Ralph E. Hanson is a professor in the communication department at the Universityof Nebraska at Kearney, where he teaches courses in writing, blogging, reporting,and mass communication. Previously, he was on the faculty at West VirginiaUniversity and Northern Arizona University. He has been teaching introduction tomass communication at least 20 years, and he has worked extensively on developingonline courses and degree programs. Hanson has a bachelor's degree injournalism and anthropology from Iowa State University, a master's degree in journalismfrom Iowa State, and a doctorate in sociology from Arizona State University.He is currently working on research about the connection between sports boycottsand civil rights legislation. When Ralph is not out on his motorcycle riding toplaces a long ways from Nebraska, he is blogging on mass communication issuesat http://ralphehanson.com. He tweets as @ralphehanson.