Hope on the Horizon

      Mayor Steve Williams came to Marshall’s campus on Tuesday to answer questions from journalism students about the budget deficit.

      Huntington is ranked in the top eight in America’s Best Community Competition despite the recent budget cuts and Williams’ strives to set a standard others will seek to follow.

     

      “One thing that I’ve come to understand is that if you’re going to be America’s Best Community you have to be resilient,” said Williams.  “It doesn’t mean that you don’t go through hard times.  It means that you go through hard times and you take a hit and somehow you keep standing.”

      The expected six million dollar deficit by the end of this fiscal year came as a shock to the William’s administration.

      The Mayor said that 1/4 of that number was predictable, while 3/4 came as a surprise and of this budget 72 percent was employee related.

      “The last thing anybody ever wants to do is lay somebody off,” said Williams.  “If you’re credible, if you’re going to be a leader, an effective leader, layoffs are the very last resort.  We found there was no way to avoid it.”

      The city’s budget cuts left 10 recently hired probationary police officers, one part time officer, seven recently hired probationary fire fighters and 6 civilians without a job.

      As Mayor Williams prepares for the State of the City address he said, “I’m going to be asking, what do you want?  What do you want?  Do you want to place blame or do you want to fix the problem?”

      The solution begins with taking funds from the 1.4 million dollars in paving to make sure that the money is used to keep police officers on the streets and firefighters in the firehouse.

      Williams compared the budget issues Huntington is experiencing to having a storm travel through the area and how it is important not to give up.

      “My wife and I, our daughter lives up in Michigan,” said Williams.  “She’s having a big barbeque at her home on a lake, up in Michigan in late July.  Just because we’re going to have a big winter storm here, doesn’t mean that we’re canceling the trip because I know it’s going to be sunny eventually.”

      He continued to say that the city of Huntington is going to work its way through these layoffs and that he doesn’t hope, but expects this to get better.

Prospects for Higher Education

With the swearing in of a new governor comes change for West Virginia in many areas, but will that include a proposal of free tuition for students at colleges and universities?  Governor Jim Justice touched on different subjects during his inauguration speech which included the coal industry and how teachers are underpaid.  None of which contained information on what he would do for higher education or students struggling to pay tuition.

Other people who hit the campaign trail though hit the topic hard with plans and sense of security for a future in free tuition.  Senator Bernie Sanders was one of these advocates and created a six step plan to make college debt free according to his website.  The last step mentioned was how this free tuition would be paid which is a reasonable question coming from students themselves and taxpayers.  Senator Sanders suggest that it will be fully paid by imposing a tax on wall street speculators.  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York proposed a plan of similar origin concerning free tuition for colleges and universities.  According to the New York Times, in Governor Cuomo's plan students who have been accepted to a state or city university in New York would be eligible if their families earn $125,000 or less a year.  This plan would include two-year community colleges and four-year schools.  Governor Cuomo and Senator Sanders so strongly agreed with each other that they participated at a joint announcement at LaGuardia Community College.

"What Governor Cuomo is proposing is a revolutionary idea for higher education.  It's an idea that's going to reverberate not only throughout the State of New York, but throughout this country," said Senator Sanders.

Back to the home-front in West Virginia, this is a different story.  Universities across the state await a detailed planned for their future.  Governor Justice is a graduate from Marshall University and stands as a democrat.  Yet he did not side with Hillary Clinton, but rather more with President-Elect Donald Trump during the campaign and now.  This could mean he will not take the same stance as Senator Sanders and Governor Cuomo on this subject.  With no mention of higher in education in his speeches so far, it may not become a priority on his list.  According to MetroNews, not many specifics were given in the inaugural speech, but usually policy positions are more laid out on Feb. 8 at his State of the State speech.

Using Social Media as a Journalist

Using social media as a form of communication has become wildly common in today's generations especially in the field of journalism.  While there are many benefits to Facebook, Twitter, etc., it can also cause rifts in journalists personal and career lives.  Many websites note the importance to practicing social media mannerisms and ideas on how to hold oneself with the public.  Another step in the beginning of creating accounts is to be sure to have a personal and professional set up so one does not get wrapped up with the other.  A mistake in this area could go to such extents as a journalist losing his or her job. Many professionals use these social media accounts to boost their name and become more well known among their public.  This is highly beneficial to ones career in this field because the more widely known and likable a journalist is, the greater the chance of job opportunities.  Studies show that reporters are increasingly focusing on building up their professional identities on social media rather than their personal identities.  It has also been shown that they are being asked by their employer to change the way they are presenting themselves on social media.  It has almost become a priority compared to an option in the work force.

Alongside the perk of free publicity, social media has the possibility to also be an effective form of communication.  Viewers have the opportunity to get to know the journalist on a different level compared to simply watching them on television giving their reports.  Journalists can connect with their audience and even give farther detail into their reports.  With the development of social media it is almost necessary in this particular field because news gets out so fast in this day and age.  Reporters want to be the first to cover the story and if that continues to be the case then they will work to adjust to this chosen method by a majority of the population.  Rising pitfalls concerning the spreading of easily accessible articles is fake news.  Recently, this has been an intriguing topic among journalists and news organizations.  It has become widely known, but still commonly found within even well-known companies.  Certain sources have published misinformation which leads the public to believe it is true.  These articles built on falsity are important for journalists to be aware of while scoping out social media platforms so that the wrong answers are not published.

The question has been posed whether or not the development of social media will affect news websites themselves.  Today people want news fast and efficiently and this has created what can be seen as a platform for journalists in social media.  It may take away from visits to the website, but will increase the popularity of the reporter individually which overall will shine a brighter light on the company they work for.  To make a connection, reporters can include a link in their tweet or post leading back to the website where their story is located.  A small synopsis of their findings has the ability to draw the viewer in and make them care about the story as a whole.  With the rise of this type of news, many more consumers are being reached who did not think to pay attention before.  This opens up the possibility of attracting a different audience and creating a larger fan base.  Social media comes with its pros and cons concerning its effects on journalism.  It all depends on how it is used and how it becomes accessible to viewers.

Title and Links
- Reporting with Web and social media data: Some helpful tools, https://journalistsresource.org/tip-sheets/reporting/journalism-social-media-data-tools
- Social media, mobile devices and online news: 2015 data and charts that speak to digital trends, https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/social-media-mobile-devices-and-news-trends-2015-data-that-speak-to-digital-disruption
- Journalism branding: Impact on reporters' personal identities, https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/brand-journalism-impact-reporter-personal-identity
- Fake news and the spread of misinformation, https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/fake-news-conspiracy-theories-journalism-research

About Me

Chantil Foster is a student at Marshall University and is graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.  She also works on-air and in promotions for 97.5 WQBE which is a radio station out of Charleston, W.Va.  Blogs to come will contain research components and stories about varying subjects.