It All Started When...

Walking onto that set upon a tour of backstage was one of the most invigorating experiences of my life. I believe that was the moment that determined what I was going to do for the rest of my life. While the bright lights blinded my eyes and the thunderous applause pounded in my ears, I dawdled on up to Oprah herself and gave her a big bear hug. With my heart drumming its way out my chest, I looked to the audience to see my mom, aunt, and older sister cheering me on. The show cued up and at that point, millions of eyes were on me! That experience made it to the top of my list of inspirational moments.

The Vicious Cycle of History Repeats Itself: Does the impending oligopoly of social media have potential to become as much an influence over its publics as newspaper and television has in the past?

Media’s presence in today’s society plays a big role on how things are perceived nowadays. It surrounds us and our everyday thoughts and actions, through the television shows we watch, the music we listen to, and our use of the Internet. With the media becoming embedded in our modern day society, we have now adapted to its various ways of carrying out different tasks and retrieving information. With our lives now virtually dependent on media and technology, it is becoming more and more difficult to picture our day-to-day activity without it.

      The media today includes television, radio, film, newspaper, magazines, and the Internet and its various forms. The progressive form media has taken on today has caused us to center it in our decision making process. It effects how we gather, process, and distribute information. Television, radio, and Internet reach mass amounts of different types of audiences so I would have to say these media outlets are of most influence. The media now has the ability to persuade and expose mass amounts of audiences to different issues in the world. 

Growing Internet outlets such as Facebook, blogs, and the ever so popular Twitter have given people access to quick and simplified information or communication with another at the touch of a button. In the beginning, new forms of media can be very helpful to us as a people. The media and its different outlets accomplish an array of things for us. It saves us students plenty of time in researching. It helps us as citizens stay aware of what’s going on around the world, in our society, and with our government. 

Amongst an immeasurable list of things, the media’s current state ultimately simplifies life for us as we know it, but this can be a threat to the freedom, fairness, and accuracy of it as well. Various occurrences in the history of media will prove to show that with the formation of an oligopoly of the industry, comes a rise to the one in power’s pockets but a setback to not only the freedom, fairness, and accuracy of the industry, but to the consumer. A prime example of this is the oligopoly of the industry held by sellers like Disney, CBS, Comcast, Time Warner, and Rupert Murdoch.  In recent years, the question of Rupert Murdoch’s FOX news corporation’s fairness and accuracy has increased. His corporation has hurt reputations on a bias basis yet it remains one of the most popular news stations and continues to sway a mass of people’s opinions. This is similar to what already occurs with social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Everyone from your “average Joe” to celebrities to the president of the United States have a Twitter account. The immediacy and overwhelming popularity of Twitter has hurt many reputations in the past. People have tweeted very incriminating statements that have the potential to ruin careers or the reputation of others. For example, Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner lost his position after a Twitter controversy this past summer. Imagine if FOX News Corporation had the opportunity to take over Twitter and regulate as they do on their cable network? Significant events such as the presidential election would be greatly affected considering a wide range of age groups now depend on Twitter as one of their prominent sources of information.  Nowadays, a reputation could be ruined at the click of a mouse. Opinions can be swayed by a simple Facebook post or advertisement. Solid facts aren’t even necessary anymore on social media forums. With the option of “re-tweeting” or reciprocating one’s post, information, whether it is fair or accurate, has the potential to reach millions in a matter of minutes. If the social media industry becomes an oligopoly, it could be the end of fair and accurate reporting.           

The constant flow of information in today’s society is necessary for the formation and development of people’s ideas and opinions. However, media’s allowance of freedom and accuracy is definitely important as well. With the rise of oligopolies in the social media industry, freedom and accuracy will become a thing of the past.

Malcolm Scott: A Dream Deferred

     Prince, Michael Jackson, The Isley Brothers—these greats can all be seen as an inspiration for musicians everywhere. South Carolina native and aspiring musician Malcolm Scott hopes to one day have an impact on the music industry such as theirs with his music.            

Currently in his junior year at Hampton University, his major has gone from music engineering technology, to psychology, to graphic design, and now back at psychology. As a child, Scott had career dreams like any other child; becoming an astronaut, veterinarian, or doctor were all aspirations of his. 

After realizing he could carry a tune, he didn’t really see himself in music until he was much older. From that point, he worked on perfecting his voice by singing a little more each day, trying to develop the small voice he had. “My voice was never that deep so my singing voice was always a little higher than my peers,” said Scott. Factors like these discouraged him as a child. He claims that when he was younger he felt about his singing every other day. The first talent show Scott performed in his mother came to see him. “She told me she couldn't hear me singing at all. Other people who sat even further behind her told me they heard me and I sounded good but the fact that my mom didn't, hurt my pride. To this day I still don't really feel comfortable singing around her,” said Scott. 

By the time he became comfortable with his singing voice, he claims he always found someone better than him. He used this as motivation to be that much better and work that much harder. “I hated not being able to do as much vocally as others around me could so that pushed me to work on it. Not to mention how negative people can be about your career choice. Eventually I just learned to block it out,” Scott said. 

Scott feels that his past experience playing with the band felt like a full-time job and as a result, prepped him for his expectations of the music industry.   “Going to practices after school, meeting on the weekends, it was just so hard to keep up. I was younger then though, so at this point with singing I feel like I'm ready,” Scott said. 

Currently, Scott believes riding under the radar is his best option because when he does come out, it will have been unexpected. He feels the combination of the element of surprise along with his best work, will make people love it all the more.   Scott doesn’t have any particular preference in who he signs with in the future. “Whoever can offer me the best deal and allow me to have creative control over the work that I do, that's who I'll choose. I wouldn't mind signing with Interscope or Def Jam though, they're track record is undeniable,” Scott says.      

He is currently working on collaborations with producers on campus and up and coming talents on campus as well. Scott says his performances have been scarce-few to none to be exact. “But in due time, it'll all be ready. I've held back from performing simply because my music wasn't ready and I always hated the fact that singers performed other people's songs. If I want to be a singer, I want to be able to perform my own material. I have nothing against singing someone else's songs; but I want to show my talent by performing something I composed,” said Scott.

Scott has work stockpiled from his freshmen year to today. The fuel behind his work now was the group of people he was around. “It was harder to have creative control back then. The opinions of others drove the kind of music I made.  It lacked substance, most of it seemed sex driven. But now I've moved on and found better ways to convey my feelings. I only write and record what I feel, something that anyone can listen to and be able to connect with,” Scott says.

Eventually, Scott hopes to branch out into other genres. Just starting out, he believes he is still developing his sound and trying to figure out the kind of music that will define his career.