Based on the information that I read about as well as the podcast I listened to I strongly feel as though The Radiolab’s podcast seemed offensive and presented to it’s guests Kao Kalia Yang and Eng Yang . The interviewer began to sound as if he is trying to convince them that they were wrong and that they should believe the scientist. The actions of the interviewer were executed poorly. This was primarily due to the fact that he should have stated facts from both sides. At the same time the interviewer should of asked more questions to both sides of the party in order to gather further intel and information.

The interviewer stated that both  Eng Yang and Kao Kalia Yang were trying to control the conversation topic but based primarily on how I was interpreting the podcast I found it to be more likely that they want the whole story heard of what her uncle and his people suffered through. So lack of exposition by the interviewer led to only the presentation of one side to the story. Reporters did a poor job of getting to the “truth of the story”. It was a missed opportunity to report fair and balanced news. Reporters and interviewers also began to take sides and position themselves with the expert scientists. Instead they should have sided and gathered valuableintell from witnesses that were able to see the account of the yellow rain.  Interviewers ended up doing the complete opposite of what reporting is supposed to do. Each side of the story should be heard.

Serena William’s continues to be analyzed and examined closely for her body image. I firmly believe that the only female player being constantly examined and judged by the general public is Serena Williams. During her early childhood Serena Williams was analyzed for the beads within their hair. Slowly this molded into the hurtful scrutinizing of Serena’s body image. Through both readings I slowly began to feel uncomfortable by the overwhelming issue of body image sensitivity seeing as how in the end it was such a petty topic.

Through the articles, Ben Rothberg, the author was persistent on outlining athlete’s who seemed to be displeased with the imagery of their bodies.  Ben Rothberg compares the various athletic bodies to one another. As a result this begins to slowly mold and transition into a sense of classism among these tennis players and their bodies.

Andrew Petkovic, admits that she has body image issues, seems to be generally analyzed after being compared to a woman that is only a true woman because of her small frame and muscle composition. Selling Serena William’s secret of wearing long sleeves to avoid unwanted press attention when she is in public was a dangerous move to play. This only further exposes an insecurity the athlete is vocal about, but also makes it seems as though that should be the norm for people of that body type.

Although the offensive material provided in both articles given were not intentional by the following editors , consideration should have been taken by who would be reading the articles. At the same time both editors should of used the opportunity to make sure that they were as politically correct as it should have been. Taking the time to ensure the material was appropriate for given readers should have been done due to the various subjects covered and how fragile and sensitive they were.

Based on the articles given I have obtained a better understanding of the dangers that journalists face both local and foreign while working in Syria. Despite their jobs as journalists, they are considered to be enemies by those in Syria. In Syria, the government took it upon themselves to limit what was eligible to be and not be reported. Although as a result if journalists did not follow these implemented rules then they would be facing various risks such as imprisonment. Every day journalists put their lives at risk in order to report what is happening around the world. Social media has become a social norm within our society.

As time passed in Syria the situation began to mold into a much worse critical state and soon enough the residents within Syria did not want any reporters around. There was a lack of trust with reporters. Fearing with what they could potentially report to their government Journalists were soon being taken hostage by ISIS. These journalists had to endure the torture given to them.  This struck fear into the heart of the journalism community. At the same time putting their lives at risk barely paid at all. Compensations for journalists were very little. Although it seems unethical for such events to be transpiring seeing as how we can not take the initiative to help the world if we are not aware of what is happening.

After Wednesday’s guest speaker ,Robert, discussed the topic of political coverage with us during class, my opinions did change slightly. I appreciated the fact that our guest speaker was informative in the data that he presented to us yet at the same time explained it in a way that provided a neutral sense for all. It found it quite intriguing how not all news organizations report news just to get more hits or views. The news organizations nowadays are dived into separate groups in a figure of speech. Some news organizations cover important stories in order to generate more revenue whereas others do it on the importance of informing the public on the news. Although it is just as important for us as loyal viewers to take the time and be able to find a new’s source that one can trust on a daily basis. Especially whose priority is to deliver and report news to the public.

To be completely honest I normally do not watch such debates on television. So as a first time viewer I did not know what to expect going into this debate on television. Overall, I can safely say I was entertained by the debate. Although there were moments throughout the debate that left me repulsed and disgusted by the actions and words spoken by the moderators. From my perspective there seemed to be a lack of informative debates and instead constant conflicts between the moderators. There were times that the moderators were not being fair during the debate. Hopefully I am not the only one who left this debate feeling deprived of a good debate.

In the era that we live in now everything is about entertainment and success in numbers. Although how perceive and understand these type of debates as well as the news depends overall on where we as viewers choose to obtain our news. In the end it is important to be flexible and diverse in the sources we choose to obtain our news from seeing as how now these day’s reports can be biased depending on the story as a whole.

Based on the articles and given readings I find that the New York Times was fairly criticized for the way it handled it’s investigations of the nail salon industry. Sarah Maslin ,the author, presented the nail salon industry in a way that she saw it, and did not focus primarily on actual facts.

There were numerous mistakes that the New York Times made. The main mistake made by the NY Time’s was not publishing more information within  the newspapers and the sources on which they based their argument around. They needed to provide more sources for where they were getting their numbers from. Through this gathering and collection of statistics the New York Times would be able to  establish more credibility.

The New York Times failed to provide much explanation about the difference between illegal and legal immigrants within the industry. The legal immigrants must undergo training and receive certification in order to make a decent living. At the same time illegal immigrants would rarely be hired to avoid breaking regulations. These facts that were provided had actually presented the Nail Salon industry in a very different perspective rather than how the New York Times ended up writing about it. Sarah Maslin stated that in 2012 there were more than 2,000 nail salons. Although through her reporting Sarah states that only 29 salons were investigated. This then leaves numerous questions in regards to the accuracy of the reporting including the time period covering the investigation.

Despite the criticism and questions in relations to the accuracy of her information, Sarah Masiln  completed her objective. This objective which was to build and create conversation about the employees within the nail salon , their wages, and work conditions.

Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser both provide various views and perspectives on the approaches to covering the issue of food safety within our nation. While both provide substantial and vital information they both also have many differences. Both authors differed primarily due to the fact that Sinclair used his knowledge and gatherings in order to reveal and show the terrible and horrifying conditions in which meat was stored and later distributed for citizens to consume. At the same time Schlosser heavily emphasized the dishonest and terrible treatment of animals that are used for meat as well as the hazardous working conditions of employees.

Sinclairs findings primarily focuses on the dangers of workers in a Colorado meat factory. These workers had to work in a very noisy area because of all the power tools running simultaneously, which would be used to slice the meat.T he working environment was humid  which as a result would bring out all the horrid smells of dead animals. Workers were dressed in white coats to provide armor, but the tools were so sharp that they would easily puncture the suit and bare flesh.

In the end I find Eric Schlosser to be a more trustworthy source un terms of his findings. This is primarily due to the fact that he gave a first person account of what hardships he saw the workers go through within the factory in Colorado.Sinclair wrote an account that isn’t truly reliable since he describes a made up family that worked in Chicago. Sinclair does not provide a source for his information.

Getting your story and information to the media first is a critical part in the news industry. Within the  media coverage in today’s society  everyone tries to get the finest story and be the first to report it to the world. In this scenario. With the advancements in our everyday technology it is only natural for information and data to be sent at a fast and efficient rate.  Although there were conflict issues in regards to Hillary Clinton and the use of her private email with classified documents.

Without taking proper precautions the the New York Times ended up diving into this situataion without first confirming whether or not the given information was accurate or correct. Actions were taken by inspectors general for the State Department and the intelligence agencies. They sent  referrals to the Justice Department requesting a “criminal investigation” into whether Mrs. Clinton “mishandled sensitive government information” on the email account.

Although during the course of the week from Thursday to Sundaywhen a final correction appeared in print the various inaccuracies and changes in the story were handled as they came along. There were little explanation to the readers. Mistakes such as these tend to result in the destruction of these peoples careers .  So there is reason to be more careful when dealing with any topic.  It is vital and highly important for  news organizations to always gather all the proper information and deliver the facts to the public.

          Sometimes in life you gotta do what’s right despite the                   consequences that follow. These were constant themes that were focused more upon the documentary Citizenfour as welll as the article The Holderof Secrets. Throughout history our society has constantly tackled and fought for ournatural rights as citizens. One of these rights in particular is the Freedom of the Press. Guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction; this right encompasses freedom from prior restraints on publication and freedom from Censorship.

      Reasons can be justified that these surveillance programs were set up after the 9/11 attack. Initially the primary purpose was to look for potential  terrorists in their searches, in order to protect the security of America. However according to the article, The Holder of Secrets, it seems that the National Security Agency is using this intelligence collection “for political, rather than legal” reasons.

        Being the “whistleblower” in the news industry can have various results. Whether for better or worse there are always consequences. The battle never ends for journalists, state power verus the people’s power.  News organizations had a duty to publish the classified documents that Edward Snowden provided . Everyone has a right to the truth despitehow painful it might be to hear.If citizens were truly aware of their monitoring by the National Security Agency  it would have possibly held back our intellectual ability to learn and discover. Our society would be afraid to use the internet as a means of learning and enhancing their knowledge through the internet if it meant their use of the internet could possibly be checked by the National Security Agency.

Bill Cosby ,an American stand up comedian who is also well know for his work on The Cosby , is facing a series of historic sexual assault allegations dating back several decades, but has not been charged with any crimes. These allegations have dated as far back as 2002. Although it has not been up until now within 2015 that these stories have caught the attention of the public.

There are several factors to take into consideration. For starters issue journalists faced was the lack of evidence and crucial information that would help support these claims. In this type of situation it is naturally difficult to discuss about stories that may not be true. Instead it is quite simple to focus on the positive stories that are true and can providence information and evidence such as Bill Cosby’s professional career and accomplishments. As well as his impact on society.

In terms of relative and strong evidence most journalists and news organizations tend to focus primarily on the various stories of the rape victims who talked about their sexual assault.  At the same time Bill Cosby has refused to speak about his involvement with these women. So with a lack of supportive evidence this results in a difficult story for the media to cover on. Due to the prolonged truth on this story as well as the lack of real evidence it has divided society into whether or not the believe these accusations against Bill Cosby. The constantly growing line between rumors and the truth has made this a difficult story for most news organizations.

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