Survivor

The show Survivor was one of the main reasons reality TV is as popular as it is today. In the show people are brought to a small area somewhere in the wilderness where they must compete in numerous challenges, while at the same time voting people off the island. The last person standing at the end of the show would receive 1,000,00 dollars, so people would do whatever it took to win the game. After Survivor, many shows did what they could to create shows like Survivor and to compete with Survivor, and that is when the Reality TV fever hit the United States.


Information for Survivor

Reality Television

Reality TV is something that has become more than popular in our culture in the last two decades. It is a form of television with no scripts or plots, it is just a bunch of cameras following the people or "cast" in whatever situation the producers have put them in. The first big reality show was MTV's The Real world which was played in 1992, which took seven people from different backgrounds and put them in one house to live. Reality TV was not much of a hit until 2002 when Survivor premiered on CBS. In 2011 there are at least 7 reality TV shows on the big four networks ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. This doesn't even include the numerous amounts of reality TV on MTV, VH1, and many others. Reality TV is an example of the type of media entertainment can change drastically. Before the 1990's, sitcoms were very poopular, however 20 years later reality shows are a top source of entertainment for people in the world. 

History of Reality TV

Words With Friends, Game or Advertising Trick?

Words with friends is a very popular game that can be played on Iphones and all Android phones. It is basically scrabble that you can play back and forth with others who have the right type of phone. However, do we know how much is actually being shared when this game is played? Besides the words that are formed between the two participants. Some people are searching deeper to see what advertisers can see when you give your information for "Words With Friends." One person believes that when playing words with friends advertisers are able to view numerous things, but more importantly your E-Mail address, phone number, and unique phone fingerprint. Now we can't be sure that this is a reliable source. Someone with the username "Smackywolf" may be hard to take seriously, but his words have definitely got me thinking... This is an example of one of the problems of media, the fact that it is so easy to be tricked into giving some random person or thing your information.

Words With Friends Sharing Personal Information

Tap Shoes

Tap dancing is a form of dance that involves clicking of the feet created by a metal plate that is attached to the bottom of the shoe at the toe and the heel. It was originated and made from elements of many different countries, and is very popular in the U.S. today. This is another topic that may be thought of as having nothing to do with media, but I will give a step by step explanation of how it is clearly connected. Tap shoes are needed for tap dancing, tap dancing can't happen without music, and music is a key part of media! Without tap shoes, we would not have this interesting type of dance that many people are entertained while performing and while spectating. The video attached is of two men tap dancing outside of something like a clothing store, and you can see the amount of people that are watching. This proves that media happens in extraordinary ways in many places. 

History of Tap Dance Shoes

Lebron James "The Decision"

As an athlete, there may come a time when you have to decide what team you are going to play for. However in most cases when choosing the team to play for, they don't get to decide on national television with millions of people watching. Now many people felt that Lebron James was wrong for making his decision broadcasted for millions, but there was a lot of good that came out of it. Even though Lebron did choose to go away from his hometown of Ohio, he did raise more than 2 million dollars for the boys
& girls clubs of Akron. Bringing 60,000 in to fix a leaky roof, refurbished a beaten down gymnasium, and paid for a new playground. Now this is just 60,000 of the 2 million. It is amazing to see that a simple choice can change the lives of so many people, and the change was able to be made because of TV and media overall.

Benefit of Lebron James "The Decision"

Pool Tables

One thing that brings people together is sports. Whether it be a athletic sport game or a small recreational sport. One recreational sport that I feel can be connected to media is the game of billiards or "pool." Now at first thought you may not think that these two are connected, however when it comes to media the game of pool is important. When you think of a game of pool you have to think of where it is played. One obvious option is in a household, which can be played alone or with other people. Say you have a gathering at your house, one of the things that people would be doing is playing pool and conversating at the same time. Therefore, making media! Another common place that a pool table is seen is in a bar. This is a source of media because it brings people together at the bar, again making it media. It is hard to say when and where the game of pool was started, however it was started as a game on the lawn. It was then moved to a table so it would be easier on people's backs. The game of pool has come far from when it was played on the ground back in the day, check out the video attached for some pool trick shots!

History of Pool Tables

Sirius XM Radio

Music is a key part of media, and now there are many different ways of listening to it. One of the top music resources in today's world is using satellite radio. Some top names in the Satellite radio world is Sirius radio and XM radio. In 2007 the two major companies merged together forming a satellite radio superpower. The benefit of this radio is that you can choose the genre of music you want to listen to, or a talk show hosted by big names including Howard Stern. The merger was a big deal because according to company executives it will soon lead to major cost savings and the first-ever profits in the fledgling industry. The combination brought 18.5 million subscribers to the company making it making it the second largest radio company in the country. Thanks to this merger people can enjoy the superpower of radio, in their vehicles or homes.

Merger Information Website