Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Remembering Herman Cain – The presidential candidate who loved Pokémon

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain (and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza) died today of the novel coronavirus. He is one of the most prominent American political figures to have died from COVID-19. While I was never a political fan … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Why are journalists resisting court orders to turn over photos and videos of demonstrations to police? Because journalists are supposed to be independent observers, not part of the police force. If journalists are forced to turn over their images and/or … Continue reading →

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I’m Back: What did I miss?

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

After an intense spring of work on the eighth edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, a full draft of the manuscript is with the editor’s at Sage.  That doesn’t mean I’m done working on the book, but it … Continue reading →

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The media world on Twitter: Short takes on complex issues

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

I’m spending most of my time right now trying to complete the eighth edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World for my publisher Sage.  I’ve been blessed with some friends who have been kind enough to write guest blog … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post – Caught in the Crossfire: Journalism’s “Objectivity” Problem in Times of Civil Unrest

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Another excellent guest blog post, this one from Dr. Michael J. Socolow. While working in the CNN Los Angeles Bureau in the early 1990s, Prof. Socolow was an Assignment Editor helping to direct coverage on such stories as the O.J. … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post: Executive Orders & Social Media`

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Today’s guest blog post is from TCU journalism professor and media lawyer Chip Stewart who tweets as @MediaLawProf. He is the author of multiple books, including Media Law Through Science Fiction: Do Androids Dream of Electric Free Speech? Social Media and the … Continue reading →

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Live sports are TV’s salvation – but there ain’t no sports…

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

It’s pretty clear that the one thing that draws people age 18-49 to conventional TV these days is live sports. So what happens when there aren’t any live sports anywhere in the world? With all the choices globally, that’s an … Continue reading →

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Movies and Theaters in the Age of COVID19

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Back in March of 2020, it was becoming clear to the movie industry that it was going to be a significant amount of time before audiences were going to be gathering in large numbers anywhere, let alone close-packed movie theaters. … Continue reading →

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Putting popularity of government action on COVID19 in context by comix XKCD

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

XKCD is a comic about range of geeky issues, but it is often about how to present data in interesting and honest ways. This one does a great job of putting the popularity of government efforts to protect us from … Continue reading →

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Lin-Manuel Miranda talks with AP History Students on Primary Sources and Writing Hamilton

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Ralph Hanson

Our time of COVID19 isolation has led to a wide range of unusual media content out there.   But for me, nothing has been as cool as all of the Hamilton content that has sprung up in the last month. … Continue reading →

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