Hot Spots in Immunology

• Vaccination
  Due to a falsified study published by an unscrupulous doctor, vaccination has become the public scapegoat for Autism. A huge amount of research has been done to verify this connection. Each new study has found the original claim of vaccines causing Autism to be false, but the public belief still exists. Many parents have gone to great lengths to prevent the vaccination of their children. The nation has recently been suffering from outbreaks of Measles, a virus that can be easily be kept out of the population when the majority of citizens are vaccinated. The reported cases and death toll of this outbreak are climbing fast. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/13/health/measles-update-cdc-800-cases/index.html

• Balancing Potency and Side Effects in Cancer

Hot Spots in Public Broadcasting

• The End of Culturally Diverse Public Broadcasting- With the Trump Administration’s federal budget cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the National Endowment for the Arts, several public broadcasting stations like radio stations could lose their major source of funding. One of the groups affected by these budget cuts are Native American communities; if these communities no longer receive the funding necessary to operate their public broadcasting systems, they would be unable to provide diverse cultural programming, including broadcast tribal meetings. (“Native American Public Broadcasting Will Not Survivewithout Federal Funding” )

• A New Beginning for Politically Diverse Broadcasting- Public broadcasting systems are no longer federally required to air contrasting political views since the end of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, which stated that all federally funded broadcasting stations must balance their viewpoints. The blame for the demise of this law is focused on “anti-regulation republicans” who dominate the airwaves. Others argue that dominant viewpoints in broadcast media depend on the current dominant political party in the United States. (“Broadcasters Should Be Required to Air a Variety of Opposing Views”)

• Parental Regulation vs. Federal Regulation- Unlike the previous two viewpoints, this shifts the power of broadcasting to those who receive it. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report on violent television programs and its effects on children. It was concluded that children should limit the amount of violent programming they receive. Partisans of the FCC suggested that government mandates should be in place to regulate violent media, but others strongly encouraged that regulation shouldn’t come from the government but was the responsibility of the parents with small children and their access to violent media. (“Parents Should Regulate Their Children’s Exposure to Violence on Television” )

The BYU Broadcasting Building in Provo, Utah

I have worked at BYU Broadcasting as a Broadcast Technician in the Network Operations Center (known among other BYUB people as "Master Control" or "The TV People") for a year and half. It has given me a greater appreciation for the intricacies of broadcasting. However, BYU Broadcasting is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is funded by private donors; it receives no federal funding and therefore is not "public" broadcasting. So when the government cuts federal funding for public broadcasting, i.e. media that only exists through government financial aid, several important outlets are affected negatively, such as minority groups like Native Americans who use their public broadcasting systems for much more than entertainment. I can't imagine being at the will of the government to handle such important cultural aspects of public broadcasting and I would like to explore this issue further. 

Image Credit:  BYUTV.org 

Churchill: Shooing Away Doubts

I have never listened or read the “Sinews of Peace” speech from Winston Churchill and I was rather ignorant about the origins of the “Iron Curtain” metaphor. I love listening to audio tracks from before the boom of technology. 

The Importance of Taped Media

I work in broadcasting and over this past summer, I worked on a special project where I converted old tapes (legit film reels and such) into digital media. It was crazy hard and I was terrified I was going to destroy the sensitive material. But I gained a perspective on how broadcasting and media worked before the digital age where most systems are now automated. I have a greater appreciation for historical media such as the Churchill.

Painting of Winston Churchill via Wikimedia Commons

Rhetoric of Peace

As far as rhetoric for the speech, I want to lead this analysis with an important part of the audio that is not written. From what I assume are journalists or radio commenters documenting the event, saying things along the lines of “Churchill is wearing a red robe to signify academia, etc., etc.,” one of the most interesting comments occurred while the speakers transitioned, and it was noted that Churchill “shooed” away photographers. This comment encapsulates the importance of the “Sinews of Peace” speech as well as the tone that Churchill wanted to leave with the audience members. Simplistically, Churchill intended with the contents of his speech as well as this action that this was not about him or his role in public media but about the changes that the Allies can create together.

During the written components of the speech, whenever Churchill refers to himself this concept of focusing on others is still apparent, because Churchill literally says it himself: “There is nothing here but what you see,” and “This is no time for generality and I will venture to be precise.” By clarifying that there is no “fluff” in this talk, Churchill attempts to appeal to ethos by establishing authority that is simple and difficult for the audience to misunderstand.

Selflessness over Selfishness  

This was effective for the audience because it did draw attention to the overarching topic that Churchill called “the unestimated sum of human pain” in a “sad and breathless moment.”  Considering that this speech was delivered during the tail-end of war started for what could be argued as selfish reasons, the tone of the speech derailed that selfishness and united those who may be weary of world leaders or doubting the future unity and effectiveness of the Allies.