Music Monday 164 :: Newspapers mentioned in rap songs: A brief history

Music Monday 164 :: Newspapers mentioned in rap songs: A brief history

Love this ... my love of media and hip hop clash with this week's post.

Actually, I'm sharing a post from Poynter ... there are lots of videos included in the post.

Teaching Journalism During a Revolution

The past few weeks in Cairo, Egypt have been filled with lots of uncertainly because of the #Jan25 Protests. Unfortunately, there's a Robert Gibbs (White House press secretary) quote that is fitting: "It's a fluid situation".

I teach journalism at The American University in Cairo (AUC) and we're scheduled to begin the Spring semester on Sunday. Under normal circumstances, I'd be ready: syllabus, course outline, website, guest speakers, Blackboard, etc. I'd have all of my ducks in a row. As it stands, I've talked to many students who've said "I'm taking your class this semester". For some reason I'm startled when they say that. Normally my response would be "What's your name?" because I would have reviewed my roster and I'd be familiar with who's enrolled in my courses. Not now.

I've spent most of the past few days traveling to Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo to support the protesters. I've spent little time adjusting my syllabus for the two weeks of classes that we've missed. I've spent even less time trying to figure out how to incorporate Egypt's revolution into my courses. There's no way that I can teach them as they are or how I've taught them in the past. To do that would be a disservice and it kind hard to ignore that fact that we're in a city that's the center of an uprising.

An Egyptian protester leads a chant at Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. (Feb., 2011)

This should be interesting though, teaching during a revolution that is.

I don't have a TV, so I haven't watched television regularly over the past few weeks; just a few minutes here and there during the critical times of the protests. However, that won't prevent me from incorporating a bit of media literacy into my courses especially my Multimedia Writing courses which are more based on the fundamentals of good writing and reporting. I know that what the TV presents can be strong, but has it been accurate? And how would you know?

I wish I'd been able to reach the students before now because Tahrir is a classroom whether you're there physically or watching from home. This is the best teachable moment for journalism students. Problem is I know some of our students have been there almost daily, but I'm afraid that just as many have not been - for whatever reason. What do I say to those students who've been in Cairo, but have yet to go to Tahrir to see for themselves? I'll tell them to go to Tahrir as soon as they can; it's a revolution that you need to see for yourself. The mood changes daily and the story ideas are plentiful.

So although I'm not going to be ready for the start of the Spring 2011 semester, I think there's a field trip in the future.

Working in the Media

Every year at the end of the semester I give a talk the students in all of my classes. The focus is on what it really takes to work in the media industry.

• I warn them of the low salaries.
• I tell them that they are bound to work w/difficult people.
• I tell them that if they work hard, they will be rewarded.

This year I transferred my usual PowerPoint presentation to Prezi. Using Prezi is a good and bad thing. For example, when I was done, I asked if there were any questions and most of them want to know what I used to make the presentation?

Here's my presentation from this year at The American University in Cairo.

Media Careers on Prezi

Washington, DC Vacation - part 3

Happy 4th of July folks!

So I'm continuing to reminisce about my recent fab vacation to the Chocolate City.

This time I will focus on the Newseum. It's a museum that focuses on news and news history. I remember going to the Newseum when it was in Reston, VA. It closed several years ago in order to get the new digs up and running. Well, it took a long time, but the new facility is in prime space near the National Mall and other Smithsonian museums.

The new Newseum opened this past April and is very, very nice and swank. Oh, but I must warn you that the admission fee is $20 and it is non-negotiable (unless you go w/a group and then I think tix might be $12). People balk at the price because most of the museums in D.C. are funded w/our tax dollars and have free admission.

I was too elated that the museum was open and I was there and I wanted to experience every bit of it. So I went by myself since I thought I'd run the risk of going w/someone who would be bored w/it all in like 60 minutes.

I think that it is a wonderful place. I really enjoyed the Journalists Memorial (below). It is quite moving. There are lots of small theaters that show short films and that's cool too. I liked seeing lots of the old newspapers as well.

There was a Berlin Wall exhibit, a G-Men exhibit and an area dedicated to 9-11. Oh, and I think my fav section was the Pulitzer Prize winning Photos area. So much to see in one image.

They also have an area where you can produce a newscast. There is just a wealth of information and things to do, however, $20 is too much. They should really reconsider the price because I think people will enjoy it, but you have to get them there and $20 will certainly scare away the non-news type. Take the Virtual Tour; it's cool too and it's free!