Blog 3 Learning Outcomes S2

A person is exposed to three thousand advertisements a day, according Jean Kilbourne and her documentary, Killing us Softly. The statement may seem fictional at a glance, but the reality is there advertising is everywhere: on our shoes, our clothes, our pencils, backpacks, notebooks, televisions, phones, computers. The advertisements litter our word all in the hopes that we will be influenced enough to by their products. The truth is that advertisements account for only a small portion of the grand scope of mass media. The claim can be made that mass media is inescapable. The reality is that if one lives in America or anywhere in the modern world, exposure to mass media can not be avoided. Mass media can come in many mediums, this due to the hope that many variants of the same thing will be more effective in reaching a broader audience.  An example of this can be made readily available by looking at “The Onion” The Onion is company that spoofs news coverage and reporting all in the name of comedy. While the premise is a one note song, the different pitches of that note are numerous. The Onion has many variants such as: The Onion News Network on television, The Onion on Facebook, The Onion on Twitter, The Onion Newspaper, The Onion website, as well as the subset AV club, Onion Sports Network and their separate marketing. All of these are under the same umbrella, yet each is a different medium of mass media in the hopes that the product will be consumed by as many customers as possible.

Some may believe that it is possible to avoid mass media or ignore its effects on their lives. Humans are social creatures and the truth of this matter can be simply put by John Donne, who penned the famous line, “No man is an island” in his work "Meditation XVII,"  It is not possible to completely  detach oneself from the world and thus from mass media. Media continues to pervade all of society and will not cease for any one man, any one island.

The claim that mass media is inescapable is one that is relevant to Learning Outcome One: Examine different forms of communication within media. Areas to be considered include- advertising, news coverage, opinion, blogs, and mobile media.  The claim takes into account the varying ways in which media is spread and how it is virtually impossible to remove yourself from it. There are simply too many avenues and mediums in which mass media exists and is able to spread its message, whether that be ideas, advertisements, or morals.  As long as electricity exists, computers are running, satellites are floating up above, phone wires drape across the landscape, airplanes are flying, then mass media will not only exist, but flourish and thrive in a world that can not seem to escape is influence.