I found a blog entry linked from the Daily Kos which was a refreshing read. The writer is a democratic female under the name "ProgressForAmerica." The blog entitled, "Why, as a Reasonable Women, I Cannot Vote for Hillary Clinton" voiced the writer's respect for Clinton along with her doubts concerning Clinton's run for the presidency.
Instead of ranting and raving about the failures of the Bush administration and the Republican party in general, the writer points out the faults of the Democratic party throughout the past 15 years which have curbed their attempts at the White House.
I was surprised that I found the entry on the Daily Kos, but I'm glad that I stumbled across it on a site that I usually not prone to exploring. It just goes to show the extensiveness of the internet as a medium of information.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/22/165642/08
Friday, November 23, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Harvard Youth Follows Campaign Trail in New Hampshire
I was reading a political blog on The New York Times website entitled "The Caucus" when I came across an entry that described the actions of a group of Harvard students who are participating in an academic project called Campus Voices. The students are attending campaign events, interviewing young and older voters and campaign staff, writing about these experiences and filming some stories in New Hampshire.
After I clicked through the site, I came across many unique features I have not found on other political web sites. First of all, I liked that Campus Voices acts like a detached third party. It is not the candidate and the staff talking up the candidate and the staff, and it isn't't the news media talking about the candidate. It is young people talking about their first hand observations and genuine impressions of the candidates and their campaigns.
It has first hand interviews with people who support both Democrat and Republican candidates. It is informative, but also personal because the students blog about their day to day experiences and impressions.
The site is definitely one that I will bookmark and access as a genuine source of Election 2008 news.
Campus Voices
After I clicked through the site, I came across many unique features I have not found on other political web sites. First of all, I liked that Campus Voices acts like a detached third party. It is not the candidate and the staff talking up the candidate and the staff, and it isn't't the news media talking about the candidate. It is young people talking about their first hand observations and genuine impressions of the candidates and their campaigns.
It has first hand interviews with people who support both Democrat and Republican candidates. It is informative, but also personal because the students blog about their day to day experiences and impressions.
The site is definitely one that I will bookmark and access as a genuine source of Election 2008 news.
Campus Voices
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Quotes of the Week
I've been thinking about a way to spice up my blogging every week, and I believe I have a new feature that may inspire me to keep writing, and hopefully you to keep reading.
Every week, the media broadcasts quotes from celebrities, politicians, and other prominent figures in society saying something controversial, opinionated, and sometimes, just downright stupid. The majority of the time, these comments are critical of the Bush administration, the Iraq war, or our country in general.
For this blog post, and hopefully from here on out, I will try to compile these quotes (along with other controversial occurrences like movie or song releases) from both the left and the right (to the best of my ability...although I admittedly lean right) which stir up controversy and make the American public reevaluate whether they would like to continue to invest financially or support this particular public figure whether it be a movie star or a politician.
Here a few that I have heard this week:
Rosie O'Donnell: "You'd have to literally, I think, to get impeached, take the Constitution out of the museum, put it on the floor and have George Bush literally take a dump on it. That is the only way that we are going to get people to understand the magnitude of what he has done." (Speech over the weekend at Hunter College)
Mark Cuban: "You see, Mr. [Bill] O'Reilly thinks that movies are a tool used by terrorists, and any Anti American faction as motivation to hate us and everything we stand for even more than they already do. I'm not sure that terrorists and those who are Anti American need any more motivation , or if they are even capable of hating us even more than they do. We are at war. There are people willing to be convinced to blow themselves up to kill as many of us as possible. Anytime, anywhere." (Blog entry concerning the new film "Redacted" financed by Cuban and to be released in theaters soon)
Every week, the media broadcasts quotes from celebrities, politicians, and other prominent figures in society saying something controversial, opinionated, and sometimes, just downright stupid. The majority of the time, these comments are critical of the Bush administration, the Iraq war, or our country in general.
For this blog post, and hopefully from here on out, I will try to compile these quotes (along with other controversial occurrences like movie or song releases) from both the left and the right (to the best of my ability...although I admittedly lean right) which stir up controversy and make the American public reevaluate whether they would like to continue to invest financially or support this particular public figure whether it be a movie star or a politician.
Here a few that I have heard this week:
Rosie O'Donnell: "You'd have to literally, I think, to get impeached, take the Constitution out of the museum, put it on the floor and have George Bush literally take a dump on it. That is the only way that we are going to get people to understand the magnitude of what he has done." (Speech over the weekend at Hunter College)
Mark Cuban: "You see, Mr. [Bill] O'Reilly thinks that movies are a tool used by terrorists, and any Anti American faction as motivation to hate us and everything we stand for even more than they already do. I'm not sure that terrorists and those who are Anti American need any more motivation , or if they are even capable of hating us even more than they do. We are at war. There are people willing to be convinced to blow themselves up to kill as many of us as possible. Anytime, anywhere." (Blog entry concerning the new film "Redacted" financed by Cuban and to be released in theaters soon)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
When I toured The Daily News Leader in Staunton, Virginia last fall, we were introduced to a contributing cartoonist who they could not afford to keep on staff, but regularly contributed to the paper. He had drawn and published the cartoon of the crying Hokie mascot of Virginia Tech surrounded by the mascots of neighboring Virginia universities after the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy. The cartoon was picked up by many newspapers nationwide.
I know that cartoon touched me and many other students nationwide who displayed it on their Facebook and Myspace pages. I had never before thought of cartoonists as journalists until I saw that cartoon. However, they tell stories just as well, if not better, than an article you could read about the same subject.
Therefore, I just wanted to quickly post a link to a cartoon web site I found with a political twist.
Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist's Index
I know that cartoon touched me and many other students nationwide who displayed it on their Facebook and Myspace pages. I had never before thought of cartoonists as journalists until I saw that cartoon. However, they tell stories just as well, if not better, than an article you could read about the same subject.
Therefore, I just wanted to quickly post a link to a cartoon web site I found with a political twist.
Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist's Index
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Since we've been talking about the importance of the "art" of newspaper layout design, I decided this week to investigate the websites of several cable news outlets and newspapers.
I don't have that much experience with web layout design, but from what I've learned in my multimedia production, web communication, and the introductory SMAD classes, I think I get the gist of it. As a constant visitor of such sites, I know what turns me on and turns me off.
First up...FOXnews.com
This site had one main photo of an Islamic woman on the right side of the page which immediately grabbed my attention. From there, my eye was directed in a clockwise fashion to the right and I was hit by an advertisement exactly the same size as the first photo. An immediate turn-off. I could barely tell which one was the story and which one was the ad. Then I began my neverending scroll down the page. Thumbnail photos were everywhere under the different categories found in a traditional newspaper. More ads could be found on the right hand side of the page as well. Fox is known for the "Fox Effect" on television which is in your face moving, loud, and large images and sounds. I could see this clearly reflected in their web page.
Second up...NYTimes.com
I don't have a subscription to the NYTimes, so I'm not sure if their web page is a direct replica of their newspaper layout design. However, it is undoubtedly of the same importance considering so many who do not live in or near New York access one of the nation's greatest newspapers online. Immediately, my eye was drawn to a photo of Afghans standing over and looking down at several coffins adorned with flowers and photos of those lost. From there, my eye didn't really have a clear path to follow. On the right hand side, below the main photo there was an automobile ad proportional to the Afghan photo similar to the layout reflected on FOXnews. Unfortunately, when I rolled my mouse over it, it became even larger, almost taking up the width of the page. The page also included several thumbnail photos, but they were contained to the middle of the page, and the links to the other areas of interest where listed neatly at the bottom of the page. I did not have to do nearly as much scrolling.
Lastly...CNN.com
Definitely my least favorite. Honestly, it looks like that our class could design a page like this ourselves. Nothing on the entire page drew me in or made me want to explore any of the stories. The main photo they had on the page was on the left top hand side. It was bland and boring and almost looked pixelated. My eye had nowhere to go, thumbnail photos were scattered everywhere, and it was extremely text, or should I say link, heavy.
So what I got from critiquing some of the largest news sources out there was this...they are trying to cram as much information as they possibly can on their home page so you can choose what you want to read at it and go directly there .I believe the term we learned for these sites in Web Communication was "non-linear structure." Basically, it's a free-for-all. Perhaps a little chaotic, but I don't really see a way to get away from that. However, what I was most surprised was the lack of the use of compelling photographs. Most were just thumbnail shots of recognizable faces.
I don't have that much experience with web layout design, but from what I've learned in my multimedia production, web communication, and the introductory SMAD classes, I think I get the gist of it. As a constant visitor of such sites, I know what turns me on and turns me off.
First up...FOXnews.com
This site had one main photo of an Islamic woman on the right side of the page which immediately grabbed my attention. From there, my eye was directed in a clockwise fashion to the right and I was hit by an advertisement exactly the same size as the first photo. An immediate turn-off. I could barely tell which one was the story and which one was the ad. Then I began my neverending scroll down the page. Thumbnail photos were everywhere under the different categories found in a traditional newspaper. More ads could be found on the right hand side of the page as well. Fox is known for the "Fox Effect" on television which is in your face moving, loud, and large images and sounds. I could see this clearly reflected in their web page.
Second up...NYTimes.com
I don't have a subscription to the NYTimes, so I'm not sure if their web page is a direct replica of their newspaper layout design. However, it is undoubtedly of the same importance considering so many who do not live in or near New York access one of the nation's greatest newspapers online. Immediately, my eye was drawn to a photo of Afghans standing over and looking down at several coffins adorned with flowers and photos of those lost. From there, my eye didn't really have a clear path to follow. On the right hand side, below the main photo there was an automobile ad proportional to the Afghan photo similar to the layout reflected on FOXnews. Unfortunately, when I rolled my mouse over it, it became even larger, almost taking up the width of the page. The page also included several thumbnail photos, but they were contained to the middle of the page, and the links to the other areas of interest where listed neatly at the bottom of the page. I did not have to do nearly as much scrolling.
Lastly...CNN.com
Definitely my least favorite. Honestly, it looks like that our class could design a page like this ourselves. Nothing on the entire page drew me in or made me want to explore any of the stories. The main photo they had on the page was on the left top hand side. It was bland and boring and almost looked pixelated. My eye had nowhere to go, thumbnail photos were scattered everywhere, and it was extremely text, or should I say link, heavy.
So what I got from critiquing some of the largest news sources out there was this...they are trying to cram as much information as they possibly can on their home page so you can choose what you want to read at it and go directly there .I believe the term we learned for these sites in Web Communication was "non-linear structure." Basically, it's a free-for-all. Perhaps a little chaotic, but I don't really see a way to get away from that. However, what I was most surprised was the lack of the use of compelling photographs. Most were just thumbnail shots of recognizable faces.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Living in a Depressed America
Americans are depressed...
about their country.
An article in USA Today by Susan Page says that Americans are largely unhappy with the current state of affairs with their country. Now is not too much of a shock considering we are involved in a highly unpopular war and political parties seem to be more split than ever, but the numbers are quite staggering.
According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll taken October 12-14, 72% of those polled are dissatisfied with how things are going in the USA. The article states that, "Not since April have even one-third of Americans been happy with the country's course, the longest national funk in 15 years."
It goes on to say that "The war in Iraq is a major drag...," and even though the economy is doing quite well, "the sense of insecurity, the sense of anxiety of what the future might hold that's having a downward effect."
So what I've been thinking is this...we have almost a year to the day until the 2008 presidential elections. Can Bush do much in that time to boost his approval ratings and instill confidence pertaining to the direction our country is going back into the American people? Should he even bother to try? In my opinion, probably not.
So who can help? The media. And what can be done? The media can point out what is going right in Iraq. It can balance air time between photos and videos of the accomplishments made by our thousands of troops with the aftermath of suicide bombs. I'm not saying the media should ignore the horrible reality that is war, but let's see both sides, for the sake of our country and for the sake of those who have loved ones there. I see no disadvantage whatsoever in doing so. Those who are against the war are still going to be against it, and those who support the war are still going to support it.
A year before voting, a nation of discontent
about their country.
An article in USA Today by Susan Page says that Americans are largely unhappy with the current state of affairs with their country. Now is not too much of a shock considering we are involved in a highly unpopular war and political parties seem to be more split than ever, but the numbers are quite staggering.
According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll taken October 12-14, 72% of those polled are dissatisfied with how things are going in the USA. The article states that, "Not since April have even one-third of Americans been happy with the country's course, the longest national funk in 15 years."
It goes on to say that "The war in Iraq is a major drag...," and even though the economy is doing quite well, "the sense of insecurity, the sense of anxiety of what the future might hold that's having a downward effect."
So what I've been thinking is this...we have almost a year to the day until the 2008 presidential elections. Can Bush do much in that time to boost his approval ratings and instill confidence pertaining to the direction our country is going back into the American people? Should he even bother to try? In my opinion, probably not.
So who can help? The media. And what can be done? The media can point out what is going right in Iraq. It can balance air time between photos and videos of the accomplishments made by our thousands of troops with the aftermath of suicide bombs. I'm not saying the media should ignore the horrible reality that is war, but let's see both sides, for the sake of our country and for the sake of those who have loved ones there. I see no disadvantage whatsoever in doing so. Those who are against the war are still going to be against it, and those who support the war are still going to support it.
A year before voting, a nation of discontent
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