Lab Rats

As this year comes to a close, Mr. D-F makes it clear to us that we, his students, have all along been part of his experiment. Over 18 months he has conducted an experiment in educational technology with us as his lab rats. Through, the DC Faith in Action newspaper we have been challenged with what he says, "the line of demarcation between good news and tempting rumor or passing fancy would have to be articulated in explicit faith terms". Beginning with simple stories with a main focus on information from Catholic news services; we continued on to investigations of morality and law. With our investigations of morality and law, we created a detailed analysis of the 2012 elections which earned a place in the magazine of the Journalism Education Association. Most recently this spring, we have began stories on a broader range of topics from technology to the environment. With these stories, we follow what Mr. D-F calls our journalism compass. He states, "we built together a model, an orthogonal plane of news that pivots on an X axis that stretches from inaction to action and a Y axis that rises from dark figures to evidence of things unseen".  This compass helps us to determine the truth in a story. Mr. D-F has had an idea of what journalism should be when mixed with our faith. He tells us his hallmarks some of which include, right thinking leads to right action, be a faithful witness, and we must find our strengths in something bigger than technology. Finally, Mr. D-F brings his end of the year speech to a close, leaving us with, "You are, for better and for worse, an acting person. Act (that is listen, speak and write) in conscience".

School House Rock

Classroom modifications are of great importance in schools. Years ago, people with ADHD and other problems went noticed to a certain extent. Students with disabilities need accommodations to be able to reach their full potential. These accommodations include extra time for tests, double review of exercises, aids, study guides, taped lectures, and the list goes on.
I think the school system focuses too much on standardized testing. Focus needs to be put more on things that get us out of the classroom. Writing notes and taking a test over and over is not what will make us remember things. The school system is cheating kids of reaching their full potential. Your smarts should not be based on one test that's worth 20% of your grade at the end of the year. In the long run what does any of that do for students?

Moral Truth-Drones

Drones could be a great innovation to the journalism field; but it's a tricky, waiting game. Drones are still like a new toy to many, proper precautions and regulations have to be set up before they can fully come into play. If journalists starting with drones aren't careful about current regulations it could end badly for future generations.
 http://www.spj.org/quill_issue.asp?REF=1998#1998
As great as drones could be to journalism, I think it's cautiously crossing over that line of privacy. Drones could be great for environmental stories, and things more of that topic. Drones can be used for more than that though, it's easy for privacy to get invaded with them and people are going to jump back at the idea of that.
Personally, I think drones to cross some boundary lines involving privacy; though with proper regulations they could be a great technological advance.

Media

Media can make or break a story. You could have an all around great story but the interview you have backing it up could go against everything you say. You could have a great picture but the words might ruin it.. Media is a tricky thing; sometimes you have to fit it into your story other times you have to make your story fit it.
Media can sometimes persuade a reader. For example, you're reading a story about a small town in Africa; there's a picture of a starved, dehydrated young woman and her dying child or there's a picture of a family smiling. Think about it which picture would have an effect on you and grab your attention?
Always remember the phrase, "a picture is worth more than a thousand words". Without the proper story to back it up, a picture can mislead an audience.

Advocacy Journalism-Central Park 5

Central Park Five Exercise

11.       Please compare and contrast the following assessments of the social meaning of the wrongful convictions and the subsequent partial exoneration of the five young men.

The Nation : Patricia Williams http://www.thenation.com/article/173910/lessons-central-park-five#

N.Y. Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five

Columbia Journalism Review:  Lynnell  Hancock   http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/wolfpack.pdf

The New York Times: Jim Dwyer http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/nyregion/central-park-five-petition-oversimplifies-blame-in-a-collective-failure.html?_r=1&

Washington Post: George Will http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-f-will-central-park-five-tells-of-a-gross-miscarriage-of-justice/2013/04/12/982d024c-a2d3-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html

22.      Use the model that we have developed to analyze the role of the media in the frenzy that led to this miscarriage of justice. Please list examples if the following

a)      Shared revelation

b)      Individual enlightenment

c)       Individual and collective deception and illusion

d)      Propagandistic manipulation

33.      With regard to advocacy journalism, why must the impulse toward action be tempered? When and how are facts distorted in the pursuit of cognitive “closure”? In the absence of malice, what else explains the veiling of truth and the pervasiveness of “dark figures” in the newspaper account of the jogger case? Would precision journalism have succumbed to the same temptations that entranced narrative journalism in the Central Park Five case?

44.     Contrast this case with the episode at the heart of Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”? Should we view this media carnival of terrors through the lens of class rather than race?

The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/feb/25/bobdylan

Listen to the song and then blog your answer titled “ The Fractured Media Lens of Class”

1. Of these five different sources I find N.Y. Daily News to be most resourceful. By creating a timeline and short facts with pictures it's appealing and easy to understand; linking to full articles for people who want to get deeper into the story. Opinions differ with who is writing. With the Central Park Five case an article written by a black person would differ from a story written by a white person, because of the race case.
2. In advocacy journalism there is a more biased opinion  So with many different journalists all writing stories what is there to believe? What is true? Often this can lead to the miscarriage of justice because the articles won't be understood correctly. The wording in an article can simply weigh a person's beliefs to what the writer wants them to believe. It's all about the words you use in journalism, everything comes back to rhetoric truth.
3. Facts are distorted when we pick sides, get information from unworthy sources, and don't dig out the full story. In the jogger case, an article written with the statement "dark figures" people are to believe these people who attacked, these "dark figures" are not white people and must be black. Who would you be more likely to blame with a rape and assault a group of white teens or a group of black teens?
4. Race plays a part in everything, something we can't break away from.

Anti-Realism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzqnIJ6qcFw
An anti-realist is a person who denies a reality separate from our mind or our thoughts on this reality.
Your own story
I believe that your own story is news. The view I have is everything is news, but the more significant news is what grabs people's attention. Instead of simply telling your own story, it would be better to relate your story with another; make it all connect. I think if you say "I had a potato for dinner" and posted it to your blog or twitter that is news; yet it's not what people are looking for. On the other hand, if you post a 400 word blog about a shooting in your neighborhood and how that relates with gun violence that's more significant news that people would care about. What really makes something news though?
Alex's Journalism Blog
http://alexfunhouse.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-hyperreal-looking-beyond-platos.html
Both journalism and a blog. Using his own opinion but relating it to a huge philosophical idea.

http://mexodus.borderzine.com/
This is a perfect example of something that's not anti-realist. Borders are real, they separate us. An imaginary line across the nation can truly make a difference in how things are reported. Different things happen in different places, because of the borders.

The Big Truth

College is all numbers. When you're young you have dreams of going to these big fancy colleges or ones close to home that you've been born rooting for; but when the time comes your focus is numbers. Most will go where they can afford.
The big truth about most colleges is that when you graduate and get on your feet you'll be knocked back down waist deep in debt. Money is an important factor when choosing a college. Looking at more elite colleges can be better than focusing on cheaper ones. This is because the elite schools have more money to give out, in the form of financial aid and scholarships. A problem with cheaper colleges is graduation rate. You may have the determination to do great, and the college you choose may be great for helping you reach your goals. What about the people around you? Are they determined to succeed or are they just there?

I don't think drones are necessary  I think the government is just trying to find more ways into our lives. I don't believe it is as much for our safety as it is for them to keep an eye on us. I believe that it will be helpful in some ways, for catching speeders, and drug dealers; but truly I believe if we dig deeper a more significant reason for drones can be found.

The principles of journalism say that a reporter should be honest. Obviously, not all refer back to the principles but they are an important factor in big data. People like a good story but what matters in the truth.

Big Data

Collecting big data can show us what our habits are.

Myself: 

Coffee consumption during exam week

Times of the day I'm on twitter most

How many people I've met through social media rather than in person

Lager data set on teenagers. A bigger idea could be how many people meet and talk to people over social media rather than on the streets and in person. 

Lager data set on medical researchers. A bigger idea could be how quickly diseases are spreading and where a cure can be found.

Data on myself and things like my coffee consumption during exams and how often I'm on twitter can help me be informed on myself. 

Data on teenagers can be used to look for ways to reconnect people. We can look at social interaction over the internet look where they're at during the interaction to find places where people are most comfortable. A problem we face today is little face to face interaction. We sit behind a computer screen and easily talk to someone new; when it comes to seeing someone who interests you in person people tend to have a harder time interacting. How can we come back to face to face interaction without this fear of interaction? 

Data on medical researchers can be used to help show us advances in cures and innovations in medical technologies. If we can see the research that is going on we can be informed. We can see upcoming diseases; how quickly they're spreading all over the world. We can use information like this to prepare. \

Big data can be used to track changes throughout the years.
On census.org there is visual data that can be used to see languages spoken in the U.S. and how those languages have prospered or disappeared throughout the years.

Social media shouldn't be able to be bought. There's a lot of information in it, making it an invasion of privacy.

Concealing big data is just as bad as using it. It's unethical to keep something that's harmful away from us.

I think the Frost/Nixon movie is the wrong idea of journalism. This type of using cinematic journalism is wrong. It uses big data but changes it, for dramatic effect. 

Happening Now

In the Wall Street Journal, stories under Korean Real Time could be an example of something to go under the category of quadrant I. The stories contain hard, real time data. In my opinion, they give the truth and do not attempt to persuade the reader into thinking the writers' way. The sports story on March Madness is considered more of a quadrant III story. It's not of extreme importance and it has more of a persuading effect on the readers. I believe that many papers, including Maplight, and Newsworks, follow the same stories. The stories may not be identical but they all have the same idea. Some stories more important than others but the ones that belong on the first page should be stories that belong in quadrant I because those are the real time stories, the ones that matter are not always the most interesting but they are the ones that need to have the attention.

Summly and Circa
Summly seems to have more news in the app; though it's not as simple and colorful as Circa. Circa is appealing to the eye, which will pull people in.
Popurls and Meltwater
Popurls, although not very appealing, it's jam packed of information. Meltwater is appealing and simple but you only get a free trial; it's said that you get what you pay for though. How would you feel if where you go to get news was sued though? Meltwater lost to AP claiming they are not using fair use of their information which they find. In simplest words they're stealing stories.

Global Inequality Story

Summly and Circa would not cover this story because it's a more complex story. This is not something that you would see in a simple news app on your phone. 

It would be more likely that Popurls would cover the story but it would not look as appealing and have a map it would show the facts and get down to the truth without distracting maps and pictures. Meltwater on the other hand, would be more likely to cover the story almost exactly how it is.

Posthumous Pulitzer

Important

Syria Civil War

Quadrant I story

Santorum: GOP Will Never Embrace Gay Marriage

Real story Quadrant 1

Pragmatic Truth: Advocacy Journalism and Cinematic Journalism

When it comes to journalism, I feel as if though honest, unbiased opinions are important. Of course, journalists want a story that sells, but you can just as well get that with the truth without making it overly dramatic. You can grab attention with cinematic journalism; this is also a delicate matter. I don't agree with overly dramatic background music, or journalists standing in front of people dying. That may be a story, something true even, but you're not getting the story the right way.

Is it real journalism if you're just picking and choosing? Picking sides on a story is not something I agree with; real journalism sees every side or every story. You have to take time on stories and dig out the whole the whole story.
Cinematic journalism depends on suffering, it's all about grabbing attention of the audience. Is a story about a baby getting shot really news? Should it be on the front page as a top story? People die everyday so why this story? It has a more dramatic plot. Grabs the attention of us, pulls us in. Is that right; that we are drawn to this suffering? This isn't journalism anymore.

Student Debt Loans Suicide: Real or Fake

There's evidence, data and numbers; that proves to the common eye that one of many things is the reason for suicide; this being unemployment and student debt loans. As many numbers as you throw into an article, as many facts as you give; if you're not giving the entire, whole story then it's not real journalism. Real journalism is telling the whole story not just parts of it or what will grab the crowd's attention.  

There are plenty things that are factors in the suicide of a person. This being my point; focusing on one of these factors is not appropriate. Mental illness, among many other problems can be reasons for suicide and without someone leaving a note how do you know why they really decided death was the only option? We're assuming, all assuming why things happen to find comfort maybe to help understand. For "journalists" assuming is a problem. Assuming things, putting together some simple facts and data, and making it look real to the common eye to grab their attention; not always getting the whole story.

Massive student loans debts could undoubtedly be the one thing that puts a person over the top. If they are already experiencing some type of mental illness then no saying that something else couldn't have put them over the edge or given them that push to die. As real as this story is, other factors or reason for their choice in death need to be included in the story for it to be real.

Vanderbilt Paper

 http://www.insidevandy.com/

Headline stories seem to be all news worthy.
http://www.insidevandy.com/news/article_6b4d81b4-8f6b-11e2-84ac-0019bb30f31a.html
Useful. Tells pros and cons of commodore card as identification for voting and thoughts from legislation.
http://www.insidevandy.com/news/administration/article_bc37f4b0-8f6b-11e2-a16c-0019bb30f31a.html
Useful. What it takes to be a Young Alumni Trustee. Also, information on the new trustee David Head.
http://www.insidevandy.com/special_projects/collection_7c4ac728-3fb7-11e2-8a76-001a4bcf6878.html
Useful. Information on finals week. Ways to study and advice.
http://www.insidevandy.com/news/safety/article_dd8e73a8-3f31-11e2-845e-001a4bcf6878.html
Useful. Problem of Adderall use on campus. Why it's a problem and what the administration is attempting to do.



http://www.insidevandy.com/life/article_e402baa2-3f2f-11e2-8761-0019bb30f31a.html

Swarthmore Paper

Headline	Infinitely Useful (Why?)	Infinitely Harmful (Why?)
Two Teenagers Sentenced on Charges of Rape in Steubenville, Ohio		Given names Given place
LIVEBLOG: Michael Walzer on Politics, Justice, and Jewish Thought	Not News	Not News
Q&A With Founder of New Anonymous Group “Swat Sociopaths”	Gives no names Gives an understanding of the sociopaths
Assault  Date: Fall 2012 Time: - Location: Phi Psi Fraternity House Synopsis: A staff member reported that a male…
Politics Explained: Rand Paul Signals a Coalition Shift	Information on politics	Biased
Op-Ed: One Detainment and Two Marriage Proposals, Or My Study Abroad Experience		Biased -There own expirience
Three Nominees for MTV Awards Talk Music, Inspiration, and Dreams	Info about artists

Drawn to Suffering

I understand raising awareness for a cause but what I don't understand is standing by while people struggle and turning it into our own entertainment. I don't agree with hopping in front of the camera as a riot breaks out or while someone is taking there last breath.I believe it's important to let things speak for themselves. Is it right to turn pain and struggle into entertainment for ourselves? If we were those people suffering would we want our pain exploited by journalists? Though, does this drama that draws people in help with the raising of awareness?

Compare and contrast Jamal Osman and Peter Greste’s versions of life in Somalia in journalism ethics.
Jamal Osman pulls on our heart strings with his music and how the video is set up. As much as these stories try to draw attention to violence; I believe the journalists are worried more about entertaining. Peter Greste's life is Somalia video was more of something for entertainment you can tell by the way he jumped in front of the camera. I feel as if journalists have lost their way in telling a story. As good as it is to draw people in by pulling on the heart strings you have to show the story in a proper way that doesn't so much exploit the pain and suffering for entertainment.

Obesity and Gasoline Consumption

Are you driving the F350 because you're fat? What's the connection?
The Facts
1. Weight gain since 1960s 0.8 percent of gasoline consumption by passenger vehicles in 2005
2. F350 15-19 mpg
3. Bigger people want a bigger car
4. More weight, more gas

Both obesity and gas consumption are two significant issues in the United States today. Now, our question is, are they linked? It has been stated that since the 1960's weight gain amounts to 0.8 percent of gas consumption in 2005.
As an example we can look at the F350, the vehicles mpg is stated to be anywhere from 15-19 mpg. Typically bigger people want a bigger car. No one wants to be crammed in a small smart car if they weigh 300 pounds. Though, with a bigger car comes a price to pay, literally. Larger cars typically use more gas faster, but if you weigh more that can add to how fast you lose gas. Stated in Huffington Post for every 100 pounds in your car that gets approximation 31 miles to the gallon you will have about 30 added dollars to an annual gas bill. So, a car with lower gas millage and a heavier person would result in much more added money to an annual bill.
It has come to our attention that heavier people are more likely to drive a larger vehicle; and these larger vehicles will result in higher gas consumption. Though, even if a heavier person were to drive a smaller car that had lower gas mileage they would still receive a higher bill due to their weight.

Fuel Economy Lies

Ford and Hyundai have been recently sued for their lies about the fuel efficiency of their new vehicles. Ford continues to fight and keeps their stand on the fact that they were not lying. Ford claims, it's when, how, and where you drive it. Hyundai admits to their lie and agrees to settle. Hyundai is offering to reimburse the car owners with all the money lost in fuel plus an extra 15 percent.Fuel efficiency is an important factor when a consumer is looking to buy a car; so this is no surprise a company may lie about the fuel economy to persuade a consumer into buying their car. Though, this could simply be a mistake made by the companies. In 2008, a New York Times article states that m.p.g is a bad way to judge fuel efficiency. A more accurate way to judge our fuel efficiency would be to rate it by gas consumed per so many miles. 

There is a lot of money that rides on fuel efficiency of a car. If there is a situation such as Ford's, where they've been caught in a lie then they would lose a lot of money and investment. Locally, this would be problematic because we would lose money as a city. Also, because Ford is not offering to settle, if they are found guilty in the lawsuit they will more than likely loose more money. Hyundai offers to settle, and loses money but are fixing a problem before it becomes worse. 

Phone Survey

1. How often have you used your phone for DCFIA related work this week? Please estimate in number of hours

1 hour

2. Which apps from the Syllabus list have you used to complete DCFIA related work?

news paper app

3. Which podcasts from the Syllabus have you used to complete DCFI A related work?

none

4. Are there any apps or podcasts not on the syllabus that you have used for DCFIA related work?

 no

5. Please share an example of a 1) local, 2) embedded, 3) convergent story that you filed this week using using your phone.

no stories

This American Life/ First Born Fast Grown Comparison

The story, This American Life, tells the story of a good school in the middle of a bad neighborhood. First Born Fast Grown is a story about a young boy who has to take a fathering role in his family. It's stated that he has to do everything from, putting the kids to bed and washing the clothes. 

While high school shootings are a serious problem we face, I believe that you find a lot more kids acting as parents these days. These are serious problems children shouldn't have to face.

Bloomberg Businessweek Exercise II

In the article,  the author uses the inverted pyramid style of writing. Beginning with the most significant parts of the story, with the less interesting parts following. The writer relates the entire story to us with the title, "Yes, The Chinese Army is Spying on You". Then as the article goes on readers realize that it's one man and he's spying on large companies. So using this technique the author grabs are attention but the story is not as interesting as it seems.

Q: What truth does this article convey? What truths are omitted? Is the hyperbolic cover matched by an investigative journalism piece worthy of the hype?

A:  The truth the article conveys is that one man in China is hacking into the computers of large companies. The truth omitted is that the whole Chinese army is spying on all of us. The cover is not matched with the story inside. The cover gives us the idea that there is more to the story than there actually is and that is actually affects every single one of us. 

Bloomberg Businessweek Exercise I

1.  Apocalypse 24/7

2. Pope Benedict XVI's Noble Departure

3.A Portrait of A Chinese Hacker

4.Regulating the Internet

5. Suze Orman, Watch Your Back

6.The Trouble with Drones

 7. Do You Really Want to Talk to Your Kitchen?

8. Oh Craps U.S Homeowners Are Repeating Their Mistakes

9. NASCAR Brings Back "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday"

10.  Improving the Dealership Experience

Q: How do you determine what is most newsworthy? Reason for ranking.

A: Many things factor in to making a story newsworthy. One important factor of a newsworthy story is timing. People will have less interest in a story from 3 months ago rather than one that happened 3 days ago. The significance of a story is also very important. For example the story titled Apocalypse 24/7 reaches a wider crowd than the story of the Pope resigning which may not be as interesting to people who are not Catholic or do not have an interest in religion. People also fall under significance when referring to which story in a paper or magazine comes first. An example is the story of the Pope and Suze Orman. The Pope is of higher prominence than Suze Orman so the story of him resigning should come before the story about Suze Orman. 

Football Helmet Design

As of this football season, most NFL players were wearing a new helmet called Riddell 360. Another innovation recently in football helmets was made by a Swedish neurosurgeon. He founded Multi-Directional Impact Protection System (MIPS).  Many believe these innovations can save football but the truth is it will take a lot more than that. In my opinion,  I don't believe helmets do much for anyone. If you look back there were less concussions when they weren't using the big metal helmets and we can look at that and say that helmets are used as a weapon on the field rather than a source of protection.
http://mipshelmet.com/facts-and-tests/become-a-licencee
http://mipshelmet.com/news
http://mountainbikegeezer.com/posts/tag/multi-directional-impact-protection-system/

Gun Violence

In a story on a shooting, I would mainly focus on the shooter. With my focus on the shooter, I would investigate the events leading up to the shooting. Did the shooter have mental issues? Did the shooter have a significant events that led him to the point of a shooting? What were his motives?

If I had been covering the story on Unruh, I would have done further investigation on his military services. Was there a significant event that made him feel a need to kill people? Did he have an injury that led to the dysfunction of his brain?

Referring to the commercial and article Mayors Against Illegal Guns, I believe it's important to retrieve everyone's feelings on a shooting. The mother speaking of her dead child is significant because she adds an important layer to the story, that being emotion.

My opinion on guns, is not that we should take them away, but that we should have different regulations. It shouldn't be as easy at it is to get a gun. 

Persuasion

Persuasion is in short social influence. Typically used to get someone to believe or follow a certain action. For example, if someone has an opposite opinion on a matter, persuasion can be used to change ones mind. The use of good reasoning and power in speech are significant components of persuasion.
Persuasion is used in the example of the New York Times article on debt, "U.S. is in any imminent danger of turning into an economic basket case like present-day Greece." The power in speech is used specifically with judgement in this example with the statement "economic basket case like present-day Greece".

Top Three Water Pollutant Blogs

1. Kaitlyn Tatro
http://dcfia.blogspot.com/


2.Madison Begin
madisonnafta.blogspot.com/


3. Rachael Joseph
http://surfacerunoff.blogspot.com/

Includes oppinion, as well as information

Zebra Mussels

Dreissena polymorpha, also known as zebra mussels, are small freshwater mussels native to Russia typically in streams. These mussels have a life span of three to five years. Females can produce over forty thousand eggs, typically in their second year. These mussels can effect water supply by colonizing on pipes and restricting water flow. Zebra mussels have been found in Lake St. Claire, in the late 80's early 90's. The mussels have made their way over on the bottom of ships coming in with trade. 
In my oppinion, zebra mussels cause problems in the enviroment, as well as other problems. The zebra mussels, They are invasive and take over pipes causing water pressure issues.


Zebra mussels invading a pipe.