Bono spoke about equality of opportunity. Equality of opportunity is a right against any discrimination due to a person’s race, color, sex, religion, etc. The equality of opportunity for all people has often been a topic of discussion. It has significantly improved throughout the years. But the discrimination still exists to this day. With recent news, we can look at what happened with Michael Brown. It isn’t completely clear on what happened, but what we can look at is what seemed to be an innocent black male being shot and killed. He was said to have stolen cigarettes from a store, but that was it. Now what does this have to do with equality of opportunity? Well Brown wasn’t given a chance to show if he was innocent or not. He was gunned down and killed before he had the chance. Was he shot because he was a criminal or was he shot because he was black? We may never know but this is just one example of the lack of equality of opportunity. Another example is the ongoing discussion about same-sex marriage. At this point in time, there are 19 states that allow same-sex marriage, but that means there are still 31 states than ban gay marriage. It’s hard to say exactly why there is a lack of equality of opportunity for some people. A lot of the time it is personal opinions of others that overrule the voices of the people who don’t have the same opportunities as others. Without their voices, it is quite difficult for them to gain the same opportunities as everyone else. One of the most important reasons, perhaps, that there is a lack of equal opportunity for some people is the education system. Richer families have more access to getting their children the necessary materials they need to enhance their learning experiences. They get better care which leads to them having more opportunities to succeed. Also with education, students are faced with the ever dreadful student loans after their graduation. They need the education to get a job to pay for these loans. However, sometimes the loans are just too much for a person. Especially for a person that doesn’t have the same opportunities that, for example, the richer families have. This is just the beginning involving the lack of opportunity that some people are forced to deal with. Unless something changes, this is how the world is going to be for a long time.
Journalism homework for April 14
1) Analyze Vox. Explain five key points about their approach to make news understandable.
– Understanding the News: On the Vox homepage, they give you different stories that have been going on for various amounts of time. They are used to help people get a better understanding for things that are happening. They explain different things inside the article using a sort of table that includes different questions the reader might have about the topic.
– Conversations: This section engages people with videos on important news stories. Reading an article is one things, but being able to watch a video and listen as other people talk about can help more people understand things they may have been confused about. For me, this is something that is very key to understanding more about the news.
– Charts & Infographics: The use of these gives you more information about a story by being able to visualize it. I believe it’s especially important in this article: http://www.vox.com/2014/4/14/5612970/how-not-to-visualize-americas-changing-demographics
– Links: Providing links to other sources helps people stay connected. It explains things that the article may not have been able to. Or it just gives more information on the subject that can give people a better understanding of things.
– Launch Cards: These cards provide an easy way to find out the most important information from an article. http://www.vox.com/2014/4/14/5613346/obamacares-price-tag-just-got-cut-by-104-billion
2) Analyze the last two issues of Loquitur and the CONTENT of the major stories. Pick out two “big” stories and (a) say what the key sources were (b) how the reporter tried to give a face to the issue (c) how well you think the reporter achieved his/her goal of conveying an important news story to the audience.
Bethesda Project – Challenging the stigma of homelessness, saving children through art
I thought this article was very well written. The integration of facts and quotes from people was done very well. It was easy to tell who the key faces of this story were; Bill Podmenic, Dave Kopena and Phil Martin. The personal stories shared by this people really helped put a face to how this project helps people who had previously been homeless and show them that there are creative ways to get through it. Jess did a great job, in my opinion, on educating people not just about this project but homelessness in general and ways people can get help.
Unpaid Internships: can students afford them?
This topic was a very interesting read to me. Internship opportunities are something that are always on college student’s minds. This article focuses on Michelle Goff, a student at Cabrini. The story also includes important quotes from Nancy Hutchison, director of the center for career and professional development. The integration of Goff’s story and facts about internships were woven together pretty well. Erica did a good job at citing other stories and research on the topic of unpaid internships as well. In giving this topic a true face for people to understand better, I thought it was done very well.
Journalism Homework for March 17
Obama’s New Approach Takes a Humorous Turn
President Obama recently was a guest on a show called, “Between Two Ferns.” The online show is a parody of celebrity interviews shows and is hosted by Zach Galifianakis. Obama’s main reason to be a part of this show was to help urge young people to sign up for health insurance. The president has been more than willing to show his colorful side more than previous presidents. He has appeared on many different kinds of talk shows. These pop-culture appearances are being used to help deliver messages to such a connected, but distracted generation.
High Mortality From Alzheimer’s Disease
A new study, that has caused some controversy, stated that Alzheimer’s disease causes six times as more as official statistics indicate. The Center for Disease Control had estimated that in 2010, Alzheimer’s had caused about 84,000 deaths. This new study says that number was actually closer to 500,000 deaths. This would jump this disease to the third leading cause of death. Researchers studied over 2,500 people over the age of 65 who had shown no previous symptoms of dementia.
Radar Suggests Jet Shifted Path More Than Once
Flight 370 disappeared early last Saturday, which was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Data transmitted from the plane’s engines could be used to help determine what happened to the missing plane. The plane is believed to have flown for four more hours after it had originally diverted from the intended course. Combinations of altitude changes and course corrections could have a variety of explanations that include a hijacker diverting the plane or that it flew unevenly due to the crew becoming disabled. These are just a few of the details that have been made available about the missing plane. It is still uncertain on what could have actually happened.
Major Story Progress
1. Clear Sentence/Headline
I have been figuring out what the main focus of the story is going to be. I will probably focus more on the effects of the food stamp cuts on small food-relief organizations.
2. Sources of main research
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4036
The 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary boost in SNAP benefits ended on November 1, 2013, which meant a benefit cut for nearly all of the nearly 48 million SNAP recipients. Houses with up to 4 lost about $36 in monthly benefits. This cut affected people all around the country. These people include adults, children, elderly people and people with disabilities. The cut could make it even harder for people to put food on the table. Most people in this program have incomes below the federal poverty line.
http://www.bread.org/media/releases/farm-bill-is-a-mixed-bag.html
The bill recently passed by the government has some positives but it also has a lot of negatives. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, provides food stamps to families with little to no income. The farm bill included an $8.6 billion cut to the program.
“Any cut to SNAP is harmful to America’s struggling families, especially at this time when hunger in the U.S.A. is at an all-time high.” David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, said about the bill. While the bill would kick any current members out of the program, it will cut benefits for approximately 850,000 households.
http://www.bread.org/help/
http://hungerreport.org/
4. Human Sources
Lindsay Bues: Public Relations Manager
George Matysik: Director of Government Relations
Journalism homework for Feb. 24
1. Digital First- What’s that mean?
- What do you think about this idea?
I think it’s a very interesting concept. I thought that this line from the article made a very good point, “As more and more people are consuming contents on mobile devices, news media need to consider how to best serve up mobile contents.”
- How do you think this will affect you?
I’m not too sure on how this will affect me. The only way I can think of would be the way that I access different kinds of news material.
- What role do you want for yourself?
This is another thing that I am not too certain on. I don’t know what I’m going to do in regards to the newspaper or the radio station in the upcoming months.
- Do you see the benefits? Do you see the problems?
With any situation, there can be both benefits and problems. On a positive side, I can see this change making it easier for people to access different kinds of news. A problem I can see happening is that with the need to incorporate different types of media into stories, you might lose focus of the story itself.
2. Progress on your big story
Everything is going pretty well so far. I have gathered a lot of research on the topic. I still have to get in touch with someone from Philabundance. I’m not too sure who I want to talk to in regards to my topic. Also I have been having a little trouble thinking up a solution to this program regarding the food stamp cuts.
3. Major News Stories
Protesters Vacate Kiev’s City Hall in Deal for Amnesty: This article talked about how government protesters in Ukraine left the grounds of City Hall. This happened because they reached an amnesty deal with authorities. This meant that all the protesters that had been arrested would be released. This is a big step to resolving the conflict.
Facebook Enters $16 Billion Deal for WhatsApp: WhatsApp is a text messaging application with 450 million users around the world. By acquiring this app, Facebook gained access to people who enjoy one-one or small group interaction rather than sharing information more widely, like Twitter. I think this could be something good for Facebook as they seem to be struggling to stay one of the more used social media platforms.
Bombing in Syria Force Wave of Civilian to Flee: Hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians have fled parts of the city of Aleppo in recent weeks. The attacks have accelerated in recent weeks. It seems like a lot is going on in foreign territories lately. It should be interesting to see if President Obama decides if the United States should become involved in this or not.
4. Review Loquitur issue 18
Journalism homework for Feb. 17
Monday
Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class
A commander at a secluded terrorist training camp north of Baghdad used a belt packed with explosives while conducting a demonstration early Monday for a group of militants, killing himself and 21 other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The reactions of local citizens was that a sort of justice was brought to these people. Not that it was a good thing that people were killed, but it showed that these kind of things needs to end.
Tuesday
Eye Infection Forces Costas to Step Aside From Olympics Coverage
Bob Costas, a host of many Olympic broadcasts, developed an eye infection that made him unable to host. His eyes had become swollen to the point where he had to squint to be able to see. His absence broke a streak of anchoring 157 consecutive Olympic prime-time broadcasts for NBC. I wish Costas the best and hope for a speedy recovery so he can once again return to the broadcast booth. A great person to listen to.
Wednesday
Derek Jeter Says He’ll Retire at End of 2014 Season
Derek Jeter talked to owner Hal Steinbrenner and announced that 2014 would be his final season. Jeter’s career began in 1995 and includes 5 World Series rings, 13 All-Star Game selections and being the only one of the Yankees’ greats to break the 3,000-hit barrier as a member of the team. No one knows what Jeter’s plan is after baseball, but it will definitely be exciting to find out. Jeter is a player that has been wildly respected by all fans of the game and will continue to have that same support is wherever he goes after baseball.
Thursday
Winter Offensive Takes Toll on East Coast
A powerful storm system swept up the East Coast. In some areas, snowflakes that fell gently in the morning turned to icy pellets later in the day. Many towns declared states of emergency because the storm was so bad. People were left without power, streets were covered in fallen trees as winds blew up to 35 m.p.h. The winter season this year has definitely been a lot more harsh than previous years. All we can do at this point is just hold on for what looks like a wild winter.
Friday
‘A Classic Case of Bullying’ on the Dolphins, Report Finds
In a 144-page report commissioned by the N.F.L. to explore allegations of bullying within the Dolphins, it determined that three Miami offensive linemen, Richie Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey engaged in types of harrasment toward Jonathan Martin; another young offensive lineman. This forced Martin to quit the team and even think about ending his career. This was never the intention of Martin’s teammates, the report concluded, but it seems obvious that teams will enforce stricter polices to stop this sort of thing from happening again.
Saturday
Drama, if Not Miracle, as U.S. Beats Russia
After a 34-year wait, the Russians finally got the chance to host the United States hockey squad on their soil, or in this case ice. It took one overtime and even an eight round shootout before Team USA secured a 3-2 victory. In the Olympics, a coach is allowed to choose whatever player he wants as many times as he wants. This duty fell upon player T.J. Oshie who shot six times in the shootout, scoring on four attempts, to win the game for the U.S. When later asked about what Oshie had been thinking, he simply said, “Just trying to keep the game going and put the puck in the net,” A thrilling victory for the Americans as the preliminary rounds winds down.
Sunday
Bombing of Tourist Bus Kills at Least Three in Sinai
At least two South Korean tourists and their Egyptian driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a tour bus in a resort town in the Sinai Peninsula. Officials had confirmed those three deaths as well as about 17 injured passengers. Jihadists operating mostly in the northern Sinai have carried out hundreds of bombings, assassinations and at least one attack using a rocket-propelled grenade since July. It is truly devastating to hear of such attacks going on.
Major Story Week 2
New Farm Bill Compromise a Mixed Bag: http://www.bread.org/media/releases/farm-bill-is-a-mixed-bag.html
The bill recently passed by the government has some positives but it also has a lot of negatives. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, provides food stamps to families with little to no income. The farm bill included an $8.6 billion cut to the program.
“Any cut to SNAP is harmful to America’s struggling families, especially at this time when hunger in the U.S.A. is at an all-time high.” David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, said about the bill. While the bill would kick any current members out of the program, it will cut benefits for approximately 850,000 households.
November 1 SNAP Cuts Will Affect Millions of Children, Seniors and People with Disabilities: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4036
The 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary boost in SNAP benefits ended on November 1, 2013, which meant a benefit cut for nearly all of the nearly 48 million SNAP recipients. Houses with up to 4 lost about $36 in monthly benefits. This cut affected people all around the country. These people include adults, children, elderly people and people with disabilities. The cut could make it even harder for people to put food on the table. Most people in this program have incomes below the federal poverty line.
What I learned from NY Times this week Feb. 3-Feb. 9
Monday
Joan Mondale, Who Merged Politics With Art, Dies at 83
When her husband took office as Jimmy Carter’s vice president in 1977, Joan became Carter’s arts adviser as honorary chairwoman of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. She used the presidents official residence to showcase American art. She was also appointed as the United States ambassador to Japan in 1993. An amateur potter, she would often make her own pieces and present them as gifts to Japanese dignitaries. She was often described as friendly, cheerful, reliable by people who knew her.
Tuesday
Senate Passes Long-Stalled Farm Bill, With Clear Winners and Losers
The Senate passed a farm bill that expanded crop insurance and other benefits for agribusiness. The bill produced clear winners and losers, farmers benefiting more than the poor. Some people say that the bill would harm 850,000 American households, about 1.7 million people spread across 15 states. There were also cuts in the food stamp program. Supporters of the bill said it forced lawmakers to address such things as anti-hunger advocates and budget watchdog groups that want to cut government spending. The article gave the point of view from both sides of the story and was very well written. Not nothing much about this bill, I learned a lot about what was going on from this article.
Wednesday
Russia Blocks Yogurt Bound for U.S. Athletes
The Russian government is apparently blocking a shipment of 5,000 containers of Chobani yogurt. Their government says the yogurt can not enter Russian because the Americans have not submitted the proper paperwork. The U.S. said the certification needed would be impossible to attain. The yogurt could also be a victim of a broader dairy dispute. American dairy producers have been cut off from the Russian market since 2010, as the two countries have been unable to reach an agreement on health certification for American dairy exports. This situation was something I had not known about. I knew there was conflict between Russia and the U.S. but I did not know that yogurt was a part of it. The whole situation seems pretty juvenile to me.
Thursday
Brain-Dead, a Canadian Woman Remains a Silent Partner Awaiting Birth
Nearly six weeks after a pregnant Canadian woman was declared brain-dead, she remains on life support because of her family’s hope that her fetus will mature enough to be delivered. Doctors had previously found that Ms. Benson had suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage. The plan is to keep her on life-support until her 34th week of pregnancy where the baby can then be delivered via a cesarean section. This story was very touching to me and I wish all the best for this family.
Friday
Deception Foils Attempt to Hijack Turkish Jet to Sochi
A passenger aboard a commercial airline flight from Ukraine to Turkey tried to hijack it to Sochi, Russia. He even threatened to set off a bomb with his cellphone if his demands weren’t met. The crew fooled him into thinking the plan landed in Sochi and he was immediately taken away by special security forces in the Turkish airport where they actually landed. This situation reflected the heightened fears of terrorism as the Sochi Olympics got underway. This has been an issue that I’ve followed since it first started. I hope all of the athletes participating in the Olympics stay safe and are able to do their countries proud.
Saturday
The Path to Reading a Newborn’s DNA Map
Technology that can sequence and analyze the entire genome of a child could become available within the next few years. It’s the same type of analysis that now can tell adults whether they are at high risk for a certain type of disease. The trouble with this is that it sometimes they are unable to detect which mutations pose a problem and which ones don’t. This is a very interesting thing that they are going to try to accomplish. I think it would be cool if they were able to do this with children as well as adults.
Sunday
It’s Time for the N.F.L. to Welcome a Gay Player
Michael Sam, a football player at Missouri, made headlines when he openly said that he was gay. This could possibly pave the way for there to be the first openly gay player in the N.F.L as Sam is poised to be an early draft pick. The problems that he may face will most likely stem from the locker room. Other situations have gone on that show that teammates may not always be supportive. I think this was a very brave thing for Sam to do and I can’t wait to see him playing in the N.F.L. This has the making of being a very great thing for football.
Major story week 1
1. Find a recent newsworthy event or trend.
Nearly 1 in 4 people in Philadelphia lives in poverty, double the rates experienced at both the national and state levels. Being poor means having to make choices on what you can afford. Food is what most families end up sacrificing.
2. Ask what about that event or trend poses a question. It is the question that raises the event or trend to this being a major story? (Why are fast-food workers striking? Why now?)
Hunger is a major problem and many people suffer from it. Is it possible to help out every single family in need? And just how are these people being helped?
3. Find organizations or scholars concerned with the issue. (workers unions and scholars of working-class poverty)
Philabundance was created in 1984 with the simple belief that no man, woman or child should go hungry. They address hunger through direct service programs and a network of 500 member agencies, as well as contribute to a broad spectrum of social services through food cupboards, emergency kitchens, shelters, daycare and senior centers and beyond.
What I learned from NY Times this week Jan. 27-Feb. 2
Monday
Committing to Play for a College, Then Starting 9th Grade
Haley Berg made the decision to commit to Texas A&M. The story is this is that she is only 15 years old and has yet to enter a day of high school. The process of scouting early has become much more popular, in women’s sports more then men’s. This process though is wildly frowned about as most people think it takes away from the game and the players themselves. I thought this was a very well written article about what can be a touchy subject. There was no clear cut opinion in here that swayed a certain direction.
Tuesday
Google Glass to Be Covered by Vision Care Insurer VSP
Google and VSP have teamed together to offer prescription lenses for their Google glasses. The glasses would then be offered at lower prices and it would be less obvious to see the computer and screen, which is what had caused some earlier controversy. This decision that Google has made could be a risky one in my opinion. The invention of their glasses had always been something that I had questioned. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the near future.
Wednesday
How Preschool Got Hot
Early childhood education has become a very popular topic. During the State of the Union speech, President Obama mentioned “high-quality early education.” The only problem with this is to get kids into preschool at an earlier age money is needed. And money we do not have. It would be great to see this idea come to fruition. It is all just a matter of where the money needed to going to come from. I’m very interested to see just what Obama has on his mind in terms of getting the money because this preschool thing sound like a great idea.
Thursday
Amazon to Raise Fees as Revenue Disappoints
Amazon has about 237 million active customers but as a general rule makes almost no profit. This in turn led the company to consider raising prices by as much as 50 percent on its $79 Prime shipping program. The issue for this is that if Amazon raises their prices, they are really going to have to live up to their promises. It a challenging move for the company to make considering the millions of loyal customers they have. Hopefully if this move does happen, that it ends up being the right one for Amazon.
Friday
Fight Over Effective Teachers Shifts to Courtroom
Nine public school students are challenging California’s tenure system. The issue at hand is that California teachers are granted permanent employment status after 18 months on the job, the procedure for dismissing a teacher is quite lengthy and that the teachers most recently hired are the first to lose their jobs. To me, this seems like a rule that needs to be changed. I commend this students for being brave enough to take action on something they believe needs to be fixed.
Saturday
When No One Is Just a Face in the Crowd
Facial recognition technology is already being used some retail stores to spot and stop shoplifters. It may now soon be used to not only recognize shoplifters but people of special interest too. The technology with recognize the face and send a text out to the owner that includes a picture and a biography of the person so the owner can take the right kind of action. To me, this does not sound like the best idea. It almost seems like an invasion of privacy. While it seems as if stores are going to let customers opt out of this is they don’t like it, I am still a bit on the fence out this. Interesting to see how this will work.
Sunday
After Risqué Years, Super Bowl Commercials Go Warm and Fuzzy
Most of the commercials that Fox broadcast during Super Bowl XLVIII sought to invoke fuzzy feelings that would warm viewers hearts. This seemed to be in response to backlash from previous commercials that had been thought to be too sexist or demeaning. Commercials during the Super Bowl are what a lot of people tune in for. And they certainly did not disappoint. I am among those people who are tuned in for the football, but the commercials are usually always a nice touch. This year, while I did miss some of the humor, thought that the commercials were very heartfelt. I enjoyed the approach that advertisers took with their commercials.
What I have learned from The Mayors of New York profiles
The profile stories about the mayors of New York taught me a lot about these types of stories. The first thing I noticed was that each story starts with something that entices you to read on. I found the ones titled “Mayor of the Block” and “Mayor of the Children” the most interesting.
The Mayor — Gina Cecala, 82 years old and about five feet tall — got up from the folding lawn chair in front of her apartment building and walked into the French bakery next door. Without saying a word, she reached into the glass display case and pulled out a little ramekin of crème brûlée, turned around and walked out.
Eva Sanjurjo’s long defense of the Hunts Point neighborhood in the Bronx — against the trash dumpers and industrial polluters, the drug dealers and sex pimps, the slumlords, the speculators and the haters of all kinds — began with her decision in the mid-1970s to open a day care center in the basement of her parents’ home on Coster Street.
The articles focus more on the words then they do pictures. The small amount of pictures they do have are used to show the person in their natural element. The use of black and white photos also draws your attention to them. These profiles also dive into these people’s lives and pull out interesting facts about what they have done. In “Mayor of the Teenagers,” I found this to be quite interesting.
Friends admire Ms. Smith’s Afro (when she has one) and the colorful African dresses with head scarves she sometimes wears. In the hallways, even her ex-boyfriends stop to chat. It’s her impulse to make even strangers feel welcome, she said, because of the way she was accepted when she moved to the United States six years ago from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Overall, I learned that in profile stories you should have a few important things: background information, openings that draw the reader in, interesting/fun facts about the person and photos that capture them in their essence.
Ariel Melendez Journalism 