Appeal of a Narrative

What gives a global narrative its appeal is not the topic, but the means and methods in which it arrives to our attention. A narrative can be brought to our attention through a text, but what makes that text stand out is in the way it starts. In order for a text to snatch attention, the first three determining phrases, must captivate the global audience. Other factors that make a global narrative more appealing are the medias in which it was communicated through. For example, first hand audio clips, videos, pictures or recited encounters can make a deeper impact. It's never the body that makes a narrative good, it's how it starts, how it gives you reason to invest time in what you're reading, and how the ending makes you satisfied with the time that you did invest.

Favorite Blog

My favorite blog is accessible.de (http://www.accessible.de/) I randomly stumbled upon this photoblog about a year or so ago. Uwe, the author of the photoblog, mainly does landscape photography around where she lives. She lives around Frankfurt, Germany. What I really love about her blog is the simplicty and the techniques she uses to add a dreamy element to her photos. I also love her composition and the variety of her photos. I have always been a photography-enthusiast but it wasn't until my junior year of highschool that I took a history of photography and darkroom photography course. It made me appreciate the humble beginning of photography and how it has come a long way.

Research Question/Topic

Feminicidios in Juarez, Mexico

My research looks at the global narrative of the feminicidios occurring in Juarez, Mexico and how the feminicidios and the “Big G”, globalization, are interdependent.

appeal of narrative and citizen sharing

Narratives were throughout history were published in various forms, through books, newspapers, magazines, and now the worldwide web. Narratives provide readers with a perspective that allows for many other perspectives and the creation of other narrations. With all that information that is now provided to publishers it is now up to them to pick and choose what is going to be available for the public eye. At times these organizations do not pick the correct information to share and the wrong information is distributed

One of the most important aspects of narratives is the editor. The editor takes the information that the writer established and edits it is passed down to citizens the correct way.

With the evolution of the internet it has become much easier for people to find information out and spread it as well. Now people use facebook and twitter as well as other social networks. These social networks do not work well because wrong information can be passed down and that is not the correct way to go about it.

Research Question

Cyber Narratives of China: the Invisible Hand of the Government
A Discussion on the Chinese Government’s Internet Censorship and its Effect in Fostering the Cyber Nationalism

Research Topic

The voice within television and print news compared to the voice of internet news

Citizen Journalism and Global Awareness

Citizen journalism has the freedom to go places regulated news never will. Many people now have camera phones, giving them the power to record whatever they wish to. Coupled with easy to use and widely known sites such as youtube, spreading them to a mass audience is now as simple as taking the video was. This offers a degree of protection never known to people before. A camera is a way to defend yourself against anyone breaking a law or acting against you. There have been many cases of events such as police brutality caught by a bystander which would have otherwise gone unpunished. If something major happens and there are people around, it is almost guaranteed that it will be captured on some sort of device. The death of Neda would not have made such an impact globally had it not been filmed by different people. There is a huge difference between hearing of a tragic death and actually witnessing it. When the situation is placed before you, it becomes solid and real. There is no denying that it happened, and it becomes much harder to ignore. While traditional news would simply state the facts, the footage ensures you actually feel something about it instead of letting it pass by like all the other tragedies reported.

The Appeal of Global Narratives

Global narratives are appealing, because they are directed towards something which speaks to the majority of people it reaches. It does not have to appeal to the viewer in a positive sense, it only has to affect them enough in order to be of interest. It can be anything from a hugely popular sport such as soccer, to a tragic event such as the murder of Neda. The way in which it is distributed is important. If a narrative does not receive enough initial attention, it will fade away. However, if it reaches enough people quickly enough, and is of enough basic interest, it will catch on and spread. The growth of the internet has made global narratives much more common and likely to occur. Now people in other countries can watch the U.S presidential elections, and people all over the world watch events such as the Olympics. Along with the growth of media, the definition of what is appealing has been strangely skewed. While large events such as Darfur and Hurricane Katrina still make the news, they are often placed alongside other articles describing the latest celebrity breakup. People are attracted to news of very small significance as often as those which effected many more people.

Cited:

Fischer, Annemarie. Class Discussion. “Global Media Narratives,” Binghamton University.

Research Question

Is the democratic process of featured news and headline selection based on click-through rates driving narratives towards stupidity and sensationalism?

The Appeal of Narrative and Citizen Sharing

Before narratives are born, they are conceived as newswire messages, investigative reports, scientific reports, and now tweets. Historically, these messages were transformed into popular narratives by the editors of the oligarchy of media organizations who chose the stories that they deemed the most important or the most entertaining. Some abused their power and chose stories based on their personal biases, but in a competitive marketplace that values truth, the most honest news media organizations would win out. The bottom line depended on the selling of newspapers which depended on the featured headlines on the front page. What has always largely determined the appeal of a narrative is how well it sells.

The difference today is that people can spread the news themselves by posting status updates and sharing news by the article instead of the paper. Appealing narratives can be derived from what is worth sharing instead of what will be sold. The editors no longer have to judge if a particular story is interesting to the public, as a significant sample size of the public can share it by itself and the editors can then highlight that story for the rest of the public. The pre-digital editors job was to tap into the pulse of the public by measuring sales, but now they can tap directly into the blood stream by monitoring click-through rates and the sharing of articles.

Have we seen a complete overhaul in what narratives become popular? Largely no. It is the same reporting on "things that are shocking" like international war that we have seen before, but now the focus can be shifted to the places that might have been overlooked in the past. When there were protests in Iran in June 2009, the New York Times and CNN, didn't cover the start of the protests. Only after reports of the protests took the Internet by storm, major news organizations started to cover the events. The audience now has more control than ever as to what gets covered and becomes a narrative, but the appeal is the same. There is no true definition of what is newsworthy, but it usually comes down to a few things; the shocking, the inspirational, and the relevant to ones' life. And ultimately, what would you want a friend to know?

What is a Narrative

A narrative is a way of expressing something to someone else. We use it everyday in order to communicate to others. Abbott says that the "gift of narrative is so pervasive and universal that there are those who strongly suggest that narrative is a deep structure, a human capacity genetically hard-wired into our minds in the same way as our capacity for grammar (according to some linguists) is something we are born with" (Abbott 3). It is how we comprehend what goes on around us and attempt to explain it to others. A narrative does not have to be a story, as a story will have a linear plot. A narrative can simply be a feeling someone expresses through a phrase or a poem. Herman believes that the loosely defined narrative is a way to escape from using solid terms. He describes using "the contemporary use of the term narrative as a hedging device, a way to avoid strong positions. (Herman 1). Discourse is the ability to mold the story you are trying to express into any shape you wish, and still have it mean the same thing. It doesn't matter in which order you express the events, so long as your mind is able to sort them out chronologically within the story.

Works Cited

Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.

Herman, David. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.

What is Globalization?

Globalization is the interconnection of places around the world through communication. The growth of the internet has led to a huge increase in availability of information about other regions. This is ideal for understanding places we may never have been to, and theoretically would lead to a greater tolerance of other cultures and people. However, the problem lies in equal and fair distribution of resources such as the internet. As Norris puts it, "There is considerable concern worldwide that the explosion of the internet may leave many nations far behind, producing growing disparities between advanced industrialized and developing societies" (Norris 1). Information poverty is a lack of resources allowing access to knowledge most other countries have access to. If someone is attempting to educate themselves in Africa and don't have a computer, they can only rely on their neighbors. If someone wanted to learn something and had internet access, they can find everything they need. This leads to a gap between those with access and without. I believe access to the internet is now a human right, but it would be incredibly hard to pull off. If we can't even supply everyone with water, it's not likely everyone will be able to have a computer.

Works Cited

Norris, Pippa. "Information Poverty and the Wired World." The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. Vol. 5, No. 3, (2003)

The "Aura" and "Media Industry" in Cyberspace

The aura of something is the feeling you get when you are confronted by it in person. When you see something such as a famous work of art, or original draft of a book, you are hit by it's presence. That work was created by someone and came into existence at a specific point in time, as a way for it's maker to send a message through it. Benjamin says no reproduction of something can live up to the original, because it lacks "its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be" (Benjamin 200). The constant reproduction of these unique works only serves to degrade the original. Many of the artists who created these works never intended, or even thought possible, that their creation be duplicated. They meant for the pieces to be seen in specific places and times, to serve as a message of their creativity. It is impossible to get the same experience of being in the Sistine Chapel by looking at images of it on google. However, technology makes it easy to be satisfied with a reproduction instead of the original.
Adorno describes the industry of culture as "infecting everything with sameness" (Adorno 1). He is arguing that through the growth of media such as television and radio, more people are receiving the same message. At first glance this would appear to be a culture, but on closer inspection it is revealed as a business. If everyone likes the same thing, whoever is selling that thing will be making a lot of money. Therefore, the media industry revolves around selling items to mass groups of people. When the masses are large enough, the product begins to define them. At the same time, they feel as if they are making the choice between all the products placed in front of them. However, they are still confined in the same media bubble, being forced to align with one group or another.

Works Cited

Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. New York: Schoken Books, 1968.

Horkeimer, Max and Adorno, Theodor. Dialectic of Enlightenment. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002.

Favorite Blog

My favorite blog is also the only one I read. Bikesnobnyc.com was introduced to me by a friend and co-worker, and it is still as interesting and hilarious as it was to me a year ago. While people who don't understand or care about biking won't find it as funny, I work in a bike shop where I see people buying the most ridiculous items in attempts to keep up with the "cool" cycling culture. The author makes hilarious obervations about everything from the new fixed gear wave to the resurgence of "vintage" bikes. I see these people everyday during the summer, and it makes me glad to know other people find the ideas they hold absurd. I'm all for the increased use of bicycles, but not when they're used mainly as a fashion accessory. It frustrates me to no end when I'm approached at my job by people asking for items as silly as carbon fiber bar ends. It shouldn't be my business whether they want to spend 60 dollars in order to save three grams of weight, but somehow I can't help being annoyed.

Research Question

How has the evolution of technology and communication had an effect on society's morals?

Research Question and Topic Title

Research Question:
How news and media can mislead and misinform people on financial fact and investment ideas, and how this can potentially lead to a deterioration of financial education found in Colleges and Universities?

Research Topic:
Media Misinterpretation: Reason amidst Financial Madness

Research Paper Topic

A New Language:

Technology's birth and encouragement of a communicative goal of concision.

Research Question

Research topic:

The Appeal of Narratives in the Digital Age: A Look Into the Shifts of Public Interest

Research Project

I'm writing about the drug trafficking and the resulting wars in Mexico. I also want to show how the media portrays this violence.

Favorite blog

My favorite blog is The Bund （http://www.bundpic.com/). It is a magazine in China but also it has a ipad version and release every week as a blog. This blog contains mainly four parts: news, culture, life and fashion. Each part has several worldwide articles and pictures. My reason for loving it is I could easily got the hottest topic which happen every week by just reading its update. And mostly all the materials get my attention and fit my taste. Besides, due to it update weekly, so reading its blog does not take my a lot of time. It's contains refresh my mind and give me a lot of information on media and culture.

Research Question

Question: How does religion and spiritual frameworks affect questions of narrative and narratology?

Catchy Title: Spirituality and the Media: And the Word became Text

Can citizen journalism and/or cyber technology raise global awareness?

Citizen Journalism has raised, and will continue to raise global awareness. True citizen journalism, if it's defined as journalism that is amateur in nature, and done by someone directly impacted or in the vicinity of a major event, is perhaps the purest form of journalism there is and the paramount of "primary sources". As seen in events such as the Iranian election, where some of the largest sources of information regarding what was happening were tweets or youtube videos uploaded by everyday people, citizen journalism can have a very large impact.

With that in mind, there are two problems with citizen journalism. The first is the ability for it to be transported or mass-communicated. Anyone with a computer with an internet connection and webcam or camera phone is capable of publishing a video on youtube. Unfortunately, the movement of that video (or information) is largely dependent on the people who initially receive it (if anyone receives it at all). Citizen journalism relies on individual citizens to continue to pass the story along, because a video can become an internet sensation and be passed in email chains and facebook posts, OR it can sit on youtube with only 5 views forever.

The second problem is that the amateur content has very little safeguards against bias or falsehood. One must keep in mind, first, that citizen journalism is very often one person's perspective on an event (what would happen, for example, if the filmers of the Neda video instead chose to focus on something else? or completely ignore the woman?). Additionally, because amateur content requires very little effort, is usually not planned well, and does not need to be (and is very often not) professional, it is easy to replicate content and claim it as "citizen journalism." I did not understand this second point until Prof. Fischer asked us in class how we "know" that the Neda video is authentic and not-staged. As a first time-viewer, who knows nothing about the narrative, the video may as well have been staged-- it lacks the credibility to say otherwise.

Research topic

Will the online books and magazines kill the print industry?

Research Question:

How hip hop music/ rap affect the society? not only focus on money, sex...but also more politically

1, America

2, Asia Country (mostly force in Chinese)

3, Differences between

Swarms from Cyberspace: Communication and Collective Action of Hacktivists

Research Question

Using the T-Mobile "Life's for sharing" campaign as an example, what role do flash-mobs play in the creation of a lovemark?  Is that role crucial to what Adorno and Horkheimer coined the 'culture industry,' and why?

Research Topic

Silenced by Technology: The negative effects of technology on communication.

Research Topic

In May 2008 a violent earthquake shook China's Sichuan providence killing hundreds of thousands, including many school children. The Chinese government systemically prohibited the release of data and imagery regarding the earthquake. How did China's citizens use modern communications to circumvent the media restrictions using cellphones and networking sites such as twitter bringing light to the suffering of victims?

Research Question

Name: Syed Shahnawaz

Even though the Pakistani floods had more people affected than the Haiti Earthquake and Indian ocean Tsunami combined, how come it received no where near the media attention as the other two events mentioned above?

(I also e-mailed this question the day it was due)

Research Question

why did the dispute over underage chinese girls participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics greatly effect the international public?

Research Question

Weimar Culture

How does Weimar Culture impact fashion industry?

Research Question

                                        The Revolution of Micro Media

Is the over-censorization and hidden agendas of today's current media sources causing people to shy away from mass media and turn instead their focus to micro media and social networking?

Research Question

Ending Genocide in Darfur:

Media's Role in Inciting Global Action and Domestic Empowerment.

Research Project

Clicking The “Like” Button:

Global Media And The Popularity Of The World Cup

Research Question

Does the conveyance of news through a textual medium destroy the aura of the content?

Research Question

Are moral/ethical boundaries crossed in the cyber media?

Can citizen journalism and/or cyber technology raise global awareness?

The addition of a tiny camera on almost all mobile devices- whether they be cell phones, iPods, or laptop computers- has had a tremendous effect on journalism. Now, anyone can be a reporter, a newscaster, and a news outlet all on their own. Of course, a lot of work and a little bit of luck help too, but it's now just as easy for the common citizen to capture important events as it is a news outlet. Their work may be a little bit more polished and professional, but it doesn't mean it's any better.

As such, citizen journalism is in its prime. And because it's better than its ever been, it has the power to raise global awareness.

My Research Idea

I would like to examine Michael Jackon's death, not just as a loss of a global icon, but a global media event that would not be possible without the advents of technology in the digital age. Because the first news of Jackson's death came from a celebrity gossip website, TMZ.com, and not from a traditional news outlet, this celebrity death is the beginning of a new type of coverage. Jackson's funeral was broadcast live around the world, which was watched by an audience of up to one billion people, also creating another global event.

I will also be examining Freud's writings on mourning and melancholia, in order to make sense of the fan hysteria over the loss of Michael Jackson, especially the twelve suicides that took place around the world after his passing.

Appeal of a Narrative

Name: Shahnawaz Syed


Appeal of Narratives

Humans are social beings, most of our daily activities involve communicating or correlating with others; either physically through direct contact or indirectly using the various forms of communication we have. There are always stories being told or heard, the rate at which these stories or narratives are produced and received has only increased with advancement in technology. Unfortunately, our brains are pretty much the same size they were hundreds of years ago. We are not evolving at a rapid pace, if at all, and thanks to modern medicine; natural selection is barely present. So how do we deal with all this information being flooded into our brains when we can’t possibly absorb everything due to our biological restrictions?

Well, slowly people have adapted to where they have become more selective in what they care about as a society, if something seems uninteresting then it will go right through their ears without ever being taken into consideration. And I can see why this happens! Because it is necessary! This creates a fine line between narratives which are appealing and ones which aren’t. A lot of people have the misconception that somehow our media is changing how we as Americans think what exactly is being delivered to us; they are partially right in a sense but not completely. Yes the attempts to manufacture consent are there and always have been, but people also have the ability to choose for themselves. In an interview; Michael Moore stated that it was because of various political powers that our media is losing its value and that it’s all about big bold pictures and colorful letters, but what he failed to see is that production is directly correlated to demand. Big bold letters are easy to see! Pictures say more than words usually can. Magazines and newspapers use big bold letters now because that is what people prefer.

A prime example of this is the Darfur conflict and violence in Middle East. Hundreds and hundreds of women have been raped or murdered in the past few years in Darfur, yet it is rarely ever mentioned in the news or on TV, but when an attractive Iranian woman was shot shot it was all over the news. I read a comment where someone said that apparently it was due to her westernization and that people care when a westernized Middle Eastern woman is shot. But I personally think that it could be the simple fact that the video of her death was actually recorded using a good quality camera and was posted on YouTube. Last time I checked, YouTube did not have a video of an African woman being killed for her difference in ideology or beliefs, so maybe Africa when modernized will eventually appear on the news. Africa is disconnected in a sense from the rest of the world, it’s very hard to get reporters out there due to the dangers involved.

Also the political parties in America understand that they must deal with one region at a time, if they were to intervene in Darfur right now it will put even more pressure on our already fragile economy, making us venerable to other world powers such as China or Russia. So there is definitely some strategic ignorance being manufactured but if it wasn’t for the high demand it would not be able to survive for long. After 9/11, Middle East and Arabs in general have become a topic of discussion and until something else were to happen; we will have a hard time diverting our limited attention elsewhere. The narrative of Iran and Middle East relates to us directly, they are trying to acquire nuclear weapons which could possibly become a threat to all of us. Even if an all out war in Africa were to break out, it will never reach our borders. This makes the narrative of Neda more appealing than the narrative of Darfur. I am not saying people are selfish and that they only care about things which affect them; it is very possible that if videos such as Neda’s were posted online from Africa, it might spark wide support for intervention. But right now there just isn’t enough awareness about the issue out there.


Sources
1- Moore, Michael (Sept 30 2009).Greed killed the newspapers. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9pYp2M4444.Nov 15 2010.
2- Chomsky, Noam (May 21 2009). Manufacturing Consent. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJuqoDvyXOk. Nov 15 2010

Can citizen journalism and/or cyber technology raise global awareness?

Cyber technology can raise global awareness in many ways. People that use the internet often reference to the it for answers. When one is researching to write a paper or even how to fix something around the house the internet is used for the answers and they never go wrong. As far as we might like to go, cyber technology is very useful and everyone is turning to it. Not only is it cheaper but it is also more convenient and therefore it becomes more useful than any other source out there.
Cyber technology is global as it is and the researcher can find information about anything, from the weather in Australia to the prices of an item in another country.
Cyber technology can raise global awareness because of sites that provide valid information.

TheDis Appeal of Narratives

Throughout our discussions, the class has tried to define narrative in terms of technology and globalization.  From this, I have defined a narrative as "an event or sequence of events that "organizes" an "understanding of time" about the "human experience." (Alexis Thorne)(Abbot 3,4)(Herman 24)  In the context of internet, global media, etc., the way these events are organized is significantly different than they once were.

In the Tsunami article, Wilkes argues that in 2004 "distance in space," i.e geographical distance, had lost it's ability to barrier the travel of news in comparison to 1755. (Wilkes 49)  Because of technology, the spread of news had become faster and  more endurant.

In comparison to the Lisbon earth quake, the Tsunami recieved much more accurate, in depth, wide-spread and impactful news coverage. By this notion,  one could assume that contemporary narratives (especially media events) are better than narratives of the past, which lacked the ability to include all that they do now.

However, the faith in these advancements is what gives that narrative the power to manipulate or deceive.  In our discussions, the class talked about lonelygirl 15, who pretended to be a sad, young girl looking for friends.  We've talked about facebook, and it's collection of personal information and target marketing.  Both examples of deceit, where audiences trusted the reality of the media.  These examples serve as a warning that  individuals and organizations  have power to create mass-deception, just as they do to create mass-awareness. 

Wilkes article includes a picture (figure 4.1 and 4.2) of the aftermath in the Lisbon earthquake, as examples of individual conceptions of the earthquakes aftermath.  The pictures depict "dramatic, visually stirring" renditions of homes being carried away and screaming faces.  He points out that without technology, accuracy was of opinion and depended on the correspondent.   (Wilkes55)  Historically, events and their representation, were subject to the elite and the few, i.e those who could travel, those who could draw, those who were wealthy enough to learn and do both.

Really, not much has changed.  Facebook has an incredible power through their networking capabilities, and while they and lonelygirl15, and the Tsunami are more tied to realistic representations, they still have a plethera of images, videos and mediums to use in order to skew perspective.


Works Cited

Wilke, Jurgen: Historical Perspectives on Media Events: a Comparison of the Lisbon Earthquake in 1755 and the Tsunami Catastrophe in 2004. In: Couldry, Nick (ed.): Media Events in a Global Age, Chapter 4, pp. 45-60.

Abbott: The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative.

Herman: The Cambridge Companion to Narrative.

Thorne, Alexis.  Global Media  Narrative Definitions.

Narrative Appeal: Social Constraints of Empathy and Hegemonic Influence

Some blame of the marked disparity between coverage of stories and audience reception of narrative discourses must go to the generally immutable need for receivers of news to identify with a specific character. The emergence of the late Neda Agha-Soltan as a quintessential victim of oppressive an Iranian old guard, was enabled by the dramatic footage captured on video-phones by civilians near her (Fahti, 2009) as well as the fact that the bullet hit her in her torso, not her head, thus preserving her beauty, even in death (Fischer, 2010). While the feminicidios in Ciudad Juarez are most frequently of young, attractive women, evidence of their deaths are generally recognized only upon the discovery of “decomposed bodies...often unidentifiable” (Livingston, 2004, p. 59), so there is a scarcity of photographic journalistic representation of the victims as living people, not just as corpses.

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar formulated a numerical limit to the number of people that an individual is capable of having personal contacts (Bialic, 2007). There must also be a limit to the number of people that an individual can deeply empathize with, as opposed to merely pitying on a rationally moral basis. The latter is seldom as effective as the former in galvanizing support for a cause.

There is also no doubt that the preferences of audience members can be largely influenced by the cumulative manipulation of hegemonic influences, and subsequent reinforcement by group mentality in a viral fashion, as evidenced by the effectiveness of astroturfing. These more surreptitious modes of influencing news content have been criticized in detail by voices such as Chomsky (Achbar, 1992). Proponents of deeper investigations into the murders in Ciudad Juarez suspect that their detractors are “a front for the state government” (Livingston, 2004, p. 64).

References

Achbar, M. (producer). (1992). Manufacturing consent: Noam Chomsky and the media. Retrieved October 16, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com

Bialic, C. (2007, Novermber 16). Sorry, you may have gone over your limit of network friends. The Wall Street Journal, p. B1. Retrieved October 16, 2010 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119518271549595364.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Fahti, N. (2009, June 23). In a death seen around the world, a symbol of Iranian protests. The New York Times, p. A1. Retrieved October 16, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/middleeast/23neda.html?_r=1

Fischer, A. (2010). Global media narratives in the digital age (lecture). Binghamton University.

Livingston, J. (2004). Murder in Juarez: Gender, sexual violence, and the global assembly line. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 25, 59-76.

Can citizen journalism and/or cyber technology raise global awareness?

Citizen journalism is truly a sign of the times. Mediums like YouTube, CNN iReport and twitter make news so much easier to convey to the masses. However, does it really raise global awareness? With the multitude of diversions available on the internet it becomes all too easy to just skip over things that you deem uninteresting. Comparing the amount of videos of YouTube that appeal to entertainment value as opposed to information value. Citizen journalism, nonetheless, may be more affective than traditional journalism. The mass appeal of citizen journalism stretches so much farther than institutionalized journalism due to a feeling of kinship among the bourgeois. Cyber journalism definitely has the potential to raise awareness to the global community but it's so easy to avoid that it almost becomes a space filler. Opening your homepage in your browser probably takes you to Yahoo!, AOL or Google, which all have a link to news somewhere on the page. However, most people tend to immediately load Facebook or twitter.

The answer to the question is yes. Citizen journalism has an overwhelming potential to reach people on a global scale that traditional media can't (or won't) do. Some mainstream media outlets won't even touch some stories that citizen journalism will enthusiastically report. Censorship also plays a great role in the appeal of citizen journalism. Overall, cyber technology really does help the spread of global narratives but it's largely dependent on the audience.

Cyber Technology Can Raise Global Awareness

Today's society is beginning to slack when it comes to paying attention to what is going on in the world. Many students across the country are too immersed in their own lives to pay attention to what is going on in the world around them. Because of the time that is spent studying in the library, television watching, specifically news watching, is not as popular among young adults as it used to be. This trend is not only common among students, though. Adults are spending more time in the office and less time in front of the television. Sure, it is easy to pick up a newspaper, but people simply don't read anymore. This epidemic is becoming a threat to print media, and is lowering the rate of global awareness.

Thankfully, though, one thing still remains in the eyes of Americans. Computers. Without these machines, our society would be lost. We depend solely on the internet to get through our days, to study, and to keep up with what is going on. Because of this, the cyber industry is maintaining global awareness. An AOL home screen for example, flashes news events every day. No, I don't read the newspaper daily, but I tend to click on an interesting story on AOL when i see one. This raise of cyber technology is definitely a plus in the realm of global awareness. Slowly but surely, magazines and newspapers will begin to be taken over by the internet. It's happening already. But thanks to online news, the average person is introduced back into what is going on in the world around them. Whether at work or school, Americans are online. This being said, they are bound to click on global stories when they arise. The person that has never read the newspaper is definitely reading more online than they ever intended to. So yes, global awareness is slacking. But with the help of cyber technology, Americans are able to maintain this awareness.

What is an appealing narrative?/What is the disappeal of narrative?

Not sure which question is on task but see these two as being interrelated.

What is an appealing narrative?
What makes a narrative appealing? I think this is better to work for for me. Although I concede that there may be other elements that make a narrative appealing...what I believe I am focusing on with the response is why is it that some narratives proliferate while others remain unnoticed. Narratives proliferate based on their potential for becoming commodified--how well these narratives can be "sold" to us. When dealing with traditional/major news sources, it is obvious (to the critical mind) that the narratives which are chosen to be aired are always within the realm of corporate interest. So what is appealing to these news sources--is their ability to reinforce the values and identities which serve corporate interest.

When looking at narratives which are proliferated outside of these traditional media organizations, it is not as apparent how it is that one narrative will be chosen over another--what makes it appealing. I would still make the argument that the narratives which are found to be appealing somehow reinforce the values and pre-existing narratives which are already in place in our capitalist centered culture. The story of Neda exemplifies this well--for as we observed in class, what is appealing about Neda is that she is young, beautiful, and most importantly WESTERNIZED! The Iranian protest would have never received as much attention as it did if it was not for the video of her shooting being circulated on Youtube. If Neda has been wearing traditional garb, I do not think that people would have paid her as much attention. Her image represents and symbolizes Western presence. There hundreds of thousands of women in these countries being tortured in much more severe manners--and their stories are not viral on Youtube.

What is the disappeal of narrative?
The disappeal of narrative to me is its structure. Its association with story-telling-- its reliance on "somthing" happening. It is restrictive in that by its form it is already limiting the kinds of information which receive attention. There is no such thing as a narrative which is not hegemonic. Narratives will always leave out other perspectives BECAUSE of their form.

Can citizen journalism and/or cyber technology raise global awareness?

Both citizen journalism and cyber technology can certainly raise global awareness. One of the reason is that sometimes certain events can occur suddenly. By the time it is shown on television certain information might already have been lost. This would lead to some events being portrayed by media as less significant and at times they might not even show up on the news. Thus citizen journalism plays a key in making people aware of the occurrence of these events. Since usually the people that witness the event is the ones that happen to be there at that time.
Thus cyber technology also plays a key in raising global awareness. With the capabilities of technology through the usage of cell phone and laptops, people are able to capture videos or pictures of the events that occurred. Sometimes these videos are posted on youtube or other social sites, where it becomes available to everyone. The news might spread through people that have viewed it on these social sites, and have told their friends about it. Thus this process sometimes spreads news faster than if you were to read it on a newspaper the next day. And certain news that the media have taught to be less significant previously might suddenly become significant after an increase in global awareness.

Appealing Narrative

A narrative can be appealing to different people for many different reasons. Some people enjoy reading a narrative due to the context that is being written about. Some people enjoy reading a narrative because of the themes, plot, or the relate-ability. People around the world like to read things that relate to there world or intrigues there interests. Whenever i post a link or put up a status on Facebook it is because the topic is interesting to me  and i know that I will get a response from others who go on my page. Usually when a person agrees with what i write on Facebook they "like" my status or are able to make there own comment on what I just wrote. I really enjoy that I am able to do this with my friends because it allows us to share new or old information with one another that matches our specific liking, our wants and our needs. Being able to share your own narrative with different people has helped to expand our world and globalization through different social outlets, websites and through the creativeness of others.

Appealing narrative

The difference between appealing narrative and dis-appealing narrative is narrability. Dis­-appealing narrative lacks in distribution. It is the opposite of appealing narrative, which can be globalized and made well known. Appearing narrative is narratable and dis­-appealing is dis-narratable. Appealing narrative is a discourse, narrative/story or event that attracts people’s attention. It usually is popular and well known, much like common knowledge. People can attach themselves to the event; they feel compassion, relation and empathy to it, which is something that audiences like. Like some global news, it is widely absorbed, and it can be a good conversation topic.

A good story and considerable attention can make the appealing narrative narratable. In the Neda event, a beautiful innocent woman was killed by gunshot. A Western, modern woman, she came from the  “forbidden places” in which women’s status was really low, forbidding them from doing many things. However, the woman joined a politically related event, and her Westernized action created global awareness. Audiences were interested and wanted to know more or to be entertained.  After her untimely passing, people discussed intensively and gathered together to protest.

Another example is in sports. It creates a good appealing narrative. During the Olympics, nations around the world gather to compete in sports. It perfectly displays the beauty of cultural harmony. It is a spot light; people like it, watch it and talk about it. The Olympics appeal to a universal mixture of culture. These kinds of popular global events are appealing narrative that affects people and are part of audiences’ memories.

Works Cited:

Fischer, Annemarie. Class Discussion. “Global Media Narratives,” Binghamton University.