Media Law Blog

Propaganda can be defined as information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. When I think of propaganda, my mind goes towards the messages created and delivered during World War II. When I was younger, these are the examples my teachers would discuss and show us.  This type of propaganda to instill fear seemed to be used most often. Whether it was a Nazi hat on a baby, alluding to the future if people didn’t buy war bonds or poverty in Germany encouraging individuals to stand with Hitler, there was always some form of fear behind it. Now there are different forms of propaganda as well that are encouraging and empowering, for example, the “we can do it!” poster created to empower women working in the factories. Propaganda was used aggressively to send messages to the public during that time period and has become vital to how we study this form of communication today. In today’s times, pr...

When I first thought about my online footprint, I did not imagine that it would be that large, but then I did some digging. All my peers seem to have some type of social media to stay engaged with others. The main purpose individuals see for social networks is to stay connected with each other. I made my accounts public because I do not believe i have anything to hide. Always taught that if you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see it, do not post it. After scrolling through my phone, I realized that I have several social media accounts, some I use more than others. I have, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, GroupMe, and LinkedIn. I use almost all of these accounts daily. Each one is used in different ways though. I utilize Instagram to keep up with my friends from College as well as those from high school. I tend to find myself scrolling on this platform and wasting countless time because I am interested in what others are doing. When it comes to my posts, they us...

There have been said to be many benefits to Freedom of Speech in the First Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights. Different individuals value certain aspects of what Freedom of Speech entails. I believe the “watchdog journalism” theory should be valued and also respected on both sides of the argument, for and against. This theory can be defined as oversight of government by the media. News outlets are supposed to use this type of journalism to hold the government accountable for the public to understand and see what is occurring with their elected officials.  But to begin, we will look at an event that happened in history that not many people remember or have even been taught. During President Ronald Reagan’s administration, he had made a few decisions that he would one day have to face the watchdog journalism of the United States. Reagan supported the people of Nicaragua that were trying to rebel against the Sandinista Government. Due to the Democrat control of th...

The first computer was about 1,800 square feet and was created in 1943 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the first generation of the iPhone, which he described as “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device”. This quote in no way did the iPhone justice in terms of its capability and expansive use. What was originally called a glorified iPod Touch has now become a supercomputer in the pocket of over 100 million people. What used to take a computer hours or days to do now takes a fraction of a second, and the most current generation of the iPhone is more powerful than a lot of personal computers available to consumers.  The iPhone’s impact on communication cannot be understated because it created its own unique form of communication. While Apple was not the first company to think of instant messaging, Apple refined and perfected the ide...

Before the age of radio and satellite phones, soldiers in combat used a much more peculiar form of communication. Going back as far as 776 B.C, carrier pigeons have been used a form of “instant” communication to relay the results of some of the first Olympic Games as well as orders in wartime. Known for their reliability to return to their home, Homing Pigeons were trained and used in World War One and World War Two to communicate enemy positions and signal for help.  Being a student in 2020, it is amusing to envision a pigeon being your most reliable form of communication in wartime. But like all old forms of communication, pigeons came with their limitations. The biggest one is that they were animals with no prior training or use in wartime or person to person communication. While they were skilled at navigating to what was their “home”, a message sent never guaranteed a message received. In addition to that, using pigeons was a very one-sided form of communication. Pigeons...

Opinions surrounding war are plentiful but a majority of them never receive mass media attention. Anti-war conversations are never publicized but why is that? Is it because the media believes Americans enjoy war and its coverage? Or is it because Americans believe war is what keeps us safe? I believe it is not because people enjoy war or disagreements between nations, rather than military funding on a global scale that moves our economy. Most of the federal spending in a fiscal year is allocated toward our military.  Keeping America safe is a top priority to not just the government but for every citizen. Anti-war can come from an angle of individuals not understanding the purpose of a large military or our involvement in foreign affairs. There are always two or more angles to an opinion and that is fair and should always be considered. The matter of the fact is that military bases abroad keep us safe. The men and women in uniform deserve our utmost respect whether or not your o...

Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms used worldwide. They have struggled in recent years to remove "fake news" from their server. The 2016 Presidential Election in the United States could possibly have been the biggest "fake news" time frame in politics. Facebook worked diligently to remove all false news article headlines on their server. With many Americans just scrolling through their timelines multiple times a day, it is likely that most individuals do not click the link to read the full article. The downside of this is when the headline was created for that exact purpose. Most people will read a headline and feel like they know the entire story. They will then base their opinions off of an eight-word headline that could be completely false or spun. This is dangerous to our society. In this technology addicted era we live in, we take less and less time to view the credibility of our sources. There is no more double-checking the authors p...