How powerful is the media

The most three important problems facing America today are the War in Iraq, US in debt, and the violence factor. I think these are the most important problems because for the war in Iraq it’s been continuous for a while with not much of an end in site. No where in the media or among people do many people see it as a complete success so how is it not a problem. Most people know that the mission wasn’t supposed to take this long and without people of this nation continuing to die overseas it probably wouldn’t be a problem but it is. My dad’s best friend’s son unfortunately didn’t make it and it hits home even when it’s someone you don’t know that well it hurts because you know that they were just around your age and that it could have been you. The US being in debt I believe is a big problem that might not be publicized as much as the others. With the US being in debt I believe it hurts them for the present and future. In the case of Hurricane Katrina they maybe could have aided those directly hurt in the disaster better and prevented some deaths. The US being in debt is a major problem that we might not see every day in the news but it’s there and hurts us in more ways then one. The violence factor in that there is increased violence on and around school campuses. As we all know there have been school shootings on more then one occasion. We always do actions after the fact and don’t prepare for what could happen only after something happens are we aware.

I feel the War in Iraq is the most personal experience of mine because I’ve dealt with my dad dealing directly with a loss and what for. I also know two friends from high school who are there right now. The media also talks about these problems as you can see among the presidential debates. It’s usually seen as a lost cause that American citizens are there and dying for no clear cut reason to the American Public. Which is why I think it’s a combination of a personal experience along with it being a constant issue among the media. The violence factor with the school shootings is from the media but I believe everyone that is in school or has kids can relate to almost a personal experience. They realize how if it can happen in that school it can happen anywhere. With the US debt it’s about the media because of the stories shown on TV along with reading the articles.

I feel without the media the War in Iraq would just be known as a war, there would be less politics involved if there was no media. The amount on dependency placed on media regarding this topic is more then people probably think. They see statistics and ultimately thing if it’s wrong or not that soldiers are over there. With violence and school shootings without media we would think they are equally bad just not see the pain on peoples faces of those who were directly involved, without the media it wouldn’t hit home as much as it does now. Without the media U.S. Debt wouldn’t known as much of a problem if we aren’t directly affected. So the media for better or worse can escalate stories to make it seem like of more worth or to educate us, You decide.

E-mail: For better or worse

From the information I received from the people I surveyed, the feedback I got was that e-mail has greatly improved peoples ability to communicate. I talked to my mom, my dad, and my good friend. E-mail is all a major part of either their personal or business life. E-mail can easily give you another medium to keep connected. When I asked my dad how much e-mail he got per day he said anywhere from ten to fifty messages. Since he’s an accountant during tax season he checks it almost every hour during the workday, depending on the time of year he spends a lot of his time with e-mail. He said about 75% of the e-mail he receives are important He said e-mail definitely helps stressful times of year because if people don’t always call about their taxes they e-mail their responses for whatever reason, makes it easier. I asked him was the communication between yourself and your clients more organized or less organized before e-mail came into the picture and he answered at the beginning of e-mail it was a little less organized but now he doesn’t know what he’d do without it.

My mom is an office manager in his office and she said she receives about 1-10 messages per day. She doesn’t spend as much time with e-mail she says maybe 30 minutes a day at most. In her case it doesn’t really simplify her life as much because there isn’t much coming in so it’s not that big of deal she wouldn’t mind if they were all phone calls instead. I also asked her was it more or less organized before e-mail came into the picture and she said more organized for the company itself. It’s too miniscule to really decipher if it made her life more organized in the office or not.

I also asked my friend who works as a head of a construction company with his father and when I asked how much e-mail he gets per day he said it’s very seasonal. During a big job they can get continuous e-mails anywhere from 5 or more from one person they are doing business with. He said he spends about an hour a day dealing with e-mail and that it simplifies his life if they are working multiple jobs and they can’t always get to the phone while on the construction itself. He said it’s more convenient then not. I asked him would you rather have e-mail or a telephone as a means of communication during a big project and he immediately replied with he’d much rather have e-mail for the simple reason that they can respond at the end of the day rather then taking breaks when it’s inconvenient.

The ways that e-mail has improved these people’s ability to communicate and receive information is that it gives them more way then one to communicate. If the phone is becoming a distraction the e-mail can serve as a convenience factor which can let you return certain e-mail or messages with ease. You don’t have to be computer savvy either to send and receive e-mails its one of the easiest and most popular forms of communication on the internet. The trade-off that is required in terms of the negative aspects of e-mail in order to get these benefits is that you are giving up informal ways of communication the more you use e-mail. This can hurt you in the long run if you are dealing with a business in that people can see it as less professional then giving someone a telephone call. To get the convenience of e-mail which is returning questions or problems at you complete discretion, you’re giving up telephone or even more face-to-face. The most personal way of communication is face to face and if you’re giving that up in the long run it might hurt you rather then help you.