Ann Curry

Ann Curry is an accomplished journalist and photojournalist. She has covered numerous topics, from wars in the Middle East to climate change. Currently, Curry is the executive producer of a television series called We’ll Meet Again, aired on PBS. It is a documentary-style show that reunites people who met once in a life-changing moment. The series is heartfelt and allows viewers an inside look into monumental stories. Curry describes it as, “a series of stories about people who are separated by events in history.” A photo gallery by Blink Films gives viewers a look behind the scenes of the show’s production.  [11 images, 1 link, 1 quotation, 102 words]

The Post

This week I had the opportunity to watch the movie “The Post.” The movie stars Meryl Streep as an unsure woman who is tasked with taking over her late husband’s newspaper. As she’s adjusting, the newspaper’s editor Ben Bradlee comes into contact with a source that provided the newspaper with the evidence that eventually turned into the Pentagon Papers. The story is a strong tale of journalists that must make the call on what is in their personal best interest and what is their duty to the people of the United States as journalists. Ultimately, a small group comes together to start piecing together the papers and releases them to the public. The group's journey to make the decision is inspiring and I was captivated by the characters. [1 image, 1 movie, 128 words].

GM’s Fall from Public Praise

I recently read Bob Lutz’s book “Car Guys Vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business,” which discusses the decline of General Motors leading up to the company’s bankruptcy. Lutz’s throughout the book draws attention to how the media influenced the public’s opinion of GM. GM’s top management did not see the value in engaging with the media, and this is what created a negative relationship between the two. Ultimately, this negative reputation grew into what is now referred to as “fake news.” Often, media reporters would praise Toyota and other foreign car makers while stating that GM was a horrible company not concerned about its customers. The media was partial toward these foreign companies purely because the companies were vocal about their strategies and commitment to products that were for the benefit of the consumer and the environment. Lutz provides his opinion that “The job of the CEO is, in large part, making sure the company is seen in a favorable light.” I think this is a powerful example of the importance of being your authentic self and communicating well with others. [1 image, 1 quotations, 1 book, 186 words].

How to Spot fake News

Even though fake news isn't the newest thing to take over in our society, many people turn to this to promote information for the sole reason of getting the attention of a wide amount of people. There have been many instances in which people find ways to help spot fake news and one of them is to 'vet the creator's credibility.' This is one of many different ways to help spot this, but if an author of an article isn't proving that they are credible and that their info isn't backed up by factual information, this starts to raise red flags. Another way to help spot fake news is to check on the actual quality of the piece; many times it will include many different errors in the structure of the written piece. This is very important for anyone who is active on social media because there have been an extreme rise in fake news articles, and they are definitely something to watch out for.https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/4-tips-spotting-fake-news-story

FakeNews Defeated

Fakes News Defeated 

For years conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones have been falsely claiming that the Sandy Hook massacre that killed 20 first graders never happened. Leonard Pozner is among those who have been fiercely fighting this fake news by confronting head-on. Mr. Pozner achieved this by using direct logical appeal, fighting the case in court, using his emotional story of his family, and using his own technical knowledge to defeat these conspiracy theorists in their own sick game. After battling the author, Dave Gahary in court and winning Gahary admitted "My face-to-face interactions with Mr. Pozner have led me to believe that Mr. Pozner is telling the truth about the death of his son. I extend my most heartfelt and sincere apology to the Pozner family," Mr. Pozner and many parents of Sandy Hook Victims continue their fight against fake news.

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733880866/sandy-hook-victims-father-wins-defamation-suit-alex-jones-sanctioned

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Clickbait

Clickbait is something that has slowly started to emerge in the business world helping them receive more attention on social media. Even though it seems as it is a great idea to the common person, they sometimes over exaggerate and under delivers on things that they mention in their ad. As a defense to remove these false advertisement ad's companies such as google and Facebook "roll[s] out a number of updates to sift through clickbait." With that in mind, we as active social media users, must be smart and as well as cautious as we share anything because it could be detrimental to accounts, including business accounts because so many people will click on these clickbait ads.

117 words, 1 quote, one image

Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is an American Journalist, he is son to Gloria Vanderbilt. He grew up living in New York and attended Yale University. He worked for ABC News then became an anchor for CNN, to later having his own show, The Anderson Cooper 360. What inspired him to be a news correspondent was when his brother passed away from suicide. He stated, "I became interested in questions of survival: why some people survive and others don't. . . . Covering wars just seemed logical." Anderson Coopers dedication to journalism has earned him many honors throughout the years. This included Emmy Award nominations and eight wins. In 2005, he won both the Peabody and National Headliner Awards. In 2006 he won an Edward R. Murrow Award and in 2013 he received a GLAAD Media Award.

[1 image, 1 link, 1 quotation, 131 words] 

https://www.biography.com/media-figure/anderson-cooper

The End of the Spectrum

After seeing results of a Pew Research poll that showed the news app the Blaze to have on of the most conservative bases, I was curious to investigate how strongly the website is slanted to appease its fan base. Expecting to find critical articles against everything liberal, I was not disappointed. With a quick glance I was able to find headlines that said "OUT OF TOUCH:" in all caps to describe Democratic 2020 primary candidates, and even a form of name calling directly below it. A made-up word, "Hispandering" is used as an adjective for Beto O'Rourke. On top of being eye catching, my assumption is that this style of mockery is meant to mimic the type of insults seen in tweets by president Donald Trump, someone readers of the Blaze likely follow if they have Twitter. Like many sites as of late, the Blaze threw out the pop up I have screenshotted when I moved my cursor to the top of the screen intending to leave the site. The pop up sells the idea that signing up to read their news will help combat bias against all conservative news media. Even the "confirm" and "deny" buttons are used to convince the visitor that their sight will free them from "fake news".

https://www.theblaze.com/

[1 image, 2 quotes, 1 link, 212 words]

Ezra Klein

Ezra Klein is a journalist who founded Vox, a news website.  Recently he has been reporting on topics relating to the 2020 presidential elections. His last article on the Vox includes an interview he conducted with presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. In this lengthy interview, Warren describes her plans for achieving her goals if she wins,” Help close the differences between the poorest in this country and the middle class. Give people more opportunities. Let’s get everybody on board and try that.”  Klein conducted this interview in a very straight forward manner and kept his questions short. On Twitter, Klein has been posting about the presidential debate that occurred yesterday. His post includes a photo of his personal thoughts on the “fiscal cliff” deal that proved to be a troublesome topic for Joe Biden.  [1 image, 2 links, 1quotation, 133 words]

Permanent Face Filters

Snap filters have become a trend for many users, as it changes the person’s facial features. Some filters are used just for fun, but in some cases and especially for women, there are used because it can hide their flaws. This has caused an increase in cosmetic surgery in order to make that change permanent. People are no longer satisfied on how they look and Snapchat filters has fueled those insecurities people have about themselves. “A new study from Boston University shows people who use filters are more accepting of cosmetic surgery and will use the filters to guide cosmetic surgery decisions. The survey was conducted by Johns Hopkins medical students with 252 participants.”


https://www.live5news.com/2019/06/28/more-young-people-getting-plastic-surgery-with-increase-social-media-filters/


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The cycle continues

My last interview was conducted with a co-worker. I wanted another perspective from someone who that wasn't part of the community that would receive reparations if the bill was passed and created into law. I decided to ask my Hispanic co-worker Guelmy on her thoughts. She stated that "Blacks should absolutely get paid for what they were put through during slavery. Maybe I would feel different if America actually made an attempt to level the playing field for them, but their hardships continued after they were freed. Honestly, America clearly never learned its lesson because they continue to treat people less than human by containing them like animals, ripping children away from their parents, and keeping them in unsanitary conditions. Just look what's going on at the border".

https://www.eater.com/2019/6/28/19154181/migrant-children-detention-centers-border-texas-food-water.
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Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts is an American television broadcaster who was born in Mississippi. She Attended university at Southeastern Louisiana University. Before becoming anchor to ABC's Good Morning America she was a sportscaster for ESPN for 15 years. Then staying permanent at ABC. In 2007, Robin Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatments. 5 years later, she would be diagnosed with a type of bone marrow disease. One of her quotes says: “Life is not so much what you accomplish as what you overcome.” She would overcome both, bone marrow disease and cancer. Robin Roberts has been awarded with the Walter Cronkite Award for her Excellence in Journalism, was also inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. She was also named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year.         

[1image, 2 links, 1 quotation, 138 words]

https://www.biography.com/personality/robin-roberts
https://abcnews.go.com/Author/Robin_Roberts

The New York Post - Physical Clickbait

After looking into the "New York Post" further, I am unsure whether or not it qualifies as a legitimate publication to a majority of people. Based on this front page and a few online posts, the paper seems to focus more on the sensational. Indeed, the front page of today's paper appears to be a sort of sarcastic joke that chooses an image of democratic candidates with their hands raised in response to the headline. The headline and photo take up the entire page, which appears to be the norm for this paper. There are barely any words aside from the title, headline, and the caption. The caption uses slang I've never even heard before, stating, "All major Dem candidates raise hand in favor of free health care for illegal immigs". All these factors are likely included to make the paper seem more sensational. Their tactic for attracting viewers is like that of online clickbait.

https://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/?tfp_show=all&tfp_id=NY_NYP

[1 image, 1 quote, 1 link, 155 words]