Violence in Video Games

Violence in video games is a very controversial subject in the media today. This has came to the fore through acts of violence committed under the "influence" of video games. The most common criticism that is heard today is that video games increase violent tendencies among the youth.

This topic has been studied by many colleges and groups including: The Harvard Medical School, The British Medical Journal and The Journal of Adolescent Health. These examinations have yielded proof that games have no conclusive link with the increased violence of youths.

But lets think of it logically video games are only one facet of violent media which the youth are subjected to on a daily occurrence. There is streaming television footage of various wars, violent television shows, violent music and violent movies. Lets not all forget these children's biggest influence, their parents. Its a parents choice whether or not to let their kids use this material. Can we please stop using video games as a scapegoat for acts of murder?

The top 10 selling worldwide video games last year amounted to 38.59 million units sold. That's not even counting the hundreds of other game titles released last year. The amount of murders "related" to video games last year was less than 25. Now, is it more realistic that these murders were influenced by video games? Or is it more reasonable to say that they were sporadic acts of violence? That's for you to decide.

Another Racist Obama Cartoon : Careless Editing

On Tuesday February 19th the New York Post ran a cartoon (above) that depicted two police officers standing over the bullet riddled body of a chimp with a smoking gun in one of their hands.The text bubble overhead reads : "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill". The cartoon is supposed to play off two news story's that were current at the time. President Obama signing the stimulus bill and the Chimpanzee attack in Connecticut that left a woman fighting for her life.

Shortly after the Post hit the shelves it was blasted as racist by many readers including Reverend Al Sharpton. He and many others felt it was an attack on Obama's skin color and African-Americans in general. Cartoonist also weighed in their opinions saying that not did they find it racist but also that gunfire and cruelty to animals is not tolerated anymore, not since 9/11. They added that the cartoonist Sean Delonas shouldn't be blamed as it was at the editors discretion to add the satire.

The New York Post issued this apology. "Wednesdays Page Six cartoon - caricaturing Monday's police shooting of a Chimpanzee in Connecticut - has created significant controversy. The cartoon was supposed to mock the ineptly written stimulus bill but it has been taken as something else - as a depiction of President Obama - as a thinly veiled expression of racism. This was most certainly not the intent, to those offended by the image we apologize".

Guinness New Advertisment

Guinness has had a long vivid career in the history of marketing campaigns. Guinness's iconic stature owes much to its advertising which has been constantly adapted throughout the years to keep it fresh. Its crew of writers are award winning and often sweep the annual advertisement awards.

In 2007 Guinness's new advert "Tipping Point" cost an astounding $20 million to make. It is the most expensive and complex advertisement in the company's history. Director Nicolai Fuglsig said "It was a really tough job - from the remote, high altitude location to having to frequently reset thousands of props, as well as working with hundreds of villagers that had absolutely no understanding of acting or film making - nothing was easy,".

It takes place in the remote Argentinian town of Iruya (population 1,000). The cast is made up of local people, none of whom had ever appeared in front of a camera before.

The ad revolves around a giant game of domino's being played through the town. Over 24 hours of footage were captured during the filming, with only a minute and a half making the final cut. The tipping scenes were created by world record breaking domino experts Domino Domain. Setting up the first table of domino's took three experts two days, but it took them just 14 seconds to fall.

Objects that were toppled include

• 6,000 Dominos
• 10,000 Books
• 400 Tires
• 75 Mirrors
• 50 Fridges
• 45 Wardrobes
• 6 Cars

Planet Earth

Planet Earth is an award winning BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Alliston Fothergill. The American version is narrated by Sigourney Weaver. It was first broadcast in the UK on March 5th 2006.

Each show had a broadcast lenght of 58 minutes. The show had been heavily advertised prior to it's release creating hype. It was shown each Sunday at nine in the evening each Sunday for eleven weeks. It had a consistently high rating of between seven and nine million viewers.

Episode list below:

1. "From Pole to Pole"
2. "Mountains"
3. "Fresh Water"
4. "Caves"
5. "Deserts"
6. "Ice Worlds"
7. "Great Plains"
8. "Jungles"
9. "Shallow Seas"
10. "Seasonal "Forests"
11. "Ocean Deep"

Of course this was not the first nature documentary shown on television so it owes a lot to its predecessors. It's imitation however was not of other peoples work. The narrator David Attenborough has been the face of BBC nature for 40 years and his familiar voice resonated in the audience.

This innovative series was descibed by its makers as being "the definitive look at the diversity of our planet". It was the first nature series to be filmed entirely in high definition. This increased clarity was revolutionary and helped popularize the documentary.

The World's Most Expensive Magazine

Kohl is a new ITP lifestyle magazine which caters to Asian women. UAE jeweller Damas joined forces with Kohl to create the worlds most expensive magazine.

The special edition front cover contains 91 grams of gold and is encrusted with 622 diamonds. It is valued at over $10,000 American dollars. It was auctioned for charity last October.

In order to create this gold edition it took Damas craftsmen more than 86 hours to hand-apply numerous layers of gold leaf. Beyond it's precious exterior the magazine contains it's usual content. It would be a fantastic present for a devout humanitarian or a fan of the magazines cover girl, Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif.

The proceed's of the Kohl gold cover was donated to Rahid Pediatric Centre in Dubai. Editior Faarah Metha commented "we want to recognise and support the work of the centre in providing quality education and therapy services to children with special needs,".

IGN

IGN (Imagine Games Network) is a Internet site which was set up in 1996. It deals with multimedia news and reviews with a heavier emphasis on video games.

As of this moment it attracts over 23 million users a month and was one of Alexa's top 200 viewed sites. In September of 2005 it was purchased by millionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch.

This website has a broad appeal and could be useful to anybody with an multimedia interest and those who are looking for the latest multimedia based information. The demographic of people who use this is very wide, but I would say that it is used most by males between the ages of 13 and 25. In terms of psycho graphics it would appeal to any video game enthusiast or anyone who has an open attitude to knew technology,

The reason I use this website is that it gives very accurate reviews of games, music, television shows and movies. If you ever don't agree with their decision you can read other visitors reviews and press reviews. IGN also release trailers before they come out in the cinema, and they have regular interviews with producers and actors alike.

IGN is a very navigable site which is broken into smaller more specific sites when chosen. The first thing you see when you view the site is the constantly changing news wheel which provides up to the minute updates on various aspects of the media. Overall its an easy to read site which is easy on the eye.

IGN makes some of its money form public donation but mostly from advertising. These advertisements are placed often before video's, between pages in reviews and surrounding the text in reviews. All of which you can skip if you choose.

If I was in control of IGN I would remove the sites emphasis on games and evenly distribute the websites resources between all aspects of multimedia. I have no doubt in my mind that if they where to do this IGN would become the prime multimedia review site in the world.

http://www.ign.com

Product Placement and Embedded Marketing

Product placement is a form of advertisment used by companies where their branded goods are placed in movies ot television shows.

According to "Cable & Television" magazine "Two thirds of advertisers employ branded entertainment with the vast majority of that (80%) used in commercial televsion advertisment.

Association of National Advertisers said that "Reasons for using in-show plugs varied from stronger emotional connection to better dovetailing with relative content, to targetting a specific group".

The ten worst television shows for product placement are:

1. "The Biggest Loser" (6,248)
2. "American Idol" (4,636)
3. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (3,371)
4. "America's Toughest Jobs" (2,807)
5. "One Tree Hill" (2,575)
6. "Deal or no Deal" (2,292)
7. "America's Next Top Model" (2,241)
8. "Last Cosmic Standing" (1,993)
9. "Kitchen Nightmares" (1,853)
10. "Hell's Kitchen" (1,807)

The ten worst movies for product placement are:

1. I,Robot (Audi, JVC, FedEx, Converse)
2. The Island (Microsoft, Chanel, Nokia)
3. Blade Trinity (everything Apple)
4. Castaway (basically FedEx on an island)
5. Minority Report (Guinness, Lexus)
6. Austin Powers 2 (AOL, Pepsi)
7. Demolition Man (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut)
8. Back to the Future's (AT&T, Pepsi, Calvin Klein)
9. Evolution (Head & Shoulders)
10. Spider-Man (Sony, Dr. Pepper, Carlsberg)

PQMedia a site which tracks the product placement market tell us that product placement and advertisment combine in paypackets. All these payments to television and movie producers in 2006 accounted to $7 billion rising to $10 billion in 2010.

The film "Fight Club" featuring Brad Pitt was an unusual example of product placement. This included scenes where an Apple store was broken into and when Brad Pitt smashes the headlights of a VW Bettle! This self criticism is a rarity as it defaces products which paid to be in the film.

Another weird example happened after filming the current box-office hit "Slumdog Millionaire". The director Danny Boyle encountered product displacment. Brands such as Mercedes featured in the film but then asked for their logos to be removed digitally. Mercedes did not wish for their producted to be viewed in a slum setting!

Another tool which producers use instead of employing products is to make up brands of their own. The Simpsons have used this since their inception (Duff beer, Kwik-E-Mart, Laramie Cigarettes, and Krusty Burgers).

CentCom's Choice of Media Information

Central Commands (CentCom) choice of information that they released to the media during the war in Iraq is really in my opinion a tale of two story's.

First of all how CentCom went aound their news briefings was completley astounding. The occassion where the general showed the waiting press the deck of cards which showed the most wanted terrorists in Iraq is an example of this. Only one card was shown! Of course Saddam was going to be the ace of spades, but he isnt the only one. Showing those journalists one card before retreating created unrest. Even when asked to see them placed on the wall they were rejected.

The case of the army entering Baghdad was another similar to this. CentCom released information claiming they had entered the capital days before they actually did. This annoyed the already cranky journalists, who had now broadcast false information.

On the other side of the spectrum though I can see where CentCom was coming from. Looking out for the wellfare of their soldiers has to be priority number one. So this makes sense about the Baghdad controversy. Why would CentCom give details of their mens locations when it would spread the lenght and breath of Iraq and probably into the hands of insurgents. As for the card situation, if those names and photos were released then the named Iraqis would simply flee the country or go into deeper hiding.

Control Room : Media in the Iraq War

In this blog I will attempt to show how the main three media groups in Iraq feel about a journalists role during war time. The 2004 film Control Room serves as my main focal point in this piece. Here are the three groups main points on a wartime journalism and how there three groups conflict with eachother.

• Al Jazeera see themselves as true journalists.
• America needs correct media coverage.
• They are here to educate and enlighten Iraqis.
• Will show violent images to show himan cost.
• The U.S military needs propoganda.
• No media should be targeted.
  

• The military is not in Iraq for the press.
• CentCom will not release new information which could endanger soldiers.
• Believes Al Jazeera to be a biased propoganda using network.
• Against Al Jazeera showing American POW's and dead soldiers.

• American media sees Al Jazeera ruffling feathers, and like it.
• CNN is upset over the level of context in military briefs more truth needed.

Al Jazeera is the largest Arab television channel in the world, broadcasting to over forty million viewers. They are a group which find pride in their selflessness journalistic skills. Throughout the film they seemed to be the most legitimate organization. They try to give a uncompromising view of the war without biased opinions. Individuals think they can regognize the falseness of CentCom's frequent updates, and were especially adament about the toppling of Saddam's statue in Baghdad.

The United States Central Command (CentCom) is the head of American intellegence in Iraq, located just outside of Darfur. Throughout the film CentCom is portrayed as an inadequate source of information. Often giving briefings that leave much to be desired, but this is nessecary so that troops maintain safe positions. Also they feel like the media has betrayed them and frequently berate Al Jazeera and the BBC.

The other media groups in Iraq such as CNN and BBC see Al Jazeeras coverage of the war as revolutionary, noting their eagerness to deliver the full news leaving nothing untouched. These groups are also in dismay with CentCom after numerous lackluster briefs.
In my opinion Al Jazeera were indeed the true medium in this affair, and to a lesser extent the other media groups. When CentCom try to paint them as a bias filled propoganda machine it doesnt fly with me. I mean in one scene you see Donald Rumsfeld commenting on Al Jazeera's propogando techniques, then ten minutes later you see an Iraq army commander condeming their propogand also! If both sides think that Al Jazeera is going against them, then obviously they are showing coverage on both sides of the spectrum. They really were the true journalists.

Television Censorship

The responsibility of television censorship in America is placed squarely under the FCC's control. The FCC stands for the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is in place to regulate what it sees as indecent material, and will hand out fines if it sees it as necessary.

The FCC however cannot regulate satellite or cable television stations such as HBO. Which is the reason that shows like CSI are allowed to air at early times during the day. Films of all ratings are also playing throughout the day. I came home from class at noon a few weeks ago and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was playing!

In Ireland television has a watershed hour of nine pm. Before this hour no shows with offensive language or content can be shown, no exceptions. In my opinion this is the best way for television to be regulated as it gives parents a time to know when television becomes suitable and also means that children can browse without coming across indecent content.

In recent times in this country the biggest incident related to television censorship occured at Superbowl XXXVIII's halftime show. During the halftime entertainment Justin Timberlake revealed Janet Jacksons breast in what backstage called a wardrobe malfunction, it is known in the media as nipplegate! This was a live broadcast being viewed by millions of people across the country. This was of course completley distasteful and many children had seen it. The FCC fined CBS over half a million dollars after recieving about five hundred thousand complaints.

Unseen Pictures, Untold Stories.

• In this article from the LA Times the writer seeks to clarify why there is a restriction on violent media from Iraq, and why there is such an atmosphere of tension surrounding the whole situation. This image of a dying soldier called Travis Babbitt which was published in a New Jersey newspaper is the main inspiration for this piece.
  
  
  The main points of this article include:
  
  Only a handful of photographs featuring injured or dying soldiers have been released
• Journalists believe they are delivering an incomplete portrait of the war.
• There are logical reasons for this such as the number of war photographers in Iraq (3-15).
• Controls on war coverage come directly from the Whitehouse.
• No recognizable faces are allowed, family most be notified before publication.
• Some journalists who published violent photos were transferred to a different station.
• These photos hurt morale, aids the enemy and intrude on intimate moments.
• Family of these servicemen do not want to see their own in this situation.
• Soldiers want to be shown as brave not as injured broken men.
• Photos of dead Iraqui's occur more often, there is no restrictions on these photos.

Should this photo be published in the Durango Herald? What sort of effect would it have on the surrounding community? What sort of impact could it have on our town?

In my opinion yes it should have been published. If the correct procedure is followed to the fullest extent then I see no reason why images such as these cannot be published. Seeing pictures of your own countrymen lying dead is not something you want to see I know, but seeing a picture like the one of Travis Babbitt really brings home the reality of the war.

I realise that younger children might see a blood stained man, but they must be told that this is war and it is a bad thing. As for adult people who say they support the war, they cannot be against this type of media. The family's of the dead are understandingly going to be upset, but if they don't want their son published they can deny it themselves.

Lets look at the Vietnam war, the first widely daily televised war in your country. What did these streaming images of both sides in pain do? Ultimately it began anti-war campaigns which brought about an end to that cruel war.

A New Era In Play??? HW1

In this piece by Reed Karaim the reporter is presenting to us some information behind today's raging debate over children and their supposed overuse of electronics. Karaim shows us both points of view making for a very good article. Gloria DeGaetano's theory of electronic preschool teaching tools was most intriguing to me, "that parents need to be particularly wary of videos or electronic games promoted as effective preschool tools". For me it seems completley obvious that a young child of that age should never be placed in front of a screen. Children need to be interacting with the world and its inhabitants to help it grow naturally, I dont find it suprising that many of the children subjected to these programs slowed their language development. I also agree that children over the age of seven should be allowed to use computer games and such, as a video game addict myself! Some games if used correctly can definitley improve your intellegence. Personally I found that using Nintendo's "Brain Training Game" as frustrating as it can be will infact improve your general reasoning techniques, which are so important in todays world.

http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/box/2002/0601/photo/s_rahman_i.jpg

Was that a result of preschool electronic games or Evander Holyfield?

Nobody knows.