Tag Archives: News

Young boy in Texas still not identified

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By NATALIE NOISOM

In Galveston, Texas, the violent crime rate is on the lower charts of crimes compared to other cities like Houston. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. On Oct. 22, 2017, police came across a young boy’s body who they found washed up on a beach. They are now urging anybody who recognizes the young boy to step forward.

The children between ages of three and five years old, was discovered naked and already decomposing. Josh Schirad, captain of the Galveston Police Department, said “somebody knows this kid. Whether it’s a family member, a friend, day care provider, teacher, next door neighbor, guy at the grocery store that’s seen this kid come in. Somebody somewhere here has seen this child.”

Unfortunately for the police department, no one has come forward to identify the boy.

Det. Jeff Banks said in a statement “The child’s body appeared to have been in the water between 12 to 48 hours.” Usually children do not have finger prints on file, making it difficult to identify them. The evidence collected at the scene was limited.

The FBI joined the Galveston police department in search of the identification of the boy, however, two months after the boy’s body was located, in a joint press release, Ed Michel, Assistant Special Agent in charge of the FBI Houston field office, said, “It’s heartbreaking that no one has come forward to identify this boy or offer any clues as to what happened to him.”

For the first time in Galveston history, police are now uploading a photo of the deceased boy after releasing a sketch and not having any leads. The boy is described to be possibly Hispanic, brown eyes and hair, and about three feet tall. In order to make the picture appropriate for the public, a few minor decomposition and cuts were cleaned up.

In hopes to pursue anyone who may have had contact with the young boy, the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for the location of the family members caring for this boy at the time of his disappearance.

Keurig, Dr. Pepper unite for $18.7 billion

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By KATHERINE CERAVOLO

On Jan. 29, the largest soda deal ever became official. Keurig and Dr. Pepper Snapple teamed up and will now be called Keurig Dr. Pepper.

Keurig, whose corporate family already includes Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme and Pete’s Coffee, will now expand to Dr. Pepper. This deal allows the soda company to become part of the sales and popularity of Keurig, the coffee brewers. The annual revenue of this deal will bring in about $11 billion.

The expansion of this beverage distribution network is portrayed to be a win-win for both sides. While Keurig has helpful relationships with Amazon.com Inc. and Best Buy Co., Dr. Pepper Snapple has the connections to beverage vendors and convenience stores.

With help from multiple sources, Keurig Green Mountain’s investors will own 87 percent of Keurig Dr. Pepper. As JAB Holdings Co. holds the deal as a reverse merger, this new combination of a company based on coffee and soda will boost market share for both industries. Since Keurig was the fourth-largest coffee company and Dr. Pepper was the third-largest soft-drink company in the U.S. in 2017, the influence on the market and the market shares will be worthwhile.

Keurig has had ties with Coca-Cola, which owned 17 percent stake in the business before JAB, resulting in the deal allowing Coca-Cola to gain about $25.5 million on the investment. Dr. Pepper Snapple was bought by Cadbury Schweppes in 1995 but was off the deal in 2008 when Mondelez bought Cadbury.

Helpful sources included in the legalities of the deal were BDT & Co., AFW LP, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Morgan, and Lewis & Bockius LLP. The lead financial advisor to Keurig was Goldman Sachs & Co. while Credit Suisse Group AG. advised Dr. Pepper Snapple.

So far the multi-billion dollar deal has concluded that investors in the soft-drink company will get $103.75 a share and retain about 13 percent of the combined entity.

Exercise app threatens national security

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By ALLIE SIMON

Australian student and analyst for the Institute of United Conflict Analysts, Nathan Ruser, recently discovered that the Strava fitness tracker could impose threats to U.S. national security by revealing locations of military bases.

In November 2017, Strava released global heat maps that use running and cycling information from wireless devices to show hot spots of heavy activity. Strava’s maps take the GPS location from a variety of devices that have their tracking services turned on, covering over 17 billion miles and tracking 27 million users.

According to Ruser, “US Bases are clearly identifiable and mappable.” The running paths of soldiers became visible to Twitter users when they noticed high activity in places including a suspected CIA base in Somalia, military sites in the Falkland Islands and a suspected military operations base in the Sahel region of Africa.

As of 2015, 20,000 soldiers and reservists were invited to participate in a program in which the Army issued Fitbit Flex wristbands. The location and patterns of these devices are easily accessible to those who have the Strava fitness tracker. The participants in this program do not even include the thousands of soldiers who exercise in their spare time using their personal devices.

Ruser tweeted on Saturday that “if soldiers use the app like normal people do, by turning it on tracking when they go to do exercise, it could be especially dangerous. This particular track looks like it logs a regular jogging route. I shouldn’t be able to establish any pattern of life info from this far away.”

Nathan Ruser reveals privacy violations for U.S. bases his tweets.

Strava not only shows where people move, but also how they move. Time and paths are easily determined from the tracker. The Washington Post said that Afghani and Syrian bases are exposed and not only patrol lines, but also where “troops live, eat or work, suggesting possible target lines of enemies.”

 

The heat maps put a spotlight on the daily lives of all military personnel, not just U.S. forces. Hmeimen, the main Russian base in Syria, is visible, along with patrol routes.

The spider web-esq lines that connect bases and protrude from highly active locations endanger the lives of many and poses a breach of security.

Ruser’s in-depth research has led him to conclude that this slip-up by Strava is a “big oversight,” according to his tweets. Strava is now working with military and government personnel to change privacy settings and protect troops.

Coverage from the Christian perspective

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By KATE JOHNSON

You may be familiar with the 700 Club, an almost daily newscast on ABC’s Freeform channel produced by the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN).  At CBN, every breaking news headline that another news network like CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC would publish, is reported with Christian or religious-based spin.

On the CBN News website, under the CBN logo, it says in bold letters, “the Christian perspective.”

Many news outlets have sections for news in the United States and world news.  CBN has sections for news in the United States, world news, and another section only for news in Israel.

CBN reports the major stories, but in very different ways than secular news organizations.

For the recent school shooting in Kentucky, like all major news networks, CBN posted a breaking news story about the incident in the traditional hard news format. Later on, CNN posted a follow-up story about a shooting victim who called her mother, whereas CBN posted a follow-up story about Kentucky students coming together for a prayer circle.  MSNBC brought up the debate about gun control legislation and CBN highlighted that the shooter joined an atheist group.

Photo of Kentucky School prayer circle from the CBN News website. Photo credit: Tilghman Pride‏ via Twitter.

This method of reporting and drawing in a particular audience by CBN fills a very specific niche.

It raises questions about accuracy and definite bias, but is this that different than the ways in which “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert caters to bleeding-heart liberals or FOX News caters to radical conservatives?

Those who visit a news media organization such as the CBN for their news are not looking for a neutral or unbiased prospective.  They are looking to find out about the latest news both in the U.S. and worldwide reported to them from a Christian viewpoint with the emphasis on how faith is involved in the major stories of today.

Therefore, the CBN audience would be more interested in reading about the prayer circle in Kentucky, than the debate for gun control legislation. As someone who turns to CBN for the majority of my news, I can attest to this.

Perhaps focusing all coverage on faith may be seen as leaving out major parts of the story about the school shooting.  Conversely, covering prayer circles and religious ties could be viewed as adding more depth.

CBN is the only major news network that fills the Christian audience niche. Its top headlines of last week include, “Pastor Pleads for Protection and Prayers as Syrian Town Endures Attack,” “Oscar-Nominated Film Tells True Story of Muslims Protecting Christians,” and “‘I Never Liked Holding Hands at Church Anyway:’ As Flu Deaths Rise, Churches Change their Rules.”

Bitcoin surpasses expectations

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By NATE DERRENBACHER

On Wednesday, Nov. 29, Bitcoin, a virtual currency, surpassed the $11,000 mark for the first time. Hours later, the value of Bitcoin dropped by nearly $2,000.

Although the current valuation is nearly $10,000 for each Bitcoin, this shows a hefty return of more than 1,000 percent this year alone. This rise and fall shows not only the power of virtual data, but also the extreme volatility of it as well.

Today’s mass media represents a marketplace where all consumers want to feel represented and connected. This has opened a paradigm where people want to be involved in all things trendy – adjusting diets to be trendy, adjusting products used because they are trendy and adjusting lifestyles based on trendy material seen online.

This virtual paradigm causes a new level on inflation and growth that hasn’t been experienced in the past. Even 10 years ago, a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin would not have been successful, let alone making new millionaires.

The news media love to follow things that are relevant and Bitcoin has been no exception. All business journals and mainstay news networks alike have covered the swift rise in Bitcoin popularity and value.

Although not everyone is an expert on currency trading or this new category of currency, it is a trend that has been supported as such. News media coverage and influence has led to the rise and popularity, but with the uncertainty of all trends, Bitcoin may not be on the rise forever.

Missile launch lost in media coverage

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By BEN EZZY

On Tuesday, North Korea fired a missile that exceeded any previous capabilities seen in similar missile tests. The missile flew longer and higher, which strikes a fear that they will soon be able to reach mainland United States with their weapons.

President Donald Trump had previously warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the missile testing was in the face of world order and stability, even going as far as adding the country back to a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

“It is a situation that we will handle,” said Trump after hearing about the missile launch, a surprisingly collected and measured response.

The missile test comes amid a chaotic time in American media, with numerous scandals garnering much of the airtime. NBC fired longtime Today show host Matt Lauer Wednesday morning following allegations of sexual misconduct. Other scandals, including those surrounding conduct of Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K. and Kevin Spacey have also dominated news cycles.

It has gotten to the point that I was totally unaware that this missile test, a sign that our country could potentially be at risk of an attack, even took place. In fact, I was prepared to blog about Lauer’s firing before happening to stumble over this headline buried at the bottom of the scroll on The New York Times’ website.

The article itself was well written, with the inclusion of a video to help readers understand the specifics of these missiles and what the tests actually mean. But the story has been virtually invisible on broadcast news that I’ve seen today. Hopefully, that will change as more details become available, but that remains to be seen.

Lauer story dominates news cycle

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By EVAN ALDO

“Today” show co-host Matt Lauer was fired Wednesday due to inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, an incident that “Today” executives said they learned about two days ago.

Lauer’s co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie, announced the news this morning on “Today.”

“This is a sad morning here at ‘Today’ and at NBC News,” Guthrie said before reading a statement from NBC News Chairman Andy Lack.

“Dear colleagues, on Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer,” Lack’s statement read. “It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”

The statement also said that this is the first complaint regarding Lauer’s behavior the company has received “in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News.”

“All we can say is that we are heartbroken. I’m heartbroken for Matt. He is my dear, dear friend and my partner and he is beloved by many, many people here. And I’m heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their own stories to tell,” said Guthrie.

All that is really known about Lauer’s misconduct is that an NBC staffer had complained about his behavior from throughout 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Also, The New York Post reported an incident that occurred during the coverage of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.  However, no details from these incidents can be confirmed.

Lauer’s firing comes just days after “CBS This Morning” host Charlie Rose was canned for his behavior towards women, which included showering naked in front of them at his home.  This leaves “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos as the only remaining male anchor of the top three network morning shows.

The news media have covered these stories extensively during the past few days. This story is currently on the front page of CNN, FOX, MSNBC and The New York Times.

Since NBC News fired Lauer without much of an investigation at all, what he was accused of doing must be severe. The network will likely lose ratings due to his absence since he was very popular.

Although I believe it is important for the news media to cover stories such as these, this is taking away a lot of attention from the fact that North Korea has successfully tested a ballistic missile that officially put the U.S. mainland within range of its nuclear weapons.

This is a very dangerous fact that should be the main topic of news for today. With its recent threats and other tests, North Korea is clearly not playing around.

The news media need to help convince citizens and governments that North Korea is a real threat.

A great tragedy can occur if America looks the other way on this issue.  If we are not careful, we will be on the verge World War III if North Korea decides to launch one of these missiles at the United States.

Times takes deeper look at musicals

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By BEN EZZY

This morning, New York Times writer Michael Paulson released a lengthy piece about what he calls “’The Lion King’ Effect.” The work featured both article text and multimedia presentation, including extensive photographs and video, and gave readers a deeper look into the effects of the popular musical on the South African performers who have taken on roles in the signature production.

When I saw the story, I immediately clicked on it, because it was something different. The piece took something I was already familiar with and offered a new, deeper angle that pushed me to continue reading. Every other lead story on The New York Times’ landing page was about politics, or war, or scandal. This was unique and exciting: original content that I wasn’t going to find everywhere else.

The article itself was very well written. It was structured logically, with larger headings to sections that were comparable to the “Snow Fall” multimedia piece that was done by Times reporters several years ago. While this piece was much shorter, it still offered a variety of images to pair with the reading. Major characters in the story were shown in large, full-screen photographs in costume, and the pairing allowed readers to really identify with their personal stories, myself included.

I also enjoyed how the story immersed the reader in separate stories without convoluting them. Each personal story was distinctly separate from the others, with images, text and investigation of its own merit. This allowed me to stay focused on the story I was reading, without confusing details between the different people involved.

The video was a great addition to the story because it provided a visual representation of life backstage at one of “The Lion King” shows, which was essential to understanding the mindset that these performers have in that situation. All of the work that goes into the journey of these people, the success, the tragedies, the constant effort – everything leads to this moment of the makeup being applied, the curtain lifting, and the triumphant chant that opens the show.

What’s next, America?

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By KAYLA FOSTER

It feels like we are in a constant cycle of tragedy. From mass shooting to sexual harassment scandals, it’s as if we have become numb to the cycle. Something bad happens, we mourn, have little discussion, then move on to the next sad thing. There’s little to no solution being discussed, as we feed off of the next thing that makes the news.

Earlier this week we mourned the lives of innocent people in Texas, in yet another mass shooting. Simultaneously, the list continues to grow, in Hollywood, of high profile men making sexual advances and misconduct in the workplace. So far names like Kevin Spacey, Ed Westwick, and recently Louis C.K, are making headlines as more and more are speaking up against the harassment.

As we hear about all the tragedies that are happening, maybe instead of asking what’s next, we ask what can we do next?

In an article by Vox.com, since more people are speaking out, acknowledgement of sexual harassment in the workplace has become more prominent and therefore easier to stop. People are become more comfortable and accepting of speaking out, especially if it means it might help the next person.

However, unless like the little progress made in workplace harassment, nothing has been done with gun control in America.

In an article by TIME, many have noticed the lack of action to prevent tragedies like Los Vegas and Texas. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin told TIME, “It just strikes me that we see tragedy after tragedy and no action….”

It is the news media’s job to bring attention to and shift talking topics, but so far no one is talking about the cycle we constantly find ourselves in. Maybe we are too focused on reporting the next tragedy instead of doing something to prevent one from happening.

Air Force racist slur graffiti hoaxed

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By DANNY LAROSE

The news media and those on social media jumped all over a story from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs of five black students reporting racial slurs posted outside their dormitory rooms.

Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria’s speech to cadets denouncing racism then received incredible enthusiasm and went viral. And yet, the circumstances that generated the passionate speech have been proven fabricated.

The Air Force Academy said on Tuesday that one of the cadets who was targeted by the racist remarks was in fact the perpetrator of the act.

While hoaxes of racist bigotry may be few and far between, they are certainly energized by the mainstream media who more often than not jumps all over stories like this one. When the media sees an opportunity like the one at the Air Force Academy, they latch on and ride it for days. They utilize the story to revamp attention on a supposedly racist America and divide people by their ideologies and cultural backgrounds.

The news media is obsessed with racial division.

Especially in this case, but certainly in other cases of hoaxed racism, the news media is complicit in failing to allow the truth to surface. If news media outlets had allowed a proper investigation of the situation by Air Force Academy administration before hyping up this story, the embarrassing turnaround here would only be on the perpetrator, not the news media as well. But they didn’t.

Like so many cases like this one, especially the rare hoaxes, news media hype and plain excitement to rile up this sense of American division and white vs. black is obvious.

It is unfortunate that people feel the need to post racist remarks directed at their own race in order to raise attention to a cause or simply garner pity. It is equally unfortunate when the news media encourages this and seeks to generate excess division.

Why have mass shootings increased?

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

After the Texas shooting last week, many of us kept wondering what is going on in the country. Why are the shootings in the U.S. gradually becoming more deadly ? All we have seen in the news lately include shootings, injured and people killed.

During the week, I read two different articles that somehow tried to address the issue with a lot of facts, information and in an appealing way. Both, The New York Times and BBC News, wrote an article on their websites titled: Why are U.S. mass shootings getting more deadly? Why U.S. mass shootings?

It seemed really interesting to me as a reader not only for the timing of the subject but also because it is such a controversial, broad topic about which it is hard to write .

The article in the NYT explains how America is different to any other country when the issue involves a gun and gun policy. The article stated that one of the main reasons the mass killings in the U.S. have been constant is because of the gun regulations. Although the newspaper explains fairly enough how it reached that conclusion, statistics and facts are presented vaguely. In my opinion, the story and analysis is really good but the newspaper could have presented the data more effectively using more than two simple graphics. Moreover, the newspaper fails to include multiple sources and just uses information provided by Adam Lankford, a professor from the University of Alabama.

On the other hand, BBC News did a similar piece in which it explained how the frequency of mass shootings has increased during the years. The news network gives us a little background to each of the shootings in modern history and dismantles factors that have changed during time. For this article, BBC News engages the attention of the reader in any way possible. The BBC offers various facts and information through explanatory videos, graphs, videos of each event, etc. Readers can even keep listening to the videos while they see other pictures or read the article. The network offers a really good analysis and provided evidence and visuals that help the viewer imagine the full context.

Helpful Links:

Man serenades dying wife in Puerto Rico

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

Among all the disheartening stories that have been covered about Puerto Rico since its devastating hurricanes in September, we find many personal experiences of people who suffered in their beloved land. This week, The Miami Herald featured one story about a Puerto Rican that was accompanying one of his family members on her last days. Many were sick from the contaminated water and mosquitoes that followed the hurricanes.

In the medical center, “generators hummed in the background, powering the ventilators and feeding tubes of patients who had fled nearby hospitals after Hurricane Maria knocked out power across the island.” But in the middle of this climate of nervousness and the preoccupied crowd, an old man took his guitar and started to play songs for his wife lying next to him.

Santos Candelaria also said he was playing songs to thanks the medical staff and volunteers that came to help his country in this crisis. This act from Candelaria reunited a small crowd of people singing proud to be Puerto Rican, but also people looking for support and hope.

There were a lot of things that impressed me about this particular story published by The Herald this past Thursday. First, is the fact that it focused on those little pieces that really change your perspective and make you smile. I realized that this could be one of the reasons why it is the center of the front page and essentially the day’s cover story. The second thing that called my attention was the use of multimedia in the article.

When you look the publication from the “front page” of The Herald it looks like a simple video and then you wonder why would they have that as one of the most important stories? Yes, it is a nice story but isn’t other news more controversial or shocking. The only thing that came to my mind was the fact that the video that was accompanying the piece was definitely a perfect video for social media. It was a short video, with images from the stories but titles that narrated what was happening. This is one of the formats that Facebook and many other websites have been using to advertise, promote a story and have a larger reach. It is a short story, with good visuals, that is appealing to the emotional, easy to understand and easy to instantly share.

I also noticed that although they had this self-explanatory video, the newspaper decided to also write a larger article with a more in-detail store for those who were looking for more information. It is also interesting because it makes us think of a balance between getting our news from social media and newspapers’ websites.

To see the original Miami Herald story, go to:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article182286646.html

Judge blocks Trump transgender ban

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By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

This Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked a White House policy barring transgender soldiers in the military.

Judge Colleen Koller-Kotelly of the Federal District Court found the administration’s justification for the ban to be lacking and likely unconstitutional. The ban, set to take effect March 2018, is a clear offense to the equal protection clause of the constitution, according to a thorough and strongly worded 76 ruling by Judge Kollar-Kotelly.

The Justice Department has voiced its disagreement with the ruling and is “… currently evaluating the next steps,” according to a statement.

The policy was originally brought to light by a series of tweets made by President Trump in July, expressly announcing that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve in the military. The announcement was a step to reverse Obama era policy decisions that allowed transgender troops to serve openly, and a shock to military officials already in the process of integrating transgender people into the military.

The ban was a relief for transgender soldiers and supporters of transgender rights alike. “Big news today,” said Lt. Commander Blake Dremann, director of Sparta, an active LGBT military group with more than 650 members. “A lot of people’s lives were put on hold. They thought their careers were ending. This means we can continue to serve with honor, as we have been doing.”

The New York Times and Fox News have been proficient in detailing not only what happened on Monday, but also the before and what may be the after. They have done so by providing an intuitive timeline of the events, as well as brief statements by various involved officials and individuals. They also provide statistics to help solidify the transgender case, though the outcome is left open for deliberation.

Cartel chief son: Netflix hurt reputation

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

William Rodríguez Abadía, the son of Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, former head of Colombia’s powerful Cali drug cartel, says he was never a hitman and worked for his father as a lawyer while fighting a legal battle against the U.S. government.

Rodríguez Abadía decided to reappear and present himself to the public to declare the fact that his portrayal in the famous show “Narcos,” which has an audience of more than 3.2 million people around the world. Rodríguez Abadía, 53, and living in Miami, said that it’s “more important to clarify all the misunderstandings” and the more than 10 lies he said were broadcast during the third season of Narcos.

The Colombian who is hoping to obtain a special U.S. immigrant visa, claims he has been portrayed as a hitman and an assassin. Moreover, he emphasizes that a series like “Narcos” and others glorify drug trafficking. Rodríguez Abadía also said that he is not running away and that he has always admitted the mistakes he made in surrendering, accepting and serving his sentence.

This is not the first time that relatives of former drug traffickers complain to Netflix about the three-season show. Roberto Escobar, brother of Pablo Escobar, is seeking $1 billion from Netflix for the use of the late Medellín cartel chief’s image. Netflix has claimed that he was a public figure and that it obtained the information about him from court documents.

According to law, if the plantiffs are public figures, they have different defamation rights than a private person. There are specific restrictions applied to defamation claims with regard to someone who holds public office or chooses to be in the public eye.

Courts have upheld this rule based on the U.S. belief that the public should be able to freely discuss national issues without fear of any repercussions. If a public official or public figure believes that he or she has been defamed, he or she must prove with convincing evidence that the statement is false.

On one hand, I think that Rodríguez Abadía could have been portrayed in a different way, however, it is part of the public opinion. How many films have portrayed people not exactly as they are in life? Probably a huge number that we wouldn’t even imagine. I also consider that he has a motive to change the image people have of him in the United States, especially the most important newspaper where he lives.

Lastly, I also want to take into consideration the other side of the story that could include a lot of people who are famous because of an event or some other reason of which the public does not know. Many of them could have this false portrayal released out to a big number of viewers and are not able to sue powerful company as Netflix for damages.

Fake stories, enemies of news media

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By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

Since Oct. 15, Spain has suffered a wave of fires affecting Galicia’s region. These fires have calcined 35,000 hectares just in Galicia and have killed four people.

The victims were two old women, 80 and 88 years old, who died when they were trying to flee in a van, and two men that were trying to extinguish the fire. The number of deaths in Portugal has risen to 30 people.

Most of the fires were arson attacks. Two people have been arrested as the alleged originators of the fires. The first one, Miguel Angel, accused of setting fire to his farm when he was cooking with a barbecue. The second one, Maria Luisa, who was burning weed in her house.

But the government of Galicia, the Xunta, has qualified these fires as forest terrorism. The Xunta has suspicion that some of the other 146 fires have been started by an organized gang.

In that situation, when a whole country is focused on the issue, there are a large number of impressive photos with more impressive backstories. One of the most popular photos, in this case, has been the photo of a dog carrying a carbonized puppy. It was taken by the photojournalist Salvador Sas for the EFE agency.

The picture flooded social networks and accompanied many of the news media articles about the fire. Everybody knew about this mum dog, Jacki, carrying her own dead puppy. That was the story that many people are sharing. Everything right, so far. The problem occurred when a journalist discovered that the story attached to this photo was fake.

Jacki wasn’t a female and the dead puppy wasn’t his.

This is the article that uncovered the truth.

The owner of Jacki, recognized to the newspaper La Voz de Galicia, that her dog didn’t have descendants and that he was carrying a rabbit to eat, far from the story that was spread.

It is maybe an insignificant story and nothing will change after knowing the gender and the story of this dog. But once again, it is an example that news media publish and broadcast news without verifying. They seem to be following emotional criteria or mirroring everything that leads to success on social networks to attract the attention of an audience. Then, they correct the news en bloc. But it’s too late, the bad practice has been done.

If this has happened at this time, it could happen with other more relevant stories and the consequences affecting the reputation of the news organizations and society’s reliance on them would be far worse.

Battle for U.S. Senate in Florida is even

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By ANDRES ARENAS GRAYEB

The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Gov. Rick Scott is too close to call, with the contestants being practically tied according to polls cited by The Miami Herald. According to these new polls, 37 percent of registered voters plan to vote for Nelson, while 36 percent are backing Scott.

Nelson also has the upper hand with non-party affiliated voters and other partisans, with support from 32 percent of those surveyed. Scott, on the other hand, has only 28 percent supporting him, though he boasts a 59 percent job approval rating from surveyed voters, a huge surge from the ratings he received in his time as governor, which tended to stay below 50 percent. Nelson has only a 35 percent approval rating in comparison, down from 42 percent in February.

Another noteworthy factor is Donald Trump and how divided Florida is about his performance as president. The divides are mostly along party lines, with 91 percent of Democrats disapproving and 71 percent of Republicans approving. In total, however, 59 percent of those surveyed disapprove, compared to 35 percent that approved, a fact that will no doubt benefit Nelson on election day.

Overall, the competition for the Senate seat next year will be down to the wire until the very last day and The Miami Herald did a praiseworthy job of showing this through their coverage of the race. Their use of statistics that favored both sides in different areas was a good way to show how divided and complex voting is in the modern age of politics, and the statements they had from public polling institutions did well in emphasizing that fact.

Additionally, there was no evident bias in the numbers or the tone of the article, leaving readers with nothing but the facts and their own thoughts on the present state of affairs.

Italian schools teach about fake news

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By VERONICA SPAGNA

Fake news has been around for a while, but with the existence of the Internet and ingraining of social media in people, this notion has been increasingly addressed and recognized as a critical issue. Italy has decided to create classes to teach high school students how to recognize fake news and the importance of not sharing false information, in addition to a new set of ethical commandments.

No generation has it ever been so easy and so fast to gain insight on what is happening around the world. Accessing information can be done with just a few taps on our phones. Laura Boldrini, the president of the Italian lower house of Parliament, told The New York Times “Fake news drips drops of poison into our daily web diet and we end up infected without even realizing it. It’s only right to give these kids the possibility to defend themselves from lies.”

Students will receive a list of commandments. One of them is: “Thou shalt not share unverified news; thou shall ask for sources and evidence; thou shall remember that the internet and social networks can be manipulated.”

There are so many sources where we can access our information and the velocity with which we can acquire it doesn’t allow people to constantly check the reliability.

People’s perception is manipulated and not accessing the truth affects people’s actions, as seen in the 2016 elections. In fact, one of the main reasons this program was created is for the upcoming elections in Italy, which are scheduled on May 20, 2018. The Web is already full of conspiracy theories against all parties and it is essential that the political view, especially of a generation ingrained on their phones, is based on the truth.

The Italian government has been working with companies, such as Facebook and Google, to build a program that focuses on training students on how to recognize fake news and conspiracy theories online. The program seeks the creation of “Fake News Hunters” and is expected to begin later this month. It will be launched in approximately 8,000 high schools around all of Italy.

Students will be taught the ethics of not publishing or sharing fake news and how important the impact of everything they share on social media can be. Facebook will be contributing that specific aspect, addressing to students how “likes” on the platform are “monetized and politicized.”

It is of value that a social media giant, such as Facebook has been collaborating with this program. Especially, because of the pressure, social networks and search engines have been given on finding a solution to filter fake news and conspiracy theories. In fact, a few weeks ago, on Oct. 6, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, wrote in a  post:

“We will do our part to defend against nation states attempting to spread misinformation and subvert elections. We’ll keep working to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, and to ensure our community is a platform for all ideas and force for good in a democracy.”

Mark Zuckerberg was never one to approve of the impact of social media, for years he would argue as seeing social media as just a method of communication. His complete change in opinion really brings to surface the importance of doing something about this issue. Facebook reported that if the program is successful, it will create similar programs for other countries in Europe.

Many of the reports on this story are written in detail and seem to deliver a lot of useful information. I am from Italy and this makes me proud especially because I study journalism in the United States, which has a big issue on fake news. I would be really interested in knowing more on who will be teaching these classes and the opinion of students on this new subject.

Opioid deaths continue to rise

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

Opioids, which are among the deadliest drugs in American history, continue to concern public health officials, as the number of drug-related American deaths rise.

An opioid is a drug derived from opium, which is a narcotic that has served as a base to produce other drugs with similar “pain reducing” effects like heroine and morphine.

Approximately two million Americans have a problem with opioids. Although it is a necessary medical advancement because of its continual aid for chronic pain and cancer patients; it is also a highly addictive drug that has increased the amount of deaths in the past years.

The problem began in the 1980s, when scholarly articles, which were popular among doctors, began easing the fear of prescribing opioids for chronic pain. Its effectiveness among patients began an uprising demand for pain killers. By the 1990s the pharmaceutical companies caught on. Shortly after, they began marketing drugs of this type and helped the industry for pharmaceutical narcotics grow.

Among the contributors to these fatalities is Fentanyl, a synthetic, cheaper, and more potent version of the narcotic, that has become more popular among drug users in the recent years.

According to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, “Heroin has become much cheaper in recent years as the supply in the United States has grown.”

Residents are becoming concerned about the high number of overdoses, especially in places with a more common vulnerability to drugs, like The Bronx, in New York City.

“Especially in the South Bronx, you have so many people in housing who overdose, says The Bronx native Terrell Jones.

This is not only a social issue in The Bronx, but also among areas where drugs are easily accessible. People are overdosing by the numbers and it seems to see no end.

Digital changes news consumption

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By ANAEL GAVIZON

This week, we are discussing in class how to create news stories that make use of media. Learning this skills is a new way to use technology tools to the journalist’s advantage incorporating more and new information to our online pieces. It is not only a way to make what we are writing about more visual, but it is also what catches “the eyeballs” of our consumers nowadays.

Digital content is the journalist’s last spicy touch to each of his stories, what makes the whole recipe complete. It is the pictures, videos and social media that sometimes make the articles are more appealing for people, especially younger generations.

The Internet and ,more recently, social media have been shaping the news landscape in many ways. People currently consume news and receive information in strikingly different ways than previous generations. The paths to a discovery of information are more nuanced and varied, one click away in a variety of devices.

News stories are woven into ways readers are connected to the world generally, mixing it with social connection, social action, and entertainment. Social media have also evolved a lot, now it’s about a lot of sharing articles, sharing of videos, sharing campaigns, and so forth. These companies are exposing users to more news than they initially would search for, making this mix of random and intentional learning greater.

Despite the fact that there is a lot of controversy and opinions on which news consumption method is the best and why I think one of the strongest points of getting your news from social media is the immediateness.

I spent last summer in Venezuela, where most of the news media outlets are owned by the government or they are banned. CNN in Spanish vanished from the channel list among many other channels that informed and reported the truth of the situation in the country. The only way people could get another point of view was through YouTube and more information about protests and attacks through Twitter. It is a really extreme example because Venezuelans are living in a dictatorship. However, is a different example of how a population can use social media for news consumption.

Trump blasted by widow of soldier

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By BEN EZZY

Donald Trump continued to make headlines this week after speaking on the phone with the widow of a soldier who was killed in action. Sgt. La David T. Johnson was one of four Americans killed in an ambush in Niger on Oct. 4. As is customary for the commander-in-chief, Trump contacted Sgt. Johnson’s widow and spoke at length with her.

Listening to the call were Sgt. Johnson’s mother, and Democratic Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson of South Florida. Sgt. Johnson’s mother accused Trump of saying that he “knew what he signed up for,” and only referenced him as “your guy.” Trump denied these claims, insisting that the entire story was “fabricated” in pursuit of her politics.

Due to the emotional nature of the issue, it was a very complex story for the media to handle adequately, and in analyzing the work by news organizations, it is clear that decisions were handled with care. Maintaining impartiality was key, especially since the majority of the story rests solely on accusations. The New York Times, for example, made sure that the sources were the ones making the claims, while the narrative of the reporters was more focused on connecting the dots between them.

Balanced reporting, especially in the era of fake news and the constant attacks on the media by the Trump administration, is very important. The New York Times ran a piece about the issues other presidents have faced in reaching out to families in this similar situation. This allowed their organization to remain neutral, and to offer a look into the other side, and examine the complex issues involved through multiple perspectives.

On a much more humorous note, The Times chose to refer to the complex aftermath of the accusations as an “imbroglio” in the title of their online story, a word so incredibly articulate and yet completely obscure that I could not help but chuckle.