Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Will we be extremists for love or hate? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Ralph Hanson

One of the greatest honors of my life was being invited to speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr. candlelight vigil several years ago at the UNK student union, along with Kevin Chaney, who was then UNK’s women’s basketball coach.  Here’s what … Continue reading →

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Set Free The C-SPAN!

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Ralph Hanson

If you’ve been watching the Kevin McCarthy for Speaker mess over in the U.S. House of Representatives on C-SPAN (and who among us hasn’t been riveted on C-SPAN that last four days?), you can’t help but notice that the video … Continue reading →

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2022 in Review – Ralph’s favorite and most memorable books, movies, music, video games & TV shows

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Ralph Hanson

I don’t know that I believe in a Best Of Annual Review, but here’s a list of what I enjoyed in media during 2022. Favorite Audio Book/Book Series: Andy Serkis reading The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the … Continue reading →

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We’re back! A Year In Movies 2021 – Part 10

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

In December of 2020, when it became clear we were not going to be returning to normal life any time soon, we purchased a big honking 55-inch 4K TV and settled in for a year of watching movies at home. By Dec. … Continue reading →

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99 Great Kids’ Books From the WaPo

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Going to take the lazy way out on this and just put up the Twitter thread…. My mother read The Hobbit and many of the Narnia books to me at bedtime as a grade schooler. I loved them for that … Continue reading →

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I am thankful…

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

I posted the following on my Facebook page over the Thanksgiving holiday. Since I asked my students to do a Thanksgiving post, I thought I would do one, too. So much to be thankful for this year! I am: Thankful … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post: How Ticketmaster Failed Us and Taylor Swift

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Let me start by saying I’m not a Swiftie. I’ve listened to her Folklore album a time or two and viewed her Tiny Desk concert. That’s about it. I first learned about all of the fuss about how Ticketmaster was … Continue reading →

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How do journalists cover elections & Trump this time around?

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

I’ve been writing lately about how journalists covered the 2022 election. Is it too early to start thinking about the 2024 election? Even if it is, lots of journalists have started doing so. Let’s take a look: Center right WaPo … Continue reading →

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Improving election coverage – Reflections on Election Day 2022 – Part 2

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

I’m not one to hammer on “THE MEDIA,” whatever that may be, but I do think there are things that journalists can do to improve their coverage of elections.: Maybe the real lesson of tonight’s election for my colleagues and … Continue reading →

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Reflections on Election Day 2022 News Coverage – Part 1

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Ralph Hanson

Election Day 2022 went remarkably smoothly. There are still a number of uncalled contests, most notably three US senate races as of this writing mid-afternoon on Thursday, Nov. 10. But so far it appears that people were able to reliably … Continue reading →

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