Blog 4: Antiwar

 

    

      Antiwar.com and The American Conservative  are clearly antiwar in their objective and ways of thinking. This is something that Americans do not see commonly everyday in this time. Antiwar protests were big in 1960-70's, during the Vietnam War. Most of these protestors are what we think of today as "hippies". I don't think I can accurately guess why it is so uncommon for us to hear antiwar voices, America is a free country after all, isn't it? In the times we are in now, I honestly feel as though I would be hearing a lot more antiwar voices. I grew up in a military family, so naturally I never heard any of this talk at home, but coming into college I really thought antiwar thoughts would be bigger. I am also shocked we don't hear more about people who are antiwar in the news. I genuinely do not think there would be as big of a backlash to it as news outlets might think they would receive. I think the reason we don't hear much about antiwar is fear from antiwar voices that their thoughts would be shot down right away in a very negative way. So, they put their voices on websites that are harder to find unless you are specifically seeking them out. I do think that the government wouldn't want strong antiwar voices out because it seems they are extremely pro-war and these voices would go completely against what they want. 

Sources:

https://www.ushistory.org/us/55d.asp

https://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/pnwhistory_vietnam.shtml

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests

Coded Bias Reflection

 

    Before watching Coded Bias, I knew very little about artificial intelligence, and all that it can do. I was also extremely ignorant to the fact that coding and AI can be bias. I never thought about how facial recognition would be such a big problem. Everyone has their own biases that they have to learn to get over, but I didn't realize a personal bias could make such an impact on technology. Joy Buolamwini noticed that facial recognition software had a very difficult time detecting her face, why? Because she is not white. She was not able to be recognized until she put on a white mask that was able to detect the face and features. This happens when coders have a bias, whether or not they know it, against African Americans or other dark skinned people. They don't see a problem because it does not affect them and their personal lives-in fact, they might not even know that it is causing problems for other people. 

This film showed how important it is to know your own biases. There were clips shown of police officers using facial recognition, but it was stated time and time again that this system has identified the wrong people when it comes to crime. How is this helpful? It is only making it harder for the police to find the actual criminal, and it is harmful to the person who is wrongfully arrested. Honestly, after watching this short film it has made me more aware of how big biases can be, and how we as citizens should be more aware of what is good and bad with AI and facial recognition.

Blog 3: Six Freedoms of the Black Lives Matter Movement

VOA News released an article on August 21, 2020 entitled "Police Response to Press at Black Lives Matter Protests Tests First Amendment", the article talks about the journalists that were tear-gassed, shot with rubber bullets, and detained by police officers after identifying themselves as media and showing their credentials in Washington D.C. However, Washington D.C. was not the only place to break first amendment rights of journalists; in Seattle, Washington and Cleveland, Ohio journalists were subpoenaed for unpublished footage, and in Portland, Oregon the Department of Homeland Security created intelligence reports on their local media reporters. The U.S. Park Police in Washington placed two of their officers on administrative leave while the investigation is going on for the local incident. Many media experts have stated that the police retaliation is against the first amendment rights of the journalists, going to protests for their job. 

One of the six freedoms in the First Amendment is the right to peacefully protest, which according to the article the protests the media was covering were done peacefully. The press was hit with rubber bullets, tear gassed, and detained. This goes against the freedom of press that is covered by our First Amendment right in the Constitution. According to the article, the police ignored the proof that the members of the press were media and allowed to be there. In Seattle and Cleveland, press outlets were subpoenaed for unpublished footage. This clearly goes against first amendment rights. 

The article talks about how different foundations, the Freedom of the Press Foundation being one, are gaining information and data on incidents including police breaking different First Amendment rights. "The Tracker has received reports of at least 700 incidents involving media at the protests, including more than 100 arrests and at least 114 physical attacks allegedly carried out by police. The scale of incidents is the highest recorded by the Tracker since it was formed in 2017 to monitor incidents in the U.S." 

The article clearly has a bias towards the police following the brutality that has been going on, but it does not hide the fact that hundreds of people have been punished for carrying out their rights as American citizens. 

Citation: 

VOA News: "Police Response to Press at Black Lives Matter Protests Tests First Amendment" 

https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/police-response-press-black-lives-matter-protests-tests-first-amendment

Blog 2: History of the United States Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court of the United States also known as SCOTUS is the highest federal court in the U.S., it was established in 1798 by the U.S. Constitution, Article Three of the Constitution to be specific. The Constitution allowed Congress to decide the makeup of the Supreme Court; they ultimately decided the court would have six justices that would serve until they decided to retire or died. President George Washington signed the act into law. The first assembly was on February 2, 1790 in New York City, NY after being pushed back from the set date of February 1, 1970 due to transportation issues on the justices' part. No cases were heard in the first term of the Supreme Court, they mainly worked out their organizational procedures.  Their first decision was made on August 3, 1791. The chief justice leads the meetings and sets agendas for each meeting each week. The current Supreme Court is composed of chief justice John Roberts, Jr. and associate justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the only female supreme justice until 2009 when Sonia Sotomayor joined. The court continued to have only 6 justices until 1869 when it increased to 9 justices, this remains the number of justices a part of the Supreme Court today. 

    There are many traditions associated with the Supreme Court, for example the seating arrangement for the court is very specific. The Chief Justice takes his place in the middle of the Bench, the senior Associate sits to his right, the second senior to his left, and the cycle continues on from there-alternating from left to right by seniority. Traditionally, black robes are worn by the Justices in the Court; however, Chief Justice Jay and his colleagues did wear red facing robes-his robe is now on display in the Smithsonian. 

Citation:

History.com Editors. "Supreme Court." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 May 2010, www. history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts.

Supremecourt.gov https://www.supremecourt.gov/

Blog 1: My News Sources

As a Journalism student, it is extremely important to be keeping up with the daily news. In the world of "fake news" it is critical to be checking various sources to find where the truth is hidden, it is not always in your face. In this post I will share with you my top 5 resources of all things news and information.

BBC News is a great source that I check daily. I really like using BBC News as it has news from all over the world that I might not be able to see from local newspapers or new sources that tend to simply cover the United States. BBC News has always seemed to have very unbiased reports and their website is extremely easy to navigate. It has been especially useful during the pandemic as they have a specific "Coronavirus" tab with their articles on the virus under it.

 C-Span is a great source when it comes to news for the US, it is extremely unbiased, when it comes to news telling as almost all of it is happening live-there are no reporters to pick what they want to tell. C-Span is live coverage of the US Senate, and has a morning talk show that discusses US government and politics. Not only is C-Span available on three TV channels, but they also have a radio show. I believe that this is a great source of news especially for writers and those interested in politics, it is real time, extremely factual information.

Tribune Review is a newspaper that is near my hometown, I really enjoy using it because they discuss world events, but also local events. I am able to get news from back home while at school, but also shows me some coverage that is world news. I truly only trust this outlet when it comes to the home town news, I am more hesitant when it comes to news focused on other parts of the US and the world in general. I am also careful when it comes their posts about politics, but it is also interesting to read what they have to say. 

Fox News  is a source that I check out often. I said in my intro that we are in an age where "fake news" is so easy to come by. Fox News is one that is constantly under attack for not having factual information. I like to check Fox News to see how their reporting is in comparison to other news outlets. I only view their online posts and rarely watch their broadcasts on TV, but I still think it is important to at least read an article or two by them to see what their reporting style is like. 

CNN News is very similar to Fox News, conservatives are often making claims that CNN only puts out fake news, so I like to view this as well. Again, I only read what they post online and do not watch their television broadcasts. I love to see the differences in the rhetoric between CNN and Fox, obviously they are big competitors, so I know almost always the reports are going to be vastly different. I believe that as journalists it is important to read both sides of stories that are put out regardless of our own beliefs and opinions on the matter.