Journalism or Bust!: August 2012

One Year In

Posted by JoB at 6:00 AM Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Journalism or Bust!, the online documentation of the actions taken in my quest of achieving a lifelong dream of becoming a journalist. Over that span, I've upload 78 items here about a wide variety of subjects and personal experiences with the intent of showing an evolutionary improvement in my skills and overall journalistic perspective. I've completed three classes in my UMass program and will be taking a journalism ethics course in the fall term.

I'd like to thank the folks from all around the globe who have come by here either by accident or perhaps on purpose. A few of my posts have been very popular (the Obama rally in Columbus last May, the Santorium event outside Cincinnati back in March) and Blogger is showing that over 5,000 pageviews have occurred over the past 12 months. Granted, this is just a drop in the bucket when compared to the volume of visits The Huffington Post, The New York Times and other media "giants" see on a daily (or even hourly) basis but I'm not doing this for the exposure (or any revenue). Right now, this blog is a labor of love that I will look back at in a few years' time to help me gauge just how far I really advanced towards my goal.

Year #2 starts today...I can't wait!

Creating a Publishing Platform: Frank Rich

Posted by JoB at 1:40 PM Monday, August 20, 2012

[NOTE: I listened to Frank Rich this morning during the last half hour of The Bill Press Show on Current TV and that reminded me that I just wrote about him during my recently completed Intro to Online Journalism course. I was to find and analyze the online channels used by my favorite writer and detail how they use them to capture audience attention and create conversations. Just thought that I should share the assignment, which was written in the middle of July, with my readership.]

If given the choice of any writer I would aspire to be (or one that would require a natural disaster for me to miss their latest work), the hands-down choice would be Frank Rich. A one-time theater critic turned op/ed columnist, Rich has been one of the leading progressive voices in America’s ‘mediascape’ for the past decade who came into his own during the country’s lead-up to the Iraq War and the later years of the George W. Bush administration. On a weekly basis, he penned hard-hitting 1,500-word columns on politics, current events and culture which anchored The New York Times’ expanded ‘Week in Review’ section in their Sunday editions from 2005 until early 2011 when he left to join New York Magazine. Rich has slowed down just a tad at his new employer (he now does a monthly column and weekly ‘interview’ sessions with editor-in-chief Adam Moss) but this new tempo has not diminished his veracity nor his desire to seek out the truth from among the multitude of media outlets and political operatives. While already a devoted weekly reader, his 2006 book The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth and its blistering expose of how Bush and his team ‘rolled out’ a campaign to coerce the American public to sanction a war with Iraq cemented his place as my favorite writer.

My Media Weekend

Posted by JoB at 11:15 PM Sunday, August 19, 2012

[NOTE: this article addresses what I experienced last weekend, not the current one. I really have to start focusing on my deadline "issues".]

From top clockwise, the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the unveiling of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential nominee, and a promotional graphic for the movie The Campaign

After a week of getting reacquainted with my job and completing the final project for my Intro to Online Journalism course, I had the chance to relax a bit and take in some television and movie watching and get back into my regular routine of sampling the many media sources I have access to.

Mitt Romney's Pending (and Perhaps Only) Presidential-level Decision

Posted by JoB at 12:17 AM Saturday, August 11, 2012

(NOTE: this is my final project for JOURNAL 397W, Intro to Online Journalism. I was tasked to create a comprehensive profile on a subject of my choosing and present it as a multimedia feature through pre-selected online tools--I relied upon Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, and the Google News data aggregator. Once compiled, I was to then use Storify to bring those images, videos, quotes, and tweets together and display them in a blog setting. Luckily, that site provided a code that allows me to embed the piece here just like it appears at the original location. Unfortunately, I cannot insert a "jump break" within the Storify item so you will have to scroll through the entire posting when navigating on my page.)

(UPDATE: while I was finishing the project and preparing it for posting, it appears that Mitt Romney announced that he will introduce Wisconsin representative Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential pick at a campaign event this morning in Norfolk, Virginia. The Storify piece was updated at 1:30AM on the 11th to reflect this information.)

(FOR MY INSTRUCTOR: when prompted for the embed code, I opted for the "HTML for SEO" option. I hope that will give me some extra credit points ;-) )

View the story "Mitt Romney's Pending (and Perhaps Only) Presidential-level Decision" on Storify Mitt Romney's Pending (and Perhaps Only) Presidential-level Decision A look at the current media speculation surrounding the process of selecting a person who could be a heartbeat away from the presidency in a Romney administration. Storified by · Fri, Aug 10 2012 20:00:53 undefinedGo During the "Dog Days" of July and August in American presidential election years, one of the major stories that occupy flagging summer news cycles is the process of selecting running mates for the two major political parties' presumptive nominees. Unlike 2008, when there was not an incumbent running for re-election and both Republicans and Democrats announced their general election "tickets", the GOP has all of the attention this time around and the media is in a frenzy trying to guess who Mitt Romney's vice-presidential selection might be.

Not deliberately trying to sound "wonky", but there are some basic rules that apply to all potential nominees. Since the vice-president is first in line for US presidential succession in case of the primary's death, incapacitation, resignation or removal from office, they also need to meet the same qualifications that the person at the top of the ticket does. Those guidelines are spelled out in Article II of and the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution:
Qualifications for the Office of President of the United StatesNo person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be el... With the basic requirements covered, we can now look into the political 'calculus' that is used in choosing a running mate. For example, while not mandated, a vice-presidential candidate should be from the same party as the presidential nominee. Perhaps the greatest consideration given to a potential selection is based upon geography. One common misconception about the selection of a vice-presidential candidate involves the state of residency of the prospective running mate. While Article II and the 12th Amendment stipulate that electors shall "vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves", this applies only to the Electoral College participants, not the actual nominees, according to Snopes.com:
snopes.com: President and Vice-President Must Be From Different StatesClaim: The U.S. Constitution requires presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be from different states. Origins: While browsing ... Geography may be important in terms of the overall popular vote total and "bragging rights" between the parties, but it is absolutely critical when envisioning potential paths to securing a majority of votes in the Electoral College. In our current "red" and "blue" state system, a candidate from a "swing state" could help secure its electoral votes to the ticket and put them over the 270-vote total to secure victory. The following video clip is a primer on that 18th century scheme that still applies to our 21st century elections:
How the Electoral College Workscgpgrey Demographics can also play an integral part in the decision process. If polling indicates that a presidential candidate needs to improve their standing among a certain ethnic group and/or gender, their vice-presidential pick might be a person who meets one or more of those qualifications. In 2008, to improve his standing with female voters, Republican candidate John McCain picked Alaskan governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. In this current election cycle, with President Obama doing very well among women and Hispanics, Romney may have to make a similar targeted selection:
Should Senator Marco Rubio Be Mitt Romney's VP Choice?antichristcomes Condoleezza Rice Floated as Potential VPwsjdigitalnetwork Kelly Ayotte dodges VP questiontoddfein Another factor considered key in this specific cycle is ideology. In the past, party tickets have been "balanced" to extend a small concession to voters who might not be in total agreement with the presidential pick. While Romney is the presumptive Republican nominee, he has a very spotty conservative record and hasyet to win over the hearts and minds of that party's base, with many of those voters simply not trusting him to carry out the policies that they favor. To help secure that group's support, he would need to focus on potential running mates who have a solid reputation concerning fiscal and social issues with that constituency.

A CNN poll, conducted earlier this week and released this afternoon, provides other qualities that Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP want to see in Romney's vice-presidential pick:
CNN Poll: What Republicans want in their VP nomineeWashington (CNN) - They don't get a say when it comes to whom Mitt Romney will pick as his running mate, but a new national survey indica... According to many sources, his "short list" of candidates consists of four (although some list up to eight) individuals who have supported Romney during the Republican primaries and/or have actively campaigned on his behalf since he secured the nomination in late May. Any news outlet worth their salt has already opined about who they believe the front-runners are and I am providing a balanced sampling of their accounts here for background:
Romney's Top 4 VP Prospects: Pros, ConsAs the Republican convention draws near, speculation is mounting as to whom presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will select as his... KENDALL: Romney's Vice President PeachesAs GOP presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, comes down to the wire on his vice presidential pi... Orlando Sentinel Today's Buzz: Who will win Romney veepstakes?(JESSICA RINALDI, Reuters ) It's getting time for Mitt Romney to announce his pick for vice president, and the speculation is unstoppable... Reading the VP Tea Leaves: Vision EditionFor hundreds of years, various cultures around the world have practiced the art of tasseography, in which the pattern of leaves at the bo... Romney's Former Running Mate Says What She Thinks About The Potential VPsKerry Healey would know a thing or two about some of the qualities is looking for in a running mate: The last time he picked one, he chos... The following infographic from The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, provides a concise "north of the border" overview of Romney's possible choices for the post:
Folio: Picking a running mate - Mitt's method.The Globe and Mail - Design & Graphics Social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, are also very active with prognosticators and proponents with their personal perspectives on Romney's pending pick:
RT @onthemedia: Want to know Romney's pick for VP? Look for a frenzy of Wikipedia edits. http://wny.cc/NbgfoPKedase Derragar Poll: Rubio tops list of GOP favorites for Romney VP http://usat.ly/OOiDQ2#.UCVTw8Bmnvs.twitter via @USATODAYTony Phyrillas RT @cnnireport: Condoleezza Rice insists she won't run for VP, but iReporters still yearn for her familiar face: http://at.cnn.com/bamIJohn Grist Is Mitt Romney about to announce Ron Paul as VP?http://www.whiteoutpress.com/articles/q32012/could-vice-president-ron-paul-be-in-the-works/Whiteout Press PAUL RYAN is at the top of the GOP Popular Voters' list to be Mitt Romney's VP Pick.Black Political Buzz Romney does not want a VP nominee that will outshine him, I think he will pick Senator Rob Portman from Ohio as his Vice President.Shaun Daily It was not my intention to publicize my own prediction here because I do not want to be proven wrong in a public venue; however, the odds are good that he will make a "safe" pick (former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, sitting Ohio senator Rob Portman) rather than a "Hail Mary" (former Florida governor "Jeb" Bush, current CIA director David Petraeus, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, sitting Florida senator Marco Rubio) like the 2008 Republican nominee did when he chose Palin.

Both campaigns are making the most of the speculation "buzz" period. As of this posting, there is no anticipated schedule for Romney's announcement but, with the 2012 Summer Olympics winding down and the Republican National Convention starting later this month, it will probably be made sometime next week to give the two politicians the opportunity to formally campaign together before August 27th. Not wanting to wait until after this person is revealed, the Obama team is proactively targeting potential Republican vice-presidential candidates to take away some of the polling "bounce" a campaign normally receives when the announce their pick.
Obama camp picks at possible Romney VP choices - Google22 hours ago ... Obama camp picks at possible Romney VP choices ... allies aren't waiting for Republican Mitt Romney to reveal his ... To attract people who must know a half-second before everyone else who is connected to the Internet finds out about the Romney pick, they can download a free smartphone app to their iPhone or Android device.
Who will be the VP? Download the app and you'll be the first to find out: #MittVPundefined And if they do not have such a device, there might be another way for them to "scoop" everyone else, courtesy of Wikipedia:
How to Spot Romney's Vice President Pick in Advance | TechPresidentThe Romney campaign wants you to download its mobile app to be among the first to find out who Mitt is going to pick as his running mate,... In closing, while this is a quaint quadrennial ritual of American presidential politics, all of the "hullabaloo" this time around might be all for naught. Recent polls show the president increasing his lead in the important "swing states" of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia in the wake of brutal negative advertising by both campaigns prior to their respective nomination conventions. With Election Day less than three months away, and unless something monumental happens to counter this Democratic-leaning trending, this race might be over even before it formally begins.
President Obama is leading Romney in national polls, including Fox News pollPresident Barack Obama would receive 49 percent of the vote compared to Romney's 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup if the election wer... Will Mitt Romney's VP pick make a difference?Romney is reportedly on the verge of naming his running mate, and the press is breathless with anticipation. But maybe it's time to chill...

Guest Papers: Vacation Edition (Part 4 and Final)

Posted by JoB at 11:12 AM Monday, August 6, 2012

Here is the last grouping from my trip back to Ohio on Saturday, featuring papers from the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. My only regret is that I could not find copies of The Onion or Politico in any vending machines around the District. Represented are Washington, DC (The Washington Post, The Washington Times), McLean (USA Today), Frederick (The Frederick News-Post), Morgantown (The Dominion Post), Charleston (The Saturday Gazette-Mail), Washington (The Observer-Reporter), Pittsburgh (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Tribune-Review), Wheeling (The Intelligencer) and Columbus (The Columbus Dispatch).