Dinner, Drinks, and a Movie ... All at Once

Today's medianote is based on a recent Los Angeles Times article about Muvico, a Florida-based movie theater company that is experimenting with 21-and-older theaters that serve dinner and drinks as part of an upscale night at the movies. Muvico is trying to tap into a group of adults who would go to the movies more often if there weren't squealing children or gabbing teens to deal with.

MWF Classes Only

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #76



***NO POST ON MONDAY OCT. 1 The next Club MediaNote post will be on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Can a T-Shirt Have First Amendment Rights?

USC. Hollister. Great Western Bicycle Rally. The Sopranos. I'm With Stupid.

There are a lot of brand names, slogans and assorted other messages emblazoned on t-shirts. It is a common form of marketing, brand-building, and self expression ranging from whimsical to deadly serious. But is it covered by the First Amendment right to free speech?

Today's medianote comes from a recent Los Angeles Times article about Dan Frazier and the anti-war t-shirts he has designed and sells online. They contain the names of American soldiers who died in Iraq with the words BUSH LIED superimposed over them. Parents of some of the dead soldiers have contacted Mr. Frazier asking to have the names of their loved ones removed, and Mr. Frazier has refused. Laws have been passed in five states (including Arizona, where Mr. Frazier resides) that require permission from members of the military or their next of kin before their names can be used commercially. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the state laws are an unconstitutional limit on political speech. A court clash seems likely.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #75



FREE POWERPOINT VIEWER I got a good question at the beginning of class today ... How can a student view the PowerPoint lecture notes I have on WebCT without having PowerPoint on a computer at home? The answer is that Microsoft has a free PowerPoint viewer that anyone can download.

When Movies Stir Intense Emotions...

A recent National Public Radio story sparked a discussion about the responsibility of film makers to ensure the safety of actors not just during the shooting of a movie but after it is released as well. A film based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel Kite Runner opens in November and there are already fears that some of the child actors in the film could be in danger. Kite Runner addresses ethnic and social class tension in Afghanistan and portrays the Taliban in a negative light.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #74

Screen Hugger

Today's Medianote comes from a Reuters news story about a British university study on social networking sites and the nature of friendship. A team of researchers at Sheffield Hallam University found that people with MySpace or Facebook sites have no more close friends than those who are not active in the social networking social networking world. The researchers concluded that the bonds of close friendship are difficult to develop without face-to-face interaction.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #73



We got a rare treat on our Downtown Walking Tour on Friday. We were allowed onto the top floor of the historic Bradbury Building.

Bruin or Trojan? Anteater or Banana Slug?

Fiat Slug translated from Latin is "Let There Be Slug."

On Wednesday and Thursday the medianote portion of MC101 was turned over to Kevin Meza of Glendale College's Transfer Center. He has made very interesting presentations to the MC101s about how to successfully transfer from Glendale College to some really cool universities. And there are some excellent choices out there for students with good, but not great, GPAs.

On Friday we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Search (and Rescue) Engine

Google can help you find the average annual rainfall of Glendale, California (17.49 inches, in case you were wondering) or a picture of Millard Fillmore's grave (it's refreshingly unpretentious). But can the world's most used search engine help with the search for a downed aviator? Google Earth is doing exactly that as the search for Steve Fossett continues.

We listened to a National Public Radio story that explains where Google Earth gets its satellite photos, how often they are updated, how new photos are being shot for this search, and how thousands of people are joining in the search without leaving their desks. We also discussed the privacy implications of Google Earth and similar services, especially as new communications satellites are launched that can shoot ever-clearer pictures.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #72




These MC101s were all smiles as we bagan our day of Downtown field trips at the Los Angeles Times on Friday.

And Now, a Message from Our Sponsor...

A Yahoo! News article entitled In-Game Advertising Company Adopts TV Ad Model discussed the increasingly serious efforts taking place to turn online games into an advertising medium. Double Fusion is a company that helps to place ads in online games. At this week's Austin Game Developer's Conference, Double Fusion is introducing a technique for putting ads into games on short notice. This would open up some interesting possibilities for political ads, sporting event ads, and others where the message is crafted at the last minute.

The article holds out the possibility that some classic games may be relaunched as completely advertiser-supported. That would certainly keep more games in circulation for longer periods of time, but how will gamers react to the ads and the companies they tout?

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #71



***NO MEDIANOTE ON FRIDAY Mass Comm 101 students (and this humble blogger) will be field tripping all day on Friday, Sept. 14. Expect a photo or two of the field trip to be posted next week.

Avatar Superstar

The first audio medianote of the semester comes from a National Public Radio story about 50 Cent and other artists who are beginning to promote their music in the virtual world, complete with avatars that represent the artist. Will this type of music promotion become as major a promotional tool as radio airplay or music videos?

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #70



***GEE, THIS NEWSPAPER SMELLS! Yesterday's Los Angeles Times allegedly contained an ad for an upcoming movie about an enchanted toy store, Mr. Margorium's Wonder Emporium. Even if you don't see the ad amidst the mess 'o papers that is the Sunday Times, you might be able to smell it. According to a press release from the paper, the ad was printed with ink that smells like cake frosting which, presumably, will make people, um, hungry to see the film. Sadly, I didn't smell anything funny in my paper. So if you've got the ad, bring it in to class and we'll engage in a bit of newspaper sniffing.

Do Little Couch Potatoes Become Big Slackers?

A recent Reuters story brings up the possibility that small children who watch a lot of television are at an elevated risk for attention disorders by the time they become teenagers.

The article presented some highlights from a long-term panel study that was published in the journal Pediatrics. This was the first medianote of the fall semester and it was presented to all of the Mass Comm 101 daytime classes.

Gabcast! Club MediaNote #69

Welcome Fall 2007 Students

Here is an opening day look at the MWF 1045 class.

I expect to have more than 250 students in my four MC101 classes this semester, so it will take a while for me to get to know you.

This should be a great semester in Mass Comm 101. There are six optional, extra-credit field trips that have already been scheduled, and there is the possibility of more falling into our collective laps.

Developments in the world of mass media continue to happen stunningly often. And when these developments occur, we'll try to figure out what it will mean for both media professionals and for media consumers. Those discussions typically take place during the medianote section of MC101, near the beginning of class. This blog, Club Medianote, carries summaries of medianotes. In fact you can scroll down to see what we discussed in the summer class.

I'll post one or more photos of my MC101 classes as they look during their first class session. It's fun to see the room packed with students.

Even after having to turn away some students, opening day in Mass Comm 101 was pretty crowded. This is the TTH 1:15 p.m. class.