Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Journalism movies and my students

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Every year in my JMC 406 – Commentary and Blogging class I have my students watch a prominent journalism movie. Usually, All The President’s Men would be at the top of my list, but given that several students watched it while in … Continue reading →

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Advertising: Revisiting Cutting Through The Clutter

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

This is an update of an older blog post on advertising, cutting through the clutter, and creative tastelessnes for a topic I’m talking about in class this morning. In advertising, a tension often exists between creativity and salesmanship.  An ad … Continue reading →

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Dinners and drinks with my blogging students

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

This week, my JMC 406 Blogging and Commentary students had to write an experiential food commentary for their blogs, and I got a fantastic group of stories ranging from eating mac ‘n’ cheese while sick with COVID to dining out … Continue reading →

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Where can I find help online with media research?

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

There’s been a bunch of great advice on Twitter over the last week about finding good resources online for media research. Here’s several examples. How can I tell how often things are mentioned on cable news? Wondering how often a … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s Gone to the Movies: Silent Films – Media Literacy Clips Day 1

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

My original version of this post dates back to 2012.  Here’s a refreshed version with working links. Animations of Muybridge people-in-motion images: Note: Many of these contain some nudity. Click on image for video. Will need to authenticate for age. … Continue reading →

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Paper Books v. Audiobooks: Are you a book sniffer?

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

There have been a number of Twitter threads lately asking for contrasting opinions on audiobooks v. paper books (and to a lesser degree, e-books). I find this a little strange, as they are clearly different media. But if you ask … Continue reading →

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Who are columnists you might want to read?

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

This list of interesting columnists is not just for JMC 406 Commentary and Blogging students. You might find someone you like to read here, too! Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist.  His column written in response to the events of 9/11 struck … Continue reading →

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Separating real and fake news online

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Just because people are talking about something online doesn’t mean that something exists. Especially if it’s something really stupid you would like to believe about stupid people. The Tide Pod challenge was largely a figment of people’s imagination. But Tide … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Why was having a red-headed Little Mermaid important? And how could it have led to recasting the role for a Black actor? (Note: If you go back to the 19th century, there was an argument that Irish folk (i.e. red … Continue reading →

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Remembering 9/11 over the years.

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s note: Much of this is drawn from a series of annual posts I have made over the years to commemorate 9/11 It was 21 years ago this morning that I was teaching my freshman media literacy course at West … Continue reading →

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