Thursday, January 24, 2013
American Journalists - Freedom of the Press (1700-1860)
Is journalism a "first rough draft of a history" as noted by publisher Philip L. Graham in a speech to Newsweek correspondents in 1963? Well the men and women we will write about this semester probably thought so, although they were drawn into the journalism profession for various reasons. As we explore their lives, analyze their work and recount their dreams, we all should learn some tidbits to help in our journey.
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ReplyDeleteArunah Sherpdson Abell was born on August 10, 1806 in Rhode Island where he worked as a clerk in the shipping business. Abell was a journeyman printer in New York and Boston. While in New York he met two men William M. Swaim and Azariah H. Simmons. They all had the bright idea to start a “penny paper”, which were “widely circulated papers that became popular in the 19th century.” Together these three men founded the Public Ledger in 1836. The Public Ledger became the first most popular paper in Philadelphia but in the late The Public Ledger was on the declined. The paper supported the Copperhead Policy which opposed the American Civil War. Most people lost interest in the paper.
ReplyDeleteLater on, Abell decided that he wanted to have a penny paper in Baltimore. He first had to convince his partners to financially back him up, which they did trusting that he would look over the newly founded paper. The name of the penny paper was called Sun published on May 17, 1837 and the motto was “Light for All” The Sun became very popular in Baltimore beating one of its closest competitors. When Abell’s company was big enough he got a new cast iron building to support all the papers that had to be made. On top of the papers quick success Abell made use of trains, ships, coaches and the pony express to help to the news get out quicker to the public.
With all this success he made time to marry the widow Mary Fox Campbell. Abell died on April 19, 1888. His three sons agreed to take over the family business in 1910. The paper is now called the Baltimore Sun, which now in 2013 is still one of the most important and popular papers in Baltimore.
- Brittany Goodman
BLOG POST ONE: CLAIM TO FAME: WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT
ReplyDeleteThe renowned journalist, American romantic poet, and editor of the New York Evening Post is none other than William Cullen Bryant, who was born in 1794 in Massachusetts. He studied and practiced law but was passionate about poetry; some of his notable works are “To a Waterfowl” and “The Embargo”; according to the “Biography of William Cullen Bryant”, “The Embargo” sold out very quickly because it was a reflection of “Dr. Bryant’s Federalist political views”.
His father originally sent Bryant’s famous poem “Thanatopsis” to the North American Review in 1817; its success fostered Bryant’s interest in writing more poems. He also worked on “The Ages”, which was a “panorama in verse of the history of civilization”; this eventually led him to be appreciated as “America’s leading poet” (“Biography of William Cullen Bryant”). His other works in poetry and literary criticism also gained him wide recognition as his contributions in the literary world manifested a beginning in literary history in America.
As poetry could not help him succeed financially, Bryant became a hog reeve. He did not like “pettifoggery” or some of the court’s judgments, so he decided to end his law career. Eventually with the aid of the Sedgwicks, a prestigious “literary family”, Bryant was able to secure a position as an editor of the New-York Review, United States Review, Literary Gazette, and Picturesque America (1872-1874). He also became an Assistant Editor under William Coleman of the New York Evening Post that was founded by Alexander Hamilton. A couple of years later, he became the Editor-in-Chief; with this position, he was able to exert influence in politics everywhere and advocate for “free speech, free trade, the rights of workman, and the abolition of slavery,” (Reuben). Overall, his contributions were valued greatly and still are today.
Works Cited:
➢ "Biography of William Cullen Bryant." Poem Hunter. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. .
➢ Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 3: William Cullen Bryant." PAL: William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878). PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. .
Andrew Bradford (1686-1742)
ReplyDeleteAndrew Bradford was a pioneer printer and publisher of the 18th century. According to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Andrew learned the trade in his father, William Bradford’s, shop in New York City. At the age of seven he began to work along side his father learning everything he could about the printing and publishing business. In 1712 he traveled to Philadelphia to begin his career. Bradford was the only printer in the colony of Pennsylvania. There is also became an importer of books published across seas in England which he would sell in his shop. He founded the American Weekly Mercury (1728-54), which was the first newspaper published outside of Boston. It was also the third newspaper published in the country. A few years later in 1741, Bradford went on to start the first American Magazine, which, ironically, was titled American Magazine. This magazine was not as successful as it’s creator however; the magazine was short-lived with only 3 issues published. Andrew Bradford was a successful printer and seller of stationary supplies, but that’s not all the pioneer accomplished. He was also assumed the title of Printer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1712-30) as well as the postmaster (1728-37). Throughout his career Bradford was constantly creating success for himself, assuming new positions in the field every few years. Andrew Bradford did not only set a great example for those who aspired to have a career in the printing and publishing field, but for the general public as well. In 1721 Bradford expressed his political beliefs about government affairs without the permission of the Council and was later sent to prison. Because he was bold enough to speak out, many supported him, allowing him to later be elected councilman of the city.
- Madison Moore
MATTHEW LYON (1749-1822)
ReplyDeleteMatthew Lyon was known as a significant proponent of the freedom of speech, which was guaranteed by the First Amendment. He was born in Ireland and he immigrated to the United States in 1765. In 1793, he set up a printing office and initiated the Farmer’s Library newspaper. The contents of the newspaper consisted of provoking thoughts and aggressive writings, which aroused animosity among the Federalists. Two years later, he found Fair Haven, Vermont and moved there.
In Vermont, he participated in a militia group, Green Mountain Boys, and resigned from the Continental Army in 1778. In 1797, Lyon was elected as a member of the State House of Representatives. He was called the “Beast of Vermont” because Federalists deemed his determination for running reelection to Congress as politically detrimental.
According to the U.S. Senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, Lyon was the first person who was being charged under the Alien and Sedition Act because of his opposition to President John Adam’s foreign policy. He published a letter that criticized and degraded the president’s administration. He then was imprisoned for four months before he received immunity from President Thomas Jefferson.
In Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Lyon’s last position was a United States factor to the Cherokee Nation in Arkansas Territory before he died in Spadra Bluff, Arkansas on August 1, 1822.
By Sheng Chi Lim
John Fenno (1751-1798)
ReplyDeleteJohn Fenno, born August 12, 1751, was a largely important and influential journalist in post-Revolutionary America. Hailing from Boston, Fenno served as secretary for general Artemas Ward during the Revolutionary War. A father of 13 children, Fenno and his wife remained in Massachusetts while he wrote for the Massachusetts Centinel. Leaving his hometown of Massachusetts behind, Fenno and his family moved to New York City, the nation’s capital at the time, in search of a more prosperous life. A strong supporter of the Federalist party, Fenno felt the desire to create a paper that could inform and unify fellow Federalists; this paper was the Gazette of the United States, first published on April 11, 1789.
Upon moving the Gazette to the newly established capital of Philadelphia in 1790, Fenno’s paper began to receive much critical acclaim. In a time when communication and the spread of knowledge was limited, the Gazette served as a quasi-governmental publication, evening receiving aid in printing and distribution. Fenno was not the only reporter for the paper, as prominent political figures of the time, namely John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, contributed articles to the Gazette regularly. While the Gazette was immensely popular among Federalists, members of the rival Democratic-Republican party resented the paper, so much so that rival papers were created, with names like the National Gazette.
While popularity of the Gazette of the United States was often dictated by political affiliation, the significance of the paper cannot be understated. While the production of the Gazette never exceeded more than 1,400 copies at a time, this paper served as a model for countless others within the Northeast. When copies of the Gazette reached major cities, local newspapers would openly copy its stories and editorials. John Fenno and his Gazette are excellent examples of early American journalism and political writing.
-Domenic Bello
Sarah Josepha Buell Hale was born on October 24, 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire. As the daughter of Revolutionary War Captain Gordon Buell, Hale was able to receive a good education. She was educated mostly by her mother, Martha Whittlesay Buell. In 1813 she married a lawyer named David Hale, whom with she had five children. When her husband died in 1822, Sarah Hale was forced to turn to writing in order to support her five young children.
ReplyDeleteSarah Josepha Hale began by writing poetry. With money left from her husband, Hale was able to pay for the publication of her first book of poems, The Genius of Oblivion. It was around this time where she also published her most recognizable poem, Mary Had a Little Lamb. In 1827, just after publishing her first novel, Northwood, Hale took on her most remembered literary position as an editor.
Hale began her editing career with Ladies’ Magazine and then ten years later was invited to be the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, said to be the first magazine edited by women for women, where she remain for the next fifty years. In 1877 at the age of 89, Hale retired from her position as editor. She died at her home in 1879 and is now buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Outside of writing, Hale famously campaigned for the American holiday of Thanksgiving and also served as an inspirational force for women everywhere. Being accepting of traditional roles of housewife and mother, Hale did not hold women’s suffrage as the top priority on her list. Though this may be true, she firmly believed in a higher education for women and the admission of women into medical training. Her conservative yet sophisticated lifestyle became a model for all housewives.
-Ray Bryant
Sources: American Journalists, womenwriters.net, Dictionary of Literary Biography, satucket.com.
Benjamin Franklin Bache (1769-1798)
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was born on August 12, 1769 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The American ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin took his grandson with him to impart a proper education. Benny studied in Paris, then Switzerland, and then went back to France again in order to learn the printing trade. Afterwards, Bache and his grandfather returned to Philadelphia where he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, graduating two years later. Before Franklin died, he bought Bache a printing house for him to manage. He started his own newspaper, the "General Advertiser and Political, Commercial, Agricultural and Literary Journal" in 1790; it also featured articles on the arts and sciences in order to help improve the lives’ of his readers.
Bache sought to produce a positive paper that would “help citizens build a new nation” (Ritchie, 43). Agreeing with Thomas Jefferson’s Republican ideals, he offered his services to become the party’s primary newspaper; despite some initial obstacles, it eventually became the leading Republican paper.
Strongly pro-French, during the French Revolution Bache’s papers became increasingly anti-British and called for a divide from anything that leaned toward British politics. Many newspapers throughout America reprinted his articles. Bache became angry when President Washington remained neutral in the conflict between Great Britain and France, thus leading him to set out to destroy Washington’s public image using questionable techniques. In 1798, House Speaker Jonathan Dayton went so far as to bar him from taking notes on the proceedings from the House floor. Because of Bache’s actions, President Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Act, making it illegal to publish false information about any facet or member of the government. That summer, he was arrested for publishing false information that suggested that the French were willing to make peace with the U.S. He posted bail but didn’t live to stand trial; days after his wife gave birth to their fourth child, Bache contracted yellow fever and died on September 10, 1798. He was only 29 years old.
Benjamin Henry Day was an American newspaper publisher who single-handedly revolutionized the way everyday citizens read and received the news. By age fourteen, Day was already working in the newspaper industry for the Springfield Republican. He utilized all the knowledge he gained there to create the New York Sun in 1833 at age twenty-four. The New York Sun was truly unique in that it was the first penny press newspaper. Penny press newspapers are exactly what their name suggests: a newspaper that only cost a penny. At a time where newspapers cost around five or six cents, this was unheard of. The New York Sun and the other penny press newspapers that followed became hugely popular because they provided a newspaper that working and middle class Americans could afford. The content in the penny press newspapers differed from the more expensive newspapers which required a subscription, however. Since their audience tended to be poorer and less educated, they focused more on crime and gossip. In fact, Day is recognized as the creator of “sensationalism”, which is a form of writing that stretches the truth for entertainment purposes. The reason Day and other penny press newspapers were able to only charge a penny is because they made money through advertising as opposed to subscription fees. Additionally, Day was the first American to operate a newspaper using the “London Plan” form of distribution. In this type of distribution, paperboys buy newspapers in bulk directly from the publisher and sell them on the street for profit. Benjamin Henry Day’s ideas greatly contributed to the highly commercialized news organizations of today. Without Day and his penny press newspaper, cliché depictions of newsboys on the corner of crowded city streets and tabloid magazines, among others, simply would not exist.
ReplyDeleteArdalun Kamali
Elijah P. Lovejoy (1805-1837)
ReplyDeleteElijah Parish Lovejoy was born on November 9, 1802, in Albion, Maine. His claim to fame was his rejection of both censorship and slavery. As the son of a reverend, he grew up in a religious household, learning to read from the bible. Lovejoy gained attention through his anti-slavery editorials, public speeches, and personal letters. Most of his work was done in Missouri, which was still a slave state at the time. Pro-slavery whites responded to his editorials with a series of break-ins to his office, and the destruction of his home along with his press. In response, Lovejoy bought a new press and continued to condemn slavery. The attacks against Lovejoy became a cycle, but he refused to run from Missouri, because it was a free state. The attacks continued until one night, an anti slavery mob of 60 men gathered to protect him. The mob later planned an attack on Lovejoy that involved guns. On the night of the attack, he was shot five times and killed while trying to escape from his home.
The infamy of Lovejoy’s story soon spread across the country, and gained him the title, “America's first martyr to freedom of the press.” He hesitated to call himself an abolitionist, as he fought more for freedom of the press, and one of his topics at the time happened to be slavery. He believed he could change the minds of other by standing firm with his principles, which is something I believe today. He contributed to many anti-slavery papers, and gained supporters, starting a trend for how change is made in this country. Lovejoy is proof that free press is worth fighting for and that we shouldn’t take it for granted. His pride cost him his life, but set a precedent for rejecting censorship, while fighting against slavery at the same time.
Trey Sherman
Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1810-1850) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts where her father exposed her to an education early on despite prejudices against women at that time. Her arrogance as a child made other children dismiss her company. Margaret Fuller Ossoli would spend her time studying resulting in nightmares. Learning many different languages, Ossoli taught at a school in Boston. She focused on educating women by holding discussion groups. Her accomplishments allowed her to make friends with many college students at Harvard. Although at the time her gender dismissed her from the use of the library or even attending classes.
ReplyDeleteAt a young age Margaret Fuller one of her favorite philosophers, Ralph Waldo Emerson. This soon opened a door for her to become part of the Transcendental Club. The club was a group of philosophers that believed more in the spiritual quality of life rather than the material substances in life. They soon collaborated and put together a magazine called "The Dial". Margaret wasn't acknowledged as a writer but rather a literary critic.
Her work from "The Dial" got her noticed by Horace Greeley, who invited her as a literary critic of "The New York Tribune". There she wrote articles raising public awareness on social issues, ethnic prejudices, capital punishment, and public heath problems. Margaret Fuller Ossoli published over two hundred and fifty essays at the end of her career. A major accomplishment of her time was the book she wrote, "Woman in the Nineteenth Century", which was said to be the first feminist novel. Margaret Fuller Ossoli 's work discussed the equal treatment of men and women and help evolve and mold the women's rights movement.
After her book was written, Margaret Fuller began to travel across europe researching the Industrial Revolution. There she was exposed to faul working conditions and ill treatment of workers. As she was researching in Italy she fell in love, got married, and had a child. Sick of the Italian Revolution Margaret Fuller Ossoli and her family decided to move back to the United States. The ship they were on got caught in a storm and her family and her were said to be lost at sea.
Margaret Fuller Ossoli was one of the most captivating and active feminist writers of the Nineteenth century.
- Allie Rahman
Joseph Gales, Jr.:
ReplyDeleteJoseph Gales, Jr., a famed American journalist, was born on 1786 in Eckington, North East Derbyshire, located in England. He found his way in America because of his father, a printer who came to the United States due to his Republican beliefs. After Joseph graduated from the University of North Carolina he followed his father's footsteps into the printing business.
He soon ended up in Washington D.C., forming a very powerful partnership with William W. Seaton (1785-1866). Together they published the top daily newspaper of the United States capital, The National Intelligencer. At first the paper was called National intelligencer and Washington advertiser, but, at some point, the name was wisely changed. The National Intelligencer successfully ran for 54 years, from 1810-64.
Joseph and William were brothers-in-law who had a natural rapport. The career they built together was an impressive one, from reporting the debates in the house and the senate, working as official printers to Congress, working the biggest printing shop in D.C., and making what was labeled as the "official organ" for numerous Presidential administrations. At one point Gale was the Senate's sole journalist, while William covered the House of Representatives.
Although they had their fame, their downfall came with their political beliefs. Their peak was during the “Era of Good Feelings,” which was, as the name implies, a time without much controversy. Then Congress was split by the Whigs and the Democrats. Joseph and William began as Jeffersonian Republicans, but once the split happened, they eventually sided with the Whig party. When their political party began to crumble, they followed suit. Between the 1830s to the 1850s, they ran the leading Whig newspaper, but their association with the Whig party did have an impat on their image.
They ran The National Intelligencer's publishers for a span of 50 years, until the paper was taken over by Snow, Coyle & Co.
- John Giroux
Amos Kendall
ReplyDeleteBorn on August 16, 1789 in Dunstable, Massachusetts, Amos Kendall spent his youth working on the family farm. Amos was a sickly child and unable to perform farming tasks well, so his father sent him to Dartmouth College in 1807 when he was eighteen years old.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Amos moved to Groton, Massachusetts to be an apprentice for lawyer and town postmaster William M. Richardson. After spending six years in Groton, Amos decided to leave New England. He made his way to Washington D.C. and managed to procure a job being the tutor of Jesse Bledsoe’s children, the Senator of Kentucky. Once Amos reached Kentucky, Bledsoe informed Amos that his services were no longer required. Luckily, Amos received a job offer from Henry Clay’s wife to tutor her children.
While living in Kentucky Amos bought the newspaper Argus of Western America from his colleague William Gerard on September 30, 1816 for two thousand dollars. Amos saw this procurement of the newspaper as a combination of his passions for politics and writing.
Initially a supporter of Henry Clay during the election of 1824, Amos eventually switched to support Andrew Jackson, and gained enough favor with Jackson to be brought to Washington D.C. in 1829 to serve as an auditor for the Treasury Department. Amos became the Postmaster General for Andrew Jackson in 1835. However, Amos’ real power was in the fact that he served as an influential advisor to Jackson. Amos’ opponents referred to the relationship between Jackson and Amos as “Amos Kendall and Co.” Amos also was the Postmaster General for President Martin Van Buren, but he was not as close and influential on Van Buren as he was with Jackson.
Amos resigned in 1840 to work as an editor for The Daily Globe. He also befriended Samuel Morse and invested in the telegraph, which he profited from. His new wealth allowed him to establish Gallaudet University and engage in philanthropy.
- Maggie Cassidy
Bibliography
Cole, Donald B. A Jackson Man: Amos Kendall and the Rise of American Democracy. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2004. Print.
Kendall, Amos. Autobiography of Amos Kendall. New York: P. Smith, 1949. Print.
Margaret Green Draper (1727-1804)
ReplyDeleteMargaret Green Draper, an American journalist and accomplished printer in the colonial era, was one of the first recorded women to independently run and operate a business. Following the Siege of Boston and the battle of Bunker Hill, all of the Boston newspapers, except one, went out of business and shut down their progressions. Draper published this remaining newspaper, named the Massachusetts Gazette. Due to her support for the British during the Revolutionary War, Draper decided to close the Gazette once the British shipped out materials and soldiers for departure; then she would sail to Canada. This support of the British monarch was what ultimately drove the other Boston newspapers out of business. Draper gained a wide range of readers and followers, leading to the limitation of people reading in favor of the Americans.
After the death of Margaret’s husband/cousin Richard, Margaret took over control of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter. After taking over the paper, Draper parted ways with Richard’s old business partner, John Boyle. After realizing their differing views on the War, she searched for a companion who shared her supportive effort of the British. Eventually, Draper found and joined forces with a fellow Loyalist, John Howe.
As the revolutionary war played on, Draper chose to direct her writing towards criticisms of Patriotism and American boycotts and in favor of British acts such as the “Intolerable Acts.” With that in mind, Draper’s newspaper discontinued its printing when the British withdrew from Boston. Margaret Green Draper will forever be remembered for her legacy as a loyalist journalist during the colonial era. The criticism she received from Boston Patriots did not phase her efforts in conveying and expressing her views in favor of the British Empire.
Sources:
-http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/womenwithdeadlines/wwd6.htm
-http://www.davidwebbfowler.com/2011/10/woman-newspaper-publisher-who-was.html
Jane Grey Swisshelm, born December 6th 1815, was an American journalist as well as a notable abolitionist. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a rather poor family, Swisshelm taught lace making in 1823 to help provide money. By the age of 14, Swisshelm had become a schoolteacher until marrying in 1836. Jane Grey Swisshelm married James Swisshelm a man that would demand her sub-ordinance, later influencing Jane Grey Swisshelm to fight for women's rights.
ReplyDeleteAfter moving to Kentucky with James, Swisshelm would witness slavery first hand igniting her fight for abolition. During this time she even worked for the Underground Railroad for a short period. In 1842, Swisshelm would begin sending letters and poems in to Philadelphia papers. Not until 1844 did one of Swisshelm's papers get published. After which Swisshelm would start writing her own abolitionist weekly called the Pittsburgh Saturday Visiter. Soon the paper was filled with Swisshelm's ideas for a less demanding approach at abolition and women's rights as well as insisting they be kept seperate.
In 1850 Swisshelm would make history by becoming the first woman to sit in at a Senate press gallery. After leaving her husband and moving to St.Cloud, Minnesota in 1857, Swisshelm started another paper called the St.Cloud Visiter. Only a year later did her printing press get destroyed by pro-slavery advocates. Only a few months later did she establish the St.Cloud Democrat. Swisshelm later settled down in Swissvale, Pennsylvania where she died on July 22, 1884. Swisshelm was one of the greatest abolition and women's rights writers of her time and will be remembered as such.
Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Thetford, England. Paine's father was a corset maker and Paine followed in his shoes for a while. He set up a corset making shop in Sandwich, England and married Mary Lammbert here, but she died less than a year later. When his salary as a corset maker was too low he became a tax collector in Lewes. Here he lived with Samuel Olliver and married his daughter Elizabeth.Paine saw many suffer financially while he was collecting taxes in Lewes, and he wrote a pamphlet and presented it to Parliament. Parliament rejected Paine’s pamphlet and fired him. After this Paine separated from his wife, Elizabeth, and moved on to emigrate to America.
ReplyDeletePaine arrived in Philadelphia on November 30, 1774. UShistory.org claims that this is when Paine’s career turned to journalism. At this point in time colonies were beginning to declared their independence from Great Britain and Paine published the pamphlet, Common Sense, which became extremely important to the American Revolution and the publication of the Declaration of Independence. Paine joined the militia after Congress declared the colonies independent, and he wrote a series of pamphlets called, The Crisis, in order to rally troops against Great Britain. Later Paine wrote for the Providence Gazette and suggested a federal constitution be written to replace the Articles of Confederation. Paine was beginning to struggle financially and requested Congress pay him because of the work he put in for the Revolution. Congress granted him with $3,000 and a farm in New Rochelle, New York.
In 1789, Paine was in Europe when the French Revolution was occurring and he wrote, The Rights of Man, in support of the revolution, but was imprisoned for 10 months in France because he opposed the execution of King Louis XVI. While imporisoned he wrote The Age of Reason declaring his disbelief in all churches and religions. Paine returned to the United States in 1802 and in 1809 he died in New Rochelle.
-www.ushistory.org/Paine/
James Gordon Bennett (1795-1872)
ReplyDeleteJames Gordon Bennett is most widely known as the first editor of the New York Herald. He was born on September 1st 1795 into a Catholic family, and was sent to a Catholic seminary where he developed a love for writing and literature. It was his experience there that inspired his interest in the Journalism industry. His first published work was a tribute to the renowned French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, and was featured in a small Scottish Journal. After this, he began work with Aaron S. Willington, publisher of a South Carolinian newspaper called the Charleston Courier. After Bennett left his work with the Courier, he set of to New York, where he worked as a freelance writer, as well as a writer for the democratic newspaper New York Enquirer in 1827. In Bennett’s opinion, the style of the Enquirer was very grey and boring. His encounter with letters written by John Quincy Adams encouraged him to develop a style of writing that was witty, breezy and chatty. His style of writing was seen as refreshing and gave the traditional Journalistic style of writing a new front. He mixed storytelling with analysis, and that is what the audience found most appealing about his writing. Bennett was greatly inspired by the penny press, and launched his own penny press paper called the New York Herald. In this newspaper, Bennett covered many controversial issues and stories in which he incorporated his colorful writing style. One of his most popular pieces was the murder case of prostitute Helen Jewett in which he conducted the first ever newspaper interview.
Bennett signifies drastic changes in the way journalists write. He introduced a style of incorporating personality and covering controversial topics, which are very important to the trade of journalism today. If Bennett were afraid to step out of the comfort zone, there would be no such thing as eye catching human-interest journalism.
Sources: American Journalists, Mr. Lincoln and New York, HarpWeek
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts to Josiah Franklin, a British immigrant, who worked as a soap and candle maker. He did not have enough money to send Ben to college however, so Josiah pulled him out of school when he was 10. Ben worked for his father until he turned 12, then he became an apprentice for his brother James, who was a printer. As an apprentice, Ben became a printer and did many odd jobs, such as handing out pamphlets, delivering orders and typesetting. When Ben was 15, James founded the New-England Courant, which was the first truly independent newspaper in the Colonies. Ben’s work never got published in the paper, so he wrote satirical articles signed by ‘Silence Dogood’, a middle- aged widow, which was really a false persona. James was less than thrilled to find out that Ben was the author and ended the series. Their relationship would eventually sour and at 17, Ben left for Philadelphia, and after working in many printer shops, he traveled to London to better himself in printing. When he returned in 1726, his friend Hugh Meredith suggested that they start a printing business, and in 1729, he published the Pennslyvania Gazette, which became wildly popular. He also published Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732, which was written under the stage name, Richard Saunders. His works made him wealthy enough to focus on creating inventions, such as bifocals, the concept of ‘paying forward’, the flexible urinary catheter, and of course his famous kite experiment, which led to him inventing the lightning rod. He later would become a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, making him one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. Today he is honored with his portrait on the $100 bill.
Francis Preston Blair was born on April 12th, 1791. He was well known for his work in the field of journalism and politics. Blair graduated from Transylvania University with intentions of becoming a lawyer. However, he decided to turn his attention to journalism and shortly after partnered up with his colleague Amos Kendall. He began writing for Henry Clay, but due to some discretions he realigned himself with Andrew Jackson. After Jackson was elected president he became a critical part of Jackson’s kitchen cabinet. Under Jackson, Blair became the editor of the Washington Globe. People knew him as the organ of the Jackson organization. He ceased his editorial duties in 1849 and started looking towards more political aims.
ReplyDeleteAfter his work with Jackson, Blair started to endorse many US candidates for the presidency. He supported Martin Van Buren of the Free Soil Party and in 1852 supported Franklin Pierce. In 1856 he helped establish the new republican party and attended the first meeting that took place in Pittsburgh. In the 1860 convention Blair supported candidate Abraham Lincoln, and played a vital role in the president’s ascendance to the White House. Following the re-election of Lincoln, Blair used his political ties in the confederacy to attempt to make peace with the Southern States. Is ploy did not work, and only insulted the members he sought to parley with. When the war finally ended, Blair became a huge supporter of the Reconstruction policy instituted by president Andrew Johnson. Before his death in 1876, Blair rejoined the Democratic Party despite being a founder of the new Republican Party.
Francis Preston Blair did not only set the standard for journalism in politics, he played important roles behind the scenes for many presidents in our history. Without his help and support the history of politics would be very different from the system we have in place now.
American Journalists
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/chron/civilwarnotes/blair1.html
-Jordan Cyrus
Frances (Fanny) Wright (1795-1852) was born in Scotland. Fanny Wright became famous for being an American social reformer. She wrote and acted in plays but gained a wider reputation as the author of American travel literature which became extremely popular in Europe. After her parents died when she was two years old, Frances grew up under the care of her relatives in Scotland. While living with her uncle, a professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow College, she indulged in the college’s libraries and became interested in reading the colleges books about the United States, which was newly independent. After touring the United States and writing “Views of Society and Manners in America” she decided that she would move to the States, at the age of 23.
ReplyDeleteIn the States she established land where she recruited slaves and abolitionists to join her in trying to reach her goal of creating a southern settlement where slaves could work for profits, towards their emancipation. Her settlement never reached that potential and she eventually paid to transport the slaves to Haiti where they would be free. Then she moved to a utopian society in Indiana. Attracted to the egalitarian theories of Robert Owen, Wright ventured to his Utopian community in New Harmony, Indiana. There she edited the New Harmony Gazette (later renamed the Free Enquirer) from 1828 to 1832. Wrights Paper promoted equality for women, the end of capital punishment and imprisonment for debt, and other social reforms, although she could not bring herself to endorse the antislavery movement. She gave up both her editing and lecturing careers following the birth of her first child. She also began to give anti-clerical lectures, in which she recommended the abolition of capital punishment, and advocated for women’s rights. She focused specifically on the need for birth control and liberalized divorce laws. After having her marrying and having her child she took herself out of the spotlight, only doing small lectures occasionally. Wright and her husband eventually divorced, he taking custody of their child. Wright died in Cincinnati in 1852.
Sources: American Journalists; www.librarycompany.org
~Darrin Brown
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ReplyDeleteWilliam W. Seaton (1785-1866)
ReplyDeleteWilliam W. Seaton was a dominant journalist, influential humanitarian, and controversial rebel leader in early 19th century Washington, D.C. Born in King William County, Virginia, Seaton was taught the art of printmaking, which he then applied to a career in journalism. At 18, Seaton started his career in politics and journalism as assistant editor of a small Richmond newspaper. As his experience and talent grew, Seaton relocated to edit more established papers. After editing the Petersburg “Republican”, Seaton purchased his first paper, the “North Carolina Journal”. The North Carolina was relocated, and Seaton moved to Raleigh to join a paper titled the “Register” under editor Joseph Gales. Seaton established a strong connection with Gales and later married his daughter.
Having established a connection with the Gale family in North Carolina, Seaton moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a business partnership with brother-in-law Joseph Gales Jr. The two established the only report of congressional proceedings, a paper titled “National Intelligencer”. This collaboration powered Seatons journalism career and influence in politics to grow.
Seaton continued his activism in politics and served as a board member on the Washington Board of Alderman. Seaton’s rooted position in politics and news allowed him to become a major player in the Whig party “rebellion”, and was elected Mayor of Washington in 1840. During his 10 years as Mayor, Seaton continued to be a highly influential politician and humanitarian, advocating for change of many civil problems including the development of a standard educational system.
Although Seaton’s position as Mayor ended after 10 years and he later was forced to sell his renowned paper “National Intelligencer”, his influence in journalism, politics, and humanitarian reform continued. Seaton died of skin cancer in 1866, but his legacy as rebel politician and dominant journalist remains.
-Michelle Davidson
Elias Boudinot
ReplyDeleteElias Boudinot was born in 1802 in what is currently Calhoun, Georgia into a prominent family of the Cherokee nation. As a child, Boudinot began his education at a Christian school in present day Georgia. Elias was an exceptional student and this prompted his parents to send him to further his education in Connecticut at the age of 15. While at school in New England he renamed himself after a prominent caucasian philanthropist and supporter of Native Americans. Henceforth he was referred to as Elias Boudinot.
As Elias progressed in years, he fell in love and eventually married a woman of English descent in New England. This marriage was extremely controversial and lead to the closing of the school that he was sent to at the age of 15. Elias, seeing how he and his family were treated and also looking at prejudice state of the U.S., believed that indian removal was inevitable. He made it his life's work to gain as much rights as he could for Cherokee’s in particular, in the midst of what he considered the inevitable. Boudinot was one of the few native's who subscribed to acculturation; he wanted to prove to the U.S. government that his people could assimilate into the culture that America was developing.
In May of 1826 Elias Boudinot appealed in the First Presbyterian church in Philadelphia for funds to establish a Cherokee newspaper. This appeal, accompanied by an informative tour made by Elias and his wife Harriet to northeastern cities, lead to the first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix being published in 1828. Elias was the first editor of the newspaper , which was published in both English and Cherokee. He aimed to showcase Cherokee achievements and also build unity within the nation of his people during a time period when the pressure for indian removal was very high.
In closing, Elias Boudinot was extremely influential during the period of removal to the west and is heralded as the founder of the Native American press. His efforts did not go unnoticed, and while the injustices that comprise the early history of the U.S. did prevail in many senses, Boudinot's work as a journalist did show that his people were intelligent and allowed for them to fight for their rights (i.e. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in which the supreme court ruled in favor of the Native Americans and their claims to land that was rightfully theirs.) Elias Boudinot died in 1839 in present day Oklahoma.
-Lyle Stewart
American Journalist: John Peter Zenger (1679 - 1745)
ReplyDeleteBasic Background:
He was born in Germany in 1697 and moved to the United states in 1720 at age 13 with his mother. Journalism career started when his mother apprenticed him to a printer at the time called William Bradford who was printer of the New York Gazette. Bradford taught him how to “set type and roll the hand presses” (American Journalists Textbook, pg 11) which was a device for printing papers at the time. He set off to establish himself as printer himself, some years later. He married Mary white in 1719, who died leaving him with their infant child. He then moved from Chestertown MD, where he and his wife had settled, to New York, and remarried Anna Catherina Maulin.
Career and Trial
After working for One year with his teacher William Bradford, He set up his own business, printing political and religious pamphlets. In 1734, Zenger was hired by Morris; a chief justice in the supreme court at the time, who had been dismissed by Governor William Cosby. Morris sought to revenge on the governor and thus, he set up a newspaper called “The New-York Weekly Journal”, and hired Zenger as his printer and editor. The newspaper aimed at attacking the government and ridiculing the governor. In 1734 chief Justice De Lancey indicted John Zenger for libel. In November of 1734, Zenger was arrested and thrown in jail for 10 months. His trial took place on August 4th, 1735 and his charges were Seditious Libel. His lawyer, Andrew Hamilton argued that although these offensive articles had been published, there were no grounds on which to consider them as libel because the content of these articles were true. Hamilton advocated for liberty of the press. The jury found Zenger not guilty and this ruling “was a landmark victory for freedom of the press” (historybuff.com/library/refzenger).
Other Facts
• True Freedom was not experienced until the passage of the First Ammendment on Dec. 15, 1791, but printers were freer to print their honest opinions (ushistory.org/us/7c.asp).
• Zenger’s first Lawyer was James Alexander who was disbarred by the judge De Lancey for attacking the governor of tyrannical disregard of the laws of England.
Tongwa Aka
Horace Greeley's upbringing echoed that of many great journalist during the 19 century. Before moving to New York in 1831, Greely was a printer's apprentice in in East Poultney, Vt. In 1834, Greeley became one of the founding editors of The New Yorker (a magazine still in circulation today). Greely, a liberal “Whig” frequently published politically charged articles on issues such as national development. The Whig party was founded the same year (1834) as The New Yorker. Greeley's political reach was valuable to several politicians during this era. He provided weekly campaign coverage for New York politician Thurlow Weed during the 1838 and 1840 elections and publicly supported New York Governor William Seward -- a relationship that was beneficial to both parties. Greeley's career in New York is an early representation of the intricate relationship between politicians and the media.
ReplyDeleteIn 1841 Greeley founded The New York Tribune, which became the dominant Whig party newspaper. The Tribune was widely read and incorporated a large staff (some Europeans), who in addition to the Whig party, represented the views of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Along with it’s high quality political reporting, the Tribune became popular because of Greeley’s moral values. A reflection of his upbringing, Greeley frequently voiced his opposition to liquor, tobacco, gambling, prostitution, and capital punishment. He also advocated free common-school education for all and opposed women's suffrage. During the early 1850’s, Greeley questioned the views of his fellow “Whigs” (mainly towards slavery, which Greeley was against) and went on to become one of the founding members of the Republican party. Greeley was one of the leading voices of “antislavery persuasion” in the North, “advocating early emancipation of the slaves and, later, civil rights for freedom” (Encyclopedia Britannica). In 1872, Greeley was nominated for President by the Liberal Republican Party, and unfortunately died before the electoral votes were final (but won 40% of the popular vote). “Greeley, who published a prodigious trove of cogent articles and editorials, came to be considered the outstanding newspaper editor of his time” (Encyclopedia Britannica).
-Jeremy Ramlagan
Samuel E. Cornish (1795-1858)
ReplyDeleteSamuel E. Cornish was born in Delaware in 1795 to parents of mixed race. He rose up to become a leader amongst the free African American community in New York City after spending some of his young adult years in a large community of freed blacks in Philadelphia. It was there in New York City that Cornish organized the first congregation of black Presbyterians. In addition to being a minister and abolitionist, Cornish was also a journalist and publisher.
Established in 1827, Freedom's Journal became the first African-American newspaper. Cornish raised the money to hire John B. Russwurm to be the paper's editor. The paper was intended to reach out to the African-American community in particular as it noted and published the important occurrences among the black community. Those occurrences includes deaths, births, and marriages and included notable African Americans. The paper also included local and international news and was circulated throughout 11 states in addition to Canada, Europe, and Haiti. More importantly, the paper was intended to offset any racial commentary from other local papers.
Despite the good intentions the two editors initially had, they began to quarrel amongst themselves. They argued over the issue of colonization of blacks in Africa, which Cornish disapproved, and this ultimately led to him disassociate himself from Freedom's Journal. Russwurn continued to edit the paper until 1829. He left for the independent African nation of Liberia where he extended his talents and published the Liberia Herald. Cornish then regained control of the paper and changed the name to Rights of All. He only published it for another six months.
After his years in publishing and journalism, Cornish continued to be heavily influential in the African-American community. He went on to work on behalf of the New York African Free School. He acted as a middleman between school administrators and the parents of African American students. This was often a very tense relationship and he helped facilitate between the two.
Samuel E. Cornish was most definitely an influential figure for both the black community and early publishing. He took advantage of the liberties he had as a free man and advocated for African Americans. Through writing, he was able to convey messages to the greater community and let the world know about his community.
Sources:
- American Journalists
- https://www.nyhistory.org/web/africanfreeschool/bios/samuel-cornish.html
~ Michael Brathwaite
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ReplyDeleteWhile watching President Obama’s State of The Union speech I was intrigued by a few of the topics he covered. First, I thought it was interesting that Obama touched on climate control. I hardly ever hear politicians backing up global warming so I liked the fact that Obama shed some light on the environmental issue. He explained that we need to stop believing that the many natural disasters occurring are coincidental; they’re happening for a reason. He also touched on utilizing better forms of energy in order to reduce our carbon emissions harm the environment. Obama mentions bringing down the cost of wind and solar energy in order to make it more affordable for the general public.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama also spoke about Medicare and immigration reform. The Affordable Care Act in already in place and is helping slow down the rising cost of Medicare. When talking about immigration, Obama stated that we need higher security along our Southern borders. By reducing illegal crossings we can focus on the immigrants who want to become citizens legally.
The last thing that caught my attention was this quote: “What makes a man is not the ability to conceive a child, but the ability to have the courage to raise one.” I loved the fact that the President was touching on the subject of poor parenting. There are so many children who are raised by single mothers, and it’s about time someone said something to try and change that. The fact the President brought this up in his speech made me gain a lot more respect for him.
One of my keen observations was before the President began to speak. I love how close he and Michelle are, and the fact that they blew kisses to one another before he began touched my heart.
- Madison Moore
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ReplyDeletePresident Obama’s State of the Union Address this year went very smoothly and many good points were brought up in order to promote change in the United States. For his actual speech, Obama mentioned a number of relevant topics that he is working towards to improve our society. Some of these topics included: health care, immigration reform, housing market, education, energy, climate change, environment, and the economy. Within each of these topics, Obama gave his opinion on the current situation, along with a few relevant statistics, and then proceeded to tell the nation how he wanted to see these changes enforced. For example, on the education segment of his speech, one aspiration that he hopes will be fulfilled was high quality pre-schooling to every child, regardless of the socio-economic status of the parents. I felt the changes that he is striving for would make our country a lot more united and superior. Additionally, all these advancements will develop our status as a union and will make our state of the union stronger and more powerful.
ReplyDeleteDue to myself watching a good amount of the pre-speech coverage, I gained a solid perspective of how the media covered the speech. One particular aspect of the media coverage I felt was worth mentioning was the conversation during the President’s entrance into the hall. I found it interesting how the broadcasting network chose to continue coverage while Obama entered, instead of switching it to the audio of the hall itself. It resembled a play by play instead of a live event.
One thing that caught my eye from the speech was the amount of standing ovations that Obama received. After every little segment, it seemed that those who were in favor stood and clapped for him. I found this very interesting and worthy of note.
-Brandon Beam
President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address of his second term touched on many important concerns that currently occupy the minds of America’s citizens. The President began his speech by quoting John F. Kennedy: “The Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress.” The theme of and call for cooperation between the Democrat and Republican parties permeated the entirety of Obama’s speech.
ReplyDeleteHe reported the positive achievements accomplished during his previous presidential term, but didn’t gloss over the negative aspects still outstanding in today’s economy; he highlighted the problems we face as a nation: the need for tax reform and the removal of tax loopholes and deductions that the wealthy one-percent receive in order to help the middle class thrive, provide better quality healthcare to those who really need it, and secure retirement for all Americans. He emphasized the importance of creating more jobs, bringing work to our own shores instead of shipping manufacturing and production overseas. He made pleas for more research and development to increase wind and solar energy, lessen gas/oil dependency, and the combat of climate change.
Another major emphasis was education reform and the changes needed to improve the quality of education our children receive and, through that, improving their chances later in life. Other important issues were immigration reform, the Paycheck Fairness Act, the end of the war in Afghanistan, and gun control.
The speech received over 1.36 million Tweets on Twitter, with spikes throughout; Tweets topped at 24,000 per minute when the President discussed raising the minimum wage and middle-class opportunities. Other topics commented on were the need for legislation on gun violence (23,700 Tweets/minute) and early childhood education (19,000 Tweets/minute). In a widely acknowledged observation, Speaker of the House John Boehner did not stand at all during the course of the speech.
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ReplyDeleteOne theme that President Barack Obama touched on in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night was to pass the immigration reform. He urged the Congress to send him the reform bill within next few months so that he could sign it as quickly as possible. He believed that the joint effort between his administration and other related bureaucracies could reduce the rate of illegal crossings to the minimum and help illegal immigrants to obtain their U.S citizenship through easier bureaucratic process.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, President Obama encouraged American people to move toward sustainability. By acknowledging the consequences of climate change, he told the Congress that America should produced and utilized cleaner energy such as wind and solar energy in order to lessen the impact of global warming. He stressed that he would take action for the sake of the children and their future if Congress failed to come up with feasible solutions dealing with the issue.
Moreover, President Obama proposed high quality early childhood education system for American kids. While mentioning about high school, he recommended newly designed curriculum focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math. He said that the country would be better off if more people pursued higher education.
According to “Twitter”, there were over 1.36 million tweets referring to the State of Union speech that night. The highest record was 24,000 tweets per minute sending out by Twitter users when President Obama addressed his stance on middle class opportunity and minimum wages.
For my keen observation, I noticed that when President Obama spoke about voting rights, the camera switched its focus on a 102 years old woman, Desiline Victor. Even though she looked old and feeble, she seemed very happy and applauded for President Obama as a symbol of being supportive.
In Obama’s State of the Union address, he addressed a lot of topics in a very rhetorical way. One thing he mentioned that was relevant to me as a college student, was the Higher Education Act. He talked about making education more available and efficient for young people. He also mentioned rewarding colleges for being affordable and developing a new tool for students and parents to find out which colleges are the most affordable. There needs to be an emphasis on education in math, science, and engineering he claimed; the areas where there is work available in this country. He also talked about gun control laws, with the added emotional effect of having the families of those who were victimized by guns. Other things he talked about included taxes, Medicare, and climate change, The Violence against women Act, etc.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting thing I noticed was that Michelle Obama was sitting next to the mother of the girl from Chicago who marched in the inaugural parade who was shot and killed.
I watched the State of the Union address on NBC, which tends to be to the left. There were tweets at the bottom of the screen after the speech was over, mostly in support of Obama’s statements, although I’m sure there were people who disagreed with many things that he said. I also noticed that Boehner, the speaker of the House rarely clapped for the president and never once gave him a standing applause. The media chose to cover Obama mostly, and only focused on other people in the crowd when they were relevant to his speech, such as showing the CEO of apple when he mentioned making MacBook’s in America again. Overall, it seemed like a pretty standard speech.
The State of the Union
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the president's state of the Union address was very well done. he touched on very pertinent issues, all of which i expected to hear. The parts which caught my attention were his views on immigration reforms. I appreciated the fact that he is ready to pass a bill in favor of immigration and also administer strict tactics to increase security at the country's borders, while ensuring that legal residents get treated accordingly.
Another interesting part of the speech which caught my attention was his talk about gun control and how victims deserve a vote in congress to establish laws on the issue of personal guns. That part of the speech was very emotional because the friends and families of diseased victims, and even some victims themselves were present.
With regards to media coverage of the SOTU address twitter gathered over 1.36 million tweets between the beginning of the president's speech and the end of Florida Senator Marco Rubio's response. The highest recorded number of tweets sent per minute equaled 24,000.
With regards to keen observations, I noticed that Michelle Obama didn't stand up when her husband thanked her for all her support. The first lady is adorably humble. Also. i loved the 102 year old lady who struggled to stand but couldn't and so she just sat there and clapped as hard as she could! Barack Obama's hair is turning all white! The Speaker of the House; John Boehner, never stood up through out the entire speech, and i only remember him clapping at most once or twice! I found that irritating. Plus, he wore a mean-looking face almost the entire time!
State of the Union Address
ReplyDeleteMaggie Cassidy
For President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address, his buzz phrase was, “Let’s get it done!” Exclaiming this phrase with his booming voice after almost every talking point and standing ovation, Obama attempted to incite a spirit of encouragement in the civilian and governmental population. Often deemed as the “cool” President for hanging out with celebrities and being up to date on modern day culture, Obama gave the sometimes dull address a little kick, proving that he is a contemporary president.
If you did not have a reenergized hope for our country after the way President Obama preached about voting for gun regulation, than you might not be patriotic at all. After a couple thousand words on the economy, environmental health, and minimum wage increase, Obama finally delved into the subject that has recently plagued Americans: gun control. After the unfortunately numerous shootings over the past decade, including one recently on our campus of College Park, Obama asked for the government to vote in favor of the ideas that him and Vice President Joe Biden have put forward in the past months.
The inciting mood that Obama kept going during his speech reached its pinnacle when he emotionally preached for all of the people affected by gun violence to have a vote in the situation. Watching and hearing the speech, you could feel the emotion the President had during his imploring of more strict gun laws.
With this emotional plea for gun regulation, it was shocking to find the CNN iPhone app alert my phone seconds after the speech that Obama focused on an increased minimum wage and faster troop withdrawal. It seemed like the media would just buzz over the gun issue. Unfortunately, people pay more attention to tragic events in the news more so than others, so I thought the media would pay most attention toward gun control.
The State of the Union Address
ReplyDeleteBarrack Obama raised many points that America has to deal with. From the well-known economic issues we have to face, which Obama suggests we need to boost the middle class and create economic equality. Obama suggests that we can do this not through larger government but a smarter government, one that cuts spending and raises taxes. Besides economy, Obama’s speech had many other key points from the expected gun control legislation to minimum wage to climate change. Obama’s main plan to tackle climate change is to end power plant emissions and create mandatory smart energy appliances for homes. Minimum wage, another main point in the address, is to be raised to $9 an hour. Obama’s support for this is that the wealthiest nation should have minimum wage that could support the cost of living. Finally, the gun control legislation brought a rather emotional story with it. Obama very emotional during this time told the story of a 15-year old girl who performed at his inauguration was shot very close to Obama’s Chicago home just a week ago. The media coverage of this event didn’t truly show bias until after the speech was over. Just searching on Google Obama’s State of the Union Address, the first news link I saw a day later was fact checks on the President’s speech done by Fox News. Fox News is known to be very conservative which just goes to show the true bias of media today. The fact check was very harsh, criticizing Obama for almost every figure he threw out there. One which I found very funny and interesting in the article was when Obama said we have created over 6 million jobs and Fox News goes on to say that he was in the ball park but just a little off. Overall I thought Obama brought up very strong points and did a great job at supporting them.
BLOG POST TWO: STATE OF UNION SPEECH
ReplyDeletePresident Obama presented an unforgettable speech discussing key topics that yielded a powerful impact on the nation. While this speech served as a recipe for the future, it seemed like a recycled version of last term’s policies.
Obama mentioned how high tech companies such as Microsoft had jobs given to more foreigners than Americans. Obama advocated for better education in the U.S. especially in the areas of math, technology, and engineering. He wants the children of America to be able to go to an affordable college and receive education that benefits them. He hopes that with such graduates, there can be more technological inventions and research that keep America progressing.
He also mentioned some achievements in foreign policy such as the withdrawal of many troops and the diminishing nature of war with Afghanistan. But he clarified that U.S. would not desert Afghanistan; he spoke about how America was going to try to avert the increase in obtaining and using lethal weapons.
Lastly, he cited several cases (such as the victims of the Connecticut shootings and Hadiya Pendleton) where gun violence was a major factor. Obama proposed that these victims deserved a vote to aid stricter legislation for gun regulation. Using these examples, he hoped to evoke pathos in everyone so they could see the effect of dangerous guns on the nation.
In The Washington Times, there was front-page coverage; many were debating the truthfulness of his points. One even referred to some points as “Pinocchios” (lies). Some reporters liked it, but some were taken back to the disappointments of last term.
What struck me was the way President Obama positively interacted with everyone in the room. The standing ovations that he received were also countless; his speech catered to an audience who seemed to agree with most of his ideas.
-Poojah Ganesh
JOURN200
February 13, 2013
Professor Henry
President Obama's State of The Union Address was a job well done, in my opinion, if we're talking about delivery. The president's speech contained a lot of exigency on topics like The troops' return from Afghanistan,the raising of the minimum wage, and women receiving equal pay to men. As I observed the crowd's reactions to the presidents address, It seemed that the majority of the people in the room responded positively to hi proposals. When the President said that The soldiers' will be returning back from Afghanistan and that He was going to end the war, the room was filled with applause and sounds of joy.
ReplyDelete“Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion — mostly through spending cuts, but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances.” The biggest problem I have with these claims that are made by our political leaders is that most people don't have a legitimate way of checking whether or not those number are accurate. The economy has been hurting for awhile and people are suffering, so if we hear that a crazy number like 2-4 trillion is being reduced in deficit, what does that mean for the average Joe? Does he/she get a raise? Does he/she get a raise? etc...
Gun control was also mentioned and to be frank, I think the country might be divided equally on this issue. President Obama definitely used a lot of pathos in His speech. He was able to connect to the audience emotionally by bringing up the horrible tragedies that occurred towards the end of 2012: Aurora, Sandy Hook, and the 15 year old that was murdered in Chicago after being one of the "privileged" ones who performed in the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.
One other important factor in the speech was the President calling on congress to work with him. We've been hearing the issue between congress and the president, seems like they are not meeting each other halfway. We the people are tired of seeing them act like a bunch of kindergartners. They need to start making moves instead of always fighting/sticking up for their "party" instead of the people.
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ReplyDeleteLast night, President Barack Obama addressed the nation during the State of the Union. Unlike other State of the Unions that I have watched in the past, I felt that Obama was very direct in his approach, outlining specific plans of action for the country, rather than using flowery rhetoric and symbolism. Going into the SOTU, the expectations were that Obama would focus heavily on the economy, namely unemployment and the debt ceiling. In reality, Obama proposed grand changes to various social issues.
ReplyDeleteObama proposed many ideas to the nation regarding domestic improvement. One idea that affects me directly was the proposed increase of minimum wage. Instead of the standard rate set by the government, Obama proposed linking minimum wage to cost of living. This means that in areas with higher costs of living, workers making minimum wage have a chance to make more, to cope with their expensive environment. Obama also announced that he plans on implementing major immigration reforms. While immigration reform is a hotly debated subject, Obama was keen on listing the limitations of his program, including the fact that immigrants must be tax payers in order to receive benefits. Lastly, Obama voiced his desire for stricter gun control. This includes stricter background checks for those purchasing firearms, and harsh punishments for those found reselling weapons to criminals. Obama said that he intends to put a gun control bill to a vote in Congress in the near future.
One observation that I had during the SOTU was the temperament of Speaker of the House John Boehner. Sitting behind the president, viewers could see Boehner during the entire speech. There were many times during the speech when the audience would give the president a standing ovation; however, Boehner rarely stood during these moments, and wore a scowl on his face for the majority of the speech.
-Dom Bello
President Obamas main theme of his speech was to reach out to each party in efforts to work toward a common goal. He first starts off by listing the many accomplishments that have been achieved in his four years of office as well as mentioning the progress America has been making so far. He covered topics such as the economy, war, Medicare, the job market, energy renewal, education, and the most relevant gun control. On each topic he touched an equal amount of time on but he mostly talked about how to get the economy up and running healthy again. President Obama devised reforms and acknowledged reforms of other parties of their efforts to better the economy such as McCain with his energy renewal plan.
ReplyDeleteI watched Obamas speech on MSNBC, which is a liberal network but I didn’t see any bias. The camera angles were pretty much on point with getting the reactions of the other politicians but it was, of course, mostly on Obama, Biden and Boehner. I noticed that almost every politician had a green ribbon on which was for the shooting in Newtown. Another thing I could notice was which politician like what Obama was saying and didn’t like what he was saying. Some politicians would stand and some wouldn’t for example when Obama mentioned the Paycheck Fairness Act designed for women. You would think each and every woman in that room would stand up but the camera zoomed in on three women who continued to sit down and one shook her head.
Overall, President Obama’s speech was well put together. He transitioned into each topic smoothly telling us what his plans were to fix the economy. His speech ended with thanking people such as Lt. Brain Murphy for making America a better, safer place to live.
-Brittany Goodman
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ReplyDeletePresident Obama used a lot of pathos during the State of the Union Address. He would use phrases like “this great country of ours” in order to make the viewer feel a unity in our people. To strengthen this one of the first things he talked about was our troops coming home which generated a powerful response.
ReplyDeleteAs a college student myself, his portion on educational advancement stuck out to me. He discussed establishing educationally advanced preschools that would help children get a head start on their education. He talked about how high schools needed to focus more heavily on sciences, engineering, and mathematics because those fields make the world evolve and have jobs in need of filling. He discussed colleges lowering tuition so that students wouldn’t graduate paying off substantial debts and so that more students would be able to attend college.
Another topic that stuck out at me was increasing minimum wage to nine dollars. I was hooked when he said that a family supporting two children on fulltime minimum wage-paying jobs would fall into poverty. For this I admire Obama’s concern for the everyday person.
I found it a little odd to see Obama so environmentally concerned. He first listed off the severity of the changes and what damage they have brought. Then he talked about pushing for more sustainable energy sources and how it would better our country both environmentally and economically.
The camera work stood out to me. Every time Obama would say something bold or powerful, the cameras would immediately turn to the audience members standing and applauding. I took this as an attempt to make the viewer feel as though they were in agreement with what was being said and feel a certain unity with the rest of the country.
-Ray Bryant
President Obama echoed some key points mentioned on the campaign trail last year. He stated that manufacturers have added 500,000 domestic jobs in the past three years. He also pledged that the U.S can use the fight against global warming to stimulate economic growth and threatened that But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will.” The president pitched the idea of forming “energy security trust” which would use revenue from oil and gas production to fund alternative energy technologies. Education is always a public concern and Obama suggested that every state should adopt high quality preschool programs. This is an interesting proposal because I feel like most students drift away from school work during grades 8-12.
ReplyDeleteThe President pointed out that America's immigration system is flawed. He suggested that immigration reform should re-evaluate the timeline immigrants that come here legally have to wait to obtain citizenship. Among other points, President Obama touched on increasing cyber security and curbing gun violence.
Most media outlets noted Obama's enthusiasm. Some were concerned that made too many big points with little details and also that there was virtually no mention of gay marriage rights.
The speech lasted an hour with 6,432 words. I thought it was interesting he did not once mention the word drone. According to NBC, he was interrupted by applause 79 times. Another interesting fact is that a cabinet member has to skip the speech to run the government in case a catastrophe happens. It was Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
- Jeremy Ramlagan
President Obama begins his speech on a strong note, getting a very loud round of applause after he brings up the great progress our nation has made in terms of the end of the war, improvement of the recession, and the improvement of the housing market, stock market and consumer and homeowner protections. He then goes on to describe the problems that America needs to overcome. One of the biggest issues he touches upon is the need to help the middle class grow, because according to him it is what drives the American economy. One area that he talks a lot about is the issue with healthcare and how we shouldn’t ask the senior citizens of America to be burdened by the deficit reduction while people in the upper class of America are not affected. As for media coverage, there is indeed the wide spread variety of different newscasts that have broadcasted his speech, such as CNN and Fox News, but there was also great coverage as well as feedback from different online News sources such as New York Times and Forbes. Twitter probably had the widest coverage, however, These news sources offered a very analytical view of the president’s speech so audiences could in turn think about what they heard from the president on a deeper level. When people read opinionated text about things that are greatly left up to interpretation, it can change their views and make them think differently about what they just heard. A keen observation from the state of the union speech was how interactive the audience was with the President. After he said anything about making our way to a better future, he got not only a round of applause, but a standing ovation, especially from democrats. I also loved the corny ribbon-cutting joke he made. It was hilarious because it didn’t get much of a response, just a restrained laugh here and there.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMike Brathwaite
ReplyDeleteState of the Union
Newly reelected President Obama delivered a powerful State of the Union speech this past Tuesday. He updated the American people on the most important issues that we as a nation face. The President’s introduction was extremely engaging: “Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress.” It is my task to report the State of the Union; to improve it is the task of it all.” He emphasized putting the nations’ interests before party interests and that we all must come together to truly reach goals and promises made. It was interesting to see which individuals the cameras focused on amongst the crowd throughout Obama’s speech. Most were Republicans. The President promoted many liberal Democratic policy ideas throughout his speech. He made it known that he is eager to get as much as he can from Republicans in order to put into play some of the policies he plans on setting in the near future.
President Obama touched on three key points during the duration of his speech. He focused on investment in our future, increased minimum wage, and faster troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In regards to investing in our future, Obama wants to continue to fund science and research projects rather than cut funds for them and to increase manufacturing on our own soil. In addition to those projects, he wants to invest in education and creating more new jobs. He also wants the people to invest in Medicare and to think about the generations of our future while supporting our senior citizens simultaneously. As for increased minimum wage, Obama wants to see the efforts of hard working Americans rewarded with future increases tied to the cost of living. “Reasonable compromise” is the only way to move forward according to the President and it’ll be interesting to see what ensues in his second term.
On February 12, 2013 President Barack Obama gave the much anticipated State of the Union Address. This is his first of his second term serving as the president of the United States. Many people predicted that he would focus greatly on the economy in his speech, while also talking about gun control. As expected he made those points as well as many others that will help to set the tone for his second term in office. President Obama started off with telling Congress that he “can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is strong”. A few of the policy ideas that President Obama has include 1.) Providing all low and moderate income 4 year old children with high quality preschool- the president proposes working with the states to make this a reality; 2.) Raise the minimum wage to $9- President Obama suggest that it is only fair that people that make an honest living should be able to live off of that living; and 3.) Launch a new commission to ensure access to voting booths—citing that no American should feel like they cannot vote because they cannot afford to stand in a long, lengthy, time consuming line, on Election Day. The president also touched on affordable college, women’s rights to making equal for their efforts, and bringing home 34,000 troops, and eventually ending the war by the end of next year.
ReplyDeleteIf you looked around as the cameras panned the room or even on the lapel of Vice President Joe Bidden sitting behind the president, you would notice that green ribbons frequented blouses, suit jackets, and lapels. These green blouses represented, and paid respect to Newtown and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. If you were paying attention you also noticed that the Republicans did not seem to be wearing them as much as the democrats and you would also notice that John Boehner Speaker of the House who was sitting next to Joe Bidden was not wearing a green ribbon.
Media did a good job covering the State of the Union Address. It was highly anticipated because it would set the tone for the next four years. Many channels covered it, and had discussions afterwards. Google even had a hangout where they discussed the speech. Also YouTube broadcasted the speech live and many journalist and media outlets took to twitter during the address to keep the public informed.
~Darrin Brown
This year's state of the union was as expected politically correct, influential, and well planned. The President appeared extremely comfortable, almost at home, as he spoke and maintained a non confrontational demeanor throughout the speech. Obama solidified through his welcoming yet stern disposition in this state of the union that he is a President of the people.
ReplyDeleteObama aimed to inform the masses as to his plans for the country in the upcoming months and more importantly throughout the course of his second term in office. The main topics that were covered in this years State of the Union are as follows: Sequestering Spending, medicare, taxes, the housing market, early and continued education, immigration, minimum wage, foreign affairs, and gun control.
The topic of the State of the Union that stuck with me the most was gun control. Amist the society that we live in, where University students are shooting each other without provocation, where the elementary school's to which house our countries budding future are now the target of sadistic maniacs, where guns, the great equalizer are being used to wreak havoc and cause social unrest; gun control is a topic that needs to be discussed in great detail. Obama adeptly covered the topic of gun control and you could see the pain in his eyes from the events that have happened to our country in recent months. The following is an excerpt from the portion of the State of the Union on gun control. “Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because they are tired of being outgunned. Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”
In general, Obama appealed to pathos, logos, and ethos, established exigence and in general had a great speech. I think that he carried himself as a president of the people and truly conveyed that he has our countries best interest in mind.
President Obama’s State of the Union Address
ReplyDeleteAs I watched President Obama’s State of the Union address, I came to notice three big topics that President Obama put emphasis on. One of them was of course, gun control. He called for a series of gun control measures and tougher laws and he even mentioned the victims of the Newtown shooting and other victims of gun violence to show his commitment. “They deserve a vote.” Another issue he focused on was troop withdrawal. He proclaimed that 34,000 troops would be bought home and that the war in Afghanistan would be over by the next year. He also mentioned the names of a few soldiers who were in the audience. Also, he spoke much about Congress. Not only did he have much to ask of them, but he also urged them to work together and to solve problems, in spite of which party they belong to. As he put it, “The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem . . . but they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party.” As for his speech, I personally thought it was a great speech and he delivered it exceptionally well. He did well to highlight important people and examples to prove his points, and plus he added some humor as well. He received so much that sometimes he had to pause for it to stop before he continued. In contrast to his previous State of the Union Addresses, he was more direct and straightforward this time, which I think helped with the delivery. One thing that I noticed however was that the Speaker of the House, John Boehner never smiled once during the speech and he rarely stood. The only time I saw him smile was when the speech was over, although I was not surprised.
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this year was a very well written and thought-out speech. He appeared as confident as ever and left the viewers with an optimistic view of the future. Unfortunately, once you read past the buzzwords and meticulously phrased anecdotes, the whole performance amounts to nothing more than rhetoric. There were minimal references to actual measures the administration was planning to take and a myriad of feel-good stories and innocuous calls for action. One of my favorite lines from the night was when President Obama referenced “raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans” and was met with a loud applause. This is comical because the vast majority of the politicians, and countless other attendees in the audience, are in fact part of that so-called “1 percent”. The message of the Occupy protesters was spun and used by the president that they are actually protesting. Additionally, Obama mentioned a handful of corporations by name. He proudly remarked that Apple was going to begin producing Macs in the US again. One look at Apple’s political contributions shows that they gave over 10 times more money to Obama than the next closest recipient, Mitt Romney. President Obama also mentioned that Siemens would like to bring more jobs to America if we fix our infrastructure, which was one of his biggest focal points of the night. Not surprisingly, Siemens gave the Obama campaign more than triple the money they gave Mitt Romney’s. The remaining two corporations Obama commended were Ford and Caterpillar for bringing jobs back from Mexico and Japan, respectively. Call me a cynic if you must, but I don’t think we as a nation should be commending the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment (Caterpillar) and a leader in the pick-up truck and automobile market (Ford) for bringing their operations back to the US when president Obama made it clear we are going to be focusing on rebuilding infrastructure. They are acting with regard for their bottom line and nothing more.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama offered a lot of hope for Americans in his State of The Union address. He opened up with talking about all the things his administration had accomplished during his first time during his presidency. He highlighted how the country's deficit has been cut by almost 2.5 trillion dollars and how America is well on its way to "stabilizing" its finances. He also asserted that there was a lot more work to be taken care of if America hopes to be the country it once was.
ReplyDeleteMuch of what the president covered had to do with the economy. He highlighted the fact that many people are still out of work and that jobs need to be created to help American families. Jobs that had been previously been shipped overseas need to come back to America so that Americans could have more job opportunities. He also spoke of better education in high school so that when people graduate high school they will be better prepared for the job market in the world.
He spoke of returning troops home because of the Al-Qaida forces that we have made less of threat. Even though they have shifted locations to some African nations, he believes that we can help countries fend for themselves. If we bolster their security and help train these countries armies, we will be able to bring the majority of our troops home.
The last big topic he spoke of was global climate change. I think he made a good case of trying to encourage citizens to be greener and cut down the use of poisonous gases. He used hurricane Sandy as a pathos argument to resonate with the audience so that they might realize that this problem is not something that will go away if we just ignore it.
My keen observation is Obama's effort in his speech to endorse bipartisanship. He may have had a political agenda in his speech, but the way he kept repeating the fact that both parties need to be working together so that they can better the country and not whats best for democrats or republicans.
Throughout the speech the media gives different view of the speech, the main one being head on at Obama, but does occasionally switch it up. There were points where the camera view was at the audience from behind Obama’s head, or viewing from another point in the audience to portray the audience and the arena the speech is taking place in and to show some audience members standing, while others stayed seated. The camera also zoomed in on specific, politically important people, in order to show their reactions to things Obama was saying.
ReplyDeleteOne major point that Obama made was the importance of keeping the government’s promise of providing a secure retirement. He said that they were going to keep this promise by bringing down the costs of Medicare to what is actually necessary, and raising taxes on the wealthiest one percent. Another important point he made was the significance in creating a growing economy that creates middle class jobs. One program that will aid in the creation of these jobs is the “Fix it First” program, which will give people jobs by working on fixing bridges. One other point that stuck with me was the necessity to improve education. He suggests making preschool free, improving our high school educations so graduating students can enter the work force, and making college more affordable.
One keen observation I made during Obama’s State of the Union address was that Vice President Biden was wearing a green ribbon, as were some other members of the audience. I searched for what reason they were wearing these and and article by The Blaze stated that they were in honor of the gun violence that occurred in the Newtown shooting. The green and silver on the ribbons represent the school colors of Sandy Hook.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/12/what-are-those-green-ribbons-people-were-wearing-during-the-state-of-the-union-speech/
Obama’s speech moved and captivated many Americans on Wednesday night. Delivering a speech focused on building a better America, President Obama declared more innovative and progressive acts for the future of this country. Obama’s speech focused on improving our country’s policies rather than on foreign policies. He mentions the rebuilding of roads, bridges, ports, schools, pipelines, etc. This will not only improve our societal needs but will create more jobs. The president acknowledges the need to create more jobs within our country rather than manufacturing goods over seas. A better America means more energy efficiency. Less pollution and more natural gas will form a healthier, more productive America. Along with improving the economy comes new reforms. Obama suggests the need to focus on the education of the younger generations. To stress education and make it affordable for every kid to seek an opportunity to go to college, that is the goal. By 2014 Obama announced the coming home of 34000 more troops. He promised a future with less war and more aid to other country’s military and governments. The most significant and heartfelt declaration made by the commander and chief was the last nine minutes on gun control. The first time speaking about the initiative, Obama protested the need for more gun laws referencing many tragedies that have happened to regular citizens because of the lack of restrictions.
ReplyDeleteMedia had allowed the President’s speech to be live-streamed like never before. The internet allowed posts, blogs, polls, and comments to be instant. The media allowed citizens to reply to Obama and give feedback to his thoughts as he was speaking. I watched the speech on Washington Post online and while the speech was being given and after the website posted polls I could take agreeing or disagreeing with Obama’s initiatives.
One observation I made while watching the speech is, although Obama had many standing ovation. The only time Obama had every person in the room standing up is when he mentioned the bill stating all women and men would be paid for the same job per hour equally.
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ReplyDeleteDuring President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday, February 12th, he covered a wide range of topics, from jobs, gun control, Afghanistan, global warming, immigration, to education, leaving no stone unturned. In the light of recent events, the issue of gun control was prominently discussed.
ReplyDeleteWhen it came to his future plans for gun control President Obama urged banning assault weapons and ammunition magazines which carry more than ten rounds and conducting background checks for every firearm purchased. Many news outlets, including ABC, described Obama's discussion on gun control as “emotional.” President Obama's words on the issue certainly were emotional when stating, “Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.” Obama then went on to say his plans for gun control are “common sense.” With congress, he will have an uphill battle pushing these laws through, along with more of his ambitious plans including his tax-reform plan and increasing minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00.
As for the response on social media, CNN put together a round up of tweets, trying to grasp the public's general consensus on Obama's speech. The network asked viewers to tweet their thoughts using the hashtag #tweetoftheunion. The collection of tweets were mixed, to say the least. Some responses expressed their economic concerns to gun violence, while others formed their thoughts less eloquently, such as Dylan Wittenstrom's tweeted response: "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah and blah."
Despite a fair amount of tweets reported by CNN, it is difficult to say whether they do capture the public's overall response, considering a staggering 33.5 million tuned in to watch Tuesday's State of the Union address.
What stood out to me the most was Obama's speech was, although he described his proposed gun control laws as common sense, many outlets reported his plans as an "uphill battle."
- John Giroux
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50140940n
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/13/us/irpt-tweet-of-the-union-storify/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/obama-makes-plea-gun-control-state-union/story?id=18481837
Because of Obama’s inability to campaign for a third presidential term in the next election, President Obama was able to fully advocate for liberal change in his State of the Union address without having to aim to please both conservative and liberal audiences for future votes. That said, Obama delivered a powerful, emotional, and empowering speech last night pushing for radical change in controversial areas including gun control reform, immigration policies, and education reform among other topics.
ReplyDeleteA key point discussed was the topic of education reform. Obama talked about making higher education more affordable and attainable nationwide and changing public education curricula to better prepare students with high school diplomas for the workforce. He compared our nation’s high schools to those of Germany, which prepare students in the fields of engineering, cyber studies, and other subjects necessary for higher paying careers. This point discussed was most relevant to my life as a college student, since more affordable tuition helps to avoid future debt.
One of the most prevalent media outlets used to cover the SOTU was the use of social medias . I watched a live stream of the speech on MSNBC website, which featured a live feed of tweets about the SOTU. I also followed my twitter timeline during the speech to analyze media coverage, which was almost all tweets from news sources or President Obama’s twitter account repeating key points of the speech or analyzing points discussed and fact-checking. I thought this coverage of the SOTU was positive in helping to inform the public about the address and influence Americans to watch and get involved.
A key observance was how many times and which people stood up to applaud Obama during his speech. It was easy to point out Obama’s supporters and the Republican politicians based on which parts of the speech they were applauding for and when they were seated. It was interesting to see most of the audience supporting Obama, giving him a standing ovation for many emotion evoking parts of the address.
William Randolph Hearst was born on April 29, 1862 in Sans Francisco. He was already set before he was born because his mother was a philanthropist and his father was a millionaire mining engineer. It seemed like he was destined to be a Journalist because he father already was. In 1880 his father, George Hearst purchased the San Francisco Examiner, which William gained control of in 1887. He gave his new owned paper the motto “Monarch of the Dallies” He had the best writers work for his paper such as Mark Twain, Jack London and Ambrose Bierce.
ReplyDeleteWilliam moved to New York where he bought out The New York journal, which his mother helped him buy. He had hired writers like Stephen Crane and Julian Hawthorne. The New York Journal was in fierce competition with Joseph Pulitzer’s paper, which ultimately created yellow journalism. Yellow Journalism was overly exaggerated stories or headlines; this was a strategy to gain more readers. William eventually created almost thirty papers in major American cities at his greatest peak. Some of the papers were the Los Angeles Examiner, the Boston American, the Atlanta Georgian, the Chicago Examiner, the Detroit Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Washington Times, the Washington Herald, and of course his first paper the San Francisco Examiner.
Besides becoming extremely successful with his career he was also involved in politics. He was elected as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives. He also ran for mayor and governor of New York but had no luck. William died in Beverly Hills on August 14, 1951 at the age of 88. He had five sons who followed their father’s footsteps into the lucrative media business. Later down on the road Williams son, William Randolph, Jr., became a Pulitzer Prize-winning Hearst newspaper reporter and still to this day his legacy carries on.
-Brittany Goodman
BLOG POST THREE: RICHARD HARDING DAVIS (1864-1916)
ReplyDeleteCompared to the “Bohemian” look-alike journalists that were hard drinkers, witty, and “free spirited”, Richard Harding Davis was not your typical journalist. This “clearly sober” journalist, born in 1864 in Pennsylvania, was interested in writing action that would captivate his readers. Mostly he was known to “personify the romance and adventure” in journalism and wrote with a passion for narration (Ritchie 148).
Originating from a background of writers, Davis was an innovative individual who did not do well at school. He was a “cub reporter” for Philadelphia Record and later on a reporter for Philadelphia Press. It was there that he wrote about the Johnson Flood, which eventually landed him a job for New York Sun for his terrific writing. His minutely descriptions of events in his story helped his name become so strong.
His works included “Cortlandt Van Bibher”, “Gallagher”, “About Paris”, and “The Trap”; in most of his works, he was his own “model”. He also landed a job as a managing editor in Harper’s Weekly, one of the best magazines in the nation.
This newfound fame caused him leave his position and write for the New York Journal; he engaged in war correspondence. He covered the “the Spanish-American War in Cuba, the Greco-Turkish War and the Boer War,” (“Richard Harding Davis”). He wrote about how United States should aid the independence of Cuban rebels from Spain (Ritchie 150). Mostly, his articles worked to rouse public opinion.
In 1914, he was “captured by the German Army in Belgium” because he was believed to be a “British spy”. He was almost executed, but was able to convince them that he was an American reporter (“Richard Harding Davis”). Overall, his poignant narration gained him widespread fame, causing him to be one the most exceptional journalists of all time.
WORKS CITED:
• "Richard Harding Davis." Richard Harding Davis. Soylent Communications, 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.
• Ritchie, Donald A. "Richard Harding Davis." American Journalists: Getting The Story. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. 148-52. Print.
• "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.
-Poojah Ganesh
JOURN200
Professor Henry
February 23, 2013
ReplyDeleteJoseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-born American journalist who is best known for his part in the creation of "yellow journalism" and the excellence in literature, music composition or newspaper journalism award named after him, the Pulitzer Prize.
Pulitzer was responsible for the rise of yellow journalism, a style of newspaper reporting that emphasizes sensationalism over facts. It began when tension erupted between Pulitzer, who was publishing a newspaper called New York World and his competition, William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal. The publishers launched a bidding war over a cartoonist and ended up with a sensationalist style in their profit-driven coverage of world events that contributed greatly to creating public support for the Spanish-American War.
Pulitzer and Hearst devoted incredible attention to the Cuban struggle, sometimes accentuating the harshness of Spanish rule and printing rousing stories that were false. This sort of coverage, complete with bold headlines and creative drawings, sold a lot of papers.
The publishers didn't cause the war, but yellow journalism is significant to the history of U.S. foreign relations because it showed that the press had the power to capture the attention of a large leadership and to influence public reaction to international events. Pulitzer strived to make his paper interesting and filled them with pictures, games and contests. He filled them with crime stories and stunts, trends which influenced the popular perception of yellow journalism.
Towards the end of his life, Pulitzer left Columbia University, his alma mater, with two million dollars in his will to open the world's first school of journalism. After his death, Columbia organized the awards of the first Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, which have since expanded to recognize literature, poetry, history, music and drama.
George William Curtis
ReplyDeleteGeorge Curtis was born on February 24th, 1824 to a wealthy family in Rhode Island. His mother died when he was two years old, and he moved to New York with his father and brother as a teenager, and attended a boarding school (Brook Farm) taught by private tutors. He then moved with his brother to Concord, Mass. so they could be surrounded and influenced by great intellectual minds such as Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne. They spent 3 years in Mass. and then traveled to several countries including Europe, Syria and Palestine.
Upon his return to New York in 1850, the now accomplished Curtis started work on "Nile Notes of a Howadji" and quickly became a society favorite. He also landed a job working for the "New York Tribune," and the then popular "Putnam's Magazine." He would later become a columnist for both "Harper's Monthly" and "Harper's Weekly" in 1863. Curtis combined his journalistic talents with interest in literature, which led him to write many volumes such as "Potiphar Papers", and several other poems and novels.
In 1855 shortly after his marriage to Anna Shaw, he became heavily in debt, due to the failure of "Putnam's Magazine," and his focus changed to social interest and public opinion. He became one of the founders of the Republican party, though which he actively participated in presidential campaigns and won public admiration as a good public speaker. He gave his "Doctrine of Liberty" speech at Harvard n behalf of President Lincoln.
Later in 1871, he was appointed by President Ulysses Grant, to head a commission which was in charged of civil service reforms, He led this commission for several years and later broke out from the republican party which he had founded and led in 1884. He remained president of the National Civil Service Reform League and of the New York Civil Service Reform Association for several years and played a very significant role in the evolution of civil rights. He gave many speeches including his James Russell Lowell address which he delivered in New York and Brooklyn on May 1892 and February 1891 respectively. Curtis was an advocate for educational reforms.
He died in August 1892
sources:
http://www.answers.com/topic/george-william-curtis
hhttp://www.andrewjohnson.com/11biographieskeyindividuals/GeorgeWilliamCurtis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_William_Curtis
Nellie Bly was an American journalist, novelist, and inventor who broke barriers as well as world records. She was born on May 5, 1864 and raised in rural Pennsylvania under the name Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. Her first writing job, at the Pittsburgh Dispatch, was only offered to her because the editor mistook her writing for that of a man. She convinced the editor to hire her and began writing under the pen name Nellie Bly. Years passed and Bly was not satisfied with her assignments so she moved to New York City. That was where she walked into the offices of the New York World and accepted her most notorious and remembered assignment. Bly agreed to fake insanity in order to be institutionalized and investigate reports of neglect and misconduct at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum. The plan worked and the story became an instant success. According to her investigation, the food was inedible, the water was dirty, and the patients were made to sit all day without and protection from the elements. Additionally, the patients were harassed and beaten if they didn’t comply and, after speaking to her fellow patients, she firmly believed that some were as sane as she was. Afterwards, Bly was invited to join a grand jury that impelled an $850,000 increase in the budget of the Department of Public Charities and Corrections. A year later, Bly decided to attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, based on the fictional book. She succeeded in a world record-breaking 72 days, which remained unbroken for 3 months. The story attracted quite a large readership and guessing her arrival time was the subject of a competition in the newspaper. Nellie Bly’s “claim to fame” is her unwillingness to accept barriers and injustice. Her report on the women’s asylum is the epitome of investigative journalism.
ReplyDeleteFrederick Douglass (1817-1895)
ReplyDeleteFrederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey) was born to a black slave mother and an unknown white father in 1817. Raised by his grandparents, he was left at Wye Oak plantation house when he was six years old. He was sent to Baltimore to work as a house servant; his time at this new home was far better than at the plantation, saying that he was actually “treated as a child” instead of like a pig like he was on the plantation. The mistress at this house, Sophia Keitley, taught him how to read and write.
In Baltimore, he met Anna Murray who helped him plan his freedom from slavery and lent him money for a train ticket to New York. Once the two had escaped to the North, they were married and this is when Frederick changed his name from Bailey to Douglass in order to avoid being arrested as a fugitive slave.
In 1839, he attended an anti-slavery meeting and spoke in public for the first time. His earnestness impressed listeners and helped get him into an abolitionist newspaper. From there, he became an anti-slavery orator and published his first autobiography. He eventually started his own newspaper, The North Star and was an advocate for “all rights for all.” In 1860, Douglass supported Abraham Lincoln for presidency and, a few years later, shut down his publications in order to return to the south to recruit black soldiers for the war. Years later, he founded another newspaper, the New National Era. He became the president of Freedman’s Bank, the marshal of D.C. (making him the first black appointee confirmed to office by the U.S. Senate), and the minister of Haiti. He spoke and remained active in public life up until his death in 1895.
Maggie Cassidy- Ambrose Bierce
ReplyDeleteAmbrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on June 24, 1842 in the settlement of Horse Cave, Ohio. Growing up, Ambrose’s father Aurelius had a farmhouse library that Ambrose stated was the foundation for his educational influence. At the age of seventeen Ambrose enrolled at the Kentucky Military Institute and studied topography.
Once the Civil War started, Bierce enrolled as a private in the Ninth Indiana Infantry. As a private he fought in legendary battles such as: Shiloh, Corinth, and Chickamauga. After an injury, he left the army and moved to San Francisco as an employer of the U.S. Mint in 1867.
While in San Francisco, Bierce started to read and write often. He sent in his literary works to local newspapers; the San Francisco Newsletter was the first to publish his works. In 1868 James Watkins retired from the Newsletter and made Bierce the managing editor. Bierce then took over the column “The Town Crier” where he criticized the city’s hypocrites and shady politicians.
After a stint in England with his family, Bierce returned to San Francisco in 1875 and became the editor of the Argonaut in 1877. This publication is where Bierce’s claim to fame column titled “Prattle” came about, where Bierce wrote in a similar style to the “The Town Crier”.
In 1887 William Randolph Hearst hired Bierce to write for the San Francisco Examiner. In 1896 Hearst asked Bierce to go to Washington, D.C. to cover/upset a railroad-funding bill. Bierce covered the event, and managed to help defeat the bill. Bierce asked Hearst for a transfer to D.C. where Bierce wrote for the Examiner and Cosmopolitan magazine.
In 1913, after the death of his son and estranged wife Mary Ellen, Bierce headed to revolutionary Mexico for one last hurrah in his life. After passing through Chihuahua, Bierce wrote in a letter that he was going to an unknown destination. That was the last time anyone heard from Ambrose Bierce.
Bibliography:
"The Ambrose Bierce Project." The Ambrose Bierce Project. Ed. Craig A. Warren. N.p., 2005. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. .
Ritchie, Donald A. American Journalists: Getting the Story. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.
Henry Watterson was born on February 16, 1840 in Washington D.C. Watterson's father Harvey Magee Watterson was a representative from Kentucky. Watterson was educated by a private tutor until he went to the Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Philadelphia. After which he became a correspondent and editorial writer for the democratic newspaper the Washington States.
ReplyDeleteIn 1861, Watterson became the editor of the Republican Banner in Nashville Tennessee. Later that year he entered the Civil War as a soldier for the Confederacy. He then worked for General N.B. Forrest as an aide, followed by being on the staff of General Leonidas Polk. Finally, he was the chief of scouts for General Joseph E. Johnston’s army. In 1862-1863, Watterson became editor of the Chattanooga Rebel.
Following the War, Watterson moved to Louisville, Kentucky. There he bought the Louisville Journal and combined it with courier to make the Louisville Courier-Journal. He would be at the helm of the business for 50 long years. In 1876, he was temporary Chairman of Democratic National Convention as well as being elected to the Fourty-fourth Congress. He came to be elected due to the death of Edward Y. Parsons. He would serve only from August 12, 1876 to March 3, 1877 rejecting any reelection.
In 1919 he sold all his shares of the Louisiana Courier-Journal to Robert Worth Bingham to work on his memoirs, all though he would write occasional editorials. Watterson died December 22, 1921 in Jacksonville, Florida. Watterson was best known for his personal journalism skills, mainly coming off with his editorials and his overall personality.
Kate Field
ReplyDeleteBased on American Journalists, Kate Field was born in October 1, 1838 with the name Mary Katherine Keemle Field but she went by the nickname Kate. She was a very talented and intelligent woman who was keened on singing, writing, lecturing, and acting. Since high school, her ambition was to woo popularity for her lifetime because women lacked opportunity to move upward social mobility and to pursue personal achievement during the nineteenth century. Luckily, her wealthy uncle and aunt were willing to be her financial supporter who adopted her after her dad died.
After years of figuring out what she desired, she decided to go into journalism. According to “Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist” by Gary Scharnhorst, Field’s first job was a correspondent for Boston Courier while she followed her uncle to Italy. In Europe, Field established a good friendship with an eminent British novelist, Anthony Trollope, who later introduced her to other renowned novelists including Elizabeth Barrett, Robery Browning, George Eliot etc. Later, she decided to go back to America to find her mother who lived in Boston.
Field was also a significant political activist who advocated for women’s voting right and called for the support of Manifest Destiny and U.S. imperialism. In 1877, she promoted Alexander Graham Bell and acted as the spokesperson for the company from Bell Telephone to Anheueser-Busch. In 1890, she established her own newspaper, Kate Field’s Washington in the capital. Her other accomplishments included writing for different newspapers and magazines such as Springfield Republican, New York Tribune, Chicago Tribune and Atlantic Monthly.
She suffered from pneumonia and died while on her vacation to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1896. Apparently, her national weekly stopped its publication as she was the only editor of the press.
Charles Anderson Dana (1819-1897)
ReplyDeleteCharles Dana was a prestigious American journalist during the Civil War era. During his tenure and career as a journalist, Dana became rather cynical, and distrustful of people in society and demonstrated what came to be known as somewhat brutal writing. His strong and simple mechanisms made him a journalist mainly focused on human interest. This “style” of writing was exercised in Dana’s publications. He became editor of Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune in 1847 and became the editor and owner of the New York Sun in 1867. Among his writing in these papers, his scornful claim to fame became recognized once he initiated grudges amongst different situations. Whether they were on a personal level, or on a broad political scheme, Dana carried out this bitterness in his writing and kept up his unique reputation in the field of journalism. However, his status as a national figure became distinguished subsequent becoming the editor of the Sun. An additional point regarding Dana’s career was his focus on the anti-slavery movement during the American Civil War. It was stated that Dana’s intelligence and expertise for journalism, along with a fully functional and professional staff of writers, helped shape certain policies in efforts to outlaw slavery in the United States. This fact was particularly important and relevant, especially considering the time period in which Dana wrote his editorials. Following his departure from the New York Tribune, Dana actually became involved in the war and became a special agent in charge of investigating fraud. All this being said, Dana leaves behind a legacy of lively and spirited journalism that people remember as being one of a kind. His successes speak for themselves and his independence and professionalism in the field made him one of the most renowned journalists of all time.
Brandon Beam
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJulian Ralph (1853-1903)
ReplyDeleteJulian Ralph is a great role model for aspiring journalists. His self-motivation and eagerness to be the first to catch the latest story can be inspiring for all ages. He was born on May 27, 1853 in New York. After living for some time in New Jersey, Julian dropped out of school and took a job as an apprentice for the New Jersey Standard. This sparked Ralph’s career, which would peak very early in his life. By the age of 19 Julian got his first job with the New York World (1873-74) where he covered a variety of stories.
Julian accomplished so much throughout his life with barely any education. Ralph worked for many publications including the New York Daily Graphic (1874-75), the New York Sun (1875-95), and the New York Journal (1895-97), just to name a few. Ralph spent the most time with the New York Sun where he became well known in the journalism world. He was known to “wear disguises to collect his facts” and would go anywhere and do anything necessary to get his story. Other reporters during his time would say that he “could write five thousand words about a cobblestone” because of the depth he presented within his articles.
In 1895, Ralph moved to London to become a foreign correspondent for the New York Journal, but due to dissatisfaction, quit. He then became a war correspondent for the London Daily Mail where he covered the Boer War in South Africa. He eventually moved back to the States and covered the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis for the Brooklyn Eagle. This was his last story. He died on January 20, 1903 in a New York City boardinghouse shortly after his last story was published.
Madison Moore
Sources:
American Journalists
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/julian-ralph-dlb
Jane Cunningham Croly, better known as her pseudonym Jennie June, was born December 19th, 1829. She was born in England where she lived until the age of 12 when her family decided to move to New York. Being well educated she looked to find a job in journalism. After endlessly searching she was hired by a publication named Noah’s Sunday Times where she regularly wrote a column on arts, cooking, and fashion. Times were difficult for a woman journalist in that she was mostly limited to writing things that were directed towards a female audience. Journalism brought Jennie June to her husband, David Croly.
ReplyDeleteHer husband hired her at New York World where she was in charge of the woman’s department from 1862-72. During this time she also held a position as editor of Demorest’s Monthly Magazine (1860-87). She became widely popular with her tips and critiques on fashion and many women looked to her expertise in cooking. Croly believed in the traditional roles of a woman and wanted to further that by helping woman take charge of the house. She thought all women should be able to cook and keep up with a house.
She began organizing meetings among women for educational purposes; they covered house duties, fashion, and the arts. Croly began supporting career women and in 1869 formed the club Sorosis and later the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1890. These clubs were intended to be a place where professional women could share sophisticated ideas and thoughts on literature and art. Today Croly is regarded as the “Mother of Woman Clubs”. In 1994 Jane Cunningham Croly was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame for her work on strengthening the role of a traditional woman and providing organizations where women could meet and grow together.
-Ray Bryant
Sources:American Journalist Book, gfwc.org, greatwomen.org,
In the mid 19th century, Benjamin Perley Poore was a newspaper correspondent, editor as well as an author. According to www.surrat.org, he was born on November 2, 1820. He began his career editing for the Boston Bee and the Sunday Sentinel. Later in his life he provided information and entertainment on the politics of Washington D.C.. In 1847 he began writing for the Boston Atlas and in 1854 he wrote for the Boston Journal, which is where he gained his national fame. He worked with the Boston Journal up until 1883. While he wrote for the Boston Atlas and the Boston Journal he was writing under the pen name “Perley.” While writing for the Boston Journal he wrote daily articles on breaking news. He also wrote “waifs” weekly. Waifs are what Poore defined as “things found and not claimed,” or in other words it was gossip and social news dealing with Washington D.C..
ReplyDeleteThroughout his life Poore was involved in many diverse types of writing; not just newspaper articles. Along with working for newspapers, Poore worked as the printing clerk for the U.S. Senate and wrote out many government documents. His most famous government writing was the Congressional Directory. Along with this, Bookrags.com stated that Poore published several novels and biographies of famous men that lived during his time. However, these novels and biographies are not nearly as remembered or important as the government papers that Poore published, which still remain important today.
Poore wrote many articles on subjects such as politics, military and social affairs. In addition to this he wrote articles on a huge variety of topics ranging from agriculture to autograph collecting. Benjamin Perley Poore died on May 30, 1887 at 65 years old, but will be remembered for his writing forever.
http://www.surratt.org/documents/Ben_Perley_Poore.html
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/benjamin-perley-poore-dlb/
Edwin Godkin (1831) was an Irish born journalist and newspaper editor. He attended Queen’s College, Belfast, before moving to London to pursue law (Queens University is now one of the UK ‘s leading research universities ). Instead of practicing law in London, the outspoken Godkin landed his first job as a journalist for the Daily News. In 1856, Godkin came to the United States and worked for several newspapers and within 11 years, became editor of The Nation (1865). As Irish immigrants were generally looked down upon by Protestant Anglo Americans, Godkin was essential to Irish movement for equality. The Nation advocated legislation that brought equality in American and distributed wealth (especially state funds for education -- protestant vs. catholic). The Nation supported ending inequality for women and African American (progressive for the time) and at its peak reached about 10,000 readers. Godkin was editor of The Nation for 16 years. In 1881 he sold the paper to Henry Villard (German journalist and philanthropist) and went to the New York Evening Post, where he became the editor in chief from 1883-1899. Edwin Godkin died in 1902.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy Ramlagan
Jacob Riis
ReplyDeleteJacob Riis served a unique role in the history of journalism, different from the usual, typical journalistic purpose. Riis was born on May 3rd, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark. He was the third of fifteen children. In his early years, Riis worked as a carpenter in Copenhagen until he emigrated to the United States in 1870. He settled down in New York City. Unable to immediately find stable work, Riis often ended up sleeping in police station lodging houses. This connection would eventually become relevant to his future career.
Riis became a police reporter for the New York Tribune in 1877. His background and experiences with poverty drove hime to do the work that he did. With his newly acquired job, Riis wanted to make the most of his writing talent and convey his message to the public of the hardships of poverty. He explored the city’s worst tenement houses and slums, photographing and writing articles for newspapers and magazines. His work highlighted everyday life in poverty; crime, unsanitary conditions, fire hazards, child neglect, and many other negative aspects that the general public was unaware of or simply failed to attend to. Riis argued that the “poor were victims rather than the makers of their fate” and tried to make a difference through his work. He only worked for the New York Tribune for a year and then became a photo journalist for the New York Sun. Riis spent 11 years there, from 1888 to 1899. In addition to his work in journalism and reporting, he published several books. His focus on poverty and efforts to draw attention to it attracted important people such as Theodore Roosevelt. Riis took him on personal inspection tours that influenced the future president’s concern for social welfare.
additional source:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAriis.htm
~ Mike Brathwaite
Horace White (1834-1916) was known for his spokesmanship for liberal causes and his influential position in the Chicago Tribune staff, as well as his coverage of slavery in Kansas, senate debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, and other civil war news.
ReplyDeleteBorn in New Hampshire in 1834 to an affluent family, White was born a representative of the New England Emigrating Company. This company obtained the Beloit lands for settlement, and Horace White later graduated from Beloit College in 1853 with a respected education in economics and journalism. This reputable degree allowed White to become an editor of The Chicago Evening Journal soon after college. White’s career in Journalism flourished from there and he then became an agent for the New York Associated Press. When the fight over slavery in Kansas broke out during the mid-nineteenth century, White gave up his editorial positions in the Chicago Evening Journal and the New York Associated Press and devoted his career to covering the happenings in Kansas.
After his move to Kansas, White was offered a position in The Chicago Tribune staff, a highly renowned paper. He later became a stockholder and editor in chief of The Chicago Tribune. White’s prior success in journalism led him to join Abraham Lincoln’s team as he covered the Lincoln-Douglas debates for senate and then became one of the Chicago Tribune’s correspondents during the Civil War.
Later in his career, White became editor of The New York Evening Post, where he continued to spread his liberal influence in journalism and on his coverage of news. Horace White held his stocks in the Chicago Tribune until death and lived a very affluent, influential life in which he immersed himself in knowledge of current events, American politics, and internal observation of America’s military and war conduct.
Thomas Nast was considered to be "the Father of the American Cartoon". Born in 1840, Nast attended The National Academy of Design in New York from age six to fifth teen. At the early age of fifth teen Nast got his first job as a draftsman for "Frank Leslie's Illustrated NewsPaper". There he was recognized for cartoons he had illustrated and they were published in "Harper's Ferry" in 1859. He then published cartoons for "Harper's Ferry" on and off the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteIn 1860 Nast moved to England for "New York Illustrated News" and soon became part of "The London Illustrated News". At this time Nast became most famous for his political involvement. Nast was famous for his drawings on the Civil War in his impact in supporting the North. President Lincoln himself referred to Nast as, "our best recruiting sergeant".
Nast political involvement only grew from there. Nast played a key role in the downfall of Boss Tweed, a man that had used his money and power to control New York City's goverment. Nast's drawings had a powerful influence over the public. Many of his political cartoons had the power to persuade public opinion. Nast played major roles in the publicity of elections and he is believed to be credited for the elephant being the symbol of the Republican party. He is also responsible for the modern version of Santa Claus.
Nast is most famous for his cartoons that catered to the middle-brow New York society. In an era where cultural ideas and revolutions were booming, Nast capitalized on his media exposure. His illustrations were able to create a public image and form of media publicity for whoever he was drawing. His drawings had so much impact that he remained involved with "Harper's Ferry" until 1886. After the end of that career Nast was involved in little media success.
Sources
http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/keller_web.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404083/Thomas-Nast
James Gordon Bennet Jr. was born in New York City on May 10th, 1841. His father was the New York Herald publisher James Gordon Sr. Bennet Jr would be known throughout his life as Gordon Bennet so others could distinguish the difference between himself and his father. Gordon was mainly educated in France, where coincidentally he would spend a decent portion of his life. In the 1870's he took over his father's paper and became the publisher of the New York Herald. He also funded numerous expeditions including that of Henry Morgan Stanley. Stanley went on a two year expedition to find David Livingstone. Bennet then opened the Paris herald after leaving New York due to scandal of his erratic life and the end of his engagement to Caroline My. Bennet funded another expedition For George Delong through the Bering Strait to the North Pole. Delong and the 19 man crew died, but their voyage increased number of readers of the Paris Herald. The Paris Herald would eventually be known as the International Herald Tribune. With William Mckay he co-founded The Commercial Cable Company in an effort to challenge the monopoly of the Transatlantic Cable Company.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to being a very influential journalist, he was also a very big sports fanatic. He funded the first polo match in America, sponsored numerous automobile races, and created HotAir Balloon races that are still active today. He was a very big sailor as the youngest commodore in his country club's history. He even was served on a ship during the civil war. After marrying at 73, Bennet died in 1918 in France.
sources: http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Bennett_James_Gordon_Jr.html
Adolph S Ochs was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1858. Born to two Bavarian immigrants, Ochs was raised to value education from a young age. His father was fluent in six languages, and also worked as a teacher and rabbi in the South during Reconstruction. While Ochs lived in Knoxville, Tennessee for a large portion of his life, his family chose to support the Union during the Civil War. In 1872, Ochs began working as a "printers devil" at the Knoxville Chronicle. Other members of Ochs' family worked at the paper to help augment their fathers salary; the Chronicle came to be the only pro-Reconstruction, Republican paper in the city of Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteAs Ochs grew older, he began to take a greater interest in newspapers, borrowing money to invest in the Chattanooga Times, and starting his own commercial paper known as The Tradesman. At the age of 38, he took a leap of faith and bought major shares in the New York Times, a failing paper with lots of competition in the city. After years of financial reconstruction, the paper was saved from bankruptcy. By dropping the price of the paper from ¢3 an issue to ¢1, readership increased from 9,000 readers at time of purchase, to 780,000 during the 1920s.
Ochs emphasized moderate, non-partisan reporting, which stood in stark contrast to the other highly biased papers in the city. The combination of non-bias reporting and excellent coverage of foreign affairs made the New York Times one of the most widely read papers in the US, with readership far exceeding New York City. The Times was also unique in the fact that it released weekly or quarterly supplements with the paper, such as the New York Times Book Review and Magazine, and the Current History Magazine, started during WWI.
Joseph B. McCullagh was an immigrant from Ireland who is primarily know for giving personal experiences from the battlefield of the Civil War. He began his career just at the age of eleven working as an apprentice printer for the Freedman’s Journal. By the age of 17, he was publishing articles for The Missouri Democrat, impressing the editors with his quality and quantity of work. His eagerness and ambition were the driving forces that made him successful and brought him many opportunities.
ReplyDeleteHe was a Unionist to the extent that Southern sympathizers began making threats against his safety. He moved to Missouri and ran a daily newspaper and gave first hand accounts of the war. This was his claim to fame where people realized how knowledgeable he was and how quickly he picked up and retained information. He was allowed to conduct an interview of President Andrew Johnson because of his reputation for being unbiased. This was unheard of. The publication that McCullagh put out are known for helping the president remain in office after being up for impeachment.
McCullagh shows the role that journalism plays during major events in history. He is worth remembering because he exemplifies, the American attitude of being able to accomplish whatever you want no matter who you are; as long as you have to drive and the motivation to work hard and accomplish your goals. He also introduced printing nothing but the truth in his publications, which is something that we struggle with today. It is difficult not to be biased in your writing, but McCullagh came as close as you can get, and that is what separated him from other journalists. His “unrelenting but unprejudiced” journalism earned him his fortune.
Mark Twain, originally known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was a successful reporter turned novelist in the 19th century. He was born in Missouri, and was part of a broken and impoverished family. When Twain was 12, his father died and he was forced to leave school. Twain later joined a printing press and found himself getting immersed in reading and writing. He was said to always be found “scribbling” in his free time. Twain’s first article was published in a newspaper that his brother Orion edited. Twain then ventured off to various places throughout the country, including New York, St. Louis and Iowa. While on his adventures, he eventually became an apprentice to a pilot for a steamboat company in Missouri. After he quit his job as an apprentice, he followed his brother out west where he began writing humorous sketches signed with the name “Josh” which suggested that he was a prankster. In one article he wrote that was published in the Virginia City, Nevada newspaper Territorial Enterprise, he adopted the pen name Mark Twain. The first piece he wrote was a satirical piece that poked fun at an exaggerated piece of rhetoric spoken by a Western Politician on the Fourth of July. This uncovered his talent as a humorous and witty writer, which was a style that was perfect for future novels. Twain moved around from paper to paper, writing for various papers in California, which sent him on jobs in the Middle East and Europe. Eventually he was sent to Washington where he attained a large amount of material for future novels. He wrote humorous accounts, of course, but he was also enraged by some of the hypocritical and arrogant behavior that he witnessed. He gathered all of this information and wrote his first novel: a political satire called The Gilded Age, A Tale of Today, which made it clear that things had to be changed in the political realm. He then settled down, and wrote his many famous works such as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn—some of America’s most famous literature. Twain was one of the only journalists to successfully become a novelist, and many journalists tried to follow his example, but failed.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/
http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/index2.html
American Journalists
Edward Bok was born on October 9, 1863 in the Netherlands top a Dutch family. At the age of six he and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York. His family was very poor so after school Bok would wash windows, and collect coal to help support his family. Edward Bok slowly began to climb the ladder to bigger and better things. In 1882 he began working for Henry Holt and Company, and in 1884 Charles Scribner’s Sons. Hde started reporting on childrens parties for the Brooklyn Magazine and he eventually became advertising manager. Then from 1884 to 1887 he was editor of the Brooklyn Magazine. In 1886 he founded The Bok Syndicated Press which included material written specifically for a women audience. The newspapers that subscribed to his service began publishing what was called a “Bok page” which other papers copied and renamed a “womens page”.
ReplyDeleteHe moved to Philadelphia in 1889 and became editor of Ladies Home Journal which was published by Cyrus Curtis who had a publishing empire. Later Bok married Cyrus Curtis’ daughter Mary L. Curtis. Bok was the editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years (1889-1919). By using polls of his readers, he revised the format of the publication, which led to an increase in readership, and influenced other similar journals directed at women readers to do the same. During his editorship the Journal became the first magazine in the world to have one million subscribers and it became very influential. Edward Bok is also an award-winning author. His autobiography, The Americanization of Edward Bok, which expressed his philosophy of publishing, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1921.
Bok has some other notable accomplishments such as creating Bok Tower Gardens in Florida in 1929. This is historic landscape gardens, unique Singing Tower carillon and mansion which offers opportunities’ for artistic, cultural , and personal , and spiritual enrichment. He wanted to create a place that would “touch the soul with its beauty and quiet”. He also is credited for coining the term living room for what was previously always called the parlor or the drawing room.
Edward Bok died January 9, 1930.
www.britannica.com
~Darrin Brown
Lawrence A. Gobright was born May 2, 1816 in Baltimore, Maryland. There is not much information about the early life of gobright, and even his date of birth is sometimes questioned by historians. It is however known that as a matured adult he found his way to Washington D.C.; In 1834 when he made that move, it was a relatively small town. During the infancy of his time in our nations capital, Gobright worked as a printer and then as reporter for the Washington Globe. His job was to record the debates in the House of Representatives and Senate, to be published. By the time the 1840's were coming to a close, associated press hired Gobright as a reporter for all things relating to the U.S. government, specifically the House of Representatives.
ReplyDeleteGobright was known for his unbiased reporting of the news, something that was not very common during his time period. So much so that President Abraham Lincoln trusted Gobright was and honest and truthful reporter and used his Associated Press reports to teach the american people. Overall, Gobright helped establish a base for the media to build upon itself to what we have today, where biased and unbiased information coincide, but are obvious as to their target. Lawrence Gobright did monumental things for objective reporting.
AsIn his senior years, Lawrence was a senior correspondent in Washington. Younger journalists called him “Pop” and “Father Gobright.” He was respected by all. Having been so close to president lincoln, he was one of the first to be aware of his assassination in 1865 and one of the first to report the horrible news to the nation.
Lawrence A. Gobright retired from the Associated Press in 1879 and died on May 14, 1881, (other sources say May 22, 1879) at his home in Washington, D.C. He died May 22, 1879 in Washington D.C..
Lyle Stewart
- The Advertiser . Com
- American Journalists text book
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
ReplyDeleteWinslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1836. His mother, Henrietta Benson Homer, was a watercolorist and his very first teacher. His father, Charles Savage Homer, was a restless businessman who always sought to make money. When Winslow turned 13, Charles went to California to try and strike it rich, when that failed, he left his family and went to Europe to try and make more money, which also failed. After he graduated high school, Charles arranged for Winslow to be an apprentice to a lithographer, and he also did commercial work until he was 21, when Winslow then became an illustrator; a job that would forever change his life. He worked for Harper’s Weekly Magazine, and he also contributed to other magazines, such as Ballou’s Pictorial and the Boston magazine Every Sunday, at a time when the market for illustrations grew quickly, which made him quite successful. In 1859, Winslow opened up a studio in New York City, studied at the National Academy of Design, and after training himself for a year; he was painting and producing oil works. Harper’s Weekly sent him to the frontlines of the Civil War, which bought him public attention for his sketches and paintings of war life. Although war work was tiring and dangerous, it was worthwhile. He would sketch battle scenes, camp life, women, Lincoln’s Inauguration and other examples of Civil War life. So gifted an artist, he was, that he could tell stories through his pictures. After the war, he would focus his art on everyday life, mainly young women and childhood. His works appeared in the magazines he worked for, and they made him one of the most successful artists in the late 1800’s. Today, some of the best museums in the world showcase his art.
MEDIA PARTICIPATION PROJECT
ReplyDeleteFor my Media Participation Project I decided to write an article for the Diamondback. I started by attending a story assignment meeting on Sunday night where three stories that needed to be written were assigned. I was assigned a story about the launching of a website, but another boy wanted it as well so I allowed him to take it because I decided I wanted to pitch my own story about something that was interesting to me.
On Friday, while many of my friends were waiting in line for the Duke game, I decided that would be the perfect article to write about because it was something current and relevant. I emailed the editor of the Diamondback and began writing the article. I got a quote from my one friend who knew students who waited outside for two nights. In addition to this I walked over to the Comcast parking garage and took a picture of all the students lined up in the parking garage before they were actually permitted to line up outside of the Comcast Center.
After I finished writing the article I sent it in to the editor who said she would publish my article in the paper, however the next day she realized one of their writers had done an article on the same story and couldn’t publish it. Even though my article was not published, I thought this was a good experience. Going into this class I was just interested in seeing what journalism was like and possibly considering it as a major. After doing this story I am fairly confident that journalism is what I would like to major in. It was fun to do the investigative work for the article and get it in while it was still current and I actually enjoyed completing the project.
Mary Clemmer Ames:
ReplyDeleteMary Clemmer Ames was born in 1831, surrounded by a family of writers and poets. It was not until 1865 when she divorced her husband, a minor federal official, that she started her successful career in journalism. Ames began her column which appeared in the New York Independent, “A Woman’s Letter from Washington,” which she wrote until 1884. She became the highest-paid female journalist of her time, writing about “women's rights to political corruption,” criticizing the excess of Gilded Age Politics, to the idea of a woman's “place”. Ames did not live in that place she wrote about, considering she was divorced and made a living on her own two feet, but she did always feel women had purer morals than men.
Before she died at the young of 53, Ames accomplished many achievements in her somewhat short career. By 1879, there were only 20 women correspondents out of 166 correspondents allowed to cover the Congressional press galleries, and Ames was one of them. However, Ames considered herself better than her fellow female journalists. Obviously this was a time offering journalistic small opportunities for women, but Ames stood out during her time as a journalist. She wrote her famous column, “A Woman's Letter from Washington,” until her passing.
- John Edward Giroux
"First with the news"
ReplyDeleteDaniel H. Craig was born on November 3, 1811 in Rumney, New
Hampshire. Graig's grandfather fought in the American Revolution and his father fought in the war pf 1812. Craig had his roots firmly in England, and as a young man, he apprenticed in a newspaper office. Rather to go to work as a reporter for any paper, however, he saw that there was value in news as a commodity.
He could collect news from other sources and sell it to those who bought and sold stocks and bonds and who needed to anticipate how events might affect the markets.
In The late 1830s he went to Baltimore, Maryland, where he became associated with Arunah S. Abell, founder of the Baltimore Suns. Together they experimented with using carrier pigeons to carry the news from Washington to Baltimore. Craig later took this technique north to sell news from Europe to Boston newspapers. Six competing New York newspapers formed The New York Associated (NYAP) in 1846 to pool their efforts and expenses to collect news over the new telegraph. The telegraph lines did not yet extend to Halifax, however, and news still had to be shipped to Boston. Since the British ships docked for a day in Halifax before sailing on to Boston, The NYAP chartered a steamer, The Buena Vista, to leave Halifax as soon as it collected the European newspapers, reducing the delivery time by a day. Once again, Daniel Craig foiled the NYSP's plans by booking passage on the Buena Vista. Once again, his birds beat the ship with the news.
The New York newspapers went on and hired Craig after they realized that they could not defeat him. Craig accepted the offer because he realized the telegraph would soon make his pigeons obsolete. As the new Manager of the NYAP, Craig worked to expand its services beyond its six New York sponsors and "bring all leading presses of the country into one telegraphic news scheme," Craig wrote to the managers of all telegraph companies in 1851.
Society’s Critics: Ernie Pyle (1900-1945)
ReplyDeleteWhat was it about Ernie Pyle that made him so unique? Was it his passion for war or was it his dream to escape from the confinement of farm life? Well, Pyle went to Indiana University and studied journalism; instead of finishing school he became a reporter for La Porte (Indiana) Herald Argus. He soon became a reporter for the Washington Daily News but was recruited to copydesk for headline writing.
Next, he married Geraldine Siebolds, a civil service clerk. Together they settled in New York City. Pyle then began his job at the copydesk of the New York Evening World and finally at the New York Post. It was there that he became notorious for his headline writing.
The Washington Daily finally hired him in 1927 as a telegraph editor “in charge of the news stories that came in over the wires from the press services,” (Ritchie 221). Eventually the News made him an aviation reporter to cover the popular aviation news. His fruitful posts earned him the position of managing editor in 1931.
Having contracted the flu in 1934, he took leave and left with Siebolds to Arizona and California where he wrote about his travels; he became a vacationing columnist. He reached the peak of his fame by recording his travels across the nation.
As a war correspondent for World War II, he “lionized the infantryman” and “humanized the war” instead of romanticizing it (“Ernie Pyle”). His poignant, narrative articles about the war earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and inspired the film, The Story of G.I. Joe. Unfortunately, Pyle was “killed by a sniper fire in April 1945 on the Japanese island of Le Shima,” (“Ernie Pyle”). His incessant devotion in capturing the war was evident in death and for many years to come.
Works Cited
• "Ernie Pyle." Indiana University School of Journalism. Indiana University, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.
• "Ernie Pyle." Reporting America At War. PBS, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.
• Ritchie, Donald A. "Ernie Pyle." American Journalists: Getting The Story. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. 220-25. Print.
Poojah Ganesh
JOURN200
March 7, 2013
Professor Henry
Abraham Cahan (1860-1951)
ReplyDeleteAbraham Cahan was a socialist Russian-Jewish immigrant and resided in the Lower East Side of New York City. Cahan left his home country of Lithuania in 1882 and immigrated to the United States due to terror and persecution of Jews during the Marxist revolutions. As one of the first Russian-Jewish intellectuals during his time period, Cahan brought about the idea of socialism to his new home and worked towards teaching others and trying to recruit those to get on board with this way of life and belief system. His first writings came about regarding the spreading of socialism in different articles. These articles were exposed to the working class Jews in order to enlighten and educate them on socialist principles.
Aspiring to be a journalist and writer, Cahan began his career with a number of articles criticizing czarist Russia and also told stories of the Jewish community in New York. From there, in 1886, Cahan started the Di Neile T’zeit, a paper written in the Yiddish language. In the Di Neile T’zeit, Cahan was the editor, advertising agent, bookkeeper, as well as the proofreader; the whole operation was in his control. Not surviving more than a couple months of publishing, Cahan was torn between a life of writing and one of socialist studies. However, in 1897, Cahan became the editor of another Yiddish newspaper called the Jewish Daily Forward. This paper was aimed at guiding the newly American Jews into become familiarized with the world around them. Whether the community wanted local news, assimilation advice, or just plain inspiration, Cahan wanted his paper to ease the transition from immigrant to resident. Being an immigrant himself, Cahan was really able to relate well to the struggling community and his success in journalism pays tribute to that to some degree.
Brandon Beam
When discussing pioneers in the field of broadcast journalism, be it radio or television, it would be foolish not to place Edward R. Murrow at the top of the list. Born Egbert Roscoe Murrow, he graduated from Washington State College with a bachelor degree in speech. Murrow’s broadcasting career started at CBS radio in 1935 when they only had a one-person news team. His career really took off when he was sent to London to cover the European operations of the station. Murrow closely followed the events leading up to World War II and produced an advanced broadcast of Hitler’s advance to Vienna. The broadcast was reported live in the field, which was truly revolutionary at the time, and was the beginning of CBS’s World News Roundup. In fact, World News Roundup is still running and is the oldest news broadcast series. Once the United States joined the war effort, Murrow began expanding CBS News in London with quality reporters who were eventually referred to as “Murrow’s Boys”. Murrow was so admired that Winston Churchill offered him a leading role in the BBC, which he declined. After World War II, Murrow moved back to the United States and took a job as Vice President of CBS and director of the News department. With the advent of television, Murrow began producing news clips and a show called See It Now, a TV version of his previous radio show called Hear It Now. However, he criticized television for its focus on pictures rather than ideas. His show is best known for being the catalyst for the downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Murrow’s downfall began when he publicized his ideas about television by saying “During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: Look now. Pay Later.” This was viewed by his superiors as biting the hand that feeds and his television career began fading. He ended his career as head of the United States Information Agency in a position offered by President John F. Kennedy before dying of lung cancer in 1965.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Allen White (1868-1944)
ReplyDeleteWilliam Allen White was born in Emporia, Kansas in 1868. After attending the University of Kansas, White worked as an editorial writer at The Kansas City Star. Shortly after, in 1895, White purchased his hometown newspaper, the Emporia Gazette, for $3000 and became editor. A year later, White's writing received national acclaim with his essay "What's Wrong With Kansas?" A strong supporter of the Progressive movement, White crafted the essay as an attack on the Democrats and Populists (namely leader William Jennings Bryant), criticizing the parties for letting the economy in Kansas decline. The article was so riveting that it was widely produced and distributed by the Republican party in support of candidate William McKinley.
Part of White's prowess and influence in politics and media was his charm and sense of humor. Unlike many political leaders at the time, White lacked the bloated, egotistic self image of the common politician, instead staying humble and advocating "small town ideals." Because of his morals, White became known as the spokesperson for middle America. Opposing business chains, White preached the importance of "community," and also supported local businesses. He broadcasted his message through various editorials and short stories, all of which were reprinted and widely distributed across the country. These editorials include the Pulitzer Prize winning "To an Anxious Friend," an account of White's arrest over free speech violations following the Great Railroad Strike of 1922. Knowing the scope of his influence, Franklin D. Roosevelt asked White to help rally support for the Allies in WWII. This resulted in the establishment of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, which aimed to foster support from an American public that was largely against US involvement in the war.
EDWARD WYLLIS SCRIPPS
ReplyDeleteEdward Wyllis Scripps, the grandson of Edward Wyllis Scripps who formed the Scripps-Howard Newspaper empire and the United Press International, was born at Rushville, Illinois, on 18 June, 1854. Scripps’s first job was an office boy for the Detroit Evening News, a newspaper company owned by his half-brother, James Edmund Scripps. In 1878, he published his own newspaper, The Penny Press after receiving financial support from his half-brother and sister, Ellen Browning Scripps.
According to Spartacus Educational website, in 1894, Scripps joined his half-brother and Milton Alexander McRae to establish the Scripps League Newspapers. Based on the New York Times, this newspaper chain contained 51 publications: The Daily Herald of Provo, Utah; The Napa Valley Register of Napa, Calif.; The Newport Daily Express of Newport, Vt.; The Hanford Sentinel of Hanford, Calif. and The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. It was not until 1931 that he became the chairman of the newspaper alliance company.
Scripps had a strong prejudice against advertisers whom he deemed were unethical profiteers throughout his lifespan. In 1911, he issued a newspaper that contained no advertisement called The Day Book, which charged for only one penny per copy. The tabloid-sized newspaper gained a huge success because it also advocated for working-class members and women’s suffrage. However, as a wealthy baron and publisher, his social status completely contradicted his advocation for the working class.
Scripps was also a very generous philanthropist. According to the New York Times, in 1984, he and his wife, Betty Jeanne Knight McDonnell, created the Edward W. and Betty Knight Scripps Foundation, which made great contributions to the American Red Cross; the Thomas Jefferson Foundation; the Santa Fe Opera; the Mayo Clinic, and the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation.
Scripps then died at the age of 88 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Dorothy Thompson- Maggie Cassidy
ReplyDeleteDorothy Thompson was born on July 9, 1893 in Lancaster, New York to parents Peter and Margaret Thompson. Dorothy’s mother died when she was young leaving Peter, a Methodist pastor to care for his only daughter. In 1908 Peter sent Dorothy to live in Chicago with his two sisters to end the incessant arguing between his second wife and Dorothy. In Chicago Dorothy attended the Lewis Institute, and then transferred to Syracuse University, where she graduated from in 1914
After graduation Thomas fought for women’s suffrage in Buffalo, New York until 1917. She campaigned profusely for the cause because she believed as an educated women it was her duty to help lift up women to a better status. In 1920 Thomas traveled to Europe to begin her journalism career. By 1925 he was in charge of the Berlin bureau for both the New York Post and the Public Ledger located in Philadelphia. While in Europe she interviewed Adolf Hitler and wrote a book titled I Saw Hitler, which did not receive much publicity. In 1934 Thomas was the first American correspondent to be expelled from Germany for her negative reporting on the increasing popularity of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party in Germany.
After a short stint in the domestic life with her husband, Pulitzer Prize winning author Sinclair Lewis, Thomas began writing a column called “On the Record” that was published three times a week in the New York Herald Tribune and over 150 other newspapers across the country. She also wrote a completely different type of column once a month of Ladies Home Journal that focused on mainly domestic issues.
In 1937 NBC Radio hired her to be a radio commentator, and she became the country’s most syndicated women. Throughout her professional life, Thompson was revered in the nation. She was considered the second most influential woman in the country, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt.
Works Consulted:
http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/t/thompson_d.htm
http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/thompson-dorothy.cfm
Robert Rutherford “Colonel” McCormick (1885-1955)
ReplyDeleteRobert McCormick was born on July 30 to a distinguished Chicago family. Relatives on both his maternal and paternal side were greatly involved in politics and the sciences.
Robert (called “Bertie” by his family) received his education in London while his father was serving as Robert Todd Lincoln’s staff secretary; his father was also the ambassador to Austria-Hungary, Russia, and France. In 1899, he attended Yale College. Following his graduation, he went to law school at Northwestern University; he was a clerk in a Chicago law firm after being admitted to the bar in 1907. He also became the co-founder of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
In 1910, McCormick assumed control of the Chicago Tribune and became the editor and publisher along with his cousin. A Republican, he was persuaded to run for Alderman and was elected and served on the Chicago City Council for two years. He held various other offices throughout his lifetime, but his true passion was journalism. In February 1915, he went to Europe as the Tribune’s World War I correspondent where he interviewed many popular leaders, including Winston Churchill. He became a member of the U.S. Army after he returned from Europe.
He was a strong voice in isolationism and the Tribune showcased this without shame. He was involved in several legal issues that had to do with freedom of the press, something that he advocated heavily for; the most famous was Near v. Minnesota in 1931, which McCormick won due in large part to his role as chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers Association’s Committee on Free Speech. He opposed Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, comparing his New Deal to Communism. He believed that the press had the right to criticize the government in either war or peace.
Red Smith, whose real name is Walter Wellesley Smith, was born on September 25, 1905 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As a kid he loved to fish, hunt and play baseball but he felt as though he was not built for it plus his vision got the best of him. Smith attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated with a Journalism degree. When he graduated he mailed job applications to 25 newspapers and only got one letter back from New York Times, which was a rejection letter. He did not lose hope though because later on in the year the Milwaukee Sentinel hired him as a cub reporter (a young or inexperienced newspaper reporter). In his stories he only covered fires, police beatings and school board meetings. After working at Sentinel he never got a raise so he decided to apply to the St. Louis Star as a copy editor. Unfortunately, in 1928 the Star editor had to fire half of his sports department because they were taking bribes from sports promoter. This was bad for them but it was good for Smith because Star sent him to cover the St. Louis Brown’s spring training in 1929. In 1936 Smith moved to Philadelphia to write a sports column for the Philadelphia Record; they loved him. The newspaper described him as “one of the guys”. But in 1945 New York Times offered an open position to write for the New York Herald Tribune which Smith jumped on quickly. He eventually became the lead sports columnist. He was best known for his “colorful” use of quotes and dialogue. The paper closed in 1966 but he still remained a syndicated columnist. At the age of 66, he was hired as a sports columnist for the New York Times, which he continued to work for until his death on January 15, 1982 in Stamford, Connecticut.
ReplyDeleteGabriella
ReplyDeleteSociety's Critics - Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16th 1862, into a family of slaves. six months after her birth, the Emancipation Proclamation came up and slaves were freed. However, the racial tensions did not cease. Wells' father worked for the board of trustees at Rust College so he made education a priority for his seven kids. Ida Wells got her basic education from this college, but had to drop out at 16 after both her parent and one sibling died in an outbreak of Yellow Fever. She was left with the responsibility of taking care of her family. She got a job as a teacher for a while, but later moved to Memphis, Tenn. with her siblings to live with their aunt. She continued her education at Fisk University in Nashville.
In 1844, two years into her stay in Tennessee, she was the center of blatant racial discrimination in an incident which occurred on one of her travels to Nashville. She had bought a first class ticket, but the crew threw her out of the car,telling her to go the one designated for "African Americans" (biography.com). She sued the trains and won a $500 settlement, but this judgement was later "overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court" (biography.com).
Because of this experience, Wells decided to write about the "issues of racial and politics in the south" (biography.com). Some of her works were published under the name "Iola" in newspapers and periodicals. She went o to later own the "Memphis Free Speech and Headlight, and, later, of the Free Speech" (biography.com). Aside from her job as an editor an journalist, she also worked part time, teaching. She was an activist against the poor treatment of black kids in those days and she had influence on several racial issues.
The lynching of three African American men in 1892, one of whom was her friend, led Wells to travel around the south in search of information on lynching and other incidents. She wrote many articles and pieces on the subject, and these were published in African American Publications at the time. For example,"Wells wrote an in-depth report on lynching in America for the New York Age, an African-American newspaper run by former slave T. Thomas Fortune"(biography.com). Her articles were not welcomed and thus the angry white people threatened to kill her when they couldn't find her at her office. She had to stay at New York where she had been gathering information on Lynching.Her goal was to get many supporters of her cause and she eventually rallied enough supporter t lead a protest to the white house in 1898 where she urged the president (William McKinley) to make reforms.
"In 1896, she formed the National Association of Colored Women.", and later the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. " (biography.com). "Working on behalf of all women, Wells, as part of her work with the National Equal Rights League, called for President Woodrow Wilson to put an end to discriminatory hiring practices for government jobs. She created the first African-American kindergarten in her community and fought for women's suffrage." (Biography.com)
Wells died on March 25th 1931, of kidney disease, aged 69.
wesite used
http://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635?page=2
William Monroe Trotter (April 7, 1872 - April 7, 1934) - Mike Brathwaite
ReplyDeleteWilliam Monroe Trotter, known as just Monroe Trotter, was born in 1872 in Ohio. Growing up, he was always inspired to live up to the ideals of his father and do things better than he did them. This drive pushed Trotter to succeed in school. He excelled in his studies, and after being the only black student in his high school class, moved on to become a student at Harvard where he became the first African American there to be elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He graduated from Harvard in 1865 and went into the field of real estate where he prospered. Trotter owned property all over Boston. In 1901, Trotter helped organize the Boston Literary and Historical Association. It was here that Trotter spoke out against Booker T. Washington who accepted racial segregation and second-class education. He and his friend, George Washington Forbes, decided to create a new weekly newspaper called the Guardian. The duo started the paper by Trotter putting up the initial funds and Forbes serving as coeditor. Trotter used the paper to express his dismay towards discrimination. It became surprisingly widespread throughout the small population of African Americans in Boston at the time. The Guardian called on black people to fight for their rights and attacked Washington's subservience to whites. After being arrested for inciting violent behavior during one of Washington's talks in Boston, Trotter caught the attention of W.E.B. Du Bois. The two became strong allies in the Niagara Movement which was intended to counter Washington's "Tuskegee Machine." Trotter's dedication to his paper was admirable. He was forced to sell much of his property just to keep it running. The paper lasted until 1957, by which time a new civil rights movement had begun. New black leaders continued the spirit of the Guardian and Monroe Trotter as they fought for civil rights. Through his literary work, Trotter was able to urge fellow African Americans to not accept anything less than equality.
Ida M. Tarbell was born on November 5, 1857 near Erie, Pennsylvania and grew up in Titusville, Pennsylvania. From the time she was a young girl she wanted to go to College and become a science teacher because education was the main employment for women at the time and science was what interested her. At the age of 14 she declared she would never get married because it would infringe upon her goals and freedom.
ReplyDeleteShe went to college and according to tarbell.alleghany.edu, she graduated from Alleghany College in 1880. Then taught and worked as assistant to the president at Poland Union Seminary in Poland, Ohio. With all the work she was doing she didn’t have time for her science and decided to become the editorial assistant on Chautauquan magazine. Eventually, Tarbell decided to move to Paris and write to support herself in order to get more out of life. While in Paris, she sent articles to magazines in America, one being McClure’s.
S.S. McClure came to Paris and met Tarbell and invited her to write for his magazine. She wrote two biographies on Napolean Bonaparte and Abraham Lincoln, but when they weren’t enough to support her she decided to write for McClure’s. While writing for McClure’s, Tarbell’s most famous story was about the Standard Oil Company and how it tore down small businesses, including her father’s to become as it big as it was. In 1911 the Supreme Court broke up the Standard Oil Company into several companies. Tarbell was criticized for being prejudiced against big business and for writing with a bias instead of using direct facts and was considered a muckraker.
In 1906 some of the writers for McClure’s broke off and created their own magazine called American Magazine. With this magazine they aimed to only represent facts. In 1915 the magazine was sold to new owners and Tarbell bought a farm in Connecticut. Tarbell died on January 6, 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
http://tarbell.allegheny.edu/biobib.html
Walter Winchell was born in 1897 in New York. At the young age of 13 he join the Gus Edwards' School Days, a vaudeville circuit act. He left school to join the sing and dance group. In the 20's he wrote columns in the Vaudeville News, the Evening Graphic and the New York Daily Mirror. In the 30's he added a broadcast show on Sunday's which made him a well known radio personality. Over 50 million people began reading his columns in over 2000 newspapers that published columns around the world. Another 20 million viewers tuned in to the radio broadcasts. He became friends with some well known gangsters in the prohibition era, but after being afraid that he knew too much, fled to the company of certain G-Men like J. Edgar Hoover. He used his column and radio broadcast to speak out against Hitler and support Franklin D. Roosevelt throughout the The Great Depression and into WWII. Not only was he a supporter of Anti - Communist movement, but he was a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and attacked the Klu klu klux clan for their actions. After the 50's Winchell lost popularity with the shift from radio to television. He is known as one of the most influential voices of the radio generation.
ReplyDeleteClaude Barnett was born in Sanford, Florida in 1889. At nine months he was moved to Illinois to live with his grandmother. He grew up in Illinois and in 1904 he entered Tuskegee Institute. Graduating just two years later, Barnett received his diploma and earned the highest award Tuskegee had to offer. After graduation Barnett became a postal worker in Chicago. With this position he was able to see a lot of magazines and advertisements. He was fascinated with them and reproduced images of black luminaries, selling them to different African American newspapers. Once he gained popularity amongst people he, along with a few partners, started the Kashmir Chemical Company; this company sold cosmetics and other beauty products that were specifically intended for African American women. He would put advertisements for his product in many different newspapers across the nation. Barnett noticed that the newspapers lacked a viewpoint from subcultures, specifically African Americans. This led him to start the Associated Negro Press.
ReplyDeleteThe Associated Negro Press was initially designed to provide news outlets with the latest stories within the African American community. Barnett and news sources would exchange stories for advertising space. Once his business started going Barnett was able to hire many reporters to the ANP in order to consistently gather news from the African American society. He married Etta Moten and together they traveled the globe, visiting many African countries. Barnett and his ANP became an influential force amongst African Americans and had a spread of news circulation from the US to the West Indies and Africa. He gained popularity and became a celebrity figure within the black community. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree from Tuskegee. He even got recognized with awards from African countries. Claude Barnett died in his home in 1967 at the age of 78 with a cerebral hemorrhage. Today Barnett is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the African American community.
-Ray Bryant
Sources: American Journalists textbook, http://www.blackpast.org, http://bmrcsurvey.uchicago.edu
ReplyDeleteHenry Luce, born April 3, 1898 in China to American missionary parents, is famous for his involvement in many American foundational news publications and journalistic influence on the development of “the American Century”. After spending his early life in Presbyterian missionary compounds in China, Luce moved to America to further his education at the prestigious Hotchkiss preparatory school in Connecticut. It was at Hotchkiss that Luce worked as an editor for the Hotchkiss Literary magazine and first met peer editor Briton Hadden, who would become a lifelong business partner and friend. Both Luce and Hadden continued their education and involvement in journalism at Yale University, where both worked on the university’s paper, the Yale Daily News. Luce later received graduate study in history at Oxford University after brief service in the army during WW1. After finishing his graduate studies, Luce was arranged a reporter position for the Chicago Daily News. When given the opportunity to rejoin forces with close friend Briton Hadden in 1921, Luce left the Chicago Daily News and joined Hadden on the Baltimore News. While working together on the staff of Baltimore News, Luce and Hadden began plans for their own news publication. In 1923, Luce and Hadden launched Time magazine with help of former Yale and Hotchkiss classmates. Luce and Hadden made Time different than other existing news magazines because they consolidated information, catering to busy Americans, specifically businessmen. When Hadden fell ill and died in 1929, Luce decided to push their progressive magazine and establish a company to produce more news publications, Time Inc. Luce moved on to produce Fortune Magazine, Life Magazine, and Sports Illustrated Magazine, all news publications still presently powerful and influential today. Henry Luce died in 1967 but his legacy as “Father of Time” and the creator of much of today’s popular mediums of news publications precedes him.
Robert S Abbott was born on November 24th, 1968. Another lawyer turned journalist, Abbot founded the Chicago Defender in 1905. However, unlike other journalistic lawyers, both of Abbots parents were slaves (freed by the Civil War). Initially, Abbot was the Defenders only contributor. He started the paper in his kitchen, creating all the content and publishing roughly 300 copies per issue. Inevitably, the paper struggled in its early years, but Abbot kept going strong. He had the support of his landlady who gave him more space and ignored late rent payments. After 15 years, the Defender spread through the South and became the first paper for African Americans to surpass 100,000 circulating copies. Great black writes such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Walter White and Langston Hughes became regular contributors to the Defender. The Defender covered opinionated stories against lynching and segregation. He was a pioneer for African American journalists.
ReplyDelete- Jeremy Ramlagan
Stewart, Lyle Ainsley
ReplyDeleteMarvel Jackson Cooke
Jour200
Marvel Jackson Cooke was born on April 4, 1903 and died in the year 2000. This woman was a heralded pioneer in the field of journalism, as well as a civil rights activist. She is most noted for being the first African-American woman to acquire a job at a large caucasian owned media company.
The story of Marvel Cooke is much different from the majority of African Americans who lived during her time. She grew up in an up scale caucasian neighborhood in Minneapolis. Both of Marvel's parents were educated and this had a huge impact on her upbringing. As Cooke grew older she became the assistant to W.E. B DuBois, who at that time was the standing editor for "The Crisis". The skills that Cooke exhibited while working as an assistant were above average and prompted DuBois to promote her to be in charge of a column in the magazine and truly start her journalism career. As tme progressed and Cooke continued to grow in skill and acclaim she went on the work for the "New York Amsterdam News" as the first woman reporter in the history of the publication. Through her life a few more of her accomplishments were as follows; founded New York News Paper Guild Chapter, Worked on the "Peoples Voice" , served as director of National Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions.
Overall Marvel Cooke was a legendary journalist who pioneered the field of journalism for women and minorities. She paved the way in many senses and will not be forgotten.
Sagari Rao
ReplyDeleteNellie McAleny Revell
• Nelley McAleny Revell was the daughter of the editor and publisher of the Illinois paper Springfield Republican. Instead of working for her father from the beginning, she had to prove herself by writing for another newspaper, a rival one at that, to show that she was capable of being a good reporter. She reported for many newspapers around the United States in Chicago, Denver, Seattle and San Francisco before she started reporting the New York World. She covered a great deal of topics, ranging from the czar’s coronation in Russia to prizefights. After the paper tried to suppress her writings to the women’s section, however, Revell quit. After this repeatedly happened during her time as a reporter, Revell resigned and started working as a Broadway press agent. Revell suffered from severe back problems, and was sidelined as a result. During her time away, she published 3 books discussing the struggle of her recovery. In 1930, Revell was hired as a radio personality speaking with prominent athletes, actors and politicians by NBC on a talk show “Neighbor Nell.” Revell embodies a well-rounded and enriched persona in the field of journalism. She has covered stories in a wide range, and has dabbled in areas that seem completely unrelated to each other. This shows how important it is as a journalist to have knowledge of all subjects and areas to cover the widest span of an issue. She has spread the idea that it is possible to be a good journalist in all areas of journalism, and that it is even possible to be involved in many areas at a time. She has excelled in the areas that she has been involved with, and has shown many people in the field of journalism that it is possible to be great in many different areas of journalism at a time.
MEDIA PRESENTATION PROJECT: AN UNDETERRED MISSION
ReplyDeleteWriting a story for the first time was fascinating yet quite petrifying because there were deadlines to be met. This was not your typical English paper that you wrote for a class. This was a real story where people would read and derive information from it. While this was a good experience, it showed me that I needed to take my time seriously and not procrastinate. I also realized that to write a story I could not wait for someone to give me an answer; I had to force it out. A story is a story. Without the details one cannot formulate a structured piece.
I wrote about the ISA Charity Dinner. My piece required me to attend the event, talk to people about their opinions of the dinner, and to find out about the purpose of the event. I picked it because I thought it would be a simple topic to write about. Also, since I am Indian, I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet people of my culture. Not only was I exposed to various performing groups but also people in the ISA board who were interested in keeping the Indian culture live and a part of college life.
This story influenced my journalistic aspirations because I had to talk to people-this forced me to get out of my comfort zone. Usually I am very shy about talking to people but this story required me to talk to people whom I never knew. This was a great opportunity for me because I learned about the charity event and was able to record my experience. This also affirmed my original goals because I realized that my passion is writing stories-as a future journalism major I hope to enter the multi-platform path and learn and continue writing poignantly.
-Poojah Ganesh
JOURN200
March 16, 2013
Professor Henry
MEDIA PARTICIPATION PROJECT
ReplyDeleteI volunteered for CNSTV, the Mayland Newsline show for my project and it was a very interesting and educational experience. This was my first opportunity at observing a broadcast show being put together and aired. The entire process of preparing packages,CGs, turning in stories early, video recordings and PSA packaging was quite a thrilling experience.
I had the opportunity to understand the roles of the director, floor director, writers, anchors, sound technician, producers and everyone involved in making a news broadcast successful. Being that this was a first-time experience for me, I was very impressed with the level of professionalism I saw in all the student participants. They all did their best to look and sound as professional as possible.
I am interested in a career as a broadcast journalist and I was especially impressed with the way the anchors handled their tasks. They looked professional, sounded like real life journalists and exhibited such elegance on their anchor seats, which made only dream of when I will get my turn.
I got to be on the camera few times. My job was to point and focus the camera at a specific anchor or monitor at the command of the Director. It wasn't complicated at all, but it made me understand and appreciate the job of the Director. I learned that Directors have the task of telling what goes on at what time and who should be looking where,at what time and for how long.
Not only did i get to see the great side of producing a newscast, but i got to understand the difficulties which sometimes occurred during the show. Sometimes, video clips were not properly shot, sound systems crashed, microphones malfunctioned and alt of other things. But the crew always worked around the problem without much damage to the show.
Altogether, I had a wonderful time learning all what I learned. I still go there at least once a week to volunteer. I appreciate the fact that students have an opportunity at real-life news broadcast experience which prepares them more for the actual job. I know that I will be doing a lot of this kind of work as I advance because I intend to major in Broadcast journalism. In fact, the whole experience was great!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHeywood Broun (1888-1939)
ReplyDeleteHeywood Broun was born in Brooklyn New York, and attended Harvard University. He left 10 credits short of a degree. Instead, he started career as a journalist writing baseball stories for The New York Morning Telegraph. Worked as a columnist for the New York World, and eventually for the New York Post before his death. During his career, he founded the weekly tabloid Connecticut Nutmeg.
He is best known for his column, “It seems to me,” which he wrote until his death. It was the first of its kind, as he often expressed opinions that disagreed with the newspapers that carried them. He is known for criticizing social injustice and supporting labor unions. As a result though, Broun’s column was often cut from the newspaper because of such disagreeing content. He became less popular later in his career. Still, since his death he is remembered as a knowledgeable columnist who would not digress from his opinions just because they were not popular.
He is also known as a socialist for congress, although they later expelled him due to opposing views. He is also known for his wit and ability to come up with lasting quotes, such as, “The pursuit of happiness belongs to us, but we must climb around or over the church to get it.” He should be remembered as a journalist who contributed most to the beginning of columns in newspapers, although he made many other small contributions to the field. He is generally remember by the public for his witty quotes, but he should also be remembered for his small contribution to the political journalism realm
For my media project, I wrote a feature for a film site, Film School Rejects, which I actually write for regularly. I have been working there as a film journalist for nearly three years now, from writing reviews, editorials, and to mostly conducting film-focused interviews. I decided to writeup my experience of one of the more standard interviews I did recently, to convey most accurately what this job is like.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed actor Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, Drive, and The Ides of March) for his newest movie, The Place Beyond the Pines. The interview, as it goes with most cases, was done over the phone. Doing an interview over the phone has its advantages and disadvantages. On the upside, it is easier dealing with an awkward moment over the phone than it is in person. On the downside, it can be slightly less personable and more routine.
The goal of when trying to do one of these interviews is to make it less routine. Generally someone like Ryan Gosling will do over 100 interviews in a day, maybe in a span of only a few hours. They know what they want to say about their movie and what questions will generally be asked, so sometimes I receive an answer to a question I never asked, because it is difficult for them to break a routine as repetitive as a "press day". A press day is where they conduct interviews for their film, and for the bigger films, they usually take place in Los Angeles or New York.
Another downside of talking to someone like Ryan Gosling on one of those press days is the lack of time a journalist will have with him. I only had ten minutes, which does not allow for much spontaneity. It is rare to have over an hour or maybe a few with an interviewee, but those are generally the preferred interviews, unless I am talking to someone who is not in the best of moods. That does not happen so often since actors and directors are usually on their best behavior for press days, but it does happen...
After interviewing Ryan Gosling it only affirmed my goals about interviews and the job in general. I still think it is best for an interviewer to go in accepting their agenda or idea for a story can or will change, and how that can be a good thing. Sometimes the subject will mention an idea more interesting, and that is what the interviewer should go with. The worst thing a film journalist can do is stare down at their questions the whole time without actually listening. Even if an interview is for 10 minutes or sometimes less, listening is the most important part.
I still have no interest in doing this beyond a few more years. The pay for film journalism, and freelancers in general, is spotty at best. For an interview like Gosling, the reward is not always satisfying. I can spend hours on research – reading old interviews, watching their films I have not seen yet, etc. – and finally transcribing the interview and writing the piece, and oftentimes the pay is not what I hoped or, even worse, no more than five people read it.
My interview with Ryan Gosling will be published later this week, and considering it is someone as well-known as himself, maybe more than five people will read it. Even if that is not the case, I am pleased with how the interview turned out, which is usually the most important thing for me.
- John Giroux
Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936)
ReplyDeleteLincoln Steffens was born on April 6, 1866 in San Francisco, California. He attended the University of California, where he started to develop radical political views. In 1889, after he graduated, he would travel to Europe, studying in Berlin, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Paris and London. Steffens would then move to New York City, and in 1892 he joined the New York Evening Post as a reporter. In 1902, McClure’s Magazine started focusing on muckraking journalism, which is used to advocate change and reform. The owner of the magazine, Samuel McClure, made Steffens the editor of the magazine. At this time, writers who worked for the magazine included Jack London and Upton Sinclair. As the editor of McClure’s, he would write against corruption in government, politics and business. His articles would be published into different works, such as The Shame of the Cities (1904), which sought to bring about political reform by showing examples of corrupt urban American governments and The Traitor State (1905), in which he slammed New Jersey for supporting incorporation. Another one of his works is The Struggle for Self-Government (1906), which investigated state politicians. In 1906, Steffens, along with fellow muckrakers Ida Tarbell and Ray Stannard Baker, left McClure’s to form the radical American Magazine. He would write about corruption until 1910, when he went to Mexico to cover the Mexican Revolution. It was at this time he gained the view that revolution rather than reform is what would change capitalism. In 1919, he visited the Soviet Union and became one of its supporters, saying, “I have seen the future, and it works.” By the time Steffens wrote his memoirs in 1931, he had lost his support for communism, and on August 9, 1936, Steffens, one of the original American muckrakers, died in Carmel, California.
Margaret Bourke-White:
ReplyDeleteMargaret Bourke-White was born in 1904. She was surrounded by a supporting family and went on to marry twice. First, she married a man by the name of Everett Chapman when she was 18 years old. Later she went on to marry a writer, Erskine Caldwell, in 1939, after having worked together.
Margaret Bourke-White's accomplished many feats in her line of work as a journalist, a career which began in 1927 as an industrial photographer in Cleveland, Ohio. White was a “forerunner” in the up and coming field of photojournalism, where she made quite a mark as the first journalist in that said field. She worked for Fortunate Magazine by the age of 25. A year later she infamously became the first Western photographer permitted in the Soviet Union.
In 1935, White became Life magazine's first female photojournalist, even having one of her photographs making the cover in 1936. White accomplished many more “firsts” in her time. She was the first female war correspondent, worked in war zones during WWII, and entered and covered death camps.
She especially garnered acclaim with her photos of the depression in the book, “You Have Seen Their Faces,” which she worked on with her second husband, Erskine Caldwell. She herself wrote a total of six books.
Margaret Bourke-White passed away in August 27, 1971.
- John Giroux
Eleanor M. "Cissy" Patterson (1881-1948)
ReplyDeleteAs McCormick's cousin, She made the WashingtonTimes-Herald a lively, colorful, and successful paper. Cissy Patterson's prominent newspaper family never encouraged her own journalistic ambitions. She dabbled as a newspaper and magazine writer and novelist before persuading publisher William Randolph Hearst to let her take over his failing Washing Herald.
Few gave her much chance of success. But Patterson merged the paper with the Washington Times, hired an energetic staff-- including a large number of women reporters-- and introduced flashy headlines, spicy news, and large doses of society gossip. All this boosted the paper's circulation significantly. Yet its fortunes depended heavily on its publisher, and the paper could not survive long without her. After her death the Times-Herald was absorbed into the Washington Post.
Patterson covered many of her papers' stories herself, interviewing well-known people such as Albert Einstein and Al Capone. In 1936, she was invited to join the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Patterson made her paper popular with all strata of Washington society and doubled its circulation (Newworldencyclopedia.org) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eleanor_Medill_Patterson
-Glodie Yabongo
Ray Stannard Baker, otherwise known as David Grayson was born in Lansing Michigan on April, 17 1870. Baker was a journalist, author and interestingly enough a biographer of President Woodrow Wilson. Baker graduated from Michigan Agricultural College, later becoming Michigan State. Baker would then briefly attend the University of Michigan Law School before he launched his career as a journalist. Baker went on to write for the Chicago News-Record from 1892-1896. Baker then became a writer for McClure's Magazine, and soon made a name for himself as a leading muckraker. Baker used this fame to write a series of volumes known as "adventures in contentment" which gained millions of fans and was read worldwide. Baker not liking the muckraker term associated with him, teamed up with colleagues to form the American Magazine in 1906. Later in life Baker went on to write a series of articles and "Following the Line of Color" making him the first prominent reporter to write about the racial divide in the country at the time. Baker then flirted with following the idea of socialism, until he accepted the idea of Woodrow Wilson. After which Baker served as press secretary for Woodrow Wilson in 1912. During this time Baker became an admirer and friend of Woodrow Wilson leading to him writing multiple works on Wilson including one biography. The biography was a set of eight volumes known as Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters. Sadly, Baker died July 12th 1946 with a Pulitzer Prize for Biography and Autobiography.
ReplyDeleteMEDIA PARTICIPATION PROJECT
ReplyDeleteI picked to volunteer at UMTV not only because I had been yearning to work in a television station since I was fifteen years old, but also I had always been curious about the behind-the-scenes production of news broadcasting.
Apparently, my job on the first day of my participation was to observe, to ask question and to take notes because one needed to understand the procedures and manipulation of machines before actually working on them. I learned different terminologies that were used when referring to particular studio equipment, production pieces and also, other broadcast terms. After that, I actually got an opportunity to operate the camera the second time I went there. It was exciting and fun. This hands-on experience enabled me to envision my future working condition in a television studio, thus further encouraging me to continue develop my interest in broadcast area.
Additionally, I noticed the need of strong resolving skills in dealing with inevitable problems occurred during airtime. I could remember a few times when difficult situations came up such as technical problems and the loss of news packages. For example one time, the director could not connect to and listen to the correspondent’s voice when the reporter was trying to do a live tag. Everyone was in panic but the production team eventually sorted out the problem within ten minutes. The worst thing that happened was when a whole news package was lost in the computer system, which challenged the team to spend an hour to restore the information. As a result, the show delayed for an hour and a half based on the actual airtime, which is 6.30 p.m.
Throughout my observation, I realized the importance of team work when working for the television production. The cooperative communication established between the main director, audio controller, master room assistances, floor director, cameramen, and the anchors was crucial in guaranteeing the effectiveness of the flow of the show. A small mistake is sufficient enough to impact the fluidity of the rest of the show, even the whole show. Furthermore, I conceived that as a news anchor, he or she has to be patient and to stay alert during the entire airtime. More importantly, the newscasters have to act astutely according to circumstances. They have to be prepared at all times and to masterly handle every unexpected situation thrown at them within a finger snap.
Indeed, I gained a lot of valuable experience and useful information during my observation at the UMTV. Even though this class (JOUR200) only required students to attend the activity they chose twice, I truly enjoyed the whole process and desired to continue doing it. Even now, I still go back to the studio continuously, wishing to learn as much as I could whenever there will be a show running according to the airtime schedule. I will keep myself enthusiastic about television production and I hope that I could get the chance to become a volunteer next semester.
David Graham Phillips (1867-1911)
ReplyDeleteDavid Graham Phillips was born on October 31, 1867 in Madison, Indiana. He went to college at Indiana Abury College, now DePauw University, and continued his education at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton, where he graduated in 1887.
David Graham Phillips then began his career as a reporter for the Cincinnati Times-Star and the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. He was then hired by the New York Sun in 1890 and by Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World in 1893. Phillips had an eagerness to expose corruption and a very dramatic writing style, which made him rise quickly in the world of journalism. David Graham eventually left the New York World to write novels, but kept in touch with his journalism writing magazine articles. The Great God Success, Phillip’s first novel, was published in 1901.
In 1906, William Randolph Hearst hired Phillips to write articles that put pressure on business control of the U.S. Senate that would later be published in Cosmopolitan for approximately a year. The series was titled, “Treason of the Senate” and they had a lot of impact on our country. “Public reaction led to a constitutional amendment for direct election of senators, as opposed to their election by the state legislatures” (Ritchie, p. 237). He was considered a muckraker, which according to Merriam-Webster is a person who searches for and publicly expose real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business.
On January 23, 1911 Phillips was shot multiple times by a music teacher named Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough outside of the Princeton Club. Goldsborough thought his family had been the subject of one of Phillip’s novels. Phillip’s ended up dying from his gunshot wounds the next day. However, the mark he left on the world of journalism did not disappear along with him.
-Madison Moore
Theodore H. White (1915-1986)
ReplyDeleteTheodore H. White was born on May 15, 1915 in Boston. Growing up in Boston's Jewish ghetto, White attended Hebrew school as a boy. Excelling academically, White received a scholarship to attend Harvard University. White graduated with a degree in Chinese history and studies. Traveling to Chungking, China after graduation, White spent some time as a freelance reporter, and also as an advisor to China's propaganda agency. When Henry Luce, the China-born editor of Time Magazine learned of White, learned of White, Luce travelled to China and the two became close friends. Hired by Time, White operated as the magazines chief correspondent in China during WWII.
After returning home, White resigned from Time to pursue a career as a novelist. His book "Thunder Out of China" was a detailed account of China during the war. The book also shed light on the corruption and cruelty of the Chinese National government. In addition to his book "The Mountain Road," White served as a European correspondent for various news outlets.
White is also well known for his "The Making of the President" series, books that analyzed the American presidential elections in 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972. White was awarded the Pulitizer Prize in 1962 for the first installment in this series, which to this day is seen as one of the most influential documents about the Kennedy election. Other political works by White include the 1975 book "Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon," which chronicled the Watergate scandal and all those involved. His last "Making of the President" was written in 1984, and covered the Reagan election. White died of a stroke in 1986.
H.L. Mencken
ReplyDeleteHenry Louis "H. L." Mencken was born September 12, 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is known as an American journalist, an essay writer, a scholar of American English, and a critic. He was and still is regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the first half of the twentieth century. When he was three years old his family moved into a house in old West Baltimore, and he lived there for the rest of his life excluding five years when he was married. “Placid, secure, uneventful, and happy” was how he described his childhood in Baltimore in his best-selling memoir Happy Days. When Mencken was nine years old he read Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, and it was then that he feel in love with reading and determined that he would be a writer. He then went on to read a lot of other classics. As a boy Mencken also had other interests including photography, and chemistry. He even had his own in home chemistry laboratory that he conducted experiments in. When he was older Mencken began working at his father’s cigar factory, he disliked this work and resolved to do something else. He went and took a writing class, which was his only formal education in journalism; he applied for a job at the Baltimore Morning Herald in February 1899 and was hired to a part-time position there. In 1906 he went on to work for the Baltimore Sun. From 1914 to 1923 he coedited The Smart Set with George Jean Nathan, this was a witty, urban magazine. Then in 1924 the two of them founded the American Mercury, which became widely popular and influential on college campuses across America.
He was also an influential American literary critic in the 1920s some of his reviews and essays filled six volumes of a collection titled Prejudices. He is also known for writing The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States, and for his satirical reporting on the Scopes trial, which he nicknamed the "Monkey Trial". He became close friends with many of the leading literary figures of his time, and a mentor to some young reporters. Mencken also published work under several pseudonyms. Mencken did not suppress his opposition and disagreement with some of the events taking place. He did not support the New Deal, World War II, or President Franklin Roosevelt. His lack of support for these things cost him some of his popularity.
In 1930 H.L. Mencken married Sara Haardt, she was an English professor and an author. This was a big deal in the public eye because the very critical Mencken had once called marriage “the end of hope” and mocked relationships. He was also marrying a girl from Alabama, and he had previously written very critical essays about the American South. Haardt died five years into the marriage.
Mencken suffered a stroke on November 23, 1948 which took away his ability to read and write efficiently. Mencken took this time that he was physically unable to continue his same work to compile many papers that were sure to help his legacy remain. He died in his sleep on January 29, 1956. Before his depth he wrote an epitaph jokingly for himself it said: “If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some home girl”.
~Darrin Brown
Daniel Schorr (August 31, 1916-July 23, 2010)
ReplyDeleteDaniel Schorr was born in the Bronx, New York in 1916 to Russian Jewish immigrants. His journalism career began at an early age. When Schorr was only 12 years old, he became interested in the field after he reported a woman who either fell or jumped off the roof of his apartment building to the police and called the Bronx Home News. The Bronx Home News paid him five dollars for the information he provided. During high school, Schorr worked on the Clinton News which was the school's paper. He then attended the City College of New York and was involved with news organizations during his time there. After graduating, Schorr worked for the Jewish Daily Bulletin and then the Jewish Telegraphic agency.
With World War II heating up, Schorr took a job with the news agency of the Netherlands West Indies, Aneta. In 1943, he was drafted by the army, but after he served his time, he returned to Aneta. During the war, he reported from Europe as a stringer for different newspapers and radio stations. After Edward R. Murrow had heard Schorr's radio reports involving a flood in Holland, he hired him to work for CBS as a radio and television correspondent in 1953. Upon his return to the United States, he was then sent out to cover Latin America, Europe, and the Soviet Union. CBS brought him back to the United States in 1966 to cover American politics. Schorr avidly reported on the Nixon administration and his persistent investigations into the Watergate scandal ultimately contributed to the pressure that led to Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974. Schorr was forced to resign from CBS two years later when it was revealed that he had leaked a secret report on the investigation of the CIA by Congress to a newspaper. CBS did not give hime permission to air the particular information. After this mishap, Schorr returned to radio broadcasting as a commentator on national and international affairs for National Public Radio.
James “Scotty” Reston was born in Glasgow, Scotland in to a working middle class family. His family moved to the United States and they lived in Dayton, Ohio. Before Reston went to the University of Illinois school of Journalism, he worked at Delco Doings editing the factory paper. Upon being let go from the Uni. Of Illinois for a bounced check, he was working at Cox’s Dayton Daily News as a sportswriter. He eventually became a publicity agent for the sports department of Ohio State and for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Piggybacking from the Reds he interviewed with the Associated Press and was hired as a sportswriter. Reston loved covering sports because he felt like foreign policy was too hidden; sports were played out in the open. He made good friends at the British Foreign Office who provided him with useful information. There were so many events going on at once so the New York Times correspondent hired Reston to be his assistant. He was now a diplomatic correspondent.
ReplyDeleteReston became ill and went back to America and was assigned to the Washington bureau of the New York Times. In his spare time he was able to publish his first book called Prelude to Victory. During the war, Reston covered negotiations that took place in Washington creating the United Nations. Reston was the Pulitzer Prize for proving that the delegation was unhappy with the direction of the talks would cooperate with the press when the State of Department would not answer questions. In 1953, Washington Post offered Reston the managing editor that Arthur Krock had voluntarily stepped down from. Under Restons management he was able to hire reporters who were well educated, serious and able to explain complex issues for their readers. With the Cold War going on between the West and East, Reston believed that the press should not publish every secret they knew. His approach to writing and delivering important news stories was immaculate. Reston stepped down as Washington bureau Chief in 1964 to focus on his column in Washington until his retirement with his wife Sally Fulton including their three sons.
Media Participation Project: UMTV
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project I chose to shadow at the UMTV studio in the basement of Tawes Hall. I picked this project to see what the production of a television program works. The first day I went I got a tour around the studio and got to see how chaotic putting on a live news show is. The students were busy making packages, or stories, for the program. The crew seems to be really close and they all worked nicely together. I also got a chance to learn how to work one of the cameras that they use for the television show. Once the show was live I stayed in the studio to see what things were like when the crew was on air. The television business is so interesting to me. I loved how the team knew exactly when to turn to certain cameras, by direction of the floor manager, and read the teleprompter so well. Managing the floor in the studio is definitely something that interests me the most.
The second time I went to UMTV to shadow I was in the control and audio room. This room is separate from the studio where the set is. Here was even more chaotic and I was even a bit nervous for the producer and director. They were shouting out so many cues, I had no idea how everyone was on the same page. It’s so cool how the production of television is done and after my last visit I was sure that floor managing or working in the control room is something that I would love to do; minus the stress of course.
This project made me realize that television production is something I am interested in, however, I’m not sure if I can handle the stress levels that television production brings.
Marguerite Higgins (1920-1966)
ReplyDeleteMarguerite Higgins was born on September 3, 1920 in Hong Kong. Higgins was an American reporter and correspondent that covered World War II, the war in Vietnam, and the Korean War. She was first attended college at the University of California, where she spent her freshman year working for the school’s paper, The Daily Californian. After graduation, she completed her master’s degree in Journalism at Columbia University. In 1942 Marguerite Higgins was hired by the New York Tribune and two years later traveled to Europe to report on the war from Franca and Germany.
After the war, Marguerite Higgins covered the Nuremberg War Trials and in 1947 was promoted to bureau chief in Berlin. Three years later, Higgins was to assigned to Japan where she became the newspaper's Far East bureau chief. She then moved to South Korea where she reported the Korean War, informing the public on the fall of the capital, Seoul, to North Korean forces. In 1951 she her first book, War in Korea: A Woman Combat Correspondent, which became a best-seller. That same year, she won the Joseph Pulitzer Prize for international reporting and was also voted Woman of the Year by the Associated Press news organization.
In 1965, Marguerite conducted leishmaniasis, a tropical disease. She later died from the disease on January 3, 1966.
Madison Moore
I.F. STONE (1907-1989)
ReplyDeleteWhen hearing problems existed for I.F. Stone, he read transcripts of readings to create in-depth stories; this distinguished him as independent, radical journalist. By speaking about literature, philosophy, and current events, he established himself as a nonconformist correspondent.
Born as Isidor Feinstein to Russian-Jewish immigrants in New Jersey, he loved reading. At 14 he produced his own journal, The Progress (Ritchie 250). Then he became a Haddonfield Correspondent for Camden Courier Post and later on copyedited for the Philadelphia Inquirer when he was a student at University of Pennsylvania. Harboring a passion for the newsroom, he worked for the Philadelphia Record.
He was also politically involved; for example, in 1928 he worked for the Socialist Norman Thomas. In 1933, Feinstein worked for the New York Post, a pro-New Deal paper. Anti-Semitism spread, causing him to change his name to Stone. He also published works in The New Republic and The Nation (Ritchie 251). Stone eventually reported for PM, an anti-nationalist newspaper.
Stone’s Washington reporting was appreciated but seen as rebellious. In 1952, he became unemployed but worked hard enough to start I.F. Stone’s Weekly, which attracted about 73,000 subscribers including Congressmen. This newsletter only covered justice and “civil liberties” but had no advertisements (Flint). Most of the information was derived from publications of government agencies. In fact, FBI kept an eye on him because he was a “lone gadfly” against the Cold War (Ritchie 253). For example, in 1964 Stone became the first journalist to challenge the “account provided by President Lyndon B. Johnson of the Gulf of Tonkin incident,” (“I.F. Stone”). Many journalists were influenced by him and started to doubt government activities. In conclusion, the crux of his fame lay in the fact that he was open-minded and did not accept everything at first glance.
Works Cited
Flint, Peter B. "I.F. Stone, Iconoclast of Journalism, Is Dead at 81." On This Day. The New York Times On the Web, 19 June 1989. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. .
"I. F. Stone." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2013. .
Ritchie, Donald A. American Journalists: Getting the Story. New York: Oxford UP,
1997. Print.
Poojah Ganesh
April 6, 2013
JOURN200
Professor Henry
Joseph Wright Alsop V was an influential American journalist who was part of a group of journalists, politicians, and government officials called the Georgetown Set. He graduated from Harvard in 1932 and decided to become a reporter, which was an unusual position for an Ivy League graduate at the time. Alsop was born into a very desirable situation as his mother was the niece of Teddy Roosevelt and was also related to President James Monroe. As a result, he was well connected in Washington and had no problem climbing to a position of influence. Alsop was also one of more than 400 journalists who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and carried out assignments for them. Frances Stonor Saunders, a British journalist and historian, described Alsop and his well connected peers as “Internationalists, abrasive, competitive, these men had an unshakeable belief in their value system, and in their duty to offer it to others. They were the patricians of the modern age, the paladins of democracy, and saw no contradiction in that.” They were basically the elites of American society and were able to shape foreign policy and legislation with ease. Interestingly enough, Alsop was able to keep his homosexuality a secret his entire life. However, Senator Joseph McCarthy harassed him in an effort to remove “perverts” from government employment. Moreover, the KGB photographed Alsop having sex with another man in a Moscow hotel room in 1957 and used it in an attempt to blackmail him. Alsop did not accept the offer and the KGB eventually sent the photos to American journalists in the 1970’s, even though nothing came of it. In my opinion, Alsop contributed nothing to journalism, as he was a tool of the CIA. His most notable contribution to America was his successful persuasion of JFK to make Lyndon Johnson his running mate. In fact, he even eerily predicted his assassination when he said, “Something may happen to you, and Symington (his then-running mate) is far too shallow a puddle for the United States to dive into.”
ReplyDeleteWalter Cronkite
ReplyDeleteOver the course of his career, Walter Cronkite covered a lot of front-line and pivotal stories from the Battle of the Atlantic to D-Day, the Battle of the Buldge, the Vietnam War, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Watergate scandal and the Apollo moon landing. He began by working part-time as a state politics journalist for the Houston Press while he was studying print journalism at the University of Texas. After he dropped out of college, he wrote movie reviews and obituaries for the press with $15 per week. While he was in London covering stories of World War II, he rejected Edward R. Murrow’s offer of becoming a radio news broadcaster and determined to continue working for United Press as a wire service reporter.
According to the book “American Journalist”, Cronkite received an honorary designation as the “most trusted man in America” more so than any other presidents of United States serving at that time. It was not until 1962 that he gained his popularity as the editor and anchorman of the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite”. His objective point of view, honesty, hard work and dedication to the 30 minutes evening news broadcasts was actually the reasons that made him a successful and remarkable news anchor.
Other television programs that he hosted included “You Are There,” “Air Power,” “The Twentieth Century,” “The Morning Show,” and “Eyewitness to History”. Even though he was retired, he still served on the CBS’s board of trustees. Based on Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication website, he was also a permanent Society of Professional Journalists’ member. In addition, Cronkite received numerous awards throughout his lifetime: the Peabody Award; the William Allen White Award for Journalistic Merit; an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the George Polk Award; and a Gold Medal Award from the International Radio and Television Society.
Walter Lippmann:
ReplyDeleteWalter Lippmann was born on September 23rd, 1889, in New York city. The journalist of Jewish-German descent was born into wealth. He was never particularly close to his parents and was known as a loner. Despite his wealth, he faced some rejection, like Harvard's social clubs being closed to him because he was Jewish. It was at Harvard where writing peaked his interest.
Lippmann ended up working as a journalist, media critic and a philosopher. He was a famous journalist who was respected and known by presidents, premiers, kings, and dictators. It has been said his writings made the rounds at the White House, the State Department, and more, serving as an influence on American Policy.
Not only was he successful in the field of journalism, but also a novelist and a teacher. He was a bit of renaissance man, if you will. In 1913, he published Preface to Politics, which gained acclaim and drew the attention of Harbert Croly. Croly invited Lippmann to be an editor at The New Republic, a very well-respected news source known as a "reform journal". Only a few years later he offered his assistance to President Wilson, providing advisement during World War I. In 1918, he became a captain in the intelligence branch.
Lippman's career continued to reach high marks. He wrote propaganda in Germany trying to sway the public's perception, helped senators defeat the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, and more. He later became fascinated by the relationship between the public and press, an issue he wrote about in 1922, with the book, "Public Opinion." He ended up educating his readers until he retired in 1971, three years before he passed away.
John Giroux
Ediwn Palmer Hoyt was born on in 1897 in Illinois. His father was a reverend. He enlisted in the US army in 1917 and served for 18 months in France. He was discharged as a sergeant Major and he enrolled in the University of Oregon where he graduated in 1923. After graduation, Hoyt started work for the Portland Oregonian where he worked his way up from copyreader in 1923 to editor in 1939. During this time, Hoyt published short stories to supplement his income.
ReplyDeleteIn his journalistic career, Hoyt covered a breath of issues and published many works trending topics of his time like Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Atomic Bomb, Vietnam, Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism.
Hoyt was appointed National Chairman of the Sigma Delta Chi which was a professional journalistic society and he served in this capacity for some time. He also served as the Chairman of the War Board Committee. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War in 1943 and he took a six month leave from his job at the Oregonian to fill this post. Three years later, he was became the editor and publisher of the Denver Post and was appointed to Air Policy Commission by President Harry Truman the following year. "Awarded John Peter Zenger Freedom of the Press Award by the University of Arizona in 1954, Hoyt was reappointed to the United States Advisory Commission on Information by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968"
Hoyt Married twice. First to Cecile Devore in 1921 with whom he had 2 sons, and later to Helen May Tabe in 1950 who bore him another son. Hoyt retired in 1970 and later died.
Source:
ReplyDeletehttp://eadsrv.denverlibrary.org/sdx/pl/doc-tdm.xsp?id=WH1226_d0e38&fmt=text&base=fa
ReplyDeleteAccording to Spartacus Education, Harrison E. Salisbury was born on November 14, 1908 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied Chemistry at the University of Minnesota and edited the campus newspaper. While studying here he also worked for the Minneapolis Journal. Salisbury lost his editorship of the school newspaper after criticizing the administration of the University of Minnesota.
Salisbury became a United Press reporter in Chicago. As a United Press reported he visited Europe, the Middle East, and Russia. In 1949, Salisbury joined the New York Times and this is where he would work for the rest of his career. He won a Pulitzer Prize for the reporting he did in Moscow, although Jose Stalin was very angry with the reporting he did here. In 1959, Salisbury did reporting work in Asia, mainly the People’s Republic of China and covered the Vietnam War. He received a lot of praise for his reporting for the Vietnam War, but also received condemnation from the United States government for his reporting from the Pentagon as well as from behind enemy lines. The assignments that Salisbury did during the Vietnam War were often very controversial assignments. He was one of the first reporters to oppose the Vietnam War after his reporting in Northern Vietnam. The assignments he did during this time displayed Salisbury’s belief in the necessity “of reporting the unpopular event at the most difficult touchy moment.” Harrison E. Salisbury Always considered himself to be a “disturber of the Peace,” and this truly showed that.
According to Spartacus Education, in the 1960’s, Salisbury wrote many books on the United States international policy. In 1972 Salisbury became the editor of the New York Times, but retired the following year. After his retirement Salisbury continued with writing books.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsalisburyH.htm
Bernard Shaw was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 22, 1940. He came from humble beginnings, his father was a house painter and his mother a maid. Through his early education he showed an aptitude for achieving and eventually this landed him at the University of Illinois at Chicago (1963-1968). Post grad Shaw served in the marine core as a communications specialist; this is where his love for media and print truly took off.
ReplyDeleteBernard Shaw after leaving the military began his career in broadcast as a reporter for a local Illinois station. His skill level and popularity granted him the position of being a correspondent in the washington bureau of CBS and later ABC. He continued to move around within high profile new companies until he became a principal anchor at CNN; note that this is where he spent the majority of his career.
Shaw is best known for his in depth reporting and debate moderation's in the 1988 presidential election and also reporting on the gulf war in 1991. Shaw was a primary anchor of Inside Politics on CNN from 1992 until 2001 when he retired.
Overall Shaw, who is still alive, is a very influential journalist and member of the media community. He continues to live out his retirement happily with his wife Linda Allston and their two children. The respect that shaw garnered during his tenure in media has prompted the powers that be to request him to come back into the world from retirement to host specials and report on exclusive events/stories ( i.e. in ma 2005 when a plane flew into restricted air space in washington D.C. and he was called in to co-anchor on CNN).
Georgie Anne Geyer was born on April 2nd, 1935 in Chicao, Illinois. She went to Calumet High School before graduating from Northwestern University in 1956. She also received a Fulbright scholarship to attend the University of Vienna. Within three years, she began working for the Chicago Daily News as a “society reporter.” For more than 13 years she worked for the Daily News as a reporter, on the news desk, and as their political correspondent. Geyer broke barriers not just for women journalists, but for journalist in general. She has interviewed many world leaders including Yasser Arafat, Anwar Sadat, King Huessein (Jordan), Mummar al-Gaddafi and the Ayatollar Khomeini. She was also the first Western journalist to intweview Saddam Hussein (at the time he was the Vice President of Iraq). Geyer is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Russian. In addition to list of international interviews, Geyers has also conversed with Presidents Carter, Ford, Bush Sr., Regan and Bush Jr. She is regarded as one the greatest journalist of our time and has more than twenty “honorary degrees” from U.S Colleges and Universities.
ReplyDeleteRupert Murdoch was born in Australia in 1931. Born on a farm Rupert Murdoch's father owned a multitude of local newspapers. Since the young age of twelve Murdoch was groomed to take over his father's business. Murdoch graduated from Geelong Grammer, a prestigious boarding school in Australia. He then went to attend Oxford University in Great Britain. During his college years his father suddenly passed away in 1952 and Murdoch inherited three newspapers "The Adelaide", "The News", and "The Sunday Mail". After learning under an apprenticeship for London's "Daily Express", Murdoch moved back to Australia at 22 years old.
ReplyDeleteMurdoch took over all aspects of his inherited local papers. He redesigned the papers to report more crime and scandal, although the change was controversial the papers circulation soared. Rupert Murdoch soon expanded his business by purchasing the "Sunday Times" in 1956, "The Afternoon Daily" and "The Mirror" in 1960, and in 1965 he founded the first Australian national daily paper "The Australian". Although Murdoch stirred controversy within the publishing business he began to gain respect as a news publisher.
Murdoch began expanding his business globally. He moved back to London and purchased the "Sunday Tabloid" and "The News of the World" in 1968, and in 1969 he purchased "Daily Tabloid" and "The Sun".
Once again Rupert Murdoch wanted to expand his business globally, in 1973 he moved to Texas and purchased "San Antonio News". In the next year Murdoch had established a national tabloid, "Star". In 1976 he had purchased "The New York Post".
In 1979 Rupert Murdoch founded one of the most important media conglomerates, "News Corperation". Into the 1980s and 1990s Murdoch focused his business around television entertainment by purchasing "Twentieth Century Fox Film Corperation". Murdoch's media empire still grows today, owning a multitude of sports magazines and fox entertainment. In recent years him and his corperation have focused on internet social media. In 2005 he purchased myspace.com.
Rupert Murdoch is said to be worth 6.2 billion dollars and Forbe's thirteenth mist powerful men in the world. Murdoch is critized for holding a media monopoly exploiting his conservative political views. News Corp donated over one million dollars into support over republican candidates in 2010. Rupert Murdoch was able to build a media empire around "scandalous" news reporting on crime, sports, and sex. Although faced with harsh criticism by people involved in media, his risks sold to the public.
Allie Rahman
Louis Lautier (1897-1962)
ReplyDeleteLouis Lautier was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1897. He went to Morris Brown College and also attended Howard University Law School. After graduating, his career as a journalist began in 1923, when he became a journalist for the newspaper, Atlanta Independent. After the newspaper collapsed, he became a freelance journalist, writing for many African-American newspapers around the country. Also, he became a legal stenographer for the Justice Department. When the United States of America entered the Second World War, Lautier campaigned for an end to segregation in the armed forces. In the year 1946, Lautier was chosen to be the head of the National Negro Publisher’s Association, where he worked in Washington D.C, covering White House conferences and other newsworthy events for African-American newspapers. He also worked as a correspondent for the Atlanta Daily World. Lautier’s skills as a stenographer was so great that other reporters would check with him to make sure their quotes were accurate. One year later, in 1947, he began fighting to enter the Congressional press galleries, which were all white at the time. On March 4, 1947, the Standing Committee on Correspondents, a group of journalists chosen by the House and the Senate, rejected his application to the press galleries, saying that he failed to meet the qualifications. He defended himself, calling their decision discriminatory, and then he went on appeal to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. On March 18, 1947, after hearing Lautier’s testimony, the Committee voted unanimously to have him admitted into the Congressional press galleries. Prior to Lautier, no African-American had sat in the press galleries since the legendary Frederick Douglass. Likewise, in 1955, he became the first African-American member of the National Press Club. After a life of writing against segregation, he died in 1962.
Ethel Payne -
ReplyDeleteEthel Payne was an African-American journalist known as the "First Lady of the Black Press." She was the first female African-American commentator (employed at CBS) and was known for her well-known for her advocacy and coverage of the civil rights movement, American domestic politics and international stories. She was the first African-American woman to cover stories overseas and was the only black correspondant at the Bandung conference in Indonesia. She traveled to Vietnam to cover African-American troops, the Nigerian civil war, the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City and accompanied Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on a six-nation tour of Africa.
Payne had a reputation for being an aggressive journalist who asked tough questions. She once asked President Eisenhower when he planned to ban segregation in interstate travel and his angry response made headlines, helping push civil rights issues to the forefront of national debate. She was also the first African-American woman radio and television commentator on a national network for CBS' program Spectrum and after that, Matters of Opinion.
Ethel Payne was one of the four journalists honored with a U.S. postage stamp in "Women in Journalism" set in 2002. Because of her work in Africa as a foreign correspondent and to honor the name of a journalist who covered seven presidents, the NABJ award "Ethel Payne Fellowships" to journalists interested in obtaining international reporting experience through assignments in Africa.
Lena Kaswala
Al Neuharth founded both USA Today and the Freedom Forum. Neuharth was born on March 22nd 1924 in Eureka, South Dakota. Neuharth started his work in journalism when he was eleven by taking a paper route. Later as you adult Neuharth would work for the weekly Alpena Journal. After High School Neuharth served as a combat infantryman in World War II where he would receive the Bronze Star. Shortly after the end of WWII, Neuharth enrolled at the University of South Dakota where he received a major in Journalism. After which Neuharth became an Associated Press reporter and worked out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1952 Neuharth and a friend decided to publish a weekly newspaper called SoDak Sports but it failed financially resulting in both debt and being broke. In order to make money, Neuharth began writing for the Miami Herald. Neuharth would be promoted from reporter all the way to assistant managing editor over the next seven years. In 1960 Neuharth would be named assistant executive editor of the Detroit Free Press. After years of success Neuharth became general manager of the Gannet Foundation’s two New York newspapers. Shortly after Neuharth would add the title of president of Gannet Florida where he created the paper Today later renamed to Florida Today. From 1965-1999 Neuharth remained a part of Gannet as a trustee of the foundation and assuming the roles of chairman and chief executive. Neuharth went on to create the Freedom Forum where he would serve as Chairman from 1986-1997. Over his career he would write a total of eight books including a very successful autobiography. Neuharth currently resides in Cocoa Beach where he still writes including Plain Talk, a column in USA Today.
ReplyDeleteCarl Bernstein: 14 February 1944 – Present
ReplyDeleteCarl Bernstein is an investigative journalist who is mostly known for his work with Bob Woodward on the Watergate Scandal. The two journalists worked together to report on the scandal, which eventually led to President Nixon’s resignation. This was a major contribution to the field of journalism, because it showed that not even the government could bypass the freedom of the press. Bernstein, who worked for the Washington Post, was able to get the story first, which gave the newspaper high esteem. Bernstein’s contribution helped the Post earn a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
He began his journalism career at the early age of 16 at The Washington Star as a copyboy. Before long, he began working for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey, because they didn’t require a college degree to write for them. Bernstein attended the University of Maryland, but dropped out of school before earning his degree. Here, he won his first award as an investigative journalist. Soon, he began working for the Washington Post. This is when he reported on Watergate and published the Book All the President’s Men, which included detailed notes and research from the Watergate scandal, and was later made into a movie.
Although Watergate was his claim to fame, Bernstein was very active after his work at The Times. He published several books, including a Biography of Hilary Clinton. He worked for ABC and Time Magazine. He should be remembered as a major contributor to the exposing Nixon and the Watergate scandal, which was one of the most notable contributions to the field of journalism in this country.
Connie Chung is famous as a pioneer broadcast news and rare achievements as a woman in the world of journalism. An industry previously led by men, journalism has begun to recognize women in the industry since only modern times. Connie Chung is recognized as one of the first female journalists with major success and national achievement.
ReplyDeleteChung was born in 1946 in Washington, D.C., and started her journalism career at the University of Maryland, where she obtained bachelors in journalism. In 1969, Chung entered the professional world and worked at a local broadcast station as a copy person, where she was later promoted to a news writer and on-air reporter. Chung then moved to CBS, where her career flourished and her fame developed. At CBS, Connie Chung first worked locally, covering major political problems and presidential campaigns. Chung then moved to Los Angeles to join a different segment of CBS and later co-anchored multiple morning news shows and an evening news broadcast.
Chung then moved her career to NBC where she worked for multiple divisions including NBC Nightly News, NBC News at Sunrise, NBC Digests and the newsmagazine, 1986. For NBC she also continued work covering political conventions and presidential campaigns.
Although Chung moved to NBC after her time at CBS, she is most famous for her anchoring on the CBS Evening News. On this news broadcast she gained recognition as one of the first female news anchors and was awarded the title of “best interviewer” in 1990. Chung received many other accolades for her impact and success in journalism throughout her career. Aside from her successful career, Chung pursued a successful marriage with Maury Povich with whom she had a son. Connie Chung’s success in broadcast journalism changed the industry and provided many new opportunities for women in broadcast journalism as writers and anchors.
Helen Thomas
ReplyDeleteHelen Thomas was born on August 4, 1920 in Winchester, Kentucky as the seventh out of ten children to parents George and Mary Thomas, who were Syrian immigrants. Thomas grew up in Detroit, Michigan attending public school and a Greek-orthodox church. In high school Thomas decided to become a journalist. In 1942 she graduated from Wayne University with a degree in English.
Thomas got her start in the journalism world when she began working as a copy girl at Washington Daily News. However, after she was promoted to cub reporter she was fired due to major financial setbacks of the newspaper. In 1943 she reentered journalism by getting a reporting job for the United Press wire service. While working for UP and then eventually UPI (United Press International), Thomas focused on female centered stories.
In 1955, Thomas was assigned a beat for the United States Department of Justice. Shortly after her Department of Justice assignment, her beat also encompassed the Department of Health and Capitol Hill.
Thomas’ claim to fame began in 1959 and 1960 when she started to make progress for female journalists by acting as President of the Women’s National Press Club and beginning her presidential coverage when John F. Kennedy was nominated for president. Thomas’ career of covering presidential administrations began when President Kennedy was sworn in and ended with Barak Obama’s administration.
Thomas continued to make progress for female journalism by urging President Kennedy in 1962 to not attend the three annual White House Correspondents dinner if women could not attend. President Kennedy decides that the three dinners be combined into one and allow women to attend.
During her career Thomas was the first woman to be the president of the White House Correspondents Association, the first female officer of the National Press Club, and the fist woman Chief White House Correspondent for UPI.
Due to her career of breaking the glass ceiling for women in journalism, Thomas is often called the First Lady of the Press.
Works Consulted
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/29/us/helen-thomas-fast-facts
Cokie Roberts (1943- )
ReplyDeleteCokie Roberts was born Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her nickname came about when her brother couldn’t pronounce “Corinne,” and the term of endearment stuck. Coming from an extended family involved in politics, her father Hale Boggs served one term in the House of Representatives and her mother, Lindy Boggs was a Democratic Congresswoman. Because of her parents’ careers, Cokie grew up spending half the year in New Orleans and the other half in Washington, DC, where she would visit the U.S. Capitol and had dinner guests like John F. Kennedy.
After graduating from Wellesley College with a degree in political science, Cokie began working for a TV production company run by a classmate’s mother. By 22, she was hosting a Sunday afternoon public affairs program on a Washington area television station. In 1966, she married New York Times reporter Steve Roberts, leading to her quitting her job in Washington in order to move with him to New York City. From there, they traveled worldwide for her husband’s job; finally, Cokie, her husband, and their two children returned to Maryland and bought Cokie’s childhood home in Bethesda from her mother.
Cokie began reporting for NPR in 1977. There, she covered Congress goings-on and other political stories. Even though her mother worked in Congress, she never passed information to Cokie. She was known for her tact and cool-headedness, no matter what the situation. In 1987, during the Iran-Contra hearings, Cokie was working for PBS and was included in the first all-woman new team on television. A year later, she moved to ABC News, where she was a part of programs such as “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.” Despite being busy with television news, she maintained her job at NPR.
David Brinkley
ReplyDeleteDavid McClure Brinkley was born on July 10, 1920 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Emory University, and Vanderbilt University, before entering service in the United States Army in 1941. In 1943 he was presented with an honorary discharge. After his service was over he moved to Washington, D.C. to find a radio job at CBS News. However, he instead took a job at NBC News where he would become the White House correspondent.
In 1956 NBC was looking for an anchor to cover the Democratic and Republican conventions. They decided to pair David Brinkley with another man named Chet Huntley. Brinkley used dry wit to offset the serious tones set by Huntley. He knew how to write material that would reach and stick with his audience, which made the NBC news more appealing than the serious toned CBS news reports. Roger Mudd said, “Brinkley, of all the TV guys here, probably has the best sense of the city--best understands its moods and mentality. He knows Washington and he knows the people.” From 1961-63 Brinkley anchored a prime time news magazine, David Brinkley's Journal. By 1970 new anchors had taken over the nightly news and throughout the 70s Brinkley continued to do broadcasts for David Brinkley’s Journal. In 1981 Brinkley was hired by ABC and began hosting This Week with David Brinkley. This Week revolutionized the Sunday morning news format. The show not only featured correspondents interviewing newsmakers, but also followed up the news with an opinionated discussion.
In 1996 Brinkley stopped hosting This Week and in 1997 retired altogether. Throughout his career, he won ten Emmy Awards and three George Foster Peabody Awards. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
-Ray Bryant
Sources:http://www.britannica.com/, http://www.mountunion.edu/
-Jack Anderson
ReplyDeleteKnown to the world as one of the most important, influential, and feared investigative journalist, and muckraker, Jack Anderson was born October 19, 1922 in Long Beach California to Orlando and Agnes Mortensen Anderson. His parents were Mormons, so later they moved the family to Utah which was heavily populated by Mormons. Anderson grew up in Salt Lake City. His interest in journalism showed at a very early age. At 12 he began to write the Boy scouts column for The Deseret News. He also wrote for his local newspaper The Murray Eagle. In 1940 Anderson joined The Salt Lake Tribune, it was here where his “investigative” side first showed when he wrote about the polygamy in the Mormon Church. Jack Anderson joined the United States Armed Forces during World War II. He also wrote for the Shanghai edition of Stars and Stripes. After working as a war correspondent in 1945 Anderson went to work under Drew Pearson, who was the columnist behind the “Merry-Go-Round” which appeared in The Washington Post and almost a thousand other publications (an audience of 40 million). After Pearson’s death in 1969 Anderson took over the “Merry-Go-Round” which was at the time the most widely read and influential column in the U.S.
Jack Anderson over the course of his career not only wrote the column “Merry-Go-Round” but he also ran a syndicated radio show with the Mutual Broadcasting network. He acted as a Washington bureau chief for parade Magazine, and he was a commentator on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America for nine years. Jack Anderson met and became friends with Joseph McCarthy, and the two of them exchanged information, and sources. But soon Drew Pearson went after McCarthy and Anderson assisted in bringing down his friend. He also co-founded the” Citizens Against Government Waste” with J. Peter Grace in 1984.
Jack Anderson was reporting on and investigating the biggest stories of his time. He reported on J. Edgar Hoover’s apparent ties to the mafia developing an enemy in Hoover. Anderson reported on the Watergate Scandal, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Anderson was responsible for exposing the corruption of Senator Thomas J. Dodd in the 60s. Anderson also made an enemy in Richard Nixon he exposed a memo that showed that a ITT company had paid off Richard Nixon’s campaign. Anderson’s reporting got him onto the Master List of Nixon’s political opponents. And in 1972 Anderson was the target of an assassination plotted from within the White House. Jack Anderson also discovered a CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. And he was credited for breaking the Iran-Contra Affair. Anderson’s hand in the investigative journalism reached far and wide and disturbed many people, he was constantly exposing plans and chasing new developments. In 1972 he won the Pulitzer prize for National Reporting for his investigation on secret American policy decision making between the US and Pakistan during the Indo Pakistani War of 1871. On December 17, 2005 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease the father of modern investigative journalism died at the age of 83.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAandersonJ.htm
~Darrin Brown
Herbert L. Block (1909-2001)
ReplyDeleteCommonly recognized under his penname “Herblock,” Herblock was one of the most renowned American editorial cartoonists during his time. His first work as a cartoonist came for the Chicago Daily News in 1929, a local hometown newspaper. The cartoon was said to promote the conservation of the forests in the United States. After gaining the necessary experience, Herblock reached a national level when he edited a World War II newspaper before being enlisted in the army. Following the war, Herblock joined The Washington Post, one of the most respected and valued newspapers in its time. He immediately was hired as the chief editorial cartoonist and his cartoons impact readers for over half a century. Herblock also did some work with the 1952 presidential election. Although following Democratic ideals, his cartoons were in a republican favored Washington Post. Post readers protested about this, but it lead to Herblock becoming politically independent and more practicing notions than his editorials.
Throughout Herblock’s impressive career as a cartoonist, he received several awards and honors. For example, he won the Pulitzer Prize three separate times, in 1942, 1954, and 1979. Additionally, he was honored to win the National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award twice in 1957 and 1960. Among several other awards, Herblock can easily be mentioned as one of the famous and well-known editorial cartoonists of all time. His work in the field paved the way for other cartoonists to succeed and for cartoons to remain relevant in society for time to come. On a final note, his foundation named The Herb Block Foundation awards a $15,000 cash prize, called the Herblock prize, to the top editorial cartoonist. This award giving began in 2004 and is a great way to remember his influence and impact in journalism.
Brandon Beam
Bob Woodward was born on March 26, 1943 in Geneva, Illinois. He is an American investigative journalist who graduated from Yale University in 1965 with degrees in History and English Literature. After his graduation, he toured with the US Navy for five years, earning the title of lieutenant. After he was discharged in 1970, Woodward applied for a job with the Washington Post as a reporter and took graduate level classes at the George Washington University. He was given a two-week trial as a reporter with the Post, but was let go because of his lack of journalistic experience. After he served as a reporter for the Montgomery Sentinel, a small paper that covered stories in the greater Washington area, Woodward was hired again as a reporter for the Post in 1971. One of the biggest and most infamous stories that Woodward covered was the Watergate scandal—a story about the burglary of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC. Woodward worked with Carl Bernstein on this story, in which they covered a number of “dirty political tricks” used by the Nixon re-election committee during his campaign for re-election. Woodward and Bernstein collaborated on a book about the scandal called All the President’s Men, which became a number one best seller and, later on a movie in 1976. Woodward and Bernstein followed up with a second book in 1976 called the Final Days, which discussed details of the crucial time from 1973 until Nixon’s resignation in 1964. Today, Woodward is named a contributor to two Pulitzer Prize winning pieces (one of which is his story on the Watergate scandal), as well being a main reporter for the attacks that occurred on September 11, in 2001. He has written sixteen best selling books. Currently, Woodward serves as an associate editor of the Washington Post.
ReplyDeleteSagari Rao
Brittany Goodman
ReplyDeleteJournalism 200
Media Participation Project: Mos Def
Due: April 23, 2013
For my Media Participation Project I decided to see Mos Def AKA Yasiin Bey at the 9 30 Club in NW DC. This was my first time going to any type of club so first impressions were important.
I arrived at the 9 30 club around 7:15 so I could get a good spot. Doors did not open until 8:00 so until then I started conversing with people discussing our favorite artist. I actually started conversing with two people who I sat by during the whole conversation. One was a DJ from New York and the other was the founder of an African American Culture Group. When the doors finally opened I went all the way to the top closest to the stage and got comfortable. Slowly but surely it started to get packed until it was just a sea of people. The first group to come on stage was a group by the name of WatchtheDuck. I could not completely describe the genre of music. The group could not even name a genre for their music but it was extremely creative. They were mixing regular songs with other genres such a dubstep, techno and R&B. The crowd was going wild. They got on the stage about 10:00 and lasted about until 10:45.
We waited for about 40 more minutes until finally Mos Def came onto stage and the crowd burst into cheering including me. I took a lot of pictures and videos until security caught me! Mos Def was free styling and rapping some of his old songs as the crowd matched his words perfectly. The whole concert ended around 1:30 AM. I enjoyed my first club experience, vibe and the people I was surrounded by. I’ll back again to the 9 30 Club if I get the chance.
For my project I was to go to a musical event and then go back to the radio station and talk about my experience.
Brittany Goodman
Media Participation Project
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I chose to write a story for a campus publication here at the University of Maryland. The publication is an online newspaper called Stories Beneath the Shell, or SBS. After attending one of their meetings and talking to one of the editors, I was assigned to write a story on the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams here at UMD. I picked to write this for my project because I am a huge lacrosse fan and sports fan in general. I usually read about upcoming news on the teams, so getting the news first hand was just cutting out the middleman. That being said, I felt that athletics would definitely be the area in which I would do the best. Also, I personally know a member of each of the teams so the convenience for interviews was definitely a selling point. Not to mention, I have always been interested in what the life of a student athlete consists of. How they manage to play on a team and keep up with their academics is simply amazing to me.
Writing this story panned out to be a tremendous and memorable experience. Unfortunately, I do not aspire to be a journalist in the future, but this project really opened my eyes to how journalism can be interesting and fulfilling when you do it well. After generating questions and interviewing the student athletes, I took pride in my work and I tried to put together the best story I could for all the readers to enjoy. Even though I am more than likely not going into journalism once I graduate, I feel that sports journalism would be the field I choose and this experience put that into perspective. I am glad that I was privileged to undergo a project like this and I know that it will benefit me in the future one way or another.
Brandon Beam
Media Participation Project- Maggie Cassidy
ReplyDeleteI became involved with my first form of media in college this past semester by volunteering at the WMUC radio station. Since January my friend and cohost Rachel Lebo and I have had our own radio talk show on WMUC Digital where we discuss and report on entertainment news. On the show we talk about news concerning television, music, and film.
For example, our first show on the air was entirely devoted to the 85th Academy Awards. Rachel and I talked about Oscar winners and the films they were associated with. Then for more localized entertainment news we attended a film screening in STAMP that was made by a UMD student titled Aesthetic.
The show is formatted so that we discuss primarily television news for the first half, then we move to a discussion of film. During the film portion we talk about films that have recently come out into theatres or about films that are associated with a theme we have established for the week. A week where we had a hybrid of these two topics was when we discussed the previous films of a director whose newest film had just debuted in theatres.
Having a show at WMUC for my media participation project was more or less an accident. My cohost and I attended the WMUC Open House thinking that we could just help out at the station where we would file records or CDs. However, when we walked in we were handed show idea forms and asked if we could have interviews that night. On the spot we came up with our show premise and interviewed with the station managers that night completely unprepared. Despite our lack of planning, a week later we received an email saying that our show was picked up and that we were part of the WMUC staff. Rachel and I decided to call our new show Spoiled Reviews.
Before being a DJ at WMUC I did not really know what type of journalism I wanted to pursue. At my high school newspaper I had always preferred writing straight news stories concerning the school because I found them easier and more exciting. Now after just focusing on cultural entertainment on my radio show I believe that this is the field I want to pursue. Ideally, I would like to work for a publication similar to Variety, or become the next Roger Ebert. It may not be considered the most common form of journalism, but people want to know what is going on in the entertainment world and I hope I can provide people with that information someday.
Media Participation Project Blog Post - Kate Trapani
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I did a piece for WMUC News about the Boston Marathon bombings that occurred on April 15th, 2013. I wanted to do something about this event specifically because I feel it had such a powerful impact on not just the people of Boston, but on American citizens as a whole. I thought that recording an interview of one individual’s personal connection with the tragedy would not only appeal to many as a human interest piece, but would also push me outside of my comfort zone as I’d never done something like this before.
After looking on WMUC’s website, I found that the news director, Liz Lane, is a friend of mine from high school. So, I contacted her and asked if there was any opportunity for me to do a piece on the Boston bombings. She said yes, and I got to work. At first, I was a little nervous about how to go about finding someone who would have a personal connection to the events that happened in Boston. I didn’t want to make a Facebook post asking people, “Hey, did you know anyone who was at the marathon when the bombings happened? Great! Can I interview you?” Instead, quite unintentionally, my subject happened to just fall into my lap; I was talking to a friend about why he missed a previous day’s class when he told me that his cousin had been running in the marathon that day.
So, after I interviewed him about his experience of waiting to hear word from his cousin, I had to record my own narrations and edit it together to form a coherent piece. I struggled with the editing program at first, but after my sister helped me, I was able to make it all work!
Media Participation Project- Domenic Bello
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I wrote an opinion piece for the Diamondback that was printed on April 4th. I was prompted to write this story when Student Entertainment Events announced that the band MGMT would be headlining Art Attack, UMD's annual spring concert. I was pretty disappointed by this news, so that day I submitted a story voicing my opinion to the Diamondback Opinion column. After being edited, my story ran the next day, Thursday April 4th. It was very easy to get my work published, as all I had to do was email the opinion section of the Diamondback and request that they run my story.
Overall, I enjoyed this media participation project. Writing my article was very easy, as I already had strong opinions on the topic; all I had to do was put my thoughts into words. It was also a great feeling knowing that other students could read my work, allowing my opinions to rub off on others. There was a comic in the same issue of the Diamondback that shared the same point of view as me, showing that I am not alone in my negative opinion of SEE. Writing in the Diamondback also allowed members of SEE to see my criticism, giving them feedback on their decision. Even though I was disappointed with MGMT, I have hopes that members of SEE will consider the feedback that me and other students have given, and choose more current artists for coming concerts.
Although I do not aspire to be a journalist in the future, I still enjoyed this project. Writing out my thoughts for the Diamondback has inspired me to share my opinions more often, and I will certainly submit work to publications in the future.
For my media participation project I took part in UMTV, a local television station that puts on a news segment right in the basement of Tawes. UMTV is a local news broadcast every tuesday, wednesday, and thursday night. While shadowing for the week I was able to get to experience everything that goes on behind the cameras.
ReplyDeleteMy first day I decided to observe the happenings in what is called the control room. This is the room where the director, producer, tech guys and prompter stays during the show. Nothing is more chaotic then the control room. The director takes control of the whole routine. Before the show even airs the director has to focus the camera, make sure the microphones are working, do sound check, focus cameras, and check footage. The director and producers do their best to organize the segments as much as possible before airing because it is a live show. What you don't see as a viewer at home is all the commands and panic that is happening in the control room. Many times technology errors will happen and the directors and producers must think on there feet. They must keep calm, take charge and improvise the situation. Usually in the matter of a technology glitch the show will go to commercial to save five minutes to discuss what will happen or the director will switch to "packages". Packages are different pre-filmed segments that the writers have all together before the show.
While all mayhem is occurring in the control room, the main floor is calm. When first entering the UMTV newsroom there is a classroom like any others at the University of Maryland, but in the back of the room there is a stage set up for the anchors with cameras, lights, and televisions. Mostly the people sitting in the classroom or audience during the show are the writers and/or anchors that had already filmed a package. Besides the camera men there are people standing beside them making cues for the anchors. They cue them when to speak, where to look, and to keep going or to stop. They maintain a sense of control over the floor.
The different vibes given from either place could not have been more different. The floor was calm and reassuring, while the control room was busy and chaotic. It was a great experience being able to understand the basis of what goes into running a news show. The daily efforts put in by the staff is incredible. They are able to work under pressure professionally. The staff at UMTV is mostly constructed of journalism majors and often times just volunteers. They welcome anyone that wants to be apart of the show and they are a very friendly team.
Overall the experience was valuable. Journalism is a major that I am exploring and being able to experience the television part of it was enlightening. Even if I do not go into the field of journalism the experience was interesting and gave me a better appreciation for the hard work that is just put in for a thirty minute news show. UMTV puts a lot of effort to keep the audience updated and entertained by the news. It is definitely a team that I would love to join in the future.
Lyle Stewart
ReplyDeleteMedia Participation Project
April 2013
For my media participation project I selected to volunteer at WMUC radio station twice. I selected this option because 2 of my good friends, as well as other associates, are heavily involved with radio shows that pertain to Hip-Hop Music. More importantly, Hip-Hop music in the truer sense has been an interest of mine since my youth and I figured this would be a great outlet to divulge. I during my visits shadowed two of my associates who are Hip Hop artists that attend the University of Maryland. "Affirmative Rappin" is the name of a digital broadcast that takes place every Monday. I visited during the hours of this show on different dates.
In late march I shadowed one of my associates, Edem Kwame, who is a rapper also known as "Double Up Cal" as he spoke/hosted during one of the weekly shows. This show as stated earlier is called "Affirmative Rappin" and is hosted by rapper David Porter. Edem, who was recently featured in the Diamond Back as one of the upcoming artists at the University of Maryland and in the area, showed me the ins and outs of how radio station works from a recording standpoint. I was introduced to the sound boards and equipment that disperses broadcasts to eager listeners; I was also shown how the equipment worked and what must be done to use them in the most effective manner. After being shown the surface of a radio station and how it works, also how one can best host a segment, I decided to examine from the eyes of a journalist. I sat down with Edem and decided to talk about his affinity for music, reasons for pursing rap and growth as an artist. In short, this budding artist took towards Hip-Hop from a young age, and is using it as a means to reach towards a better life. His goals are becoming very attainable with each new step he takes as his music grows, and overall wants to reach as many people as possible with his messages, which are almost always deeper than meets the eye so to speak.
The second time I visited WMUC I shadowed my friend Omari Pickney, also known by his rapper name "Supermari 64". The second visit took place in early April. Coming back with a deeper knowledge of how a radio station works, I was able to focus more on the assignment at hand and further answer the required questions through my interactions. Speaking with Omari in the same capacity that I spoke with Edem at my first visit, I was able to make the conclusion that one must carefully plot out their plan of action in life, but most importantly aim to do something that you enjoy. Both Edem and Omari are successful college students with lucrative majors that can guarantee them jobs post graduation. That being said this route is their back up plan, music is their true love and what they purse as the optimal means to make a living.
Overall, after the experience of volunteering at WMUC, I have been enlightened to the fact that one must sometime take risks and aim to do what you love. I am not specifically interested in journalism, but regarding my plans for the rest of my life, I have for the first time been forced to consider not just the monetary benefits to a career, but also the question as to wether I will actually enjoy what I do. Lastly, the second main thing that was extracted from this experience was learning the ins and outs of a radio station and first hand viewing how recording is conducted in the most effective manor.
Media Participation Project
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I decided to interview a journalist, as it seemed practical. I was able to get in touch with a journalist named Abigail, who runs the website blackcelebkids.com (BCK) as a content provider. BCK is a site that is about black celebrity children, babies and their parents. When I talked to her in March, I asked her a few questions about the website, but I still did not understand how hard she worked for BCK until I had a deep interview with her. The ones she interviews for BCK are African-American celebrity kids and their parents. She provides BCK with content, so she has to travel to events, prepare questions, take pictures and the next day she writes about them and puts up pictures. She also searches for new content and revamps the site. The job is demanding, as it involves much waiting, and even at the event, she still works to gather information. This opened my eyes to just how labor-intensive journalism can be. I realized that it is not just asking questions, it’s many other things, such as researching, investigating and traveling. I knew that journalism wasn’t that easy, but it seemed to me that it was really a large amount of work for Abigail. However, Abigail loves working with kids and she loves her job very much. Now she is seeking to build up the BCK brand, expand to a video site, and she hopes to interview Will Smith one day. As for me, I think that although her job is hard, she still has fun and she makes a good living. I realized from the interview what attracted me to journalism, plus I saw her passion for her job and realized that it was all I wanted in a job as well.
Media Participation - Lena Kaswala
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I chose to write an article for the Diamondback. It was a little disconcerting because the Diamondback has a solid reputation and I'd never approached them before, but the experience was smooth and relatively easy. I attended one of the Sunday meetings and although there were no general assignments to hand out, the three of us that came had all prepared pitches.
I thought of mine on the spot. A friend of mine had recently started a charity organization called AID and was hosting a fundraising event that I'd been invited to early that day. Since I'd never read about her work in the paper before, I ran the idea through the editor, who told me that I was free to cover it if I could. The rest was a piece of cake. I spoke to the president of the organization and asked her all the questions that came to mind concerning the organization starting with how began and what it hopes to do. The work they've done is incredible and I had to thank them for talking to me because it's a really great thing they're doing.
The article didn't take too long to write and was a decent length. I also considered volunteering for WMUC, so the project opened doors to not just one media organization on campus, but two. In the future, now that the ice is broken, it'll be much easier to go back and get involved.
For my Media Participation project, I chose to work at my hometown’s local television studio for a day. A couple of summers ago, when I became interested in broadcast journalism, I reached out to my city’s local television station (Rockville11) to volunteer as an intern for the summer. That summer, I shadowed Bridget Broulliere, the main producer and anchor of the monthly show, and later on got to produce my own package. I loved that Rockville11 allowed me to work individually and hands-on in media, working on all aspects of broadcast journalism including writing, producing, on and off-camera on set, and editing. Since I had already developed a good relationship with Rockville11, I decided that working in the studio again for my Media Participation project would be the best idea.
ReplyDeleteOn Friday, April 19th, I arrived at the Rockville 11 studio after class and jumped right into the current project they’re working on. The package I focused on was about the new pieces of art and sculpture recently installed in Rockville’s commercial areas. I began by helping two other interns choose which segments of footage to feature in the package. We watched through several long video clips of artists talking about their pieces, cutting the clips to concisely fit into the short segment, and wrote adjacent voice-overs to be later recorded and featured in the package. I loved being able to work hands-on, producing the segment with just two other interns, with Bridget giving us free reign on the package. Although I worked somewhat on editing during my summer internship, I was able to learn a lot more about editing by watching the more-experienced intern on Friday. Working in the studio on Friday affirmed my interest in broadcast journalism and made me more excited to work on more packages in the future.
Overall, the experience I had in the Rockville11 studio on Friday was helpful in reaffirming my interest in the industry and helped me to learn more about editing as well as how to work independently and creatively. At the end of the day, I talked with Bridget about what I learned and about future intern work I could do in the studio. She offered me a spot as an intern for this summer, where I’ll be working more independently and will begin creating my personal reel. I’m so excited to work for the station again this summer and create a lot of my own personal packages. The experience Friday not only helped me learn more about the process of creating a package, but also helped me to land a summer internship!
Media Participation
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I volunteered with WMUC radio. One of the first things I noticed is that the people who host the radio shows have high autonomy. There isn’t someone watching over them directly and we even talked about how you can have a show about anything you want, “as long as you don’t curse or say anything crazy.” I volunteered with Scott and Greg with WMUC sports radio. Mostly I was only able to observe and put in my input at the breaks, and then they would mention things we discussed with the audience. Although the show was about sports, they had the freedom to briefly discuss the Boston Bombings and the news coverage of that.
One of the guys interviewed me about the state of the track and field team. We talked a lot about football and the impact of the Jets releasing Derrelle Revis. They were on a schedule with professionals from CBS Sports and others who called in and gave their input. We also talked about how other people had smaller radio shows, and they were an exception for having one that lasted all four years of their college careers.
I had though about having my own radio show, but I hadn’t decided on a topic yet. My experience encouraged me to have my own radio show because anyone can do it. They seem like they have fun on their show mostly because they know what they’re talking about. They have so much free will that I think as long as I have creative ideas, there is no reason not to do it. I didn’t get to participate as much as I had liked, but that is also more encouragement to have a radio show of my own, and just to get more involved with WMUC in general.
Media Participation Project-Ray Bryant
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project I shadowed a journalist. I shadowed Carmen Cento who is a booking producer at the Voice of America. Mrs Cento covers the Latin America portion of the media. Walking around Voice of America was a great experience. I saw everything that goes into broadcasting a news show, from the cameras, teleprompters, to the backdrops and even make up rooms. I even got to step into a studio booth as they were broadcasting live to an Asian country (not sure which one).
Mrs Cento told me tons of interesting stories about her job. One story specifically stood out and it involved Hugo Chavez and his rule over Venezuela. She told me that when Chavez was in charge Venezuela didn't receive real news, and every Sunday Chavez would have a live broadcast where he would talk about what he thought was important going on around the world. These broadcasts would last from 5-8 hours. Mrs Cento told me of a specific instance where a woman contacted her and gave her details on different people Chavez had tortured that she knew. She told her that she was going to be arrested but inside the jail would be able to get a phone and text Mrs Cento the names of all the people who were in prison with her and what kind of things were going on inside. Chavez found out the woman had contacted VOA and imprisoned her. At the changing of the guards the woman sent Mrs Cento a texted picture of herself to confirm it was her in prison, and then texted all of the names of the people with her and what kind of things were happening. The woman made a great sacrifice to release the real news because she knew she would get caught and when she finally got caught, she was tortured, beaten, and had her legs broken. Mrs Cento was able to give the news she had received to the VOA and they were able to broadcast the news into Venezuela from a near by Island that was owned by the Dutch. This way the people of Venezuela could pick up the news from their own radios.
I thought the VOA was very interesting overall. They are non-commercial and run under the government. Mrs Cento told me that other news outlets only need two news sources to release a story however she said VOA requires three trusted sources before you can release a story. VOA works to broadcast the truth. They also require both sides of any event, like we studied. For example I sat in on a meeting yesterday and Mrs Cento said she had someone who was willing to talk on the new president of Venezuela winning. Her boss however said that they can't interview that person until they found someone from the losing side. Overall the experience was great and as a matter of fact I am going to be interning there this summer now. I enjoyed my project.
Darrin Brown- Media Participation Project
ReplyDeleteI chose to write a story for a campus publication for my media participation project. At first I really wanted to write for The Diamondback but I felt that I had a better chance of getting published if it was or another publication, so I looked into other publications on campus and chose to work with Unwind Magazine. I went to a meeting and instantly volunteered to write a story on thrift store shopping, because that is something I really love to do and I thought that Ii could turn that into a really good piece. The story had a quick turn around, and was due in six days which is one of the fastest stories I had ever had to write. I asked around and interviewed several people, about their experiences thrift shopping, where they like to go to shop, and why they like it. I got many different answers, and plenty of good material to write my story.
After I wrote the story and attempted to edit it myself I sent it in to the editors of Unwind, and that was it. I received an email saying thanks, and that they had received the story but that was it. I never heard back from the magazine, so I just assumed everything was in order, and that my story would be published. However I got quite a surprise when I picked up the magazine at the beginning of April and saw that my story had been omitted, and in the section where it was supposed to go there was a completely different story on another topic. My feelings were slightly hurt at first, but then I got over it, acknowledging that this is how the business could potentially be- getting rejected, getting the chance to shine. I enjoyed doing this story because it was on a topic that I love, and it made me realize that if I do choose to do print, I would love to write on fashion culture. But this experience also helped me to see that the field can be hard to get into and sometimes people might not like my material but I have to keep pressing towards my goal.
Sagari Rao- Media Participation Project
ReplyDeleteFor my media participation project, I chose to write an article for Stories Beneath the Shell. Students run this campus publication and it is an online publication. For my article, I pitched a story about the University of Maryland’s premier Garba/Raas team’s (EntouRAAS) invitation and win at the 5th annual Raas National Championships. EntouRAAS is the only team in the Garba/Raas circuit to have been invited to Nationals for every year the competition has existed, and this is the first year that they placed at this prestigious competition. I picked this publication mostly because they cover stories that have to do with minority groups on campus, and I feel like the team does not get enough recognition from the school. They are the number one team in the nation, and the school fails to recognize this accomplishment. Though my article did not get published, I was very happy to share this accomplishment with people in the student body who are not aware of many of the culturally enriching activities that are available on campus. Writing this article also gave me the opportunity to think like a real journalist, gathering information and quotes in a very timely fashion, and exploring all points of views to write the most informative piece I possibly could. Though I am not aspiring to be a journalist in the future, I am really glad I participated in this project and wrote an article that had the ability to inform people on campus of things that they could not simply just hear around campus by word of mouth. Creating a well informed and knowledgeable student society is one of the most important aspects of journalism, and I am happy I was able to contribute to that. I was never really interested in the field of hard news writing, but participating in this project helped me see how important Journalism and reporting is in society, and without it, society would not be well informed.
For my media participation project, I interviewed and shadowed Washington Post sports writer Kent Babb. I picked this because I thought it would be really cool to learn and shadow a professional at the job I want to have one day. I spent the day with Kent at Bowie State to watch a basketball practice then watch how he interviewed the players. According to Kent, this was going to be a fluff piece nothing really big. The Bowie State basketball team just won their conference tournament to make it into a bigger national tournament, so the story was going to about that and it would coincide with a player’s story who got a second chance to come and play on this Bowie State team. For an hour we watched the whole team practice and get ready for the upcoming game against a much better seeded team. After the practice, Kent and I went to the coaches office where we interviewed the coach, the assistant coach and then the player and another player. What happened next surprised both Kent and I. When we heard the story of the player it was incredible from a teenage father who hadn’t been to school in four years was involved in the wrong stuff to walking on to a college basketball team and going to college. The puff piece became a much larger story and ran a week later in the sports section of the Washington Post. This trip affirmed the fact that I want to become a sports journalist one day. It was a great and educational trip and I learned a lot from it.
ReplyDeleteMPP: UMD Film Makers Club
ReplyDeleteOn Sunday April 14th (8 p.m.), I attended a weekly Diamondback story assignment meeting in 3150 South Campus Dining Hall. There were 4 people including the general assignment editor Leah Villanueva. My assignment was to cover to UMD Filmmakers club short film festival.
The film festival was Friday April 19th at 6pm in the Hoff Theater. It rained and I arrived at the event really late. On Sunday morning I e-mailed Leah notifying her that I had missed a good portion of the function. She advised to just submit whatever I had covered. I then contacted the President of the Filmmakers Club Peter Garafalo. He gave me access to all the films and photos that were shown/taken the night of the festival. I then interviewed him for about 30 mins. I also interviewed producer Lililan Hoang for about 15 minutes.
I submitted my piece to Leah at 7 p.m on April 21st. By 10:45 there were 20 e-mails documenting Leah and I's concerns about the story. At 11:05 I received a call from a copy editor confirming the awards given for each film.
The story was published online:
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/blogs/student_blogs/article_9ebe2402-abb5-11e2-a148-001a4bcf6878.html
at 11 a.m on Tuesday, April 23rd. This was good practice for meeting deadlines pressure situations.
Jeremy Ramlagan
I chose to write an opinion column for The Diamondback as part of my media participation project. The topic I chose to write about was the recent gun control bill that passed in the state of Maryland. The reason I picked that particular topic was because it is something I have been keeping up with in the news and I have strong opinions about it. The view I chose is an opposition to gun control because of its unconstitutionality and the fact that recent technology renders it futile. I chose to submit it to The Diamondback because it has a large readership and is a respectable news source. I had to do quite a bit of research to write the story and I ended up learning more about gun control measures in the process. This experience has taught me that, if I end up pursuing a journalism career, I would enjoy writing opinion pieces. Originally, I had planned to write an article supporting gun control because I have to do so for another class. However, once I started I realized that the quality of my writing was compromised as a result of my differing opinion. I decided to write in accordance with my actual opinion and the article came together very nicely. My article details why the right to bear arms shouldn’t be regulated by the government and introduces the relatively new 3-D printed gun. 3-Dimensional printers now give people the ability to print the individual components of a gun and assemble it themselves using files that are readily available on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteMy media participation consisted of me Observing the team at UMTV. This was my first time doing so, and I really enjoyed watching everyone on their A-game. I approached different people with different questions regarding their duties. All three Anchors were female seniors and I found that to be very interesting. I was told only seniors could be Anchors and they have to go get the stories on their own and report back with it. Before the show aired, everyone seemed a bit calm for me, I was expecting them to be all over the place but it seems that they give themselves a lot of time to be prepared. The show started at 6:30p.m and 5:45p.m was my arrival time. As I got their, two of the Anchors were already sitting down, on was still getting ready.
ReplyDeleteThe technical crew (lights, Camera, etc) had everything in place by the time I got there as well. The lights and camera were positioned at the desired spot and all they were waiting for was the "go" time. observed the Anchors reviewing their notes, and discussing amongst each other.
The overall experience was very enjoyable and I saw myself up as an Anchor as well because it is what I would absolutely love to do. I wish to visit them again.
Manuel de Dios Unanue (4 January 1943 - 11 March 1992) was a veteran Cuban-born US journalist, former editor-in-chief of El Diario La Prensa, New York City's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, radio show host, and anti-drug crusading editor of magazines Cambio XXI and Crimen.
ReplyDeleteIn March, 1994, a Colombian assassin was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Testimony at the trial revealed that the killing had been ordered by Colombian drug lord José Santacruz Londono, who had purportedly put out a $20,000 contract on the journalist. The reason? Unanue had the temerity to write articles and books as well as publish photographs of top narcotics traffickers and their street level operators and money launderers in Queens. American authorities aggressively investigated and prosecuted Unanue's killers as if it involved the murder of a police officer. Explained Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, "The same tactics repeatedly used by Colombian cocaine traffickers in South America to silence their critics were used here and that is something we will not tolerate." According to New York Mayor David N. Dinkins, "This conviction will serve as a reminder to those who would seek to silence our society's crusaders, to murder the illuminators of our society's dark places and to undermine one of our fundamental national rights should know we will never rest in pursuing them."
On 5 May 1993, federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn charged John Mena, age 24, with arranging de Dios’ murder on behalf of the Cali cartel and also charged Alejandro Wilson Mejia-Velez, age 18, with being the shooter. At a news conference afterward, government officials stressed that the murder investigation had been given the same attention as one that might involve the murder of a police officer. "Any murder is obviously a heinous crime, but when the victim is murdered not for revenge or out of passion but because he has reported on the truth as he has found it," said U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White at the same news conference, "we all are very much the victims here."
De Dios had a long history of aggressively reporting on themes which earned him dangerous enemies. For example, after reporting on the pro-independence Puerto Rican FALN and anti-Castro Omega 7 terrorist groups a bomb exploded in the El Diario-La Prensa newspaper offices which exploded in the lobby hurting no one. De Dios merely remarked to Newsday about the incident, "That is when my name started being recognized." From the very beginning de Dios was committed to writing and he never let himself be intimidated. "When I was a child in Battista's Cuba, I got together with some friends and put on a newspaper that we made by typing out sheets of paper and making carbon copies," de Dios explained. "We did that until Castro took over. When I lived in Spain under Franco, I was also a writer. No one will ever be able to tell me that I can't write."
(http://www.rjgeib.com/heroes/unanue/unanue.html)
Louis Lomax was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1922. He attended Paine College where he earned his Bachelor's Degree. He earned his master's degree at the American University and then followed by his Phd at Yale in 1947. After earning his Phd he became a reporter for the Afro-American in Baltimore Maryland shortly followed by the Chicago Defender. He left his position at the Defender to then join WNTA-TV in New York as the first black television journalist. In 1959 Lomax and his friend Mike Wallace created a documentary about the Nation of Islam. This was the first time white Americans got a chance to see the nation of Islam"s leader Elijah Mohammed and the famous Malcolm X. Lomax later wrote about the Black Panther Party and the Civil Rights Movement was awarded the Ansfield-wolf book award. In the 60's Lomax hosted a television show in Los Angeles and became a public speaker for the remainder of his career. Lomax died in a car accident in New Mexico due to faulty breaks. His death was during the time that he was investigating the role of the FBI in the death of Malcolm X. some believe that he was indeed killed as part of a conspiracy.
ReplyDelete