Hello again, internet readers. I thought I'd reiterate something on my last entry. I've got no problem with smaller newspapers or even those that cover a pretty significant metropolitan area. It's the national papers that have gotten under my skin. The questions Barbra West was asking Joe Biden are questions the major networks and newspapers should have been asking a long time ago. We are the ones who keep the powers that be in check. We scrutinize, criticize and analyze. I stand behind what I said, because I believe we haven't done any of these things for the Obama campaign.
Hey internet readers. I was listening to talk radio as I always do on my way home from work last night. It helps balance out what I read in the news.
I heard about Barbara West's interview with VP candidate Joe Biden. I was shocked to hear she really drilled Biden hard, trying to dig deep into Obama's alleged socialist views and the subsequent plans for his administration.
Biden could have handled it easily. He could have been honest. If their views are honestly their feelings on how to best run the country and if it's something they truly believe would be right for the people, they should have no problem expressing their views and answering West's questions.
Barbara, I salute you. You did what major networks and newspapers all over the nation and world should have been doing this entire time. Congratulations. Journalism isn't as dead as we thought.
Hey everybody. Adam here, coming to you live and with the flu...or somthing incredibly similar to it. I feel better than I have in the past couple days, but still...it sucks.
I covered the McCain rally in Green, Ohio for my weekly newspaper. I thought this would be a really good move for my career. I was just told this was going to be the cover story for the paper! How cool is that?
To boot, my photos might be included in an online gallery.
But all this came with a cost.
As I said, I felt like crap. Kinda felt like a combination of a cold with a flu. Aches, chills, congestion, coughing, major fatigue...it wasn't fun.
I tried to call off this morning because of how I was feeling and the fact that I said I'd cover the story. I couldn't really find anyone who could work my shift.
I made a deal with my management that I'd call them after the event and see how they were and if they needed me.
Now, back to the rally. It was really cool. I'd never been to any political event except for the occasional city council meeting. I met one of my favorite radio broadcasters and was among reporters from all across the country.
Party politics aside, it really was moving to see so many people gathered in one place and with such a love for this great country.
Regardless, I still didn't feel that great after the event. I had a fever of 101. So I called off again. I was told I needed to bring a note from a med center. I don't know about that, and don't remember reading that in the employee handbook. I wasn't really able to get one at 6pm anyway. I hope I don't get fired...
I may not be on the best terms with the ol' restaurant biz right now. I can't say there weren't good times working there, but it's been pretty crazy these past couple of months. I don't know how much longer I'll be there.
Good afternoon, bloggers and other internet friends!
First and foremost, I salute Joe the Plumber. He did what a lot of people in my line of work should have been doing all along: he asked the tough questions. Namely, one tough question that seemingly revealed Obama's socialist sentiments.
He, as am I, was scared when Obama expressed his wish to spread the wealth around. It sounds like a good concept at face value, but can be dangerous for firstly our economy and ultimately our freedoms.
So, Joe, wherever you are, if you happen to find yourself reading this, I salute you. You've done what the journalistic superpowers of our nation could or would not. Here's to you.
I've got a potentially big story coming up. I'm not sure if it's going to be as big as last week's, which as you may or may not know was a murder in North Canton. I don't believe I told you about that. If you're interested in reading it, by all means click here
This story was on page 4 of page 50, so it was pretty big news. This means a great deal to me as a more-or-less starting journalist, but I take no pleasure in it given the grave nature of the story itself.
Anyway, Senator McCain and Gov. Palin are coming to a high school not 10 minutes away from me. I've been told to cover this for the paper.
My political sentiments are plainly seen in my recent writing, but I will do my utmost to write a fair and balanced article.
That's it for now. If you'll excuse me, it's lunch time.
Good morning, bloggers. Sorry it's been a while and I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. LIfe's been kind of hectic, and had its ups and downs. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in the latter right now. I'm a little discouraged because my job search hasn't turned up much of anything lately. I've dispatched a few more resumes yesterday so I'm hoping to hear from them soon.
In the meantime, my freelance position's given me some good opportunities for some good stories. And Chipotle...could be worse. It's really not that bad. I don't have much room to complain, I was just hoping I'd have a full-time reporting position by now.
Speaking of reporting, I've kept silent for long enough about our coverage of Barack Obama.
I don't like Obama. He's a nice-enough guy, I'll give him that. But I don't like him.
Why the media's kept some of these things silent I don't know. Like his radical associations. I think it would have made a great article to hear about his socialist sentiments. The fact that a Marxist has made it this far in this nation's political world is a remarkable thing. I'd like to know how he did it. I'd like to know how he kept his true views hidden so well. Did he ever hide them? Or is this movement toward socialism a trend? Why isn't there any articles like that?
Because people are afraid of the term "socialism." I am.
The media's afraid to use the term "socialist" or "Marxist" for no other reason than they want Obama to be elected. Saying what he is would just be bad PR.
That's another thing I don't really understand. Obama wants more government. If he gets it, couldn't it get to the point where the media loses its free speech rights? Isn't that a possibility?
Plus, his stance on taxes has me concerned. Most small businesses do in fact make more than $250,000. The ones that make that amount are the really, really little guys. It seems most small businesses according to the Small Business Administration make an average of about $750,000, maybe more. Check it out.
Obama just lied. Plain and simple.
Ok, so there'd be tax cuts for the really small guys, including people who make less than $250,000 That's fine for them; sounds great, in fact. But that means tax increases for businesses making more than that. Businesses never really pay taxes themselves. They pass it on to us. Meaning prices are going to rise, during our current economic situation.
You can disagree with me as I'm sure a majority of you reading this do, but I can't hold back my concerns anymore. I don't like Obama and it was nice to see McCain finally have some guts during their debate.
I can't promise this will be all I will say on the matter because of the nature of this election. I'm just worried. And I'm worried that no one else is worried.
Hey bloggers! Reporting to you live from home, on my day off. It's a lovely day here in Akron, Ohio. A little time before my job interview last week, I was mentally preparing myself, and really thinking about why I went into journalism. I figured putting that and my philosophy on journalism itself into words will really help me in my interview and really in my career.
Here's what I came up with.
I really became interested in journalism around my freshman or sophomore year of college. I had in the past been told I am a gifted writer, and I figured journalism would be one of the more practical ways of applying said gift.
After being hired with the Observer-Reporter and working for The BG News (I miss you guys!), I developed a love for community news. The smaller, more local papers take care of their communities, informing and acting as a communication liaison for residents. Not only are we showing communities that they're on the map by covering issues within the community and the things they care about, but we're also bringing community members closer together.
The election, the global warming theory, the economy, the war in Iraq...all these issues and the way the media has covered them hasn't sat well with the conservative side of the political spectrum. Or me, for that matter. See, I try to absorb as much news as I can through a couple of different mediums, and one of them is talk radio. Day in and day out, I hear about the "drive-by media" or how the media has a liberal agenda.
Whether it's true or not, I don't know if I'm qualified to say. That's not the point. Such things should never have to be said about the media. If this is true, we're abusing our power. We need to take criticism of that magnitude very seriously. If this continues without us adressing or stepping it up to bring balance to our news, people aren't going to trust us. It's bad from a business standpoint, it's worse at face value.
If people cannot trust the media, who can they trust?
How do we restore it? In my mind, we need to balance in a couple of different ways. Not just politically, but there also must be a balance between investigative reporting and simple, every day news. I think we simply need to understand there's a time and a place to expose corruption in the powers that be, but not everything's a scandal. The simple, little everyday stories, if done right and done in a balanced fashion have overlooked value.
People appreciate the little things. We do it right, they see it, and trust is built. It's as simple as keeping an eye out FOR the people and an ear out TO the people.
Warning: The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Well, folks, here we are, live from Akron, Ohio. It's a rainy day out, and I'm home alone. My brother's off at college, my sister is at school, and my other sister and my parents are off to Rhode Island. They're dropping off my sister at pastry school. I didn't reallly have any plans because a lot of my friends are either in school, working or too far away for my driving preference. Oh well. I'll have that social life sooner or later!
I have kind of a funny story.
There's this girl who works at another restaurant a few doors down from where I work. We'll call her Alice. She came in, I talked to her briefly, and she ordered food and kind of started flirting with my co-worker, Momo. Which was understandable; Momo's a good-looking guy with a great personality. The funny thing is he's a little shy around women. I never would have guessed.
So Alice was eating, and Momo kind of convinced make it so he could go on break and talk to her. So I figured, what the heck, and made it so. They seemed to hit it off really well, and he gave her his Myspace adress and told her to look him up. It isn't my style, really, but whatever works.
A few days later, Alice came in looking for Momo about an hour before I came in. She left a note saying that she couldn't find him on Myspace and gave him her number. The only problem was the note was adressed to me. She'd mixed up our names.
I straightened it out with Momo, but haven't seen Alice since. Hope she isn't too embarrassed!
And here I thought some random girl gave me her number. Can't win them all, I suppose.
