Journal 6 - Jenna

After I read these two texts, I would define medium as the physical way a text is presented instead of the message of the text itself. McLuhan agrees with his definition that it is "what has been communicated (message) is less important than the particular medium through which people communicate." For example, a "children's book" should have bright colors and images in order to communicate with its demographic of children and their interest in way the text is presented (Wysocki 124).

McLuhan mentions that in history, the content was never the most important but it was the medium that left a lasting affect. He mentions that the cavemen wrote on rocks and although what they were trying to communicate with one another was important at the time, the new ideas and advances of communicating with writing was something that began to be passed down through each generation as new technological advances were made. McLuhan mentions that the "technology that transfers the message changes us." McLuhan claims that technology affects multiple aspects of our lives including family, leisure, society, and work just to name a few. The way information is presented leaves an impact on the brain as much or even more than the content itself.

Wysocki contributes to my understanding of medium in its description of the four things reader look at the most when they are handed a piece of text: the page itself, what is on the page, the connections among different parts on the page and what contains the page (127). Wysocki points out what everyone looks for immedietly when they read and not one of those points is analyzing the message but mainly just looking at the physical text, medium, itself.


Finally, try connecting medium to each of these key terms: genre, audience, knowledge, and purpose.
The medium of the piece is a genre itself. So the genre might be a newspaper and the medium is the paper and ink that is used to print a newspaper. The audience relates to the medium because the medium will want to please the demographic of the writer's choice. Knowledge can be gained but only if the medium matches the text; no knowledge will be gained if a scientific article resembles a children's book. And purpose is similar to knowledge in that the purpose will not be understood if it is presented in a unprofessional manner.

Project 3 I will be creating a new media website therefore I need to research other news media websites so I can create the most appropriate website that will attract viewers and get my purpose across so readers can gain knowledge.