Mediator

Digital Television Guinea Pig Spotted

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:32:00 -0700

The digital television transition is set for February 2009 but one local market is jumping the gun next week -- voluntarily.

Comic Strip Database Created

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:17:00 -0700

Like every other form of humor, comic strips reflect the era in which they were created. But for scholars and serious journalists, simply reporting that "Doonesbury" or "The Far Side" convey a Baby Boomer sensibility isn't good enough. You want to know precisely when they were published.

This is a job for ... who? Dick Tracy? Rex Morgan, M.D.? Pogo?

Try Dave Strickler.

Phelps Dominates Olympics News Coverage

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:34:00 -0700

There are athletes not named Michael Phelps competing at the Beijing Olympics, but you may not know it going by coverage of the games in the U.S. media.

"Two Candidates Walk Into a Bar ..."

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:47:00 -0700

Among one subset of likely voters, John McCain is outpolling Barack Obama by a more than 4-to-3 margin: TV jokesters. The curmudgeonly Republican has received 549 jokes at his expense from Jan. 1 to July 31, compared with the crypto-Islamic Democrat's 382 punchlines.

Much Schiavo Coverage Brain Dead

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:04:00 -0700

Coverage of the controversial Terri Schiavo case in some of the nation’s top newspapers was full of inaccuracies and misinformation, according to a study just published in the journal Neurology.

Men Dominate Olympics TV Coverage

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:33:00 -0700

A new analysis of NBC’s prime-time Olympics coverage shows male athletes receive more air time than women, but the discrepancy is much greater for the winter games than the summer ones.

Film Critics: A Boys' Club

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:19:00 -0700

The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press all have female movie reviewers, but don’t let that fool you: Film criticism in the nation’s newspapers remains “largely a male enterprise,” according to a new study.

Group Thinkers Miss An Original on Truth Commission

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:22:00 -0700

It's always interesting to watch Beltway insiderism at work, so you might want to take a look at this blog item referencing this short piece on the Washington Note Web site which references this video discussion, all dealing with the notion of a truth commission to look into apparent human rights violations during the Bush administration's conduct of the war on terror.

'Wall-E:' Critique that Transcends Ideology

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:27:00 -0700

Science fiction stories are often allegories, so it’s no surprise that political commentators have joined movie critics in critiquing the popular new Pixar film “Wall-E.” But while the ambitious, awe-inspiring animated feature has much on its mind, its underlying themes don’t fit neatly on any ideological spectrum.

Carlin: The Anti-Russert

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:25:00 -0700

When news broke of the death of George Carlin, my first reaction was to suggest to my colleagues that we incorporate his famous “seven words you can’t say on television” into our upcoming stories. He would surely appreciate such a twisted homage. Alas, they passed on my idea. But Carlin was commemorated on a variety of television news programs Monday evening, and the coverage provided the raw material for an interesting study of media and society.

Nation Not Yet Tuning in Digital Television

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:53:00 -0700

The digital television transition is under way, but so far it is not going smoothly. Now the presumed presidential nominees are weighing in.

Another Nonprofit News Launch

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:07:00 -0700

ProPublica, the much-hyped not-for-profit investigative news startup, took the wraps off its Web site Tuesday.

Campaigns Edging Onto Prime TIme

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:27:00 -0700

Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama both appeared in taped messages on the Lifetime drama series Army Wives last night.

So How Did Clinton Endorse Obama?

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:25:00 -0700

UPDATE: Although Sen. Hillary Clinton officially endorsed her Democratic Party rival Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday, mentioning his name 14 times in her speech, the gesture was seen as lacking enthusiasm by some observers.

News Fatigue Hits Young Adults

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:35:00 -0700

Generation Text may not be tuning out the media due to lack of interest as is widely believed, but rather due to the overconsumption of news and information on new platforms, a study suggests.

Understanding the Digitally Savvy

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:24:00 -0700

With 1 percent of the nation's population controlling a disproportionate amount of its wealth, the same can now be said of an emerging digital elite and its new-media consumption habits.

Take Your Time Reading Online

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:12:00 -0700

Readers are willing to spend more time with a story online instead of the print version, a senior New York Times editor said recently.

Survey: 'Too Much' Election Coverage

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:21:00 -0700

The media devotes too much attention to the White House race, Americans say in a just-released survey.

TV Reinforces Psychotherapy Stigma

Fri, 02 May 2008 10:37:00 -0700

Therapists — and their clients — are often portrayed in unflattering ways on television comedies and dramas, and as a result, viewers may be less willing to seek the psychological help they need, according to a new st udy by Iowa State University researchers.

A Net Neutrality Business Plan

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Hollywood powers are taking sides in the escalating debate over "net neutrality."

Will America or the Media Decide?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:31:00 -0700

As the White House race rolls on, issues such as Iraq and the economy are taking a backseat lately to more important issues.

More Information and Less Knowledge Than Ever

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:30:00 -0700

Ted Gup, a journalism professor at Case Western Reserve University, presents an elegy for the information age in the latest edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, bemoaning the current-affairs illiteracy on display with each new semester's offerings of undergrads.

Sign of the Times … and Miller-McCune

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:10:00 -0700

An adaptation of an iconic Southern California freeway sign graces the cover of the premiere issue of Miller-McCune magazine. We used the image for our cover story regarding a European trade model that could help solve the U.S. immigration problem.

It Can Be Made Into a, Umm, Monster

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:18:00 -0700

If you'd always thought leadership of the country at the apex of world power was kinda important, here's a smidgen of evidence indicating others agree.

Drug Use Glamorized in Rap Lyrics

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:55:00 -0700

References to illegal drug use in rap music have increased dramatically over the past two decades, according to a new study.

Hillary Clinton as Tragic Figure

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:44:00 -0700

Playwrights function quite differently from pundits, but Jon Robin Baitz manages to fill both roles quite nicely, as his most recent entry at The Huffington Post demonstrates.

Desperation Defined: Quoting the American Spectator

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:18:00 -0700

Did the Clinton campaign really use a disgraced right-wing magazine from the '90s to go after Obama?

McCain Daughter's Media Haters

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:43:00 -0700

Is the media, sometimes accused of giving Sen. John McCain a "free ride," taking it out on his daughter?

More From MediaStorm

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:24:00 -0700

The debut issue of Miller-McCune magazine took a look at the multimedia production studio MediaStorm and its accompanying Web site.