Snippets

Earlier this year, Tara McKelvey, a correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, published an article titled "Inside the Killing Machine." She blatantly exposed some of the CIA's and U.S Military's most controversial operations in the War on Terror, drone strikes. Through information obtained from the CIA's acting general counsel and one of the most influential career lawyers in CIA history, John A. Rizzo, she was able to assess direct and internal information.

Predator Drone

Essentially, there has been increasing concern regarding the dramatic increase in lethal operations conducted under the Obama Administration. (From 2004 to 2008, the Bush Administration authorized 42 Predator drone strikes. But under President Obama, those numbers have more than quadrupled to over 180 lethal drone strikes.) The reason behind the controversy does not lie solely in the numbers, but more so in the process in which these drone strikes are authorized. Many of the targets eliminated in these operations were tagged as "suspected terrorists." Rizzo described it as a "hit list." The overall process is generally straightforward yet largely unknown. The president technically does not even review the individual names on the "kill list." Once signed off, the predator drone strikes are authorized and "quickly and efficiently," the "targets are neutralized." The question is: "is this legal?" Many experts argue that it is not. Many including Tara McKelvey state the questionable nature of the legality and morality of such operations.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Professor Nelson, an Associate Professor in the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland, stands opposed to the drone strike operations. She asks the pressing questions, "Is the 'War On Terror' really a war?" "Is Al Qaeda more of a criminal enterprise opposed to a state?" As an expert on the International Laws of War as well as on International Treaties and Protocol, she states that she believes the "drone strikes are not legal under either theory."

Watch the interview below as she responds to the question, "Based on your expert judgement, how do you feel about the recent drone strikes authorized and carried out under the Obama Administration?"




David Forkkio, a Junior International Politics Major at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, also states his thoughts on the drone strikes. He discusses the recent drone strike killing of Al Qaeda cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki as well as the overarching morality of such operations. He emphasizes the point that the United States cannot afford to be tainted with accusations of controversial and potentially illegal lethal operations.

Listen below as he responds to the question, "As a student studying international politics, what is your stance on recent U.S drone strikes?"




All in all, the recent drone strikes under the Obama Administration have been under much scrutiny and heated debate. Many argue that the War on Terror gives the U.S every legal right to engage "high priority" and "dangerous" terrorist suspects. Others such as Professor Nelson and David Forkkio argue that such operations are wrong under any theory and that the Obama Administration needs to more carefully think through its actions. One thing we know for sure is that the War on Terror is not yet over and perhaps, nowhere near over. There are still many decisions needed to be made and who and how those decisions are made seem to be critical more than ever for the better good of the United States of America.

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Just two weeks ago, the University of Maryland's University Senate passed a legislation that officially changed the school's GPA standard. This new change has sparked a lot of debate and opinion across the university campus from both students and faculty. A huge wave of both positive and negative sentiment is clearly evident coming from both the students and the professional staff alike. Added stress and difficulty seem to be just some of the reasons why many stand against the new legislation. But on the other hand, this GPA standard is a standard that many other universities have already implemented long ago. One senior student at Towson says, "UMD kids are notorious for having deceivingly high GPAs, the school didn't calculate plus and minus." Faculty senators also reason that the new standard was put into place because "it was in line with the grading systems of this university's peer institutions."


Up until this point, student GPAs were calculated by a standard A through F (4,3,2,1,0) rubric. But now, the newly implemented standard will calculate pluses and minuses into the Grade Point Average. An additional .3 points would be awarded for a plus and a .3 points would be subtracted for a minus. For example, a B+ is now a 3.3, a B is a 3.0, and a B- is a 2.7. Before this new standard, all B's were equally calculated as a 3.0. In other words, the typical A- student would see his or her GPA drop while the typical B+ student would see his or her GPA increase.

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Many college campuses operate a campus radio station to provide both information and entertainment to the student body. Campus radios are typically completely student-based and student-run. The student DJs of these college campus radio stations have the unique opportunity to inform and entertain their fellow college student peers. But, a rather large problem has been realized in many college campus radio stations. These stations admit failure in directly attempting to tailor their content to the major interests of the college campus' students. In addition, they do not seem very concerned with the balance of their radio show scheduling.


Two prominent campus radio stations in the Washington D.C area include Georgetown University's WGTB and Catholic University's WCUA.


In an interview conducted by student blogger, Victoria Shi, Georgetown University's WGTB station's programming director, Allie Prescott, explains how WGTB does not determine radio show scheduling based on whether the show is talk or music-based nor does it determine scheduling based on what show format is the most desired in a given time slot. Rather, Prescott states, "We hope that our DJs will work for 'returning DJ status,' which is just a way of saying that the DJ has completed their requirements and deserves to definitely have a place on the schedule the following semester." Basically, WGTB's show scheduling is based on DJ quality and seniority. How effective would you say this is in campus radio scheduling?

In another interview conducted by student blogger, Victoria Shi, Catholic University's WCUA station's general manger, Ross Spohn, explains that WCUA uses a "genre of the day" system to determine their radio scheduling. "For example, Mondays would be rock music... we try to schedule around that." Would you find this to be an effective radio scheduling method?

Student blogger, Victoria Shi shares her thoughts on how college campus radio stations should determine radio show scheduling and radio show content.


It is clear that many college campus radio stations rely on their own internal methods of scheduling and show content decisions to determine the functionality of their respective radio station, especially the stations of Georgetown University and Catholic University. Tailoring shows to current student interests or scheduling according to what students want to listen to at certain times are completely absent in the likes of these two college campus radio stations.

Victoria Shi also shares her thoughts on campus radio's significance and role in student life.


As we progress forward in a new era of media, radio seems to continue to decline in its impact to society. As college campuses strive to keep this form of media alive and accessible on their campus, an effective method of scheduling and an increase in concern about student interests would be critical in determining how to increase the impact of radio on college student life.

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A huge passion of mine is music and it is for many other people as well. I have noticed that many people contemplate whether it is a good idea to follow this passion and major in music in college. And honestly, at least for me, it probably is not going to happen. But, before making any final decisions, I thought it would be a good idea to talk to someone who has already been in the pursuit of music for a long time now. This past weekend, I conducted an interview with Michael Kim, an inspiring music artist and current Music Engineering major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has just recently started to make his own music, hoping for the masses to listen to his hip-hop music creations. He has a rather interesting take on the world of music and he offers me, and possibly many others, very insightful advice. I decided to grab this opportunity to listen to what he has to say about majoring in music and pursuing music as a life career.



Later, I asked Michael for personal advice on majoring in music simply because I have really been pondering upon the possibility recently. This is what he had to say about the idea of majoring in music.


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Washington D.C is home to a number of reputable music radio stations. According to the Arbitron Washington, DC Radio Ranker, the metropolitan area has over thirty music entertainment-based radio stations, ranging in formats: adult contemporary, urban contemporary, classical, country, christian, rock, and more. The variety helps serve the range of musical tastes of D.C listeners.

According to a Radio Advertising Bureau study, music is the most preferred radio format with 70% of the populus preferring music radio. This goes to show how critical music entertainment is in the radio business. Without it, many people would more than likely cease to listen to radio. Although news, traffic, and weather still remain good reasons for many people to tune-in, music still indubitably makes up a very large portion of radio interest amongst listeners.

As a student blogger, it would be logical for me to elaborate on some of the most popular and frequently-listened to radio stations in D.C's high school and college student audience. Some reputable stations in this field include, but are not limited to, WIHT Hot 99.5, WWDC DC101, and WRQX Mix 107.3. These stations play a large role in serving the booming radio music interest of the D.C public. Almost any student who regularly enjoys radio entertainment has heard of the mentioned three music stations.

WIHT HOT 99.5 (99.5 FM) is a "top 40 pop contemporary-hit" radio station, according to media social networking site, iHeartRadio. Tuning into this station, one can enjoy a playlist of all the top-forty ranking songs in today's adult contemporary music. Radio ranking site, Arbitron ranks Hot 99.5 not only as the number one music station in D.C, but as the second overall most listened-to radio station in the D.C area, just behind D.C's dominant radio station, WTOP 103.5 (serving news, traffic, and weather). During the past three months, the station has maintained an average of 6.3, 6.2, and 6.2 AQH shares. Arbitron uses the AQH share as the "percentage of those listening to radio in the Metro who are listening to a particular radio station [during a 15-minute period]."

WWDC DC101 (101.1 FM) is an "alternative" music radio station, according to radio database, TuneIn. Its music playlist is centralized on the alternative-rock genre. The station's slogan is "DC's Rock Station" and it is exactly that. Arbitron ranks DC101 as the top "alternative" music station in Washington D.C. It ranks the station as the ninth most listened-to music station, and the eleventh overall out of all D.C radio stations. DC101 has had a consistent AQH share of 3.8, 3.8, and 3.7 shares the past three months according to Arbitron's AQH Share for Persons 6+ ranking system.

WRQX Mix 107.3 (107.3 FM) is a "hot adult contemporary" radio station playing a mix of a variety of music. This station disregards both genre and era. The station's slogan is "80s, 90s, and today's best hits!" The station's playlist format follows exactly that. Listeners can enjoy a variety of the "top-hit music" in the past thirty years. From personal experience, I have realized that the station does focus more heavily on current hits and throws in a few older hits now and then. This seems to be the result of abiding by popular interest, which would be heavily in current music. Arbitron ranks Mix 107.3 as the fifth most listened to music station and as seventh overall out of all radio stations in the D.C metropolitan area. This station's AQH, the past three months, has been 4.0, 3.6, and 4.1 shares.

According to a class survey of 51 students, conducted by Professor Yaros in my journalism class, 29% of them believed "top 40 music" to be the most popular radio formats. Assuming that they voted according to their personal opinion and taste, the data supports WIHT Hot 99.5's radio popularity in the D.C area. This poll supports WIHT 99.5's rating as the second most overall listened-to radio station and first most listened-to music station in Washington D.C.

Top 10 Music Radio Formats for Adults Age 18-24 Source: Radio Advertising Bureau

Research conducted by the Radio Advertising Bureau shows that 30.4% of adults of ages between 18 to 24 listen to the "Contemporary (CHR Top 40)" format, coming in second place amongst various radio formats for the respective age demographic. Overall, country is the current number one radio format in the U.S. But according to Arbitron, D.C's main country radio station, WMZQ 98.7 comes in eight place amongst all D.C radio stations. Although that is a respectable ranking among D.C's radio stations, it is undeniable that country radio still falls significantly behind Hot 99.5's top-40 contemporary hits format in Washington D.C.

Take some time to listen to the live stream of WIHT Hot 99.5's broadcast here:



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Often at times, we come by a piece of literature written by a "Pulitzer Prize winner." And in most cases, "Pulitzer Prize winner" translates to nothing more than "good writer." So what exactly is the Pulitzer Prize? How do you win the prize and what does the prize entitle?

Joseph Pulitzer

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S award both established and endowed by renown journalist and publisher, Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). The prize is awarded annually in twenty-one subcategories of journalism, literature, and music. The specific categories for journalism include: Public Service, Breaking News Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Local Reporting, National Reporting, International Reporting, Feature Writing, Commentary, Criticism, Editorial Writing, Editorial Cartooning, Breaking News Photography, and Feature Photography. The categories for literature include: Fiction, Drama, History, Biography or Autobiography, Poetry, and General Nonfiction. Musical Composition is the only Pulitzer Award for music.


The origins of the Pulitzer Prize lie within Joseph Pulitzer's will. Pulitzer's will allocated money to Columbia University to both open the first U.S journalism school and to officially establish the Pulitzer Prize. Pulitzer was the first to introduce the necessity to provide journalism training at the university level. In essence, he is largely the reason why journalism schools even exist today. Pulitzer simply desired for further reformation of journalism and literature in the United States. He, himself, was a journalist who changed journalism forever. He wrote against corrupt government and business, constantly pushing the limits of freedom of the press. His two newspapers, the St.Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World, were revolutionary in their editorial content and structure. Joseph Pulitzer is still widely considered one of the finest and most skillful journalists to have lived, acting as a role model and example for many journalists today.

'Local Reporting jury chair Mizell Stewart III'

The Pulitzer Prize award process is lengthy and extremely competitive. The process takes approximately one year to complete. The pool of applicants consists of "highly-qualified" professional journalists, writers, and musicians in the various fields of journalism, literature, and musical composition. A 102-member judge panel divides into 20 juries, each of which nominate three entries for it's respective category (one jury nominates for both photography categories). After all nominations are determined, the actual winners are determined by the 19-member board. The board consists of highly respected editors, executives, and educators including the president of Columbia University and the dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism. Awards are given based on a majority vote for a specific nomination or a three-fourths override vote on a piece of work that has not been nominated. The board also has the option to vote 'no award' if it deems no entry meets the proper "standard of excellence" in any given category.


The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced in April followed by an official ceremony one month later. The announcement includes the category winner along with two other nominated finalists, or runner-ups. The winner of each category receives a certificate along with a $10,000 cash award with an exception to the Public Service award winner who receives a gold-medal in replace of a certificate.

Earlier this year, the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for 'Local Reporting' was awarded to Frank Main, Mark Konkol, and John J. Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times for their "documentation of violence in Chicago neighborhoods, probing the lives of victims, criminals and detectives as a widespread code of silence impedes solutions." The 2011 Pulitzer Prize for 'Breaking News Photography' was awarded to Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn, and Ricky Carioti of the Washington Post for their "up-close portrait of grief and desperation after a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti." One photo, shown below, captures a devastating image of a man and a woman holding hands as they walk through the middle of utter catastrophe.

Taken by Pulitzer Prize Winners, Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn, and Ricky Carioti of the Washington Post.

2011 Pulitzer Prize for 'Breaking News Photography' Entry Gallery

The Pulitzer Prize is more than just a big deal. It symbolizes the collective and outstanding efforts of the literary community. It represents society's forward movement through the legitimate and authentic works of our finest writers. This is precisely what Joseph Pulitzer wished for, a society revolutionized. Journalism, literature, and music are aspects of society that are here to stay and they constantly reshape our perspectives of the world around us. It is essential that we recognize the works of these talented individuals who dedicate their lives to this cause.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning works are truly extraordinary. Take some time to review the recent prize-winning pieces here and share your favorites in the comments below.

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Following up on my previous post on Facebook's 'major redesign,' it looks like Facebook is finally rolling out the last of their remaining changes. There are obviously both some minor and major changes to both the user interface and the general layout. A few more major changes will be released in upcoming weeks. But it is not just a makeover, it is a completely new concept. Time magazine recently released an article, Did Facebook Just Change Social Networking Forever?.  Facebook is taking giant leaps in the social networking industry and there is going to be a lot of adjusting to do on our part throughout the next month. But why? Facebook is already the most popular and widely used social network available. It already is THE social network. Perhaps Facebook is simply gearing up for the highly anticipated arms war against Google+. Upon going public just last week, Google+ saw an exponential explosion in user activity with over 50 million users and a 1269% traffic increase, according to Gizmodo.com.

We have already seen the ticker. We have already seen the revamped News Feed. Reiterating from my previous post, Facebook says the goal of these recent changes is "to ultimately get you to stay on Facebook longer." The News Feed now functions as the users personal newspaper through the organization of Top Stories. The ticker keeps track of all the micro-actions such as likes, wall-to-wall conversations, comments, picture uploads, and so on. When any of these micro-actions begin receiving a lot of hits through likes and comments, it is instantly transferred to your Top Stories column on the News Feed.

See this for a short detailed summary of Facebook's major changes.
tecca / 'New Facebook Changes: What you need to know'

Below the cover photo will feature the new profile page. Facebook is scrapping the twitter-like wall that currently takes up the majority of the page with a new "scrapbook" looking feel. Photos, posts, events, friends, and videos are now much more organized across the profile page, organized in tiles (image below). The user has full flexibility in choosing what is displayed on this page. If you feel that a picture from two years ago is very important to you, you can dig it up and make sure it is permanently shown on the photos tab of the profile. You can choose to keep certain posts displayed on your profile. That way, you no longer need to click through "Older Posts" over and over to see past posts.


Facebook Timeline also introduces Apps. Now, you can integrate popular apps such as Spotify, Netflix, Nike+, and Yahoo News onto your page. Now, your friends can see what music you are listening to, what movies you have watched, how your daily workout went, and what news articles you have read.


The limits seem to be endless with Facebook's new changes, but where do we draw the line between convenient social networking and superfluous over-sharing? Facebook's new user flexibility does allow for more control as to what is visible and what is not, but these changes are indubitably changing the concept of social networking forever. Not only can we see every micro-action taking place at every moment, but we can now keep taps on every song listened to, every movie watched, every mile ran, and every article read. Facebook is becoming an open book. And once again, this is to "get you to stay on Facebook longer." Will it work?


Are these new changes convenient to you? Or are they just plain creepy? Facebook seems to have a good intent, but are they taking it too far? And should Google+ be considered a legitimate threat to Facebook's social network empire? All sorts of opinions are spreading throughout the Facebook community. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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