Monday, July 26, 2010

That's All, Folks

So that's it. No more blogs. Last week was the last. The last assignment is the final exam. It's already available for you to take. It must be done by 11:55PM on July 30th. No peeking either. Once you begin the exam, the timer starts ticking and you must finish within a certain amount of time. My suggestion would be to print out your slides and organize them well before beginning the exam. Good Luck and thanks for all your input.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Where does it go from here?

So what will happen to the media in the future. A recent poll found that most people think newspapers will be extinct by 2050. Also, this month amazon.com sold more books through their kindle (electronic form) than hardcover books. We've seen chain stores like Sam Goody's go out of business due to most people downloading their music. What do you predict happens next. How will cell phones change? How will radio change? How will television change? What does the future look like to you.

By the way, several of you pointed out that there was a test question on the midterm that referenced a video that was no longer available for download. I've decided to make sure everyone gets a bonus two points added on to their grade.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Was The Decision a Big Deal

Arguably, the big media event last week was the Lebron James announcement of what NBA team he would be following. It all culminated in "The Decision" a program highlighting James and his decision to join The Miami Heat (which many had speculated he would join). ESPN aired The Decision. But apparently The Decision was a somewhat pre-packaged and contrived program originally conceived by Jim Gray. It has been reported that Gray, as interviewer, and Lebron's corporate endorsers, as sponsors of the program, were part of a package deal. In other words, if ESPN wanted exclusive rights to air his announcement, they had to accept his interviewer and sponsors. Many sports critics have commented they were disgusted by the display of corporate driven propaganda which took place on a supposed "sporting news" channel. One such response can be read by clicking here.

Read the article linked above and let me know what you think. Does The Decision make a mockery out of sports? Do you think James will suffer any backlash for it? Does ESPN as an organization employing sports journalists have a responsibility to cover the event impartially or is ESPN just an entertainment channel which we should expect no more from than MTV or VH1?

Monday, July 5, 2010

The Press and the Military

One of the biggest stories related to journalism lately has been General McChrystal's relief from duty and subsequent retirement after a Rolling Stone article quoted him on issues regarding his relationship to President Obama and his administration. Some argued that the General's comments were concerned "off the record." Defense Secretary Gates has revised policy that senior military officials must request approval before giving interviews but that he still wants a good relationship with the press.

Do you think the Rolling Stone reporter should have published McChrystal's comments? Apart from classified information, should the press be willing to publish any information they feel relevant. Some opposing reporters have argued that in order to build rapport and gain access, sometimes you have to hold off on reporting information that you think the public would like to know. What do you think about people telling things to journalists but then saying "this is off the record"?