Arriving at Fox 61 Studios on election night, I was nervous. I didn’t want to do anything that would affect the live show and being such a historic night and election I felt the pressure was really on. To be able to be at this place, and see how the news cast works is an amazing experience for anyone, especially for me being a young journalism major, albeit print. Walking into the studio the nerves subsided and I soon became somewhat comfortable being around the producers and live personalities that put the show together.

The somewhat serene studio became very hectic when it came time for the ten o’clock news broadcast and my nerves completely disappeared then because it seemed that everything was so hectic, and I was able to sit on the set of the morning show and watch the show live. It was amazing to see everything that goes into putting a news broadcast together, being so close to what was happening you could feel the energy, and the excitement of the historic night. It was interesting to see how the live personalities behaved when not on camera compared to when reading a story with the camera on them. Watching the show live you could see more of the slip-ups that occurred compared to watching it on television and you can see how the anchors just keep going; they don’t get caught up with the problems that occur.

Being able to be in the production room was an amazing experience as well. Seeing everything that goes into a live show from that aspect was quite an experience, I never knew it could be so difficult. Deciding where to put stories in the newscast, how long an interview should be, and when it comes down to it what stories should be cut all takes place in a somewhat small production office on the spot. While watching the producers it occurred to me that this is a job I could never do because I cannot make decisions.

Overall spending a few hours at Fox 61 Studios on election night was an amazing experience that I am lucky to have been a part of. This is an experience I will not soon forget and it has shown me more why I want to be a print journalist. Sitting next to a writer for the newscast, and the producers, I realized that print is more for me. Seeing the on air personalities that people watch every night was amazing and seeing all the hard work that goes into the production is something I am very happy to have been able to see.

Joe the Plumber and His Impact on Other Plumbers

In the third and final Presidential debate a regular civilian got his fifteen minutes of fame thanks to Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain. Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Ohio, became the topic of discussion after John McCain used his as a topic during the debate to prove that he is a better candidate for President than Barack Obama. Within the first question of the debate McCain began attacking Obama’s economic plan, as an example McCain used Joe. Joe Wurzelbacher, as McCain said, planned to buy the plumbing business where he has worked at for the past years. After reviewing the economic plan of Barack Obama, he decided not to buy the business because he would have to pay more taxes.

As Barack Obama explained during the debate his economic plan includes providing a tax-cut for middle-class families that make less than $200,000 a year. According to John McCain this would result in Joe being put into a higher tax bracket and his taxes being raised. It was later revealed that Joe the plumber, is not actually a licensed plumber and he owes back taxes.

How did plumbers react to their profession being put into the spotlight? After speaking to a couple plumbers about how they feel about the tax cuts for those making less than $200,000 a year the results were that they wouldn’t mind the tax increase for those who make more than $200,000 a year because they do not make more than that. After speaking to Frank Taryla, a plumber in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, he explained that for all the work he does he makes only $90,000 a year. He stressed the fact that he works all the time and believes that, “if a plumber is making more that $200,000 he is overcharging people, especially without a license. He is ripping people off, so he deserves to pay more taxes.” He also believes that Joe the plumber opened his mouth and McCain jumped all over it as a way to appear better than Obama. “We also found out in the papers that he doesn’t own a license so he cannot even own a business. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.” Frank Taryla explained.

After speaking to Ken Taryla, a plumber in Fair Lawn, New Jersey about Barack Obama’s economic plan he explained that “it does not affect us, we are an S Corporation. This means that we file an income tax return but we don’t pay federal taxes, we pay state taxes.” His taxes keep rising, and therefore they would vote for Obama who would provide a tax cut to them. The economic plans would not affect him because he doesn’t have enough employees, it is only him. “Buying out another person’s business would cause a problem,” he explained.

George Bush's 23% Rating

As of October 11, President Bush’s job approval rating is the lowest it has ever been of any president in history. At a staggeringly low 23% it seems that most of the country cannot wait for a new president to step into office and clean up the mess George Bush has made. With the promises of a better future from each of the candidates, what would people most like to say about George Bush during the last part of his presidency?

Many students asked are happy to see a new president stepping in to take place, “Yes, I am happy to see a new president stepping in because this country needs a change and starting with a new leader can begin to facilitate this change” said Sarah Reilly, a junior at Quinnipiac University majoring in English education. Agreeing with Sarah, Jennifer Gigliotti, a junior media studies major, says, “I am happy to see a new president step in. I hope with a new president the country starts to recover from the economic crisis.” Only Jake Riccardi, a junior PT major says “I’m sorry there is not a better candidate to take your spot.”

If students had the change to say anything to President Bush, most students seemed to want to say something along the lines of better luck next time, or sorry maybe next time, or just try again. Others like Jennifer Gigliotti would say, “I think some of your foreign policies were okay and that I felt the homeland security was good after 9/11 but as far as domestic issues the administration failed.” Karissa Masotta, a junior psychology major would say, “Everybody makes mistakes. Some of them just don’t cost the country $5 million, half of the military, and leave our economy in crisis.” Marla Waters, a junior advertising major, also said something along the same lines “You’ve ruined our country with your ideas about war and what a country should do to be superior because that is all you really care about, being on top.”

When students were informed that his job approval rating was only 23%, the lowest of any president in history they were not surprised. Jennifer Gigliotti put it best, “the 23% who say he is doing a good job, I feel they are either extremely rich or live under rocks.” Many believe that the shockingly low rating means it is really time for a new president to take office. “It’s to bad that he has such a low approval rating, I guess that means it is time for a new president,” said Sarah.

So George Bush, in the words of many Quinnipiac University students that was a horrible idea. Game over, try again?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2006/02/02/CU2006020201345.html

Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi on the 2008 Election

The times are tough now, just getting tougher
The old world is rough, it’s just getting rougher
Yesterday the people were at ease
Once the family felt secure
Now no one’s very sure
Your world keeps turnin’ ‘round and ‘round
But everything is upside down
There’s a different kind of meaning now
To livin’ on a prayer
Some don’t seem to notice
And the rest don’t seem to care
Its gonna be a long walk home


Woke up Election Day, skies gunpowder and shades of gray
We’d marked truth or consequence on our map
From the White House to the Alleys
From the President to Long Tall Sally
That’s gonna make history
You can read it in the papers
Its gonna be a long walk home


Walking in the footsteps of society’s lies
I don’t like what I see no more, sometimes I wish that I was blind
Sometimes I wait forever to stand out in the rain
So no one sees me cryin’, trying to wash away the pain
And it isn’t black and white
And it’s anything but grey
Anything can, everything can happen
It all falls apart with no warning
Don’t ask the past to last; it’s about to change
Its gonna be a long walk home


There’s a war outside still raging
I’ve been out on the front line
Where you’ll go down if you waste time
They’ll walk all over you
There are wars that can’t be won
Its gonna be a long walk home


But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
When times get crazy
It’s up and down, it’s hot and cold
These complications just keep on coming
Seems like hard times come easy
We do a lot of hangin’ on these days
Its gonna be a long walk home


It’s your last chance in this lifetime
The line forms at the rear
You won’t believe your eyes
Your eyes will not believe your ears
There’s treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Its gonna be a long walk home
And we’ll make our home in the American Land


http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

Article Comparison

On September 19, 19 people we taken hostage while on a safari in southwestern Egypt. On September 29, these hostages were released or rescued according to which article you read. The online article I read about this event is from The New York Times, the original report comes from The Associated Press. The print version of the story is from The Wall Street Journal. These two reports of events are completely different and the facts change.

The report in The Wall Street Journal seems like it comes as a sidenote to other, more important stories at the time of printing. It is printed on page 13 at the bottom of the page. The report only is only about a paragraph long and is misleading. The report says that Egyptian and Sudanese troops rescued the hostages and that half of the kidnappers were killed during the rescue mission.

The report by The Associated Press is much longer, and much clearer to understand. I feel that Marta Falconi, the writer for the Associated Press did more research and it resulted with a better, clearly written story. In the online version of this report it is explained that the six kidnappers were killed on Sunday morning when they were sent for food and fuel, the other two kidnappers were captured. The other kidnappers then received word of what happened and lined up the hostages and ran, leaving a car and GPS system. This would be instrumental in the rescue of the hostages, they used the car and GPS system to drive through the desert to the Egyptian border.

I would've expected the report in The Wall Street Journal to be more extensive than an online version of the story. I was disappointed in what seems like the very little amount of reporting The Wall Street Journal did. The story by The Associated Press is much clearer and easier to understand.

Social Networking Sites and The Election

It has been said many times that the outcome of the Presidential Election can be determined by one group, the youth voters. Those aged 18 to 24 can put a President they’ve elected into office for the next four years. Aside from being encouraged to vote, how else are these youths getting involved in the election? They are using every college student’s favorite social networking website, Facebook.

On Facebook you can be a supporter of the candidate you are voting for. Becoming a supporter of a candidate is like adding them as a Facebook friend; each candidate has their own profile like everybody else does. Each candidates profiles show their information, and they each have a wall, where people can write comments about why they support each candidate. On these Facebook’s they also have photo albums of the events that have taken place, and links to their other pages. Even Michelle Obama has a Facebook.

Not only have the candidates gotten themselves involved in social networking sites, but users of Facebook have also involved them. People have created groups that show their support or dislike for the candidates. There are groups that support the candidates and groups that announce the non-support of a candidate by others. There are groups called “One Million Strong for Barack Obama” while other are called “One Million Strong against Barack Obama.” This does not only occur with Barack Obama, there are groups called the same thing for John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Joe Biden.

Also making their way onto Facebook are motivational campaigns encouraging young people to vote. There are groups and profiles for Rock the Vote, Vote or Die, and Choose or Lose. These are organizations that use celebrities to encourage voting among younger people. After looking up each of the candidates on Facebook, it seems that according to who has become a supporter of each of them, Barack Obama is in the lead among the youths. He has 1,947,330 supporters, while John McCain only has 548,914.

LostRemote
I think LostRemote is a good site for people to use because it shows the news that people would never usually find on CNN, Fox, or NBC. It shows people the news in short paragraphs and allows you to click on the stories that you find interesting that you would like to read more about. It gives some stories that most major news sites wouldn't post, or would post in a corner that not many people would notice it. I think it is a good idea to only have short paragraphs of the news and allow readers to click on stories that interest them because this allows more stories to cross the readers eye and they might find something new and interesting. I feel like this setup is more efficient than a CNN website type setup where they only have one line about the story and you need to click on it to find out what that one line means. It could get annoying to a person to have to keep clicking back and forth, whereas on LostRemote you just have to scroll down until you find something interesting.