Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

No more nudes for Playboy; Maxim goes upscale – What will the lads read now?

In the past, supposedly enlightened men claimed that they bought Playboy magazine for the articles.  And for a long time, it could be a truthish claim – Playboy did run good articles and paid top writers good money for them.  And sometimes … Continue reading

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Who Exactly Are The “Mainstream Media”?

Overall, I’m with Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on this one.  I’m not sure how appropriate it was to report on the rumors of an affair by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.  On one hand, there were a lot of questions … Continue reading

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When is a meme inappropriate?

Long time readers here will know that I’m more than a little obsessed with the Star Wars movies. So the release of Star Wars VII – The Force Awakens directed by the ever brilliant J. J. Abrams on Dec. 18, … Continue reading

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Julia Kozerski looks back at how losing 160 pounds made her feel miserable

UPDATE: 9/24/20 -Julia Kozerski’s web site is apparently no longer up and running.  Here are some links that are still working: NPR: Losing 160 Pounds, One Photo at a Time Good interview and a good collection of photos. The Guardian: Life … Continue reading

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Looking back at the Unabomber and the Washington Post

What has been the lasting lesson of the Washington Post publishing the Unabomber’s manifesto? Twenty years ago the Washington Post published a long and rambling manifesto written by a terrorist known as the Unabomber.  The Unabomber said he would send another package … Continue reading

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Me and the Bishop

Those of you who have been reading my blog over the summer have seen a great deal about my motorcycle travels and my following the Trail of the Whispering Giants. A big part of that story has been my travels … Continue reading

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Telling Data-Driven Stories

This morning our Comm students at University of Nebraska at Kearney were fortunate enough to have a virtual class visit from Dr. Jan Boyles from the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.  She talked with us about some … Continue reading

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Return of the Trail of the Whispering Giants

I moved back to the cusp of the West a little more than 7 years ago, and up until now I’ve viewed my motorcycling home as being back in the Southeast.  Yes, I took a ride down into Kansas, Oklahoma, … Continue reading

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Body Image in the Media

Flight attendant tells moving story on what her uniform taught her about body image She was feeling great about how she felt about her looks after putting on an old uniform skirt until she made a surprising discovery. A beautiful … Continue reading

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The World Trade Center in the Movies

Reposted from Sept. 11, 2011. Before 9/11, the silhouette of the twin towers of the World Trade Center were one of the quickest ways movie makers had of establishing that we were looking at the NYC skyline.  Here’s a beautiful … Continue reading

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