Horse Racing Research Paper

In the past century, media has grown exponentially. Starting off with the newspaper, then going to the radio, then eventually the television and now to cell phones, media has become a huge role in today’s society. It is our source for news. Media has become a crucial necessity in recent times. With media, news is able to spread faster around the world than it ever has before. Media has a very important role in society, specifically with the improvements on the spread of information.
I can personally attest to this because in my life I have experienced how fast information spreads with today’s technology. In recent years, there have been terrorist attacks in European countries like France. When terrorists attacked in Paris, word spread so fast
that people all over the world knew about it in less than an hour. With the ability to alert people via social media about breaking news, word can spread nearly instantaneously. The role that media plays in today’s society is such a strong position because it allows countries like the United States to send out people or supplies to people whom terrorism or natural disasters affected. Media has become the fastest way to distribute messages in the history of the World. The potential for media has become almost limitless, as people are able to send nearly anything across the entire globe, from a message, to a video, to a popular song. Text messaging has swept the world by storm in terms of communication. Since 1992, more and more people are using text messages to send information to each other. Even my grandmother uses text messaging. It is everywhere. When I was in Haiti, I was able to connect to the internet and text my sister, who was over 1,600 miles away from where I was. Being able to send pictures was also an important factor because my sister was able to see what I could see in the same day. I did not have to just describe it all to her, but she was able to physically see the beauty of the landscape and the people for herself. Texting is an easy way for people to stay connected with each other, even when they are miles and miles away from each other. Media might be great today, but it was not always this great. Media has had to go through so much to get to the point to where it is today.
Ever since the times of Before Christ (B.C.), media has been used to deliver messages, and it has only been improved since then. Before, messages would take weeks to deliver through the Egyptian deserts. Now, the same messages are sent in a press of a button. In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio. It was the first way for people to all listen to the same thing at the same time across the nation. The ability to mass distribute a message was unheard of for that time. Now, we use media to do things that would have never been a thought in anybody’s mind just 75 years ago. People may argue that media has ruined our generation today with so much negativity running rampant in our society. Media has created an all new way to hate on each other and bully people. Terrorist organizations like ISIS use social media to recruit new members into their organizations. Even with these troubles in society, media has done way more good for us than bad. Over the years, media has brought Americans closer together more than it has pushed us apart. Media has allowed for people to connect in the best way the world has ever seen. Social media allows for separated family members to stay in touch, where before, people were not able to contact loved ones. Improvements on communication, such as video communication applications like Skype, have allowed people to be the closest they have ever been when they could not be farther away. Over time in history, improvements in media could almost linearly align with progress of technology and happiness as a nation. A specific example of media affecting society positively is the true story about Seabiscuit, a racehorse who swept the nation by storm when everybody needed it the most.
Sports media can be a reviving factor in times of doubt and despair.
The Great Depression took place in the 1930s. The market had crashed after reaching such an incredible high in our nation. People were having trouble finding ways to have a good time. Horse racing had only just become popular in America, but there was something new about horse racing. An unlikely prospect out of California had emerged as a very popular prize-winning horse. Seabiscuit was a horse that was too old and undersized to become a great racehorse. Once he started to win, he gained recognition as an emerging star. His jockey, Jack Pollard, “wanted superstardom,” that could not be “achieved by racing alone.” (Laura Hillenbrand pg.132) Pollard decided that to achieve fame as a horse jockey, he had to win over the hearts of the crowd, which was easy for him to do because his horse had such a unique background and an interesting story. All Pollard had to do was win, and he did that with ease. Newspapers had headlines that read, “Seabiscuit Goes Today!” and, “San Francisco was overjoyed to see Seabiscuit again.” (Hillenbrand pg.138) It was incredible how a small horse generated so much positive energy across a distraught American nation. The media helped with America’s struggles as well because they were able to spread the word across the country, raising awareness to this astounding horse and what it was doing in the racing world. Along with Seabiscuit’s incredible and unique talents, the media was able to sway most of the country to support the horse, drawing in record numbers in attendance every time Seabiscuit was racing. In the 30s, media played a crucial role in the rejuvenation of the hopes and spirits of Americans
nationwide.

Through their ups and their downs, Americans have relied on media for a lot of important things in our society. Improvements in technology have allowed for communication to become significantly easier for everybody in our society. New formats of media, such as email and text messaging have become the easiest way to transfer information in the quickest way possible. Although, yes, media has some significant drawbacks, but that is because media has advanced so rapidly in recent years. That will be a problem that can only be solved with time, when we make more advancements on internet security. Even with all of our trouble with media, there are more benefits than repercussions with our technology. Its impact has benefitted America for years with improvements on communication. Media has a very important role in society, specifically with the improvements on the spread of information.