Journalism, Objectivity and NPR

By Steve Byers

Photograph: Richard Drew/AP

I’ve been thinking about Juan Williams lately. First when I read of his firing by NPR after voicing comments on a Fox Network show about his concerns when flying on a plane carrying people dressed in traditional Muslim garb. Pretty stupid, I thought, but not that far removed from other stupid things I’ve heard on television lately.

Then in rapid fire came reading of a firestorm on the right from politicians and others who demanded de-funding NPR for the umpteenth time (the right seems to believe that NPR, which I consider the most balanced broadcast medium around, is a hotbed of liberalism—at least, it likes to attack public radio on a regular basis), then I read a comment in a Facebook string about the situation from Milwaukee conservative blogger and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee instructor Jessica McBride that “I’m not sure I ever saw him as inherently liberal OR  conservative. He was refreshingly nonpartisan, I thought”—she was commenting on another post calling him an “honest liberal.”

Starbucks: There’s an App for That

By Lauren Haberkorn

Photo from Seattle Daily Weekly online

Many students may find that one of the few benefits of midterms is the excuse to head over to Starbucks to load up on caffeine for late night studying—or in most cases—late night studying, wasting time on Facebook, and then studying some more. Facebook can be one powerful distraction, but provided the knowledge of the new Starbucks app—there may be a new reason for logging in.

Facebook has just teamed up with Starbucks to provide a great excuse for a study break. A new feature has just been added to the Starbucks Card Facebook App, the “Give a Gift” update, making it possible to buy a friend or re-load your own Starbucks Card without leaving Facebook—some serious multi-tasking.

This idea came from a customer, when the company launched a website called mystarbucksidea.com in 2008, allowing customers to submit ideas to improve the company. With this new app, users can load $5 to $500 onto any Starbucks card, check their balance, and see if they have enough My Starbucks Reward points for a free drink.

With more than 15 million Facebook fans, Starbucks cards are bound to become more popular—and possibly the number one excuse for college students to take a study break, load up on caffeine, and check their Facebook.

Lauren Haberkorn is junior majoring in Corporate Communication in the Diederich College of Communication.

Cyberbullying: What We Can Do To Stop the Growing Epidemic

By Jennifer Janviere

Facebook and social media have undoubtedly changed the methods that we use to communicate with one another, in both positive and negative ways. But the popularity of online networking has a troubling dark side that has recently been gaining more media attention: the growing problem of cyberbullying.

Bullying is nothing new to teenagers and in some cases, college students. But with the advent of the Internet and the exponentially increasing popularity of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, this problem has the potential to become more widespread and out of control than ever before.

According to an article on ReadWriteWeb.com, 32% percent of teenagers with social media profiles have experienced some form of harassment while online. This includes forwarding of private content and posting (sometimes embarrassing) photos of other users without their consent, or even verbal threats.