Meth: A Look At One of West Central Indiana's Most Dangerous Drugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0SWuPzOKYk&feature=youtu.be

-- Had some great interviews with Judge Denny Bridges and my Brothers Judge Headley and County Prosecutor Bookwalter. Additionally, I discussed in length with State Representative Jim Baird about House Bill 1196 that deals in curtailing the production of meth use.

Meth Soundslides

The Final Stretch

Hello. I would first like to discuss class before moving to my article from the N.Y.T. To be honest, I somewhat forgot the events that took place on Wednesday and Monday. What I remember most about Wednesday was how Media Fellows can improve and about the internships. The internship program is the most attractive incentive to join this program of distinction. Not only is that a career building experience, it prepares students for leaving college. I feel that is even more important at a school like this that can become a bubble at times. Also excited to hear about the new Media Fellows, especially Dr. Casey's nephew who is definitely a cool guy. I feel that this school is attracting lots of new intellectually driven students.

To address the discussion of the 'Chaos Scenario', I'll echo what I wrote last week. I have a real problem with the author's general stance on television's business model as flawed and the subsequent belief that a large amount of media mediums are a dying breed. To start with television, I'll say that I see this medium as improving because their are so many more channel options. With sports, ESPN and its family stations as well as more niche programming indicates that the consumer will have more options. A comprehensive business model in which cable programming packages include a full array of specified sports channels is a good one. From my perspective I think that the medium will not die, the broadcast model will simply emanate itself as a new narrowcast model. Same to radio. I generally believe this to be an increasingly popular medium because it is thorough and deep. Their are more choices. MLB Gameday radio on the Internet is awesome. Sometimes a visual element will be established through the voice and I don't see radio dying in the sense that the Internet can carry radio. I actually heard Garfield talk about his belief on NPR and just couldn't disagree more. I think some things will die like the newspaper and that's concerning, but the extent of his 'chaos scenario' I think is not applicable. I could be wrong, but from my dealings with these mediums, I think adaptability is the theme.

As for my article in the so-called dying medium of hard copy, good old New York Times, it was a selection from last week's Wednesday edition in the International section entitled, "South Sudan Says Sudan Strikes Again." I am very interested in African politics and societal structure as a whole. I am concerned by this predicament. It's an economic based fight unfortunately. The Times article is short and sweet, but to the point and that's what reporting is all about in this instance. The issues here are fairly simplistic and that to me is why I'm frustrated by a lot of inter-related conflicts between AU member nations. Sudan is not very nice and South Sudan acts like they are innocent but their is definitely mutual clash about the oil pipelines on border regions. Look, in that arid of a climate that is all they have and with two new countries in such a large area geographically, stuff is going to go down. I feel mad at China too, because they just are looking for profit from the oil pipelines, they don't care about peace. Darfur's bloodshed was catalyzed by shady Chinese weapons exchanges with a corrupt Sudanese government operation. Overall, I feel that the author is very independent in writing this article. Given that Sudan is very unfair with its neighbor, the article still justly points out that both party's are to blame for a centralized issue. It is objective reporting like this that continually makes me praise the best newspaper in the world.

To finish, my project is going fairly well, despite the fact that I need more B-Roll. I have to figure out my total shot list for the week, but am willing to work hard to achieve those goals. I have two interviews left in addition to the two I have and around 2:45 of interviews edited so I have a very good plan. It will be a very interesting film. Soundslides is the biggest struggle. It's a bad program and I disagree with the fact we have to use it. I would have rather done a longer film because I felt like it would have told a much better story with my medium. I can still use still photos in a video format through Final Cut, in fact it is much much much easier that way. I'll figure it out though as the framework for my project should make an interesting product.

Obama, Chaos Scenario, Fun

I would first like to apologize for the lateness of this blog post. It slipped from my mind this weekend and with a rather important science test on Monday coupled with a strenuous weekend of WGRE baseball games against Case Western, I didn't get to it. But, I enjoyed last week's classes big time. Jon Coffin is my man. Xiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! He's a great chapter advisor and I learned a lot about his career in politics and here at DePauw. I had no idea that he was the man who really integrated our website, making it more attractive for incoming students and more receptive to the needs of the student body here at DePauw. Obviously, I feel like we all can learn something from those in public relations. There are ingredients that go into the profession that make it really important and as a broadcaster, I am also interested in the field. That also delves into my political interests where public relations can either bring up a candidate, Barack Obama, or act as extreme damage control, John Edwards...actually never mind public relations won't help you sir. As for my newspaper article, yes I did read an article from last week's Thursday paper. Why did I pick a selection from this seemingly random day in the New York Times? Well, easy answer, my main man "The O Dog" President Barack Obama gloriously adorned the front section with a sly grin. He's awesome. I will be campaigning for the guy shortly. Still waiting for Dr. Bohmer to let me know how I can defeat any batch of helpless Republicans. The article I chose was related to the race.It's also about my state...Go Bucks! "For President And Romney, Ohio Hurdles" was the title. Ohio is a state that always go with the victor of the presidential race. Specifically, Columbus is the place to win. The article expresses how the state is still crucial to both Romney's and Obama's plans. Obama and Romney are both plugging away in 'The Heart of it All' for votes from us cow loving midwestern folks. Cows are the simple part of our state, figuring out how to win in my state is the hardest part. Working class whites are what both candidates have to fight for. The economy still sucks in the industrious state of Ohio. Many of those in the manufacturing sector will not vote again for Obama and it is up to the President to gain their trust and reveal Romeny's money grubbing, individualistic tendencies. People still don't like Romney in our state and the article touches on that fact. But that might be cancelled by voters like the dude from Brookville, Ohio who said he hasn't seen much "change" as promised during the presidents campaign. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150525674260672&set=a.10150272428280672.326880.569695671&type=1&theater. That's my response to those claims. But Ohio might pail in importance to Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina this year, states that are proving even more open minded with more educated people moving to those areas. Obviously these intelligent people who have the ability to read past a third grade level and who might care than something other than a fat paycheck, are Democrats. There's the news. Vote Blue As for the book, it's interesting and I loved our discussion about these topics Monday. Is the business model for the newspaper dead? Certainly yes, in the hard form but not on the Internet. Is the television model dead? No, Garfield I disagree. I said it in class Monday. The television will thrive. Sports it the example medium. There are way more channels and audiences for small niche, narrowcast markets. Those will continue to grow and I expect to see the "The Ohio State University" channel on soon...to a global audience. To say the media cannot survive through records, television, the radio is ludicrous. Advertisers can still approach these mediums, but they need to get more creative. We discussed product placement as a means to still achieve success. Television I would say is growing while, sure, records are going down, but the media can still make money from music by switching to a more live concert oriented approach. There are ways around the more open forms of communication if you will that make it hard for media companies to make money. In the end though, people are still paying for the radio, television, and news in a niche, more specified form.

Public Relations...Ozzie Guillen Might Have Needed It This Time

This week in class I found some things interesting and other things not as compelling. The first class of week was a nice discussion that we had with Dr. Bohmer and the rest of the class on the effects and actual definition of public relations within the media landscape. It was an interesting discussion because I feel that P.R. is often times left out of the fold when we talk about the media. In terms of the discussion's viability, I felt that we covered a lot of ground and sparked some new ideas about the meaning of P.R. I had really never thought of P.R. as the dark side, but now that that point was even brought up, it makes me look at the industry in a new way. But after Friday's discussion with the panel, I actual see that journalism can be the dark side as well. But relating back to Monday, I feel that the discussion was a very necessary prep for the next two days to come. Wednesday and Friday were interactive platforms to talk with actual DePauw students who are successful. On one hand, these are great. We see how people succeed and they tell us how they did it. There were young people, older people, an advertiser, public relations gurus, newspaper journalists, art oriented designers. I found all of these different angles within the media to be unique and cool in the sense that for most of these people they were passionate about what they were doing. On the negative side of those two latter days, I felt those discussions to be overly dragged out, so much so that they took away from the meaning of the discussion. The hour and a half time slot for Friday was just too much and it got kind of boring in my opinion. I was interested for an hour, but they you start spinning your own wagon too much and it's like, alright let's end this discussion. Obviously, that's just the nature of the class being that amount of time, but it was a complaint I had. Overall, I found it to be a nice week with some different elements and I look forward to hearing from Brother Coffin.

For my newspaper article, I chose 'In Miami, Winning Is Not the Only Thing', from the Wednesday, April 11th edition. Why did I chose this article? It was a front page article on baseball. So that's pretty much it, but then I thought of a different aspect of this article that makes it important. Ozzie needs some P.R. help to the max right now if he wants to regain popularity in Miami. It is funny to me how such a huge new operation, over $600 million dollars of time and investment, new players, new logo, new name, and your team's integrity is essentially squashed by one comment. Humorously, that is the one comment you do not want to make in Cuba, USA. The comment I'm so ambiguously referring to is Ozzie Guillen's praise of Dictator Fidel Castro, saying that he respected him. Wow, that is the one thing you don't do down there. Who is his P.R. guy? I know the guy is variable all the time, but there are a few general things that you just don't say. It really shows how a few insensitive comments can totally, eternally ruin a person's career. I don't care if its sports, politics, or entertainment, if you are in the spotlight and are not being constantly guided on what to say, one bad slip could cost you millions of dollars. In this case, many of the Cuban-Americans want his head and are asking for Guillen to resign immediately. One man said he wants a refund for his $900 season-ticked package unless Guillen leaves Once seen as a Latin-American icon in this region, his reputation literally changed overnight. I think that this is a sports story that can relate to life. If you mess up, there is serious consequences on any stage and I'm glad the N.Y.T. recognized the importance of this story. As usual, the Times took this story and dissected it in a very chronological and cohesive manner. It's the duty of any great investigative newspaper to get to the root of the source of the people affected. In this case it was the Cuban-American community. Well, OK, who was interviewed. How about the senior fellow at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami and the director of the University of Central Flordia Institute for Diversity in Sport. So sports, aside they got to the root of the issue and interviewed these two people with very specific talents and credentials. Newspaper journalism is so contingent on getting to the root of a story and thinking outside the box. Most sports outlets would simply comment on Guillen's comments, but the Times really looked at the effects it had with Cuban-Americans, the fans, and Mr. Guillen himself. The facts were there, the reporting was strong, and the sources were legitimate. This is what I hope we don't lose with the death of a newspaper model in the American media.

Amusing Ourselves to Death/ A New Hope for Somalia

The article I chose for the New York Times was titled "A Tast of Hope as Somalia's Battered Capital Rebuilds." It was specifically about the Somalian center of commerce and government, the capital city Mogadishu. This city has been virtually in ruins since 1991 when the government was overthrown. Since, a series of warlords have split the city into a myriad of battlegrounds, resulting in mass chaos. Somalia has been the most dangerous country in the world the past twenty years.

As a student of geography and world politics, I have researched the Somalian situation in the past. So when I saw the headline for this article I had to immediately read it. The article gave me hope that a new Somalia would emerge and I feel the in-depth reporting of this article did a fantastic job of painting the new picture for what Somalia would be like today.

Somalia's capital has undergone an unprecedented period of peace that has opened the door for more mainstream democratic principles in the populous and an insurgence of capitalism, not military forces. The non-violent culture is new to all of those in Somalia, and has prompted lots of Somali-Americans to come back to their homeland for a new start.

The article gave many perspectives of those trying to make it in the job market. I feel iron core news reporting stems from an ability to compile a multitude of legitimate opinions on a given topic. This article certainly achieved that task. The author interview a fishmonger, a banker, an artist, a policewoman, and a former assassin.

The fishmonger and banker were very upbeat and were enjoying prosperity that was unfamiliar. Yet, the author also pointed out that for others the process of switching to an entirely new system of life is rather difficult. The assassin, who had killed over 50 people, left his operation when he was assigned to murder his cousin, a pro-government advocate. That was the last straw for him and he escaped the profession, but still has to constantly be on guard for someone trying to kill him.

The article gives the perspectives in a very cohesive and chronological way, and we get the overall theme; Somalia is changing for the better. I call this important reporting. Somalia is a big deal. In many ways it is the microcosm for a collection of failed African governments. So to see this country on the upswing is very promising. I feel that the New York Times making this story a front lead article was important and indicative of the New York Time's ability and will to report on global topics about a wide range of subjects. That is what really constitutes a meaningful news intake experience, because it is more well-rounded. Reading stories about African politics is a very good thing to do because it is not a continent discussed a whole lot on the news.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

This book was a good read. I can't say that I agree with every opinion written by Postman, but overall I totally agree. In class I brought up the point that this is a modern day interpretation of Brave New World. Instead of Soma being the drug that dehumanizes our culture, it is the television that acts as the Soma in today's world. I couldn't agree more.

I most agree with Postman's interpretation of television news. Overall, the argument we get from Postman is that television news is unproductive through a television medium. In a more 'literature oriented' society if you will, a propensity to read for news is favored. I find this a far better medium for obtaining news because when you read something you are much more likely to remember it in my opinion. The current standard for television news is such that we are not typically learning a great amount of pertinent information.

Postman argues that oral, literature, and televisual mediums are all fair in one sense or another. But each has a different realm of the type of news they should contain. Postman and I share the belief that literature for political topics and more concrete, hard news is a far more beneficiary medium.

Overall Postman is warning our generation that the practice of being dominated by the televisual medium needs to end. This is not an effective way to learn and it is a medium the encourages short attention spans. I don't expect our society to become more apt to read the newspaper instead of watching a television news program, but I hope that our generate will become more sensible in obtaining important information through the media.

Ohio State Swag

The past week of class was a bit frustrating for me, and it wasn't due to the class material. My computer breaking last weekend put a damper on my ability to participate in class and I also had a WGRE commitment, but I still feel that I learned a pretty decent amount about SoundSlides on Monday. I think it's a great program. It's undoubtedly an application that I can use in the future for media related projects. It's easier than users expect and it allows for an easy upload of both photo albums and audio. I thank Marilyn and Chris for showing the class over the past couple weeks about how to use the program. I am somewhat worried now without a computer on how to tackle my project. My original project is all but lost and none of my computers at home have Sound Sides. I am hoping that I can resolve the situation because I plan on using great photos from The Ohio State University for my project. Additionally, I felt working on the videos we created with Larry using Vegas was a learning experience. I am used to working with Final Cut Pro, but I feel Vegas is now another viable option for my future video projects.

In terms of the article I chose from the N.Y.T., it was about politics. I haven't really referred to the Republican race in a while and I feel that it is reaching its tipping point. The article, paired next to a similar one about the Romney camp, is entitled, Santorum Takes on Urban America, and His Own Party. It is my belief that Santorum is all but finished. The article is more or less a personal account from Santorum describing how he believes that he is the only true conservative candidate. Santorum's depiction of the race is that he has an advantage in Republican areas and has the ability to win moderate areas as well. Contrarily Romney is the democrat, winning urban areas. Therefore, Santorum poses more of a realistic threat to counter a liberal Obama.

Although I feel that the latter statement is a fallacy, Santorum failed to win Illinois, but dominated Louisiana keeping him in the race with more mainstream Republican areas. Maybe it is true. Maybe a conservative outcrop will give Santorum an advantage over Romeny in party viability. I think that the N.Y.T. did a nice job of comparing both Romney and Santorum in objective ways. The way they framed the article centered around letting the candidate and voters tell the story. They also took a different slant on the race, posing a different viewpoint on how Santorum can win the race. Objectivity and originalism were key elements to this story making it a must read story in the political landscape. It is not a simple regurgitation of the basic elements of the race, who wins what states. It provides a thoughtful analysis of what is to come and how the Republican race can play out in the future in hopes to beat Obama. I feel that this story is also concise and an example of truly classy reporting, a huge element of iron core news that should be the basis for our knowledge about not just politics, but other important topics.

As a democrat, I also feel increasingly more safe about an Obama victory. I'll just let the Republican candidates bicker and split their ideals among the base so we can find another victory in 2012

College Drinking

To start out, I felt this week was another great week of productivity.We put a lot of practical media practices to work throughout the week and I had fun in the process. I felt the most helpful presentation was The Soundslides rotation. I didn't really know how to use this program at all going in and I came out with a great, basic knowledge of how to use the program. I found that it was a very easy and mainstream way to accomplish. I was able to put together a pretty respectable presentation with audio that I can use in my projects not just for Media Fellows but into the future. I look forward to continuing work on my projects and delving into my story on meth use in the Putnam County Area.

As for my article, I felt that the selection I chose about drinking rates over Spring Break time for college students would be prevalent. The article entitled "Spring Break Gets Tamer With World Watching Online." The article gives a new perspective of what most people would consider a generation with more liberal boundaries than the one that came before.

Twitter and Facebook are also seen by many as websites that have a negative influence on teens because it creates a largely impersonal experience with peer groups. The article gives an alternate perspective, a job of hard news. Even though thousands of college students flock Key West, Florida for spring break, many bartenders in the article claimed these students are from the 'prude' brand, and do not engage in as many risky behaviors.

The latter stems from teens recognizing that one bad photo can lead to a firing or difficulty in trying to find a job. Many young people hide beer cans in photos or try to stay out of them altogether in fear of being judged by out of context photos on the internet. So, in a sense, these websites for the better or worse have acted a taming mechanism that disallows young people from choosing to commit regrettable acts.

I find this article to be an essential component of hard news. I think one of Jones' main points is informing the public to the best possible degree. With this inherent responsibility to take a story and give an alternate perspective with a new element of truth. Without reading this article I would even perceive Facebook and Twitter as casual sites, but when you think about using them in the context of the professional or academic world, the results are much more important. This is a story that epitomizes the variance in stories covered in the N.Y.T. another principle of Losing the News. A story like this one can change perspectives of those who judge too quickly and lays out a new trend in society that shows how younger generations have evolved. Within this story lies the small story and the big story, a change in young people's overall societal standards. Without a larger context to a local or regional event, the story will cease to be hard news.

Putin Wins, Election Fraud Possible

Before I dive into my article from the N.Y.T., I want to discuss class the past week. One of my complaints was a lack of hands on experience with the class, and I now feel that we are starting to get more into an interactive section of the class. I am extremely happy to move forward with this class after laying some groundwork.

I enjoyed each class the past week because, in terms of practicality, it was the most productive week in Media Fellow this semester. The first class with Chris Newton for me was nice because I learned how to use Audacity effectively and import audio clips to edit with the program. As an aspiring broadcaster, this skill is important for me. It is made even more prevalent to learn Audacity considering I will be making my demo reel for the STAA's soon.

The next two classes were just as valuable. Doug is a cool dude. He definitely relates to the students well and gave me a refresher course on how to properly conduct lighting for video. That was important from my perspective as someone who also wants to get back into the television seen with D3TV. The photojournalism class was pretty great as well. It was interesting to hear what makes a photo great and the rule of thirds for taking a photograph that I had completely forgotten to consider after having learned it in high school. Definitely a productive round of classes.

As for my article, it was in the Monday, March 5th edition. It was entitled, "Putin Wins But Opposition Keeps Pressure." In relating this article to Jones, one must consider that a hard news story is not complete without a variety of sources. This article did one of the best jobs I have seen in a front page article describing the situation in full using a variety of sources, all of which related to the story.

Part of also making an effective news story is taking out the spin, because such a tactic is more on the lines of Yellow journalism. Well, in addressing Putin's victory in a beyond superficial way, it is interesting to see the issues of contention with this election. Although Putin won in a landslide, winning a six year term, the legitimacy of his victory is not set in stone. The communist party was furious because they viewed this election as another move by a fascist regime. Putin has received a lot of criticism and this article framed those opinions with an extremely objective framework.

I found it fascinating that even in a country like Russia, election fraud is still extremely prevalent. Even in this election, Putin's clan was convicted of "carousel voting"; the act of having one individual vote at multiple polling locations. Putin was also accused of "centralized voting,"forcing individuals at a given workplace to vote a certain way under economic threats.

The article goes on to describe how some individuals find Putin's stability as a leader to far outweigh the communist, left wing radical option. But, with the multiple perspectives available in the article, we see that some feel that this election was not fair and the percentage of the vote for Putin is flawed. Protests have ensued, marking another tenuous election in this country.

The information does a fantastic job of synthesizing the important information, while giving a comprehensive framework of the political system in Russia. I feel that just from this news story, I feel a broader sense of awareness about the perils that those voting in Russia still face. Hopefully, they can one day achieve a fair democracy.

Past Week and Jobs in America

The past week of class in Media Fellows was not totally what I expected. I think the class lacked pertinent information and structure, because I honestly don't remember much about it. I had talked about interactivity with the class in my previous posts, and I didn't feel this was accomplished with the multimedia part of this class. This past week was simply lecture and on that point, I don't think it was effective as I would have liked. My classmates can attest to this. Granted, I did learn a great amount about journalism from Professor Tatge. I think the most I took out of this week's classes was what makes a story? Well, it just can't be interesting because that doesn't always indicate depth and just because one finds a story interesting doesn't make the story interesting in a universal sense. We watched a series of videos that progressively advanced toward a pertinent story, and that was cool. The video about the man alone in his home, though it could have been larger in scope, was a very in-depth presentation. The other side to this debate, is small-story vs. big-story. A good story has both of these components. Any type of story has to have a goal in mind, and that is the biggest thing I've learned from Professor Tatge, always keep digging.

As for my article I read in the N.Y.T., it was entitled Where the Jobs are, the Training Might be Missing. This was a very in depth article. I think its a story you wouldn't find anywhere else because it takes an alternate slant to a very common issue in domestic politics, we need more jobs! The article points out that for the markets in which jobs are needed, the training for them at the post-high school education level is simply not available. Programs such as nursing are being cut. For example, in North Carolina where the latter occupation is needed, schools have had to cut the programs for a lack of subsidies given by the government to fund them. Therefore, schools with nursing programs have to put students on waiting lists, and there is also a waiting list for the waiting list. The problem is deeply rooted in poor economics and a lack of decision making from state governments.

These governments must recognize education as the bread and butter for future successes and job growth. According to the article, "studies show that an educated populace leads to faster economic growth and a more stable democracy." When programs such as computer science and math are cut, other countries such as China and Japan take advantage.

The democrats recognize these problems, and President Obama recently proposed he $8 billion federal stimulus of sorts for community colleges. Getting at the root of the problem will helpful grow our waning job force.

The analysis and progression of this article is fantastic. Realistically, so many stories could have been written from the ideas in this article alone. The synthesis of these ideas into a cohesive piece that ties together is brilliant reporting. The article exemplifies that more aspects of society are interrelated than one may think. The root of the problems in America are not always are simple as they are made out to be.

The Destruction of Syria: Death Toll Rises

A U.N. Panel decided to finally accuse the Syrian government of crimes against humanity, amid weeks of violence and brutality across the nation. Syrian officials have consistently denied allegations that government officials have committed atrocities against innocent civilians

Homs, Syria, the epicenter of the destruction, has been bombarded for over 20 consecutive days. Syrian government forces have raided Homs for over 20 consecutive days. Concerned citizens have expressed that they have had trouble accessing food and live in fear of the snipers spread around the town.

As the destruction continues, the world stage is going from taking notice, to planning on concerted action. Whether that comes in the form of aid or military intervention is still under debate. Secretary of State Clinton is making strides toward formally recognizing the Syrian National Council, "an exile opposition group." Thus, pressure has been built against Russia and China, two nations that denied a United Nations resolution to end the bloodshed.

In addition to Syrian civilians, Western journalists are the newest members of the death toll in Syria. American War Correspondent, Marie Colvin, of the Times of London perished amid the violence as well as Remi Ochlik, a French photographer.

Mass outrage has ensued most notably in the Western world. Now that Western journalists have been added to the death list, opinions from European politicians have resulted in pleas asking for "Syrian forces to permit the retrieval of the bodies."

In general, three factors have dominated the landscape in the Syrian crisis: domestic violence/brutality by the Syrian government, global diplomatic solution analysis, and outrage in the West over the deaths of two journalists, with two injured.

The importance of this story is wide in scope for the length of the article. All of the previously stated issues were address brilliantly. This fits the bill for "ironcore" news because of not just its impact on Syria, but its meaning in the puzzle of freedom and democracy in several fledgling Middle Eastern nations.

The New York Times also fits in the realm of "most read news" because of their depth for global coverage. All countries are covered, giving the reader a deeper experience than reading about domestic politics or the state of the U.S. economy. The Crisis in Syria is a serious issue, one that may alter the landscape of the Middle East.

The availability of such an article might be available online or with any other national newspaper, but I doubt whether any other newspaper could provide the brevity and accuracy of the article I read in the N.Y.T. When reading an article, it is always important to receive proper background, what is happening now, and the future repercussions in the story. In addition to providing "ironcore" news topics, the content has to be valuable and self-serving, and I feel that this story as well as others in the front section of the N.Y.T. provide those experiences.

Gay Marriage and the Black Community

The article "Same-Sex Marriage Bill Posing a Tough Sell to Blacks in Maryland" appeared in the Feb. 16, 2012 edition of the N.Y.T.

In summary, the article describes the debate between the black community and gay rights activists over the issue of gay marriage. Blacks typically vote Democrat, but Democratic support of the issue may disallow more blacks from supporting Democratic candidates in the future.

Most blacks do not support gay marriage. As a Same-Sex Marriage bill tries to pass through the Maryland House, it has revealed just how deep the sentiments against gay marriage in the black community are.

The main issue of contention is religion and most blacks in Maryland are tied to the beliefs of their church. Only two pastors in Maryland have testified for the bill legalizing gay marriage. While whites are heavily in favor of the bill, blacks are strongly against.

My Opinion: This is a microcosm for the issue of gay marriage in the entire United State black community. I find it extremely ironic that blacks don't support gays as they had their own struggle with gaining rights in the 1950s and 1960s.

Additionally, I feel this is one of the primary roadblocks to passing gay rights legislation in the United States. Because of the "faith" element, it is going to be a tough sell to blacks as the article touches on. It will be extremely tough in southern states where whites are against it for religious reasons, as are blacks.

This is an "ironcore" news story because it is a different take on a pressing political issue. That is an aspect of reporting we have discussed in class and it is why the New York Times is such a valuable source of news. Gay marriage through the lens of the black community is an often times overlooked reason to why these bills struggle to get through state governments.

The depth of the reporting is also indicative of what Jones would deem valuable news. Each side and angle is covered with sufficient interviews, perspectives, and statistics. The article also includes the experiences of those involved, giving the reader background and insight into why certain sectors within the black community feel a certain way about gay marriage.

I think more stories taking an alternate take on a mainstream debate will add to the discussion on a given issue. Gay marriage is contested...ok, but what groups are vehemently opposed and why are they opposed when most are beginning to favor the legalization of gay marriage.

Eventually, every state will legal gay marriage. Maybe the black community can relate to their struggle trying to gain rights.

First Week Review

After a full week of being in Mr. Tatge's class, we have already learned a tremendous amount concerning the basics of reporting. As a writer for The DePauw, I thought I knew a decent amount about proper news writing, but the past week plus has revealed that I need to start at the drawing board.

The most striking fact I have learned is what it takes for a subject to actually be a story. Just because something is interesting does not make it a story worth covering. New facts and perspectives must be revealed as well as ways to consistently engage the reader. If these basic aspects are not covered, there can be no story.

In addition to this, it is always critical to take the contrary view to what one might be thinking. Look at the underlying background of a story and it's meaningful implications. When their is one consensus view on how a story should be framed, it is likely that another position exists, and is worth to be explored.

The book "Telling True Stories" reveals these aforementioned truths to the reader in a real-life way. The author's give perspectives on how they dove into the unknown, the unexplored, and came out of those experiences with new stories to tell that engaged an attentive audience.

In covering the basketball team at DePauw, these new ideas have made me rethink my mentality when pursuing a story. There is more to the process than simply regurgitating a preview or recap based on sports statistics. What will happen next, is the question I'm looking to answer? Where does the team go from here, where can they improve, and what stands in their way to accomplishing a set of changing goals.

I look forward to building on the new reporting principles I have learned and using them in a pragmatic way.

A Fledging Democracy Aims to Find Hope

Democracy in Asian and African nations seems to be a trend of the past year plus. From Egypt, to Libya, Iran, and most recently Syria, social media has opened up windows for a global audience, revealing the inadequacies of authoritarian governments. As Syria goes through their struggles to change a dogmatic governmental system, one country has been lost in the shuffle: The Maldives.

Unknown to some, the Maldives is a country that was released from the hands of the United Kingdom in 1965. It is home to almost 330,000 people and consists of an archipelago of nearly 1,200 islands. It is an interesting country, because it is relatively wealthy due to its luxury based economy, yet has struggled with formulating a blueprint for democracy. In 2008, the first democratic elections were held and Mohamed Nasheed was the optimistic victor. He vowed to change the country and institute meaningful reforms.

But like many fledgling democracies, The Maldives has struggled with corruption. Mr. Nasheed ordered the arrest of a criminal court judge for undermining the new democratic institution, an issue his opponents have largely criticized him for executing.

The newest chapter in this nation is the forced resignation of Mr. Nasheed for former V.P., Mohamed Hassan. Nasheed claims this came as the result of being told to resign at gunpoint, a coup at destroying the democracy. Mr. Nasheed led a protest with his supporters in a march on the capital and these protests were answered with force from the police.

~What I learned from this article was far different from anything else I would have read in mainstream news headlines. The Maldives are simply overlooked compared to issues such as Iran and Syria. But, in my opinion, this is a pretty big story. 330,000 people are affected by the governmental change that has occurred. We can also draw parallels with their situation because we strive to create a fully functioning democracy and a lot of the Maldivians do as well.

This is also a story that is very exemplary of the reporting at the New York Times. It is extremely well-written and within the "cannonball" news spectrum. The political importance and meaning of the events in the Maldives are extremely important in the puzzle for people trying to achieve a fair governmental system. This is why hard news is vital. Stories like these would not otherwise be read on the Internet in which only the "major" news events are taken into account. The newspaper contains a variety of stories, all of which are prevalent and deserve attention. This is not a story that would be read on the Internet without further digging, yet it major global news.

Expectations Examined; G.O.P. Article

First I would like to address my expectations for this class and examine if they have changed. My three overarching expectations as outlined in my previous post are as follows: to have more interactive media elements, to learn new media programs, and finally to become a more prepared individual as one who wishes to enter the media. These have not changed, and I don't expect they ever will during my entire tenure as a freshman media fellow. I expect this semester to include more hands activities even though we still have been sitting and watching how to do things. I want to actually do interactive media and I expect in the upcoming weeks that will happen. We are already learning how to use Soundslides, Audacity, among other programs so that addresses my second expectation. As for becoming a more prevalent media presence, I think the panel discussion we had confirmed my expectation that I will learn how to become a knowledgeable student of our media. I wanted to learn how to do everything: pictures, video, audio, etc. It seems that this is what the second semester is all about and I am very excited about the prospects of learning from a host of experts. I am interning as a media specialist with a minor league baseball team this summer and in order to be effective as a member of our team, I have to know how to perform a variety of tasks branching from sports media. I want to learn and I know I will.

Downturn and Upstarts Transform G.O.P. Caucuses
By Adam Nagourney and Jennifer Medina
Feb. 2, 2012 Edition A1/A18

My article related to the G.O.P. caucuses. This directly relates to Losing the News because of the "iron core" news aspect. This is Iron Core news as is a majority of The New York Times articles and topics. The article gives meaningful facts and opinion concerning the Nevada caucus which will be a key battleground for the four remaining G.O.P. candidates. In summary, the article discussed the changing demographics of the state and how a severe economic downturn will effect voters who barely gave the nod for Obama in 2008. The unemployment rate went from a mildly fluctuated 5% to 13% today. Despite these woes not being Obama's fault ignorant voters will lean right in this election more so than 2008. That wasn't in the article, that was my opinion. I apologize for the tangent. But, Gingrich, Paul, and Romney are listed as the main contenders. A quarter of the electorate will be Mormon, so give a check to Mitt for that one. On the other hand, Ron Paul has a great amount of libertarian support and Newt will garner votes from a strong Tea Party. It is one of the most interesting states and is another prime example of how a strong divide has separated the Republic party into those who are very conservative or only somewhat conservative.

This article is a prime example of the cannonball of the news sector. In my opinion, if more individuals were informed about our political process it would be a better nation and more people would accept liberal values. People who care about education vote Democrat. That's my other valuable tangent. Do it. Vote Obama. A second point Jones makes in his work is that journalists should strive for objectivity. That's what the NYT is all about. You can say they lean left, but they report well and they cover the G.O.P. just as much as us (Dems). This was an article that showcased that objectivity. The race was talked about and their was no subjectivity in the interview, all sides were covered that mattered and the facts were laid out appropriately. I enjoyed this article and look forward to an important presidential race in which we'll win again. Love how the Republicans are exposing themselves. Put your car in D not R...let's move forward.

My Expectations

As a media fellow, I have some new found expectations for second semester. The first one of these expectations is that the class will have an elevated amount of interactive elements. The first semester was thoroughly text oriented and not hands on. I understand that this was a necessary predicate to further studies within Media Fellows, but I am ready to experiment with different aspects of the media in a hands-on way. From the panel talk on the first day of class, I fully expect that my wishes will be satisfied to the fullest possible regard and my knowledge of the media as a whole will increase.

I also expect that I will properly learn how to use the software programs such as Audacity and other video editing programs. In high school, I worked frequently with the Final Cut Program, but I did not use comprehensive sound editing programs and do not have a deep enough knowledge of other media applications. Such an understanding of these programs would be viable for an individual going into the media industry such as myself.

On a final note, I want to be more prepared to enter the media industry as a member of the Media Fellows program. This involves an innate understanding of a variety of facets within the media industry. One cannot rely on knowledge concerning one department if one wishes to land a career in media. I have found this to be true in my experiences with the news and sports media. At WGRE, I am challenged to keep up with the tasks it takes to be an effective reporter. An investigative will power needs to be complimented by a supreme knowledge of media technical operations, and I hope to improve the latter throughout second semester.