Monday, January 28, 2008

The State of the Union

Hello gang,
Monday night was the State of the Union and the Democratic Response. I want you to view both by clicking below

State of the Union

Democratic Response

After viewing these, i'd like you to address the following.

1. Is this the first time you have viewed a State of the Union?
2. Did you find either the State of the Union or Democratic Response inspiring?
3. A recent poll stated that 70% of citizens feel that America is on the wrong track. How do you feel after these speeches?
4. What should have been said in these speeches?

Important: Please remember to put your names on these blogs. Sometimes i can't tell who you are based on a screen nickname.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

From One Dream to Another

What better way to honor Dr. King's memory than to look at the candidates who are fighting for the presidency. In the mix and being talked about as having a great shot at winning are a black man and a woman. Is racism dead? No! We have only to look at the recent incidents in Jena, Louisiana, to see we are a ways off. But perhaps we are getting there, one step at a time.

On a lighter note, here's our discussion for the week. What do you think about President Clinton napping off during MLK III's remembrance sermon? Is it disrespectful, or does it just show the guy's humanity? Who of us have not drifted off during a presentation? Or is it different in this account? If you know you are being watched by hundreds and by a camera, should you try harder? Watch the video by clicking here. I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Just wondering what you think of this moment. Don't short change yourself. Give me two full paragraphs and remember you can comment on your classmates responses as well. Also, if using a nickname online, please make sure i get your real name so i can give credit more easily.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Spring 2008 - Let the Blogging Commence

So this is the first blog of Spring Semester 2008. You'll have to join this site in order to post so make sure you go through that process. Sometimes i use questions from past semesters (like today's question). In that case you'll be able to read past students' comments. With that introduction, here's this week's post.

One of my favorite movies is "Anchorman" with Will Ferrell. It's great at showing the absurdity that may or may not take place in television news. Recently, a station in Tyler, Texas, hired a model to take over the position of anchorwoman. Needless to say, most of the station didn't like it. The whole thing was captured in a Fox reality show named "Anchorwoman." The station manager thought it was a good idea but people got upset. The reality show itself even flopped after one airing. You can find a summary of all this at http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2007/08/25/moos.anchorwoman.cancelled.cnn. Here's my question to you. Do looks matter in television news. Does gender matter? Does race matter? Does youth matter? Who do you want sitting at the anchor desk of your news? Who do you want sitting at a national network's newscast? Give me at least a two paragraph reply, and remember you can also comment on what other people write.