A/V: GOP "Architect" Visits Dayton

Republican political consultant and policy strategist Karl Rove speaks at a book signing event at Books-A-Million in Beavercreek, Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

For an hour this past Sunday afternoon, many at an Ohio bookstore gathering were introduced to an American presidential election held in in the late 19th century to help them gain perspective on the very interesting political atmosphere in the present day. Karl Rove, a former deputy chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration and a man whose name is ubiquitous within Republican political circles, visited the Beavercreek, Ohio Books-A-Million store to sign copies of his latest book The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters.

A/V: Carson Rally at Cedarville University

Dr. Ben Carson speaks to attendees at a rally held for the Republican presidential candidate at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio on Tuesday afternoon.

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson made a campaign swing through southeast Ohio on Tuesday to help bolster his rising favorability polling numbers after a respectable showing during last week's second GOP debate. Sandwiched between a morning event in the Cincinnati surburb of Sharonville and an evening Right to Life Foundation fundraiser in Dayton, he paid a visit to the campus of Cedarville University located in the shared named Greene County village. The Baptist evangelical school provided the appropriate backdrop for Carson to share views on his life, faith and  politics to the capacity crowd assembled in the Dixon Ministry Center's Jeremiah Chapel. Prior to the start of the rally, Dr. Carson took questions from media members outside that venue during a 15-minute press availability where he further elaborated about comments made during a Sunday interview with Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press television program concerning religious criteria for presidential contenders .

Journalism's "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad" Week

(NOTE: I was going to use this phrase for a post back in February when the Brian Williams career "inflation" imbroglio, Jon Stewart's retirement announcement and the deaths of CBS News reporter Bob Simon and New York Times' columnist David Carr all happened in a very short span; however, this past week's events have greatly outdone that earlier gloom and deserve the headline.)

Three separate (but unequally tragic) instances happened last week that created seismic-like waves in the journalism world

I call myself a "citizen journalist"--one who currently practices the tenets of this profession in a "when I can get to it", part-time role. I do not rely upon this activity to support myself financially and have been largely absent here over the past eight months. I also conduct it without having to put my personal freedoms, my reputation, or--as horribly depicted on live television--my life on the line. Unfortunately, all three of these examples were witnessed last week and I feel compelled to comment on all of them as a member of this extended "family".

A/V: Ohio Governor Throws Hat into Very Crowded GOP Presidential Ring

Ohio governor John Kasich addresses the crowd attending his "special announcement" event at the Ohio Union building on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus last Tuesday morning.

In a 45-minute speech last Tuesday teasingly advertised as a "special announcement", Ohio governor John Kasich became the latest candidate to announce their bid for the Republican nomination for president in the upcoming 2016 cycle. Ending all suspense for the gathering's reason near the 18-minute mark, he said, "I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support, for your efforts because I have decided to run for president of the United States." He made this declaration from the atrium of the Ohio Union on the campus of the Ohio State University, his collegiate alma mater and the location where he first expressed his desires for pursuing a political future.

A/V: 2015 SPJ Region 4 Spring Conference

Athens' Ohio University played host for the 2015 SPJ Region 4 Spring Conference.

The Ohio University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted members from all across the organization's Region 4 area (Michigan, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia) for its 2015 annual professional development Spring Conference on March 20-21 in Athens, Ohio. Over 150 journalists, educators and other associated personnel came for the unique networking and mentoring opportunities with other attendees as well as the staff of the institution's  nationally recognized E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

A Review of My "Year of Application"

In a practice that--thanks to our ever-increasing reliance on electronic devices--is becoming less frequent, humans switch out their calendars in the annual event of "ringing out the old and ringing in the new" around this time of year. It serves as an opportunity of reflection, introspection and resolve to guide us along our paths in the new year. While I have no wall hanging to change out, I do have this blog to browse through for that same purpose. According to my first post for the year that just ended, 2014 was supposed to be my "year of application" and to spread my journalistic "wings" and, except for the tailing off near the end, I think I can claim success.

In that submission, I talked optimistically about using the skills I acquired through my then-recent completion of my Certificate of Journalism from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the lead-up to being laid off from a job that I held for a little over five years (that was alluded to as a "year of transition").  I initially established a schedule that I would follow for my posting of new content onto this site that was slowly cast aside based upon wavering levels of interest as well as opportunities taken (and ignored) throughout that 12-month period.

Here's a breakdown of my 52 posts last year:

In Memoriam: Stuart Scott

An undated photo of ESPN sportscaster/host Stuart Scott who succumbed to cancer earlier today at the age of 49.

It was just before 11am this morning when I saw the news about the passing of longtime ESPN sportscaster/host Stuart Scott when it popped up in my Facebook newsfeed via a friend's status update. I knew that he had been ill of late but denials of unfounded rumors of hospice care in early December were the last time I noticed any news about his condition. Although he put up a very brave 7-year fight, Scott succumbed to appendicial cancer, an extremely rare variety of this disease that affects about 1 in 9 million Americans and also was a factor in the death of legendary actress Katherine Hepburn back in 1993.