Category Archives: Uncategorized

And now you know… the rest of the story

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

Followup to several stories we’ve been talking about here: No Kidding! United dragging report: “Our review shows that many things went wrong that day.”  United had a terrible few days a couple of weeks ago when they ended up having airport … Continue reading →

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Are ‘Contact’ and ‘Prometheus’ essentially the same movie?

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

  I recently saw the 1997 science fiction movie Contact on streaming for the first time, nearly 20 years after its initial release.  And as I watched it, I was immediately struck by how many ways it resembled director Ridley Scott’s Alien … Continue reading →

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Media News Keeps Changing – PewDiePie and Playboy

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

One of the challenges of writing a media literacy/intro to mass comm textbook is keeping it up to date.  Even with new editions coming every two years, current events have a way of   changing the media world we live … Continue reading →

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“Do they still sing the blues in Chicago?”

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

I first became a Cubs fan back in the late 1970s in the years before lights were installed at Wrigley Field. That meant that all of the Cubs’ home games were day games.  This meant that during the long days … Continue reading →

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Free Webinar on “5 Tips for Teaching Intro To Mass Comm”

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

You are invited to join me on Wednesday, Oct. 19th at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, noon Central Time, for a free, live webinar: 5 Tips for Teaching Introduction to Mass Communication: Engaging Students Living in a Media World. Join me … Continue reading →

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Fashion icon Tim Gunn rips on industry’s treatment of plus-sized women

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

Tim Gunn, co-host of the fashion competition series Project Runway and leading advocate for women’s fashion, ripped into the industry (including his show!) today with an incendiary commentary in the Washington Post on the treatment of plus-sized women by the … Continue reading →

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Back To School With The Media

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

It’s Back To School time, so let’s look at some start-of-the-school-year themed stories: Oregon school district rescinds ban on rap music radio in school buses. Rule was no talk radio, religious radio, or rap music – pop/rock, country and jazz … Continue reading →

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Fastnachts for Shrove Tuesday

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

Today is the day before Ash Wednesday, which means that if you are in New Orleans or similar parts, you will be celebrating Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras implies many things, including those we won’t talk go into detail about here. … Continue reading →

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Star Wars VII tops Avatar as #1 North American Box Office

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

And we’re back for 2016. Hope you all had an enjoyable holiday break! So it really isn’t any surprise that Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is now the number one movie moneymaker of all time for the North American … Continue reading →

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Looking back at the original 1977 Star Wars

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

Thirty-eight years ago, in a movie theater not that far away, I saw the original Star Wars movie during the summer of 1977.  It was between my junior and senior years in high school, and the movie was the talk … Continue reading →

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