MCOM 4003 - Colby Clinton

Behind the Camera Agendas and Ethics. I'm a very harsh movie critic. Movies are one of, if not my favorite, pastime. Reading about movies, checking the box office for movies, writing movies, watching movies, I love everything to do about the film industry. I wouldn't mind working in Hollywood, maybe I could help clean out the filth that exists there. I believe there's a recurring issue in the film industry, and as awful as it sounds, it's inclusion. The current state of movies, as well as informed reviews and box office numbers, are being diluted by the inclusion or targeting of particular groups. Of course, I don't mean to offend anyone in this. I'm talking about what I see going on in the film industry, an industry I pay great attention to. Hollywood is currently the biggest it's ever been . Avengers: Endgame just shattered film and entertainment records across the boards a few days ago. However, the United States, and the world even, is arg...

The Freedom to Know. The Freedom of Information Act " has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine  exemptions  which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement." In Layman's terms, it's the peoples right to ask the Government for information about disclosed events or documents. Most documents that the public would want information to fall under one of the nine exemptions, but there are a few exceptions such as the JFK files . A recent FOIA news story I've found discusses Google and their work with the military and drones. The Pentagon recently determined that Google's work with drones and the military is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. It's bee...

When is enough actually enough? The importance of media laws and media ethics doesn't go unnoticed. Overarching laws that protect, or limit, certain activity online are in effect in almost every country. Of course, the extent of these laws vary by country,  Australia recently enacted new legislation to punish social media companies for failing to police their platform for violent content. The Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material bill was enacted after the Christchurch shootings in mid-March. The bill comes after the shootings was mass broadcasted on Facebook Live . The bill allows for the Australian government to enact fines on companies such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The bill and Australian government are currently under some scrutiny due to the seemingly rushed process of enacting the bill before consulting major media companies. There is also the worry that with the implementation of such measures, actual speech could be accidentally censored. YouTube is alr...

Overburdened with Embarrassment: The Importance of Fact-Checking. No doubt that journalism and reporting is one of the most important aspects of our lives. It's how we get our news from across the globe. How we are informed is the basis for forming our own opinions on political and social issues. What if we were informed of wrong information? It happens all of the time ! In part thanks to the growing popularity and use of social media as a news platform, misinformed news is only becoming more constant. One of the most popular brands of misinformation is election and political misinformation . There are multiple sides to this issue that reverberates the base issue of being misinformed, such as believing everything you read on the internet and rumors spreading rapidly. Some people still believe that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States . This rumor began circulating as an email chain and internet meme that gained ground onto the political spectrum, appearing on ...