MCOM 4003 - Abby Johnson

  Fabrication in Mainstream Journalism    Personally, when I think of plagiarism or fabrication, I think of the scary rule that looms over the heads of high school and college students everywhere. We have always been warned that breaking the rule of no plagiarism comes with big punishments, even expulsion. Growing up and hearing that rule, it can be hard to imagine why anybody would even try to plagiarize. In this case, the risk definitely seems bigger than the reward. However, fabrication is not just something students have to look out for. In mainstream journalism, being accused of or being caught committing plagiarism can seriously damage not only the journalist's name, but also whatever organization they represent.      A prime recent example of this is with The Post newspaper of Athens, Ohio. The Post is a student-run newspaper located on on Ohio University campus. The publication not only covers news related to the university, but also on the state a...

 Super Bowl Advertising          While the Super Bowl is arguably one of the most popular annual sporting events because of many Americans' love for football, it also has a reputation for showing some of the most iconic and memorable commercials that many people come to love. Companies spend over $5 million on these commercials hoping that theirs will become the most popular and therefore bring them the most business. However, with 2020 being a record year in so many areas of life, some people are questioning whether or not companies should be showing advertisements for normal products with a pandemic, among other things, still persisting.       Some companies who are usually widely known for their Super Bowl commercials, decided to opt out of the advertising this year. For example, Budweiser, whose commercials consistently rank high in terms of being the most popular, decided not to air a commercial for the first time in 37 years. Instead, t...

  Last Second Shopping     Whenever I think of supermarket tabloids, I think of the many times when I would be at the grocery store with my mom or dad and, while they were busy checking out, I was busy trying to catch up on whatever celebrity gossip graced the front page of People Magazine. I can remember my preteen self being so invested in the relationship status of my favorite stars or what new scandal was trending in the entertainment industry. While most people would say that the stories in magazines like Us Weekly or Cosmopolitan are fake or garbage, it is obvious that these magazines are doing something right to continue to make people want to come back and read their stories.      One reason that I think supermarket tabloids have had so much success is the same reason so many candy companies continue to have skyrocketed sales: product placement. Most of these tabloids are placed conveniently right next to the cash register in grocery or retail store...