2.03 Save the Light Bulbs radio broadcast

     The radio broadcast presented by NPR news titled "Future Dim For 100 Watt Bulb, Despite Congress' Stall" presented by Peter Overby on December 22, 2011 was presented very nicely. It was informative and thorough without becoming boring. I enjoyed the different aspects presented by Overby in this broadcast. He presented the topic from both an economical and political stand point and succeeded in blending the two topics flawlessly. He reported equally about both sides, and not impose his own ideas on the listener.

     Peter Overby is the money power and influence correspondent for the NPR station. Overby reports on campaign finance and lobbying. While Peter Overbys' stories are mostly centered around politics, like this one, he does sometimes report on other topics. His career with NPR started in 1994 and before radio broadcasting he was the senior editor for Common Cause Magazine.
    I would consider the report credible because of the integrity of the station, NPR, on which the story was presented, the reporter that gave the report has a long history of reporting and he is accustomed to the topic. Overby gave accounts from numerous sources including depot stores that sell the 100 watt bulb and prominent political figures for and against the legislation. This topic is political and because of that the reporter has to give his broadcast considering that most listeners have bias opinions concerning almost any political issue. At first I was against the new legislation because, like most, I shy away from changes. However, as the report progressed I changed my mind and in my opinion getting rid or 100 watt bulbs is not that big of a deal. As many of the sources stated, the transformation is already in progress and it is impractical to try and stop it.

2.04 Broadcast Television, O' Reilly

1. What news show (or shows) did you watch? "The O' Reilly Factor, Voters Who Don't Know Anything"
2.  Categorize the show- Political Talk Show
   
3. Did you see any opinion being expressed? Please quote the instances in your answer.
   The whole show is an opinion. "Many voters are confused.""Anything can happen in 2012"
4. Was this show effective in informing you about a topic? What did it do right? What could have been better? 

This show was very informative. The host discussed the upcoming election and his opinions concerning the nominees and Barack Obama. In politics reporters don't equally show both sides of the story because the bias is so pronounced. Obviously political shows have their own category concerning opinion vs fact. The show is mostly (if not all) opinion, backed up by facts.
     I enjoyed listening to Bill O' Reilly because he shares his opinion but does a good job of not sounding judgmental or condescending to anyone he opposes. I like that there are video clips of President Obama speaking, that dispels doubt about what he actually said.  He touched on several different topics which kept the show interesting but he didn't stray too far from his main topic.
     I would have liked him to have another person on the show, to give another opinion. Obama was in video clips but because he was not there in person and there was no opposition to Bill O' Reilly it was much easier to think that there was only one side. It is hard to remain objective in situations concerning politics but I believe that the Mr. O' Reilly was very informative and helpful in his show.

4_02 Logical Falicies

     A lot of the time when I hear a logical fallacy from a friend it is in a joking way, "You can either go to the mall or the movies. Either or. Come on, come on chop chop. Choose!" Obviously I can choose to do something else but this is a logical fallacy, false dilemma, and in this situation we are not being serious. Often times though I will hear this logical fallacy on the radio in a fashion, not quite so abrasive or blatant as the situation presented above.
     With family and friends this next logical fallacy is probably the most common in my life, "Everyone is doing it..." or "Everyone has it." I hear this from friends especially now that Christmas is around the corner and I even find myself using this false logic. This logic prevails with some, for instance my boss. She will get her kids anything just so they can "fit in" and have the same fashions that everyone else has. This logic begs the question "If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" The answer is all too commonly, "Do they all have parachutes?"
     We all want to find a reason to buy something or do something. We come up with connections, no matter how distant, and use those connections to make a point. We learn to draw paths in our mind linking two almost unrelated events and then we listen and believe others that do the same thing. These lines are drawn so precisely and data is shown. Then it must be true, right? This logical fallacy is known as correlation and causation and it is one of the most convincing.
Logical fallacies happen around us all of the time. We are told not to be so skeptical but a skeptic is the one unswayed by the false information. In the words of Henry James,

Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

4_00 Persuasion

     Advertisements are everywhere, on the radio, the internet, on the side of the road, on t-shirts, you name it, and of course I am influenced by them like most other people. The thing to remember about advertising though is that the consumer still has a choice. I personally find that I am most influenced by an advertisement if they say or show an image of something that I was already thinking about or had thought about recently. For instance at lunch time if I hear an advertisement for a Café whether or not I planned to go there if I have no other particular place in mind I will most likely end up going to eat at the first place I hear about or see.
        Similarly the other day I saw an advertisement for a pair of shoes that I did not need or was particularly thinking about but when the advertiser said “A perfect gift for the holidays…” I was hooked. I did need to buy gifts. It is hard to distinguish between what we wanted before an ad comes on and what we decided to need afterwards. Producers rely on consumers money, that fuels every advertisement and commercial, because money makes the world go round.
         The diet trend has been around for longer than a while. The quickest, easiest, no change, no exercise, everyone has to be better. I am personally not swayed by diet commercials because I quite frankly don’t care about them and most are not realistic. Some people become desperate though and those advertisements are most likely to catch them at a time of doubt. Commercials and advertisers can only influence a consumer as much as they allow. We have to open the door and think the first thought and since most commercials don’t rely on logic or reason, rather feelings and emotions, all it takes is logic to prove them wrong.