I need help with my online English class (digital media). I am required to post a 300 word comment on the readings and two 750 words comment on my classmates post. Can you help? I have one that is due tomorrow at 8pm central time. I will provide the readdings. classmates post: 1. Chapter one of Julian McDougall’s “Media Studies: The Basics” gives me an understanding of what media is and the history behind it, as well as the reasons why it is being studied in schools today. There are two points from the chapter that McDougall writes that stand out to me. The first one is when he gives reasons as to why one should study media. McDougall (2012) writes for his third reason, “...the idea that Media Studies might want to ‘change the world’” and later writes, “... then, studying media critically ought to be considered a serious and important project for any mature democracy” (p. 8). The explanation he gives for this being a reason to study media is something I completely agree with. Media has a great impact on what a person chooses to believe in and shapes the way they view others. Studying media and the way it works allows a person to become more literate when it comes to media, which in turn allows them to become aware of what the media is portraying and acknowledge any negative underlying messages that may be present that those who are unaware of how the media works, may miss. The second point that stands out is when he writes, “Theories of creativity are becoming more important to students of media as more and more ordinary people start to make their own media” (McDougall, 2012, p. 32). YouTube comes to mind when I think about people who make their own media. YouTube is a powerful platform where “ordinary” people have their own channels and create their own videos on whatever subject they are interested in like beauty, music, film etc. They give their own ideas and opinions on any subject they want to talk about or represent while giving their audience the choice of agreeing or disagreeing with what they have just watched. McDougall asks, “If we produce our own versions of media texts but stay faithful to the conventions of ‘real media,’ is this creative or just imitation? Or is all imitation an act of parody which is always creative, a reworking of a template and its meanings?” (p. 24). I believe media such as YouTube to be an imitation of ‘real media” since users produce their own versions of media texts and shape them into fitting what they want their message to be and like McDougall writes, this imitation is a “form of parody which is always creative” (p. 24). McDougall, J. (2012). Studying Media. In Media Studies: The basics (pp. 1-33). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2. Despite mediation’s potential to empower and expand individual participation in the development of popular culture, its potential downsides are apparent:  distortion of reality enabled by bombardment of images the Mad Men could only dream of; disengagement from local community .

1. I need help with my online English class (digital media). I am
required to post a 300 word comment on the readings and two
750 words comment on my classmates post. Can you help? I
have one that is due tomorrow at 8pm central time. I will
provide the readdings.
classmates post:
1. Chapter one of Julian McDougall’s “Media Studies: The
Basics” gives me an understanding of what media is and the
history behind it, as well as the reasons why it is being studied
in schools today. There are two points from the chapter that
McDougall writes that stand out to me. The first one is when he
gives reasons as to why one should study media. McDougall
(2012) writes for his third reason, “...the idea that Media
Studies might want to ‘change the world’” and later writes, “...
then, studying media critically ought to be considered a serious
and important project for any mature democracy” (p. 8). The
explanation he gives for this being a reason to study media is
something I completely agree with. Media has a great impact on
what a person chooses to believe in and shapes the way they
view others. Studying media and the way it works allows a
person to become more literate when it comes to media, which
in turn allows them to become aware of what the media is
portraying and acknowledge any negative underlying messages
that may be present that those who are unaware of how the
media works, may miss. The second point that stands out is
when he writes, “Theories of creativity are becoming more
important to students of media as more and more ordinary
people start to make their own media” (McDougall, 2012, p.
32). YouTube comes to mind when I think about people who
make their own media. YouTube is a powerful platform where
“ordinary” people have their own channels and create their own
videos on whatever subject they are interested in like beauty,
music, film etc. They give their own ideas and opinions on any
subject they want to talk about or represent while giving their
audience the choice of agreeing or disagreeing with what they

2. have just watched. McDougall asks, “If we produce our own
versions of media texts but stay faithful to the conventions of
‘real media,’ is this creative or just imitation? Or is all
imitation an act of parody which is always creative, a reworking
of a template and its meanings?” (p. 24). I believe media such
as YouTube to be an imitation of ‘real media” since users
produce their own versions of media texts and shape them into
fitting what they want their message to be and like McDougall
writes, this imitation is a “form of parody which is always
creative” (p. 24).
McDougall, J. (2012). Studying Media. In Media Studies: The
basics (pp. 1-33). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
2. Despite mediation’s potential to empower and expand
individual participation in the development of popular culture,
its potential downsides are apparent: distortion of reality
enabled by bombardment of images the Mad Men could only
dream of; disengagement from local community and traditional
relationships, and a marked contraction in the sphere of
privacy. With respect to “reality”, comments sections of
websites seem to be evolving into bulletin boards for marketers
and advocacy groups to plant memes rather than forums for
authentic conversations; users of electronic media are shadowed
by advertisements and messages custom fitted to their web
usage habits; and the line between news reporting and
advertising is disappearing. Like high frequency trading on
Wall Street, mediation may be subjecting our society to
becoming a Matrix in which clicks on websites, and resulting
development of popular culture, are generated primarily by
computer programs employed by marketers and promoters to
herd people. The potential for the manufacture of consent that
concerns Chomsky and others (McDougall 15) is apparent. The
development of popular culture in a world of no privacy where
every communication is apparently recorded for posterity will
undoubtedly affect its actors and content.

3. thanks