Meeting the Reporters

During Monday's discussion with the young reporters from Pensacola News Journal and a young, professional blogger, it was apparent that immediate preparation is key to obtaining any job in the field. A bit of work experience and training will go a long way in getting a job.

The guests spoke about searching for jobs, and from what they've gone through... the earlier, the better. Query letters are a must as a reporter and a professional blogger, or a writer in general. Rejection is something to be prepared for as with any job search. Take any opportunity to get that foot in the door, even if its just as a clerk in a newsroom.

The stories of their experiences on the job were far from boring. That's what I love about journalism. Every day is an adventure. Some days aren't as exciting as others, but just to be able to have the opportunity to meet so many different characters and cover a diverse demographic through real stories excites me. The discussion helped me better understand all the facets of jumping into journalism.

Journalism is something that you definitely have to be passionate about in order to pursue it as a profession. There's a lot of groundwork to cover before diving into what you actually want to do. All you have to do is be willing to work.

Going into journalism, as a profession, is still something that I'm contemplating, but my mind is set on one thing: writing.

Cain and the media: duking it out

From the beginning of his campaign, Herman Cain won the support of many conservatives until he grabbed attention with his awkward campaign ads, one airing a tasteless video on the 9/11 attacks. The ad may have meant well, but it did not garner much support from the public.


Onward, I think his campaign has just gradually declined in the GOP polls, especially with the sexual harassment allegations from a number of women who worked for Cain while he led the National Restaurant Association. As Jame Peterson states, Cain is just an "awkward black man." This scandal has led the media into a frenzy and shed more light on the GOP presidential race.


In his own right, Cain has the freedom to address his views through his presidential campaign, but I think his format only hurts his platform. To call the media's handling of the sexual harassment allegations a "high-tech lynching" is to go as far as taking Donald Trump's attempt seriously in his decision to run for presidency in 2012. 


Eric Deggan writes a post on "lynching" being used for political scandals. Deggan says that it's a poor choice of language. I agree. Deggan describes it best by determining the big difference between the two situations. In technical terms, lynching is "when black people were hung, shot, stabbed, beaten and maimed by white mobs, their body parts taken as souvenirs and their deaths made an ugly, brutal carnival." The term has no connotation in a political scandal that pertains to sexual harassment allegations.


The media is taking into consideration all aspects of the scandal that has risen from women's accusations, from covering Cain's perspective and current performance in the polls to examining how the mainstream media is taking the political scandal into account. One of the cons in looking through the articles and posts highlighting Cain's performance since the beginning of the allegations is the accuracy in information. I found two sources that don't quite verify the facts in the polls. The blog post in the New York Times says that Cain has garnered more support from women while Politico (the website that sparked the ordeal) tells of a different account, that support for Cain has dropped dramatically.

Sources:

"Awkward Black Man" by James Peterson (blog post on Huffington Post)
New Cain campaign ad accuses media of 'high-tech lynching' (Poynter)
Eric Deggan's take on conservatives and 'high-tech lynching' (TampaBay.com)
"Media Distrust May Shield Cain From the Right’s Critiques" by Nate Silver (blog post on NYTimes)
Post-allegations, the Cain drain (Politico)