President Barack Obama

Democratic Senator Barack Obama became the first black U.S. president defeating Republican John McCain by a close margin in the popular vote. Riding on a wave of popularity unmatched since John F. Kennedy swept to power in 1960, Obama promised change for a shell-shocked America after eight years of warmongering from the Bush Administration. How do you think the media influenced the election? How did media outlets support the young, fresh image of Obama while attacking the old, outdated ideas of McCain? How did the images of Tina Fey, Joe the Plumber, and Oprah impact public opinion? How do you think Barack Obama used the media to his advantage?

Crunching Numbers

The U.S. economy has dominated the news outlets for the past few months, with an inevitable crash always right around the corner. We see and hear all about sub-prime mortgage foreclosures, plummetting stock markets, investment bank collapses, and, most recently, a $700-billion bailout of Wall Street. The intricacies of the economy can be complicated at best, and labyrinthine at worst. As citizens of a capitalist democracy, do you feel we receive accurate information about how the economy works? Does the news media treat the complex economy with simplistic headlines? Will we ever understand the economy? Or can we trust it to politicians, economists and professors?

Listeria Hysteria?

When Maple Leaf Foods recalled 220 packaged meat products that were potentially tainted with listeria bacteria, CEO Michael McCain issued an apology at a news conference, taking full responsibility for the crisis at the Toronto plant. Since that time, the public has been updated on a daily basis of the increasing number of cases across Canada and the rising death toll, which currently stands at ten people. How did you personally respond to the crisis? Did pay close attention to the story? Did you follow up every day to find out if the threat had changed in any way? Were you satisfied with the information your received through TV news reports, in newspaper articles, and on Internet blogs? In a public health crisis, do you think the media acts responsibly to provide information or do you think news directors only add to the hysteria by sensationalizing the story at every opportunity?

Olympic Fraud?

When details surfaced about "digital enhancements" to fireworks and lip-synching by the "ideal child" at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies, many observers shrugged it off as a necessary evil of the entertainment industry. Now, however, when the Chinese government changes the official age of a 14-year-old gymnast in all Internet references to avoid disqualification, it's nothing more than fraud. Do you agree? Or do you think that the Olympic Games are really only entertainment and should not be held up to such serious scrutiny? Do you think we should stop drug testing because it only catches athletes who don't have the financial---and pharmacological---resources to cheat? Should we simply stop trying to enforce such high Olympian ideals and just enjoy the show?  

Barbaric Murder Grabs Headlines

The senseless, barbaric murder of an innocent man on a bus heading to Winnipeg by a reportedly "normal, quiet man" becomes the top story for media outlets all over the world. The brutally violent descriptions of the actual killing and the mysterious circumstances of the crime involving apparently two strangers seated together leaves everyone shocked. Why does a random murder bring out so many emotional responses about sensitive  issues such as mental illness, racism, and criminal justice? Do you think the media adds to the sensationalism of this news story, attracting more attention than it deserves? Or do you think, in these confusing situations, that the media shed light on important issues that helps us understand our world better?

Brangelina's Babies!

By now, everyone knows every last detail of the Caesarian section that brought Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon Pitt into this world. While paparazzi elbow each other outside the French coastal hospital and celebrity tabloid readers hang on every word reported from the center of the celebrity universe, we wonder why we're so interested in Hollywood fertility? Why do we care more about children we will never know (in any personal way) than we do about our own relatives? Why do these two overrated actors---and spotlight philanthropists---deserve so much of the media's attention? How much of it do you think is manufactured by the Brangelina publicity machine and how much of it is a mindless distraction from our deeply troubled world?

"Olympolitics" attack China

As protesters threaten to douse the Olympic flame, the attention of the world again turns towards China. The media spotlight has already uncovered lead paint in toys, poor food production standards, air quality deterioration, free speech restrictions, and human rights violations. Did China really think they could hide the truth? They must have known that hosting the Olympics would draw even more attention to their social, political, and environmental policies. Do you think that China deserves the Olympics? Do you think the rest of the world should boycott the Games? Do you think that the Olympics should only be a sporting event, not a political rally?

Another School Shooting

After another school shooting, this time at Northern Illinois University, while tremors from Virginia Tech and Dawson College continue to haunt us, it's obvious we just can't get enough of the dark side of humanity. With skyrocketing ratings and higher readership---think “increased advertising revenues”---you can bet that these brutal attacks will always dominate the media. Why are we attracted to these horrific acts of senseless violence? Why do we tune in for every last detail of the carnage, the killer's tragic life story, and the emotional fallout of the survivors? Do you think all this media attention only provokes these psychopaths to end their lives in a blaze of televised glory?

Facebook Memorials

Only hours after a bus crash in Bathurst, NB, claimed the lives of seven high school basketball players and their coach's wife, a grieving student set up a Facebook memorial which collected up to 5,000 members from all over North America and Europe. Although the outpouring of support must help the grieving community get through this unthinkable tragedy, why do we turn to the Internet in these difficult times? Who benefits most from the memorial? Do the heartbroken families get any comfort from these Web tributes? Do electronic mourners gain anything from the experience?