JOMC 101: Final Blog

I have decided to choose advertising as my sequence. I am working hard to enter the J school and I hope all of my hard work pays off.

JOMC Post 6: My Internet Usage

The Internet is supposed to be a tool where people can learn things about whatever their mind queries, all at the click of a button. For me, the internet has become primarily a way to maintain a social life while school work takes away the burden of my time that I would spend on friends. I log on to the internet every couple of hours everyday. There are seven sites I go to every time I log on. They are three email account services (why I need 3, I don't know), one social networking site, two celebrity gossip sites, and my banking account site. Because I check these sites so often, I am almost always up to date on the new information, so it takes me around 15 to 30 minutes to make my rounds. Now when there are alot of people on facebook that I haven't spoken to in a while, or if there is new juice on a celebrity, or if the bank messes up and puts 88 billion dollars in my account (I WISH), I can waste away an hour or two easily online. Now since I use the internet as a substitute for my social life due to school work, I do use it for research on the UNC libraries websites and on wikipedia for background information. It is crazy though, if I am in the middle of writing and researching on a paper topic, I take a facebook break atleast every hour. It is the worst and most widespread procrastination tool!

JOMC Post 5

On Tuesday, March 2, Jaisun McMillian spoke to our class about the harsh realities of the music business. In her lecture, she pointed out the importance of getting work copyrighted. She explained that at the prime of her career, no one copyrighted anything, and that is why music today is replications of what it used to be. She told us there is an album circulating over seas with her name on it, and her voice, and her music, yet she does not receive any profit from the sale of the album all because none of her work was copyrighted. Ms. McMillian also shared with us the importance of reading contracts. She explained that in the times of Motown, artists would sign contracts and the record label might as well have owned them. They signed deals saying they would make $800 a week, every week. This sounds like a lot of money, until the artists start bringing in hundreds of thousands and millions. The idea of being a star in those times was so important, that when signing contracts, the finer details were overlooked. Ms. McMillian also left me with a personal piece of advice since I am considering a career in the entertainment industry. She said the points she was making in her lecture were not to discourage me from a career in the industry, but only to make me more informed and to stress the importance of being educated in the industry so I won't one day be taken advantage of.

JOMC Post 3

I'm back at this blog thing once again. This time, I have come to share MY FAVORITE MOVIE and all the info about it. My favorite movies is one that I was obsessed with from the time it came out in 2001 until I graduated high school in 2008. That is a long time, but I absolutely love it. I had posters, stuffed animals, plastic figurines, cups and plates, even chocolate flavored tooth paste (which I had to use one time because we ran out...IT WAS SO GROSS!!). So, drum roll.....SHREK tops my favorite movie list. It is about an Ogre, Shrek, played by Michael Myers, who wants his swamp back. An obnoxious king has banned all the magical creatures from the kingdom and they find refuge at Shrek's swamp. In order to get the swamp back, Shrek must take an incredible journey, which many have failed, to rescue Princess Fiona, played by Cameron Diaz, from the highest room of the tallest tower guarded by a fire breathing dragon. The King, Lord Farquaad, played by John Lithgow, wishes to marry her. Joining Shrek on the expedition is DONKEY, played by Eddie Muphey. Donkey is very annoying, and the two bump heads on everything, keeping the audience in laughter. Shrek rescues the princess and attempts to take her to Lord Farquaad for her wedding. Before their arrival, it is apparent that Shrek likes Fiona, and that Fiona is keeping a secret. You have to see the movie to learn the rest. I don't like giving away the end. If you haven't seen this wonderful animation, you are missing out!

Cost of Production: $60,000
Box Office Sales: $267,652,016
VHS/DVD Rentals: N/A
Trivia: The song at Shrek and Fiona's reception, "I'm a Believer", was chosen specifically because of the line, "I thought love was only true in fairy tales."

JOMC 101 Post 2

Hello Bloggers!!
Long time no talk...so I guess I have to fill you in. We have gone over a lot of information in Introduction to the World of Mass Media. We have had two wonderful guest speakers, and have a midterm coming up. I would like to discuss briefly our first guest speaker, Professor Brett Chambers. He is a professor at North Carolina Central University. He was a very captive speaker. One of the first things he said that got my attention was that he was a producer. He comes up with ideas and makes them happen. I can see myself in that position. In his lecture, Professor Chambers taught me the process of becoming an active participant instead of a passive consumer. He explained that consumers are conditioned everyday, and it is important that they see this. He touched on the purpose of gatekeepers and their role in the transfer of information, and he left us with the idea that "Content is King." Overall it was a very informative lecture and I would love to hear him speak again. He commands the audience's attention and keeps them locked in by his comical demeanor. If you happen to hear the name, you should definitely check him out!

Go Ahead, Get Your Laughs In!

So I took a whole cake from the dining hall on Tuesday. Whats the big deal? It's all you can eat. I was just getting my moneys worth. Those meals are like nine dollars a piece. Who ever eats that much in there? Lets just add this cake to the long but still growing list of other things I have enjoyed courteous of the Carolina Dining Halls:

• Paper cups
• Cereal
• Straws
• Milk
• A whole key lime pie
• Fruit
• Bread
• Red Hot
• Cookies
• A couple of plastic dishes

And Now...

• A Whole White Cake with Whipped Icing and Sprinkles!!

JOMC 101 Post 1

Hello! My name is Brittany Kirby. I am sophomore from Morganton, North Carolina by way of Boulder, Colorado. At first I wanted to be a high school math teacher. Then I took a math class at Carolina and I changed my mind really fast. So after being undecided for a while, I have decided to double major in Journalism with a concentration in Advertisement, and Communications with a concentration in Media Production. By taking JOMC 101 I hope to explore the world of mass communication and in the end, feel more comfortable about my majors. I know I am not the only sophomore who feels like they are scrambling to find a major because college is going by so fast and I still don't have any idea what I want to do when I am all grown up. So now I am supposed to write a few lines about how media has influenced my life. Well, I could go on for days. I thought I didn’t watch t.v. that much, until somebody asked me my favorite shows. I have the t.v. guide in my head. I have to watch For the Love of Ray J on Mondays and Bad Girls club on Tuesdays and I cant forget The Bachelor and American Idol, I love that show, and those are just the reality shows. The hospital dramas, House and Grey’s Anatomy, keep me glued to the television. And I also hate to miss the cooking dramas as well. I probably know almost every commercial that comes on and those really good ones (the Family Guy commercial for example), I say them with the t.v. Yes it is that bad. Getting into radio and magazines will be another day. So, to say the least, media impacts me immeasurably and I only recently figured that out.

My First Post!!!

The reason I started this blog is because it is a requirement for my journalism class titled, Welcome to the World of Mass Communication. Sounds interesting huh? I am very excited about the class, so I might as well have as much enthusiasm about the blog. I was already a follower of my mom's and my friend JPax's blog, and with myspace, facebook, and twitter, it was only a matter of time before I had a blog too. Now I can share with the world about the life and times of BritBrat! This includes MY FAMILY, MY DOGS, MY FRIENDS, MY SCHOOL, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS MINE! So enjoy it.