Blog #11: Christiane Amanpour (Final EOTO)

 CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR

"I NEVER ASSUMED THAT BECAUSE I WAS A WOMAN THAT ANYTHING WAS OFF-LIMITS TO ME."

- Christiane Amanpour 

Early Life:

    Christiane Amanpour was born in London, England, on January 12th, 1958. Amanpour's father was an Iranian airline executive, which resulted in the family moving to Tehran shortly after she was born. Her father's position also meant that her family was politically connected and wealthy and led a privileged life in Iran.

    At age 11, she went back to England to attend the Holy Cross Convent School and stayed until she was 16 and then attended a catholic school in the United Kingdom.

    Unfortunately, in January 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran toppled the shah, forcing many of his followers to leave the country, including the Amanpour family. This caused her father to lose everything he owned in Iran. Her family's struggles during this time and her first-hand experience led to Christiane Amanpour’s desire to be a journalist. Years later, in 1983, Christian Amanpour graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in journalism.

Career:

CNN

    In 1983 her career as a journalist began when CNN hired her on the foreign desk in Atlanta as an entry-level desk assistant. During her time here, she received her first major assignment covering the Iran-Iraq War, and she was soon transferred in 1986 to Eastern Europe to report on the fall of European communism.

    In 1989, she was assigned to work in Frankfurt, Germany, to report on the democratic revolutions taking over Eastern Europe.

    During her early years at CNN, she was able to get her feet on the ground and really get into the life of a journalist. She traveled to many different places to report on the war's effects on different countries, and this was just the beginning for her.

ABC

    On March 18th, 2010, Amanpour announced that she would be leaving CNN for ABC News. During her time at ABC, she became the anchor of their Sunday morning political affairs program “This Week”. However, she did not have much success here, and the audience was not her biggest fans. On August 1st, 2010, she became the host of the program, and during her first two months as host, the ratings of “This Week” began to go on a downward spiral and reached their lowest point since 2003.

    She remained at ABC for a year until she returned to CNN international on January 8th

BACK TO CNN

    After returning to CNN, Amanpour became the host of a program on CNN international while also maintaining a role at ABC News as a global affairs anchor. In addition, not long after she returned to CNN, they decided to put Amanpour’s interview show back on the air. 

    Things finally began to turn back around for Amanpour after struggling on “This Week”. Amanpour’s interview show became popular very fast, and in September 2013, the show and the staff were relocated to CNN international London, England, where it is currently being produced and broadcasted. 

    While at CNN international London, she continued to make her presence known in the news world and is still known and recognized today for her emotional reports on events in the Middle East.

Accomplishments:

    Amanpour's accomplishments in the news world led her to other accomplishments in society. She has made appearances in shows and movies such as the Gilmore Girls, Iron Man 2, Pink Panther 2, etc.

    In 2014, she narrated “Women in War,” an episode from season 2 of “Makers: Women Who Make America”. Furthermore, “she is a member of the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalist, the Center for Public Integrity, and the International Women’s Media Foundation”.

    Christiane Amanpour has made her mark on society, and she is someone that all-female journalists should look up to. She has not only spoken up on crucial issues, but she has placed herself in different environments to be able to get a better understanding of what others are going through. She is very passionate about what she does, and it shows. Anyone can be passionate about something, but it takes someone special to be able to show how passionate they truly are and risk their lives to travel to different countries when it is not the safest and make connections so that they can make the world aware of what is really going on with those who are struggling.   

Blog#10: EOTO Reflection (Terms and Concepts)

 What is a Whistleblower??

    A Whistleblower is defined as exposing misconduct, alleged dishonesty, and illegal activity occurring in an organization. They are also usually someone who works inside of the organization. The types of exposed misconduct can range on a wide scale, such as waste fraud, corruption, public health, safety dangers, etc.

    Additionally, in order for a whistleblower to get their information out, they have to report it to someone who can make the situation available to the public. I think that whistleblowers can be very positive because they do what others are afraid to do and speak the truth. They can be described as risk-takers and brave because they release specific information hidden from the public and would continue to be hidden if they didn’t speak up.

    Although they are brave enough to speak up, they have to be careful when revealing information to the public because they could lose their job and ruin their reputation. On the other hand, the relationship between a whistleblower and a journalist could be compatible. Journalists can share the stories of whistleblowers, and through whistleblowers, journalists can hold those with power accountable for their actions.

    However, it can also be risky for journalists and whistleblowers. In some cases, whistleblowers are not interested in working with the press because when journalist cite their information, they like to use official sources so that they are able to produce a strong, credible story.

    Additionally, if a whistleblower chooses to release certain information, there are laws that can protect them to a certain extent. This depends on what type of information they disclose, who they obtained the information from, and how to obtain the information.

    Since their individuals believe that whistleblowers are taking this risk for the greater good, there are many resources and tips for journalists who want to work with whistleblowers so that they are protected. The National Whistleblower Center offers 5 tips for journalists seeking to work with whistleblowers: Know the laws, Protect Anonymity, Know what is at stake for the whistleblower, Intelligence whistleblowers have their own set of rules and Leaking v. Whistleblowing. 

    I think that it is good to know that there are tips for this specific situation because there are a vast amount of individuals who would like to see a whistleblower behind bars, so this site being able to try and protect them shows that there are also individuals who want to know the truth when organizations with higher authority abuse their powers.

    Furthermore, I thought one whistleblower case was very interesting because of the digital world in our society today. The whistleblower's name is Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and a contractor for the U.S. government. He was found guilty of releasing thousands of classified documents about the NSA’s surveillance program to the public. Snowden chose to release this information to the public because he found out that the system the NSA created was being used to watch people and evade their privacy illegally over the internet. He knew that this was wrong and didn’t agree with one bit, so he did what he knew was right and released private files and documents.

    I personally agree with Snowden's actions because it’s not right to spy on others and invade their privacy. We have the freedom to use the internet as we choose, and it is illegal to spy on citizens when it is our right to use it. Snowden was able to show how those with power can abuse it and think that it's okay because of the title they hold. No one should be able to use their power in this way unless it is for the greater good.   

Blog #9: Collateral Murder

 Collateral Murder or Mistake?

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and give the appearance of solidity to pure wind”. - George Orwell

    The quote above was shown at the beginning of the film Collateral Murder, and I agree with this because that is exactly what we see happening in the past and the present. We continuously see the press reporting on anything the government does pertaining to war. The press is able to release anything they feel but are not the ones being patronized about it because they are supporting the government. However, on the other hand, we have journalists who want to get to the root of the problem and release the truth and are always patronized. Those who aren’t journalists who release the truth without permission are labeled as whistleblowers and sometimes put in jail.

    We have seen this happening today with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tucker Carlson stated on fox news that we are being lied to about the real reason for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was portrayed in the media that the real cause behind the invasion was due to Vladimir Putin’s mental state. But we all know that it is bull crap because there have been individuals such as Nigel Farage who has actually predicted in 2014 that this invasion would happen one day, and he shared his theory with the world.

    We have seen from this incident how the government will lie to try and cover up their lies and cause more harm instead of telling the truth.

    Now, let's take a step back to April 5th, 2010, when a site called Wikileaks released unseen footage of a U.S. Apache helicopter shooting and killing innocent men and injuring two children.

    For this shocking film, we can thank Julian Assange, the founder of the organization Wikileaks. Assange stated that he wanted to practice “scientific journalism,” It would be used to provide primary source materials with a minimum of editorial commentary. With this organization, he was able to release thousands of internal/classified documents from various government and corporate entities.

    Once the footage was released, things began to take a turn for not only Assange but also for the government because the truth was finally being released.

    During the video, there were two war journalists who were killed because the U.S. soldiers had mistaken their cameras for guns, but in the video, you can see that it did not look like a gun, and they also did not appear to be a threat.

The question posed to footage is, was it collateral murder?

I believe that the answer is yes. In the video, you can hear the soldiers state;

 “Light 'em all up. Come on, fire!” 

“Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards. Nice shooting”

“Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle.”

    These soldiers thought this was funny and had no remorse after shooting and injuring two children. They tried to state that they brought the kids into a battle, but that was inaccurate because the men they killed did not pose one single threat to them. The men in the truck were just innocent civilians trying to help another innocent civilian. 

    Once the video was released there, many people saw the truth, and many views about the government began to change quickly. It seems like the government began to panic and the easiest thing for them to do to cover their butts was to go after Julian Assange, and he is still currently being held in prison in Britain.

    The question that we always have when situations come to light is why?? But in reality, we will never actually know the reality behind anything because the government will always try to cover up the truth.

Blog #8: Trial by Media

Trial by Media: How the Media affects the Outcome of Trial

 “Trial by media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence before, or after, a verdict in a court of law”.

In most cases, this is only relevant when high-profile individuals stand trial, and the impartiality of the jury is potentially compromised by extraneous information that disrupts the due process and leads to an unfair trial.

While doing some research, I found this interesting article that explains how a trial by media affects the right to a fair trial by discussing a case that was highly covered by the media, how the outcome of the trial was affected and how it affected the individual involved.

One thing that I learned from this article that I didn’t know before was that if there has been an intrusion by social media, there may be consequences on legal proceedings that could possibly result in an incapacity to prosecute. Normally those who interfere with the course of justice may be charged with contempt of court, and journalists who report on a case before the court has finished dealing with it are limited in the facts that they can report about.

I think that it is really interesting how times have changed in how someone is punished for Trial by media now compared to the early 90s. For example, the O.J. Simpson case was broadcasted very heavily in the media due to him being a well-known NFL player. Many individuals already had their own point of view on him because he was famous, and these views were good and bad, but the bad began to be portrayed in the media more than the good. Media Coverage began to turn further away from telling the truth and facts about O.J. and the case and instead began to focus on reporting lies. As a result, many of the stories were being published before confirming any of the facts, which resulted in more individuals writing stories who didn’t know what they were talking about in terms of actual court proceedings.

Additionally, another article that I found interesting was one that discussed if a fair trial is possible in this age of mass media. I learned from this article that juries were first introduced in England about 800 years ago, and for one to serve on a jury, it was required that they had to know how was involved in the case and the circumstances of it. 

Over time, the concept of a jury and a trial has changed tremendously to assure fairness, and jurors today are to have little to no knowledge of the case. However, the widespread media changed the concept of the words back to how they were originally defined. Because of the media, jurors are able to know facts about criminal defendants and their alleged crimes before hearing any evidence in court.

It changes everything in the court system, and we don’t realize it. I think back to when I was younger, before I knew anything about Criminal Justice. I remember what I had heard about things on the news or radio, and I never realized how they could paint someone's image on a screen with headlines under it about what they were being accused of. Most of the time, they wouldn’t even have the whole story themselves. From that moment, we all begin to create this image of this person's face who was just broadcasted on the news without even being to hear their story. At that very moment, we all forget the meaning of “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” and the 5th amendment that states “ no one should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”. But isn’t this exactly what we're doing when we paint an image of someone in the media before they have even appeared before a judge or jury?

It has become the new norm in the United States that a person is “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” because of the substantial amount of media coverage. We as citizens of the U.S. have to remember the history of why our Amendments were made, and most importantly, I think that sometimes we have to think, what if we were in the other person's shoes, what if our face was all over tv, newspapers, and social media, and we knew that we were innocent. It would tear us apart piece by piece, but the media never covers how it affects the accused and what makes it even more hilarious is that majority of the time, when someone is put away for half of their life, it turns out that they were innocent all along, the media hardly ever covers it because in a way they played a huge role in putting an innocent person away.

Over time, America has become more and more critical of everything because of the role of the media, and we don’t realize it. When we think about all the problems that blew up in the media, we soon begin to realize how often it creates false narratives, but you have to be susceptible to opening your eyes and have a mind of your own to see what is really going on. 

Blog#7: EOTO Reflection (Journo Heroes)

The Life of Frederick Douglas

"Without a struggle there can be no progress." 

- Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was a formerly enslaved man who became a famous abolitionist, author, and public speaker who wanted to end slavery before and during the Civil War. He was born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. One thing that I found to be really interesting was that he was not really sure of his exact date of birth due to the circumstances of his birth.

At Birth his name Frederick Bailey and when he escaped from slavery he decided to change his name to Frederick Douglass. At the age of six Douglass was taken away from the last of his blood family and sent to live and work on the wye house plantation in Maryland. During his time here he taught himself how to read and write and soon after he started teaching other enslaved people how to read using the Bible.

Years later is 1838, Douglass was able to escape from slavery and arrived in New York at a safe house for abolitionist. After being in New York for some time he found his wife and after getting married, they moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

While in New Bedford, he discovered Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper “The Liberator”. This paper inspired Douglass to become the abolitionist, public speaker, and author as we know.

This inspiration led Douglass to many accomplishments including his famous newspaper “The North Star” which was created to promote abolitionist ideas. The paper began in 1847, and covered the injustices of slavery and exposed the country to the horrors of slavery.

As a result, Douglass has became an inspiration to us today because he was able to advocate for those who did not have a voice in multiple different ways, and he helped make this world a better place for those who were at a disadvantage, and for that he will always be remembered in our history.

Blog #6: Goodnight and Goodluck

we will not walk in fear of one another 
Good Night, and Good Luck.

Goodnight and Good Luck is a movie produced and directed by George Clooney that is based on a true story that “explores the tension between patriotism and treason - between baseless fears and informational integrity - that defined the Red Scare when senator Joseph R. McCarthy accused hundreds of Americans of sympathizing with the communist party” (crimson.com).

This film was able to show how influential the news media is and how it can be used for personal and political gain. During the film we are able to see how afraid people really are afraid of communism and how McCarthy used this as a personal gain. Edward Murrow wanted people to know that there was nothing to be be afraid of, and that McCarthy was just doing all of this in order to gain people’s trust and becoming stronger.

During this time senator Joseph McCarthy exploited the idea that communist were trying to take over. The ideas and lies that McCarthy spread sparked more tension and fear in America. Murrow was not happy about this, so him and his producer Fred W. Friendly decided to step in and challenge McCarthy by exposing him and his lies. They knew that their actions were being used for good, however, their actions got more backlash and began to take a toll on both men and their careers.

After watching this film I honestly think that it is so crazy how individuals can get so much backlash for trying to speak their truth, but also trying to help others in the process. This film shows the real controversy in politics and also standing up for what you believe in, the past and the present.

Someone that I think could really relate to Murrow sticking up for what he believes and speaking his truth is Rosa Parks. I think that they both can relate because she stood up for what she believed in and did not get out of her seat, no matter what the consequences would be or the backlash she might get and she remained fearless.

Additionally, after seeing how fearless Murrow was in the film, I think that more journalist should try to be more like him. In society today we live in an era of social media and this makes it so much easier those people who try to create false narratives in the media. Today we have way more sources of media than there was back in the 1950’s which means news will spread faster but also from multiple different sources. I think that it's time for the media to start being used for good and becoming more fearless and actually speaking the truth with factual information.