Category Archives: Chapter 1

Secret 1 – The media are essential components of our lives

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Critics often talk about the effects the media have on us as though the media were something separate and distinct from our everyday lives. But conversations with my students have convinced me otherwise. Every semester I poll my students as … Continue reading →

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The Seven Secrets About The Media “They” Don’t Want You to Know 2.0

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Media literacy is a tricky subject to talk about because few people will admit that they really don’t understand how the media operate and how messages, audiences, channels, and senders interact. After all, since we spend so much time with … Continue reading →

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Remembering Senator John McCain

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

There is much about Sen. John McCain that I have admired throughout my adult life, starting when he was my senator in Arizona back in the early 1990s. The wide range of people praising Sen. McCain demonstrates that we do … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post – Streaming and Mainstreaming: Spotlight on LGBT Media

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

A couple of months ago I saw the following Tweet from my online friend Candice Roberts: Given that Dr. Roberts knows much more on this subject than I do, I invited her to do a guest blog post, which she … Continue reading →

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Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves To Death is as relevant now as it was more than 30 years ago

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Back in 1985, NYU communication professor Neil Postman published his book Amusing Ourselves To Death. This book has had an influence on me my entire academic career.  Among the reasons it had such an impact on me was this interview C-SPAN … Continue reading →

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XKCD answers the question “What will new technology do to us?”

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

When you have questions about what will technology do to us, the first place to look at is the web comic XKCD: Remember: New technology is always scary!

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Telling the story of the California fires through comics

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

We often think of comics as being either funny stories or super hero dramas.  And they can be all that. But many of the best comics tell intensely personal stories about life, death, and surviving the time in-between. I was reminded … Continue reading →

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Twitter Responses are the New Autograph (All media are social)

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

Updated 10/9/17 We all have our moments that David Letterman called a “brush with greatness,” moments where our lives intersect with someone famous. In the past, when you met a movie star, musician or famous author, you might ask for … Continue reading →

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What do we talk about when we talk about fake news – Part 3

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

This is the final day of sequentially posting a paper I’m giving at the Western Social Science Association.  Instead of being in the form of a traditional academic paper, I’m going to post it in HTML with links to many of … Continue reading →

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What do we talk about when we talk about fake news? Part 2

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

Over three days I’m sequentially posting a paper I’m giving at the Western Social Science Association.  Instead of being in the form of a traditional academic paper, I’m going to post it in HTML with links to many of the … Continue reading →

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