The Cost of Privacy

We are familiar with the idea that you are not as private on the Internet as you might think. Web sites you visit track you. So do your social media platforms. But what about your internet service provider (ISP)? You pay for their service. Do they also have the right to profit from you a second time, through selling your browsing history? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Does overturning this privacy rule bother you or does it not bother you? Why?

•What are the sorts of things a person might look for online that are not illegal, but you would still not want to be public?

•Would you pay your ISP more to not be tracked? How much more?

•The phone company can't listen in on your phone calls. Should it be the same with ISPs, or is it different for some reason?

Reality Umpire

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in October 2013.

Storyful may help put citizen journalism on the map. Or it may put full-time photojournalists out of work. Or it may help major news organizations preserve their credibility. Or it may be largely ineffective.

Storyful is a reality verification service for newspapers and other news outlets. Is a video shot by an onlooker to a disaster real or fake? Oftentimes, editors do not have the training to make that judgment. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is it important for us to know that a news story is real? Why?

•Is Storyful good or bad for free-lance journalists? Is it good or bad for established new outlets like the Los Angeles Times?

•How is Storyful changing how media outlets cover important events?

Los Angeles Times Field Trip

The link to the Los Angeles Times tour signup list is no longer active. Both tours are full.

There is no signup list for the afternoon field trip to the Los Angeles Central Library.

Print Lives!

Student newspapers often exist in semi-obscurity. But they are often the only media to provide news coverage of a campus on an ongoing basis. Glendale College's student newspaper is the El Vaquero. We will take a look at it in class.

Questions...

•What stories in this issue will probably only appear in the El Vaquero because they are GCC specific?

•What ads in the paper are directed at the GCC student?

•What skills are the students on the paper developing, and how can they be put to use in the world beyond newspapers?

•What should a student newspaper do? What can it do to appeal to young adults who do not usually read newspapers?

Extra Credit Opportunity, March 23

Occasionally, there is a special lecture on campus that so neatly fits into the subject matter of Mass Comm 101 that it makes sense to offer it as an on-campus field trip. One of those occasions has just presented itself. Next Thursday's Humanities-Social Science Lecture featuring recently-retired GCC Professor Michael Moreau is available for field trip credit (5 points) if you do the following...

1. Attend the lecture and sign one of the attendance forms that will circulate through the crowd. Write next to your name that you are one of my students (Eberts).

2. Write a 200-300 word essay on the following questions about the lecture: (a) According to the speaker, what is "Alt-News" or "fake news"? (b) According to the speaker, why has this type of news become a bigger problem recently? (c) What can be done about this type of news, either by the individual or the larger society?

3. Turn in your essay no later than 2 pm on Thursday, March 30. Either turn it in at the end of class, or drop it off at my office (SG315).

Field Trip Rescheduled

Our Los Angeles Times and LA Pubic Library field trips have been moved to 4/6. Details on the field trip flyers available in Digital form on Moodle or on paper (the paper flyer will be passed out in class later this month).

Road Trip for Serious Students

Your Humble Blogger received the following notice from Dr. Kevin Meza of the Glendale College Transfer Center:

Hello GCC!

Our Transfer Center college tour tradition continues as we are able to take our students to UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara. The tours, sightseeing in San Francisco, transportation, and housing for only $25. Please share this information with your students.

Applications are in the Transfer Center, San Rafael Building, Second Floor.

·Priority deadline to apply is March 8th at 5:00pm
·Depart GCC: Monday morning, April 17th
·Return to GCC: Wednesday night, April 19th
·Call (818) 240-1000 ext. 5442 for more information
·Apply ASAP! Do not miss this opportunity!