Okay dolls, by now you've realized that I am in fact a student. In fact, I'm a student with a marketing minor! And, I'm currently taking a class that encourages us to submit assignments via blog! Lo and behold.... I HAVE A BLOG!
I'll try to make these assignments fun for my general public to read... so enjoy them, gain some of my knowlege and insight, and sit tight through these fourteen posts that will be showing up in upcoming weeks!
XOXO!
MRK Assignment One:
1. Find an issue or a story that is currently getting a lot of media attention. Identify as many media sources as you can, ranging from a short clip in a local newspaper to feature segments on TV news shows to blog entries on the Internet, that refer to this topic. 2. Discuss how the messages differ between media sources and identify any common threads that you may see.
3. As an extra challenge try to document the originator of this media buzz by finding a press release or some other type of press announcement issued by a PR agency or some other stakeholder in this issue.
4. Find advertisements about the subject of this issue, if they exist, and compare them to the media coverage both in content and the media in which they appear.
Being a self-proclaimed gossip-queenie, I of course had to relate this assignment to the world of celebrity. And what could be bigger in the Celebrity World right now, other than Chris Brown and Rihanna.
In case you’ve been living under a rock and have missed it, the short version of this story is this, as written in the February 19 issue of Cedar Crest College’s student newspaper, The Crestiad, story written by me, “on February 8, 2009, both Chris Brown and Rihanna missed their Grammy appearances. Allegedly, Chris Brown received a text message for a “booty call” from an unknown woman, which sparked an altercation between the two, allegedly resulting in Brown kicking, punching and biting Rihanna, leaving serious bruising, swelling, a split lip and a bloody nose on the “Disturbia” singer’s face.
According to thesuperficial.com , “According to the police report, she ordered him to drive her home and ‘faked a call’ to someone, saying things like, ‘He's dropping me off. Make sure the cops are there.’ Rihanna told cops the fake call enraged Brown. He said something to the effect of ‘You are really fucked up now. I'm going to kill you.’”
Already on this topic, cited are two different sources, The Crestiad and www.thesuperficial.com. However, a number of different sources have been covering this story.
Blogs for this include my own, (betsyskotchblogs.blogspot.com), thesuperficial.com, perezhilton.com, wwtdd.com, mediatakeout.com, TMZ and a ton more.
Magazines such as People, Star, US Weekly, OK!, In Touch Weekly and more have covered this story. MTVNews and MTVnews.com have covered it. Entertainment Tonight, The Daily 10, The Soup and E! News have all talked about Chris Brown and Rihanna. And, this issue has even caught the attention of CNN, FOXNews, CBS News, The Insider, The New York Times, and even TIME. You literally cannot intake any source of media without hearing something about Chris Brown’s assault on Rihanna, whether or not he will be facing jail time, his actual sentencing, and anything else that people can choose to talk about.
Overall, the similarities between all of these sources are overwhelming. Each of them discusses the details of what Rihanna looked like after the attack, why the attacked occurred, and each speculate on what will happen next for the two. Many of the blogs and news articles have the same exact quotations, cited from the same places.
For example, an article in People states: “According to a search warrant in the case, Rihanna, 21, read a three-page text message from a woman on Brown's phone, which led to an argument. Brown – who was charged with two felonies Thursday – allegedly tried to force his girlfriend out of the Lamborghini, and hit her head against the passenger window. Rihanna then ‘turned to face Brown and he punched her in the left eye with his right hand,’ says the paperwork. ‘He then drove away in the vehicle and continued to punch her in the face with his right hand while steering the vehicle with his left hand.’”
Similarly, on thesuperficial: “A FOX affiliate has acquired police notes from the scene that detail the attack which was initiated after Rihanna read "a three-page text message from another woman" on Chris' phone. TMZ reports: Brown then allegedly shoved Rihanna's head against the passenger window. When Rihanna turned to face him, Brown punched her, then continued punching her while driving, according to the detective's notes.”
Currently, there is a press release out from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, as to what Chris Brown has been charged with. That release can be found at: http://da.lacounty.gov/mr/030509a.htm.
WiredPRNews.com also has a release alleging to the outcome of Chris Brown’s charges at: http://www.wiredprnews.com/2009/03/05/chris-brown-may-get-plea-deal_200903052633.html
And, yet another Press Release, this time on Rihanna, can be found at: http://www.rushprnews.com/2009/02/21/rihanna-brakes-her-silence-about-alleged-beating/
I honestly believe that the picture of Rihanna after the incident is it’s own form of advertisement against domestic violence. (Picture seen at: http://assets.gearlive.com/celebrities/blogimages/rihanna_bruises.jpg)
However, there are many advertisements that speak out against Domestic Violence, including http://www.adrants.com/images/womens_aid.jpg, http://womenshealthnews.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/cityofhopearm.jpg, and http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs8/i/2005/335/0/1/Domestic_Violence_Ad_2_by_Quezzi.png.
Something that I found interesting about these advertisements are that they are all showing a female being abused by what is presumed to be a male, which I found interesting because of the fact that it could go either way, or there could be abuse in a homosexual relationship.
However, it is interesting especially to compare the first advertisement to the photo that TMZ posted of Rihanna after her attack. The two are virtually identical.
It’s hard to compare these domestic violence advertisements with the actual story of Chris Brown and Rihanna. Sadly, there are more reports of the Chris Brown and Rihanna story than there seem to be of visible print advertisements against the subject in the media. It’s rare that people are speaking out about Domestic Violence, and more rare, it seems, to find an advertisement showing that people are there to help against Domestic Violence.
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