5 Radio Stations

1. Utah's light-rock favorites: 106.9 FM: music radio
While listening to this station, the advertisements and music content seemed to target a wider-ranged audience from teenagers to adults. The advertisements were for HD Radio and Ivory Homes, a home building business. The music played was light and relaxing like John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change." This station is successful because it appeals to many families who need wholesome and light music. The advertisements can also reach that specific group of people successfuly.
2. KSL: 102.7 FM: all news radio
Just when tuning in to this station, I heard the end of a political conversation about employee benefits and insurance policies with Obama and McCain's opposing views. The advertisements that followed included an underage drinking prevention promotion and a Ford Lincoln Mercury commercial. Based on this content, the station targets adults interested in politics or other national news. Its success is most likely reached because with so many national problems, the public wants to hear updates and also be able to call in and discuss these topics.
3. Truth Talk Live: 12o AM: talk radio
This station discussed gay marriage and included biblical references to the argument. One advertisement I heard was for Route 66 Life, an online Christian community as a way to find Christ. The content suggests an audience of any Christians or those that might want to know more about Christianity. The station's success could be atrributed to its individuality and its differing from other stations.
4. KSTAR: 140 AM: old time radio
When tuning in to this station there was an advertisment for auto insurance and the following music was oldies. This content targets the older generation and it's success is for that reason. The specialized focus on their needs creates great success.
5. My Country: 105.7 FM: music radio
The song playing when I tuned in was "I Saw God Today" by George Strait. The following advertisements included a local trunk-or-treat, TomTom, and HD Radio. The targeted audience is probably families with an interest in country music. Its success can be attributed to its content and support from local advertisers.

The Wenatchee World

I immersed myself in my hometown paper, the Wenatchee World to analyze the balance between soft and hard news. I noticed that most of the main section was filled with hard news. For that specific day, topics included the Iraq War, the 2008 election, the stock market crisis, Russia's economic problems, Canada's election, and Al-Qaida developments. The only real soft news in the main section was about text messaging elephants in Kenya... it was actually very entertaining. Soft news is mainly featured in other newspaper sections such as the entertainment or life sections. Some examples include comics, a feature story about Indian weddings, and Dear Abby letters. I would say that newspapers are definitely still the watchdogs they used to be. Many corruptions or issues are featured in newspapers on a daily basis. For example, there was a featured article about an error in John McCain's "Joe the plumber" example that he presented in a national debate. Newspapers never fails to report any small error or mistake.

"The Most Personal of the Media"

Radio is described as "the most personal of the media" for various reasons including its increase in specialization. Everyone can find a suitable station for their preferences and can connect through the power of music. Radio plays a wide selection of music, which is such an emotional part of our lives. An unknown author wrote, "Music is what feelings sound like." Everyone can connect through music. Whether it be country, rock, or classical, we all form an emotional attachment to music. Radio stations have become very specialized for their intended audience and everything from advertisements, commentary, and music aim at the particular audience. Talk radio has also become quite popular over the years. This can be attributed to the inclusion of the audience. People like to be heard, and this gives them a great opportunity to express their ideas and ask questions. Also, with politics and other recent "hot topics", the public likes to get involved and make their opinions known. Talk radio presents a great environment for this purpose. In 1983, only 53 radio stations had talk formats, compared with more than 1,000 today, while the total number of stations remained constant at 10,000, according to SABOMedia. Economics can be figured into talk radio's popularity because of advertising. SABOMedia also concluded that nothing moves a product more than a talk show host talking about it on air.

Newspapers

There are multiple ways in which metro daily newspapers have lost circulation over the years. One possible reason could be the advancement of the Internet. Since metro daily newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post circulate to a broad audience with specific interests, the Internet has become more efficient to meet their needs. For example, readers interested in classifieds and advertisements can now log on to Craigslist, which is much easier and more efficient. Also, these larger newspapers have extensive websites that are not available in print and they can be updated often to get the most current news topic. This ease many times eliminates subscriptions and has led to the decrease in metro daily circulations.
However, suburban dailies seem to be booming in the recent years. This could be attributed to their efforts to include local news and information that would not be found in other sources. My hometown paper, The Wenatchee World, includes letters from locals every day in which they address specific issues, congratulations, or random stories. Also included, are special events such as the annual Apple Blossom Festival. Over the few weeks of this festival, photos, contest results, and feature stories scatter the paper. This specialization increases subscriptions and these dailies can keep their audience better in focus than large circulating metros.

Impact of Electronic Media

The new technology on the Internet has made a huge impact on the magazine industry. In 1956, the television spelled out huge trouble for magazines. Many went out of business because TV became a better source for entertainment, information, and advertising. This advancement completely devastated the magazine industry. However, over time magazines adapted and became specialized and began to thrive once again. When the Internet gained attention in the 1990s, the magazine industry was once again threatened but, by this time the industry knew how to adapt to changes in media. The Internet gave the industry disadvantages and advantages. For example, People once published Teen People until 2006, when the Internet brought too much competition and not enough advertising. However, magazines still thrive and the Internet has made subscribing easier and quicker. In the future, the magazine industry could change in many ways. It could become only featured online or magazines may be totally done away with.

LAX Magazine

Browsing through LAX Magazine, I identified a few different audiences based on the content and advertising. One audience is professional lacrosse players. The magazine includes new equipment advertisements and team reviews. The magazine also targets lacrosse players of any age or level. On one page there is a photo of a nine-year-old boy decked out in lacrosse gear. On another page there's camp schedules and locations for different leveled teams and individuals. Another intended audience is lacrosse coaches because of the coach profiles and the "chalk talk," a page of play sketches. General lacrosse fans are also audiences in this magazine. Included is game schedules and personal profiles. Based on the context, the typical reader is anyone involved with lacrosse, it definitely targets a wide ranged audience, with a narrow focus.