Feature

Stonewall Columbus/Ohio AIDS Coalition
Stonewall Columbus, Ohio AIDS Coalition AIDS awareness
Stonewall Columbus and Ohio AIDS Coalition teaming up to raise aids awareness among women





With AIDS affecting adult women at an alarming rate, two local organizations are working to raise awareness and make a difference for those who have been affected by the virus.
Ohio AIDS Coalition teamed up with Stonewall Columbus on Saturday, March 6, 2010, to present “Something on the Inside,” an art show and benefit concert to raise AIDS awareness.
“For women between the ages of 25 and 44, the leading cause of death is AIDS related,” said Erin Upchurch, who was in charge of the event.
Upchurch, a member of the board of Ohio AIDS Coalition (OAC), organized the event which focused on women affected by the AIDS virus.
“We want to raise awareness,” said Upchurch. “We're here to support those women, many of whom are still raising families.”
The event took place at Stonewall Columbus (SWC) and began with an art show featuring women artists. Every artist agreed to donate a portion of their sales to OAC.


“Approximately $200 was raised, which will cover the costs for two women to attend the second ever Healing Weekend for women this June,” stated Upchurch.
Healing Weekends are programs offered by OAC for women who are HIV-positive. These weekends are self-cure programs that provide support and information to help them better understand how to deal with life with AIDS.
The art exhibit featured “Picture Your World.” The self-portraits are of women at Healing Weekends. According to the captions, they represent women being comfortable with themselves, despite having AIDS.


Kimberlin - photo taken at Healing Weekend.
On display at "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


Halima - photo taken at Healing Weekend.
On display at "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


One of the artists featured was Sylvia Niedner, an origami artisan and activist to raise AIDS awareness.
“I appreciate the work OAC does, like the Healing Weekends they offer,” said Niedner. “This experience says a lot about Stonewall, about their joy, creativity and activist spirit.”




Heart, Hope, Courage - Origami Mobile by Sylvia Niedner
On display at “Something on the Inside”
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


SWC is the leading organization on GLBT issues in the Central Ohio area according to their website. The organization reaches out beyond the gay community.
“We offer many programs and services,” said Karla Rothan, executive director for SWC since 2007. “We have book clubs, clubs for running, yoga, workshops. They are all free and anyone is welcome.”
“Stonewall's main goal is to help GLBT people live healthy and happy lives,” said Rothan. “Through support and raising awareness, we strive to have equality.”
SWC allows other organizations to use the facility for events like OAC's “Something on the Inside.”

Upchurch is also a founding member of New Leaf Columbus, a social network for Columbus' LGBT community, minorities and its allies. Here, members were notified of the event.
Terrance Brooks, a member of New Leaf Columbus, was pleased to attend and contribute to the cause.
“Events like these are inspirational,” said Brooks.
Brooks, the assistant housing director at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, feels events like “Something on the Inside” and organizations like New Leaf Columbus can be uplifting when it comes to discussing heavy topics like AIDS awareness.
“Columbus is pretty thriving with the GLBT community,” said Brooks. “For minorities to get together and have dialogue, it allows for there to be a presence.”

The night concluded with Tracy Walker performing for an hour. Walker, a musician for 16 years, made the trip from Cincinnati to be a part of an event she feels is very important.
“AIDS is still an important concern but people seem to think it's not a big deal,” said Walker. “I'm happy to see these types of events taking place and being a part of it.”




Tracy Walker performing for "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


Walker advises everyone to take this issue seriously, and there is information out there for anyone to obtain.
“Very basic things we can all do to stay safe. Most of it comes down to our personal responsibility,” said Walker. “Educate yourself. Don't run from the truth.”

Extra Credit

This article had me thinking it was a great idea at first about having journalism students writing for New York Times. Then, when it came to the issue of those same students not having a job when they graduated, I began to question reasons why newspapers would do this.

Newspapers have the right to do this, but it seems like they are contributing to a cycle where, after graduating from college, these people will have a very difficult time landing a job in this market.

As a student, the opportunity to get your name out there and have stories published is exciting. Having the chance to get a story published by a major newspaper is something students and many journalists would love to have.

From the side of the editor/manager, with the option of local issues either being covered for free or not being covered at all, I could understand why they would give students a chance to do freelance work. But, according to the article, the journalism industry is not too strong, and with the job-cuts it mentions and how easy they can offer students opportunities, those in the job field seem to suffer.

Just like the social media issue, both sides to this story are understandable.

Ethics Assignment

Drawing a line on social media as a working reporter seems to be a lot tougher after reading this article and reading many opinions on this issue. I understand the argument of being careful with how you represent yourself online. I am careful right now due to being an Resident Adviser. I agree that it is important to present yourself in a professional manner because anyone and everyone may have access to your facebook or twitter accounts.

However, I feel censoring yourself - whether it's through your political beliefs or opinions on elections or issues - because your job may get mad at you is a bit unfair. I would definitely do what Cheryl Rossi and Matt Stannard do and have two separate accounts, with one being personal and the other professional. What employers need to understand is that journalists have a life outside of their work. To limit them in their opinions or punish them because it may make their company look bad seems unfair.

If it is going to be a professional account, I agree that journalists should include their place of employment information on there. Because social media can and is playing a major role as a news outlet, journalists should have the same attitude towards it as they do towards their work.

One of the most notable controversies involving a journalist and social media came when Terry Moran, an ABC news employee, tweeted that Obama called Kanye West a jackass. His tweet was quickly removed but it spread rapidly, and ABC apologized for Moran's tweet. Concerning this, I see it both ways:
This is not news and what Moran tweeted was not false information so to apologize for the tweet seems unfair to me. He heard something interesting and tweeted about it. I do not see the harm in what he did.
However, Moran was there covering an interview for his job and he tweeted something that had nothing to do with what he was doing. I could understand why ABC felt it made them look bad. Still, I lean more towards Moran's side.

Putting myself in the shoes of the editors/managers, I definitely understand their side for wanting to place limits/rules concerning journalists use of social networks. Journalists and newspapers or networks should be unbiased. If a journalist makes it clear their stance on issues, many can and will interpret that as biased and in a way, lose credibility for their company. Since social networks have become another tool for news, journalists should treat it and represent themselves and their companies well through it if they are going to use it as a way of reporting news.

Whether someone is a journalist or not, they need to be responsible with what information they put out there for the world to see. A good example is the story of Dan Leone, a former employee of the Philadelphia Eagles, being fired for insulting the Eagles and referring to them as "retarded" after they traded away one of his favorite players. Yes, everyone has the right to free speech. But when you use language that can be offensive and display it on the Internet, you should accept the consequences, especially when you are a representative of a company. It should not matter if you are a journalist or not. When someone gets hired, they need to realize they are part of that organization and must always represent it in a professional, mature manner.

This issue of drawing the line is tricky. I see and understand both sides to it. My solution to this would be for journalists and for anyone else to have two separate accounts of Facebook, Twitter or Myspace, with one being for personal reasons and the other for professional and work-related reasons. Still, it is important that the user represents himself in each account in a respectable and professional manner. Because, at the end of the day, they are giving many people access to information into their lives, and information can spread once it is put out there. It is best to just be safe about it and monitor what information is put out.

10/24/2010 In-Class Assignment

For my final project, I plan on including writing out my script in a blog, and include links to the website of the organization and related topics.

My focus is on Stonewall Columbus, the GLBT organization group for Central Ohio. An example of related links would be other gay organizations groups, like the New York Times offered for their story on Obama's health plan.
I like that the New York Times provides related topics for its readers. The more information readers get the better understanding they will have.
I do not like that the related links were links to other articles in the newspaper. Links to other sources of information provide a different perspective which should be welcomed.

Pictures of members of the organization, the building of Stonewall, and past events will be included in my blog. The pictures will either be included in the video or somewhere throughout the script. An example of having pictures in the video comes from ESPN.com's segment of Ladainian Tomlinson being released from the Chargers
The picture provided in the video is a graph of Tomlinson's production. It was important because it gave an idea of how he has declined over years.
I thought more pictures of what he did for the San Diego community or even on the field would have gave more of an idea of how vital he is/was to San Diego.

The video will be of the interviews I conduct. Obama's health plan article on CNN.com provides two videos, one of his the White House press secretary and the other of CNN analysts giving their opinion on Obama's plan.
I thought it would have been better to have a video of a Republican figure who opposes the bill and why he opposes it.

Compare/Contrast Stories

President Barack Obama recently unveiled his health bill plan.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg and David M. Herszenhorn wrote an article about it for the New York Times.

CNN.com has an article that was contributed by Dana Bash, Lisa Desjardins, Kristi Keck, Suzanne Malveaux, Alan Silverleib, and Deirdre Walsh.

The New York Times article highlights what the article is about in the first paragraph.

Strengths:

Gets to the point with what the article is about.

Quotes from Republicans who oppose the bill were given.

A link to Obama's health care proposal is an option.

A back story with one of the writers, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, can be heard by clicking on the play button. The interview is a good source of multimedia and provides even more information for readers.

A link to a discussion is provided below the back story for readers to interact with others and give their own opinion.

Related topics are provided.

Ability to share this story through email or other social networks is provided.

Very informative.

Weaknesses:

Only one picture of Obama is seen throughout the article.

No videos of Obama, his staff, or analysts critiquing the plan.

Only Stolberg was interviewed. A different perspective besides the co-author of the story would have made the article even stronger.


The CNN article offers more options in terms of providing more information on Obama's health plan.

It's strengths are:

A direct link is provided to the blueprint Obama offered. The article also provides key bullet points about the health care plan.

CNN provides a power-point right above the article. It offers eight captions with brief, important information on the health plan. Photos are provided for each caption as well.

To the left at the beginning of the article, story highlights are present. They are simply a preview of what to expect to read.

Next to paragraphs 6,7,and 8, there are two videos: one of Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, and of CNN analysts expressing concern about the bill.

Quotes of those who oppose the bill were given.

Links to related topics are provided.

Viewer comments are at the bottom of the page.

Ability to share this article either through email or through social networks is provided.

Overall, a lot of strengths. Information is abundant.

Weaknesses:
The major issue in passing a bill has been the disagreement between Democrats and Republicans. I feel by not having a video of Republicans who oppose this plan would have made this article stronger.

Social Media in News

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4934763

This story is about an Oregon University football player, Jamere Holland, being kicked off the team for a post he made on his Facebook page. It was expletive-filled, that also stated: "I wish I could block whites as friends and only have blacks LOL, cause apparently I'm misunderstood."

Usually, when players from professional or college teams are kicked off teams or punished, the public is not always aware of the reasons why. "Conduct detrimental" or "violating team rules" are the explanations given.

In this case, Chip Kelly, the head football coach, did not give an exact detail as to why Holland was kicked off the team. All he said was he would not give any specifics, but it is easy to figure out.

Social media, as in this case, often gives the media answers and information it would not normally be given. Social networks allow access to a lot of different people. Before, journalists and the public would have to rely on what a spokesperson or a coach says regarding any incident. Social media can eliminate that middle man for journalists and the public.

Feature/Final Project Outline

I will be doing my feature on Stonewall Columbus, a GLBT organization in Central Ohio.

I plan on going to visit Stonewall Monday, Feb. 22 after class to plan interviews for Friday afternoon. I will be doing a news-style report, similar to the news presentations we did in class that covered four different types of stories.

The goal is to have the video-interviews for the project complete by Friday, February 26. Reason why I am aiming for that date is because my sister will be visiting this weekend and she has experience making videos and adding pictures. She is currently making a video every week for her wedding blog: http://sdcwedding.tumblr.com/

I am hoping to speak with as many people as possible. I know the minimum required is six sources with four direct quotes. Depending on how much material I get through the interviews, that will allow me to choose one of the three options. I am leaning toward producing the 4-minute audio or video broadcast, complete with script.

Questions/Comments I plan on asking:
1. How long have you been a part of the organizations
2. What are your individual goals for being in the organization?
3. What does Stonewall stand for?
4. What does Stonewall strive to accomplish?
5. What are some events Stonewall has done in the past? Events being planned right now?
6. How does Stonewall reach out to gays and non-gays locally, nationally, internationally?
7. What does Stonewall do for its members?
8. What does Stonewall do for the community?
9. Is Stonewall active in the political scene?
10. How Stonewall make life easier for the GLBT community?

These questions will vary depending on who I talk to - whether it is a member or someone in charge. Plus I will be seeing where the interviews take me and if I find a story within their community. Until then, I plan on doing a profile on Stonewall and how they currently are involved in the Columbus community.

For the interviews, I plan on recording everything I am told, and if/when I get material I can work with, I plan on going with that with every interview. Probably interviewing the person in charge first will be the best way to go about it.

After I have the interviews complete, finalizing the script should be a lot easier because I know the material that I will be using for the production.


In-Class Assignment 2/22/2010
On Facebook, I am following the group "Support Gay Marriage in Ohio."
Gay marriage is one of the major issues currently being debated in this country, whether it should be allowed or not. I am expecting this to be one of the topics discussed by some of the members of Stonewall Columbus.

Hopefully, some of those members are part of this same group as well, and I can play it into my story of how they use this group, as well as other forms of social media, to effectively communicate with people throughout Ohio and the rest of the country.

Even if they are not part of Stonewall, I can get their thoughts on how they go about making a difference within the gay community.

The group states who the administrators are, so messaging them and asking for a phone interview could be a possibility, or requesting interviews with members of the group is also an option. Phone interviews or interviews through instant messaging can be quick and efficient. If any of them are in Columbus, I can meet them face-to-face to conduct a video interview.