Where are all the book(store)s?

This is a video book review by Ron Charles, the fiction editor at Washington Post's Book World. He is attempting to be humorous with the review, but states a bigger problem that we have when consuming printed media. We don't seem to have time to read. This correlates with another problem taking place. Big brand book stores are closing in some major locations.
Barnes and Noble is trying to sell it's company and in the mean time is shutting down one its biggest locations in New York.

Barnes & Noble closing UWS store - The book giant will close its four-story superstore on West 66th Street, opposite Lincoln Center, after operating there for 15 years.

In San Francisco, they're closing a big Borders bookstore

Letdown: South Beach residents were disappointed by Borders’ announcement that it was closing its bookstore on King Street near AT&T Park.
SAN FRANCISCO — A chain bookstore anchoring a condominium complex in the center of a revived South Beach is going out of business in October amid neighborhood fears that the space will remain empty too long in the down economy.

So, are we really reading less? And do we have such short attention spans that we can't even read a book review? Or is it that we just aren't buying books from brick and mortar stores anymore?

Philadelphia Blogging Tax

So has anyone heard about the "blogging tax" in Philadelphia? Not sure what started the firestorm about it, but it appears that it was being called a Blogger's License. This was being discussed as one more way that "Big Brother" was taking over the free speech rights of citizens just because they operated a blog while living in the city of "brotherly love".

Turns out it's not entirely the whole story. According to the city,

"It has a business-privilege license that is required of any business operating in the city. The license costs $50 a year or $300 for a lifetime license."

Hmmm, what are the penalties if they don't register for this 'business-privilege' license?

In an article on wired.com titled 5 Myths About Philadelphia’s ‘Blogging Tax’,

"It covers any business in the city of Philadelphia, whether you’re a multinational oil company or (in principle) a kid running a lemonade stand"

so everyone is being treated equally. Oh wait, the kid with a lemonade stand pays the same as a multinational oil company? If you happen to make money online with your blog, and live in Philadelphia, the city wants a cut.

Turns out this story was a big buzz even in Great Britain, although this article is quick to quell the rumor.

"The problem is "people not taking five seconds to realise it's not a blog tax, it's a tax on all the commerce in the city," says Sean Blanda, co-founder of tech news site Technically Philly and an ex-employee of the City Paper. "But people thought it was an affront to free speech. It says nothing about free speech." As Blanda wrote on his blog : "There is no 'blog tax' in Philadelphia. None."

Question; should the city be counting local bloggers income as taxable or should bloggers be treated as global citizens - exempt from local fees? Does a city or municipality have the right to charge a fee for operating a business online, even though the business owner is typically not using city resources? Or, is making money on the internet a valid way to shelter your income? You can always set up an offshore mailing address like other companies with much larger bank accounts!

President Obama is a Muslim?

Last week, a poll of Pew Research Center revealed that American people are increasingly believing that President Obama is a Muslim.

"A new national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, down sharply from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama’s religion is."

It is a little surprising that 60% of them responded they learned about President's religion from the media, in particular television. Who do you think is most responsible for this misperception?

People's political ideology or media?

You also can read a report of the Huffington Post.

Huffingtonpost vs. LA Times and WP

According to the data of Compete.com in September 2009, The Huffington Post's traffic surpassed both the sites of LA Times and the Washington Post. What the data mean that the mainstream media may not the dominant information providers on the Web any more. On the Internet, there are the newly emerged news sources with the profound potential to provide alternative information/perspectives not covered by the major media in general.

Will the Internet and its interactive technologies be challenge, threat to traditional news media?

Class Greeting!

Welcome to MC119 Introduction to Mass Media in the Department of Mass Communication.

I opened this blog for additional opportunities to participate in discussion about certain topics related to mass media's role, effects in contemporary society. I will maintain and frequently update this blog with interesting issues or events, which help you develop a critical ability to comprehensively understand mass media.

I hope all of you enjoy this course throughout the semester and please let me know any time if you need my help or advice.

Best regards,

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