JN 216 Week 4 Media Blog Post

Topic 1: Profile

1. Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, Karelia Stetz-Waters
2. Sami is a former congressional candidate, Corvallis School Board member, OSU staff member, and community organizer and refugee advocate. Karelia is a writer and English Department Chair at LBCC and is an advocate for the LGBTQA+.
3. Sami- What is your background? Why did you get involved with education? Why did you get involved in advocating for refugees? Why did you run for office/will you run for office again? Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Karelia- What is your background? Why did you decide to become a teacher? What inspired you to be open about your sexuality with colleagues and students? Why do you strive to create an inclusive environment in your classroom? Is there anything else you'd like to add?
4. Interview a colleague of Sami's, a student of Karelia's


Topic 2: Edna and SPJ's Code of Ethics
1. An example of when Edna followed an SPJ guideline was when she acted independently and decided to cover a plane crash rather than a large sale her editor assigned her to in chapter 4.
2. When Edna called in the crash, her editor told her not to cover it.
"No, he said, it's not a Miami Beach story. The Sun was a local newspaper, but no paper is that local--the crash was at the other end of the causeway. I said the only thing I could at the time: "Hello? Hello? I can't hear you. . ." I held the phone at arm's length."
Edna covered the crash anyway with another reporter from The Sun, and they won awards for their coverage of it. Edna pointed out that her editor ended up taking credit for assigning her to that story after she won awards for the story.
3. I think Edna absolutely did the right thing, a plane crash is far more important than a sale. I can't honestly say I would have acted in the same way, I would be worried about losing my job for directly ignoring my editor. I think if I had been working at the same paper for a while and had a little slack, then yes I would cover the plane crash instead, but not as a less established reporter.