Hello Intro to Mass Comm students (and whoever else might have found this blog). As we go through this semester, I will be matching you post for post, adding my own thoughts on the topics I set forth for you.

Since our first topic is to post about yourself, I'll let you all know a little about me.

I live with my wife and four children on a small farm just outside of Marshall. We raise horses, chickens, ducks, dogs and cats. My wife and I are also expecting (twins it looks like) so I will soon find myself in the midst of a major house renovation. We are active in our church, I coach the St. Peter Catholic School boys' basketball teams and we participate in the Saline County 4H program.

I'm a graduate of the University of Central Missouri where I earned a degree in Journalism and I am about halfway finished with my master's degree work through Eastern Michigan University's online program. So, yes, I know what it's like to have homework assignments to do. Before I became a professor here at Valley I spent eight years working as a beat reporter and I continue to do freelance reporting and public relations work.

I am what you might call a mass consumer of mass media. I take in samplings of nearly every type of media available. My tastes are pretty ecclectic, but some of my favorites include:

Television: CSI, Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs

Movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Princess Bride and Lethal Weapon (But many, many more as well)

Books: On the Road, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and science fiction by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.

Magazines: Time, Newsweek, People

Newspapers: USA Today

Music: Currently on my MP3 player are (to name a few) Johnny Cash, Gin Blossoms, Kristie Stremmel, The Gaslights, The Smithereens, The Killers, Bowling for Soup, Hank Williams, Rancid, The Proclaimers, Willie Nelson and Cyndi Lauper.

Internet: I use the Internet for up to the minute news (Yahoo! News is my favorite), as well as social networking on MySpace and Facebook (yes, I will add you to my friends list), e-mail and on-line gaming (I play Eve Online as time allows).