Paintball guns, really?

UNH police had to break up a large party in the middle of the day on Saturday, and did so with tear gas and paintball guns. After breaking up the day party on Madbury with tear, officers attempted to march students down garrison using paintball guns as force. In a video account of the events, police seemed unable to answer the whys, and seemed to take extreme measures under the circumstances. One thing that I found peculiar about the aftermath of the events was that the video was taken down. In what has turned into an investigation on how it was handled, the video was considered to be evidence. Either way, it seems to be a restriction on the freedom of the press. Even the girl who was filming was yelled at and push by police for not moving. Keep in mind, she was just walking down the sidewalk minding her own business.

Boston Marathon Notes

The coverage of the Boston Marathon was extremely intriguing, yet disappointing to me. In a time where confusion covers a nation, the press' job is to clarify and inform. In the case of the Boston Marathon last week, it did the total opposite. Sources like the CNN, Fox News, and The New York Post went for speed over accuracy. Reports with no merit were flying around the country so that news companies could have something to report when they didn't even know too much about the truth. It is times like these that remind me to put the truth before the story itself. Find the facts, check them, check them again, and then check them a third time. Maybe if journalists did that, the chaos and panic could have been subdued.

Fluffy the Spotted Leopard

The world’s only known spotted leopard, known for it’s kill first ask questions later mentality, escaped from its cage at the Durham Zoo late last night leaving the small New Hampshire town in panic. 

Fluffy, the name of the 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard that inhabits the Durham Zoo, is considered harmless by many. “Fluffy would never hurt anyone,” said one of the zoo-goers as he exited the zoo with his daughter. Never-the-less, this rare breed of animal is known for it’s killing ability. In fact, the cat is known for it’s appetite for children under 8-years-old.

The zoo’s chief zoologist, Kitty Smith, says that this priceless animal, whose species is on the brink of extinction, isn’t dangerous unless provoked or cornered. “If these cats are cornered,” said Smith. “Their defense is to kill, and kill quickly.”

When the zoo opened this morning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, that is until the discovery that Fluffy had gone missing. James Petronkis, of Newmarket, NH, first noticed the disappearance of the rare breed of leopard. “I knew something was wrong right away,” said Petronkis. “Fluffy usually draws the straw up into a nest when she sleeps, but there was no nest.” Petronkis, a big fan of Fluffy, tried to get the attention of the zoo officials, but after being reassured the leopard was just in her little. After finally getting them to further investigate, Petronkis was right, the cat was gone. 

Chaos broke out after the discovery, as zoo attendees were told to evacuate the zoo. Kids were crying, and many parents were unhappy with the zoo’s handling of the situation, many of them requesting their money back.

While the zoo was being evacuated, zoo officials were holding a press conference inside to address concerns on the threat at hand. Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo, explained the mystery behind the escape of Fluffy. “ Everything about her cage seemed normal,” said Durrell. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with.” It was also noted that the fencing was unbroken.

Not knowing where or how far the leopard could have traveled, Durrell was unable to answer questions after getting teary eyed over the possible fate of Fluffy. 

Police Chief, William Blair, assures the public that all that is possible is being done to locate the animal peacefully, but if need be, deadly force will be used. “If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer,” said Blair. “But if necessary, we will shoot to kill.” Police will be searching the grounds of the zoo for signs of the animal, but expect to move out into the town of Durham soon as they believe she is no longer within the zoo walls. The State Police, State Wildlife Department, as well as the National Guard will be in on the search.

As the search continues, chief zoologist Kitty Smith is making a few suggestions if a run-in with this animal occurs. “We urge anyone who encounters Fluffy to get slowly to the ground, go limp, and lay still,” said Smith. “Avoid eye contact at all costs.”

The Art of Journalism: Dying?

I saw an article the other day on PBS's Media Shift. The article analyzes the effect of twitter and other social media ont he foundations of good journalism. What I thought was interesting was that they argue that although twitter leads to perhaps more people informed with up-to-date news, twitter actually makes one's understanding of what is going on more shallow. The article argues that by condensing news into 140 characters, it makes it difficult for the reader to fully understand what is going on. It is then concluded that twitter news may not be as good as it seems, and could possibly undermine journalism and the work of trained journalists.

WUNH Experience

Sports Journalism is not only a passion of mine, but something that fascinates me as a whole. I have recently started being on the 91.3 WUNH Durham every week talking sports, and it has turned into another type of journalism for me. While the Boston Globe offers in depth analysis of games and teams, radio allows for the same thing but through collective conversation. I think that aspect is missing from sports journalism on paper. A lot of it is opinion based and to be honest it goes unchallenged. People can write whatever they wish about a team without argument  That is the best part about radio to me, personally. It's almost as if everyone on air must become verifiers of the news being presented.