AT&T Rebuilds Empire

Posted in Uncategorized on October 27th, 2016 by Riley

AT&T is looking to finalize an $85.4 billion deal to buy media conglomerate Time Warner. The deal would be the second in the past year for AT&T, who just recently purchased DirecTV. At one time, in the early 20th century, AT&T was one of the most important companies in the United States. This is a big event to restore the corporation to it’s prior dominance, but it may be halted by the FCC.

Congress and the FCC are already looking into the deal that was just recently announced. The acquisition has caused some outrage from consumers as well as politicians. Bernie Sanders has already pressured candidate Hillary Clinton to stop the deal if she takes office in January.

The article AT&T Merger: This One Statistic Shows Why Feds Will Block The Deal by Fortune magazine is very informative. It does a great deal more than show one certain statistic. It gives a small background about the purchase and AT&T’s recent purchases, but it also explains vertical integration and the Judicial holdings in similar issues. And, it explains the political point of view, both candidates are against the merger.

I like the use of quotes that they use. They paraphrase when explaining the statistics in the beginning, which may be good because experts can be confusing to the less-informed. It does actually quote the experts later on in the story. The only problem I had during the entire article was with a quote that was split to identify the speaker. The break was confusing and slightly pointless when the following sentence was so short. Otherwise, I found this to be an interesting and informative article.

Don Juan to Release First Album

Posted in Uncategorized on October 27th, 2016 by Riley

“Together we’re Don Juan, that’s our name,” says singer/songwriter John Dodge. Dodge and partner Don Cooper will release an album with their band of three years. They hope to have music released “by the end of the summer.”

“It took a long time to shuck the robe of responsibility,” commented Cooper. While the duo has been performing, Cooper has kept a job as and English teacher “just in case.” After three years of performing and teaching, Cooper’s music will finally be getiing to an audience.

The group does have performance experience. Last summer they performed with music icons Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Taylor had been a fan of the group in the past and Browne has become a “real solid supporter.”

“Nobody settles for anything less than the best,” says Dodge about the songwriting process. The group has had trouble writing songs in the past and they fight about song points, but the “creative tension” helps build new songs. One critic has criticized the group for doing “nothing original” and “the ones thy do write are not worth hearing.”

Woman Shot By New Husband

Posted in Uncategorized on October 27th, 2016 by Riley

Richard Brunson shot his wife Laurette Kenny Brunson in her abdomen with a .22 Caliber Handgun, yesterday. Mrs. Brunson was shot by her husband at approximately at 5 p.m. She was taken to St. Luke’s hospital where she is reported to be in satisfactory condition.

Nearby neighbors and Mrs. Brunson’s three children heard the incident. The couple had been living together for nearly five months before getting married yesterday. A nearby neighbor remarked how unexpected the situation was. Marilyn Corse witnessed Mr. Brunson “running from the house without a shirt on.” By the time police arrived, the groom had fled the scene. His whereabouts are still unknown.

The American Divide

Posted in Uncategorized on October 17th, 2016 by Riley

The 2016 election is nearing its end, and the country has already begun to change. Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will begin a new day for America on January 20th. However, America began to change when the candidates entered the race for the White House, and the effects of the election have divided parties and citizens.

“This is by no means, necessarily the ugliest election in American history,” said History professor Patrick Bass. If history is due to repeat itself, then the upcoming election will not change party lines. Bass noted, “the elections had no effects on parties, they were mostly personal attacks. Much like today.”

Hillary Clinton has an average of a seven point lead on Donald Trump in many polls. Her lead has been slim in the past and remains small in battleground states, such as Ohio. In the primary elections, Clinton was engaged in a tight battle with Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders ran a more progressive platform than Secretary Clinton and had a sizable support base. As the days toward the Democratic National Convention neared (DNC), Sanders supporters claimed they would not vote for Clinton even if she were the Democratic nominee. The Clinton Campaign and the Sanders Campaign worked together in the days approaching the DNC to create a more progressive platform. This convinced most Sanders supporters to join Clinton, but many still are still unsure if they can vote for her.

“I have views that are both conservative and liberal,” said Morningside Junior Suzanna Gonzalez. Some voters believe the opposite of Bernie Sanders. Most have views on both sides of the political spectrum. This causes problems for the Clinton campaign as they try to be more progressive, but it also poses an issue for the Republican party.

Donald Trump is making waves as the Republican nominee as he quickly dispensed of his fifteen Republican competitors. Trump’s views fall in line with most Republicans who feel the Party is no longer focused on their beliefs.  Politico Magazine reported that 70% of Republican voters wish to leave Social Security the way it is, in line with Trump’s views, but opposite with that of the GOP.

Donald Trump’s rhetoric and unpredictability make the majority of citizens worried about his ability to be president. Temperament hinders the Republican nominee while corruption hinders his rivals and his own party. The election millions have decided their candidate. However, many states and voters hang in the balance. Both parties will reach out for the most support possible, but voters, such as Suzanna Gonzalez, “do not care for either candidate when they speak.”

Matthew Covers Media Mediums

Posted in Uncategorized on October 11th, 2016 by Riley

Hurricane Matthew received extensive coverage during it’s weeklong attack on the Haiti and Southeast United States.  The media covered Hurricane Matthew in many forms, including television and paper. The media covered Hurricane Matthew in many forms, including television and paper. A CNN article titled Matthew no longer a hurricane, but still just as dangerous is an example of the coverage.

The article discusses the dangers that people still face with Matthew as it downgraded to a tropical storm while moving North. It has quotes from the North Carolina Governor about how to stay safe. It also give people an update and the damage that Matthew has caused so far.

The television segment is altogether different. It has chips of the storm as it ravages through Florida. They also stop to interview a man that was effected by the storm. An anchor gives a brief description about what Hurricane Matthew was, how it was downgraded, and where it is going. They speak little about the damage it has done so far.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/09/us/weather-matthew/

Florida Prepares for Disaster

Posted in Uncategorized on October 6th, 2016 by Riley

Hurricane Matthew is headed toward Florida and the southeast United States. The damage will be catastrophic and the news is being covered by several outlets, including the New York Times with an article titled Hurricane Matthew Approaches Florida; Governor Urges 1.5 Million to Flee.

The article is not long. It describes the storm as a Category 4 Hurricane and talks about warnings from President Obama and Florida Governor Rick Scott. Governor Scott has urged people to evacuate while President Obama has put both Florida and South Carolina under a state of emergency. It also covers closure of areas such as NASA and Disney World.

I find this article to be informative. I like that it is constantly updated. A recent update puts the the Haitian death toll from the storm at 280. This has changed as the hours have passed, along with the expectations of damages Florida will have. The most important information is being updated and given first. I’ve looked at this closely so I can give updates that I may do on future stories.

Blaine Experiences the World

Posted in Uncategorized on October 5th, 2016 by Riley

The world is seen from a different view for Morngingside professor Patrick Blaine. Blaine’s world experiences have changed his way of thinking while expanding his palette of knowledge. He left the United States to explore a world far different from his own, but in the meantime, the world changed the United States.

Blaine found other countries to be more outgoing than the United States. A simple tap on the shoulder is a uncomfortable in the U.S, but it seen as a sign of closeness in other cultures. He met his wife while living in Chile but he found that close personal values followed him from one culture to another.

He did find that while racism can sometimes divide Americans, classism is the root of separation in other nations. People define themselves and others by the class that they are in. Another problem that he experienced involved Art and film, in which he majors. The world created by Chilean dictatorship offered little for the artistic mind.

While Blaine experienced the world, he had no idea that his home would change. On September 11, 2001 and the years prior, Patrick Blaine was living in Chile. The events of that day put the American Embassy into chaos, but he also noticed the people in his new home to be in a state of shock, just as those in his home country.

He returned to United States with his new bride in 2003 and he found another foreign country. The land and name were still the same, but the politics of the United States had changed greatly. He found a heightened state of security an obligatory sense of patriotism that had not existed at the turn of the century.

“They finally did it,” Blaine would say of the attacks. His knowledge of the Middle East and other countries gave him perspective to see the possibility of such terror. He recognized the flipping American positions in the Middle East would end with an attack on American soil. This perspective did not soothe his feeling for his country. The day of the attacks he abandoned his healthy lifestyle for a cigarette and a few shots of whiskey. This low feeling lasted during the days following the attacks.

Attacks and family have not stopped Blaine from traveling. He has visited dozens of different countries and picked up pieces of several different languages and cultures. His most memorable experiences involve horseback riding through the Andes in Chile and his college semester in San Sebastian, a name he would choose for his newborn son.

“If you can do it, go,” Blaine says about traveling, “Most people have either the time and no money, or they have no money and no time.” He does hope to get more traveling done in the future when he finds time. He dreams of one day mixing traveling with his hobby of motorcycle riding. He dreams of riding his motorcycle from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile. This is a trip he wishes to bring his own son on.

 

The beginning traveler will experience culture shock, but Blaine still remembers the day he fell in love with a country other than his home. He was suffering a day long depression from his culture shock. So, he took his board out to the middle of the ocean. HIs world changed while he was lying on his board in the middle of the ocean.

” I got in my wetsuit and stayed on the board all day. I began to feel better. The ocean made me realize not how small I am, but how big the world is.”