HCRHS Media Lit

"VideoNotes is a free web tool that allows students to take notes on a video they are watching. The notes are synchronized with the video being watched. The good thing about VideoNotes is that it is integrated into Google Drive which means that students will be able to save their notes directly to their Drive account and access, edit, and work on them anytime they want. All the notes are time-stamped. Watch Michelle's tutorial to learn more about how you can use VideoNotes with your students."

Nice article that looks at the controversy from an advertising point of view.

"As part of our new privacy initiative, we'll discuss themes of social media, surveillance, ethics, and of course, privacy in Eggers' thought-provoking new novel. If you've read the novel (or even part of it) we hope you'll join the conversation!"

"Let's take this in order: Who controls the media? If we're talking traditional, corporate media it typically looks like this:"

"When The New York Times offered the first native ad on its website Jan. 8, reviews were mixed. Some thought the Times offered too much of a good thing with a half-dozen disclaimers that the story-like piece was advertising. Others opined that despite all the labels, the Times was stepping down the road to perdition hosting paid content from computer giant Dell. I'd say each side has a point, but the bigger question is whether the Times way, like its approach to a digital paywall three years ago, will set the pattern for the newspaper industry's belated foray into the hot native format."

"Alicia Shepard, an independent journalist and former NPR ombudsman, discusses journalistic standards in light of the retraction by "60 Minutes" of its report about the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya - a segment that was largely based on a source who misled the news magazine."

"In its third year, the #NotBuyingIt hashtag was used by thousands to call out sexist Super Bowl commercials and reached millions with a strong message about advertising: sexism doesn't sell."

"MOSCOW - The Sochi Winter Olympic Committee announced Thursday that it would ban the entire Chinese Olympic figure skating team from competition after Chinese skater Li Chunguang tested positive for homosexuality in a routine anti-doping test."

"Coca-Cola's "It's Beautiful" ad, that aired during Sunday night's Super Bowl, sought to portray ethnic diversity in the U.S. by featuring "America the Beautiful" sung in several languages. The many different kinds of people in the ad - Hispanics, cowboys, Muslims, Jews and Asians - were all implicitly united by their identity as "American." But not everyone was happy with Coke's celebration of diversity in the country. After the ad was aired, Twitter lit up with commentary  under various hashtags (such as #SpeakAmerican) critical of the company. Some commenters found it disrespectful to sing "America the Beautiful" in any language other than English, while others said immigrants need to learn English to live in the United States."

"Melissa Atkins Wardy calls it her "a-ha" moment. There she was looking for her first sippy cup for her then 6-month-old daughter. Her choices: Mickey Mouse, Diego and "Toy Story" characters for boys, and princesses -- and more princesses -- for girls. Already fired up, she walked through the toy aisles and saw what she describes as a further gender divide. Girls were offered baby dolls, princesses and sexy fashion figures; the boys section had superheroes, building blocks, science kits and dinosaurs. "That was it. There was no middle ground. I didn't see any dolls or cooking sets for boys, nor building blocks or fire trucks for girls," writes Atkins Wardy in her new book "Redefining Girly: How Parents Can Fight the Stereotyping and Sexualizing of Girlhood, from Birth to Tween." After that experience, she said in an interview, "Everything clicked and made sense to me."

"Super Bowl ads in 2014 will have fewer tongue kisses, half-naked women, or Gangnam Style. Instead, look for Super Bowl ads featuring fully-clothed women, well-known celebrities, and actual product information."

"Activists and advocates who have been working for decades to change the attitudes and beliefs that sustain epidemic levels of sexual violence achieved a significant milestone last week. Finally, a president of the United States -- The Most Powerful Man in the World -- used the power of his office to shine a light on the critical role of men in preventing violence against women."

"USA Today has looked for inspiration in the current crop of viral media darlings, BuzzFeed and Upworthy, for a sports section that mixes original and aggregated content with you-gotta-click-to-see-what-happens headlines.  "We looked at non-sports digital media properties that were doing it right - BuzzFeed, for example - and thought, what would the BuzzFeed of sports look like?"

"MORE than a decade into the 21st century, we would like to think that American parents have similar standards and similar dreams for their sons and daughters. But my study of anonymous, aggregate data from Google searches suggests that contemporary American parents are far more likely to want their boys smart and their girls skinny. It's not that parents don't want their daughters to be bright or their sons to be in shape, but they are much more focused on the braininess of their sons and the waistlines of their daughters."

"Digitally altering photographs might be accepted -- expected, really -- when it comes to magazines like Vogue, but it's a big no-no when it comes to news organizations. Yet that's what one Pulitzer-winning AP photographer chose to do to a photo he took in Syria in September."

"The issue of violence on TV has been stirring buzz due in part to the recent release of a study by the Parents Television Council which stated that "some of the most violent TV-14-rated shows on broadcast TV have similar levels and types of violence as TV-MA-rated cable TV shows." Whether such violence is for shock value or just part of good storytelling depends on who you ask."

"PARK CITY, Utah - Dove is debuting at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on Monday a short film that explores how social media is shaping the way the we perceive beauty. The 7-minute short film called Selfie follows a series of teenagers and their mothers who are asked to take self-images that highlight their insecurities about the way they look. In an experiment reminiscent of Dove's viral "beauty sketches" ad, the participants learn some of their disliked attributes are what others consider to be the most beautiful."

"Blanchett's reaction shows yet another subtle moment of sexism that even the most successful women have to deal with. (Blanchett has received three SAG Awards, including the one she won on Friday, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTAs and an Academy Award.) This isn't the first time Blanchett has stood up for women. While promoting Blue Jasmine in London this September, Blanchett identified herself as a feminist. "I'm reading a book by [Australian feminist writer] Anne Summers called The Misogyny Factor, and I feel that all of the steps forward that we've made ... a lot of those have been rescinded," she said. "Conservatism is affecting the way women perceive who they are in the world.""

""Latinos are either cast as either the overly hormonal ("Oh mamacita, I have to have you"), overly hysterical ("Lucy!"), overly hostile ("I'll cut you sucka!"), or overly humble ("We are a poor people")," Morales told CNN in a recent interview. Those, according to Morales, are the "four H's of Hollywood" that make up Hollywood's patronizing formula for Latino actors. And, Morales said, it's the reason why Hispanics rarely play heroes or leaders."

"At this point, we're so used to seeing models who are digitally nipped, tucked, and tanned to poreless perfection that we actually get a little bit alarmed when we see the stretch marks on our own thighs (thanks, unrealistic media portrayals of women!). Au naturel images are so rare, we even do crazy things like offer to pay $10,000 for celeb photos that aren't retouched. Well, no cash reward needed here. In its newest campaign, American Eagle's youth lingerie brand, Aerie, threw down the gauntlet and decided to feature totally unretouched models."