Tag: Media
In Praise of Audio
I’ve produced quite a bit of video in my day — well over a hundred programs, though probably less than a hundred hours all told. I don’t do much video production these days, but I’m called upon routinely to advise people who want to make a video, or think they do. My most frequent advice: don’t. […]
Read More → In Praise of AudioAmerican Profile
My friend Leonardo e-mailed me about this. Our paper carries a Parade magazine like thing during the week called American Perspectives or something like that. At any rate, today’s cover story is on unusual baby names. The illustration is a dozen ‘My name is’ name tags like you’d wear at a conference. And the name, […]
Read More → American ProfileBallooning
I was curious as to how Obama’s visit to New Orleans might be covered in the national media. Would it serve to re-focus attention, however briefly, on our recovery efforts? Perhaps the national economic situation trumps concerns about rebuilding one particular city? As it turns out, though, there just wasn’t much media coverage at all. […]
Read More → BallooningHangin’ with Garland
WWL 870-AM is broadcasting from our campus today. The office of University Media Relations asked me to sit in for a while, so I did. I thought we’d be talking about the debate last night and the presidential race in general. I had some incisive remarks at the ready, about how the debates make a […]
Read More → Hangin’ with GarlandOld Men Just Start the Wars
This Beetle Bailey strip ran a couple weeks ago and caught my eye for a couple reasons. 1) Beetle and Plato appear to be under fire. This strip never depicts war situations. The characters are in perpetual training, and never actually ship off to real combat. Presumably this is another drill at Camp Swampy — […]
Read More → Old Men Just Start the WarsDon’t Get Caught Up in the Hatred
I suppose most people take political rhetoric with a grain of salt, which is certainly advisable. But I also notice a lot of people get caught up in the hateful narratives spun by the presidential campaigns and the media. I understand, I think, the value of stoking the fires of hatred. It gets people worked […]
Read More → Don’t Get Caught Up in the HatredFour Precincts Reporting
Thanks to my friend Carol, I got a sweet gig tonight: vote reporting! I never knew this before, but after the polls close they post the results on the door. Since I live one block from my polling place, I just walked down there. I waited for a while chatting with Deborah Langhoff’s brother-in-law. When […]
Read More → Four Precincts ReportingBlakely Quote
I’m quoted in an AP article about Ed Blakeley: Mid-City resident Bart Everson said that after Blakely started work in January, he saw him as the “last, best” hope for leadership in the city’s recovery. He said he still does, “but I haven’t seen the evidence of anything getting accomplished.” “I still hold out hope […]
Read More → Blakely QuoteOur War
“The media… is where democracies conduct their civil wars.” — David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, 2004
Read More → Our WarPositive Transformation
I’m sure most of the world doesn’t realize it, but here on the Gulf Coast we are preparing for a big storm. No, I’m not talking about Tropical Storm Chris — at least I hope not. The one-year anniversary of Katrina is looming large, and we are preparing for a storm of media coverage. We […]
Read More → Positive Transformation