JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 6, 2012 — The media鈥檚 role in the modern political process will be the topic for the next Town and Gown series at 51社区 from Feb. 6-March 5.
The Town and Gown series is an opportunity for community members interested in various topics to attend lectures and participate in discussions in a classroom setting. The classes are free and open to the public.
The lecture in the 鈥淢edia, Politics and Democracy鈥� series will address such issues as managed news, spin and journalistic punditry in light of popular perceptions of bias in the array of media available to Americans today, according to Union journalism professor Michael Chute.
鈥淭he purpose of media really is to allow people to be self-governing in a democratic society,鈥� Chute said. 鈥淭his series will examine how well the media is giving good information to the American people so they can make decisions.鈥�
All sessions will be held in Providence Hall room 162, from 6-9 p.m.
The schedule for the series is:
鈥� Feb. 6: 鈥淔alling Apart: Observations on the Current State of Media, Culture and Politics,鈥� by Hunter Baker, associate dean of arts and sciences at Union, and 鈥淓zekiel Bulver and Modern Media and Politics,鈥� by Micah Watson, assistant professor of political science at Union.
鈥� Feb. 13: 鈥淐onfessions of a Politician in Remission,鈥� by Hal Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union; 鈥淗ow I Feel Since Clark Kent and Peter Park Lost Their Jobs,鈥� by Gregory A. Thornbury, dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union, and 鈥淐itizen Journalism: A Historic Tradition Meets Modern Technology,鈥� by Gene Fant, vice president for academic administration at Union.
鈥� Feb. 20: 鈥淐ampaign 2012 鈥� Boots on the Ground,鈥� by Todd Starnes, host of 鈥淔OX News and Commentary,鈥� heard daily on radio stations around the nation; 鈥淲e Live in a Photoshopped World,鈥� by Tom Bohs, editorial page editor at The Jackson Sun; and 鈥淎ll the News That鈥檚 Fit to Read and Watch: How to be an Active, Informed Consumer of the News,鈥� by Sean Evans, associate professor of political science at Union.
鈥� Feb. 27: Lectures from Garrett Hubbard, visual journalist at USA Today, and Aaron Hardin, photojournalist at The Jackson Sun.
鈥� March 5: 鈥淔ast Media/Media Fast: Are the Media Democratic?鈥� by Tom Cooper, professor of visual and media arts at Emerson College in Boston, and 鈥淭he Local View: 800 Miles and a World Away from the Beltway,鈥� by Steve Coffman, executive editor at The Jackson Sun.
For more information, call Chute at (731) 661-6594.