Still Not the News: Stations Overwhelmingly Fail to Disclose VNRs

Video news releases are pre-packaged broadcast segments designed to look like television news stories, that are funded by and scripted for corporate or government clients. (See “Fake TV News: Introduction.”) On April 6, 2006, the Center for Media and Democracy released a comprehensive report detailing TV newsrooms’ use of VNRs. The report, “Fake TV News:…

Best Invention: YouTube

Having started with a single video of a trip to the zoo in April of last year, YouTube now airs 100 million videos–and its users add 70,000 more–every day. What happened? YouTube’s creators had stumbled onto the intersection of three revolutions. First, the revolution in video production made possible by cheap camcorders and easy-to-use video…

Whack-A-Moliere

Whack-A-Moliere (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) I made this with cleverpig.com’s Whack-A-Pig tutorial. Similar:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesHow newsroom managers can invest more time developing their staff — and why it mattersOne of my most consistently rewarding pr…BusinessWriting Computer Games with InklewriterIf brass lanterns or slathering-fanged g…CybercultureBoston bombings: Social media spirals…

Physics for Future Presidents

[C]hocolate chip cookies (CCCs) have eight times the energy as the same weight of TNT. How can that be true? Why can’t we blow up a building with CCCs instead of TNT? —Physics for Future Presidents Via Metafilter. My eight-year-old son is a physics junkie. I can’t wait to show him the videotaped lectures and…

Once upon a time

“I’ve been making up bedtime stories for my children and suddenly I’ve had a brainwave. These stories are good! These stories are brilliant! I would be failing in my moral duty to my adoring public if I did not put them down on paper.” If my theory holds true, it is scary, because it suggests…

The Wikipedia and the Death of Archaeology

Given a sufficient amount of server space and the commitment to maintain it, a resource already exists that may not only sound the death knell of archaeology, but also the opportunity to enable a greater depth and sophistication of anthropology than has ever existed before. So radical an innovation would this new anthropological methodology represent…

Seton Hill University Information Technology's Special Comments about Internet Usage and Web Postings

Seton Hill University encourages self-expression and open communication as part of the student experience, in balance with the mission of Seton Hill University and the ideals of sensitivity, dignity and respect for self and for others. —Seton Hill University Information Technology’s Special Comments about Internet Usage and Web Postings (Seton Hill University) More and more students…

Best. Costume. Ever.

—Best. Costume. Ever. If your geek quotient isn’t high enough to recognize it, this is a mock-up of the power loader from Aliens. Similar:ink: Inkle's open source scripting language for writing interactive narrativeGearing up to teach “Digital Storytellin…CyberculturePhysics simulation demo: crate made up of mostly loose boards. #Blender3d #design #practic… https://youtu.be/OqqlWZvWaqM Physic…AestheticsNASA | A View…

Percentage of Chart Which Resembles Pac-Man

—Percentage of Chart Which Resembles Pac-Man (themot.org) Similar:Apple faces threat of legal action over ‘in app’ paymentsI haven’t taken the plunge and installed…BusinessHow Poetry Helps You Improve Your WritingWhile I’d rather see a reminder that we …AestheticsDid you see that guy’s license plate?Did you see that guy’s license plate? …AmusingThis 1960s teenager knew the neighborhood that…

Stephen Colbert on Blogs

—Stephen Colbert on Blogs (Youtube) My student Gabby Blanchard posted this on her blog. Hilarious. Similar:I can probably remove that link to LycosOn a web page that I posted in Nov 2000 …BusinessAnne Of Green Gables Blond On Book CoverEr.. no. This is not Anne of Green Gable…BooksMy meme about the distracted boyfriend memeAmusing'A Klingon Christmas…