Watching

In regards to Ken Burns "The War"
“This is a great victory for the Latino community and for our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much for the defense of this nation,” stated Rivas-Rodriguez, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin who leads the project that documents the Latino role in the war. I'm not sure there is a great victory here - Ken Burns is only including two Latino stories during the 15 hour, seven parter series. If they sacrificed so much for the defense of their nation aren't they entitled to more than just two stories? I think the campaign made a tremendous stepping stone in getting PBS and Ken Burns to change their mind, but I think there needs to be more Latino presence. I didn't watch last Sunday, but I will be tuned in this Sunday to see how much light they shed on the contributions of the Latino community during the war.

Ashamed

I've never thought about news reporting and disabilities until reading this article (http://www.spj.org/dtb5.asp). The only time I've seen disability issues on the news was covered in an inspirational type story. I shouldn't admit that I didn't even think about "the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy, most reporters missed stories about the failure of building evacuation plans to include wheelchair users." Last week during the anniversary of 9/11 the media covered the progress we've made as a nation to be safer and the lives of the police, firefighters and the children of the victims, but I never heard or read a story about people with disabilities. I think this relates to the fact that media doesn't regularly report disability issues and we're programmed to only think about what's being covered. I think there is a real need for public awareness, we're talking about 20% of our nation's population being completely being disregarded by journalists.

Disappointment

The news coverage on September 11
I can't understand why we are fighting a war on terror when we have Bin Laden on every TV screen. Aren't we giving him the media coverage and attention he wants? Aren't we suppose to be fighting against him? When I turned on the TV, especially on this day, I should be remembering the lives that were lost, supporting our troops (regardless if you're for the war or not we should support these men and women), our countries accomplishments since that tragic day and looking toward the future of our great country. Instead I feel like the media captured the fear Bin Laden wants to create by playing his tape and telling America what still needs to be done for our safety. I just don't get it.
On to a not so serious topic, Britney Spears . . .
I'm not a Britney Spears fan, but leave the poor girl alone. If I wasn't so addicted to The Hills I might have to ban MTV. They clearly weren't rooting for Britney to have a come back, they wanted her to fail and get all the ratings that went along with it. Isn't she 25? Okay, I'm close to that age and I can't imagine having two boys, being divorced and having no stability in my life and then having it publicized to the whole world. She needs to be left alone, so she can figure stuff out, I imagine that's hard to do when you have bulbs flashing in your face 24/7. And what is with being so hard on the way she looked? After I have two sons I hope I look like that. She probably should have worn more clothing, but I think it kind of goes with the Dove Beauty campaign. Women don't have to look like Britney did when she was a teenager to be gorgeous. But I do have to say Britney put some underwear on or if you don't want to then wear pants.

News Habits

I get my news from various sources depending where I am when I want to get it. If I'm at home I either watch the local news or FOX News station. If I'm at work, in class, at Starbucks or somewhere I can't access a TV I get my news online. Every now and then on my way into work or class I pick up a newspaper, but to be honest it's usually to do the crossword or Sudoku. I either watch or read the news at least once a day, unless I'm on vacation when I try to escape from it all. I probably spend on average 30 minutes to an hour seeking news. I tend to want to know the weather, the latest on the war, the celebrity gossip, what's the latest on Capitol Hill and the traffic.
I've never thought about media and their coverage of race or gender or sexualities or disabilities before. I think as far as gender goes they typically concentrate on males more - I hardly every hear of a woman committing a crime they tend to mostly be the victims. I could be wrong, but I think the news tends to show the minority groups more in the wrong than in the right.
I'm excited about being in this class for the Fall semester and applying it to my real job come May 2008.