David Brook's Op-Ed in the NY Times states that Major Hasan's Muslim identity was "played down"  because the media "didn't want the horror to become a pretext for anti-Muslim bigotry." 

While I would dispute his assertion that Hasan's Mulsim identity was "played down" (it did not seem played down at all to me), let's suppose, just for a minute, it was. 

The advent of television in the first half of the 20^th Century revolutionized media.  The first mechanical television broadcast took place in select cities across the United States in 1928.  The diffusion of television brought into the homes of citizens across the world access to local broadcasting.  With the advent of satellite communications this access became national and then international.  The “tube”, as it is affectionately called, allowed people across the globe to become more attune to their communities, neighborhoods, countries and the world at large.  Television has brought with it the ability to laugh at some of the pas

When I set about to write this blog I was initially going to write about the role of hip-hop culture and MTV on urban youth.  While brainstorming a title for my blog the Dire Straits song, “Money for Nothing,” came to mind because I thought I could use its refrain as a catchy title.  The problem, however, was that I remembered the chorus, “I want my MTV,” but little else.  I knew that the song had been a big hit in the 80s and vividly recalled listening to it over and over again on the radio back in the day, so I looked up the song lyrics to try to trigger the context of the song and was aghast at what I found.

Left class tonight excited for a new term and more analysis and discussion on media literacy.  Naturally, switched the TV on as I collapsed after the day.  CNN featured a 2 hour (turned into 4 hours) coverage of the Michael Jackson Funeral.  70 days after MJ died, he is finally, at least for the day, laid to rest in a memorial park.  For 4 hours (I actually worked during that time), I didn't hear how the fires in LA were, the two hurricanes bearing down on the Americas...where are they?  did anyone die in Iraq?  Afghanistan?

Ribbons at the bottom declared that Dame Elizabeth Taylor was there, Jackson's mother was visibly upset, and that ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley appeared emotional.

During one of our classes the topic of the recession and its media coverage was brought up. My professor wanted us to consider whether or not the way the media is covering it is a part of wider discourse that aims to make people passive, fearful, and disorganized. She argued that the media was covering stories of tent cities and the government funding of corporations instead of such things as grassroots organizations and protests, financial responsibility, etc. I was at a loss for a moment then began thinking she was right. I mean why don't we hear more about why the system went to hell and the inherent problems with capitalistics structures as they exist; and who should we be listening to? Who are the 'experts'? Most certainly not the reporters or politicians who have no training in economics.

I recently watched the Canadian premiere of Class Dismissed by Pepi Leistyna.  His ideas and arguments were easy to follow for one already immersed in critical theory, critical pedagogy, and teaching a course on critical media literacy. However, for the Iranian, electrical engineer who came as my date and who has started, and is still currently running, a successful corporation the ideas were hard to swallow. He wanted to know where the empirical data was to support Pepi's arguments. He asked why the other side of the coin was being represented.

Teenagers are killing themselves; a phenomenon attributed to the start of youth vilification in the 1950s in Kinderculture by Steinberg and Kincheloe. As alarming as this is, what I find even more disturbing is children are killing themselves too. According to MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20620477/) "the suicide rate for 10 to 24-year-olds rose to 7.32 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 from 6.78 deaths per 100,000 in 2003". I remember being ten quite clearly. I barely understood what suicide was and for that matter death. Something is going. Why are children so unhappy that they want to kill themselves and do the home, school, media, and internet have anything to do with it?

Television, especially film, depicts teachers in one dominant way, as a 'good teacher'. A good teacher is exemplified by certain traints: he or she personalizes the curriculum, gets personally involved with his or her students, has problems with administration but perseveres, might be an outsider, and has a great sense of humor. Females, unlike males, must sacrifice their lives for their jobs. These depictions are highlighted in the book Teacher TV (2008) by Mary M. Dalton and Laura R. Linder. The authors suggest that this representation is a reflection of broader social and political spheres and they seek to link "history, culture, education, media, and how these sites influence the construction of various identities" (p.5). So why is the good teacher the dominant model and what function does it serve?