I was very curious to see what we would learn in class on Wednesday since Professor Richards had mentioned how it would have to do with
the grammar exam to get into the school of communications at FIU. So in class we were shown examples on run on sentences, verbs, punctuations, phrases, clauses, sentence structures and add ons as well. I will not even lie I was blown away because I realized how much I needed to brush up on my grammar skills and how many of the parts of grammar we use to write sentences I had forgotten. Especially since I am going to get into the field of public relations I know that knowing how to communicate through writing is crucial towards my success in that area. Though the hour and a half helped me brush up on my grammar skills, I knew that I would have to practice more especially for the grammar exam since I have plans to get into the Public relations field. I truly appreciate Professor Richards time spent on showing us some examples that would appear in the future exam and being kind enough to let us know what would consist of being a successful writer, journalist, advertising and public relations worker.
As a student of FIU I have noticed that though there are psychological and counseling services to our students, I feel that enough promotion is not done for this. Perhaps it is the shame of going to see a psychologist or many students are not even aware of these services. There should be counseling classes for students who are specifically suffering depression, suicide, pregnancy issues, and going through traumatic issues. Maybe even having guest speakers who have gone through obstacles in life and can inspire others who are in need would be very beneficial to us students. I personally feel that these services should be free of charge and students not having to worry if they have insurance or not. I personally know students who stop going to FIU’s psychological services because they cannot afford the medication they are prescribed or do not have insurance. Something should be done about this issue and I feel that services like these could help our students who are in need and gear them towards a successful future.
As I listened to Jasmine Kripalini speak on her career as a reporter for CBS I couldn’t help but smile and think one day I want to be in her place and give great words of advice to young college students. I could see she was very happy in her career choice and you could see how passionate she truly was. She spoke on the lollipop case in the 80’s where the young boy was murdered and how twenty years later she couldn’t believe she was covering the story and how much it touched her since it hit close to her heart. She showed us that since her college days she was determined to get her writing published and even got a job with the deacon newspaper. I admired her bold attitude to contact the editor of the deacon when she was told when and how she had to write her news stories. Ms. Kripalini inspired me to dig deep within myself and figure out what exactly is is that I want to do with my life. She showed me through her experiences that one does not have to wait to graduate and get a degree to begin a career. One can start in school through internships and jobs to pursue one’s passion.
I thought that Journalism was a good career path for me but honestly I am not a huge fan of the camera and writing is not always my biggest love. So, I knew that public relations was the right major choice for myself as I love working with others and I wouldn’t mind a career where I could represent clients from different companies or events; as well as working with charities in the community to help those in need which is my real passion. I realized that it is fine to be young and in your early 20’s and still try to figure out what career one wants to pursue. I left class that day feeling strong and confident in myself that slowly I am on track to doing and figuring out what I want to pursue in this life. The class discussion from Ms. Kripalini was much more than just Journalism and her job, it was about finding a career that you truly are passionate goals and going for it no matter what obstacles one encounters.
One recent example that comes to my mind of civil rights issue in South Florida would be the violence experienced this past Memoral Weekend 2011. For years, Miami Beach residents have resented the Memorial Day crowds that crowd the city and it’s tough not to notice that many of the visitors are African-American — or “urban,” hence the politically correct nickname “Urban Weekend.”
The memorial day weekend 2011 ended with two shootings, one of which led to a dead suspect, three injured cops and four more wounded bystanders. Gay activist Herb Sosa wrote a letter asking the city of Miami Beach to end urban week, in his letter he wrote “this is not a race, economic or ethnic issue, it is an issue of visitors who have a total lack of respect for our community, its property & citizens.” The fact he said “race” and criticized Urban Weekend is an indication that race is an issue, considering he threw in this context: “If this was PRIDE weekend, The Boat Show, Fashion Week or Art Deco Weekend – would we allow this to go on each year.”
As a worker in south beach I had a firsthand experience in the racism and fear sparked in many knowing that the majority of people attending the memorial day festivities in south beach were African American. Many residents left the city for the weekend, stores and shops closed early and many were not happy with the visitors arriving on the beach this year. On social networks like facebook, radio shows and television there were warnings not to go to the beach as if violence doesn’t occur in other of the city’s events. I definitely did feel the racial tension this weekend and I questioned how far have we really come along with race issues, discrimination and the seperation of South Floridians. I mean yes we do have many races and nationalities living in south Florida but not always are we united or walking side by side. The division line can be felt if one goes to certain neighborhoods, clubs, schools, restaurants and malls. Yes, discrimination is far less than what it once was years ago but us as residents of this growing melting pot in South Florida must learn to tolerate each other and work on ending these racial division lines.
So after a long hectic day of work I get home and climb on my bed to relax for twenty minutes. I try and meditate but then my thoughts run to my crazy day at work and stress I encountered. I have been waiting for this moment the whole day to just unwind and be in peace for at least twenty minutes. I close my eyes, but my peaceful
state of mind is interrupted by the sound of kids playing in the pool. screams and laughs reminds me of my childhood and how great those days were. I have been working so much the past few years going to school and working two jobs that i realized it had been awhile since I had actually done nothing for awhile. When I’m not sleeping everything is always movement and going from the next place to the next place, whether it is having to pick up my little brother from work, having to get to work on time, driving to school, creating events and social outings that I attend to with friends, running errands, etc. A little vacation from life in general would be nice with no one bothering me, no homework to be done, not having to punch in at work, and just enjoying life’s simple pleasures with no worries about what has to be done tomorrow. My mind drifts off to the perfect getaway which would be to visit an island in the caribbean alone with no cell phone, no laptop, and no forms of communication with those at home at least for one week only. I honestly don’t get much time in solitude so it would be a treat to just be alone in a paradise to clear my thoughts and enjoy my time with mother nature. Ahhhh my mind drifts to the sounds of the ocean with the waves hitting the shore. I can feel the sun tanning my skin as I am laying on the beach in peace. I see the beach girl coming to bring me my nice cold Corona with lime and I engage in some small talk with her asking her where are some nice spots on the island to visit. I envision my little trip with sightseeing the island, scuba diving, swimming near a waterfall, meeting new people, going to a few nightclubs in the area and being in touch with nature. I realize this is what life is all about creating those special moments where one can cherish them and look back at it in content. Despite all the responsibilities we have we all need that time to just relax and be thankful we are alive. So I come back to reality and smile as I wake up from my daydream and found the answer to a way to deal with life’s stresses. Yes, I think tomorrow I will take a trip to the human resources department to request a seven day vacation. So in reality spending some time not doing anything is actually doing something because that is when one usually finds the answers to questions or thoughts we harbor deep down inside.
I was very moved by the Tell somebody documentary touching on the Hiv/Aids epidemic in Africa. I learned many things I had no idea about concerning Hiv including treatment, statistics, number of deaths and ways of prevention of this deadly disease. Media is a great way to raise awareness as almost everyone has access to newspapers, television, radio and internet. It was uplifting to see how South Africans since 1998 has been campaigning for the government to provide free health care for those infected. This shows that in reality it is society that has created awareness of this disease and not the government. Hiv is more than a sexually transmitted disease it touches on politics, society and economics as well.
It was disturbing to hear that half of all Africans will or have been infected with Hiv. The statistics of Miami being the third largest city with residents carrying this disease was so shocking to me.This makes me think that it has been more than twenty years since Hiv cases began in the world and it has taken awhile for treatment to be discovered to prolong lives of those with the disease. In the eighties the stigma was that if someone became sick with the disease they would die soon; but nowadays it is comforting to know that Hiv is no longer the death sentence that it was once was. In my own personal life I know somebody that caught the disease at age nineteen and at fourty four years old is still living a healthy and productive life due to his medication.
However others have not been so lucky as they refuse to get tested or they find out too late that they developed Aids and their chances of a longer life are vague. This documentary personally hits close to home as a cousin of mine passed away about five years ago to Aids. It angers me how his parents due to the stigma of him being gay and having aids kept it quiet from the rest of the family. It makes me realize how people still are ashamed or uncomfortable to speak about this disease that is taking away so many lives especially with minorities in the United States. I feel if parents, teachers and those in the media spoke more on this topic and were more explicit on transmission of this disease then maybe the new cases of those being tested positive would be lower. I feel like our media is too oversexualized, political and materialistic; not enough awareness from our politicians, celebrities and those in control is being put out their for the new generation and its health. Yes, I believe that nowadays getting tested is more available for our communities as their are free health clinics, Buses, hospitals and even at home kits to get tested for this epidemic. Nowadays one can get tested and find out results in about twenty minutes to see if Hiv antibodies are present in one’s blood. So it’s good to know that we have come a long way in the fight against Aids. There still needs to be more awareness and we as a community should be able to speak more freely on this topic without fear of stigmas, ridicule or shame. This documentary has opened my eyes more on Aids and inspired me to fight against this epidemic by helping out the community and creating awareness to others.
Sam Adams was not an objective journalist he was a blogger. Although he created the “Journal of occurrences,” he was a controversial, radical, and biased person. Anyone that read his journals could see how much he hated the British. A journalist is supposed to communicate the truth with the public, a quality Adams did not possess. The “Journal of Occurrences” was biased and very exaggerated when speaking about the British and the crimes they committed against the commonpeople. Adams’s journal entries was not deliverd in a journalistic point of view but rather his anger towards the British for stationing their troops in Boston due to tax inauguration. He created juicy stories for people who were bored of reading regular news and the temperature weather. Some of these stories included tales of the soldiers and their drunken behavior, foul language, outrageous behaviors and low morals. However, the frequent subject that Adams emphasized frequently were soldiers mistreating the American citizens through violence and rape. Evidence later on demonstrated that Adams’s journal entries were false as it came to be known his dates did not
match real life events.
Similar to nowadays blogs, the journals listed an entry per day describing events that would happen on each of those dates. At the end of it all, Adams’s entries were fake but written simply to give the British a worse reputation. His journal entries were not objective as he was creating a different image of the British but still having an impact on politics. His tales were causing the American colonists to revolt against the British colonists; that in August 1769 officials withdrew the Brisitsh militamen from Boston. Overall, Adams had somewhat an influence on the Journalism Codes of ethics when they were being created however,
since he developed the first form of gathering news while giving the public access to it. He is a perfect example of what not to do and how misleading journalism can become if no boundaries are set.
Edward Murrow’s dedication to advocacy journalism can be summed up in his own words “American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst.” Murrow is perhaps best-known for helping to bring down U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy who falsely accused government officials and other public figures of being Communists.
However, Murrow’s fear that McCarthy posed a real threat to civil liberties developed into a determination to use his TV documentary series “See It Now” against the senator.Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly, prepared a half-hour program focused only on McCarthy and his tactics. They knew that McCarthy would launch a personal attack on Murrow himself.
Even so, Murrow understood that on television a skilled journalist and his technology-savvy team of editors, writers, and producers enjoyed real advantages. They could pick the least flattering video clips, flip McCarthy’s many contradictory statements and charges, and employ their skills to portray the senator in an unflattering light. Murrow he believed that McCarthy posed an immediate threat and that the American people, when confronted with the truth, would repudiate McCarthy.Murrow’s own broadcast featured excerpts from the senator’s own speeches which contradicted and turned McCarthy’s words against him.When the broadcast ended, CBS was flooded with telegrams, telephone calls, and letters. They ran 15 to 1 in Murrow’s favor. On December 2, 1954, the U.S. Senate censured McCarthy for conduct unbecoming to a senator.
From the 1955 Montgomery bus boycotts to the murder of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr, technological innovations enabled television to bring the non-violent civil disobedience campaign of the Civil Rights Movement and the violent reprisals of Southern law enforcement agents to a new mass audience.
The NAACP’s 1954 landmark Supreme Court case, Brotvn v. Board ofeducation, along with the brutal murder of 15-year-old Emmet Till in Mississippi and the subse- quent acquittal of the two white men accused of his murder marked the beginning of America’s modern Civil Rights Movement. The media coverage of the Till case helped to increase the membership of civil rights organizations nationwide. As civil rights workers organized mass boycotts and civil disobedience campaigns to end legal segregation and white supremacist terror in the South, white segregationists retaliated with much violence. As black churches, businesses and residences in support of the movement were bombed in order to stop the Civil Rights Movement, it increased the support for civil rights.
These events were unfolding at the same time that the percentage of American homes equipped with television sets jumped from 56 to 92%. This was 1955 and television was securing its place in American society. Network news shows were also beginning to expand from the conventional fifteen to thirty minutes format, splitting the time between local and national issues. From the mid to late 1950s, these social, political, technological and cultural events began to converge. So television’s coverage of the Civil Rights Movement changed considerably, especially as the “anti-establishment politics” of the 1960s erupted. When television covered the consumer boycotts and the school desegregation battles in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, it was usually focused on the most dramatic and sensational occurrences. As well, the coverage in the late 1950s was usually done with a field reporter conducting a stand-up report from a horrible scene. Usually, an in-studio anchorman would narrate the events recorded on film. Rarely, did blacks speak for themselves or address directly America’s newly constituted mass television audience. Nevertheless, civil rights leaders understood how central television exposure was helping the success of the movement.
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Born to succeed 