Welcome to the blog, our newest batch of journalism majors. Each week, I post to the "KC News Meeting" tag on this blog a short list of things that have made the news during this week. This should prompt you to make sure you've prepared for the current events quizzes. But my lists aren't comprehensive or exhaustive. So I want you to post comments to add news items you think are important. I try to draw quiz questions from a combination of my posts and your comments (but any major themes, people or action could be fodder for a question, so don't limit your news diet to just these posts).
So far this week, I'm reading about:
- President Obama's health care speech to Congress
- key players in the political debate over health care
- "You lie!" (if you don't know what that refers to, you need to be digesting more daily)
- female evening news anchor at ABC
- H1N1 and vaccine developments
- former Taiwanese leader sentenced
- concerns about Afghan elections
- Ellen Degeneres joins "American Idol"
- Presidential message to schoolchildren
Use the comments function to to add your ideas on what's brewing currently.
Friday, September 11, 2009
KC News Meeting
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There is a new single low dose vaccine that is said to work for most adults. Australian researchers found that this vaccine should have mild to moderate effects on those who receive it, similar to the seasonal flu shot individuals can get. This new single-dose vaccine is said to be available by mid-October.
There was an issue with Coast Guard security on the Potomac River on Friday morning. The Coast Guard tried to prevent a suspicious boat from entering a secure area. However, the Coast Guard later called the incident a training exercise. Nobody was notified of this "training exercise" and the event caused much chaos, especially since President Obama's memorial service for 9/11 was being held extremely close to this area.
A play about Muslim life in America debuts in New York today (9/11). It is called "The Domestic Crusaders," and follows a Pakistani immigrant family. I like the provocative combination of theme, title, time and place. Hopefully the play will help overcome prejudices and dispel the notion that all Muslims are to blame for the tragedy that occured 8 years ago today.
The New York Times included an article today reporting that the poverty rate was at a 12 year high as of 2008. This information came from the Census Bureau's annual report. Figures such as income and insurance coverage comprised the data within the report. Also, the article quotes Obama, stating that he believes that the amount of uninsured citizens increased to six million within the last 12 months.
I am interested to see how this data will play into Obama's health care initiative.
I watched the "you lie" video on cnn and was quite surprised by the restraint the president showed. I would have guessed everyone to be more outwardly angry than they actually seemed to be in the video.
I am a huge fan of American Idol and am very sad to see Paula go. However, I feel like replacing her with Ellen was a very strange move. All of the other judges have some sort of a history with music while Ellen does not. While I agree she is very funny and has had a lot of experience on T.V. and with entertainment and live audiences I'm curious to see how she will be welcomed.
After reading an article in the New York Times today, I am thankful I have the ability to drink tap water from my sink. In a small town near Charleston, West Virginia, families do not have this luxury. In fact, they try to avoid any contact with the water as much as possible. Tests have shown that levels of arsenic, barium, lead, manganese, and other chemicals are present. The town is located only 17 miles from the State's capital. Federal Regulators believe the chemicals could contribute to cancer and other body complications. In the meantime, families must apply lotions after showering to ease burning, and deal with capped teeth to replace enamel that was eaten away.
Speaking of water, BBC and NY Times reported severe threats of drought in Kenya and its northern neighbors in the Horn of Africa. The drought is drying up all of the area's previously fertile land and leaving no food or water for any of its inhabitants, people and animals alike. It is heart-wrenching to think that people in Africa die of thirst every day, when in America we waste thousands of gallons of water each day by taking long showers or leaving the water running while we brush our teeth or do the dishes.
I recently saw a play in Madison for a class called Cat's Paw. It covers a lot of the same issues that are mentioned in the story about West Virginia. If you're interested in protecting the environment and learning more about clean water preservation you should definitely check it out!
A story from this week that really caught my attention was about the AP picture of Marine Cpl. Joshua Bernard. It brings up social responsibility in journalism, and the questions we must ask ourselves before publishing stories/images. "Is this in the public interest?" "Am I doing more harm than good?" Personally, I think the AP did exactly what it should have in getting this picture out into the public. Like the AP Director of Photography said, it is "too important not to publish" However, the thought of Bernard's family dealing with this image on a national front is not something to take lightly. Is it even possible to have a middle ground on issues like this?
Three Hong Kong journalists were arrested and abused by local police officers when covering a mass protest by Han Chinese in Urumqi. The police officers accused them of "instigating" the unrest while the news outlets that the journalists belong to claimed that the journalists were simply reporting the news.
The event has attracted a lot of media attention in Hong Kong since last week. But it is not until today, when a mass protest was organized to demand government investigation, that it has attracted international attention, as seen in a story by the Wall Street Journal.
Nevertheless, the safety of journalists when they report the news is an important issue.
Though this is a little less mainstream, the idea of a trade war with China (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f67c6fe6-a024-11de-b9ef-00144feabdc0.html) is pretty frightening.
CNN reports say that there are side effects to the antiviral Taamiflu, used for the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Apparently self-injury and delirium are the side effects of this drug
While it's no secret that our economy is suffering, there have been and will continue to be signs of a recovering market. The New York Times reported earlier this week of local factories in Wisconsin hiring more workers as opposed to the layoffs of recent months. With enough sales to hire these new workers, managers are looking to restore some of their staff to help keep up with increasing consumer demands. The article goes on to discuss manufacturing trends and maintains a lightly optimistic outlook for the future. Though there are many signs of a brighter future ahead, specialists (including a University of Wisconsin Milwaukee professor) conclude that jumps towards restoring factories and manufacturing must be approached with caution.
Glenn Beck has been stirring up quite a bit of controversy lately on his TV show. One of his most notorious comments is the claim that Obama is a racist. This claim brings attention to the question, When does the combination of entertainment and news go too far? Is it beneficial for viewers to be watching such extreme views on controversial issues? Do these views spark healthy debates on current issues? These questions I find interesting when deciding exactly who should be taken seriously in political media outlets.
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