My Media Habits: Are Yours As Bad as Mine?

The media is defined as an agency through which information is conveyed. We get all of our information, sports, news, politics, etc., through the media. Everyone has different media habits. From the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, I am in constant contact with the media. I wake up with the radio on and there’s Mike and Mike telling me all about the top stories in sports. I have a radio in the shower so I can continue listening to the top stories. From there I go in the kitchen and watch Sportscenter until it’s time for me to go to school. In my car, I either listen to KMS or Mike and Mike, if the reception is good, to see if the Baltimore Orioles won last night. On the road I wait for a call from my girlfriend or one of my friends letting me know what’s going on this weekend. My favorite time to tune into the radio is on a Monday morning or a Tuesday morning, when Tom Davis and Tom Matte recap the Ravens highlights from last weekend. I have a big gap between some of my classes, so I usually go to the computer lab and check out Blackboard, see who commented me on MySpace, check my fantasy football league, check out Pro Football 24x7, then do my homework. If I’m bored or it’s late at night, I’ll listen to some Dierks Bentley on my iPod while playing Grand Theft Auto or Madden 08 on my Playstation 2.

Everyone has different media habits, whether it’s reading the newspaper or listening to the radio, we need to stay in constant contact with the media. The media is our outlet to the world and we need to plug in to gain that information. Whether it’s for a quiz grade in our American Studies class, listening to some of your favorite songs, taking out your frustrations on the world by playing Grand Theft Auto and robbing some old lady and stealing cars, or to have a conversation with your buddies at the bar on the weekend, everyone uses the media for something. The media is a must have for everyone.

Blog #1: About Me

My name is Steve McNelly and I am an American Studies major at UMBC. I currently work part-time for Open Door Before and After School Child Care in Pasadena at Ft. Smallwood Elementary. The kids I work with are great and they really look up to me. I try to help them become better people and better athletes. I love to watch sports and play them as well. In high school I played two years on JV Basketball, one year for Varsity Football, and four years on the Varsity Golf team, where I was team captain my senior year. Watching sports and following my favorite sports teams is a passion of mine. I grew up watching the Baltimore Orioles every since I was three years old. However, my passion is football and the Baltimore Ravens. Every Sunday, I’m at the game tailgating with my friends and family or at my brother’s house watching the game on his HD television (I guess working for Comcast Spotlight has it advantages!). For all of the best Ravens coverage check out http://profootball24x7.com/. It’s a new website that my brother got me hooked on. Not only to they write about the Ravens, but they also sponsor Bart Scott’s radio show on Tuesday nights.
I am currently in the American Studies program to get my bachelor’s degree (finally) and pursue a career in sports talk radio. There are so many things I want to say about the various topics in sports. My girlfriend, friends, and family tell me how passionate I sound when I talk about sports, and they have encouraged me to follow my dreams. This class is part of my course requirement to graduate, but there is so much I want to get out of this class. I love the fact that we are using blogger.com. It is just a small example of the giant steps that we have taken in technology. All of our information is coming via the computer. We stay in constant contact with people through websites such as MySpace and Facebook. We e-mail funny videos and pictures and check our grades and assignments using Blackboard. I want to find out where technology stood hundreds of years ago. How did people communicate? How did they get their information? If I am going to pursue a career in media, I need to know what direction we are going in. For now, it looks like the future is blogging and the internet. Who knows what will happen in the next ten years with technology. Whatever direction we take, I cannot wait until the entire world hears what I have to say.