Maine Law for All Drivers

Society is always craving the best in technology and it’s no surprise that today’s drivers have many temptations and distractions. Cell phones can do more than just make a basic call, users can now email and text message without being at a bulky computer. Yes technology has advanced so much over the years and has become affordable so the average Joe/Jane may partake in the experience.

Advancement in technology can make new addicting distractions for the user; like paying attention in class or driving a vehicle. According to a study released in January by the National Safety Council, twenty-eight percent of car accidents occur when the drivers were using their cell phones, ether talking or texting.

While other states have made it illegal for cell phone users to talk/text and drive, Maine is not one of them. Maine does have laws that prevent drivers under the age of 18 from using cell phones along with other drivers that have learner’s permits or intermediate licenses. Many users believe using a hands-free cell phone accessory, like Blue Tooth, makes driving easier but according to studies it doesn’t make a difference.
Senator Bill Diamond, D-Windham, sponsored a bill that came into effect September 12, 2009 that impacted every driver in the state of Maine. The law is met to cover a broader amount of distractions than just cell phones alone.

The law makes failure to maintain control of a vehicle illegal and is defined by a driver participating in another activity that is not necessary to driving the vehicle. Also if the activity impairs or would be assume to impair the drivers ability to drive safely. Therefore, this law covers everything from eating to talking on the cell phone.

Having a law only making cell phone usage illegal will allow new technologies legal while driving when they equally distract a driver’s attention. Senator Diamond expressed to the Bangor Daily News that targeting just cell phone usage is not the answer. “We cannot just focus on cell phones or the electronic device of the day that people are interested in at that moment,” Diamond says. “What we do is focus on the behavior, not what specifically caused it.”

The law gives police the right to ticket distracted drivers for failing to maintain control of their vehicle. If you’re using a cell phone while driving you can be pulled over if a police officer takes notice. However, if you’re using a cell phone and driving in a way that doesn’t attract attention to yourself you will go unnoticed. Making the law penalties only kick in if the driver is caught driving distracted, or is involved in an accident.

“This gives drivers a false sense of ‘I’m a great driver and will not be distracted by my cell phone.’” Seth Toothaker a senior at the University of Maine. “If it’s not illegal drivers will continue to drive and use a cell phone. People will think they can handle it, when everyone knows you cannot pay attention to the road while using a cell phone. Driving is a full time task and so many people are disrespecting this privilege.”

Rep. George Hogan told the Bangor Daily News in response to the cell phone driving legislation that “It’s on the minds of every state, and almost every state is more aggressive than Maine.”

For 2011 Sen. Diamond is sponsoring a new bill that will ban texting while driving. “While Maine took a big step forward passing a distracted driver law in 2009, it is clear to me now that measure deals more with the effect,” Diamond said. “The proposed ban on texting while driving I have put forward deals better with the cause of the problem.”

Banning texting is a great step forward to prevent innocent deaths but while technology advances Maine state laws need to keep up with the distractions Maine drivers are encountering. Until then using common sense can save hundreds of lives.

Maine Wind Power (with pictures)

There are many environmental issues growing throughout the country and more people are trying to become eco friendly. One new idea of going greener is wind power which is a great idea to look into with Maine having the 19 highest wind resource in the United States.

A wind farm with wind turbines can provide many benefits and problems for Maine communities.

The biggest benefit to having wind power is the clean energy that is produced to replace the costly fossil fuels. Jeannie Conway of Fox Island noticed her 200 dollar electricity bill slowly decreasing since the wind farm put in November 2009. The 15 million dollar Fox Island wind farm project has three turbines that have generated 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity in January 2010 which exceeds many estimates. That amount of power is enough electricity to power Vinalhaven and North Haven.

One of the bigger issues with wind turbines is the appearance of them. Wind turbines are 200 to 300 ft. tall with three blades that are 65 to 130ft. long. Wind farms are most suitable in hilly areas or near the coast. This causes the wind turbine to be very visible for miles and will be seen by tourists and residents. A plus is that Maine will never have the massive wind farms like in Texas or Oklahoma due to Maine’s lack of hill and coastal area. If a huge wind farm was made Maine would be giving up its tourist income for wind income.

A not so common disadvantage to wind turbines is the noise. Residents that live near the turbines say the noise has ruined their quality of life living in Maine. In Fox Island experts told residents that the noise would be mast by other ambient sounds like wind on the ground. This isn’t the case for residents near the turbines who all live within one mile of the turbines or have a direct line of sight to them. Alan Barker lives quarter of a mile from the Fox Island wind project doesn’t mind the noise. "If you're expecting to go out and hear a pin drop that's not gonna happen," says Barker, "they do make noise and they do make more noise than you would think. But at the same time it's no different than if you live near a train or you live near a brook. This ocean out here on a stormy day makes noise."

Maine wind is a huge energy source that is slowly being tapped into. Feedback from wind farms already working in Maine will help create more energy saving wind turbines to help decrease Maine’s energy consumption.

"It is almost a perfect storm for a conflict between a desire to move toward clean energy and a desire to protect some of the few remaining wild places." -- Pete Didisheim, Natural Resources Council of Maine, advocacy director

GE Wind Energy Commercial

Student Meeting Tuesday

ORONO, MAINE—With the school year coming to yet another end most student organizations are getting in their last few meetings. On April 27, 2010 the Student Senate had one of their last meetings and they had a pleasant surprise.

You don’t hear much about the Alumni Association as a student and probably won’t during your college career until you graduate. On Tuesdays meeting the student government met with the Alumni Association in the same room, an event that most say is the first time in UMaine history.

Todd Saucier, executive director of Alumni Association, addressed the Student Government during Tuesday’s meeting. Saucier hopes the two groups met more often and communication will stay open.

Saucier stated that the Alumni Association wants to start becoming apart of UMaine student’s lives before they become alumni. They figure becoming apart of students lives early on students will be more inclined to donate more as an alumni.

Saucier continued to address the Student Government by saying to interact with the student body early on he would like to ‘friend raise’. What this means is that the Alumni Association wants to open up communication with the student body early on and develop a friendly connection. Saucier wants students to say hello to him whether he’s walking around the mall or eating at the union.

It’s not known whether Saucier’s ‘friend raise’ will change alumni donations in the future but it’s a great start in getting all the different UMaine departments involved with each other.

Maine Wind Power

There are many environmental issues growing throughout the country and more people are trying to become eco friendly. One new idea of going greener is wind power which is a great idea to look into with Maine having the 19 highest wind resource in the United States.

A wind farm with wind turbines can provide many benefits and problems for Maine communities.

The biggest benefit to having wind power is the clean energy that is produced to replace the costly fossil fuels. Jeannie Conway of Fox Island noticed her 200 dollar electricity bill slowly decreasing since the wind farm put in November 2009. The 15 million dollar Fox Island wind farm project has three turbines that have generated 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity in January 2010 which exceeds many estimates. That amount of power is enough electricity to power Vinalhaven and North Haven.

One of the bigger issues with wind turbines is the appearance of them. Wind turbines are 200 to 300 ft. tall with three blades that are 65 to 130ft. long. Wind farms are most suitable in hilly areas or near the coast. This causes the wind turbine to be very visible for miles and will be seen by tourists and residents. A plus is that Maine will never have the massive wind farms like in Texas or Oklahoma due to Maine’s lack of hill and coastal area. If a huge wind farm was made Maine would be giving up its tourist income for wind income.

A not so common disadvantage to wind turbines is the noise. Residents that live near the turbines say the noise has ruined their quality of life living in Maine. In Fox Island experts told residents that the noise would be mast by other ambient sounds like wind on the ground. This isn’t the case for residents near the turbines who all live within one mile of the turbines or have a direct line of sight to them. Alan Barker lives quarter of a mile from the Fox Island wind project doesn’t mind the noise. "If you're expecting to go out and hear a pin drop that's not gonna happen," says Barker, "they do make noise and they do make more noise than you would think. But at the same time it's no different than if you live near a train or you live near a brook. This ocean out here on a stormy day makes noise."

Maine wind is a huge energy source that is slowly being tapped into. Feedback from wind farms already working in Maine will help create more energy saving wind turbines to help decrease Maine’s energy consumption.

"It is almost a perfect storm for a conflict between a desire to move toward clean energy and a desire to protect some of the few remaining wild places."

-- Pete Didisheim, Natural Resources Council of Maine, advocacy director

Winterport Dragway Opening Day

12.1

WINTERPORT, MAINE—Winterport Dragway announced that it will be opening its gates and 1/8 mile track on April 25, 2010. A day many car enthusiasts have been looking forward to since the close of last season late October 2009. Now that the weather is warming up and those snowy days are long gone Winterport Dragway is ready for business.

On opening day Winterport will be hosting gamblers race which is also a non points day. A “gamblers race” is when competitors pay a fixed amount (usually ten dollars) to be added to the pot. First place receives 70 percent of the pot while the runner up receivers 30 percent.

Gates open at 8:00 am and then time trails will start at 8:30 am to noon. Elimination rounds will begin at 12:30 pm. Admissions are twelve dollars for racers and spectators, race entry fee ten dollars, junior (ages 13-15) five dollars and children twelve years old and under are free. Breakfast and Lunch will be served by Deb’s Variety Snack Bar.

Another event to look forward to is on Mother’s Day May 9, 2010. Winterport Dragway will host ladies day. In addition to racing in a regular bracket program, ladies can also enter a special race for ladies only. Start times and admission prices are the same as opening day.

Winterport Dragway is available for races in the following classes; super pro eliminator, pro eliminator, motorcycles & snowmobiles, pro street, import/sport compact, Jr. dragster, ATV/Quad, and lawn mower.

For rules and/or more information visit www.winterportdragway.com or contact Bob Reynolds, president at (207) 223-5592.

Relief of Technology

New technology hits the store shelves daily and the vast online web growing greater in size by the second leads to many interesting advances that are debatable as good or bad. The birth of social networking sites like Myspace, Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia evolving over time with the growth of its members.

Communication between the masses to keep in touch and organize in some cases is what brings the public to these online sites; being able to talk with celebrities, friends from college and of course your grandmother in another state. Besides listening to music and looking at your best friends’ birthday pictures is this technology provide a greater service to society? In a disaster does Twitter or Wikipedia help the general public understand and provide help to the victims?

Twitter launched in 2006, a website that enables users to send and read tweets online. Tweets are text messages that are a max of 140 characters. Four years later a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 2010 allowing Twitter a chance to help during a disaster.

Organizations like the American Red Cross used their Twitter pages to send out tweets to the general public asking for donations and ways for people to help. One way was to tell people through Twitter that they can text the word “Haiti” to donate by using their cell phones.

Celebrities used their own personal Twitter pages to encourage people to donate for Haiti. Rapper Wyclef Jean used his account to post news updates and raise funds quickly for Haiti.

Users using Twitter posted from around the globe about Haiti, even victims in Haiti used Twitter to communicate because they had no other forms of communication with one another.

Pictures and stories of the victims got out of Haiti to the rest of the world faster by using Twitter way before news teams could even make it to Haiti.

In disaster events social networking sites do a great job at quickly bring information to the general public and getting the relief to those in need.

The University of Maine Automotive Enthusiast Club Meeting

ORONO, MAINE—That time of year again when UMaine Automotive Enthusiast members gear up for their annual Maine Day cruise; they’re biggest event of the school year.

Members met at their so called “club house” which is the Wendy’s in Orono, ME on March 24, 2010. They used to meet at the Bear’s Den on the University’s campus but with the cut back on hours they serve dinner members have joined at an older, more familiar meeting place.

No new members showing up left only ten active UMaine members present along with two officers of the group. With more members leaving than coming into the club, new elections have not been held this school year due to lack of student effort. It was decided at the meeting to keep the already elected officers elected for the rest of the school year and talk of re-elections in the fall. Hopefully with new members drawn in from the Maine Day cruise elections can be held as planned.

A more common topic was discussed on when the club does get potential new members the alumni scare them away by making rude comments towards them on the first class folder. Some new members have stated that the folder isn’t friendly, there is constant name calling, pointing fun and mean remarks about the member’s intelligence and vehicle. It’s the classic scenario of seniors in high school picking on the new freshmen. There is no one solution to fix this problem, all the officers and moderators can do is continue to enforce the folder rules by deleting un-friendly posts and banning members if they continue to break the rules. This topic is always up for discussion at every automotive meeting.

The important top at the meeting was creating a plan for Maine Day. The date is already set but there is still much to decide. Members talked about which roads to take, places to stop, eat and ride go-karts. It was concluded that it will take on the plan as the years before it did. Except for the go-karting, last year the usual place in Brewer wasn’t open and a panic attempt was made of finding a mini-golf that had go-karting was open. Calls will be made once a rough estimate of people attending is known to see which places are open and could accommodate whatever sized group.

Another meeting is looking to take place between today and April 28 to finalize Maine Day plans but otherwise much of the groups’ topics were discussed and met. Head counts will start to take place for the event which promises to be a bigger turn out than Maine Day 2009.

A Polluted Headache

SANFORD- People like to live in towns that don’t have many “eyesores” and the town members of Sanford feel the same way. The 17-acre former CGA site on New Dam Road has been a dump for many years.

The property has been left in its polluted state for about 20 years. The property was used by a company called Country Gates Arts Inc. and their business was removing copper from computer circuit boards by soaking them in sulfuric acid. When CGA packed up its business and left Sanford it left behind a “two-acre, eight-foot-deep pile of discarded boards and fiberglass” which has just been sitting there for more than 20 years. Underneath the pile the soil is contaminated by the copper and chemicals used in the procedure.

Later in 1995 a man from Freeport, Maine bought the property and ran a recycling business. Due to the polluted state of the property the Department of Environmental protection “sued the man and the former owners and fined them just over $43,000.

One man that has been pushing this clean-up act for more than 20 years is David Bernier whose property is adjacent to the CGA site. Bernier and his mother Theresa have spent far too many years asking for help to clean-up the property. Bernier said “it seems every time I raise the issue it gets attention… It all comes down to money. The town doesn’t have any. It will cost about two million dollars. But we want to move from what can we get to what can we get done with local manpower. I think there is an opportunity to go for some low-hanging fruit here”.

The Bernier family members have a farmer near by and say the building and burnt-out trailer on the CGA site is to close to a drinking water source. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection later wrote to Bernier stating the site does not show any significant public health risk.

Commissioner David P. Littell from DEP stated that there is limited state funding for clean-up and is “currently available only at hazardous substance sites that pose imminent public health threats… DEP has identified 1,500 locations in Maine contaminated with hazardous substances that are known to need clean up or require further investigation into whether clean-up is required”.

Bernier is not giving up hope “after 22 years of letter writing, enough is enough… We no longer want nicely worded letters. We want action, bottom line. We launched a campaign to clean up CGA in 1998, 2000, 2007, and now in 2009/2010. I have moved back to Sanford, and have plenty of energy to keep bugging everyone until the site gets cleaned.”

On February 1, 2010, more than a dozen Sanford residents held a rally pleading; some might say “demanding”, the Sanford Town Council to consider the foreclose of the polluted CGA site. Sanford residents for years now just want the Town or anyone to take ownership of the property and clean it up, finally eliminating the potential treat of this waste land.

The Town Council had already rejected a foreclosure over the property because of the estimated two million dollar cleanup required. Town Manager Mark Green stated that Sanford just doesn’t have the money especially with budget cuts happening. Green later stated “but (the waste) is not moving offsite. There is no leak or anything getting into the groundwater. It does need to get fixed”.

Bernier and the rally putting more pressure on the Town, the Town Council agreed to talk about the matter on February 2. With the vote 4-3 the Town Council decided to take ownership of the CGA site. Town officials stated being in favor of the foreclosure “will make it easier to obtain funding to clean up the property used by CGA”. Councilors Gordon Paul, Kevin Chabot and Alan Walsh and Chairman Joseph Hanslip all voted for the foreclosure of the CGA site.

Environmental Protection Agency has been in contact with the Town of Sanford and is now stating that the town needs a plan for the CGA site before the cleanup funds can be approved. H. Curtis Spalding, regional administrator for EPA Region 1, “suggested that the Town of Sanford needs to determine potential future uses for the 17-acre property and then seek funding sources through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), and other sources that may have funding for redevelopment”.

Some suggested sites for the 17-acre property were a recreation area, baseball fields and maybe a “multiuse building” that could be used for an ice-skating rink.

A clean-up grant from the Brownfields program could help clean the property by partnering with the town but it only qualifies the contaminated soils, not the rest of the trash that would have to be cleaned up first. It is an estimated $343,620 to remove and dispose the computer circuit boards, $524,096 to excavate, transport the contaminated soil where only $200,000 would be funded by the Brownfields grant.

Attention being brought to the CGA site and passionate people like Bernier behind the issue, we should start to see great things for the former CGA property.

Radio Script

Radio Script

With the start of their engines

 The University of Maine Automotive Enthusiasts Club with hold their annual Maine Day cruise on April 28.

Maine Day is their biggest event and it plans to be a fun filled day event this year as well.

At 10 am members will met at The University of Maine’s parking lot next to the football fields.

The event will last until late afternoon.

First time members are welcomed to join.

The event will consist of breakfast, driving to Acadia National Park, go-karting and lunch at Geddy’s pub.

If you would like more information about Maine Day or the Automotive club please feel free to visit their folder on first class or contact Alysha Steltzer.

CGA Site

SANFORD- People like to live in towns that don’t have many “eyesores” and the town members of Sanford feel the same way. The 17-acre former CGA site on New Dam Road has been a dump for many years.

With the use of harsh chemicals, used computers were torn apart to remove the copper from the circuit boards. The company up and left the property leaving a mess for the town. 8,000 cubic yards of circuit boards has to be removed along with huge tanks, plastic pipes, trash and other materials. The abandoned buildings would also have to be taken down and trashed or recycled. There is also an estimated three acres of contaminated soil to be cleaned.

Environmental Protection Agency has been in contact with the Town of Sanford and is now stating that the town needs a plan for the CGA site before the cleanup funds can be approved. H. Curtis Spalding, regional administrator for EPA Region 1, “suggested that the Town of Sanford needs to determine potential future uses for the 17-acre property and then seek funding sources through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), and other sources that may have funding for redevelopment”.

Some suggested sites for the 17-acre property were a recreation area, baseball fields and maybe a “multiuse building” that could be used for an ice-skating rink.

A clean-up grant from the Brownfields program could help clean the property by partnering with the town but it only qualifies the contaminated soils, not the rest of the trash that would have to be cleaned up first. It is an estimated $343,620 to remove and dispose the computer circuit boards, $524,096 to excavate, transport the contaminated soil where only $200,000 would be funded by the Brownfields grant.

It’s been over twenty years and the town realizes it’s time to get rid of this huge “eyesore” and turn it into something beautiful and useful to the community. With a plan in the works funding will start shortly after then clean-up can begin.

(First Draft)

Maine Day Cruise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 19, 2010

Contact: Alysha Steltzer
University of Maine
98 A North Main Ave
Orono, ME 04473
Phone: 207-459-4616
Email: Alysha.steltzer@umit.maine.edu

“Maine Day Cruise”

ORONO, Maine-- The University of Maine Automotive Enthusiasts Club (UMAE) will be hosting their annual Maine Day event April 28, 2010. The Maine Day cruise is the largest event held by UMAE; were both current and alumni members are welcomed to join in on the event.

UMAE has a folder on first class for many years but current member numbers have dropped the past two years. UMAE hopes to regain members in a series of events before Maine Day although first time members are welcome to join on the day of the Maine Day event.

University of Maine cancels all classes on Maine Day and many clubs hold different events for the student body to participate in. UMAE offers a series of events that start in Orono and end in Bar Harbor.

On April 28^th at 10 a.m. members met at the university parking lot next to the football field to start the day. Next driving down I-95 to Brewer to eat breakfast at McDonalds. After breakfast five minute drive up the street for an event of go-karting. After go-karting the members drive in Acadia National Park and drive up Cadillac Mountain. The drive is very scenic and relaxing. After everyone has taken in the views of the park, drive down the mountain and to Bar Harbor where members can eat lunch at Geddy’s pub. After lunch UMAE event is over and members can do whatever they like. They can drive back to Orono, stay in Bar Harbor or take in Acadia’s beautiful landscape.

Students that wish to join UMAE just have to introduce themselves in the UMAE first class folder and will start getting information on events. You don’t need to own a nice car to join, just the interest in cars is enough.

Look forward to meeting some of you on Maine Day.

From,



Alysha M. Steltzer
Vice President-Secretary UMAE  

Eyes of a Vegetarian

Seth Toothaker is twenty-four years old originally from Brunswick, Maine and is currently living in Orono, Maine attending college. Toothaker enjoys life to the fullest and is very passionate about his surroundings. His friends describe him as a great listener and a great friend. He has an open mind and loves listening to others opinions even if they don’t agree with his own. 

He feels very strongly on how animals are treated by humanity which is when he made the choice to become a vegetarian. Toothaker hasn’t eaten meat in a few years and he couldn’t be happier. He also is slowly eliminating dairy products from his food group by drinking soy milk.

Graduated from Brunswick High School in 2004, Toothaker is now a fourth year student at the University of Maine double majoring in food science and human nutrition; and philosophy. Toothaker is very passionate about both of his majors. He states that he was “awakened to the world of philosophy, and I really enjoy studying it”. When he was “awakened” to philosophy is when he made the choice to become a vegetarian. Toothaker said he became a vegetarian because of the cruelty to animals society puts them through and he had a crush on his first philosophy teacher at UMaine.

Toothaker is an employee of the University of Maine as an organic chemistry tutor. Chemistry isn’t even his major but Toothaker did well in his classes and was asked by his professor to tutor the spring ’10 semester. He loves helping others learn a hard subject and do well in their classes. The only down side to tutoring Toothaker jokes is that he had to sign a contract with the school restricting him from dating any female he tutors.

Basketball is Toothaker’s favorite activity to watch and play. His next favorite hobby is working out where you can find him every day after class lifting weights and in the pool at the schools’ rec center. Toothaker reads philosophy books to help learn everything he can about the subject. One of his favorites is The Philosophy of Civilization by Albert Schweitzer.

At the end of the day Toothaker likes to sit in his room surfing the internet, watching TV and drinking a cold beer. One of his favorite quotes is from Kung Fu Panda “one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it”. 

James Bond in Blue Uniform

CMJ 236 4.1

It’s a technology gathering of 65 companies showing their latest gadgets that James Bond would be proud of.  Cindy Williams, anchor for WLBZ2, reports on the story gadgets make police work easier, safer that can be found as a video on the WLBZ2 website. Companies show casing their latest crime fighting gadgets for the police force to   do their jobs better, more efficient and safer.

The event took place in South Portland about three hours from Orono but I feel this story is still local. If law enforcement bought a new technology it would spread to other law enforcements in the state. I consider it local news as well because people in Orono or South Portland would like to know about law enforcement since drivers are aware of police every time they drive.

After watching the newscast and paying attention to the writing if I was the editor I don’t believe I would of changed much of the writing content. Williams is very engaging with interviewing what we assume is someone involved with the police department, Williams doesn’t introduce him. That’s one thing I would add, introducing the man Williams interviews and mention it’s in South Portland or Southern Maine.

With an interview story when there’s back to back dialog there isn’t much writing style that an editor can play with. It has to get the audiences attention and make them feel engaged as if they were standing with Williams looking at different type of law enforcement gadgets.

As an editor I would make changes to William’s tone of voice and change some of the verb tenses on the script before air. First thing views see is police lights which catch people’s attention already that’s why police cars have them. Then the audio kicks in with Williams saying “whoa”. Then she continues with her report that “there’s nothing that gets your attention like lights!” This is the only sentence that really bugs me because I feel it’s kind of childish, like Williams is trying to keep a five year olds attention with flashing lights. Changing it to ‘companies are working on making police lights brighter to catch your attention better’ would be more effective to the viewers.

I enjoyed the references to Back to the Future and James Bond mentioned in the report. The medium age of WLBZ2 viewers almost all grew up with those two movies or at least heard of them. It makes the report more relatable and personal.

This report is written well and I wouldn’t have changed much if I was the editor. If this report was to be written for a newspaper I would change much more but for broadcast it holds up pretty well.

Gadgets Make Police Work Easier, Safer

http://www.wlbz2.com/video/default.aspx#/Local/Gadgets+make+police+work+easier%2C+safer/49383985001/49452227001/64920244001

The Magical World of Media

October 16, 1923 a bit of magic was brought to the world with the creation of The Walt Disney Company also known as just plain Disney. Yes Disney brought fun, magical characters and movies to our lives like Mickey Mouse and Toy Story. Founded by Walt Disney and Roy Disney (Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio) turned into what we know as Disney in 1929. Disney is one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world. Freepress.com listed the big six media corporations of 2008 and Disney was second with their 2008 revenues at 37.8 billion dollars.

             

Disney owns ABC television network, a range of cable networks like ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime. Under the Disney umbrella there’s also 277 radio stations, music and book publishing companies, production companies like Touchstone, Miramax, Walt Disney pictures and Pixar Animation Studios. Can’t forget the cellular service Disney Mobile and Disney has many theme parks around the world. 

           

How can one company have their fingers in so many types of media and with holdings in so many companies within those types of media? Disney even has a couple of international channels. Its amazing finding out how much media Disney controls within the United States but it’s even more amazing to learn Disney has most of the world watching their media.

             

Little kids don’t need an introduction about Disney. Disney with their adorable cartoons and the classic saying everyone says “I’m going to Disney Land” what kid wouldn’t love that.

            

 Since Disney needs no introduction and everyone can recognize a Disney character with no hesitation, Disney gets the best kind of advertisement word of mouth. Everyone is talking about Disney and even other TV shows are adding Disney characters or making fun of The Disney Company. South Park had Mickey Mouse manipulating The Jonas Brothers performances to sell sex to little girls. That episode had no facts behind it of course and was met for entrainment only, but what if Disney was sending little signals out. Disney has a big enough control of the media to lead the general public to lean to something Disney prefers more.

             

It would be interesting to see what Walt Disney would think of his magical company now. Would he think this conglomerate controls too much or would he be happy with his success? I thought Disney controlled too much and that was before I looked at what Disney owns. Music, magazines, radios, programming, networks and much more; it really makes you think how much media you deal with in a signal day that is linked to Disney. I don’t see this company down sizing any time soon but at least Disney is doing it with cute, cuddly characters that don’t hurt your eyes when seeing your media being taken over. 

Hide and Seek Facebook

CMJ 236 Assignment 2.1

To critique a news article using story components discussed in ‘News Reporting and Writing’ by Melvin Mencher can be a good start to fully understanding an article and what the journalist is trying to report on. Doing this for every article you read can get tedious but it’s a great start to learning how to write a well balanced article.

Sarah Perez wrote ‘The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now’, seen in the New York Times, is an article that most young Americans will want to read. Facebook is an online social networking website that has over 350 million active users all over the globe. Millions of people sharing information with each other, but how much personal information are they really sharing? The article talks about a few daring and controversial changes in December of 2009 relating to Facebook user’s privacy settings.

After reading the article anyone using Facebook since December can agree that the article is pretty accurate because when we logged on in December we remember a text book that explained the new changes and wanted us as users to confirm our privacy settings. Perez writes step by step on how to check your Facebook settings proving that she has had first had experience with Facebook and the general public can even go through the steps to check her knowledge of the subject.

The only thing I would give thumbs down to this article is that I feel some part of the story is incomplete. Why did Facebook prompt every one of its users new privacy settings? Perez just writes that Facebook “wants to compete with more open social networks like the microblogging media darling Twitter”. Maybe if you use Facebook and Twitter religiously you can make an abstract link as to why Facebook made this change, otherwise this article leaves you in the dark. Answering the why, would really bring more balance to this article.

The article is very knowledge based with easy steps that even a first time Facebook user can follow. Perez does a good job at keeping her opinions out and wrote a nice focused article about Facebook privacy settings. As a reader I found it very interesting and to be well informed about the workings of Facebook.

Getting the facts you need to protect your privacy is very important especially on the internet. There are people out there that could care less about your privacy and it’s your job to protect yourself because you never know who’s out there looking at your information.

Link to Article on New York Times Website:

http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2010/01/20/20readwriteweb-the-3-facebook-settings-every-user-should-c-29287.html?em

Are you the gatekeeper?

In journalism there are many legal and moral issues that society has to try to deal with. One issue that I’ve recently learned about is gatekeepers that really affect journalism and the way society receives their daily news. Gatekeepers are increasing in numbers and it’s harder and harder not to deal with a gatekeeper of some form. A gatekeeper first started out as someone that helps editors and journalists do responsible reporting by checking stories facts. Slowly gatekeepers started being seen as a harmful tool towards journalism. A gatekeeper control what stories becomes news whether on the radio, television, internet or any other form of media. Journalists are also considered gatekeepers, for example how I choose to write this blog on gatekeepers rather than a different moral issue to share with the public.

Editors are journalists’ gatekeepers; editors have to choose what journalists write about and which stories get transferred into news through newspapers and magazines. Corporations that own types of media, like newspapers, can even be gatekeepers by being biased and deciding which stories enhance their image better to the public.

Gatekeepers really determine what messages will be delivered to society in the form of media. Journalists write an abundant amount of stories which get sent to their editor being a gatekeeper. Then the editor chooses which stories to publish. How does one choose which stories are good enough to make it through and be printed in ink? The tragedy with the earthquake in Haiti every journalist writing about this story has a gatekeeper saying what stories to write or what images to show the public.

This concept of gatekeeper is an important issue to journalist because journalists rarely win against gatekeepers. If a journalist wanted to write about the financial holes in a fat cat corporation but the journalist’s company does business with the big corporation the journalist will not be able to write their story. A gatekeeper would make sure not to let that story onto the front page even if the story is very compelling and the public would be very interested in reading it.

Journalist need to remember why they write and be passionate about the stories they write. Hopefully gatekeepers will start to decrease and the general public will be more informed. But until then journalist need to write the stories they want in their own voice and not let gatekeepers turn them into writers that only write in the voice of the corporation.

Citations

Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. "Gatekeeping." he Century Foundation Press (1999): n. pag. Web. 15 Jan 2010. .

Rodman, George. Mass Media In A Changing World. 3rd Ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2009. 7-8. Print.