Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Fastnachts for Shrove Tuesday

Today is the day before Ash Wednesday, which means that if you are in New Orleans or similar parts, you will be celebrating Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras implies many things, including those we won’t talk go into detail about here. … Continue reading

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Along with all the commercials, a couple of teams played football, too.

Yesterday was the biggest day of the year for high-profile television advertisements along with a bit of football in between.  As always, the ads attracted praise, condemnation and more than a few head shakes. For me, the strangest and most … Continue reading

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So Huffington Post lets the world know how it really feels about Trump

The Huffington Post has been making no secret of its distain for Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.  But this week they’ve either hit new records for transparency or contempt (you decide).  According to a blog post from Politico, the HuffPo … Continue reading

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“I need some muscle over here” – The rest of the story

Melissa Click, an assistant professor of communication at University of Missouri’s Department of Communication who became briefly last fall when she called for “some muscle” to help get rid of a student photographer and a videographer covering campus protests, has … Continue reading

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What kind of cancer was it? And why do we care?

If you’ve been following the recent series of deaths in the entertainment world, you likely noticed that both Alan Rickman and David Bowie died of cancer.  What kind? The otherwise very specific obits did not mention that fact. The Washington … Continue reading

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Martin Luther King, Jr. – A brilliant practitioner of public relations (and that’s a good thing!)

One of the greatest honors of my life was being invited to speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr. candlelight vigil last year at the UNK student union, along with Kevin Chaney, who was then UNK’s women’s basketball coach.  This year’s vigil will … Continue reading

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New Secrets: All media are social- Presidential Edition

When the second edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World came out as a CQ Press title back in 2007, one of the biggest new features was the introduction of the “Seven Truths They Don’t Want You To Know About the … Continue reading

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Remembering Alan Rickman Singing “Pretty Women”

We lost another great performer to the Big C this week – actor Alan Rickman.  Although he is best known for playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films and the definitive villainous EuroNasty Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard film, for … Continue reading

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Farewell, Ziggy Stardust

David Bowie has died at the age of 69 from cancer. What a loss.  I can think of few musicians who could reinvent themselves more ways, more successfully than Bowie.  The Washington Post has a great obit this morning. Here’s … Continue reading

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

What happened to the missing 18 minutes of the Lost finale on Netflix? The version of the controversial Lost finale currently streaming on Netflix is missing 18 minutes scattered throughout the episode, and show runner Damon Lindelof wants those minutes back. It doesn’t … Continue reading

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