Fake news -- Real Extra Credit

MC101 student William Melikian (who brought Vrej Agajanian to campus) is organizing an academic conference devoted to Fake News. MC101 students are encouraged to submit their term papers to the address on the flyer above and to attend the conference. For those looking for extra credit, Your Humble Blogger is making the following offer:

•All MC101s can attend the conference for field trip credit.

•MC101s who submit and present a paper on the conference topic will receive double field trip credit.

Please note the the location of the conference has not been announced yet, although it will certainly be on the GCC campus. The room number will be posted here when it becomes known.

Papers, Quizzes, Notes To Be Returned on Wednesday and Thursday

Be in class later this week as your research papers, quizzes and Getty Center notes* will be passed back. MW classes will get them at the end of class on Wednesday. TTh classes will get them at the end of class on Thursday.

*Please note that the Getty notes will go back to the first name listed on the field trip form.

Students on Snowden

For the last MediaNote of the semester, Your Humble Blogger will downgrade his role to moderator and MC101 students will present the material. Given the continuing controversy surrounding Edward Snowden, we will discuss questions from the research paper in class.

•Why is Edward Snowden controversial? What did he do? How do his action’s compare with those of Julian Assange?

•According to your sources, why are Snowden’s actions a danger to the security of individuals, corporations, and nations?

•According to your sources, why is Snowden a force for openness, fairness and a better world?

•You be the commentator: In light of Snowden’s actions, is secrecy in government or in corporations becoming a thing of the past?

A Long Tail Tale?

Your Humble Blogger is intrigued by the Long Tail Theory. Maybe that's why it is one of the topics for this semester's Mass Comm 101 research paper.

So for those of you writing on The Long Tail, here's a story to listen to, think about, and perhaps mention in your paper. The Puppy Channel's tale is cute and engaging. But is it a good test of The Long Tail? Is The Puppy Channel's founder a Long Tail pioneer, or just a guy who needs to get out more?

And while we are on the subject of getting out more, Your Humble Blogger wishes all MC101 students a safe and fun Spring Break.