Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Questions Worth Asking… Maybe – Back To School Edition

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

First day of school for Fall ’24 at UNK today! Here are some media questions worth asking… Maybe. Where can I watch big events, like the Republican and Democratic political conventions, without interruption by commercials and commentators? The national treasure … Continue reading →

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WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich freed from Russian prison in massive prisoner swap

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

The job of being a journalist around the world can be a dangerous one; reporters literally risk their lives to report the news. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that in 2023, 99 journalists and media workers were killed … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s gone to the movies – Midsummer ’24 edition

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

Remembering the genius that was Robert Towne Legendary screenwriter/script doctor Robert Towne died Tuesday, July 2, at the age of 89. He was most famous for writing the original screenplay for the neo-noir Chinatown (1974) as a movie for Jack … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on closing out the ninth edition of Mass Communication

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

As I have been closing out work on the ninth edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, it’s amazing to think back on how different things were back in the spring and summer 2020 when I was finishing … Continue reading →

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Conflicts between newsroom and management at Washington Post

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

NOTE: Sorry for the recent lack of posts. I’ve been writing away on the ninth edition of Mass Communication, Living in a Media World that comes out in 2025. Expect to see posts based on some of that material as the … Continue reading →

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Video Game Examples

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

  Atari Pong – First Commercial Video Game? Mario over the years Tomb Raider – Girl Power or Male Gaze? Using Final Fantasy to Create Machinima animation Mortal Kombat Fatality Grayson the Fish Playing Pokemon Presidential Candidate Herman Cain Quotes … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s Gone To The Movies: 2024 Oscars Edition

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

Some thought’s from last night’s Oscar broadcast. People often tell me I see connections between movies that no one else does. For example I think that Rober Zemeckis’ Contact and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus tell thematically similar stories. And I have argued at … Continue reading →

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Interesting Columnists – 2024

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post Writers Group Dionne is a liberal Catholic columnist and blogger for the Washington Post who takes a fairly serious, measured response.  Provocative without being a flame-thrower.  When Pope Benedict stepped down in 2013, he called for … Continue reading →

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What happens when a library burns? Depends on what the books are made of

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

How big of a book nerd am I? While researching book history this morning, I pulled these three volumes out of my personal library. Here’s some of what I found: Canadian railroad economist Harold Innis wrote one of the most … Continue reading →

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How Do Social Media Affect Young People?

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Ralph Hanson

Frances Haugen was a Facebook product manager whose job was to protect against election interference on the social media site. She worked at the company for nearly two years, departing in May of 2021. During her time at the social … Continue reading →

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