Blog Post #4 - EOTO Project - The History of Television

How much TV do you watch in a day? An hour? Three hours? Five hours? As someone who is a sucker for trashy reality TV shows and Netflix limited series, I probably spend more time watching the tube than I should. It's so beyond easy to sit on the couch with a bowl of my favorite cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch -- anything else is wrong), and watch multiple episodes of whatever show I'm currently into at the moment. It's almost scary how easy it is to get sucked into that screen of moving images and pixels. I've been lost in the world of television on more than one occasion, and it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I get a lot of my knowledge and information through television. The average U.S. citizen (ages 15+) spends 2 hours and 46 minutes watching TV every day.  This includes watching live events, streamed shows, and DVD movies. This also includes watching TV on TV sets, computers, and mobile devices.

Television has come a long way since it was invented. The history of television is extensive, and it goes all the way back to the 1920s. The word "television" itself is well thought out. The prefix "tele" translates to "far off" or "from a distance". There's debate over who owns the title of "the creator of television". Vladamir Zworkin and Philo Farnsworth are considered the founders of television technology, while John Logie Baird is credited with inventing the first television set. Farnsworth was 14 years old when he came up with the concept of "television". He had an idea, but he had no way to execute his plan. That's where Zworkin came in. Farnsworth and Zworkin put their noggins together to come up with the technology for television, although they squabbled over who was the true creator. A few years later, John Logie Baird came into play. Baird was from Scotland, but based out of London as an adult. In 1925, Baird created the first television set and presented it in London. Within a few years, TV was able to be broadcasted from London to New York.

The creation of television had two main purposes: faster communication and entertainment. More than likely, the word television likely leads you to the second one. Television is a HUGE source of entertainment for Americans, considering there are hundreds of thousands of options to choose to get entertainment from. When I think of old TV shows, my mind automatically goes to TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s. I can't help but think of programs such as Adam-12, CHiPs, Emergency!, or even Gilligan's Island. However, TV series were around long before any of those classics. In 1928, the first TV drama was released. The Queen's Messenger is a 40 minute TV drama that aired on September 11, 1928. The Queen's Messenger was a massive accomplishment for the world of TV, and it wasn't very long before more TV dramas, shows, and movies were pouring out into the entertainment universe. I Love Lucy was the first TV sitcom filmed in front of a live audience in 1951, and it ran for six seasons. 

The technology of television changed the world in many different aspects. The ability to broadcast anything practically anywhere was a big deal, and we took advantage of being able to spread information quickly and to large populations. Broadcast news became a booming industry, because it was changing how quickly we were able to get our current news. It was more convenient for viewers, because they didn't even have to leave their homes to know what was going on in the world. Before TV news, citizens wouldn't be able to catch up on the news until the daily paper was published every day -- and sometimes it would take a few days before current events could make it to the paper. With TV, current events could be shared and reported on within no time. Politics were majorly changed and affected due to TV culture. In 1960, president elect John F. Kennedy credited part of his win to how television was able to broadcast him at the Nixon v. Kennedy presidential debate. After the debate, people who watched the debate on TV tended to favor Kennedy, while people who listened on the radio considered it more of a tie. What was the difference? The TV viewers were able to visibly witness Kennedy's calmness, confidence, and level-headedness as he spoke -- while radio listeners did not.

Television improved and changed society in many ways, and added lots of better features. However, every good thing has its downsides, and television is no exception. To bring medical expertise to the table, too much television can be damaging to your mental and physical health. Television is more convenient to users, which is more efficient. However, this allows less effort to be made. In short, television has made Americans lazy. TV is so easy that you can sit on the sofa and control the TV from where you're sitting without even having to hardly move. The content that viewers are taking in is crucial to mental health as well. Reality TV and drama series (as much as I love them) don't do very much to exercise the human mind. Television is extremely influential no matter what is being broadcasted, and this doesn't exclude fictional TV shows. Television shows like Euphoria that contain adult and graphic content are leaving negative impressions on younger audiences who are no doubt (but shouldn't be) watching. 

The current news that we take in also plays a part in the downsides of TV. The ability to broadcast messages to a massive range is just as hurtful as it is helpful, especially when it comes to news broadcasting. Journalists and reporters are able to share their opinions and thoughts on topics to the world, which can influence the viewers. This applies to politics, entertainment, sports, and all kinds of topics covered on the news. This is why it's so important to draw news from multiple sources, and why it's important to understand an issue/story from all sides. Projecting biased views and opinions for the world to hear is dangerous, and is how misinformation is spread. 

Blog Post #3 - 8 Values of Free Expression

The Eight Values of Free Expression elucidate the ins and outs of the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution. While the First Amendment seems clear cut on the surface, it can be rather complex with some intricacies with it. There's more to the concept of freedom of speech than just the idea of being able to say whatever you want (within reason, and potentially with consequences). I find all eight of the values interesting, but there is one that I find most important and most personal to me. 

I find that the third value of free expression is the most important. The concept of "Stable Change/Safety Valve" is the one that I find most valuable to me. As Americans, we are fortunate to have a Constitution that provides us with a Constitutional right to be able to say what we want about the government, both verbally and through forms of legal/safe expression. This is a right and privilege that most Americans (including myself, more often than not) take for granted. There are several countries in the world where this is not the case for its citizens. In some countries, it is not protected to openly speak against or negatively against the government or a head of state. According to this article by euronews.com, in countries such as Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, citizens can be punished for publicly speaking out against the government. The map inserted below is from the article, and it shows which EU countries have non-protected laws against speaking negatively towards the government/heads of state.

In some of these countries, citizens can be punished in a variety of ways. In Switzerland, citizens who are found guilty of this criminal offense could potentially only have to pay a monetary fee. In Thailand, citizens arrested for this crime could face anywhere from three to 15 years in prison. According to Saudi Arabia's laws on the matter, speaking out against the government is considered an act of terrorism, which is also punishable by potential prison time. These are just three of several countries in the world where it is illegal to speak freely about the government. 

Our U.S. Constitution protects our right to speak against the government. In other words, the Constitution says under the First Amendment that the government legally and constitutionally must allow us to say bad things about it. I find this extremely important, and I believe we are beyond lucky to be protected by law to do so. It's important to know and understand that the government can't penalize you for speaking against it if you are an American citizen. It's hard for me to imagine living in a place where I'm not safe to talk about how I feel without the fear of being arrested for my opinion. It's easy to become accustomed to having the flexibility with verbal expression, and it is even easier to take that opportunity for granted. As someone who is very opinionated, I feel strongly about the right to be able to speak my feelings about the government and people in the government without penalty.

This value can be applied to what's going on in the world right now. As the war in Ukraine rages on, and the U.S. continues to stick its nose into Russia's ongoing business, I think that the right to talk about the government (no matter what your opinion may be) is more important than ever. The freedom to express your opinion on what the government is doing is important, and is also a constitutionally protected right that we as Americans should take advantage of, but not take for granted. 

Blog Post #2 - U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the United States (also known as SCOTUS) is the highest federal court in the country, as well as the head of the judicial branch of U.S. government. The Supreme Court has the power to check actions of the other two branches of government, as well as have ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the U.S. The Supreme Court is currently made up of nine justices.

After reading the History Channel article, I learned that the Supreme Court didn't hear any cases in its first term of service. Instead, the first case they heard was finalized on August 3, 1791with West v. Barnes, a financial dispute between a farmer and a family that he owed debt to. I also learned that the Supreme Court's justices are nominated by the president and the nominees must be accepted or declined by the U.S. Senate. The chief justice is present over trials involving the impeachment of the President of the United States (POTUS).

An important takeaway from the Supreme Court is that it is an organized system written into the United States Constitution that the SCOTUS' primary function is accountable for evaluating the laws of the United States, and determining whether or not they are constitutionally sound. The Supreme Court is the highest court, and they take on some of the most challenging, historic cases that are brought to trial. Some cases that have been decided by the Supreme Court are still talked about today and still play a role in today's society. Texas v. Johnson (1989) is a notable case that ruled that offensive speech (such as burning the U.S. flag) is protected by the First Amendment). Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is another case that is still talked about today that ruled that segregation of races in public schools is unconstitutional. Both of these cases are heavily taught and brought back up even as new cases are brought to the table.

The most surprising fact that I learned about the SCOTUS is that it didn't hear any cases for the first term, and that the first "official" case that they listened to was a financial dispute. I found this surprising, because I had always assumed that the SCOTUS' first real case was something more dramatic and (quite frankly) interesting. 

After reading the article, I have a better understanding of the history of the Supreme Court and how it works. To be honest, I hadn't ever had much interest in the Supreme Court, and I didn't know much about it past the basic understandings of it. I feel as if now I have a better understanding of the organization of it and how the system works. I feel as if I now also have a new sense of how fortunate we are as a country to have such an orchestrated judicial system. While I believe that it isn't perfect at times and sometimes doesn't make the best decisions, we are lucky to have a kind of system that is responsible for the laws put into place and how they match up with our Constitution. 

Blog Post #1 - 5 Sources of News

As the world of technology advances, the way that we receive our news broadens and varies. For a long time, I struggled to find outlets and sources that were a good fit for me. Now, I have several sources that I get my current news from, and below are my top five (in no particular order).

The Wall Street Journal is a favorite of mine. I like WSJ because the articles are always well written and easy to read. WSJ gives enough information in all of their stories and I trust their information. WSJ produces stories on a wide variety of topics that range from business to entertainment. I use the WSJ app on my phone for easy access and notifications of new stories that fit my "preferred" algorithm.

Another source that I get some of my news from is Fox News. Admittedly, Fox News runs in my circle of obtaining news due to the fact that it's my family's preferred news outlet. Over time, I've learned to like it as well. However, since Fox News tends to leans towards the conservative side, I make it a point to keep in mind that they don't necessarily cover all stories from all angles.

The New York Times is similar to WSJ in that they cover a wide variety of topics and have new articles daily. I also use The New York Times app on my phone for quick access and consistent notifications. The New York Times is my preferred source for political news, since they tend to cover lots of politics in and outside of the U.S.

Although I don't necessarily go out out of my way to get my news on social media, Twitter is a common news source that I use. I do actually like getting my news from Twitter, because that way I can see what other people are saying about the topic and it makes it easy to get multiple perspectives on one story. However, I advise to tread lightly when gathering any current news from social media. It's important to keep in mind that most people who are spreading news on Twitter are likely not trained journalists, and will likely give a biased report.

For purely entertainment and hot topic internet trend news, I like to go to NBC for updates on TV, movies, and my favorite celebrities. Typically, Today is my go-to source. While I rarely ever get up early enough to watch The Today Show, the Today app is a great substitute for getting my entertainment news. They sent daily updates and notifications on current events, and the articles are easy to access and read.