MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert 

11/18/2021

News App Critique

    

    I'm sure I'm not the only one that dreads watching the news having to see all he sad stories, pictures and videos. Lucky for us, the world is more evolved and tech savvy that we can have news apps so we can look at the news stories that we wont to without being saddened. The app I am talking about today is Apple News. It is only on Apple products. 

        Personally, I don't use the app much but I know many people who do. It serves the same purpose as a news channel does and has the same trustworthy information. Apple news was released on September 16th, 2015 for all the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app is as resourceful as a newspaper, news article, or news story on TV. 

 

The Apple News app gathers news stories from the web via various syndication feed or from news publishing partners via the JSON descriptive Apple News Format. 

[14] 

Any news publisher can submit their content to Apple News, and users can subscribe to any feed using the Safari web browser. 

Stories added through Safari will be displayed in the app in-app web browser. This app has categories for the specific places you want to in that moment. It is convenient for user. 

    Another app called Apple News+ was released on March 25, 2019. It now allows 300+ magazine subscriptions. It gave more options for the readers and better options as well. On July 15th 2020, Apple announced that there would be audio news stories added. The app continues to upgrade and become more useful for people. 

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11/18/2021

Opinion(Local Issue)

    Recently, Terry Bradshaw, who is a four time Super Bowl quarterback, inspires a sold out audience in the 2021 Farmers Bank and Trust at Southern Arkansas University to embrace opportunities and finding reasons to be thankful everyday. 

    

    Our President at SAU, Trey Berry, opened up with these words: "Tonight is all about our students,” he said, stressing the importance of SAU’s history with Farmers Bank & Trust. “You can drive around this campus, in any direction, and see the influence of Farmers Bank. It was here from the very beginning Berry announced Kimber Birdsong of Prescott, Arkansas, and Seth Horn of Farmington, Arkansas, as the recipients of the Farmers Bank & Trust Scholarship. “Thanks to Farmers Bank for its indelible impact on generations of students,” Berry said. Elizabeth Burns Anderson, who is the executive director of the Farmers Bank Foundation, continues by announcing the creation of the Dr. Bob Burns Endowment Fund, which will provide scholarships for generations to come. Bradshaw used is humor and stories of football as inspiration to the audience. Bradshaw also stresses the importance of leadership and living life joyfully rather than living life with temporary happiness. Bradshaw also speaks on how he never seemed to lose faith throughout life.

    

    Bradshaw gave many encouraging words and as I read this article, what stood out to me is never losing faith. Throughout college and life, we should never lose faith. Whether we believe in different things, we still share common goals to never lose faith and to live life joyfully. 

    

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11/18/2021

Opinion(State, National, or International)

    In August 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse killed 36 year old Joseph Rosenbaum, 26 year old Anthony Huber, and wounded 27 year old Gaige Grosskreutz when he shot them with an assault rifle as he roamed the streets of Kenosha.. He was only 17 when he went and shot those men. 

    On Friday, the jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on charges related to his shooting dead two people at an anti racism protest and injuring the third man. Many teens had guns and acting as patrol in the streets when the protests went on. They has armed assault rifles as the black members of the community joined the protest supporting Black Lives Matter. The turning point of the trial came when Grosskreutz testified that a gun was pointed at Rittenhouse before he fired the rifle. Others testified that Rittenhouse was pursued by the men he shot dead. On the fourth day,  the jury had a unanimous verdict of no guilty. He was charged with intentional homicide, reckless homicide, and attempted intentional homicide. He was shook as he waited on the verdicts and had to leave the room to calm himself down.   The officers handed 17 year old boys water as they carried assault rifles and their parents approved of them to stay out past curfew to "patrol" the streets. 

    In my opinion, the officers should not have allowed 17 year olds have assault rifles and neither should the parents have. I believe Rittenhouse was pursued because the people out there felt threatened by the assault rifles as they just tried to protest for something they believed in. The police have training and shouldn't have needed extra help in that manner. The boys could've helped in other ways. I believe Rittenhouse should've had some kind of time or at least probation.  

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11/18/2021

Entertainment on Pop Culture

        Grant Gustin is a 31 year old singer and actor. Grant Gustin was born in Norfolk, Virginia. The show he is most known for is The Flash which first aired in October 7th 2014. His is also known for his role in Glee as Sebastian Smythe, which aired in November 8th, 2011. 

        Grant's first known role was in a film named "Rain". It was filmed by a student named Neil Grochmal. He got this role during his studies at Regent University. After he left Regent University he went on the revival tour of West Side Story from September 10th 2010 through September 23rd 2011. His role was Baby John. He got his big TV break when he took on the character of Sebastian Smythe on Glee. He showcased his singing and acting abilities on National Television. Grant Gustin began filming A Mother's Nightmare, an original film on Lifetime Network,  in late May 2012. He landed a major role on an independent film named Affluenza on July 11th 2012. 

    Grant Gustin most known is Barry Allen on The Flash. He announced his role on the second season of Arrow on September 13th 2013. The series premiered on October 7th, 2014. It had 4.8 million viewers. It airs on the CW on Tuesday at 7pm. I personally love this show. The show recently aired it's 8th season and it is a 5 part crossover. It nearly has 150 episodes.  "At 11, Barry Allen's life changed completely when his mother died in a freak accident and his innocent father was convicted of her murder. Orphaned Barry later becomes Detective Joe West. Now a crime-scene investigator, his dedication to learn the truth about his mother's death drives him to follow up on every new scientific advancement and urban legend. When his latest obsession - a particle accelerator heralded as a world-changing invention - causes an explosion, it creates a freak storm and Barry is struck by lightning. He awakes from a coma nine months later with the power of superspeed. When he learns that others who have gained powers use them for evil, he dedicates himself to protecting the innocent, while still trying to solve the older mystery." This is a general summary of the first episode and how the show begins. 

        In 2016, Grant Gustin met Andrea Thoma at a dinner party. Personally to me, their relationship felt real low key since I barely heard anything about them and was shocked when I found out how long they were together. They announced their engagement on April 29, 2017 and got married December 15th 2018. They recently had their first daughter earlier this year.      

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11-02-2021

Civics

        The definition of civics is the study of the rights and duties of citizenship. When I saw that definition, I instantly thought of Declaration of Independence. There are civic participations. Some of them include: voting, volunteering, participating in group activities, etc. A standard course in high school is civics and it includes: provide instruction on American democracy and other systems of government, the history of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, an explanation of mechanisms for public participation, etc. The father of civic is Benjamin Franklin and he acknowledged the complexity of cross culture, diverse and anticipatory actions. The four main aspects of civics are: Political Knowledge, Normative Values, Individualistic Civic Behavior and Communal Civic Behavior. 

  

    The Articles of Confederation is a civic document that is taught in middle and high school history. The purpose of this document was to establish the functions of the national government of the United States after we got our independence from Great Britain. On November 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation "created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak controlled government", leaving the most power in the state. Some weaknesses of the Articles were: Each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of size, Congress did not have the power to tax, Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, there was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress, there was no national court system or judicial branch. Some strengths of the Articles were: Congress could declare war, and start an army and navy, they could make peace and sign treaties, they can borrow money they can organize a post office, etc.

    Every middle school, high school, and even college history curriculum talks about the Articles of Confederation. It allows us as students to see the flaws America had starting out and shows how we got so strong. It has strong insight on how government can be and if you think critically it gives insight on how some businesses and jobs should be based on position of power. The Articles of Confederation was the rough draft of the Constitution. It also shows us that even powerhouse states can fail.     

        As I was writing this I began to think, What does this have to do with Mass Media? It allows us to analyze different pieces of history and its flaws in order for us to know how to fix and analyze our mistakes in history. Civics has different important points to make it what it is and our work in Mass Media should have important points so we can know why we are doing our work because if we don't, it is useless.

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11-02-2021

Listening Posts

    When I first heard listening post, I wasn't sure what it was. After some research, I found that it was a military term that listened from a post to detect enemy positions but in Mass Communications, listening posts are all around us. 

    A listening post can be as simple as having a conversation with a group of your friends. It is an act of obtaining information from people. As the "therapist friend", I obtain many listening posts. Going to church every Sunday receiving a sermon is also a form of a listening post. Listening post happen in everyday life. My life consists of school, church, and work. My weekly listening posts consists of lectures in class, Sunday school lessons, questions about things in the library, etc. Listening posts come in many forms as a college student. A listening post can even be overhearing a student talk about something then contributing to the conversation.

    There are also listening stations that partner with other stations or people to get stories out, like a radio station.  Listening posts also can be conducted in neighborhoods in order to gain and consume information. Listening posts can be used for journalism to get out news about heavy topics like a news station or newspaper. 

As a Mass Communication major, knowing what a listening post is important because we encounter them everyday. We will be in different fields the listening posts we will hear everyday so we can contribute to our jobs to our best ability. 

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11-01-2021

Public Records(State, National, or International) 

        The Public Record of Northern Ireland is official archive in Northern Ireland. It is open to the public by appointment only. It is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They collect public records of all sorts for Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1924. 

It identifies and preserves historical, social, and culturally importance. They make them available for the information, history and enjoyment of education. It seems this public record office has other interests and goals unlike others. State public record offices have information that will benefit and help others or to have a person's important information. I'm not sure if all international public record offices are like this but PRONI has archived records to give the people something to enjoy.

They have a news page, a contacts page and a help page on their dashboard. PRONI also collects a wide range archive of private sources. They promote the best practice in archive and record management. The records date back from 1921-present day. Some date back to the 18th and 19th century as well. Privately deposited records include business and church records. PRONI even hosts events to talk about what they offer to the public and the wide ranges of their sources. These records are available online: Electronic Catalog, Ulster Covenant, Street Disclosures, Freeholders List, Londonderry Corporation Records, Uploaded images, PRONI web archive, Historical map viewer, Valuation revision books, and Name Search.

I don't know if they states has public records offices like this but PRONI seems very beneficially. It was interesting on reading on the difference between state and international public records. They have the same principles but different uses of them. 

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11-03-2021

Numeracy

What is numeracy? 

When I first looked at the word, I automatically knew it was about numbers. I also thought it was going to be this complicated process or definition since it involved numbers.  I also thought about math and who just likes math - not normal people. The definition of numeracy is simply the ability to understand and work with numbers. It sounds like basically the ability to do math to me but it's more than that. 

Numeracy is important because it helps people develop logical thinking and reasoning strategies everyday. We need critical thinking for any job that we do. We need logical thinking a lot when working in the media. We also need numeracy to make sense of numbers, time, patterns, shapes for activities that involves those concepts, and to solve problems. Numeracy helps with certain parts of the brain that we need to function and to learn everyday. 

The categories of the mathematical content of numeracy, or the content that helps us think critically, are number, operations, patterns, functions, algebra, measurement, and understanding assessment. Each of these categories gives us ideas on how to problem solve and assess certain situations. They also give us how to find simple and compound interest which is something we need when we are trying to make big purchases that require a loan. 

Numeracy sounds a lot like math but it is more than that. It helps us with everyday skills and helps us develop new ways to solve problems more efficiently. We don't like the math portion of it but we may be using the same concept without the math and not even know it. 

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert 

11-03-2021

International Hard or Feature News

CNN News- Houthi missile attack on mosque and religious schools kills and injuries 29 Yemeni civilians 

Western Asia 

On November 1st, the attack took place in the Yemeni province of Marib. Two ballistic missles were used in the attack says the Marib governer's office in a statement. No one took immediate blame for the missiles. There was previous fighting between the two groups months prior to the attack. 

BBC News: Later, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV reported that the bodies of 39 people had been pulled from the rubble of the destroyed buildings. However, there was no confirmation from the government officials. Mr Eryani condemned what he called "incomprehensible and unjustified international silence" over the "horrific massacre" and other deadly attacks by Houthi militia in Marib and Taiz in recent days. He called on the international community to prosecute Houthi leaders and fighters as "war criminals".

MM 2003 - Courtney Roberson

 Courtney Roberson

Reporting/Writing for the Mass Media

Dr. Reppert

11-03-2021

#Trending on Social Media

"The Atlanta Braves lift their first World Series title since 1995" 

Heading into game 6 of the World Series in Houston, the Braves had a 3-2 lead over the Astros, where they began to defeat the Astros when they were 7-0 and won their first World Series since 1995. With Jorge Soler's 3 home runs, the Braves were up 3-0 at the top of the third and Atlanta's lead became 5-0 when Dansby Swanson took reliever Christian  Javier on in the fifth inning. 

These are some of the things people and networks had to say about the game: 

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1455667320794357763?t=ImsGpRpHXX1CBmGlP3p7vA&s=19

https://twitter.com/KevinMcAlpin/status/1455702215671222273?t=MLRrYDPGKeAVBVKPau2bIQ&s=19

https://twitter.com/MLBStats/status/1455703360468828160?t=nOlcv1uquEn1Fzj42YF9IA&s=19

This game was out of this world and it made real history. Braves fans are going crazy everywhere. I'm not a baseball person but I do understand that the World Series is like the Superbowl. I would feel the same if my team, the Dallas Cowboys, won!