Giving Tuesday

Salvation Army bell-ringer stands in 18 degree weather outside a hardware store in Lenexa KS with a smile on her face.

My First Voting Experience

My first "I voted" sticker!

       Me, like most people my age, had the opportunity to vote for the very first time last Tuesday. Our generation like those before us had the chance to experience the right to vote and the pride we feel after knowing that we are doing our duty to our country. For me this election was a bit of an eye opener. Perhaps it was noticed, but this year social media was a rather large influence on many of the young voters in America. Candidates, supporters, and other media outlets were able to voice their opinions and project their campaigns to billions of users via twitter, facebook, and various other forms of social media. On my newsfeeds and twitter feeds, like those of millions of others, I experienced what I call the “campaign fever”. Regardless of political party, each side openly displayed their opinions over the internet and it got a little intense, even to the point where people’s feelings were getting hurt. I personally stayed out of the political debates on twitter and facebook and decided to conduct my research on more factual websites and by watching the news, something I wish more of my friends would have partaken in.

For me my first time voting was exciting, I’ll admit I was even slightly nervous waiting in line at the church for my chance to vote. It wasn’t what I expected, I didn’t know it would be touch-screen and computerized, however I suppose I should have guessed that it would be. All in all it was an interesting experience, not just the voting process but seeing how people acted on social media leading up to the election, and the night of, and even still today people who are upset with the turn out. Personally I believe that regardless of political party the last thing we need to be doing is fighting amongst ourselves, and especially moving into the future we should be proud of our country and its leaders and excited about the direction we are headed together.

Make A Difference Day

On October 27th, 2012 all across the country and globe people reached out to their communities celebrating Make a Difference Day! For more information on Make a Difference Day visit www.makeadifferenceday.org to get involved next year!

An Insider Look: Talks with Ron Jones

Ron Jones Explains to Students
his job at WDET

     On Tuesday October 30^th, Professor Snorgrass introduced a speaker to his Journalism class at 11:00, that speaker was Ron Jones, the Program Director of WDET in Detroit. WDET is an informative news program that is broadcasted over the air and on the internet to the community- it is a locally produced news station and services over 150,000 listeners. What separates WDET from the rest of the news programs in the area is that it is based on something called public insight journalism as Jones says, “We just want to know what you know”. WDET features music from local contemporary artists, while still reporting on local and world news.

     Jones explained to the class that the media realized a while back that journalists weren’t always right, and they couldn’t always get the stories right or get the info out that people were interested in, so WDET decided to use a different approach to journalism. WDET uses what is called a public insight network; he explains “we get information from people and promise not to sell information or lobby people for money- we simply want to know what you know.” One of the ways WDET allows users to become more involved in the news of the day is by posting a Question of the Day blog- where listeners and web surfers can answer the question and provide feedback to the station; Ron Jones said “people are surprisingly eager to tell you what they know!”  Jones sees this as a new approach to journalism and values building trust in the community.

     The website allows users to respond not only to the broadcasts and blogs posted, but it allows people to come in and send their stories and news that they feel is important to them. The WDET explains that “The Public Insight Network is a group of people from all walks of life who inform our news coverage,” which allows WDET to stand out from the other stations in the area. Ron Jones is a lifelong friend of Professor Snorgrass, and it is a rare treat to have him here to speak at Avila University.

Ron Jones speaks to class