Hot Spots in Literature

That's a lot of dead trees there.

• The Banning of Books
• Literature by it's nature has always caused controversy regardless of the era. From the usage of deragatory language, to uncomfortable social critique, authors throughout history have a knack for creating things that challenge the social status quo. (See Controversial and Banned Books)
• Stretching the Definition
• What we define as "Literature" used to be something as simple as a book, and only that. However, with the advent of other media, that definition is now being stretched to include potential examples such as comic books, manga and even recursive or "fan" fiction! As such, there are now conflicts in Academia about an official ironclad definition for Literature. (See What Counts as Literature?)
• Regarding the "Word of God"
• One of the more recent developments in Literary history is the ability for the Author to make statements about their work after the book is already published and sold. Possibly the most famous example is J.K. Rowling, who often makes claims as to what is canon in her book series that often contradict what is written in the actual books. This has lead to the creation of "New Criticism", which seeks to judge books by what is only in the text and not by any outside circumstances. (See J.K. Rowling retconning Harry Potter on Twitter has consequences and New Criticism)

Whereas Authorial statements can be ignored in favor of what is already written, and banned books can easily be found online in some form or manner, I feel that the biggest issue is the definition of what we consider Literature. There are so many different forms of New Media developed in the last few decades that could technically fit under the same umbrella as books, but due to their "newness" are considered to be lesser by many, despite the fact that there are quite literally hundreds of thousands of books which are hardly worthy of the title of "literature". Instead of pushing back so hard against admitting these new arrivals, we as a community of readers should be welcoming them with open arms.

Image Credit: "Books" obtained via Wikimedia Commons

Hot Spots in Public Broadcasting

• The End of Culturally Diverse Public Broadcasting- With the Trump Administration’s federal budget cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the National Endowment for the Arts, several public broadcasting stations like radio stations could lose their major source of funding. One of the groups affected by these budget cuts are Native American communities; if these communities no longer receive the funding necessary to operate their public broadcasting systems, they would be unable to provide diverse cultural programming, including broadcast tribal meetings. (“Native American Public Broadcasting Will Not Survivewithout Federal Funding” )

• A New Beginning for Politically Diverse Broadcasting- Public broadcasting systems are no longer federally required to air contrasting political views since the end of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, which stated that all federally funded broadcasting stations must balance their viewpoints. The blame for the demise of this law is focused on “anti-regulation republicans” who dominate the airwaves. Others argue that dominant viewpoints in broadcast media depend on the current dominant political party in the United States. (“Broadcasters Should Be Required to Air a Variety of Opposing Views”)

• Parental Regulation vs. Federal Regulation- Unlike the previous two viewpoints, this shifts the power of broadcasting to those who receive it. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report on violent television programs and its effects on children. It was concluded that children should limit the amount of violent programming they receive. Partisans of the FCC suggested that government mandates should be in place to regulate violent media, but others strongly encouraged that regulation shouldn’t come from the government but was the responsibility of the parents with small children and their access to violent media. (“Parents Should Regulate Their Children’s Exposure to Violence on Television” )

The BYU Broadcasting Building in Provo, Utah

I have worked at BYU Broadcasting as a Broadcast Technician in the Network Operations Center (known among other BYUB people as "Master Control" or "The TV People") for a year and half. It has given me a greater appreciation for the intricacies of broadcasting. However, BYU Broadcasting is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is funded by private donors; it receives no federal funding and therefore is not "public" broadcasting. So when the government cuts federal funding for public broadcasting, i.e. media that only exists through government financial aid, several important outlets are affected negatively, such as minority groups like Native Americans who use their public broadcasting systems for much more than entertainment. I can't imagine being at the will of the government to handle such important cultural aspects of public broadcasting and I would like to explore this issue further. 

Image Credit:  BYUTV.org