One News Story - 2 Different Medias

The news story that I chose was "Ann Pettway arrested in Carlina White's kidnapping."

I first researched the ABC news cast on you tube for Ann Pettway getting arrested and then researched the ABC news on the internet for the same story.  The central ideas in both of the medias were very similar.  Ann Pettway did turn herself in on January 23, 2011, just days after the kidnapping story hit the headlines.  The two medias also told the audience that Ann Pettway did express remorse to investigators during interviews.  Also, it was stated that Pettway was ordered without bail and if convicted, she could face 20 years to life in prison.

Although the main ideas were the same, the two medias conveyed the story a little differently.  Having someone tell you the story and reading it on your own are very different.  When the news reporters told the story, you could sense their tone and see the expression on their faces.  This helps to almost know how they want you to react.  Reading the news story, I felt that they weren't giving me enough information.  I seeked tones of voices, pictures, and emotion, which I did not get while reading the story.  The internet article seemed demanding and very straight-forward, which is not something that I expect when learning about an emotional experience.

In the internet article, ABC states that "on January 4, 2011, White was reunited with her biological parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson."  This sentence gives me no sentimental feeling towards the subject.  While watching the news cast, I sensed the emotions that the news reporters felt towards the kidnapping, hence, it made me feel that way, also.  On the ABC news cast, pictures of Carlina White and her biological family were shown and interviewed.  Seeing and hearing her and her family made the news cast much more sentimental and personal than just reading about it; it gave the story much more meaning.  Mugshots of Ann Pettway were also shown on the news cast.  The camera angles of Ann Pettway were extremely close and unattractive; I think they did this to show the unattractiveness and disgust of her on the inside because of the things that she did.

Although many people think that a story is a story, they do no realize that the "meat" that goes into the story is what really makes it.  Of course, it is much easier to get the point across on television, where you can see reporters' reactions, interviews, pictures, etc., however, many news articles on the internet are extremely broad and almost boring.  This story, like many others, shows that even though the story is the same, the way that it is presented through different medias make a huge difference in the reactions of the audience.

Final Project

For my final project, I have decided to market HEALRINGS, which is a medicinal coating that is put around earrings to help the piercing heal faster and safer.  I have two target audiences for this product.  The first is young young adults aged 18-24.  The second is mothers of very young children, especially infants.  The medicinal coating can be put on any piercings (examples: ear, bellybutton, nose, etc.).

Four different medias that will be used:
1. Newspaper
2. Magazine
3. Radio Commercial
4. Website

War of the Worlds

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, Grandma!” Tyler and Becky were pleading with excitement.  I looked at them with fear in my eyes and nervousness in my voice.  “Next time,” I said abruptly, hoping to change the subject.  “We’re never going to find out,” Becky murmured to Tyler.  “Alright, Alright kids.  But just remember that this is not real so don’t go telling your mother that I told you two a scary ghost story right before I put you to sleep.  I enjoy babysitting my favorite grandkids and don’t wanna lose my job!”  I said to them with a smile on my face.  “We know!  Tell us, please!”  They both said in unison.  “Sit down,” I told them, “and leave the questions for the end.”

“October 30, 1938 is when it happened.  It was a Sunday.  I was just 16 years old and I was eating dinner with my momma, poppa, and Great Uncle Bert.  On Sundays, momma always let us listen to the radio when we were eating our meals; it was our treat for being so good during the week.  Well on this particular day, the news alerts released something different than we were used to hearing.  We were told that ferocious Martians were coming and taking over the earth.  We all froze, forks in hand, and listened quietly for a little longer until poppa jumped up and changed the radio dial.  Momma and Poppa glared at each other and me and Bert saw the terrified look in their eyes.  But they didn’t wanna let on that they were scared ‘cause then they’d thought it’d scare us even more. Well it did!  My hands were trembling so much that I couldn’t even finish my dinner.  No one spoke for the rest of the meal.  Awkward, thick silence surrounded us.  After dinner I helped momma clear the table and she must’ve been nervous ‘cause she dropped a plate on the floor when she was bringin’ it to the sink.  I looked at her and she looked at me and I broke the silence; I couldn’t help myself! ‘What are we gonna do?!’ I bawled.  Momma started crying and Bert, only being 7 at the time, was too scared to even get up from the table.  I saw poppa in the corner of my eye start packin’ some clothes and food into bags.  ‘Cut that out,’ momma said to pa, ‘no ones goin’ anywhere.’ ‘We need to get out! You know what will-‘ but ma cuts him short, ‘Where we gon’ hide? You can’t hide from Earth,’ momma says.  Poppa looked at her and knew she was right.  All of a sudden, a sense of panic filled the air.  We heard the neighbors get into their car and speed away.  But they knew just as well as we did that there was no escapin’ the alien invasion that was heading for us.  Poppa grabbed his coat and headed for the door.  Ma begged him not to leave us alone but he said he needed to run to the store to stock up on the essentials- food, water, medicine, etc.  He said there was no tellin’ how long we were gonna be trapped in the house for.  Momma’s eyes filled up with tears again but knew she had to be strong for me and Bert.  While pa was at the store, momma gathered up food and clothes and put everything in the back room.  We didn’t have a basement or attic to hide in, so ma figured the back room, which had only one little window, was the best place to be.  I tried to calm Bert but it was hard to convince him that everything was going to be okay when he saw the terror in my eyes and heard the fear in my voice.  ‘What do ya think they look like?’ He asked me, not sounding alarmed in the least.  I looked at him like he was crazy for even picturing them.  ‘I think they’re short and olive green,’ he said.  ‘They probably have at least three eyes and some sort of antennae on the tops of their heads.  Their legs are probably so skinny that you can see their bones through their rough skin.’  Momma over heard Bret talkin’ and gave him a slap on his hand.  ‘Stop that nonsense right now,’ she says, ‘it don’t matter what they look like or what their names are.’  But Bret’s question really got my mind wandering.  Were they green? Or were they brown? Or purple?  I think they were tall with longs arms and legs that reach out really far.  I think they had some kind of Martian language that were just sounds that we humans would never understand.  My mind wouldn’t stop and I started to scare myself.  About two hours went by and momma was still running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off and pa was still at the store.  Finally, even though Bert was so young, I think he finally understood what was going on.  He comes up to me crying.  I didn’t even know what to say.  Ma sees him and runs over to us and puts her arms around us.  We were all sobbing now.  Just as momma was about to speak, poppa comes in laughing.  I’ve never been more confused in my life.  ‘Laughing?’ I thought, ‘at a time like this?’  Poppa comes over to us and hugs the three of us tight, still chuckling.  That is when he explained to us that what we had heard was all a misunderstanding.  The broadcast on the radio was nothing more than a portion of Orson Welle’s variation of the well-known book, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.  I couldn’t believe how frantic we got over something so silly.  We all burst out into a fit of laughter.  I remember that day as if it had happened yesterday; for those couple of hours, I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life.  And when you two get a bit older, just remember that everything you hear in the media is not always what it really is.”

I look over to see Tyler and Becky yawning.  “Good story, Grandma,” Tyler says in between yawns.  Not even a minute later, both of them are sleeping like babies.  I never thought that something so frightening to me would be such a good bedtime story for my grandkids.

Left Vs. Right

                Before I took the dominance test, I decided to read the information on both the left and right sides of the brain first to see if I could guess which side of the brain I use the most.  After comparing both sides, I was sure that I use the left side of my brain (the analytical side) much more than I use the right side of my brain (the artistic side).  Although I am an artsy person, the “organized, neat, step-by-step” me sometimes takes over me.  I constantly make lists and get a great sense of satisfaction when I can cross something off of my list.  I am always making sure that I have my license and debit card in my wallet and my wallet has to be in a very specific part of my pocket book.  The magazines on my desk have to be aligned straight with the end of my desk.  I’ll admit that I do not make my bed and once in a while I will throw my dirty clothes on the floor, but more often than not I am extremely organized and get upset when some things look messy or out of place.  These are just a few things in my daily life that I took into consideration when deciding which side of the brain I use the most.

                After taking the dominance test, the results showed that I answered 10 questions right to a right-brained person and 8 questions to a left-brained person.  Before taking the test, I guessed that I would answer at least 14 questions right to a left-brained person.  I was very surprised at those results.  Certain hands-on projects are easier for me however I do need some type of step-by-step lecture to go along with it.  However, illustrating my notes is something that I do and that is no doubt a right-brained task.  I am going to have to be more aware of what I do day by day to see exactly when and where my right-brained tendencies seem to kick in.

                Once I read about the right side of the brain and learned that I use that side of my brain a bit more than the left side, I was a little offended because of the things that were said about the right side.  For instance, it is very rare that I hand in late assignments and the mention of spelling does not make me “cringe.”  However, that is just me personally.  Nevertheless, I am not at all upset that I use the right side of my brain just as much as the left side.  When I started senior year of High School, I became “too” organized and on task with things.  For example, as soon as I got an assignment, I would be finished with it as soon as possible.  If it was due in one month, I would need to start it the day that it was assigned.  Although that is not necessarily a bad thing, it got in the way with other things and other school work.  I even thought that I had a bit of OCD in me.  I didn’t like being so on top of things all of the time, so for the past year, I have been trying to be a bit more lenient with myself and my tasks.  I learned that I do not need to plan my whole life ahead of time and it is okay to be a bit random at times.

                I am glad that according to the Hemispheric Dominance test, I basically use the left side of my brain just as often as the right side.  It proves to me that I am both analytical and artistic- I think about the consequences of the things that I do (or don’t do) however I’m creative and original when I do things.

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