Today on the list: Why Liz Cheney’s fear-mongering is blowing up in her face, how Florida plans to de-gay Hollywood and why books are overrated.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.


Calling All Rebels

Brace yourself. The American empire is over. And the descent is going to be horrifying.

What Are They Waiting for? Whither Financial Reforms? Fears of A Second Crash Are Real but Congress Lacks “Appetite” for Action …

Shows with gay characters could lose Florida tax credits Florida lawmakers are considering a “family friendly” bill that would deny tax credits to films and television shows with gay characters in favor of those promoting traditional values.

Liz Cheney’s Fearmongering Campaign Against Terror Trial Lawyers Blows up in Her Face Conservatives are criticizing Liz Cheney’s ugly ad portraying Obama’s DOJ as an extension of al Qaeda. Is it partly because the DOJ has given them little to complain about?

Books in the age of the iPad As the publishing industry wobbles and Kindle sales jump, book romanticists cry themselves to sleep. But really, what are we shedding tears over?

Economics Is on the Verge of a Golden Age Progress in any science depends on a combination of improved observation, measurement, and techniques.

On Going Viral at the (Virtual) MLA Recently, I’ve had to come to grips with the fact that I’ve quite likely peaked. The paper that I was supposed to read at the 2009 Modern Language Association’s convention went viral. …

Are bloggers more ethical than magazines in correcting errors? The new CJR survey on the practices of magazine Web sites contains lots of interesting information, but one of the most striking nuggets relates to online correction policies. …

Variety Will Kill a Bad Review of Your ‘Mediocre’ Movie for Just $400,000 Joshua Newton, the director of Iron Cross, forced Variety to spike a critical review of his film from the web because he’d purchased a $400,000 Oscar campaign in the paper. But that wasn’t enough—now he’s considering suing.

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