The decision, which many constitutional scholars expect to be appealed to the Supreme Court, stems from a challenge by Fox, CBS and other broadcasters to the F.C.C.’s decision in 2004 to begin enforcing a stricter standard of what kind of language is allowed on free, over-the-air television.

The stricter policy followed several incidents that drew widespread public complaint, including Janet Jackson’s breast-baring episode at the 2004 Super Bowl and repeated instances of profanity by celebrities, including Cher, Paris Hilton and Bono, during the live broadcasts of awards programs. The Janet Jackson incident did not involve speech but it drew wide public outrage that spurred a crackdown by the F.C.C.

In a unanimous three-judge decision, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York said that the F.C.C.’s current policy created “a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here” because it left broadcasters without a reliable guide to what the commission would find offensive.

Discussion: Just how far is too far when it comes to banning what people can and can’t say on TV. Read the article here on The New York Times Web site. (I refuse to acknowledge the AP stylebook’s decision to change the way Web site is spelled).

Check out this article on his new social networking YouTube responses.

From the article: For people who happen to follow Old Spice Man (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), users were able to send Twitter messages to @OldSpice with whatever kinds of comments they wanted, and were then treated with an almost-instant Youtube video of the man himself responding to each comment.

Discussion: just how powerful can social networking be when creating brand awareness? What companies use social networking in the right ways? The effective ways? Who doesn’t? Is this just a trend in advertising, or will we see it rapidly evaporate just as quickly as it gained popularity?

You may notice the headline in the upper left-hand corner that says “Beach Muscle Now!” What you may not notice right away is that in small type in the opposite corner it reads: Kellan wears Calvin Klein Jeans”.

News flash: Magazines do this. But usually on the inside cover. Was this a shout out to Calvin Klein? A free plug on the COVER of Men’s Health??

The mags response:

But David Zinczenko, the editor in chief of Men’s Health, said in an e-mail message that the magazine had moved the credits line to the cover — “an innovation,” he said — as a service to readers.

“Rather than make readers hunt and peck for information on the clothes featured on the cover, it’s there for easy access,” he said. The magazine has been including the credits on its cover for more than a year, including mentions of Adidas and Patagonia.

Check out the article here.

Check out the article here.

Is entertainment media becoming too over saturated with product placement and advertisements? Or does it add authenticity to medium?

Discuss. (Read the article first, it helps).

I used to be a reader of the magazine – and I agree with the article – the magazine fell flat, but now subscriptions are up, their voice is back and their kicking again. What do you think? What makes a magazine come back from its own death? What helps a magazine survive during times when people are cutting finances? What’s the secret formula? Or is there one?

A few lines from the piece:

In its early days in the 1960s and ’70s, Rolling Stone was a chronicle of the counterculture where a generation of young people came to find political coverage that spoke to their disaffection.

Then those baby boomers grew up, and Rolling Stone’s voice seemed to fall flat.

But no more. Those same subversive tendencies that led Jann Wenner to help found the magazine in 1967 were reawakened under the presidency of George W. Bush. And now, rather unexpectedly, Mr. Wenner’s magazine is hitting its journalistic stride — aggressively tackling the American government on financial regulation, the environment and the war in Afghanistan — with a Democrat in the White House, one that Mr. Wenner supported.

Welcome to our blog. It’s a great place to hang out. There’s info about class, our schedule, readings, and there are TONS of opportunities to include YOUR input – because really, that’s what will make this class go around.

Every week, you will see new posts on this homepage. It might be a post about a news story, or just a simple question needing an answer. Please comment. If you have something to add, or a thought or three, go ahead and throw it up there. If you don’t, go ahead and read other people’s thoughts.

Also, if you have something YOU want to share, simply go to the “Journo This” section of the blog and make your post. (Don’t forget to include a link to what you are talking about in the body of your post).

Let’s kick off this semester awesomely and rock it out. : )

OH – and please, if you don’t do anything: DO THIS: READ THE NEWS. EVERY DAY. If you aren’t used to reading the news, try this: visit a local newspaper site, or pick up a hard copy (like The Alligator or the Gainesville Sun), then go to a national news Web site (CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, whatever your poison), then check out Google News. It combines news from all sorts of media outlets. Hey, maybe even follow NPR on Twitter.

See you soon!

Are we really as good as we think we are?

Weird place for this?

“The community has lately established to hold an extremely loyal following among news readers, potentially threatening the dominant position held by Google News, which affects advertisers who are eager to leverage the social media craze.”

Why are so many people turning to Facebook? Tell us all.