it’s often just as difficult to find ideology and cultural messages in electronic media as it is in traditional media. In the Information Age we have developed a tendency to accept what we read and see on the Internet and view it as being either completely subjective (as in someone’s personal blog) or completely objective (as in something connected with a traditional media form where we already have a frame of reference). Select a widely read web site or blog (it may be a company site, general interest or news site, one that is popular amongst a subculture of a significant size, or one acknowledged as an industry leader) and examine it in terms of its ideological perspective.
What is the site’s perspective on society, popular culture and politics? If it appears separate from those spheres, how might it be possible to locate unstated, underlying ideologies? How might the site be understood in terms of a defined perspective and, in particular, the framing of gender issues, racial/ethnic dimensions and/or class dynamics? Select at least two posts, images or discussions that seem indicative of the overall perspective and analyze them in detail. In your consideration of the site, please consider such elements as graphic design, lay out, aesthetics, presence and prominence of advertising and interaction with other sites or media forms.
