Monday, November 3, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

We’re the American electorate, and we approved this message.

One last blast of analysis before the voters turn the pundits into either visionaries or liars on Election Day is available in the latest edition of “MTSU Audio Clips.” Radio-ready stories and sound are available for radio stations to download and use verbatim or adapt to their specific formats at www.mtsunews.com. Click on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. Dr. Robb McDaniel, associate professor of political science and a winner of the 2008 Outstanding Faculty Award, sizes up the campaigns. Also, Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, takes a look in his commentary at the way we allow technology to run our lives.

Contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

Please don’t let me be misunderstood.

Why are candidates’ issues so misunderstood despite months and months of discussion and millions of dollars of advertising? Dr. Jason Reineke, journalism professor and associate director of the MT Poll, says we tend to be “cognitive misers”—that is, “We tend to be very cheap with our mental effort. This is just part of the human condition. We don’t want to expend a lot of energy.” What role do the media play in explaining the issues? Reineke will deliver an assessment of campaign coverage titled “Off Limits, Off the Record, or Off the Cuff—Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Election from Barack Obama’s ‘Celebrity’ to Sarah Palin’s Family” at a brown bag luncheon from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 4, in Room 129 (Gore Center conference room) of the of MTSU’s Todd Building. This event is free and open to the public. Media welcomed.

Contact Reineke at 615-494-7746.
jreineke@mtsu.edu

An older, wiser election night

Tomorrow night, Nov. 4, Older Wiser Learners (OWLs), the organization for nontraditional students at MTSU, will co-sponsor Unity Election Party 2008 with Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc. and other groups from 7-11 p.m. in the Keathley University Center grill to unite MTSU students of all political backgrounds in a nonpartisan location and to celebrate democracy. A microphone will be available for participants to express their opinions. Speakers from both major parties will be on hand, and attendees will be able to watch live television election coverage. There will be food, gift giveaways, and a silent auction with proceeds to benefit a local domestic violence shelter. This event, which is part of Nontraditional Students Week at MTSU, is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Carol Ann Baily at 615-898-5989 or OWLs President Monique Denney at mdd3f@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO NEED FOR THE TIM RUSSERT MEMORIAL DRY ERASE BOARD (FLORIDA! FLORIDA! FLORIDA!)—MTSU students will prepare and broadcast their own election night roundup live on MTTV, Channel 10, from 8 p.m. to 11 or possibly later, on Election Night, tomorrow night, Nov. 4, depending on how close the tallies are. “It becomes more than just an organizational exercise, which is important,” says Dr. Bob Pondillo, who teaches “Electronic Media Production: Election Night News Coverage.” “However, it’s one thing to know how to make great television, but it’s quite another to know how to engage the community.” Although arrangements are subject to revision at a moment’s notice depending on the circumstances, the class is planning on three bases for live shots. The percentages in each race will be displayed at the bottom of the television screen through a black box Associated Press interface device. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 or pondillo@mtsu.edu.

A WORD IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES--“4 Women 4 Views with Text,” a new art exhibition in MTSU’s James E. Walker Library, features the creativity of three MTSU professors and an MTSU graduate in combining visual and verbal elements, treating visitors to an experience that is at once visceral and intellectual. The works of Assistant Professors Noel Lorson and Kim Dummons, Professor Janet Higgins and alumna Nance Cooley will remain on display through Thursday, Nov. 13, in the Special Collections area on the fourth floor of the library. Viewing is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Susan Hanson, a specialist with the library, says the works on display are individual entities that emerged from the creative spark of the collaborative experience. “It starts with a word, and it begins to take on a life of its own,” Hanson says. Contact Hanson at 615-904-8503 or shanson@mtsu.edu.