Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Great Magazine Covers

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

In this era of declining magazine circulation and budgets, it can be hard to remember that magazine covers were once one of the most powerful cultural memes around. Journalist Matt Haber recently tweeted out a fantastic thread looking at influential … Continue reading →

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How to Deal with Offensive Speech – SNL 2018 Edition

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

So, a week ago, Pete Davidson on Saturday Night Live mocked a political candidate.  Nothing really new here, right? Except that this time he mocked Lt. Commander Dan Crenshaw, who just won a seat in congress from Texas. Crenshaw wears … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post: Aaron’s going to play video games for 24 hours straight (Is that a smart thing to do? Does his mother know?)

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Thanks to Aaron Blackman for this guest blog post about his upcoming 24-hour gaming marathon to raise money for Omaha Children’s Hospital. I urge all of you to at least stop by to watch his stream, and if you feel … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe) – Cable News Host Edition

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

What would Fox News do if one of their major hosts directly supported a political candidate? Fox News host Sean Hannity spoke as a “special guest” at Trump rally Monday night after having been there originally to conduct an interview … Continue reading →

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“A Church, A School –” An editorial from the Atlanta Constitution, 1958

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

For today’s blog post, I’m reprinting a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial by Ralph McGill, written for the Atlanta Constitution almost exactly 60 years ago. As I was researching the links to go with this, the following article from Poynter popped up. … Continue reading →

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Reading and Writing About Food

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

My senior reporting class this semester has been inspired by the work of the late food writers Jonathan Gold and Anthony Bourdain, and are working on stories about food and culture in the Kearney, Nebraska area.  One of their class-participation … Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of the Distracted Boyfriend Meme

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

You all know this photo, right? It’s the image from the Distracted Boyfriend meme that you’ve seen used a 1,000 different ways.  The image was made by Spanish photographer Antonio Guillem in 2015 as a stock photo that could be licensed … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

How will the Music Modernization Act help musicians? The new MMA simplifies streaming payments for songwriters, older recorded music and producers. And how does the music industry loses $2.65 billion a year from coffee shops? When the owners use their … Continue reading →

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Dangerous Times Globally for Journalists

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

I’ve been putting off writing this blog post because I really don’t want to write it. I don’t like writing about a journalist being raped and murdered for trying to cover totalitarian regimes. another journalist has been murdered, once again … Continue reading →

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Talking about the news and how we respond to it

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’m working to finish all the supporting materials for the seventh edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, which hasn’t left much time for blogging. Hope to get back on a regular schedule … Continue reading →

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