A/V: GOP "Architect" Visits Dayton

Republican political consultant and policy strategist Karl Rove speaks at a book signing event at Books-A-Million in Beavercreek, Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

For an hour this past Sunday afternoon, many at an Ohio bookstore gathering were introduced to an American presidential election held in in the late 19th century to help them gain perspective on the very interesting political atmosphere in the present day. Karl Rove, a former deputy chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration and a man whose name is ubiquitous within Republican political circles, visited the Beavercreek, Ohio Books-A-Million store to sign copies of his latest book The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters.

My Three-Day "Tweet-kend"

My first "viral" tweet began with a bang...and ended with nary a mention.

Back in September 2012, I posted an item documenting my experiences (and frustrations) with Twitter, the 140-character or less micro-blogging platform where anybody associated with journalism is supposed to readily adopt and participate on a regular basis. In that entry, I pondered if it was a "one-way street"--where everyone has something to say but no one bothers to respond (a old Current TV video describes it as a place "where you talk to no one--and everyone"). I use my account primarily for announcing when I upload new items or if I want to promote/document something I might be seeing/experiencing at the time. The "tweet" you see above happens to be the first "viral" one I can claim and I will get around to describing its origin when I detail how my recent three-day Memorial Day "tweet-kend" played out beyond the jump below.

My Media Vacation (Part 1 of 3): New York City

[NOTE: Due to the amount of research I've been doing for my current journalism class and work-related activities, my brain is a little too "fried" for a deep-thought posting.  A while back, I shared parts of a vacation trip that I made with my son over to the East Coast in late July/early August 2012.  These are some of the photos that I took along the way--I hope you enjoy them!] 

"30 Rock" serves as the anchor of New York City's Rockefeller Plaza (and the headquarters of NBC News)

After the reunion/family-related activities of our visit back in Pennsylvania was completed, our first stop for this father/son "road trip" was Secaucus, New Jersey--just across the river from Manhattan and the recognized media capital of the world, New York City.  I chose the cross-river location due to expenses (a two-night stay at a quality hotel in "the Garden State" was roughly equivalent to a single night just five miles to the east) and easy access to the city itself (we were just one exit away from the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel and mid-town locations).  Fortunately, a day-long tour bus stopped right outside our lobby and we made sure we were up bright and early for day one of our two-day visit to "the Big Apple".

"Talking Heads" are Not News Anchors

As much as I might like them in their regular roles, Ed, Al and Chris are not at their best when anchoring live news events.

This past Monday, our nation experienced its most recent mass shooting tragedy when 12 workers at a US military installation in the District of Columbia were killed and 14 were wounded when a lone gunman opened fire on a crowded atrium within the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters building at the beginning of the work day.  At around 8:20AM, Aaron Alexis, a 34-year old defense subcontractor and former Navy reservist, drove his rental car inside that defense-related installation with a recently purchased shotgun and 24 rounds of ammunition (he would also acquire a 9mm semi-automatic pistol from a security officer he shot on his way to that electronically protected main building and possibly one more from an internal official) and made his way to a strategic position on a 4th floor walkway overlooking that congested food service area during their breakfast service.  Facility and district law enforcement officials responded within 2-3 minutes of the 911 call and eventually encountered Alexis along the walkway.  After wounding an officer and at the end of an approximately 30 minute standoff, he was fatally shot and killed at around 9AM.  These are facts that, in the span of 24 to 48 hours after-the-fact can be succinctly conveyed in a 12-line area of a blog; however, in the immediate aftermath of such a rapidly evolving event, brevity and clarity is nearly non-existent and these scenarios pose significant impediments to those who have been trained to tell us the news.  A much more dire situation occurs when we must endure this process with people who have no formal journalism backgrounds and must ramble on because they must fill their outlet's unlimited air time and I personally witnessed that embarrassment on Monday afternoon on MSNBC.

What a Thursday!

[NOTE: This post was supposed to be completed earlier in the week but I contracted a 'summer cold' that has put me off to pretty much anything doing with writing since Monday. I've made the appropriate changes to reflect the delay.] 

Starting with Ann Curry's goodbye early in the morning and going late into the late afternoon hours with the House contempt vote, June 28th was a remarkable media day

If you are a financial (or advanced political) wonk, you might know what the investing term 'quadruple witching day' means and how it relates to specific occurrences every fiscal quarter when contracts for stock options, stock index options, stock index futures, and single stock futures expire on exchanges all around the world.  If I can borrow this enchanting phrase and loosely apply it to the media,  four remarkable and/or historic events occupied a good segment of American television news outlets' available air time on June 28th and I was able to directly witness three of them (one happened when I was at work but I could not break away to our organization's cafeteria to view on its bank of television monitors).  Two were directly related to the news media while the other two relied on those elements to transmit images and information from the nation's capital to all corners of the country (as well as to the wider world).

Upcoming 'Morning News Review' Series

Due to a temporary change in my work schedule this week, I am waking up at dawn and coming home in the afternoon time frame--almost completely opposite of my routine.  Needless to say, it has been taking its toll on me both physically and mentally and I am feeling totally out of whack, especially after lunch.  I should be back to normal come Monday when I return to my regular more-forgiving hours.

Is Fox News Getting 'Snubbed' by Hollywood?

Two recent movies featuring television news clips but none were of Fox News...oversight or intentional snub?

I've written here from time to time about how journalism just seems to sneak up on me when I least expect it and my last two visits to one of our local cineplexes fall into that 'covert' category.  With the advent of the summer 'blockbuster' season, I've been drawn by the media hype and publicity surrounding several new releases of the 'action/adventure' genre.  During its opening weekend, my son and I went to see Battleship to see just how bad a movie based upon a board game could be (not good but not as bad as we anticipated).  Over the holiday weekend, the whole family spent part of a hot Memorial Day afternoon watching Marvel's The Avengers (which was good even without knowing the intricate 'back stories' of the characters or seeing any of the 'prequel' films like Captain America: The First Avenger or Thor).

The (Re)Birth of a Network

A new logo represents a new attitude at Current TV

As a news 'junkie', I am always seeking out new avenues to get my regular 'fixes'.  Print media, radio and television, and computer websites/smartphone apps are all acceptable to me and employed as their availability allows.  Having such a wide variety of choices stands in stark contrast to the days of the 'Big Three' television networks and having only the Associated Press and United Press International serving as the major 'news wires' for our daily newspapers (yes, I meant plural because, unlike today, there used to be more than one in every major town/city across the country for morning and evening consumption).

Happy Birthday NBC!

On this date in 1926, the National Broadcasting Company was formed by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA--remember them?) as the first major broadcast network in the United States (radio first, television added in 1938).  Headquartered in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza, NBC currently owns/operates 10 television stations and has a network of nearly 200 affiliates throughout the United States and its territories.

BREAKING NEWS!!! Earthquake Strikes Eastern US

(I'm starting a feature here to document important events that attract the attention of major media outlets.  These exercises should help me refine my reporting skills.  This first attempt was one I was personally involved with.)

 (graphic courtesy of US Geological Survey--usgs.gov)

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck eastern parts of the United States earlier this afternoon.  The temblor, centered in the Charlottesville, Virginia region occurred at 1:52PM Eastern Daylight Time and was felt as far away as Toronto, Ontario and regions in the Midwest (this reporter felt mild shockwaves at his Ohio residence shortly after the quake was announced on MSNBC).  Washington, DC, just 90 miles northeast of the epicenter, experienced the brunt of the event and the initial jolting sent workers scurrying outside their offices to seek safety.  There were no immediate reports of any injuries or significant damage but most tourist attractions on the city's Mall were closed to perform safety inspections and two nuclear reactors near the Virginia quake zone were taken offline for precautionary reasons.

Time of posting:  3:31PM EDT 23 Aug 2011
Time of event:  1:51PM EDT 23 Aug 2011
Difference: 1 hour, 40 minutes