Japanese Internment Memorial

I have walked passed this building many times and never knew that this was inside. The vignettes I found to be the most interesting was at the entrance there is a bronze memorial dedicated to Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. This memorial stands at about five feet and tells the history of the Japanese Americans who were interned. The memorial shows figures in houses, coming off of boats, and working among other things. It was a very interesting piece. As I learned more about this piece I found out that the sculptor was Ruth Asawa who was interned at the age of 16. Another piece I found interesting was the panel that had a copy of the relocation instructions along with a map of the locations of the internment camps with the populations at each campsite. The next panel is called “Hysteria of War” and shows Japanese Americans boarding a train. With them are their belongings. Their faces are somber and most of them are looking down and have sad faces. Many of the women are hold young children in their arms. Next to the train are guards with big rifle looking guns. Just in case they get unruly. These people boarded the train to take them to the Santa Anita race track where they were many of them were held in horse stalls for close to six months. In the center there is a big watchtower glooming over the Japanese at the camp. It reminded me that “big brother” is always watching. In the panel there are scenes of the Japanese eating in the mess hall and even playing volleyball and baseball on the camp’s grounds. With guards watching from the watchtower of course. Like I mentioned before, I have walked passed this building many times before and never knew what the panels were about. Now I have more of an understanding and knowledge of the Japanese presence in San Jose and why there is Japan town in San Jose as well.

Word Count: 337

MIXT GREENS Broadcast

Blog Post Week #14

With the end of the semester upon us, it seems that teachers pile on the assignments. One assignment I have never enjoyed or seen the benefit in was group assignments. That is until now. For my organizational communication class we had to conduct and intervention project with a local non-profit organization. For this assignment we had groups of five people. We chose to do our project on The American Red Cross. For this we each had to conduct to personal interviews with representative’s form the organization. Together we created an interview guide to use and have consistent questions. So far the project was off to a good start. Then came the task of getting contacts for the group. This was not terribly difficult. We ended up finding enough contacts for all five of the members of the group. The struggle was with getting and ensuring that everyone conducted their interviews and on time. This is where the group fell apart. Out of the five members, only two completed the interviews thoroughly and on time. Being that I am someone who likes getting good grades and works hard to get them, I was not going to leave this assignment in the hands of the members of my group who did not pull through. In the end, myself and one other group member completed the project. We wrote the paper, designed the presentation, and put the whole package together. When the assignment was all done and completed, I felt no relief just exhaustion. When I was working on one portion of the assignment, my sister called me to try and arrange a time to get together and have dinner. She could sense the frustration in my voice and asked me what was wrong. I explained to her the group project and said “why do you do group projects in college? I just don’t get it!” My sister, being a graduate two years ago from the University of San Francisco, said to me that in college she never understood why professors assigned group projects but that when she was out of college and in the “real world” she realized that life is a group project and that was preparation. So in the end, what I learned is that I have a lifetime of group projects ahead of me where I am going to have to work with people I may not get along with or like or they may not pull their weight. But I will have to learn to deal with it and do the best job I can do.

Word Count: 431

Blog Post Week #13

Black Friday
Many of you already know that today is Black Friday. For people like my sister, this is her favorite unofficial holiday, literally. She lives for Thanksgiving just to go shopping the next day. For those of you who don't know what Black Friday is I'll explain. Black Friday for some is the best day of the year, while for others it is the worst. This is the day that people wake up at 4a.m. just get a good deal at Wal-Mart. Some people risk their lives staying out in the cold all night and risk getting trampled when the doors open in the morning. Here is a story from ABC 7 News about a women who was trampled today. I once worked in retail and Black Friday was nothing to look forward to. LOOONNNNGGGG lines, cranky customers, it is just a recipe for disaster. All week long you are bombarded with advertisements on television that stores open at 4 a.m. and have specials for the crazys that go there at these times. Is this what we are subjected to to get "good deal" and more importantly, are the deals really that good? Here is a list of discounts being offered posted on MSN.com. Headlines such as "Save 30%" and "Special Event" this is a marketers dream that people are in this much of frenzy to save a few bucks.

Word Count: 231

Fish Out Of Water

This past week I had a friend of the family pass away. Being that I am not Catholic I am literally a fish out of water when it comes to Catholic practices. Funeral’s in general are creepy, especially when it is an open casket. That’s right, open casket. So for those of you who are unfamiliar with how these ceremonies typically go, here is a recap. The night before the funeral, there is a rosary. The traditional rosary can last up to an hour or so. For each bead on the rosary there is a prayer. Just to let you know there are a lot of beads on the rosary. At the rosary I was unfamiliar with these prayers, while many of the others there knew them all by heart. Also many knew when the Priest would say a prayer and they knew exactly what to say after. Whether that was “thanks be to god,” “Amen,” or even “And also with you.” And then there is the body lying in the open casket at the front of the room. This was what everyone was looking at. Since I had never seen a dead person before, I was intrigued. My mom had always told me stories of when my Grandfather passed and had an open casket and how she never forgot what it looked like. Waxy is how she describes it. I would have to agree. The hands and face look waxy as if the body was dipped in a wax coating; creepy yet interesting. People would come to the front of the room and look at the body. Many were Catholics so they would cross themselves (father, sun, and holy spirit) traditionally done in this religion. I do not practice Catholicism, so I wondered if I should go up there and do I mimic what the others are doing to fit in? I paid my respects but I decided not to cross myself. The next day is the funeral. We went back to the mortuary in the morning to view the body one last time. If you wanted to place a note or memento into the casket you do that at this time. The casket is closed and then brought to the front and placed in the hearse. The whole time at the mortuary I was reminded of the movie “My Girl.” If you have ever seen this movie, you know why. We had a police escort, which is really retired cops escorting the procession. This is where you get to run red lights and stop signs. Then we went to the church and had a mass, which also takes about one hour. Again the questions arose, do you cross yourself like everyone else, and do you take communion, all of these questions for someone who literally was a fish out of water. After the mass is the drive to the burial sight. At this point, it was more like a funeral that I had been to before. Another prayer and the body is laid to rest. There really is no way to know what you are getting yourself into when going to a funeral. If you can, bone up on the religious practices or do what feels comfortable. Although I was a fish out of water, it was interesting and a valuable lesson to learn.

Word Count: 560

Blog Post Week #12

Yahoo and Chinese Journalists
The recent events between Yahoo and Chinese journalists have been a big discussion in two of my classes. In my introduction to public relations, we are discussing conflict management and how Yahoo dealt with this conflict. And in my organizational communication class, we have been discussing cultural differences when companies from one country (example the United States) go into another country (example China). These companies going into other countries have to abide by those country’s rules and customs of their culture. So basically what happened was that two Chinese journalists were arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison and according to some, it is all Yahoo’s fault. The journalists were told by the Chinese government not to report on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. The journalists forwarded this information to human rights activists. The Chinese government pressured Yahoo to turn over information about the journalists that sent out that information. Yahoo complied with the government and the men were then put into prison. Yahoo has just settled with the families of the journalists in an amount not released. I guess it is compensation for these families. It raises great questions as to weather this was ethical on behalf of Yahoo. What do you think, should they have done what they have done?

Word Count: 213

To read a full story click here.

Blog Post Week #11

McGurk Gives Public Relations Insight

Michelle McGurk, Senior Policy Advisor and Public Information Officer for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, spoke with Public Relations students on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. San Jose State students majoring in Public Relations attended the keynote speech given by McGurk, for the department’s annual PR Day.

McGurk informed the audience about what exactly she does for the mayor. She explained that her main focus is to “connect the mayor with the press.” McGurk prepares the mayor to be in front of the camera and to answer the press’ questions.

She also explained that most people think of a mayor’s press secretary to be in front of the camera answering tough questions from reporters, however that is not the case. “We want the mayor on camera, in front of the press as much as possible,” said McGurk. For a city as large and diverse as San Jose, McGurk explained that it is important for the city to see their mayor. Especially since the prior mayors for the city, were hardly seen by the public.

McGurk gave a brief history of her career in public relations. She started out as a news reporter for seven years. After reporting she worked for non-profits and community relations. She previously was the Senior Director for Media and Community Relations for the $1.7 billion Silicon Valley Community Foundation. At that position, McGurk managed press outreach for the organization and community and civic leadership.

McGurk was editor for a major trade magazine and decided to leave that position to work for political campaigns. She was the legislative aide and then chief of staff for former San Jose Vice Mayor Frank Fiscalini in 1995 to 2000. The problem with political relations is that “once the politicians term is up, it’s time to find a new job,” said McGurk.

She had no problem finding a new job, as she now works for the current mayor of San Jose. She explained that recently with the earthquake, she experienced an emergency first hand and how it plays out. She said everything went well and worked as planned and stated that “that night we did about fifteen to twenty press interviews in two hours.”

At the end of her speech, McGurk gave the audience some words of advice:
1. Be a news junkie. If you don’t watch the news you can’t pitch it. Know local and national reporters.
2. Networking, networking, networking. It is very important.
3. Very important to be able to write well and know grammar skills.
4. On a resume, you should highlight your experience in customer service. This shows you have people skills.
5. A few things she wishes she was told 20 years ago:
• Better to have a job you love than to make a lot of money.
• If you want to travel do it now.
• Start saving for retirement now, even if it is $10 a month.
• Only use credit cards for emergencies.
• Send handwritten thank you cards.

This was an informative speech. I learned a lot and found McGurk to be very interesting and the words of advice were great to hear from someone other than my mother.

Word Count: 537

Blog Post Week #10

Ads for Super Bowl are 90% Sold Out!

Can you believe it? It’s the beginning of November, halfway through the football season and the Super Bowl advertisements are nearly sold out. According to the article on Adage.com, “typically, networks have a few spots left as Game Day nears and usually have to sell them cheaply.” Increasing demand from automobile companies and movie studios has motivated the marketplace. In advertising, the Super Bowl is not really for the game, it is more like the Super Bowl of advertising. It has the most viewers out of any other program during the year. And as mentioned in the article, some tune in just for the ads. I know I do. The thought that the Fox network will probably sell the rest of the ad space for full price or an increased price is outstanding. While most of us aren’t even thinking about the Super Bowl yet, advertising companies sure are. And if you haven’t got a spot yet for the big day, as the saying goes, you snooze, you loose!

Word Count: 169

NPR Radio Interview

The NPR Radio interview I examined was the “Fresh Air” interview with Steve Carell on October 24, 2007, conducted by Terry Gross. The purpose of this interview was to promote Carell’s new move, “Dan in Real Life.” However, the interview is not limited to just his new movie but to previous movies he has done and shows he has and currently appears on. The interviewer new prior to the interview was to know what movies and types of movies he has done. Also what types of shows he has done and is currently on. Carell has been a correspondent on The Daily Show, and has also stared in the movies “Anchorman,” “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” and currently stars in the sitcom, “The Office” on NBC. Gross built up to asking him questions by playing audio clips from his work in these shows, and asking him if those were his ideas or questions on his character. She especially asked him questions on the character, Michael Scott on the show, “The Office” because that is his most developed character and a character he has to play week after week. Other questions Gross asked were “How did you or who did you get inspiration from in your life to play Michael Scott since you never worked in an office before.” Carell answered by saying he has received much of his inspiration for that character and others from life experiences with teachers and former employers. The same strategy of building up to questions, playing an audio clip, was also used for follow up questions. For example, she would play a clip and then ask a question or after he answers, she would ask a question that went deeper into the subject. There did not seem to be any relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. They seemed like strangers although they may have meet before. Listening to this interview, I have learned a lot about the interview process. Gross hardly asked any questions and that left Carell doing all the talking or telling. It was interesting to see that happen. Basically that means he is a good interviewee, which makes it easier on the interviewer. I found this to be interesting and a good learning tool.

Word Count: 372

Diddy...Brand Manager – Blog Post Week #9

The story, “He’s Gone By Puffy, Diddy and Now…Brand Manager” was posted on AdAge.com on October 24, 2007. The article is about Sean “Diddy” Comes is adding to his list of titles, including CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment, is adding another title of brand manager for Ciroc vodka. Diddy is responsible for all brand management decisions for the vodka including marketing, advertising, public relations, product placement and events. His plans are to turn the vodka company around and give the name more recognition much like he did for other alcohol companies like Patron, Crital, and Curvoisier. Planning to do this through his hip-hop songs and through videos, product placement, in these music videos. He has stated that Ciroc is the “official vodka for New Year’s Eve.” I found this situation to be interesting. What a great concept to place a successful hip-hop mogul in charge of all brand management. He has obviously been successful in the past with creating his own “buzz” with his career, and even helped other alcoholic companies, why not with Ciroc. As a bartender here in San Jose, I can attest that Ciroc is a vodka brand that is not that popular. Other vodkas such as Grey Goose, Belvedere, and Chopin are the front-runners in the vodka industry. In fact, we no longer carry Ciroc vodka at our location. After hearing this information, we may have to bring it back on. With Diddy behind this brand, this vodka is about to get really popular.

To read the story click here.

Word Count: 262

Extra Credit!

Campbell Union H.S. District Creates P.R. Campaign
I saw this report on ABC 7 News on October 22, 2007. I thought this story was interesting because it involved a school district, a P.R. firm, tax payer’s money, and it raised the question of ethics.

Here is a quick summary of the details. ABC 7 News received an e-mail (basically a press release) from Mackenzie Communications – “a San Francisco public relations and marketing firm trying to promote the Campbell Union High School District,” according to the report. The release was to raise interest in the station to do back to school stories on the district. Free publicity. The news station wanted t o know how did a California school district have enough money to hire a public relations firm. The station did some investigating and found out that on June 28, 2007, “the school board approved a six-month contract with Mackenzie Communications to provide marketing communications services.” The district would use money to pay for the services from a “voter-approved parcel tax Measure M, passed in 2004.” The purpose of this measure was to restore and maintain current programs, reduce class sizes, enhance campus safety, and to recruit and retain qualified teachers.

The question is, is the district using the money correctly? The tax payers were not told that this money would be used to hire a P.R. firm so is this a stretch? The district believes that through the marketing of the firm the district will be able to get publicity and recruit more teachers.

I think in a way, the district got what it wanted, publicity. Weather the use of this tax is ethical or not they are still recieving publicity on this topic. That was the purpose of hiring the firm. At the end of the story it is mentioned that a Spanish TV station has done a story on this district and a local newspaper. “And – now us.”

To read this story click here.

Word Count: 334

OBIT

Marta Irene Weissenborn Newsom
June 21, 1983 – August 15, 2085

Marta Irene (Weissenborn) Newsom passed away on August 15th. Marta succumbed to the battle with her cancer late that evening in the comfort of her home. Although she was 102 years old, she was still young at heart and very physically active.
Born and raised in Fremont, California, to her parents Kenneth and Charlotte Weissenborn. Marta was the youngest of the family’s three daughters, Karin Slack (1978 – 2075) and Linnea Chapman (1980 – present). She would often remember the family’s trips across the country as a young girl.
After she graduated for San Jose State University in 2009, she moved to Los Angeles and became well known for her event planning for numerous celebrity affairs. One of the celebrity events she planned, she meet her future husband, Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. They married in July 2015 in San Francisco. Newsom ran for Governor of California in 2018 and overwhelmingly won the seat. Soon after they started to have a family. Their children, Gavin Jr., Christopher, Ava, and Jacob.
In 2030, Newsom ran for president and served two terms. Their young family was considered to be the new “Kennedy’s” during his term. Marta fought for tougher laws to protect children and people in the spotlight from publicity. She succeeded to pass three bills that protect children and others in the public eye. These bills are still in effect today. Newsom’s presidency is well known for his installment of a national health care system that is still used today. After her husband’s presidency, the family returned to California where they still remained active in politics.
Former president Newsom passed away in 2051 from heart failure. Marta is survived by her four loving children, sixteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. There will be a public viewing of the body and remembrance in San Francisco until Wednesday. A private funeral has been scheduled for Friday afternoon at St. Marks Church in San Francisco. The family asks that donations can be made to the American Cancer Society in her name.

Word Count: 347

Sheild Law...Blog Post Week #8

On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed new legislation to protect journalists and their confidential sources. The bill was passed with bipartisan support in a 398 to 21 vote, which is far more than needed to override a veto threatened by President Bush. Recently, several high-profile cases involving journalists faced jail time if they did not reveal confidential sources. Although more than 30 states have shield laws to protect journalists in state courts, up until this point there was no protection for journalists at the federal level. The fight for a federal shield law has been on going for 30-years by media organizations to protect journalists from being forced to disclose sources in federal court. Clint Brewer, President of the Society f Professional Journalists said “today’s vote in the House is a victory for a free press and for the American people as much as journalists.” (According to the New York Times) I personally feel that this was a great step in the right direction for protecting journalists. I could not be happier that bipartisanship took place and protection for journalists was the result. Not to get too political but I feel that President Bush was going to veto the bill mainly because he is or could be scared of the skeletons in his closet. With this bill passing the House, all it has to do is pass the Senate and it will become law. With this Bush and other political figures could have many skeletons in their closet coming out to say, “boo.”

Word Count: 259

Mystery Character

You all know who I am. I am a prominent fixture in American Culture. I have been in the mainstream “spotlight” since 1993, although I have been serving the United States of America since 1976. I was born, March 31, 1948 in Washington, D.C. I spent most of my childhood between Washington, D.C. and Tennessee, which is where I now call home.

After scoring a 1355 on my SAT, I enrolled in the only college I applied for, Harvard University. I later graduated from Harvard with honors in June 1969. Although I strongly opposed the Vietnam War, I enlisted in the United States Army in August 1969. While stationed at Fort Dix, I married my wife, Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson in 1970. On January 2, 1971, I was shipped to Vietnam where I served for five months.

I became a United States Representative for Tennessee’s 4th district in 1976. I held this seat until 1982. In 1984 I became a United States Senator from Tennessee until 1993.

In 1992, a friend and colleague of mine took me on the “run” of my life that lasted until 2001. Since then, I have been seen on ballots and fought “hanging chads.”

I am usually seen wearing a suit and tie. Often I am holding my wife’s hand and waving at crowds that surround me. I usually have slicked back hair that is nicely quaffed. I am often seen behind a podium making important speeches and usually make gestures with my hands. I have a passion for “green,” you may even say an obsession. And because of this “green” obsession, I have even won an Academy Award and the Nobel Peace Prize. Who am I?

Click here to find out!

Word Count: 284

McDeaths...Blog Post Week #7

I found an article on prwatch.org that I found to be interesting. The article is called “McDeaths” and includes an excerpt from the book Inside Spin: The Dark Underbelly of the PR Industry by Bob Burton. This excerpt basically gives the background information about an incident in Australia involving a man named Brian Page. Page took his daughter to McDonalds one night and soon became vary sick and eventually died. Further investigation concluded that Page was not the only one with similar symptoms. Twenty-two other people reported similar symptoms and six of them, including page, died. The bacteria the ultimately killed page, Legionella, is found in poorly maintained water-cooled air-conditioning systems. Officials tracked the paths of the infected individuals and later discovered that they all entered the same McDonalds. This excerpt recalls how McDonalds placed “spin” on the incident. According to the excerpt, “McDonald's got a tip-off from someone in the Fairfield City Council, stating that it had been specifically named in the Health Department's draft report on the outbreak. With the benefit of advance notice, the company scrambled its crisis management team, comprising senior executives, PPR staff including its founder Peter Lazar, its advertising agency and company lawyers.” McDonalds feared that the report would be made public and scrambled to re-word the release to shift the blame. In all this story and incident reflects how a company can influence and place spin on a report. To read this article in full, click here.

Word Count: 244

Word of the Week #7

"Proselytizing"

Source: "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke" by Dean Kuipers

How it was used: Pg. 80 "Tom got into cocaine, and some of his employees got into it heavily, but he saw right away how coke and booze would destroy a man and began proselytizing for using weed as a means to stay off hard drugs."

Definition: (Verb) To convert or attempt to convert as a proselyte; recruit

Sentence: The school's proselyte was vary convincing.

Word of the Week #6

This week I found two words in the same sentence that I found interesting...

"Otiosity"

Source: "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke" By Dean Kuipers

How it was used: Pg. 29 "In the shaded and halcyon otiosity of summer, it's Mayberry all over, an overgrowth of massive maples and old asphalt shingles and derelict."

Definition: (Adj.) 1. Being at leisure; idol; indolent
2. Ineffective or futile
3. Superfluous or useless

Sentence: While on vacation, the executive had an otiosity attitude.

The second word...

"Halcyon"

Source: "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke" By Dean Kuipers

How it was used: Pg. 29 "In the shaded and halcyon otiosity of summer, it's Mayberry all over, an overgrowth of massive maples and old asphalt shingles and derelict."

Definition: 1. Calm; peaceful; tranquil
2. Rich; wealthy; prosperous
3. Happy; joyful; carefree

Sentence: California has halcyon weather.

Library Scavenger Hunt #23

The Martin Luther King Jr. Library has a multitude of art instillation's. At first, this assignment seemed quite don ting. However, because of the fantastic pamphlet on art instillation's found inside the library, I was able to find the answer. There are 34 art instillation's inside the MLK library. Although these 34 pieces are permanent fixtures within the library, there are also many more pieces that are rotated.
My favorite of these pieces is located on the fifth floor. This piece is tucked away in a corner that not very many people travel to. In the corner of the fifth floor stands a tall, beehive looking book case. This beehive holds the thesis volumes written by countless alumni of San Jose State University. This piece is called "skeptical" although I am not a fan of the name, I however think it should be called beehive. I find this to be interesting because it displays the hard work of students before me. I think it is great that these thesis' are kept on display in such an intriguing for all to enjoy.

Word Count: 181

Word of the Week #5

"Divisive"

Source: The San Jose Mercury News, September 27, 2007 in the article "The Barry Bonds Era: The End."

How it was used: "The most controversial, complicated, divisive athlete to ever play in the Bay Area - perhaps ever to play anywhere - said goodbye Wednesday night."

Definition: (Adj.) Tending to cause disagreement or hostility between a group of people.

Sentence: The abortion debate is a highly divisive issue.

Word of the Week #4

“Surreptitiously”

Source: The San Jose Mercury News, September 18, 2007 in the article “Video of Simpson Incident Surfaces”

How it was used: “Think you can steal my (property) and sell it?’ a man believed to be Simpson angrily says on the audio obtained by TMZ.com after it was surreptitiously taped by Thomas Riccio.”

Definition: Surreptitious (Adj.) 1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth. 3. Kept secret especially because it would not be approved of.

Sentence: Their affair went surreptitiously on for months.