Final Project-Chef Point Café

After hearing good things about the this place in a gas station, I wanted to experience it on my own. After some researching, I realized the Chef Point Café would be an interesting topic for my final project. How many gas stations do you know that offer five star dining alongside motor oil. 

Through my blog you can view a slideshow highlighting customers as they feast in the five star gas station. You can read throughly about the Chef Point Café, such as its history, the chef and how they get people to eat in a gas station. 

For your convenience, I have included a map, link to the Chef Point website and a link to their menu. You can also see what news organizations have said about this unique place. 

-Whitney Buster

Privacy and the First Admendment

The ruling in U.S. v. Matthews was very fair! If Matthews was indeed writing a story on child pornography, why did he not have any notes, drafts or interviews on record? To be a great journalist, it is important to keep notes on important information that could be crucial to the story that is being written.

Another factor to the case is that Matthews sent images out. Why would he need to do this? Possibly to gain the trust of the people he was targeting, but it still sounds fishy. Why would Matthews need to view the pornography? How is that crucial to the story?

Also, evidence shows that Matthews began researching information for this story in September 1996, but the case didn’t go to court until 1998, two years later. It is understandable that cases take a while to go to trail, but given the information, Matthews would have been researching for about two years. Two years is a long time to research a story.

This ruling will ultimately affect the job of journalist. Reporters could be less likely to take on stories as controversial as this subject due to the fear of being accused of the crime. On the positive side, this case could make journalists aware of the dangers that come with the job. The title of journalist may not always be your “get out of jail free card.” This case could also cause journalists to take precautions to protect themselves such as gathering documentation from editors that such stories are being researched and written.

If the subject matter had just been pornography rather than child pornography, the punishment may just have been a slap on the wrist. Child pornography is illegal but pornography is not. Having either one is going to demote your creditability as a journalist, but child pornography indefinite. 

Election Day Coverage

I was asked to analyze various news websites’ coverage of Election Day. Instead of just looking at the Dallas-Fort Worth area news sites, I decided to look at the presidential candidates state newspapers. Barack Obama is from Chicago, so I am looking at the Chicago Sun Times. Since John McCain is from Arizona, I am looking at the Arizona Daily Sun.

            During the day both sites seemed to be neutral towards both candidates and did not favor each area’s candidate. Each site has plenty of pictures and interactive maps.

            I wasn’t able to monitor the sites for the duration of the night but I was able to see the sites as Barack Obama was announced the President of the United States. I was surprised to see that the Arizona Daily Sun did not change at all. The same pictures cycled showing John McCain and Barack Obama voting and voting lines. They were the same photos that cycled during the day.

            The Chicago Sun Times announced the results online. It provided live coverage from Grant Park, where Obama was rallying. This coverage included pictures, a web cam, and updated information. The site included a map showing how each state voted. The most impressive interactive element was the election tracker timeline that tracked election stories all Election Day. The viewer could click on the stories on the timeline and read more. A very cool feature.

            Chicago, IL being a bigger market then Flagstaff, AZ could be a factor to the Chicago Sun-Times being more interactive then The Arizona Daily Sun. The Sun-Times could have more resources to develop interactive elements like the timeline.

            Although the Election Day Tracker was interactive, it wasn’t useful or affective. When you click on a story on the timeline, only one sentence comes up telling more the story. The content wasn’t that important either. One story was about the movie Madagascar 2. Again, not sure if the timeline was used as it could have been.

            Overall, both sites were not extraordinary for the resources they could have took advantage of. Those sites are in the areas where the most action is happening, the areas where the candidates are all Election Day. 

www.suntimes.com

www.azdailysun.com

Voting Day

I decided to vote early this year, mostly because I wasn’t going to be able to cross the county line to vote on Tuesday.

On the way to the polls, I was switching radio stations between NPR and, my favorite, 95.9 The Ranch. Surprisingly, both had something election related. NPR naturally broadcasted the traditional election coverage. The Ranch, however, played a song, “Willie Nelson for President.” I thought, to myself,  “That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I switched back to NPR and they were telling a story, through interviews with African-American’s, about how they are excited to be able to vote for an African-American presidential candidate and it became clear to me that this is an election of color and that race is playing a big part in it. Voters seem to be voting for Barack Obama because he is black and they want to see a change. Why should the color of his skin be a factor to vote for a person as well as why not, to vote for a person.

When we arrived to the polling place, I was excited and anxious, but when I got in line my feelings went to bored. I was in line with people talking about all their problems and kids slinging spit, from a straw, on to my arm. I felt like I was in line at the post office and this was just a quick errand I had to run before the end of the day.

I took my younger brother with me, a first time voter. I don’t know if he fully understood the significance of this event.  When he handed his voter registration card to the poll workers, they cheered for him. It was really cute. I began to feel excited for him.

After we voted, I started asking him what he thought. He grunted, “ok.” He’s a man of few words so that’s all I could get out of him. I don’t think the event made him think any differently, it was just something he had to do.

I am happy I was able to get my vote in before Election Day. I ended up not having classes on Election Day and was able to catch up on some homework and watch the election coverage. This day should be a holiday!

Increased Voter Turnout

Poling places, around the country, are expected to see a significant amount of voters on November 4^th. Counties have updated voting machines to make voting faster and easier. However, the updates could be considered obsolete as a record number of voters are expected to show up at the polls Tuesday.

The Pew Center on the States released a story October 21^st asking, “What if We Held an Election and Everyone Came?” The study examined polling centers across the country to see if they would be able to accommodate the voters for the 2008 Presidential Election.

The study results show that, in some states, six-year-old voting machines have been replaced and optical voting scanners have been purchased. The study also shows that direct recording electronic (DREs) voting machines’ reliability is not the primary focus in this election, but how poll workers will be able to handle the voting rush.

Another concern this election will be rule changes. Voters will now have to provide identification to vote in certain states. This will keep illegal immigrants from voting as well as voters who feel the need to vote more than once.

The positive circumstances that have come with this election such as increased voter registration could end up being a burden for poll workers.

This is a historical election, and not in just who is running, but the popularity with United States citizens. There is no doubt that poll workers will have a busy day come November, 4^th.

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Election%20Preview%20FINAL.pdf

 

http://www.jumpcut.com/view?id=EFE89A44A6D611DDB83C000423CF385C

 

 

 

 

Abortion and the Vote

As the 2008 Presidential Election slowly creeps around the corner, are voters ready to take on a major decision? When it comes to the issues, who determines which candidate is right? Is there a right or a wrong?

On the controversial issue of abortion, Americans’ are torn between pro-life or pro-choice, as well as the candidates.

Barack Obama is for pro-choice and partial birth, said research provided by the website www.ontheissues.org. The research also included that Obama thinks Americans “can find common ground” between the pro-life and pro-choice. In addition, Obama would like to “expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies, ” said Obama’s website, www.barackobama.com.

Jennifer Potter, 23 of Haslet, TX, said she is voting for Barack Obama, but not necessarily for his stance on abortion. As a mother of two small children, Potter is voting for Obama because of his ideas to mend the American economy.

“I am going to vote for the future of my kids,” said Potter.

Potter who had an abortion at an early age said, “That it is a choice I made. It was a time in my life where I couldn’t afford to have kids. Abortion is a choice with you and God and no one else.” Overall, Potter’s vote for Obama is not affected by the candidates’ positions on abortion.

On the other side of the ballot, John McCain is for pro-life, with the exception for rape and incest. McCain has been quoted on www.ontheissues.org saying he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and abortion outlawed.

Amanda McCormick, 22 of Denton, TX, is voting for McCain and is pro-life, even when it comes to instances of rape. 

“You got yourself into that situation, you need to get yourself out and not just kill what is inside of you,” McCormick said about an unplanned pregnancy.

She added that there are many families that cannot have kids and are willing to adopt a child that is not wanted.

McCain supports adoption through his website, www.johnmccain.com. The site talks about McCain and his wife Cindy’s decision to adopt a child from Bangladesh in 1993. The site also discusses McCain’s hopes to “promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy.”

McCain’s position on abortion does affect McCormick’s vote, she said.

Ultimately, abortion is the voters’ choice. That choice may or may not be the defining reason as to why they are voting for whom they are voting for. There are many different views on many different issues and neither one is consider right or wrong. Whether it is McCain or Obama who will lead this country in 2009, the citizens of the United States will never be in agreement over any or all issues. 

 

Hear Amanda McCormick’s additional views and opinions on abortion.

Amanda\’s Views

 

 

 

 

Critique of LatinaLista.net

LatinaLista.net is a blog that caters to female Latinos. The blog covers political, health, and social issues that affect women, but the blog is more specified toward Latinos.

The site is obviously trying to attract women because the design is cute, pink and pretty and the writers are women. The same “L” logo is used throughout the blog and it keeps everything tied together and uniform. The “L” logo’s design changes per section of information and adds to the thoughtful design of the site.

Aside from the design, a nice feature is that there are other Latinas that write for the blog and they all reside in different parts of South America. Each woman brings a different perspective to the issues they write about. This is an interesting approach and very refreshing to read different views as well as see how women live in other areas of the world, if your Latina or not. There are also links to editors in various areas of the United States that have contributed to the blog. This adds even more perspectives.

The blog publisher, Marisa Treviño, writes the majority of the blog. By the amount of content in the blog, the viewer can conclude that Treviño spends a sufficient amount of time contributing to the blog everyday.

However, there is very little video and pictures. The blog is not interactive and does not offer anything else besides text. I was surprised to see a video on the site and it was under the “mediacasts” section. The blog is very linear and one-dimensional.

Treviño does include links in most of her blog posts so that readers can continue to gather more information on the subject, if they like.

Treviño also includes very informational content in the sidebar. These things include surveys, which relate to Latinas and their lives, and job listing.

With a little work with interactive elements, LatinaLista.net could blossom into a very popular and informative site for all women. 

PegasusNews.com

Pegsusnews.com is obviously built to attract to a younger audience. It was cool to see the section listing drink specials, events, and even garage sales around the metroplex. These are three things a college student will always want to know about. The “find” section also includes bands, job listings, and movie showtimes. It is all very useful information that is viewed, potentially, everyday.

When you click on “your neighborhood,” you can learn about what is going on in and around your neighborhood such as events and news. 

The website is loaded with information besides news, such as general information, upcoming events, and entertainment. There are links to school districts and city councils, which could come in very handy for anyone.

There is also a way that viewers can customize the home page of Pegasusnews.com for their interests. This is very attractive because people always want to customize tings for themselves.

Aside from all these wonderful features and links, I was a little disappointed by the appearance of the site. For a website whose content is catering to a younger crowd, the graphics and design did not seem appealing to that specific age. Although the website is easy to navigate, the page is boring. There is not any video. There are very little pictures and what pictures are posted are not very good technically or compositionally. Pictures and video is essential to today’s news market. PegasusNews.com should think about adding this type of content to attract more viewers. Young audiences want to view video and see good photography, especially to take the bore out of the news.

It may be a good idea to for PegasusNews.com to work with The Dallas Morning News to share content and art. There wasn’t as much news on PegasusNews.com as I was expecting and The Dallas Morning News doesn’t carry all the information that PegasusNews.com carries. If the two media organizations could work together and share content, both could appeal to their different audiences in different ways with the same important information.  

www.pegasusnews.com 

 

 

 

 

Candidates’ Webistes

John McCain’s website starts off with a video-cast by Sarah Plain. This is a really cool element because you get to hear the voice of the Republican vice president candidate. It also introduces her in to the campaign.

The graphics are clean, freah and fun. There are four choices to choose from when entering the website. Those choices being to sign up on the team, recruit friends, why should a person vote for McCain, and volunteer to call voters. This allows supporters to participate in the campaign.

The home page is laid out in a three-column format. Each column allows you to click to learn more information about the candidates as well as give your own information to be put on to a mailing list. The menu bar above gives many different options as well, where the viewer can go and learn about the candidate, read blogs, sign up to be a volunteer, and see upcoming events. Further down the page, there are photos of the campaign that allows supporters to see what is going on from the standpoint of the McCain campaign and not the media.

Overall, the look of the site is very nice and clean. The information is presented well and in an entertaining way.

www.johnmccain.com

 

Barack Obama’s website is nicely designed and it kind of looks like the same person may have developed both candidates’ websites, by the appearance of the intro page.

The homepage design is one box with a few dividers that have different content and selections.

As the viewer scrolls down the page, the information is given in one long page. This is kind of tiresome scrolling so much and way the information was given on the McCain site was easier to follow and then you could just click as you went along.

Obama also offers a blog, event information and a video. It also allows for viewers to volunteer.

Obama’s site offers supporters to sign up to be on “MyOB.com” which lets the supporters to talk with other voters, blog, and fundraise. This is very interactive and a cool campaigning technique to attract voters. Its like a Myspace for Obama.

www.barackobama.com

 

After comparing the two presidential candidates’ websites, both appear to be very informative, interactive, and visually appealing. Each are obviously trying to attract a younger audience. Both candidates offer a way for their supporters to be active through a Myspace equivalent, “MYOB.com” or “McCain Space.” These elements could appeal to the younger voters rather than the older ones. Overall, I don’t think that one candidate has an advantage over the other just because of their website design and set up. 

News and Different Mediums

I have compared two different mediums, The Dallas Morning News (print) and WFAA Channel 8 (broadcast) to their websites. These on my thoughts on how the two news organizations are doing in providing the news on each of their sources.

The Dallas Morning News

The biggest difference today between the paper and the website of the Dallas Morning News (9/29/08) is that the website has been updated throughout the day and, or course, the paper has not. Both versions have the top news story big and up front, the bailout plan and the cowboys’ lost. These stories were long on line and even included links that continued on to more information. That information was also available in print, mostly because this is a big issue facing our country. The online version of the Dallas Morning News provides many different videos and pictures revolving around the State Fair of Texas and the print version gives a good job of covering the fair as well, but not as many pictures. The paper did include a great story about Hurricane Ike victims that was accompanied by good pictures. I think this story could be portrayed strongly on line as well.

The paper impressed me today. The website didn’t seem to have anything that the paper didn’t, except more pictures and videos.

 

WFAA, Channel 8 Midday News

I compared WFAA Channel 8’s website to their midday broadcast today (9/29/08). Overall the content on the website was just a repeat on what was broadcasted. Some of the biggest breaking news stories were on the website as text but accompanied with the actual report that was broadcasted on TV. However, the website offers video that you cant access by watching the broadcast. This is a nice element to include some additional information to make the website more interactive. After comparing these two, I concluded that the content was just being shoveled and duplicated onto the website from the broadcast.

 

Between the two mediums, I strongly feel that the Dallas Morning News does a better job engaging readers on their website then WFAA does. There are more interactive components such as blogs, interesting stories and video/photos. The DMN site is also easier to follow then the WFAA site.