MCOM 4003 - Colby Clinton

Movies and taking advantage of news and popular culture. Movies are one of my favorite things. They allow for unique stories to be told in interesting ways. Major franchises and public domain titles can be told differently with new direction behind the camera, allowing for major changes in the exact same concept of film. I consider myself a big film critic; my standards for movies are very high thanks to the contributions of brilliant directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, and countless others. As someone who watches a lot of movies, you begin to notice a certain trend with how movies are produced and how the popularity of certain news stories and popular cultures can affect the film industry . There are a lot of criteria in which I deem a movie not worth my time or just plain bad, one of which being if it's a pointless movie or a senseless cash-grab. The thing about movies though is that they take years to create and prod...

A frightening world. 'Copyright'. It's a pretty scary word. It's not to be confused with 'copywrite', it's far more serious. The difference between the two words isn't just a couple of letters, it's a lawsuit. Copyright is the legal right, in many countries, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to determine whether, and under what conditions, the work may be used by others. Copyright is especially tricky. You can take all of the necessary precautions but can still bite the bullet when it comes to copyright strikes. A recent source of copyright issues has been from YouTube . YouTube is a video media platform that allows users to upload videos of almost every variety, from vlogs to gaming videos. On such a popular platform, there are bound to copyright infractions. Full movies have been uploaded to YouTube, as well as the monetization of music unowned by the uploader. Certain companies are more proactive in protect...

A Right to Silence. via  rcfp.org Reporter's privilege (in the United States) is a reporter's right and protection, under constitutional or statutory law, from being compelled to testify about confidential information or sources. In layman's terms, reporters can choose not to reveal their sources or information relating to the case. Reporter's privilege is exactly that, a privilege. Not every country in the world offers reporters the privilege to maintain certain secrecies. According to Reporters Without Borders'  Press Freedom Index  , The United States ranks 45th is reporter's freedom. As a nation founded on freedom of choice and the right to speak, it's surprising that 44 other countries rank ahead of the U.S. Norway ranks 1st while North Korea ranks last at 180th.  Julian Assange Arkansas has had the statute in effect since 1937 specifically shielding reporters and others involved in news gathering from being required to reveal the id...