Politics in the Local News?

Tonight, I watched the NBC Local News at 11:00pm. While there were many stories covered throughout the half hour, only one, count em, one, was of a political nature. Now, you might say that this is normal, since it is the "local news." This may be true, but why do we need stories about how to find discontinued makeup? (Oh, and ladies, if your favorite shade of lipstick is no longer in stores, try beautyencounter.com haha). The only story about politics was about John Edwards and allegations that he spent some of his campaign money improperly. I agree that if you want stories about politics, anyone could just turn to CNN or Fox News and find some there. I do feel however that the local news should cover some more things about local government happenings. NBC did cover a few similar stories that CNN and Fox did today, such as the never ending Swine Flu, and the Dallas Cowboys training camp incident. They did however, place a more local spin on the Swine Flu outbreak, mentioning the reopening of the school in Queens where the first cases of Swine Flu were discovered in the US, and how the NYC Public Health Lab is testing for Swine Flu to help alleviate the backlog of tests that need to be done by the CDC.

What is good about the local news is that I heard stories that I never would have been exposed to. I mean, without watching tonight, I never would have gotten the warning about raccoon ringworm in Brooklyn. Plus, I now know what the weather will be like for the next fews days, and I can plan to play tennis accordingly. As discussed in class, it seems like the local news likes to cover subjects such as house fires and small robberies. An apartment in Newark burnt down, leaving hundreds of people homeless. Five men were also arrested in Long Island for breaking into dozens of cars and stealing Ipods, cell phones, and navigation systems. There was also a story about the International Reggae and World Music Awards in Queens, and the 2nd Annual Newark Hall of Fame Ceremony, where musician Bon Jovi and former Senator Bill Bradley were honored. And of course, there was a decent amount of sports coverage (about the last 10 minutes of the show).

Overall, the local news needs to cover more local politics, and focus less on entertainment and sports. If I want to look up sports, I can just check out Sportscenter. But hey, at least the local news isn't partisan.

An example of the kind of stories run on the local news. For those of you who love pineapples...

The Big Two

Usually, I am not an avid viewer of Fox News. Sometimes I'll watch it if my roommates have it on or if I am flipping through the channels and see something interesting, but for the most part, I'll watch CNN if any TV at all. My main source for news is through the NY Times, both in print and online. I will also glance through blogs such as The Huffington Post and Politico and read the Wall Street Journal from time to time. While I try to absorb a good mix of different types of news, I am undeniably persuaded by media partisanship to some extent everyday...and so are YOU!

But today, I sat down, coffee and Easy Mac in hand, and watched both CNN and Fox for an hour each. Both stations covered some of the same stories, including the Swine Flu outbreak and how the Italian car company Fiat, who recently acquired Chrysler, wants to purchase a part of GM also. CNN obviously enjoys covering the Swine Flu, as they discussed the issue for about five minutes. They gave up to date statistics on the amount of cases in the US and worldwide, and then had an interview with a member of the CDC stating that the virus may hibernate in the summer. Fox had a much shorter segment on the flu, where they discussed how Mexico's Swine Flu cases are leveling off, which could mean the outbreak is not nearly as serious as initially thought. CNN also covered the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys training camp facility in Texas due to strong storms there.

Fox News covered some stories that CNN failed to mention, including the flash flooding in the Philippines which has left many people homeless, and about Citigroup and how they may need to raise at least 10 billion dollars in capital to stay afloat. They also covered a story about alcohol bootlegging that is occurring on Navajo Indian reservations, and how alcohol contributes to violent crime on these reservations.

When it comes to politics, both channels definitely put a partisan slant on their stories, with Fox News being the bigger culprit. They ran a story about how Obama should not blame former President Bush and his administration for the problems he faces with the country since his first 100 days have passed. They said that Obama was playing the "blame game," and that he will use this excuse later on down the line if the economy does not improve. On the other side of the spectrum, CNN ran a story about "the week ahead" for President Obama, which included mention that he will be visiting three foreign leaders this week. They also discussed David Souter's exit from the Supreme Court, and the challenge Obama faces when choosing a predecessor. The buzz is that President Obama will likely choose a woman to accompany Ruth Bader-Ginsburg or someone young so that they will remain on the bench for years to come.

Obviously both channels see Mr. Obama in a different light. Where is objectivity in news coverage? While a little partisanship is alright, people need to be able to decide for themselves how to think about political issues. Fox News is blatantly partisan and they know it. CNN says they are more balanced, but in reality they lean more to the left. Maybe we should all watch international news a bit more, such as the BBC, because they are much more neutral. Or maybe we need a mix of different types of media to get the full picture. As long as our news media outlets are owned by huge corporations with their own agendas, partisanship will be the norm in most forms of news.

Jon Stewart vs. Katie Couric

Let me just say this now...I love The Daily Show and I think that Jon Stewart is hilarious. I've been to live tapings of the show on many occasions. I try and watch his show a few times a week if I'm not busy. While he is not the best source of news for people, if you already have an existing knowledge of current events, his show is absolute gold. He is able to put a funny spin on the serious news that we watch everyday. Now I know some people think that the show is stupid and has no point, but I feel it does get younger individuals involved with what's going on in the world. At least if they are not going to pick up a paper, they have some sort of background on current issues. Like discussed in class, the show may make people more interested in politics and such and encourage them to read the newspaper or watch other news sources. I'm glad that people like Jon Stewart exist, and can bring us the lighter side of the news.

I watched The Daily Show the same day as the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, which is posted below. Many of the topics discussed in the CBS news were also covered on The Daily Show, with a comedic spin of course. For example, Stewart mentions the Swine Flu and how the government is trying to shy away from using the term "swine flu." This is because the pork industry feels it may hurt their sales...they want the flu to be called the hybrid flu. He makes a joke that this would hurt the auto industry and their sales of hybrid cars. After this, he makes reference to VP Biden's gaff about air travel, and how out of sync VP Biden's comments were to President Obama's message to the people to just practice good hygiene. He also mentioned the Obama press conference, something the CBS news did not. Stewart makes fun of the major TV news outlets (MSNBC, Fox News, CNN) and how they perceived Obama and his first 100 days (the video is below!)

Then John Oliver, one of Stewart's colleagues (who I also find funny), had a random story about a group of scientist who are recreating the Big Bang. He interviews one of the scientists, and hilarity ensues. Calling him an evil genius who will end up destroying the world, he then interviews a high school science teacher to prove his point that the experiment will go wrong. While it is very silly, it gives us something different than the normal news that we see all the time.

Like all of these entertainment shows, there was an interview with a celebrity. Tonight, it was with Hugh Jackman, the huge star who was there to promote the new X-men movie. While nothing political was discussed, there were some funny moments, like about how Jackman's son (who is 8) uses his dad to pick up girls, and his experience hosting the Oscar's and singing with Beyonce on stage. I'm sure that these celebrity interviews attract many viewers, just as any of the late night talk shows do. Another hilarious Daily Show! Keep the jokes coming Jon!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Obama 101
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

The CBS 2 News With Katie Couric

On Thursday, April 30th, I watched the Evening News on CBS. The top story of the night was of course about the Swine Flu outbreak. While this was not the first story mentioned in the broadcast, it had the most airtime and people interviewed about it. The first story highlighted was about the Chrysler bankruptcy, which was the big topic of discussion on most of the major news channels throughout the day. Couric talked about how Chrysler was going to be restructured, not shut down completely, as the auto industry is a vital part of the American economy, and accounts for about 1 in 10 jobs in the US. The Italian automaker Fiat will own a majority share in the company, which could mean more fuel efficient cars, as Fiat is known for. Also, President Obama forced out Chrysler's CEO, the second time he has done this to a top executive in a company.

Next on the agenda was the Swine Flu, and Vice President Biden's interview, where he once again said something that he should not have. Maybe President Obama could give him some speech lessons. Biden went on to say in the interview how he would not let his family fly on airplanes or ride the subway, both confined spaces, in fear of catching Swine Flu. This statement obviously could cause people to panic and avoid air travel and other means of public transportation altogether, when in reality it is perfectly safe at this moment. Also in the Swine Flu segment was an interview with the Center for Disease Control about a Swine Flu vaccine, and if needed, how long it would take to produce. While the government has not given the green light yet on producing a vaccine, the CDC says drug makers could have one out as quickly as the fall.

Later in the program, there were some less pressing issues discussed, such as the crazed Dutchman who tried to run his car into the royal family during a parade. There was also an interesting piece about American cigarettes and how they are deadlier than cigarettes in other countries due to extra additives in them. These extra chemicals are shown to contribute heavily to the greater death toll from cigarette use in the US than in other places. The final story of the night, involved a man in his seventies who would be racing in the Kentucky Derby. Not trained as a jockey or anything, he randomly purchased a horse and trained it. Overnight, he became a success story, and now has hopes to win the derby. Inspiring, isn't it (blah!)?

You can watch the story of the old man and his horse here.

The Failures of No Child Left Behind

On the front page of the New York Times today, there was an article about how the controversial No Child Left Behind Act is not closing the achievement gap between white students and minority students. I was glad to see such an article on the front page of the newspaper, as it touches upon an issue that the public normally would not be exposed to. Media today does not cover stories such as these, mainly because the public craves entertaining stories (short attention spans anyone?), and stories about education, human rights, and other similar topics are branded as too "boring" for most people. I'm sure that a story about the No Child Left Behind Act would never be seen on the local news stations, and rarely on CNN, Fox News, and the like.

This was a great article that highlighted some of the problems with No Child Left Behind, which was passed into law in 2002. One of the main goals of NCLB was to try and level the wide achievement gap that exists between minorities and whites. The law made schools focus on their minority populations by defining racial groups and keeping track of their achievement. Before the law, most schools only kept track of average student performance, which did not recognize the disparities between whites and minorities. Studies show, however, that No Child Left Behind has not closed the education gap, as test scores for minority groups are still are not up to par with what the law set out to achieve.

With all this debate behind NCLB, the Obama administration will have to rethink the law and make fundamental changes for it to be successful in the long term. Adjustments such as distributing quality teachers evenly to schools in affluent and poor neighborhoods, and to raise national academic standards will hopefully help solve our nation's education gap. As I have stated before, it is important for the U.S. to have quality schools and educated students if we are to compete in an ever changing world. While former President Bush may have had good intentions in creating NCLB, there was not enough thought and proper funding put into it. This is not all entirely his fault, as the events of 9/11 had an effect on the priority level of NCLB. Hopefully once the economic crisis is subdued somewhat, President Obama can reform the education system and reverse some of the policies made by No Child Left Behind.

For anyone that is interested...a short interview with President Obama about his thoughts on No Child Left Behind.

Us Poor Schools Need Funding Too!

I agree with Steve and his post that there needs to be greater accountability in schools when it comes to how money is spent. It is wonderful that the stimulus package sets aside 13 billion dollars to go towards disadvantaged children. It is important to our economy that every child receives a quality education. This will lead to a more skilled and educated workforce, and help our economy in the long haul. Unfortunately, many states and municipalities often take federal money that is desperately needed to fund these high need schools and use it for other purposes. They are performing a grave injustice by handing over much of this money to more affluent, higher performing schools. Why should these schools receive more funding than schools with a higher percentage of disadvantaged children?

There needs to be a device put in place to monitor how states and localities are dividing up monies for school districts. Like the auto or banking industry, maybe there should be a "watch-dog" to ensure each school is receiving the proper amount of funding. While I am sure that there will be loop-holes in the reporting requirement, it will hopefully curb some of the inequalities in school funding. Like Steve stated in his post, better bookkeeping practices need to be put in place so the differences in salary between teachers in high poverty versus low poverty schools can be seen. Maybe then, the salaries of teachers in these low income schools will be increased, attracting quality teachers.

I urge you to contact Governor Corzine and tell him that New Jersey's high need communities should be receiving equal, if not a greater amount, of educational funding. Let him know that there also needs to be supervision by the state on the municipalities to ensure the money is going to the proper place. Call his office and speak to one of his staff members at 609-292-6000 or email him through his website.

Mickey Mouse Teaching English?

The Wall Street Journal published an article a few days ago about Disney's new business in China. It seems Mickey Mouse and friends are teaching children how to speak English. This is a smart move on Disney's part, since the foreign language business in China is worth over two billion dollars, with over 300 million Chinese studying English annually. And with the English language teaching market expected to grow in the coming years, it seems like Disney will be profiting from this new endeavour for awhile. They already have a Disneyland set up in Hong Kong, stores all over the country, and have made a few movies in China, however, government regulations prohibit them from starting a television channel or from distributing their entire movie collection in the country. There is already the possibility of a new Disneyland site in Shanghai, and if all goes well, Disney plans on opening more English language schools in the main cities.

But is this just a marketing push, or is Disney really genuine about teaching kids English? Disney says that their intentions are of the latter, even though kids are exposed to everything Disney in the classroom and in their homework. Kids can earn various Disney merchandise as rewards for good work. Flashcards, CD's, and books all feature Disney characters. Since I will be going to China this summer to teach English, I applaud what Disney is doing, but at the same time am critical about it because it is without a doubt a huge marketing ploy. Disney just wants to brainwash kids into buying their products in a market which is not very exposed to Disney as of present. Why does China need Disney English schools? There are already tons of these schools in China right now. I just hope Disney doesn't corrupt Chinese society like it did to the US.