Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Gone Riding – Return to the Giants

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Matt and I had to pull the plug on our circumnavigation of the Great Lakes, but the upside was getting to visit a couple of Whispering Giants I wouldn’t have gotten to … Continue reading →

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Looking at some interesting Twitter feeds

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

In many of my classes, I require my students to use Twitter.  While I hope each of them will come up with their own list of people to follow, here are a few that make up a good starting point: … Continue reading →

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Mass Communication and Fear

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Ralph Hanson

I’m guest lecturing today in a  class on the Science of Fear.  Here are some readings that I’ve put together on the topic.  

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Getting Old

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Ralph Hanson

Years ago when I got my first job as an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, Jack Sisco, the gruff, old director of the program looked at me and said: “It’s bad enough when the incoming freshmen could be your … Continue reading →

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Remembering Pete Seeger – Singing all the verses all the time

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Ralph Hanson

American folk singer and activist (but I repeat myself) Pete Seeger died yesterday at the ripe old age of 94. I never got the chance to see Pete in person, but I did see so many of the people he … Continue reading →

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Was Justin Bieber the most important story in America yesterday?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Ralph Hanson

As you no doubt have heard, if you were paying attention to almost any news media in America yesterday, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber was arrested early Thursday morning for drag racing and DUI in Miami, Florida.  In fact, if … Continue reading →

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