**This information was taken from an e-mail sent out today by club adviser Lisa Murphy. Great job Perspective Staff, we’re so proud of you!!!  **

“The Medaille Perspective has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Columbia University as a Gold Medalist. The Perspective was judged against criteria for student newspapers as established by a panel of judges at the association. Newspapers are critiqued and points awarded and then ranked against student newspapers in the USA and Canada.

In order to be ranked as a gold medalist, the paper must receive at least 925 points of 1000. The Perspective received 955 points. The judges said “It was a pleasure ‘reading’ you! You’ve obviously worked very hard on your publication, which is reflected in your Gold score!”

The staff of the Perspective would like to thank the entire campus community for their support and continued readership. They look forward to continuing to cover the campus throughout the upcoming semester.  ”

Attn all com majors! Your future job might be in jeopardy! As stations look at getting rid of TV pilots (money, damn writer?s strike, etc) how will this affect the future of TV? The content? The audiences?

Push marketing at it?s strongest. Advertising people, this one is for you.

The Buffalo News had an article about the state of the radio industry in yesterday’s paper (Sunday, January 27).

“Taking Back the Airwaves” documents trends and tactics that inform the present and future of radio broadcasting. For anyone interested in a career in radio, it’s a must read.

I’m looking for an intern for this website. For more information download the document below.

Internship information

I heard about this on NPR this morning. What do you think?

If you’ve taken SPE 130 with me you should remember me talking about mythos. Are they using mythos here to persuade these women to join?

What does this say about the state of Islamic women, about the state of global feminism and the impacts of culture?
-Sarah Whitehead

One of the most effective and invidious types of communication comes in the form of propaganda. I watched the Democratic debate from South Carolina last night, and each candidate made use, to some degree, of propaganda techniques. As the political primary season continues, take note of the campaigns which rely on standard propaganda tactics to get their messages across and to strike out at the other candidates.

Here are the commonly accepted types of propaganda:

* Join the Bandwagon: establish the value of joining the crowd. (e.g. When the media asserts that all the delegates are going towards Obama’s candidacy)
* Card-stacking: Build a one-sided case for your position. (When McCain, Huckabee and Romney build an argument around the quality of health care instead of talking about a lack of affordable health care insurance.)
* Glittering generalities: Use power words to evoke emotions. (When Obama talks about “change we can believe in.”; or read this article from last year’s Salon magazine on Republican power words.)
* Name-calling: just like it sounds. (When Clinton talks about Obama’s inexperience; When the Republicans call the Democrats “soft on immigration.”)
* Plain folks: Making the leader seem ordinary increases trust and credibility.
* Testimonial: The testimony of an independent person is seen as more trustworthy.
* Transfer: Associate the leader with trusted others. (e.g. when McCain links himself with President Bush’s war policies; when Clinton links herself with her husband’s economic legacy).

I could spend another hour on filing in those blanks above, but I’d encourage our enterprising communication students to help me out!

Wikipedia has a good summary of propaganda examples.