Media Comic's

Media Comic's

By: Aracely Baeza

Brooke Gladstone took a different approach when expressing herself about the media, by using comic's in her book, The Influencing Machine. 

Photo credits to; fora.tv

Gladstone is widely known for being a co-host on NPR's radio show, On the Media. 

She uses images throughout the entire book, more so as guides through both history and theory of the many different forms of media used in our society.

She takes the not so common style of writing in comics and makes it intriguing but more than anything uses the images to portray what she is trying to say in a more visual way for her readers. 

                                                       Photo credits to; Slate Magazine 

Within the contents of this book, she expresses her opinion about everything media, and the way public relation practitioners use it. 

More than anything while reading this book I personally felt as though she was trying to influence much of her opinion on to who ever read the book. 

It was an interesting read, and no doubt her views are outspoken. It was nice to in a sense get inside her head and learn what she thought. 

She expresses her views on how, she believes the media does so much more then publicists.

She makes many strong points about media and the ways it is used and how it causes so much influence on the public. 

No matter your views however, I would recommend this book. 

I learned a lot and honestly coming from a public relations student, think all interested in the career or anything similar to it should read it. 

Getting lost on the media

Getting lost on the media
By: Sabina Jansson

Brooke Gladstone ends the vignette of the first chapter in her book The influencing machine with the sentences “Media do not control you. They pander you.”. I think that this quote says a lot about how Ms. Gladstone views the media and her perspective while writing the book.

Photo credit: onthemedia.org

Brooke Gladstone is an American journalist that works for NPR News Magazine. Ms. Gladstone has worked for NPR since 1987 and has been awarded with several prestigious awards for her work as a journalist.

I think that this is a book that you do not really need any beforehand information to be able to neither read nor understand since the society in many aspects are built on and dependent on information and information flow. Therefore I think that most persons who would come across this book would have enough knowledge to understand the content of it. 

Photo credit: brainpickings.org

I think that the author manage to get across her point and the purpose of the book clearly. I think that the strength of the book is that it is written in an unconventional way. It breaks the rules on how a book should be written and instead focuses on the pedagogical aspect of the content. I personally find that the concept of the book distracting and it is not a concept that I prefer reading. I find that the illustrations makes me confused and I find the blue green color that is used on every single page in the illustrations distracting and not pleasant to view. However I think that the book overall is an thoughtful and interesting book

Best tips for smooth sailing in li

First You Have to Row a Little Boat

Richard Bode

Length: 202 pages

Warner Books

Amazon Pricing: $10.19

Best tips for smooth sailing in life

By Kate Clark

Available at Barnes and Noble

 “We aren’t using the wind; the wind is using us willy-nilly in its own direction.” Throughout Bode’s reflections on living, he describes analogies of sailing that relate to life lessons he learned from an experienced sailor. After years of submitting to authority and working with people’s demands, he quit his job as a public relations manager and became a freelance writer, which is an experience he alludes through his description of sailing. The following three tips from his memoir are top preparation for smooth sailing through difficult choices.

Picture available from the Orange Sailing Team

1. Be versatile

Bode uses the illustration of how a sailor’s life flips from land to water back to land. In comparison, time flips us from position to position within our career. It is pivotal to be accepting toward the different jobs.

2.     Find a new approach

In the efforts to reach far off island as quick as possible, Bode explains his technique of followin g a zigzag path to arrive quickly. Although his geometry class taught a straight line is the closest path, he learned that for his particular situation the conventional perspective is not always the best.

3. Live without regrets

            Take advantage of the times you have to learn and give, especially with the ones you love. He admits that his biggest regret is failing to teach his children the life lessons of sailing, which can be interpreted as learning to change your angle, your perspective, according to the driving force, the winds.

Overall, Bode’s advice can be applied to a variety of careers and life choices. His sailing examples identify a foundation to making

A Broken Mirror of Public Relations

The Influencing Machine

Brooke Gladstone

Length: 160 pages

W. W. Norton & Company

Amazon Pricing: $11.88     

A Broken Mirror of Public Relations

By Kate Clark  

Picture from the Julius Caesar biography

In 131 BCE and Julius Caesar Julius Caesar decided his region’s citizens should be informed of the Senate’s activities through the first ever form of press, the Acta Diurna. Author and journalism extraordinaire, Brooke Gladstone, views this as the first time leaders realized that ethical news places public relations aside. This is one out of many examples of how Gladstone impulsively discredits public relations as a necessary function within the media.

Throughout her cartoon book of journalism’s history, flaws and steps toward improvement, Gladstone examines parts of the media industry that develop it as a “influencing machine” on the public’s opinions and knowledge. Gladstone is a credible source because of her over 30 years of experience working in the industry as a reporter and editor for broadcast and radio. However, her experience does not make up for her own bias and distorted outlook on public relations. She effectively tells the history of journalism by using Roman references and historical papers; however does not offer a lucid look at public relations.  Gladstone sets up the argument that if journalists performed their job ethically and appropriately, there would not be a need for public relations. However, this does not account for public relations’ roles outside of media relations, and its purpose of managing ethical decisions to build relationships with the company’s publics.

Picture from On the Media

As a whole, I would not recommend reading this book if you are unknowledgeable of the public relations field. Her imagery does not truly reflect public relations objectives and purpose, so it acts as a broken mirror to someone unfamiliar with that industry.

Sailing through life

Sailing through life
By: Sabina Jansson

“And so in time the row boat and I became one and the same – like the archer and his bow or the artist and his paint. What I learned wasn’t mastery over the elements; it was mastery over myself which is what conquest is ultimately about.” (Bode, Richard, First You Have To Row a Little Boat; Reflections on Life andLiving, New York, 2012, p.13)

I think this quote is saying a lot about Richard Bodes view on life and achievement. It is a quote in the book’s first chapter and the quote sets the tone for the rest of the book.

Photo: http://davidporcel.blogspot.com/2011/08/young-man-once-dreamt-of-owning-his-own.html

Richard Bode grew up in Long Island in the state of New York. Mr. Bode graduated with a Master in Fine Arts from Columbia University. After graduating Mr. Bode worked within the PR field, however the direction of his career changed in 1969 when he decided to start working as a freelance writer. As a freelance writer Mr. Bode authored three books before he died in 2003.

Photo credit: Barnes & Noble

I think that the book might be hard to understand if the reader has no knowledge about sailing. I believe that Mr. Bodes metaphorical language is the book’s strength and weakness at the same time. For a person that is familiar with boats do the metaphors add an extra layer to the story however for a person that has no relationship with boats the references becomes an obstacle and something that makes the book fairly hard to understand.

I think that it is a beautiful written book that convey Richard Bodes thoughts in a unique and personal way. 

What Media Do You Deserve?

By: Laila Wani   

         "We get the media we deserve."At least this is what Brooke Gladstone argues in her book “The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media”. Media consumers are content with hearing news from journalists whose views mirror their own. A conflict in opinion makes the consumers uncomfortable and angry, but can’t seem to make them think. And with social media, many journalists can voice their opinions, no mater how radical they may be.

            Many people complain about modern media, saying they miss the honest days. But the old days are ones of Yellow Journalism and other giant missteps. This is not to say that the media of today is something to admire. We are now cluttered with professional bloggers, or people who are free to give extremely biased versions of the news, often not worrying about the truth. But modern media also allow those without voices to tell their side of a story. So news now is what it has always been, a mix of the good with the bad.

           Gladstone’s expertise on the subject is rooted in her start as a print journalist. Writing on everything from strip-mining to music reviews, the now managing editor of NPR’s On The Media, has dabbled in a little bit of everything.

           Gladstone gives her view on the state of the media in a fascinating fashion. The graphic novel style of the book, with illustrations from Josh Neufeld, makes some of the history lessons easier to digest. Some sentences may need to be read more than once if your language isn’t as elevated as Gladstone’s, but that shouldn’t make anyone shy away from the book. It is a good read for all, as we are all consumers of media.

Gladstone's Biography

A Slightly Different View

Another Rave Review

An Interview with the Author and the Illustrator

Sailing through the sea of life..

Sailing through the sea of life..

By: Aracely Baeza

Richard Bode seems to me to be somewhat of a pessimist when it comes to writing analogies and metaphors about his life, in his very popular book First You Have to Row a Little Boat:Reflections on Life & Living, which turned into a bestseller in 1995, has also gone through several hardcover printings and not to mention has been published in twelve foreign-language editions.

 Bode talks about how he was very unhappy in his public relations career and compares his life to sailing through the open ocean, and defines the wind as the controlling or guiding force to his life.

"When I was writing Little Boat, I walked on the beach every single day, so I could puzzle out what I was trying to say," says Bode according to Union College Magazine 

                                                                     (Photo credit to: baptist.org)

Bode's marriage fell apart when his children were grown, he decided to move and leave his successful career and live on his own in a cottage on a beach in California. 

He was finally able to do what he had always wanted and write. 

Although, he eventually began to do what he had always wanted to do, the tone in this book about life as mentioned before is not very exciting.

He talks about how he wishes very much that he would have taught his children the right ways to live but at the same time says it as though they should learn all on their own. 

 There are a few "deep" thoughts in the book however like when he says;

“For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.” 

                                                   (Photo credits to: David Sanger Photography)

I can hear the frustration he has with life, he isn't very satisfied but will live with what he has.  

The refrences to sailing in this context may be very appealing to those whom enjoy the open waters and everything that comes with sailing. Personally, I love the ocean and the enormous peace I receive from it, however the way it is portrayed in this book isn't very peaceful. 

It is a good in the sense that it makes you think about life, but sort of makes me question my career choice.

All in all, this book is one of those you must read to get a feel of it for yourself. Being a bestseller though, may show you it might really be worth it!

Cartoon Movement

Cartoon Movement

By: Diana Scharffenberger

The Influencing Machine is more than a non-fiction comic book; it’s a book that guides readers through the history and theory of the media.

 Josh Neufeld and Brooke Gladstone

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhcooper/5768135427/

Can illustration be objective? Brooke Gladstone throws objectivity out the window and shares her thoughts through Josh Neufeld’s illustrations.

Gladstone expresses numerous times in the book that being objective is impossible. She believes that everyone’s views are personally swayed that it is simply infeasible.

Photo Credit: http://www.metaphonica.com/tag/objectivity/

Overall, this book is up beat and entertaining. However, Gladstone does leave us with a few worries. She discusses the “photoshopification” of society and the ease of faking photographs.

          “The big threat of photoshopification is not that we will believe documents and photos that are fake,” says comic-Gladstone, standing on a literal soapbox. “It's that we'll find it easier to disbelieve documents and photos that are real. When it's convenient.”

The Influencing Machine, described as a psychological phenomenon, is worth your time and money. It’s and easy, quick and media filled novel. It’s a cartoon movement.

Swimming in Analogies

By: Laila Wani

Each time I go home and visit my family, I get some advice. Though I am past the age where it’s not “cool” to listen to your parents, sometimes I still think I know better. And those thoughts are inevitably followed by the parental version of I told you so: “I guess you wanted to learn from your own mistakes.”

            Learning by doing. Not the craziest of ideas, but something our parents would like to save us from. Instead they want us to heed their warnings. While reading “First You Have To Row A Little Boat” by Richard Bode, I was reminded of my mother. Unlike Bode, my mother taught my sisters and me numerous lessons. The book reads like a letter of sorts. He has a list of regrets, ones that maybe he thought could be rid of by writing this book.

            Bode was a Public Relations writer for nearly 20 years, before he decided to make the beach his new home. Here the aspiring poet began writing books that gave life lessons. It is abundantly clear that the Bode had salt water flowing through him as he wrote “First You Have To Row A Little Boat.”

           As the book progresses, it is heavy with sailing references. Just in the first chapter, he compares the deaths of his parents to, “a colossal storm, an irreversible wind that changed my destiny,’ (p. 3). Bode’s dedication to the analogy is admirable, but at times unnecessary.

            This book is for those like Bode, lovers of the open water. I prefer to keep my feet dry and to stay on steady land. The constant comparison of life to the open water did not register with me. But if you yearn an adventure on the sea, this might be the book for you. 

More on Richard Bode

You Must Row A Little Boat Before Steering A Ship

You Must Row A Little Boat Before Steering A Ship

By: Diana Scharffenberger

Reflecting back on his life lived on the open water; Richard Bode shares his lesson-packed story full of youthful adventures in his book First You Have To Row A Little Boat. Bode is constantly struggling to find the meaning of life and using sailing to tell his tale.

Bode uses several metaphors to help readers relate to his story. Sailing represents life’s journey, wind represents unexpected troubles that are thrown our way and Bode represents us.

Photo Credit:

http://hypervision2.blogspot.com/2011/02/sailing-progress.html

Although I enjoyed how Bode related life through metaphors and the sea, his book came off slightly negative and discouraging.

He talks about how he was taught to sail as a child and how he carried those lessons throughout his entire life. They showed him that life doesn’t always go as planned and doesn’t always go the way you want it to.  These vital lessons were thought provoking and deep. Unfortunately, Bode later reveals that he fails to teach his kids how to sail. He fails to share what was so impacting and life changing to him, with his kids. This, to me, was disappointing.

There are unexpected and unwanted encounters you must face. You must endure the choppy water before you can reach smooth sailing. You must row a little boat before you can steer a ship.

Photo Credit: http://oldbookends.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-you-have-to-row-little-boat.html

First You Have To Wait For a Little Wind

by Marissa DuBois

First You Have to Row a Little Boat

Authored by: Richard Bode

182 pages

Published by Grand Central Publishing

$14.99 USA

You feel it in the air. Breezing on by. The wind. It can even guide your life.  

          “Were you worried?” I asked.

          “I was for a while. But then I called the captain. He told me you had probably lost the 

wind but not to worry because sooner or later you would find it again.”

                                                            -First You Have To Row a Little Boat

  

             “Grass in the Wind” Photo credit: (http://mi9.com/wallpaper/grass-in-the-wind_25517/)
 

The wind is used as a metaphor. I easily related the metaphor in of wind First You Have to Row a Little Boat guiding our lives to metaphors of the wind in the Bible. I can see the wind as a pushing mechanism that leads you to destination just like the wind leads the sails away.

In a reflective memoir, Richard Bode describes his life through his unique sailing experiences. As an avid sailor and previously successful public relations practitioner, Bode regrets not spending time teaching his children how to sail. Sailing becomes an interesting motif throughout the story of Bode’s life as it changes with his life experiences to reflect different opportunities and stages throughout his life. He decides for himself it is better to leave the shore than be paralyzed by fear on land.

        “Sailing Progress” Photo credit: (http://hypervision2.blogspot.com/2011/02/sailing-progress.html)
 

A basic knowledge and familiarity of sailing is important to understanding the jargon and writing style of Bode’s life moments. Bode began sailing ever since he was a young boy at the age of 12. A lifetime’s experience of sailing and writing contributed to a well-purposed book. Bode uses beautiful imagery of the union of man and female through tying knots on his sailboat. The intricacies of sailing and life are justified through truth and time of Bode’s life. Some portions of his dialogue were uninteresting, however I thoroughly appreciated his introspective beliefs and connections to sailing. “We can't separate what we believe from who we are.” Bode said.

For a great glimpse at life, sailing, and reflections, read this book. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to take a sailing trip.