Who am I? -Kevin Venkatesh

     My name is Kevin and I am a media studies major with a concentration in Emerging Media. Media can be described in so many different ways but in the end it all depends on what it means to one person.  Almost a century ago, media consisted of daily newspapers and word of mouth. People would line up to grab the latest scoop on newsworthy events. Today, we lie in bed and scroll over thousands of stories on our smartphones each day and think nothing of them. That is how integrated media is with our lives. I am no exception.
     Most days I wake up, check my phone and open up the internet. I see stories of hostages being held in Iraq and Afghanistan right next to a story about the movie American Sniper breaking box office records. I click on the latter first. The role of media years ago was to expose the public to the world and to its current events. Though it is still a major role of media today, its focus has shifted. It has moved to what celebrities are saying about each other, what they wore at award shows, and their controversial tweets that they have to apologize publicly for.
      I know this. I know that media is supposed to have a deeper purpose than Justin Bieber's hair new hairstyle, but I do not look for it. Though I do not pay attention to media's original purpose, I still see one. I make one. I give media meaning and life. Not just by consuming it, but by creating it. When I am editing a photo in photoshop, or cutting a video in premiere, I know that it will be available for everyone to see.
      My relationship to media can be described as grateful. Many people complain that their new single on sound cloud isn't getting as many hits as they want, or that their YouTube video only has 500 views. But they DO have videos up. They DO have songs uploaded. And EVERYONE can experience them. I am no exception. I am grateful that I can find anything that my heart desires through media. I am grateful that I can click on an article on CNN or Yahoo News. I am grateful that people scroll past my work lying in bed while on their smartphones.

The fight against IS continues. Meanwhile, bored stranded students dance away at airport. Plus, stay tuned for actress Uma Thurman's new look. Oh, and car chase. 

This is a video of newspaper workers scrambling to get the public their news.

This is a video of a teen today who went brain dead from being on her phone 24/7. (Its by the Onion by the way so its fake, but a great contrast from the first video)