Farhad Manjoo - "True Enough"

Farhad Manjoo’s book “True Enough” details how the world perceives and dissects news. Interestingly enough, Manjoo illustrates how people see and manipulate news.

Two concepts that most intrigued me during the reading were selective exposure and selective perception. According to Manjoo, selective exposure involves choosing sources of information through preexisting biases and selective perception is when two people of opposing ideologies overcome their tendency towards selective exposure and choose to watch the same thing. Although, the individuals involved may still end up being pushed apart.

A prime example of selective exposure is comparing the coverage of Fox News to CNN’s about whether relief, in forms of medicine, food and money should be sent to Haiti. During the time of the Haiti earthquake, massive donation telethons and websites were pushed in the face of viewers on CNN’s coverage. CNN even hosted special segments, sending down Dr. Sanjay Gupta (who is also a medical reporter) to advertise the need for help and assistance in Haiti. Break downs of where the money was going and what charities are actually spending the money on was presented. However, when flipping to Fox News coverage, the amount of persuasive support was diminutive compared to CNN’s. Reports on the affect the earthquake had on citizens and what their lives will be like now were conveyed to audiences. More reports on actual damage and less on donation were noticeably present.

After jotting notes about the coverage for about two weeks and applying the Manjoo reading to my observations, I was now clearly able to tell the difference and range of opinions that make Fox News a right-wing channel and CNN a left-winger. Typically, liberals are willing to “extend a hand” and do affectionately care for the health and economic entities of other countries. Conservatives; however, are seen as brass and usually take pride in supporting domestic ventures and ideas. The fact that CNN’s coverage was clearly attempting to support and help Haiti earthquake victims while Fox News reported the affects as hard news makes a transparent connection to why left-winged thinkers have a bias to watch CNN and right-winged thinkers enjoy watching Fox News. In my opinion, selective exposure is one limiting reason why liberals and conservatives rarely agree on things.

An example of selective perception is the recent court rulings whether animal cruelty videos should be allowed to be broadcast. There are many opinions on this matter, between free speech advocates animal rights groups. The issue at hand was decided by the Supreme Court, striking down a federal ban on animal cruelty videos. Now although both sides, free speech advocates and animal rights group, see the disturbing nature of these acts, the difference in effort was whether the law goes too far. Initially, the law was created to ban “crush videos.” Crush videos are a type of fetish taping showing women smashing small animals with their feet or heels.

In 1999, the law was enacted, and the “crush videos” stop circulating. However, when an individual decided to shoot a documentary on dogfights, and show it to the public, he was indicted and sentenced to three years in jail. The selective perception idea behind this ruling, is that both groups, free speech and animal rights, overcame their biases for the humanity of animals and see the importance in protecting the rights of animals, although they distanced themselves on the issue of media broadcast. The animal rights groups still see the videos as inhumane and obscene for air and the free speech groups are selectively fighting for 1^st amendment rights. It’s interesting to see how an issue, which has both sides caring for and adoring, can still separate one another for opinions that are divided from the big picture, humanity towards animals.

A fine, short example of selective exposure that recently occurred in Florida deals with the homeless. Spurred by hate-crimes against the homeless, Florida lawmakers voted to give the homeless added protections. The exposure part of this issue came in the arguing statements of a Punta Gorda legislative representative and a Coral Springs legislative representative. Punta Gorda rep says, the homeless are “bums” and they deserve no more protection than ordinary people walking down the street. The Coral Springs rep says, “Nobody is more vulnerable…They have no place to retreat to.”

After researching the statistics on the number of homeless living in the counties of Punta Gorda and Coral Springs, I found that Punta Gorda has drastically different and lower numbers than Coral Springs. Charlotte county, where Punta Gorda is only has 730 homeless, while Broward county, where Coral Springs is, has over 5,000 homeless. Because the representative and other citizens of Punta Gorda may see less homeless, they don’t welcome them into their community or see any reason why they deserve additional protections. The community of Coral Springs sees the need to protect these homeless individuals because they are a part of the community and may have an effect on society. The exposure to the actual individuals has created the opinions of each community.

In all of my courses I’ve taken in high school, college and other educational programs, “True Enough” has been the most interesting. Although I was skeptical of Manjoo, because he writes for a left-wing blog, his ideas and examples seem to show no bias. The book has made an impact on me, how I watch news and how I watch other people watching news. Manjoo’s expertise has allowed me to decipher what is being said and for what reason.

Trial/Courthouse Blog

During the second week of April I visited the Hillsborough County Court house. I was able to take in the surrounding action, search documents for my profile (Ronda Storms) and sit in trial proceedings.

One of the first things I took note of at the courthouse was how empty it was. I showed up around ten a.m., thinking that by mid-morning all of the family/child support and traffic violation lines would be packed. I was wrong, and at least now I know when to recommend people to go pay their tickets.

After walking around the place I saw the people serving jury duty, they sure did look pale and haggard. With those looks, all I could think about was ways to get out of jury duty … I’m pretty sure being a student or claiming a medical profession works. Throughout my walk, I also observed that there were very few attorneys and bailiffs walking around. Wasn’t sure if that had to do with the proceedings of the day, just the lack of business in the courts or because of what Pat Frank recently said, stating that she may have to start cutting her staff.

Once my tour was over I went ahead and visited the case file viewing area. Here, I was able to look up Ronda Storms case action and one case I was interested in particularly. Storms, a Republican conservative, has fought quite hard on cases dealing with pornography and gay rights and her case against Joe Redner, owner of the well-known Tampa strip club Mons Venus, was the case I was keying in on. I also searched the felony section of the Clerk of Courts department and found nothing on Storms.

Lastly, I was able to sit in during four court proceedings. What I found interesting, although these are minor crimes, was that more women were being tried for drug trafficking then the men in the room. As a whole, there were probably 15 men and 15 women being tried. Of the four cases I saw before “break,” three of them had to do with women carrying, selling or distributing marijuana. This appeared odd to me, honestly, the world typically see’s a gangster-looking African American or a wealthy-cocky Caucasian kid as a drug trafficker, not women in their mid-20’s who have some looks. The fourth case actually rattled me. An individual, who previously had been arrested for carrying an illegal firearm and being an accomplice in a murder, was being tried for armed robbery. The fact that I was sitting in the same courtroom as a “killer” amazed me. It just put it into perspective, that people who are committing these crazy acts of violence walk the same streets and drive their cars the same place we do.

Public Meeting Two - Tampa Architectural Review Commision

On April 5^th I was fortunate enough to attend the city of Tampa’s public hearing for the architectural review commission. Now although I have little curiosity for architecture and construction, I figured the meeting would spur interest. Boy, was I wrong.

The meeting was quite tedious and boring; however, it was run effectively under a tight ship. There was all the regular public meeting criteria: a call to order, reading of the minutes (always moved to be accepted) and announcements, but structural, the board of commissioner’s exemplified full control.

Being taped and recorded, commissioners did not tend to speak out of turn and when they had questions, they respectfully asked them.

Individuals who represented themselves to the commissioners were quite detailed and had maps, drawings and pictures of the locations or houses they are trying to alter. There were about 6 cases presented , all in through detail.

The commissioners showed great concern of the public’s needs and worries. In one case, an individual needed parking, and the demolition of an accessory structure at their house was needed to build a new one. It may seem odd to have to ask for permission to destroy something on your own property but the city of Tampa remains in full control when a person is attempting to build a structure in city owned land. Thus, after questioning occurred between the women’s agent and the board, a decision was made.

To me, the pictures and diagrams were interesting as well as finding out what parts of Tampa a person would need to seek approval in for a structural change. Who knew that in Hyde Park, Tampa Heights or even Seminole Heights that a person with money or little money would have to go in front of the board of commissioners and have their request assessed.

Public Meeting One - Mayor Iorio/TECO

On March 25^th I was fortunate enough to attend a public meeting between Mayor Pam Iorio and the TECO Energy Conservation Task Force.

As the public meeting began, and as the Florida handbook identifies, an open-door policy was enacted as well as having a conference room recorder record the dialogue of the meeting. Funny thing is Mayor Iorio was the one who said, “Do we have the sunshine covered?”

The meeting was led by Tom Snelling, Tampa’s Deputy Director/Green Officer of growth management and services, with a PowerPoint presentation followed by interaction between the task force, a TECO representative and the Mayor.

The point of the TECO Energy Conservation Task Force was to analyze current efforts TECO is making to promote going green, having sustainable energy and what rebates or financial incentives TECO is offering their customers. Recommendations for these efforts were then created by the Task Force.

The issue of education and communication was the most thoroughly discussed topic. Prompting consumer awareness and participation were main components of the dialogue.

Whether it was a reporter, environmental activist or home/factory builder, the idea of marketing to a segmented, target audience became the mechanism needed to satisfy the Task Force’s goal of educating the public about what incentives and innovative technologies TECO has to offer and how it can be put in your home.

Mayor Iorio’s response to that suggestion was whether or not to target people who use lots of power and typically don’t change their ways or the homes that use little power, and somewhat leave only a “small footprint” in the big picture. She followed up by asking the TECO representative if TECO has any commitment to funding this type of market research as well as offering services to their customers that showcase how to lower your bills and be more visible in the community.

In response, the TECO representative (who apparently was sitting in for someone that day) could only say that TECO already has a marketing program and they have not set aside any resources to contribute to the education funding.

This became somewhat of a sour meeting because of that and to the fact that no executive from TECO actually came to the meeting. The Task Force had already been working on this project for one year and this was supposed to be the Final Project meeting; however, Mayor Iorio decided to ask the members back for another session once she speaks with TECO officials.

Overall, it was interesting to sit in such a small room, the Mayor’s conference room, and interact with her, highly educated individuals as well as experts, and community representatives. I took pride in covering this event and Mayor Iorio specifically thanked us, the public/students, for attending.

Hillsborough County Medical Examiner - Dr. Vern Adams

Although you’d say the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner isn’t quite a lively place, there sure is some thrill when walking in.

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner looks similar to a hospital lab, except for the part where bodies are laying face down on autopsy tables. But before we get to that, Dr. Vern Adams, Chief Medical Examiner gave a detailed account about what type of documents are held at the office, which aren’t and other details of the lab.

The 1-year-old office, located on N. 46^th street and eerily close to campus, is responsible for autopsies, determining the cause of death, establishing evidence for crime cases, documenting undiagnosed diseases and disposing unclaimed bodies.

HCME has nine forensic investigators performing nearly 1,200 autopsies per year and has the capability to hold 400 bodies on-site.

The office works hand-in-hand with the public, and their request for particular documents; however, some forms are not available. “Everything in a case file is public,” said Dr. Adams, all autopsy reports, external examinations by doctors, transmittal sheets/evidence, correspondence from attorneys and meetings with family are public. Although, if the death is still in an active criminal case, the documents found in the public file will not be made public. HIV test results and records from hospitals and nursing homes are exceptions as well.

A big plus, noted by many students, was the fact that if a person sends in a pre-addressed envelope to HCME with a public records request, HCME will send out all the documents available at no charge. That sure beats 15 cents a page!

HCME also produces death certificates for all of the bodies brought in, yet the medical portion of the certificate is not a public record. The autopsy report is.

Questions regarding photos and videos of death cases were covered by Dr. Adams as well. According to Dr. Adams, the Dale Earnhart Act, an emotional-driven, bad law, gives the next of kin the property right to photos and videos in death cases. Everyone else needs a court order. Thus, autopsy photos are not public, but more importantly, scene photos are.

I learned a great deal about what actually goes on at a medical examiner’s office and why they perform what they do, medically and constitutionally. This field trip, in my opinion, has been the most interesting … how many people can say they walked happily into a dead man’s office.

Hillsborough County Court

Imagine a world that didn’t have courts to settle criminal or civil disputes. What would people end up doing? Loitering, stealing and committing felonies?

This parable could become an actualization. Due to the recession, the Hillsborough county court office may be closing to survive budget cuts.

After already facing cuts that left 1 in 8 employees without a job, slashing retained employee salaries and closing down one branch (Floriland mall) legislature is asking for another 8% cut in total budget.

Clerk of the Circuit Courts and Chief Financial Officer for Hillsborough County Pat Frank plans to argue with legislatures over the fee they are requesting. Frank said, “I don’t want to put any more people on the street.”

Also because of the recession, there has been more of a demand on the clerk’s office. More foreclosures, violence and petty theft cases are occurring, from about 3,000 in past years to 22,000 cases now.

These cases place a burden on the clerks. Clerks tediously prepare dockets and documents for the judge to review; however, facing budget cuts, the Hillsborough county office can’t afford to hire more clerks to relieve the strain on these employees.

Although the office is facing tough times, they still keep the public records and evidence in all cases. Official records (OR) and any record, in line with state statute, can be found at the clerk’s office. Felony records are kept for 75 years while juvenile records are kept forever. DNA, tires and bloody fingers are all types of evidence the office maintains as well.

On a tour of the courthouse, guided by Dana Laranante, particular courts and public record request departments were made known. Laranante instructed users on how to look up and case and distinguish the type of case it is, the case number, the court date and any updating status.

One of the differences I noticed on this tour was the lack of bailiffs on duty in the corridors, being that there are committed felons walking around, and how that “certified” copies of requested documents are $1 a page, which is awfully ridiculous.

Hopefully with those $1 a page requests and public support, the court house won’t have to close down.

http://www.hillsclerk.com/publicweb/home.aspx

Steve Andrews - WFLA Investigative Reporter

Being respectful and logical are key components to being a top notch reporter.

Steve Andrews, News Channel 8 Investigative Reporter, established the need for future reporters to be polite when investigating persons of interest but to also be logical when determining what the next step needs to be to carry on the story.

Andrews, a reporter with other 25 years of experience, believes in the importance of tenacity in an individual as well as their listening instincts, to flip tips and calls, will determine how successful they are in uncovering data that needs to be reported.

It’s essential to be prepared, says Andrews. He recommends at least having three questions prepared when you approach someone that you want answered. Knowing the rules and regulations of the establishment or person in question is vital to understanding what to ask for as well.

Andrews says basic investigative work is just calling people. However, to get better, you must comb through, tediously, public records. Thinking that public records are only documents limits you as a reporter too. Andrews has been able to use photos and videos that were used by contractors but paid for with public spending to uncover truths. Although the video Andrews viewed was over ten hours long, finding the ten second clip that portrays the exact and conclusive details is gold.

The word “You” is thought to have the best resonating power in news reporting. Andrews knows the reporting is where the money is and says, when you say YOU paid for it this… or YOUr money bought them… while reporting, the people listening form a wall between themselves and that individual and see them as a crook, a bad guy. And that’s what we are trying to uncover.

The importance of silence within a news report was also introduced by Andrews. Silence is golden, says Andrews. Having an image on the screen but no noise allows the viewer to boldly understand what is taking place action wise or legally speaking.

Andrews has done cream of the crop reporting in Tampa for years. His tips and guidance to being a good reporter and using what public records are available is imperative when performing investigative work.