College admission scandal leads to arrests

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Shanika Isaacs

By SHANIKA ISAACS

About 50 people were arrested and charged including many celebrities, famous coaches and wealthy parents for their participation in one of America’s biggest college admission scandal the country has ever seen.

Lori Loughlin, the wife of Mossimo Giuannulli were reported by People that the entire family went completely under the radar as they tried to avoid the on-going tension of the issue. Olivia Jade, 19 and her sister Isabella Rose, 20, daughters of Loughlin both dropped out of the University of Southern California which was one of the implicated universities.

“The whole family is still laying low at their Bel Air home. Lori and Mossimo both have court dates in Boston next week. It’s still a very stressful time for them all,” a source told Aurelie Corinthios, who wrote an article for People.

The sting lead by William Rick Singer called ‘Operation Varsity Blue’ took place at The Keys, his college admission prep company. Those arrested included two SAT/ACT administrators, one exam proctor, nine coaches, one college administrator and 33 parents.

Many people were disturbed by the actions of the elites and some even shared their views of understanding why the rich would always be ahead.

Elle Fromm told “PBS News Hour,” “You know, maybe it used to be your parents donated a library. And now it’s you have got a fixer who bumps your SAT score up 400 points. But, yes, I’m not that surprised.”

To live in a society that rewards the rich for their minimal efforts would endlessly encourage the cycle of inequality. If people at the top of the pyramid continue to teach their peers a way of lying and cheating to get to the top, then the wheels of morality would be highly skewed. Life cannot persist like this and such behavior requires an overall change of perception. What are some of your thoughts on the scandal?

Women’s basketball enters post season

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Gianna Sanchez

By GIANNA SANCHEZ

March Madness is upon us and basketball fans everywhere are filling out their tournament brackets. It’s hard to be a fan of March Madness when your team didn’t even qualify, but there’s always the other side of basketball that people oftentimes are looking at: women’s basketball.

March Madness is always significantly more talked about than Sweet Sixteen. Women’s sports in general are typically talked about less than men’s sports. This is typically because people believe that men’s sports are more entertaining. Looking at it from the financial perspective, significantly more money goes into men’s sports than women’s. Even comparing sport to sport, the top paid men’s basketball player, Stephen Curry, made $33 million in the 2018-19 season compared to women’s basketball player, Sylvia Fowles, who made a mere $109,000. This is a huge discrepancy in the pay that bleeds into the fan attraction.

This isn’t just at the pro level, however. Men’s college basketball gets out way more fans and viewers than women’s basketball does. A lot of people say that they do not watch women’s basketball because they don’t respect the organization. A key example of this happened this past Monday. ESPN was holding a selection show for what seeds, brackets and locations were chosen for this year’s Sweet Sixteen. The show was set to be held at 7 p.m. Around 3 p.m. that day, someone leaked the entire bracket, locations and seeds for the tournament. ESPN quickly tweeted saying that selection would be pushed up an hour, however, did not address the leak.

Teams everywhere started preparing for their numbers and were not too surprised when the official announcement came at 6 p.m. Many people who watch women’s basketball cited this as a reason why people do not respect the organization. It is hard to watch when little mistakes like this happen, especially coming from a national organization. Steps are being taken each year to improve the attendance and viewers for women’s sports, but until the same effort is put into women’s athletics as it is men’s, even from a broadcasting perspective, there will not be any equality coming any time soon.

Media track Kelly, Jackson scandals

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Ryan Grille

By RYAN GRILLE

Recently, two major scandals involving big name music artists were in the headlines. The first involved a heated CBS interview with R. Kelly after he was indicted for several counts of sexual abuse. The other involved a documentary series presented by HBO entitled “Leaving Neverland” that led to a revaluation about Michael Jackson’s legacy in the news media. Both were excellent examples of the power of journalism in public discourse.

The interview with R. Kelly was conducted by Gayle King for “CBS This Morning.” Throughout the interview, R. Kelly tired to defend himself from the charges made against him. The most memorable and most widely reported incident occurred when Kelly had an emotional breakdown. King was able to keep her composure while Kelly was throwing a tantrum. This led to widespread ridicule and disgust on the Internet. King’s interview with Kelly, along with her follow-up interview with Kelly’s girlfriends, are an excellent example of a reporter’s power to influence public opinion.

HBO’s investigative documentary focused on allegations of sexual abuse made towards Michael Jackson. Specifically, it focused a few key witnesses most notably Wade Robson and James Safechuck. Both men and their families gave testimonials that included graphic details on how Jackson groomed and abused them. Crucially, the documentary uses video and audio recordings, as well as several photographs, to back up the claims made by the interviewees.

The documentary resulted in many articles and outlets condemning Michael Jackson for his actions and questioning his legacy as the “King of Pop”. Despite this, many hardcore fans of Michael Jackson have attempted to rally against the documentary and discredit the claims made against him. While it is still up in the air as to the documentary’s long-term effect, the conversations it has opened up have been dominating the Internet.

New Zealand shooting shocks world

Posted on March 19, 2019 by McKenzie Stoute

By MCKENZIE STOUTE

Last Friday, a terrorist attacked a New Zealand mosque, leaving 49 dead, marking this as worst mass killing in New Zealand history.

During the attack the terrorist live streamed the shooting to Facebook and Twitter using a helmet camera.

The suspected gunman was an advocate of white supremacy, and had a hatred for immigrants, which fueled his decision to target the Mosque. The gunman wrote a manifesto which he posted on Facebook and stated, that he wanted to avenge attacks in Europe perpetrated by Muslims. The dead and wounded include individuals from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Turkey.

World leaders have spoken out about the attack, including President Trump

“My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!” he stated.

This shooting comes at a surprise for New Zealand natives being, Mass shootings are extremely rare in New Zealand. The most well-known shooting is the Aramoana massacre that happened all the way back in 1990, when a man gunned down 13 people in a tiny seaside village. Immediately after this pas attack, The prime minister on Saturday vowed to tighten New Zealand’s gun laws.

Taylor Swift’s stalker breaks in, again

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Alexa Eckembrecher

By ALEXA ECKEMBRECHER

Last Thursday, a Taylor Swift-obsessed stalker was arrested in New York City again after being released from jail just 30 days prior for committing the same crime: breaking into her home.

Roger Alvarado, a 23-year-old Florida native, allegedly climbed a ladder and broke a glass door to get inside of Swift’s townhouse at around 2:30 a.m., police said.

According to sources, the pop star was out of town at the time and so police were alerted to the singer’s apartment by its automated security system. The sources also added that Alvarado did not steal anything from the property.

Alvarado, who is on probation after getting out of jail Feb. 5, has since been charged with stalking, burglary and felony criminal contempt for violating an order of protection.

This is, at least, the third time he has been arrested at Swift’s home.

In the previous break-in, which happened last April, police say Alvarado used Swift’s shower and slept in her bed. This offense is what sent him to jail for more than nine months and as part of the sentence, the judge ordered him to complete a mental-health program.

But two months before that, Alvarado was arrested for reportedly breaking Swift’s front door with a shovel.

In my opinion, I believe these situations occur more frequently because of websites and tabloids. They dedicate themselves to exposing celebrities and putting their last bits of privacy, like their personal home addresses, out for everyone to see at a grander scale. I think there should be more caution on what is reported on, in order to make sure public figures aren’t placed in even more danger.

SpaceX Capsule returns safely

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Oliver Jia

By OLIVER JIA

According to ABC News, SpaceX’s new crew capsule passed its test with an old-fashioned splashdown in the Atlantic on Friday. Before this test, the capsule already made the trip to the International Space Station for six days.

NASA televised the return live, showing the red and white parachutes popping open.

“I am so surprised and excited,” said Benji Reed, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management.

This was the first time in a half century that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by dropping into the Atlantic. Splashdown was the final hurdle of SpaceX’s test flight on Friday morning. However, the company’s purpose is fly astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the next flight during the summer.

Boeing also planned to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew on the next month. Boeing explained that it probably would fly astronauts in August. The Starliner is designed to land on land.

Space station astronaut David Saint-Jacques from Canada was the first to enter the Dragon capsule and the last to leave this week.

NASA awarded the first contracts to SpaceX and Boeing in 2014. SpaceX stated that it still need to work and fix some problems on this project.

Feds list people to question at border

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Naomi Feinstein

By NAOMI FEINSTEIN

Customs and Border Protections created a secret list of reporters, lawyers and activists who should be questioned when crossing the into the United States from Mexico at the San Diego checkpoint last year.

According to NBC News, at least 21 people confirmed they have been questioned as they crossed the border. They were told they were being questioned and must give up access to their cellphones due to an ongoing national security investigation.

The individuals featured on the list traveled with the caravans from Central America hoping to seek asylum in the United States. Many of these activists and journalists are speaking out against the U.S. government for singling them for unwarranted extra questioning.

However, officials deny targeting “journalists for inspection based on their occupation or their reporting.” They claim many of these individuals may have connections to the assaults staged against CBP agents back in November.

Some fear that this will have a chilling effect on reporters as well as activists from doing their jobs since those who report on immigration and provide help to asylum-seekers are the individuals being targeted on this list.

Border officials do have the right to question an individual they suspect committed a crime, however, it is widely inappropriate to detain someone based on his or her occupation and directly violates his or her First Amendment rights.

Reporters need to continue telling this story and questioning officials to get the bottom of this matter because the vague response from officials of conducting a national security organizations does not suffice.

Sherrod Brown says he won’t run

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Evan Siegel

By EVAN SIEGEL

One of the Democratic parties’ biggest names in the U.S. Senate announced that he will not be running for president this week, despite overtures from all wings of the party. The senator from Ohio had formed an exploratory committee and had been pondering a run for months, as far back as immediately after the 2018 midterms.

Brown won his reelection bid in what has become a Republican-leaning state in recent years. Brown was the only Democrat to win a statewide election in the state after Donald Trump comfortably carried the state by nearly 10 percentage points in the 2016 election. In the governor’s race in the 2018 midterms, Mike DeWine won by a surprisingly big margin after a contentious few weeks of debates.

Brown won reelection with 53 percent of the vote in 2018, and immediately began considering a presidential run. The Democratic field already got a little bit more crowded last week, after conservative democrat John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, joined the race.

The state of Ohio has experienced a dramatic economic downfall in recent years. Columbus and Cleveland still remain comfortably employed and populated, whereas Cincinnati, Toledo, and Dayton have all declined in recent years. Brown has vowed to attempt to turn this around in the senate.

Plane crashes in Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Shanika Isaacs

By SHANIKA ISAACS

A small banner plane crashed into a Fort Lauderdale condominium last Friday, killing the pilot and destroying a resident’s kitchen. No other people were hurt.

Derek Morgan, 28, was a resident of Washington state before moving six weeks ago to South Florida to accomplish more hours for his commercial pilot license. Many of his co-workers, friends and close-friends remembered him as someone jovial and warm to be around.

“It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy for the family. It’s a tragedy for all of us. He traveled across the country just to get here to do some flight hours,” said Patrick Phipps, one of Morgan’s friend.

According to witnesses they told the Sun Sentinel that the plane’s banner was caught on a nearby building which sent it hurtling into The Berkley South. It landed between the 16^th and 17^th floors before toppling onto the pool deck that was still undergoing construction.

The Piper PA-25 was registered to Ariel Banners Inc., which was based at North Perry Airport. After the crash all residents were evacuated from the building in fear for a gas leak. Once a fire threat was clear and further investigations were done they were not allotted back inside until it was safe to do so.

Oil leak threatens major reef

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Lauren Maingot

By LAUREN MAINGOT

A grounded cargo ship in the Solomon Islands is leaking metric tons of oil near the largest coral atoll in the world, threatening a major ecological crisis.

The Solomon Trader was carrying more than 700 metric tons of heavy fuel oil when it ran aground in in Kangava Bay at Rennell Island, said the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Tuesday. About 100 metric tons have spilled so far, already spreading five to six kilometers and washing up on shore according to DFAT.

“There are dead fish and crabs and all that,” Loti Yates, the director of the Solomon Islands Disaster Management Office, told Radio NZ. “The fumes that is coming out from the oil is also affecting communities and I just had a report it’s also impacting on the chicken and birds.”

The southern third of Kangava Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompassing a coral atoll treasured in the South Pacific. Australian officials are working with the Solomon Islands in containing the environmental damage.

The ship’s owner, King Trader Ltd., and insurer, Korea Protection and Indemnity Club, offered their “sincere apology” to the people of the Solomon Islands in a statement on Tuesday. The companies are now working on transferring the remaining oil off of the ship, deploying oil spill booms, and cleaning along the shoreline, the statement said.

Despite the international weight of this story, I don’t think that domestic news media outlets devoted as much attention to it as it deserved. If the event took place near a location that receives more U.S. tourists, coverage would’ve been much heavier and reporters would have had included more sources like the citizens directly impacted and experts who could provide insight on the ecological impact the leak is expected to have.

Michael who? The news cycle moves on

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Liam Fabre

By LIAM FABRE

Michael Cohen, the president’s former attorney, and self-proclaimed “fixer” testified before Congress last week and it already feels like a month ago.

With Donald Trump in the White House and a news cycle that seems to move so rapidly, major news events seem to come and go quickly. Remember the Kavanaugh nomination? It may feel like it’s been years since his appointment, but it was only a few months ago.

There may be other reasons why the Cohen testimony feels already like so long ago. While a fast-moving news cycle is partly to blame, the main reason is simply: it wasn’t much of a story.

Democrats were thrilled to grill Cohen, hoping he would give them the incriminating evidence about the president they have been longing for. Unfortunately, Cohen did not bring them much.

While much of the information Cohen shared was embarrassing for the president, it was not illegal. Cohen told stories of Trump demanding that he threaten schools not to release his grades. He also told a story of a time an oil painting of Trump was being auctioned off. Trump instructed Cohen to send a fake bidder to bid on an oil painting of himself, telling the bidder to make sure it sold for more than the other paintings.

While the information is damaging, it isn’t anything most Americans don’t already know about the president. He is a narcissist, dishonest and always tried to pay as little taxes as possible. Again, not illegal and nothing we haven’t heard before.

Democrats are desperately searching for their golden ticket to impeach President Trump and, unfortunately for them, Cohen is not it.

Markle online abuse worries royal staff

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Camila Munera

By CAMILA MUNER

CNN posted an article entitled “The racist online abuse of Meghan Make has put royal staff on high alert,” written by Max Foster.

Foster did a neat job with this article providing useful and interesting information. He not only provided factual information but related pictures and videos as well.

The article emphasizes the vulgar online hate the Duchess of Sussex has received in the past few months after announcing her pregnancy. This has made Kensington Palace staff devote more time to target social media trolls by blocking abusive Twitter and Instagram accounts.

It showed that most hate accounts were against Meghan Markle because she is of black descent breaking royal protocol. Foster remarks how “Meghan and Harry’s forthcoming child will be the first known mixed-race baby in the royal family’s thousand-year history.”

The article shows a very important and under-looked aspect of journalism that needs to be changed. Much of the hate Markle and also Kate Middleton receive is due to the news media. Foster narrates how “the pressure to produce ever more dramatic headlines to drive traffic is intense.” He also mentioned that Markle has had to deal with much more hate than Middleton had to when she first joined the royal family.

The media can sometimes illustrate the on-going issue of racism and selfishness in our society. Journalism should always be true and raw. I’m glad CNN posted an article discussing the lies told about the media such as spreading rumors of Markle and Middleton not getting along.

Second man cured of HIV/AIDS

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Karli Feinstein

By KARLI FEINSTEIN

For the second time in history a patient with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes AIDS, has been cured of the infection.

A man from Britain known as the “London Patient” was cleared of the AIDS virus after he was given a bone marrow transplant by an HIV resistant donor. The London patient is the second man in the world to be cured of this virus, 12 years after the first patient, Timothy Ray Brown, was cured in Germany in 2007.

The London patient and Brown were both receiving bone marrow stem cells from a donor with a rare genetic protein called CCR5, this protein fights against the HIV virus. Both the patients were also first treated originally for cancer, but the protein ended up killing the cancer cells as well as the HIV.

After three years of the transfusions and 18 months of not receiving anti-retroviral drugs, highly effective test shows no signs of the London patients’ previous HIV/AIDS infection. This makes the London patient the first patient since Mr. Brown to remain HIV/AIDS free for more than a year after stopping.

Ravindra Gupta, a professor at University College London and HIV biologist, co-led the team of doctors who treated the London patient. Gupta described his patient as “functionally cured” and “in remission.”

Gupta has been treating the London patient since 2003, when he was first diagnosed with HIV. In 2012, the patient was then diagnosed with blood cancer called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

In 2016, when the London patient was very sick, the doctors decided to seek a donor that would fit for the transplant. According to Gupta “This was really his last chance of survival.”

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, “The misperception that’s floating out there now is that bone marrow transplantation is now a cure for HIV infection and that is completely untrue.”

The overall cure for AIDS has not been found, but in some patients’ the infection can be killed depending on the situation. Even though doctors don’t want people to assume these transfusions can cure anybody with AIDS, it’s incredible to know that they are working on the step of finding the ultimate cure. Hearing this makes me feel blessed to live in a world with this much-advanced technology. I have faith that one day, AIDS/HIV will be gone forever.

The Last Dance honored at Duke

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Lauren Yelner

By LAUREN YELNER

For many, Dwyane Wade’s announcement that he was going to be leaving the NBA after his 2018-19 season did not come as a surprise, but still brought heartbreak. Wade has officially played for both the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, has touched more than just fans from these two cities.

His final season, which he refers to as his “last dance,” has been hard for fans of basketball everywhere. Wade’s last season in the league is being covered heavily by news outlets due to his extreme connections with fans.

On March 5, 2019, Duke University aired a tribute video to Wade during one of their basketball games, despite the fact that he was never a student at the university. The video was Blue Devil’s Coach K thanking Wade for all he did for basketball throughout his career. Krzyzewski highlights especially Wade leading team USA to a gold medal in the Olympics, and emphasizes how important Wade is to basketball in America.

Duke’s tribute is not the first tribute to Wade that has happened this season or that will happen. The NBA made sure the Wade’s final All-Star weekend was not one to forget, hosting a tribute dinner for him. Guests at this dinner were some of Wade’s best friends from within the league, as well as others that have helped him throughout his journey.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have all honored Wade during their games against the Heat, making it clear how much of an impact he has had since being in fifth first-round pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Wade indicated that it was very hard for him to make the decision to leave the game he loves behind, but he knows that it is the right decision for himself and his family at the current moment.

How much is too much reporting?

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Gianna Sanchez

By GIANNA SANCHEZ

The news media are looked at as the watchdog over our government. They are supposed to hold people accountable for what they say and do–but to what extent? It seems as though sometimes news outlets are reporting on the wrong aspects of the news.

I realized this when scrolling through Twitter. I saw a tweet from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the representative for New York’s 14th Congressional district. The tweet linked an article from the New York Post with the headline “Ocasio-Cortez leaves parade in 17-mpg minivan–blocks from the subway.” Ocasio-Cortez responded with some light humor saying “I will have you know my tía was very upset that the New York Post insulted her minivan…If they saw how many goldfish snacks were in this thing they’d say I was killing the ocean too.”

At first, I thought it was just internet trolls at it again and Ocasio-Cortez getting into trouble. Once opening the article, it really criticized her. The first line was “she’s addicted to Uber.” The article goes on to say how hypocritical Ocasio-Cortez is for advocating for climate change and better use of energy while not using a form of mass transportation.

The writers, Sarah Trefethen and Bruce Golding, did a lot of digging to find out how much gas time and money she was wasting by taking this mini-van ride from her aunt, but they claimed it was Uber. They also revealed statistics from her days campaigning to say how much money she spent on Ubers, taxis and for-hire vehicles. They did not realize, however, that this ride that she was taking was not an Uber.

While it is good to know information about candidates or politicians and what they truly support, when is enough enough? Do we as journalists have to bash Ocasio-Cortez for taking an Uber ride or ride from her aunt and not using the subway for every mode of transportation every day? Does this truly prove a bigger point and say that she does not truly believe in everything she claims to?

As journalists, I feel as though the line that is separating what is necessary to report and what is distracting from the point is blurring more and more each day. We need to figure out whether or not to report on the details of someone’s personal life versus the issues they are discussing.

Jussie Smollett attack investigated

Posted on March 5, 2019 by McKenzie Stoute

By MCKENZIE STOUTE

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett is in hot water after allegedly orchestrating a hate crime against himself. He has been charged with filing a false police report after claiming to be the victim of a racist, homophobic attack.

Smollett claimed that he was attacked on Jan. 29, by two masked men while walking home in Chicago. He described his attackers as wearing mask, “Make America Great Again” hats and yelling racist and homophobic slurs at him. Smollett continued to explain how one of the attackers tied a noose around his neck and doused him with bleach.

Many stars and fans of the “Empire” actor took to social media to voice their support for Smollett.

When searching for evidence police couldn’t find any surveillance camera footage of the attack but saw two men who matched the description Smollett gave oh his attackers, walking the street he claimed he was attacked on. Come to find out these men are friends of Smollett and stated,

“Jussie hired us to stage this attack against him because he felt a threatening letter he received wasn’t getting enough attention.”

Smollett continues to deny these claims with his attorney public stating, “Jussie has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

Currently, the public doesn’t know who to believe, this story giving individuals yet another reason to not trust what is put out in the news media.

India-Pakistan conflict heats up

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Oliver Jia

By OLIVER JIA

According to CNN news, with the amid rising tensions in the Kashmir region, China could be sucked into an India-Pakistan crisis.

Pakistan and India’s diplomatic relations has reached their lowest point. Indian military said their air force had let fighter attack a terrorist camp in Pakistan. This is a first incursion by Indian air forces since the India-Pakistan war on 1971.

This conflict happened in the in the Kashmir region that borders China. So, China needs to balance this conflict. China has good relationship with Pakistan on the economic, diplomatic and military.

At the same time, the trade war made China look for alternative trading partners. China has started rebuilding ties with India. The India Prime Minister Narendra Modi made two visits to China last year. Nowadays, China had called for both Pakistan and India to maintain self-restraint and focus on regional peace and stability.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to help them. Wang Yi stressed that “China respected all of the countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, China doesn’t want to see any acts that violate the norms of international relations”

Some experts and university professors are saying China could maintain the balance between these two countries. Pakistan is one of the largest buyers of Beijing’s weapons. And India’s purpose is against terrorists.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

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

Monthly Archives: March 2019