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?

The Not So Friendly Skies

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

United Airlines used to have an advertising campaign with the tagline "Fly the Friendly Skies." They had to retire that line after the beating of a paying passenger in April 2017. Here is the cell phone video of the incident. NPR discussed the public relations fallout.

Questions...

•How should United Airlines have handled the situation with Dr. Dao? What part of it is the worst for the airline's image?

•Is the United brand name damaged beyond repair? If two flights are nearly the same price and time, would you fly United or avoid it?

•Does it matter from a PR standpoint that passenger cell phone video exists?

•What other public relations disasters can you think of where a company's image was badly damaged?

Whose Thought Is It Anyway?

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

Some years ago one of the presidential candidates took a much-publicized trip to a flag factory. He had no particular reason to be there, but he knew that the TV and newspaper cameras would inevitably capture images of the candidate striding through an inspirational and photogenic sea of American flags. Besides, it was the Fourth of July. The candidate rose in the polls.

Advertisers know that the real way to persuade people is to grab them by their emotions. And emotions are most easily aroused through pictures. Sometimes those pictures are obvious, like flags in a flag factory, and sometimes they aren't. This video is about the persuasive power of images that aren't so obvious.

Questions...

•How were the advertising executives manipulated by subliminal images?

•Do you think this type of manipulation is ethical?

•Do you think this video is true? Is it exaggerated? Is it a pack of lies? How credible is the source?

•Create a subliminal ad for Mass Comm 101 on the Glendale College campus.

No Pants, No Problem

Publicity stunts are nothing new. P.T. Barnum organized circus parades in the 1800s to make sure locals knew the circus was in town. Monopoly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the iconic board game by having real investment bankers play Monopoly for real money. And this Sunday transit riders in cities around the world will ride the subway pantless.

International No Pants Subway Day started as a joke, but it also has the beneficial side effect of publicizing subways and streetcars as a youthful, fun and efficient form of transportation.

L.A.'s no pants day is being promoted on various social media platforms. Videos promoting the event are on YouTube.

Questions...

•Other than not being alarmed when large numbers of (mostly young) people suddenly show up without pants, how much should Metro promote this event?

•Why might Metro NOT want to promote the event? What could go wrong? Does it matter that pantsless riders are encouraged to meet at designated locations and be part of a group with a ride captain?

•Is this a good publicity stunt? What types of media attention could you imagine the pantsless riders getting?

•From a publicity perspective, why is it a good idea to do this on a Sunday?

Lovecraft: From Literature to Literaslur

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in October 2014.
This medianote was presented to TTh classes only.

We all have unfortunate personal failings. But not all of us are revered literary figures who have prestigious awards named after us. Horror/fantasy author H.P. Lovecraft was a much-loved author of weird, twisted tales. It turns out that in his real life he had weird, twisted attitudes about entire groups of people. Should a prestigious literary award stop bearing Lovecraft's name and likeness because of his racism? NPR reports.

Questions...

•In general, what should we do about revered historical figures who are later found to have deep personal flaws?

•Explain D.W. Griffith and Leni Riefensthal. Should we celebrate them as artists or deplore their flaws?

•Should we hold an author to the same moral standards as a politician? How about a movie star?

•What will likely happen if the World Fantasy Award Association changes its award? What will likely happen if they don't change their award?

•Should NPR be allowed to put examples of Lovecraft's racism in their story? Why or why not?

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?

Ready for Trump Tweets?

This is a Medianote Classic. It was originally presented in September 2015. In Spring 2016, it will be presented to TTh classes only.

Political campaigning is a race for name recognition and connection with various groups of voters. And then motivating those groups of voters to turn out at the polls. It should be no surprise that social media has become a large and growing part of political campaigns. NPR reports.

Questions...

•In Chapter 1, we learn that all media messages are constructions. How are these media messages constructions?

•Is social media particularly effective when there are a lot of candidates to choose from? How?

•How is a campaign tweeting live (or nearly live) from a debate an example of disintermediation?

•How might a campaign adjust its tweets for particular groups of voters?

•How might social media be used in a campaign for GCC student body president?

When the Room Starts Spinning

In politics, "spin" is the art of making the best cast possible for your candidate or against your opponent. Campaigns deploy "spin doctors" to talk to journalists after a debate, election or other political event. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What is spin? Is there ever any truth to it?

•Give an example of how spin can turn a second or third place candidate into a quasi-winner?

•Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders 55%-45% in the South Carolina Primary. How can the Sanders campaign spin that into a victory?

•How does spin work after a debate?

Harvard for Everyone!

Your Humble Blogger went to Harvard. OK, maybe he doesn't have a degree from Harvard, but he took the campus tour.

Today, you can take the campus tour at Harvard or Yale or many other elite (and not-so-elite) universities through virtual reality headsets. The Los Angeles Times reports.

By the way, the locals pronounce it Hahvahd (the local regional accent tends to pronounce "r" as "h".

Questions...

•Would you consider a VR tour when thinking about transfer, or do you prefer brochures, campus visits and other traditional recruitment tools?

•Should GCC send low-cost campus VR tours to prospective out-of-state or international students? Why or why not?

•What can't a virtual tour tell you about a prospective transfer campus?

•Will this type of campus tour do more to benefit students from high income families or low-income families? Why?

Tweeting Through War and Peace

Social media is immediate, portable and participatory. No wonder that it can be used to document war from the viewpoint of the average citizen. It can also be used to reach across the divide to talk with the enemy. NPR reports.

Questions...

•In what ways are Twitter, Facebook and YouTube valuable during times of war?

•Is citizen journalism more accurate or less accurate than professional journalism? Why?

•When might communicating with the enemy be a good thing? When might it be a bad thing?

•How should the US government use social media in war situations?

Taking Sides on Net Neutrality

In the 1950s, California began building freeways. Everyone with an automobile (and most motorcycles) could use it for free. Today, some motorists pay money to drive in a lane (sometimes called a "Lexus Lane") that usually has less traffic than the free lanes. The Federal Communication Commission is considering something like a Lexus Lane for the Internet. Except in this case, it would be the car companies (not the individual driver) who would pay for a faster lane for its customers. At issue is a concept known as "Net Neutrality." NPR reports.

Questions...

•Should companies be able to pay to have their web sites load more quickly than others over the Internet? Why or why not?

•If net neutrality is abandoned, who wins? Who loses?

•Which side of this debate best supports free market capitalism? Why? (Hint: a good argument can be made on either side)

Bold or Desperate?

Theodore Roosevelt said the presidency was a "bully pulpit." The real power of presidents, he believed, was to promote proposals and ideas to an audience of millions. In the 1930s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used network radio as his bully pulpit. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan used television. And perhaps Barack Obama is our first real Internet President.

President Obama recently appeared on a webisode of the Funny or Die show "Between Two Ferns." The result was surrealistic.

Questions...

•Why did the President do this?

•Describe the audience that watches "Between Two Ferns" on Funny or Die.

•Do you think it was a good idea for the President to do this? Why?

•Do you think the President got his message out?

•Why is Zach Galifianakis doing this show?

•Will web-based video eventually become mainstream television? Why or why not?

Upping Their Game?

The video game industry has grown so large that its profits rival that of the movie industry. So it makes sense that game makers are exploring the far reaches of what a game can communicate, while remaining playable and profitable. This NPR story discusses the rise of so-called empathy games.

Questions...

•Why do you think companies are experimenting with "empathy games"?

•Which is the better teaching tool--games or films? Why?

•Which is the better storytelling tool? Why?

•Which is the better persuasive tool? Why?

•Will empathy games be successful at broadening the gamer audience?

•Should games be considered a mass medium? Why or why not?

You have a Future in Sales! (Whether You Like It or Not)

Facebook and Google are turning you and your friends into advertising pitch people. When you like a product or a company's page, it may trigger an ad for that product that goes out to your friends with your name and photo on it. And this can easily happen without the product endorser's knowledge or consent. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•Give me examples of recommendations you might make to a friend?

•Why might you listen to a friend's recommenddation?

•How are these Facebook and Google ads similar to an endorsement by a friend? How are they different?

•Do you think these ads will be successful?

Google Searching for an Image Boost

Millions, even Your Humble Blogger, have seen the trailer. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are watch salesmen left jobless when the tech revolution ate their business. So they decide to try for a really cool internship at Google, where they stand out as older, average guys. But the real star of "The Internship" is Google, which may have taken product placement to a new level, according to this Los Angeles Times story.

Questions...

•What companies have image problems, and why?

•Are there any negative aspects to this level of brand placement for Google or for the film makers?

•Have American movies grown too corporate? If so, how?

•Would it be good for Glendale to have a movie set here? Why?

Are the Obamas Overexposed?

You don't become President or First Lady of the United States without media skills. And one of those media skills is the art of drawing attention to yourself in a positive way.

But public relations professionals will tell you that if you are in the media too much, people start getting tired of you. Britney Spears is a good example of this type of media overexposure.

This story on the National Public Radio website asks whether the President and First Lady are overdoing it, media-wise. Is it too much when the President gives you his March Madness picks, or when the First Lady turns up as an Oscar presenter? Or are they a power couple made for this media-saturated age?

Questions...

•Has the first couple gotten too much media exposure, about the right amount, or too little media exposure?

•What TV shows and events should the President and First Lady appear at in order to reach large numbers of people in a positive way?

•What shows and events would it be unwise for them to appear at?

•What shows and events could they appear at in order to appeal to people like you?

•How does the Jimmy Fallon video make you feel about Michelle Obama?

Leaping to Attention

Publicity is the art of drawing attention, and sometimes that is accomplished through self-styled daredevils performing wildly-dangerous stunts. Long ago, people would wrestle bears, walk on airplane wings, or go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Newspapers would send reporters. Movie newsreels would send out a crew. Radio networks would broadcast live.

Media has changed, and so apparently have the stunts. Felix Baumgartner is the latest daredevil to capture worldwide attention with his 24-mile plunge from a helium balloon to the New Mexico Desert.

What makes this stunt a game-changer is how it used social media. By encouraging tweets, posts, and reposts, Baumgartner and sponsor Red Bull siphoned some of the attention away from the baseball playoffs, the NFL season and other more conventional sporting events.

Questions...

•How do you gather a large audience in old media like television and newspapers? How do you gather a large audience in new media like YouTube and Twitter?

•Does this event work better with new media or old media? Why?

•Why do you think Red Bull sponsored this and not an insurance company or a car maker?

•Where do you expect Felix Baumgartener to turn up in the media now that he has everyone's attention?

•What does this sponsorship do for Red Bull's image?

•How do we know this isn't a hoax?

500th Post! Symbolic Speech

This is the 500th post to Club MediaNote. The MC101 blog began in January 2006.

First Amendment freedom of expression can include symbols and acts that have come to be known as "Symbolic Speech." The clenched fist is symbolic speech, as is the two-fingered peace sign. Even the burning of the American flag has been protected as symbolic speech.

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting and resulting controversy, has wearing a hoodie become symbolic speech? Certainly, the organizers of the Million Hoodie March think so. And so does Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), a Chicago-area congressman who was escorted off the House floor for donning a hoodie.

Questions...

•What are other types of symbolic speech?
•Why has wearing a hoodie become a powerful symbol? Why does it arouse such emotion?
•Describe a campus protest that could be organized around students wearing hoodies.

That's a Slick Name!

This should be a wonderful time at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. A fancy new exhibit for sea otters is opening. A celebratory press conference is scheduled for the very day that Your Humble Blogger bruises the tips of his little fingers by writing this.

But the hoopla and the happy visitors and frolicking otters will have to take a seat to controversy over the new exhibit's name. In honor of its largest corporate contributor, the exhibit is "The BP Sea Otter Habitat."

Yes, the same BP (British Petroleum) that is at the center of an environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Ouch!

The Los Angeles Times reports.

Toyota Needs an Image Mechanic

There are public relations firms that specialize in crisis communication. These firms help to restore a person's or company's good name. And Toyota is currently a huge example of a company facing a sudden image crisis. According to National Public Radio, Toyota's good name will not be restored overnight.