January 2009
2 posts
The Inauguration of a lifetime
He is the 44th president, 47 years-old and fourth youngest president to be elected.
He is following in the footsteps of many inspiring leaders before him, but as for the first time a president is not just making history he is changing history for the better.
Hundreds of years in the making, and a moment no one will forget. Today is the day Barack Obama swears to God and country to not only lead...
November 2008
10 posts
Where's the little guy in the Big Three?
Ok, I had to write something about the Big Three bailout plan and although no decision has yet been made, it doesn’t look good. Despite the facts, I think a few things have been over looked by our government.
President-elect Barack Obama has immediately started to address this issue and according to his speech yesterday he is not in support of bailing out the Big Three and he condemned them for...
Only 70 days left!
It’s been exactly one week and one day since Sen. Obama was named our new President-elect and the heads of the media, government and free-world are already spinning.
Economically, Obama has started to make plans for another stimulus package, this time with more money that will be directed to specific organizations and unions, but this may not be soon enough.
On the international front...
National Public Radio Podcast
Honestly I do not listen to many podcasts, but I do listen to National Public Radio online, that is until I recently found NPR’s Planet Money podcast.
Like the trustworthy NPR this podcast did not disappoint. I like it because unlike shock jocks on the political morning radio shows, these guys are factual, have no bias and include a variety of important stories with good interviews.
Hosts Alex...
It was a magical night!
At the end of the longest line in the world with my ticket in hand I stood among the 230,000 other people waiting to see Obama and witness history.
I stood shoulder to shoulder with these people for over three hours waiting. I stood there with my continuous lower back pain waiting. I stood there with my ongoing cold/cough that had plagued me all week, waiting, and for all it was worth I would do...
Going to Obama Rally and a little...
The city of Chicago is gearing up for Obama’s campaign rally in Grant Park, which means 300,000 media personalites, vistitors, and tourists will be venturing to the Loop during Rush hour!
As a journalist I understand the significance of the event and I plan on being there (tickets in tact) but as some of my collegues have suggested, this is not a typical event in Chicago, this is a...
October 2008
11 posts
The End of the election is closing in- will you be...
Nov. 4th is fast approaching and what feels like the longest presidential election in history will come to a close at midnight next Tuesday.
This semester, and basically this entire year has been a roller-coaster ride complete with politics, pundits, controversy, and debate after debate, heart warming speeches, and outrageous lies and let’s not forget “Joe-Six Pack.”
Yes, it’s...
Car powered by water!
Yes, here is an article written by a reporter from Reuters International. This Japanese car company has actually found a way to power cars with water, ANY kind of water! Check out this article .
Economic crisis for some could mean technology...
Creating your own website is a lot of work, and if done right the result becomes a network of people sharing ideas on your website. But what if we took our creation one-step further and made this Web 2.0 website into a moneymaker? According to a recent article published in Newsweek, this idea may be harder than it seems.
In an article written by Daniel Lyons entitled, “Down in the Valley,”...
Everyblock blog
I currently live in the suburbs, so I chose to look at the area surrounding where I intern at the American Cancer Society, 225 N. Michigan Ave, also know as the Michigan Plaza. When I am heading downtown to my internship I typically notice the stores that open along Michigan Ave and the activities on the streets for tourists, but not the items I found on Everyblock-Michigan Ave. The first...
Check those CANDIDATES before it’s too late!
As we all weight in our candidate selection this year, let me remind of you an important piece of information to read before heading to the polls and that is checking your candidates Campaign Contributions report. Campaign contributions, (Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) and Opensecrets.org, are boring to look at yes, but very important this election, and here’s why: 1. As constituents we...
Campaign conflicts and smug smiles take center...
An unforgettable last presidential debate, complete with joe the plumber stories, planetarium telescopes comments, and surprisingly no “my friend” introductions. But, while the semantics were fun to watch overall I thought it lacked straight answers from both candidates on the important questions we all tuned in to see.
Angry rhetoric and smug smiles from McCain was the tone of most of the debate...
Specifics on fixing the economy could win election...
Straight-talker McCain was anything but straight during last Tuesday’s presidential debate when asked about his plans to fix the economy. Unlike McCain “That one,” also known as Obama laid out a specific plan to fixing the economy, which according to recent polls could win him the election.
“(My friends) It was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that started this economic crisis,” said McCain,...
My experience with the Social Web
My experience with the social web began like everyone else, on MySpace. I reconnected with my old high school buddies and found new ones, I read my friends blogs or rather thoughts on life and posted some of my own. But, not until recently has my need to be better connected affected my career and education.
As a journalist it is our job to be social creatures. It’s not enough to just write,...
Are you stressed? If your a Chicagoan you should...
By Lea Erwin
Beating out New York City, a recent news story found the Windy City ranks as most stressed city in the nation, but as a native Chicagoan I disagree.
After examining the country’s 40 largest U.S. census-defined metropolitan areas, and tracking housing rates, and unemployment rates, this article published on Yahoo News found Chicago to be number one for stress.
Yes, living or even...
September 2008
11 posts
Lessons learned for us, not government on failing...
Over the weekend the government made plans to finalize the proposed bailout for Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion, this plan would have been great for those in power, but it did not go through, so now we are in limbo.
When the economy first saw signs of trouble with the mortgage crisis, I was working at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and I could see (from the inside) what was happening....
Worst group experience
While attending Eastern Illinois University, I was working towards a B.A. in journalism and a minor in Sociology. My last semester I completed all required classes for my minor except one, empirical research, and this class required working with a partner for the final project.
My partner was a red headed girl who always sat in the front row. She knew everything and received A’s on all her...
How the Internet has impacted my life
Its 1996 and my mom just bought a computer with AOL. My aunt and uncle are at our house and we are all sitting around the computer waiting to sign- on for the first time. Once the dialing ends we see AOL’s homepage and links to a chat room, we enter, and the rest is history. At the time I thought it was fun, but little did I know I would be spending 80 percent of my day on it.
Today one billion...
The Art of Blogging
Ah the blog. The word sounds more like a weather condition than a new form of 21st century writing. It’s the most uncomplicated form of writing, yet for the graduate journalism student it brings only contempt.
Last semester was my first encounter with the blog. Rather it was the first time I was required to write one for a grade. The class was reporting public affairs and I covered the primary...
Ilegal Immigration Issue
By Lea Erwin
Now more than ever illegal immigration has become a major issue. Within the last five months we’ve experienced the two largest raids in U.S. history. One that occurred in May, when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents rounded up workers in Iowa and the other last month in Mississippi.
Today, the number of immigration fugitives living in the U.S. is 570,000, according...
Ike's Smakedown
“The worst flood in years,” is what some news stations reported this past weekend for Chicago, most suburbs, and northwest Indiana. Some areas reported more than seven inches of rain, which caused the Fox and Dupage Rivers to supersede its levels and flood everything in its path. Endless rain and news footage of people being rescued by emergency boat or using paddle boats to get to their once...
Congrats Grad! Now it’s time to PAY UP!
By Lea Erwin
There are 15.9 million students enrolled in college this fall, according to the latest census and that means on average most of these students will be graduating with some type of debt, which can be anywhere from $5,000 to $120,000.
Wikipedia’s definition of “Debt” ” is a negative quantity of wealth that originates in a transfer of wealth in which the owner does not immediately...
The changing face of journalism
Changing with the (New York) Times!
Today there are an unlimited number of news websites and the age of satisfying your news fix by opening the morning paper is gone. Once you glance through the newspaper you then turn on CNN and if you are like me, you also go online and look through the million RSS feeds for more. It’s incredible how much information one can consume in one sitting.
But, news...
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life!”
– Confucius
Don't vote for McCain!
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