Releases : Arts and Music

What: 17th annual conference: "Latinos in the 21st Century--Uniting Our Voices: The Media, Communication, and Activism in the Community"

When: Oct. 12 (Thursday), beginning at 9 a.m.

Where: Silver Eagle Suite, UNT University Union, one block west of Welch and West Prairie Streets. Gallery Art Concert/Sincero Fuego at Music Building Concert Hall, southeast corner of Avenue C and Chestnut Street.

Cost: $90 for on-campus attendees, $150 for off-campus attendees, $50 for students. Registration closes Oct. 3 (Tuesday).

Contact: (940) 565-2456

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- After attending an immigration march in downtown Dallas this spring, a group of anthropology students at the University of North Texas decided to make a documentary film about student-led immigrant rights protests, and why those students walked out of school to march. An excerpt from that documentary will be shown at UNT's 17th annual conference: "Latinos in the 21st Century--Uniting Our Voices: The Media, Communication, and Activism in the Community" on Oct. 12 (Thursday).

Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of the ethnic Studies Program at UNT, says the students approached her about making the documentary.

"I had been informing my students about the Mega March that was held in downtown Dallas this past spring and as a result a group of my students approached me to film the march," she says. "As we were doing that, we got to talk with students who had taken part in the some of the student-led immigration protests, and that led to the film."

Nuñez-Janes says the students will screen about twelve minutes of the documentary at the conference, and actively solicit comments from the attendees. The film should be finished by December. "We hope to show it to local film festivals and I'll show it at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association next year," she says.

Nuñes-Janes says the UNT students were surprised by the sheer numbers of people taking part in the rally, and especially the sheer numbers of young people. She says, " (As filmmakers,) we wanted to find out what was in it for them to take part in the rallies, because their experiences and motivations are different from what adults bring to the table."

Nuñes-Janes adds the experience built bridges between her students and the organizers of the student-led protests. "Many of the high school students saw the UNT students as role models. They see that there are other ways to get involved and make a difference, and they can do it too," she says.

Nuñes-Janes can be reached at (940) 369-7663. For complete conference and registration information, visit www.unt.edu/edo. For questions about the conference, contact Minerva Correa, (940) 369-7899, Correa@unt.edu or Lynette Kimble at (940) 565-2456.

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- When the CBS television reality show "Survivor" premieres Sept. 14 (Thursday), several of its longtime advertisers won't be sponsoring the show--and some media watchers speculate the decision of show producers to split up competitors into teams by race may have played a factor. But an associate professor of journalism at the University of North Texas says the decision may have really come down to costs and declining ratings.

Dr. Jim Albright says, "I don't believe the (breakdown of the teams on the show by race) had much to do with the companies' decision to pull advertising. I think the competition of the media market, and where companies ultimately decided to spend their money, are a bigger factor."

The sponsor withdrawals total more than $26 million in ad sales. But Albright points out major corporations who had pulled ads from "Survivor" including General Motors, Proctor and Gamble, Coca-Cola and Home Depot also advertise during televised sporting events, and the costs to do that are rising.

"Advertisers want to go after a young audience, and live programming including sports are among the best ways to do this, " Albright says. "But it's extremely expensive. It's a case of simple economics--spend more money where the viewers are, and less where they aren't."

Even though "Survivor" is expected to perform strong in the ratings, it has seen a decline in viewership since its first two seasons in 2000 and 2001. Albright adds, however, content is a key factor for companies when they buy ads.

"In all forms of advertising, people who choose where to place their ads do so based on editorial content. For example, you probably wouldn't see the same company advertise in both the Wall Street Journal and Playboy magazine."

Albright has been a copywriter, broadcast producer and/or creative chief/group head for several ad agencies in the Dallas area. He can be reached at (940) 565-4916.