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April 9, 2008: The Iraq war has been losing ground for attention on the internet, according to a recent report which shows that "the war in Iraq continues to decline in search interest, down 120 percent over the past three and a half years," while interest turns to topics such as Paris Hilton, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, Heath Ledger and the latest YouTube video. The Project for Excellence in Journalism reported last month that war coverage had dropped about 50% rom the time Congress voted to continue funding in May 2007 through the war’s fifth anniversary on March 19, 2008. This citation is from PR Watch.
      Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: Have you heard of the term "compassion fatigue"? It describes what happens when people become so overwhelmed from tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina or the 9-11 attack that they start shutting down emotionally and begin to care less about the situation. Do you think this is the reason for declining interest in the Iraq war? If not, what else might be affecting people's interest in news on the Iraq war? Is the problem that people are actually not interested, or that there is less coverage of it now than before, so people are less aware of the ongoing conflict? How does the amount and type of media coverage affect reader/viewer interest and engagement with the topic? Do media outlets have an obligation to keep major stories, such as war, out in front of the public, or should they only report about what people are interested in at any given time?

Feb. 22, 2008: The Brisbane Times (Australia) reports that some young adults are taking a "fast" from social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Kristin Sullivan, 25, is doing just that by giving up Facebook. A week into her fast, she feels good about it. She's even cutting back the time she spends online in general."I have noticed that I am getting more done," she says. "It's refreshing, because you can really get sucked into the whole social networking world, and now my friends have to call me and I call them." Refraining from online chatting is teaching Kristin the value of real conversations."We live such fast-paced lives that it takes away from having more meaningful connections. I would much rather meet for coffee and get face to face time with people, but we try to cram so much in our lives that we end up abbreviating so much of what we do and how we talk to people." Diontre Pewitte, 29, a Kansas City bank underwriter, believe in emails and text messaging, but he sees high-tech communication for its good and bad effects."I think it's sad that email has taken the place of an actual conversation. Socially we're missing out on the personal time our parents had. But being in tune with technology helps us to be more competitive, to multitask and to stay ahead." Kristin Sullivan concluded, "Everyone thinks they are so busy, but really they are online doing things like Facebook."
       Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: Do you have one or more pages on social networking sites? If so, how much time do you spend interacting with people in that way? Do you agree with any of the points made by the people in the article? If yes, which ones and why? If not, why not? Would you be willing to take a "fast" from social networking? If not, why not? What are your thoughts about the pluses and minuses of interacting with people via electronic communication, compared to more direct ways such as the telephone or face-to-face?

April 11, 2007: “Mr. Imus has stolen a moment of pure grace from us,” said team captain Essence Carson of the Rutgers university women's basketball team, in a news conference after radio host Don Imus referred to the young women, playing in the NCAA championship game, as “nappy-headed hos.” Imus's show, syndicated to 70 stations nationally, was initially suspended for two weeks on MSNBC (which simulcasts the program from the radio studio), but then later was cancelled by CBS after a continuing controversy. Three companies cancelled their advertising early in the controversy - Staples, Bigelow Tea and Procter & Gamble. “If this continues to steamroll, I'd be hard-pressed to think of any client that would want to be near” Imus' image on radio or TV, said Rich Russo, an ad buyer at JL Media. Imus has been making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks for years, but survived those incidents and became a favorite of politicians, authors and others who wanted access to his large audience. Michael Harris of the radio trade magazine Talkers, said, “Ultimately, this will be good for him. This is America. We worship celebrity, whether it's negative or positive.”
       Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: Do you agree with Mr. Harris -- that the celebrity will rule, no matter how offensive his remarks? Or do you agree with Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, who said, “At some point, the major networks need to ask … how important are ratings vs. the goodwill and respect of these young women. … He's got to go.”? What is the public responsibility, if any, of people on the radio? Should the expectations be different for someone on public airwaves, such as Don Imus, compared to someone on subscription-only satellite radio (such as Howard Stern, who left public radio because of things he said on air)? Radio hosts usually say they are "just making a joke." Do you think these kinds of jokes are funny? Do your friends? When these types of remarks are repeated over and over, do they "become" funny, or at least "normal" to the listener? What is the cumulative effect, over time, on our culture?

Oct. 25 , 2006: New Zealand Police have terminated McDonald's sponsorship of a road safety program in schools and pre-schools because it was inconsistent with their policy banning corporate sponsorship. As part of the original deal, "Ronald McDonald" accompanied police on their school visits and children were awarded vouchers for use in the fast food company's outlets. Obesity Action Coalition spokeswoman Celia Murphy welcomed the decision. "Every time the kids crossed the road at school the McDonald's brand was there on the vests of the patrol monitors. The whole deal was outrageous," she said. The New Zealand Police decision followed questions raised about the deal in Parliament by a spokesperson for the Green party in New Zealand.
       Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: How is this action in New Zealand different from, or similar to, how corporate sponsorship deals and offers to public schools are handled in other countries? Why are American schools often more open to taking corporate money for "partnership" programs? Should public schools be funded with enough public money so that they don't have to "sell" their students' eyeballs to advertisers, or doesn't it matter? If not, why not? Should schools be a neutral place where children can think up their own ideas, or is it OK to allow corporate marketers to pay for the privilege of schoolchildren viewing and hearing the marketer's ideas?

Oct. 18 , 2006:  The Chicago White Sox have literally sold their starting time for $500,000 per year, so that convenience store chain 7-Eleven could get a little more PR. For the next three seasons, the approximately 50 night games on Chicago's South Side will be scheduled to begin at exactly 7:11 p.m. "Every time the media announces the game's start time it will be a gentle reminder of our sponsorship," 7-Eleven spokesperson Margaret Chabris said of the games. In 2003, the White Sox sold stadium naming rights to U.S. Cellular for $68 million, upon which the Chicago wireless service provider's nameplate replaced iconic Comiskey Park (named for the former team owner and ballplayer). This citation is from PR Watch. Original Source: New York Times, Oct. 11, 2006.

        Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: Have you ever heard the phrase, "Is anything sacred?" ? What does it mean? Does it matter when ordinary aspects of life and culture, such as when a baseball game starts, are sold to the highest bidder? Is anything lost, and if so, what? Does anybody else gain besides the organizations that got the money and got the advertising exposure, and if so, who else? Could ordinary people do anything about it if they didn't like it? If so, what could they do? What would it take to make a difference? Is it worth it? Are people's answers to the questions above different according to how old they are? If so, how are older people's answers different from younger people? Why might that be?

February 15, 2006: Researchers at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada have teamed up with a forensic expert to investigate a theory the American media have dubbed the "CSI effect," according to an article in the Halifax ChronicleHerald.The theory suggests that the line between popular television crime dramas and reality is so blurred that shows like CSI and Law & Order have unduly raised expectations in the legal system, and jurors now want the same kinds of foolproof forensic evidence they see on TV before they convict. The researchers are looking into the link between watching television and people’s beliefs about forensic evidence and trial procedure while gathering information from lawyers and others in the justice system about whether the CSI effect is altering the expectations of crime victims, defendants and jurors. "The lines are so blurry in television shows, it’s difficult for the layperson to distinguish which parts of the forensic evidence are real and are commonly done and which parts are embellished or elaborated on," one of the researcher said. According to a staff sergeant in the Halifax highway patrol, "Where the line now blurs is how quickly they can process evidence and how much quality evidence they can recover from the scene. [On the crime shows,] They have the luxury of taking one case and working it through to its conclusion that always hinges on forensic evidence. The reality is, we have all these techniques and all these methods but they don’t always produce . . . identifiable results."
       Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: There's an old phrase, "Art imitates life," but in this case, is it possible that art [in this case, a crime show) doesn't imitate life (a real crime investigation) but instead make people think that "real life" is, or should be, different than it actually is? If this study ends up finding evidence that suggests the "CSI effect" is real, what does that suggest for the ability of crime victims to get a just verdict against the perpetrator, and for the ability of criminals to go free when the evidence is, under pre-CSI standards, enough to convict? What, if anything, could or should be done if the "CSI effect" is true?

August 15, 2005: A rush to purchase four-year-old used school laptops for $50 each turned into a violent stampede, with people getting thrown to the pavement, beaten with a folding chair and nearly driven over, according to this Associated Press article on the CNN website. Gates at the Richmond, Virginia raceway opened at 7 a.m. but hundreds already had been waiting for hours, and the push to enter turned violent. The school system employee in charge of the sale was not reported to have commented on the problems but instead said, " I think that people tend to get caught up in the excitement of the event -- it almost has an entertainment value." A 20-year-old used a folding chair to fend off those who tried to cut him off. "I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,' the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station. "They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.
       Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: Other than trying to avoid blame for what happened, what might have caused the school system employee in charge to say the atmosphere leading up to the violence "almost has entertainment value " rather than "was an unfortunate result of poor planning"? What might be the "entertainment value" he was talking about? Can images of crowd excitement turning into mob violence in movies, TV and videos make us less likely to be upset (i.e.,have a numbing effect) when things like this happen in real life? Do you think you are affected by TV news, programs and movies showing crowd violence, and if so, how? What do you think of the young man who hit people with the chair to get a laptop computer for $50? What would you do to get a laptop for $50? Do you think the recent crop of reality television show might influence people to discard their normal human values and behaviors in exchange for fame, money or a good deal on computer? Why or why not?

Aug. 10, 2004: The upcoming Republican National Convention's entertainment director, former Gospel Music Association president Frank Breeden, calls his part of the program "Preachers and Patriots." He explained, "Entertainment plays more of a prominent role in marketing messages today than ever before," and convention organizers want to use music and culture to sell their political philosophy "just like Cadillac uses Led Zeppelin." With limited network coverage, "we have to think like television, use a large pallet of creative ideas to convey the message." Breeden is also "competing with the many parties that are being held by politicians, elected officials, lobbyists and corporations. Many have booked performers who might otherwise have appeared at the convention." This citation is from PR Watch. Original Source: New York Times, August 10, 2004.
    Classroom focus/media literacy discussion: The ancient Greeks said that arousing the emotions of an audience was one of the three keys to persuasion. Is that still true today? What forms of media and communication technique can be used to arouse emotion, and how?