I am sad to say that this is my first blog that doesn’t have anything to do with Brett Favre. Even though I really want to be writing something about Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, I can’t help but to write about the Vancouver Olympics. In this blog I will be writing about how the media is absolutely feasting over the 2010 Olympic Games. I will tell you why you are so glued to the Olympics, as well as what the media is reporting on in this go-around of the Olympic Games.
I have been watching the Olympics a lot lately. Some of the events I have been watching are events that I am not interested in. I find myself asking myself the same question over and over again. That question is; why would I possibly be watching things like figure skating? I came up with a very simple answer. I am watching these events not for the sport but for the individual stories behind the athletes. The media has found that they can pull our attention to certain events by pulling at our heart strings. They have picked up on a story for just about every athlete. Some of these stories have a great ending and some of them are very sad. There are the “feel good” stories of Alex Bilodeau who not only won the first Canadian gold on home soil, but won it for his brother Frederic Bilodeau (who has cerebral palsy). Who couldn’t be inspired by Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who came out of a two year retirement for one last shot at the gold medal in couple’s figure skating. It made it more of a “feel good” story when they actually won the gold. Along with the good stories, there are also the stories that just tear at your heart. One of these stories is the story of Lindsey Jacobellis, an American snowboard cross competitor. In the previous winter Olympics Lindsay was in the lead heading for gold when she lost her position by showboating. In this winter Olympics she fell short of her goal once again. The media absolutely loves this story, because they know how bad we feel about an Olympic athlete not meeting their goal. When these stories are not enough for the media to talk about, they pick up on funny or informational stories concerning the Olympics. Some of these stories include the Olympian who chipped his tooth by biting his medal, and what the Olympians are listening to on their iPods.
Other forms of media are using the Olympics to create publicity. MTV has created a show out of Canada called “Over The Bolts”. In this show the media follows the Canadian snowboarding team, so people can get to know them and their stories.
As you can see the media has drawn me into the Olympics with their various stories. The media is also using the Olympics to promote other forms of media. The media has gotten very good at making people, like me; watch what they want me to watch. I am not mad about this at all because they really have me interested in this year’s Olympic Games.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
So Favre So Good!
In my last blog I wrote about how much the media needs to thank Brett Favre for all of the contributions he has made to them. Unfortunately the Minnesota Vikings lost in the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints. This was not the perfect ending for Brett Favre that I and many other people were really hoping for. In this blog, I am going to write about how the media is gaining publicity by trying to answer unanswered questions by Favre this off season. I am also going to be telling you another surprising way the media is being used for Brett.
As the Minnesota Vikings just came up short against the Saints, the media was all over the big story of the offseason. Will Brett Favre be back to lead the Vikings in the 2010-2011 season? It sounds like the media will be feasting over Brett’s decision for the whole offseason, because Brett has not made up his mind. Rightfully so Brett has decided to go back to his hometown of Hattiesburg for awhile to reassess his feelings of playing next season. Once again I feel the media should thank Brett for this. If he had made the decision to play right after this off season, the media would not have too much to talk about. As long as the decision is up in the air, the media will be picking Brett’s decision making process apart trying to predict whether or not he will come back.
The media is not just being used to cover the decision of Brett Favre’s comeback. It is being used in many ways to get him to come back to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl. According to a blogger (Michael Rand) from the Star Tribune (Local Minneapolis paper), the Minnesota Vikings fans are using the media in various ways to try to get Brett Favre back to the team for next year’s season. The blogger reported that a Vikings fan created a Facebook appreciation group for Brett Favre. There was an explosion of interest in this group, so the fans created a place for people to donate money for Brett. The money is being used to put up billboards that thank Brett for helping the Vikings out this season, and asking him to please come back for another season. The group has already raised enough money to put up one billboard in Favre’s hometown of Hattiesburg. The billboard cleverly reads, “HEY #4, DO MINNESOTA FANS LOVE YOU AND WANT YOU BACK NEXT YEAR? “YOU BRETTCHA.”” This group of fans has very high goals. According to their website, they want to raise enough money to put up more billboards in Minneapolis, Duluth, Wisconsin, and possibly Miami. They say they would also like to purchase television ads, and full color page ads. These fans truly want the media to influence Brett Favre to come back to the NFL, because they know that the Super Bowl would in reach with him leading the team. Along with this fan group other organizations are also getting involved. KFAN (Local Minneapolis Radio Station) also wants to put up a billboard. According to Michael Rand this billboard would read, “DEAR BRETT, DEANNA & FAMILY, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MINNESOTA. WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BACK. VIKINGS FANS 4-EVER.”
As I have stated in this article the media has really benefitted by Brett Favre. It is cool to see it being used to try to get him back playing for the Minnesota Vikings. If you want to contribute to the Vikings here is your chance!
As the Minnesota Vikings just came up short against the Saints, the media was all over the big story of the offseason. Will Brett Favre be back to lead the Vikings in the 2010-2011 season? It sounds like the media will be feasting over Brett’s decision for the whole offseason, because Brett has not made up his mind. Rightfully so Brett has decided to go back to his hometown of Hattiesburg for awhile to reassess his feelings of playing next season. Once again I feel the media should thank Brett for this. If he had made the decision to play right after this off season, the media would not have too much to talk about. As long as the decision is up in the air, the media will be picking Brett’s decision making process apart trying to predict whether or not he will come back.
The media is not just being used to cover the decision of Brett Favre’s comeback. It is being used in many ways to get him to come back to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl. According to a blogger (Michael Rand) from the Star Tribune (Local Minneapolis paper), the Minnesota Vikings fans are using the media in various ways to try to get Brett Favre back to the team for next year’s season. The blogger reported that a Vikings fan created a Facebook appreciation group for Brett Favre. There was an explosion of interest in this group, so the fans created a place for people to donate money for Brett. The money is being used to put up billboards that thank Brett for helping the Vikings out this season, and asking him to please come back for another season. The group has already raised enough money to put up one billboard in Favre’s hometown of Hattiesburg. The billboard cleverly reads, “HEY #4, DO MINNESOTA FANS LOVE YOU AND WANT YOU BACK NEXT YEAR? “YOU BRETTCHA.”” This group of fans has very high goals. According to their website, they want to raise enough money to put up more billboards in Minneapolis, Duluth, Wisconsin, and possibly Miami. They say they would also like to purchase television ads, and full color page ads. These fans truly want the media to influence Brett Favre to come back to the NFL, because they know that the Super Bowl would in reach with him leading the team. Along with this fan group other organizations are also getting involved. KFAN (Local Minneapolis Radio Station) also wants to put up a billboard. According to Michael Rand this billboard would read, “DEAR BRETT, DEANNA & FAMILY, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MINNESOTA. WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BACK. VIKINGS FANS 4-EVER.”
As I have stated in this article the media has really benefitted by Brett Favre. It is cool to see it being used to try to get him back playing for the Minnesota Vikings. If you want to contribute to the Vikings here is your chance!
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