Archives for July 2017

Get The Scoop: How To Break Into Journalism

If you have your sights set on breaking into journalism, you have many different possible entry points, but all have the same basic requirements. You need to be curious, ethical, passionate about accuracy and have a strong drive for good storytelling.

Those foundational credos apply to all platforms—text, digital, audio, video, visual, data, graphic as well as social media. The good news is there are more outlets domestically and internationally looking for journalists to create content remotely than ever before in history.

Opinion: ‘Values’ Are Relative When Rooting for Your Political Team

In his wary optimism after the U.S. Senate voted to proceed with debate on dismantling President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act and replacing it with, well, something, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he and his supporters were “not out here to spike the football.”

In this case, the cliched sports metaphor fit.

Politics, more than ever, has come to resemble a depressingly repetitive sporting event: Judging an idea’s worth depends on which team supports it. And the opposing team is — always the New England Patriots.

The Ongoing Health Care Battle

One step forward, but a long road ahead. That sums up what’s happening with the Senate health care debate. WCCB’s political contributor, Mary C. Curtis, weighs in.

Friday News Roundup: WFAE ‘Charlotte Talks’

Major League Soccer executives were in Charlotte this week to take a look at the Queen City’s viability as a MLS expansion team. What did MLS President Mark Abbott say during the visit? And what was the response from elected officials, the business community and soccer enthusiasts? We find out.

The Carolina Panthers announced this week that General Manager Dave Gettleman has been fired after four seasons with the team, which included a trip to the Super Bowl. Former General Manager Marty Hurney may be named the interim GM- what will this mean for the Panthers’ season? We’ll discuss.

In Charlotte Election news, Democrat Joel Ford has filed for mayor on Tuesday. Braxton Winston filed for City Council, and two area mayors are not seeking re-election

And city council member Dimple Ajmera raised eyebrows, especially among local Republicans with her statement on a local television show that Republicans who support Donald Trump have no place on city council or in the mayor’s race.

Host Mike Collins and the roundup  reporters bring us up to speed on the week’s news on the Charlotte Talks Friday News Roundup.

Guests:

Tom BullockWFAE reporter.

Ann Doss Helms, reporter for The Charlotte Observer.

Erik Spanberg, senior staff writer at the Charlotte Business Journal.

Mary C.Curtis, columnist at Roll Call and a contributor to other publications including WCCB News Rising and NBCBLK.

How Women Can Lead Unifying The Country

Now it’s time for women to get to work on the biggest domestic job of our time: putting the country back on a course of civil public conversation.

The recent annual release of the American Time Use Survey confirms what women already know: It’s up to us to clean house. Once again, women spent more time—about 30 percent more—doing housework than men. For most women, the surprise is that the number is so low.

Now it’s time for women to get to work on the biggest domestic job of our time: putting the country back on a course of civil public conversation.

As an African-American journalist and a white author/college professor, we’re already practicing what we preach. We’ve spent the past year bringing together a room of 20 diverse leaders, helping them develop strong public voices. We’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, how important it is to support each other, to bolster our own unique strengths while watching out for each others’ inevitable blind spots.

Opinion: For Whom and What Do Faith Leaders Pray?

Were their prayers answered?

White — most of them, anyway — evangelicals, recently photographed laying hands on President Donald Trump perhaps were praying that the proposed Senate health care bill, the one estimates predicted would result in millions losing care or Medicaid coverage, would fail.

And it did.

Or maybe not. Who knows what a person prays for in his or her heart?

Should Major League Soccer Be a Charlotte Priority?

CHARLOTTE, NC: Soccer fans are becoming more vocal about bringing a professional team to Charlotte. But a MLS team could be a victim of other funding priorities.

City leaders will talk about money for a new stadium during an economic development meeting on Thursday.

How has Charlotte handled funding for other sports franchises in the past? What is the main issue that needs to be addressed for city leaders to get on board?

WCCB’s political contributor, Mary C. Curtis, weighs in.

Journalist Mary C. Curtis on Police Brutality

Journalist Mary C. Curtis is an award-winning multimedia journalist in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has worked at The New York Times, the Charlotte Observer, as a national correspondent for Politics Daily, and as a contributor to the Washington Post.

One of her areas of expertise is the topic of police brutality, especially as it pertains to the lives of Black women and men across the nation. She joined KSFR’s Mya Green by phone to discuss the history of police violence in America and the current state of affairs.

Opinion: Demanding Dignity From Leaders Comes With a Complicated History

The room — 14 feet, 8 inches wide and 13 feet long — has no windows. It had been a restroom at the Monticello home of Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. But now, the small room adjacent to Jefferson’s, the one historians believe once belonged to Sally Hemings, will be restored and given its due, as will the enslaved woman who evidence indicates was the mother of six children of the third president of the United States.

As the current president, Donald Trump, is often lambasted for lowering the dignity and honor of the office, the news coming out of Monticello — where the role of its enslaved people is belatedly a part of the historical presentation to visitors — is a bracing reminder that our leaders have always been flawed. Founding Father Jefferson wrote stirring words of equality while owning fellow human beings.

CMS Superintendent Raises Eyebrows Over Staff Hires, Raises, New Positions

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools new superintendent has officially been on the job for less than a month but his recent staff hires, pay raises, and creating of new positions have already raised some eyebrows. For example, Dr. Clayton Wilcox  created a “culinary manager” job and hired the husband of the chief of staff to fill the position for $85,000 / year.

Mary C. Curtis offers some perspective on how this could impact a vote on the district’s $1B bond package that will be on the November ballot.