Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mass Communication and Fear

I’m guest lecturing today in a  class on the Science of Fear.  Here are some readings that I’ve put together on the topic.  

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Getting Old

Years ago when I got my first job as an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, Jack Sisco, the gruff, old director of the program looked at me and said: “It’s bad enough when the incoming freshmen could be your … Continue reading

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Remembering Pete Seeger – Singing all the verses all the time

American folk singer and activist (but I repeat myself) Pete Seeger died yesterday at the ripe old age of 94. I never got the chance to see Pete in person, but I did see so many of the people he … Continue reading

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Was Justin Bieber the most important story in America yesterday?

As you no doubt have heard, if you were paying attention to almost any news media in America yesterday, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber was arrested early Thursday morning for drag racing and DUI in Miami, Florida.  In fact, if … Continue reading

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Pop Culture Roundup

World’s Oldest Romance Writer Passes Away at Age 105 And she so doesn’t fit into your stereotypes.  (Unless your stereotype is of someone who was supposedly conceived during an affair with a Russian duke… DiGiorno pizza gets good response to … Continue reading

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Media News Roundup

Al Jazeera America gives viewers a more serious look at the news This summer I had my online media literacy students watch Al Jazeera English online for half an hour.  They were all surprised at how serious of a newscast … Continue reading

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Could This Be The Copyright Law Update We Need?

There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding copyright law as of late that charges that it is hopelessly biased toward the rights of large, corporate media (i.e. Disney and the like). Under current copyright law, it is apparently legal for … Continue reading

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Remembering Roger Ebert

“Roger Ebert loved movies. Except for those he hated” It was hard to get the news last week that Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert had died of cancer.  Just the day before he died, Ebert had announced on … Continue reading

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

And we’re back after a pause for getting fun things like taxes done. Is Nike getting what they want from the Tiger Woods “Winning” ad? (Ad Rants) How does the the 2013 movie box office compare to 2012’s at this … Continue reading

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Pop Culture Charley – Handicapping the Oscars

Charley Reed has done enough guest blog posts here that I’m no longer going to consider him a guest poster.  Instead, I’m going to put his great commentaries on pop media culture under the heading Charley’s Pop Culture.  Here are … Continue reading

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