Skylar Wolfe Journalism

By Skylar Wolfe You may be a writer, but first and foremost, you're a person.  As you continue learning to report, keep in mind that your stories are also about people. You have the power to tell people's stories, to influence the public and to frame people in a certain light. As you probably already know, a main principle of journalism is to cause no harm.  Finding a balance between informing the public and protecting someone's feelings may be difficult. Of course, always tell the truth.  Hiding an important story can cause more harm than good, for you and for the public who relies on you for information. All of this is important, but as you have likely noticed, not every piece of information on the internet has been published with the same thought and care as it should be. You can avoid being tricked by looking for accurate attribution and sources, but also examine potential biases. We have all lived different lives, and therefore we all see the world differ

By Skylar Wolfe As COVID-19 continues to keep people inside, many people are choosing to give themselves a buzzcut,  CNN  reported. There are several possible reasons for the phenomenon, according to CNN, including the low maintenance required, the low-risk associated since many people are not leaving their homes or even a cultural statement. CNN continued to report the history of the buzzcut in the United States, from it’s prominence in the army to several counterculture movements. While the hippies shunned short hair, associating it with the establishment and consumerism, the punk counterculture embraced the look as a way to shock people, CNN reported. No matter what people’s reasons are, the hairstyle has made its comeback, according to CNN. The New York Times  published a guide with tips on how to “Give Yourself a Buzz Cut Now.”  “You can use whatever you have,” Sanam Yar, reporter for The New York Times, said in the article. “A beard trimmer or even (cle

By Skylar Wolfe Two cats in New York tested positive for the coronavirus after showing mild respiratory symptoms, CNN reported. The household cats, each from different parts of New York, are the first pets in the United States to test positive for the virus, BBC reported. Both are expected to recover. When the first cat was tested, none of the people in the household were confirmed to have the coronavirus, CNN reported. The owner of the second cat had previously tested positive for COVID-19. A second cat in the household did not show symptoms, according to CNN. Scientists told BBC it is unlikely that pets could transmit the coronavirus to people. A lion and a tiger in a New York zoo tested positive for the coronavirus at the beginning of April, according to CNN. The CDC recommended that pet owners limit their pets' interaction with people or animals outside of their household, BBC reported.

By Skylar Wolfe BBC featured a story from October 2018 about a family who escaped war to live near Chernobyl. The story is extremely compelling, and though long, kept me hooked all the way through. The quotes are powerful, as the mother of two girls describes how she'd rather risk radiation than be threatened by war and bombings. The story is enhanced with photographs of the destroyed towns around Chernobyl, alternated with the family playing, caring for animals and picking fruit. It is interesting that that writer chose to describe their living conditions in Chernobyl first, before describing the reason why they moved and the conditions of their former home. In a way, this adds mystery and keeps the reader hanging on until they find out why this happened. I would not change anything about this compelling story.

By Skylar Wolfe As COVID-19 continues to raise financial concerns, a zoo in Germany said they may slaughter and feed their animals to other animals as a last resort, The New York Times reported. The Neumünster Zoo in northern Germany, which houses over 700 animals, and more than 100 species, drafted plans for which animals to euthanize and in what order if they run out of money,  CNN reported. If the plan goes into affect, the last animal standing will be Vitus, the zoo's prized polar bear that stands almost 12 feet tall, according to The New York Times. The zoo previously relied financially on the annual 150,000 visitors, but revenue has dried up since its closure in mid-March due to a nationwide shutdown, The New York Times reported. The zoo told CNN they would rather euthanize some animals than to see them all starve.

By Skylar Wolfe A new series of "The Bachelor" featuring single musicians looking for love premiered Monday night,  CNN  reported. "The Bachelor: Listen To Your Heart" strives to recreate the love story told in the movie, "A Star is Born," as contestants battle to keep their spot in the mansion, according to CNN. Episode one featured eight men and 12 women who needed to couple up to keep their spot, which meant the inevitable elimination of four men,  USA Today  reported. Contestants range from ages 21 to 38, each with a unique musical ability, according to USA Today. Couples' musical performances will be judged over the next six weeks by celebrities, including Jason Mraz and Kesha, CNN reported.

By Skylar Wolfe A video from "The Greg Gutfeld Show," featured Saturday on the Fox News website, makes jokes about the Malaysian government warning women not to nag their husbands during quarantine. The host jokingly describes how the government "killed campaign - and its creator."  He then admits that the second part of that sentence was not true. Of course, the show is intended to parody current events, and thus is not strictly news, the fact that the offensive content appears on the Fox News website should be questioned. The speakers describe the ways in which they nag their significant others, describing that it is a normal behavior. Several also laugh about the campaign, describing it has "hilarious," despite its offensive and patriarchal nature. "You got two jobs buddy, fetch me some food, and take care of me when I'm sick," one speaker says about her husband. Of course, if the story was being delivered in a strict news fo

By Skylar Wolfe Two children were hospitalized after eating THC candy from a food bank in Utah, CNN reported. The 5- and 11-year-old girls consumed Nerds Rope candy infused with a high dose of THC that the First Baptist Church of Roy had provided, the Roy City Police Department said, according to CNN. More than 60 bags containing the candies were distributed, with each candy containing around 14 times more THC than a regular adult dosage, according to NBC News . Three other children also ate the candy, but were not hospitalized, police told NBC News. The 5-year-old girl was released from the hospital on Saturday, but the status of the 11-year-old is unknown, the CEO of the food bank told CNN. According to the food bank, the donation process is being changed to prevent another incident from happening, NBC News reported. There is no evidence that the donation was intentional, Police said to NBC News.

By Skylar Wolfe Two giant pandas in a zoo in Hong Kong mated on Monday after 10 years of failed attempts,  The New York Times reported. This does not guarantee that babies are on the way for Ocean Park's 14-year-old pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, The New York Times reported. An ultrasound will not detect a cub until anywhere from 55 to 310 days from now, the zoo said to The New York Times. The zoo has high hopes, as approximately 1,800 giant pandas are alive in their natural habitat, putting them one category away from being endangered, CNN reported. Ocean Park has been closed since late January due to the coronavirus, during which staff noticed mating behaviors, CNN reported. "Perhaps Ying Ying and Le Le just needed some privacy," The New York Times said.

By Skylar Wolfe A short video on CNN  reported that a Florida pastor was arrested for holding a large gathering despite a "stay-at-home" order. As is common with video and audio reporting, the format is different in several ways from newspaper reporting. Firstly, though the video does contain text, the sources are at the beginning of sentences instead of the end. For example, the first two sentences begin with "Pastor Howard Rodney-Browne said[...]," and "Police say[...]." It is interesting to see Rodney-Browne's speech played over the reporting; it gives the viewer a clearer picture of who he is and what the event was. Because of the video format, quotes do not contain the same kind of explanation, as hearing them directly from the source gives a clearer picture of what was being said. For example, a video of Sheriff Chad Chronister appears after the footage from the church meeting, in which he describes the charges Rodney-Browne faces.

By Skylar Wolfe Experts speculate that the tallest waterfall in South America disappeared due to a sinkhole created in early February, Newsweek reported. Ecuador’s San Rafael Waterfall on the Coca River, formerly a nearly 500-foot roaring cascade, has now become three smaller streams, Newsweek reported. According to Newsweek, a sinkhole upstream of the waterfall diverted the path, forming the smaller waterfalls. There is some debate over whether the sinkhole was a natural creation or a result of the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the river, CNN reported. The waterfall, which previously attracted thousands of people every year, has been closed to tourists and removed from Ecuador’s travel website, CNN reported. According to CNN, there are no plans to reconstruct the waterfall.