MassMedia: Print Media: Storytellers (U4-P1) Fa14

People who work in media are, for the most part, storytellers.  Whether we are writing a print news story, a novel, a children's book, a non-fiction book, a commercial, a song, a comedy skit, etc., we are telling stories in some form or another.  We are storytellers.

What are the common components of a story?

• Writer of story
• Characters in story - hero, villain, etc.
• Setting(s) - where the story happens
• Plot - what happens in the story
• Conflict - internal or external
• Dialogue - what the characters say
• Exposition - information about character, setting, etc.
• Premise - what is it about
• A moral or theme - the lesson of the story

Does a novel have all of these components?  A children's book?  A print news story?  You may not call it "plot" in a print news story, but it is there.  What about a song or a commercial?

Do you see the story components in this trailer of the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are?





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MediaTech: Audio/Video Tech (Basics) (U4-P1) Fa14

Basic Principles/Science of Media Technology

• "Broadcasting, cable, and new media make use of facsimile technology, reproducing sound and sight in other forms. The better the correspondence between the facsimile and the original, the higher the fidelity."
• Transduction is the process of "changing energy from one form to another; it is at the heart of audio and video technology. Transduction can be analog—the transformed energy resembles the original—or digital—the original is transformed into a series of numbers."  Examples of transduction include energy going from physical energy to electrical, from light to electrical and from electrical to electromagnetic (radio waves).

At what point or points in signal processing does transduction occur for traditional (over-the-air) radio?




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InterculturalCom: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication: Efron & Examples (U4-P1) Fa14

Examples of Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures.

The study of Intercultural Nonverbal Communication can be traced back to David Efron (1941).
Efron studied the nonverbal communication behaviors of eastern Jews and southern Italians in New York City.

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GlobalMedia: Intercultural Com: Tower of Babel (U4-P1) Sp14

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). Image in the public domain.

The image above depicts the Biblical story of how different languages and cultures came to be.
So, what is the story and what does it have to do with intercultural communication?

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MassMedia: You Know News, But Do You Know Fake News? (U4-P1) [VID]

You know news, but do you know fake news?

Watch the following clip from a local TV news cast.



When watching the above clip from a news broadcast what are your reasonable assumptions?  That the people interviewed are local people?  That this is a local story?  That the reporter did the interviews and wrote the story?  That this is real news?

Now, check out this next video which was written and produced by independent video company and funded Quest Diagnostics, a company that runs lab testing centers around the U.S. where allergy testing is done. 





What did you notice?  What if you started both video clips at about the same time?  Try it. Start the bottom clip, wait a few seconds and start the top clip.  Notice any difference?

The second clip you saw is an example of what is called a video news release (some background).

"Video news releases or VNRs (also referred to as fake TV news) are segments designed to be indistinguishable from independently-produced news reports that are distributed and promoted to television newsrooms. TV stations incorporate VNRs into their newscasts, rarely alerting viewers to the source of the footage. While government-funded VNRs have been most controversial, most VNRs are paid for by corporations; non-governmental organizations also put out VNRs" (SourceWatch).

Check out the following video.



KMSP-9 Helps Rev Up Convertible Sales


If you are interested, see another video comparing a local news cast with a VNR on YouTube or check out even more examples of VNRs and local news stories from PRWatch.

In the clip above, Pakman, mentions the FCC's sponsorship identification rules. Here is one rule/law.
"... the Communications Act of 1934, ... requires broadcasters to disclose to their listeners or viewers if matter has been aired in exchange for money, services or other valuable consideration. The announcement must be aired when the subject matter is broadcast. The Commission has adopted a rule, ... which sets forth the broadcasters' responsibilities to make this sponsorship identification" (FCC). 

How does this apply in the VNR situation?

So, corporations put out VNRs and they sometimes show up as news.

Now, to what extent are VNRs used in politics or as political propaganda?


Note: The above is a clip from a 2011 documentary titled Programming the Nation? directed by Jeff Warrick.

Is the use of VNRs as news appropriate?  Is it ethical?   Who is at fault?

Spotted any examples of VNRs airing as news in the past few months?


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MediaTech: Audio/Video Tech (Basics) (U4-P1) Fa13

Basic Principles/Science of Media Technology

• "Broadcasting, cable, and new media make use of facsimile technology, reproducing sound and sight in other forms. The better the correspondence between the facsimile and the original, the higher the fidelity."
• Transduction is the process of "changing energy from one form to another; it is at the heart of audio and video technology. Transduction can be analog—the transformed energy resembles the original—or digital—the original is transformed into a series of numbers."

At what point or points in signal processing does transduction occur for traditional (over-the-air) radio?



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InterculturalCom: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication: Efron & Examples (U4-P1) Fa13

Examples of Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures.

The study of Intercultural Nonverbal Communication can be traced back to David Efron (1941).
Efron studied the nonverbal communication behaviors of eastern Jews and southern Italians in New York City.

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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
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GlobalMedia: Intercultural Com: Tower of Babel (U4-P1) Sp13

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). Image in the public domain.

The image above depicts the Biblical story of how different languages and cultures came to be.
So, what is the story and what does it have to do with intercultural communication?

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See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

MassMedia: Textual Analysis, Rhetorical Criticism & VP Debate (U4-P1) [VID]

To answer research questions (RQs) researchers use research methods.

The four main research methods, at least in the social sciences, are experiments, surveys, ethnographies and textual analysis.

A researcher who does textual analysis is a researcher who studies a particular text or set of texts.  A text is a communication artifact. A text could be written, visual, electronic, etc.  Examples of a text are an email, a news broadcast, a film, a recorded conversation, an advertisement, a speech, an editorial cartoon or a song.

There are two main types of textual analysis.  One is more quantitative and the other is more qualitative research.

Content analysis is "a form of textual analysis used to identify, enumerate, and analyze occurrences of specific messages and message characteristics embedded in relevant texts" (Frey, et al.)

An example of content analysis would be a researcher who studies post 9/11 editorial cartoons to determine how the enemy is portrayed in the cartoons by caterogizing and counting up the occurrences of certain types of portrayals.

Rhetorical criticism, on the other hand, is more qualitative.

Rhetorical criticism: "research involving the description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of persuasive uses of communication" (Frey, et al)

Notice how rhetorical criticism focuses on persuasive texts, texts that potentially influence an audience.

There is a long history to rhetorical criticism from ancient times to modern times.

A person doing rhetorical criticism may study, for example, campaign speeches or advertisements to analyze how the text attempted to persuaded and how effective it was in persuading.

Take for example the closing comments of the 2012 U.S. V.P. debate.  What are the ways in which the two campaigners attempt to persuade?  Is there anything they do nonverbally?  What about their choice of words.  Also, how effective are they?





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MediaTech: Audio/Video Tech (Basics) (U4-P1) fa12

Basic Principles/Science of Media Technology

• "Broadcasting, cable, and new media make use of facsimile technology, reproducing sound and sight in other forms. The better the correspondence between the facsimile and the original, the higher the fidelity."
• Transduction is the process of "changing energy from one form to another; it is at the heart of audio and video technology. Transduction can be analog—the transformed energy resembles the original—or digital—the original is transformed into a series of numbers."

At what point or points in signal processing does transduction occur for traditional (over-the-air) radio?



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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
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InterculturalCom: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication: Efron & Examples (U4-P1) fa12

Examples of Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures.

The study of Intercultural Nonverbal Communication can be traced back to David Efron (1941).
Efron studied the nonverbal communication behaviors of eastern Jews and southern Italians in New York City.

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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Development Communication: Some Key Terms (U4-P1)

Define/explain the terms development, development communication and development journalism.


Development: "purposive changes undertaken in a society to achieve what may be regarded generally as a different ('improved') state of social and economic affairs"(Hernández-Ramos & Schramm, 1989).


Development projects typically focus on certain areas/issue of a society (e.g. agriculture, health, nutrition, family planning, women's empowerment, etc.)

• See United Nations Development Programme
• Check out especially info on NETAID concert
• See also United Nations: Economic and Social Development

Development communication: the use of communication technology and principles to aid in the development of a society.


Development journalism: a 'branch' of development communication in which news media are used.
Journalism: "the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media"(M-W Dictionary)



If you had lots of money (through a grant, etc.) and you wanted to do good in the world, what would you do?  If you wanted to help with some health issue in another country, what would you do?
If you wanted to help and you wanted to put your media knowledge and media skills to use, what would you do?





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MediaTech: Audio/Video Tech (Basics) (U4-P1)

Basic Principles/Science of Media Technology?

• "Broadcasting, cable, and new media make use of facsimile technology, reproducing sound and sight in other forms. The better the correspondence between the facsimile and the original, the higher the fidelity."
• "Transduction involves changing energy from one form to another; it is at the heart of audio and video technology. Transduction can be analog—the transformed energy resembles the original—or digital—the original is transformed into a series of numbers."

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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

InterculturalCom: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication: Efron & Examples (U4-P1)

Examples of Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures.

The study of Intercultural Nonverbal Communication can be traced back to Efron.

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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.