Gloria Steinem

 By Chloe Brussard

Born on March 25, 1934 in Toledo Ohio, Gloria Steinem is an American female journalist and social political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswomen for the American feminist movement. in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Gloria Steinem has since made a name for herself after humble beginnings. She spent her childhood traveling in a trailer home with her mother and father until their divorce in 1944.

Steinem and her mother then moved to Toledo where she spent most of her time caring for her mother who suffered from chronic depression. 

After her senior year of high school, Steinem moved to Washington DC to be with her sister. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts where she received her bachelor's degree in 1956. 

Her first big journalistic job was in 1963. Steinem was hired by Show Magazine to go undercover to report the working conditions at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Bunny Club. She then wrote a revealing expose about the not-so-glamorous, sexist, and underpaid life of the Playboy Bunny Waitresses. 

The article also included Steinem along with other women dressed as Playboy Bunnies. She was proud of her work, exposing the work conditions and especially the sexual demands made of them, with was borderline illegal. 

But, after this article, Steinem struggled to be taken seriously as a journalist. 

In 1969, Steinem covered a speak-out for New York magazine, which was held in the basement of a church in Greenwich Village, New York. The speak-out was about legalizing abortion in New York State. She actually shared her story, about when she got an abortion overseas at the age of 22.

This marked a significant moment in Steinem's life. She became more involved with the women's movement. She attended and spoke at many protests and demonstrations. 

Steinem also got work as a columnist for New York Magazine in 1971. She began writing a column called Ms., which covered women's rights and the women's movement. It first started as a special edition of the New York, but quickly became extremely popular. 

Its first 300,000 test copies sold out nationwide in 8 days. Within weeks, the magazine had 26,000 subscription orders and more than 20,000 reader letters. In 1972 though, Ms. became an independent, regular circulation magazine. Then, in 2001, the magazine was sold to the Feminist Majority Foundation. Steinem remains on the master head as one of the six founding editors (Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Joanne Edgar, Margaret Sloan-Hunter and Steinem) and serves on the advisory board. 

Steinem also co-founded many organizations with other women. 

In 1971, she co-founded the Women's Political Caucus which provides training and support for women who seek elected and appointed offices in government.

Steinem co-founded the Women's Action Alliance in 1997, which was a support network of feminist activities and worked to advance female causes and legislation. 

In the late 1990's, she helped establish the "Take your daughter to work day", an occasion for young girls to learn more about future career opportunities they might not have known about otherwise.

Then in 2002, Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to make women visible and powerful in the media. 

But Steinem didn't do all that work to not get recognition for it. She was many awards and was honored by many organizations. 

Steinem was recognized for ....

• Emmy Citation for Excellence in Television Writing
• The Ms. Foundation for Women's Gloria Award, given out annually since 1988
• This award was named after her
• National Magazine Award
• Society of Professional Journalists Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award
• Women's Sports Journalism Award
• University of Missouri School of Journalism Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism

These are just a few of the things that she was given recognition for. Although she is better known for her female activism, in the '60's and '70's, Steinem began her career as a journalist. It was because of her journalism career that she really became involved in the feminist movement.

Even at the age of 88, Gloria Steinem is still a head figure in female movements. She is nationally recognized as a leader and spokeswomen for the movement, and it doesn't look like she's going to stop any time soon. 

Collateral Murder

 By Chloe Brussard 

Collateral damage - injury inflicted on something other than the intended target. (Specifically civilian casualties of a military operation.)

That is what came up when I searched up the definition of collateral damage on the Merriam-Webster dictionary. What didn't come up was a definition for collateral murder. 

Murder - the crime of unlawfully killing a person, especially with malice aforethought .

In other words, the crime of killing someone that was deliberate, and premeditated. 

Damage - loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation.

So basically accidental harm to someone or something. 

In this video, Collateral Murder, you can hear the soldiers asking for permission to engage. Permission to begin shooting. Permission to kill people. They knew, when they were firing those shots, that they were going to kill people. 

It wasn't accidental. It wasn't damage. Having the knowledge of killing people is murder. Sure there are different degrees of it, but they knew what they were doing. They went to Iraq knowing that they were going to kill people.

They looked at cameras and saw AK-47s. They looked at a group of people and saw a rebel group. They looked at a van of people pull up and try to help a man as more targets. 

And one of the worst parts, because there are just too many to choose from, is that when the dust settled from the first round of shooting and they saw a man dragging himself to the curb to try and reach safety, someone practically begged the man to pick up a gun. Because once a gun or weapon was in his hands, they have free range to fire. 

That man, dragging himself to the curb, was a photographer. 

Before they began shooting, they looked at the camera in his hands and decided that it was a weapon. That seems to be the case often times. Anything seen in someones hands is a weapon. And in a war zone, it seems that some of the soldiers get very excited when they see someone holding something. 

One of the soldiers even commented on how the windshield of the car had been shot right in the middle. He even chuckled about it. These men are in a war zone. Killing people. And laughing. 

This blog post is supposed to be a reaction to the video. My reaction was nothing but pure disgust. I had to look away at some points. I truthfully am speechless. There are no words that could describe how I felt while watch that. 

And that video was taken 10 years ago in a completely different country. If that video is hard for me to watch, I cannot fathom having to experience it. I count myself lucky each and everyday that I grew up where and when I did. 

Things like this are why media is such an important thing. It is able to capture the truth (if used and produced in the correct way) and show people things that they wouldn't otherwise know. The higher ups were telling newspapers that the people on the ground were hostile and they had no other choice to do what they did. 

But this video shows otherwise. 

Collateral damage is unavoidable. Collateral murder is a choice. But which one sounds better in speeches? Calling troops murderers doesn't have a good ring to it. Rather have it sound like the only option than to tell the truth, which is that there were more options. 

There is always more options. Violence shouldn't be default. But sadly, that's what it's become. 

Trial By Media: How Journalism Has Begun To Insert Itself Into The Legal System

 By Chloe Brussard

1994. OJ Simpson. 2022. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Almost 30 years apart but both carry so many similarities to each other when it comes to how their court cases are publicized. The cases have become more of a television reality show rather than court cases. 

One of the most memorable moments from the OJ Simpson case that we might not have seen if not for the cameras in the courtroom was the famous glove moment. 

"If the glove does not fit, you must acquit." The glove did not fit. 

A private trial would have meant that most of the most infamous moments of the case would have only been seen by a few people. But unfortunately they were not. 

This case caused a lot of controversy among the population. People thought that this was a case about race, and how the police wanted to pin the murders on him because of their racial bias, but others thought that he actually was the one who killed them. 

Regardless of what actually did happen, the OJ Simpson case was a both an official court case, and also a case where the public was deciding his fate. As we know, he was acquitted of the murder charges, but that didn't mean that he still wouldn't be judged and scrutinized by the public. 

Decades later, this case is still notorious for both its lack of professional forensic work and for being so widely televised that people would use this as entertainment. 

Fast forward almost 30 years, we are currently experiencing the defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The actors were married for two years, and as we are finding out, a lot happened during those years. 

Having this court case televised has given people the chance to watch this case and make their own opinions. 

No matter how this case ends, Amber Heard is very unlikely to find herself continuing to be an actress, between the micro-expressions caught on camera and the audio that was played in court. The streaming of the case has given people the chance to see who she truly is. No one is going to want to watch her in movies. No one wants to support someone who has been abusive towards her spouse. 

These examples are just two of the many, many cases that have been televised. Maybe the outcomes would be different if they were confined to the court room. But they were not. 

With court cases like these, two trials are going on. A trial with the legal system, where officials decide on consequences is much different than the trial by the public. Arguably, a trial by the public is much more damaging because no matter which way the case goes, once the public makes up their mind, it is very difficult to change it back.

In 2020, Netflix released a documentary titled Trial By Media, where they dive deep into court cases where the defendant was tried by the court and also tried by the public. 

One of the episodes, titled 41 Shots, highlighted a case where one man was shot 41 times by four plain clothed police officers. And despite all the evidence collected, they were not all found not guilty. The man who was shot had no criminal record and was unarmed. 

A case like this where it seems clear who was in the wrong but goes the complete opposite way. 

But to pretty much sum up everything about these trials by media and trials from the media, it is to say how much public perception can alter the course of court cases, and even lives. Courts can rule as they see fit, but they can't convince people who have made up their mind about the cases. 

It's a dangerous thing, trials by media. But I think the fact that we are able to see anything at all just goes to show how these court cases are not only to inform the public, but also to entertain them. 

"Whoever controls the media controls the mind"

-Jim Morrison, American Singer and Songwriter

Journalism Through Wartime

 By Chloe Brussard

The relationship between war and the media has always been a complicated one. They are maybe two of the most different things in the world -- war is about conflict, power, violence and winning. Media, supposedly, is about facts, honesty, and informing the public. But what they do have in common, is that they both rally nations. 

Despite its devastation and terrible casualties, war is a huge reason why people would buy newspapers. People wanted to know what's going on because war isn't something that is foreign and far away. It can directly affect people all over the country.

This can rally the people of the nation and push them to join the army or serve their country in other ways, but it also is one of the main reasons for division in the United States. 

You can look at any war and see this, both in the past and also currently. Looking back at World War II, you can see some similarities in the way that the war was promoted compared to today.

The main purpose for propaganda, no matter during what time period, is to "persuade the dominant group." Depending on what the stance on war the journalist has depends on what they're trying to persuade their audience. 

An anti-war journalist is not going to produce the same content as a pro-war journalist. One would send out passive messages using facts or reason to try and convince their audience that war is not the way to solve conflict like this. The other would use emotion and try to antagonize their audience to get them to take action.

World War II was a perilous time. A war among the countries of the world was happening again, after World War I had been coined "The Great War". The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 had just occurred, and Hollywood was eating it up.

What followed was a great deal of B list movies exploiting the situation in the Pacific and making complete villains out of the Japanese for their devastating and "unprovoked" attack on Pearl Harbor. This stirred up the United States citizens, and helped rally them into defending their country and fighting against the Japanese. 

That is one example of propaganda in World War II. The goal of propaganda is that their "motive should be concealed" and that is exactly what Hollywood did. They continued to do this in each conflict the United States have taken part in. 

The US government and media doesn't want their citizens thinking that what they are doing is wrong, so they show the people select things that makes the US look like a positive force in their peoples eyes. 

Since the war wasn't going on directly in the United States, what the media produced, through radio, or television, or movies, or newspapers was the information that they received from outside the country. "Feature films were perhaps the single most important channel for the dissemination of American propaganda throughout the Second World War". If you want something to be heard by many people, putting it on a huge marquis and screen is definitely one way of doing that. 

US propaganda was put anywhere it could. Factory and school windows, in schools, and all over streets. A poster was created that depicts a monster with two heads (Nazi and Japanese) clutching the Statue of Liberty in one hand and fighting off American advances with the other. Any way to make their enemy look bad and themselves look good, they did.

Although the United States was feeding their people propaganda without them overtly noticing, we cannot forget about the propaganda opposing countries were feeding their people. Germany is a major one, for example. 

German media consisted of the superiority of the German army, and contrasted it with the British and Allied armies who were shown as cowards, butchers, and severely misguided. The Russians were shown as dehumanized beasts and killers who did not fear death.

To try and counteract the negative media that the British were receiving during the war, they created a plan to reach the German people. The British Broadcasting Company created foreign language broadcasts which ended up being a key element to the Allied campaign.

The British Political Warfare Executive (P.W.E) was also able to deliver covert messages to the German people through "black propaganda" (a form of propaganda that tries to discredit propaganda made against them by their opponents), and printed postcards and leaflets dropped behind enemy lines. 

However anyone decides to see this war, there is no denying the fact that insane propaganda was used in media coverage, by both sides of the war. There is also no denying the fact that it wasn't just Germans and the Japanese.

The United States is not completely innocent in this whole ordeal. Us, the British, and the Allied forces all used propaganda as a weapon in this war and that needs to be recognized. The whole point of propaganda is to make the viewer feel strong. nationalism towards their country, and if the Allied forces were able to do that and people still believe that what was done is correct, then they did their job. 

But just because they were fed all this negative media doesn't mean that we can't acknowledge its existence. Journalism is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, form of non-violent fighting in the world to me. Media has the ability to reach millions of people and sway them into making decisions. It's just facts. 

But in a day and age now when journalism is so divided, I think it's more important now than ever to keep digging for the truth, and to let the people see the truth so they can make decisions with all the facts. It's not fair to keep feeding them half truths. Journalism can sway people, but it is up to them to decide what they truly want. 

"The best propaganda is the silent murder of the opposition of news"

- Joseph Goebbels

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

 By Chloe Brussard

Newsboys, or Newsies, were given their iconic name for being newspaper distributers. Morning editions of the daily papers were delivered directly to their subscribers, but the afternoon editions relied completely on newsboys to sell them out.

The majority of the newsboys came from poor immigrant families, and sold papers after the school day concluded in the later afternoons and evenings. They bought papers at 50 cents per hundred papers, and then sold them at 1 cent for a profit of half a cent per paper sold.

There were several newsboys strikes several years before the dramatic and more well known strike of 1899. These previous strikes started and took place in 1886 and 1887, with the final one in 1889. The final strike that the newsboys held against the World and the Journal was in August of 1899.

Cause of the 1899 Strike

With the Spanish American War increasing their newspaper sales, most publishers raised the cost of a newsboy's bundle of 100 papers from 50 cents to 60 cents, which at the time was a lot of money. This was a price increase that at the time was offset by the increased sales.

After the war, many papers reduced the cost back to previous amount, with the exceptions of The Evening World and and New York Evening Journal, which was the cause of the beginning of the chaos. 

The Early Days of the Strike

On July 18, 1899, a group of newsboys in Long Island turned over a distribution wagon for the New York Journal and declared a strike against the papers of the publisher of the World and the publisher of the Journal, until the prices were out back to 50 cents per hundred papers. 

The following day, July 19, the newsboys of Manhattan and Brooklyn reenacted the same actions as the Long Islanders from the day before. 

The newsboys methods were very violent. Any man or boy found to be selling the two boycotted papers would be mobbed by a group of strikers, beaten, and had their papers destroyed. The newspaper owners paid grown men to sell their papers while offering them police protection, but the strikers found ways to distract the officers so they could still attack.

The newsboys also distributed flyers and hung signs around the city encouraging people to help them in their cause by not buying the World and the Journal from others. 

The Rally at 'Irving Hall'

The newsboys held a city-wide rally on July 24, 1899 with over 5,000 boys from Manhattan and 2,000 boys from Brooklyn, all sponsored by state senator Timothy D. Sullivan. Many local businessmen and politicians addressed the crowd at Irving Hall. When the adults had finished speaking, union president David Simmons read a list of resolutions saying that the strike was to stand until the papers reduced their prices, but also calling on the newsboys to adopt non-violent methods of resistance.

More speeches were made by "Warhorse Brennan", Jack Tietjen, "Bob the Indian", the newsboy union leader Kid Blink, "Crazy" Arborn, Annie Kelley, and Brooklyn union leader Racetrack Higgins. The night ended with a song sung by "Hungry Joe" Kernan. 

After the Rally

In the few days following the rally, the newsboys' changed to be 'non-violent'. Even though they were no longer beating people who sold the World and the Journal, the strike was still effective since by then the public was on their side and chose not to buy then even if they were for sale. 

On July 26, 1899, the newsboys planned a parade where 6,000 boys would march with a band and fireworks, but the parade never actually happened due to issues with getting a permit. 

"Kid Blink"

On the same day that the parade was planned, rumors spread among the newsboys that their strike leader Kid Blink had betrayed the strike and agreed to sell the boycotted papers in exchange for a bribe from the newspaper executives. He denied the charges, but some source did notice that he wore clothes that were a bit nicer than his usual, indicating that there was a possibility that he may have accepted the bribe money. In response, Kid Blink resigned from his leadership position, becoming a walking delegate. 

That night, Kid Blink was chased through the streets by a group of boys who were very angry about the rumors that he had left the strike. A police officer assumed that it was Kid Blink who was the leader and arrested him for disorderly conduct. He was given a fine and then let go, while a group of newsboys outside the court mocked him. 

The End of the Strike

After the rumors of Kid Blink, the newsboys faith in leadership fell dramatically. Other newsboys did try to step up to lead the strike, but none of them had the same level of power that Kid Blink once had. Finally, on August 1, 1899, the World and the Journal offered the newsboys a compromise, which was that the price of the one hundred papers would stay at 60 cents, but the newspapers would buy back any unsold papers. 

This meant the boys who had trouble selling all their papers would not be forced to sell late into the night. The Newsboys accepted this compromise, ending the strike and getting rid of the union on August 2, 1899.

Winifred Sweet

 By Chloe Brussard

Known as Winifred "Sweet Black" Bonfils and "Annie Laurie", Winifred Sweet is an American journalist who is a known cultural figure in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

Sweet was a well respected journalist who even wrote for the "Chicago Tribune" and the "Examiner". Newspapers who included her stories automatically gave them credibility in viewers eyes because that's how popular Sweet was. She would do what no one else was willing to do to get stories. 

She wrote stories about lepers in the Hawaiian Islands of Molokai, polygamy among Mormons in Utah, investigations into the juvenile court system in Chicago, and many more. She was also the first women to report on a prize fight and also the first women to report on the Galveston Hurricane in 1900. 

She wrote mostly about stories in her vicinity but was known by people all over the country. Sweet worked at the "Examiner" all the way up until the last week of her life. She even had a piece published in the week before she died. 

The death of Winifred Sweet was reported nationwide, which is uncommon for female reporters at the time. 

Another thing she was known for was being a "sob sister". A "sob sister" is "a journalist who writes human-interest stories with sentimental pathos." Like mentioned before, she would do whatever she had to in order to get the story, and involving herself like that is why she was able to write with pathos in her work.

Winifred was immediately hired after writing a letter to the Chicago Tribune, which led to her first big job at the San Francisco Examiner where she wrote under the name Annie Laurie.

As Annie Laurie, she staged a public emergency test where she fainted in front of a carriage. Before being brought to the hospital, though, she was prodded by police. Once she reached the hospital, she noted that the people at the hospital were rude to the women, and this whole situation led to the discovery of a major scandal and found a problem with emergency services.

It was incredibly significant that a woman was able to report on foreign affairs and war, like World War I and The Versailles Peace Conference. To get stories like this, she spent a lot of time traveling and having to be undercover. 

Good Night, and Good Luck

 By Chloe Brussard

Released October 7, 2005, "Good Night, and Good Luck" is a film about journalists at CBS radio station in the 1950's, and how they handled the Red Scare through media. There were threats of communism, and conspiracies that they have "infiltrated" the American government. 

Looking at the radio station as a whole, it's different but also similar to the way that things are still done. There is still a lot of talk about politics, and how they are affecting people in everyday life, and still stories being thrown around a table looking for ones that they like the best.

But they also had a live studio band. If they wanted to include music into their radio show, it had to be done live, and didn't have a prerecording of a song where they could just hit play and it'll start. 

Another thing that's different is the ratio of men to women. In this film, the employees consisted of all males, except for the secretaries, who were women. Nowadays, there are many more female reporters who are, in theory, given the same media privileges as the men. 

To signal the on-air personality, one of the producers had to tap their leg. It's such a small detail, manually tapping someone's leg, but in current on-air media, there are big light up signs that can signal them to begin, but they didn't have things like that in the 50's.

Focusing on the journalists, and their dilemma, they were worried about producing content that criticized the government because they were afraid of the backlash that they would receive from them. Some reporters want to publish that kind of content while others do not. 

This radio show reported the facts, as unbiased as possible, which they did mention in the show. Criticizing the government could make them look like communist sympathizers, so the content they produced had to be very specific and not include anything that could come back and hurt them in the future. 

The reporters in this film are putting their careers on the line by reporting about the Red Scare. They believed so strongly in what they're producing that they are willing to do that, to give the public information that they deserve to know. 

The CBS reporters talked about the "hard politics", which included the Red Scare. They did what other stations were scared to do. There was a huge possibility that their reports could get their station shut down. The higher-ups in the station were trying to convince the on-air reporter to stop reporting on the communists, because even they were getting nervous about their station being shut down.

If they were going to continue reporting on the communists, though, it was made clear that anyone who had any sort of communist ties had to be let go, but the one man who did have a connection, albeit very far, wasn't let go because the reporters believed in standing their ground.

Other journalists were both commending and criticizing the reporters at CBS who spoke out about Joseph McCarthy, coming at them both as a whole station, but also others specifically. They were targeting other reporters who agreed with him.

Once reporting on the communists became a serious thing, Senators began going after then "newsmen". The people of the government started throwing around their titles as a way to show their superiority, but all the reporters are doing is exposing their actions to the public in the bluntest way possible. 

The actions done by the CBS reporters began to lose them sponsors, because companies couldn't afford to be associated with communist sympathizing stations. 

I think that what the people at CBS did was extremely brave. They risked their career, and the careers of others to report the truth, and that's all you can do, really. Sometimes, reporting the truth is much harder than reporting what people want to hear. 

Even today, the government and media still clash over stories because they have become so intertwined with each other. Not everyone is going to agree with everything, so receiving backlash is expected as journalists. 

One thing though, that has unfortunately continued is false reporting. Some reporters are reporting what people want to hear, and they are reporting only certain things in stead of the whole story. In order to have a well-rounded story, you must have all the facts. 

You can't pick and choose what information you want to show the people, because the public has a right to know what is going on in their government and how it could possibly affect their lives. 

Mary Margaret McBride

 By Chloe Brussard

Known as "The First Lady of Radio", Mary Margaret McBride helped pioneer radio talk shows during the 30's. 

She was born on November 16th, 1899 in Paris, Missouri and died on April 7th, 1976. At the age of six, McBride became a student at a preparatory school called William Woods College, and then at age 16 attended the University of Missouri where she received a degree in journalism in 1919. One organization she was apart of was also the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Out of college, she worked for a year as a reporter at the Cleveland Press before working at the New York Evening Mail until 1924. Following her departure from the NYEM, McBride wrote freelance periodicals including the Sunday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.

McBride worked steadily in radio for WOR in New York City, starting in 1934. She had a radio show in which she created a new persona, "Martha Deane", which aired daily until 1940. "Martha Deane" had a whole backstory, as if she was actually a real person, which quickly fell apart. 

"Deane" mentioned at the beginning of the show she had grandchildren, but in future shows forgot their names. Thus, "Martha Deane" became McBride's new persona, but excluded the elaborate backstory. 

She was an American radio interview host whose radio shows spanned more than 40 years. In the 1940's, the daily audience for her housewife-oriented talk show program numbered from 6-8 million listeners. 

In 1983, McBride launched on the CBS Radio Network the first of a series of similar and successful shows, but as Mary Margaret McBride. 

She could no longer use the "Martha Deane" name because it was owned by WOR, so her move to CBS did not include her persona. 

McBride interviewed people who were very well known in the world of art, entertainment, and politics. Not only did she interview people, but she also advertised different products on her show. But, she would only sponsor products that she had a positive personal experience with, and refused to promote all tabacco or alcohol related products. 

McBride's broadcasting journey ranged from many different radio stations. She stayed with CBS until 1941, and then moved to NBC, where her audience numbered in the millions, until 1950. After NBC, she moved to the ABC network until 1954 before going back to NBC until 1960. Finally, she became a broadcaster for The New York Herald Tribunes radio broadcasts. 

Unfortunately, after a long battle with an illness, Mary Margaret McBride died at her home in West Shaken,  New York on April 7th, 1976. Her career was an inspiration for talk radio and television talk show personalities we know today like Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey. 

McBride received much recognition after her death, like "It's One O'Clock and Here Is Mary McBride: A Radio Biography" being published by Susan Ware in early 2005. A new character was made out of McBride -- "Mary McGoon". She was featured in many comedy routines of Bob and Ray. 

Her name was also put on the classic CBS-TV sitcom, "I Love Lucy", in episode 76, "The Million Dollar Idea". In 1949, her 15th anniversary celebration was held at Yankee Stadium in New York, which held 75,000 people.

McBride's magazine show was on the air continuously for around 25 years, and it even aired after her death in '76.

Mary Margaret McBride was not only a pioneer in talk show radio, but also a pioneer for women in the journalism community. Her shows reached millions of people across the country regularly, from all different kinds of networks. McBride was a person who people followed from station to station, listening to her where ever she was broadcasting from. 

The Boston News-Letter

 By Chloe Brussard

Known as the second newspaper to ever be printed in the United States, and also at the first newspaper to be printed more than once, the Boston News Letter was first published on April 24, 1704.

John Campbell, the first editor, and John Green were the first to print the paper. Campbell gave John Green the editorial job, but when Green passed away in 1772, his son took over for him.

Boston is a place where so many things happened. The Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre are just a few of the main things to be associated with historic Boston. But the News Letter was the first American newspaper to stay in print.

It was also the first mass media medium to spread information, both foreign and domestic on politics, wars, ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, fires, and accidents. The News Letter also allowed the community to respond back to the government or to other areas of interest by having a page at the end of their newspaper where they could write back.

During the time when the News Letter was being published, many things were going on. This newspaper carried important news all throughout the colonies, like the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the head to head fight of the pirate Blackbeard. 

But unfortunately, the Boston News Letter was closed down by British rule after 72 years. Even in that short period of time, the News Letter was able to do so much. They spread all different kinds of news in a way that no other newspaper was able to do. They were the first to successfully spread news, foreign and domestically. 

Campbells intention was to newspaper to be an open forum, a marketplace of ideas for people, which is why he made his newspaper in such a way where people could write back about the government or different opinions or thoughts on certain events. 

The News Letter was originally issued on a half sheet of paper double sided that covered Monday-Monday news. 

Campbell actually wrote letters to Governor Fitz-John Winthrop of Connecticut on politics and news. Winthrop actually liked the idea so much that he was the one who encouraged Campbell to turn it into a newspaper -- the Boston News Letter!

The American Society of Magazine Editors

By Chloe Brussard

The American Society of Magazine Editors is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazine published in the United States. Established in 1963, their initial goal was to defend the First Amendment, protect editorial independence, and support the development of journalism.

This society includes editorial leaders of most major consumer magazines, whether they be print or digital extensions. They advocate on behalf of their member organizations with respect to First Amendment issues, and also serves as a networking hub for editors and other industry employees.

But, despite being an organization who aims to protect everyone, there are actually qualifications to a member. To be eligible for a membership into ASME, your organization must be employed by a print or digital magazine edited and distributed in the United States. This can include senior editors, art directors, and photography editors. 

There are also four different categories of membership. The chief editor, the editor, retired editor, and the ASME NEXT. Chief editors, editors, and retired editors are all entitled to all the privileges of ASME membership. ASME NEXT members are not eligible to vote in the ASME elections. 

The Society is regulated by a 16 member board of directors, which all serve two year terms. The directors can be selected for a second 2-year term if they have previously been elected into a position of power. Board elections are usually held during the first Wednesday in May at the AMSE Annual Meeting. The current chief executive of ASME is Sid Holt, and the director is Nina Fortuna. 

ASME strives to safeguard the First Amendment, support the development of journalism, and defend the editorial integrity of print and digital publications. 

ASME has sponsored the National Magazine Awards (also known as the Ellie Awards) since 1966, along with the Graduate Student of Journalism at Columbia University. The Ellie Awards honor print and and digital magazines that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives innovative techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise, and imaginative art direction. 

They also give away awards to honor print magazines and websites for overall excellence in the publication of fiction. Their goal by doing this is to celebrate the historic like between fiction and magazine journalism. 

Not only has the ASME supported different organizations who also support the publication of different genres, but they also support the Government Affairs office at MPA -- The Association of Magazine Media.

MPA advocates on behalf of magazine editors on both the state and federal level in key legislative and regulatory areas, including shield laws, intellectual property, consumer protection, digital privacy, sustainability, postal reform, and advertising.

Why I Decided To Become A Journalist

By Chloe Brussard

Growing up, I didn't have that one profession that I knew I wanted to do. I haven't known that I was going to be a journalist since I was 8 years old. It's jumped around from being an FBI agent, to a fashion designer, and even sports announcer. 

Finishing out high school was a complete blur, and so was submitting my college applications. I don't know what prompted me to select journalism as my major. Maybe I subconsciously knew it was what I wanted to do, or if I felt that I had to choose something and chose that.

But since coming to college, I have never doubted my decision for a minute. 

If anything, it has helped convince me more that journalism is something that I need to do. Senior year of high school, I did an Advanced Senior Capstone Research Project where I analyzed the different ways that media is portraying mental health. I looked at scholarly articles, journals, websites, books, movies, TV shows, etc. 

I wasn't extremely shocked at my findings, because I knew that the media has such a powerful hold on everyday people. People believe what the media tells them, whether it is true or not. They trust that the information they are receiving is fact, but don't realize that there is so much bias and misinformation that is being spread around.

Maybe it was then when I realized that I wanted to be a journalist. I knew the hold that the media has on people and I was tired of seeing people abuse the power that they were given. 

It might have been naive of me to think that I could change the world by becoming a reporter, but I feel like it could be seen as being incredibly brave. Who's going to challenge the media? An 20 year old girl from Boston? Probably not, but it's the thought that I could possibly make a difference that keeps me going. 

A few months ago I decided to minor in sports media. Last year I decided that I wanted to minor in something, but I didn't know what. I thought about criminal justice for a while, but ultimately decided that sports media was the route for me.

I grew up playing sports along with my three sisters, and played all through high school. My family has a passion for sports that is unlike anything I've ever seen.

I like watching sports, reading about sports, listening to sports, so why not try my hand at writing about sports?

But before I declared it as a minor, I thought to myself, how can I make a difference as a sports journalist? Then it finally dawned on me -- to be a female in a male dominated field. I could show young girls that sports journalism isn't just a field for men. 

I feel like sports in general are mainly male dominated. Football, mens basketball, mens hockey, etc are all on sports networks at their prime time, while women get the times where there are less viewers, which gives them less exposure. 

Looking back at all the reasons that I wanted to become a journalist, I can confidently say that one of the most important reasons is because my parents always told me to do something that I was passionate about, something that I wanted to do and not something that I had to settle for.

I am so passionate about sports reporting. Dr. Bobby Hayes of HPU's Communications Department, told my class that it's not easy, and you may think that you want to quit every single day. But, he has never regretted his decision to stay in the field. 

I'm not looking for a job that's easy for me to do. I want a profession that I am excited to go to in the morning and that I think about when I go to bed at night.

To me, journalism means inspiring others, and doing what I love. And that's what makes me extremely confident that sports journalism is the place for me.