California wildfires continue to rage

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Ben Ezzy

By BEN EZZY

Wine country in California has been engulfed in flames since Sunday night, leaving at least 17 people dead, hundreds more taken to the hospital with injuries and more than 2,000 buildings affected by the blaze.

The fires were spread in part by strong 50 m.p.h. winds that were present when the fire started. While they have since dissipated, they will likely resume as the week goes on, and the fire remains uncontained, according to officials. Based on the nature of the fire and the lack of control that firefighters have been able to establish, those numbers are sure to rise.

In analyzing the news coverage of the fires as the story develops, I notice two prominent characteristics that are worth discussing. The first is the personalization of the stories that are being written. The fires are the week’s biggest developing story at the moment, but readers are usually unsatisfied with the simple hard read of the facts. In using a softer lede by recounting a personal tale of tragedy, before getting into the colder facts about the fire, readers are naturally drawn into the story.

The New York Times, for example, started its story by introducing the reader to Matt Lenzi, who “hiked through smoke-choked vineyards and waded the Napa River to reach the home his father lived in for 53 years.”

This is a deeply personal story, which brings personal connection and life to an otherwise cold read about fire statistics that are likely to be updated in half an hour. Readers can connect to his experience and are motivated to keep reading. If they do, they’ll meet Maureen Grinnell, Pamela Taylor, James Harder and many more victims, who are able to offer an emotional perspective that makes reading the story a worthwhile endeavor.

The second element of the stories that I noticed is the use of new technologies to supplement the article and take advantage of the full capabilities of media today. The New York Times included drone footage of the fires, to give online readers a sense of the scale and devastation that the fires have caused.

CNN has included video from multiple sources, to allow readers a complex look at the fire from multiple points of view. Combined, these two techniques compel readers to continue reading and give them a complete experience of the events that are unfolding.

Plague in Madagascar panics locals

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Kayla Foster

By KAYLA FOSTER

The plague has returned to the country of Madagascar as reports of more than 194 people contacting the disease came in Tuesday.

For majority of the world, the plague is a thing of the past but, for the country of Madagascar, is it a seasonal worry that has taken the lives of 63 out of the 275 reported cases last year. Officials are particularly worried about this season’s outbreak, as it is mainly affecting heavily populated areas.

Madagascar has temporarily shut down all public and government institutions, including its capital, Antananarivo, home to 1.3 million residents. World Health Organization officials said plans to ship emergency supplies are underway.

Madagascar’s Minister of Public Health, Mamy Andriamanarivo, says the country is running low on face masks for the public, CBC reports.

On average, Madagascar accounts for 82 percent of the world’s plague related deaths. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world, most people making under $2 per day, The Washington Post reports. For the United States, rare cases have been reported and all have survived.

So far there has been little news media coverage on the condition of Madagascar, as most of the United States is giving attention to Sunday night’s Las Vegas massacre, as well as Houston, Florida, and Puerto Rico rebuilding after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Epidemic season runs from September to April in Madagascar. So far the disease has killed 30 people.

Las Vegas coverage evolves by hour

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Ben Ezzy

By BEN EZZY

Over the past week, the world has reacted to the gruesome Las Vegas Massacre, cited as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. In its wake, there has also been intense scrutiny into the man behind the attack, Stephen Paddock, and his potential motives.

News coverage of the event has been very high, as expected due to the magnitude of the attacks and the public interest in seeing the story develop. A renewed battle for gun control has also been sparked, with social media biting on both sides of the controversial issue.

In following the story for several days, two things have stood out to me: how the information has changed so rapidly, and each news organization has approached putting the story together in a unique way.

First, there were two people dead. Then ten. Then 20, 30, 40. The number was different with each new article until the final toll was reached, with hundreds more injured. Information about the shooter was unknown, or even if there were more than one.

There were unconfirmed reports that ISIS had taken credit for the attacks. What we saw were news organizations trying to get information out to the public that craved them, without having enough time to properly verify it. In some cases, accurate information was unknown, and could only be speculated.

I also noticed that, while each organization was telling the same basic information, they had different ways of drawing in potential readers. The Washington Post highlighted that “new details have emerged,” while The New York Times chose to focus on the “cryptic clues” and the “vexing and terrifying mystery” behind Paddock’s motivation for the massacre.

Either way, the methods of differentiation made each story slightly different than the previous, ensuring that readers had to check out all of them to understand fully.

Las Vegas video raises questions

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Nate Derrenbacher

By NATE DERRENBACHER

Competition in news is cut-throat with the increase of social media and electronic reporting. To compensate, news corporations across the globe have started incorporating multimedia to stories to engage a wider audience.

But one common question has blurred over the years, as organizations push to share the most newsworthy, unique and engaging content – what should be edited and how far is too far? The recent mass shooting in Las Vegas has showed that this line is blurring even further, and news media companies will go to great lengths to gain business.

In the days following the shooting in Las Vegas, the largest in modern American history, photos and videos began emerging from the incident. Among them were point-of-view videos from people in the crowd sounding the shots raining down on the crowd, police response to the scene and the initial investigation of the shooter’s room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

But something not seen until recently stood out. Major news organizations began sharing gruesome photos of the shooter’s hotel room, including images of the weapons and ammunition the shooter had in the room, along with an image of his blood-covered body from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Before now, this type of content was not widely shared. Editing of content in mainstream news media previously protected viewers from this type of content, and if anyone wanted to view it, it would take a lot of digging around the Internet to find a not-so-reputable online source leaking the information.

So what has changed over the years? In short, social media.

Today, it is so easy for anyone to share content to a mass audience with very little regulation. The constant pressure felt by large news organizations to stay ahead and get the most viewers to their sites, requires content to be well-developed and have more stopping power on social media feeds than any other person or organization sharing the same information.

More often than not, that comes by pushing the envelope and sharing content that may not always have been widely acceptable in society. Modern news media and the use of raw, point-of-view video are some of the most important components of a story to engage users. Has this push to stay current desensitized Americans by experiencing more long-term exposure to difficult topics? The response to the Las Vegas shooting has proven that censorship is not what it used to be.

Sensationalizing tragedy on television

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Danny LaRose

By DANNY LAROSE

The story at the forefront of American news media this week has been the horrific shooting that occurred in Las Vegas Sunday night. A final count of 58 people were killed and more than 500 were injured in the massacre. And yet, the news media embraces the violence as if it were a great show.

You know the teasers: “Tonight at 11, what is in your refrigerator that may be poisoning your food? Find out on the *insert local station* nightly news.” *intense sound effect*

These teasers, while quite reminiscent of Internet click-bait, are all well and good with such a story as the fabricated example above. However, this week the news, and specifically 24-hour news channels such as CNN or Fox News, have been teasing their stories out of Las Vegas in that manner.

It is sickening. It reminds me of the film “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhal, who is a multimedia journalist taping gruesome crime scenes and worrying only about the “shot” but never the victims involved. And his station encourages it.

But this is real life, not a movie. As if the deaths of 58 Americans in the largest mass shooting in this nation’s history weren’t attention-grabbing enough, now news programming feels that they need to entice the viewer with dramatic music and sensational latest reports out of Las Vegas.

The hundreds of families and friends affected, as well as all of us innocent, confused Americans, could do without the 24-hour news cycle pushing a traumatic event like this down our throats as if it were a movie trailer.

While average Americans are trying to wrap their heads around such a terrifying event and go on with their days, the media is lapping it up, hyping up the fact that the shooting is now deadliest in U.S. history, and has racked up more deaths than the Orlando night club shooting.

Sensationalizing tragedy is not appealing. It should not earn viewers and in turn earn more money. Unfortunately, the news seems to believe in it, and we are living in a time of glorifying horror on television.

Security addressed after Vegas shooting

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Veronica Spagna

By VERONICA SPAGNA

Sunday evening in Las Vegas left many people without a friend, a sibling, a parent, a son, a daughter. And, as any tragedy, it happened in an unexpected place at an unexpected time.

Till now 58 people were shot dead at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, and more than 450 were injured. Stephen Paddock, 64, shot festival attendees from the 32^nd floor of a hotel room in Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Paddock had capability of bringing 23 guns to his hotel room, 12 of which were semi-automatic guns, also known as self-loading guns. What is worrying people is that the assassin could transport all those firearms in the hotel without going unnoticed. This brings to the surface the issue of safety and security in hotels, as well as music festivals.

Bruce Mclndoe, president of iJet international, said the Las Vegas attack has stimulated immediate changes to security protocols.

iJet international preforms around 400 security inspections globally every year.

Mclndoe said that it is likely that hotels will have to train their security surveillance staff to inspect customers with items that could be rifles such as; fishing gear, skis and other long items.

Another tactic addressed to increase security measured was more specific to the idea of gatherings in outdoor situations. In an e-mail response, former director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University, Audrey Cronin, addressed the shooting as “Horrifying but not unprecedented.” Pointing out that having large number of people in an open space next to a tall structure, makes people an easier target.

Cronin highlighted that typically, when major political events take place, law enforcement has access to high places nearby. She suggested that this procedure also be applied to other types of gatherings, which will most likely imply changes to hotel security. Cronin said, “Unfortunately, our law enforcement practices must often adapt in the wake of major tragedies.”

Many articles also mentioned the idea of baggage screening and metal detectors in hotels. The opinion of many concerning the idea of adding metal detectors is very unlikely in hotels, especially in Las Vegas, where hotels are connected to casinos and the business model would be damaged.

The Las Vegas shooting last Saturday, Oct. 1, is the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, it will continue to be addressed and discussed, hopefully, this tragedy will lead to change, some real outcomes.

Even though violence can never be completely stopped, I do think that it is important to continue to improve security, especially in a time where gun violence in public scenarios is becoming more present. The news articles covered a lot of useful information but I really think that the changes that will be made in the Mandalay Bay hotel, should be investigated.

Challenges reporting breaking news

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Anael Gavizon

By ANAEL GAVIZON

Last Sunday, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas during Jason Aldean’s concert performance. A lone gunman unleashed bullets from the 32nd floor of Mandala Bay Casino and Resort.

The shooter killed at least 58 people and injured more than 500 others attending a country music festival below, according to officials.

The initially unknown shooter, now identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, fired shot after shot from his room at the hotel down on the crowd of about 22,000.

Terrified concertgoers were literally running for their lives. It has been the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

As one can see, this story was breaking news late on Sunday and early on Monday. However, most of the information was incomplete and unknown. It is a story that has been developing during the week. Each day adds new information that sometimes leads to new stories.

This is one of the challenges of covering breaking news. Sometimes you could get more information, details and sources than others.

The process begins with an alert that carries immediate, yet very limited information. That would be the first news on Sunday night. Next comes the news break, which includes the answer to main facts (who? what? when? where?), the source and the circumstances.This would be the stories from Monday and Tuesday talking about the details of the event, most importantly who committed the act and why.

Last, but not least, the updates and second stories that are stories carrying an earlier report by weaving together fresh developments, reactions, added context and analysis. These are stories like the ones about the gunman’s girlfriend, heroes that saved lives, interviews with the killer’s family.

Little by little, journalists get to weave the story, starting from the very basic and developing into the more complex details.

It doesn’t matter what his name is

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Justin Stevens

By JUSTIN STEVENS

This past Sunday a lone gunman unleashed rapid-fire bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500 others attending a three-day country music festival.

The act was the single-deadliest mass shooting in American history. Only one shooter was connected to the act. Inside his hotel room in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Vegas Strip was 23 guns and another 19 were found inside his house.

The suspect, who is now deceased, checked into the hotel on Sept. 28 and it was likely that he requested a room on a high floor overlooking the festival grounds, overlooking the 22,000 attendees at the concert.

President Trump visited Las Vegas on Wednesday to pay his respects and offer his condolences. Several other politicians and entertainers expressed their sorrow on social media with the hashtag, #prayforlasvegas, which has been trending on Twitter.

Police are lost as they are still looking into what the motive is for this act of pure evil. After interviewing several people close to the shooter and digging up almost every detail about his past, investigators are stumped.

The problem with the reporting of the shooting is far too many news media outlets are using the shooter’s picture and his name as if it was the president’s. They’re creating a situation of martyrdom and creating a following for him.

The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what his name is. It doesn’t matter what is gender is, his age is, his occupation is, his demeanor, where he lives, who his family is, or what his hobbies are.

TMZ the infamous celebrity gossip site took this too far when they released an article titled, SHOOTER DOESN’T FIT MASS SHOOTER PROFILE. They had this great quote, “The 64-year-old Nevada resident lived in a retirement community. He has no criminal record, at least none we’ve been able to find so far. We found Paddock has a hunting license in Alaska. He got a pilot’s license in 2003, which means he’s undergone some physical and mental evaluation.”

This is disgusting. A man killed 58 people and injured more than 500 people. Then he killed himself. He fits the mass shooter profile because he acted as a mass shooter. It doesn’t matter if he was mentally insane, or if he was “normal” to the eyes of police. He committed an act of violence and caused devastation. His name, picture and background doesn’t need to be shared. He is a mass murderer.

Plans in order to ban ‘bump stock’

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Izabella Felpeto

By IZABELLA FELPETO

After one of the deadliest shootings in American history, with 58 people killed and 489 wounded; it is no surprise that officials are beginning to consider the steps necessary to further regulate access to and use of guns.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, lawmakers began efforts to ban legislation on bump stocks, an attachment that enables a semiautomatic weapon to fire faster. Bump stocks are not banned even though it allows a person to fire a gun at the speed of a fully-automatic gun because of technicalities with how it is made.

Jill Snyder, a special agent in charge at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says “The classification of these devices depends on whether they mechanically alter the function of the firearm to fire fully automatic.”

After the world witnessed painful video coverage of the shooting; experts concluded it is proof enough that a semi-automatic weapon with a bump stock can accelerate the speed of the shots to the level of a fully-automated weapon. Twelve of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock’s rifles carried a bump stock.

The National Rifle Association issued a statement saying “The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”

Republicans have already demonstrated support to alter the gun laws. Republican representatives Mike Gallagher and Adam Kinzinger asked for signatures to petition a change in the 2010 administrative decision saying that bump stocks are legal.

There is still no answer on this ban from President Trump, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the president is a “supporter of the Second Amendment” and that he is “open” to discussing the ban on “bump stock.”

Nobel awarded for fruit fly research

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Andres Arenas Grayeb

By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

This Monday, the Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to Drs. Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Robash and Michael Young in recognition of their research pertaining to circadian rhythms.

After years of research, the trio was able to identify a molecule (called a “period”) that is linked to our bodies’ energy levels. As the day goes on, period levels drop, giving us the energy to get through the day. As night approaches, period levels increase, prompting us to call it a day.

The period molecule functions in all animals and is responsible for their daily cycles of wake and rest. But the model organisms this year’s Nobel Prize recipients used was none other than the humble fruit fly.

Being a cost-and-time efficient test subject, fruit flies are also genetically very similar to humans. As such, they have been the stars in numerous important areas of research, five of which led to past Nobel prizes.

New York Times‘ open-ended contributor David Bilder did a thorough job covering not only what happened, but why it is relevant and what are its consequences. He explained in simple terms what the research was and how it applied the ordinary person. He also called attention to the danger that research like the one that is the topic is in, with looming budget cuts from a Congress that does not understand the importance it holds. This also served the purpose of being a call to action for fascinated readers.

He also offered a brief history of the research behind the fruit fly, as a supplement to his urging readers as to the importance of this type of research. Overall, he provided enlightened and complete coverage of the event.

News and information at what price?

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Regina Sánchez Jiménez

By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

Past weeks, everybody across the world has been paying attention to Hurricane Irma news. The hurricane that has devastated 10 countries and took the lives of 60 people, has attracted the attention of every news media corporation.

Irma has been covered by all the news shows. But these shows, with an enormous competition, look for formulas to fill their programs with attractive content to steal the audience of the competitors.

That’s all right so far. But the issue is that the fight between news media for getting the most impressive coverage has been sometimes irresponsible. Scenes of reporters risking their lives have been repeated. In the middle of the hurricane and in the most dangerous areas, when the order of the government was to evacuate, there were many reporters reporting live in the middle of the storm for their channel.

https://twitter.com/CNNweather/status/906984511287824386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavanguardia.com%2Ftelevision%2F20170911%2F431207158583%2Fhuracan-irma-reporteros-television-directo-peligro.html

That’s unacceptable because of two reasons. First of all, journalists have to be a role model to viewers. And disobeying safety orders of government, such as evacuating a dangerous area, is not exemplary behavior. People will try to imitate them or just underestimate the situation and risk their lives, too.

https://twitter.com/weatherchannel/status/906991544753893377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavanguardia.com%2Ftelevision%2F20170911%2F431207158583%2Fhuracan-irma-reporteros-television-directo-peligro.html

The second reason is that audience could view a death live. Fortunately, they didn’t. But it wouldn’t be surprising if that had happened, when we have seen reporters near to the sea with great waves, in the street when lot of objects were flying and they could crash into reporters, or when reporters were tied with ropes to prevent them of blowing away.

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/906867967903727616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavanguardia.com%2Ftelevision%2F20170911%2F431207158583%2Fhuracan-irma-reporteros-television-directo-peligro.html

Television news can be an entertainment show and behaviors contribute to that show, but we need to think where are the limits of what we do as reporters. If the purpose of news media is to inform, I’m sure there are other safer ways to do the job and show the reality to an audience.

Tropical Storm Nate may hit U.S. Gulf Coast

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Evan Aldo

By EVAN ALDO

The United States may still not be off the hook for hurricanes this season.

A tropical cyclone in the northwestern Caribbean Sea has recently been upgraded to a named tropical storm called Nate. Meteorologists believe the system is likely to become a hurricane in the next three days. They also predict that it may hit the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday morning.

“Nate is expected to strengthen as it moves over warmer waters on its way to the U.S. coast,” says the National Hurricane Center. “But at this point, it is too early to specify the timing, location, or magnitude of these impacts.

Nate is currently bringing heavy rainfall to Nicaragua as it is heading towards Cancun. It has triggered flood warnings in these areas, as well as a hurricane watch in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

Right now the tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It is expected to take a northwestward path later today and start to move at a faster speed, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The sustained winds are expected to reach 75 mph by Sunday. Although this is much less than recent hurricanes such as Irma or Maria, forecasters are still warning people to watch out for flash floods and mudslides. Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, has already addressed the state to discuss preparation for the storm.

After the devastations from hurricanes Irma and Maria, another hurricane clearly is something the United States can do without at this time.

Congress has been debating passing a 15 billion dollar hurricane recovery bill. However, if Nate ends up being as catastrophic as Sandy was in 2012, American taxpayers may have a lot more to worry about.

58 killed in Las Vegas shooting

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Nina Garza

By NINA GARZA

A gunman opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500. This occurred late on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017.

The shooter has been identified as Stephen Paddock, who was found dead by self inflicted injury in his hotel room. Paddock was staying in the Mandalay Bay Resort. Just past 10 p.m., on Sunday is when Paddock began shooting at people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival from his hotel room.

Videos of the shooting have been posted on Twitter, showing people running and screaming as the gunfire began. Country singer Jason Aldean had just started singing his last song of the night when the shooting started. He quickly ran off stage to take cover.

Country singer Jake Owen had performed before Aldean but was still at the festival watching Aldean perform before the start of the shooting, He spoke to CNN on the phone and said, “it was ringing off the top of the stage, you can hear it hitting trailers, people scattering, here and there, it was chaos.”

Being that this incident has been the largest shooting in modern United States history, the news media have been very sensitive and respectful. I saw several videos on reporters talking to people who were there and the police officers who were on the scene and they were very considerate towards them. The news media did a great job handling and covering this tragedy, being that it is a very serious and devastating event that occurred.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

Journalism and Media Management Department, School of Communication, University of Miami

Monthly Archives: October 2017