Thursday, May 28, 2009
Feeding the Beast
I think that the beast is the consumers' of media. We need our information up to the minute now it seems like and we need to be fed with news. If the news is not being presented to us in a timely manner, then complications arise and the beast cannot be fed. I think that quality journalism and credibility are compromised by feeding the beast. Sloppy news stories are written and quality writing isn't objective and it makes it hard for news to be trusted when it is like this.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Stubblefields Flooding
Inconvenience struck Stubblefields and its customers Wednesday night due to a flood of water and grease that caused damage to the bar.
The bar located on 600 Colorado St. flooded after a new bartender left the water on in a sink as well as spilling a grease trap. The incident left two gallons of grease on the floor which is a hazard for employees and customers. Extensive cleaning has been going on in the kitchen and bathroom to undo the mess that was created.
The damage was mostly located in the downstairs of Stubblefields which is a bar and night club as well. According to Karly P. VanBroekhoven, a bartender at Stubblefields, the damages only came from the office downstairs and a pool table that damaged the felt which will be replaced.
The recently hired bartender, who has been working at Stubblefields for no more than three weeks, is new to many of the operations and job duties to the bar. On Wednesday, she was asked to work as a bartender and work the grill at the same time. It is especially hard to be working at the bar and behind the grill due to juggling both of the responsibilities.
“Usually someone is working just as a bartender and not as a cook at the same time,” said VanBroekhoven. “Cooks are usually back there to help out bartenders so accidents like this don’t happen. Even for the people who have worked here for awhile struggle with doing both.”
VanBroekhoven had been working that night when the accident occurred.
“Mostly just the water and grease spilled on the flood and went into the bathrooms which were all cleaned up in a timely manner; it was just difficult serving customers and having to deal with the mess at the same time.”
The damages came on a night where generally many people come for Wing Night on Wednesdays which tends to be a busy time for the bar.
Construction crews and damaged goods being removed from the bar distracted many customers. “The construction crews coming in and out of the downstairs was really noising and made me want to leave,” stated customer Cameron L. Carter. “I just wanted to eat my wings and drink but it was loud so I left early.”
Carter, a regular customer at Stubblefields, is concerned if the downstairs will be closed for the weekend due to the damages. VanBroekhoven says that the downstairs night club will be open all weekend as the damages were not as bad as expected.
Another customer, Christopher L. Mango said, “I’m really concerned about the damages because I like to play pool and go downstairs on the weekend, it gives me something to do during the summer when I have nothing to do.” Mango is also a regular at Stubblefields and enjoys the dance club at night.
When asked about the loss of customers, VanBroekhoven said it is hard to determine because summer is here and most of the college customers have gone home on break already. “Most of the damages were easy to cleanup but a lot of customers looked at the mess and turned around or were frustrated with the lack of service because we were cleaning up the mess,” said VanBroekhoven.
Luckily for Stubblefields, further damages did not occur because according to VanBroekhoven, Stubblefields plans on expanding the downstairs dance room to create more room for late night customers. The cost of damages from the flood would have lead to remodeling and delaying the expansion date.
Stubblefields is a premier bar and night club spot for college students to visit in Pullman. The loss of business would have been a major blow to the student’s weekend and profits for the bar.
The manager and owner of Stubblefields as well as the new bartender were not available for comment.
###
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Story Pitches
Dear Editor,
With the NCAA World Series approaching for men's baseball, the Washington State Baseball team is on the verge of getting a bid to play in Omaha, Nebraska. The team is second in the Pac-10 with a (15-7) record which would qualify them for a spot in the world series if they beat their cross state rivals from the University of Washington. I think it would be an interesting story to cover as far as their good season and what it could mean for the university in general.
My two sources would be the manager of the baseball team and a couple of players off the team to give their input on the season and such. The story is intended for Washington State University and the students and faculty that are involved.
Dear Editor,
Last week at Stubblefields, the bar located on Greek Row, was flood and caused extensive damage to the basement and office located down below. The employee that flooded it is new and I wanted to see the follow up story to see what happened to the new bartender and what was the cost of damages to the bar.
Since Stubblefields is one of the main bars and most profitable in Pullman, I want to know if it affected the sales and business this past weekend and made people not want to come to the bar because of the damages. People that I could possibly interview are the bartenders and the owner DJ Goldfinger.
Dear Editor,
The budget cuts that have been plaguing WSU are continuing. With two majors just being cut, Sports Management was a program that attracted students and prospective students from across the world. I want to know how the cut to the program has affected the university and how it has affected admissions.
People that I could possibly interview are the Office of Admissions and President Elson S. Floyd. They both would have the answers to what the budget cuts entail and how the university is affected by the Sports Management being gone.
With the NCAA World Series approaching for men's baseball, the Washington State Baseball team is on the verge of getting a bid to play in Omaha, Nebraska. The team is second in the Pac-10 with a (15-7) record which would qualify them for a spot in the world series if they beat their cross state rivals from the University of Washington. I think it would be an interesting story to cover as far as their good season and what it could mean for the university in general.
My two sources would be the manager of the baseball team and a couple of players off the team to give their input on the season and such. The story is intended for Washington State University and the students and faculty that are involved.
Dear Editor,
Last week at Stubblefields, the bar located on Greek Row, was flood and caused extensive damage to the basement and office located down below. The employee that flooded it is new and I wanted to see the follow up story to see what happened to the new bartender and what was the cost of damages to the bar.
Since Stubblefields is one of the main bars and most profitable in Pullman, I want to know if it affected the sales and business this past weekend and made people not want to come to the bar because of the damages. People that I could possibly interview are the bartenders and the owner DJ Goldfinger.
Dear Editor,
The budget cuts that have been plaguing WSU are continuing. With two majors just being cut, Sports Management was a program that attracted students and prospective students from across the world. I want to know how the cut to the program has affected the university and how it has affected admissions.
People that I could possibly interview are the Office of Admissions and President Elson S. Floyd. They both would have the answers to what the budget cuts entail and how the university is affected by the Sports Management being gone.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Compare and Contrast
The three news websites that I used are CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News...
CNN
The most prominent stories are the ones that pertain to Americans. Many of the stories had to do with United States soldiers and what is the latest scoop on President Barack Obama. The main story is a about a slain soldier's mother in Iraq and she has mixed emotions about the suspect at large. This does not really seem to be that newsworthy or hard stories. I think CNN was trying to spin this story to the American people so they would feel sympathy and question the mothers motives. Not many international headlines are being put on the main page of the website but there is a section for international news. Much of the other stories on the main page are similar to the fluff of the main story.
I think that CNN did adhere to the Murrow Standard by not taking a biased stand against either liberals or republicans for example. Many of the stories I looked at that dealt with President Obama neither bashed him or glorified him; it was just the story and what is going on with the latest economic meltdown. The website did a nice job of keeping it fair and balanced.
I think CNN's target audience would have to be everyday Americans. Many of the stories seem like they could appeal to either upper class and everyone else. Many stories had to do with the economy which affects us all. Also the story about the slain soldier gets into the hearts of all Americans because we would all feel sympathy for mother and her dead son.
MSNBC
The most prominent story for MSNBC was Pakistani minorities living in fear. Many religious factions have been attacked by the Taliban as they grow stronger in that part of the country. I can understand MSNBC's spin on the subject because the Taliban has been an enemy of the United States for quite some time now. Also there was many stories about President Obama and his plans for the nation as well as not releasing photos of the detainee being abused.
I do not think that MSNBC adhered to the Murrow Standard. They seem to give President Obama too many stories about useless news that no one cares about unless they are liberal. There is a video clip of ex-Vice President Dick Cheney getting bashed and saying that the republican party is "raising eyebrows" to him and he cannot be trusted in a sense. Many of the stories about politics seem to be spun around to glorify liberals and President Obama. The other stories are well balanced and seem to pertain to the American people in most ways.
The websites primary audience to me seems to be aimed towards liberals. As I stated earlier most of the news stories seem to be based around democratic politicians and bashing republicans. Many of the other stories are based around America, or at least pertain to Americans if it is international news.
Fox News
The stories that get the most prominent placement are political issues and stories that are exciting and cause controversy. Just like CNN, the main story is about President Obama not releasing the photos of the abused detainee. Fox has many more stories that deal with politics that pertain to what is going on in congress and questions many of the new policies of the president. I don't really find many of the other stories newsworthy because they deal with couples in Washington D.C. and seems to be a very east coast type of paper.
I also think that Fox News does not adhere to the Murrow Standard. The stories are not very fair or balanced because they question the president and many issues and things that relate to his personal life and his choices. I think the other stories are well balanced and cover some good issues but mostly seem like editorials and an opinion section.
The websites primary audience appears to be for conservative Americans and people of the east coast. Not a lot of west coast stories or representation is apparent and most of the stories deal with the faults of President Obama, which leads me to believe this is a very conservative paper so it adheres to its readers.
Which would I read?
If I had to read one of these news websites I would pick CNN. CNN is a very well known news source and can be trusted. It is read by so many people that they have to keep their stories well balanced and not biased to one side or the other.
CNN
The most prominent stories are the ones that pertain to Americans. Many of the stories had to do with United States soldiers and what is the latest scoop on President Barack Obama. The main story is a about a slain soldier's mother in Iraq and she has mixed emotions about the suspect at large. This does not really seem to be that newsworthy or hard stories. I think CNN was trying to spin this story to the American people so they would feel sympathy and question the mothers motives. Not many international headlines are being put on the main page of the website but there is a section for international news. Much of the other stories on the main page are similar to the fluff of the main story.
I think that CNN did adhere to the Murrow Standard by not taking a biased stand against either liberals or republicans for example. Many of the stories I looked at that dealt with President Obama neither bashed him or glorified him; it was just the story and what is going on with the latest economic meltdown. The website did a nice job of keeping it fair and balanced.
I think CNN's target audience would have to be everyday Americans. Many of the stories seem like they could appeal to either upper class and everyone else. Many stories had to do with the economy which affects us all. Also the story about the slain soldier gets into the hearts of all Americans because we would all feel sympathy for mother and her dead son.
MSNBC
The most prominent story for MSNBC was Pakistani minorities living in fear. Many religious factions have been attacked by the Taliban as they grow stronger in that part of the country. I can understand MSNBC's spin on the subject because the Taliban has been an enemy of the United States for quite some time now. Also there was many stories about President Obama and his plans for the nation as well as not releasing photos of the detainee being abused.
I do not think that MSNBC adhered to the Murrow Standard. They seem to give President Obama too many stories about useless news that no one cares about unless they are liberal. There is a video clip of ex-Vice President Dick Cheney getting bashed and saying that the republican party is "raising eyebrows" to him and he cannot be trusted in a sense. Many of the stories about politics seem to be spun around to glorify liberals and President Obama. The other stories are well balanced and seem to pertain to the American people in most ways.
The websites primary audience to me seems to be aimed towards liberals. As I stated earlier most of the news stories seem to be based around democratic politicians and bashing republicans. Many of the other stories are based around America, or at least pertain to Americans if it is international news.
Fox News
The stories that get the most prominent placement are political issues and stories that are exciting and cause controversy. Just like CNN, the main story is about President Obama not releasing the photos of the abused detainee. Fox has many more stories that deal with politics that pertain to what is going on in congress and questions many of the new policies of the president. I don't really find many of the other stories newsworthy because they deal with couples in Washington D.C. and seems to be a very east coast type of paper.
I also think that Fox News does not adhere to the Murrow Standard. The stories are not very fair or balanced because they question the president and many issues and things that relate to his personal life and his choices. I think the other stories are well balanced and cover some good issues but mostly seem like editorials and an opinion section.
The websites primary audience appears to be for conservative Americans and people of the east coast. Not a lot of west coast stories or representation is apparent and most of the stories deal with the faults of President Obama, which leads me to believe this is a very conservative paper so it adheres to its readers.
Which would I read?
If I had to read one of these news websites I would pick CNN. CNN is a very well known news source and can be trusted. It is read by so many people that they have to keep their stories well balanced and not biased to one side or the other.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Texaco Ecuador Trouble
When looking at both the videos and the recent events that have been taking place in the Amazon Rain Forest, both seem a little biased towards each cause to the lawsuit. Chevron in their YouTube video, make it seem like they are the victims of the people of Ecuador complaining about the oil pollution that Texaco left behind. Chevron also hired a journalist to create their side of the story. Gene Randall is hired and takes a different spin on the subject revealing how Ecuador's national oil provider should be responsible for the damages and clean-up of the Amazon Rain Forest. I think that it is fair of Chevron to hire an outsider for this video because it is a response to CBS and their take of the company during this lawsuit. On the other hand the CBS 60 Minutes documentary shows how Texaco/Chevron have no logically reason for not paying for clean-up and damages of the oil pollution. It also shows a negative image of the company as they are not only the third largest revenue generating company in America, they have no "case" against the people of Ecuador. CBS seems to be taking a biased opinion with the people of Ecuador and do not really leave themselves and their personal opinions out of the story. Both of the videos go against standard journalism and give viewpoints of each issue at hand.
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