The Crisis Facing American Media

Dan Rather discusses the idea of "Rethinking" and how many news reporters and journalists aren't worried about their stories anymore. Many writers are forgetting to re-check and revise their works on things such as vertical reporting versus broad, horizontal reporting. This is one concept which caught my eye more than other things Rather gave his views on. The idea of digging deep into the concept of a story, is being lost because of the 'New World' of journalism.

It is very important to know that the old journalism ways are diminishing. Less and less reporters are focused on the truth of stories. Rather explains that "those who own and control the major news distribution" are in a crisis since American Journalism is in a period of transition. This transition is moving from newspaper print to new technology including the internet as a reporting tool. While it is putting some writers at risk, I believe that the wide variety of resources for news that I now have access to, at any time of the day on my personal computer has made me a more aware citizen. If this 'New World' of journalism hadn't been created, many of us would still rely on resources not as easily accessable including the television evening news and the daily newspaper. The internet updates its news every hour on the hour.

Dan Rather made it very clear that there is a crisis in the world of American Journalism. The old media world is collapsing and the new is coming in on the web. Rather admits there is good journalism on the web, which is an added value to the American people, but journalism is an independent field. Freedom of speech is definitely an issue discussed boldly by Rather. He wants to inform viewers that the way American journalism serves American people of historic proportions is not going to have a very positive outcome to readers.

The One And Only... SmartCar

You're driving in the right lane when suddenly a small vehicle whizzes by you. At first, you may think it's a Volkswagen Beetle like I did, but driving up closer to the car, you realize you're quite wrong. Envision a two seat hatchback; the Smart Car. Quite possibly one of the most ugliest cars I have ever seen, along with the PT Cruiser. The Smart Car, which originated in Europe is suddenly becoming popular in the United States as we learn to become more environmentally aware.

In city driving, the Smart Car gets a reported 46.3 miles per gallon, while highway driving is an even more impressive 68.9 miles per gallon. Now it's getting easier to understand why people drive these efficient little cars back and forth to work. While you can't exactly take the kids home from soccer practice in the Smart Car, it would be a nice essential to have. Most city drivers only have a driver and sometimes a passenger in the car to begin with, so who needs the extra space if you're not going to use it right?



This commercial for the Smart Car is clever and entertaining for all people. It was enjoyable for me to watch with all the crime references, since I have an interest in criminal movies and T.V. Shows. It's simple, easily remembered, well thought out and well put together. Though I haven't seen it aired on T.V. in America, I feel it should be. More commercials and advertisements for the Smart Car should be seen through the U.S. if we want to become more Eco-friendly. And though many people think that the Smart Car is expensive and pointless, in the end, it's around $12,000 and the amount of money you save on gas is almost worth it. Personally, I wouldn't ever find myself in a Smart Car; as great as the fuel efficiency is, it's honestly just not my style. But whatever gets you from point A to point B that you're satisfied with, works just fine.

I'm Gonna Live Where the Green Grass Grows...

When I Think "Maryland", I think of agriculture. Growing up around farmland, you notice how much greener the grass is, and how fresh the air smells in the beginning of spring and fall. The scenery is one of the most blissful things to see.

But as the years pass, and the economy grows larger, people need larger homes or homes that are closer to their jobs. Farmers are loosing farms by the year, selling them to make profit. Only to have the farms be taken over by construction companies who drop houses or build houses on the land. To be honest, it almost breaks my heart driving by the old farmland every day and seeing houses and roads being put in. The very farmland that I used to sled ride in during the snow days, take pictures of, and walk through.

This region of Maryland is supposed to be agricultural in my opinion. There are other parts of the state that are more city-like. Take Baltimore for example, where many people have jobs. I guess it's just the fact that Brunswick has a train station where many people choose to ride trains to work in Baltimore or D.C. while Brunswick is a rural community, but there is no more 'small town' scenario.

The farms go down, and houses come up. Farmers sell their land for a decent profit, and sometimes under a decent profit. Farm owners children and family can no longer take over the family farm, instead new families take over and create a new urban community. So whos call is it? is it necessary for all this land to be taken over by buildings? or should it be left alone to keep America beautiful? and what's going to happen when all of our farms are gone completely?

We Don't Need No.. Extortion

What an image. Though it isn't a real one, I feel it's highly controversial. This is what the future could amount to if we keep going with the economy the way we are now. Gas prices have fluctuated so much throughout the past and have created a major economical impact. Since cars first came out in the early 1900's, gasoline has been the choice of many Americans who drive. Since then, things have progressed. Gas prices have gone up and down. They've seen the price of 25 cents per gallon, and almost 5 dollars per gallon.

At the highest point of gas prices in my life, I was around about 15, learning how to drive a car. It was the beginning of summer and my mom had told me that during the summer, the gas prices go even higher than usual because so many people are going on vacation. Oil companies raise their prices because number one, oil is getting harder to find, and number two, they always try to get it as high as they can to make money. One day, I'm pretty sure gasoline may be as rare as a pearl in an Oyster. My mom always used to nag about how much she hated getting gas. Especially since growing up middle class, we didn't have nice, newer, economical cars. We had your average clunker that got maybe 14 miles per gallon. You know, the ones that always needed to be filled up.

The use of the word Extortion was a very good play on words for this image. It would be like blackmail if anyone had to pay this much for gas. I would feel cheated out of driving my own car in a way. It makes the image much more controversial. Oil companies would probably have a cow if they saw all the altered images such as this one that we've created.

The way our country thrives for oil, America could be screwed in the future. I don't think I wanna live to see the day when I drive by an Exxon that says Regular: $12.89. I actually just got a cold chill at the thought of paying that much for gas. Job wages are definitely going to have to go up for any of us to afford gas at that cost. People may resort to just riding their bikes, or walking to work. Or if it's far away, taking the train, or a bus. But those two things will probably cost more also if the price of gasoline is ranging at about 13 dollars a gallon. I'm just hoping we never resort to paying this much for gas.

In My Fathers Eyes

By the look on his face I could tell that he was interested, and I smiled softly at him. It made me feel good that my dad wanted to help me out. I've never met a man who hated questions so much in my life. But he knew that I loved hearing about all the things that he had went through during the decades. It was still kind of early in the morning but I wanted to catch him before he left for work. Yawning, he took a sip of his daily cup of hot tea, lit a cigarette and hand gestured me to proceed.

"Okay Mr. Eackles; let's start from the beginning." I semi-oredered him as he shook his head grinning at me and mumbling, just loud enough for me to hear, "Seems like a good place to start." I felt like I wanted to know everything. Only because I knew that the times he'd grown up in were so much different than mine. He'd seen the 50's all the way up through today. "Tell me about your high school days. I know they're a stretch from mine" I asked him and he let out a small "Ha." before replying "1968 compared to 2010... it's sort of impossible to believe that. I didn't think i'd live to see the day.. it's almost scary. I can't believe how different High School is now compared to back in the 60's. Everything was way more open. Cops didn't regularly patrol the school, and teachers weren't always on you about everything." He shook his head almost as if he was dissatisfied by the way public high schools handled themselves. "Even the transportation was different; High school seniors drove the busses. Now that was funny. They even got paid to do it too. Boy those high schoolers through the elementary school kids for a loop." My dad's shoulders bounced as he laughed to himself. I asked him about how the cars were different. He suddenly got a look of major interest. I thought to myself, here we go. I swear the man could go on for hours, possibly days, about cars. "The typical Muscle Car was the GTO. We marked off sections of the road and drag raced GTO's, and 57 Chevys. Then the Ford Mustang came out in the middle of 1963. Everyone went absolutely crazy for these cars. The girls usually had the Mustang Convertables while all the guys played around with the engines inside of theirs and made them as loud as can be. I had always wanted one, and I still do." Before I could ask another question, he butted in again and exclaimed, "Wanna know something mind blowing?" I nodded. "Gas was only 25 cents a gallon." Bewildered I thought of all the times I had spent almost 30 dollars on gas and how much I could have saved if it were only 25 cents a gallon. I almost wanted to cry.

When I asked him about his grades in school he sighed, "If you failed, you failed. There was no such thing as a "No Child Left Behind" program; which is probably why I failed the third grade and had to repeat it." Just then, I wanted to see what all he remembered from elementary school. He began his rant once again. "Now you know my life growing up was way different than yours, Zo. I was a Virginia boy growing up with parents divorcing and re-marrying. I felt like all I did was move around." He cleared his throat and asked me what I wanted to know. I said "Everything. In as much vivid detail as you can remember." being the total smart alec that I am. His eyebrows raised up on his forehead and he shook his head laughing at me, placing his hands behind his back and stretching. "I remember the principal would litterally beat us with the board of education. It was wooden, about 3 feet long, and had holes in it. I think they were there to make more impact when we got beat." We shared a laugh. "There was none of that Referal, suspension, expulsion stuff. You got the beating and you learned your lesson."

I asked him to talk to me about the first things he remembered as a kid. "The first president I remember was Eisenhower. He lived somewhere in Pennsylvania and he loved to golf. My mother liked him a lot, but I wasn't really concered with politics. I remember the very first Polio injections. Boy were we all scared out of our wits. You could hear the kids screaming when they saw the big needle used. It sounded and looked like it was enough to freak any 6 year old out so when I had to get mine, you can only imagine. Of course after we all got ours, then they came out with a sugar cube that you could take orally to prevent Polio instead of the huge needle." He crossed his arms and I asked what every child had during his time. "For you, it was Barbie. Every girl had a barbie. For me, every time you walked out of the playground at recess, everyone was using a Hula Hoop. I kid you not, every child had a Hula Hoop. They ranged at about a dollar for one. The guy who came up with the Hula Hoop must have been a millionare. I had one, and I was pretty good at it. Until my little brother decided he wanted to break it. I was furious." "When I lived in Buckton, Virginia, we went to school in a one room schoolhouse." I cocked my head to the side and exclaimed "Really?! Like movie style red and white schoolhouse?" He nodded and said "With the bell on top and everything. Now get this, the boys and girls had seperate bathrooms, but they were wooden outhouses outside of the schoolhouse. In the winter, we were heated by a coal stove." I was almost bewildered. I really only thought that was on old movies. Taking notes on all he had said, I smiled realizing how different his life was. Before I had time to ask another question he jutted in, "All the schools in Virginia were named after southern leaders. All the names have been changed since then." He sipped his tea and then said, "Just thought it might be an interesting little fact for your interview." I laughed at him, thinking about how genuine he was. I asked him what the scariest thing from his childhood was. "I was around 16 I believe. Living in Hampton Roads, Virginia when the Cuban Conflict went down wasn't the best, seeing as I was right next to a major air base. The Cuban Conflict was the closest we had come to nuclear war. I remember hearing all the aircrafts and the air force getting things ready, testing and practicing maneuvers. I remember JFK being president, and being scared for my life that my house was going to blow up."

After High School was over, my father began to tell me about his life in the Army. "Being drafted at 19 was a little scary, I'll admit." He said. I Loved hearing him talk about it though. "I was happy that I didn't get sent straight to Vietnam. They sent me to Frankfurt, Germany after i had completed all my training at different Forts across the United States. It wasn't until i had gotten to Fort Lewis in Washington that I went to cooking school through the army. There I had found my passion for cooking. I had two MOS's. My first was infantry, and my second was cooking." I asked him where he stayed and he said "I lived in what they called the barracks where I worked. When your mother came to Germany after she graduated, we got an appartment down the street and I walked to the Fort." I wanted to hear his daily routine, so i asked what happened on a daily basis in the Mess Hall? "The mess hall had a master menu posted up as soon as we walked into the kitchen. The men ate Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper. All of which would change daily." I asked him about all the things he saw in Germany. "Well let's see here, i got 30 days of leave per year and I served 2 years over there. I Saw Heidlberg, Amsterdam, and Holland. Your mother and I always rode the trollys going shopping. They had the best food over there." When asked his favorite food, he said "Ox Tail Soup" Yummy.

We both sat back in our kitchen chairs and looked at eachother with warm eyes. It felt good to know more about my dad's past. I looked into his tired, weary eyes seeing all of his memories inscribed in the wrinkles in his dark weathered skin. I knew he had gone through a lot. Just then, he got up from the table and said he'd be right back. When he returned to the table he handed me a chain and on it, were his dog tags from the army. "Keep these." he told me. "Maybe one day when you're 62, you can look back on your life story when you're talking to your kids, and remember mine. That's the true comparison."