Update on the Diabetes Poster....

It seems the model was not informed about how his image would be used in the diabetes campaign...

For my mass media students....Is there a future for bookstores?

As if on cue for our upcoming chapter on books, the New York Times looks at the long term prospects for  Barnes & Noble.

For my Mass Media Students:

This guide to social media from Read Write Web is handy. 

By the way -- RWW is one of the industry newsletters that I highly recommend.  If you want a job in mass media -- start reading the trades on your own.

Blog Post Assignment for SPE-370 Students

For my visual rhetoric students: Please choose a symbol or iconic image that symbolizes YOU.  Post it to your blog.  Explain why this icon, or picture, should represent you. Think about the way we assign meanings to icons, and how icons are not the same as the thing itself, but incorporate ideas about what the thing is. 

This post should be 350 words. 
Deadline: Feb. 7th, 1:30pm.

Blog Post assignment for SPE-212 Sections 010 & 020

For my mass media students:

Think about the idea that mass media products are constructions: they are stories or presentations put together to entertain or inform us.  Consider the ideas that were put forth in the film we viewed, Media Impact.

With that in mind, consider your favorite movie or TV show.  How is it real?  How is it not?  What parts of it might you want to emulate or adopt in your own way of looking at the world, and what parts should be rejected?  How easy is it for us to be seduced by the illusion of reality in video representations?

This post should be 350 words.
The deadline for my MW-010 students is Feb. 6th at 3pm.
The deadline for my TH-020 students is Feb. 7th at 9:30am.

Blog Post Assignment for SPE-145

For my nonverbal communication students: 

Put yourself through the reflexive cycle.  How do you come across to others nonverbally?  What impression do you make?  What impression do you want to make?  What do you do well and what needs improvement? 

This post should be 350 words. Deadline: 3pm Feb. 7th

For SPE-370: controversial poster in New York

Even as a Mad Men fan, I can see why this poster  is controversial.  Much of the controversy has to do with various layer of context. What do  you think?

For my Visual Rhetoric students....

The New York Times recently reported on a public health poster about diabetes.  Seems the model is not an amputee and the image was digitally altered.  Does this fact change the power of the message?  Is there an ethical issue here to consider?  Are you less persuaded by the message knowing that the model is not an amputee?

Super Bowl V. World Cup....for SPE-212-020

Hi all -- Franis Jiminez brought up an important point the other day about the most watched sporting event in the world...it is, indeed, the World Cup.  In fact, CNN  reported that other soccer championships have been surpassing the Super Bowl for a while.  So it's top here in the US, but not internationally. 
WTG Franis!

For my visual rhetoric (SPE-370) students...and 212 folks interesting in gender portrayals

Wow.  You think the world is changing, and yet, it seems that the imagery used by advertisers is as sexist and demeaning as ever.  This article reminds everyone that we are not powerless.