Sci-fi Movie Defied Hollywood Norms

Based on the Carl Sagan novel, Contact is a favorite science fiction film of mine released 25 years ago. This film turned out to be unlike any other from Hollywood before or since. Read more here: https://www.vulture.com/2022/06/an-oral-history-of-contact-the-movie.html

Brighter Future Possible for Cal Poly Journalism Department

During September 2010 I posted a commentary online that was reposted elsewhere. What I wrote was a strong expression of the anger that I felt about troubles within the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Journalism Department. I could not understand how a once vibrant Cal Poly Journalism Department that shaped my professional career in the 1970s could look like a train wreck in the 2000s. I am not the only alum who came to believe … Read more

Do You Remember When Rock Was Young?

Way back in 1972, the Elton John and Bernie Taupin song Crockodile Rock asked, “Do you remember when rock was young?” When that wonderful song first hit the Billboard magazine charts, technically, rock and roll was still young. If you were in or near the rock and roll radio business in those days, you would not think of living your life without reading Billboard and the famous columnist Claude Hall. Fast forward to today. Claude … Read more