Old media x New media

For a long time, people used to get information / news from newspapers and television. Recently, in the last years (20^th century), the internet became popular and people started to get information and they do research on line. Now, we can get information from newspapers, television, organizations and also by internet. When we talk about new media and old media, we always have a discussion about credibility. We will always ask if one media will disappear instead of another. Also, we think which one is currently used. Is that one which people used more often? When new media starts, people thought that old media would disappear. Old and new media are being used by different people for different reasons and also both kinds of media can be valuable.

Both old and new media are used to giving us information. First of all, we will talk about old media. According Wikipedia, old media or legacy media are traditional means of communication and expression that have existed since before the advent of the new media of the Internet. Industries that are generally considered part of the old media are broadcast and cable television, radio, movie, and music studios, newspapers, magazines, books and most print publications. Second, we need to understand what new media is. According Wikipedia, new media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital computerized or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20^th century. Most technologies described as “new media” are digital like internet, websites, computer media, computer games, CD-ROMS, and DVDs. All types of media are present in the lives of people every day and have been used by them.

Old media will not disappear because of new media. I believe that both types of media will work together. They already are working together. People who used to read newspapers, have that habit and they will not stop doing that because internet. They will continue to buy newspapers and read. They need to manipulate the paper. But at same time, they can do some research by internet to get more information. Also, the old generation usually doesn’t get along with new technology; they start to use email, some internet research and cell phone but they don’t know what a blog is or how to make a website but, of course that’s a general statement. The new generation, on other hand, has more ability with new media. They know how to use, fix and research it, but if their parents care about the education, they will also stimulate them to use old media, like read newspapers, books, magazines, radio etc. In addition, school will do that also. They would be a part of old media and at same time they have more ability to work with new media. According to the website old media new tricks, (http://www.oldmedianewtricks.com/old-media-vs-new-media-battle-to-the-death/), the media landscape continues to change but that doesn’t mean it’s a fight –to- the- death between old media and new media. I believe that both will still be used. For some people, old media is too slow, but if we talk about credibility, they think old media will always have more credibility than new media, because new media everyone can post any kind of material, information without even checking if the information is correct, without a scientific research. The same website says old media is good at doing some “heavy lifting” when it comes to verifying information. I believe that people will keep getting information in both media.

Even though most people think new media is used more, old media is still popular. I got surprised with the information I read on the website mashable.com. They said that Network TV news (like NBC, CBS, ABC) is still used by the highest percentage of adult Internet users, with local newspapers and local TV news occupying the 2^nd and 3^rd positions, respectively, in a recently released survey from Ketchum (2008). According to that website, old media is still on top and media consumption habits are quickly changing. Now people also, are using blogs (by 24% of Internet users, up from 13% in 2006), social network (by 26% of Internet users, up from 17% in 2006), video casts (by 11% of Internet users, up from 6% in 2006), and RSS feeds, Podcasts and business news sites growing between 5 to 8%. We can see that people don’t stop using old media instead of new media. They are complementary. People still are using both.

Credibility is an important issue for both old media and new media. Credibility is the quality or power of inspiring belief or capacity for belief according Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. In addition, Wikipedia has also the definition of credibility which is “Traditionally, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise”. So, how do you decide which media has more credibility? The key for that answer is if the media (old media or new media) has someone with trustworthiness and expertise behind the information, they have credibility. We can’t say that new media doesn’t have credibility, because that depends on who is behind the website or blog. If it is some expert, someone who really knows what they are talking about, I believe that the website has credibility. Also, for example, when serious website posts some information, they need to talk with many people to make an essay and post there. I mean, they talk with people who have the knowledge. At same time, some people think newspaper has credibility, and I think that’s depends on who is behind the information. One type of media is not more credible than the other. In both types of media you can find not trustworthy, not well done writing with mistakes. You also find reliable information in both medias.

As a conclusion, I believe that old and new media will be used by people independent of people’s skill. Old media will not disappear because new media. They are additional and valuable. New technologies will appear and still will be complementary. And when I talk about credibility, again, we have to think about who is behind that information. If it is someone who has the knowledge, if they are an expert, no matter if we talk about old or new media, usually we have to trust the information. We always will find good and bad newspapers, websites, etc.

Life experiences in another country

I moved to the United States four years ago. It was May 2006. The weather was great! Berkeley had flowers all over. I came here to learn English and improve myself! My biggest challenge was I couldn’t speak English when I got here. I could understand when people were talking to me, but I couldn’t reply to them. My second challenge was being far away from my family and friends. Even thought I had all those challenges, I decided to move to the United States, learn a new language, improve myself, learn about myself and face all my challenges and that would be the most important experience in my life.

My first plan when I decided to learn a new language was to go to Canada. I had friends there and I would share a house with them. But things happened and because of my job in Brazil, I re-contacted someone who was living in Berkeley for a long time. I was organizing information for a book about her grandfather and I got her email address and we started to exchange emails. I knew that girl since I was three years old, from school. We used to study together until I was fifteen years old. We started to talk by internet and she invited me to live with her for a few months without paying anything. Of course, I would help somehow with utilities or food, but I didn’t have to pay rent, so I would save money! When you decide to live in another country, you need to think about everything you have to pay to survive there. I had to pay for school; I was supposed to pay rent, utilities, food, transportation, and money for fun. Because she invited me to live without paying rent, even for few months that would represent less expense. That’s why I came to Berkeley: because I wanted to learn English and I could live for free with someone I knew since I was kid. I would save money going to Berkeley instead of Canada. In addition, I wasn’t sure if I could fit in any place different from my country, if I would like to be in any place abroad. So, saving money was good in that way too.

Living in another country is always a big challenge. We have a new language, a new place, no friends, and no family around. It was a culture shock. Especially in my case, I couldn’t speak the language, so I believe that my biggest challenge was to learn a new language to communicate. I went to a private school (LSI) for international people. I studied at that school for three months. I met people from the entire world. That was the best experience I ever had. I could see different backgrounds, cultures and languages. Some people I met at that time are still my friends even though they went back to their countries. After three months studying in that school, I realized that three months wasn’t enough to learn a new language and I decided to stay longer than that! I decided to study English, Spanish and communication here. Being here without speaking the language was a big challenge. I had to improve myself every day. I was studying hard, reading a lot, walking everywhere with dictionary. I had to find a way to express myself even though I couldn’t speak the language. My second big challenge was being far away from my friends and family. But I guess that was the easier part for me. I put in my mind that being here was a big opportunity for me and I didn’t want to create more problems. So I guess all the time I was happy because I was living here doing something I considered important for my life. I made a decision: I would make new friends and would keep in touch with my family and old friends by internet, phone and letter. That’s the best I could do, and that’s the best I did. I made so many friends from the entire world. Even when I didn’t know anyone here, I was happy being here. I didn’t feel lonely. I was happy because I was realizing a dream to study in other country. I had a lot of places to see and things to learn. San Francisco, Berkeley, Bay area, California… I had so many places to visit and a new culture to learn about. I have all the possibilities in front of me.

I have been living in the U. S. for four years. Every day, I still have a new challenge. I still think I have a lot to learn about the language and culture and that’s why I’m still living here. I feel like knowledge is never enough when you learn about another language and culture. Every day we learn something different. I’m still not happy with my English. I’m still facing my challenges day by day. I believe this opportunity to be in another country without knowing the language was one of the most important life experiences I have had. It was the best opportunity to improve myself in every single way, as a student and a person. I learned a lot about myself, because I was by myself. I had to find friends, find a place to live, and change schools. I had to survive! I have been learning a lot about people, about new cultures and new languages, not only English, but also Spanish and many other languages, because I have contact with people from the entire world. Living in Berkeley has been the richest experience I have had until now.

When dreams can be true

My name is Mariana. I’m a Brazilian Journalist and used to work with communication for so long… something like twelve years. I was working at communication department for my University (Pontific Catholic University) in Brazil, in Pocos de Caldas, for three years. Then I got surprise with big news. They laid me off! They laid me off on the same day I would complete three years at that job. It was my anniversary! Instead of someone saying congratulations, instead of hearing someone saying: “You have been working here for three years! Congratulations!” I got as a response: “You are laid off!.”.

When you lose your job, you feel lost because you don’t know how things are going to be. Everything is new again. When you lose your job you don’t have a floor to step on. I didn’t know if I would stay at the same city and look for a new job or if I would move back to my home town. That day, for long time, I was chocked. For four hours, I couldn’t think about anything. I was crying because I lost my job and didn’t know what to do. Because of that job, I moved to that city and that was the unique reason I was living seven hours from my family and friends. I couldn’t think about what to do. I was far from my home town, family and friends. Those hours, even though it was only four hours, were a very disturbing time, and after that, things started to get clear. I was thinking again! I realized that I would have the entire world, I could go anywhere, and all possibilities were in front of me! I realized that I could start something new. I thought I could start everything again, with a new beginning.

All movement starts with action! If you need to change something in your life, you need to take some action! I decided to move back to my home town. In that place I could be with my family and friends and also didn’t need to pay rent. I could look for a new job there and start to plan my new life. All I could think about was my new life! What could I do? I knew I needed to find my floor, to find a safe place to step on. The best place would be close to my family and friends. I called a moving company and asked them to check all the stuff I had at my apartment. I used to live in that city for three years, in a two bedrooms apartment by myself, so I had a lot of stuff like furniture, books, clothes, computer, bed, sofa, tables, chairs, plates, a fridge and the laundry machine. I packed everything and sent it to my town, Belo Horizonte, capital of my state, to my mother’s house. I called that company and made an appointment with them, and in less than 24 hours everything I had in my apartment was inside a truck. In less than 24 hours, I returned my keys to the apartment owner and I emailed my family and told them they would get all my stuff in 2 days. The unique thing I could think after “the tornado”, by which I mean lose my job, was, “now I can start everything again!”.

When someone has a dream, that person has to believe that dream can be true. My dream started to become true on the same day that I lost my job. All my imagination was vivid. I started to think about all the possibilities I could have in front of me. When you are thinking too much, like I was, you can’t sleep well because you can’t stop thinking about all the alternatives. My dreams were like a visual world map. Even when I wasn’t sleeping, I was thinking about all the possibilities the world could give to me! I was thinking all the time about where the next place would be. Because I was laid off, the place I used to work had to pay me a lot, so with that money I would realize my dream! With that money I would realize a dream I had when I was twelve-years-old. For me, in that moment, I thought I could go anywhere. I could go to Spain, Canada, and Australia. I have to confess I never thought I would be in The United States. I just knew I wanted to go somewhere, and learn a second language, but I wasn’t sure if it was English or Spanish. I knew on that day I would go somewhere! That’s was the best beginning!

All my friends in that city, from my job were shocked by the news I would go back to my home town. They couldn’t understand why I was so happy! Some of them thought that I was joking when I said I was moving to my home city. Some of them probably didn’t believe until now the fact I moved. I was so happy because I could start everything again. I would have extra money because I got laid-off and I could even live in another country. The truth is: dreams can be true. You need to believe and go for it! Sometimes, when people are in a bad situation, they think they don’t have any other option. I believe that, we always have an option! To lose a job isn’t something easy. It was disturbing and all my emotions were confused. At first I didn’t know what to do, but when I stopped to think clearly, and started to think about all the possibilities I would have around me, it made me feel that we can always find a solution. We always have a chance to start everything again. We can’t be afraid to start something new, because the new can be surprisingly good!