Media Law & Literacy Summer 2024

The fact that there are powerful anti war voices in alternative media such as Antiwar.com and The American Conservative but few in mainstream media emphasizes significant dynamics in American politics and media. The mainstream media, which is primarily owned by a small number of corporate groups, frequently supports establishment opinions that call for military interventions. Economic considerations, such as advertising revenue and access to official sources, have an impact on this alignment. These factors influence the editorial choices and give priority to stories that defend military operations on the basis of humanitarianism or national security. Conversely, alternative media outlets give those with views that are critical of US foreign policy a voice. Websites such as The American Conservative and Antiwar.com provide unbiased viewpoints that examine the financial and human costs of war, cast doubt on the effectiveness of military solutions, and support peaceful responses to intern

                                                             The Spiral of Silence Theory Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's 1974 Spiral of Silence theory examines how public opinion affects people's willingness to voice minority opinions on controversial subjects. It makes the argument that people frequently use the media, social cues, and relationships to determine the general feeling of the public. If their viewpoints diverge from what they perceive to be the majority, they may fear social exclusion or negative consequences. Because of this anxiety, people restrict themselves and repress opposing viewpoints, which feeds a downward spiral in which minority perspectives are suppressed and dominant viewpoints grow stronger. This phenomenon is made stronger by group dynamics, social conventions, and media impact. These factors shape public opinion and can silence opposing views in democracy. Understanding the Spiral of Silence can help with attempts to support inclusiveness, maintain fr

                                                                      COVID-19 Testing The development of new approaches to address the urgent need for accurate and easily available tests has been led by advancements in COVID-19 testing, which have played a major part in the global response to the pandemic. The broad use of Polymerase Chain Reaction testing has been one of the biggest advancements. Due to PCR tests' high precision in identifying viral RNA, they rapidly rose to the top of the field and made it possible for governments, private laboratories, and healthcare systems all over the world to accurately identify COVID-19 cases. Through  hospital networks and worldwide partnerships, this innovation quickly spread and transformed the game in terms of diagnostic reliability during public health emergencies. Rapid antigen tests, which provide results in a matter of minutes, have been extremely important along with PCR testing. Rapid antigen tests became more common in community

                                                                                                                                                                           The Invention of Netflix Netflix was established in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, back when the internet was only getting started. Initially envisioned as a DVD rental service, Netflix sought to transform the way individuals accessed and viewed films. The founders saw that late fees and annoyance were a typical issue with traditional DVD rental companies. They came up with a subscription-based business plan that let users rent DVDs online and have them sent to them by mail. The frustration that Hastings felt upon discovering he would have to pay a late fee for returning a movie after the deadline inspired the creation of Netflix. The idea for a rental service without deadlines, late fines, or in-person store visits was inspired by this specific scenario. The objective was to offer a practical, affordable su

                                                                                 Privacy, Online & Off  I learned how crucial security is when using social media and phones after viewing the multiple TedTalk videos. Security and privacy concerns affect people individually as well as their friends and relatives. The saying, "no one is safe online," really comes true in relation to these worries. Online, many young children, teens, and adults, risk security issues, deal with identity theft, cyber bullying, and unauthorized access to their personal information.  The speaker in the fourth TedTalk video described a terrifying incident in which her ex-partner, who was abusing her online, purposefully tried to harm her reputation both online and off. Through the deliberate uploading of explicit images of her, he put her in a very uncomfortable and dangerous situation. She presumably still felt unstable and uneasy after this horrific experience. The government has the capabilit

                                                      The Importance of Individual Self-Fulfillment                           I identify most deeply with the idea of Individual Self-Fulfillment out of the eight values of free expression. This value, which highlights how crucial free speech is to people's ability to express who they are and form their identities, strongly reflects my views on women's rights. I'll go into why I think individual self-fulfillment is crucial for women's rights and creating a society with greater equity in this post. Expression of Identity Women are able to fully and authentically express who they are thanks to the freedom of speech. Women's voices have historically been suppressed or excluded, which has limited their capacity to express their needs, goals, and experiences. Women can freely discuss their backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints thanks to the protection of free speech, which promotes an inclusive and equitable society. Ad

                                   New Info & Facts I Learned While Watching Supreme Court Videos The assigned videos provided lots of new information regarding the historical development of the US Supreme Court. I learned more about the court's founding, its crucial role in American history, and the important individuals who influenced its growth due to these videos. I'll go into detail about some of the less popular but equally intriguing aspects of the Founding Era Timeline in this blog post. I will discuss how these historical events shaped my knowledge of the Supreme Court's founding and continuing influence on the legal system in the United States. 1783 Treaty Of Paris  The American Revolutionary War was put to an end and American independence was acknowledged by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. It was signed on September 3, 1783, and it gave Newfoundland fishing rights as well as borders with the Mississippi River. A major turning point in Ameri

                                                                                                                 My Personalized Top 5 Sources of News & Information           Because I stay as busy as possible, I don't keep up with the news as much as I would like or should. I enjoy staying informed about issues I care about, such as women's rights and politics, but I don't use many apps to do so. I currently utilize YouTube and Instagram as my go-to sources for news and updates on current events. I follow several of credible news sources and influencers on Instagram who provide simple updates  in their posts and stories. I can quickly absorb crucial information through the day thanks to this. YouTube's news and politics channels provide extensive coverage and a variety of viewpoints. I can watch videos of discussions, interviews, and reports to get a deeper understanding of the topics that are important to me, like political developments and women's rights. The