Welcome to the Communication Theories Blog of Oregon State University (OSU...Go Beavers)! As part of your communication theories course experience, you should participate in this blog. The blog includes a "communication theories of the week" section for your comments and discussion. It also contains a variety of topics and sections you may find interesting. Through this blog, we can learn about communication theories from and with one another.
The blog provides a venue for student-centered learning (rather than teacher-centered) through student to student interaction. The blog draws on your communication knowledge and experience.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
I would like to discuss the subject of news delivery. My older friends enjoy reading a "real" newspaper, while my younger friends prefer an online version via computer or cell phone. Personally, I prefer a paper version (my apologies to the trees). I am a field naturalist, and we are expected to bring pertinent articles to work with us for discussion. It's easier for me to just grab the paper and bring it in. Saves on ink, too.
I would like to hear from other viewpoints.
Thanks, Natalie, for getting this discussion started. I, too, am a "paper" person (and a news junkie - I read three or four newspapers daily and consult websites like the BBC each day). I wonder how reliance on the web (smartphones, computers) affect our knowledge of the issues and our critical thinking competence.
I too prefer getting my news in print. I don't like staring at computer screens too long and would prefer holding the article in my hand. This is also why I don't plan on buying a Kindle- I always prefer to read such things traditionally rather than through technology.
I think newspapers will have trouble competing with smartphones,blackberries and computers.The news is fresh to the minute and you can quicky access the areas you are interested in.Few of my friends read the paper daily but they know what is going on in the world beceause of these new media tools.
I may stand alone here, but I don't like most newspapers or electronic media sources. In my opinion, most of the "news" presented in both forums does not adequately cover the most pertinent issues and are biased, one way or another. It is often quit difficult to filter through the barrage of information to find the truth in the issues covered, putting a strain on my critical thinking competence.
I definitely prefer gleaning my news through online sources (phone or the internet). Basically anything delivered in short doses is fine for the computer/phone. For long periods, the monitor can wear on my eyes, so I prefer printing it out, or using an e-reader (which I consider equivalent or superior to normal paper due to customization options).
I prefer using online sources because I consider them vastly more efficient and easier to use/consume and organize. Paper periodicals contain a lot of advertisements that cannot be avoided, and it takes convoluted page flipping (continue to page 24 etc) to reach desired articles. Online I can filter and customize as I wish; articles are delivered to me based on which sections/keywords interest me, and allows me to skim titles of articles in a more organized fashion.
Personally I believe that print source news and media is on life support and is going to be facing many challenges in the next coming generation. It is easier, faster and cheaper to get news and entertainment through an internet source which growing everyday in popularity. I do however like the more personal tangible feel of being able to hold something in my hands while I read it.
-Will Johnson
I am a retail sales associate for at&t so i know what it's all about to have web, email, gps, and every other thing you can imagine on your phone. It makes life a lot easier if you want to stay up to speed on things that are important to you, such as recieving emails to your phone, or checking stock market prices every hour. A cell phone allows you to have information at a moments notice. I am one of these people because i dont have time to sit and read three newspapers or to be at a computer reading articles throughout the day. When you work full time and your a full time student this is what makes life a little bit easier. However, if i do have to read something that is pages long i would rather have a print version of it because it hurts my eyes to stare at something for a long time like others have also commented.
Hi...
I have a friend that works for the Newspaper Business, and as most of us know they are having a tough time keeping people intrested in the classic newspaper. Most of us seem to refer the internet for news these days. He is always telling me about the struggle his company is having to keep people intrested in subscriming to the local newspaper.
Sorry to hear that your friend's paper is suffering a decrease in subscriptions. I enjoy my local newspaper and wish it had more pages! Local news keeps us in the community loop.
I think the newspaper industry is definitely in decline in the sense that hard copies of the newspaper are not at all as commonly used as they used to be. We still have a community of older people in the world that are not as technologically inclined so they still do prefer a hard copy of the paper, but I would predict that over the next 40 years the popularity of hard newspapers will almost completely go away and online news, classifieds, etc, will take over the industry. Online news is more accessible, it is more green friendly, you can search for a far wider spectrum of information than a newspaper could ever provide to you, and its cheaper for the news sources to produce one online text rather than print millions of copies for the public.
It's not surprising to hear how many of us have switched to online media. I was a "paper" reader myself but switched after life became more hectic. Like others here, I am a full time student, father and work a 40 hour week which leaves little time for books or "papers". I used to try and catch the evening news, on the "boob tube", but I have groan to despise this media source (at least in the States). I do worry about where the news sources are coming from and I'm always taking the information in with a "grain of salt". I often wonder what my son's generation will be doing to get the news (he's two)?
My Mom gets the paper & watches the news(58 years old). My sister listens to NPR and uses the web for news (30 years old)... As some others have posted, there seems to be some differnce in prefrence between generational lines. I personally get my news through second hand info. I, like a few other students in this class, work full time and go to school full time, I also have two super kids and find that the news doesn't have a high priority in my life right now. But when something does spark an interest I go straight to the web, fastest source of info for me and I have a computer almost where ever I am!
I personally enjoy reading a hard copy of the news. Living with all college roomates, we do not subscribe to a news paper which makes it tough. Sitting down in the morning and allowing enough time to read the whole paper I believe is a good, relaxing way to start the morning while learning whats going on. Reading news online can be a hassle due to pop-ups and ads. When i read a paper i enjoy bigger newspaper with more of a variety of news, rather than a small local paper that doesnt tell you much about what's going on in places all over the world.
Michael W.
Just an observation regarding printed vs. electronic media: would news of and humanitarian aid to the Haitian earthquake victims have been so quick if we relied solely on traditional newspaper accounts? Could electronic media outlets be instrumental in reducing the loss of life in Haiti?
rdailey,
I think you are right. There are benefits to communicating very efficiently and quickly via the web and other electronic sources such as the TV and radio.
That is a good point made about electronic media. We live in the information society where information is documented and seen as it happens. That is very important when something occurs like an emergency. The earthquake in Haiti is a good example of how this is important. I think that yes, life can be saved because of quick responce due to electronic media in our society today.
Jared
I'm the type of person that doesn't get a newspaper or pays all that much attention to the news, but there are certain 'story lines' I like to follow. I have a few Google alerts set up to send me emails when something interesting is happening to Orcinus orcas, or my wife has a "rhino" Google alert set up. That being said, to add my two cents to the electronic v. hard copy news, I feel that electronic news is so much easier to print, and in so much demand, that we can get all sorts of flotsam and jetsam in the news that we never needed to hear in the first place. I think the Balloon Boy hoax is a good example of the news rushing into a story too quickly for its own good. Communication and emergency news reports are excellent if done immediately, but other less important news can more often than not wait a little while.
Its time to kill the newspaper.
Here’s a new communication topic that I have encountered recently. How many times have you been in a situation with a superior (boss, parent, a client, etc.) and you have started asking a question that they did not let you finish? You will be stating your inquiry and about half way through your sentence they cut you off as if they know what you are going to ask. They then proceed to boast their answer to another slightly related topic that is totally off point to what you wanted to discuss. In almost ever situation, I have had to just nod my head and look enthusiastically at them as if they are solving my crisis. In these situations I have found that to question them further or advise them they failed in responding to your inquiry creates tension and resentment. What do you think?
In regards to the "cut-off" person who takes off with your inquiry i would like to say that I hate that. I agree that it's difficult and sometimes seems to be a waste of time to reclaim what you've started but there is a very interesting critique to this occasion. Leslie Baxter talks about "critical sensibility" which claims that we have an obligation to critique these dominant voices (page 164). you may find it interesting and I may start trying it out myself.
If we can critique those dominant voices in a tactful manner, perhaps our words wouldn't sound so harsh. After all, it is part method and part message when we communicate. I am fortunate that I can kid around with my boss... but we still respect each other's opinions.
I won't name names, but one of my supervisors is a high-speed attorney who has very little patience. If you are presenting him with a problem you need solved (especially around a trial) and you don't get your point across is three or four seconds, he'll interrupt you to tell you to get to the point. Some of my coworkers find it very challenging, because they're still at the point of "I have something I need to talk with you about..." by the time his patience has run out. On the other hand, there are a few of us who can deal with this extreme case and sum up our issues in one or two words, even, like, "Read this," or "What next?". I realize he's a unique case and other supervisors in our office are much more patient, and will let you finish what you're saying.
In the workplace different people have different preferences for how to communicate properly. Trying to force your preferences on someone else is a surefire way to piss them off. I long ago learned that to get results I needed to find the solution that works best with a person and accommodate how I communicate. For myself, when someone wants to communicate long strings of information, I work best with email. Its a pet peeve when someone calls me to tell me to write down a number or code/password. I always cut them off and say "just email me".
Aaron, that's an interesting pet peeve. Seems like it would clear you if there were issues with the codes -- if you had made a transposition error or something, rather than having someone else type it out and email it to you. I wonder how the person on the other end reacts? Is it sometimes a situation of expectancy violations?
Post a Comment