Check This!

Despite not having staff writers or an editorial page, Twitter often finds itself at the middle of some whopping free speech arguments. In April, it tried to crack down on false or misleading information about the Coronavirus by fact-checking dubious posts. And recently, it has fact-checked dubious claims in Tweets made by President Trump. Mr. Trump has reacted in characteristic fashion. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What exactly did Twitter do in response to Mr. Trump's Tweet about voting by mail?

•What has Mr. Trump vowed to do in response to Twitter's action?

•What is a larger reason why Twitter has acted now, in May 2020?

Trump and Biden Online

In six months, the presidential election will be over. Until then, expect and unusually harsh campaign. President Trump and presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden have very different styles: one is brash and polarizing, the other is genial consensus-builder. It turns out their online campaigns are very different as well. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What is the difference in approaches between the Biden and Tump online campaigns?

•How is the role of mainstream news media different in the two campaigns?

•What is the difference in approach in regard to reaching voters across the political spectrum?

On a Radio Long Ago and Far Away

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in January 2016.

Radio dramas and comedies were commonplace American entertainment from the 1930s through the 1950s. In the decades since there have been sporadic attempts to revive the genre, including an NPR-created version of "Star Wars" in 1981.

Could podcasts--which are done on nearly every imaginable non-fiction topic--possibly find a place for a new crop of radio dramas. Would people listen?

Questions...

•How do we listen to the radio, or radio-like programming such as podcasts? Where does it fit in in our lives?

•How is writing a radio drama different than writing a movie or TV show?

•Is it easier to turn a book into a movie or is it easier to turn a book into a radio drama?

•Who has listened to an audio book? Would a radio drama version be more satisfying or less satisfying? Why?

•Does the Long Tail Theory suggest that radio dramas are due for a revival? Why or why not?

On-Campus Field Trip, Dec. 5

You will have one more opportunity to earn five field trip points this semester... and you won't have to leave the campus to do it. Mona Field, professor emeritus of political science at Glendale College, will speak in Kreider Hall on Thursday, Dec. 5, 12:30-1:30 in Kreider Hall. To receive field trip credit, you must attend the lecture (the hall will fill up, so it is best to arrive a little early), sign the roll sheet and complete the following assignment:

1. What is CENSUS 2020 and why is it important for all Californians to participate?

2. What is REDISTRICTING and why does it affect you?

3. Describe how you would use media for a low-cost campaign to make GCC students aware of the census and to stress the importance of their participation?

Your assignment should be 200-300 words and it should be turned in by Thursday, Dec. 12.

Making the Call

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in May 2019.

Is a social media platform more like a publisher (Time Magazine, Washington Post) or is it more like the phone company? The difference is that publishers are responsible for what they put in their newspaper while the phone company is a common carrier that is not expected to listen in n phone calls. As a result, if a murder is discussed over the phone, legal scholars generally agree that the phone company is not an accessory to the crime.

Recently, Facebook removed some high-profile political extremists. What are the implications of this? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Legally speaking, do you think Facebook is more like a publisher or more like the phone company? Why?

•Does the First Amendment right to freedom of speech give controversial figures a right to access to Facebook or any other online platform?

•Should Facebook or any other online platform be held legally responsible for violent acts that are originally discussed or planned on their platforms?

•How should Facebook and other social media platforms handle speakers and messages that are deemed dangerous in other countries?

Get Real

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in November 2018.

In Fall 2019, this MediaNote was presented only to MW classes.

Apparently, Italian youth have some of the same problems telling the difference between factual news reports and fiction that American students have. So the Italian government (public education is more centralized there) has added How to Spot Fake News to the curriculum. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Should government offer training in how to spot fake news?

•Should school districts like Los Angeles and Glendale Unified (or GCC) offer training in how to spot fake news?

•Should social media companies do something about fake news? What should they do?

Coming Up Next ... Watching Paint Dry!

The following is a Medianote Classic. It was first presented on Nov. 25, 2013.

Norwegian TV is apparently quite different. We have TV shows about cops, robbers, teenage sexpots and vampires. They have TV shows about knitting. Are they just desperate for shows, or are they redefining the idea of what a TV show is? NPR reports.

Questions...

•How often do you give TV your undivided (or nearly undivided) attention?

•When is watching TV a stimulating activity?

•When is watching TV a soothing activity?

•When does TV let you experience something?

•In the future, when there are an unlimited number of channels, will television be a companion medium, like radio?

Here's the Pitch...

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in January 2017.

Your Aunt Mabel is holding a Tupperware Party. Friends, neighbors and relatives will assemble in the living room, relax over a bit of food and drink, and hopefully buy some Tupperware. It's a sales job, but it is also from someone you know. So you go and you buy.

The online version of this is the "Influencer." Influencers may post about a way of life or a product, but they're trying to sell you something. And tech-savvy young adults are more likely than most to be Influencers. NPR reports.

Questions...

•How do Influencers fit in with Paul Lazerfeld's 1940 People's Choice Study?

•According to the Indirect Effects Model, will the effects of an Influencer's message be predictable and uniform across the population seeing or hearing the message?

•Under the Transmission Model (SMCR), name the Sender, Message, Channel, and Receiver for the student Influencer in the story?

•In your estimation, are Influencers a passing fad, or are they here to stay? Why?

Window on the World or Terrorist Tool?

The mass shootings that killed 49 people in two New Zealand mosques were livestreamed for 17 minutes on Facebook. The social media company took down the video, but by then it had gone viral. Obviously, the role of Facebook Live and other forms of livestreaming will come under close examination. NPR reports...

Questions...

•What are the ways livestreaming can be used for good? What are the ways it can be used for evil?

•On balance, does livestreaming benefit the larger society or harm it?

•Does the First Amendment apply in this case? How much or how little?

•Should livestreaming have a delay, as with live callers to radio shows.

•Would international internet standards be a good idea or a bad idea?

Emergency MediaNote!

This MediaNote was presented to the MW class only.br>
Today at 11:18 am a new text-based emergency warning system will be activated. It supplements the emergency broadcast system that we have seen tested on television down through the years. But in these highly polarized times, there is concern from some that this national system could be misused. NPR reports.

Questions...

•For what sort of situations would the federal government need to send an emergency text message to everyone's phone?

•How might these emergency messages be particularly important to Californians?

•Should citizens have the right to opt out of receiving these messages? Why or why not?

•Are you concerned that President Trump or future presidents will misuse this system? What kind of misuse could you imagine?

NOTE: Glendale College has a text-based warning system called Nixle. If you want to sign up for Nixle (or simply know more about it), follow this link for details.

Bow to Your Computer Overlords!

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in Summer 2015.

Most of us have been exposed to the idea that if machines keep getting smarter and smarter, they will eventually take over and if we're kept around at all it will be as pets. Your Humble Blogger isn't quite that paranoid (or cynical), but he must admit that artificial intelligence is doing more and more of what humans used to do. Writing news stories, for example. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Why does news matter? How does it contribute to our ability to make sense of the world?

•"Disintermediation" will be described. How are computer-written news stories an example of disintermediation?

•Does it matter to you if computers write a growing number of news stories for us? Why or why not?

•Is there any human influence in the computer-written news stories?

•Do computer-written news stories leave us more susceptible or less susceptible to news monopolies? Why should news monopolies be avoided?

Hail to the Tweet

Would Donald Trump be President if Twitter didn't exist? It's an open question since it is certainly part of his success. As this NPR story suggests, maybe Mr. Trump is the first Twitter president.

Questions...

•Why is Twitter an effective medium for Mr. Trump? How are Trump and Twitter a good match?

•Is Twitter an inherently brutal medium? Is it anti-intellectual? How?

•What types of communications is Twitter good at? What types is it not so good at?

•What is the role of TV news and newspapers if the president doesn't hold news conferences, but tweets instead?

Is It Fun To Be Fake?

The human imagination can construct a seemingly limitless range of outrageous, hilarious, maddening or depressing thoughts. Real life, however, is bound by the dullness of reality.

On Twitter, a lot of true things are reported. But, according to a major academic study, it's the fake stuff that is more likely to be shared and spread. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What makes a good rumor, or good gossip?

•What are some of the best (or worst) fake news stories that you have seen?

•Why do you think false stories are more likely to be spread?

•Do you blame Twitter and other social media companies for the rise of false news?

•What should Twitter and other social media companies do about false news? What can we do about it?

With New Technology, What Is Acting?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in April 2016.

We're used to digital retouching of still photos, but what about movies? Apparently, the technology now exists to give an actor more (or fewer) wrinkles, greater facial expression and a lot of other things the actor might not be able to do on the set. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is this the end of acting? Why or why not?

•Is this an example of disintermediation? Who is being disintermediated?

•When does live action end and animation begin?

•What jobs will be created by this technology?

•Will audiences care if actors don't look in real life the way they look in the movies?

YouTube or TheTube?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in March 2017.

YouTube viewership continues to grow rapidly, while traditional television viewing has peaked, bringing us very close to the point where YouTube IS television as much as NBC is television. How is that changing what we watch and how what we watch impacts our view of the world? NPR reports.

Questions...

•If TV is more like YouTube in 10 years, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Why?

•Is YouTube more a short head or a long tail media outlet? Why?

•Should YouTube be more of a gatekeeper? How might gatekeeping change YouTube?

•Is YouTube's recommendation engine partly to blame for growing extreme beliefs and rhetoric in American society? Why or why not?

#HELP!

In response to the terrible flooding in Houston, some stranded residents have taken to social media to ask for help when the 911 emergency system was overburdened. But should you try to Tweet your way out of danger? NPR reports.

Questions...

•In what ways can social media be better than phones in a disaster situation?

•Can rescues and disaster resources be crowdsourced? What is good about crowdsourcing rescues and disaster resources? What is bad about it?

•What are the types of disasters where official first responders and other emergency services might be overwhelmed?

Let Me Be Brief

White House press briefings are a longstanding tradition. Reporters shout out questions to the press secretary. The press secretary answers, always carefully. The administration always complains about the aggressiveness of the news media, and the news media always complain that not enough information has been disclosed.

Is this a tradition that has outlived its usefulness? NPR reports.

Questions...

•What responsibility does the president's administration have to share information with the media and the public?

•What does the news media get out of the press briefings?

•What does the administration get out of the press briefings?

•Why not just Tweet directly to the public what the President or the press secretary want to say?

Is Protesting Free Speech Free Speech?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in January 2017.

There is an old joke about book publishers. It goes as follows...

What's the best way to make a small fortune in publishing?

Start with a large fortune.

In other words, publishing is a tough business. Perhaps as a result, some publishers are in it as much for their love of ideas or the printed word as they are in it for money.

Today, publishers are under pressure as never before. One of the problems they must deal with is the ongoing controversy over what the line is between harsh rhetoric and hate speech. NPR reports.

Questions...

•When a publisher rejects your book, is that an example of gatekeeping? Why or why not?

•Is gatekeeping an expression of First Amendment rights? If so, how?

•Are Long Tail publishing options (like Kindle Direct Publishing) good or bad for freedom of speech--or do they make no difference?

•Is it consistent with the First Amendment to criticize a publisher's choice to publish a particular book? How about if the protesters call for a boycott?

•What First Amendment controversies do you see today?

Alternate Fact News

The Democratization of Information is a cool concept. It is rooted in the idea that we now have the power of a tiny online publisher in our smartphones or through our social media accounts and blogs (including this one!). But Democratization of Information also has an unfortunate side. It can spread rumors and--to use a current phrase--alternate facts. A current rumor concerns the murder of a Democratic National Committee staffer. NPR reports.

Questions...

•How is the Democratization of Information good for us? How is it bad for us?

•Who is a credible source if we want to report on the murder of the DNC staffer and the investigation that followed? How should the story be reported if investigators don't know who committed the murder?

•Is it good reporting to report the rumor? Is it good reporting to report who is spreading the rumor?

•Is there any way we can get back to agreeing on basic facts?

Going...Going...Gone!

This Medianote was not presented to the MW 10:45 class.

ESPN, which according to your textbook was the most profitable part of the Disney media empire as recently as 2011, has just laid off a lot of employees. Obviously, its a whole new ballgame for the cable sports channel. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is television a dying medium? Why or why not?

•Would you prefer to buy cable stations "a la carte," or do you prefer paying for a large bundle of stations?

•Does professional (and college) sports still draw younger viewers, or is the audience mostly middle-aged and older folks?

•What could ESPN do to make its program stream younger and more inclusive?