MediaCAP10

Crazy in the news room

2006-06-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today there were many deadlines to meet because our final presentation is due tomorrow. Everyone was working hard today getting all their drafts polished and typed and rehearsing for the news cast act. I have been given the task to do the introduction to the act and informing the audience what our project is about. Since I was absent yesterday i had to work twice as hard as everyone else, but i still finished it by the end of the day. I hope we do well tomorrow.

- Jonathan

Our Mascot, Thick Skin

2006-06-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Our CAP has chosen a mascot. Our mascot embodies the thick skin and ethics required for great journalism. We named our mascot Thickskin and below is a picture of him.

LAYC FIELD TRIP

2006-06-22T10:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first time visiting the Art and Media part of the Latin American Youth Center. It was interesting to see other students art work.The sound effect of traffic in the basement was also a new experience, being that it sounded so real. The smell of upstairs brought back memories of fingerpainting in kindergarden. When we enter the computer lab we learned about the different types of air-waves. There are public, private, and corporate radio station. I learned about NPR( National Public Radio), its a radio sation from the 70's with adults talking with each other about various topics. It was also fun to hear teens voicing their opinions over different genres of music.

--Darryl "J.R" Estes

My Reflection on the medicap10 experience

2006-06-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

MediaCAP was a public policy program, which teached students about the media, and how it related to public policy. Within the three weeks, we learned many interesting things about media and the types of media through various trips, movies, and discussions. I learned alot of things that I could use in everyday life about media. At the beggining of this CAP, I can honestly say that I thought it was going to be a very boring capstone, because it was introduced that way, but as the days went by I realized that my thoughts were wrong. Before this program, there were many things that I didn't know about media so, I was surprised to learn so many things that had to with media. I also learned about the first amendment, and how it is used alot in creating certain types of media. The first amendment is the freedom of speech, the press, and the right to change the government if it is not fulfilling it's job. We visited many places that explained this, and many different secrets about the media, and its expectations. Overall, I learned many different things regarding media, and how it is used for many ways. For example, entertainment, gossip, and information. We met many different people that made a difference in media like ombudsmans, journalists, and editors. I really enjoyed my experience being o in this CAP, and I hope that many other people get the opportunity to experience something like this, because I think that it is something that many young youths, or even older people can enjoy and learn alot from.
~~~ASHLEY

Commercial announcement: The woodsfinn skin thickening rope.

2006-06-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Kelvin: How is your job going?

Erick: Man it stinks.

Kelvin: Why?

Erick: Because I don’t have a thick skin.

Kelvin: Me too.

Soraya: I have a solution for your problems.

Erick: what's that?

Soraya: It’s the woodsfinn skin thickening rope.

Erick: Come on lets try it.

Soraya: Lets go.

Kelvin: This commercial was brought to you by the woods Finn skin thickening rope corp.

Soraya Chavez, Erick Villalta, Kelvin Ferrufino

First Omblogsman Ever !!!

2006-06-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

On June 20, I was chosen to be the first ever omblogsman. As omblogsman I will evaluate issues of public concern and try to adjust the entry with the utmost objectivity. I will also seek an honorary membership in the ONO, the national Organization of News Ombudsmen, and also inquire about fellowship oppotunities they offer. I will serve as Mediacap10's omblogsman for a year, until the next omblogsman is selected next June. Every Saturday, I will go through the blog and read the comments that are left on each article. On Sundays, I will write a column, addressing public concerns and comment on the accuracy of an article.

MediaCap10 Omblogsman
*** Capriko Robinson***

The New Republic

2006-06-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the building where The New Republic is written. there we met many people that has something to do with what is put in the magazine. The first person we met was Richard Just who is the deputy of the magazine. He told us the history of the magazine and how they operate. He did a good job making sure we knew the difference between the news and The New Republic which was that news is objective and The New Republic is opinionated. Another thing that is different about the news and The New Republic is is that The New Republic isn't as diverseas they should be and the news is. Also at The New Republic there is no ombudsman meaning there is no one to make sure the journalists are being objective because the purpose of the magazine is to express ones opinion as long as the information used to support arguments are accurate. Even though The New Republic is opinionated they still operate like a regular magazine by sending journalist out to places and gathering information to support the argument that they are going to make. This magazine is left meaning democratic.When asked what The New Republic meant he couldn't give an definite answer but said when the magazine was started in 1914 every other piece of news was conservative and they wanted to come out of tradition and show that something better is possible.
The second person we got to meet was Rob Anderson. he is George Town graduate who edits, writes and deals with the technicalities of The New Republic website. On their website you can look at articles in the magazine, online articles and even visit their blog The Plank. He explained the difference between online media and what's printed in the magazine. The differnce is that online media gives you a quicker response to the news. Even though online media gives a quicker response to news it has its downfalls such as not having many people read the article before it is published which produces not that good of a quality article.
Our group also got to meet Ryan who is the whitehouse reporter for The New Republic who was the first to rate is job a perfect ten. his job is to meet with the presidential candidates and profile them. some of the candidates for the 2008 presidential election that he has already interviewed are Hillary Clinton (democrat) and George Allen (republican). Once someone is elected the beginning of their term is his main focus and towards the end he starts to interview future candidates and this cycle continues. He believes that once a person ask the people for the power to make decisions everything they did that contributed to making them the person they are should be told as long as the information is accurate. therefore nothing is private except the lives of the children and the first lady. This is a very interesting statement.
The fourth person we met was Marrissa who is in charge of fact checking, editingand foreign policy. Her job is very interesting. I say this because most foreign policies are made her in the Distric of Columbia. Also because of the genocide going on in Darfur and seeing how the other countries react to whats going on. Her job is also pressuring because she has to make sure that each article written is did so accurately ever since the controversy with Steven Glass who made up satories and used unaccurate details.

The last person we met was Mike who has been working with The New Republic for six years. Before coming to The New Republic he has done work for the Boston Globe and the Boston Pheonix. His job is to go to congress and question state Legislaters. He likes congress because people just walk around with no body guards and he can walk right up to them and ask them any question. Also because at congress there is a lot of gossip and many social networks for journalists which makes it an easy place to write about.
Overall this trip was a great experience and voted second best trip of the mediacap10 project. Thanks TNR for taking time out of your busy schedules to talk with us we really appreciate it .
Written by Van J. Reed

Rate Your Job...

2006-06-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Throught the course of our CAP, Rashad Saleem has asked the people we meet to rate their job on a scale of one through ten. I have made a chart of how people rated their jobs. Only those who mentioned their job on bad days were graphed with a different number on the x-axis of the graph.

Click here to see it.

--Italo Cruz

Our Visit To The Progress and Freedom Foundation

2006-06-19T18:17:00.001-07:00

Today, we went to the PFF, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and met Mr. Adam Theirer, who is a senior fellow there. Mr. Theirer has about 15 years experience working in public policy think tanks. Among them all, he specializes in media and communication laws and has written 5 books mainly about mass media and 1st Amendment law. He gave us each a copy of the book Media Myths : Making Sense of the debate Over Media Ownership. He told us that when media began, there was no first amendment and that people would deem something they read in a newspaper unacceptable. He also told us that even back then , the media was somewhat tainted because to publish papers, they used the system of patronage, where one wealthy person would sponsor a paper, and because of this the sponsor could dis/approve an article for publishing. ( What Mr. Theirer taught us about patronage was also in Good Night and Good Luck, when CBS aired stories about Sen. Mc Carthey, ALCOA did not really want to sponsor them.) Mr. Theirer also told us that the news was more partisan in the early days, as opposed to how objective it is today. After WWII, he told us that the media became more democratic. he told us that we are fortunate because if we question a source or type of media, we can choose another branch of media beacuse our generation has a "media abundance". He also told us that he advocates media freedom,that corporations and commercialists should step in as fit, and that they their freedom should be excerised when, how, and where ever they wnat it to. He feels that gov't should not regulate the "soapbox" of media because it encourages tainted media and does not allow open media speech.

-- Capriko Robinson

THE ATTACHED SISTERS IN MEXICO

2006-06-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

UNIVISION A HISPANIC NEWS SAID THAT TWO MEXICAN GIRLS REGINA AND RENATA WERE BORN ATTACHED BY THE ABDOMONS. IT SAID THAT THE TWO SISTERS WERE ATTACHED FOR ABOUT 10 MONTHS. THE SISTERS PARENTS SONIA AND FEDERICO TALK ABOUT HOW WORRIED THEY ARE ABOUT HOW THE OPERATION IS GOING TO GO. I THINK WHAT THESE TWO PARENT ARE GOING THREW IS VERY HARD BECUASE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE TWINS BECAUSE ONE OF THEM CUOLD DIE OR BOTH OF THEM COULD DIE AFTER THE OPERATION. THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE NEWS REPORT IN IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH IN THAT THEY ARE GIVING IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND SOMETIMES ONE THE NEWS REPORTS ARE GIVING DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVIDENCE AND SOMETIMES LEAVE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS OUT BUT THE OTHER REPORT MIGHT SAY WHAT THE OTHER REPORT LEFT OUT.

-ERICK VILLALTA-

The Origins of Thick Skin

2006-06-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

On June 16th, we learned through the film Good Night, and Good Luck. The film followed Edward R. Murrow’s coverage of Sen. Joseph McCarthy hunt for communists. The film also features roles played by George Clooney and Robert Downy Jr. The film is entirely in black and white, and uses real footage of congressional hearings and of Sen. McCarthy. The film leads us through CBS’s decision between keeping corporate sponsors and providing the public with an informative and controversial newscast. There are also side stories like Robert Downey, Jr. and his wife trying to hide their marriage from CBS employers, and the suicide of a CBS anchor. Murrow challenges Joseph McCarthy to reveal the evidence he uses against people he accused of being communists, and because of this McCarthy accuses Murrow of being a communists. McCarthy had very little proof for this and was eventually investigated by congress for his actions. CBS lost many sponsors because of the anti-McCarthy newscasts and decided to cut the newscasts to one hour programs that would run on Sunday afternoons, instead of primetime on Tuesdays. In this film, virtually every character smoked and drank hard liquor. This, the fact that Dr. Watson of AU told us that “News people love to drink liquor”, and that we saw a Russian news anchor on a smoke break outside of VOA led our CAP to believe that “thick skin”, which is necessary for a career in journalism, is created through the consumption of liquor and unfiltered cigarettes.

--Italo Cruz

Lenny Bruce....

2006-06-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

This post is about Lenny Bruce. I got words and phrases from the book The Trail of Lenny Bruce. The book was given to me by the author Ron Collins. Phrases in quoation marks are from the book.

Leonard Alfred Schneider (Lenny Bruce) was born in New York. "During World War II he served in the Navy on the U. S. S. Brooklyn, a light cruiser, and was discharged in 1946". After spending some time in odd jobs like in strip bars, he moved to Hollywood to study acting. In 1947 he changed his name to Bruce, because he said the Leonard Alfred Schneider sounded too way Hollywood. In the 1950’s, it was the breakthrough decade for Lenny as for many other comedians. Instead of Lenny who would rather be called Bruce because he thought his first name didn’t stand out to the people. His humor was just way to much for people to stay and listen. Bruce also worked and did performance in strip bars in Brooklyn and Baltimore. That is where he met a stripper, "who worked under the name Hot Honey Harlowe". Bruce later married her in 1951. Bruce appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show and Steve Allen Show, where he drew national attention with his daring act such like making fun of taboo, religious views, blacks, Jews, homosexuals, and many other disturbing but funny topics. He was also very famous to saying the “dirty words”. The “dirty words” are these bad word that you couldn’t say in public television, these word you would most likely hear on Showtime at night. In the 1960’s, it was a special times that Bruce. He got to think about what he has done in a nice, cold, dirty jail cell. In 1961 Bruce was thrown in jail and charged for the things he did. In those time he was not allow to perform in Britain, England, and Australia. His material gotten so dirty that he couldn’t perform them inside night clubs or strip bars. "This eventually lead up to the “HOW TO TALK DIRTY AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE“, by Hugh Hefner in 1963". It appeared in Playboy over the next two years and in books. This is something that protected Bruce to say anything he wanted in his performances but to the police it didn’t matte. In this time when he did a performance he saved his dirty act to the end because he wanted the people going to his act to have a nice time and with all the cops there, he just really wanted to test them. "In spite of all the pressures from the police, court system, and other groups of people, Bruce refused to clean up his language". "All my humour is based on destruction and despair". If the whole world were tranquil, I'd be standing in the breadline, right back of J. Edgar Hoover" he once said. "In 1964, Bruce was convicted of giving obscene performances at a Cafe in Greenwich Village". In his later years Bruce became addicted to heroin. In 1963 he was found guilty of illegal possession of drugs. "Bruce died of an overdose on August 3, 1966, in his home on Hollywood Boulevard". He was 40 years old. During his time, he was fighting for what he thought was right. He thought that a man should be allow to do whatever he wants to say in his act and show not worry about it and get thrown in prison for it. "Bruce's in his daring way of breaking rules, and his “dirty words” influenced such comedians as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Robin Williams". This man changed the way in what is funny and what is not, what is good, what is bad, and so on. Sadly to say this man died in a way that no one should died. He was doing things that messed up his body. Still the memories and the things he did are still around and even though today young people might not of heard of him, he is still an important factor of how he change world around.

-Francisco Velasquez

Visit to the Freedon Forum in Rosslyn, Virginia

2006-06-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the freedom forum and met with Mr. Ronald Collins. He talked about the first Amendment and where he taught school. He has taught constitutional law and contractional law at the George Washington law school. He talked about himself; he went to the back and told us we can get some soda or some water for us to drink.\Three or four minutes later he came back with two of his interns, Eric and Lu. He started to talk about the first Amendment and why it is so. He said if there is 90% of truth and the other 10% is false that the "First Amendment sometimes protects the false not the truth". Sometimes we use the false speech to help us to learn from our mistakes in life. He gave us words to think about like fighting words and hate words. He explained about hate words like the N-word for black people and the H-word for the Jews. He asked all of us who should control information or if it should even be control.
Mr. Collins said sometimes Gov't does control some info., but that info. protects the public- for example, false advertising. Last he gave us an important quote "too much freedom could kill you". Freedom comes with a price. He said people should take risks in life but not stupid risks. I think that Mr. Collins is a great speaker and we learned a lot from him. We also looked at some important Freedom related artifacts and replicas; this inlcuded, but was not limited to: a piece of the berlin wall, a headless statue of Vladimir Lenin, and the prison door from a jail cell Martin Luther King, Jr was imprisoned in.

--Mark Pabico

The Questions We Ask

2006-06-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well, for a punishment for not going on one of the field trips I have to do this. This is not a problem. Anyway, this part of the blog is just writing down questions that my peeps and I ask on our field trips:

Questions asked at VOA- Voice Of America:
1. Why are you not broadcasted in the U.S.?
2. What do other countries think about you broadcasting in their countries?

Questions we ask at Freedom Forum:
1. What are the 7 bad words?
2. If you can rate your job between 1-10 what would it be?
3. Who do you think should control the media?

Questions we ask at the PFF- Progress and Freedom Foundation:
1. Who do you think should control the media?
2. If you could rate your job from 1-10 what would you rate it?
3. What are some myths about media in general?

Question we ask at The New Republic:
1. If you could rate your job from 1-10?( this question was asked 5 different people that day)
2. Where did the name "The New Republic" come from?
3. What is the difference between your magazine and the Washington Post?
4. What do think of the Steven Glass situation?

-Francisco Velasquez

Visit to the media wall at the Hirshorn gallery

2006-06-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

After our visit to the Voice of America students explored the media wall at the Hirshorn Gallery.

We debated the questions, "Is this art?" and "Can media be art?".

This just in: Chavez students meet Russian television personality at Voice of America Headquarters

2006-06-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Voice of America

2006-06-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today Cesar Chavez students visited VOA(Voice of America) headquarters. There we had a tour around the building where we learned about VOA and what it does.
Surprisingly not many people know what VOA is. VOA is a radio, tv, and internet brodcasting station that broadcasts objective news across the world in 44 different languages. Eventhough it is the Voice of America it is not broadcasted in America;That is why many Americans do not know what VOA is. During our tour we were talked to through transmitters that all of us were wearing. During our tour we looked into one of the studios; an anchor was reporting live to Russia. It was very interesting to see how it takes a lot of people to broadcast a certain piece of news to an area in the world. We learned that VOA is broadcasted on shortwave for countries that don't have advanced technology. Certain countries like China and Iran try to block VOA from being listened to by their people but still many try and get access to it.

VOA is obligated by law to be objective and precise. They are only allowed to report what happened and nothing else. They are not allowed to give their opinion because that may sway the thinking of others. They cannot leave out any part of a story and everything must be factual. During the end of our tour we learned the difference between VOA and other world news corporations like CNN. On CNN there are commericals and it is funded by various companies. VOA is strictly goverment funded. The money comes from American taxes. It's ironic that Americans aren't allowed to hear what we are paying for, but since VOA is now on the internet Americans can now get podcasts from the VOA news website (http://www.voanews.com/english/).

--Lavera Sawyer

You're obsessed with nutjobs; Plea Deal III

2006-06-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

When my CAP group met the ombudsman of NPR, I asked about Bill O’Reilley, conspiracy theories, and Ann Coulter. This led Mr. Dvorkin to announce that I am “obsessed with nut jobs” and then we all laughed. I, as once again part of my plea deal, will give some insight into who Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilley are and why the ombudsman of NPR, and registered independent, may think Ms. Coulter and Mr. O’Reilley are nut jobs, or crazies. Bill O’Reilley is a right-wing political commentator with a radio show, blog, podcasts, books, and of course a television show called “The O’Reilley Factor”. His show consistently rates among the highest rated shows on the FOX news channel. Bill O’Reilley is considered a nut job by Mr. Dvorkin because his reporting is based on “faith” and not enough on the facts. Bill O’Reilley has also been sued in the past for sexual harassment. A hypothetical falafel was involved. Ann Coulter is another right-wing nut job who has written many books, and has more recently made comments about the wives of some 9/11 victims. Her comments were, and this not verbatim, that some wives of 9/11 victims were enjoying their husbands deaths and using their deaths to make political points. It’s pretty obvious why anyone would think Coulter is a nut job, or a crazie. I am being biased in this posting by not talking about liberal nut jobs, but this was not intentional. I’ll write about liberal nut jobs later- as a part of my plea deal.

--Italo Cruz

Our Visit to NPR Headquarters

2006-06-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

On June 12, 2006 we visited the NPR headquarters which stands for National Public Radio. We met with the ombudsman of NPR. His name is Jeffery Dvorkin. He talked to us about what he does as an ombudsman and what NPR does as a media organization. He told us that his job is to be the public's representative to National Public Radio,to be empowered to respond to significant queries and to comment and criticize regarding NPR programming. He also shared with us that he is good friends with the ombudsman of The Washington Post, Deborah Howells who we met last week. NPR is a non-profit, public radio, media organization that does news and entertainment. Most of the money comes from listeners, to help keep the station running. While talking with Dvorkin, our class noticed that he and Deborah Howells of the Washington Post both thought that journalists do not get paid alot of money, and must have thick skin. After meeting with the ombudsman, we were offered a tour of the radio station. The person that gave us the tour was Chantal De La Rionda,along with a summer intern. Chantal is the assistant of the ombudsman.

--Andy Pham & Christina Manning

Ombudsman Weekly Column

President Nixon

2006-06-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

When president Nixon was in office running for re-election he sabotaged the democratic party to help him get back in office. This story became the biggest scandal in politics. The people that finally brought him to justice were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. They had got enough evidence from a person named Deepthroat who was the 3rd highest ranking in the C.I.A.
He gave the reporters all they needed bring Nixon to resign in the 2nd year of his second term.

Major Parties Could turn to MediaCap10 for advice

2006-06-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

Below is an account of the Yearly Kos, a blogging conference, written by Adam Nagourney in the New York Times Website. He reports that many of the Major Democrats attended the bloggers convention. Remember, most of the bloggers were ordinary people with a blog, just like ours. Perhaps both major political parties will turn to Mediacap10 for advice. Below the Yearly Kos article there is also a link to a big vlogger conference (Vlogcon) going on this weekend in San Francisco. Do you remember what vlog is?

Gathering Highlights Power of the Blog

"LAS VEGAS, June 9 — If any more proof were needed of the rising influence of bloggers — at least for the Democratic Party — it could be found here on Friday on the Las Vegas Strip, where the old and new worlds of American politics engaged in a slightly awkward if mostly entertaining clash of a meeting.

Potential presidential candidates, campaign representatives and Washington reporters were in abundance Friday at the YearlyKos 2006 Convention, a three-day gathering of bloggers in Las Vegas.

There were the bloggers — nearly a thousand of them, many of them familiar names by now — emerging from the shadows of their computers for a three-day blur of workshops, panels and speeches about politics, the power of the Internet and the shortcomings of the Washington media. And right behind them was a parade of prospective Democratic presidential candidates and party leaders, their presence a tribute to just how much the often rowdy voices of the Web have been absorbed into the very political process they frequently disdain, much to the amazement, and perhaps discomfort, of some of the bloggers themselves.

They may think of themselves as rebels, separate from mainstream politics and media. But by the end of a day on which the convention halls were shoulder to shoulder with bloggers, Democratic operatives, candidates and Washington reporters, it seemed that bloggers were well on the way to becoming — dare we say it? — part of the American political establishment. Indeed, the convention, the first of what organizers said would become an annual event, seems on the way to becoming as much a part of the Democratic political circuit as the Iowa State Fair.

"It's 2006, and I think we have arrived," Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the Daily Kos and the man for whom the conference was named, announced after being greeted with the kind of reception Elvis, or at least Wayne Newton to a more traditional Las Vegas audience, might have received had he walked into the dowdy ballroom at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. (Mr. Moulitsas was accompanied by a media adviser and bloggers snapped his picture whenever they spotted him.)

"Both parties have failed us," Mr. Moulitsas said. "Republicans have failed us because they can't govern. Democrats have failed because they can't get elected. So now it's our turn."

The ceremony and self-celebration notwithstanding, the actual extent of the blogging community's power is still unclear. For one thing, it was hard to find a single Republican in the crowd here, though organizers insisted that a few had registered. For another, as the presidential campaign of Howard Dean demonstrated in 2004, the excitement and energy of the Web does not necessarily translate into winning at the polls. " http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/us/10bloggers.html

Here are two links to stuff about vlogcon, the vloggers conference:
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1025_3-6082520.html
http://vloggercon.blogspot.com/

Plea Deal II

2006-06-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

On June 9, 2006, I attended the Chavez graduation at the Lincoln Theater. Once again, as a part of my plea deal with my public defender and the District Attorney, I was asked to blog on the graduation, and accompany it with photopicturegraphs. I was slightly overdressed for the event because I wore a suit to the graduation. I entered the theater only slightly wet from the rain, and found a place to take as many pictures as I could. I chose the seating area on the right of the theater and took photos of every speaker, and graduate. The first teacher I saw was Mr. Casimir, our computer guy. I try to take better and more photos than Casimir, but I always fail. After guests finished sitting down, the graduates entered the theatre to applause. I will be switching between spelling theater as “theater” and “theatre”. Brian Jerry carried the flag and walked on stage first.
The administration then walked on, and the teachers sat in the first five or so rows. All the teachers were dressed in gowns, and some administration members were also. Ms. Salcido, the founder of Chavez, was the first speaker. I, unfortunately, was not paying enough attention to say much about it because I was taking photos.

We were treated to a speech by Valedictorian Candice Dorsey, who teared up during her speech. The next memorable speech was delivered by a former Chavez student, who recently graduated from American University- I regret to inform you that I forgot his name, and have no program to consult. Mr. Garrett Phelan spoke next and titled his speech “Journey to Ithaca” after a place Odysseus travels to on his odyssey. Councilmember Kathy Patterson gave a short surprise speech, and next two members of the Chavez board of trustees spoke. The graduates began to receive their rolled up paper with ribbon one by one, and after that was done it was time for the most memorable speech of the event. Greg Barbieri spoke last and stressed the role teachers played in students lives, and described the administration as “sketchy”. I agree with Mr. Barbieri, but only because I am bitter about being held after school for thirty or more minutes. The graduates walked out, teachers followed, and last guests. Outside, graduates were bombarded by all sides with congratulations and such. Congratulations class of 2006.

--Photographs by Italo Cruz
--Written by Italo Cruz

The Graduation of The Class of 2006

2006-06-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

On June 9, 2006 we had a graduation. The class of 2006 were leaving us and going to start a new life as freshmen in college. But before they could do that, they had to graduated first. I decided to go to the graduation to say bye to some of my friends that I would probably never see again for a very long time. The graduation was going to take place at the Lincoln Theater. The Lincoln Theater is famous for having plays perform, famous jazz singers like Duke Ellington had perform there, and also the place where the 2006 Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School Graduation took place. The day for me started bad. I was outside waiting for the bus for i could get there and out of nowhere it started to rain. There was so much rain and I was soaking wet. When I got to the theater I didn’t want to sit because it was so cold and I just wanted to be warm. When I got there, there was Ms. Salcido talking and saying how proud she was of the students and just saying beautiful things about them. Later on we heard from the Class Victorian, people that had already graduated from Chavez, and also a very long poem from Mr. Phelan. I have nothing against from his long speech or poems because every time I listen to what he says it just makes me a little more wiser with life. Anyway then it was the big moment. The students walk to the other side of the stage and got there blank sheets with red ribbons. That right, when you graduated it just a white sheet of paper they give you. They would usually get the diploma later in the day or in the mail. But anyways the student went across the stage and when that was all over, they celebrated some more. After that the people were meeting outside the theater and everyone was taking pictures, hugging, laughing, and just saying goodbye. It was a great time and I cant wait to see how the class of 07 will do. --------------Congratulation Class of 2006, keep up the good work and the Chavez spirit wherever you go----------

-Francisco Velasquez

Chavez Students Learn About Watergate Scandal and Announce, "I am not a crook".

2006-06-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Washington Post

2006-06-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

On June 7,2006 The media CAP class took a trip to the Washington Post HQ. We met Ms. Kerry David who is the publication rep. of the post.We also met Deborah Howell the ombudsman of the post. An ombudsman is a person who takes in complaints from the city and tries to resolve them. Debra goes around taking complaints and seeing why they are important. She makes people try to fell good in their community. An ombudsman only works at the papar for a maximum of 2 to 3 years so that they don't become attached. If an ombudsman gets to attached their objectivity may become bias. I learned that an ombudsmna's job is never done.Complaints come in every day about columns and people. In the post people research and watch TV news for facts and details on what should be reported on. In the coporation they have meeting with all the editors from each section of the paper to decide what is important enough to the paper. I learned thatthe media is the transfer of imformation to a vas plain of people. The media is not just TV or radio it is also the newspaper it is one of the best ways of getting media, because it is always around in different forms cpmplicated or sorted down for others.It was a good experience and some people enjoyed it.

This is Deborah Howell, ombudsman of the Washington Post.

Chavez Students see Washington Insider, David S. Broder.

2006-06-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

On our trip to the Washington Post, Ms. Finn and Dr. Woods spotted Post columnist David S. Broder. I then approached Mr. Broader, while he was hailing a cab, and asked him for a photo. He said, "Sure" and I took the photo, and said thank you. We never saw Mr. Broder again.

--Italo Cruz

Check out our podcast.. shakin' the airwaves.

2006-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Are Minorities Targeted to Be "Gangsta, Gangsta"?

2006-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

The Blackweel- Synergy's Journal of communication has conducted a sample survey, why are minorities targeted to play "nitty gritty gangsta" roles in movies and on the telly? The authors, Dixon and Linz , conducted the project. The project's jist was to watch several different news programs on Orange County,CA television to get a ballpark figure of how blacks, latinos, and whites are conveyed as law breakers or enforcers. like we could have all guessed, the anwer looks a little like this : Blacks and Latinos vs .Whites. The news most frequently portrayed minorities as committers of crimes and as offenders . Even worse, it even goes to the marrow of minorities. Blacks are more than likely to play these roles on television, than Whites and Latinos. These portrayal rates , in the authors' views dont co-relate with L.A.'s crime rate; more Latinos are likely to commit crimes than Blacks. When the findings from the T.V were compared, overall, the results show that majorities are three times more overrepresented, Latinos-underrepped, and Blacks, neither. Is it better for a Balck person the be a crackhead than a White? Why , aren't they both crackheads?? Contemplate this before you see that "gory gangsta" flick this weekend. (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02845.x)
- Capriko Robinson

2006-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

AIDS in the African American community

"According to the 2000 census, African Americans make up 12.3% of the US population. However, African Americans accounted for 19,206 (50%) of the estimated 38,730 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States" (http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/aa/resources/factsheets/aa.htm). This is extremely dangerous because HIV/AIDS is not curable and most new diagnoses are because of the ignorance. The media did not do enough to inform people about HIV/AIDS and how they could have prevented contracting it.

Transmission categories for African American adults and adolescents with HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 2001–2004:
Even though young African Americans are the 50% of the AIDS population the African American community did not seem to care about the rising numbers. "Eazy-E was the first major hip-hop music figure who was not openly gay to die from AIDS. But instead of seizing this opportunity to educate, the media downplayed Eazy's death. MTV had devoted around-the-clock coverage to Kurt Cobain's suicide, but squeezed only a few paltry minutes on Eazy into their regular MTV News broadcasts. The New York Times and People offered slightly expanded obituaries, and BET seemed asleep at the wheel"(http://www.eazy-e.com/eazy-e-death.html). Eazy E's death was in 1995 and only now2006, has the African American community faced this issue.

Now that the issue is being addressed it is encouraged to get tested throughout the nation.

National HIV Testing Day, sponsored by the National Association of People with AIDS, is held each year on June 27th to encourage people to get tested for HIV and know their results.

So get tested and be safe!!

--LaVera

2006-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

The "Tainted" Media

According to hip-hop artist Styles P the media is proned to showing negative images of racial groups. Instead of showing the positive sides of certain groups like the African American community we display images that show violence because according to the media "that sells". "Good news is boring (and probably does not photograph well, either). This bias makes the world look like a more dangerous place than it really is. Plus, this bias makes politicians look far more crooked than they really are"(http://rhetorica.net/bias.htm).

I completely agree with this because if you watch the news most of what you are watching is violence or something that makes DC seem dangerous. I feel that a lot of the positive sides are unrecognized and forgotten. I believe this is the reason for some of the violence that goes on in American. When you work hard to make a difference and you are not recognized you stop trying. The media gives the impression that the only way to get onto television is to be selling violence or selling negative images. Because of this until the media is about saving lives and promoting positive activities instead of making money the crime rate will never decrease.

--LåVêrå §.

Gay Marriage Ban Loses In Congress

2006-06-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post reports Congress could not put the gay marraige ban in effect today because the bill didnot meet the 2/3 of votes, the votes stood at 49-48, 11 away from standard of 60 votes. Democrats believe that Repulicans shold be satisfied because " ...there's violence in Iraq, corruption in the House and anxiety in the markets. Somebody needs to create a diversion." Dems. thgink Republicans are takin the attn. from off themselves and trying to place it on something besides themselves. Niche media paper, The Washington Blade,sees the decision as " people in denial about current Affairs" John McCain steted that people have not yet grown to the fact that the leaders that the citizen s of the US rely on will more than likley "expand decisively the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples".
- Capriko Robinson

Plea Deal I

2006-06-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Due to a plea deal between my public defender and the district attorney, I will be watching two news broadcasts. I will be watching a local FOX affiliate, The O’Reilley Factor on FOX news, and maybe some CNN. It is currently 4:46pm and my journey with Biases in news doesn’t begin for another 14 minutes. From 5-6pm, I will watch the local FOX affiliate, and at 8pm I will watch Bill O’Reilley and some CNN. Judge Judy rules in favor of the plaintiff, and the news begins after some commercials.

A woman is cursing and the woman is black. Parents have been locked out of their children’s graduation at Eastern High. Shaun Yancy and Brian Bolter go to an on location black reporter. Pre-recorded video of the same woman who cursed at the beginning is shown. The school set-up a second ceremony, but only 25 students stayed for it. The parents paid $80 to watch, and according to a FOX 5 flashback this has happened before, and like at Eastern the majority of the people in the video were black. The son of the interim capitol police chief was attacked in an area close to the Capitol. The attack has caused larger police presence, and they begin to show images of the park. The images changed roughly every 6 seconds. A white tourist says they aren’t surprised about the attacks, and thinks it’s safer than he thought it would be. A teen was raped in the Seat Pleasant area by a male carrying a gun. House democrats are asking for President Bush to pay for credit watches on active duty troops whose “information” was stolen from a veteran’s affair employee. A story about taxi fares begins and they interview a white man who doesn’t trust the zoning taxis use. They then interview a black man from Anacostia or “far-flung areas” who likes the zoning method. Students in Maryland thought they wouldn’t have to take final exams, but found out they would. They interviewed two black students that took the test on paper and had to take final exams. Then FOX interviews a white student who took it online and does not have to take final exams. “It” is a Maryland standardized test. There’s now a story about tracking hurricanes. A white anchor covers it, and then leads into Sue Palka doing weather. Queen Latifah talks to FOX5 next. Black anchorwoman introduces story about Queen Latifah and the story features another black anchor as a narrator.

Bloggers is down at 5:40 pm.
Fox news ends.
Bloggers is still down at 7:54 pm.

Ann Coulter is on the screen. Now a woman named Sandy Rios is speaking with Bill about Ms. Coulter’s remarks. The news creep is rolling at the bottom of the screen, and the FOX news logo is blue and the other graphics are red. Ann Coulter will be on the Radio Factor tomorrow. Career rapist and a man charged with raping an actress is being charged again. Truck commercial, UPS commercial, TV Freedom commercial, John Hancock commercial, Orajel commercial, FOX news commercial, and O’Reilley is back! Two white people are now on the show talking with Bill about a man who has been charged with murder, and has past criminal history- including rape. One of the people is the author of the book The Constitution In Exile. O’Reilley says that releasing this man after raping a woman was “crazy”. More commercials- Capitol One commercial, Provident Bank commercial, and O’Reilley is back! Immigrants in Pennsylvania were trying to be deported, but were not because they weren’t breaking any state crimes. One has a warrant for child molestation. ICE would not arrest and deport the immigrants. O’Reilley calls it a “shame”. More commercials- Home Depot commercial, Liberty Mutual commercial, and O’Reilley is back! UN-effective; O’Reilley says he should come on FOX and explain his “beef”. I don’t understand what just happened, but O’Reilley believes the US should not have to take care of African problems like Darfur. “The UN is impotent” he says. O’Reilley is talking to Ian Williams from Nation Magazine. Mr. Williams says NATO and the West must solve in Darfur. O’Reilley says “UN peacekeepers are raping little girls”.

Bloggers continues to be down at 8:34pm.

More commercials- Mutual of Omaha insurance commercial, DirectTV commercial, NBA finals commercial, Toyota commercial, Home Again ID microchip commercial, and O’Reilley is back! Ann Coulter again; Ann Coulter would like Hillary Clinton to sit with her husband and talk to him about his raping of a woman and groping of another woman while her husband was committing suicide. Bill believes Ann Coulter-type remarks are hurting the GOP. The GOP strategist on with Bill believes Ann Coulter’s remarks aren’t heartless when put in context. Juan Williams, political analyst, says “Hurricane Coulter blows through”.

Bloggers is back up.

Air America is a “disaster” according to Bill O’Reilly, and he also says they are “despicable”. O’Reilley points out that the mainstream media covers Air America positively. Bill O’Reilley ends, and I have finished my journey.

--Italo Cruz

The Trip To The Latin American Youth Center

2006-06-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

The day June 6, 2006 or 6/6/06, was a day of many different opinions. People thought that the world was coming to an end and other where thinking elsewhere. I was thinking about the trip that we where going to take that day. Our CAP class was taking a trip to the Latin American Youth Center. Over there at the Latin American Youth Center of Art and Media we met with Mr. Stockford. He was going to be our guide and teacher for that day. He gave us a tour of the place and it a pretty sweet place to be around. We looked around and saw photos, paintings, drawings, and art works on the wall. We went to the basement where he showed us the surround sound stereo they have down there. When you hear that thing, it feels like you are actually feels like you are outside when you here the bus driving near or the kids screaming and playing. It was a pretty neat place to be at. I was liking that basement, if I could pay rent to live there I would most likely would. Later on that day we went up to the radio room where he taught us about airwaves and podcast. Airwaves are these waves that in the air and is all around us. They are used for like radio stations and television station purpose. They would buy these airwaves to make commercial and to have people watch or listen to there show. A podcast is something really interesting that we learned that day. I am still a little confuse on what they do but I think I know a little bit. A podcast is like a radio show that is shown on the internet. People go and listen to the show and you put a show for people to listen too. They are real neat and I would like to start one. I wouldn’t start one right know but maybe if I get to be 26 and living in my parents basement than den I would start a podcast for people to listen. They could also have people talking and you could put music playing in the background. Podcasting is some real cool stuff. Later on we just left the place and left with a more understanding of media. The Latin American Youth Center of Art and Media was a cool place to be at, so I hope that people reading this will go and visit the place because it is a fun place to hangout.

-Francisco Velasquez

2006-06-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

This blog is created by the 2006 Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy Capstone on the News.

Public Policy Problem:
What is the news and who controls it?

Subquestions:
How do people get information to make informed public policy decisions?

What kind of information do people need to make informed decisions?

Who should control access to information?

Should there be controls on access to information? If so, under what circumstances?

Does the media tell your story?

How does business influence the news?

How does government influence the news?

Can you influence the news?

What is the role of the media in a democracy?

What is the relationship between the media and public policy?

II: Stakeholders

1. Private media/Corporate Interests (ABC, CBS, BET, Christian News Network, Univision, Washington Post)
2. Public Media (PBS, NPR, Cable Access) vs. communist media (google)
3. New Media (blogs, podcast, myspace)
4. Indie Media (small, City Paper)
5. Government (FCC, Supreme Court, paid govt. consultants, Voice of America, broadcasts to Cuba from Maimi, Irqqui made by US govt.
6. Corporate interests in ads
7. Congress (legislation on media.. cable act on deregulation)
8. Public policy think tanks on media issues (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, watch dog groups)