Journalism has been an outlet through which many social and political causes have gained traction in popular culture. Courageous reporters and news channels have fought for equality throughout the last century despite significant personal risk. From Walter Cronkite’s commentary on ending the Vietnam War to Woodward and Bernstein investigating the Watergate scandal, members of the press have tirelessly worked to give the public the truth and to monitor those in power.

In recent years, journalists have continued to report on the stories of the socially disenfranchised. Forward thinking newsmen and women have fought to inform and educate the public on the hardships that members of the LGBT community face, adamantly declaring that they deserve equal rights. Creating a public forum for discussion and reflection, organizations like the Washington Post and the Huffington Post have played a major role in progressing the way that Americans view gay and lesbian peers.

Similarly, the end of slavery was propelled by members of the media who boldly stood for African American rights in a socioeconomic community rooted in racism. William Lloyd Garrison bravely called out against the abhorrent practice despite backlash from other editors. In an article detailing the role of the press in the Civil Rights Movement, Representative John Lewis said, “If it hadn’t been for the media, for brave, courageous journalists, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings.” Overall, journalism has served to lead society and shape people’s views rather than simply inform the people.

Before embarking on the journey that Journalism 200 has been these last eight weeks, I did not consider the effect that news has on society. Overall, I have learned that the news we get is as good as the people who are engaged in it – what we put in is what we will get out.

The manner in which the news has been reported has changed dramatically over the last fifty years. With the rise of television and the internet, the kind of stories that journalists tell has shifted quite radically. In the past things were considered news if they were timely and essential for some group of people to be aware of. In today’s world, there is much more emphasis on entertaining an audience rather than informing.

Newspapers have seen their audiences shrink while people settle for Facebook and Twitter to provide them with accurate knowledge of what is happening in the world. It is becoming harder to determine fact from fiction.

But hope is not lost.

If the people work to stay informed, to seek out the truth relentlessly, to analyze what they are hearing and where it came from – then the integrity of journalism will be retained for the foreseeable future.

In this class, I learned that journalism is a two-way street. The people need to be actively invested in the news for this system to be sustained. As such, I will do my best to keep up with the news even after I am no longer being graded on it.

On Wednesday President Trump announced his new tax plan. In his proposal, he intends to reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three, repeal the estate tax, and reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 percent. He also aims to eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, a “provision [that] cost Mr. Trump an additional $31 million in federal income taxes in 2005.” In response to this, Nicholas of the Washington Post investigated the plan and declared that “this isn’t a tax policy; it’s a Trump-led heist.”

Trump claims that this will help middle and lower class families, but in reality, the changes he has presented are vague and do little to help people in these groups. According to the Washington post article, his plan results in “families earning between $10,000 and $30,000 a year would receive an average child care benefit of just $10” while large companies would be allowed to to “structure their incomes to pay not at a 39.6 percent top personal rate but at a 15 percent corporate rate.”

In September of last year, Melania Trump filed a libel suit against The Daily Mail, a British Tabloid, over an article they published that she claims “questioned the nature of her work as a professional model and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling.” The article did not explicitly aledge that Mrs. Trump had ever been an escort. Rather, it addressed the story published by an obscure Slovenian publication that made the aforementioned accusation, and even went so far as to point out that “there [was] no evidence to back up these startling claims”. However, the article in question featured a large nude photograph of Melania and was titled “Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife’s past that could derail Trump.”

After her first suit against The Daily Mail was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction, the First Lady filed another lawsuit that was settled for million dollars last Wednesday. While this news is surely a relief to the Trump family, it has brought up some ethical questions about the Trump Administration. Some of the language used in the original suit was concerning, stating that the plaintiff “had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model and brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories.” Many view this as another instance of members of the Trump Administration abusing their government positions for personal profit.

Since becoming President of the United States, Donald Trump has made several decisions that have caused the public to question his ability to separate his personal interests from the decisions he makes in office. Among these controversial choices was Donald’s decision to purchase a four-foot portrait of himself by Miami artist Havi Schanz for ten thousand dollars with a check from the Trump Foundation, a charitable organization. Since Trump used money from a nonprofit entity to buy something for himself, this could be considered self-dealing, especially since the painting was not put towards any charitable use.

Rumors began circulating through various social media outlets, including Twitter, and the Washington Post’s online site that this particular piece could be found at Mr. Trump’s Doral Resort in Florida. In response to this, a Univision anchor named Enrique Acevedo decided to conduct an investigation on the matter. Using American Express reward points, Acevedo booked a stay at the luxury hotel and sought out to find the painting, and on September 20th, he posted a photo revealing the location of this work of art.

After discovering that the portrait bought with Trump Foundation funds was still hanging, it is clear that President Trump has a troubling history of conflict of interest. This is an issue that the American public does not take lightly, with 59% of Americans declaring that they are “not confident that Trump keeps his business interests separate from the decisions he makes as president.”

The New York Times has released an editorial piece revealing that Fox New’s beloved Bill O’Reily is in fact, a sexual predator. More than five women who have worked with him in a professional setting have sued Mr. O’Reily, and these settlements have totaled up to about thirteen million dollars paid out to his victims. On Monday, Julie Roginsky, a current Fox News contributor filed a new lawsuit alleging that she faced retaliation for rebuffing sexual advances in the workplace. Some of these cases of sexual harassment go as far back as 2004, which begs the question, why did Fox News not take any action? Why was he allowed to return to his job after making other people unsafe that same workplace? Why is this man still a prominent news figure? Why has viewership of this man’s show increased by ten percent? 

It reveals an uncomfortable truth: that misogyny still exists in the American workplace. Bill O’Reily is not even the only prominent male figure at Fox to face many sexual harassment charges, with allegations of Roger Ailes misconduct eventually leading him to be fired from the company. In response to this news, President Trump made some very unfortunate comments, including that he does not believe that O’Reily did anything wrong. He went even further with this stance, saying “Personally, I think he shouldn’t have settled.” As discussed in the New York Times piece, Mr. O’Reily’s actions were excused because he was a valuable asset to his employers. His lawsuits were handled quietly so as to limit public attention to these issues, but the people need to stand up to this kind of behavior if any real changes are going to come about.

Breaking news was published this evening on the Washington Post’s online site. The story reveals that the Department of Homeland Security is currently attempting to reveal the identity of an anonymous Twitter user – a critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The person behind the account, @ALT_uscis, is believed to be a federal employee.

Today, in response, Twitter has sued to block this order from the United States government. Regardless of people’s individual feelings on our new president, this situation calls for alarm because it is “the first time the government has attempted to use its powers to expose an anonymous critic.” Coupled with the recent news that personal browsing history is now legally allowed to be bought and sold by internet service providers in this country, a disheartening truth about the current political climate becomes evident – that those who represent us no longer value the people’s privacy.

This Wednesday, I tuned into NBC’s nightly news and listened to what Lester Holt had to tell me. I immediately grasped that timeliness was a core value of the program. In fact, the very first word that came out of Lester’s mouth was, “tonight.” He went on to discuss yesterday’s announcement granting Ivanka Trump the position of Assistant to the President. From brutal evening storms wreaking havoc in southern Texas to that same night’s, “late word of horror on the highway” killing 13 people, timeliness was consistent.

“there’s no word at this early point on what caused that deadly collision.”

Conflict was also valued. A political battle coined the “War of Words” waged in the house over the Russia investigation. Later, “police opened fire” at a volatile driver and a home-invasion became violent when a “chilling 911 call in Oklahoma” ending in the death of 3 teenagers. Human interest was attracted with the report of a new “Miracle Drug” for multiple sclerosis – particularly when they interviewed Christina Reyes, a patient who regained her ability to walk. Prominence and human emotion were values that were coupled together in the announcement that someone had spent $123,000 on “a trove” of Jackie Kennedy’s letters that provided “a brief glimpse of a hidden love.”

Christina Reyes Interview

To check out the show, follow this link:
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news-netcast/video/nightly-news-full-broadcast-march-29-909687875940

When I was younger, I used to think that the whole world was going to sink. Nowadays, I am studying animals because they make me happy. I also want to be a veterinarian.

I stubbed my toe pretty badly on the edge of my bed, and so much blood came out of it – a lot more than I thought should’ve. I didn’t have a first aid kit, so I wrapped it with some toilet paper. But I only had the 1-ply variety, so it was really itchy. Finding the right words to describe myself is hard. I really like cats. I love goat cheese. I have long brown hair, and hazel eyes that I wish were green. I have counted, and I have thirty-two freckles on my entire body. I have chronic depression, so sometimes I get really sad for no reason. Well, I do have reasons, but they don’t make a lot of sense. For example, I frequently stress out about the fact that I don’t think most people are really interested in listening to each other. Currently, my nails have been painted a color called “Schnapps out of it.” I like to read for fun, and I have almost finished a book Ray Bradbury wrote. It’s called “Let’s All Kill Constance,” and it is about a girl that has changed who she is so many times she lost track of herself. I bought it from a thrift shop last week for twenty-five cents. When I was in high school, I used to lie a lot about random things because I did not think I was enough. I like to draw, but I don’t think that I am very good at it. My favorite color is green because I have been obsessed with the Legend of Zelda since I was a little girl and that is the color Link always wore.

Blood stains from my toe wound and a sample of my nail color

Right now, I am very anxious about a risky text message I sent to a boy. He opened it and read it and did not respond. It was not risky in any sort of inappropriate way but in a vulnerable way. I think he is in love with me though, so I keep reminding myself of that fact, and it helps me to calm down. I decided to turn my phone off and work on Journalism 200 instead.

He wrote me a really confusing email the other day. It was two or three paragraphs of words that did not make any sense together. I tried to see if there was some code to it, some hidden theme. So I read it over and over. I even used Excel to graphically determine which words he used most to see which were important. But I keep coming up empty. I wonder if it is a riddle or if it’s just nonsense. I can’t tell.

I want to cut my hair and dye it bubble gum pink. I want to get a tattoo of a pansy on my butt as a self-portrait. I want to do something with my life that really matters. I want to eat some garlic bread.