TV is Dying

This year has been the worst year for TV ever. People are unsubscribing from both their cable and broadband stations. Time Warner Cable lost 306,000 subscribers this year. CEO of charter communications told a Wall Street analysts that 1.3 million of the total 5.5 millions customers at Charter Communications don't want TV anymore.

The growth of TV has almost always stayed below 0% for the past two years(Graph by Citi Analyst Jason Bazinet).

Ratings are failing for almost all major TV stations, this isn't a problem with shows. This is because people aren't interested in what is being shown on TV anymore. I think people don't have the attention span to deal with TV shows anymore; at least not when they have the internet or smartphones that can pull up 801,000 separate pieces of information in .66 seconds.

Cable TV is about to dip below 40 million subscribers, this will be the lowest amount of subscribers in cable history.

The fact is that people don't need TV anymore. They can find almost anything on TV on their smart phones. They have Youtube or Netflix for their videos and TV shows. Then there are apps that alert people of significant news stories. The news is delivered to them by their phones instead of their mailmen and women.

TV stations are also not helping themselves. They are raising the prices to subscribe. The dwindling number of subscribers are having to pay more, and eventually they wont want to keep paying the high rates.

I don't know if it is good or bad that TV is slowly dying. I am a huge fan of some shows like Homeland, Breaking Bad, and SNL but I love some of the newest TV schemes like Netflix. Through Netflix I have been able to watch what I want, when I want. I don't have to wait for a weekly episodes on TV. Some shows on Netflix come out with the whole season in one go. The most recent season of Arrested Development was released at once. As an avid viewer of Arrested Development, I loved that Netflix decided to do that.

I think one of the huge reasons that TV is dying is because TV can't supply the viewer with their expectations of demand. Today, more than ever, people want things quick and easy. TV is so scheduled that it can't meet the viewers demands any more, therefore it is dying slowly but steadily. Do you think TV stations will do anything to combat this decline? How do you think they will? Do you still enjoy watching TV? or have you changed into an internet person?

Women's Rights in Iran - Depicted in a Different Light

Many americans think of Iran as a closed society, but just this past week a photo shoot was taken in the streets of Iran and published in a California based fashion magazine. These photos didn't depict any of the 'normal' photos that americans usually associate with Iran. These photos showed a woman in extravagantly colored clothes modeling in a Bazaar(market place in the Middle East).

This is a really interesting photo shoot and article for a couple of reasons. I think this is a milestone for Iran because of the way Iranians acted towards the photo shoot. Pourdad(the model) said "The response that I got from them(the people in the Bazaar) was amazing. I mean, I didn't have anybody who says no to it." The people were all appreciative of the photo shoot. I feel like this went against a preconceived view of mine.

I always looked at the women's rights equality issue in Iran as a gender problem. Men vs. Women. But like she said, all of the people were delighted by the photo shoot. It seemed like a much different view than I was accustomed too. When I heard about women's rights in Iran on the news, I learned about the issue in such short segments that I was left inferring things about the situation. I think the way news is presented can be misleading for viewers.

Also the fact that this was published in America is really cool. Publishing Iranian fashion in America is really interesting because I think most americans don't really know anything about Iran except for the problems that are broadcasted to americans. This gives Americans a common ground with the women of Iran and refers to the problem that the women of Iran face. I feel like this way of showing americans about Iran is much more constructive and interesting than a normal short clip on the news. Do you think the News is desensitizing to the american population? Do you think articles like this are more engaging to an audience or do you prefer the short clips on the news? What are some pros or cons of doing an article like this compared to a news segment devoted to women's rights? 

'Stand Your Ground' - A Cause for Concern

I couldn't help but get a little angry when I was looking through my newsfeed today. One of my Facebook "friends" had posted a link to a video with the caption "guns are a bad thing? it may have saved this veterans life."The sarcastic poster was in support of the right to bear arms. 

Watching this video and saying guns are a good things seems backwards to me. When I watched this video it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen: two men with guns, one protecting his things, the other trying to steal his things. It is remarkable that both of them were left unharmed.

While the veteran used the gun to threaten the robber. I believe that guns are ultimately a source of a lot of violence in America. I believe they take more lives than they save. In this case, they were both lucky enough to leave unharmed. But imagine if the robber never put his gun down. Imagine if he decided to try and continue his robbery. This story would have turned out a lot different.

There is a law called 'Stand Your Ground' and it basically means that if someone intrudes on your property and you can defend yourself and respond aggressively to the intruder; whereas you used to be told to try and retreat or flee the scene.

This is a controversial law because many people think this will lead to more homicides. And studies have shown that it does.  In a study done by Texas A&M researchers, it compares homicide rates in states with 'Stand Your Ground' with states that don't have 'Stand Your Ground.' As you can see, states with the 'Stand Your Ground' legislation experienced an increase of homicides. 

As you can see homicide rates went up in states that have the 'Stand Your Ground' act. Hoekstra (the creator of this study) said "We find that there are 500 to 700 more homicides per year across the 23 states as a result of the laws."

When discussing gun violence in America most people think to the 2nd Amendment: the right to bear arms. The creators of the constitution allowed the right to bear arms to protect the citizens of the United States. But when gun violence is taking more lives than it is saving, people must question if the right to bear arms is a safe law to keep in America.

I understand people want to defend themselves, but gun violence is taking its toll on America. With an annual 14,000 deaths per year because of guns, americans are worried. What do you think about the gun violence in america? 

Richard Dawkins: "Bin Laden has won"

Yesterday, world famous English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and critic of religion, Richard Dawkins was going through airport security when his jar of honey was confiscated. Dawkins, who is known for hard criticism, said “Bin Laden has won, in airports of the world every day.”

While it is stupid that Dawkins is so angry about a jar of Honey, he does make a point. Bin Laden and his terrorist organizations have created fear. They make people scared to fly on planes. They are the reason that airport security is so relentless in their procedures, but yet we still have problems.

Just last week there was a shooting at LAX. We can’t seem to end this. Whether it is a rogue person who is just insane, or if it is a direct attack from a terrorist organization, the violence won't stop.

People are scared and so airport security is very thorough. Dawkins may be mad about his honey, but would he rather have an unreliable and worthless security? Most likely not.

Do you think this fear is real? Are you scared of this? Do you agree or disagree with Dawkins?