For my liberal students: (Conservatives I'll try to post some extra stuff for you too, but like several things on my blog, which is a grab-bag, this is NOT required reading.)
Tell Nader to stay out of it in 04!

COMM 228 Big Tip:
For those of you with a laptop and mic but no recording software. Go to Versiontracker and type "audio recording" into the search window. You'll see dozens of audio recording applications, some for free, some for a nominal fee. The first one on the list, Audio Recorder Deluxe, works well but you have to pony up $ to get it to record anything over 40 seconds. Those of you who find one of these that works well and is free, blog it so we will all know which one.

Check out Dre's Public Speaking Page. I'm getting a major graphic arts Jones just looking at it.
Btw, what font is she using?

COMM 228 Assignment for Monday:
A couple of brief additions. As I said in class, for Monday you may burn a CD, bring in an mp3 player or laptop, or post an audio file to your blog. I would also like for you to have a small segment (1-3 minutes) picked out that I will play for the class in class Monday. It should be a highlight from the weekend interview. Should be fun!
Supplemental tips for interview:
1) Always hold the mic--extend the mic towards your interviewee with the head of the mic slightly in front of and several inches below his or her mouth. When you talk bring it back to your mouth. Never hand the mic to your interviewee. I like to call this "mic control."
2) Don't encourage your interviewee to be a smartass. If you're a smartass then he or she probably will be too. This may seem funny and clever at the time (especially if you've had a bit to drink) but it won't sound so charming later on--just smug and juvenile. Open up to your interviewee, say things into the mic about yourself that make him or her feel safe and comfortable enough to do the same. Make it honest. Get the story, not the defensive posturing. Sarcasm and irony are fine in small doses, but don't try to be a Comedy Central host.
3) Don't f__k with your interviewees. Treat them with respect. Being a good interviewer is all about being a good listener. It's your job to give them the most generous listening possible. As the interviewer you are the director and your interviewee is your star actor. Don't "grandstand." No "Jerky Boys" sadistic self-indulgent bullshit.
4) Practice with your equipment before you go out to do your actual interviews. Test the volume levels, mic positioning, and so forth. If possible, monitor the interview with headphones during the interview. It's helpful to hear exactly what's being recorded.
5) Exercise your creativity. If you put some effort into these interviews, and the editing sessions that will follow in the weeks ahead, you could end up with a professional, broadcast-quality radio show. You'll be proud, and so will I.

COMM 101 Assignment for Monday:
This is to reiterate that the assignment due Monday has several facets, detailed in a post I made on Wednesday (scroll down or click here). In addition I would like proof that you gathered information from all four types of information sources that I detailed in that post. You may provide this proof in the form of links on your group blog. And remember, you don't have to use the specific sources I cite, they are just examples. Read over that post carefully--follow the instructions. I do expect your group to place a phone call to your "legislator's" congressperson--blog about this. And I do expect you to provide links to sources in your "audience analysis" section. Make it smart; make it look good.

Okay, this was unexpected. I just got through reading Ivan's dad's blog. All I can say is, if all of your parents are this cool, what the heck happened to you guys? (Kidding.) Read his take on the blues--it's relevant to our discussion of the use of words. Now if Ivan were to tell his dad how to set up an Atom feed (hint, hint) we could add Verging on Pertinence to our newsbrowsers.

This HTML Cheatsheet is very handy for buffing out your blog. I have added a permanent link in my side column under "stuff."

Andrea posts in her group blog about how to change text formatting (bold, italic, underline) to distinguish between overlapping rhetorical figures in the SoU. That's a really good idea, since any combination of these formatting styles is visible. Now I'm wondering how overlap could be represented in other ways. Maybe some sort of Java or Flash solution here? Any ideas? Not that I would make you guy do this--I'm just curious about what I could do in the future. I have posted earlier on how to change the colors on your blog, and several of you have done fun stuff with color. Another thing you can do is change just the color of specific text. Here's the command:

<font color=?>I am font of any color you want me to be.</font> Replace the ? with the color code you want.
It's really easy to do this, and you don't even need an airbrush or clearcoat.

Okay ya'll, this U of Colorado scandal is a divisive issue I know, but it's just too important to pass up, especially in light of our conversations about "context." I'm still forming my opinion--at the moment I'm sympathetic both to Hnida and to Barnett. In other words I'm confused. So I'm dropping a big old fat hot potato right in the center of our blogosphere (not that ya'll haven't already dropped several of your own). Reactions? For those of you who don't know what I'm referring to, here's the tip of the iceberg from CNN today:
'[University of Colorado head football coach Gary Barnett] was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday after he called [Katie] Hnida [former and only female to play football for U of Colorado] an "awful" player who "couldn't kick the ball through the uprights" on Tuesday. He has since tried to back away from his comments saying they were taken out of context.
Colorado University President Elizabeth Hoffman said the coach "was not apologetic" when she spoke to him about the matter.
"In the context of a rape allegation, it is inappropriate to make statements about the ability of the player," Hoffman said.
Barnett told CNN he made a mistake.
"I think I said the wrong thing, the wrong way at the wrong time," he said.
Barnett explained that he was trying to show support for Hnida but was asked a specific question about the player's talent and ability.
"I was trying to communicate that we cared about Katie. We were going to go to any extent we could to help her achieve her dream of being a college football kicker," he said. "No matter what her ability was, we were trying to find a way to make sure she had a chance to do this."'