YouTube eyes battle with cable television January 17, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: cable television, Hulu, media technology, Yahoo, YouTube
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Once the site only used to view viral videos, YouTube is now aiming to challenge cable television for audiences. Since recent studies have suggested that many Americans will soon have internet-ready televisions, YouTube has invested millions of dollars to develop new programs in order to get users to stay longer on the company’s site. More time on the site means more advertising dollars. YouTube is not alone in targeting television; Hulu, Yahoo, and Netflix have all announced similar plans.
For an example of some of the popular programming on YouTube, see the following episode of Annoying Orange:
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think that YouTube will be able to steal audiences away from cable television? Why, or why not?
2. What advantages might cable television have in the battle with sites like YouTube and Hulu?
Is texting ruining the language skills of young people? January 17, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: David Crystal, education, language, texting
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Educators and laymen have all been rather harsh on young people’s texting habits. Many have claimed that addiction to texting is making young people dumb by teaching them to be lazy in their language use. According to new perspectives, though, this fear may be overblown. Some educators have recently claimed that incorporating text-speak into the classroom can teach students to demonstrate language comprehension in different contexts. Academic research tends to support this point. According to one often-cited study out of Canada, teens who report to text frequently use an enormous range of types of new language but their shortcuts have little impact on their ability to correctly spell proper words.
For more, see the following statement from British linguist David Crystal:
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the popular criticism of texting? From your own experience, is there any truth to this criticism?
2. Under what conditions might texting be harmful to one’s language skills?
3. Is the fear of texting really overblown?
Commence the Assault! Conservatives attack Mitt Romney as “King of Bain” January 17, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: Advertising, attack ads, Mitt Romney, negative ads, Newt Gingrich, political communication, Politics
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As it becomes more and more likely that Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee for the Republican Party, attacks against his records are becoming harsher and harsher. A PAC associated with Newt Gingrich has produced perhaps the nastiest attack ad in the campaign so far. Its 30 minute ad called “King of Bain: When Mitt Romney Came to Town” is running in South Carolina and accuses the frontrunner of being a reckless capitalist. According to The Associated Press, the ad is factually incorrect in many places, so much so that many pundits believe that is should backfire. It should be no surprise that the widespread criticism of the negative ad has led Gingrich to ask that its sponsors pull it from television.
To see the ad yourself, watch the following video:
Discussion Questions:
1. Why are attack ads so effective? Under which circumstances might they backfire?
2. Why is the portrayal of Mitt Romney in “King of Bain” so controversial?
3. Can running attack ads like “King of Bain” hurt the party’s eventual nominee in the general election?
Do reality TV contests ruin child performers? January 6, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: Media ethics, Rachel Crow, Reality TV, X Factor
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Child singer and X Factor competitor Rachel Crow brought many Americans to tears when she fell to the floor in 2011 after being voted off the show by a television audience. It appeared as if the show’s judges purposefully created deadlock with the false assumption that she would survive another week. Crow’s devastation was obviously heart wrenching, and she described the incident as sad, depressing, and the end to a lot of pressure.
Crow’s incident highlighted the problems with using child performers in reality television. When much of the action is unscripted, their feelings of failure can be very real and entirely public. Even worse, according to some critics, child performers are rushed into careers without adequate time to develop. Such a maneuver could irreparably damage the bright careers they could have experienced as adults had they been given more time to mature.
To see Rachel Crow’s moment yourself, watch the following video:
Discussion Questions:
1. What benefits might children receive from starring in reality TV?
2. Why might children be ill-equipped to deal with the pressures of being on television?
3. Should child performers be prohibited in the use of reality TV shows?
Ringing in the New Year: The biggest stories of 2011 January 6, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: 2011, Journalism, media news
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Even before it came to a close, it was clear that 2011 was one of the busiest news years in memory. As NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reported, media consumers embraced hard news of all kinds. The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, for instance, found that international news went up from being 11 percent of all coverage in 2010 to a whopping 18 percent in 2011.
Which stories were the biggest of 2011? As far as media news goes, the Arab Spring and the Facebook Revolutions, the death of Steve Jobs, and the phone hacking scandal that shut down News of the World were at the top of the list.
For more on the biggest stories of 2011, see the following video:
Discussion Questions:
1. What makes something the top story of the year?
2. According to your own opinion, what were the top three news stories of 2011?
3. Was 2011 more newsworthy than other years? Why, or why not?
Why is the Iowa caucus important in the 2012 election? January 5, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: 2012 election, Iowa caucus, Mitt Romney, Republican Party, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul
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As the Iowa caucus wrapped up and it was clear that Rick Santorum – who is considered a fringe candidate without much national support – was almost the victor, many critics complained that the state’s contest means very little in the grand scheme of things. Some have said that the Iowa caucus is too far removed from the November election to signify what the public really things. Others have suggested that Iowa’s rural character, with a population that is over 90 percent white, is not representative of the rest of the country. Nevertheless, the Iowa caucus has its defenders. Those involved with the contest in one way or another have argued that the state matters because it provides the first contest that weeds out weak candidates – as it did with Herman Cain.
For more on the Iowa caucus, see the following video:
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the Iowa caucus? How is it different from a primary?
2. Is the Iowa caucus important in determining which candidates will succeed or fail in the national election?
3. How is the political race in Iowa different from bigger, more important states like Florida, New York, and California?
Angry Birds becomes international brand January 5, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: Advertising, Angry Birds, apps, branding, marketing, public relations, Rovio, Zynga
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Rovio Entertainment has taken the world by surprise over the last few years. The maker of “Angry Birds’ is now opening up retail stores all across China, hoping to pitch merchandise from its most famous game. In other parts of the world, there are plans to open up playgrounds with Angry Birds themed equipment. So quickly has Rovio grown that it brushed off a $2.5 billion buyout offer from Zynga, maker of Farmville, and has pursued branding strategies barely seen since Nintendo’s biggest days.
For more on Angry Birds and the rise of its brand, see the following clip:
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the appeal of Angry Birds? Is it as entertaining and iconic as Nintendo’s Mario Brothers?
2. What does the branding of Angry Birds say about the importance of apps for mobile technology?
3. What other kinds of apps could give rise to such branding?
American Horror Story transitions to unlikely television genre January 5, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: American Horror Story, Journalism
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Popular television show American Horror Story on FX is entering new territory. The finale for the first season wrapped up the story for the show’s main characters and made it clear that something new should be expected for the next season. Co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk confessed that they are attempting to do something different by introducing a new model: a season long anthology series telling stories for just one season, while being based loosely on themes common to all seasons.
FX risked almost everything for the show, and finds itself in tricky waters as fans express their disappointment with so many questions being unanswered.
For more on American Horror Story, see the following videos:
Discussion Questions:
1. How is American Horror Story supposed to be be a different genre?
2. Would an anthology be successful in America? Why, or why not?
Incest as the new plot twist in contemporary television dramas January 5, 2012
Posted by rmshepard in Uncategorized.Tags: Big Love, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Game of Thrones, incest, Lost, sex
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Some of the best shows on television over the last three years have one thing in common: they have been turning stomachs with plots about incest. Over the last year alone, HBO’s Game of Thrones entertained viewers with the romance between brother and sister Cersei and Jaime Lannister, and Showtime’s Dexter shocked fans with a subplot about sibling love. Similar plots were explored in Lost, Boardwalk Empire, and Big Love. While cable has given directors and producers the creative license to astonish audiences, viewers haven’t been pleased. As one regular watcher of Dexter commented in late 2011, “This is one plot twist we don’t need to see more of on television.”
The incest sub-plot isn’t radically new. The storyline has been used frequently in American soap operas. For example, see the following footage from the classic soap, Dynasty:
Discussion Questions:
1. What makes the incest plot twist so interesting to mass media audiences?
2. Assuming that the incest plot twist is more prevalent than ever before, what does this say about our society’s changing sense of morality?
3. Are their dangers in portraying incest so frequently in television shows?
