Facebook, Where Have You Been All My Life?

OK, so I finally took a friend's advice and signed up for some online networking sites. You can now find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. Yes, yes, I know. “You’re just getting around to that?” you’re asking. Well, you know that person who sees a movie on DVD a year after it came out and then tries to tell friends who saw it in the theater how great it was? That’s me so please forgive me if this post sounds passé. With that said, Facebook is great. Case in point: I was looking for a new magazine intern recently and was able to contact my Facebook friends for potential candidates. Several students turned up as a result. I hope to use it more like this in the future, but I'm still worried about how much of our lives should be readily accessible online.

I routinely check the Facebook and MySpace pages of potential interns. Why not? If you put the information out there, why shouldn't I or other potential employers read it? NOTE: if you're interested in working for me, make sure your Facebook and MySpace pages are set to private. If I see a picture of you peeing on the sidewalk or read that your favorite hobby is smoking weed, I will naturally be less inclined to hire you. Why? Because your online presence is just as important as your actual physical presence and both of those can be called into question when you're representing my publication. I know it's just the times in which we live that make us so willing to share our innermost thoughts with strangers halfway around the world, but is that a good thing?

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

Lucky In Our Enemies

Has anybody seen Patrick Buchanan's recent column about UNITY? Check NABJ's here. Les Payne says does a very good job, I think, but I thought I'd add my own two cents anyway.

Buchanan really hates the whole idea of the UNITY convention, which is strangely gratifying to me. You may know Buchanan as the columnist that frequently condemns multiculturalism, like he does here and here, and laments the demise of a "Western civilization" dominated by Caucasians, as he does here. Views like these might help explain why he opposed a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In his response to Barack Obama's speech about race in March, Buchanan explained how blacks should be grateful to America because slavery did us a favor. But that's not all...

He dealt with persistent (and justified) charges of antisemitism during his campaigns for president in 1992, 1996 and 2000 - charges that have resurfaced following his recent book about WWII, Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War."

I haven't read it, but judging from columns he's written about it and the comments others have made, it seems that Buchanan argues that WWII is Great Britain's fault and sort of blames the Allies for the Holocaust. He also grieves the loss of Britain's often-repressive empire. Check out what Newsweek's Christopher Hitchens has to say about it here.

Buchanan has got some really heart-warming stuff to say, doesn't he?

I have to confess that I'm only half joking here. People like Buchanan make me feel needed - they remind me that there really is a desperate need for people who care about truth, justice and forging an "American way" that isn't so steeped in hatred.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that when Pat Buchanan has nasty things to say about the diverse and multicultural things we do, it must mean we're doing something right.

We've joined the long list of people Buchanan doesn't like. Congratulations, folks.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

A TRIP THAT WE CAN NEVER FORGET

MY EXPERIENCE AT UNITY

What seemed like forever came in an instant! UNITY 2008 was here. What others had said about UNITY was nothing that could possibly compare to what it really was. I met some of the best and brightest in the journalism field.

I went to many panel discussions and workshops that thought me a tremendous amount about topics. These are just a few: How to Deal With Your First Internships, AIDS Research and Violence In the Media.

Chicago was wonderful! It reminded of New York but not as intense. The people were friendly, and the food was GREAT! (That part is kind of important to me) The shopping was wonderful.

This UNITY trip also thought me many things about myself and the plans that I have for the upcoming year for UCABJ. For the first time ever I met people who were my "competition" and who inspired me at the same time.

-Alicia Gaynor
UCABJ President

UCABJ Represents!

UCABJers and other University of Cincinnati journalism students are featured in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences online bulletin this week. Way to go!

theroot.com's UNITY blog

UCABJ is back from Chicago and all is right with the world. Saw some old friends, met some new friends, went to some great sessions, had some good food...there isn't really anything else to say, is there? Oh, you can check out Geoffrey's theroot.com blog entries here.

UCABJer Blogs UNITY for theroot.com

Big ups go out to UCABJ Vice President Geoffrey Dobbins for being selected by the staff over at theroot.com to blog during the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention in Chicago next week. We aren't talking small potatoes here. For those of you who don't know, theroot.com is the brainchild of Harvard University professor and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and is backed by The Washington Post Company. Check back on July 22 when UCABJ takes Chicago by storm!

Congrats, Geoffrey!

—UCABJ Executive Board