Blogging: An Online Community

Here are the links for each of the comments I left on my peers' blogs.

Janee Jones

Eboni Price

Simone Carter

Jamal McDonald

Cherice McGlone

Todo Sobre Mi

The vast influences and widespread connections new media produces are undeniable. I am an avid user of primarily Twitter and Youtube, but I do dabble here and there in other forms of social media. This is a short video I made about myself using Windows Movie Maker on my laptop. I have never before made a video where I was the sole creator of each image, sequence, transition, and concept of the project in its entirety. Utilizing new media which makes an array of technology availiable at your fingertips, I uploaded my video to my new YouTube account and joined the rest of video makers and video viewers across the world. To incorporate a global perspective, I reocrded the video speaking in Spanish. I wanted to illustrate how the use of new media is culturally universal in a sense that regardless of ethnicity and origin, new media has taken the communication and technology age by storm. Any and everyone can essentially be an editor, director, producer, publisher, etc.

Enjoy!

Media for the Masses ... Overseas?



“As Public Broadcasting and Community Media Face Potentially Massive Cuts at Home, Hilary Clinton Calls For Increased Funding for U.S. Propaganda Overseas” headlined Democracy Now’s morning broadcast this past Monday with a supplemental video stream and transcript posted on their website. Moderated by Amy Goodwin, she reported on the bill passed last month in the House of Representatives that will eliminate financing towards the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The budget cuts are projected to be implemented in the year 2013 backed by the bill’s author, Colorado Republican Doug Lamborn, who claims that “we no longer need to subsidize broadcasting” attesting to the prevalence of media in daily life. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton illustrates support for this measure through her claim that “the U.S. is losing the global "information war” which was presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last Wednesday. She wishes to expand our nation’s sphere of influence through channeling the funding for state media into propaganda overseas. Analyzing America’s current international footprint, Clinton compares our standards of news delivery to those of Al Jazeera, an Arabic network gaining prominence in the U.S., due to a major component inclusive to their media: “it offers "real news" and is far more effective” than “a million commercials” and “arguments between talking heads”. Clinton also criticizes the perception of the U.S. through our unsatisfactory media outlets overseas and the progression of China and Russia sectors that have already delved into English and multilingual broadcasts and networks. Amy Goodwin spoke with Robert McChensey, an author and co-founder of Free Press, who provided a voice of opposition and a different “prescription” for the ills created by the appropriation of funds toward international presence. Instead of additional spending overseas which already amounts to roughly $750 million dating last year’s total, McChensey suggests that we take the majority of that money and feed it back into the U.S. to “and create a really dynamic, strong, competitive public and community broadcasting system.”

SOURCE: Right Across the Atlantic

The bill passed by the House sparks a three-pronged question or debate of policy: public service vs. commercial media, “hard” news vs. propaganda, and domestic vs. foreign relations. The Communications Act of 1935 specifically allocated a small spectrum of airwaves devoted to public interests as an outlet free of commercial interests. The cuts toward public service funding would ultimately undermine the legislation already in place and curtail the efforts of control geared toward the privatization of media. Could the basic characteristic of free press and free media, both rooted in the original ideas of a democratic government soon disappear? The Smith-Mundt Act passed in 1948 after World War II specifically addressed the idea of propaganda and world engagement and the illegality of it being viewed in America. This directly effects and creates a difference between the type of information presented to the world by American and the type of information presented within our own borders by our own government: a query of validity and honesty because propaganda is usually used to assert a certain ideal and promote a certain cause. The types of information could not match up and therefore be manipulated from both perspectives, thereby infiltrating the standards of hard news journalism. Hilary Clinton’s push to expand abroad into the international sector could also be an aim to improve foreign relations and policy which would make America more competitive. Is this really the route to take rather than taking care of our own domestic squabbles? The bill has yet to be passed through the Senate and President Obama, but the attack on domestic media funding seems to have an underlying agenda, privatization and monetary gain, that deviates from the façade of improving the U.S. media presence abroad and winning the “information war”.

Go to Democracry Now!'s webiste and view the full text article!

Self Assessment: How Am I Doing?

Reflecting upon my blog entries thus far, I would say that I have a good mix of content that relates to new media and poverty. I focused on issues such as the Egyptian revolution, ACLU, journalism, and budget cuts that all pertain to the new direction and importance media has taken and/or underlying causes of poverty. My blog is helping to further the study of new media and find a solution to poverty as a social problem by analyzing the legislation and governmental structures in the United States and abroad. I think this is one of the most important strengths I have illustrated throughout my posts because I am not only commenting on the widespread usage and prominence of new media, but more so how it agrees or disagrees with societal norms. This is critical because we can talk about the numerous innovations and implementations of new media, but I have yet to see some one comment on how it effects policy making and officials. One of my weakness may lie in the fact that my posts may seem loosely connected, but that correlates with both new media and poverty subject matter because there is no direct way of approaching this type of content. Both topics are vast in their developments and exploration thus far, and my blog embodies that. I may need to connect more emotionally with my readers, but I hope that I am inspiring critical thinking by not imposing my views harshly. As an aspiring journalist, my entries reflect an emphasis on legislation, global affairs, and the actual usage of new media which is essentially career oriented. I do think that new media is a great outlet for my research and perspective becuase of its accessibility to others and easy usage for the creator. I can improve my blog by utilizing more color and images.

Money Woes: Wisconsin's "Budget Battle"

SOURCE: Scott Olsen/Getty Images (NPR)

    Today’s Morning Edition broadcasted by the National Public Radio featured coverage on Wisconsin’s “budget battle” in addition to the full story published on their website by David Schaper. Republican Governor Scott Walker is set to deliver a budget address this Tuesday in front of state legislature regarding the projected shortfall for this fiscal year said to be $140 million dollars. Walker plans to cut state funding for schools by $900 million dollars and limit the amount of money schools can potentially raise through property taxes. Reports reflect the status of current teachers as uncertain and they are being put on notice about the discontinuation of their current contracts in the next year. Walker firmly denies any compromise in his assertion to eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public employees. Wisconsin’s local and state governments are decentralized and Walker suggests that the local governments should be free of any employee agreements because of the potential detriment it could cause in the future budgeting process. Public opinion polls display citizens’ as pro collective bargaining and, to ensure this demand, the largest public union in Wisconsin has filed a complaint accusing Walker of unfair labor practices. The Senate has fourteen empty chairs due to the Democrats absence and opposition to vote for Walker’s proposed  budget bill.
    The main purpose of collective bargaining is to establish employees’’ right to negotiate with employers, voicing their concerns as a form of management in terms of workers’ conditions. Established by the National Labor Relations Act passed by Congress in 1935, it emphasized protection from the privatized sector of business in hopes of decreasing monopolization and its effect on the U.S. economy. This was critical given the previous era of the Rockefellers, Carnegies, and J.P. Morgans which was followed by the Stock Market Crash of 1929. A right that has been protected for 76 years is now in jeopardy?  The significance lies within the efforts of Wisconsin citizens and especially the Senate Democrats and their stance against the governor’s policies. This determination attests to the political culture of America as being a representative democracy. Coined by political scientist Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, the Wisconsin ordeal, and ideally America, can be classified under the general political guise of a “participant” culture where the citizens are attentive and involved in politics. Imperative to a democracy is the relationship between the governed and the government inclusive to characteristics such as public opinion under the idea of majority rules, as witnessed in this “budget battle”. The strength of interests groups such as the public union is also reflected as the Wisconsin citizens exert their right to peaceful assembly. The beauty in democracy rests in the citizens’ ability to organize and mobilize, as opposed to totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and dictatorships which ultimately minimize the input of the masses or popular views.


Check out the article for yourself on NPR's website!

Meet the Press

SOURCE: Socialist Health Association

This past Sunday on Meet the Press, Gregory David sat down with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice to discuss the current conditions of the Middle East and Northern Africa. Ambassador Rice explained the regional problems responsible for the increase of anti-government demonstrations as the presence of a "youth bulge, high unemployment, a lack of political openness" and deemed these conditions to be unstable. Supporting a reform process, she assured the consistency of their main message across the region which advocates nonviolence and, most importantly, the respect for  "universal rights of people to assemble, to protest, to speak, and to form political organizations." Gregory brought up diplomats' criticism about the inconsistent handling of our Arab allies by our administration, but Ambassador Rice ensured that there is firm support for “the legitimate aspirations of people all over the world, including in the Arab world, to have representative governments, to have governments that respect their universal rights.” Emphasizing human rights, Rice also discredited the assumption of inconsistency by asserting that the interests of the U.S. and our response to the aspirations of the Arab world are intertwined rather than a conflict on interests. In fact, the manner of response pertains to the revolution in Egypt where President Obama “publicly and privately pushed Mubarak to go without a real sense of what would come next in terms of democratic reform” Gregory touched upon the establishment and presence of the Muslim Brotherhood, reported by USA Today, which is an Islamist group that partakes in stoning adulterers, punishing gays, and killing Muslims who leave their faith through "the preservation of honor", stated by their spokesperson Abdel Fattah. 

    Due to the lack of concrete direction concerning the democratization of Egypt’s government and the U.S.’s quest to “spread democracy”, there seems to be a suspicious air hovering over the Muslim Brotherhood. In some respects, this opposition group can pose a threat through its "nationalistic" aspect illustrated by their harsh practices to support Islam and Muslim culture. This could potentially serve as a detriment to the U.S. because if the Muslim Brotherhood were to seize power, it could drastically alter foreign relations between the two countries. Nationalism is deeply rooted in an exaggerated belief in the greatness of one's country and the idea of resenting foreign domination which would jeopardize the current status as allies. Egypt is experiencing a regime change where the transition state of their government leaves the country in a fragile state and extremist groups are more likely to mobilize. As Ambassador Rice stated, the interests of the U.S. and the aspirations of reform by Egyptian citizens are essentially linked together by the fight for the protection of universal rights. The real debate stems from the deciding force that implements these rights and basis of which they are formed. The universal rights Ambassador Rice spoke about are democratic ideals listed in the U.S. Constitution, but what works for our Western society may not suit Northern Africa. Functioning under a dictatorship for thirty years and all of the sudden flipping the switch to a democracy may just be the workings of cultural imperialism.

For more information please visit MSNBC's website entitled Meet the Press!

“Mubarak is Gone After 30 Years in Power, But Questions Remain as to How Transitions Will Proceed” headlined Democracy Now’s video broadcast on Monday the 14th with Amy Goodwin covering the celebration of Egyptian citizens and the resignation of Mubarak’s 30 year reign which was announced this past Saturday. Although Mubarak is gone, his cabinet will remain in place along with the implementation of martial law by Egypt’s military over a six month period or until democratic elections can be held and a new government is formed. Egypt’s constitution has been suspended and the military plans to rewrite the country’s constitution within 10 days. The People’s Assembly and the Shura Council have both been dissolved and the military has banned meetings of labor unions to prevent the occurrence of strikes. Inspired by Egypt’s revolution, there has been a trend of other protesting specifically in Bahrain where citizens demanded the release of 450 political activist currently in jail. Violence ensued as 14 protesters were reported as being hurt by tear gas and rubber bullets used by officials. Protests in Yemen with similar interests to remove their 30 year regime from power have occurred as well as in Algeria.




SOURCE: International Dialogues


    Egypt’s recent revolution exemplified just how much power actually resides in the governed as opposed to the formal structures of government and its officials. Lasting only 18 days, citizens in Cairo and other cities mobilized and challenged an institution that had been in place for three decades. Leading by example, the youth and peaceful assemblies of protesters illustrates how effective a united front can be and most importantly the intensity of public opinion, defined as the as the collection of individual opinions about issues or objects of general interest that concern a significant number of people. The significance also lies within the aftermath of activity regarding the eradication of Egypt’s constitution and the erection of a new document. A constitution  is critical in that it is regarded as the supreme law of the land through the denotation of rules and customs by which the government should conduct its affairs. The “sacred” document should essentially write the national ideas of the country, formalize the structures of government, and attempt to justify the government’s right to govern. If written within 10 days, how effective will the Egyptian’s constitution really be in capturing and tailoring itself to the current amends and demands of the people contrasting policies that have been in place for 30 years?

Want to read more? Go to Democracy Now! on the web and get the fulls scoop.

Media Crackdown

SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission

This past Sunday, February 6th, marked the two week duration of the uprising in Cairo and the protesting of Mubarak's regime by Egyptian citizens. Reporting from Tahrir Square in the country's capital, Democracy Now's Sharif Abbdel Kouddous detailed the current "media crackdown" experienced by other journalists and ground reporters covering the revolution. In response to the army general's request for protesters to leave Tahrir on Saturday night, the crowd replied with "we're not leaving until he leaves", alluding to the end of Mubarak's regime. The "crackdown" on reporters has killed one person and left many others beaten and battered. Police, guised in plain clothes, have even gone so far to search and scan the footage the journalists have accumulated by checking their cameras, laptops, and cell phones. Cell phones are extremely crticial in this situation as being the last resort of the reporters' publication tool because carrying cameras are a dead giveaway. Kouddous spoke with Dana Smillie, a multimedia journalist, who has lived in Cairo for 15 years and currently ten minutes from Tahrir, but described "the last 12 days [being] the most exhilirating and the most terrifying 12 days of [her] life." Another reporter, Steffen Jensen from TV2Denmark, said he was attacked by a group of Mubarak supporters behind a museum. Although yet to be confirmed, the latest news suggests that all journalists entering Tahrir must get confirmation from the Ministry of Interior by registering their pictures and gaining permission thereafter.

    Under the assumption that the media effectively acts as a fourth branch of government, being a "watchdog" of sorts, it is responsible for the presentation of information to the public and creation of the public's reaction to the content. Supported by the Agenda Setting theory in the field of communications, the media emphasizes and influences the way people think about certain issues and their importance. The Egyptian government told their citizens that the journalists reporting and gathering information in Tahrir were spies and went so far to shut down the internet from February 25th to the 28th. The "systematic targeting" of journalist is a direct reflection on the Egyptian government’s efforts to contain the revolutionary activities within their borders. The withholding of this information can, and will, essentially contribute to the world's oblivion regarding the atrocities occurring, both witnessed and unknown, because the publication of stories are in jeopardy along with journalists' lives. Detrimental to the human rights organization and other countries' aid efforts, the monitoring of information will play a vital role, globally, in the coming events of the protest and the end of Mubarak's regime.


Here is the article's link on Democracy Now!'s website in addition to other articles following the African revolutions.

SOURCE: CartoonStock.com

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports an alternative view adhering to network neutrality principles that act as “an important safeguard for free speech on the Internet.” The principles are basically designed to prohibit networks from tampering with information from the source, as it is en route to the receiver, by either halting or slowing the process of data. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggested a rule that protects the openness of the Internet but only for wired connections, whereas the wireless service can be dominated by companies through their varied rates and charges for their services. The ACLU argue that the Internet should be granted the same exact rights as free speech to protect the customers because without it, the consumers and users are subjected to “large telecommunications companies [from] manipulating or interfering with the public’s access to information online.” There is a valid argument in that the ACLU wants to prevent the infiltration of big companies regarding the passage of original content, but the free speech and press protection is too broad. The way to uphold the individual integrity of online text is to create a law specifically stating and addressing the issue. If we continue to honor the broad spectrum of the First Amendment, which really only details speech as in oral and press as in print, then there will be numerous cases causing continuous debate.

Visit ACLU on the web for the full article and more information regarding the organization's fight for civil liberties.

Meet and Greet: New Media

In relation to new media, I see myself as an individual creator and contributor to its development. I am an avid user of Twitter, Facebook, Google, and YouTube which all allow the exploration of various subject matter and content. Personally, I view my usage as a direct link in the online transition our society is undergoing. With my generation in such a pivotal position, having the pleasure of utilizing both conventional and modern technology, I feel that I have the opportunity to decide the next, new trend. The World Wide Web caters to users' every need and alters accordingly, deeming nearly anyone an author, blogger, editor, publisher, and so forth. Coming from an aspiring journalist perspective, I hold myself responsible for being skilled in New Media, and specifically its effect on the delivery of news and other information to the public.

Buffalo Wild Wings has launched its "Home Court Advantage" campaign throughout the 730 restaurant chain locations within the country, according to the New York Times. This initiative primarily promotes the usage of social media, particularly Scvngr which is similar to the likes of FourSquare, that allows customers to "flag their presence at a specific spot, and notify friends of their location."  The target audience includes young adults within their 20s and 30s in hopes of generating a social media community centered around the activities occurring in the restaurant. Adding an interactive sector will not only create expansion in services of Buffalo Wild Wings, but will also provide quick feedback from customers aiming to enhance the quality of the services offered. To ensure a mutual exchange on the customers' behalf, the restaurant provides customer giveaways and rewards such as "free chicken or soft drinks on each of the first three visits." New media has already infiltrated the way in which we communicate, and this same technology has begun to invade our conduct of business as well.

Read "Restaurant Reach Customers With Social Media" on the New York Times' website in full text!