Next step for papers

Give me 500 words by Friday on the future of books, both electronic and print. Will ebooks replace old-fashioned paper, or will the two forms peacefully coexist.

See you in class.

Radio Radio

Tomorrow we will talk about that most ubiqutous form of mass media, radio. To help prepare, check these two videos out on You Tube.

Young Elvis showing us geeks could be cool in the 70s

A more mature Elvis fronting the Beastie Boys on the 25th anniversary show of SNL

Here are the lyrics to this 1970s New Wave classic:

I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial
Doing anything my radio advised
With every one of those late night stations
Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes

I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
When the switch broke 'cause it's old
They're saying things that I can hardly believe
They really think we're getting out of control

Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio

I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they'd never seen me

Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed

You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel

Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio

Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
Wonderful radio
Radio, radio

Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio

Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio

No class today

Sorry, I'm out sick today. We'll meet on Wednesday.

Justice reviews story before publication

This is just kind of strange. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy required prior approval of a story by a student newspaper before he'd agree to allow it to cover his appearance at the school.

Fines for pirating music

Here's the NY Times story on the Boston University student hit with $675,000 in fines for downloading music illegally.

Sounds like he got some bad legal advice from the Harvard professor who defended him in court.

The partisan divide

Here's a look at how cable news networks have attracted a much more partisan audience during the last decade.

Does the "Long Tail" theory influence this trend? If so, how?