Archive for January, 2007

Leaving children behind

Published January 31, 2007 in Education. 0 Comments

Calvin

Lately I’ve taken a break from teaching to focus on writing about education. Like most of us, I am pretty depressed about the state of our schools, and even more distraught that there is little criticism of No Child Left Behind coming to public attention. I truly hope the Democrats advocate for the abolition of this horrendous atrocity of education legislation rather than adding more fuel to the fire by expanding its funding. Sure it sounds great that we should give education more funding, but when you discover the nature of that education policy it gives one pause. The following article contains a bulleted list of why this program is so awful (I highlited the main point that interests me):

Truthdig - Reports - Leaving Children Behind:

The real problem is that students are disengaged from their education, and disengaged students ultimately drop out, as more than 50 percent do in large urban and poor rural schools. The antidote to dropouts is a rich and diverse curriculum offered under improved teaching conditions.

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Forecasting media weather

Published January 31, 2007 in Deconstruction and News. 0 Comments

Weatherman

“You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows,”
Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan

Eat The Press | Fox Takes Fair And Balanced Look At Weather “War”…With One Side | The Huffington Post:

FNC’s “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocey did a piece on the “War over the Weather” this morning in advance of Friday’s United Nations report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with guest Sen. James Inhofe, ranking minority member on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (and formerly its highly underqualified chair), so Inhofe could once again hold forth on his views on climate change and global warming, namely, that it’s entirely normal and natural and not at all a man-based problem and anyone who suggests otherwise is a nefarious tool of the radical left. For his part, Doocey offered leading questions which also called out the “left wing”, creating a segment that was actually not at all unlike an informercial.

Does The Weather Channel (TWC) have a political agenda? Well, yes. It’s a business and makes money from advertising. But when Fox News Channel (FNC) accuses it of a “far left agenda” because its meteorologists acknowledge global warming, the implication of the finger pointers is that they are free of their own bias. I never thought weather could become a Rorschach test of ideology, but I suppose in a Stalinist political environment, anything is possible. For a clear understanding of how the FNC gyroscope is spun by Republican operatives, filmmaker Robert Greenwald’s Outfoxed documentary is an excellent case study of how precisely reality can be constructed by a news agency. Debunking the human contribution to global warming is akin to viewing humans as beings who eat but never excrete.

You need a weatherman to tell which way the digital wind blows

TWC represents itself through multiple segments and the ads it sells. But for the sake of analysis, I’ll focus on the network’s chief communicator, the weatherperson.

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Guerrilla marketing implosion

Published January 30, 2007 in Marketing and Tactical Media. 0 Comments

Made-U-Look

Ah, the murky world of disinformation.This is by far the strangest, most confusing marketing centrifuge I’ve ever encountered. The authors of this graf-ad are either legit artists posing as marketers who are posing as cops, or they are cops posing as marketers who are fronting as graf writers. Read the article below for all the relevant links. Bottom line is to see who benefits from the operation: the Monopoly brand, or the brand of the artists pretending to be cops, or the cops working for Monopoly? One things is for sure, it’s a clever rouse and 25% of it is true.
Razer Apple

Made U Look

Advertising Age:

Razor Apple’s now wondering, due to some ISP tracking, if the NYPD might somehow be involved with all of this. Forget that. The question is which marketer is behind this and how much did they pay Mike Bloomberg and the MTA to pull it off. After all, pay careful attention to the wording in Q&A exchange between Razor Apple and a Made U Look “spokesman.”

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Are ‘Baby Einsteins’ marching to war?

Published January 29, 2007 in Education and TV. 0 Comments

Marketplace: Iraq war justified? Maybe for Baby Einsteins:

By targeting babies, companies are marketing not just products but lifelong habits, hardwiring dependence on media before babies even have a chance to grow and develop the way they do it best, through hands-on creative play. And it’s through playing that children learn, among other things, skills essential to thriving in and protecting democratic society — critical thinking, initiative, problem solving and empathy.

That’s in contrast to what children learn from the more than 40 hours a week they spend with commercially-dominated media — unthinking brand loyalty, impulse buying and a belief that all the world’s a market. Corporate values embraced and pushed by the Bush administration.

During the build-up to the Iraq war, the President’s chief of staff was asked why Bush waited until September to promote the invasion. He replied, “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August.”

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A word from the wise

Published January 28, 2007 in Politics. 0 Comments

Candidates

“The politician will be only too happy to abdicate in favour of his image,
because the image will be so much more powerful than he could ever be.”

Marshall McLuhan

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YouProfits

Published January 27, 2007 in Networks and Web 2.0. 0 Comments

Independent Online Edition > Business News:

The internet video site YouTube says it plans to start sharing its revenue with users. Chad Hurley, co-founder of the site, said YouTube is working on developing ways for its users, who upload videos on to the site, to be paid for the content they have created.

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The Daily Me

Published January 26, 2007 in New Media. 0 Comments

Cartoonist Ted Rall and political commentator nails it:

Ted-Rall-Daily-Me

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Fruity packaging

Published January 26, 2007 in Design and Food. 0 Comments

Kix

No fruit in this package

Fruit Shown on Label Often Not in the Box, Kids’ Food Study Says (Via commondreams.org):

Fruit is a big seller for parents who want to feed their children nutritious food. So it’s no surprise that manufacturers prominently display berries, cherries and oranges on boxes of breakfast cereals, drink cans and yogurt containers.

Berry Berry Kix contains no berries whatsoever.
Unfortunately, according to health advocates, many companies fail to put the fruit where it counts — inside the products.

The Prevention Institute and the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments, an Oakland-based coalition of California’s leading public health, physical activity and nutrition organizations, say more than half of the most aggressively advertised children’s foods that show fruit on their packaging or even put the word “fruit” in their name contain no fruit.

Yoplait Go-Gurt Strawberry Splash yogurt, Fruity Cheerios and Berry Berry Kix are just a few of the products named in the organization’s study being released today, “Where’s the Fruit?”

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Clark sci-fi

Published January 24, 2007 in Book and Review. 1 Comment

Breakpoint

Not that Clark! Former counterterrorism czar, Richard Clark, has written a sci-fi thriller that apparently is loaded with grounded futurism. I listened to a fascinating interview with him on the Diane Rehm radio program. If you click below you can listen to the hour-long segment. I haven’t read Breakpoint yet, but it sounds like good airplane reading.

WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - The Diane Rehm Show for Tuesday January 23, 2007:

11:00Richard Clarke: “Breakpoint” (Putnam)

The counterterrorism czar to Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush presents his latest novel. It’s a tale of cyber-insecurity, the growing threat from China, and a not too distant future where advances in science and technology threaten what it means to be human.
Guests

From Publishers Weekly (via Amazon.com)

Veteran counterterrorism official Clarke, author of Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror and the novel The Scorpion’s Gate, proves once again that authenticity, insider information and top-secret access artfully applied trumps fancy writing with this cutting-edge, nail-biter techno-thriller set in 2012. Clarke’s intriguing plot centers on the development of Living Software, a massive computer program designed to travel throughout the Internet correcting computer errors and creating software without any help or oversight from human beings. Volunteers would be connected to this program in a project aimed at reverse engineering the human brain. Added to this fascinating mix is the Transhumanist movement, whose labs grow designer children with extra chromosomes. Mysterious entities who would deny this progress are blowing up government Internet connections, killing scientists and destroying the labs participating in this research. Savvy readers will ignore the evidence that points to the obvious suspect, but still be surprised at the identity of the perpetrator when all is revealed. (Jan.)


“Breakpoint” (Richard A. Clarke)

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More ad nauseam

Published January 24, 2007 in Advertising. 0 Comments

Heineken

Heineken sky writing over Brooklyn, photo by Antonio Lopez

Some amazing media facts and a history of product placement benchmarks from MotherJones.com, including this clunker: “Advertisers spend more than $12 billion a year marketing to kids. The average American child is exposed to 40,000 ads per year.” Read on…

Ad Nauseam

Madison Avenue is scrambling to stick ads anywhere it can, from children’s books to bathroom stalls.

Worldwide product placement in all media was worth $3.5 billion in 2004, a 200% increase from 1994.

In 2005, there were 108,000 instances of product placement in television programming—up 30% from 2004.

Due to TiVo and other ad-skipping digital video recorders (dvrs), TV networks could lose up to 10% of their ad sales by next year.

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Stopping ‘fascist’ takeover of US media

Published January 22, 2007 in Corporate Media. 0 Comments

The Raw Story | Rep. believes Democratic media reform bill may prevent possible ‘fascist’ takeover of US media:

Concerns about monopolies and fears of a possible “fascist” takeover of the US media have prompted a Democratic congressman to push to restore the Fairness Doctrine, RAW STORY has learned.

“Media reform is the most important issue confronting our democratic republic and the people of our country,” Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) said at the Free Press National Media Reform Conference held in Memphis, Tennessee last weekend. “This is a critical moment in history that may determine the future of our country…maybe forever.”

Ads squared

Published January 22, 2007 in Advertising. 0 Comments

Times Square by Antonio Lopez

Photo by Antonio Lopez

This is a rather insane project, but someone had to do it. Some crazy (obsessed?) blogger took the time to photograph all the ads in Times Square. I’m not sure how he/she defines the area- it’s like an amorphous slim mold that grows and shrinks according to edible eye balls, but it’s a nice snapshot of some of the most expensive ad real estate in the world. Unfortunately the images don’t convey the immensity of some of these liquid TV billboards. It is utterly disturbing to the senses to be immersed in Times Square’s glowing electric heart, which is visible to incoming flights. At night it’s as bright as a sunlit day.

Also, please check out Nina Berman’s amazing Times Square portraits (her entire portfolio is worth a look).

Ironic Sans: Every ad in Times Square:

Sometimes I get dangerous thoughts in my head, like “I wonder what it would look like to see every ad in Times Square all on one page.” So when I knew I’d be passing through Times Square this weekend, I made sure I had my camera. For the purposes of this nearly purposeless project, I considered storefront signs the same as ads if they were flashy and glitzy like Times Square ads tend to be.

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Get a first life

Published January 21, 2007 in New Media and Video Games. 0 Comments

First Life

While I agree with the sentiment of this Second LIfe parody (it makes a fine point about being engaged with your physical reality), I still think it’s a false dichotomy to say one world is real and the other is virtual. It’s all real, and what happens in computer space and non-electronic space influence and affect each other.

We misunderstand “virtual,” which doesn’t mean “false” or “unreal,” but rather is an externalized, networked interface that transcends normal geographic space. Moreover, “virtual” spaces remediate; that is, all newly created electronic media incorporate old media. Second LIfe, for example, uses a lot of old media conventions- such as camera angles, linear perspective and cinematic lighting- to make its world believable and navigable. In other words, users cannot be totally disoriented by something completely new and alien. There needs to be familiarity.

Ultimately if I were given a choice, I’d rather spend the day in a forest than on a computer, but I believe it is unwise to completely dismiss something just because it is electronically generated. What do you think?

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The beauty patch

Published January 21, 2007 in Advertising, Deconstruction and Postirony. 0 Comments

Nicodermcq


Who could have imagined five years ago that nicotine patches would compete with commercial tobacco companies for attention and ad dollars. Moreover, in a strange twist of fate, the product is shopped as a beauty aid. But there you have it. This ad is also in line with the trend to use deconstruction techniques as a persuasion tool. If you are a teacher, you may want to use this to compare with a cigarette ad in your classroom to promote a discussion about beauty as a sales instrument.

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U.S. Media Overlooked Major Humanitarian Stories in 2006

Published January 19, 2007 in News. 0 Comments

Study: U.S. Media Overlooked Major Humanitarian Stories in 2006:

Last year millions of people in many countries lost their lives as a result of wars, violence, disease, and hunger, yet the major television networks in the United States did not tell their stories to the U.S. public, a new study on media coverage notes.

The staggering human toll taken by tuberculosis (TB) and malnutrition as well as the devastation caused by wars in the Central African Republic, Sri Lanka, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were almost completely ignored by the leading television networks, according to a well-respected medical aid group that monitors media coverage on humanitarian issues at the end of each year.

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Anywhere the Eye Can See, It’s Likely to See an Ad - New York Times

Published January 17, 2007 in Marketing. 0 Comments

Nytimeseverywhere

Anywhere the Eye Can See, It’s Likely to See an Ad - New York Times:

Add this to the endangered list: blank spaces.

Advertisers seem determined to fill every last one of them. Supermarket eggs have been stamped with the names of CBS television shows. Subway turnstiles bear messages from Geico auto insurance. Chinese food cartons promote Continental Airways. US Airways is selling ads on motion sickness bags. And the trays used in airport security lines have been hawking Rolodexes.

Marketers used to try their hardest to reach people at home, when they were watching TV or reading newspapers or magazines. But consumers’ viewing and reading habits are so scattershot now that many advertisers say the best way to reach time-pressed consumers is to try to catch their eye at literally every turn.

…

Yankelovich, a market research firm, estimates that a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day, compared with up to 5,000 today. About half the 4,110 people surveyed last spring by Yankelovich said they thought marketing and advertising today was out of control.

Some ad agencies and the companies that hire them are taking heed, calling the placement of ads everywhere a waste of money.

“What all marketers are dealing with is an absolute sensory overload,” said Gretchen Hofmann, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Universal Orlando Resort. The landscape is “overly saturated” as companies press harder to make their products stand out, she said.

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The Ultimate Bookshelf for a Youth Media Educator

Published January 16, 2007 in Education and Youth. 0 Comments

For all you youth media educators, I wanted to give you a heads-up on this terrific article that reviews many really good resources ranging from theory to practice. This is a primer that we’ll be referencing quite often (click the link for the full article).

Youth Media Reporter: The Ultimate Bookshelf for a Youth Media Educator:

Over the past two years educators and administrators working in all mediums of youth media have shared with YMR the books, videos, and reports that have most informed and deepened their work. The following list is a compilation of these recommendations placed into six categories: media reform, youth work, understanding youth media in its academic and socio-political context, media education curricula, media organization, and marketing youth media. Included are links to relevant articles that have appeared on YMR. These recommended resources provide a comprehensive look at youth media, highlights of YMR, and key discussions in the field.

Children of dystopia

Published January 16, 2007 in Film, Review and Sci-Fi. 1 Comment

[youtube]cwsgkurfCjE[/youtube]

It’s about time the pop culture produced a decent dystopic cult movie. Enter Children of Men, directed by Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (Y tu mama tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), a post-Baghdad, Road Warrior-type movie sans the cheesy trappings of antiseptic sci-fi. Add one part Black Hawk Down, two parts Blade Runner, one part Sarajevo, stir, and you get a gritty, politically conscious thriller capturing the ennui of our times. Just as Casino Royale eschews the usual Bond clichés for a more neo-realist, noire vision of realpolitik, Children of Men disposes the neon and shoulder pads for sour-reeking pollution, mob rule, torture-for-democracy, dust-covered video monitors, and the post-apocalyptic ambience of globalization on the brink of losing-it-badly. Not too far off really, and if you look closely, much of the background is a stand-in for daily reality that most immigrants and residents of third-world slums already grapple with.

The story celebrates life amidst so much death, but you can barely avoid mortality’s stench. The moving moments offer hope for the alternate reality creeping up on our horizon line. Coming from Mexico, I suspect that Cuaron has true instincts for the reality of future megalopolises, and a great suspicion of the cruel combination of fear, power and racism. Like all sci-fi, Children of Men is as much about the future as it is about the present.

For supplemental reading, I recommend a few pieces by people much smarter than me. I really enjoyed Sheerly Avni’s piece, “‘Children of Men’: Universal’s Orphaned Masterpiece,” which goes into how Universal is doing everything it can to bury this decidedly anti-Bush/Blair/Neo-Con movie. Also, at the Children of Men Web site, there is some really interesting commentary from chic philosopher, Slavoj Zizek. I quote it entirely here:

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Moyers’ keynote

Published January 14, 2007 in Corporate Media. 0 Comments

I couldn’t make the Media Reform conference this year (click on the link for video, blog and pictures), but it can be experienced vicariously via YouTube. Here is Bill Moyer’s giving his keynote.

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Mind reading consumer desire

Published January 11, 2007 in Brain and Marketing. 0 Comments

Brainwash

Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things:

Neuroscientists report that they can use brain scans to predict whether someone looking at a product will actually buy it or not. Dr. Brian Knuston and his colleagues at Stanford University put images of 40 objects in front of 26 subjects undergoing brain fMRIs. By analyzing which parts of the brain light up, the scientists were able to forecast what the subject’s decision would be before he or she vocalized it. According to the scientific paper they published in the current issue of the scientific journal Neuron product preference activated the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), while excessive prices activated the insula and deactivated the mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) prior to the purchase decision.”

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Multimedia Curriculum

Merchants of Culture CDROM

Now available, Antonio's health and media literacy CDROM curriculum for youth of color, Merchants of Culture. This valuable resource contains dozens of video and print examples of how advertisers market harmful substances such as alcohol and tobacco to various niche audiences, including Native Americans, Latinos, African Americans, Asians, GLBT and Women. This is an excellent primer for introducing the subject of cultural marketing to high school and middle school students. This is also a great product for health professionals and councilors working in the area of prevention.

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