Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Star Wars VII tops Avatar as #1 North American Box Office

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Ralph Hanson

And we’re back for 2016. Hope you all had an enjoyable holiday break! So it really isn’t any surprise that Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is now the number one movie moneymaker of all time for the North American … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 8, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Star Wars VII tops Avatar as #1 North American Box Office

Looking back at the original 1977 Star Wars

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

Thirty-eight years ago, in a movie theater not that far away, I saw the original Star Wars movie during the summer of 1977.  It was between my junior and senior years in high school, and the movie was the talk … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 8, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Media Business in the News

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

Amazon to start selling subscriptions on streaming services to Prime customers. Includes Showtime and Starz. Lebron James signs lifetime deal with Nike Not entirely clear whether it’s his life lifetime or professional lifetime.  Anyway, he’s getting a Michael Jordan level … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 10, Chapter 12, Chapter 9 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Media Business in the News

Sentimental Twaddle – A Host of Christmas/Holiday Ads That Will Make You Cry

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

Advertising Age’s morning newsletter had a lot of interesting news this morning, but none better than a story on a number of Christmas and holiday themed ads guaranteed to make you blubber like a baby! Among the best/worst is a German … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 11 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Sentimental Twaddle – A Host of Christmas/Holiday Ads That Will Make You Cry

Trying to Control the News

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

There’ve been several stories over the last few days of governments attempting to control the news.  Here are links to two of them: Judge forces Florida paper to “unpublish” information According to Columbia Journalism Review, a judge in Florida has … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 13, Chapter 15 | Tagged , | Comments Off on Trying to Control the News

Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

What’s wrong with a Bloomingdale’s ad that suggests you secretly spike your date’s drink? ‘Cause date rape is always in style, Bloomies… (To be fair, after they got ripped on social media, the store apologized. How do you make money … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 4 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Guest Blog Post: Understanding Mizzou’s Melissa Click

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

The following is a guest blog post from Dr. Brian Steffen, professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Simpson College.  This was originally published on the Small Programs Interest Group (from AEJMC) listserv in slightly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Guest Blog Post: Understanding Mizzou’s Melissa Click

Mizzou Protests: Media Attention Is Not A Faucet You Can Turn Off And On

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

If you follow the same kind of people and media outlets on Twitter as I do, you’ve likely been overwhelmed with the firehose of news and opinions about the events at University of Missouri (Mizzou) over the last few days. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 1, Chapter 12, Chapter 13 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mizzou Protests: Media Attention Is Not A Faucet You Can Turn Off And On

Thinking About New Media Secrets: Everything is Data

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in New Secrets | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Thinking About New Media Secrets: Everything is Data

Who was behind the brilliant @IsPaulSpeaker Twitter account?

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

I can’t believe that everyone interested in national politics wasn’t following the @IsPaulSpeaker Twitter account for the last couple of weeks.  The account, run by Topeka, Kansas attorney Angel Romero Jr (also a proud Washburn University grad), presented a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Chapter 10, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Who was behind the brilliant @IsPaulSpeaker Twitter account?