Global Media News

Fascination with Korean tv Drama

It feels like it was just yesterday when I was channel surfing one night and stumbled on an Asian show with sub-titles. It seemed interesting, so I continued to watch it. A few days later I found myself at 11pm watching the same show. Like a bait to a fish I was hooked. I loved the story line, the music, and I loved the culture.

This was in 2004 when I lived in Philadelphia, nine years later back in New York City I find myself more in-depth with  the Korea culture and their language. I can tell if someone is speaking Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. I know how to say thank you, hello, good-bye, and how are you. If someone is speaking Korean I can even catch words and phrases and know their meaning. I can attribute all of this to my watching of Kdramas.

I never thought this would be a phenomenon, until four years ago when my niece who also lives in Philadelphia was watching a Kdrama via online. I wasn't really surprised my niece was fascinated with Kdrama, because as a child she was engrossed in Japanese anime movies, and tv shows. She even took Japanese as a second language in grade school. She actually got into the kdrama because her other aunt would watch it and she fell in love with the culture.

I was shocked never knew it was online, I never imagined or thought to google it. My niece told me all the platforms that were available to watch not only Kdramas, but dramas from China, Japan, and Taiwan. The site is Drama Style, Viki(similar to hulu), Drama Fever, and there were more. On these sites there were also movies, and American movies as well. It was great.

Kdrama can be watched by all ages. The dramas are very PG. There are also all types of dramas such as a family drama, an action drama, a teen drama, and historical dramas. Unlike American dramas where sex is displayed all the time, in Kdramas kissing is like having sex.

According to PR Newswire, Tom Larsen, President, YA Entertainment.

"The 'Korean Wave' and high quality K-dramas have captivated US audiences, including a growing viewership turned off by the sex, gore, and violence that drives today's American entertainment industry."

Could it be Americans want to watch something that has a happy ending. Even if it fake and very unrealistic. Are Americans over the raunchiness and over the top sex craze on tv. Maybe. This past year we have lost iconic daytime soap operas that's been on for years on tv. One by one we are losing what made American soap a hot thing to watch.

The best thing about a Kdrama is (drumroll please) they end. A storyline ends and I can watch another. Most of the shows can run about 16-20 episodes and is about an 30-45 minutes per episode. Others can be 50 episodes, but those are usally the long dragging ones that needed to end around episode 30. Historical dramas can be around 150 episodes depending on the storyline.

I love watching my Kdramas and the fact that I am able to pick up and watch it whenever I am  available is great.

 

 

 

Global Media News Webcast #4: February 21, 2013

Media News from Russia, Hungary and Poland!

Global Media News for February 21, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media News from Russia, Hungary and Poland"

• Russia vs. YouTube
• Russian Twitter Bots Blocking Tweets
• When is Lenin not Funny? Polish Ads Pulled
• Hungarian Censorship of the Internet
• Lurkmore?  Promoting Suicide and Drug Use?
• Can the RU Stamp out "Gay Propaganda" on the Internet?
• Dash Cam Follies:  The Russian Craze for Road Rage Porn

Next week on GMN:   Media News from Japan and both Koreas.

Listen to our webcast streaming live next Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, February  28, 2013.

Subscribe Now!

Russian Protestors Caught on Film

In late December 2011 an abundance of videos were taken about the Russian protestors taking to the streets demanding a fair election. This is coming off the heels of the rigged election, the people had enough of their leader Putin. 

Robert Mackey of the New York Times report: 

 "Tens of thousands of Russians filled a street named for the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov on Saturday, demanding fair elections."

The people flooded the streets with signs that mostly displayed their anger towards the current prime minister in hopes that the government's reacts to the protest. Several videos have went viral that Russian people wanted their freedom of speech and  protection of the Russian constitution. The video brought different reactions to other countries around the world. 

 

Belgium's Tomorrowland Set To Take The Festivities Worldwide

The mega festival known as "Tomorrowland" could be coming to a continent near you. The festival is in the works of having its world famous performances all around the world. The festival is hosted in Belgium every year in June, and it caters to over 180,000 fans. Last year the waiting list for tickets was over 2 million people. The event is hosted and organized by Dutch Entrainment company called ID&T. The worlds top DJ's play at this festival every year.

One of the founders of Tomorrowland is quoted saying “It’s our ambition to organize a Tomorrowland on every continent"

 

The announcement came on January 29th.

 

My opinion on this is that, I think through the use of social media networks such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook people are able to see first hand what these festivals are like. Numerous videos and pictures are put up every year of this awesome festival and it gains recongniton very fast. So I think that bringing the festival around the world is a very good idea. The after movie of last years festival can be found here.  The Electronic Dance Music scene has and is still increasing over the past year, and by having this festival here in the United States will give fans an opportunity to see this concert live instead of having to watch videos on Youtube of the festival.

Here is a picture from the festival last year.

 

 

 

Google Governing Free Speech!

    Have you ever thought of google as a quasi state, because that is what is has become.  In 2010 the New York Times wrote an article called “Google Searches for a Foreign Policy”. This concept of google having a foreign policy is still relevant today.  The most recent example would be the current hype around the Muslim “hate” video. The article written over two years ago discusses the idea that companies like google need to have a foreign policy for the US government has yet to come up with a solid foreign policy in the digital world. This is still true today.  The article brings up a very good point,

“...the fact that the World Wide Web is no longer just a force for freedom and diversity but also a tool for repression. Governments use it to spy on dissidents, human rights activists, and other troublesome elements.This change happened so fast that it left the foreign policy establishment gasping to catch up”

It seems that companies like Google should be sitting at the tale with government leaders writing foreign policies and deciding what information should be free and to whom.  Does everyone realise that a corporate company, where there are no elected officials and no representation by the people has the control over our freedoms!

Should Google Have The Power To Censor?

      The most recent example of Google choosing when and what to censor had to do with an Anti-Islam video on Youtube. A very interesting article on the topic was posted on the Global Voices Advocacy web page b Jill York. The article titled, “In Censoring Anti-Islam Video, Did Google Do The Right Thing?” is very self explanatory to the topic of discussion.

    According to the article written by Jill York, the video was made by an American Coptic Christian, with the purpose of inciting anger in Muslims. The video was aired on Egyptian television last week, and is said to have sparked protests outside the American Embassy in Cairo. These protests arose in several other countries including Afghanistan.

    Afghanistan's governemnt along with several other countries blocked the video, but a concern arises when Google decides what countries are to be blocked from the viewing the video. Does Google have the right to censor a country from viewing a video, without a legal request? Google decided to block both Libya and Egypt from viewing the video along with several other countries. It is said that the White House had put pressure on Google to block the video, but ultimately the decision came from Google, not the governments of these countries. The video did not break any of Youtube's Terms of Service.

    This is just one recent example of google choosing who to censor. A serious concern is raised about censorship, who has the power and is it taking away our liberties?

    The digital revolution has put Google in a very powerful global position. Another article that discusses the Anti-Muslim video found on WashingtonPost.com, makes several points about the role Google plays in global freedom of speech. The article called, Google’s restricting of anti-Muslim video shows role of Web firms as free-speech arbiters says,

“Both government and Google officials said the company made its own decision after the White House raised the issue of the video on Tuesday, the day that U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Personal Pos “We reached out to YouTube to call the video to their attention and asked them to review whether it violates their terms of use,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said on Friday.”

    Google truly has the power to decide what is seen globally. In the past Google had complied with Chinese government and censorship laws before it moved its headquarters to Hong Kong. You can view Nazi propaganda on Google.com but not on Google.de. Google and US government officials have both said that freedom of speech is now in the hands of the web, mainly Google and Facebook.

    Now Google has Terms of Service that they don’t always adhere to, and when violence and death result from a video that is streamed through their company it does raise concerns. I believe that Google has every right to block a video if it has a global effect of violence. Although the White House did request the video to be blocked, it was the choice of Google to do so.

    For those of you living in the US, who wish to watch the video, it is still available on youtube. I do not wish to promote a hate video, so if you have a desire to watch it, go online and do the research to find it!

Don't Steal From Weird Al !

 

    Weird Al Yankovic, through his company Ear Booker Enterprises, is suing Sony Music Entertainment for five million dollars. One of the  reasons behind this lawsuit is that Sony Music made wrongful sales, which resulted in great under payments. Another reason for the suit is that the company was also paying Yankovic the price for downloads sales instead of the 50% that license sales are suppose to get. Additionally, claims have been made saying that Sony Music hasn't shared any money it received from lawsuit settlements cites such as Napster, Kazaa and Grokster.

    The lawsuit stated that Sony Music accepted a piece agreement with YouTube in exchange for providing the site with the company's advertisement. At that time, Sony Music was given a piece agreement  with Al.  Yankovic's "White & Nerdy" video was one of  the most popular vidoes on the site. The suit says, "a portion of Sony's equity share in YouTube is directly apportionable and allocable to "White and Nerdy," as well as other content created by Yankovic".

 

 The Inquisitr states that,  "Eminem won a case in federal Supreme Court and in March Sony settled a class action lawsuit for $8 million, that lawsuit was settled over similar terms". Similarly, the rapper sued his record label, Universal Music Group, "for the way royalties are calculated for digital music on whether they are considered a license or a sale." Richard Busch, who is a partner from the Nashville-based firm, is already known for winning cases against the Universal Music Group for treating downloads as a sale instead of a license and now the major has to pay Eminem's former production company, F.B.T. Productions, 50% of net fees from download sales.

 

 

 

Youtube Loses Copyright Battle in Germany

According to Huffington Post, a German court is accusing youtube of having copyright infringement and is totally responsible for it. On Friday, it was ruled that youtube install filters to prevent users from uploading music videos that belong to the German industry music group (GEMA). For allowing users to upload the videos and songs, youtube may be required to pay for all the clips uploaded.

According to the Washington Post, youtube claims that it does not control what users upload and that the ruling for filters will slow down the rate of users uploading videos to the site since every video will be checked for infringement. "It would jeopardize not only YouTube but every other innovative service on the Internet that allows users to submit content by forcing them to implement filtering” youtube states. To obey the ruling, youtube took down videos that seemed suspicious of copyright due to complaints.

Usually youtube offers software to copyright owners, so that they can identify their songs and videos and they can flag content that is infringed. Now the court in Germany, Hamburg, ruled that youtube has to do the job for the copyright owners meaning every time a video is flagged, youtube has to use the software to flag the videos and prevent any further infringement.

GEMA members state the lawsuit is a great success because it is making Youtube have some responsibility for videos and it will protect their videos. Google spokesman Kay Overbeck also claims it the lawsuit was a partial success because it created opportunities for growth in legal security and developments in Germany. Overall, the company will have to review the complaints from the ruling before making decisions and actually make the lawsuit successful.

 

Digital VS Traditional Advertisement

 There is a rapid growth of people spending more time on the Internet, and this growth has generated a new market for advertising; the digital advertisement.  Traditional advertisement such as News Papers, TV and Radio are still being used but there is a drastic shift from traditional to digital advertisement.

According to a Wall Street Journal article "The digital marketing research firm says U.S. spending on online ads will hit $25.8 billion, surpassing the $22.8 billion spent on print ads in newspapers”.  Companies are spending more on internet ads because they are looking for away to specifically market to people that will actually purchase their product. Online advertisement does just that, it guarantees that the people who are viewing your ads are the one who will most likely purchase it. Online Advertisement is able to do this by using program like Google’s Adwords and AdSense. The functions of these programs are used to match up advertisers with targeted individuals verse a wide audience traditional advertisement.  

"U.S. users spend 12 hours per week online, which represents about 32 percent of their media time. However, online advertising makes up only 13.6 percent of advertising spend in the U.S." Susan Wojcicki, VP Public Policy and Communications, Google

There is a Wall Street Journal article that argues “There's a realization that online advertising, in general, is not as effective as advertising during big events” For example the Grammy’s and the Superbowl attracts a large audience. People are more focused and are interested in the advertisements. However, traditional Advertising can be very expensive, a magazine ad can cost several hundred dollars, radio and television commercials are even more. During a major event the prices are even more money.  If your company has a small budget, internet advertising can be also much more cost efficient.  In a Huffingtonpost article, Pepsi started its shift to a Direct Response Marketing during the 2011 SuperBowl. Pepsi moved their entire TVC to online advertisement and social media.

 

21 Century Revolution Tools Used in Egypt

 

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were very important for the revolution in Egypt. The revolution in Egypt took place on January 25 2011 for 18 days. The main goal was to stop the corruption and to create a better lifestyle for the Egyptian people.  The revolution was conceived by a group of young middle class people, who used social networking sites to express their views and concerns.  Videos were uploaded onto Youtube from Initiative Media.

 
A New York Times article written by David Kirkpatrick this past February discussed the social networking tactics used for the Revolution. It all started when a small group of young Egyptians created Facebook group that gained over hundreds of thousands of members and used the page to promote the early protests in Cairo. The social networking groups soon turned into a digital revolution. The groups organized to rebel against the Egypt Political system, and soon became physical by having protest and holding positions in the Egyptian squares.

“We can breathe fresh air, we can feel our freedom,” said Gamal Heshamt, a former independent member of Parliament. “After 30 years of absence from the world, Egypt is back.”

In a CNN article written by Emily Banks in Febuary 2011 talks about how the Egyptian government quickly found out that the protests in the streets were being organized over Facebook and Twitter. In an attempt to stop the revolution the government blocked Facebook and twitter and shut down internet access.The government drastic atempts, still could not keep the Egyptian people’s desire for justice and change. Some people found ways to get around the block until access was fully restored. The Egyptian Revolution was a success.  The Egyptian president Mubarak stepped down from his position 18 days after the protest began on January 25 2011. What does this mean for World politics? Can the government just shut down the internet because they dont like whats going on?