Tagged: democracy

Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Colonizing the New Frontier: Bloggers Beware

 by ishein1 Newly elected president, Barack Obama, held his first official press conference on Monday evening.  This historically rich press conference on the surface was isomorphous with press conferences of the past.  This fact was accentuated by the presence of Helen Thomas, currently a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.  As she has done for the past four decades, and despite attempts by President Obama to lighten the moment, Thomas asked her usual critical and pertinent questions.  Obama responded as most past...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Entering the New Frontier, There is no Turning Back

by ishein1 As the first week of Obama’s presidency passes, a top priority, set forth prior to his election, is to transform “the internet based machinery”, that helped him get elected, into an agenda setting tool.  The millennial generation tools within a new frontier of political interaction, i.e. social networking sites, like facebook, twitter, and YouTube are still in their embryonic form, particularly with regard to their impact on the political process.  It is clear, however, that if one wants...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

The Hannity &…Hannity Program?

by ishein1 The ubiquity of news programs on contemporary American television is palpable.  The four major network stations all have their own sister news station.  It can be said, without many cavils, that the Fox news station, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, oscillates at varying degrees along the right side of the American political spectrum.  Fox News’ longest running and second highest rated program, only behind the O’Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes, at the end of the year...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

WhoseTube?

by ishein1 Two years ago, Google paid a copious, $1.65 billion to acquire the incipiently profitless Web site, YouTube.  This video sharing website’s meteoric rise was in part due to its software’s facileness and accessibility.  In this light, anyone with access to a computer and some gumption could post their own video.  In an effort to transform their costly addition into a revenue-producing agent, Google announced that it would begin selling space to advertisers on YouTube’s search results pages.  As...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Can You Vote?

by ishein1 After the complications arising from the 2000 election the Help America Vote Act was passed in 2002. States in an attempt to follow the guidelines of this act have found themselves in a precarious position. The provisions have created the unintended consequences of tens of thousands of potential voters being purged from voting rolls in nine states, six of which are key battleground swing states. As a result, federal law has been violated in two ways: voters have...