Lucas Ichnoski: Shouting the News

One of the news segments I watched was the Bill O'Reilly Factor on Fox. His demeanor in the segment was pretty negative, considering he was talking about Socialism and Obamacare. He mentions how people who can afford it  will basically be providing for those who cant afford it, which is a lot of Americans. Also, he talks about how the cost of Obamacare will not only be added on top of the nations debt of $17 trillion, but the colossal cost the affordable Health Care Act. There really isn't any rudeness, or shouting, however there is a lot of emphasis on certain points of what he is talking about. Most of these points, though, are negative.
One of the guests he has is Marco Rubio, a Florida Senator. Both of them, very calm when theyre speaking, are complaining about Obamacare and how much they dont like it. According to them, a lot should be changed and fixed about Obamacare and the government in general, like the shutdown and how their website wont even work to see all the healthcare plans. To me, some of this information seemed like a little bit of opinion, however facts were also presented on both sides of the conversation. After watching Bill O'Reilly, I actually did learn a little bit more about Obamacare after watching this. Granted, what I already knew wasn't a lot.

>> Click here to watch the segment <<


Another news segment I watched was On the Record, with Greta Van Susteran. Surprisingly enough, her guest during her segment was Larry King himself. During her segment on the news, she was very giddy, excited, upbeat, and just in a positive mood. She didnt seem to be upset, or angry about anything. Some people might tune in to her solely for this reason. If you dont seem like you enjoy your job, people wont want to tune in. So her demeanor made a good impression, especially for someone watching her for the first time. She didnt cut Larry King off at all when they were talking. They seemed to be talking in more of a friendly manner.

I believe that having a guest as part of news delivery is a good idea. A lot of people, me included, think that news is completely one sided, and try to make you think only one way; their way. However, when these people bring in guests, they get to relay their opinion on the topic at hand. To me, this makes it seem a little bit more authentic since someone not working with the news company is giving their own opinion. Sometimes their opinion is similar to those giving the news, but other times it contrasts. This is a good thing because it allows people to make their own decisions and opinions and decide which side to lean to rather than having the news force feed opinions  and beliefs on certain topics down your throat.

Lucas Ichnoski: Reality TV

Whether we like to admit it, we all at one point watched, or still do watch, reality TV. I for one, still watch it, however not as much as I used to. The behavior of the people on the shows can range from  serious people to people who just want to have fun and party. To me, this is what grabs peoples attention to watch. If there seems to be a lot of partying, a lot of romance, or a lot of drama that's going to make good TV, of course producers are going to show that over things that don't bring a lot of attention.
I dont think that the way some people are portrayed on the show is how they truly act in real life, away from the cameras. Can you just imagine having a camera following you around for a month? Id bet on it that for at least the first week you wouldn't act like yourself, or how you would act around close friends.

I don't believe these shows accurately reflect society; however, I think society is influenced by these shows. Not all people in a given area are party people, whereas not all people are raging hotheads that get angry over petty things. It just so happens that all the people cast on shows like "The Real World" or "Jersey Shore" are. When people watch these shows and see others partying 24/7 on every episode, they might assume that "being a party girl" or something like that could make them a shoe-in for one of the future seasons. This influences those people to constantly party on the weekends to fit that role just to have their airtime if they were to get cast for one of these shows, ultimately making it a lot less "real." As much as I would hate to say it, reality TV shows do seem to make everyday people famous nowadays.

Most issues presented in the show are usually pointless drunken drama, which again, brings in viewers. However, some other issues presented, although not as much, are things along the lines of sexual orientation, trying to find a persons biological parents, etc.
Below is a video of one of the top rated Real World seasons in the past couple of years. It just so happens there was a lot of (drunken) drama, relationships, and some real issues being presented.