Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Words Matter – Thoughts on Wednesday’s Insurrection, Part 1

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Ralph Hanson

The violent insurrection in Washington, D.C.  Wednesday was both utterly predictable and unimaginable. My feelings about those events go well beyond the scope of this blog, so instead of laying out my feelings, I’m going to share a variety of … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post: Disney+ The Future of Content Ownership?

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s Note: A little over a year ago, I asked Dr. Amber L. Hutchins, Associate Professor of Communication at Kennesaw State University, if she would be willing to write something for my blog about all the changes taking place at Disney … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe) – Poetry, paint and mysterious art edition

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Why does Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” resonates so strongly now? Poynter Institute’s Roy Peter Clark agues that’s because it always resonates. (And I would argue Auden does, too.) Yeats wrote "The Second Coming" while his wife was recovering from … Continue reading →

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News Outlets Don’t Officially Call Elections

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

So everyone. Yes, Biden has won, but not because the AP or any other news outlet said so. #BREAKING: Joe Biden has been elected President of the United States, according to an AP race call. https://t.co/Ktba34KmMQ pic.twitter.com/hKxFGM7Vch — NPR Politics … Continue reading →

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Election Day Eve

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

As I write this, it’s the night before the completion of one of the the most contentious presidential elections I can remember. Here are a few thoughts to take you through till we know the official results. Media election planners … Continue reading →

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Will “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” be true again?

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Back in May, I wrote a long post about the effects the COVID19 pandemic is having on the movie and movie theater industries. The short version? It’s a disaster. Theaters stayed closed for months and movie producers have had to … Continue reading →

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Fighting Against “Fake News” with the Truth Sandwich

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

This week my media literacy class is working on the concept of fake news.  I’m having them take a look at the history of how both the concept and term have been used over the last several centuries. Aside from … Continue reading →

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When Respected News Media Turn Zombie

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Earlier this week I recorded a short video for my media literacy class explaining why this would be the last semester I’m teaching a unit on magazines.  The industry, basically, is dying. It was a difficult decision to remove the … Continue reading →

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Remembering Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

It was with great sadness, though not much surprise, that I learned about the death of United States Supreme Court associate justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, a group I belong to started putting together plans for … Continue reading →

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Memories from 9/11 – Musicals, Movies and Motorcycles

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

It was 19 years ago this morning that I was teaching my freshman media literacy course at West Virginia University.  I had a class with close to 350 students in it.C-SPAN’s Washington Journal morning show was playing on the big screen as … Continue reading →

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