Upload your OpEd below.

Here are directions for the assignment: OpEdAssignment.

Please upload this assignment HERE.

For Next week (I will be posting more information on this soon):

Watch: Or Szyflingier and Jonathan Baez, “The SoHo Memory Project” (2020)

Read: Kyle Spencer, “The Memory-Keeper of SoHo” (2015)

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“To call a politician on a lie is our job; to bring stories of the oppressed to life is our job; to represent a cross-section of our communities is our job; to tell the truth in the face of “alternative facts” and routine obscuring is our job; and we can do all that without promoting the […] falsehood of objectivity.”

Judley choose this vital quote from Lewis Wallace to focus on. It truly is a fresh call to budding journalists to re-write the many wrongs around us today with brutal honesty.

Yet, balancing a reporter’s feelings (“passion” as Chala labels it) with his/her professional duties is a tricky one.  Melissa, Marina, and Eric wisely remind us of the virtues of “sticking to the facts” to insure credibility. Offering a solution, Eric writes, “we should not [entirely] give up on ‘objective’ journalism.” Journalists should only express their point of view “after fully analyzing the facts of a story.”

At the same, Sergio and Sean provide stellar examples of when just being objective is actually being dangerously biased. Sergio refers to the mostly “political” coverage of Afghanistan (amidst so much suffering), whereas Sean discusses how important it is for journalist’s to put their paddles in the waters on the issue of “Defunding the Police.”

Anna and Daniel remind us of just how “tough” a job it is to be a journalist today given these and related concerns. Yet important work remains.  It’s unfortunate thus, as Jailyn comments, that so much news is actually pointless when so many dire concerns are facing all of us.

For this week, I ask you to work on your own OpEd topics to express your views on a topic you are passionate (and knowledgeable) about . If you haven’t done so already, start by reading an article or two on your chosen topic. Take notes (grab a quote, an image, and some statistics perhaps) and begin outlining your piece.  Upload a draft of your OpEd by next week (Wed., Nov. 17).

Here are directions for the assignment: OpEdAssignment.

Please upload this assignment HERE.

HERE is a recent OpEd by Charles Blow in response to the victory of the new Republican Governor Youngkin in Virginia (NJ just narrowly escaped electing a Republican as well).  It’s compelling to see how he connects this election result to white racial anxiety and the absurd fear of teaching actual history (labeled “Critical Race Theory”) in our schools. Also note how he connects the stirring of racial fears to various episodes throughout our history.

Over the weekend, a two week climate summit in Glasgow just ended. Please watch this speech by the courageous young lady Greta Thurnburg, who has used her voice and platform to energize a new youth movement on this issue.  In this speech, she calls out the failure of the leaders of the summit to enact meaningful change once again.

On a related note, please also watch this video by climate scientist/professor/ journalist Katherine Hayhoe. In it, she discusses her book on how to actually get folks to recognize that the problem is real.  

Video by Climate Scientist Katherine Hayhoe

Feel free to respond to the topic of Climate Change (Inaction) or the battle to teach real history in schools as your OpEd topic.  

I am available today during office hours on Zoom (Monday 4-5) to discuss or help choose your topic  (or email me at mnoonan@citytech.cuny.edu) Some topics students have already chosen include 1) student debt forgiveness and 2) maintaining mental and physical health during the pandemic. Think about what matters to you. To get additional ideas, review current issues in the news (especially in the NYTimes).