Tag Archives: Reporting

Facebook: News for demanding readers

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By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

It’s common use Facebook as a newspaper. When some event has just happened, many people open the application looking for breaking news. But Facebook is also used with that purpose because of its huge coverage of all news, particularly the news that newspapers and other media don’t pay attention to.

The last one that I received was an event of a charity concert organized by Un Micro para el Sahara (A Microphone for Sahara). This is a non-profit organization ran by young journalists.

The importance of this example is double, because we receive the information about the Sahara’s situation through Facebook and not from mass media. And because it’s necessary for NGOs to overcome misinformation sometimes found in the news media.

Social media (Photo from Flickr, courtesy of Hazma Butt).

As they exposed on their Facebook site, their goal is “ensure visibility for the helpless situation of the Saharan people that has been forgotten by the mass media.”

So, it’s another kind of journalism, headed by young journalists away from the big news corporations. These journalists are independents with non-commercial interests and they’re aware of the news media’s deficiencies.

Furthermore, they want the money raised to go to buy journalistic tools for support of the journalists’ work for public radio and TV of the Sahara and to organize workshops for them.

We have to think about the journalism that we want and the journalism that we consume, because it’s clear that quality journalism is not about the money and the resources, but about spirit and ability to inform without following political or economic agendas, just the purpose of meeting journalistic values.

So, if we continue to consume the big corporations’ journalism that neglects news that don’t provide them benefits, without trying to change it, we will encourage a form of partial journalism that doesn’t reflect the whole world.

New tools aid reporting of unique events

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By REGINA SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ

The solar eclipse that covered the sky of United States last week had total coverage by the news media, not just Americans, but international journalists, too.

The total solar eclipse was the first to cross from the West Coast to the East Coast since 1918. But 1918’s eclipse couldn’t be covered by the news media in the same degree as the Aug. 21 eclipse.

It isn’t just the amount of time and information that news media have devoted to it. It is about the way news media have done it. New technologies have been used by the great news media conglomerates for offering a closer experience to readers. It is not enough to show them the eclipse with a camera. Now, news media offer 360 degree photos that can make the reader feel is in the place where the eclipse is happening without leaving the sofa.

After all, the purpose of journalism is informing and showing the news as well as possible to the audience. Therefore, it’s important that news media stay updated and don’t deny new technologies because they can enhance their work obtaining results never before imagined.

The clearest example is on the CNN web site. CNN has its own section of Virtual Reality and offers the following coverage of the eclipse:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/vr/eclipse-best-moments-vod-vr/index.html

That makes a difference between CNN and other websites and newspapers that don’t offer this service. The reader can find a different and improved experience there.

Next total eclipse will be in July 2019 and it can be viewed in Argentina and Chile. It is not until April 2024 when other total eclipse will cross United States from Texas to Maine. With  virtual reality still developing, who knows what kind of technologies could appear then and how readers could live next eclipse.

Miami-Dade installing cameras in parks

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By ANAEL GAVISON

Miami-Dade County is developing a project that consists of implementing high technology surveillance cameras in several public parks and spaces around the area.

The plan started by installing four cameras that take a 360-degree angle at Haulover Marina. Other than giving a wide and clear view, the cameras send the information through a private signal only available to government entities.

According to local crime statistics, there have been almost 50 car robberies in this location during the past year.

“Although it is important to protect private property, it is also important the safety of our citizens and mostly our children,” said Victoria Galan, public information officer for Miami-Dade’s Parks and Recreation Department.

For all these purposes, the cameras are able to recognize people and take a digital image of them. All the images are sent directly to the central offices of the county, later compared and identified as possible suspects. These parks are the first ones with this system and the county is looking forward to adding more to their list.

This story was reported by Sandra Peebles yesterday for Univision Channel 23. Peebles, currently teaching a class in television performance at the University of Miami, mentioned in her class how she did that story and the ethics a reporter needs to have when reporting. In agreement with what we said in our reporting class about the code of ethics, Peebles mentioned that, when doing this story, the county didn’t want her to release the information. However, she considered that it was significant news to any citizen who is near the area and goes to the park, prioritizing the safety of adults and their children.

Peebles also faced another obstacle with her story. Police said that, according to a jury, the reporter couldn’t say that the surveillance cameras had facial recognition due to the fact that the digital image or footage of the suspect wouldn’t be the only evidence to convict him. Police can use the new system as a tool, but not as the only proof.

Lastly, Peebles told the class that some television news channels have more strict ethic codes than others and that moral decisions some times lay on the reporter.

Unemployment at 4.4 percent in August

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By HEIDI STEINEGGER

The Labor Department released the August figures of hiring and unemployment this morning.

The statistics showed that in August alone, 156,000 jobs, lower than the anticipated 180,000, were created and the unemployment rate reached 4.4 percent, coming up from 4.3 percent in July.

With unemployment near its lowest rate in almost 16 years, the question now shifts from how to lower the unemployment rate to how we can make sure those workers laid off during the recession are re-entering the job market.

While the media typically focuses on numbers and figures when it comes to the unemployment rate in the U.S., I find it more effective to investigate the aftershocks of those numbers and figures in order to assess how the job market is recovering from the recession.

With more job openings available now than ever before in the past 16 years, the number of American adults looking for jobs remains about the same year to year.  Why is that? Could it be that the recession forced many into early retirement? The numbers state otherwise.

In the wake of the Great Recession, millions of would-be retirees continued working much later into their lives. The labor force participation rate among adults at least 55 years old was climbing from the Great Recession up until October 2012 when it leveled off at 40.7 percent.

While many factors are at play with jobs and unemployment, I believe one of them could be the media’s focus towards exactly that, unemployment.  With the unemployment rate at its lowest in the past 16 years, wouldn’t it be better to stop focusing on that number and start mentioning how many jobs are being created every month?

The public is better off being educated about jobs they could be going out and getting, and how many have re-entered the job market after the Great Recession, rather than the overall unemployment rate of the country.

Three restaurants shut down, 19 cited

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By ALEJANDRO GRANDA

Three Miami restaurants had enough roaches to be shut down for the day while eight were cited for live roaches and 11 others cited for dead ones.

Latin American Restaurant at 1590 Coral Way was closed for the day for having “seven plus live roaches found inside oven in cookline area,” “extreme amount of flies all around the kitchen area” and “slicer blade guard soiled with old food debris.” Customers also insisted on bottled water because there was an “accumulation of black/green mold-like substance” around the soda dispensing nozzles and the ice machine.

Wong’s on 12420 Biscayne Blvd., in North Miami, had two high priority violations, but one was the excess amount of roaches: “six live roaches on preparation (table) behind soy sauce box, six live roaches under preparation table, five in the reach in cooler gasket, two by hand washing sink, three on the oven door.”

Yumm Yumm 2000 Cafe Del Mar in Miami Beach, at 710 Washington Ave., #1, was the third and final location to be shut down for roaches, which could be spotted upon entering the front door: “Two live roaches observed, one by door frame at entrance of establishment, the other under soda fountain. Another live roach observed by chest freezer in back of restaurant. Another roach observed by telephone behind kitchen and one more in storage in the back of the restaurant. Another roach was observed under coffee machine.” Other violations include the handwash sink not accessible for employee use because of items stored in the sink, soiled/stained can opener blade and cutting boards, and an accumulation of black/green mold-like substance around the ice machine.

The Miami Herald does a great job reporting these nasty violations, showing readers to think twice before going to these restaurants and take caution if they decide to eat in them.

Reporters miss point with United story

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By AMANDA PRATS

Amid the controversy surrounding the United Airlines passenger who was aggressively dragged off an overbooked United flight a few days ago, a flurry of misinformation has surrounded the identity of the passenger.

Soon after videos of the passenger, not yet identified as Dr. David Dao, being dragged off the plane emerged on the web, news media outlets set out to determine the identity of the passenger. This led to some confusion over there being two Dr. Dao’s, one from Kentucky who had a questionable past, and one from Louisiana.

Reports identifying the passenger as Dr. Dao from Kentucky surfaced and soon news outlets and social media feeds alike were buzzing with commentary over the passenger’s salacious backstory as a doctor who had his medical license suspended for illegally prescribing painkillers, including in exchange for sex.

Questions about the identity of which Dr. Dao was on the plane circulated, with many on social media frustrated at traditional news outlets for reporting on the doctor’s past at all.

The story that should have been the focus of news reporting was simply the mistreatment of a passenger on an overbooked flight; his past was not relevant to the story. Focusing reporting on the doctor’s criminal record serves as an attempt to shift responsibility from United Airlines to the passenger.

Unfortunately, shifting blame to the victim is not unusual in the news cycle, something that has been evidenced through the news coverage of many police brutality stories.

The story was not about the doctor’s past mistakes, but rather should have been about the mistakes made by the airline in their treatment of passengers, the involvement of the law enforcement officer and a discussion of unfair policies practiced by airlines that hurt customers.

New York Times curates artisan writing

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By AMANDA PRATS

In the age of fake news, alternative facts and Facebook feeds, attempting to filter through the deluge of media we are faced with can be overwhelming.

For many, the difficulty of this task unfortunately translates into a complete lack of filtering.

Simply put, it’s often easiest to take the information presented to us at face value rather than critically examining our sources. This has led to what some have called a misinformation crisis, with “fake news” stories become a story of their own, particularly during the 2016 presidential election.

Beyond simply trying to find information that is at the very least reliable, challenging our personal views takes a step further. Many have referred to social media as an “echo chamber,” and have criticized it’s functionality as a source for news because we tend to receive information that falls in line with our personal opinions and the opinions of people in our social circles.

There is an incredible value in reading opinions that challenge ours, which is why The New York Times compiled a list of quality partisan writing to expose readers to diverse viewpoints. The list included links to articles from the right, left and center from a variety of sources. The list can be viewed here.

Hoax shows importance of sources

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By LUIS GONZALEZ

The New England Patriots woke up to an awkward breakup post by backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, except the Patriots did not trade or cut the QB.

At around 4 a.m., Garoppolo’s Instagram saying a concise goodbye to Boston. While the third-year QB has had his time this year on the trade block, it appears that his Instagram was hacked and has not been traded or released.

The post lasted around four hours on his profile and has been deleted since then. Below is a screengrab of the post from Garropolo’s Instagram (the gray box only covers the comment section).

NFL news media have been working tirelessly around the clock for the last week because of the opening of free agency.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport summed up the situation best for the aforementioned news media members.

“Spoke to someone close to Jimmy Garoppolo who had no knowledge of any trade and believes it’s a hack. Alas, it’s 5:26 am now & we’re all up,” Rapoport wrote.

He also gave an update this morning on NFL Network’s show Good Morning Football and provided some insight of the early morning flurry.

“Here is the latest from RapSheet on the Jimmy Garoppolo Instagram story,” he wrote.

The whole situation brings up the importance of maintaining multiple legitimate sources to confirm a story before it its published, especially during the free agency period.

Front office personnel from NFL teams and countless sports agents are currently participating in a dance to gain leverage over each other, to get the best deal for their party.

The dance involves leaking information to reporters in hopes of starting published rumors and put pressure on the other party to conform to their side of the bargaining table.

With the feed-the-beast mentality, it would be easy for someone looking to get some clicks on their new blog and make a name for themselves, might publish the leaked information and it may not be true.

Having multiple sources to confirm a story solidifies it, allowing it not to be subject to a rich man’s leverage war.

Rapoport, in the tweet, showed how reporting during a whirlwind time should be done. With solid confirmation and not believing the first thing that is seen.

The dilemma with ‘alternative facts’

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By AMANDA PRATS

Anyone who considers themselves a fan of 1990s television knows it: The truth is out there. In 2017, however, the truth may be harder to find than it was for the “X-Files”’ Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

For the past 100 years, since President Woodrow Wilson held the first one in March of 1913, the presidential press conference has been at the very least, credible. If the White House press secretary refrained from saying much, the little they did say was of significant news value to the journalists in attendance.

In one of the first press briefings of the Trump administration, new White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer accused the news media of misinformation while distributing misinformation himself. After the briefing, Kellyanne Conaway, one of Trump’s senior advisors, described Spicer’s blatant lies by using a phrase that has become infamous in the days since: “alternative facts.”

For members of the news media covering the Trump administration going forward, reporting on a White House that disseminates these falsehoods poses multiple major issues.

Since the beginning of his campaign, Trump has fueled the narrative that the news media has an inherent bias against him. If the news media chooses to continue to report on his administration’s lies as they are, he will continue to use it as evidence that journalists are against him. By doing their jobs, journalists will unfortunately encourage his narrative and as it is, much of the public already considers the news media to be biased against the president.

The government collects and reports an incredible amount of data, ranging from mundane to critical. While journalists have had to verify and check government data before, for the most part, journalists have never been in a position where questioning and vetting every piece of information from the government was necessary. However, when the line between fact and “alternative fact” becomes blurred, news organizations may have to rely on their own resources more heavily than the government agencies that they relied on in the past.

As the “X-Files” told us, the truth is out there. Finding the truth while reporting on an administration that completely disregards it, however, may pose a greater challenge than expected.

Conyers’ son has gone missing

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By COURTNEY CHENNAULT

This week, the disappearance of Carl Conyers, son of John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan), the longest-serving active member of the House of Representatives, is calling the attention of many.

According to CNN, Conyers, a student at the University of Houston, went missing after a series of mysterious events. To enhance the story and likely increase reader interest, CNN laid out the facts as if they were puzzle pieces begging to be assembled by the reader.

The first part of the report is entitled, “Message from Conyers’ account: ‘I’m OK.”  In this section, CNN reported that Daisha Lewis, Conyers’ girlfriend, went to Conyers’ home on Wednesday and noticed that Conyers’ clothes were next to his backpack with his wallet, an envelope filled with pictures, and his primary phone charging. Conyers and his second phone were not there.

The next day, Lewis was still at Conyers’ home when she received a message from him via Twitter that said, “I’m OK.” Soon after, Conyers’ told Lewis and their friends to meet him on campus. While on their way to campus, Lewis felt suspicion regarding Conyers’ message and decided to return to his home, where she discovered Conyers’ ID and debit card were newly missing. Furthermore, clothes from his dresser and his house keys were gone.

In the next section, “He suddenly shaved his beard,” CNN reported that Conyers suddenly shaved a beard he had been growing for a year.

The third section, “A second phone,” reveals a very interesting observation.  According to CNN, Lewis discovered that the IP address for the aforementioned tweets that Conyers sent her was the same as Conyers’ apartment Wi-Fi.  She stated that Conyers, or someone else, could have been tweeting on this second phone, which had been missing from the start, in the parking lot of the apartment while Lewis was inside.

The sections continue in the same intriguing fashion and inform the reader that no suspicious activity was discovered in Conyers’ bank account, social media platform, etc.

Finally, CNN stated that the FBI is helping authorities in the search for the 21-year-old student.

This article pulls the reader in and almost encourages him to make speculations about what happened. As a result, it is likely that the reader will actively stay tuned as the investigation continues.

This story is particularly interesting to me as I am familiar with the Conyers family. We are from the same community, I went to school with Conyers’ cousins and I have many mutual friends with Conyers himself. I certainly hope he is safe and returns home soon.

Trump criticizes news media

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By DANIEL LLOVERAS

Numerous news media outlets, including CNN, NPR and The New York Times, reported Wednesday that Donald Trump’s presidential transition was in a state of disarray.

According to the reports, the disarray was marked by the firing of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the subsequent hiring of Vice President-elect Mike Pence as chair of the transition. It was reported that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, purged the transition team of anyone affiliated with Christie.

Trump emphatically refuted the claims of turmoil in his transition team. Trump attacked the news media, particularly The New York Times, for the reports.

screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-6-03-58-pmHe tweeted that the reports were “so totally wrong” and that the transition was going “so smoothly.”

While Trump’s criticism of news media organizations is nothing new, his attacks will carry more significance now that he has been elected.

Since Trump has the tendency to deny any negative coverage involving him, the role of the news media may increase during a Trump presidency.

News media outlets have a responsibility to seek the truth and report it. Journalists must remain vigilant in spite of Trump’s denial and make sure that the American people are not being lied to by the president-elect.

Much campaign news ado about nothing

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By COURTNEY CHENNAULT

Tonight’s top story: Mike Pence’s plane skids off runway.

According to CNN, Mike Pence and his campaign staff were on their campaign plane leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York City when wet weather conditions caused the plane to slide of the tarmac.

No one was injured.

CNN stated that while the incident was taking place, Trump was preparing to go on stage at a rally in Geneva, Ohio.   When addressing the crowd, Trump informed everyone that Pence and the crew were alright.

Mike Pence made this statement via Twitter:

screen-shot-2016-10-27-at-11-19-46-pm

Hillary also took the opportunity to throw her name in the mix by modeling cordiality:

screen-shot-2016-10-27-at-11-20-59-pm

CNN quoted Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, as she explained that the rainy weather probably prevented the wheels from getting “good traction.”

When I first heard about the incident, I didn’t think it was worth reporting because there were no injuries, and the plane suffered no damages, suggesting that it wasn’t very serious. It seemed that the media piped up the event just because it happened to Mike Pence.

Additionally, Schiavo’s explanation of why the plane might have slid off the runway seems extremely unnecessary to me. It is common knowledge that wet roads increase a vehicle’s likelihood of sliding out of control.  No duh.

Quoting Schiavo would have been worth it if she talked about the plane’s faulty brakes or a miscommunication between the pilot and the radio tower- information that only she and other experts would have.  But stating that the rain may have caused the plane to slide is not worth the reader’s time.

At the end of the day, the lengthy articles on CNN’s and Fox News’ websites make the event seem more dramatic than it really was.

CNN stated that Pence cancelled his appearance at a fundraiser at Trump Tower tonight, but that the campaign will pick up where it left off as scheduled tomorrow.

Reporting about medicine is challenging

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By CLAUDIA BROWN

Endocrinology, the medical field of diabetes, thyroid disorders and metabolism, is often misunderstood by most adults.

This includes the journalists who report on any new findings in the endocrinology field that originate from the doctors and medical scientists themselves.

Therefore, articles on “living a healthier life” with diabetes, a thyroid disorder or an illness that affects the metabolism are strictly from a scientific point of view as opposed to other topics that are geared toward discussing what the readers (or at least their preferred audience) wants to hear or read.

For example, the majority of articles are published by doctors and medical researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine, as well as reliable newspapers such as The New York Times.

The articles pertaining to endocrinology that are published in regular newspapers (not medical journals) are summarized and simplified articles from various medical journals.

An article called, 2 Endocrinology Groups Raise Doubt on Earlier Onset of Girls’ Puberty was published in The New York Times on Sept. 3, 2001.

One week earlier, the official study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  This article includes the full abstract, intro, thesis, tests, charts, results, conclusion and overall write up properly cited.

The New York Times version, although explaining everything, is a relatively short article as opposed to the full study report that is approximately 14 pages (not including cited sources and methods).

Reporter continues to hound mayor

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By ALEX GOLDMAN

Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva is unhappy with many people.

Perhaps none more so than Stockton Record metro-reporter Michael Fitzgerald.

I’m sure Silva thinks the microscope has been hovering over him and his every move since  his inauguration. I’m also quite sure Silva thinks the unending news coverage about his is unwarranted and unfair. Except Silva is a mayor in one of the largest cities in California. Not only is he the mayor, but, to put it one way, he’s an unconventional mayor at that.

So sure, he’s going to live in the eyes of the news media. His failure to understand why such a thing might be falls in line with his whole mayorship, from day one to present, as you will see momentarily.

Fitzgerald has been there at every turn to chronicle how poorly of a job Silva has done with his time in office, both administratively and politically. Let’s take a look at Silva’s mayorship through Fitzgerald’s reporting.

First, we’ll start with Silva’s accomplishments.

“In terms of accomplishments in office, Silva ranks beneath do-little Mayor Ed Chavez (2005-08). He has set the bar for getting nothing done,” Fitzgerald writes.

Fitzgerald goes on to write about the only policies Silva has successfully championed while in office. Both of them, “the fiscally suicidal Safe Streets crime-fighting plan and a reduction in building fees,” were handed to him by developers, according to Fitzgerald.

Now that we’ve looked at Silva’s successes, why don’t we delve into the remaining 98% of his term.

Silva calls himself “the people’s mayor,” fighting on behalf of everyday citizens, from the middle-class to low-income families. He was sure to stand up to big money influences while in office, not only with words, but with actions, right?

Wrong.

“He’s made some rich guys richer,” Fitzgerald writes. “All the while demagoguing about the rich bigwigs who control this town and how he stands up for the economically disadvantaged.”

Okay, so maybe standing up to money while in office isn’t as easy as the politicians want us to believe. That isn’t to say mayors are impervious to submitting to financial influences.

But what about possessing knowledge on the rights, duties and powers that a mayor does actually have?

“[T]hen it appears Silva did not understand the office for which he ran,” Fitzgerald writes. “He has been publicly shocked and perturbed by the statutory limitations placed on the mayor’s power.”

Well, maybe the educational system is to blame for Silva’s ignorance on the position he campaigned and was elected for. He can at least keep his word on things under his control, can’t he?

“Ethical lapses followed,” Fitzgerald continues. “Silva promised if elected not to work two jobs. But he did. He promised not to take a mayor’s salary until crime tumbled. But he did. There were more.”

Alright alright alright, but he had to at least have some ideas on policy and positive changes that can be made to the citizens of Stockton. Right?

“What did not follow was policy,” Fitzgerald goes on. “It became clear that “The People’s Mayor” had no real ideas for governing and no real interest in the hard work that goes into civic improvements.”

But wait, there’s more:

“When I asked him what his position on growth was — on sprawl vs. infill — he looked at me as if I had spoken to him in Mandarin,” Fitzgerald writes.

While Silva has a laundry-list of political and administrative failures, Fitzgerald looks to the distraction he has become as the figurehead of the city, a city which is attempting to move out of the darkness of being the largest city in United States history to declare bankruptcy (before Detroit).

“[I]t is as a distraction from the serious business of governance where Silva has been a Hall-of-Famer,” Fitzgerald writes.

I wrote about some of those in a previous post.

To strengthen the case that Silva is unqualified to run a city of 300,000 people – or any city, for that matter, and as if his case needs any strengthening – look no further than his reactions and response to the most serious of his “lapses.”

“Silva is refusing to cooperate with investigators trying to understand how his stolen gun came to be used to kill a 13-year-old,” Fitzgerald writes. “And he has been indicted on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his alleged participation in an alcohol-fueled strip poker game with teens.”

Come Nov. 8, material as great – and horrible, considering his is an elected public official – as what Silva provided might be harder to find.

In all likelihood, it won’t just fall into our lap.

News media struggle with Chibok story

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By MARISSA VONESH

Twenty-one Chibok school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago were freed Thursday.

The Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped more than 270 students from a school in Chibok in April 2014. Although the militant group had been terrorizing Nigeria for years, the kidnapping provoked international attention and increased support to stop Boko Haram.

After numerous negotiations with the Islamic militant group, the Nigerian government finally made a breakthrough this week. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government brokered a deal between Nigeria and Boko Haram which allowed 21 of the girls to go home.

The celebratory information has spread quickly across global platforms but has lead to conflicting information. Some groups, such as The New York Times, have sources that claim that no Boko Haram members were released from jail in exchange for the women. In opposition, other news media groups, including the Chicago Tribune, claim there was a swap.

The news outlets have different quoted sources yet, not all are credible. Phrases such as “a credible source” or “someone close to the negotiation” were used as attribution in the reports. This tactic points to a trend of large news media organizations valuing getting out information instead of getting specific sources that are proven true.

In important, historical stories, such as the initial coverage of a major kidnapping, it is vital for journalists to have accurate information. The fact that the news media are not consistent, are negligent about sources and compete to get out information quickly oppose to correctly needs to change.

With the increased presence of social media, the pressure to get out information is heightened. New audiences are more attracted to quick blurbs and immediate information; however, if news sources are giving inaccurate information, their credibility decreases.

It is the primary concern for a journalist to uphold the truth –– a truth that is should not be compromised.

The facts about drinking while pregnant?

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By CLAUDIA BROWN

Every few months or so, the Internet goes crazy over a new study that says what is okay and not okay to do while pregnant.

For example, first it is not okay to drink alcohol while pregnant, then it was suggested that having a glass of wine once a month is healthy. And now, it is okay to only drink the last month a woman is pregnant.

WebMD poses the question “How much alcohol is too much?”

It also states that “The problem with drinking and pregnancy is that there is no amount that has been proven to be safe.”

The latest theory states that it is not only okay, but it is actually good for ones pregnancy.

David Garry an OBGYN admits that “researchers don’t know enough about the potential effects of drinking alcohol at particular times during the pregnancy to be able to say that any time is really safe.”

Journalists and reporters quickly write about why the new theory is correct and why we were wrong in the past.  Obviously, it is their job to get information out there as quickly and accurately as possible.

In this case, although the journalists and reporters are doing their jobs, they are missing the extensive research as to why people’s perceptions change.

New studies are frequently done, but how correct are they?  Within in the past two years, doctors have changed their mind about alcohol intake while pregnant.

Wanting to get the information out there with the newest studies, the accuracy of information is not always clear.  If it were, these new studies would all conclude in agreement with one another.

Doctors are still not agreeing on which theory is most correct.  If doctors are admitting they do not know, it is impossible for the reporting to be 100% accurate.

There will only be one Fernandez

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By ALEX GOLDMAN

I’m not the first to write about him. And I won’t be the last.

It seemed like too obvious a choice to write about for this week, yet in the end I couldn’t help myself.

I had to write about Jose Fernandez. Just like many others this week.

The Miami Marlins pitcher was killed in a boating incident early Sunday morning in Miami Beach. The boat hit a rock jetty. Fernandez and two other men were killed. Instantly, I hope.

Coverage of his death on Sunday, tributes made out to him Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and live coverage of his public and family funeral processions Wednesday and Thursday were hot topics.

The uniform blog Uni-Watch covered all sports-related tributes to Fernandez. Among them were the Marlins wearing “Fernandez” jersey’s with his No. 16 for the duration of their Monday game against the New York Mets. Uni-Watch believes this to be the first occasion of a team memorializing a player through uniformly (get it?) dressing the team in that player’s jersey (excluding the league-wide wearing of Jackie Robinson’s “42” for one day of each season).

Local TV stations WPLG 10, WTVJ 6, WSVN 7, and WFOR-TV 4 all aired the funeral procession live, with commentary.

The Miami Herald covered the events of the week extensively. 

The coverage is warranted. Fernandez was an incredibly bright light. He had an infectious smile. He was able to penetrate through to Barry Bonds’ soft side. The courage he displayed through 4 overall attempts to defect from Cuba is immeasurable.

And he was only 24.

We’ll all be left to wonder what more he could have given us.

#normalizebreastfeeding gains attention

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By ELIZABETH GELBAUGH

On Sept. 22, Cindy Boren’s article in The Washington Post labeled a woman as an inspiration for pumping breast milk while running a half marathon.

Anna Young completed the Revel Big Cottonwood half marathon in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, her first race since giving birth to her daughter five months prior.

“I thought it would be something the breastfeeding community would appreciate, but I had no idea I would get such a strong reaction. It’s been mostly positive and I’m grateful for that,” Young said in her e-mail to The Washington Post.

Breastfeeding, whether publicly or privately, has recently caused a social media frenzy, with the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding popping up on Instagram and Twitter. Women have shared empowering photos of breastfeeding and created a supportive community for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers.

However, not everyone is expressing overwhelming support for this movement.

Six days later, Kristine Guerra wrote an article for The Washington Post about a man who punched his wife in the mouth after a male doctor witnessed her breastfeeding her newborn in the hospital.

According to a police report, Rafael Orozco became jealous and enraged when his wife exposed herself to feed her child, causing him to punch her and grab her neck. He even slapped the infant on the head before he was confronted by hospital staff.

The Washington Post has done an excellent job presenting both viewpoints of this issue while still remaining neutral in its reporting. However, when does neutrality for the sake of journalism wind up preventing change?

American women have many freedoms and privileges that women in other societies around the world couldn’t dream to have themselves, yet we are still encouraged to be embarrassed of our bodies and their life-giving functions.

With the outward support of respected mainstream news media, such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, society can rid itself of this idea of openly and confidently breastfeeding as taboo. News media are meant to be the voices of the people and progress is unlikely without their involvement.

The pressure on Rodgers increases

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By ALEX GOLDMAN

Aaron Rodgers is the NFL’s all-time leader in passer rating, a statistic that measures the effectiveness of a quarterback through the course of a game. He leads that category with a rating of 103.8.

No other quarterback with a minimum four years in the league has a rating more than 100.

However, Rodgers has gone almost a complete NFL season without eclipsing 100 mark in the category. For the last 14 games, dating back to last season, Rodgers has underperformed according to his own high standard.

Just don’t bring it up to him.

In a weekly conference with reporters, Rodgers was asked about his recent (and not so recent) struggles. It wasn’t just one question but a platoon of questions. As ESPN’s Rob Demovsky noted, Rodgers knew the questions would be coming his way.

Rodgers responded “abrasively” to the questions, according to an ESPN description.

I can’t blame him. Rodgers, that is. Search “Aaron Rodgers” on Google and practically all of the news articles revolve around his recent performance. Oh, and by “practically” all of the articles, I mean all of the articles. It’s understandable that he would get tired of answering perpetually negative questions. Especially because he is, after all, the all-time leader in passer rating.

I also can’t blame the news media for their persistent questions on his struggles. Especially because he is, after all, the all-time leader in passer rating.

The sword cuts both ways.

Video obtained of missing Chibok girls

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By VICTORIA DE CARDENAS

Tragedies in Africa rarely capture the attention of anyone in the U.S. But when women in Nigeria spoke out two years ago after terrorists kidnapped hundreds of girls from school, they stirred a sense of global outrage.

Two years later, #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign took off, but the girls from the town of Chibok are still missing and still causing outrage.

The captor, Boko Haram, forbids modern education, particularly for girls, and enslaves and sells women, forcing them to live by 7th century norm, according to CNN.

Before the anniversary of the capture, CNN obtained a video showing 15 of the more than 200 girls that remain in captivity from the mass abduction. It was sent by Boko Haram as “proof of life” in negotiations with the government.

While I applaud CNN for obtaining this video and sharing it with the parents of the girls, I have the issue that no other news station seems to be covering this as extensively as CNN.

If the social media campaign was so successful in shining light onto this tragedy, why aren’t other stories coming out of this video? It is a compelling video and reminds those who are here in the U.S. to continue to fight for human rights, but I do not see another major news network picking it up.

It upsets me to see these girls being taken against their will and choosing to be suicide bombers to get out of the situation they are in, but I have yet to see someone else cover this as headline news.

We as global citizens cannot be so oblivious to what is happening across the world and to prevent the oblivion it starts with news networks talking about the stories that matter and shape our everyday lives.