HCRHS Media Lit

"What bothered me about this particular ad was that it was produced to sound exactly like a news story. A news story that's close enough to being possible that many listeners could be easily fooled."

"There was plenty of media-bashing following the tragedy, much of it reflexive and evergreen, from the suggestion that reporters shouldn't name the killer to criticism of reporters for interviewing children. Oddly, there was less of an outcry about the fuzzy facts, many of which were investigators' words, reported accurately. Is that because the news-consuming public now expects a few "i"s to be crossed and a few "t"s to be dotted at first?"

This article looks at how profitable Dove's Ad Campaign was and whether other companies could emulate it.

Andy Carvin calls himself an "oral historian" and created a new genre of news coverage by blanketing Twitter during the Arab Spring and RT'ing and crowdsourcing the news as it spread on social networks. When the Newtown massacre happened last Friday, Carvin was covering it once again as the news broke, which led to mocking criticism of Carvin by media gadfly Michael Wolff at the Guardian, calling Carvin a "fevered spreader of misinformation." But Carvin was really putting each rumor that flew on social media out into the public sphere for discussion and trying to get at the truth. He might not have been there, but he did observe what was going on with a critical eye. Yesterday morning, he was defending himself on the Facebook Social Journalism Group a

"As 2012 nears its end, we look back at the major trends and memorable events that defined photography and photojournalism this year."

"News of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., has been circulating on social media as news outlets try to find out more details. Here's a snapshot of how the information has played out so far." A sampling of how the news spread via social media through the use of Storify.

"I t's time to have a national conversation... about the media. But first, let's recount how they've blown the coverage of the tragic school shootings in Connecticut: "

"Here's the best and most notable of 2012′s media errors and corrections. I hope you and your colleagues never make the list."

"Sadly, some of the best sources of information for what happened inside Sandy Hook Elementary before, during, and after the shooting aren't your average eyewitnesses - they're children who've just gone through drama and witnessed death in front of their young eyes. That extra layer of sensitivity doesn't seem to matter to CNN or NBC, which have been broadcasting and re-broadcasting interviews with schoolchildren all day. "

"20-year broadcasting veteran Tim Burt describes the first essential building block of all effective advertising: Psychology"

"It was a big year for sports and car commercials. In fact, almost all of these ads feature a sports star, a car or both -- and many were broadcast during the Super Bowl."

"The FTC is taking a hard look at mobile apps targeted at children that may be collecting information without a parent's consent. In this week's Mini Law Lesson, Winston & Strawn's Brian Heidelberger breaks down what you need to know to keep your mobile apps on the right side of the law."

"Trends are the topics for which we see noteworthy spikes in Twitter conversations. The 2012 Trends reveal what captured our attention, rather than what terms were consistently popular."

"The pulse of the planet signifies the biggest conversations of the year around single events that generate a large number of Tweets and Retweets. Here are the major occurrences in 2012 for which the world came together to witness and discuss."

"Crime news got far greater play in the Times' and Strib's online editions, Maier and Tucker found, while their print editions "provided more front-page coverage of government, politics and education than did their online counterparts." Both gave more attention to sports online, and the Times had more business news online than in print, they found. Only by clicking into the depths of an online news site is an avid reader likely to find the same news stories featured online as on the front page of his or her local newspaper. These results have significant implications for the news industry and the reading public. "

"A study that claimed Fox News viewers were significantly less intelligent than average Americans is a hoax, Michael Giltz writes. The "study" was ordered up by a group of conservatives who hope to move the Republican party in a more moderate direction, lead hoaxer "P. Nichols" told Giltz."

"The Federal Trade Commission revealed today that only 20% of 400 mobile apps aimed at children included any privacy disclosures before or after downloads. The agency said it is investigating whether certain companies have violated laws protecting children online by failing to disclose the types of data gathered through apps and how those data are used. As the year draws to a close, regulators and lawmakers seem increasingly motivated to impose some clarity on the murky world of mobile apps. The FTC is expected to unveil an update to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to require more transparency on data collection by mobile-industry players soon. In addition, the Department of Commerce will discuss a code of conduct for mobile privacy notifications next week."

This year in viral video, advertisers either broke new ground or just got better at old concepts. But what is clear from this year's top 10 is how passion - for a company, brand or creative concept - continues to drive innovation in viral video advertising.  Here are the top 10 most innovative viral video ads of 2012.. 

"For the first time in its 66 year history, some Tide commercials are featuring husbands doing the laundry. Imagine that-men washing and folding their family's clothes. What's next? Vacuuming? Maybe so. Men are spending two more minutes a day on chores than they did eight years ago-an average of 16 minutes a day. At that pace it'll take a while for them to catch up to the 52 minutes of daily housework performed by women. Still, cleaning brands are taking notice and retooling their ads and products to appeal to men."