An Event Like No Other

Walking into Xavier's Cintas Center, on the 14th of November, I was amazed of how many people came to this event. Xavier's Black Student Association invited Michael Eric Dyson to come and visit the University. The long winded introduction that was given did not do him justice! The Georgetown University professor, pastor, author, and Princeton scholar blew me away! Dyson spoke a lot about the state of Hip-Hop and how African Americans are perceived in the eyes of other cultures. Many portions of his talk Dyson broke into song with lyrics from Tupac to Kenny Chesney. There are no words that can describe this moment. This will be a night that I will never forget.

-Alicia Gaynor, Secretary

The PGA Tour's Diversity Internship Program - deadline Feb. 18, 2008

http://www.pgatour.com/company/internships.html

The PGA Tour's Diversity Internship Program for summer of 2008 application is available.

The PGA Tour's objective is to find the best student applicants and place them in challenging internship opportunities to prepare them for a position within the PGA Tour or the golf industry. The ability to play
golf or knowledge of the game is not required for most positions.

All undergraduate and graduate majors are considered but mainly Business Administration, Communications/Journalism/TV, Sports Management, Information Systems, Legal and Hospitality.

Requirements:

Students must have completed their sophomore year prior to starting an internship
Minimum GPA of 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale)
Be currently attending an accredited College or University and in good standing when applying
Eligible to work in the United States
International students must obtain all required work visas prior to beginning an internship.

The application and additional information is available at www.pgatour.com/careers

The deadline date is February 18, 2008.

If you have questions please contact Mike Cooney, Director of the PGA Tour's Human Resources department, at 1-800-556-5400 ext 3520 or email him at mcooney@pgatourhq.com

ASNE Recruiting Student Reporters for Annual Convention - deadline Dec. 14, 2007

To: nabjforum@yahoogroups.com
From: "Bobbi Bowman" <bowmanb@ASNE.ORG>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:56:06 -0400
Subject: [NABJFORUM] Recruiting for the ASNE Reporter

We are starting to organize next year's ASNE Reporter, our daily newspaper
that covers the ASNE annual convention in Washington, DC. Dates: Friday
April 11 - Wednesday April 16.

We are looking for college students who are juniors, seniors or graduate
students who work for the college newspaper and have at least one
internship at a daily paper. We are particularly interested in students with
online and multi-media experience.

If you are selected for the staff, we will pay your expenses plus a small
stipend.

You will work with editors from daily newspapers around the country. It's a
great way to get wonderful experience, make great contacts and find
internships.

Deadline: Friday, Dec. 14, 2007

Application information:
http://www.asne.org/files/2008ASNEReporterApplication.pdf

This is a joint convention with the publishers. The President and the
presidential candidates will be invited to speak.


*******************************
Bobbi Bowman
ASNE Diversity Director
Phone: 703-453-1126
E-Mail: bowmanb@asne.org

UCABJer Makes CinWeekly Debut

UCABJ President Terron Austin makes his debut as CinWeekly's fashion guru. Check out his column in this week's issue here. A few questions WE have for the Style Maverick:

*Is grey really the new black?
*Is wearing shoulder pads ever acceptable?
*How much cologne/perfume is too much?
*Does UCABJ look fat in these pants?

J/K, Terron. :-) We're proud of you!

adl

Welcome to O Street

The things Terron Austin (president of UCABJ) and I experienced at the Spirit of Diversity job fair can, and probably will, take up a whole slew of blog entries, so stay tuned.

We'll start in the middle with someone we met in Detroit named Oneita Jackson. Jackson is a copy editor at the Detroit Free Press (one of the two leading newspapers in the city). Her infectious confidence and outgoing personality seemed to have won her a lot of friends among the professional journalists in the room.

Terron said she reminded him of Kathy Y. Wilson a little bit, and once he mentioned it I couldn't help but agree. She has a similar attitude. Her demeanor seems to say, "I care about you but I don't give a flip about what you think of me."

She gave us some excellent advice about blogging. She runs a blog of her own at the Detroit Free Press that's become so successful people in the office often refer to her by the blog's title - "O Street." It has plenty of truth and plenty of humor (usually at the same time). Here's a link. Read it. Love it. Spread it around.

I thought of Kathy Wilson after reading today's entry (November 19, 2007). It was about a formal Fire Fighters Ball Jackson attended. Before heading to the ball a photo of her was taken and now it's up on the blog.

I almost laughed out loud at one of the comments a reader left.

"You look very beautiful in the photo but I think you need some weave. Your hair is too short."

The screen name above the comment? "Strong White Man." No kidding.

If it wasn't so much like something out of a Detroit version of "Your Negro Tour Guide," I might have been a little upset. But given the circumstances, I ended up chuckling.


Hmm... There's a little bit of name dropping going on in the blog today. I wonder if this counts as "networking?"

~Geoffrey Dobbins
vice president, UCABJ

Resume and Cover Letter Don'ts

The UCABJ board is in Detroit this week participating in the Spirit of Diversity job fair, which got me to thinking about cover letters and resumes. Every semester, I get dozens of applications from eager journalism, communications, and English students who want to intern for my publication. Some of them are good. Others? Not so much. Here are a few application don’ts:

**Addressing a cover letter “Dear Human Resources” or “Dear Sir or Madam.” If you don’t take the initiative to call the publication at which you would like to work and find out who handles internships so that you can properly address your cover letter, how can an employer trust that you’ll take the initiative to do the job you’re seeking thoroughly?

**Putting irrelevant information on your resume. I don’t need to know that you landed the lead role in your high school’s production of Guys and Dolls. This has nothing to do with journalism.

**Spelling things incorrectly. Iesha, Aisha, Aeisha, Alesha—these are all of the ways in which internship candidates have spelled my name in cover letters. Unfortunately, none of them are correct.

**Sending a resume that’s too long. There’s some debate among hiring managers and internship coordinators about whether resumes should be longer than a page, but there’s no disagreement on this: if you’re in college, you don’t have enough work experience to have a resume that’s three or four pages long.

**Sending poetry as a sample of your writing. Other than JUST DON’T DO IT, there really isn’t anything else I can add on this.

**Putting photos on your resume. See above.

And the pièce de résistance?

**Sending a cover letter that makes no sense whatsoever. Your cover letter is supposed to tell me that you want the job I’m offering and why I should give it to you. That’s it. Don't be cute. Don't be coy. Don't use big words just to use them. “Language shapes reality, reflecting society’s episodic nature. Writing manifests in recreating scenes, juxtaposing slices or life into a reel of unity. Cincinnati Magazine presents a chance to echo these intricacies employing a perfectionist’s streak to aid the publication as an intern.” This person’s goal was to show me that she was a good writer. She was unsuccessful.

It takes a while to really get a handle on this process, but help from your journalism professors will aid you in determining what NOT to do. If you haven't already shown them your resumes and cover letters, please do it before you send them out to potential employers. Remember: You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Cheers,

Aiesha D. Little
NABJ Adviser
University of Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists
http://ucabj.blogspot.com

Associate Editor
Cincinnati Magazine
www.cincinnatimagazine.com

NABJ Internships - deadline to apply Dec. 3

Overview

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an association of more than 4,000 journalists, media professionals and students. NABJ is dedicated to expanding job opportunities for African-American journalists and students and improving the media’s coverage of the African-American community. NABJ annually awards summer internships to students committed to journalism careers. Successful candidates are offered paid positions in print, broadcast or online disciplines at selected news organizations around the country ranging from small black-owned weekly newspapers to major market dailies and broadcast outlets.

What is the NABJ internship program?

NABJ provides internships to African-American full-time college journalism students. Students are placed in 10-week paid internships with small, medium and large newspapers, television and radio stations and online news services across the country. NABJ’s summer internships give students hands-on reporting, editing, shooting and design experience in professional settings. Most journalism employers will not give permanent jobs to graduates who lack prior internship experience thus, it is essential that aspiring journalists obtain internships in journalism.

What types of journalism internships are available?

Print Journalism (reporting, business reporting, copy editing, graphic design) Broadcast Journalism (radio and television) Online Journalism Sports Journalism Photojournalism Where are the internships usually held? Interns have worked at places such as Bloomberg News, the Associated Press, The Seattle Times, The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., CBS, National Public Radio and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. What are the requirements? Must be a current member of NABJ Print and online applicants must submit a minimum of six samples of published work focusing on reporting or graphic design. Print photographers must submit six mounted samples of published work Selected Broadcast interns are required to attend the NABJ Broadcast Short Course Broadcast applicants must send a resume tape (VHS or audio cassette). Begin your tape with identifying information: name, academic year, college, address, phone and e-mail. TV on-air applicants must submit three to five stand-ups or anchor sequences and at least two reporter packages. Tape should be no longer than 10 minutes. TV off-air applicants (producers, directors, photographers) must submit at least two stories or an edited version of a newscast or program produced, directed, shot, or edited by the applicant. Tape should be no longer than 10 minutes. Broadcast photojournalists should send a 5-10 minute tape with three to five stories shot by the applicant Radio applicants should submit at least three on-air reports, stories, interviews and/or newscasts or an edited version of a program written, broadcast, directed or produced by the applicant. Tape should be no longer than 10 minutes. Is experience required? To obtain NABJ internships, students must have prior experience at collegiate or professional media that allowed them to write basic news stories for publication or to do basic copy editing, graphic design or photojournalism in print, broadcast or online media for publication. Most NABJ internships are at print outlets, which include small weekly newspapers in small cities as well as magazines and major newspapers in large urban areas. Print: Typically, NABJ internships at major magazines and newspapers are for students with at least two semesters of extensive campus print media experience and at least one prior print internship involving reporting, editing, shooting or designing under tight deadlines. Broadcast: Students chosen for our broadcast internships should have prior broadcast internships and student broadcast media experience. How can I maximize my chances of being selected? To have the best chance of being selected, proofread your application carefully and make sure that it thoroughly describes your journalism skills and experience. Late applicants will be considered only if there are unfilled internships after the selection process. How much does the internship pay? NABJ internships pay a weekly salary of $400 - $600 (depending on experience, location, etc.). Will I need a car? Some companies require that students have cars to cover stories throughout the city. But a lack of transportation usually does not prevent an internship assignment. Does NABJ provide relocation assistance? No. Students are responsible for transportation to the internship city and for their living expenses. I’ve been offered several internship opportunities. Which one should I choose? While students are encouraged to apply to several internships, once they accept an internship, their written or verbal acceptance is considered binding. Therefore, before accepting any internship offer, you should carefully assess the offer using the guidance of professionals and educators. Application deadline: December 3, 2007 (Postmarked) Click here to download the application (500 KB PDF, requires the free Adobe Reader.) For more information, contact: Irving Washington E-mail:iwashington@nabj.org Tel: 301-445-7100, ext. 108 NABJ 8701 Adelphi Road Adelphi, MD 20783-7101

Happy Veteran's Day

On behalf of the University of Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists I'd like to thank the country's veterans for their service. We appreciate the many sacrifices you have made and continue to make for others.

And to our fellow journalists... Lets make sure they are only sent into harm's way for reasons that are truthful and just.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

A Cruel Mistress

I saw this editorial cartoon today and thought I'd share it. I know people are getting what some call "war fatigue." A lot of us are just tired of hearing about it. But sometimes we need to be reminded of why it matters, not just in terms of foreign policy, but in the way it consumes national resources and attention.

Ben Sargent
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007

"There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I and others have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor, both black and white, through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war. And I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Beyond Vietnam, April 4, 1967

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

The Sports Journalism Institute - Applications due Dec. 5

The Sports Journalism Institute is now accepting applications for its 16th class. This program is a very critical program in attempting to diversify sports departments especially with last year's Racial and Gender Report Card on America's sports departments. The deadline to submit the application is December 5, 2007.

The 2008 Sports Journalism Institute is a nine-week training and internship program for college students interested in sports journalism careers. The Institute is designed to attract talented students to print journalism through opportunities in sports reporting and editing and enhance racial and gender diversity in sports departments of newspapers nationwide. The program will run from May 29 through Aug. 3, 2008.

The Sports Journalism Institute, which works with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), is funded by the Tribune Foundation, Hearst Newspapers/Houston Chronicle, Associated Press Sports Editors and the New York Daily News. The classrooom training portion will be hosted by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and will run May 29 through June 8; paid eight-week internships at newspapers around the country will follow.

The program, which began in 1993, has more than 150 graduates who have gone on to work at newspapers throughout the country. A few examples:

Milo Bryant, Class of 1993, columnist, Colorado Springs Gazette

Stephanie Storm, Class of 1993, reporter, Akron Beacon Journal

Ana Menendez, Class of 1993, page designer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Rachel Bachman, Class of 1994, sports enterprise reporter, Oregonian

Paul Gutierrez, Class of 1994, Raiders beat reporter, Sacramento Bee

Gregory Lee, Class of 1994, senior assistant sports editor, Boston Globe

Michael Cunningham, Class of 1996, Heat reporter, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Marcus Thompson, Class of 1998, Warriors reporter, Contra Costa Times

Kevin Howell, Class of 2000, High school sports editor, Newark Star Ledger

Graham Watson, Class of 2002, Missouri reporter, St. Louis Post Dispatch

Odeen Domingo, Class of 2003, reporter, Arizona Republic

Andrew Lawrence, Class of 2003, reporter, Sports Illustrated

Brandon Cleaver, Class of 2005, sports reporter, Des Moines Register

Students selected for the 2007 Sports Journalism Institute will receive:

A crash course in sports journalism next summer at the Poynter Institute May 29 through June 8, where their instruction will come from working professionals in daily sports journalism plus staff from Poynter. Class sessions will range from ethics to photo editing to how to keep running score at a baseball game to copy editing. Travel and rooming expenses will be arranged by the institute and paid for by the institute.

Eight weeks of professional experience at a paid internship in the sports department of a daily newspaper (June 9 through Aug. 3).

A $500 scholarship upon successful completion of the program for students returning to college.

Eligibility

At least 12 student journalists will be selected. Ideally, applicants should be college sophomores, juniors or seniors. Candidates will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, demonstrated interest in sports journalism as a career and excellence on the required essay. Eligibility is not limited to journalism majors.

A complete application includes these five items:

A current college transcript

Two letters of recommendation

A professional-style photo (head shot)

Up to seven writing samples or clips (photocopied on 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper)

An essay of no more than 500 words stating why he or she should be selected

Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

For more information, contact Gregory Lee, The Boston Globe at glee@globe.com or
617-929-2840. Note: E-mail is preferred.

UCABJ Career Panel Discussion

Here are more pictures from the recent UCABJ Career Panel Discussion.



UCABJ president Terron Austin and vice president Geoffrey Dobbins discuss collaborative plans for future programming with UCSPJ treasurer Alicia Gaynor and secretary Taylor Dungjen.




Len Penix, field service associate professor and director of student media discusses his experiences and the differences between newspaper and magazine writing. Special guests Aiesha Little, UCABJ advisor and associate editor at Cincinnati Magazine and Jenny Wohlfarth, field service associate professor and freelance writer at Cincinnati Magazine spoke on the varying mentalities of print journalists (for example, being a writer versus being a reporter).



University of Cincinnati alum and Hamilton JournalNews reporter, Joshua Rinaldi shares his news writing and reporting experiences since graduation.




A group photo of our special guest journalists and UCABJ and UCSPJ members in attendance. Shame on you if you missed it!

Sisters United

Dada Rafiki: Sisterhood Gathering & Evening of Inspiration

Everyone can remember women who have worked hard for their families, communities, and churches and didn’t always get the recognition that they truly deserved. Because she understands that giving honor where honor is due is long overdue, renaissance woman Annie Ruth established the program Dada Rafiki (pronounced da∙da ra∙fi∙ki), Kiswahili for sister friend, hence the motto, “My Sista My Friend.”

On Oct. 26 at Frederick Douglass Elementary School, many sisters and friends came together to honor women who positively impact youth in their communities.

Ruth is a poet, songwriter, singer and visual artist and founder of Dada Rafiki. She is locally as well as nationally acclaimed for her works of art and accomplishments in the community. She runs the Eye of the Artists Foundation, a charitable, educational and community empowerment organization founded to promote the arts and assist existing arts programs. Its vision is to reach and empower the community through creativity, and its mission is to serve as a catalyst and advocate for the exposure of the arts to the entire community, with an emphasis on youth. She illustrated the children’s book When My Mama Reads to Me written by Julie Elkus. She is a true blessing to the city of Cincinnati.



Dada Rafiki represents unity among people in general, not just women. Annually since 2005, Ruth has chosen eight to 30 women who are extraordinarily dedicated to the youth to honor at Dada Rafiki. Each woman is celebrated with a piece of art that is donated by local artists. This year’s art was donated to Frederick Douglass Elementary School to give their walls more color and inspire the students.
Visual artists Pearletta Williams, Joyce Phillip Young, Edith Sussaret Marrero and Annie Ruth donated pieces, as did photographers Helen Adams, Amanda Cawdrey, Theresa Mosley “Bella,” and Paula Norton, embroiderers/seamstresses Ann Cheng, Linda M. Chapman, Kathryne Gardette and Charlotte Hunter and painter Velma Morris.
This year’s program honored 30 women, who represent a wide range of occupations and areas of service, from medicine to law to community activism.

The actual program was exciting and colorful, filled with singing and laughter. The program consisted of spoken word, songs and cultural dance. Dynamic songstress Andrea P. Thomas and anointed songbird Janice Napier sang the crowd happy. Ruth, in bright orange African garb, sang her dada rafiki theme song, My Sista My friend and an inspirational youth song, What’s The Word? READ.



The program was also graced with some Caribbean flavor from the Kai Kweol Caribbean Music and Dance group. Each honoree was presented with a dada rafiki award as a sign of appreciation for their outstanding works.

To see all the honorees and order of program, visit www.eyeoftheartists.org

-Bridget Jackson

The Way of the World

O.J. Simpson: America’s Nightmare, the Media’s Wet Dream

"Again?!" That was the thought that immediately registered in my mind when I saw a caption flash across my television screen reporting that O.J. Simpson had been arrested and charged with armed robbery on Sunday, September 18 in Las Vegas. Authorities allege Simpson was arrested for probable cause stemming from an incident earlier that week when he and five other men allegedly entered a room unlawfully at the Palace Station Hotel and attempted to forcibly obtain football paraphernalia that once was the property of Simpson. The police report includes details stating the men were armed with semi-automatic weapons. Simpson is charged with two felony counts of robbery, a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, and also conspiracy to commit burglary. “Damn! O.J. can’t stay out of trouble!” That was my second thought, as I finished reading the caption.

What profound irony that Simpson would generate headline news on Sunday morning, the day of the week that Simpson made his self famous as a superstar football player in the NFL. Initially, I didn’t think Simpson’s latest run in with the law was significant, considering the fact this wasn’t the first time Simpson has been in legal trouble since the much media hyped “trial of the century” that concluded with Simpson acquitted of murder charges of his wife and her “friend” Ron Goldman. Since the murder trial, OJ has sporadically made headlines due to his erratic behavior. I simply dismissed this as yet another incident of Simpson engaging in frivolous behavior that led him into some legal trouble. I assumed he would make headlines for the next couple of days, be the target of a couple Jay Leno and David Lettermen jokes, and as time went on the media would quickly start to forget about Simpson’s case and move on to the next celebrity or athlete surrounded in controversy. Where is Michael Vick when you need him?

However, Simpson’s latest legal troubles have garnered overwhelming coverage from the mainstream media. It seemed that every major media outlet was covering Simpson’s case as a high profile world exclusive with updates by the second of new developments of the case. Before I could even finish writing it has just been reported Simpson passed gas in the infamous white Ford Bronco he was driving when authorities apprehended him in the first trial. Additional information will be provided as reporters investigate the cause of his flatulence.

I was surprised Simpson was still considered relevant enough to attract so much media attention. I understand he was a Heisman trophy winner at the University of Southern California, six time NFL pro-bowler, and the first running back to rush for 2000 yards in an NFL regular season. The significance of Simpson’s accomplishments on the field made him a superstar athlete which helped transcend his stardom from sports to entertainment which was one of the reasons his murder trial was one of national interest. However, the most paramount reason, the O.J. Simpson trial captured the collective attention of the nation was not simply because a famous football player was accused of murdering his wife, but rather because a black football player was accused of murdering his white wife. It remains to be seen, but goes without saying if Simpson’s wife was African American his trial would not have been amplified to be titled “The Trial of the Century”.

The reality is Simpson’s celebrity as a superstar was destroyed due to the murder trial, and he has never been able to come close to repairing his image. Simpson is no longer thought of as a football player, but rather as an alleged murderer. Since the murder trial Simpson has become a caricature of himself, largely due to the media scrutinizing his post-trial actions. His celebrity has been removed and replaced with infamy. The interest in Simpson is no longer because of his fame as an athlete, but rather the legacy of the murder trial. I remember being in high school when the verdict for the murder trial was announced, when the words not guilty reverberated across the nation. The revelation of the polarization of black and white race relations manifested. It is undeniable Simpson has caused self inflicted damage to his reputation. However, it is equally undeniable the media has sensationalized Simpson’s life. This latest incident serves as an example of the media’s obsession with O.J Simpson. Simpson was elusive on the football field evading defenders; he was also evasive at shaking off prosecutors during his murder trial. However, Simpson will never be fast or elusive enough to outrun the camera, microphones, pens, and laptops of the media.

-Dante Harris

“Are You a Writer or Are You a Reporter?”

I will never forget that question. It helped shape my career path. It was 1999 and I was sitting across from Stu Shinske, the managing editor of The Poughkeepsie Journal. I was fresh out of college, interviewing for my very first full-time newspaper gig in a strange city that I had only heard of twice in my lifetime (once because of Tawana Brawley and once because of Friends). I could best be described as a sweaty, nervous wreck.

Upon hearing the question, I paused and thought about it. I mean, really thought about it. No one had ever broken journalism down into those categories for me before. This idea threw me for a loop. After what seemed like forever, I finally said, “I think I’m more of a writer” and I proceeded to wax poetic about what I then described at the art of storytelling. Little did I know the question that had so impressed me was one of the oldest interviewing tricks in the book. You see, it isn’t an either-or question. The real answer is, “I’m both.”

Let me generalize for a second here. Magazine people like myself are very concerned with how a story is conveyed; the language of a piece is extremely important to us, down to the most minute of details. We try to build momentum with a story. Newspaper people? They’re inverted pyramid, scoop-or-be-scooped adrenaline junkies. I’m not insinuating that newspapers aren’t capable of delivering complex stories. Reporters just have different ways of doing that compared to magazine writers. (A series of stories on the same topic that might run over a certain number of days, for example.)

My point is even when I was sent to the scenes of fires, drive-by shootings, and car crashes while interning at The Detroit News, I knew I wasn’t a true newspaper person. The urgency that reporters feel just didn’t drive me. However, in order to be a good magazine writer, I believe that you must at least have basic reporting skills to distill your work and make sure you’re getting at all of the major points of a story. I know that developed that ability during my time in newspapers. If you don’t have those skills, you’re just a frustrated fiction writer.

As the editorial internship coordinator for Cincinnati Magazine, I spring the writer-reporter question on intern candidates all the time. I can count on one hand the number of students who’ve given me the right answer. Lots of students, particularly those interested in magazines, often shun the newspaper experience, as if it’s a waste of time in the grand scheme of things. Students who come to me seeking experience should realize that our ever-fracturing profession is still connected in many ways. This work isn’t an either-or proposition. When they do understand this and finally give me the answer I’m looking for, I can only hope that they really mean it.

Cheers,

Aiesha D. Little
NABJ Adviser
University of Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists

Aiesha is an associate editor at Cincinnati Magazine, www.cincinnatimagazine.com.

UC 'Journo' Ryan McLendon speaks out on his solar excursion

Ryan McLendon poses with UC journalism professor Elissa Sonnenberg at The Washington Post.

My trip to the 2007 Solar Decathlon was a fascinating and harrowing experience. The Solar Decathlon is an international competition sponsored by the Department of Energy where 20 universities from around the globe compete to design and build the perfect solar house. The competition this year took place on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

I initially became involved in the U.C. Solar Decathlon InForm team not because I was an environmental enthusiast, but because I love projects. I interviewed two key members of the team, architecture student Christopher Davis, and electrical engineer Jeremy Smith. With these interviews, I was immediately inundated with the deluge of information about the way the house worked, both conceptually and mechanically. I learned about the technologies being utilized by the house, the photovoltaic panels, and the evacuated tubing, that absorbed the sun’s rays and converted them into electric power and thermal energy.

Essentially drowning in information about green architecture, engineering and living, it was only a matter of time before I too became a raging, tempestuous environmentalist. I not only incorporated green habits into my everyday life, such as recycling, using canvas bags instead of plastic and only eating at restaurants that use local produce, but I also followed the activities of the Solar Decathlon team throughout the summer and onto the Mall this Autumn.

The Solar Decathlon was a very elucidating experience. At the event, I walked around for hours talking with other teams and touring their houses. It was interesting to see how 20 different universities dealt with the same problems of design and construction. Many teams used evacuated tubing to heat water for instance, but no other team using them to heat and cool their entire house as the U.C, team did. Some team’s houses had more aesthetic value than others. The University of Maryland’s house was stunning both outside and inside and the also effectively used technology.

As a journalist, I was greatly pleased to have this real- world experience where I had to think on my feet, make the best of what I had and to find stories when they weren’t apparent. I will be at the next Decathlon.

THE SIREN IS HERE!

Check out the links to the latest issue of The Siren. Post your comments and share your thoughts.

Stay tuned...

THE SIREN IS COMING!

There is so much packed in this month's issue. Be sure to check us out and don't forget to post your comments and response to the features. Speak out of what's happening in the world around you.

The Siren, "For those with more than just something to say."

Some Thoughts on Torture

If you're like me, you're disgusted by the fact that Americans routinely read newspapers and watch TV news programs that treat torture as a "debate." What does it say about us that state-sanctioned cruelty and sadism is debatable at all?

It's beyond frustrating to see people playing inane semantic games surrounding the word "torture" - especially when it's often the same people who say they hate political correctness. Simulating drowning... stripping people naked, tying them up and forcing them into stress positions for days at at time... Exposing them to hypothermia... all this stuff is torture (and heaven only knows what they're doing that we aren't being told about).

I'm a fan of a magazine called Tikkun. Today I read an article from that magazine that I think encapsulates what's wrong with the "debate" over torture.

See the article here.

The topic has received a lot of media attention over the last couple of years, especially since the Abu Ghraib scandal. We are often presented with a completely false premise - that torture is about a conflict between individual human rights and gathering intelligence that is necessary for national security. It's made to sound like a difficult moral conundrum.

But there's an enormously obvious problem with that premise. All of the professionally trained interrogators I've ever heard discuss the subject say torture isn't effective in securing good intelligence. Even apart from morality, torture as an intelligence tool just doesn't work.

It makes perfect sense if you think about it. If somebody "water-boards" you - which is to say they make you feel as if you're drowning without actually killing you - telling your torturer the truth is the last thing on your mind. If you "break" at all, you're far more likely to tell your torturers whatever you think they want to hear - so that they stop torturing you. You don't care about the truth. All you care about is escaping the torture.

John McCain sometimes discusses the wild things he told his torturers when he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. They once tortured him in an effort to get him to reveal the names of other members of his flight squadron. He gave them the names of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line instead, just so the torture would stop. It worked. He escaped a round of torture because they didn't know the difference.

Here's McCain's Newsweek essay about torture.

Well trained interrogators understand that pain and suffering doesn't result in good intelligence. They try to get sources to cooperate rather than beating them into submission. They make sources feel like they have something to gain in helping the interrogator.

But once one understands this, current American policies concerning the use of torture become far more disturbing. I'm sure those that make policy in both civilian government and the military are fully aware of how ineffective torture is for gathering intelligence. So why use it?

As the Tikkun article points out, torture is very useful for other purposes. It's good for intimidating a population and suppressing dissent. It's also good for extra-judicial punishment. Is there someone you don't like who can't be tried in court for lack of evidence? Just lock them in a room for "questioning" for a while and consider justice served. No judges or juries necessary.

Is this what we've come to? Is this what we as a nation stand for?

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

The Cincinnati - Hamilton County Community Action Agency Annual Luncheon

I went to the Cincinnati - Hamilton County Community Action Luncheon this morning. It was surreal and exciting and disappointing all at the same time. I'll probably write more about this later, but here are some of my initial thoughts.

The keynote speaker was Juan Williams, and I was there to ask him a question, get a quote, or make some kind of brief contact with him. For those who don't know who Juan Williams is, he's one of the premier journalists in the country right now. He's a senior correspondent for NPR (He hosted "Talk of the Nation" for 2 years) and is a political analyst for Fox News (he's the black guy you might have seen arguing with Bill Kristol on cable TV). He spent 21 years building a massive reputation writing for the Washington Post.

I managed to get there through the efforts of Elissa Sonnenberg, Queen of Contacts. She got me on the phone with Mason Gray, who was one of the committee members organizing the luncheon for the Community Action Agency (CAA).

There was an interesting mix of people there. Some were volunteers with the school children the Community Action Agency (CAA) were involved with, including doctors, teachers, and grandmothers that read with children at the library. The president of CAA, Gwen L. Robinson, was also there and delivered a rousing speech. Jenell Walton, WCPO anchor and president of the Cincinnati chapter of the NABJ, was the EMCEE of the event. There were also plenty of political movers and shakers sitting a couple of tables from me, including a few representatives of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate, Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Crowley, Todd Portune of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, and U.S. House of Representatives Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.

It was surreal. Two days before I hadn't even heard of this event, and I didn't know so many of the city's influential people would be there until I saw them there. And there I was with my cheap blue jean jacket on. As someone guided me to a table, I kept saying to myself, "I should have worn a tie." I exchanged a (very) few words with Schmidt at one point, and I wondered if Jenell Walton recognized me from the Cincinnati ABJ meeting I attended a month or two ago. And that weird inner voice kept going on and on "Get your elbows off the table, man! This one might really count!"

I could go on and on about that odd experience, but for now I'll say two things:


1. I didn't get what I came to get. I didn't get even a brief moment with Juan Williams. I ran out of tape in my recorder and didn't even capture the incredible speech he gave. (I should have expected it to go long and for him to speak at the end. Live and learn I guess.) Even so, I think it was a useful experience. Like a lot of journalists that are just starting out like me, I've never seen Democrat and Republican politicians that I've read about or even written about sip tea together a couple of yards away. I knew that these people were real and human intellectually. But to see them munching on the same gourmet chicken you're munching on... to see them ask for a drink from the same server who just took away your plate - that's a horse of a different color. And if Jean Schmidt or Juan Williams or Jenelle Walton saw me today, I'm sure they wouldn't even remember I was there. Despite my faux pas, for a moment I really could have just walked up to these people like I would a classmate or a professor, even if I felt tiny and unimportant. If a social misfit like me can avoid making fool of himself, anyone can.


2. Stuff like this requires planning and sacrifice. I tried to wedge this in between class at UC and work at Micro Center in Sharonville. Had I planned for it better or been willing to really tick off my bosses at work, I probably could have made much more of an opportunity out of this than I did. All sorts of previously unforeseen things worked against making it a bigger success. The device I was using to record the event was wrong (my digital recorder's special lithium battery had recently gone out and they aren't available in stores - hence the tape recording fiasco). The place I parked was wrong (I was lucky I didn't get a ticket). The clothes I wore tripped me up (that subtle lack of confidence was probably influential). So remember, even when you have short notice, you have to find a way to plan, plan, plan.


~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

Arrested Development is Back!

I guess I'm officially on a Hip Hop streak now.

If you had asked me about the state of the Hip Hop music industry just a little while ago, I would have been very pessimistic. It looked like materialism, gangsterism, and chauvinism were winning the day, and socially and spiritually conscious Hip Hop was being relegated to the margins.

I think we can all agree that commercial success doesn't make an artist good. But it can help us get a handle on the media exposure a particular artist's work is getting. For once, real Hip Hop seems to be coming to the fore. Look at what's happened this year.

Exibit A: Common, a rapper who's been underrated for a long time, is going mainstream. A couple of years ago, before the album Be came out, if you asked most casual Rap fans who Common was, you would've gotten blank stares. In the course of the last year he's appeared in two big budget films (Smokin' Aces and American Gangster) and advertisements for the Gap. And lets not forget his latest album Finding Forever debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. That means he's almost certainly becoming a household name among people who don't even listen to rap.

Exibit B: Talib Kweli is in a similar situation. His latest album Eardrum debuted at #2 on Billboard. I think you can officially say he's no longer underground. The HP-commercial-inspired "Hot Thing" video is so clever, I had to put it on the blog. (For purely journalistic reasons, of course.)

Exhibit C: After a 12-year absence from U.S. charts, Arrested Development, the drum majors of the Afrocentric wave in the early '90s, put out a new album, Since the Last Time, on Tuesday (10/30/07). They were everywhere for a hot second. Remember all those folks wearing Malcolm X caps blasting the song they made for the soundtrack of Spike Lee's film? I've heard a few tracks of their album (check out the Arrested Development website), and think they have a real shot at hitting it big again. I'm pretty broke, but I can't help but part with few dollars for stuff like that.

If Lauryn Hill were to announce she's finally working on a third album, somebody will have to pinch me. That would make my day. Or week. Or month.

So let it be written, so let it be done. Real Hip Hop is on the rise. But as LL would say, "Don't call it a comeback." They've always been there. They're just finally getting the public recognition they deserve.

It's about time.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ