-nationalistic with the content that Canadian radio produced has been tested by time; as every Canadian child grows up and branches out into the world they come to the harrowing realization that not everyone understands their media references, especially when it comes to music. The countless times that Canadian hit classics have been revealed as just that: CANADIAN classics, is quite common and every Canadian can remember at least one time they have experienced that revelation. Shared experiences like these subconsciously create a very strong sense of pride and nationalism, which is exactly what the Broadcasting Act of 1932 intended to do. By developing these exclusive shared experiences, they also created a system of communication and symbiotic reference that is unique to Canadians; the exact goal of utilizing a colonial media system to create a meaningful Canadian identity.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “The History of Media: Social and Cultural Forms .” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 29–57.

Thrift, S. "Week 2 - A Brief History of Media." D2L, Sept. 13 2023, https://d2l.ucalgary.ca/d2l/le/content/542561/viewContent/6061596/View

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This ad creatively utilizes the ridiculous nature of drunk people, choosing their speaking patterns and failed communications to highlight the connection between McDonalds workers and interpreting drunk meal requests. The meanings from the words on the ads may be difficult for some to process, since the phrases created are interpreted from a slurring New Zealander to connotate a late-night, after-the-bar interaction at the McDonald's counter. This can inhibit a consumers' ability to interpret the ad, because the intermediate confusion for those outside the New Zealand culture trying to interpret certain menu items such as a frozen coke or tomato sauce with fries; subsequently creating a meaning of this ad being a nonsensical 'mistake' or an accident approved by an incompetent supervisor. This is due to audiences unsuccessfully decoding the intended representation. During the decoding process, the interpreter of the ad "uses what he or she knows of what is described and what that person knows of the system of representation—most often, language—to come to an understanding of what was encoded by the sender." (Gasher et al., 2020, p. 62) The failure to complete a sufficient reception of this ad creates a new, confusing, meaning. Audiences could come to believe McDonalds is re-releasing or changing their menu items, creating a narrative that fits their decoding; the consumer blames the advertiser for their confusion, instead of questioning their own process of interpretation and analysis of the ad.

While speaking to niche representations, this ad has implied a specific cultural context; the target audience of this McDonalds campaign is adults over the drinking age, or teenagers in certain places of the world who are viewing this ad personally or passively through digital/new media. Therefore, those consumers who have never experienced actively being drunk will have a difficult time interpreting the advertisement unless they attempt to decode the writing verbally to gain an understanding of the signified "idea or mental concept we draw from those signifiers." (Gasher at al., 2020, p. 62) This cohort of the collective audience has to work harder through the process of signification, because the signified part of the sign is missing from their ad consumption thus causing the meaning of the text to become denotative; in this case, the top ad to the left of the collage would be semiotically analyzed as: "A Mig Back Congo Peas" instead of the implicated connotation: "A Big Mac combo, Please". This semantic noise interrupting effective communication can cause audiences to accept myth about brand intention and reputation. For example, a younger elementary aged child could have the ad read aloud to them by an audience member who has effectively interpreted the signified message, possibly leaving the child with an idea that McDonalds is for drinking adults at night only or that you have to order McDonalds with a slurred voice or by using funny incoherent words. This failed communication creates another meaning within the polysemic nature of the ad, therefore leaving some viewers to incorrectly receive the advertisement.

While these examples I elaborated on provide two incorrect meanings, the semiotic analysis of this ad can be effective to deciphering the intended meaning when an audience member has the intended background knowledge/information. The development of a proper semiotic analysis is all about understanding signs and their role in representation, elaborated upon in our class textbook; "The process of signification is the process of making meaning... our experience of the world is a process of signification as we translate situations and things we encounter into meaning: dark clouds mean rain, a short chapter means less homework, an angry parent means trouble." (Gasher et al., 2020, p. 62) So, when the translation of this advertisement is effective there has to be an understanding of both the "denotative and connotative, where denotative meaning refers to the literal or most obvious interpretation of the sign and connotative meaning refers to the range of other less obvious or more subjective meanings that may be drawn." (Gasher et al., 2020, p. 63) The denotative meaning is achieved by an audience member holding the signifier, in this case the text on the ads, and remembering their own drunken McDonalds runs to create the signified symbol of an inebriated drive-thru order transcription. The meaning they draw from this ad could be a number of different things based on their own experiences, but mainly it solidifies McDonalds being a reliable entity and something that you end a good night of partying with.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Media Content: Studying the Making of Meaning.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 60-63.

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I would like to say that I personally believe in a combination of both the Frankfurt and Birmingham Schools. They contain a lot of contrasting ideas, but I do not think that a broad theory can apply to everyone who consumes media. There are so many people who have access to tools like Facebook and Instagram, yet cannot put a deeper meaning to their consumption and usage of media; contrastingly, next week we'll be learning about how media consumers took their favourite book series: Harry Potter, and turned it into tangible action for serious world issues. These two clashing perspectives coexist, as well as the individuals they account for. On one hand, the audience is viewed as powerless victims of capitalism: "capitalist forms of mass production yielded an increasing range of cheap commodities, couples with reasonably well-paid factory jobs that enables people to purchase these goods....new forms of mass communication complete with formulaic and commercial content became woven into life...celebrating and integrating people into it." (GSC, 2020, p. 96) This perspective—supported by the Frankfurt school—implies that these new mindless forms of communication will surpass, in both popularity and cultural significance, older forms of communication with lush history that require previous knowledge and brainpower to consume. I agree with this completely and think the accessibility of media and the lack of critical thought while consuming it is leading—especially my generation—down a very slippery slope.

On the other hand, some audiences have agency and critique media constantly. After Dr. Thrift mentioned bell hooks in class, I got one of her books titled 'black looks' from the library, and it mentioned how black people consumed media critically and collectively; media representation and consumption was something that they discussed while watching shows, pausing and critiquing how the media is affecting black stereotyping ('images') and helping to formulate negative images/representation of black people throughout a predominantly white-representing society (1992). This is something that the Birmingham school, and specifically Stuart Hall touch on quite frequently. The idea that an audience could "manipulate, subvert, and create new self-definitions" of these products of mass media and culture is an idea that highlights these minority audiences (GSC, 2020). Whether the minority is a woman, someone of colour, or someone disabled, has no meaning; the only important thing that ties all these minority audiences together is their ability to critique the mass-producers' depictions of themselves and their personalities, struggles, clothing, or anything and everything that makes them an individual.  I think if anyone tries hard enough they can find a deeper meaning in any piece of fine art, but it's the decision to critically analyze and reflect on the privilege to be able to choose to that actually matters when looking at how society consumes media. Instead of trying to theorize, how about we make these ideas accessible to everyone and watch how that will inform these minds and potentially change the meaning of mass media consumption as we know it?

References:

hooks, bell. black looks: race and representation. South End Press, 1992

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Perspectives on Media and Audiences” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 86-112.

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The political activism of Harry Potter highlights the ideas of reception studies that include the overlap of media texts and meaningful reception and analysis of those texts. Harry Potter fans took a text that mentioned a lot of cultural turmoil through metaphors and references and recognized that although the symbols J.K Rowling used were different, she was still talking about meaningful issues. The Harry Potter alliance was founded off of "the idea that J.K. Rowling's novels, inspired both by her own experiences with poverty and her work at Amnesty International" which is something that is unique to the audience of J.K Rowling as an individual, not just as the audience receiving fantasy stories of Harry Potter and his made-up world. (Rosenberg, 2015) Because of the fact that this experience is shared between fans who can connect the activism she practices with their own moral beliefs or actions, it "could be a powerful source of moral precepts and ideas about how to build a more just world." (Rosenberg, 2015) This further confirms the idea of reception analysis taking into account "the social setting in which audiences respond to the products of contemporary popular culture." (GSC, 2020)

The response in this situation was to create a franchise that "lived up to the ideals their fictional hero fought for" (Rosenberg, 2015), creating a lasting impact to the real world through the lived experiences of a single individual.

This impact is amplified by the fact that it expresses that "not only is the 'Harry Potter' brand cut above the rest but that other franchises have to catch up to it." (Rosenberg & Slack, 2015) This entire movement is not only inspiring other franchises to match their actions for moral/revenue/image reasons, but also possibly inspiring other authors to follow pursuit. These authors can utilize their audiences by thinking about reception studies, and how writers can get people to think about/act on what is important to themselves while also advocating for their own messages through what they choose to write about.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Perspectives on Media and Audiences.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 86-112.

Rosenberg, Alyssa. “How ‘Harry Potter’ Fans Won a Four-Year Fight against Child Slavery.” The Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/01/13/how-harry-potter-fans-won-a-four-year-fight-against-child-slavery/.

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The No Logo movement was started by Naomi Klein and her book; No Logo: Brands, Globalization, Resistance. 

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What I learned from this documentary was astonishing, most of which were ideas that I have conceptualized on my own but lacked on the deeper understanding to explain/elaborate. Overall, the documentary taught me more about the history of consumerism and branding. As mentioned in our readings: "advertising worked to encourage people to alter their daily patterns of life to include the consumption of products and services." (Gasher et al., p. 123) Since these consumers had never been in these positions before, "advertising created messages to introduce unknown products...create reasons for use [and] to tell people how and why to use them" (Gasher et al., p. 123) and a strategy to achieve that was mentioned in our lectures; the influx of companies like Mr. Clean, Aunt Jemima and Marlboro turning to logos and imaging to create 'surrogate relationships' between the emerging consumerist culture to help them navigate through these new enterprises that were foreign and untrustworthy. With a sudden need for brands to gain and compete for the trust of their consumers, taking advantage of the human nature of audiences — specifically their empathetic, socialized, and morally justified perspectives of not only their consumption as an individual, but the consumption habits of their communities as well— lead to the development of brand tribalism, and subsequently the audiences commodifing their own perspectives on consumption by developing 'commodity fetishism' so they can preserve their morality when participating in consumption. A fetishism creates "human qualities attached to the commodity" which then leads to an 'inherent' new meaning that the audiences accept at face-value while erasing the means of production of that product; this 'fetishism' can be explained by companies like Starbucks marketing themselves as a more humanistic brand for using fair-trade products and marketing the relationship between their brand and real workers, yet producing a massive carbon footprint by transporting those products all across the world.

As we spoke about in lecture, these brands carefully cultivate meanings to sell, which has only further developed into advertising campaigns like Colin Kaepernick partnering with Nike. Now, in the future of advertising, these brands are not just influencing our lives but they are directly involved amongst deeper-seeded issues in our societies like the Black Lives Matter movement; their resounding influence to consumerism and capitalistic ideals such as the Nike deal can also be compared what no Logo touched on in the near past of advertising— mega corporations like WalMart legally censoring what music, movies, and video games are appropriate for their 'family' brand identity. This is relevant to the topics of advertising as an economic system, ideological tool, and discourse, all of which we investigated in lecture and further discussed/reflected upon with the screening of No Logo. The consumers of this brands products are morally aligning themselves with a lifestyle (advertising as a cultural force), like Klein explained, and furthering the humanization of conglomerates and cooperations.

As Naomi Klein explained in the No Logo film, 'deciding what lyrics on songs or explicit magazines are not aligning with family values drastically affects the decision-making process of record labels' (2003). When these label executives participate in pre-emptive censorship of: what artists to sign, how to market them, and every other factor in creating a star, due to the economic involvement of the consumers that shop at the company they are trying to sell to, it creates Smythes' "audience commodity" effect. This theory elaborates on the "way that audiences were packaged for sale to advertisers," emphasizing the importance of time spent consuming advertisements and media content. When big brands like WalMart are cultivating partnerships based on their creation of a specific target audience, it creates a commodification of the audience instead of the commodities that they sell in stores. When consumers spend their time shopping at a place that so heavily censors what they carry on their shelves, it echos Smythe's perspective; "audiences perform unpaid labour time that media companies exploit when they sell audiences to advertisers." (GSC, 2020, p. 118) The time audiences spend interacting with products is secretly aiding even more profit for businesses like WalMart, because they have unknowingly become another commodity and alternate stream of income for advertisers who want specific demographics for their products. Personally I found that relation very interesting, and I thought that the way Klein introduced and fostered her ideas through casual but seemingly astonishing examples really resonated with the way we have been learning about advertising in class.

Speaking to the future of advertising, I do not think that the revelations of No Logo are sticking with the new generation of consumers. As social media becomes an increasingly used tool for marketing, the future of advertising is on a clear path of using lifestyle branding and parasocial brand-consumer relationships. Companies are successful if all the 'It Girls' are wearing the same clothing (Uggs), drinking the same drinks (Starbucks), and putting on specific hair and makeup products daily (Sephora). This phenomenon was explained in our readings as 'brand equity' in which "consumers, according to this logic, buy brands, not products." (GSC, 2020, p. 126) The strategies of brands commenting on popular influencers videos helps add to this personification of brand equity, and create a cult following who will turn a blind eye when their commodity fetishism is unveiled and their socially unjust uses of money and unethical production become public information. Although my generation claims to be so 'woke', we are so intertwined in our habits of consumption that commodity fetishism is effective even when the means of production are revealed. It is easier for us to continue buying products that are part of our lives and routines, because denying a singular purchase is 'not affecting' the brand's success. I find this saddening, a true testament to how manipulative marketing and advertisements have become; a sure sign that the way we are continuing is bound to cause some major socio-economic power shifts in global culture.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Advertising and Promotional Culture.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 113-141.

Klein, Naomi. No Logo. YouTube, 2003, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeTgLKNb5R0. Accessed 2023.

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Design a culture jam – such as a
subvertisement – that subverts or disrupts corporate advertising. Include an explanation of your culture jam, including the reason behind your choice and the issues
raised by your culture jam. (2 paragraphs + image of the culture jam)

DID TOPIC #3 AS MY ESSAY TOPIC, NOT GOING TO WRITE ABOUT THIS ANY MORE

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During the week, I chose to monitor how many security cameras I could spot on campus walking to and from classes and while generally on campus. I was greatly surprised by how many cameras watched me every day in places I usually would not notice without this assignment. For starters, on a few of the dorm buildings (Rundle, International House, Kananaskis) there are cameras attached to the corners on the roof. Each corner averaging about 2 cameras, so in total anywhere from 4-8 cameras on the buildings. This is a lot more than I expected granted I was basically unaware of these cameras' presence in the first place. The next place I found a LOT of cameras in is the library; there were about 6 in the main entrance, not counting the others present throughout the first floor. Throughout the library floors there are cameras present too, yet I noticed there are none in the stairwells or elevators; there was also no surveillance present in these locations for the dorm buildings.

I struggle to find the reasoning behind such strong surveillance in public areas while more private locations are left to their own devices. I do however, think that this creates a panoptic presence within those private spaces. The society we exist in currently I would wholeheartedly classify as panoptic, due to a few reasons. When Jeremy Bentham was designing the Panopticon, the motivator behind this soft power discipline was to have prisoners "not know when they were being observed." With this lack of information, prisoners "had to assume they were being watched constantly, and thus would discipline themselves." (GSC, 2020, p. 163) The intended results of a Panoptic prison sounds like an explanation for the lack of cameras in private areas on campus; although we are aware of the lack of security in these areas, the presence of surveillance in the places leading to and departing from them creates an idea that we will be caught if an attempt to 'catch' presents itself. Because there is very limited knowledge of what these security cameras can catch, it often leads to drastic overestimation of the power that the watchers posses (the ability to hear through the camera for example). In conversations with my peers, there have been numerous times when the possibility of hidden cameras have been mentioned. This plays on the "peer-to-peer or interpersonal surveillance" (p. 164) mentioned in our textbook; by some people naturally having more anxiety about the extent of surveillance it can cause them to hold their peers and themselves accountable socially when it comes to rule-breaking.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Communication Technology and Society: Theory and Practice.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 142-168.

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Media policy is important for a plethora of reasons, but the most important of them all is for regulation. Without policy in media there would be a severe lack of accountability within media spheres, as well as an impending sense of anarchy in the global village. As stated on our textbook: "These policies establish rights and responsibilities individually and collectively. If media workers have the right to freedom of expression, they also have a responsibility to respect individuals’ privacy and laws pertaining to libel, copyright, hate speech, and so on." (2020, p. 171) Without policy, the direction of communication and media would be unguided and unregulated. The purpose of these policies is "To ensure that media work for citizens and society (as a whole) as well as for content creators and media owners." (Thrift, 2023) Created by international regulators in collaboration with national and regional governments, these policies make sure that the existing and future policy is beneficial to all parties involved.

Within Canada, policy creation has been quintessential to our development as a nation. The royal commissions we have learned about in class lead to reports with recommendations that gave substantial research which help inform the creation of national policy. For example the Aird Commission "proposed the initial blueprint for a Canadian radio network, Aird recommended, and helped to initiate, a particular pattern of cultural governance." (GSC, 2020, p. 178) From the recommendations that this commission provided, a national radio broadcasting commission was formed. The formation of this commission paved the way for unification throughout the geographically dispersed nation of Canada, spreading national messaging through media and media policy.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “The Formation of Public Policy.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 170-191.

Thrift, S. "Week 10 - Media Policy (Mon PPT)" D2L, Nov. 6 2023, https://d2l.ucalgary.ca/d2l/le/content/542561/viewContent/6151807/View

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My news consumption has decreased significantly since I went to university. In the past my parents used to get the paper delivered to our house, as well as having BNN and a plethora of other outlets playing every morning. As of recent, I rely on TikTok and Apple newsstand for my current breaking news. I would like to say I have a good media literacy, I always make sure to research news from multiple sources before talking about topics with friends or family. Because of my elementary school, I learned from a very young age that "Every news organization establishes a brand: a particular identity through the style of journalism it practises," (GSC, 2020, p. 250) which can create political bias and skewed reporting. Because of this, I always try to cross-reference information I find from news organizations that may have bias in their reporting (like CBC).

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Journalists as Content Producers.” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 246-272.

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The most compelling thing I learned about was audience reception, the accompanying theories and schools of thought; all the layers of messaging and meaning making they uncovered with their academic prowess is incredibly fascinating to me. The way that media plays such an integral part of every aspect of our existence is often overlooked; as Gasher, Skinner, and Coulter elaborate on in Media and Communication in Canada: "At the level of culture, media play on our knowledge of particular ways of life, social groups, gender, and racial and ethnic distinctions. They also collude in our understanding of social roles, organizations, and institutions" (p.87) I found this compelling because through the study of communications and audiences "people are gaining more control over the terms of their participation as audience members and able to contribute to media production." (GSC, 2020, p.87)

The content about policy and security challenged my considerably informed perspective by uncovering a new depth to the history and the process of their creation. Learning about Royal Commissions and their ripple effects within our current mediascape is eye opening and hard to grasp at some times. It makes me rethink the conceptions I had unconsciously possessed about the history of current laws and policy pertaining to Canadian security and policy. I previously had not considered how precise one has to be when enacting something that will drastically impact everyone in the digital village; it is usually calculated and researched because "the more precise the information they have about their audiences, the greater the possibilities to sell these audiences to advertisers." The manipulation of our media we experience seems shockingly like audience exploitation, which is why such policy and security protecting consumers is so vital to a nation with media communications.

This course has impacted my own life by opening a door into the fascination of communications and media studies. As this is just an introductory course, I cannot wait to see the depth that all areas of this subject have to offer. I have actually decided to pursue a communications internship at Massey University in New Zealand due to the captivation I have experienced with most of the topics we pursued over the semester. I really think that getting the most out of a communications course, such as this one, is possibly one of the best things I can do as someone who is getting educated with the goal of making meaningful change in this world.

References:

Gasher, Mike, et al. “Perspectives on Media and Audiences” Media & Communication in Canada: Networks, Culture, Technology, Audiences, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 86-112.