What were your favorite TV shows growing up? Did you watch local children’s television programming? Children’s television show hosts in the Delaware Valley left an indelible mark on the children of the era who were comforted by the hosts’ warmth and charm. Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic, a reference librarian at Rutgers-Camden’s Paul Robeson Library, and Brandi Scardilli, a Rutgers–Camden graduate, wrote an essay on the topic about for the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Here is an excerpt:

Local children’s programming in the Philadelphia area flourished during the “Golden Age of Television,” from the rise of commercial broadcasting after World War II to the early 1970s. During its heyday the hosted children’s show was a mainstay of locally produced programming. In the Philadelphia area, original children’s shows were produced by the three local broadcast affiliates – WPZT (later KYW), Channel 3 (NBC, now CBS), WFIL (later WPVI) Channel 6 (ABC), and WCAU Channel 10 (CBS, now NBC) – and reached viewers throughout Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and even northern Maryland. The Philadelphia shows were not only financially successful, garnering large audience shares for their time slots and generating substantial advertising income for the stations, but were also critically well-received by reviewers, children, and parents.

When commercial television began, national networks typically did not begin their weekday broadcasts until after seven o’clock at night. Local stations had to fill the rest of the air time during each weekday.  Children’s shows became a popular choice for economic reasons. The local children’s programs kept their production costs very low: the sets were minimal; there were no writers (most shows were ad-libbed); and the star (the host) performed live.

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Greg Lastowka, a professor of law at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden, recently wrote about the Internet blackout and online SOPA protests for the Yale Press. Check out the blog post right here:

http://yalepress.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/greg-lastowka-on-the-internet-blackout/

Michael Carrier

Thousands of internet sites are taking part in a “blackout” protest against anti-piracy laws being discussed by U.S. lawmakers. What does it all mean? Michael Carrier, a professor of law at Rutgers-Camden, explains:

The Senate is considering the PROTECT IP Act and the House is considering the Stop Online Piracy Act. Both laws are designed to crack down on “rogue websites” that encourage copyright infringement. The problem is that the laws are written very broadly and would apply to far too many sites, including Google, YouTube, and Facebook. In addition, they encourage censorship and target the domain name system that is at the heart of the Internet.

Today’s protest is designed to raise awareness of the issue by showing what could happen if the laws are passed and websites are taken down.

While copyright infringement is a problem on the Internet, there are more limited ways to deal with the issue that don’t so directly threaten innovation, small companies, censorship, and the Internet itself.

Sungsoo Kim

Sungsoo Kim, a professor of accounting at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden, was recently honored as a winner in the 2010-11 Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program.  During the fall 2011 semester, Kim taught undergraduate and graduate courses on the subprime mortgage crisis and U.S. firms’ financial reporting practices at Yonsei University, a premier Korean university. He also delivered lectures on international financial reporting at other venues in South Korea.

Kim, who was born in South Korea, was in South Korea when longtime North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died. He had the unique experience of witnessing the repercussions of the death first hand. Sungsoo Kim recently answered some questions for the Rutgers–Camden Faculty Experts Blog:

Q: What was your Fulbright experience like?

A: My Fulbright experience was far more than what I expected. I had a privilege of teaching best college students in South Korea. It was amazing to teach a three hour class without any pause (except for intersession break). Fifty students in my undergraduate class were absorbing course materials in the most professional manner. My corporate MBA class students are mangers from Samsung, LG and other major Fortune companies. They were ready and eager to learn advanced topics. I truly enjoyed teaching both undergraduate and MBA classes.

I was also involved with Fulbright Commission work by serving as a panel member for screening Fulbright scholarship programs. Student programs support the applicants who pursue master and doctoral degrees in the U.S. and junior faculty programs support research-oriented faculty to engage in U.S. research universities. I participated in a series of interview sessions arranged by Fulbright commission in Seoul, Korea.

Q: While you were in Korea, longtime North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died. Could you put the death into perspective? What kind of impact does it have on the people of Korea?

A: The Kim Dynasty has been in power since 1945 when the U.S. and USSR divided the Korean peninsula into South and North Korea after World War II. Kim Jong Il took over the power from his father, Kim Il Sung, when he died in 1994. Kim Il Sung’s death was not expected, and people from both South and North Korea were not ready for the post-Kim era. This was part of the reason there were tense moments following the elder Kim’s death. Kim Jong Il had been reported to have had health problems over the last few years after his stroke, so the North Korean regime had been trying to ready for his death by designating 27-year-old Kim Jong Eun, Kim Jong Il’s third son, as the Kingdom’s heir apparent. Read the rest of this entry »

Carol Kaufman-Scarborough

With the holiday shopping season heating up, Carol Kaufman-Scarborough, a professor of marketing at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden, answered some questions about retail trends for the Faculty Experts Blog. Take a look:

Q: Are there any general retail trends this holiday season that consumers are following?

A: People have more information than ever before. They are able to pull up competing retailers’ ads and coupons on their smartphones and use them in negotiating a discount.  In addition, Facebook and other forms of social media are playing an increased role in informing shoppers of specials and sharing consumer opinion.

Q: Why are gift cards a popular gift?

A: Gift cards are popular since they are convenient to buy yet allow the gift recipient to purchase what they want. They are easy to mail and have been made more user-friendly and attractive.

Q: As far as consumer behavior, what kinds of patterns do shoppers tend to follow over the course of the holiday shopping season?

A: They are likely to make lists, use web sites to comparison shop and pre-order gifts, and certainly in order to stay within their budgets, they may try to shop “smart” in finding how to buy the right gift at a bargain. They are not necessarily compromising on the gift, but doing more work in finding how to purchase at an affordable price.

Q: Similarly, do most people tend to shop super early (Black Friday) or super late (Christmas Eve)? Are the deals best on those days, or is it a time management issue?

A: All the above. People may shop in summer, at craft fairs, when they find the “right” item, during Black Friday, and all the way up to the holiday. It is actually a combination of finding deals, having fun shopping at various events, and certainly trying to get finished with time to spare.  Black Friday is starting to become a season of discounts rather than one specific day – remember, there were Black Friday events this past summer!