Author Archive

Fox News’ Post-Election Post-Mortem?

November 10, 2012
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Fox News’ Post-Election Post-Mortem?

With election results now in, attention has inevitably turned to the one media source that has seemingly dedicated itself, 24/7, to making sure Obama was defeated and Republicans would take control of the Senate: Fox News.
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Posted in Current Events, Politics | 5 Comments »

Sarah Palin, Anti-Fandom, and the Nature of Political Celebrity

July 1, 2011
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Sarah Palin, Anti-Fandom, and the Nature of Political Celebrity

With the release of the new documentary on Sarah Palin, the former governor takes umbrage at the "hate" directed toward her by Hollywood celebrities. She either doesn't understand celebrity culture or understands it all too well.
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Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, Film, Film, Perspectives | 2 Comments »

Glenn Beck’s Legacy for Television News

June 21, 2011
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Glenn Beck’s Legacy for Television News

Glenn Beck's departure from Fox News does not mean he truly leaves the network. Cable television news has been fundamentally changed as a result of his presence. We look back at Beck's legacy and what that means for television news.
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Posted in Current Events, Perspectives, Politics, Politics | 1 Comment »

Are Bodies Politically Meaningful? Report from The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

November 1, 2010
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Are Bodies Politically Meaningful? Report from The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

What is the meaning of political bodies in a hypermediated world? If five hundred thousand of my best friends show up and the New York Times doesn't know how to read us, has Sanity occurred? A report from the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.
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Posted in Perspectives, Report From... | 6 Comments »

What the Quran Burning Episode is NOT About

September 15, 2010
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What the Quran Burning Episode is NOT About

As the media hand-wringing continues over whether Rev. Terry Jones's Quran book-burning stunt deserved so much media attention, commentators miss the more important points about this episode and its relationship to contemporary political culture.
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Posted in Current Events, Global, Politics | 1 Comment »

Musical Performance Finally Gets Its Due in Treme

May 18, 2010
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Musical Performance Finally Gets Its Due in <em>Treme</em>

Dramatic television has rarely shown much affinity for musicians, and neither has it shown much artistry for dealing with musical performances within the narrative. This time, David Simon and HBO finally get it right.
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Posted in Music, Perspectives, TV | 3 Comments »

Do New Media/Social Media Distort Political Reality?

May 4, 2010
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Do New Media/Social Media Distort Political Reality?

As the Republican Party careens off into the netherworld of nuttery crafted by right wingnuts, we must ask ourselves what role users of new media play in helping craft their appeal. Do they deserve the attention we afford them through our own actions employing new media/social media?
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Posted in Current Events, Internet, Perspectives, Politics | 1 Comment »

The Profound Danger of Glenn Beck

April 20, 2010
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The Profound Danger of Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck may say he is simply an entertainer with little interest in politics, but that is a lie. He has proven himself a political demagogue who employs a variety of well-worn rhetorical techniques, all of which, as history has shown, are dangerous.
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Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Perspectives, Politics | 9 Comments »

The Dark Side of YouTube Politics

March 30, 2010
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The Dark Side of YouTube Politics

While YouTube offers the opportunity for unprecedented political participation through user-crafted videos, it can also house the performance of political lies mascarading as truth. Can citizens resist the attractions of such visual truthiness?
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Posted in Perspectives | 4 Comments »

Our Intractable Ideological Moment: Surnow, The History Channel, and the Kennedys

February 18, 2010
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Our Intractable Ideological Moment: Surnow, The History Channel, and the Kennedys

The latest ideological skirmish will be played out through a History Channel mini-series on the Kennedys by conservative producer Joel Surnow. The problem, though, runs much deeper than shoddy history. It is rooted in a fundamental epistemological divide between left and right over what constitutes truth and how we arrive at it.
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Posted in Perspectives, Politics, TV | 8 Comments »

Is There Room for Narrative Complexity in News about Politics?

February 5, 2010
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Is There Room for Narrative Complexity in News about Politics?

Stewart praises Fox News for presenting a clear and simple narrative, and chastises Obama for his lack of the same. Citizens need stories, even in politics. But do they have to be so simple in an age of complexity?
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Posted in Perspectives | 12 Comments »

The “Down with Democrats” Mood and Our Presentist Media

January 20, 2010
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The “Down with Democrats” Mood and Our Presentist Media

Although the public is notoriously ahistorical about contemporary politics, the news media do little to remind them of how we got here. Political reporting looks more and more like entertainment/celebrity reporting, and Obama will need to return to campaign mode to capitalize on that.
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Posted in Perspectives | 5 Comments »

Why Palin Going to Fox News Makes No Sense

January 12, 2010
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Why Palin Going to Fox News Makes No Sense

While Palin's contract with Fox News seems natural and inevitable, television is actually her worst medium.
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Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Perspectives, Politics, TV | 14 Comments »

The NBC Late-Night Train Wreck

January 8, 2010
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The NBC Late-Night Train Wreck

What NBC failed to understand in the Leno/O'Brien debacle is what it itself had created--late-night audiences.
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Posted in Perspectives | 4 Comments »