I Cannot Get my foot through the Door: a Story of a Journalist Love of Donuts

I Cannot Get my foot through the Door: a Story of a Journalist Love of Donuts

Written By: Teresita Blanco

Published: June 14, 2010

A few days ago, I left my journalism class in awe. I spent my ride back to FIU main campus meditating on what I had experienced. After the stupor had dissipated, I realized that I obtain a precious gift from this class: The confirmation of my previous suppositions. Originally, I had arrived in this class with the vague idea of obtaining some hidden trick into getting one’s foot through the door of publication. However, the teacher has simply confirmed the fact that a journalist success relies solely on luck (and maybe a bit of talent). My teacher had obtained his placement in the journalist world after a publisher overheard his rambles about musicians. Had that person not overheard him, then he might have ended up performing brain surgery of some sorts.

Frankly, I have always held some sort of caution toward the publishing industry. Ever since I started in my little graphic novel project I been hesitant to send it into the wide world. The publication industry is a dangerous business. I found it infuriating that an editor could order his Journalist to give up his story to a more experience writer. To have worked so hard in a story to have it stolen, defiled, taken by another is simply something I cannot bear.

This last section, served to remind me of the troubles in the Journalism industry. I find it peculiar that only one of the speakers remained within the topic of journalism. It seems a bit farfetched the great emphasis given on immigrants understanding of journalism throughout. In my perspective, this final lecture lacked a bit of consistency. I found it rather amusing the efforts employed by the teacher to keep the speakers within the topic of journalism.

Regardless, I found this final section as a great way to kill some time. I found the donuts delicious and the speakers entertaining. This class has further reaffirmed my previous views toward Journalism.

The Parrot Key Resort

The Parrot Key Resort
Written By: Teresita Blanco
Published: June 7, 2010

In my opinion, a report on this Parrot Keys Hotel would make a great story. This hotel is situated in the Miami Keys. Tourism is an important part of the economy in Florida. The sections of travel have always attracted a large audience in the Newspaper. Thus, this story would serve as a guide to the journey around the Florida Keys. Secondly, this Hotel, like the majority of all beach situated Hotels in Florida, might go soon go bankrupt. I do not mean that the hotel is currently going bankrupt, per say. Rather, I have a foreboding feeling that the wave of crude will reach the Florida Keys. This section of Florida is the closest to the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, the Florida Keys will be the first place in Florida that the crude will make landfall. Thus, I wish to chronicle how the Florida Keys used to be and make some predictions on how the crude might affect the tourist based economy of that Hotel. If the problem is not fixed soon places like the Parrots Keys Hotel would go bankrupt.

The dangers of Being Ernest

On Guard

The dangers of Being Ernest
By Teresita Blanco
5/31/2010

Freedom of the Press is usually taken for granted in modern day America. This country was founded under the ideas of freedom of speech and the press. Upholding the truth is a dangerous crusade filled with many road blocks. These roadblocks appear in the form of policemen, attack dogs, angry mob and indifferent state government. At times, it takes a great sacrifice in order to rouse the masses toward a proper goal.
During the Civil War the Southerners used to harass the members of the press. Many editors such as Reverend Lovejoy suffered countless atrocities at the hands of southern plantation owners and slavery upholders. At times the members of the press had a hard time finding lodging in the South. During the Civil Rights movement members of the press suffered similar police beatings along with the activist they filmed. In Alabama, NBC reporter Richard Valeriani was struck in the head with the back of hammer while state trooper stood indifferently watching.
Reporting is a tuff job. Reporters have incurred throughout American history countless harassment. Even today reporters are met with cold shoulders in their arduous quest for truth.

NOTHING Like A Leaking Water Heater

NOTHING Like A Leaking Water Heater
By: Teresita Blanco
Published: 5/22/2010

I started my report on NOTHING on a warm Saturday afternoon. The breeze was ever so gentle and peaceful in my orange, gold color condominium “Savannah”. Mother had chosen today to travel to Miami Beach Hermit of Charity Chapel. We hoped to get an early communion thus allowing my family to stay in the beach without being impeded by our Catholic duties. The trip from Hialeah to Miami Beach usually takes about 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the traffic. Thus, this short trip served as a perfect opportunity to pursue my report on NOTHING. I sat in the back seat in my mother’s gray Toyota, my brother sat at her side.

The trip seemed uneventful until mother decided to take the new shortcut that she had researched on Google maps. You see my fellow readers; we had been running rather late (as usual). So instead of taking the Palmetto Highway, she proceeded to take the Okeechobee shortcut. As I started to doze off I became aware of the unfamiliar territory. The first sign appeared in the form of a poor black beggar. This sight is NOTHING unusual for Miami. Mother lowered the window and gave the poor man a bit of money. As the houses began to grow more shanty and the gangster started crowding each passing streets I began to curse Google maps under my breath.

Earlier in the evening mother had tried to find a direction in Google but it led her directly to an address in Louisiana. This seemed like an early premonition of the untrustworthiness of such a program. Yet, mother chose to follow its directions. My report on NOTHING had become rather dangerous. Mother started to sweat beneath her white blouse and I began to laugh nervously while looking for any familiar landmark. Mother gave a sharp “U” turn as we fled in the same direction we had come from. By now it was far too late to go to church thus we opted to go to Applebee’s to celebrate our narrow escape.

As I look back on my trip, I cannot but feel pity for the poor black men from that neighborhood. Their neighborhood was the only one cursed with the Metrorail’s presence looming over the horizons. They have always been marginalized not just by whites but by Hispanics, Muslims and Asians. They have always had the short end of the stick, as the saying goes. In comparison to them, I must say I live like a Queen. I may have a crappy air conditioner, a leaking water heater, but at least I do not have to worry about being mugged.

May America be preserved from the British, the Barons, the Senators, Rockefeller…

May America be preserved from the British, the Barons, the Senators, Rockefeller…
By: Teresita Blanco
Published: May 17, 2010
The press from its early formative stages in the American Revolution has served as fuel for igniting the masses rage toward their oppressors. They have an uncanny talent for sensationalizing an events and blowing vague accounts out of proportion. What characterizes the Muckrakers and the early revolutionary writers is their desire to stir public opposition toward those that hold the power over the common people. For the Muckrakers, the oppressors appeared in the form of the senators, barons and the filthy rich oil industry owner John D. Rockefeller. During the American Revolution, writers like Samuel Adams denounce the maltreatments that the colonist of Boston suffered under the British military control. In both instances the members of the press served to inspire the masses to take action against their oppressors.
In the 1920s, the Muckrakers’ impact lied in their veracity. Their highly accurate, vivid descriptions of rotten food and Senators vices served to implement changes in both government and the economic sector. During this time there was a transition from newspapers to magazines as the main medium of communication. On the opposite end, Revolutionary writers relied heavily on newspaper articles. These writers had the uncanny habit of creating miniature historical fictions and labeling them as facts. In numerous occasions writers like Sam Adams wrote fictional accounts describing the British officers rapping of old ladies or harassing pretty maidens with indecent request. Both groups utilized sensationalism in order to raise public awareness of injustices. However, Muckrakers relied on vivid descriptions, revolutionary writers relied on exaggeration.
Regardless of the methods implemented both types of media had a strong impact on the American masses. Revolutionary writers like Tom Paine gave inspiration to Washington’s troops in his Crisis essay. Muckrakers are directly responsible for the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act. This law assured buyers that vendors did not sell you a squirrel calling rabbit meat. Both groups trigger broad social changes. The revolutionary writer triggered a shift from colonialism to democracy in America. Muckrakers forced the corporation centered government to return to its democratic roots. Thanks to these groups we today enjoy a government for the people by the people.

Out With the Old in with the New: Evolution in Media Reporting Style

Out With the Old in with the New: Evolution in Media Reporting Style
By Teresita Blanco
Published May 10,2010
In September 11, 2001 the terrorist group Al-Qaeda destroyed the Twin Towers and leveled half the Pentagon. This unprecedented event created a wave of terror over the American population. Infuriated the people cried for war. Pacifism became a synonym for terrorism. Bearing under the pressure, media broadcast became censured. As the war progressed, skepticism toward the media started to develop. These skeptics sought out to write differing antiwar opinions in Internet blogs. By 2004 there was a media shift from investigating reporting to internet blogging.

The new medium of information allows for reports to assess numerous of sources within seconds. This new form of reporting has allowed for reporters to cut down on both traveling and monetary expenses. However, due to the internet saturation with random information, the reporter finds it rather difficult to obtain liable information. Thanks to the war, traditional reporting lost credibility. In order to survive, reporters were forced to adopt a new style of reporting.

Similarly, the 60s media revolution was triggered by dissatisfaction created by the war. The growing tensions created by the Vietnam War triggered a shift in the media’s style of reporting. The medium changed from print to broadcast television. In the 60s, reporters used live broadcast television as a tool to speak against the injustices perpetrated by the government. There was a shift from pro-war to pacifism. The media tools used by the 60s generation to carryout social justice became commercialized in subsequent years. The massive corporate controls of media broadcast television and newspapers laid the foundation for Internet Blogging. The cooperation’s control of content has caused media news to lose its stronghold on American society. Once again reporters were forced to evolve in order to maintain an audience.

After learning this new information, I obtained new appreciation for the different types of mediums for transmitting information. Each medium raging from the newspaper to the Internet has its own unique impact in the time they were implemented. I learned in class that as certain mediums becomes obsolete reporters must device new ways of obtaining and reporting information. In doing so, reporters are able to adapt to modern times.

For Better or for Worse: Media’s Hold over the American’s Mind

Drawn by Teresita Blanco

For Better or for Worse: Media’s Hold over the American’s Mind

By: Teresita Blanco

Published: May 5, 2010

The media has helped shape the American lives in many diverse fashions. Ideally the news media must remain bipartisan in their transmission of the news.  Yet, this is not always the case. It is important to remember that reporters must make a living with their stories. At times the bare truth does not sell properly. Thus, depending on what news sells best to the public is the attention that such an incident receives. In doing so, the media helps shape the American’s public opinion by highlighting what it believes to be of importance. All other events that the media considers insignificant must fall into oblivion.

The media’s influence can be observed in the coverage of the swine flu. During this period, the media made emphasis that the first bearer of the virus had been a pig. Due to the unfortunate name, the selling of pigs seriously plummeted. It got to such extremes that these industries begged the media to rename the virus. Thus, the swine flu was dubbed H1N1. In another instance, the media’s arrogance influenced the public’s opinion regarding foreign powers.  During World War II, the media depicted the foreign Japanese as uncivilized savages. This helped to lower the guards of the Americans and thus the United States was unprepared for the audacious attack at Pearl Harvard.

A similar case can be observed during the McCarthy Period.  During, this period the news media focused on the treats of the communist Soviet Union. The fear of communism in America reached its peak during Cold War. Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy led a nationwide campaign against those whom he believed where communist spies and sympathizers with the Russians. The media’s coverage of his anti-communist crusade served only to put fuel into the American’s hatred toward communism. Thus, the media served only to increment the paranoia toward communism. The media at times serves as a beacon of truth. During the Civil Rights Movement, the media helped raise public awareness of the injustices carried out by the racist South. The cruelty displayed in the images recoded by the media helped the Civil Rights Movement to obtain many followers and sympathizers. Thus, the media served as a tool for carrying out social justice in America.

For better or for worse, the media has shaped American history in numerous ways. Its power to drive the masses into action has triggered both miracles and catastrophes. Despite its many flaws, the media serves an important role in informing the public of the events occurring within and outside the country. The reporter is faced with the harsh decision to either uphold the truth or bend it for his own monetary gains. In doing so the reporter, as the agent of the media, helps shape America’s future.