Tag Archives: Entertainment news

Which came first — Chicken or the egg?

Posted on by

By S. MOLLY DOMINICK

Anyone who has recently logged onto the Internet (or spoken to another human being who happens to use the Internet) has likely been bombarded with this question: What color is the dress?

Source: buzzfeed.com

Source: buzzfeed.com

Originally a post on Tumblr, the image of this controversial color-changing dress has circulated around the Internet overnight—and not just on social media. Major news organizations have entire articles discussing this optical illusion, including (but certainly not limited to) Fox News, CNN, Wired, The Independent, Daily Mail and The Guardian.

The outbreak of this controversy occurred only yesterday. No discussion is needed to know that an optical illusion is not normally headline news, particularly when a “murder spree” across multiple homes in Missouri leaving nine dead occurred on the same day. I repeat, there is no discussion. Yet news coverage of the story has already become pervasive.

So what makes this situation special?

Is it an indication of how deeply entrenched social media has become in our society, and so news organizations have an obligation to report this story because it now matters deeply to the public? Do news organizations need to reevaluate what is important to include “events” on social media?

Or was this specific event on social media so insanely widespread that it called for news coverage, based purely on its abnormal scope?

But would the event have become this widespread if news media chose not to cover it in the first place? Which came first — The chicken or the egg?

These are the inane questions that keep me up at night, ladies and gentlemen.

…Just for the record, the dress is blue.

What we should be reporting at Oscars

Posted on by

By SHAKIRA MOLET

Last weekend, the media went crazy covering the Oscars. On almost every new media outlet, there was a section on the best and worst looks on the red carpet as well as the winners for each category, but is that what should have been focused on?

Instead of clothing being front page news, it should have been replaced by several aspects of the Oscars that have significant news and social value. For example, when Patricia Arquette won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, she used her acceptance speech time to voice her opinions on wage inequality.

In her speech, Arquette declared, “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women.The truth is, the older women get, the less money they make,” she said. “It is time for us. Equal means equal.”

Another example of a speech that touched an important subject was Best Documentary winner, Dana Perry. When accepting her award, Perry dedicated her speech to her son who had committed suicide.

“I lost my son,” Perry told reporters after the speech. “We need to talk about suicide out loud to try to work against the stigma and silence around suicide because the best prevention for suicide is awareness and discussion and not trying sweep it under the rug.”

Despite the fact that wage inequality and suicide are still present issues in our society, there was not as much coverage on these particular speeches as there was about who was wearing what. It’s time that journalism, whether it is entertainment new or hard news, gets its act together and report what deserves to be reported.

Yahoo! News has a problem

Posted on by

By S. MOLLY DOMINICK

If I’m feeling crotchety and in the mood to get myself all disgruntled about journalism, I know the first place I need to visit: the Yahoo! News homepage.

On the screenshot below, I invite you to marvel at the juxtaposition of headlines:

Screen Shot 2015-02-20 at 6.46.34 AM

A story about what could possibly be the largest-ever human exodus — I repeat, the largest-ever human exodus, a staggering story with widespread societal and environmental implications for more than 13 million people—is sandwiched between stories about a celebrity and an infamous dictator marketed like a celebrity. Without discussing the merits of entertainment journalism as a whole, I think it’s safe to say that those headlines should not be grouped together in the same category, at the bare minimum.

What’s more, we need to keep in mind the way that a company like Yahoo! structures its homepage. Headlines are placed in a purposeful order of importance, based on which articles the company thinks its readers should see most. According to the above order, Iggy Azalea’s absence from social media deserves more exposure than human-inhabited islands’ absence from the face of the planet.

Call me remarkably crotchety for my 19 years of age … but by golly, what the devil is going on here?

Award shows need reporters, too

Posted on by

By MADISON CRAMER

As many people probably know, the Oscars are this weekend.

This means plenty of gold statues, film talk and fancy red carpet looks. But what about the people on the other side of the red carpet? Reporters will flock to the ceremony, looking to land interviews with the year’s biggest stars.

While the focus will be on the actors and actresses gracing our screen that night,  film industry and entertainment reporters play an important role, despite what some may believe. It may not be “serious journalism,” but what these reporters do is still important. Millions of people tune in to these award shows every year, so there’s clearly interest in what these stars do and say. Who is going to deliver this information to those watching at home? These reporters.

The content of their reporting may not be all that critical, but that doesn’t make it completely useless. There’s an audience for this type of reporting, so while it may be less important than the serious news of the day, it’s useful nonetheless. These reporters are doing what reporters do: they’re delivering information about a certain subject to the public. Again, while many may consider the subject to be questionable, it’s necessary based on the high viewership of these award shows.

So, when you’re watching the Oscars Sunday evening and rolling your eyes at the reporters bombarding the stars with questions, remember that they’re your source of information for the night. They may seem unimportant and trivial, but you wouldn’t learn anything new without them.

Media need to stop talking about Kanye

Posted on by

By MADISON CRAMER

Sure, journalists have to keep the public informed. But when does it become too much coverage? The media so often spend days covering the same topic, but it can quickly become uninteresting, at least in my opinion. My attention span is only so long. I don’t want to hear the same story, even with some variation, for weeks on end.

Cue the disaster that is Kanye West. Luckily, up until this past weekend when the Grammys took place, talk of Mr. West had been minimal. Then, he, of course, had to ruin this peaceful period of time by causing a scene at one of the biggest nights in music. And now, the media can’t stop talking about him.

It’s only been a few days since the awards show aired and I’m already sick of hearing about him. This just shows how fast the media need to move. When journalists linger on a topic for too long, interest diminishes. Sure, this mess of a human was interesting to read about at first, but now it’s time to move onto different news.

The media seem to be picking at anything they can to keep Kanye in the news. “Kanye West will simulcast the introduction of his new sneakers in movie theaters across the country;” “Kanye West blames Grammys stunt on ‘voices in my head’;” “See Kanye West perform for free this week” — the headlines go on and on. It makes sense — journalists are taking advantage of the Kanye hype. But there’s a point where it all becomes too much and that point is now.

Journalists need to keep the media moving; in my mind, there isn’t much that’s worse than a slow news day. And thanks to Kanye and the journalists that are seemingly infatuated with him, this week has been full of slow media days.

Privacy: Where do we draw line?

Posted on by

By MADISON CRAMER

By now, most people have probably heard the sad recent news regarding Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. While she’s still fighting for her life, her situation brings to light a highly debated issue in journalism: Where do journalists draw the line between doing their job and respecting one’s privacy?

Brown’s family has been told by doctors that there isn’t much that can be done to help her. They’re obviously grieving and attempting to cope with the grim news, but they can only do so much when the whole world watches in wonder. This is where journalists come in. From the articles I’ve read thus far, they’ve gotten quotes from family members and the police, but I have a hard time deciding if even that is too much for a grieving family.

The last thing someone in that situation would want is the public poking their noses into their difficult situation. For this reason, I believe that journalists should give privacy when necessary and/or requested. If someone wants to speak to the media, all the power to them. But I believe that until it gets to that point, if it ever does, journalists should keep their distance and respect their privacy. After all, I’m sure that’s what they would want if the roles were reversed.

Social media: From tweets to articles

Posted on by

By CHELSEY SELLARS

In recent news, Harry Potter star Emma Watson announced her recent casting as Belle in Disney’s upcoming, live-action movie “Beauty and the Beast.”

As I read the Entertainment Weekly article, I wondered how did she release the news? Watson made the news public via Facebook as fans cheered across the Internet.

I, a young and ambitious journalist, had to wonder if this was acceptable in the news media. Is it ethically correct for journalists to use social media as reliable and trustworthy sources when reporting?

Continuing my search for answers, I found another example of social media being used as news sources. Surprise, surprise; Watson is the shining star in an “Entertainment Tonight” article.

This time, Watson used Twitter. Fans constantly tweet at A-list celebrities such as Watson and, on occasion, receive replies from them. It appears that Watson was having a little Q&A session through tweets, speaking about her HeForShe campaign and giving young women advice.

I concluded that social media as news sources are not entirely unethical. Watson has her social media accounts displayed for public viewing. Moreover, Watson has given consent for us to see these updates; allowing us to share and converse about them.  Because there is permission from the original source, a journalist can use Watson’s tweets and posts as fuel for a news story.

However, what if this consent was never given? What if an Einstein computer hacker helped a journalist enter right into Watson’s Facebook and essentially leak her private posts?

If this were the case, the journalist would be ethically unjust. A reporter cannot simply use information without consent from the source and without verifying that information.

Jonas gets down on knee at pageant

Posted on by
By SHAKIRA MOLET

Recently, Miami hosted the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant, which crowned Miss Colombia as the new Miss Universe for 2015. But the pageant’s winner was not the only one in the spotlight that night.During the pageant’s performance, Nick Jonas stepped off stage to serenade his girlfriend, Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo, while singing his single “Jealous.”

After making his way to Culpo, who was sitting in the front row, everyone watching noticed her panicked face when he knelt down and held her hand while singing.

When asked about her reaction, Nick later explained that Culpo was terrified that he would propose to her on live television when he knelt down on one knee.

“I went down and sang to her, and I got on a knee and approached her, her face was in full panic. She thought I was going to propose on national TV in front of one billion people,” Jonas told The Sun, a U.K. newspaper.

Despite her suspicions though, Nick jumped back on stage and finished the performance without popping the question.

Jonas and Culpo have been dating since the summer of 2013 but, according to the singer, marriage might not be on his mind just yet.

“At some point, it would be ideal to settle down,” Jonas revealed, “but we’re still quite young and we’re going on a journey.”

Entertainment coverage is worth effort

Posted on by

By MADISON CRAMER

I get notified of CNN updates on my phone, and these days, every one of them seems to be about another shooting, fire or train derailment. There’s so much violence and so many serious issues in the news, and obviously this is essential in order to keep the public informed.

But why not also report on the more lighthearted news of the day? Why not give the public a fun read in addition to the serious news being reported?

Take, for example, the recent Miss Universe Pageant. Sure, it may seem unimportant considering all other news, but is there really no point in reporting on such an event? I personally do not think so.

Entertainment reporting is so often viewed as a waste of time and energy, but in the grand scheme of things, entertainment is a huge aspect of most people’s day-to-day lives. So, just as we report on money or health, for example, why not report on this component of our lives?

After a hard day at work, someone may want to come home and read about the latest celebrity gossip to relax. Entertainment news tends to have that effect; it helps people unwind and focus on something that may not be pressing or important, but is no doubt entertaining. Entertainment news is essentially a break for many.

The entertainment industry itself is integral in our lives; it’s all around us. So, while some people may think that reporting on such topics as the latest pageant or celebrity breakup is unnecessary, I believe that it certainly has a place in the world of journalism.

Fairly reporting Eminem’s ‘F-bombs’

Posted on by

By GABRIELLA CANAL

Everyone knows there are the seven deadly words you cannot say on air. These are typically the words you emphasize, the words you use at the end of an argument, the words for which your mother would wash your mouth out.

This past Veteran’s Day, I tuned into HBO to watch the Concert for Valor — a concert held in the National Mall with a big crowd and an even bigger lineup of familiar voices.

After a little bit of “Born in the USA” from Bruce Springsteen and “America the Beautiful” from Zac Brown Band, the concert (the first of its kind) closed with a “Happy Motherf—-ng Veteran’s Day!” from the one and only Eminen.

He dropped more f-bombs than Times Square has dropped the ball. According to a source from USA Today, the count added up to more than 55. Gutsy for an event held in commemoration of our country’s heroes and in celebration of all that they have done. Obscene for a crowd whose ages and interests all varied greatly. But then again, it’s HBO. HBO is notorious for its laissez-faire approach towards censorship.

However, unlike the usual, the channel allowed its cable operators to open the signal — broadening its audience potentially from 30 to 70 million viewers at home who do not subscribe to it.

In a poll on Entertain This!, 51 percent said that the show was fine and represented our emphasis on free speech while 49 percent just said it wasn’t the right venue for that kind of performance.

Social media have lit up in response to this cursing which naturally has made it all the social craze on the media.

Most tweets read disappointment:

“Turning off HBO after all the swearing coming out of EMINEM..they cld have put him on later..after kids like myself have gone to sleep,” from Najat Dawaji.

“Pretty strange to hear Eminem swearing up a storm as the grand finale to thank our vets. So much anger and hostility is those F-bombs,” from Ace Hoffman.

“With the gun shot effects, swearing, lyrics, I don’t think Eminem was the best choice for #ConcertForValor…” from @VTJawo.

Through all of this, the media have rightfully remained unbiased in their publications — something to admire. With each major news source pumping out the same story, I have half expected one of the reporters to slip and show his or her true colors.

Blog post after blog post, I have criticized or critiqued the reporting of our day — either calling into question issues such as media blackouts, bias or hype. Fair reporting is not entirely a lost art, however. And in this case, with a topic that could easily ignite high emotions, the media has responsibly remained impartial.

To read more on USA Today, follow the link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/11/12/eminem-f-bombs-concert-for-valor-hbo-controversy/18901983/.

Media focus on Putin, China’s First Lady

Posted on by

By XUANCHEN FAN

At an APEC event in Beijing on Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin put a shawl over the shoulders of Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Peng Liyuan kindly accepted the offer, but seconds later she slipped the shawl off into the hands of a waiting aide.

The small act aroused media’s attention and put Chinese First Lady in the news again.

Since Peng Liyuan’s first debut as China’s First Lady in March, 2013, she grabbed the world’s attention and media began to notice her and her clothes.

Peng Liyuan sang at Chinese New Year Gala.

Peng Liyuan sang at the Chinese New Year Gala.

Peng Liyuan is China’s most enduring pop-folk icon and performing artist. She gained popularity as a singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala (a widely viewed Chinese television program during Chinese New Year).

She holds a master’s degree in traditional ethnic music and now serves as the dean of the Art Academy of the People’s Liberation Army. She holds the rank of a major general.

When it was announced that Xi Jinping would become China’s next president, people even joked: “Who is Xi Jinping? He is Peng Liyuan’s husband.”

At Peng’s international debut as China’s First Lady, she wore a belted overcoat, accented by a stand-up collar and a light blue scarf in Moscow. Smiling radiantly, she shook hands with the Russian hosts, a step or two behind her husband.

The glamorous and fashionable look leaves a good impression. Chinese analysts even think that Peng can similarly help burnish China’s image overseas.

“Because of her performer’s background and presence, I think she will definitely add points for her husband,” said Tian Yimiao, an associate professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. “It could make her into a diplomatic idol.”

It seems that Peng’s star power will push the diplomats into the background. The only one concern is that she might unintentionally upstage Chinese president.

‘Nightcrawler’ focuses on local TV news

Posted on by

By SHAWNA KHALAFI

In the new film “Nightcrawler,” Jake Gyllenhaal plays a freelance videographer journalist who lives by the motto: “It bleeds, it leads.”

The filmmakers, Dan and Tony Gilroy, have said in interviews that their purpose behind making this movie was not simply to entertain, but rather to force people to consider and acknowledge what news media has become in the digital age.

Dan Gilroy was critical about local news.

“(Local news) is all about selling the statistically disproved narrative that urban crime is creeping into the suburbs. To spread fear and grab viewers. They package it all like news, but it comes out as a narrative to spread fear,” he stated.

Gilroy also stressed the idea that filmmakers, just like journalists, serve as a bridge between true news and the public. As this bridge, journalists must evaluate every piece of information that is presented to them and judge it based on validity and urgency before releasing it to public knowledge.

“The facility and ease with which these images are now coming at us, we have to decide on a minute-by-minute basis what we let in and what we don’t,” Gilroy said. “The viewers are the users of the images that get shown on TV. We are part of that system; whatever is being fed to us, and we consume it like fast food, keeps coming because we seem to demand it.”

Although many people may agree with this assumption about news media, it is also important to acknowledge the audience of the film and recognize their motivations for watching it in the first place.

Since this particular movie contains a lot of violence, one could that the graphic content is what draws viewers, and not the exposure of news media and journalism truths. This fact will also be important to considers when reviewing the reasons for the successes and/or failures of the movie.

Movie Pilot’s Lisa Carol Fremont argues: “We are a society weaned on and fattened up by rubbernecking journalism and worse than that, we are complicit in it. Lou (Gyllenhaal’s character) is just another cog in this giant machine that seems to celebrate real life violence, heartache and human ugliness.”

Fremont agrees with the notion that “Nightcrawler” as a film isn’t so much a reflection of the news industry as it is on the audience and its escalating taste for thrill and violence.

Are Kylie Jenner’s lips news?

Posted on by

By LINDSAY THOMPSON

One of the younger members of the infamous Kardashian clan has been grabbing the media’s attention lately. That’s not surprising, considering the reality TV star family has been know to do whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight.

The odd part about it is that the focus is not aimed directly at Kylie Jenner, but at her lips. 

People (who clearly pay way too close of attention to celebrities) have noticed that Jenner’s lips appear much poutier than they did a year ago and are throwing around accusations that the 17-year-old received lip injections.

The story may not be the lead item of the six o’clock news, but it is being covered by sources such as Yahoo!, which millions of people see every day when they go to the site to check their emails (http://yhoo.it/ZXZyWW).

Even ABC News ran a short follow-up story with Kim Kardashian about her take on the matter (http://abcn.ws/1xFqsxO).

Whether or not she did actually get lip injections is besides the point. Everyone knows celebrities do ridiculous things to stay beautiful. The Kardaishan family especially is known for their drastic beauty measures.

Take one look at Bruce Jenner’s face, which is more plastic than skin at this point, and you’ll see what I mean; Or, google “Kim Kardashian Vampire Facial” for another example (which was covered by CBS News at one point, no less).

So, this really shouldn’t even be news. Yet, it is. As the digital age makes news so much more readily available, celebrity gossip (and what should, frankly, be considered too much information) is weaving its way from places like “Access Hollywood” into more mainstream and credible news sources.

Media focus on college athlete, porn star

Posted on by

By SHAWNA KHALAFI

On Wednesday, Notre Dame freshman football player Justin Brent was spotted at the Knicks preseason game with his date, well-known porn star Lisa Ann. Brent, a wide receiver for his school,s football team, later posted an Instagram picture on the two in bed together.

Immediately, the story was all over the news: from sports publications to gossip magazines to hard news outlets.

Some gossip-fueled news outlets like TMZ were quick to jump to conclusions and judgment about the fact that not only is the woman a porn star, but she’s also a 42-year-old dating an 18-year-old athlete.

However, this story was also covered by what some might call more credible news outlets, such as the Huffington Post. In the article published by the Huffington Post, the writer is careful to not share any personal opinions on the matter. Instead, the article consisted mostly of the Instagram pictures in question, as well as quotes taken directly from Lisa Ann’s Twitter feed showing her reaction to the ordeal.

This goes to show that even the most trivial of news stories, like who’s dating who, can instantly spark media attention from all types of news outlets. However, there is a big difference in the ways that these news outlets portray these types of stories.

In addition to falling in the popular college football category, this story in particular also involved many common controversies, such as age difference in relationships, the male / female double-standard and respectability of occupations in the adult film industry.

Drag queens more visible in today’s culture

Posted on by

By XUANCHEN FAN

A drag queen is a man who dresses like a woman. The purpose of dragging is a self-expression, performance and entertainment. Years ago, people regarded this as a sort of perverted behavior. However, nowadays, drag queens have become a non-mainstream culture.

There are many drag artists in different fields and they vary greatly in dedication, from professionals in movies to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and even vary within the same country.

While drag is very much associated with gay men and gay culture, many artists are famous for being a drag queen. RuPaul Andre Charles is the one of the most representative drag queen artists.

RuPaul is noted among drag queens for his indifference toward the gender-specific pronouns used, like he said: “You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don’t care! Just as long as you call me.”

RuPaul also joined in an American reality competition television series –– RuPaul’s Drag Race. He plays the roles of host, mentor and source of inspiration for this series.

All contestants for the show must be 21 years of age or older. They may have any sexual orientation, although most contestants to date have been gay men.

David Bowie is the most representative drag queen musician. He is known for his distinctive voice as well as the intellectual depth and eclecticism of his work. In his music video, he always dress like a woman to present a different inner part of himself.

Even in China’s famed Peking opera, there is a Dan character similar to a drag queen. Peking opera is a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines music, vocal performance and dance. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty and is regarded as one of the culture treasure of China. The Dan refers to any female role in Peking opera and all Dan roles were played by men.

Should we download music for free?

Posted on by

By XUANCHEN FAN

U2’s new album has been posted on the iTunes store for free download. The new album “Sounds of Innocence” is free to the more than 500 million iTunes customers in 119 countries.

U2's new album (source: from pitchfork)

U2’s new album (Source: from Pitchfork)

Maybe it is surprising, but more people are willing to buy the new edition CD after downloading the new album online.

At the beginning, iTunes was free to download music. Then musicians begin to sue Apple, saying that people are freely downloading the music and no one is willing to buy their edition or even deluxe edition CD.

However, given the situation with U2’s new album, artists should reconsider the methods of selling albums. People realized that the free download music and the edition CD are different. The latter one possesses the possibility of increasing in value and has collection value.

Moreover, the deluxe edition CD’s acoustic quality is much better. Music we are able to  download for free possesses poorer acoustic quality. It is like a sales strategy to encourage consumers to listen to better quality music.

The free download music is also a sale strategy that can help more people get to know the band. Taking U2 as an example, U2 is a famous band around America and Europe. Nonetheless, this iTunes free download experience enable more Asian know this band.

Listen to the U2’s new album at http://www.apple.com/U2/.

Why do we report celebrity gossip?

Posted on by

By LINDSAY THOMPSON

All over Internet news sources and on TV broadcasts today, you’ll probably hear something about “Celebrity Phone Hackings! Nude Photos Leaked!” If you stay up to date with current events, there is really no way you did not hear about this. It’s posted everywhere.

Why should we care that Jennifer Lawrence’s phone was hacked, or that Kate Middleton is pregnant, or that Kris and Bruce Jenner are getting a divorce?

There are people who have built their whole career around reporting celebrity gossip (hello, Perez Hilton.) Yet bloggers, gossip columns, and E! News aren’t the only ones talking about celebrities. The story of Kate Middleton’s second pregnancy was featured on ABC’s World News.

It’s a journalist’s job to help inform people about what’s going on in the world and what the public should generally know. Still, journalists also report what they know people want to hear. Most TV news broadcasts will have some type of human interest piece thrown in, and giving people the low down on what’s happening in Hollywood is an easy way to fill that.

If it’s possible to have a whole station like E! News devoted just to stirring up the celebrity rumor mill, clearly enough people want to know what’s happening in celebrities’ lives. But why?

It’s nice to know that celebrities are people, too. They get divorced, they have their phones hacked, they’re caught with drugs and have to go to court. They’re not untouchable.

Not only that, but everyone knows who these celebrities are, and it’s easy to talk about someone you know. The general public probably isn’t going to care if your cousin is being shipped off to rehab (unless there was some weird twist to thicken the plot of the story,) because they don’t know your cousin. It’s sometimes easy to feel like you actually know someone just because you have seen all of their movies, or watched a few of their interviews on daytime television.

As long as people are still tuning in to hear about celebrity news, reporters are still going to talk about it.

The news media: Are we hypocrites?

Posted on by

By MEAGHAN McCLURE

An article published by The American Spectator on Sept. 23 raises an interesting point: Journalists are just as at fault in domestic violence cases as the NFL players they have been recently criticizing.

During the month of September, the news media have had a frenzy with all of the domestic violence and child abuse cases surrounding the NFL. With the release of the second Ray Rice surveillance tape, Adrian Peterson’s child abuse scandal, combined with notable cases against Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer, and Ray McDonald, media during the month of September have put the NFL on blast for all of these domestic violence issues.

The article by The American Spectator, however, asks the question: Are the media skewing these problems out of proportion, just because the NFL is a high-profile, very exposed institution?

It is possible that the NFL does not have more domestic violence cases in ratio than the rest of the country. Actually, in studies, it is found that the NFL actually has lower crime rates than the rest of the general population of the same age group. The difference is the media puts more of a spotlight on professional athletes’ faults, rather than the average Joe. Not saying this makes the NFL violence cases okay, but it is fair to point out that it may be overemphasized by the media.

While the media have been constantly criticizing the league and painting it as “a veritable athletic Evil Empire of domestic abuse,” according to the article, The American Spectator points the finger back at those same journalists, who are not in positions to be putting the blame on others.

Five NFL cases, as mentioned before, have put the pressure on the NFL to better itself from the violence-ridden entity it appears to be now. As the article points out, however, ten cases can be found within the media recently. This is twice as many as the NFL.

These cases range from ESPN to ABC, CBS, NBC, and The New York Times. The difference between these cases and those of the NFL? Domestic violence cases by the media aren’t lumped together for the public to over-scrutinize and cast a shadow over all of the media.

I’m not saying at all that the NFL shouldn’t be concerned about its role with domestic violence. It should be. Domestic violence is never okay, and with so many fans looking to the NFL, it should make a good example of these cases, taking measures to punish the offenders.

However, maybe the media should do the same and take a second look to try to better itself, before pointing fingers at others.

You can read The American Spectator article mentioned here: http://spectator.org/articles/60468/when-journalists-commit-domestic-violence.

Earning money from a six-second video

Posted on by

By KATHERINE FERNANDES

Vine is a video-sharing website, owned by Twitter, where you can share videos that are up to six seconds long. You may ask yourself how such short videos can attract people to use this app? Well, the answer is that the limit of time on its clips is appealing to people.

People that make videos on Vine are called “viners.” Believe it or not, viners can tell a whole story in six seconds and these viral videos can result in big earnings. This app lets people “revine” videos, which is like retweet on Twitter, and like videos as well.

With Vine, you can become an Internet celebrity or make your product famous. Viners are mostly teenagers and some of them are earning big amounts of money as a result of their posts on this website.

For a teenager that has funny videos and lots of followers on Vine, $1,000 isn’t hard to come by.

With 9.5 million followers, 16-year old Nash Grier has earned one of the top places of famous people in this website. Incredibly, he is ahead of famous people such as Snoop Dogg and even Justin Bieber on Vine. Besides the money he is paid for his vines, this Vine star can receive $25,000 to $100,000 for advertising a major brand product in a six-second video and sharing it with his Vine followers.

Locally, we have many college and high-school viners that are becoming famous with this website and also that are benefiting economically from their vines.

Marcus Johns, a 21-year-old junior at Florida State University, is making lots of money by doing vines. He has considered dropping out of school because he makes so much money on Vine.

Marcus’s brother, Cody Johns was an aspiring actor and by doing vines, he got his college tuition paid.

Here in Miami, we have Lele Pons, which is another celebrity on Vine. She is known in Miami and throughout the world as a crazy, hyperactive and also one of the most popular viners. She is the first person on Vine to reach over a billion loops.

Advertisers are also on Vine. Companies such as Urban Outfitters, Trident and Dunkin’ Donuts have promoted their products by making mini ads in a six-second vine. Additionally, other companies have used Vine to promote events, such as Burberry promoted its shows in the New York fashion week. If you have a lot of followers, and you revine posts to share a sponsored brand, you’ll probably earn money from an advertiser.

There may even be news potential in the site, particularly for broadcasters and Web sites looking for clips to turn into feature stories or video from breaking news events.

Since Vine was released in January 2013, many people have made good living from Vine alone.

So, if you have good vines, receive many revines and likes and become famous on Vine, you won’t even need to worry about getting a job. Just “Do it for the Vine!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3WyDQAo45c

 

 

 

Twitter gives stars platform to fight back

Posted on by

By MEAGHAN McCLURE

For the past few years, Twitter has been a main source of news for young people. They find out about breaking stories and everything relevant in current events. In a way, Twitter could be viewed as a young person’s newspaper.

However, with the rise of Twitter, celebrities have been given an easy platform to get their thoughts and opinions across, no matter how offending, or if it makes a major brand look bad. Twitter cuts out the middleman, and lets celebrities interact with fans directly.

This new direct contact between celebrities and fans can be problematic, however. In the recent case of Cee Lo Green, one stupid comment can ruin a celebrity’s whole image and, in the recent cases of Shonda Rhimes and Rihanna, uncensored criticisms can ruin the image of a major company.

Earlier this month, Cee Lo Green tweeted controversial statements about rape, one of which claimed rape isn’t “real” unless the victim remembers it. This moment of ignorance on the famous singer’s part cost him a huge loss in fan base, even after deleting the tweets and making a public apology.

In the case of Green, we can see how easily it is for public figures to reach their fans and how quickly a public image can change.

This also happened in the case of Shonda Rhimes and Rihanna. Although they didn’t ruin their own images, they used Twitter as a platform to fight back against attacks from big corporations and voice their own opinions.

Shonda Rhimes is the creator of many shows, like “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Recently, she was described as an “angry black woman” in a New York Times feature, after which, she took to Twitter to give her own thoughts. After voicing her displeasure, other figures such as Kerry Washington criticized the Times writer too. The Twitter backlash proves that the growing popularity of Twitter certainly changes the way the media can criticize celebrities – because they will not get away with it anymore without a fight.

A similar case happened recently with singer Rihanna, after CBS pulled her song from “Thursday Night Football” following the Ray Rice domestic violence incident. Initially, CBS pulled the song the week immediately following the release of the second Rice video, because they felt Rihanna, a famous victim of domestic abuse from Chris Brown, would give the wrong message.

Rihanna reacted through Twitter, writing, “CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday? NO, Fuck you! Y’all are sad for penalizing me for this.” CBS then had to deal with the disapproval of many Rihanna fans, which ultimately led them to pull her song for good.

These recent events involving celebrities shows just how impacting social media can be, especially as Twitter gives stars a chance to bite back at the media.