Alumni Update Allison Hantschel Alumni Update Allison Hantschel

Chat With Ben Karlin

Cardinal Alumnus and DCAA Award Winner Ben Karlin chats with The Washington Post about his job as Executive Producer of The Daily Show on Comedy Central:

Baltimore, Md.: Hello Mr. Karlin. HUGE congratulations on your two Emmy's. I am so proud of you guys. I LOVE the show. Keep up the good work.

My question is this: The show seems, at its heart, very positive and upbeat, even though it is a satire. Does the writing staff (or any of the staff) find it difficult to 'find the humor' in politics, especially when it is so rife with controversy as of late? The writing never seems to get bogged down in 'gosh, this is so depressing' mode. How is this done?

Ben Karlin: Thanks. Very glad to hear you say this, though I will tell you we start most mornings dark and sad. Then we treat the day as one giant cathartic push to find the funny and absurd. Except of course for days when we have footage of Madonna on a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Then we start the day laughing.

Follow this link for more.

Read More
Alumni Update Allison Hantschel Alumni Update Allison Hantschel

Filak's 9/11 cartoon study featured in Presstime Magazine

A study done by Dr. Vincent Filak (UW - BA, 1996; UW - MA, 1998; Ph.D. University of Missouri, 2003) on cartooning and grieving stereotypes in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks was the subject of an article in the Sept. 2004 issue of Presstime magazine.

Filak studied 142 cartoons drawn in the three weeks following the attacks and found gender bias was prevalent among the symbols that were used. Lady Liberty was more often found to be crying or helpless while Uncle Sam was more likely to be vengeful or stalwart. The study is one of three pieces Filak co-wrote on media and 9/11. The other two pieces will be chapters in a book titled: "Media and Sept. 11, 2001: Reflections on an American Tragedy" by editors E.K. Grusin & S.H. Utt. The book is slated for publication in Spring 2005.

Presstime magazine is the publication of the Newspaper Association of America.

Read More