1. Have you enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal? Explain why you have enjoyed it, or why not.
Answer: Honestly, I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal as much as I thought I would because it’s something I wasn’t used to doing. There was not much in the paper that was interesting to me but I found it to contain a lot of useful information. It was a great source for things I would probably need to know as I progressed into my career field of choice, but I did not enjoy the part where I had to actually sit down and take time out to read the paper.
2. How has reading the newspaper helped you learn about Mass Communications media? Explain, and give some examples of what you’ve learned.
Answer: Reading the WSJ has increased my knowledge of what Mass Communications is about and it has helped me to understand the mass media business. As I stated before, the paper is a very useful source of information. The WSJ broadened my knowledge of what kinds of things happen in the Media business and I thought the way they delivered the news was great (especially the follow-up stories). I had no idea before about the way advertising, books, internet, television, etc. all work together to keep each other afloat, and how they all can work against each other as well. For instance, the internet is really putting a hurting on books and newspaper right now because people find it easier to go online and get anything from news topics to novels, and etc. The internet also affects how people watch television shows and movies.
3. Compared to traditional textbook-based study and learning methods, is reading the newspaper a better or worse educational experience? Expand your answers with details and examples.
Answer: I loved the idea of reading up on current event topics, but I think that both the textbook and the newspaper coincide with each other. I would have loved to learn more about the history of the industry however; at the same time I feel that it is just as important to know how that history is affecting the present. I only agreed to utilize the paper as a guide through the course because I didn’t want to deal with the hassles of preparing for midterms and final exams. I didn’t feel as though we should be tested on stuff that we should already be familiar with.
4. Has the reading assignment changed your behavior, i.e., your daily schedule, your study habits, your desire for news and information?
Answer: Since reading the paper these past couple of months, I don’t see a change in my reading habits. I’ve always read books but I’ve never been an avid reader of the newspaper. The Orlando Sentinel was the only newspaper I ever really read but it wasn’t on a regular basis. It was only when I took the time to look at it. The key factor affecting me from reading the paper is TIME. There never seems to be enough of it. I find the internet to be so convenient because I’m almost always on it so that helps me out a lot. I never would have even thought to subscribe to any newspaper or magazine before taking this course and once you get used to being a certain way for so long, it makes it harder for things to change.
5. Are the weekly quizzes an effective way to measure what you’ve learned by reading the Wall Street Journal? If yes, why? If no, why? Add suggestions for other ways to measure learning.
Answer: Absolutely NOT! That’s one of the reasons why didn’t want the textbook. There are extremely too many stories to read at one time and when I try to cram all that information into my head, it just doesn’t help. I forget almost everything that I’ve read and panic when it comes time to take the quizzes. I liked the idea of doing group discussions kind of like the way it’s done on WebCT. We should be broken into different groups and given one story about one topic. (Advertising, Movies, Books, Internet, Etc.). Then we should write a brief essay about the story and how it affects the topic and people and when we’ve written the essay we should reply to someone in our groups essay about what we think about what they said and why we agree/disagree with what they’ve written. I think that it would be a lot easier especially since I like to write.
6. How likely are you to renew your subscription to The Wall Street Journal after this semester? Give an expansive answer, with reasons.
Answer: I will not be renewing my subscription to the Wall Street Journal because I believe it would be a waste of money. I don’t mean that in a bad way but since I don’t read the paper anyway it would not be very smart for me to renew my subscription. If by some chance I did find that later on I would want to subscribe to the paper again, it would be the online version and not the paper version. Another major reason I stated earlier is because of time. When I have other classes with other homework, it can be a hassle juggling all this work that’s due at the same time. I barely have time to do my other work. Even if I did read the stories every day, by the time it comes time to take the quiz in class; it would be hard to remember stuff that I read a week ago. That’s why I don’t like the quizzes. I just don’t find the paper to be better as a major learning tool. It was filled with lots of good knowledge, but not very useful when it came to determining grades.
Answer: Honestly, I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal as much as I thought I would because it’s something I wasn’t used to doing. There was not much in the paper that was interesting to me but I found it to contain a lot of useful information. It was a great source for things I would probably need to know as I progressed into my career field of choice, but I did not enjoy the part where I had to actually sit down and take time out to read the paper.
2. How has reading the newspaper helped you learn about Mass Communications media? Explain, and give some examples of what you’ve learned.
Answer: Reading the WSJ has increased my knowledge of what Mass Communications is about and it has helped me to understand the mass media business. As I stated before, the paper is a very useful source of information. The WSJ broadened my knowledge of what kinds of things happen in the Media business and I thought the way they delivered the news was great (especially the follow-up stories). I had no idea before about the way advertising, books, internet, television, etc. all work together to keep each other afloat, and how they all can work against each other as well. For instance, the internet is really putting a hurting on books and newspaper right now because people find it easier to go online and get anything from news topics to novels, and etc. The internet also affects how people watch television shows and movies.
3. Compared to traditional textbook-based study and learning methods, is reading the newspaper a better or worse educational experience? Expand your answers with details and examples.
Answer: I loved the idea of reading up on current event topics, but I think that both the textbook and the newspaper coincide with each other. I would have loved to learn more about the history of the industry however; at the same time I feel that it is just as important to know how that history is affecting the present. I only agreed to utilize the paper as a guide through the course because I didn’t want to deal with the hassles of preparing for midterms and final exams. I didn’t feel as though we should be tested on stuff that we should already be familiar with.
4. Has the reading assignment changed your behavior, i.e., your daily schedule, your study habits, your desire for news and information?
Answer: Since reading the paper these past couple of months, I don’t see a change in my reading habits. I’ve always read books but I’ve never been an avid reader of the newspaper. The Orlando Sentinel was the only newspaper I ever really read but it wasn’t on a regular basis. It was only when I took the time to look at it. The key factor affecting me from reading the paper is TIME. There never seems to be enough of it. I find the internet to be so convenient because I’m almost always on it so that helps me out a lot. I never would have even thought to subscribe to any newspaper or magazine before taking this course and once you get used to being a certain way for so long, it makes it harder for things to change.
5. Are the weekly quizzes an effective way to measure what you’ve learned by reading the Wall Street Journal? If yes, why? If no, why? Add suggestions for other ways to measure learning.
Answer: Absolutely NOT! That’s one of the reasons why didn’t want the textbook. There are extremely too many stories to read at one time and when I try to cram all that information into my head, it just doesn’t help. I forget almost everything that I’ve read and panic when it comes time to take the quizzes. I liked the idea of doing group discussions kind of like the way it’s done on WebCT. We should be broken into different groups and given one story about one topic. (Advertising, Movies, Books, Internet, Etc.). Then we should write a brief essay about the story and how it affects the topic and people and when we’ve written the essay we should reply to someone in our groups essay about what we think about what they said and why we agree/disagree with what they’ve written. I think that it would be a lot easier especially since I like to write.
6. How likely are you to renew your subscription to The Wall Street Journal after this semester? Give an expansive answer, with reasons.
Answer: I will not be renewing my subscription to the Wall Street Journal because I believe it would be a waste of money. I don’t mean that in a bad way but since I don’t read the paper anyway it would not be very smart for me to renew my subscription. If by some chance I did find that later on I would want to subscribe to the paper again, it would be the online version and not the paper version. Another major reason I stated earlier is because of time. When I have other classes with other homework, it can be a hassle juggling all this work that’s due at the same time. I barely have time to do my other work. Even if I did read the stories every day, by the time it comes time to take the quiz in class; it would be hard to remember stuff that I read a week ago. That’s why I don’t like the quizzes. I just don’t find the paper to be better as a major learning tool. It was filled with lots of good knowledge, but not very useful when it came to determining grades.
