EOTO2 Reacts

 Gatekeeping and Agenda Setting 

    The presentation I learned about and decided to write my reaction post about revolves around the theory of gatekeeping and agenda setting. I found this presentation and concept to be very interesting, and it sparked a lot of curiosity in me after learning. The first thing I learned was the actual definition of gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is to control access to something or monitor it and select the information that gets released. Gatekeeping is a term I hear amongst colleagues of mine but I didn't know the actual definition. Secondly, I learned the definition and concept of agenda setting. Agenda setting is the media affecting the thoughts

and perceptions of the public. This is a term I had not heard of prior compared to gatekeeping. With both gatekeeping and agenda setting, I was given the pros and cons of both. 

Impacts

    Later on in the presentation, I learned the impacts of gatekeeping and agenda-setting on society. I had a feeling that I was generally a negative effect, and I was right. It is mainly surrounded by the power that the media already has. The media having the ability to release or not release information in whatever timely manner they choose only gives the media more power and is only more unfair to the citizens of this country. 

Affect on Me 

    Lastly, I learned more about how gatekeeping and agenda setting can and will affect my life and the lives of the ones around me. The first piece of information that can be gatekept is

information regarding politics. Not releasing information to my generation and everyone else could be crucial to how it affects me and others in the future. As far as agenda setting, this can be detrimental to the way young people like myself make decisions. This can include how one makes decisions politically or socially. 

Antiwar

Differing Viewpoints 

    In the world of mainstream media, there are viewpoints and opinions that are simply just not covered by major news outlets like Fox News, CNN, NBC, etc. Due to this, Americans have to go to alternate media sources to get the coverage and updated news they are hoping to see in the mainstream media. One prime example of this is the viewpoint on wars. As Dr. Smith said it best, "There is never a war that the

mainstream media and government did not like." On a website like antiwar.com, they go to lengths to cover this altering viewpoint to the mainstream media. This is an example of alternative media. 

Where It Started 

The concept of not hearing from alternative viewpoints is something that stems from long before today's media. This goes back to the progressive era after the start of World War I. During this time, the Espionage and Sedition Act was in fruition, meaning citizens or government officials would be thrown into jail for

disagreeing with the war effort. This could happen for things they said or wrote. This is a mind-boggling thing to wrap my head around, considering where America has come with the First Amendment today. Due to these acts, I believe it "lit a fire" sort of speaks for the beginning of alternative media. 

Back to Today 

Bringing it back to where we are today, there is a reason that websites like antiwar.com must be sought out to find strong anti-war voices. The first reason you will never see viewpoints like this on mainstream media is because mainstream media aligns with the government. From what I have noticed in my short, time-consuming news, that is one trend I see. To conclude, altering viewpoints to the mainstream media may never be integrated on certain topics, and smaller-scale alternative media will have its place for Americans to consume their news from. 

EOTO 2

Alternative Media 

    The topic I was assigned for each one teach-one presentation was alternative media. Alternative media is defined as small-scale, politically radical media using a wide spectrum of communication technologies and formats. Essentially, alternative media is a smaller-scale platform like a website, podcast, YouTube channel, etc., offering a different opinion than you may typically see in mainstream media. Like everything else in life, alternative media has its positives, and it has its negatives. It is important to compare each pro to its con to really see the impact alternative media has.

Pros and Cons 

    On the positive side, it offers a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. These voices are typically

trumped by mainstream media, however, this should not be the case. Secondly, it provides an opportunity for communities to make their own media and offers educational and political empowerment to participants. Additionally, alternative media can serve as a counterpoint to the misinformation spread by corporate media. On the flip side,  political alternative media may contribute to less informed people due to the misinformation that can be spread in their work. Also, the ease of media production in today's society can raise concerns about the effectiveness of alternative media, as well as a lack of professional standards.

Effects on Society 

    When it comes to affecting society as a whole, alternative media covers and popularizes topics that mainstream tends to not cover at all or cover less than others. For example, mainstream media would never discuss a war they didn't support or be a part of. While alternative media outlets like antiwar.com have hundreds of antiwar articles written. So, alternative media can affect groups that are the minority when it comes to political or other world matters. This includes Political and ethnic minorities, labor groups, underprivileged groups, etc. These groups of people typically are underrepresented and overlooked. However, alternative media allows a platform for the news we consume to be more diverse and alternative viewpoints. When asked the question of how alternative media affect different groups of

people whether that is old or young, rich or poor, male or female, I believe alternative media affects every person differently based on what media they consume. For example, I was having a hard time was having a tough time figuring out what kind of alternative media I consume the most. It finally hit me that the alternative media I consume the most comes from the sports world. I use several other websites outside of companies like ESPN or Yahoo Sports to collect my information. A few examples include companies like WalterPicks, Talkin' Yanks, Jomboy Media, and several others.

Closing Remarks 

    Overall, I believe alternative media is a net win for the community. If mainstream media does not want to cover a view on a topic, someone has to provide different perspectives. I think the beauty of alternative media is it can be so personalized to what your likes or dislikes are and allows you to consume more media the way you like to. I believe multiple viewpoints on one topic create competitive thinking and challenge the reader to truly think about what they see every day on the news.