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Jonathan Alter Speaks on the Election and the Economy
By Ryan Catanese
September 30, 2008
ELON, NC – “The next American leader will have to be able to get other countries to help paint our fence.”
This allusion to the famous scene in Tom Sawyer was the closing line of Jonathan Alter’s speech, entitled “Between the Lines: Politics, Media, and Society,” given last night at a jam-packed McCrary Theater.
Alter sits down to talk to university students (photo courtesy of Elon University)
The focus of the talk was, of course, the upcoming election.
“I would like to think that this [crowd] is about me,” Alter said to start his speech, “but this is really about what’s happening in our country.”
Alter described a political intensity for this election that this country has never seen. He credited this to several things, including the emergence of new technology, the closeness of the 2000 election, and a new realization of the stakes.
“I remember back when it was Carter versus Ford, nobody really cared who won,” Alter said. “After the September 11th disaster and Hurricane Katrina, the people realized that it mattered who won.
“The old notion that ‘it really doesn’t matter if I vote’ is pretty much obsolete,” he said.
Alter went on to point out how close this election could turn out to be, and how important the state of North Carolina could be.
By Ryan Catanese
September 29, 2008
Deadline reporting is what many people think of when they think of being a reporter. It is the job of the deadline reporter to be the front line of the media, the arbiter the masses.
In today’s wired world, it is often the broadcast journalist that breaks the news. With the advent of 24-hour news channels and the constancy of the internet, it is rare that the print journalist is the first to break a story. So the print journalist has a much harder job.
Maroon and Gold Looks to be the Latter
By Ryan Catanese
September 26, 2008
Elon, NC – At Elon University, radio, television, cinema, marketing and newspaper writing are all media outlets that students can explore. There is one significant medium not on that list.
Cory Dowd is trying to fill that void.
By Ryan Catanese
September 24, 2008
In the face of economic crisis, it seems that the citizens of the Town of Elon are ready to bite the bullet.
It was announced recently that the Federal Reserve, with backing from the Bush Administration, are pushing a bill in Congress right now that outlines a $700 billion bailout plan for United States financial firms in an effort to stimulate the floundering economy.
Local resident Justin Brown reacts to the new economic stimulus plan.
“I don’t know if we should have to pay for it, but I don’t know if there is any other way,” said Justin Brown, an employee at the local store, Mynt.
The bottom line for this plan would give financial firms $2,333 for every one of America’s 300 million citizens.
Elon residents just want results.
“Something has to be done,” local retiree Ruth Bell said. “For Social Security, I got $4 last year. $4! What does that buy you?”
Steve DeLoach, a professor of economics at Elon University, is a bit more skeptical. When asked whether he agreed with the idea, he said, “Yes and no. The basic idea is right.”
September 22, 2008
Beat reporting is not glamorous. There are oftentimes not many people that care about what happens on the local scene, especially if it is not their own. It is often not about spectacular new inventions or other naturally interesting things like explanatory journalism often is. It isn’t often going to be a lengthy portrait of a national icon like feature and profile writing often is. In fact, it often isn’t even on the front page.
The value of beat, or local, reporting, however, cannot be understated. It is often the meat and potatoes, the true heart of a newspaper. Beat reporters do not concern themselves with the lives of celebrities like George Clooney or Oprah Winfrey. They care about people like Oseola McCarty, an un-married 87 year old seamstress. But wait, Oseola McCarty is a name that not many people will even recognize, let alone know about. Then why do we care? Why are there sections of newspapers devoted to the likes of Dewon Jones, people we have never heard nor cared about?
This is a video that I shot and produced about the death of Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman, a collector of abstract art who passed away this month. It is less than serious, but it is an alternative to the same “news” tone that we always get.
By Ryan Catanese
September 15, 2008
In my previous piece in this assignment, I mentioned the different spectrums that guides different aspects of reporting. For explanatory journalism, the writer must learn hard towards the facts, because in order for it to be a worthwhile story to read, the reader must understand the concepts presented. So, the explanatory journalist walks a thin line in regards to the density of his content.
Feature journalists, however, walk a different yet equally difficult line. Their focus is not as much on facts, although they must be as detailed as any other writer. They have to convey a feeling, an emotion, something powerful enough to captivate the reader.
Let’s face it, special issue writing and feature writing is usually not the most pressing news. With the exception of maybe the Watergate scandal, feature non-deadline writing is often not the most pressing issue in the paper. This makes it even more difficult for a feature writer.
By Ryan Catanese
September 14, 2008
On a topsy-turvy day when gas was suddenly at a premium, there was a rare sight at the BP gas station at the entrance to Elon’s campus. Cars were lined up at the pumps, sometimes seven or eight cars deep, for hours on Friday, stretching late into the night.
Due to the dangers of this hurricane season, some oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were forced to pause operations, causing a gas shortage, especially in small towns like Elon.
Gas prices shot up over $1 in one day, and gas was limited to a maximum of ten gallons per customer. The BP next to Elon’s campus was completely out of regular unleaded fuel, making consumers, pay for the more expensive gases.
It was nearly 11:30 at night when the lines finally died down, and it seemed that, at least for now, the crisis has been averted.
The scene at a local BP at 10:45 at night. Cars were lined up all day.
Lighthouse Starts with a Bang, then a Splash
By Ryan Catanese
“LIGHTHOUSE! LIGHTHOUSE! LIGHTHOUSE!”
Friday night was a big night on Elon University’s social scene as it was the grand re-opening of Lighthouse, the bar that was a campus favorite before it was shut down last January. The chants of “Lighthouse!” could be heard reverberating from the door, seemingly going to blow the roof off.
Anonymous starts their set at the newly re-opened Lighthouse bar.
The bar was closed in January of 2008 due to the owner’s alleged trafficking of the date-rape drug GHB.
It was clear to anyone present on Friday, however, that this incident was purely a bump in the road, and that it would take much more to make Lighthouse any less of a favorite on campus. The bar was packed from the stage to the back tables, and the newly-extended bar was completely lined the whole night. Senior education major Jen Johnson was one of the many in attendance.
By Ryan Catanese
September 14, 2008
The internet has many different functions in our society. From checking the weather to checking your e-mail, the internet has become a staple in average American life. With just a couple of clicks, I can read the news, read up on political candidates, or watch archived episodes of my favorite television shows. To me, however, the greatest asset of the internet is its power to connect people.
The internet makes things that used to be impossible possible.
It would be an understatement to say that my family is a bit spread out. I have an aunt in Seattle and an aunt in Florida. I have an uncle in New York and another in Jamaica. My brother is in Oregon, my cousin is in New Orleans, and my uncle, well, we never really know where he is.
