Blog #5: Communication Technology

In today’s class, I listened to my fellow HPU students present on different forms of communication that society has relied on throughout the past few centuries.

It was fascinating to see how far we humans have come in terms of communication and technology. I found it interesting how we went from the more still impressive yet rudimentary forms of communications such as the telegram and the printing press and transitioned into more strategic and complex communication tools such as Instagram and Netflix.

Out of all of the communication technologies I learned about today in class, two really caught my attention-carrier pigeons and bluetooth. These are two very different types of communication, but I found them interesting in their own ways.

Carrier pigeons are extremely fascinating, and while I had heard of them before, I pretty much knew nothing about them. The basic idea is that people would raise these pigeons in their home, and then have them sent to the person that they want to communicate with. That person would then receive the pigeon, write a letter, and then attach a canister to the pigeon with the letter inside.

The carrier pigeons are then able to find their way back to the house they were raised in because of two different factors. Firstly, they have a magnetic internal compass that helps them get from point A to point B. Secondly, they have a homing instinct, which is an innate predisposition to return to the place in which they were born and raised.

Bluetooth is a form of communication technology that I am way more familiar with. In fact, I use it every day to stream music in my ears while talking to and from class. One thing I never considered however was the history of its name. Bluetooth was actually the nickname of an old viking known for united Denmark and Norway.

The creators of bluetooth thought of naming their creation after this viking because they believed their invention would help people connect with one another, similarly to how Bluetooth the viking connected two different people groups.

Today, I learned about different forms of communication. Some we use today and some we don’t. I realized I take a lot of things for granted--things like my iPhone, my headphones, and internet browsers like Google. They have made my day-to-day life so much more convenient.

Blog #4: Newspaper

 While newspapers are not as common in today’s society as they once were, they play an important role in our history in terms of communication. Newspapers are a form of mass media, and the main objective is to spread information to the public that is relevant, important and interesting to them!

Historians credit the ancient Romans with utilizing the first very rudimentary version of newspapers in their society. They called this form of daily news Acta Diuma.

In 1440 Gutenberg’s printing press was invented. During this time, a press could produce about 4,000 pages a day. As you can imagine, it became a lot faster to produce paper media, as every copy no longer had to be handwritten. It also became much less expensive to produce these mass amounts of printed news sources.

While the printed press was invented in the 1400s, it wouldn’t be until the 1600s that extremely fundamental versions of newspapers started to gain traction all over Europe and other areas like Japan. Sweden was actually the first country to ever grant freedom of the press to its citizens in 1766.

Over in the United States, the first newspaper, Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick was published out of Boston in 1690, but it was quickly shut down by the Massuchsetts governor after just one published issue. 

In 1721, a man named James Franklin--Benjamin Franklin's older brother--created an independent newspaper called the New-England Courant, The start of this newspaper is considered the beginning of independent newspaper publishing in the US! However, the US Government would not formally grant freedom of the press until 1791 with the First Amendment to the Constitution.

In the early 19th century, newspapers became more popular and heavily relied on as a form of mass media. This is because it became more useful as literacy rates went up. It also became a lot cheaper because of advancements in mechanics, communication, and transportation.

Along with this popularity came competition between different publishers. One of the greatest examples of this competition can be seen between two large newspapers in New York City--the Journal and the World. 

As a result of these publishers trying to one up each other and get more people to read their newspapers, yellow journalism was born.Yellow journalism focused on more polarizing topics such as violence and scandals as a way to catch peoples eye. Comic strips also were incorporated into newspapers. 

It was also around this time that newspaper boys became a part of newspaper culture in the late 19th century and early 20th century. These newsboys were given the nickname "newsies", and their job was to distribute newspapers in the city streets. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Extra, extra, read all about it!” It comes from these boys.

For multiple centuries, newspapers were an integral part of society. People solely relied on them to consume news and important information. Even though newspapers aren’t as common anymore, we see how its impact has affected the media we consume most often today--such as the internet, television, and social media.

Blog #3 Speech Theories

 The First Amendment gives us the freedom of speech which is a huge blessing that many American citizens take for granted every day. Along with this freedom of speech come eight different speech theories that flesh out why this freedom is so important.

The first theory is the marketplace of ideas. This is the Supreme Court’s favorite theory. We need to be able to express our ideas freely so that we can exchange ideas and thoughts with others. It directly opposes the idea of prior restraint. When prior restraint occurs, this is called a marketplace failure. 

The next theory is participation in self-government. This theory revolves around the necessity and importance of citizens being able to engage in dialogue and conversations with the government and express their thoughts and opinions. 

The next theory is the idea of stable change, which explains how it is actually in the government’s best interest to let the public criticize it and express their anger verbally. This allows the people to vent without everything building up inside them until mass chaos inevitably ensues. 

Up next is individual self-fulfillment, which is all about protecting citizens' right to think and speak for themselves. 

Another theory is called a check on government power. This relates back to the idea of vertical checks and balances--the idea that the public should participate in keeping the government’s power in check. 

The next theory is about promoting tolerance.This touches on the fact that we don’t need specific laws that prohibit people from saying derogatory things because society will handle that on its own. This goes back to the concept of subsequent punishment. 

Promoting innovation is the next theory, which is all about the importance of letting people speak and express themselves, as this promotes creativity which will lead to new innovations. 

The final theory is about protecting dissent (aka minority views). The idea here is that even people who don’t agree with the majority of society still have just as much of a right to express their ideas as anyone else.

For me, three of these theories in particular stick out to me. The first of these is the marketplace of ideas. This is extremely important for our society to flourish. By being able to throw ideas out into the world, it allows for others to build off of those ideas and revise them, add to them, make them better, and make them stronger.

The next theory that jumped out of me is about promoting innovation, and this ties back into the previous theory I was just discussing--the marketplace of ideas. Freedom of speech promotes creativity which then lends itself to innovation. But creativity and innovation often works best when collaboration occurs. A marketplace of ideas that allows for various thoughts and opinions to be exchanged facilitates collaboration.

The final theory that stuck out to me is the idea of promoting dissent. The America we live in today is full of hostile disagreements which often leads to censorship--especially for those who are a part of the minority view. However, censorship goes against our first amendment right to freedom of speech. The first amendment is most important for people who don’t agree with the majority, as it allows them to get their opinion out into a sea of differing and opposing thoughts. 

All of these theories are important and helpful in our understanding of our right to freedom of speech in America!

Blog #2: Supreme Court

 From both watching a video and reading an article about the Supreme Court, I have learned that while it  may be small in numbers--currently consisting of only nine judges--The Supreme Court is a very important and essential part of our US government.

Supreme Court Building

The Supreme Court’s job is to evaluate the laws that we have in our country and make sure that they are constitutional. Not only is it the highest federal court in the nation, but it is also the head of the judicial branch of government.

The process of evaluating if a law is constitutional or not begins with a written petition from the public. In total, the court receives around 7,000 petitions a year, and of those 7,000, they take on about 100 of them for full consideration.

Former justice Sandra Day O’Connor talks about how unique and incredible it is that the Supreme Courts gives “the same individual consideration” to petitions from both high-priced legal counsels and prisoners sitting in jail cells. It was very reassuring to hear Justice O’Connor say this, as I wasn’t aware of this prior to watching the video.

Once the Supreme Court has decided to take on a petition, they hear the cases publicly, where lawyers on both sides of the argument have thirty minutes each to defend their side. This is called “oral argument.” I did not know that lawyers were involved in this process, so I found the whole concept of oral argument to be fascinating!

A few days after this, the court meets privately to vote and make a decision. After a verdict has been reached, an "opinion" must be written by one of the justices on the majority (aka winning) side of the argument.

If the chief justice is on the majority side, they are the one to decide who writes it. The process of writing the opinion is time-consuming and extremely important because once it is released, it will affect all other cases they will rule on moving forward.

Many people obey the Supreme Court because they believe that the Supreme Court is defending the Constitution with every decision they make. From the video I watched and the article I read, I have come to realize that this trust that has been built up between the public and the Supreme Court is necessary to keep the United States government strong and to keep our nation free.

Blog #1: Top Five Sources of News and Information

     We are lucky enough to live in a world where an astounding amount of information is right at our fingertips. There are plenty of different platforms that people can go to in order to retrieve that information.

Source 1

The way I obtain most of my information--whether that be breaking international headlines or comparatively trivial information about the newest Hollywood gossip--is through Instagram. Instagram is one of the largest social media apps to date. What I love so much about this app is that it has both picture grid content and short-form video content. In my opinion, it keeps the app more interesting and less stale while also helping me digest more information.

Source 2 

Another platform that I rely on to learn about certain topics is Youtube. Like Instagram, Youtube is another very large social media app. While Instagram is--for the most part--all short-form content, Youtube offers longer content. Youtube videos can be as long as a creator wants them to be. Oftentimes, when I see something I am interested in on Instagram, I will go on Youtube when I have more time to dig even deeper into the topic. I would like to clarify that Youtube has added a feature where creators can post short-form content on their platform, but I personally don't use it.

Source 3

When asked to do research for educational purposes, I often find myself going to The Washington Post. It's usually one of the first links that comes up when I search a specific topic on Google. The Washington Post offers articles about politics and important world events to stay updated on. They also offer opinion pieces, interesting information about pop culture, and much more. Overall, this is a great online newspaper. It's easy to navigate which is why I utilize it often and would recommend it to my peers.

Source 4

Another platform that I use to consume information is Apple Podcasts. For me, I pretty much always have something playing in my ear, and if it's not music, it's a podcast. I am a huge fan of true crime so I often listen to a podcast in the category. It helps me stay informed on current, ongoing cases as well as old, cold cases that may or may not be represented in the media. Additionally, I like to listen to podcasts about society and pop culture, as it helps me to feel more in the know.

Source 5

My final news source that I will be talking about is quite different than the previous four, as it--or they I should say--does not involve the use of technology. My final source is actually my parents. They are huge inspirations in my life, and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be at High Point University right now. I trust their opinions and guidance, and I often talk to them about what is going on around me. My dad is very well-informed about international events as he works with people from all around the world on a daily basis. Additionally, he has traveled to multiple different countries with the company he works for. My mom, too, is very knowledgeable about current events, and she also keeps me updated on what is going on back in my home town--things that are more relevant in my day-to-day life. I am extremely grateful for my parents and seek their advice about various issues and topics, so it felt important for them to be included on my list. 

Picture of me and my parents