Paul Hunter Zaid
Online Journalism
Journal #13
5/13/2015
1) Two More For-Profit College Chains Announce Closings After Corinthian
http://fortune.com/2015/05/07/corinthian-college-chain-closings/
Corinthian Colleges, once one of the nation’s largest for-profit chains, grabbed headlines last month when it announced it would close its remaining 28 campuses, displacing roughly 16,000 students. The announcement came less than two weeks after the Department of Education announced a $30 million fine against the institution for misrepresenting student job placement data.
On Wednesday, two more for-profit colleges joined the chorus of closures. Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corporation said it would gradually close
15 of its 52 Art Institute campuses, which currently serve about 5,400 students. Students enrolled at the closing schools will be able to finish out their degrees, but the schools will stop enrolling new students.
Schaumburg, Illinois based Career Education Corporation also said it was undergoing a restructuring that would include selling all but two of its university holdings. It plans to close its 14 Sanford-Brown College and Institute campuses and online programs in the next 18 months and sell three of its other colleges. Altogether, those institutes enroll about 8,600 students.
The for-profit college industry has long been a favorite target of the Obama administration as the White House attempts to harness mounting student debt. Eighty-eight percent of students at for-profit colleges held student loans in 2012, compared to 66% of public college students, and 75% of students who attended private colleges, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.
Tweet: Two more for-profit college chains announce closing http://for.tn/1E0K2pB
2) Prince Produces Moving Tribute to ‘Baltimore’
Musician, Prince has produced and dedicated a song in tribute to Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured in police custody. Six police officers involved in the young man’s arrest have been charged in his death.
Prince will perform at the “Rally 4 Peace” concert at Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena on Sunday. He will be joined by funk-rock group 3RDEYEGIRL. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Baltimore-based youth charities.
Tweet: Prince Produces Moving Tribute Song ‘Baltimore’ http://yhoo.it/1zUxAwQ
3) U.S. Security Chief Warns of ‘New Phase’ in Terror Threat
http://news.yahoo.com/us-security-chief-warns-phase-terror-threat-154452221.html
Media savvy Islamic terrorists are successfully recruiting new rogue attackers to their destructive mission says Jeh Johnson, US secretary of Homeland Security.
In an interview with ABC News Johnson said that the Islamic State group’s influence was spreading far beyond the battlegrounds of the Middle East.
“We’re very definitely in a new environment, because of IS’s effective use of social media, the Internet, which has the ability to reach into the homeland and possibly inspire others,” Johnson said.
“We’re very definitely in a new phase in the global terrorist threat, where the so-called lone wolf could strike at any moment.”
FBI Director James Comey last week said authorities were concerned about the IS group encouraging attacks on “the uniformed military and law enforcement” from only propaganda.
There are “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people in the United States who had received recruitment messages from the jihadists, Comey said.
Tweet: U.S. security chief warns of ‘new phase’ in terror threat http://yhoo.it/1IuDupv
Media Bias:
http://www.mrc.org/print/special-reports/climate-hypocrites-and-media-love-them
Journalists help promote Hollywood celebrities while condemning average Americans for causing climate change. The same media go out of their way to ignore or excuse the hypocrisy of celebrity “environmentalists” who fly their private jets around the world, rent mega-yachts and live in massive mansions.
Avatar Director James Cameron warned of a future “world that’s in shambles” because of climate change, and said he believes “in ecoterrorism” yet, he owns an impressive private collection of motorcycles, cars, dirt bikes, a yacht, a helicopter, a Humvee fire truck and a $32-million submarine. ABC and CBS even praised Cameron for his submarine purchase, with CBS’s Gayle King saying she loved his “passion and curiosity.”
MRC Business studied media coverage of 12 celebrity eco-activists, worth $1.9 billion, and found:
• Media Outlets Give a Platform to Celebrities: Actors aren’t climate scientists. But when any of the 12 celebrities makes a statement about climate change, the media are quick to promote them. Whether it was DiCaprio’s UN speech calling for more regulations on businesses, or Cameron Diaz’s PSA asking average people to curb their carbon output, print and broadcast media eagerly rushed to interview them. In the last six months of 2014 alone, ABC, CBS and NBC interviewed these specific celebrities 25 times.
• Overwhelmingly Positive Network Coverage: Not once during the 25 interviews on ABC, CBS and NBC in 2014 did the networks suggest that the celebrities’ lavish lifestyles might disqualify them from lecturing others. Instead, they have referred to them as “incredibly committed,” “responsible” and praised them for “promoting the cause” of combating climate change.
• Media Take Outrageous Claims Seriously: Cameron said “I believe in esotericism,” and Entertainment Weekly didn’t bat an eye. Arianna Huffington said that SUV owners were funding terrorism, and then claimed she meant it as satire and no one objected. Yet, none of these claims were even mentioned on the broadcast networks that hyped the eco-activism of these celebrities, and they were still touted as credible voices for change.
Recommendations for Journalists:
MRC Business has the following recommendations for journalists who are reporting on the environmental activism or philanthropy of celebrities.
• Treat Celebrities Honestly: Celebrities may be famous, but that doesn’t mean that they should automatically get a platform to promote their eco-agenda. Journalists need to recognize that just because someone is well known, doesn’t mean they are well informed. Statements made by celebrities should be evaluated with the same scrutiny as statements given by anyone else.
• Don’t Pick and Choose the News: The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists should “support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.” It is incumbent upon journalists to analyze the background for groups and individuals on both ends of the political spectrum.
• Do Some Genuine Journalism and Investigate Celebrity Climate Change Alarmists: Journalists can’t afford to be star struck. Media outlets should hold celebrities accountable for their actions, and not turn a blind eye when a celebrity’s lifestyle contradicts his or her message.
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