Mission: To advance our understanding of political entertainment – how it affects citizens, interacts with traditional political media, and relates to institutions and society.
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 From Politco.com Today, comedian Stephen Colbert filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to launch the Colbert Super PAC, a “… legal entity which can receive unlimited campaign funds which can be used to influence elections…” His announcement came in response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Ruling which reversed decades of campaign finance reform law, and restored the ability of organizations, unions, and corporations to explicitly advocate for the election of any political candidate.
 NPR interview with Robert Redford about his new movie The Conspirator.
“…If I had any hope for the film, it’s not to change any body’s mind or to make such an impact that it’s going to turn into some kind of policy… It’s just simply to maybe make people think about something”
Redford goes on to say:
“Had Stanton only been seen as the villain who did some horrible things — including seeing a woman hung by a military trial that should have been a civic trial — that would have been too much like a mustache-twirling villain from the old days,” Redford says. “I feel the complexity of this country is best shown if you have two different points of view, arguing it out.”
Redford says that complexity and perspective is what ultimately drives his filmmaking, especially when it comes to American stories.
“I remember the slogan when I was a kid … ‘It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game that matters,’ ” he says. “Well, I found that was a lie. There’s another side to this country that sits underneath the story we’re being told. So I guess that led me to want to make these films, and I probably always will.”
On April 8-10, the Center for Political Communication at the University of Delaware sponsored Breaking Boundaries, a three-day conference on the topic of Politics and Entertainment. Scholars across discipline, epistemology, and method came together to develop a plan for a ground-breaking, theoretically-grounded, systematic study of how entertainment media relates to, informs, and interacts with more traditional public affairs media within the context of politics. The weekend consisted of guided roundtable discussions, a keynote presentation by Joe Randazzo, Editor of the satirical newspaper, The Onion, as well as a live political humor performance by political comedians and impersonators, Don Montrey and Tony Braithwaite. A list of participating Faculty can be found HERE.
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Guest
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Position
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University
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Discussion Group
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Baym, Geoffrey
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Associate Professor of Media Studies
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University of North Carolina, Greensboro
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history
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Carpini, Michael Delli
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Dean, Annenberg School for Communication
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University of Pennsylvania
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history
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Feldman, Lauren
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Assistant Professor of Communication
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American University
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quantifying outcomes
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Gray, Jonathan
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Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies
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University of Wisconsin
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critical cultural approaches
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Hart, Roderick
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Dean, College of Communication
Director, Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation
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University of Texas at Austin
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normative questions
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Hoffman, Lindsay
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Assistant Professor of Communication
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University of Delaware
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cognitive approaches
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Holbert, R. Lance
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Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Communication
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The Ohio State University
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normative questions
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Jones, Jeffrey
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Associate Professor of Communication
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Old Dominion University
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critical cultural approaches
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Lamarre, Heather
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Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication
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University of Minnesota
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quantifying outcomes
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Prior, Markus
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Associate Professor of Politics and Public Affairs
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Princeton University
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normative questions
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Williams, Bruce
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Professor of Media Studies and Sociology
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University of Virginia
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critical cultural approaches
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Xenos, Michael
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Associate Professor of Communication
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University of Wisconsin
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quantifying outcomes
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Young, Dannagal G.
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Assistant Professor of Communication
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University of Delaware
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cognitive approaches
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 AP photo Various media outlets (including Salon.com and the Christian Science Monitor – quoting our friend, Jeffrey Jones) are abuzz with speculation about why Beck has announced that he’ll be moving away from his (in)famous Fox News program in the coming months.
ODU prof, Jeffrey Jones on Beck in CSM: ““He’s a spectacle,” says Jeffrey Jones, a professor of media and politics at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. “He wears viking helmets, he pours gasoline on things. It wouldn’t surprise me that what was once a fresh voice has now become a routine, that audiences might be saying, ‘Well, I’ve seen that before.’ ”
See today’s Press Release from Beck’s production Company, Mercury Radio Arts.
 Salon article on the plight of the Kennedys miniseries (from J. Jones at odu).
 ReelzChannel Photo This Sunday, maybe we’ll all finally get to see what the Hubub was all about.
That is, if we can figure out exactly where “ReelzChannel” is located in the vast cable landscape.
[Read today's LA Times Story HERE.]
On Sunday, viewers will get to see the first episode of the 8 night series that was pulled from the History Channel in January for “not being a fit” with the network’s brand identity. With Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy and Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy, the series has encountered “political” problems from the start. Kennedys executive producer and outspoken conservative, Joel Surnow, attributes the History Channel cancellation to liberal ideological leanings of network executives. Critics, liberal and otherwise, contend the piece presents a one-note perspective on the Kennedy family – emphasizing JFK’s womanizing and drug use… while ignoring complexities of the Kennedy family dynamics.
Once we find ReelzChannel we’ll try to figure out the “drama” behind the drama.
The Governor of California to become an animated superhero? Read more at The Hollywood Reporter!
 Stewart: “That’s like Beyonce saying she’s ceding control… to SASHA FIERCE.”
Stewart: “So, ten days after we started bombing Libya, President Obama took to the podium to convince Americans that we should… bomb Libya. Starting ten days ago.”
 April 9 at 4 pm in Clayton Hall Auditorium
Joe Randazzo, the Editor of The Onion takes your questions.
Opening performance by Don Montrey and Tony Braithwaite of 1812 productions, Philadelphia
Book signing to follow
Free and open to the public – no tickets necessary.
 After several lukewarm segments, some in which Stewart referred to the Wisconsin protests as the “Bizzarro” tea party, TDS does what TDS does best: uses their vast archives of footage to create illuminating juxtapositions of hypocrisy:
Click here to read more
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