Journalism and Democracy

           Scott Pelley, CBS Evening News anchor, has recently mentioned that "there is no democracy without journalism...If we lose good journalism, America will lose its vitality in the world." In this quote, Pelley means to say that without journalists reporting truths to the public, the people would not be able to have any effect on how the U.S. is run, and America would eventually fall from its world-famous pedestal.

           Reporting and democracy are linked in different ways. Reporting is defined as telling, either by word of mouth or by written account, about what one has heard, seen, done, or investigated, and journalism is, in essence, reporting stories. Democracy, on the other hand, is defined as a system of government by the country's public, typically through elected representatives. One way these terms are linked is that reporters inform the public of the news and keep them aware of the facts, allowing the public to form opinions on what must be done about the subject matter. Without being truthfully informed, the public would not know if anything was amiss, and they may vote for a candidate they thought to be a different sort of person, or they may not act upon an injustice they did not know about. Without reporters, the people would not know what is going on in their own country, and, therefore, they could not take any form form of action through democracy to make a change. Another way that reporting and democracy are linked is through the freedom of speech. Being part of a democracy means that people have the right to express their thoughts and opinions. Reporters are the epitome of the freedom of speech, for they tell others what is going on and what they think it means, and, oftentimes, what they think should be done. If reporters were repressed in any way, the freedom of speech would be violated; therefore, the presence of reporters is a blatant sign that a democracy stands.

           Pelley suggests that we cannot have journalism without democracy or democracy without journalism because the two are so delicately entwined. If journalism was not present at all, the people would not be part of a democracy, for in a democracy, all voices may be heard. If the country was not a democracy, journalism would most certainly be either illegal or highly censored by the government, for seeing as journalists speak their mind and spread the truth, there would most certainly be certain truths a government would not want its people to be aware of. For these reasons, journalism and democracy cannot exist without the other.

How to Plan for an Associate’s Degree

           Planning for an associate’s degree can seem intimidating at first. However, given a little research and perhaps a meeting with an academic advisor, students can find out just how straight-forward earning an associate’s degree is. 

           Before enrolling in any classes, students must take a placement test at the Glendale Community College testing center and, following testing, enroll as a student at the college. After completing these two crucial steps, students can decide whether they want the help of an academic advisor or rely solely on their own research.

           Students unsure about exactly what degree they might want to pursue should conduct research on different types of associate’s degrees. There are numerous websites describing what must be done to achieve different associate’s degrees and what jobs that degree can lead to, one of them being study.com. This website allows one to peruse various associate’s degree descriptions and lists jobs associate’s degree graduates can obtain. Another helpful website is createacareer.org, which also lists jobs graduates are qualified for.

           After learning about which degrees interest oneself, students should find an associate’s degree class plan. Class plans can be found on the Glendale Community College website by locating the academics tab and pressing the link to degrees and certifications beneath it. Students can find the degree they want to complete, click on it, and from there look at the most current course check sheet to see what classes must be completed to earn the associate’s degree. Glendale Community College academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar confirms this, stating that “[the course check sheet] tells you exactly the specific classes for that degree.”

           Students can put together a plan for themselves based off of the course check sheets. GCC student Cameron Murray demonstrates this by mentioning how he “looked up the plan on the [GCC] website” then made sure he “got the pre-recs out of the way so [he] could continue”. Murray emphasizes the importance of understanding what pre-requisites are required for each class, stating that “if you [don’t] do the pre-recs, you can’t do the class.” 

           For students wanting to make sure their plan is free of hitches, such as non-transferable credits, or who still feel lost on finding the right path, academic advisors at Glendale Community College are there to help. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar explains how they can assist, saying, “we ask [students] probing questions about what their eventual goal is, and based on that, we tell them what their pathway is.” He goes on to say that academic advisors” know the specifics of certain degree pathways and what applies under certain areas.” Academic advisors such as Udyavar are available for meeting at Glendale Community College upon appointment, which can be made in the enrollment center.

           If, after researching and meeting with an academic advisor, students still are unsure what specific associate’s degree they should go for, they can pursue a general associate’s degree. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar tells how “a general degree typically is a good start to give [students]...a lot of students fall into that category of a general AA degree, but then eventually decide;…[then], they just have to double back and take…the classes for that degree.” 

           Switching degrees is also possible, as GCC student Cameron Murray, former computer tech student and current digital media arts student, demonstrates. “It turns out [the general classes] also applied to the digital media arts,” he says, in describing the switch. When the switch was made, he only had to finish up a few general classes and then “started doing the actual, specific, digital media arts classes.” Associates degrees of all types require many of the same general classes, which is why changing programs was not too difficult for Murray. 

           Given some research and perhaps help from a college academic advisor, planning for an associate’s degree should be doable for every student. By finding out how one’s associate’s degree must be earned, students will have a direct focus for the two years of schooling required of them to earn the degree and should not have a problem with taking unnecessary or not enough classes.

Julian Assange and Edward Snowden: Activists or Journalists?

         As the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s article on Reporters’ Privilege mentions, a journalist is somebody who gathers new for the purpose of reporting it to the public. An activist, however, is defined by dictionary.com as a vigorous and active advocate of a cause, typically one involved in politics. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are two particularly well-known figures in today’s news, both being involved in protests against governments overstepping the personal security boundaries of the public. Information about the doings of these men suggests that Assange is a journalist while Snowden is an activist.

            Due to information provided in different articles, Assange can be described as a journalist. Julian Assange’s background is clearly written in BBC’s article Profile: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. According to BBC, Assange is the founder of Wikileaks, a website that publishes confidential images and documents. While many support Assange for exposing the truth regarding sensitive matters, others do not, believing that exposing sensitive information is dangerous. The U.S. government, however, is clearly not a supporter due to what the article describes as Wikileaks’ release of secret U.S. documents and war footage displaying an American helicopter shooting Iraq’s civilians. Assange is clearly a journalist, since he believes it is his duty to release this subject matter to the public. The Wikileaks website itself describes their goal as being “to bring important news and information to the public.” This clearly acknowledges that Assange’s mission is that of a journalist. 

            Drawing from information provided by The Guardian’s article How Edwards Snowden went from loyal NSA contractor to whistleblower, written by Luke Harding, Edward Snowden can be defined as an activist. The article explains how Snowden realized that the NSA wanted to know just about everything about everyone and  that the fail-safes built into America’s system meant to keep the NSA from extending their boundaries failed. Snowden later got a job in Hawaii and became one of the NSA’s “sysadmins”, giving him access to the agency’s secret material. He stole a large amount of top-secret documents without leaving a trace and disappeared, claiming he was suffering from epilepsy when in fact, he was hiding in China. Snowden then contacted journalist Glenn Greenwald and documentary film-maker Laura Poitras, who eventually aided him in exposing the documents that proved unlawful spying activity of the NSA on the American public. Following the publication of these documents, Snowden left China and ended up in Russia, where he currently seeks asylum. In order to expose the NSA, Snowden gave up his life in the states. However, he was not the one to release the information to the public; he gave the information to established people in the media field and let them do the work. Because of this, Snowden is not a journalist but an activist, for he is an incredibly passionate advocate for the privacy of the American people.

            Both Assange and Snowden have a prominent role in the media, both a negative and positive one. On one hand, they are described as protectors of the public: Assange, in believing that the public should be given access to information on current happenings that they would otherwise be denied, and Snowden as unmasking the NSA as spies of the American public and invaders of privacy rights. On the other hand, the Profile: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange BBC article explains how Assange is currently in a media spotlight, seeing as he is accused of two cases of sexual assault. Although he denies these accusations, describing them as a political trap, this puts him in a negative spotlight in the media. Snowden is also prone to being displayed in a negative light. As NBC News reports in an article NSA Officials: Snowden Emailed With Question, Not Concern, he is being criticized for emailing a question regarding whether Executive Orders can overrule federal statute or not instead of telling the NSA directly about his concerns with invasions of the privacy of Americans before leaking secret documents, although it is unknown whether other emails were exchanged. 

            The relationship Assange and Snowden have to journalism is a very close one, Assange being a version of a journalist himself as well as being the subject of many journalists’ focuses, and Snowden for his interaction with journalists in order to give them information to pass onto the public. In The Guardian’s article How Edwards Snowden went from loyal NSA contractor to whistleblower, written by Luke Harding, it is mentioned that Snowden closely involved a columnist for The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald, in the initial release of the top secret U.S. documents to the public. Although this is the most major contribution Snowden has given to American journalism, he also continues to give journalists subject matter by allowing them to interview him.

Reporter’s Privilege

 Response to Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Reporters’ Privilege Article

            Bloggers are sometimes journalists, depending on the situation. While the line between bloggers and journalists seems to become more and more blurred with the growing number of internet users contributing their voice through blogging, there are several distinct differences between who is a journalist and who is providing entertainment. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s article on Reporters’ Privilege mentions, a journalist is somebody who gathers new for the purpose of reporting it to the public. This means that the writer is seeking information to share with others to inform them, not seeking information to share with others in order to receive personal gain. Also, a true journalist would interview people and use them as sources, and if that journalist shares their content on a blogging platform, that does not make them any less professional. However, not all bloggers and web media personnel have the same protection as journalists. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Shield Law Statute in Arizona does not mention web reporters in the protection laws stated that are used to offer journalists and their sources protection. Although the laws have yet to state it so, bloggers can be journalists if they publish truthful information using their own sources with the purpose of informing the public.

            In the 21^st century, it is incredibly important to preserve reporter’s privilege. Reporter’s privilege is, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Reporters’ Privilege article, a collection of laws, which may vary from state to state state, that protect journalists and their sources by allowing them to keep their sources and unpublished information confidential. I agree with the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s opinion that protecting sources is important for the freedom of the press, and for this reason, I believe that reporter’s privilege must be maintained. Sources will not want to speak with journalists if they think they may be exposed and, as a result, possibly endangered. It is the job of a journalist to protect their sources who wish to remain unknown, and journalists should be able to count on reporter’s privilege to keep their sources safe.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Possibly Facing Criminal Contempt Charges

 -Response to CNN Article Judge Seeks criminal contempt charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and WNYC Podcast Judge Seeks Criminal Charges Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio In Profiling Case-

           According to CNN reporter Kimberly Hutcherson, the US Attorney’s Office has been asked by Federal Judge G Murray Snow to pursue a criminal case against Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and, if they don’t, he may just give the job to a special prosecutor. She explains that the reasoning behind Snow’s request lies in Arpaio’s decision to ignore court orders to stop racial profiling and for, in Snows words, “intentionally [making] a number of false statements under oath”. Hutcherson mentions that Snow also accuses Arpaio of trying to prevent further questions from being asked about his unlawful activity. Her article on the CNN web base gives a clear background of Arpaio’s racial profiling history. In it is described a class action lawsuit filed against Arpaio and the Maricopa Sheriff’s Office for using discrimination in policing and jail practices in 2007, the opening of a federal investigation in 2009, and the suing of Maricopa County in 2010. The article explains how, if convicted for his wrongdoings, Arpaio faces fines and possible jail time.

           Hutcherson’s article Judge Seeks criminal contempt charges cgainst Sheriff Joe Arpaio is well-presented and organized. I like how her presentation of the information includes subtitles used to separate different subtopics, and I enjoyed how she attached videos that describe the case and present Arpaio and his views. Overall, the article offers a good, solid summary of why criminal contempt charges are being pressed against Arpaio.

           Although I enjoyed reading Hutcherson’s article, there were a few things I didn’t like about it. First, there were not many direct quotes from Arpaio. Although the article shows a tweet from Arpaio stating that he does not want to engage in conversation about the ongoing litigation, it would have been nice for some direct quotes on his views to be inserted in text into the article, rather than only being embedded in one of the attached videos. Also, I did not like how politics surrounding the 2016 presidential election were brought into the picture. I believe they were unnecessary and did not contribute to the topics at hand. Lastly, I noticed that Hutcherson describes Arpaio as a “supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump”, whereas in the attached video Arizona sheriff still impugning Obama birth certificate, Arpaio clearly states that he “never endorsed Trump”. In my opinion, Hutcherson was misleading in describing Arpaio as a Trump supporter. These were the main matters I came across in the article that I personally am not fond of.

           By listening to the WNYC Podcast reported by Jude Joffe-Block, my understanding of this story was slightly broadened. In the podcast’s introduction, I learned that Arpaio is a 6-term sheriff, elected each time by the people of Maricopa County. This surprised me, for it gives me reason to believe that although Arpaio is wrong in racial-profiling, he must be doing something right for him to keep being reelected. I was also enlightened in understanding Snow’s frustration, for Joffe-Block explains that Snow has been involved with Arpaio for three years, overseeing reforms and being disappointed by the sheriff time and time again. The reporter tells how Arpaio was forbidden by Snow to make any immigration arrests and continued to do so anyways. She also brings up a time four years ago when a criminal case against Arpaio was closed by the criminal justice department, showing that Arpaio is not new to being accused of criminal acts. Another interesting tidbit given in Joffe-Block’s podcast is spoken by University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, who tells how it is “not a common thing…for a court to use the criminal contempt powers and rarer still for court to order criminal contempt charges against elected officials”. This gives light on just how much Arpaio must be giving reason for Judge Snow to press charges. The extra details such as these that the podcast offered definitely helped fill in the blanks in my understanding.

           I would not have presented this information much differently than Joffe-Block did. The podcast began with a straight-to-the-point introduction, and direct quotes from several different points of view were embedded in the podcast. The detail offered was astounding and helped clear any questions I had before, leaving me with a complete understanding of the case.

 Works Cited

Hutcherson, Kimberly. “Judge seeks criminal contempt charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio”. CNN. 20 Aug. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/20/us/arpaio- criminal-contempt-charges-referral/. Accessed 26 Aug. 2016.

Joffe-Block, Jude. “Judge Seeks Criminal Charges Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio In Profiling Case”. Audio Blog Post. All Things Considered. WNYC, 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 26 Aug. 2016.

Day 1: In-Class Writing

          I think that the most important value for journalism is to tell the truth. When journalism first began, people were soon addicted to it for want of information. None of that information, however, is relevant if they stray in any manner from the truth. There is no reason for one to read the newspaper if it is only ridden with lies, for the reader would not learn anything of real substance. Articles written by journalists are often used by the reader to draw conclusions of their own about a related topic. In this case, the article the reader has chosen is used as a puzzle piece in order to piece together with other bits of information. Once enough information is gathered, the reader can form their own opinion about the matter, but they would be unable to form a solid opinion if they are misinformed by their sources. The truth is also crucial when journalists are used for investigative purposes to expose someone who may be at fault for criminal acts or wrongdoings. In these cases, it is of utter importance for the writer to report exactly what they know to be true so that there is no room for misinterpretation. If any key information is left out or altered, the story could be completely changed, leaving the guilty free from consequence, or, if it just so happens that they are indeed innocent, leaving them locked in prison. For the reasons of correctly informing the public with integrity intact, telling the truth is the utmost importance of any journalist.