The Imminent Danger of Concussions

Concussion In Sports Video

Concussions, though have been prevalent in sports since the beginning, are becoming more prevalent. The increase in the number of sports related head injuries is not solely because of the way contact sports are being played, but also a combination of equipment developments and a higher awareness of how significant these injuries really are. More concussions are being diagnosed now than ever before.

 Professional sports are becoming more acute in diagnosing these injuries, athletes, owners, and fans are taking head injuries far more seriously than they have in the past. Injuries to the head have begun claiming lives of professional athletes like hockey enforcer Derek Boogaard, a Canadian National Hockey League player who died at age 28 due to the after effects of head injuries.

And just this past Wednesday, former National Football League linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide as a result of the thousand-plus concussions he suffered, namely dementia. He was following the example of Dave Duerson, a former NFL safety, who committed suicide in February 2011. Both players wanted their brains to be studied for the long-term consequences of concussions.

The severity of these suicides, as well as the infinite number of concussions in the NFL, whether reported or not, have led to the implementation of major rule changes to be set upon the NFL. So far, these have included increased fines and suspensions for those guilty of hitting opposing players in the head. Football linemen are the most at risk, because every play they collide with the opposing defensive linemen, and this is an equivalent to a small car accident.

Repeated head trauma is linked to causing permanent brain damage and diseases, like dementia and Alzheimer’s. In fact, there is a current lawsuit being held against the NFL by players who were unaware of how serious head injuries were.

After Duerson’s death, this matter was brought to the white house, where President Barack Obama noted the dangerous combination of the increased size of the players and the nonchalant attitudes of many players. As reported by the Huffington Post, he did not forsee football continuing in such a dangerous way for too much longer.

 The concern over head injuries is felt throughout sports. Increase activity has been found in diving and other sports, such as women’s soccer, thanks to its out-of-control dives lead with the head, and elbowing. While concussions tend to remain in the realm of contact sports, the epidemic of head injuries still rises.

The issues of resolving concussions have also varied. According to a study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh, many health officials and trainers disagree with the amount of time to pass before a player is healed from a concussion. In the past players have played while sustaining severe head injuries, now there are more comprehensive tests to determine this potential life threatening injuries. The study suggests that a large comprehensive test that sweeps all athletes in all sports is essential to curing concussions.

The symptoms of concussions, according to WebMD, are as follows:

·      Confusion, or feeling dazed.

·      Clumsiness

·      Slurred speech

·      Nausea or vomiting

·      Sensitivity to light, or noise

·      Memory loss

On the field treatments for concussions have changed dramatically over the years. Football players, if suspicious of being concussed, are now subjected to dark room tests, in which players sit in a dark room for an extended period of time to avoid sensitivity to light and noise.

Cocoon therapy has also been rumored to heal concussions quickly, especially with children. The theory behind cocoon therapy is that all forms of mental stress, whether its schoolwork, sports, video games, or reading, must be avoided in order for the brain to properly heal.

Without the re-evalutation of how contact sports are played, the dangers of concussions and other head traumas remain. Boogaard, Seau and Duerson are just few of the many professional athletes to suffer from head injuries, and are just a few examples of those who have died. They were full grown adults, and these same games are being played at all ages, which is even more dangerous.

The Future of Journalism

The timing of this blog seems to be ironic, for me at least. Some other students might be grumbling because its so nice outside and they are stuck behind a laptop writing yet another blog. But not me, I have a lot to say about this subject. I believe the future of journalism is soley based on our shoulders. Ours meaning, us as students. Young folk, students, teenagers, are the future of journalism. Over the weekend I saw Ira Glass, the host of NPR’s This American Life talk at Keene State University. While he did speak about how his program was constructed and how his fan base has reached in the millions, his message, at least to me seemed simple. Journalism today is boring. Broadcast journalism, at least. Glass reiterated over and over again that the language used by news broadcasters is almost like a language other than English. I believe that it can’t hold our attention for more than three seconds. We live in a society today that is fueled by twitter and Facebook, we crave instant information and we also want to be entertained. 

If a news agency doesn’t hold our attention, how are we supposed to hear the news? Bill Maher, host of Bill Maher made an interesting point in a profanity filled rant the other day. He stated that he audited major news agencies like CBS and CNN and found that, shockingly, the most popular news was the weather. The weather?! You stand outside for two seconds and that is the weather, its not news! News is supposed to be what is going on in the world, not Balloon Boy, or any other cultural news event that seems like trash. However, the real news is well, depressing. Average people don’t want to hear how many Americans are being killed overseas, and how our economy is slowly recovering from a crippling recession. No. 

They want to hear about Balloon boy, and the weather. Glass’ solution to this problem was simple, make news entertaining. This is easier said than done. The Daily Show is a good example of a median that is both entertaining and newsworthy and the key to that program is reporting the news with a conversational tone. Conversation is key, young people don’t want to be lectured, hearing about how awful shape the world is in. We want to be talked to, related to, and catered to. While that attitude seems a bit bratty, it’s the truth.  

The future of journalism depends on us, and I have faith in the young population to not only keep the aspect of traditional journalism alive but I believe that the youth will change the way journalism is perceived. As students, it is imperative that we are trained in all the aspects of multimedia journalism. From our talks with Stencel, McGuinness, and Athas it is apparent that the more you are trained in every aspect of journalism, the more prepared you are to be a journalist in todays world. While the era of smokey news rooms and angry editiors with pork pie hats might be dying, journalism will remain a constant in society for years to come.

The Ethical Dilemma of SEO

Search engine optimization, or SEO has revolutionized the way the internet works and how easy it is to find information on the internet. However, as search engine optimization has taken over the web, it has created some controversy with headline grabbing subjects. The “mosque near ground zero” which is not actually a mosque, or near ground zero, was a huge story in the news. People became outraged at the idea of a mosque being built either at oraround ground zero, where the World Trade Center used to stand. News agencies learned of this falsehood and started re-working how the presented it. NPR started using the phrase “Islamic center near ground zero in lower Manhattan”, while news agencies stopped using these terms, Google still had the phrase on search engine optimization. SEO has always been surrounded by controversy, the real issue is that certain phrases or words typed into google bring up certain results. In the case of the “mosque at ground zero” the information is false. In my opinion, the problem is that too many people rely on Google for immediate information. I will admit that I rely on Google for information, I use Google at least once a day, and regrettably I believe most of the information that I find, I mean why wouldn’t you? Wrong. 

Don’t believe everything on Google, even though google advertises itself as this all-knowing search engine that doesn’t advertise any wrong information. Well that might not be true, but many students rely on Google for everything, and I mean everything. Stephen Colbert sums up this mentality very well. He says “if you stand around and shout something loud enough over and over again people will believe you.” This is the problem with search optimization. How to fix it? Well, its easier said than done, but I think that Google should regularly fact check and change its phrasing. The other is about how aware student journalists are of wrong information on the internet. 

Student journalists should always be verycautious about where they get their information, and how they comment on it. You never know what information is right, and what is wrong. Google should never be a last resort for information, student journalists should learn to find reputable websites like .gov or .org websites. Ethically, SEO needs to be re-worked. It is unfortunate to see so much anger over a news story that really isn’t true. The same goes for policing yourself with social media. The argument has constantly been brought up about Twitter, and my opinion hasn’t changed. Look at my recent blog posts, think before you tweet, its your responsibility. Its your same responsibility to find correct information on the web. If you are thrown out into the multimedia journalistic world and you make a mistake regarding information, you are fired. You are fired without notice too, there is zero tolerance policy when it comes to reporting information. So student journalists, make sure you know your information is right.

Wise advice from Mark Stencel

Providing a consistent and successful multimedia news package takes effort, and skill. Mark Stencel, director of digital news for NPR  has both of these qualities. Sitting down with students, Stencels presentation of a multimedia piece involving the emotional story of an US veteran with extreme posttraumatic stress disorder. The multimedia package, which includes a four-minute video, an audio piece on NPR’s All Things Considered, and a text piece. All three elements made this package complete, but Stencel urged us to look beyond the content.

“What is different between the video piece and the audio?” Stencel asked.

While this might seem like an obvious question, Stencel encouraged us to use our multimedia minds. What Stencel has experienced by working in such places as NPR and from reporting for most of his adult life was how the audience reacts to a certain piece. NPR has done wonders with incorporating video, audio and text into one package, yet every facet of the package is different. In my opinion, the video seemed to be the most dramatic of all the pieces but that was because it was visually stimulating. If I’m sitting in the car listening to All Things Considered I’m going to get a different message from the same story. The reason for this is because certain things need to be conveyed over the radio that can’t be conveyed over video, and vice versa. When writing for radio, you are writing for the ear, when shooting video, you are shooting for the eye. Both of these senses need to be stimulated differently and that requires knowledge of your audience.

Stencel had a simple message for us aspiring students: to be valuable you must know all facets of multimedia. This could not be truer today.

“While the industry is still changing people who are valued the most are those with skills in every area.” Stencel says.

As the director of NPR news, whose been everywhere from Raleigh-Durham to Washington D.C, you take his advice, no matter what it is.

As a student it was beneficial for me to listen to Stencel, he is in a very high position in the media world. The difference between Stencel's presentation and the previous students who have sat down with our class was this: he has actually made a difference in the media world on a much larger scale. While Athas and McGuinness were both successful members of the media world but they are young. I value the experience and wisdom that Stencel brings to the table when he speaks about multimedia. His advice to students seems to have a little more meaning. Athas and McGuinness seem almost too relatable to us young students, there is a reason that Stencel is the director of digital news and is responsible for one of the largest news packages in the multimedia world. Stencel knows, and has been exposed everything that digital news has to offer, and he is caught up in the ever changing landscape of media. I believe his messages and advice he gave to us in class are invaluable.

Think before you tweet.

Accurately reporting and writing is essential to good journalism. Unfortunately, there have been cases where journalism isn’t factually accurate. An example of this would be the tweet concerning the death of college football coach Joe Paterno. The problem is, Joe Paterno wasn’t dead yet. The tweet sent off a chain reaction and re-tweets that reported the false information that Joe Paterno had died, and the repercussions of this cost the author of the tweet his job.

This brings up an interesting dilemma that is constantly being debated in journalism, whether it is more important to be first, or to be right. In my opinion, there is nothing more important than correct information. If the information you are releasing to the public isn’t correct then why should you release it in the first place? For example, a story about the shootings in Tulsa Oklahoma appeared on CNN.com the other day with factually incorrect information. It was extremely disappointing to me, as a journalism student because I find CNN.com an extremely reputable news agency that prides them on reporting correct information. Granted, this was not on the scale of the Joe Paterno death but the mentality is still important.

Reputable news agencies should focus more on getting information correct that being first. While timing is very important in journalism, what good is the information? Information, especially information being thrown around on Twitter, needs to be correct. While Twitter was originated not especially for the purpose of broadcasting breaking news, it has turned into one of the most important facets of news today. News agencies heavily rely on Twitter; I think they rely on them too much. Sports agencies are especially fond of Twitter. ESPN is constantly monitoring athlete’s tweets and looking for breaking news in the athletic world. It is not surprising that they covered the Joe Paterno tweet and then had to apologize for using false information.

I look at Twitter, or social media, as an awesome responsibility not only to yourself but also for your audience. Think before you tweet, really think. I understand that the creators of Twitter had the idea of sharing your thoughts with the world, but it’s a responsibility that journalists have to take seriously. So before you tweet, fact check, and make sure you aren’t condescending, because you never know how many followers you actually have.

A sit down with Will McGuinness

             The clean-cut Will McGuinness took the time out of his day to speak to students at the University of Massachusetts today about aspects of social media and the ever-changing job market that is journalism. His advice to us young journalism prospects was simple: mix it up. By mix it up, he meant think outside the box. McGuinness was quick to reiterate to us that you need to take every opportunity given to you, you need to take it.

            McGuinness begain his journey to obtain a journalism job from humble beginnings in Fall River, Ma. From a young age he did freelance work for his hometown newspaper. At UMass his services were used at outlets such as the Hampshire Gazette and the Collegian. McGuinness then graduate in 2010 and held three jobs throughout one year. When I first heard this, I thought: What? Three jobs? That seems like a lot doesn’t it? Turns out McGuinness wanted a little more than what was offered to him initially. When he graduated he worked at the Dow Jones Wire (with help from a UMass professor), from there he was the manager of the media department at the Herald in his hometown of Fall River. After dwindling around at the Herald, McGuinness said that he wanted bigger and better things, and he wanted to leave his hometown. His networking skills kicked in and he contacted every relevant person through email. Sure enough, a former colleague mentioned an opening at CBS world news organization. Lo and behold, McGuinness applied and got the job.

            His unquenchable thirst for new oppritunity did not stop there, after working at cbs for a few months (where he was perfectly happy) he decided that he wanted to work somewhere else. McGuinness stressed to us young journalists that you should not try to stay in one place, even if you are happy. There are oppritunities everywhere and it is up to you to go out there and seize it. His interest turned to the Huffington Post.

"I emailed Arianna Huffington and told her my ideas for how I would change the education section of the post. Turns out, someone liked my ideas."

 24 hours and one interview later, he walked out with an offer.

Hearing this as a student was nothing short of amazing. To have an actual job seems impossible right now, but he had three in one year? I took away McGuinness’ positive attitude no matter what the situation. McGuinness is a realist too, he’s seen a lot in is journalism career. As a lifeguard in fall river he was exposed to the drowing of Marie Joseph in apublic pool.

"The interesting part about this story was that the hordes had descended on Fall River, it was an advantage as a young journalists to see how nationally syndicated stations reported the news."

 Exposure to these networks had a very positive effect on McGuinness.

           Being positive was the theme of McGuinness' sit down with us students. While he told us tales of the big bad world of journalism, he remained hopeful and hungry in his job search. The job McGuinness holds now is a direct result of his determination and skills.

A review of the Daily Beast

Multimedia news packages come in all shapes and sizes these days. To have a successful package, you need audio, video, images, and graphics. Also, you need to attract readers. One news package that has all of these factors and is popular is what is known as ‘The Daily Beast.’ The Daily Beast is associated with Newsweek magazine but pulls articles from all other news agencies. Its opening page seems cluttered at first, but for the blogger savvy young folks it takes only a few minutes to become adjusted to The Daily Beast’s bark and bite. The interesting (and convenient) thing about the Beast is this; it has a section called the “The Cheat Sheet” which is a one-stop shop for the latest breaking news. It’s like a news ticker that is constantly updated by the legions of bloggers that work for the beast.

All of the latest breaking news is in the cheat sheet, its caption even explains its purpose “must reads from all over.” From all over is right, with a few clicks of the mouse you are guided to CNN, ESPN, ABC, NBC or other affiliates of the Daily Beast. The refreshing thing about the daily beast is that it doesn’t necessarily promote its parent news organization (Newsweek) it takes information from all over, and attributes it to them.

There are other facets of the beast that make it a great news source. The sections reading across the top go as follows: home, politics, business, innovation, entertainment, beast TV, books, art, and women in the world. My personal favorite is Beast TV. Beast TV is the latest news in regards to television, recently they had posts about the upcoming season of Mad Men. These articles provide background on your favorite TV characters as well as reviews of all the new premium cable shows.

The Daily Beast also has a ‘photo of the day’ posted at the bottom of their crowded homepage, along with other galleries and a section labeled ‘Art Beast’. These galleries are user friendly and easy to navigate, left and right arrows on either side of the page allows you to navigate through the photo galleries without going to a separate page. To an impatient college student who wants his information at the snap of a finger, the Daily Beast is an excellent website to get accurate and timely news.

News isn’t the only facet of the Daily Beast, the entertainment and technology sections discuss the cutting edge of celebrity gossip and the latest in technology. Its an eye opening experience visiting the Daily Beast, it is for the more refined young professional. It’s a perfect mix of the maturity and accuracy of the New York Times but the fun and entertaining side of Access Hollywood, but without Billy Bush, which is a good thing. The Daily Beast should be viewed as the future model that news packages should be built out of. The user-friendly interface of the Daily Beasts website and the intricate sections of the paper make it a must read news packages for news junkies of all ages.