One way, out of several, that I received the news by way of mass media was through the social media web site “Facebook.” From this particular site, I was, like so many other people locally and nationwide, learned about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or as it is commonly known as, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I saw what has become viral around the nation and world, hundreds upon hundreds of people, ranging from my family, peers, or some type of celebrity, doing what we now refer to as the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.”
Although I did see the countless number of individuals getting “called out” by another individual or group and them doing the same, and thereby causing them to dump a bucket of ice on their head to raise awareness for ALS, I also saw a number of people donate to research for the ALS foundation as well. From this stemmed a wide array of information about what ALS actually is other than people dumping ice cold water on their heads.
There were several major news stations either posting or reposting on the site as to the amount of money raised for the ALS foundation and these ranged from FOX News, to CNN to The Wall Street Journal and even the spoof articles of The Onion. That being said, I was able to view interviews with those who had ALS or the family members who had been affected by the condition. I could also listen to or view podcasts from radio hosts such as Dave Ramsey.
Though I was viewing all of these different news and media information, I was doing so through one medium and that was the Facebook website. This site has allowed traditional ways of delivering the news, such as through the radio or just on the television and through newspaper print and brought them to me in one central location within this site. It truly converged the older methods of mass media with the new and I learned so much more about ALS, what it is and how it affects those