Journal entry # 1

The communication model... Alrighty, so what's basically a textbook term for what happens between a medium of communication (TV, Newspapers, Internet, Radio, etc) and you, the audience. To amaze you all with my in depth knowledge of how this baby works, the senders are the medium. The receiver is you, or the audience. All messages are encoded by the medium, and then decoded by you upon perceiving the medium. How much shared meaning is determined by how much the audience understands the message that was intended by the medium. Between us and the medium, there is always "noise" This can be anything distracting, often other media. So here is how effective I think each media is according to this model:
Newspaper Article:
The medium is newspaper corporations, such as News Cooperation. The medium is the paper, but more specifically the articles. For example, the Christian Science Monitors story by Linda Feldmann about whether or not the media has any impact on the truthfulness of statements made by 08' presidential candidates.http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/09/18/media-truth-squads-and-the-%e2%80%9908-campaign-any-impact/ This article has a very specific target audience, the American public. The message is, (as far as I can decode) that not really. The message is expressed in text and people can decode them at leisure and there is little danger of the audience not understanding if they desire to because they have all the time they need. However, it is easy to be sidetracked from a newspaper article if something more interesting catches the eye, and (if I'm any indication) few people ever finish reading an article all the way through, limiting effectiveness of articles. Magazine Article:Magazines are sent by publishers to us, the audience. Some magazines have only a narrow, special interest audience. Magazine articles appeal to more senses because they are colorful and heavy with photos. Newspapers also have photos, but are usually less visually appealing than Magazines. The messages of magazines are seemingly easier to convey to the passerby. It is easier and quicker to assimilate a magazine article than a newspaper article.
Radio Program:
A radio program sender is a broadcast company, and this auditory message is easy to decode. The channels are all of the frequencies on our radios, and the messeges are broad. Noise can (in addition to other things) be actual noise in this case.
TV Program:
Shares many of the same strengths and weaknesses as radio. The added visual aspect is greatly impacting making it the most effective means(in my opinion) in entertaining the receivers. It appeals to more senses and more effectively transmits the message.

For informing people, I think that newspapers do the best job. They are widely believed to be credible, and if you take the trouble to read an article, you will usually remember it and believe it. For persuading, I think that radio is the most effective. It is more geared in content to persuading recievers and also people feel a pull when they hear an eloquent speaker laying out well organized points. (I think that most radio broadcasters speak better than thier TV counterparts because of the limitations in thier medium).
So there you have it, all of my thoughts on the communication model.