This week we take a look at Chapter 8, News.
Before I began teaching I spent more than a decade toiling in newsrooms, and still work as contributor to the Flathead Beacon (you can read one of my columns here if you're interested). I consider news something near and dear to my heart. I care about it, I think it plays a vital role in the well being of society, and I am saddened by the declining state of news, especially newspapers.
Technology has created great change for news, but there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon. Take a look at this report, from The Pew Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, The State of the News Media 2012. A couple of interesting points are discussed. One, people are consuming more news than ever these days, they're just consuming it on smart phones and iPads rather than inky newsprint. Two, electronic tablets are generating an increased interest in long-form journalism (Damn yuppies are sitting around in coffee shops reading the Liberal Media on their iPads!). Also, the report hints at a technology company such as Facebook buying up an old media war horse such as the Washington Post.
The idea is purely speculative (at this point) but I think its intriguing. And that's our topic for the week. Facebook buys one of the Old Gray Ladies (Old Gray Lady usually refers to the NY Times, but I sometimes apply it to the LA Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal as well) and infuses the newsroom with resources (money) because it has determined that good, solid journalism is a great service to build into its social media community.
What do you think? Post your comments by Thursday.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
New Media this week
OK gang, we're all back from Cancun and its time to get back at it. New Media, Chapter 7 this week. Expect a post or two before Friday.
I haven't heard from a few of you who did not turn in Long Tail papers. If I'm talking to you, you need to be talking to me. The paper is worth 25 percent of your grade, which means you'd have to be perfect on all your quizzes and exams just to get a C. In other words, it's important.
I haven't heard from a few of you who did not turn in Long Tail papers. If I'm talking to you, you need to be talking to me. The paper is worth 25 percent of your grade, which means you'd have to be perfect on all your quizzes and exams just to get a C. In other words, it's important.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Midterm week
No quiz this week. Instead, it's midterm week. I'll start by opening the floor to all of you. If you have any questions regarding the midterm or things you'd like me to review before the exam opens Friday, please post them here.
BTW, remember there will not be a chapter or quiz next week either as your Long Tail paper will be due a week from Friday.
And if you haven't posted your favorite film yet, here's your chance.
Quizzes are open until Friday if you need to make one up.
BTW, remember there will not be a chapter or quiz next week either as your Long Tail paper will be due a week from Friday.
And if you haven't posted your favorite film yet, here's your chance.
Quizzes are open until Friday if you need to make one up.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My favorite film
Motion media is our topic this week. We'll start with movies. Your assignment: Name you're favorite film of all time, and briefly explain why. I'll start.
The Godfather. The descent of Michael Corleone from war hero and Golden Child of the Corleone family to the tragic, fallen man and ultimate villain of the Godfather trilogy, is epic. Corleone, as played by the brilliant Al Pacino, is much more than a one-dimensional caricature of evil. Corleone seems as much a victim of his own obsession with revenge as he does the rival mobsters he battles throughout this and the following two sequels.
Also, my family is Sicilian, on my mother's side. There's something about those scenes filmed on the island that speaks to me, even though I've never been there.
Then there's this. See No. 2 and No. 58. They forgot, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
No. 2 on this list.
Your turn.
The Godfather. The descent of Michael Corleone from war hero and Golden Child of the Corleone family to the tragic, fallen man and ultimate villain of the Godfather trilogy, is epic. Corleone, as played by the brilliant Al Pacino, is much more than a one-dimensional caricature of evil. Corleone seems as much a victim of his own obsession with revenge as he does the rival mobsters he battles throughout this and the following two sequels.
Also, my family is Sicilian, on my mother's side. There's something about those scenes filmed on the island that speaks to me, even though I've never been there.
Then there's this. See No. 2 and No. 58. They forgot, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
No. 2 on this list.
Your turn.
So digital didn't kill the music star
We seem to be in agreement: music isn't dead because of change, music is changed because of change.
Click here for a look at the first music video ever played on MTV. There was a time when we all thought video would in fact kill radio. Well, radio is still alive and (sort of) well, while MTV has become some weird channel dominated by reality programing, and little, if any, music.
Watching that video makes my a tad nostalgic for the early 80s, when I was a young college boy working in a record store. The production values seem kind of quaint in today's world of CGI. Watch and enjoy The Buggles.
I'll have another post up on our next chapter later this evening. Next week is midterm week.
Click here for a look at the first music video ever played on MTV. There was a time when we all thought video would in fact kill radio. Well, radio is still alive and (sort of) well, while MTV has become some weird channel dominated by reality programing, and little, if any, music.
Watching that video makes my a tad nostalgic for the early 80s, when I was a young college boy working in a record store. The production values seem kind of quaint in today's world of CGI. Watch and enjoy The Buggles.
I'll have another post up on our next chapter later this evening. Next week is midterm week.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Cigarettes in bed are bad
This really doesn't have anything to do with Mass Media Communication, but we were discussing this poem in my News Writing class this morning and I thought you all might enjoy it.
It's sort of a long story why this came up in class, but let's just say I can sometimes veer off on tangents when I'm lecturing.
"Life Story," by Tennessee Williams.
It's sort of a long story why this came up in class, but let's just say I can sometimes veer off on tangents when I'm lecturing.
"Life Story," by Tennessee Williams.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Apple and the rise of online music sales
There was a brief moment in the not too distant past when music was distributed for free on the Internet somewhat like news is today. Napster was the place where listeners downloaded and "shared" digital versions of their favorite music with other fans. The music industry took notice of all this free traffic and when to court to shut down Napster. iTunes rose Phoenix-like from Napsters' ashes to become the dominant music distribution system.
For newspapers grappling with a way to put the genie back in the bottle and figure out a way to get folks to start paying for their product again, the rise of iTunes may offer some hope: Maybe we can get people used to getting something for free to start paying for it again?
But were interested in the music story here, and from the business side of things, iTunes has been an unqualified success. Still, there are detractors. Jon Bon Jovi seems to think the move toward digital has diminished the discovery experience of music, going so far as to claim Steve Jobs (when he was still with us) was killing the music business. I wonder sometimes. Certainly my teenage daughters experience music far differently from how I did when I was their age. I hung out in record stores, thumbing through racks of 12-inch vinyl, admiring the cover art and wondering how it represented the music inside. No need for that (either the record store or the experience of hanging out in one) when you have iTunes. My kids gather round the computer with friends, sample songs and buy the ones they like. I'm not sure my kids have ever put on the headphones and listened to an album from start to finish the way I did.
There are other criticisms of the digital model. For instance, does it give industry leaders, some of whom have "control" issues, too much influence over music they way they once did during the payola days? Or does the Long Tail Effect level the playing field, allowing more artists to get their music to their fans?
So here our question for the week: How much is there to Bon Jovi's claim that digital killed the music industry? We've talked about the tactile experience of ink-on-paper media. Is there a similar experience that the old album cover and liner notes, as well as being grounded to a fixed-site device like a turntable, that changes music forever? Is that really a change, and if so, is it necessarily a bad thing?
I'll look for your comments by Friday when I will open the Sound Media quiz is open and ready for your test-taking pleasure.
For newspapers grappling with a way to put the genie back in the bottle and figure out a way to get folks to start paying for their product again, the rise of iTunes may offer some hope: Maybe we can get people used to getting something for free to start paying for it again?
But were interested in the music story here, and from the business side of things, iTunes has been an unqualified success. Still, there are detractors. Jon Bon Jovi seems to think the move toward digital has diminished the discovery experience of music, going so far as to claim Steve Jobs (when he was still with us) was killing the music business. I wonder sometimes. Certainly my teenage daughters experience music far differently from how I did when I was their age. I hung out in record stores, thumbing through racks of 12-inch vinyl, admiring the cover art and wondering how it represented the music inside. No need for that (either the record store or the experience of hanging out in one) when you have iTunes. My kids gather round the computer with friends, sample songs and buy the ones they like. I'm not sure my kids have ever put on the headphones and listened to an album from start to finish the way I did.
There are other criticisms of the digital model. For instance, does it give industry leaders, some of whom have "control" issues, too much influence over music they way they once did during the payola days? Or does the Long Tail Effect level the playing field, allowing more artists to get their music to their fans?
So here our question for the week: How much is there to Bon Jovi's claim that digital killed the music industry? We've talked about the tactile experience of ink-on-paper media. Is there a similar experience that the old album cover and liner notes, as well as being grounded to a fixed-site device like a turntable, that changes music forever? Is that really a change, and if so, is it necessarily a bad thing?
I'll look for your comments by Friday when I will open the Sound Media quiz is open and ready for your test-taking pleasure.
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