A/V: Romney Hosts Kettering Relief Rally

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney addresses supporters gathered for a "storm relief event" in Kettering, Ohio on Tuesday

KETTERING, OH -- In a move to dampen down politics in the immediate wake of Hurricane Sandy's historic damage to portions of the country's eastern seaboard, former Massachusetts governor and current Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney turned an originally scheduled political rally into a "storm relief event" in Ohio on Tuesday afternoon.  Kettering's Trent Arena hosted the gathering that was originally billed as a "victory rally" and was supposed to have Arizona senator John McCain and NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty in introductory speaking roles.  Randy Owen, country music performer and former lead singer of the group Alabama, performed several songs and provided personal testimony about disaster relief after tornadoes ripped deadly swaths through several Southern states back in April 2011.

You Take One Day Off...

The full-page Dayton Daily News ad that greeted me on Tuesday morning

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you already know that I have made it a point to exercise my reporting 'legs' over the past 10 months with coverage of national politicians visiting my local (as the crow flies) area.  I started last November with one of Herman Cain's last rallies before he suspended his campaign in the wake of a then-breaking sex scandal.  I followed that one up with Dayton- and Cincinnati-area events for former US House speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the run-up to Ohio's Republican primary, part of the 10-state "Super Tuesday" slate on March 6th.

Is Twitter Just a One-Way Street?

Twitter...'tweeting'...the 'Twitter-verse'...if you are currently involved in any kind of media-related activity, you cannot shun this micro-blogging phenomenon that has attracted over 500 million users and produces over 340 million updates daily.  Started in 2006, the allure of this service is in its brevity--all 'tweets' must be 140 characters or less.  While the user can attach photos or embed hyperlinks to provide some subject context, that self-imposed limit supposedly allows for more spontaneous submissions and simulates a public 'chat' among a group of individuals who 'follow' each other's postings.

I joined Twitter a little over a year ago and have 'tweeted' 149 150 times (my 150th 151st will be announcing this blog posting).  Along the way, I have acquired 24 'followers' whom I became acquainted with during my pursuit of my lifelong dream either directly, through others already subscribed to my feed, or complete strangers who were merely attracted by my content.  I follow 78 other 'Twitizens' who hail from the world of journalism, the media, my UMass classes, or were the subjects/settings for my published pieces.

I will honestly admit that I do not keep as current with this account as I do with my personal Facebook page but I do receive notifications when I get a new 'follower' or when I am mentioned in someone else's 'tweet'.  When such an email hits my in-box, I log in to check on that activity (and some very interesting people have tried to befriend me which resulted in 'spam' notifications to the service).  This is a rather mundane process for someone who only interacts with two dozen others on an irregular basis so I cannot imagine how someone with 10,000 times more 'followers' handles the deluge of daily comments, 'retweets', and direct messages that might be generated.  And this dilemma is what has me posting today.

A/V: Obama Energizes Supporters During SW Ohio Campaign Rally

President Barack Obama greets supports at the conclusion of the "Grassroots Event" held at Cincinnati's Eden Park on Monday afternoon.

CINCINNATI, OH -- President Barack Obama made his twelfth trip to Ohio on Monday with a "Grassroots Event" stop in Cincinnati early Monday afternoon in the city's Mount Adams neighborhood area.  Addressing a crowd of approximately 4,500 supporters at the Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park, Obama stressed the stark differences between his campaign and that of his opponent, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and the decision voters will have to make over the next 50 days concerning the direction the country takes for the next four years.  He told the gathering that "it's not just between two candidates or two political parties, but it is a choice between two fundamentally different visions on how we move forward as a country."

A/V: VP Stumps in Miami Valley for Obama Ticket

Vice President Joe Biden addresses the "Grassroots Event" held at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio on Wednesday afternoon.

FAIRBORN, OH -- The Obama 2012 presidential campaign paid another visit to Ohio when Vice President Joe Biden addressed a "grassroots" gathering of several hundred enthusiastic supporters Wednesday afternoon at Wright State University, located just outside Dayton.  Air Force Two arrived at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base just after 12PM, and he was greeted by a military delegation headed by General Janet Wolfenbarger, the Air Force's first four-star general and commander of the Air Force Material Command.  The vice president's motorcade made the short trip to the campus and passed several demonstrators expressing their dissatisfaction with the Obama administration from a location just across the street from the venue.  Before coming into the main hall, Biden visited with folks who were in the event's overflow area to express his thanks for their turn-out for his appearance.

My Media Weekend

[NOTE: this article addresses what I experienced last weekend, not the current one. I really have to start focusing on my deadline "issues".]

From top clockwise, the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the unveiling of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential nominee, and a promotional graphic for the movie The Campaign

After a week of getting reacquainted with my job and completing the final project for my Intro to Online Journalism course, I had the chance to relax a bit and take in some television and movie watching and get back into my regular routine of sampling the many media sources I have access to.

A/V: Obama 2012 Campaign Kicks Off in Columbus

President Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he makes his way to the podium to deliver remarks at the Obama 2012 reelection campaign's kickoff event in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid a short visit to Ohio's capital city on Saturday afternoon to formally kick off the Obama 2012 reelection campaign at the "Ready to Go" rally hosted at the Ohio State University's Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.  About 14,000 enthusiastic supporters attended the nearly two-hour event that featured speeches by both of the Obamas as well as other current and former Ohio Democratic officials.