Art Basel Miami Beach

Art Basel Miami Beach is considered to be the most important Art show in the United States. While its sister show Art Basel Switzerland has been in operation for the past 40 years now, Art Basel Miami just recently came into existence eight years ago. Art Basel Miami is an art exhibition that encompasses 250 top international and North American galleries. Some of the international galleries displaying art pieces include countries such as; Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. On display at Art Basel Miami are artworks from the 20th and 21st Century by over 2,000 artists. Art enthusiasts are able to view both contemporary as well as iconic museum pieces. Local Miami galleries also participate in Art Basel by providing additional exhibits in their galleries located in the Art Deco District. Typically these exhibits are held at night so that they do not interfere with the day time festivities of Art Basel. The five day affair includes; parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art. Instillation pieces often require ample space, so spectators should be prepared to walk while viewing each artwork. Last year Art Basel Miami was in short of art collectors, who are a tremendous asset to the fair, that many thought the exhibition would not survive, said Karen Rosenberg, New York Times Reporter. Rosenberg described the differences of this years Art Basel Miami to previous years in her article Miami Fair: Big Pieces, Smaller Pieces and Relief which was published December 4, 2009. For instance, located in the middle of the exhibition hall is now the section for emerging galleries. In the past, these galleries occupied shipping containers that served as oceanfront booths. While this repositioning may have confused the audience, it benefited the emerging galleries especially since Florida recently experienced poor weather conditions. Three years ago I personally attended Art Basel Miami, and I was granted the privilege to meet several renowned artists and also view pieces from galleries that I have never seen in person. It was a wonderful, enlightening and educational experience that has given me an even deeper appreciation for the arts.

Apps that need no introduction

The iPhone, created by Apple, has attracted so many consumers through its countless applications that when additional applications are added it is no longer surprising, it is expected. On Monday, November 23, 2009 in The Wall Street Journal, Apple purchased a page in order to advertise 16 applications that did not need an introduction. All were free with the exception of CNN, costing $1.99, which allows you to get your 24-hour news fix with live streaming video straight from the most trusted name in news. This application keeps you up to date with the latest headlines from the CNN newsroom and also offers clips of your favorite news shows. Offering a free application is a brilliant advertising strategy for small businesses and large corporations. Not only will the cellular user browse over the application everyday they may periodically use the application. These applications are the most efficient form of advertising that I have ever seen. From department lines to checking your bank account on the go these applications make life more convenient. How many times have you forgot to pay a bill or needed to check your bank account but you were not in front of a computer? Well with the Bank of America application you can do just that. From conveniently checking your accounts to transferring funds while in transient this application is ideal for people who are always on the move. With the purchase of a mobile subscription to the Wall Street Journal you are able to access articles, videos and podcast when you are in route to work or simply out and about. Applications like Target, Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble allow you to search for items before stepping foot in the store. These applications are fabulous for busy people. The companies, who have created an applications for the iPhone, will inevitably increase their sales due to this futuristic form of advertising.

Advertising Foes Meet in Court

In the competitive world of advertising, many companies have been winding up in court to settle claims for false advertisments. Two benefits can come from cases that end up in court, first if the plainiff can prove that the defendant's advertisments are false right away, then the plaintiff can get a restraining order on the advertisment and get it pulled from the airways. Hopefully before consumers have the chance to see the advertisment. Second, if the plaintiff can prove monetary damage, meaning that the market share has been impacted by these misleading advertisments, the plaintiff can get money from the defendant. However, in the time of a recession, lawsuits are expensive and a waste of money. But Progresso and Campbells seem to think otherwise, after a commerical launch by Campbells of an actress doing blind taste testing. First she tried the soup that was Progresso and claimed that she taste MSG and sodium. Then she tried Campbell's Select Harvest and claimed that all the flavors tasted natural and from scratch. Progresso took the claims to the National Advertising Division to figure out what could and could not be said. However by the time the decision was final the market share had already been impacted and neither company benefited and sales of soup had dropped altogether. Stephanie Clifford, reporter for the New York Times, in the article "Advertising Foes Meet in Court Companies Challenge Competitor Claims," November 20, 2009 audio edition, said that consumers and the government have always sued advertisers for false or misleading claims. Companines are now playing a bigger role in the court proceedings. Most advertising campaigns are designed to be competitive, the consumers have the right to know the faults of products even if that information is brought by the opposing company. Regardless of aggressive campaign tactics if a product is durable and beneficial then customers will buy it. On the other hand, if the product is poorly made there will little chance for the company to build brand loyal customers.

Web T.V.?

Advertising uses words and images to change the way people behave; mainly, it tries to get them to spend money. So how can we differentiate between a good advertisement a bad advertisement? Is it the use of vibrate colors or multiple pictures? Perhaps it is the use of a clever phrase or a creative title? While all these characteristics are contributing factors to the quality of the advertisement, I believe in the age old phase, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In others words, an advertisement that may stimulate one person may not have any effect on another. For example, in the November 13-15 weekend edition of the "USA Today" reporter David Lieberman cleverly incorporated an image of a life size remote control for the television into his article to better emphasis his point. For a while now we have been hearing about an application that electronic manufacturers are attempting to create called the television web. Big television manufactures including Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Vizio plan to launch a system that integrates Web content with television news and entertainment without connecting the TV to a box. If technology has already given us the ability to check our email through our phones and listen to our favorite songs on the internet, then why shouldn't we be able to watch our You Tube videos on the television? It has been predicted that by 2014, 45 million of these sets will exist in the homes of North Americans and will represent 69 percent of television sales. Manufactures have learned that viewers do not want their television sets to have similar characteristics to a computer that means no mouse or keypad. However, we are advancing in an age where technology is rampant. Every electronic device in our lives is being dominated by the internet. Americans expect 24/7 access to the internet but we must question ourselves, when does instant access to information become overwhelming? Do we truly need instant access to the media when it already bombards us in every aspect of our lives?

The Power of Broadcasting

The news can be brought to the public through multiple avenues including; newspapers, radio, broadcast, the internet and much more. While the local news focuses on subjects and events in the surrounding area the national news focuses in on events on a larger spectrum. I never realized the emotional control that broadcast journalist have over their audience. Anchors and reporters can set the mood on how the audience interprets a story. A reporter can even persuade the audience on a defendants guilt or innocence in a criminal case through pretrial publicity. Pretrial publicity can either be helpful or harmful depending on the reporters relationship and or feelings towards the defendant. While reports are suppose to remain neutral, body language, tone, and verbiage can play an sufficient role in manipulating the audiences opinion. In the unfortunate case of Somer Thompson, a seven-year-old, who disappeared in the Orange Park area after walking home from school one day and later discovered dead in a Georgia landfill, it is hard for a reporter to cover such a sad event but even harder to not demonstrate anger in demanding justice for the little girl. With this tragic event still fresh in the minds of people in the community, I can remember in detail the coverage of the story by local news stations. "News 4 Jax," was constantly updating any and all information on the little girls disappearance right up to recovering of her tiny body. Reading about this tragic event may not have evoked equal emotional tension in the viewers. Reporters in broadcast have the capability of reporting at the scene and interviewing people who are directly related or involved in the event allowing viewers to relate more on a personal level. Broadcasting is such an important medium for communicating the news and is a part of the daily agenda of many Americans.

Palestinian Womens Soccer

Freedom- 1.the state of being free of restraints. 2.Liberty of the person from slavery, oppression, or incarceration. 3. a. Political independence. b. Possession of civil rights. 4. Exemption from unpleasant or onerous conditions. 5. Free will (the freedom to do as one wishes). In the United States of America many citizens forget the importance of this word. Being born in the early 80s, I have never experienced political or sexual restraints. No one has ever told me that I could not do something because I am female. There was never any sexual orientation requirements for participating on a sport team. The teams were simply divided by sex. Growing up playing soccer, I never realize that the majority of women in the Middle East were forbidden to play soccer or any other sport. Jaron Gilinsky and Isabel Kershner, New York Times reporters, reported on the first ever Womens Palestinian Soccer home game. The soccer match between the Palestinian and Jordanian Womens soccer teams was featured in a video clip on the New York Times Web site titled "Palestinian Womens Socccer: International Competition Comes Home." The stadium is located 10 miles from Jerusalem's old city in Iran. But the security wall that Israel has built has cut it off from the rest of the Jerusalem and placed the town in the Palestinian West Bank, where check points delay players as they travel to and from practice. The Palestinian team is composed of Christian and Muslim women from the West Bank only. Israel prohibits players from Gaza from joining the team. Because Hamas which controls Gaza, discourages female athletics. But on this day buses of school girls and college students filled the stadium. Thousands of women out numbered the men, who were seated in a separate section. The tickets were free but after the stadium became full many had to watch from the roof tops. The crowd cheered and danced waving their flags prior to the match. And as the Jordanian team took the field before the game, they wore Palestinian scarfs in solidarity. Jackline Jazrawl a Palestinian player said, "We have to change what our mothers did. That women are free and can do whatever a man can do." The game ended in a two to two tie.

A Leap Above Backyard Bouncing

"Just the feeling of flying, you know, being off your feet, you can't describe it, being upside down 30 feet off the ground," said 19-year-old Steven Gluckstein. He is a member of the U.S. National Trampoline Team and is currently ranked No.1 in the country. "A Leap Above Background Bouncing, Competitive Trampoline", produced by David Frank, Katie Thomas and Evelio Contreras, a video clip on "The New York Times" Web site, located in the sports section, October 2009. After learning about backpack journalism, which are the variety of tools available to the journalist in reporting today's news. It's surprising that a media professional today must possess a variety of skills, such as; photography, writing, stand-up television reporter and have some knowledge of cinematography, in order to be a journalist. The video pairs Gluckstein performing multiple routines with an audio of him explaining those different techniques. He spoke about his coach, 1996 World Champion in Women Trampoline, Tatiana Kovaleva, and how she asked him to be apart of her trampoline team that she was looking to launch some 10 years ago. Gluckstein said, "Trampoline consists of grace and extreme. It brings together gymnastics and diving, the skills are similar, we just land on our feet....most of the time." Competitive trampoline is composed of two routines, compulsory and optional. Compulsory which is the easier of the two, is judged out of 10 consecutive skills. While optional, are your 10 most difficult tricks all back-to-back, with the opportunity of getting difficulty bonus points added to your final score based on how many flips and twist are in the routine. Gluckstein met his synchro partner, Logan Dooley, in Canada at their first world cup. Both were accepted and nerves since it was their first big competition. Everyone noticed how identical they looked, and the world was bound to confuse them, so they decided to become a synchro pair. In synchronize trampoline the requirements and skill values are the same as for individual trampoline, but two athletes compete simultaneously. Each athlete gets a score, with a maximum of 10.0, which are then averaged and added together. Optional routines are also given a difficulty score. Gluckstein and Dooley believe that they are the only high-level synchronized trampoline team that does not regularly train together, since Gluckstein lives in New Jersey and Dooley lives in California. However, with the perfection they execute in their routines, no one would be able to tell.

Herta Muller, 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Literature

Everyday people live under a dictatorship were they are constantly persecuted and censored. For a person, who makes a living as a writer; such circumstances could be unsafe to truly express ones thoughts and opinions. Herta Muller, recent winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature, understands these conditions of living under the oppression of a dictator. A Romanian-born German novelist and essayist, Muller emigrated to Germany in 1987 after years of censorship. She is the 12th woman to win the Literature prize, said Motoko Rich and Nicholas Kulish authors of "German Who Writes of Exile Wins Nobel" in "The New York Times" on Friday October 9, 2009. Out of her 20 published books around five have been translated into English, including the novels; "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment". Both stories exhibits graphic portrayals of what the average person endures while living under totalitarianism. On Thursday in Berlin, where she lives, at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, Muller elaborated on what life encompassed during her 30 years spent living under a dictatorship and of friends who did not survive to share their experiences. Recounting her living conditions Muller said, "every day with the fear in the morning that in the evening one would no longer exist." In 1982, Muller began her first collection of short stories which would soon be censored by the Romanian authorities. When writing a feature story, there are multiple structures to choose from, however the writer is free to adapt to whatever structure is suitable for the topic. Profile features typically center on a single person, like Herta Muller, a fascinating woman who spoke out against oppression and collaboration. 'Lyn Marven, a lecturer in German studies at the University of Liverpool who has written about Ms. Muller, said: "It's an odd disjunction to write about traumatic experiences living under a dictatorship in a very poetic style. It's not what we expect, certainly."'

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/books/09nobel.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=herta%20muller&st=cse

Leaving Iraq

Armored vehicles extend into the blue horizon in a photograph taken by Johan Spanner on the front cover of "The New York Times." The Friday October 9, 2009 edition shows these armored vehicles in an infinite space at Camp Victory in Baghdad stationary as the military awaits orders on where to transport the equipment. From dismantling 300 bases to shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment the military said that this is the largest movement of soldiers and material in more than four decades. The withdrawal as been complicated due to attacks from an insurgency that remains active, disagreement with the Iraqis about what should be left for them and what soldiers in Afghanistan need immediately. Most missions are carried out at night because Iraqi politicians prefer that the American presences be less visible. Congress as also limited what the military can leave the Iraqis to around $15 million in equipment per base, which does not include infrastructure. Colonel Gust Pagonis, one of the leading logisticians, as been assigned to extricate America from the desert. I am curious how different aspects of a war that is six and a half years old can still make the front cover of "The New York Times." At what point does a war lose its hard news quality? Why does society become immune to information about a war? If it were not for the staggering figures of troops and equipment, would the attention of the average civilian be engaged through informative war coverage? Talk of bring our troops home as been the topic of conversation among civilians and political figures for months in not more. However, 124,000 troops must continue to hold their positions across the country while determining what supplies to leave for the 50,000 troops that will remain until 2011.

Abortion and Health Care

The article, "Abortion Fight Adds to Debate on Health Care" was published in "The New York Times" on September 29, 2009. Abortion opponents within the House and Senate are against individuals eligible for federal insurance to use the money on abortions. Abortion rights supporters say that a restriction would banish private plans that cover the procedure forcing women who have the coverage to give it up. The latest health care bills ban federal abortion financing by requiring insurers to pay for abortions from private sources. However, abortion opponents still feel that the subsidies would help people afford abortions. When it comes to abortion everyone has an opinion whether they are in favor of pro-life or pro-choice. This is where quotes and attribution on opinions add inciting to an article. Whether the author uses direct, indirect or partial quotes, attribution is essential for representing different views especially on controversial topics. Direct quotes are used when paraphrasing would not justify the speaker's intent. Yet indirect quotes, which are paraphrases, are used more in articles then any other type of quote even a partial quote. This is understandable since people are more relaxed in everyday conversation and are less likely to get to the point while having a discussion or giving a statement. One vote needed to pass the bill was Senator Nelson his spokesman said, "Senator Nelson does not believe that taxpayer dollars should be used in any way to fund abortion." So where is our taxpayer dollars being spent? What about the orphans in the United States? Even the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes the bill unless it bans the use of subsidies for covering abortions. What about separation of church and state? Why should a religious group affect a governmental issue?

Pentagon Delays Troop Request

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, I read the article, "Pentagon delays Troop Request", in "The Wall Street Journal." The phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words", rings a bell to everyone here. The picture on the front cover depicts a state funeral at Rome's St. Paul's Basilica, with thousands gathered to honor six Italian soldiers who were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul last week. The picture illustrates a 7-year-old boy, Martin Fortunato, blowing a kiss to his father's coffin, Captain Antonio Fortunato, one of the six dead. This is the worst attack the Italian forces have experienced in this 8-year-old war. Ironically, the article and the image are not directly related to one another. With the exception that various countries are now grieving for fallen soldiers. I learned more about this event and the identification of the boy from the "Los Angeles Times" website in the world section. Sadly, the United States has lost over 2,000 soldiers and counting in this war, yet the citizens of Italy want some of their troops home by Christmas. Yochi Dreazen and Peter Spiegel authors of "Pentagon Delays Troop Request" wrote a lead that would grab the attention of any American. Why would the Pentagon tells its top commander in Afghanistan to delay submitting his request for additional troops? Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has laid out several options, one seeking 40,000 reinforcements pushing the U.S. presences to 100,000 for the first time in Afghanistan. Gen. McChrystal feels that acting now on the Taliban is crucial and if the troops wait defeating them may no longer be possible. Ultimately President Obama has postponed his decision to send additional troops. During the Afghan presidential election last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was accused of scandal which may take months to be resolved. Meanwhile there has been an increase in casualties among U.S. and allied soldiers. Rep. John Boener, the House Republican leader said, "It's time for the president to clarify where he stands on the strategy he has articulated, because the longer we wait, the more we put our troops at risk."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-italy22-2009sep22,0,7867926.story

Pimp My Bed!

On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, "The Wall Street Journal" had an image of a bed on the front page with the caption, "The Ultimate Man Cave." The image was a red cube bed with a flat screen television built into the wall at the foot of the bed. The fact that the cube was red caught my attention first. Next, the idea that men feel the need to designate an area solely for their entertainment or piece of mind within an entire house is somewhat amusing to me. Ray A. Smith, author of "Pimp My Bed: The Male Sleep Lair", grabs the viewers attention with the first paragraph only having one sentence stating, "Bed makers are manning up." This lead is a good example that a nut graph will soon follow. A nut graph is usually the second or third paragraph stating the idea of the article, answering; who, what, when, where, why and how of the story. A good lead will answer these questions as soon as possible. The first paragraph does not answer any of those questions urging the reader to continue in order to find out the purpose of the article. In the past, women made the house hold buying decisions, the bed industry feels that men have been neglected and hope to caught their attention with built in entertainment-systems, wine coolers, safes and other guy gadgetry. Since men are more involved with the living room entertainment purchases, the bed industry is hoping that the bed will eventually become the new man cave. Spring Air International LLC and Dormina Inc., are promising to create mattresses with muscle recovery, cooling and sweat-wicking features, in hopes of keeping both men and women at a comfortable body temperature while they sleep. Although there is no scientific evidence proving that men are warmer then women while they sleep both sexes would contest otherwise. Regardless of statistics men and women are going to buy what feels comfortable, and men are more persuaded through entertainment.

Pandemic H1N1

While I have already mentioned that I am an avid evening news viewer, I also like to read up on issues that were introduced during the broadcast in an effort to gain more knowledge on the subject. For instances, everyone by now has heard of the swine flu or pandemic H1N1, but how many people truly know who is at risk and should be vaccinated? Unfortunately, I am interested in the facts of the pandemic H1N1 because I have been fighting a cold for the past two weeks. Recently when I spoke with a friend over the phone the first question that I was asked, is do I have the swine flu? I believe that the news can either educate or prompt us to be paranoid. This is why I find it important to seek alternate news sources on present issues pertaining to health. So regardless if the article as a straight news lead, which is a "just the facts" approach or a summary lead, which may have more then one major fact being covered, I am going to read the entire article because I am curious about the material. "The New York Times" published an article in the health section titled, "Vaccine for Swine Flu is Ahead of Expectations" on Sept. 18, 2009. The lead informed the reader, that more than three million doses of swine flu vaccine will be available by the first week of October. Donald McNeil, author of the article, said "The vaccine will be of the FluMist nasal spray which is not recommended for people with weak immune systems, pregnant women, people over 50, those with asthma, heart disease or several other problems. The nasal spray contains a weakened live virus, while injections contain killed and fragmented virus. The spray gives a stronger immune reaction but carries a small risk that the virus will multiply too quickly in people with comprised immunity." This articled allowed me to use my prior knowledge to better understand the form in which the vaccine is administered. I enjoy reading the newspaper because it allows readers to review information that as been presented so that the reader may become enlightened.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/health/19flu.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=h1n1%20articles&st=cse

Introduction

Hello, my name is Nicolette Nagy; I am a student at the University of North Florida majoring in Communications with a track in Advertising. I am working on my second bachelor's degree at UNF; my first degree is a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a major in Creative Photography from the University of Florida.
This blog will be dedicated to a class that I am currently taking called Advanced Writing for the Media. The class is geared toward mass media communications with an emphasis on printed materials such as newspaper articles. Although I am not a frequent newspaper reader I have already learned several interesting facts about the average newspaper reader. For instances, the average reader only spends about 26 minutes a day reading the newspaper. A typical reader might skip over an article that does not interest them based on the lead, which is the beginning of the story. The stronger the lead is on a subject that interest the reader the higher the likelihood is that the reader will read the article. So regardless if the story is considered hard news, if the lead does not interest the reader the reader will simply skip and go to the next article. The articles are also set up in an inverted pyramid format. Which means the most important information of the article will come first, then the second most important information, then the third and so on. So for all those busy people who do not think they have the time to invest in reading the newspaper, for less than half an hour a day you could.
I have always found it more stimulating to catch up on the news by watching broadcasts; my favorite is "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." However, the majority of nightly news programs consist of the same stories with different narrative view points. My hope in doing this blog is to become more informed on different news stories and events that are not necessarily seen on TV. And I hope to expose myself to different verbal accounts and different approaches reporters take on conveying news information.