There is a relationship between journalism and history. Some of the events journalists have taken part in from the past have helped shape today’s journalism.

Rodger Streitmatter mentioned 10 traits that helped shape news media in American history starting in the 1760s. The trait I found most interesting was how journalists have stood up to many people and put themselves in danger while doing so. This shows how dedicated these journalists were to their work. They did whatever it took in order to give messages to the public. They risked their lives and careers to advance journalism, no matter what the consequences were.

Journalism will continue to change as time goes on. The connection between journalism and history will be ongoing.

There are many aspects as to how news is told. I never thought about it until I took this class. Journalists are important to our society. The public accesses news on a daily basis because of them. Without journalists, we would not have news. News is what gives us access to the outside world. It is how we find out about events that happen daily. With the technology we have now, we can find out about events right when they happen. Journalists are dedicated to providing the public with news. After taking this class, I have realized journalism is not for me. I do not have enough dedication to report news for the public. I like receiving it, not reporting it.

Spotlight had some of my favorite actors in it, which attracted me to the movie. Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams did an amazing job. The topic was very serious, abuse in the Catholic church is not spoken about often. It was surprising that some of these cases happened in Peoria, Illinois. I thought it was interesting watching the reporters use investigative journalism on screen, especially since this is a true story. I found the movie boring at some parts, I felt like it was longer than it needed to be. Overall, it was a good movie, especially if you’re interested in journalism or the cases mentioned in the movie.

Chancellor Robert J. Jones speaking to a full audience at the Illini Union on April,19th 2017

Timothy Piazza, an engineering student at Penn State, died from injuries after falling down basement stairs during a party at Beta Theta Pi fraternity. The fall occurred around 11 pm Thursday night. However, no one contacted the police until around 10:49 am the next day. When police arrived at the scene, Piazza was unconscious. Piazza was transported to a nearby hospital and later flown to the second. He was pronounced dead early Saturday morning, two days after the incident occurred. Police are investigating why it took fraternity members 12 hours to contact authorities. It is known that Piazza was intoxicated when he fell down the stairs. The author, Sarah Larmier, included sources such as Keith Rob, a police officer investigating the incident, and Lisa Powers, the Penn State’s spokeswoman. She also mentioned whether the interview was in person or over the phone. Rob mentioned that the fraternity members knew Piazza fell right at 11, and they moved him to a couch. It is under investigation whether the party continued. Powers mentioned that the fraternity is not considered a student organization anymore and is suspended. Until the investigation is over, the fraternity cannot host or participate in any events. If fraternity members would have called authorities right away, a life could have been saved.

Neil Gorsuch, a supreme court nominee, is being accused of plagiarism from his book published in 2006, “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia”. Politico provided documents showing the similarities of his book and the Indiana Law Journal. Gorsuch borrowed quotes, ideas, and language without citing his sources. The White House spokesman, Steven Cheung, defended Gorsuch claiming it is a “false attack”. However, 6 experts on academic integrity communicated with Politico stating that it appears that he indeed copied ideas from the Indiana Law Journal without citing his sources. In the article, a few professors from different Universities claim this is a violation of college plagiarism that would have been looked into at any school. In the article published by John Bresnahan and Burgees Everett, they included a side by side example of Gorsuch’s book and the Indiana Law Journal showing how similar both are. By this example, it seems as if Gorsuch copied word for word in some paragraphs.

Teens are constantly surrounded by people who tell them to be themselves. However, according to Donna Freitas, studies show that teens are not supposed to show this self online, even though they spend a lot of time on social media. A survey indicated that 78% of teens are worried about how negative posts may affect their future in the work force. 73% of people who took this survey said they always try to appear positive, and it does not matter how they are actually feeling. People want to present themselves as perfect on social media, which causes stress. Being on social media makes people compare themselves to one another. They are constantly exposed to “perfection”. Teens are not living in reality due to the advice people give them. You should be yourself, but don’t do this on social media, it may affect your future in the work force. This advice has a greater affect than we really think.

According to Megan Crepeau, the Chicago Transit Authority addressed rumors on Facebook and Twitter letting people know there have been no ID checkpoints regarding immigration status. They made it clear that they do not support this activity, and everyone is welcome no matter where they are from. The post was made in English as well as Spanish to reach a larger audience. The rumor began after people took to social media warning others that there have been officers checking people’s immigration statuses at the station. The CTA believes that there may have been a misunderstanding, due to the bag checking services they offer when entering the station. However, this activity does not involve checking immigration status’ but it is for the safety of everyone. It is important to the company that everyone feels safe while using this source of transportation.

The newscast I watched was CBS news. The values that defined the news were impact, human interest, and prominence. The news kept repeating how the weather on the north east was getting worse throughout the night. After a few stories, the news kept going back to how the weather was, updating the viewers. This represents impact, it was affecting the viewers lives because it was happening currently. If the news tells viewers to stay off the roads, as it did, viewers are more likely to take their advice because they are informing them that it is dangerous. Another story talked about was how a lady was forced to give birth on a jail floor. This news value is human interest. The way they portrayed the story made me feel sympathy for the woman even though she was in jail for a reason. They kept mentioning that she was very scared, and she was afraid of her baby dying which made me feel sorry for her and question the police’s actions. The other story was about Donald Trump and his tweet to Nordstorm. This represents prominence because he is our president now, so every move he makes is something to talk about.

Hello all,

Welcome to my about me page. My name is Camila! I study Communication at the University of Illinois. I am considering minoring in Public Relations, which has brought me to this class. I was born in Bahia de Caraquez, a small village on the Pacific coast of Ecuador. My mother is from Ecuador and my father is from St. Louis. I grew up in a multicultural household. I am fluent in Spanish, but I consider English my first language. I left Ecuador when I was 2, and moved to Champaign, where I still live today. However, I do go back to Ecuador 3 months out of the year to visit family and friends. Traveling is my passion. I have been to Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and so on. Out of all the beautiful places I have been to, the Galapagos Islands is by far my favorite place because I am an animal lover and I enjoy spending time at the beach. When I am not traveling or in school, I spend time with my family and friends, cuddle with my puppy Coco, and work as a waitress at Billy Barooz (the food is so good you should try it). I am looking forward to what this year has in store for me!

Galapagos Islands, 2016

My new puppy, Coco!