Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

In these economically harrowing times, I think we need to all be a little more positive, which is why we shouldn’t give Blagojevich such a hard time. Sure, the guy was caught on tape trying to sell Obama’s vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder. But what about all the conversations where he wasn’t trying to elicit bribes? I bet if you looked at all his phone calls, he’s only belligerent and threatening people in, like, 25 percent of them.

To illustrate the point, I was able to get my hands on a few Blago conversations I bet you haven’t heard. Here is one of him speaking with his daughter, Amy:

Blago: Hey pumpkin.

Amy: Hey daddy.

Blago: What did you do today at school?

Amy: I drew a picture of a unicorn.

Blago: I love unicorns!

Amy: Me too!

What a sweetheart. Or how about this one with his wife, Patricia:

Patricia: Hey dear, would you mind picking up some ice cream on the way home?

Blago: What kind?

Patricia: Hmm, Rocky Road.

Blago: Shoot, I’m at the store now, and they only have Chunky Monkey. You know what, I’ll just go to the place across the street. I know they have it.

How considerate!

Before we throw the book at the guy, just remember, his glass may be 25 percent full of pure evil, but it’s also 75 percent full of love. Lord knows we need more of that bleeping stuff.

The Republic National Convention posted a video online this Saturday alleging that Obama might not be speaking with complete candor on his relationship to the Blagojevich scandal. The video titled “Questions Remain” is a bit reminiscent of a 1950’s newsreel which is appropriate for a piece of work so explicitly Mccarthy-like.

Cast in all black and white the piece attempts to show Obama’s connection to the governor because Obama helped with Blagojevich’s campaign in 2006. I wonder if the guilt-by-association trick will work better this time around than during the election. But this case is certainly an even more bizarre attempt at a connection – what kind of headline do the Republicans hope to make:
OBAMA HELPED FELLOW STATE DEMOCRAT TO CAMPAIGN FOR REELECTION

Pretty unimpressive stuff.

Mccain is distancing himself from the attack ad (aren’t those over?!) – perhaps uncoincidentally during an interview when he said he might not support a Palin presidential bid. The whole venomous attack thing is something that has hurt Mccain several times. Bush used it on him in 2000 and his own attempts to play those hands might have cost him this past election.

Which makes me rather wonder what the RNC is up to on this. What will de-legitimizing and incoming president during a time of grave crisis do for them? Is it just a reflexive blow from punchers that have trained to hard to miss a small opening?

I would like to see some good analysis on this folks.

On election night, when I finally left the newsroom, I made my way down to a West Village bar to watch the election results with friends. The bar was packed with crowds who cheered every time a state turned a shade of blue. However, one group of men did not go along with the mass celebration. They booed the blue shades, and were the only ones to cheer when a red state popped on the map of America.

A friendly rivalry emerged between this group and the rest of the bar. However, as the night wore on, it became clear who would be victorious. At that moment, I decided to go up to the small group, and talk about why they supported McCain, and what they hoped to see during an Obama presidency.

One person from the group was willing to be interviewed. His name was Brendan, and he was an Iraq War veteran who served in the army.

Here are this thoughts:

The future of the Republican party

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Disagreeing with Obama’s withdrawal timeline for Iraq

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

What steps can Obama take to improve the economy?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thoughts on universal healthcare

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I spent the afternoon riding in a car with Craig Schley, who ran under the slate Voices of the Everyday People for Change (VOTE People), and with his volunteer as he campaigned on Election Day. Schley yelled out of a bullhorn as he drove pass local residents standing at bus stops and walking down the streets of Central and East Harlem.

Schley found himself running as an underdog against U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel, the 38-year Democratic incumbent from Harlem. Rangel, 78, has represented the 15th Congressional District since he defeated Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in 1970, making him the fourth longest serving Democratic member of the House. The district, which has nearly 400,000 registered voters, stretches from the Upper West Side to Washington Heights/Inwood, Rikers Island, and includes a part of northwestern Queens and the Bronx.

Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, is under scrutiny by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for failing to report taxable income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic and for living in four rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan. Still, some constituents were obviously not concerned with the accusations about Rangel.

From the beginning, Schley’s candidacy against Rangel had been an uphill battle. At noon, Schley returned to the polling site where he voted to address complaints that two of the five machines at P.S. 144 on East 122 Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard were broken by 11:30 a.m. More than anything Rangel benefitted from being in a heavily Democratic district with loyal party voters. Even those who know Schley and live in his district told him they unknowingly voted for Rangel.

“[People] are not confused about the ballot,” Schley said. “The problem is that they are voting straight democrat.”

After a long reporting day in East Harlem, I returned to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism newsroom to wait to be edited. Although I was not completely happy with my edits, I eventually surrendered since I knew I could not win the battle. I went to BBQ’s where I watched MSNBC as they reported that Barack Obama would be the first African-American and 44th president of the United States.

I headed to 42 Street and Times Square where thousands of people cheered, yelled, cried and smiled with joy that Obama had won. I had never seen such a spontaneous street celebration. The feeling was surreal. That’s when it hit me that a black man had finally been elected president. There is no doubt that last week’s historic presidential election instilled hope for change in America.  

These are a compilation of videos I came across YouTube during the election campaign. I will not use barelypolitical aka Obama Girl in this post. Enjoy!

McCain vs. Madonna: Gray Ambition

Barack Roll

McCain Green Screen – ‘Super McCain Bros’

  (more…)

New Yorkers and Americans alike came out in droves on Tuesday. Unprecedented voter turn out especially among young people and minority groups, resulted in the election of the first African American President. Barack Obama’s election marks the beginning of a new era in American history and politics. Here’s what some had to say about the results and the promise of Obama’s administration.

Neuvi Villanueva, 39 – Newark, NJ

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Herb Streng, 48  - Upper East Side, Manhattan

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Neil Chamberland, 27 – Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ann Mafae, 41  - Soho, Manhattan

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Within one month, from the bankruptcy Lehman Brothers, to Bank of America’s buyout of Merrill Lynch, and Wachovia’s sale to Wells Fargo, in New York City, the biggest issue ahead of the new president – Obama is the financial crisis.

Sub-prime mortgage crisis hit the U.S. economy severely last year with hundreds of houses foreclosed, and rising rate of unemployment in the real estate industry.

Since more and more people cannot pay the monthly mortgage, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae slumped into the bankruptcy edge. The government rescued the twin housing mortgage giants with $90 billion. Furthermore, Congress voted for a 700 billion bailout plan after its revision, which will plan to buy problematic financial assets, including loans, mortgage bonds, and other junk bonds in the market.

The Federal Reserve Bank cut interest rate twice to encourage lending. However, it has to cut the rate again to bring back confidence. The top executives of financial institutions, who intended to satisfy their greediness with a wealthy compensation package and walk away from the crisis, were under the scrutiny of F.B.I with charges of fraud. Some other managing workers and stock traders lost their jobs on Wall Street.

Since the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index fell more than 700 points, the biggest since the 9.11 terrorism attack, global investors and hedge funds oversea lost confidence on the U.S. Stocks. Millions of the U.S. citizens worried about their retirement plan on 401(K) investment.

The financial crisis affected European countries and even emerging markets in Asia, such as China, India, and Vietnam. Globalization made a New York regional crisis impact badly around the world. How much time we will spend to walk out of the economical recession is an unknown question to most of the economists, bankers, and worldwide residents. And it is the biggest challenge to the new president for his long and hard journey.

Click to View Slideshow

The raw sounds of celebration erupted as the words “Obama, President Elect” appeared on the Jumbotrons above Times Square.  It was the culmination of an election night thick with anticipation.

Thousands of spectators gathered to witness the election returns, broadcasted live. Cars and buses inched along as drivers slowed to see ABC’s latest numbers. Chants and cheers rose and fell as the winner of each state was called.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Nothing compared,however, to the emotion that spread over the crowd when Fox News announced Obama’s victory.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Michelle Nelson, a middle-aged African American woman, buried her head in her daughter’s shoulder and sobbed. 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Around her, a celebration exploded.

“This is my first time voting as a United States citizen. I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” said Kevin Parker a Brit who recently gained his citizenship. Parker was part of the several thousand person party that took place in Times Square on November 4th 2008. Police were not expecting the amount of people that showed up for the impromptu event. As soon as Obama was announced the winner the NYPD came out with barricades to control the happy crowds. Chants of “Yes we did,” and “No more Bush” were heard throughout the evening and well into the early morning. The next morning supporters wanted to get a physical piece of the historic election. The New York Times sold out of papers at newsstands across the city. The Times ordered 50,000 extra copies. People waited up to an hour in line outside the building to get a copy of the paper. <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/54936308@N00/sets/72157608702463242/show/”><img src=”http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/katherinenocera/files/2008/11/dscf2165-300×225.jpg” alt=”" title=”Revelers in Times Square” width=”300″ height=”225″ class=”alignleft size-medium wp-image-33″ /></a> Click on the photo for the slideshow.

While Obama’s candidacy is meaningful to millions of Americans for millions of different reasons, it’s particularly meaningful to older African-Americans who recall times when a minority in any political office was unheard of.

Ms. Priscilla Maddox is an African-American Crown Heights resident who refused to reveal her age, though I suspect, if her facts are correct and she did indeed work for the New York City hospitals for 36 years, and retired in 1984, she’s likely over 80.

Ms. Maddox in the commercial kitchen she opened with two friends in 2001

With a history of working hard to get African Americans into office, she can’t believe she may live to see the day when a black man presides over the United States of America.

Here Ms. Maddox talks about the political challenges local African Americans faced in the 1960’s, and what she did to help them. (Pardon the background noise. I was recording with the sole intent of taking notes)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Here Ms. Maddox discusses her feelings about Obama, win or lose.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.