Monthly Archives: November 2018

Jon Stewart, news media genius

Posted on by

By NICOLAS IPARRAGUIRRE

This week, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta had his press credentials suspended after a controversial incident during President Trump’s post-midterm election press conference.

The incident stemmed from Acosta repeatedly asking the president questions about the migrant caravan heading toward the southern border, with Trump eventually cutting Acosta off. When a female aide attempted to remove the microphone from Acosta’s hand, he attempted to hold on and what has followed has been a circus.

In response to the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a doctored video of the incident, accusing Acosta of placing his hands on the female aide. Producing an edited video and denying access can objectively be seen as the Trump administration acting in totalitarian fashion, but the news media have turned a winning issue for credibility into a food fight with the president.

Just last week, comedians Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle sat down with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to discuss various issues about comedy, Trump, and the press today. In discussing the media’s role in the age of Trump, Amanpour said, “But we the journalists, we I think believe that our job is to navigate the truth and do the fact-checking and all the rest of it.”

While this may be true, and most journalists do have this intention, Stewart’s response perfectly described why the news media have grown hostile in the face of Trump’s constant attacks.

“But I think the journalists have taken it personally,” Stewart said. “They’re personally offended and wounded by [Trump]. He baits them and they dive in — and what he’s done well I thought was to appeal to their own narcissism, to their own ego.”

Stewart’s understanding of the news media can be seen in Acosta’s actions during the post-midterm press conference. Acosta was asking a question about a hot-button issue (the migrant caravan) but was overtaken by his own ego and lashed out. While the administration’s response has been dishonest and possibly immoral, Acosta’s own antics have allowed what should be a one-sided issue to become more complex than it should be. Had he remained totally respectful, it would be impossible for anyone to condemn him.

High-heels on, wings ready to go

Posted on by

By NOELLE BARREDA

The infamous Victoria Secret Fashion show is something millions of people tune in to see.

Every year, there is something new to anticipate. It is either a supermodel, segment of the show, VS designs, wings and the $1 million bra.

This year the Victoria Secret Fashion Show cast some pretty cool supermodels, like Kendall Jenner, Winnie Harlow and Toni Garrn.

The iconic supermodel-BFF group will reunite this time with wings and that is something many people want to see. Bella, Gigi and Kendall will rock this year’s runway together.

Someone else who people are dying to see in wings and who will make her huge debut on such an iconic runway is Winnie Harlow. The supermodel is pretty new to the scene and was a former contestant of America’s Next Top Model. In case you are wondering, no, she didn’t win.

According to Harper’s Bazaar the Victoria Secret Fashion is where every iconic supermodel has walked. Every model that walks down that runway has a name for themselves the very next day.

Harper’s Bazaar says this year’s fantasy bra valued at $1 million will be available to buy for the first time ever, but it won’t cost you your life. A replica of the bra made from Swarovski crystals will cost $250.

They are filming the show today Nov. 8 and are premiering it exclusively on ABC Sunday, Dec. 2 at 10 EST.

Media cover Fox News star at rally

Posted on by

By SARAH BRADDOCK

President Trump held a rally in Missouri on Monday Nov. 5. Per usual, each news outlet had something to say regarding the event, but the points covered vary dramatically.

In The Hill’s article, “CNN’s Camerota questions ‘news organization’ status of Fox News after Hannity appears at Trump rally,” the sole focus of the piece was Sean Hannity’s presence and CNN’s reaction.

Following explicit statements that he wasn’t going to campaign with Trump, Fox News star Hannity did the exact opposite.

The piece includes quotes from CNN show host Alisyn Camerota and excerpts from Hannity’s supportive words toward Trump and his campaign during the rally.

In Fox News article, ‘Crowd at Trump rally sings ‘Amazing Grace’ after woman collapses,’ by Benjamin Brown there is not one mention of Hannity. Instead, the focus is on, what Brown paints as, Trump’s heroic gestures toward a woman who collapsed at the event.

The article covers Trumps five-minute delay to pray for the women, the crowd breaking out into singing “Amazing Grace,” and a brief history of the song itself.

Once again while both pieces contain factual information regarding the event, its the parts of the event they chose to cover that make all the difference.

Kardashians show off Halloween outfits

Posted on by

By NOELLE BARREDA

The Kardashian sisters once again take over Halloween.

This year all the sisters had more than four Halloween outfits to show off on social media, including the Victoria Secret Angel look that all the sisters rocked.

Victoria Secret personally landed the Kardashian sister’s actual VS wings from the runway.

Kim Kardashian’s dream was made come true after she’s dreamed for year being able to be a VS Angel and for Kendall Jenner it was just practice for this upcoming fashion show.

Kendall Jenner has been part of the show for two years, this year being her third.

The five sisters made sure to give Victoria Secret credit on social media for letting them borrow the wings for that night.

According to E! News they had a paid partnership for them to let the Kardashian’s borrow the wings.

The Kardashians weren’t the only ones showing of their cute costumes, they made sure to dress the next generation to live up to their Halloween legacy.

According to E! News, It is clear to say to say that Kylie Jenner won this year’s Halloween competition outshining all the sisters with her creative Halloween costumes.

Uber, Lyft popular in Boston area

Posted on by

By IBRAHIM GRAY

Boston taxi companies have seen their business continue to plummet over the past few years, largely due to the rise of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.

Bostonians have lauded the apps for helping them move around the city for less money and in a shorter amount of time.

Jim O’Donnell, a Boston University professor of city planning and urban development, wrote how he believes Uber and Lyft have thrived in cities due to the innovative way they connect the same services taxis provide to one’s phone.

“When you get in a taxi cab, you don’t know what it’s going to cost, when you’re trying to hail a taxi cab, you don’t know when it’s going to come. I think that that has been a real inconvenience for a lot of people,” he stated. “Ride apps allow one to get all the information about their trip length, price and availability at their fingertips.”

Along with the taxi industry, public transportation has also taken a hit from the advent of ride-sharing. While residents might benefit from catching Ubers, a report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council found that the city has been suffering from this switch. According to the report, the average ride-hailing trip represents 35 cents of lost revenue for the MBTA.

Efforts to combat these issues have been put in place by the Massachusetts government. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law in 2016 issuing a charge of five cents per ride to be given to a taxi innovation fund.

MAPC has estimated that 15 percent of ride-hailing trips are taken during rush hour by people who would have otherwise used public transit. This has implications of traffic congestion, air pollution and dangerous emissions.

State executes man with electric chair

Posted on by

By NOA ISRAEL

The utilization of capitol punishment in the United States has been a long standing topic of controversy, with many states opting for life sentences as an alternative. Some states, such as Tennessee still support and practice the death penalty — on Thursday, the electric chair was used for the first time in five years on an inmate at a Tennessee prison.

Edmund Zagorski smiled right up until the “sponge and helmet were put over his head,” reporter Adam Tamburin stated. In 1984, 24-year-old Zagorksi was arrested just days after he lured two young men to a wooded hunting area and murdered them. He was charged with two counts of first degree murder.

At the time of the murders in Tennessee, the death sentence was the mandatory punishment for a capitol murder conviction. Zagorski eventually confessed to the murders on the presence that he would get to dictate certain aspects of his execution. He was sentenced to the death by electrocution in March of 1984 — 11 months after the murders.

Currently 31 states still uphold using capitol punishment, with six states — Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky — that still have the electric chair as an option. There have been oppositions towards the death penalty, with many stating it is unethical and inhumane, causing 19 states to abolish the use of capitol punishment.

Zagorki sat on death row for 34 years. In the months leading up to his death, his execution date was altered several times as was the method that would be used.  He was ultimately granted his wish of death by the electric chair. His last words were “let’s rock,” reported CNN.

Pageant greets first trans contestant

Posted on by

By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Although Miss Universe has accepted trans participants since 2012, the 26-year-old Angela Ponce will be the first trans gender woman to participate in the global Miss Universe Pageant. After beating 20 other contestants in the Miss Universe Spain Gala and making it to the global pageant, Ponce aims to change the world.

Facing rejection throughout her career for being trans, Ponce wants to become a voice for trans kids and let them know they are beautiful and not alone in the world. Trans teenagers around the globe face high attempts of suicide and not enough help is being offered to this issue.

Transphobia is common all around the world and a topic that is quickly ignored, Ponce wants to use this pageant as a platform to bring awareness for transgender individuals of all ages all around the globe who face suffer suicidal thoughts and attempts as well as legal codes who discriminate against transgenders publicly either in public bathrooms and also employment discrimination.

According to NBC, an European transgender group TGEU published a study last year and discovered that “77.5 percent of 885 transgender people more than 16 years old polled in Georgia, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Sweden had considered taking their own lives and that 24.5 percent of respondents had made at least one attempt.”

News outlets have done a great job at communicating Ponce’s perspective on this milestone and not keeping quiet about this. Ponce’s interview with the Associated Press Madrid in Spain has gone viral allowing people around the world to know about this issue.

It is important that they have not ignored her message, where she does not aim for the title of the crown but more importantly fight for transgender rights.

Curbelo meets man who threatened him

Posted on by

By MATTHEW POWELL

U.S. Congressman Carlos Curbelo of Florida’s 26th district recently met with a constituent of his who threatened to kill him on Twitter. Homestead teenager Alejandro Verges-Castro was arrested by the FBI after tweeting a threat to the congressman on Oct. 24.

Instead of staying away from the teen who threatened him, Curbelo appeared with the teenager today in an attempt to forgive the young man.

Our country is dealing with an immense amount of violent political  speech from both sides of the aisle that is sometimes orchestrated through biased news media coverage. Instead of putting fire to the flame, Curbelo instead accepted the teenagers apology and used him as  an example that words have actual meaning, even on twitter.

These threats came around the same time that an Aventura man was sending bombs in the mail to top democratic leaders.

The Miami Herald covered the incident extremely well, focusing on the idea that there can be political discussion in this country while also being civil, something that seems to be lost among today’s population, young or old.

Although this is one small example of political violence with words impacting a young mans life, it is great to see a congressman express remorse and compassion while also trying to steer the political discussion to civil discourse, not threats.

Media blanket-cover Pittsburgh shooting

Posted on by

By ADAM SPECTOR

Last week, a shooter opened fire inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27. Eleven persons were killed and six others were injured.

This has been described as the deadliest against the Jewish community in United States history.

Authorities say Robert Bowers, 46, was the man responsible for the shooting. No alternative suspects have been mentioned.

Just about every news source has covered this story. Most have been thorough and are making sure this matter is known across the country.

Although sources such as CBS, CNN, and ABC have done a good job of making this story a priority, they have given hate crimes in general somewhat of an overlook.

As mentioned last week according to WBAL-TV 11, “from vandalism to murder, a new report from Maryland State Police shows that Maryland is seeing more hate crimes.” In 2017, Maryland saw a 35 percent increase in hate crimes since 2016, despite this serious issue, very few sources seemed to cover it

In this day and age, a lot of things are unnecessarily made political, however, this situation has a fair reason to be made political.

Some people have connected this story and the increased level of hate crimes to Donald Trump’s anti-Mexican, anti-immigrant, and anti-Islam policies as well as his popularity among white supremacists.

Despite this somewhat logical connection, Vice President Mike Pence rejected the idea that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric contributed shooting in Pittsburgh.

“Look, everyone has their own style. And frankly, people on both side of the aisle use strong language about our political differences,” Pence said in an interview with NBC News “But I just don’t think you can connect it to threats or acts of violence… And I don’t think the American people connect it.”

Although sources such as CBS, CNN and ABC have not covered the rise of hate crimes in the USA as much as they should have, they did make this story a priority.

Synagogue suspect pleads not guilty

Posted on by

By DAVE DOWNEY

Robert Bowers, the man accused of murdering 11 people in a hate-fueled massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday entered a plea of not guilty in a federal courtroom Thursday.

“The possible penalties,” he was informed by Troy Rivetti, one of the prosecutors, “are first a sentence of death.” Bowers did not flinch. Other than death, possible outcomes are a variety of prison sentences from 10 years to life, connected to the 44 counts with which he is charged.

Those charges vary from hate crimes to using a firearm to commit murder in a crime of violence.

It is somewhat surprising how many other stories within the news are taking precedence over this, the deadliest anti-Semitic event in the U.S. since World War II.

Although the general election is under a week away, this is the major news story of the week, and most outlets are analyzing ads and Trump’s tweets over the impacts within and outside of the Steel City.

Bowers’ lawyer, Michael Novara, a federal public defender, requested a jury trial, which prosecutors estimated could take three to four weeks, or even longer if U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions certified it to indeed be a capital case.

Blackface costs woman her job

Posted on by

By TYRIQ MCCORD

Halloween is that one time of year where you can dress up as almost anything you want, Key word being almost. You have people impersonating police officers, dressing up as policemen/women, and even Jesus Christ himself. But when is it that people can say “you have taken it too far”?

For about a week, many stories have gone out about men and women using “blackface” as part of their costume.

In Missouri, Shelbi Heenan, a Caucasian-American, was terminated from her job, St. Luke’s Hospital, where she was a registered nurse. Her post went viral on Facebook where she and another man dressed as the power couple Jay Z and Beyoncé. Her clothing was fine, but both her and the male companion colored their faces and hands for a black pigmentation.

Sharon Solomon, a friend of Shelbi, tweeted Tuesday “You know what’s REALLY insulting!? That one day out of the entire F-N year people can’t  stop trying to tag another as racist! IT’S A COSTUME! She is intentionally trying to look like Beyonce! Beyonce is black…. so to get the entire look, dark makeup!”

But she was not the only one to face consequences.

Philadelphia Police are currently investigating a employee who is currently on “desk duty” for the use of blackface. Officer Hung Nguyen also posted his costume on his Facebook account where his face was colored black with a white t-shirt and a Afro wig. Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew thinks there is a nexus in the photo; it could have been a computer graphic instead of Officer Hung physically painting his face black. The case is still currently under investigation.

Is there a way for people to dress up as someone of the opposite descent without coloring their skin?

‘Megyn Kelly Today’ cancelled

Posted on by

By NICOLE LEMBO

Megyn Kelly, host of NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today,” has officially been fired from the network after making inappropriate comments on one of the show’s episodes. During an on-air panel discussion about controversial Halloween costumes, the topic of dressing in blackface was addressed. Kelly prefaced the segment by saying she was “fired up” about the topic, and that political correctness has “gone amuck.”

“What is racist?” Kelly said. “You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay just as long as you were dressing as a character.”

Many were outraged by Kelly’s insensitive remarks. In response to the controversy, the next day, Kelly began her show by apologizing to her viewers and colleagues. However, the damage had already been done.

“The fact is, while she apologized to the NBC staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country,” her colleague Al Roker said during his segment of the “Today Show.”

A survey conducted by the Hollywood Reporter revealed that 45 percent of those questioned felt NBC’s decision to cancel the show was “too harsh of a consequence.”

In a USA Today article entitled, “‘Megyn Kelly Today’ could’ve taught us about blackface this Halloween,” the author feels that taking her off the air was not the right thing to do. Rather, this could have been used as an opportunity to educate people on the history of blackface so they can understand why it is so offensive.

A CNN article pointed out that the only way to resolve issues such as these is through dialogue and engagement with people who have different perspectives and life experiences, and the author feels that NBC could have done a better job at facilitating this.

At this point in time, the future is uncertain for Megyn Kelly. It was reported that she has been dropped by her current agent and is seeking representation elsewhere. Kelly recently obtained a lawyer, and matters are very tense between her and NBC executives as they negotiate the terms of her exit. While many speculated that she would return to FOX, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of New Fox said that the network does not plan on adding her back to their lineup anytime soon.