Reporting Words: Hostess Lab Story

Four days after Hostess announced it planned to close its operations a bankruptcy judge is urging the company to resume talks with union leaders and lenders hopes of salvaging the 18,000 jobs that would be lost. 

However the company is skeptic the talks will lead to anything because of the losses the Hostess’ has incurred during the union leaders’ strike.

“I think we have to see what unfolds. My impression is that the judge wants to understand the parties' positions and some of their logic, but it doesn't change our financial position," Hostess Chief Executive Officer Gregory Rayburn said.

Reporting Words: Precinct 247

Powell, Austin

The 2012 general election marked a year of change for precinct 247 in the Northwest Hills area of Austin.  Of the 622 registered voters who voted, Mitt Romney garnered about 55 percent of the vote whereas President Barack Obama collected about 43 percent.

Voting took place at Doss Elementary on Northledge Drive.

The results for this year’s election contrasts dramatically with the 2008 general election when then Senator Obama took in about 63 percent of votes compared to the 35 percent of votes for Senator John McCain.

However the precinct shrunk in number of registered voters between the 2008 and 2012 election.

The 2008 general election saw 2,260 voters registered in the precinct, but only 799 registered in 2012.  This represents a 65 percent decrease in registered voters in the precinct.

The precinct as a whole also saw a shift in political party voting from straight Democrat ballot to Republican.  Straight party voting for the Democrats was nearly 62 percent in 2008 compared to 40 percent in 2012.

This is a result of redistricting every ten years to adjust precincts in response to census counts, Melinda Avey says.  Avey is the geographic information system coordinator for the Voter Registration Division of Texas.

According to Avey precincts are not allowed to cross the congressional lines when there is redistricting so as to eliminate any notion of political bias during redistricting.

In precinct 247’s case, the redistricting caused the area to lose the student apartment complexes across from the Jewish Community Center on Hart Lane.  Democratic precinct chair David Mann believes this was a factor in the changing demographics from predominantly Democrat voters to Republican.

“When it comes to redistricting it’s all political,” Mann said. 

He has held the Democratic precinct chair for eight years. 

Mann knew that his party would be unable to claim the precinct during the presidential election so he resorted to polling for voters outside of the state via phone calls.  He says that there was no way Obama would have been able to win Texas.

His precinct opponent Peggy Bower however took to the streets when attracting voters.  She believes the best way to get in touch with citizens is by doing 225 house calls to distribute a newsletter she creates each election.  People generally appreciate it and like being educated, she says.

Bower was on scene at Doss Elementary to help administer the voting process for the precinct.

“I always try to work the election,” she said. “It’s always important to have honest people at the elections with a checks and balances system in place with both Democrats and Republicans.”

She says the voting process in her precinct went smoothly and there was no sign of malfunctioning voting booths in her precinct and the rest of Travis County.

Mann feels the area’s change in demographics will continue to have long-term effects on the precinct’s voting trends.

“With the rise of house prices in the area and the presence of the Jewish Community Center the area is getting older,” he said.  “The housing market here is pushing young people away because of its steep prices.  It’s about keeping up with the Joneses around here.”

Housing prices have indeed gone up since the general election in 2008.  According to Zillow.com, homes in the 78731 area have risen from $500,000 to $519,000 between Oct. 2008 and Oct. 2012, thus representing a 3.8 percent increase.

But the increasing housing prices is not deterring people from moving to the area to send their children to Doss Elementary.  From 2007 to 2012 enrollment increased from 657 to 785, or 16 percent more students, according to Texas Education Agency.com.

In regards to citywide election results, nearly 78 percent of registered voters in precinct 247 let their voices be heard for city propositions.  Most notably, Proposition 1 was voted against with 57 percent of voters saying no to the creation of a UT-Austin medical school.

Following the election both precinct chairs said they have no upcoming plans for the precinct.

“It’s going to be a while before we start doing anything for the next election,” Bower said. “Right now I think everyone in the Republican Party is licking their wounds after this election.”

Reporting Words: Final Story

 Powell, Austin

            Poor Bevo Smith.  If only he knew the missteps and ethical errors he was doing.  What we have is an individual who throws any notion of respectable, credible journalism out of the window.

            He starts off preparing the story on a wrong note when he decides to turn to his former brother-in-law as a firsthand source for information.  Already this is a conflict of interest regardless if he doesn’t like him.  A journalist should never interview family members and former family members because the story will have zero credibility as a result, regardless if the journalist feels that they have no connection with said member.  In this situation Bevo should have searched for other sources such as another city council member or looked for another source that might have similar information as his former brother-in-law.

            Another problem with this story is the use of secondary sources.  A reporter should never base information on a secondary source because often the information is either false or has been changed over the course of time as it as passed through the grapevine.  In this case it’s especially disastrous because Gus is giving Bevo a secondary source but also suggesting he should make up a name and quote, so thus creating a source that doesn’t exist.  This problem could have been fixed had Bevo filed an open records request to look at the university and city council’s account information, or go directly to another source who might have information on the story.

            Recycled quotes also pose a problem to Bevo’s story.  While yes it is okay to reuse a quote that a source gave to another publication, Bevo needs to attribute the publication where he took the quote from so that he give attribution but also protects himself in case the quote proves to be false.

            Another pitfall Bevo faces is sacrificing accurate information for being the first to report the news.  In this situation, rather than verifying if the president did in fact resign he retweets what the Town Crier tweeted.  He should have first checked with the university to see if the president was going to officially resign instead of basing it as a fact from what the Town Crier posted.

            One of the biggest problems posed to Bevo when writing this story is when the president of the university offers him $10,000 to walk away from the story.  I’ve never understood why people would even entertain the idea of taking a bribe, but this is even truer for journalists.  Taking bribes are morally wrong, and as a journalist can compromise the story you’re working on and more importantly your career.

            Given that this meeting is open to the public, Bevo is therefore entitled to attend the meeting as a reporter and ask questions.  He should have known this and asserted his right.  Texas Government Code 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act) says that unless it’s a meeting closed off to the public then everybody has the right to sit in and attend government meetings.  He should notify his editor and see what kind of legal action can be taken to address his denial to the meeting.

            Since he is denied access to the meeting he decides to take the shortcut by copying and pasting information from the meeting synopsis directly into his story.  If this is not plagiarism I don’t know what is.  He would have been better served to go and speak to a councilman or citizen who attended the meeting.  Also, sometimes these meetings are recorded and placed online so he could have used the recording for reference when writing this story.

            And finally he makes the fatal error of deciding to ask three random guys that live on his hall to give him quotes on the issue.  This is a problem because these guys may have no idea about the story and could also be friends of Bevo.  He only exacerbates this problem by deciding to make up a quote from his former brother-in-law so that it “enhances the story.”  Both of these instances are obvious no-no’s in the world of journalism.  Bevo would have been better off interviewing citizens and council members who are informed on the issue and can offer an informed response.

Reporting Words: Assignment 5

 Powell, Austin

It’s almost midnight at the Arusha International Airport when an airplane en route from Dallas lands onto the tarmac.  The plane taxis away from the runway until it finally comes to a stop.  The door to the plane is opened and the passengers file out like zombies into the heavy, humid Tanzanian landscape.  The smell of campfire smoke was felt equally as much as the sweltering heat.

            University of Texas student Tara Boggaram had no idea what awaited her when she embarked on a study abroad program in the spring semester of 2012.

            “Tanzania was the opportunity to take what I learned in the classroom and have it fleshed out into color in real life,” Boggaram says. 

            Her program in Tanzania focused on wildlife conservation ecology.  This gave her the opportunity to work with local farmers and learn about Tanzanian methods of farming.

            “I got to see firsthand how local farmers were being forced to adapt their traditional farming methods to western customs, but I also saw how it wasn’t practical for a Tanzanian farmer to work this way if they’re only going to make less than $1 a day,” she says.

            Learning a new language in a new culture is one of the most difficult parts during a student’s study abroad experience.  But for some this is only part of being abroad because depending on the area their views and experiences can vary drastically depending on the environment.

            For instance, most students don’t expect to contract typhoid fever, brucellosis (a disease caused by the eating or drinking of unsterilized food from infected animals) and get mugged while studying abroad.  But then again most students don’t go to Tanzania.  A country with a GDP of $23.3 million and women are expected to have children by 16.

            “I had just gotten over typhoid fever and brucellosis when I was mugged and it was during the time my 60 page thesis was due,” she says.  “Thankfully I was on my period so the only things they got from my backpack were tampons, chocolate and Tylenol.  It was a reality check because even after being there for a while it showed that I wasn’t Tanzanian.”

            Since being home Boggaram has taken her study abroad experience and implemented it on campus by working on the Study Abroad Mentor Program (StAMP) within the International Office.   She is among ten other peer advisors who advise students about studying abroad.

            Samantha Fanelli is one of those ten advisors whom work with Boggaram.

“I was drawn to her personality.  She has a way of making people proactive and experience new things.  Tara never lets stress bog her down or hold her back,” StAMP peer advisor, Samantha Fanelli said.

Fanelli admits that every time she talks to Tara she sees how passionate she is about her experience in Tanzania.  It’s for this very reason that she hopes to return to her newfound love in the Fulbright Scholar program, a government-sponsored exchange program that sends students abroad to conduct research in that country.

She hopes to study knowledge transfer in humans and attitudes toward words, and conservation techniques.

“I’d studied abroad before in Wurzburg, Germany, but being in Tanzania pushed my limits in a way that forced me to ask myself where my place was in the world as an educated person, a Westerner, and an educated woman,” she says.

Reporting Words: Assignment 4

 Powell, Austin

Crime is increasing in downtown Austin according to a study between the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Police Department.  The downtown area saw a 36 percent increase from 2010 to 2011, according to a Downtown Crime and Public Order Report compiled by the Downtown Austin Alliance and Krimelabb, a website that compiles reported crimes in the greater Austin area.

Aggravated assault is one of the more prevalent types of crime in the downtown area.  This year alone has seen 78 aggravated assault claims compared to 91 in 2011.  If this trend continues, downtown Austin will have the most cases of aggravated assault cases in its history by the end of the year.

“Crime is up in downtown.  We want downtown to be a safe place because high crime doesn’t bode well for hosting events for the city,” Bill Brice, security and maintenance director of Austin Alliance told the Austin Community Court Advisory Council Friday.

According to Brice, a majority of crime committed downtown takes place in the entertainment district near Sixth St. between midnight and 4 a.m.

A majority of these incidents are occurring near bars with alcohol being the factor in causing the crime he said during the meeting.  Cell phones were cited as one of the main reasons for committing the crime.  Usually this occurred when victims are leaving a bar and walking to their car in dark areas, Brice said.

However, of those arrested, APD identified 32 as being homeless – 25 percent of the total.

But Brice said there is no correlation in rise in crime in the area in proximity to the homeless shelters in downtown.

“A majority of the crime is not committed by those in social centers and shelters because doors close at 6 p.m.  These people are taking the right measures to improve their situation in life,” he said.

To take care of the problem, Downtown Austin Alliance and APD are partnering together to designate crime hotspots via Krimelabb as mentioned earlier.  Once the hotspot has been determined, APD will attempt to fix the situation whether it be through installing more lights to thwart crimes from even occurring or putting in cameras to monitor the location.

The alliance and APD are making this a priority because the city usually tends to follow downtown in trends, he said.  Therefore, if crime increases downtown then it is likely to spread into other pockets of the city.

Downtown is considered to be between Martin Luther King Blvd. to the north and Riverside Dr. to the south, and Interstate 35 to the east and Lamar Blvd. to the west.

Reporting Words: Assignment 3

Powell, Austin

Each year more college students are packing their bags and taking their education outside of the classroom to a foreign country in the hope of experiencing a new culture.  The trend is also taking place at The University of Texas at Austin as UT is ranked fifth among colleges and universities in the number of students that go abroad each year, according to survey by a non-profit that specializes in international education.

            In a report by the same non-profit, college campuses across the nation reported that 270,604 students studied abroad the 2009-10 academic year compared to the 260,327 students who went overseas the previous year, representing about a four percent increase.

            In the 2009/10 academic year alone , UT sent 2,284 students overseas.  This was fifth among other higher education institutions around the country.  UT offers 450 study abroad programs in 70 countries.

            Third-year government major Eduardo Luna is the senior peer advisor for the Study Abroad Mentor Program (StAMP) at the UT Study Abroad Office.  This is Luna’s third year working as a peer advisor.  Luna studied abroad in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, last summer.

            ”Study abroad is definitely a topic of conversation that comes up often,” Luna said.  “Study abroad is not a decision to bed made lightly.  We as peer advisors try to educate students on the positive and negative aspects associated with.”

                        Luna is not the only person to notice a growing interest in study abroad.

            School of Journalism professor Dennis Darling leads photography Maymester course in Prague of the Czech Republic each summer.  He has witnessed the changes within the study abroad program at UT to account for its growing popularity.

            “My first time taking students abroad in the summer of 1985 to Ireland felt like a game of pick-up baseball,” UT design professor Dennis Darling said. “We had no cell phones or maps to guide us.  We scrounged for beds and breakfasts.”

            Since then study abroad has come a long way in the services it offers to students and teachers going abroad, Darling said.

            “Everything now is more structured in case an emergency arises.  Also, the university provides guides who speak English within the country,” Darling said.

            However not all is rosy within the Study Abroad Office.  The high volume of students can often make communication difficult between students and study abroad coordinators.

            “The Study Abroad Office is so slow in responding to my emails about getting my courses evaluated (for my degree requirements). Does he mean as far as if they count in his major?   It sometimes takes them two to three weeks to answer an email,” French and linguistics major, Chase Crook said.

            Crook is studying at a Parisian university in France on a UT exchange program. So, this is not a faculty-led program, right? So it’s at a university that is not affiliated? Can you explain that?

            However, in response to the growing popularity of study abroad the university has implemented new programs and scholarships to reach every student regardless of financial background.

            The newly implemented Global Pathways program, for example, seeks to appeal to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors with a 2.0 GPA or greater the opportunity to select from 15 different study abroad programs.  There is no foreign language requirement. 

            “The Global Pathways program is really opening up doors for students who were under the false impression that study abroad was hard to do.  This program will also give students the chance to apply for Global Pathways specific scholarships,” Luna said.

            The Global Pathways Planning Scholarship is worth $2,000 and is available to students two years prior to departure abroad.

Reporting Words: Assignment 2

Powell, Austin

Universities and colleges are being forced to cut their budget to cope with the ripple effect the economic crisis has created.  However, student safety on and off campus is still a major concern for these universities despite budget constraints.

University state funding in the state of Texas has shrunk from 47 to 13 percent.  University of Texas Police Department is one of the university police departments that must adjust its resources in the wake of reduced state from the state legislature.

In a press conference for UT journalism students held by UTPD Tuesday, Sept. 18, officers discussed how UTPD is reacting to a smaller budget from the Tower.

UTPD requests a certain amount of money each year from the university and then those funds are allocated to the department.

“The university has to do with what its got.  There’s no magic pot to take money from,” UTPD Police Chief Robert Dahlstrom said.

UTPD’s budget is 90 percent employee salary with the rest going toward operating costs, Dahlstrom added.

UTPD is staffed with 66 officers.  Five to eight of those officers are on campus on a rotating basis.  23 of the officers on staff have less than 2 years of experience.

Newly hired officers with UTPD must shadow another officer in the department for two years before he or she is allowed to go out into the field alone.  UTPD’s police force was put to the test Sept. 14 when the university was alerted of a possible bomb threat.

North Dakota State University also received a bomb threat the same day.

While UTPD later determined the call to be a hoax, the event called into question UTPD’s emergency-alert response.  At 8:35 a.m., a call came in claiming bombs would go off in all university building 90 minutes after the phone call.

But buildings were not cleared out until 10 minutes before the 90-minute mark of detonation.  Students were also notified via text message and social media to evacuate the campus.

“The university obviously didn’t take the incident seriously.  They would have set the alarm off at 8:30 a.m.,” said Emma Kettle, an exchange student from Australia.

However UTPD defended their response time in dealing with the threat and the protocol they took in informing students and faculty.

“We have had 14 bomb threats since 2006, so we look at each one individually and determine their credibility,” Dahlstrom said in relation to UTPD’s delayed evacuation response.

No suspect has been named in connections with bomb threat because the investigation of the suspect’s identity is still underway.

“Your (the students) safety is our concern.  We try to be as transparent as possible,” UTPD Assistant Chief Terry McMahan said.