BTS: Doolittle Reunion Week

(NOTE: in the spirit of a personal credo I initiated for covering events on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, this, like my previous one on the Obama visit, is another overview of an article that wasn't published but one that I want to post concerning my participation as a private citizen and military retiree)

Four B-25 Mitchell bombers fly past the National Museum of the United States Air Force on April 18 in a 'missing man' formation to honor the Doolittle Raiders.

During an earlier episode of journalistic 'stamina', I covered two events in different cities on the same day (the Santorum and Romney campaign rallies before Ohio's presidential primary back in early March).  In my summary, I described the logistical and physical tolls that reporters sometimes face when given similar assignments.  If I include travel time, those two events only spanned the period of just around nine hours.  In comparison, they were done in the amount of time most people spend at their jobs, to include a lunch break.  Although I ended up coming down with something, these conditions were not very arduous and are considered normal for journalists who follow major candidates as they crisscross the country every four years.  With that experience in my recent past, the next milestone would be covering several events that take place over a multiple number of days and, in the case of the recent Doolittle Reunion activities, at different locations.  Needless to say, I was up for the challenge.

Keith Olbermann on ABC's "This Week"

(NOTE: This is only meant to be a short posting and is not a full-fledged follow-up to my previous entry about Current TV that will come at a later date.)

Keith Olbermann, center, joined (from left to right) George Will, Peggy Noonan, Donna Brazile, and Matt Dowd on the roundtable for today's "This Week" program (graphic courtesy of ABC News)

Earlier this week, I read that Keith Olbermann, recently of Current TV, was going to appear on ABC's "This Week" Sunday morning political news and analysis program as a panelist for their roundtable discussion today.  Other than an appearance on CBS's Late Night with David Letterman the Tuesday after his firing (and a sighting in New York City's Central Park this past week), Keith has tried to stay out of the public spotlight and this would be his 'reemergence' in journalistic/opinion circles.  I normally tune in for "Face the Nation" at that time but I did switch over to ABC to see how he would do in this setting.

A First!!!

Today marks a milestone in my slow but steady journey of becoming a journalist.  Pictured above is the first media credential I have ever been issued to cover a newsworthy event.  For previous assignments, I had to rely upon pre-planning or special access to events in order to attend and report back on the proceedings (and I had my disappointing experience with President Obama's recent trip to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base).  While I did get access to the recognized media area during the local Romney town hall meeting last month, I think that approval was more due to a time and resource crunch and as a favor on the staff's part because there really wasn't a mechanism in place to verify my claim for a credential request (I did ask for one in my RSVP for that event that was never acknowledged).  After I showed several forms of identification to the Secret Service, I was given the 'all clear' and allowed past the area's 'gate keeper' to mingle among the other journalists in attendance.  Today's events ran much smoother and I will detail them below.

BTS: "Hoodie" Rally

Dayton's Courthouse Square stage before the April 1 'hoodie' rally began.

This item is a little hard for me to write because of the subject matter and its polarity within the local community as well as the nation in recent weeks (it continues to be one of America's most divisive 'third rail' issues).  Racism is an unfortunate part of life in this country and in others around the world and the 'hoodie' rally that I covered on April 1 used it as an overt theme to help bring out the area's African-American community to that event.

Guest Paper: Dayton Weekly News

While not meeting the geographical conditions I originally established for this feature (and I've stretched those rather thin in an earlier entry here), I am highlighting a local periodical for this 'guest' paper spotlight.  Although a resident of this area for most of the past 12 years, I never heard of the Dayton Weekly News prior to the 'hoodie' rally I attended this past Sunday.  During my coverage of that event, I had the good fortune of talking with two photographers who regularly provide images to that paper.  The publication also got mentioned during the program by several speakers.  And when I went across the street looking for some water after the rally ended, the store I stopped by had copies sitting out on their newsstand.  I do believe in coincidences (and fate) so I plunked down my 'four bits' and walked out with the edition pictured above.

A/V: Dayton Holds 'Hoodie' Rally for Slain Florida Teen

 A young boy holds a sign demanding racial justice during Dayton, Ohio's 'hoodie' rally Sunday afternoon in support of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

On an unseasonably warm day in early April, a crowd estimated between 200 to 300 people gathered at Dayton's Courthouse Square, many in hooded 'hoodie' sweatshirts and jackets, to show their support for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old Florida youth who was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman inside a gated community he was visiting in late February. The rally was organized by the Reverend Jerome McCorry, president of the Adam Project, Inc., a faith-based non-profit organization chartered to help men face the many issues after their release from prison.  Several other high-profile members of Dayton's African-American community were also on hand to address the crowd and to show their personal support towards their group's shared goals of social harmony and equal justice for all under the law.