Never try to do such a foolish thing. It could never work. It just makes things worse. War is a chainsaw. Reconstituting social structures is akin to brain surgery. So here's a question: In what major city were the following photos taken? (These photos were sent to me by an American friend who once lived…
The reclusive artist behind the Doonesbury comic strip is interviewed for the Washington Post Magazine (here) in October 2006, and I only found it today. I figure that this fits neatly in with the recent theme of media issues.
For the past week, I have been posting information I’ve learned from the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis (January 12-14). This post is yet another in that series. One of my favorite parts of the conference was the exhibit hall. There, I met dozens of exhibitors, representatives of…
This post is one of a continuing series of summaries I am creating regarding the sessions I attended of the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, Tennessee. Much more information about the conference, including audio of all of the sessions (and video of many) can be found at Free Press.
The academics that spoke at this particular session (“Media Scholars’ Policy Research Review”) were proof that academics (the people and their topics) can be exciting.
Mary Kaplan is the associate dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication, as well as the founder and director of the Norman Lear Center. Kaplan has focused his research on the content and regulation of local television news.
The Lear Center studies “entertainment.” Broadly defined, this is the “attention economy” which is no longer a separate economy from anything else. Entertainment has expanded like an empire to consume all other activities. Media and journalism are mere branches of entertainment.
Kaplan reports on research establishing that local TV news is, by far, the most important source of news and information for Americans. Almost unbelievably, 65% of Americans say that local television news is their number one source of information.
I write “unbelievably,” based on the widespread lack of serious news content. The fluff of local newscasts drives me to distraction. See an earlier post on local TV news at this site. Kaplan is troubled that most of the content of local news is “soft.” News directors of TV stations have repeatedly told …
My family and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Chicago. My wife and I have two daughters, aged 6 and 8. All of us learned many new things at Chicago’s spectacular museums. For instance, the Field Museum
has a terrific exhibit, called Evolving Planet, which examines the evolution of life forms on Earth from 4 ½ billion years ago up to modern humans, combining displays regarding genetics with numerous awe-inspiring fossils. There’s no sign that the museum has given in to the creationist crowd. It’s mainstream science all the way. In fact, the website for Evolving Planet takes misconceptions regarding evolution head on. Here’s a refreshing sample:
Misconception: Evolution is just a theory, just as intelligent design and creationism are theories.
Answer: False. Evolution is a scientific theory based on the scientific method, which involves systematic data collection of observable phenomena and scientific experiments that can be accurately replicated. Intelligent design and creationism are faith-based belief systems—not testable scientific theories—that offer non-scientific explanations for life’s origins and the diversity of life forms.
Top off a visit to Evolving Planet with a visit to the Shedd Aquarium where you can see evidence of transitional forms like the Australian lungfish.
[I realize some of these photos are grainy–the aquarium prohibits flash photography.]
Or view this exquisitely camouflaged leafy sea dragon. God designed each and every fake leaf, even though He engaged in conscious deception by doing this (very unbecoming of omnipotence and omniscience).
Travel note: Chicago hotel rooms …