Every Opinion Needs a Listener

Hello, my name is Liz, but I go by Mimi to most people in my life. I am a Journalism Major at UNI, and I am making this blog to further my skills as a journalist! Daily, I crochet whatever speaks to me as a fiber artist. I love up-cycling because there are already too many clothes on this earth not to reuse. I love to listen to all different genres of music, from classical to metal. For me, music is something I like consuming based on the mood or vibe I'm feeling. I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and as much as I like it here, I can't wait to go and explore the world. I have a calling to travel, whether it's now in my 20's or as a 70-year-old, I can truly see myself traveling until I physically can't anymore. 

Journalism is something new I am trying out! I enjoyed writing as a kid, whether it was narrative writings or persuasive essays; I really enjoyed writing and expressing myself through creativity. I feel as if journalism is more serious than creative writing; however, it's that seriousness that drew me here to begin with. Being able to share people's narratives and communicate with people to gather their experiences is just one example of why connecting with people and the culture can have a big impact. As a kid, I also struggled with picking one single career that would resonate with me. At the end of the day, I wanted to chase a career that would help connect with people, and I think journalism is the best pick for me. Although personally, I have certain questions about journalism and media in general. For example, how much does the media affect someone's opinion? How does society play a part in media? Why does it seem like they both go hand in hand? Is this based on marketing strategies, or do they change due to natural changes in society? 

Now:

As the semester comes to an end, the idea of journalism that I had at the beginning has changed. It's almost like I walked in with no expectations; therefore, as I progressed, I started learning more and more about it. Society plays a big part in media, and especially now with the rise of digital media. Society and the norms give marketers and journalists a base or foundation of target audiences they are able to target by fulfilling their needs. They might make a headline that can seem crazy yet interesting to draw the readers in by using a technique called "clickbait". They did this back in the day while still at the peak of physical media. Techniques of spreading rumors and false narratives to gain the attention of people are something that happens, but happened more often back in the day, referring to it as "yellow journalism."

Throughout the semester, in my journalism classes, I was able to use information that could carry over to other classes. As stated, yellow journalism has been a technique used to gain the attention of people to read their articles. Whether it's an exaggeration or simply a false narrative, we can still see a technique like this happening. Society being the main consumer of media, it's a given that people in the industry are left to understand the norms in society to make them feel involved. Back then, the media capitalized in making people left out if they were not part of the main consumers. While the media now tends to lean towards more inclusivity without targeting people's differences. 

For the future, I want to dive deeper into the psychology of journalism. With what I stated earlier, the industry wants to lean towards inclusiveness rather than leaving people out, so I think uncovering a bit of how I can engage with people with thinking they need to read more in order to become more included. Society absolutely plays a big part in media and how it can be consumed, and will be continuously changing due to the digital age.