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Baylor Media Expert Shares Thoughts Re: Charges of Biased Media Coverage of Minorities
Early this week, 18-year-old Nia Wilson was stabbed to death on a platform while transferring trains in Oakland, California. Authorities said the attack was unprovoked. Media coverage of Wilson's death included photos from her social media accounts. One California television station chose to share a photo of Wilson, who was African American, holding what appeared to be a gun. The decision to run that particular photo sparked outrage, with many saying the photo added to a trend of a biased media portrayal of minorities. Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor University, is an expert on mass media representations of women, minorities and other underrepresented groups. "This incident brings back memories of the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Media outlets used various photos to portray them as menacing. It also brings to mind the hashtag: #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, which asks the question: 'If they gunned me down, what photo would media use?'" Moody Ramirez said. "Historically, media outlets have used such photos to: 1) frame the individuals a certain way, 2) add interest to the story, 3) stir up conflict. Awareness that this is happening is the best way to stop it in the future. Black Twitter has taken on this cause. In the 'clap back' culture of Black Twitter, news outlets are very likely to get called out for such behavior." Moody-Ramirez is the co-author of the new book "From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, & Gender." In 2013, she co-authored "The Obamas and Mass Media: Race, Gender, Religion, and Politics." She also authored "Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: A Historical Perspective." Source:
Trump's Twitter Practices Unconstitutional: New Media, First Amendment Expert Weighs In
On Wednesday, a federal judge declared that President Trump's practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account is unconstitutional. The ruling was reached after several plaintiffs accused the president of violating their First Amendment rights by blocking their access to his Twitter feed. The plaintiffs argued they’d been blocked specifically because of their critical viewpoints. Trump’s 9-year-old @realdonaldtrump account has more than 50 million followers. "Yesterday’s ruling is important because it gives people freedom to consume the opinions of public figures on social media platforms. This is the same right individuals have with any other public forum such as newsprint and broadcast media," said Mia Moody- Ramirez, Ph.D., professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor University. Moody-Ramirez is a nationally recognized expert in topics of new media, race, class and culture. She studies the media framing of various issues, including people of color, women and political candidates. Her book "From Blackface to Black Twitter: Critical Reflections on Black Humor, Gender, Race & Politics" will be available this summer. "Justice Department lawyers argued that it was Trump’s choice and blocking individuals should be no different from the president deciding in a room who not to listen/talk to. However, the ruling distinguishes Trump’s Twitter account — which, like public parks, is under government control. In public forums, the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, regardless of a person’s viewpoint," Moody Ramirez explained. "Worth noting," she said, "is this ruling will not affect ordinary Twitter users who can block and follow other Twitter users. President Trump’s account @realdonaldtrump is a space operated by the government for government business, and therefore, cannot limit speech based on an individual’s viewpoints." Moody-Ramirez is the author of several books, including: * "From Blackface to Black Twitter: Critical Reflections on Black Humor, Gender, Race & Politics" (Peter Lang), summer 2018 * "The Obamas and Mass Media: Race, Gender, Religion, and Politics" (Palgrave Macmillan) with Dr. Jannette Dates, 2013 * "Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: A Historical Perspective" (University Press of America), 2009 She is available to speak to reporters. Source:
Dear President Trump, In response to the numerous school shootings, Please re-consider your agenda and work to make the educational system safe for our children. Consider allocating funding to allow for the following: *The placement of police sub-stations in middle and high schools that are in at-risk neighborhoods and studying the effect of police presence on the culture of safety. *The creation of school-based mental health clinics run by nurse practitioners and social workers. This will allow at risk and troubled youth to have immediate access to interventions and services. *The ability for community-based researchers to work pro-actively with schools to creatively solve the issue at the local level. Pass federal legislation addressing the minor consent to treat laws for mental health issues. In Washington State, where I live and practice, minors over the age of 13 can consent to mental health treatment without parental consent. The goal isn’t to take the healthcare decision making authority away from parents, the goal is to get youth the help they need before something tragic happens. Appoint a special task force or committee consisting of educators, healthcare providers, lawyers, social workers, and anyone else who directly works with at risk youth. I believe that the solutions will come from these committees. Submitted to POTUS May 19, 2018 Source:
Baylor Black Gospel Music Expert Pens Dallas Morning News Column Remembering MLK
Robert Darden, professor of journalism, PR and new media at Baylor University, is a gospel music expert. He penned this column to commemorate the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and to remember the music that carried people through the grief of the time. He writes: "In the days of rage and grief that followed the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on April 4, 1968, many Americans found, at least for a time, relief in music. Rosa Parks, whose brave stand on a Montgomery, Ala., bus just 13 years earlier was the inciting incident in the slow build of the civil rights movement after World War II, watched as Detroit erupted in violence. She sat in her room playing Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" over and over. She said the song 'saved her sanity.'" Darden is the author of two dozen books, most recently: Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume II: Black Sacred Music from Sit-In to Resurrection City (Penn State University Press, 2016); Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume I: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement (Penn State University Press, 2014); Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor (Abingdon Press, 2008); Reluctant Prophets and Clueless Disciples: Understanding the Bible by Telling Its Stories (Abingdon Press, 2006); and People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music (Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2004). He founded the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, the world’s largest initiative to identify, acquire, digitize, categorize and make accessible gospel music from gospel’s Golden Age (1945-1970). The BGMRP provides the gospel music for the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History & Culture. Source:
Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of marketing in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, studies consumer behavior, multicultural media, movies and entertainment. She is an expert on Hollywood and movies featuring actors of color. She said Tuesday's Oscar nominations reveal "positive strides" for recognition of minorities in the film industry, but she also noted missed opportunities for noteworthy films. “With today’s Oscar nominations, we see positive strides in the categories of Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director regarding the nominations of persons of color. Even for not-so-well publicized categories like Best Screenplay, Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography, there are some wonderful artists of color and women that have been nominated. One that truly makes me happy is the nomination of ‘Coco’ for Best Animated Feature. It was an outstanding tribute to Mexican culture and was truly well done," Lindsey-Warren said. "However, I am saddened that Patty Jenkins, the director of ‘Wonder Woman’ did not get any acknowledgement from The Academy. She did an excellent job with ‘Wonder Woman,’ from both a cinematic perspective as well as from the worldwide box office revenues. I am also saddened that director Reginald Hudlin’s ‘Marshall’ is missing this awards season. The story of American hero Thurgood Marshall is one that should have been more celebrated.” Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., is a marketing scholar, business executive, artist and entrepreneur. As a consumer behavior scholar, her research is rooted in narrative transportation theory (i.e., storytelling) that exudes the emotion of empowerment and its impact on consumer attitudes, behaviors, purchase intention and message recall. She also studies health edutainment, multicultural media and advertising, as well as movies and entertainment. Lindsey-Warren is an expert in effective communications strategies for leaders, multicultural communications and marketing. For more information, or for an interview with Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, contact Baylor Media Communications. Source:
Baylor Experts Share New "Phone Snubbing" Research. This time it's "Boss Phubbing!"
Baylor University marketing professors and smartphone use experts James A. Roberts, Ph.D., and Meredith David, Ph.D., published their latest study – “Put Down Your Phone and Listen to Me: How Boss Phubbing Undermines the Psychological Conditions Necessary for Employee Engagement” – in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. Roberts and David are known nationally and internationally for researching the affects of smartphone use on relationships. “Phubbing (phone snubbing) is a harmful behavior,” Roberts said. “It undermines any corporate culture based on respect for others. Thus, it is crucial that corporations create a culture embodied by care for one another.” Their newest study examines “boss phubbing” (boss phone snubbing), which the researchers define as “an employee’s perception that his or her supervisor is distracted by his or her smartphone when they are talking or in close proximity to each other” and how that activity affects the supervisor-employee relationship. “Our research reveals how a behavior as simple as using a cellphone in the workplace can ultimately undermine an employee’s success,” the researchers wrote. “We present evidence that boss phubbing lowers employees’ trust in their supervisors and ultimately leads to lower employee engagement.” The study found: * 76 percent of those surveyed showed a lack of trust in a supervisor who phubbed them * 75 percent showed decreases in psychological meaningfulness, psychological availability and psychological safety * The lack of trust and decreases in those key areas led to a 5 percent decrease in employee engagement Roberts and David suggest several steps that managers could take to change the culture and mitigate the negative effects of smartphone use. * Create a culture in which supervisors do not feel pressure to immediately respond to emails and messages from their superiors while meeting with their employees. * Structure performance criteria in a manner which motivates bosses to build healthy superior-subordinate relationships. This might include annual ratings by their subordinates. * Train supervisors and employees on the importance of face-to-face interactions and sensitize them to the potentially negative consequences of phubbing on employee attitudes and engagement. * Set formal smartphone policies by setting clear rules for smartphone use, access and security – and detail specific consequences for violating those rules. Source:
Baylor Gospel Expert: MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Inspired Response from Black Gospel Artists
Fifty-four years ago this week. On Aug. 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “I Have a Dream” – one of the most iconic speeches in American history and a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement. For black gospel artists recording in the years after 1963, King’s speech was fertile ground for creative expression, said Robert Darden, professor of journalism and founder and director of Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project (BGMRP). “These artists responded by creating songs that sampled portions of Dr. King’s recorded audio, drew inspiration from his words or supported the Civil Rights Movement in the wake of its delivery,” Darden said. Darden founded Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project more than a decade ago in an effort to identify, acquire, preserve, digitize and catalog recordings from the black gospel music tradition. This music, from the Golden Age of Gospel from 1945 to 1975, was quickly vanishing as albums made the transition to CDs. Through the work of the Baylor Libraries’ Digital Projects Group, recordings from the BGMRP are available online in the Baylor Libraries Digital Collection, and in some cases includes other materials, such as taped interviews, photographs, press packets, tour books and programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and sheet music. Music from the BGMRP also has been included in a permanent exhibit featuring African-American musical history at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Source:
Another Big Short or Better Off? 10 Years Later – Is there Another Financial Crisis Looming?
It was 10 years ago Wednesday that the world changed for just about everyone. It was on that afternoon when BNP Paribas announced it was ceasing activity in three hedge funds that specialized in U.S. mortgage debt. BNP Paribas was the first major bank to acknowledge the risk of exposure to the sub-prime mortgage market, and many look back at those days as the start of the worst financial crisis in American history since the stock market crashed in 1929. For a decade, America has been in a state of recovery. It took trillions of dollars in stimulus and bail outs. The real estate market almost collapsed on itself and millions were left unemployed. Some are still incapable of finding work and income that matched what they made back then. On the outside, America seems to be in complete recovery. Housing prices have bounced back, the DOW is soaring and unemployment rests at just 5.1 percent. However, some are skeptical. Americans are borrowing again at record rates. Credit is once again being offered abundantly and as people spend again – risk is climbing. Add in China’s shaky economy and there’s also talk of a double-bubble bursting. Understanding finance and economics is no easy task. It takes global understanding, a keen eye on micro and macroeconomics and sometimes a crystal ball. But on Wednesday, many people will remember exactly what they were doing when America’s economy tanked. So where are we now? Have we learned our lesson or are we doomed to repeat ourselves? Have the reforms on Wall Street worked or can the actions of a few big banks still derail one of the strongest financial engines in the world? None of these are easy questions to answer or explain. But experts from Missouri State University can help. Dr. David Mitchell is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Bureau of Economic Research at Missouri State. He is also an expert at economic forecasting and understanding market trends and direction. Dr. Mitchell can speak to the anniversary of the financial crisis and what may lie ahead for America’s economy. Click on his icon to arrange an interview. Source:
Meet Baylor’s nationally recognized expert on spirituality and pop culture
Why is U2 so popular across the globe? How much of our idea of heaven and hell is actually from the Bible? And why are we so obsessed with zombies? Garrett’s unique, critical look at religion and pop culture has garnered the attention of media such as Christianity Today, Austin Monthly, and even overseas in the Irish Times. If you’re someone who searches to deepen your faith and study how it fits into daily life, it’s worth taking a look at a Greg Garrett book for yourself. Source:
Q&A: Baylor Professor and Author Talks about ‘Living with the Living Dead’
Quick, before it’s too late! May is Zombie Awareness Month — so it’s high time for people to prepare for a zombie pandemic. But that’s more than a heads-up for those who are passionate about zombies. Those who yawn at the notion of zombies also have reason to take notice, suggests pop culture critic Greg Garrett, Ph.D., of Baylor University. To answer the question of “Why should we care?” when it comes to zombies, he advises looking deep inside ourselves. Garrett is author of the new book “Living with the Living Dead: The Wisdom of the Zombie Apocalypse” — one of three trade books featured in the United States for 2017 by Oxford University Press, one of the world’s largest academic publishers. Garrett, professor of English in Baylor’s College of Arts & Science, shared some of his thoughts about zombies past, present and future in this Q&A Source:
