Posts Tagged ‘journalism’
Popular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 10 — Juggalos and other frights
Today’s assignment was to watch Sean Dunne’s remarkable, 23-minute documentary, American Juggalo, and think about how you would have handled that assignment — to spend a couple of days in the midst of the juaggalos at their annual bacchanal in an Illinois campground each August. Factor in everything: the kind of people you’d be talking…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 3 — Getting personal
Just a quick recap today. I’m in Shreveport, La., for a long weekend to be a judge at the first-ever Louisiana Film Prize, where 20 short films are competing for a $50,000 win. It’s a big street party. With movies! Check it out. Meanwhile, back in Missoula … On Wednesday, we discussed three (almost four)…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Oct. 1 — The Context of No-Context
George W.S. Trow’s long essay about American culture and the irreversible effects of television on the national psyche, Within the Context of No-Context, was first published in the New Yorker’s Nov. 17, 1980, issue. It took up nearly the whole magazine. It changed people — and also irritated many. It still has the effect of…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 24 — scene stories
We’re a month into the semester, the pace is quickening, and the Pollner class is turning into a bit of a juggling lesson. On Wednesday, we’re going to be group-critiquing the reported essays. (Professor Stuever is also grappling with something he hasn’t thought one bit about since he left college: grades. How to grade? There’s…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 19 — beautiful (dark twisted) criticism
Gently onward, talking once more about great criticism and its role as a valid form of journalism. When it works, it’s a piece of art in and of itself — useful to the reader, filled with context and beautifully written. But try telling to that all those editors and publishers who, when faced with the…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 17 — with guest stars
My very good friends Leslie Yazel (deputy editor of the “Personal Journal” features section of the Wall Street Journal) and her husband Jeremy Egner (producer and writer in the arts & leisure department of the New York Times) came to class on Monday to talk about their careers, their work, the state of online and…
Read MoreToo much about the tube of plenty
Call the midwife! I’ve once again assisted in the birth of another FALL TV ISSUE (would you believe my fourth?). You can read every last bit of it online by going here. But if you’re in Washington, won’t you do us the kindness of buying a paper? This year included reviews of all the new…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 12 — writing criticism
She may be the fairy godmother of all film criticism, but the work of Pauline Kael (1919-2001) went over like a lead balloon as we began our sequence of classes on criticism/reviews. (Let me just say: I remember having pretty much the same reaction when I had to read her as a college sophomore in…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 10 — essay ideas
At the beginning of each class, ideally to limber up our brains, I randomly ask the roundtable of students to verbally “tweet out” a thought about something they’ve seen or done or had a mental blip about since we last met. (I totally, totally stole this idea from American University writing prof/lecturer Glenn Moomau, whose…
Read MorePopular Culture Journalism (JOUR494): Class recap for Sept. 5 — reported essays (Dam!)
Moving forward with trying to figure out how to approach the reported essay. We discussed some good ones today, mentioning their weaknesses as well: Didion on the Hoover Dam: An example of how to write about something that is beautiful and yet creeps you out. When something amazes and frightens you, you’re headed in the…
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