Addie Parker

I am a junior studying Media Advertising with a minor in Psychology.



Projects by Addie Parker

Shift in Promoting for Athletes through NIL Collectives and Social Media

By Addie Parker, Lauren Miranda and Goldi Baranovsky

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 5, 2024)     The crowd fills the football stadium weekly, Mia Fox and the Indiana University RedStepper dancers take the field for a performance. An exhilarating moment supporting Hoosiers’ best football program in history. 

Withstanding the pressure from fans to maintain a standard of talent and polished presentation as a dance team, athletes that find social media and apps hold increasing opportunities. In interview, Fox an IU Junior on the team, revealed the developments of the 2021 NCAA v. Alston Supreme Court ruling allowing name, image, and likeness (NIL) benefits for college athletes, has had minimal effects for her and teammates. “They don’t allow our team, even though it is funded by the athletics department, to receive NIL directly,” Fox said, “any NIL type deals that we might get have been from like a private NIL company that has nothing to do with Indiana University.” 

Mia Fox is showing off one of her new skills that will be added into the next game day routine. Fox has been on the RedStepper dance team for the past three years, and plans on continuing her dance career through senior year. Photo taken by Lauren Miranda

College dancers train regularly to perform technical, entertaining choreography to thousands of people who may not understand the dedication it takes. “Dance teams right now, in just the cultural context, nationwide not really included in athletics departments because of simply closed-mindedness,” Fox explained. While many dance teams are not being recognized and have yet to directly benefit from NIL, college football players face saturated social media competition. Denzel Dorn, Florida International University football player, is also working towards direct gains since the ruling, but highlighted how strategic social media NIL deals are to get. “I’d say, though, that with that saturation, you have to be unique and kind of stand out. So, you need your own way, your own skills to navigate yourself through social media.” Dorn said, adding that he is learning unique posting skills from teammates who post consistently on social media platforms on Instagram and TikTok. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA, deciding its restrictions on education benefits for student-athletes were unfair under antitrust laws. Although Indiana University dancers cannot gain the same benefits with these social media platforms, third party NIL collectives do hold optimism.

Dr. Galen Clavio guest speaks in a IU C250 Lecture, where he explains the current debate surrounding NIL funding, and its impact on athletes of all levels. Clavio emphasized the importance of athletes having rights to their own personal brand, just as every other other college student does. Photo by IU Student Photographer Emma Pearce

Dr. Galen Clavio, director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, held an insightful “news conference” about the developments of NIL opportunities, since the 2021 Supreme Court ruling. He discussed that every University could set up direct and indirect NIL collectives while adhering to NCAA regulations and university polices. Fox, highlighted third-party NIL promotional opportunities that she has taken advantage of to collect donations from friends and family. She feels that these private deals, independent of Indiana University, offer minimal benefits for the RedSteppers. Being under the Jacobs School of Music and partially funded by athletics, the dancers do not get recognized as athletes. “The NCAA, dealing with financial control over college athletics, has been desperately trying to fight against external parties, like that, being able to make direct payments to players…” Clavio said. The NCAA can no longer restrict these gains for athletes, however the challenge of stabilizing income through third-party NIL collectives and social media remains unknown for dancers. 

 

As Fox and Dorn navigate managing their time as a student-athlete, they supported avoiding NIL as a distraction. “I get really stressed out, any free time that I have outside of dance, I’m mainly dedicating it to my schoolwork,” Fox said, describing her challenges balancing love for dance and her hobbies. “…so it’s definitely hard, because I’m not given any of the academic opportunities athletes are, like the tutoring sessions that they have and career coaching appointments through the football academic center.” This lack of opportunities makes it difficult for IU RedSteppers to work towards NIL deals because of stress. “It’s the added pressure, obviously, but you just have to manage your time more carefully. And since I haven’t gotten that many NIL opportunities yet, I haven’t let it distract me too much, I’d say, but some teammates do struggle.” Dorn said, not allowing himself to focus more on NIL than working towards being the best teammate. He hopes to keep a consistent, positive attitude as he manages these distractions while also working towards scholarship opportunities. 

College Football Player at FIU vs. Sam Houston Game.
Florida International University football player Denzel Dorn, takes a quiet moment of focus during the FIU vs. Sam Houston game in 2024. The sophomore uplifted the Panthers although they lost and strives to boost team moral. Photo provided by Denzel Dorn

These benefits do not come consistently for collegiate dancers and football players, but there appears to be hope for more NIL opportunities. The constant rise of social media and web use is already causing a constant increase in the amount of NIL options available for athletes. “I would strongly recommend that we start teaching about social media branding and the utilization of social media and digital media at the high school level for everybody,” Clavio stated. He emphasizes all the ethical possibilities that NIL collectives can provide athletes, and how it is each athlete’s choice how much effort they want to put into growing their brand. Social media in specific, can completely alter how an athlete is perceived and make or break how quickly their brand grows.  

Though athletes like Fox and Dorn are not currently benefiting much from NIL deals, this could always change in the future with a continued effort to support all athletes’ rights to benefit from their brand. It is important to inform others about the current collectives and social media opportunities regarding NIL, so that athletes can better access resources and greater recognition.  

https://youtu.be/LioWgMscibA

During class, we got the opportunity to interview three students about NIL. All of the interviewees were non-student athletes. The students opinions were around the same consensus. They believe that athletes should be able to profit off of their name, image, and likeness. 

Tim Cook Introduces the New Personalized Apple Device

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tim Cook Introduces the New Personalized Apple Device

Media Contacts
Georgia White
Gracie Paul
Addie Parker

 

CUPERTINO, California – Today, CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, announced the release of the very first Apple watch. Cook showed a captivating video of the new watch and its close up features which immediately got the audience engaged with the product. 

Cook was dressed in business casual attire, and had a very poised ambience. He showed noticeable passion about the launching, and explained this new product in immense detail. He began by speaking specifically about the dial on the watch, the crown, and how it is the feature that is able to transfer movement into data. As he explained this feature, it was being illustrated for the audience on the screen.

Cook highlighted the fact that the watch is not solely for technology but also is about style and taste. He explained that it can be worn everyday and for all occasions. “We thought not only of the function, but of the way it looked,” Cook said. 

Lauren is using her Apple Watch to track her activity while studying at the IMU. She likes the fitness insight it provides.

 

 After emphasizing the design of the watch, Cook played a video for the audience that explained how the product is essentially simplifying an entire computer system to a single chip. The clip also went into detail about the watch’s four lenses, and emphasized the accuracy of the watch’s constant calculations. This informative video also indicated the ability for the watch to provide an explicit picture of one’s daily activity, as well as a variety of faces for the watch to choose from.

After the video, Cook introduced a special member of the team, Kevin Lynch, who led their software effort. Lynch provided the very first demo of the watch for the audience, by using a custom watch as it was being displayed on the screen. Lynch efficiently demonstrated how to use the watch by going through many of its different functions. Lynch was extremely knowledgable on each feature, presenting smoothly and with excitement about the new product. 

Mr. Cornwell is grading student’s essays before class in Ballantine Hall. He likes feeling connected while keeping his phone is away.

 

One of the features Lynch brought attention to was the ability to change specific aspects of the watch face, and he showed some different examples of faces to choose from. Lynch specifically talked about the “astronomy face” which was a cover with a picture of the earth. “It shows you where you are in the Earth,” Lynch said. He then demonstrated that by moving the face, the screen can also fly over to a view of the moon, which excited the audience. 

Lynch also went into depth regarding the convenience of viewing notifications on the watch. He explained how the notifications pop up when lifting up the watch, and it even offers prompt responses by  analyzing the text. 

The audience was then shown about how the watch has its own emoji options that are fully animated. This allows the user to fully express an emotion along with their reply. It also has quick functionality of Siri so that any question can efficiently be answered when needed. 

Lynch also demonstrated how the watch holds all of your photos, and displayed how easily you can view them by panning around the entire camera roll. He also showed the straightforward ability to move around the map screen when needing to obtain directions. There is also the option to search for directions to any location. Instead of needing to look down at the maps, the watch has a specific feeling for each different turn, so one can travel with no difficulty.

One of the last features Lynch talked about, is the digital touch feature. He showed how by simply clicking on someone in your friends list, they can be communicated with through call or text, or even directly notified by a tap from the watch.

Cook wrapped up his presentation by explaining how many different benefits the watch can be used for. He states how whether it’s for fitness, communication, health etc, the watch can be of assistance. He explained how there are an immense amount of features the new product has that he could continue to go in depth about. 

 “Apple watch is the most personal device Apple has ever created,” Cook said.

The brand new Apple device being shown through a promotional video at the launch of their new product

Kevin Lynch showcasing the features of the brand new Apple Watch such as changing the display screen

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