Mid-Term Reflection

1.) After studying media for 8 weeks in Rob Williams class, Contemporary Media Issues I have learned a ton! Basically how to be way more analytical about the media through all of the concepts of the tribune brain, 7 principles, 8 shifts, persuasive techniques, and ideas from Postman, Anderson, and the Media in Society book. Media is very complex and powerful in shaping the way information we receive, how we receive it, what we think about it, and our actions.

2.) Most important thing I have learned about myself as…
A.) Critical reader: Apply the concepts we used in class more. I don’t simply take the information presented to me.
B.) The way I write is shaped by the media I use. Example- I write differently on Twitter than I would in an e-mail to someone.
C.) I have become a more critical thinker. I don’t simply accept information being given to me. By being aware of the several tool sets I have learned allows me to analyze media in terms of the knowledge I have gained.

3.) One thing I would do differently this first half of the semester is apply the readings from the book assignments and the concepts from our tool set packet to the small articles we read and blog about.

4.) I have gotten a ton out of this class and I am being honest when I say that I don’t think you should do anything differently. I like the readings, assignments, and tool sets we have learned and it makes me view the media in a different light. Now I am analytical about the media I use and the information that is presented to me, instead of taking it in without really thinking about it. I also find myself applying what I have learned to other classes.

5.) Usefulness of…
Course Blog: Very useful- learned how to blog, allows me to learn from other students blog posts, allows for the assignments to all be in one place.
Personal Blog: Very useful- Causes me to reflect more deeply about media that I choose and apply the concepts in the books and packet a great deal.
Films/Books as learning tools: Very useful- Has given me many new concepts and ideas to think about and demonstrates them. Through the information in the books and films I am better able to understand how the concept are applied to media.

Hurricane Katrina's Hidden Race War

Censored Story # 13: Katrina’s Hidden Race War

While the media portrayed African Americans as looter and thugs in the mist of Hurricane Katrina, it is now clear that the most serious crimes were committed by gun-toting white males.

One reporter notes,
“I was startled to meet so many people with so much detailed information about potentially serious offenses, none of whom had ever been interviewed by police investigations.”

Facts

-A shocking report in the Nation magazine exposes how white vigilante groups patrolled the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, shooting at least 11 African-American men. However, local police have never conducted investigations, and so far the crimes have gone unpunished.

-While most of New Orleans was deluged in the wake of Katrina, word spread that Algiers Point was dry. The National Guard designated the Algiers Point ferry landing an official evacuation site, where flood victims were to be loaded onto buses headed for safety in Texas. Facing an influx of refugees, a group of heavily armed white residents sought to seal the area and rid the neighborhood of “those who didn’t belong.”





Corrupt police looting in stores


-Relatives of the deceased (later identified as Henry Glover) claim the police allowed him to die and burned the car and his remains; the New Orleans parish corner has ruled the death “unclassified.”

-According to witnesses, Glover was walking in the Algiers section of New Orleans when he was shot. When two men tried to seek medical help for Glover, they were taken into police custody instead, where they were repeatedly beaten. While Glover bled to death in the back seat of the car the police did nothing to try to save him. When the officers finally decided to free the men who tried to help Glover, the cops held on to the car saying, “the car is in police custody,” as recalled by one witness.

-Three days after the hurricane Donald Herrington, who is African American, was shot with a shotgun. When two white men drove by, Herrington begged them for help, but only received hostile responses. According to Herrington one of the men told him, “Get away from this truck nigger. We’re not gonna help you. We’re liable to kill you ourselves.” After collapsing on his neighbor’s front porch, Herrington was finally taken to the hospital.

-Returning to New Orleans months later, Herrington learned that there had been no police report documenting the attack.

Lexus-Nexus Search
Although finding information on this story was very difficult it is possible, so it is not completely censored. 209 results came up when I typed in Racism and Hurricane Katrina. 192 of them were newspaper sources. Below are several links to stories about the racism in Hurricane Katrina, however in order for them to work you must first become a member of the Lexus-Nexus database. After that copy and paste the link in the search bar of the database.

USA TODAY: Attitudes need to be rebuilt, too, Hurricane suit alleges discrimination; Says blacks given smaller grants to rebuild

The Toronto Star: Katrina reveals racism, neglect
The Express: Ghost of Katrina returns

Further Research
Here are other links with more information and stories about racism in the mist of Hurricane Katrina

Katrina victims blame racism for slow aid



Hurrican Katrina Exposes Racism and Inequality

Race An Issue In Katrina Response

Racism in Hurricane Katrina and how you can help