Step for feminism, leap for womankind

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Katherine Moore

By KATHERINE MOORE

Thanks to women in the media and the strength that their voices have on the public, 2015 has been a year of growth for female power.

It started with Beyoncé’s definition of feminism in her hit song, “Flawless,” and later led to the world listening to Emma Watson’s HeForShe project, and learning about Malala Yousafzai’s courage.

Key figures such as Amy Poehler, Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift and even men like Joseph Gordon-Levitt have publicly declared themselves as feminists. However, announcing yourself as one does not nearly go as far as actually doing something about it.

Recently, Lena Dunham, writer of HBO’s series, Girls, has created the Lenny Letter. Dunham and her Girls’ writing partner, Jenni Konner, share an email-formatted newsletter that consists of interviews and topics of discussion on feminism.

Just last week, 25-year-old, Oscar winning, Jennifer Lawrence contributed to Lenny Letter by including her own blog post. She had come out in complaint that she was paid less than her male co-stars in American Hustle. She explained that while her male counterparts, like Bradley Cooper, had succeeded in negotiating powerful deals; she was worried to do the same because she was too focused on seeming nice.

She stated, “I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early.”

Lawrence didn’t want to seem “difficult” or “spoiled,” like the qualities that are automatically given to women when they try to assert their opinion. She continued, “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight.”

More feminist changes are taking place as celebrities in the public eye are publicizing what they are doing to lower female social constructions. The world is beginning to look a bit brighter, who knows, soon enough Congress might even pass a law to ensure that women and men doing the same work are paid equally.

NBA champ Odom deserves respect

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Colin Davis

By COLIN DAVIS

Lamar Odom is a two-time NBA champion. He was the sixth man of the year just four years ago. Currently, he is fighting for his life in a Nevada hospital and, although he is showing some positive signs, his outlook is not good.

There have been many reports on the Lamar Odom story by members from all walks of the media due to his relationship with Khloe Kardashian. Yet instead of referring to Lamar as an NBA champion, he is simply referred to as a reality television star as if he has only earned his celebrity through his interactions with the Kardashian family.

There have been very few media members that have given Lamar Odom the respect he has earned, and even less have done it as succinctly as Scott Van Pelt. After recently returning to SportsCenter, Scott Van Pelt did his minute and a half long segment, “One Big Thing” and assessed the situation through the lens of a sports fan.

While Scott Van Pelt makes a few jokes during his monologue, he makes a serious and simple point. Lamar Odom is more than just a plot line in a sad story; he has earned more respect than to be referred to as a Kardashian reality star, in such troubling times for Lamar Odom it is important to remember he was a star before he ever met Khloe.

Emmy show viewers at all-time low

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Samantha Cohen

By SAMANTHA COHEN

The numbers are in and this year’s 67^th annual Emmy Awards show has reached an all-time low, averaging just 11.9 million viewers.

The audience size was down nearly four million viewers from last year’s show, which aired on Monday. The Emmys, however, aired on Sunday this year, which automatically created a direct competition with NBC’S Sunday Night football. Typically, NFL would be a good lead in for the show but the late afternoon game ran over and didn’t end until 30 minutes before the start of the Emmys.

Social media were also low on Sunday night with only 6.9 million people who had interactions related to the Emmy’s on Facebook. Twitter was buzzing, however, during Viola Davis acceptance speech when she won the award for Lead Actress in a Drama for “How to Get Away with Murder,” becoming the first black woman to take the prize.

Although there was Twitter action from the viewers that were watching, I find the overall issue of day and hour placement of shows interesting. If the Emmys were on Monday night, rather than Sunday, would there have been a major difference in the amount of views?

Kim Kardashian offers family news

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Keyanna Harris

By KEYANNA HARRIS

Keeping up with the media-friendly Kardashians can be very exciting and always entertaining. Kim Kardashian, with a very promiscuous past and a family are always busy with something, has some very exciting news.

Kim, who so happens to be Rapper Kane West’s wife, is pregnant again with their second child. On their television show “Keeping Up with The Kardashians,” she has announced she’s pregnant and announced the big news to the first person, her sister Khloe. But her daughter North was the first one to know technically, she added.

“It has been extremely hard to get pregnant. We’ve done little operations on my uterus. I was so close to giving up and that’s what it happened,” Kim exclaimed. “I don’t take it for granted. The fact that this is a miracle that’s happened and I’m just so blessed to be pregnant again,” said Kim.

Kardashians take over app world

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Katherine Moore

By KATHERINE MOORE

Kardashian and Jenner sisters, Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie, have launched individual lifestyle iOS apps and brand new websites. As of Sept. 14 fans get a deeper look of behind the scenes content and tips that correspond to each of the sisters’ passions.

Above and below, a look inside Kylie Jenner’s app.

Fans lives will immediately be Kardashified once they download the app. The first seven days are free with a subscription for $2.99 per month. Fans get total access to live streaming videos, beauty tutorials, motherhood tips, workout routines and the ability to purchase similar outfits for cheaper prices.

The “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” stars introduce each of their sites with a unique short video. In Kim’s, the star says, “Hey guys, it’s Kim. My new app is full of so many amazing new features I can’t wait for you to see. There are makeup tutorials with members of my glam team, exclusive behind the scenes videos, and never-before-seen photos of me, my friends and family. I’ll also be able to live stream and answer all your questions, and there’ll be lots of fun fashion and beauty content. I can’t wait to see you soon!”

The Kardashian and Jenner social media domination continues. The sisters even gave a tech talk at the Apple Store in New York City’s Soho on Monday, Sept. 14._. In the midst of Fashion Week, the sisters shared advice on running social media accounts and talked about their individual projects.

Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TV and the tabloids are already filled with Kardashian related content, get ready to see how Kris Jenner and the apps produced by Whalerock Industries will set aside from what’s already out there.

As of Sept. 15, Kylie’s app landed the No. 1 among all free apps.

Social media change NYFW coverage

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Brittany Chandani

By BRITTANY CHANDANI

New York Fashion Week runs from Sept. 10 through 17, setting the style precedent for the upcoming season with international designer shows of Spring/Summer 2016 collections.

New York Fashion Week is one of the most coveted events to attend by young women and socialites alike. Celebrities like Jessica Alba, Steven Tyler, Julia Roberts and Kylie Jenner attend the star-studded event to watch famous models walk the runway, showcasing new trends from designers like Altuzarra, Alexander Wang, Diane Von Furstenburg and Carolina Herrera.

NYFW’s website streams the fashion shows in real time, beginning at 11 a.m., while also providing links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. The great variety of social media coverage has revolutionized the way Fashion Week is covered. Hashtags #NYFW, #MBFW or “hashtag-ing” the designer’s name, provides a categorical expanse of fashion week happenings. Snapchat, a video messaging application, now has its own story attributed to Fashion Week, allowing those who access the app to conveniently view coverage. Celebrities and fashion icons tweet in real time what they see onstage and backstage.

The viewer stress to provide real time content is changing the way journalists report on fashion week. As social media are the easiest and most efficient platform for this raw coverage, it is now the norm. The emphasis on backstage and behind the scenes coverage is made possible by social media, as it is easier to report quickly by snapping a photo on a phone and uploading it straight to Twitter, along with a caption and appropriate hashtags.

In past years, The Wall Street Journal did not cover Fashion Week in real time, but instead wrote and published stories prior to Fashion Week; after Fashion Week, editors would publish articles around the time the collections would reach stores.

The growing demand to view raw visual content such as backstage production, has coupled with increased methods of social media coverage. Journalists are now obliged to use many forms of social media to make Fashion Week more viewable by all.

Mr. Untouchable back at work

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Colin Davis

By COLIN DAVIS

Sept. 10, 2015, marked the start of the NFL regular season with a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.

As an avid football fan, this was music to my ears, but still something was unsettling.

The big story in the NFL offseason was the Deflategate scandal where the Patriots were accused of playing against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game with intentionally deflated footballs so that they would be easier to catch and throw. Most importantly however, Tom Brady was presumed to be aware of the cheating in some form or another.

Add this on to the growing list of suspect behavior for the Patriots in the last decade and suddenly there are questions that need to be answered.

Why does Tom Brady get a pass from the general public for his involvement in scandal after scandal?

Tom Brady is a great quarterback, arguably the greatest of all time. He is an inspiration for the underdog, a source of pride for kids being overlooked all across the country, but it is undeserved.

Brady has been involved in scandals throughout his storied career. Most recently and notably Spygate and Deflategate have demonstrated that the Patriots organization is about winning at all costs even if it means ruining the integrity of the game. Yet somehow, through all these scandals, Tom Brady remains unscathed. Still Brady is looked at as Mr. All-American, and still he is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Tom Brady goes to show that the American public loves a winner. The Boston Brady fanatics are some of the most loyal in the world, and as long as Brady keeps winning championships, he will always have a place in America’s heart.

More multimedia is a good thing

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Shakira Molet

By SHAKIRA MOLET

Most of us are familiar with John Oliver from “Last Week Tonight” and how he tackles prominent issues in our society, such as student debt.

In his segment, he utilizes statistics, interviews, excerpts from government documents and of course, a bit of comedy with a lot of sarcasm.

So why does this matter?

If you were to check how many views the video above has, you would notice that it has more than four million views just on YouTube. Not only does this show entertain those who watch, but focuses on the news and getting information out to the public.

So why is it that these kinds of media get so much more exposure than an article in a newspaper, whether on paper or online? I believe it is because of the multimedia aspect.

When the audience can see footage of what a news story is about, it leaves more of an impression than a boring article. Though many websites do include photos and videos for some news stories, it is still not enough. Reporting needs to make room for more multimedia outlets in order to make reading the news more interactive and bring in a bigger audience.

Why should media cover Ultra?

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Shakira Molet

By SHAKIRA MOLET

Every year, Ultra Musical Festival invades downtown Miami during the month of March, bringing with it celebrity DJs, crazy parties at South Beach, neon costumes and, of course, electronic/dance music.

But why do news outlets bother covering this three-day musical festival at all? Well let’s look at what else Ultra brings with it other than a good time.

One major complaint residents always have when it comes to Ultra, besides the loud music, is the chaos of downtown traffic. Major streets are blocked off so that Bayfront Park can accommodate the 80,000+ people that attend Ultra, which causes in a drastic increase in traffic for the duration of the festival.

In addition to traffic, Ultra Music Festival also brings safety concerns. Last year, a security guard working at the festival was trampled and was immediately sent to urgent care after receiving severe injuries all over body, especially her head.

On top of that, many attendees find themselves in need of medical care every year during the festival, resulting in hundreds of fire rescue calls.

It is because of this that Miami-Dade and residents made efforts to prohibit Ultra from returning the following year; however, their efforts proved to be a waste of time when a public uproar convinced officials otherwise.

Like it or not, Ultra has been bringing millions of tourism dollars for years. Though it is true that hosting the music festival costs Miami quite a lot of money and festival organizers pay for much of it, it seems that Ultra, at least for now, will be returning every March as long as those in charge of the event continue to take safety measures and pay for various operating costs.

Though all these issues are indeed worthy of coverage, there is another surprising reason why the media covers Ultra as well as any other musical festival and that is because it gives the public an inside look of today’s youth. For obvious reasons, the media is obsessed with what interests today’s young adults and how this generation continues to change. In response to this, some news and media outlets decide that it is necessary to report what goes on.

Ultra Musical Festival has made Miami its home for 17 years now and with no definite end in sight, it looks like we will be seeing it, and the resulting coverage, for years to come.

Yahoo! News has a problem

Posted on February 20, 2015 by S. Molly Dominick

By S. MOLLY DOMINICK

If I’m feeling crotchety and in the mood to get myself all disgruntled about journalism, I know the first place I need to visit: the Yahoo! News homepage.

On the screenshot below, I invite you to marvel at the juxtaposition of headlines:

A story about what could possibly be the largest-ever human exodus — I repeat, the largest-ever human exodus, a staggering story with widespread societal and environmental implications for more than 13 million people—is sandwiched between stories about a celebrity and an infamous dictator marketed like a celebrity. Without discussing the merits of entertainment journalism as a whole, I think it’s safe to say that those headlines should not be grouped together in the same category, at the bare minimum.

What’s more, we need to keep in mind the way that a company like Yahoo! structures its homepage. Headlines are placed in a purposeful order of importance, based on which articles the company thinks its readers should see most. According to the above order, Iggy Azalea’s absence from social media deserves more exposure than human-inhabited islands’ absence from the face of the planet.

Call me remarkably crotchety for my 19 years of age … but by golly, what the devil is going on here?

Award shows need reporters, too

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Madison Cramer

By MADISON CRAMER

As many people probably know, the Oscars are this weekend.

This means plenty of gold statues, film talk and fancy red carpet looks. But what about the people on the other side of the red carpet? Reporters will flock to the ceremony, looking to land interviews with the year’s biggest stars.

While the focus will be on the actors and actresses gracing our screen that night, film industry and entertainment reporters play an important role, despite what some may believe. It may not be “serious journalism,” but what these reporters do is still important. Millions of people tune in to these award shows every year, so there’s clearly interest in what these stars do and say. Who is going to deliver this information to those watching at home? These reporters.

The content of their reporting may not be all that critical, but that doesn’t make it completely useless. There’s an audience for this type of reporting, so while it may be less important than the serious news of the day, it’s useful nonetheless. These reporters are doing what reporters do: they’re delivering information about a certain subject to the public. Again, while many may consider the subject to be questionable, it’s necessary based on the high viewership of these award shows.

So, when you’re watching the Oscars Sunday evening and rolling your eyes at the reporters bombarding the stars with questions, remember that they’re your source of information for the night. They may seem unimportant and trivial, but you wouldn’t learn anything new without them.

NBC reveals much in Williams’ case

Posted on February 13, 2015 by S. Molly Dominick

By S. MOLLY DOMINICK

If I was reporting even a low-profile story in my town and fabricated a piece of information, I would be fired. For that matter, if I’m on the job under any circumstances and I fabricate information, I better start packing up my things. It’s a gross violation of the journalistic code, no questions asked.

But for some reason, when NBC anchor Brian Williams does it — with multiple instances of the crime, and in high-profile situations to boot — the network doesn’t know what to do with him.

He hasn’t been fired, yet. Instead, he’s been suspended for six months without pay, and that suspension was only announced once the popular anchor’s television ratings dropped following the outbreak of scandal.

The decisions made regarding Williams’ job, as well as the timeline of those decisions, are revealing. What separates me and Brian Williams (other than his wry smile, iconic silvery slicked-back hair and practically everything else) comes down to clout, and thus, money. Being the anchor of the number one evening news program, this even separates him from other big name anchors. And that appears to be why he’s receiving special, or lenient, treatment.

But there should be no room for special treatment regarding matters of journalistic integrity.

In this same vein, the coverage of the Williams scandal is also disproportionate. With article after article speculating the fate of his job, it is easy to forget that while in that helicopter in Iraq and while reporting on Hurricane Katrina, Williams was not alone. He was with a news team. People witnessed the truth, and their silence contributed to the cover-up for years until the scandal only recently broke.

Their crimes were just as severe as those of Williams, yet I’ve heard next to nothing about the state of those jobs. Since they aren’t the big name money-makers for NBC, it seems the media don’t regard their company-wide breach in integrity as too important, judging from the amount of media coverage they’ve received since the scandal.

As a journalist-hopeful, it’s troubling that our priorities are so out of line.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

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

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