Why we need media diversity

Thanks to the folks at Media Matters for this side by side example of how one mainstream news organization (FOX News) chooses its clips carefully, perhaps to convey a particular interpretation on the news.



I find this important in light of our conversation on Thursday about Media Consolidation.

New Majority Faculty Day

When I first arrived to teach at CSUMB I was a lecturer--a "contingent" faculty member whose employment was temporary and based on what the university needed in a given semester. This tenuous relationship I had with CSUMB had nothing to do with my interest in the curriculum, the students, the CSUMB vision or my own desire to be a professor. It was a labor arrangement convenient to the university and a low cost one at that. Now that I am a tenured full time faculty member, my relationship to the university is quite different--less contingent, more job security, and more under my own control to some degree. Given the budget mess in California, however, I have come to realize that may be my own self-deception. But I digress from my point.

Nearly half of all faculty now are NOT full-time, but contingent, part-time, temporary employees. Today, University of California faculty who fit that description are holding a "New Faculty Majority Day," teaching their classes outside (to promote visibility of their status, I imagine) and to raise awareness of this situation. This is, of course, risky. They are not protected by tenure and many are hired on a semester by semester basis. With cuts to budgets, these faculty are the first to go. I remember that stress.

So today I want to stand in solidarity with my faculty colleagues who do not have the job security or institutional respect that I enjoy as a tenured full-time faculty member. I am not in your position so I cannot stand in your shoes. I was there once, which gives me some perspective on the matter, but I am not the same. So, I can be an ally. In these days of the corporatization of the university, faculty are increasingly becoming the underemployed--the temporary workers who allow the university to function at a lower cost to the bottom line. We need to re-prioritize. Students are not products to be shaped nor do I think they are consumers in the sense of the word we use everyday. They are not buying our services as if they are going to the mall. They are changing their lives and investing in their future. Moreover, they deserve to be mentored by faculty in whom universities invest, respect, and support. And, those faculty deserve decent, equitable and more consistent opportunity.

So, here's my part to call attention to this issue and stand with my colleagues in support. And, it's a chance to post "Solidarity Forever!" as well... Here's Pete Seger's famous version:

Satire and free speech

Here's an interesting contrast. The first is an ad from the National Organization for Marriage whose ad, "The Gathering Storm" has sparked a host of satires on the web. This is an interesting way to respond to speech you wish to criticize, and in a social context where the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are the venues where some people claim to get their news, satire has become an important part of political discourse and discussion in the United States (though it has always been, I would suggest).

So, given this context, I wonder if satire actually leads to deeper understanding of the issues, or we should just take it at face value. Is it all just in good fun? Or is it a powerful way to critique? Consider this example. What do you think?

Here's the original "Gathering Storm" ad:



Here are several other satires.... there are MANY more.

Technology, connection and learning

I read this interesting commentary on the Huffington Post I thought I would share. In it, Russell Bishop questions this apparent need to always be "connected" to others via technology. In it, he includes an interesting video about teaching, learning and technology.



Watching this really gave me pause, as I have been a proponent of using technology in teaching for a long time. Yet, the more I work with it in classes, the less convinced I am that it is a substitute for the value of face to face engagement. Sure, blogging (as we are doing here in HCOM 310) is a great way to provide a space for personal reflection, connection among readers, and as an outlet for all kinds of ideas... but there is still something flat about it when you are not engaged in the interpersonal communication skills we seem sometimes to be losing. Consider Bishop's claim:

"It seems to me that we are rapidly learning to substitute what we really need -- warm, intimate, in-depth connection and communication -- with symbols of being connected. It's as though exchanging enough IM's, text messages, blogs, Tweets, or "what I'm doing now" updates, we will somehow be closer to one another."

I wonder what anyone else has to say about this constant stream of connection--whether through Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, IM's, texting and the like. What kind of communication is going on in these venues and how does it compare to a face to face context?

And, would you really want assignments using your cell phone (as the video suggests?)

Remix Manifesto

So, I came across this really interesting open-source documentary. I share one of the chapters here. Take a look. I wonder what folks think of this? For a long time, I have been interested in copyright and open source issues. This film really addresses the tension between ideas as property and ideas as something to share and build upon. This clip really sets it out nicely in the tension between "copyright" and what the film calls "copyleft." In this digital age, when artists, musicians, writers and other creative thinkers can build upon the work of other people by mixing and mashing the old to create the new, it seems clear that what we have meant by "free speech" is taking on new forms and new meanings.

What do you think of this? Should we encourage more open source exchange of information and ideas? Or hold the line on ownership?

Christian nation debate continues

Given what we have discussed in class, I found this recent exchange of interest.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A side note...

Does it mean something when the word verification I had to type in order to comment on another blog was "repent"?

I think I am doomed... :)