For a place under the sun

“If I fail any of my exams it will be a disgrace to my church and my family.”
These are the words of an 18-year-old African boy from Ghana. As I was reading the relevant article in Time magazine[1] about Delight’s life, I came to realize that his society in not that different to mine when it comes to dealing with exams and universities.
Although Greece has joined the European Union and done everything possible to be like a Western society, the way that people think and react has remained untouched.
The stereotype still craves for children to enter University. Neither plumbers are needed, nor electricians; just doctors, lawyers, civil engineers, teachers and all professions that a suit is needed on a daily basis.
Greek society treats exams like the panacea that will exorcise all the upcoming moments of misery in an adult’s life.
This puts a heavy burden on the backs of thousands of youngsters who prepare for these exams three years before the actual date. Three years they do not enjoy summers, they have to study hard everyday, and are obliged to go to private teaching after school.
As a result, stress levels have risen significantly among younger ages and problems like eating disorders, dermatological diseases, and depression have appeared.
The funny thing is that statistics show that people who face unemployment are the ones who strived to enter a top ranked university even though they did not like the area they would study.
Aristotle wrote about how exaggeration can be disastrous in everyday life and neo-Greeks come to doubt it and act other wise. I wonder sometimes if we will ever learn..
[1] Simon Robinson-“Midnight’s Family”-5 March

Big brands turn Oscars into week-long party

Last night it was the night of the Oscars. An article in the FT today, makes people wonder about this mllion dollar little statue and its realationship with the advertisers.

Oscars has evolved from a single day television event for the traditional family into a week long saga that advertisers look forward to. Be it the advertising or the duration of the show all has but changed.
It has become imperative for certain brands to make their presence felt at the Oscars. Also the one evening telecast has now been replaced with a pre-week Oscar frenzy.

Super Bowl, the mainstay of the American advertiser is far more expensive than the Oscars.

But some advertisers see Oscar as a more specific targeting opportunity. The Oscars present an opportunity to introduce the celebrities to their niche product offerings.

Many advertisers are busy showcasing their latest products in lounges specially setup to provide a fitting environment to all Oscar guests.
Brands cutting across product categories from cars to diet supplements are relishing the Oscar fever.

The one evening event is now covered by the media for more than a week prior to the actual Oscar show. Private parties and celebrity endorsed events are on the rise. These events gather less number of eye balls but ensure coverage to the right target audience spanning across the globe.

The advertisers gain by showcasing their brands to their target audience and seeking the help of celebrities to endorse their brands.

The Oscars have indeed been re-branded by the advertisers and the celebrities alike.

Global Warming- Stay Cool

Many bona fide journalists are concerned about the issue of global warming as in an article in last week’s Economist.[1]

However, are things really so bad? Should we all start panicking that the planet earth is heating up? And what amount of truth lies in this statement? Is our planet actually warming up so seriously? I have the scent that talking and writing about it has become a trend.
Some yellow journalist waste reasonable amounts of ink writing about the warm-terror and decorating it with phrases like: “The decade of 1990s is the warmest in 1,200 years.”

The myths around this topic are various.

To start with, scientists do not agree that earth is warming. Reliable climate measurements show no evidence of warming during the past 18 years. Although the temperature of the earth has risen, this rise is within natural margins.

Secondly, scientific groups do not agree with the general impression that humans influence climate change.
Only 13 percent of the scientists responding to a survey conducted by the environmental organization Greenpeace believe catastrophic climate change will result from continuing current patterns of energy use.

Last, but not least, reputable scientists reject the belief that global warming caused by humans will lead to catastrophic environmental changes. If a slight atmospheric warming occurred, it would primarily affect nighttime temperatures, lessening the number of frosty nights and extending the growing season. Thus, some scientists think a global warming trend would be an agricultural benefit.

Therefore, in the case of global warming and environment issues in general, the thought of potential disasters facing “mother” earth seems to make us over-react.
Logic should prevail. Besides, it has most of the times.


[1] The Economist February 10th 2007, “Heating Up”

Are Journalists Capable of Self-Reflectiveness?

It is an already well-established fact that today mass media has an outstanding influence on its audiences, so that the whole world views that we hold may be to a large degree instilled in us by opinions heard on TV, or read in printed media.

In this situation, the role of people who are behind the mass media industry becomes very important. Journalists belong to this category of influential occupations in mass media, so the article by Brian Cathcart “Trust us. We're journalists” is interesting already because it helps us develop a somewhat unconventional view of their involvement into the approaches of mass media to the depiction of our everyday reality.

More specifically, the author highlights the fact that nowadays journalism is perceived by many as an accusatory voice directed at the wrongs and evils of our society. With this power at their hands, however, most journalists seem to be in a silent agreement to maintain taboo regarding their self-criticism, and to vehemently protect their rightfulness and alleged impeccability, which makes the author of the article wonder whether double standards are at work here and whether ethical boundaries are being defined by journalists all too often according to their own impression of them.

Now, the very admission by the author, who himself is the representative of the journalistic corporation, of the possibility of such double standards is a very valuable insight for all readers, many of whom might have not been aware of the presence of such standards before.

At the same time, one might equally wonder if Cathcart goes perhaps too far in his criticism, as he to a certain degree sounds similar in his tone to those ‘hypocritical’ journalists whom he denounces in the beginning of the article.

All in all, this article is a thought-provoking piece of reading that most people would find to be quite a relevant commentary for the modern state of affairs in mass media.

A Trip to the Stars

An article in last week's Newstatesman magazine1 observed the lack of any ethical lines and underlined that the true nature of a journalist’s job is to find these ethical boundaries, follow them and show them to the public.

In ancient Greece, Aristotle wrote volumes of books referring to the rhetorical ethos that people who served the democracy should have. Nowadays, this ethos has been altered.

In my opinion, one of the reasons that caused this change is the mere fact that some peoples’ dreams are not noble enough. Moreover, to make my point clear, I will tell you a story that my professor told me while I was in University.

Once upon a time, there was a mosquito. All his sisters and brothers when they learned how to fly they had dreams that every mosquito had. They dreamt about flying around the lamps in the streets or inside the houses.

However, our mosquito’s dreams were different. He wanted to reach the stars. His parents told him off trying to persuade him to follow his brothers and sisters in a more secure and decent life. “You will never reach the stars. They are far away. The sun will burn you Stay here. Have the life that everyone has.”

But, that was not enough for the mosquito. Everyday he tried to fly to the stars. Everyday, he got burnt worse and worse while his family enjoyed their time in doing things that were easy and familiar to them. His struggle to make his dream come true gave him strength and lived for many years after his family died.

In my mind, there is no comparison between street lamps and stars. _____________________________________________________________________
References1 – Newstatesman-5 February 2007