Journalists & First Amendment Rights

Last night's lecture in support of the First Amendment was very informative. Bob Port, senior editor at the Times Union newspaper, has been a journalist for 25 years. He claims that there are two things it takes to be a good journalist: skill and courage. He went on to say that journalism is a lonely profession, and "It takes a lot of courage," stated Port. Port also said that "Journalism these days is changing, and changing radically." This is referring to the new technology, and also the changing laws in our society.
Lucy Danglish, executive director of the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, presented a lot of information during her lecture. She spoke a lot about September 11th, and how this greatly impacted the rights of journalists to protect their sources. These events also led to the need of a Federal Shield Law. There are currently shield laws in many states, but journalists have no protection when dealing with the federal government. Protecting confidential sources is crucial to maintaining a relationship between journalists and sources. "If you make a promise to a source, you keep that promise," states Dalglish. During her lecture, she talked about Vanessa Leggett, a freelance wrtier and book author who was jailed for 168 days for not revealing her sources and refusing to turn over her research materials to the government. Journalist Toni Locy, got into a similar situation when she was subpoenaed in 2006 for not remembering her confidential sources. Locy was a journalist that periodically discarded all of her notes when she did not need them anymore, which is a problem not. Danglish then went on to give suggestions to prevent this from happening to other journalists. One of them was to go "back to basics," meaning keeping no electronic records of sources, and meeting sources in person to prevent being subpoenaed later. Danglish also suggested staying consistent with handling notes. Keeping all of your notes except for the ones dealing with a high profile case will look suspicious to the government and may lead to further problems.

Editorial Cartoonists

Tom Toles, editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, creates a new cartoon for the paper everyday. His cartoons are humorous and address many of today's current issues. One of his cartoons that I liked was the one that was printed on April 25th:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/toles_main.html?name=Toles&date=04252008&type=c

Another editorial cartoonist, Terry Wise, has a sense of humor similar to Tom Toles. This is seen in his April 30th cartoon for the Ratland Ink Press:

(click here to view)

Terry Wise Ratland Ink Press Apr 30, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

I like the way that editorial cartoons are illustrated, and I also like how they can tell a big message in one small illustration with limited captioning.

What Is Swiftboating?

Swiftboating is a term that refers to any attempt to destroy a political candidate's reputation based on accusations that hold no real weight. This term was born during the 2004 presidential campaign when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth accused senator John Kerry of being a liar. The Swift Boaters claimed that Kerry's story of rescuing Jim Rassmann during the Vietnam war was false. They accused him of being a coward, and fleeing the scene when it became too dangerous. The group was successful in making the public doubt Kerry and his credibility, however they could not successfully prove their accusation.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21239-2004Aug21.html

Albany Board of Zoning Appeals

Dozens of people gathered at Albany’s Common Council Chambers in City Hall yesterday evening for the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The board meets with the community twice a month to consider making changes to current zoning regulations, special use and parking permits. Yesterday’s meeting resulted in a victory for the Hariett Tubman Free School, and a further division between the Fort Orange Club and the citizens of Albany.
The first case dealt with Albany’s Fort Orange Club, an upscale, private, social club in the city for distinguished business, government, and social leaders. There are currently 600 members. John Allen made this presentation. The club wants permission to tear down two buildings on Washington Avenue to provide more parking for its members. Removing these two buildings will increase the available spots from 51 to 73. The Fort Orange Club also plans on putting up decorative fence and limestone, and also new lighting for the parking lot.
A few community members boldly spoke out against this proposal. Center Square Association President Paul Fowler was one of these people. Fowler believes that tearing down these two buildings will have an impact on pedestrians in the area. He also believes that the sounds and smell of Washington Avenue will pour into the Center Square community. Albany resident Lynn Jackson spoke about this issue on behalf of John Wolcott. Wolcott wrote a passionate letter expressing his opposition towards this proposal. Wolcott believes there is “No reason for this application other than to satisfy the self-centered Fort Orange Members. Why shouldn’t they walk or take the bus like the rest of us?” He also described the proposal as anti-urban and anti-environmental. Four Orange Club member Bill Croney believes that the project will be an “aesthetic improvement.” Richard Berkley of the Hudson Park Neighbors Association said “You can always tear down buildings and build more parking. You can’t recreate old buildings.”
The other case that received a lot of public outcry at the meeting was the case of the Harriet Tubman Free School. This is the school’s second year. The previous year it was held in a library, but it is now in it’s own building on 59 Elizabeth Street, where the community would like it to remain. A remarkable 15 people attended the meeting to speak out against this issue. Among these people were professors, school employees, parents, and the Harriet Tubman Free School’s own students. All of these people expressed the necessity and benefits of not moving the school. Dave Harrison said that the Free School is “bringing life to the community.” Since attending the school, student Joshua Fick said “I feel that I have changed as a person.” All 15 people that spoke on this issue were in agreement that the school is important to the community. Because of this outcry, the community won the appeal, and the Free School supporters left the Common Council Chamber celebrating.

Photojournalism

During Bruce Squiers’ presentation, I learned a lot about photojournalism. One of the first key points he mentioned was the term ‘visual literacy.” Squiers described this as the images that come to mind when one thinks of certain things. He also said that this is something that requires active watching and interpretation. The observer should ask the question, “What am I looking at, and why?” in order to improve visual literacy. Another way to improve visual literacy is by challenging one’s own limits, and elevating awareness of surroundings.
Another one of his key points was how to determine the “decisive moment,” the point in time in which all of the elements in the picture come together and everything is in sync. Henri Cartier Bresson further described this moment as the time where “The eye, the mind, and the heart must be aligned.”
Squiers then went on to define the four elements of photography. The first element is light, referring to control and use of light. Next, the photographer must have a sense of composition, meaning one must learn a detachment from his work and remain focused on the job. This element comes with experience. Form is the third element, which describes the certain balance that you notice when you look at a picture. The last element of photography is perspective, or wherever the photographer is when he is taking a picture. Squiers also emphasized that “You can be anywhere in the world and do great photography.” He also stated that good pictures speak for themselves, and do not require an explanation or caption to define it. I used these points to take the following picture:


UAlbany students enjoy lunch and the Springtime warmth outside at the univertsity's Campus Center Friday afternoon.

What Grade I Deserve In The Course

After taking a self-reflection, I feel that I deserve an A- in the course. I have never turned in an assignment late, and I have only missed one class during the entire semester, which was due to an emergency. I gave myself an A- because I feel like I could participate more in the class, but I do ask questions when it is necessary, or when I need further clarification. The one time I failed to do this was during the cold weather assignment. I should have asked for more details, but instead I did my interpretation, which turned out to be incorrect. I would have redone the assignment, however, that is the one assignment that is impossible to do since it is based on the weather. I feel that I deserve this grade because I use your comments to make my writing stronger. I have revised all of the graded assignments that we have had returned to us thus far. I also feel that I deserve an A- because this is an introductory course, and the purpose of it is to assess our current writing skills and build upon them in order to make us better writers. Because of this, I think that we should be graded based on the effort put into each assignment, and how we are improving through the course of the semester.

Fountain Day 2008

With temperatures starting to rise, many students celebrate the end of a cold, Albany winter and the anticipated arrival of spring. The university unites students in this celebration by hosting its annual Fountain Day. Fountain Day is a time for students to emerge from winter hibernation and relax with friends before having to worry about final exams. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Fountain Day, and thousands of UAlbany students will come out on April 27th to keep the tradition alive.
Although this event is popular among the UAlbany community, many students are unaware of the how the tradition began. One UAlbany student, Willow Burns, defined the holiday as this: “Fountain Day is intended to give students a day to celebrate the school year; it's a way for them to relax and have fun. That way, students won't go psycho during finals week and drop out." When freshman Farah Bernadin was asked about Fountain Day, she said “The whole entire school goes into the fountain. People play, hang out, stuff like that. I guess it’s a school tradition.”
Fountain Day, originally known as “May Fest,” began on May 5th, 1978. The day was traditionally held during the week, where students and staff spent the day outside enjoying the weather and celebrating the return of the fountain. Over the years, the campus became crowded with UAlbany students and their friends. Also, the university celebration began to center itself around alcohol, and Fountain Day began to look more like a crazy house party instead of a university sanctioned event.
Fountain Day chaos peaked after the 2004 celebration. The high level of student intoxication and injuries made headlines everywhere, making many question the credibility of the university. Since Fountain Day 2004, the university took many steps to make Fountain Day a safe and sober event, while still maintaining the fun and excitement that UAlbany students wait all year for. The changes that the university made are still in effect today. One of the changes is a no-guest policy. This change upset many students that looked forward to their friends experience the unique event. Another policy that was implemented was that all students were required to register prior to the event. Registering for the event was also an agreement to keep Fountain Day a safe event. To further ensure safety, bags or containers of any kind were prohibited from being brought into the fountain area. In order to keep student interest in Fountain Day, the university planned fun activities for UAlbany students to participate in during Fountain Day 2005. One of these events included a pillow fight in Collins Circle, in an attempt to beat the world record for the largest pillow fight.
This year’s Fountain Day is full of fun activities for UAlbany students. In addition to the free food and music, students may participate in various contests such as a scavenger hunt, and an obstacle course. Festivities began at noon, with the return of the fountains at 3 PM. Students will have an hour to enjoy the fountains before the celebration ends at four. Like years in the past, Fountain Day 2008 will unite the UAlbany community as many gather to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Sources:
http://media.www.ualbanyezine.com/media/storage/paper685/news/2006/05/03/FountainDay/Ualbany.Staff.Forces.Fountain.Day.Changes-1900140.shtml

http://www.albany.edu/news/campus_news/2005/apr2005/reclaim_fountainday.htm

http://www.albany.edu/fountainday/schedule.shtml