Spectrum

By WOUB Public MediaNews

Spectrum episodes

March 27, 2019 “Seven Days of Heroin” Reporters Talk about Series and Aftermath
A group of reporters at The Cincinnati Enquirer worked together to create a multimedia series that would tell the real story of one week of the heroin epidemic in the Cincinnati metropolitan area from many different aspects.

To tackle this voluminous task, it would take the commitment of the whole newsroom, says Dan Horn the leader of this reporting and photographic entourage. Once the group got approval from editors for this project, they launched into a massive effort to look at the heroin epidemic from many different angels.

They used data as well as personal stories of addiction, overdose, rehabilitation and death. They also examined the impacts of the newborns and babies of addicts, according to Anne Saker, who covers the science of health and the business of medicine for the Enquirer.

The result was that this series won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.

Horn says they were not looking for an award while assembling the story. Instead, they were seeking ways of bringing the scourge of the heroin epidemic into the minds and hearts of readers and viewers. They wanted to put faces on the statistics and show the problem of addiction at multiple levels.

For example, Saker followed one young mother who had an 8 month old child. The young woman was working her way through a rehab program and was about to emerge back into society. Saker then learned that after 10 days, the mother died from an overdose and the baby is now with relatives.

Horn and Saker say this type of story is not atypical. Yet, sometimes rehab does work and recovering addicts go on to lead productive and drug-free lives.

Horn and Saker also talked with the Spectrum Podcast about the emotional attachment they felt as reporters to the series and how many of the people in the newsroom felt real pain and anguish after the story had been published.

Horn and Saker were part of the Pulitzer Prize winning team that talked with students at Ohio University as part of the Schuneman Symposium on New Media and Photojournalism at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication.
40 min
March 20, 2019 Trump is Transparent Whether You like It or Not - Says Time Inc. Correspondent
Whether you like the content of his tweets or not, President Donald Trump will go down in history as one of our most transparent Presidents, according to Philip Elliott, a veteran Washington correspondent for Time, Inc.

Elliott claims that people know what the President is thinking or focusing on in real time if one follows the nature of his tweets on Twitter. This is especially true of this past weekend when the President delivered over 50 tweets on a variety of topics from Saturday Night Live’s parody of him, to John McCain, to Fox News, Fox News anchors, and corporate CEOs.

The scattering of topics, according to Elliott, also indicates to some White House observers that the President had nothing on his schedule and was attempting to grab the headlines away from the prior week’s rebukes by the Democratic House of Representatives and the Republican Senate.

Some pundits also believe that a common theme of Trump’s most recent “Twitter Blizzard” is that the President and his followers are being victimized by others in power in Washington and that Trump is a victim just like many people in his political base feel victimized. He contends he is a victim of Congress, the Democrats, the FBI, the Justice Department, the Special Counsel’s Office, former employees and the news media.

The analysis says that the more Trump’s base thinks he is being victimized like them, the more loyal they become to him.

In short, even though he is the President of the United States, Trump is framing himself as the “put upon outsider.”

While Trump paints his own portrait for 2020, the Democrats are fielding a record number of Presidential candidates. The field represents old and young, new ideas and well-worn Democratic principles. There are candidates steeped in issues, policy wonks, and there are candidates that have a following based upon personality and charisma.

Although this array is interesting from a reporter’s perspective, Elliott thinks that the Democratic Party could arrive at its convention in Milwaukee in 2020 without a predetermined candidate, thereby giving an advantage to Trump.

Finally, Elliott expressed concern over President Trump’s reference last week to potential violence from the military, police, and bikers. He also talks about the rise of white nationalism and anti-Semitism. He explains how reporters covering the White House are routinely subject to death threats based upon their profession, their heritage and/or their religion.
51 min
March 13, 2019 Rural Women Have Started and Led Monumental Women’s Movements
Until about 1920, rural women in the United States outnumbered urban women and they were the genesis of many historic women’s movement initiatives.

For example, rural women took the lead in temperance, women’s suffrage and gaining educational opportunities for women, according to Dr. Katherine Jellison, the Chairwoman of the History Department at Ohio University.

Dr. Jellison also is co-chair of the national Rural Women’s Studies Association whose purpose is to “improve the visibility of rural women’s studies research and activism around the world.”

Dr. Jellison describes to the Spectrum Podcast about how rural women in the Midwest founded the Women’s Christian Temperance Union the (WCTU) in the late 19th century to fight alcohol, alcohol sales and alcohol abuse.

The movement grew out of the concept that women were the protectors of the home and children and therefore, needed to curb alcohol abuse – especially among men. Women needed to protect the family from abuse, from the male wasting their limited money on alcohol and gambling and from other “immoral” and destructive behaviors.

The first WCTU group was organized in rural Hillsborough, Ohio (Highland County) in 1873. It was officially recognized in Cleveland, Ohio in 1874.

As rural women fought to advance the temperance movement, they realized they needed laws to curtail drink in addition to moral persuasion.

Therefore, according to Dr. Jellison, these women started the women’s suffrage movement to gain the right to elect representatives who reflected their beliefs in curbing access to alcohol.

The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919 and officially ratified on August 18, 1920.

In addition to its stands against alcohol and the push for women’s suffrage, the WCTU lobbied against child labor and in favor of opening educational opportunities for women.
36 min
March 06, 2019 India-Pakistan Conflicts Ratchet Up Tensions in an Already Volatile Region
The recent conflict between Pakistan and India makes an already volatile region of South Asia even more unstable.

Over the past two weeks, the two countries have battled with air strikes into each country provoked by a suicide bombing that killed 40 people in India on February 14. It was executed by a terrorist from the often contested Kashmir region.

This rare use of air power is a major concern because both of these neighboring countries are nuclear powers, says Michael Kugelman, a leading specialist of Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan and their relationships with the United States.

Kugelman is the Deputy Director of the Asia Program and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He is an author, editor, and contributor to major media outlets around the world.

The area of conflict is the Kashmir region controlled by India but always in dispute between the two countries and the indigenous population of the region.

The stability of this area is always important, says Kugelman, but because both countries have nuclear capabilities, any conflict between these two nations takes on heighten gravity.

He notes that these are two countries who have hated each other since they were partitioned from the former British Empire in 1947 and who are separated by a contested border (Kashmir), by religions Muslim and Hindu and both have nuclear arms.

Therefore, any disturbance in this region takes on global consequences and escalating military strikes generate grave concerns.

Normally, Kugelman states, that the United States has taken a “hands-off approach to this region except when there is a crisis.” Then the US tries to play the role of peacemaker.

Although the U.S. attempts to keep good relations with both countries, it has an expanding defense partnership with India which makes Pakistan uneasy.
35 min
February 27, 2019 Libel Laws Protecting Media Assailed by Trump and Justice Clarence Thomas
Decades long protections afforded media against libel actions are being threatened to be upended by the duo of President Donald Trump and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

President Trump repeatedly has said that is should be easier to successfully sue the news media for libelous stories and that protections now afforded the media should be eradicated. He claims he will lead that charge.

Just this month, he was joined in that belief by public statements made by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He is calling for the destruction of the foundational ruling in the 1964 case “New York Times v. Sullivan” which says, that to be libelous against a public official, reporters must publish falsities with actual malice.

That means that to be libelous a reporter must know that the statements in a story are false or publish them with reckless disregard for their truth, according to Dr. Aimee Edmondson, graduate director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.

Dr. Edmondson recently wrote an op-ed piece on the subject for “USA Today” saying that the easing of the standards of fault required for a libel case against a public official would stifle much needed investigative reporting and be detrimental to American journalism.

She also notes that much of the aggressive reporting of the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement and Watergate would not have occurred without the protections of “New York Times v. Sullivan.”

Dr. Edmondson is a journalism historian who often researches the nexus between journalism and legal issues. Her new book, “In Sullivan's Shadow: The Use and Abuse of Libel Law during the Long Civil Rights Struggle” will be published in August.

Dr. Edmondson told the Spectrum Podcast that it is “ironic” that Justice Thomas, the only African-American on the Supreme Court, would be leading the attack, along with Trump, to strip away protections that encouraged courageous journalism during the Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. Edmondson also explains the differences between American libel laws and those in Europe. She also notes that libel in the United States is a civil tort where one party sues another for money damages. It is not a criminal act as it is in many other countries.
38 min
February 20, 2019 Iran’s Strength is the Primary Target of the Trump Team in the Middle East
When the dust settles from U.S. troop withdrawals in Syria and Afghanistan and troop build-ups in Iraq, the primary target of American hostility in the Middle East is Iran, according to Dr. Ziad Abu-Rish, an expert in Middle East history, social movements, popular protests and U.S. Middle Eastern policy.

He says, that while other troops are coming home, some of President Donald Trump’s advisors are “openly calling for military action and more sanctions against Iran.”

Dr. Abu-Rish, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Studies certificate program at Ohio University, says that there definitely has been an “escalation of anti-Iranian rhetoric” by the Trump Administration and especially from National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Trump is even proposing more troops in Iraq to “keep an eye on” the activities of Iran, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its revolutionary government. There even has been talk by the Trump group of giving nuclear capabilities to Saudi Arabia as a protection against Iran.

Meanwhile, concerns are still present as Pres. Trump announces that the U.S. troops are coming home from Syria and Afghanistan.

Dr. Abu-Rish and other observers are concerned that the U.S. might just withdraw troops without negotiating any terms of withdrawal and leave allies like the Kurds abandoned to eventual conflicts with Turkey.

While withdrawing troops from the region is considered a positive by most foreign policy experts, it is not considered advisable to do so without negotiated settlements and negotiated terms. Dr. Abu-Rish says that even if the U.S. withdraws ground troops, U.S. bases will still remain in the region and U.S. will have open access to “ports of call.”

He also states that Trump’s statements about totally defeating ISIS are overblown and not realistic. Dr. Abu-Rish states that American bombing of alleged ISIS strongholds in Syria has cause grave “collateral damage” to civilians. It is out of this devastation that ISIS or its progeny might rise again.

Although American foreign policy in the Middle East sometimes seems ad hoc and haphazard, Dr. Abu-Rish says that one thing is certain. The Trump team has now targeted Iran to be the primary adversary in that region and American actions against Iran will continue to escalate.
39 min
February 13, 2019 Blackface and Other Racist Symbols Still Plague Our 21st Century Society
Despite advances in civil rights in our country’s history, our society, in the 21st Century, is still plagued by racist symbols such as “blackface” and other racial stereotyping.

It has been recently brought to the public’s attention through the publication of a blackface photo involving the Governor of Virginia and the admission by that State’s Attorney General that he appeared in blackface while in college in the 1980’s.

Such denigration has continued in various forms to allow Caucasians to feel superior to other races and especially African-Americans, says Dr. Akil Houston, Associate Professor of Cultural and Media Studies at Ohio University.

Dr. Houston focuses his scholarship on the fields of Africology/African-American, Cinema, Cultural, and Gender Studies. He believes that pop culture is a fertile source for the study of ideologies and racial stereotyping. Additionally, Hip-hop is one of his scholarly interests.

He traces the history of “blackface” and other racist symbols and stereotypes that still prevail in our society. He has written a text about the topic – “Beyond Blackface: Africana Images in US Media.”

He notes that blackface originally started in the north in ghetto neighborhoods shared by poor Irish and African Americans. Although it did not begin as totally disrespectful, the practice quickly became racist and a way for whites to exaggerate and mock alleged racial stereotypes of African Americans.

It was perpetuated by the rise in popularity of Minstrel Shows and the blackface performer Al Jolson, who starred in blackface in the early “talky” movie “The Jazz Singer.”

The early radio program “Amos and Andy” was exceedingly popular. However, it was about a black neighborhood and its allegedly stereotypical residents. The roles were played on radio by white men mimicking being black. It was a form of “audio blackface.”

Blackface seemed to be disdained in the 1960’s and 1970’s as a result of the Civil Rights Movement but made a comeback in the 1980’s on college campuses as affirmative action sought to bring more African Americans and other racial minorities to campus.

Even after its long history of being a racist act and symbol, about one-third of Americans surveyed recently by the Pew Research Center found nothing wrong with whites using blackface at Halloween. This survey was done before the news broke in Virginia. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/11/about-a-third-of-americans-say-blackface-in-a-halloween-costume-is-acceptable-at-least-sometimes/
44 min
February 06, 2019 Religion & Science are Bound Together by Public Policy and Political Authority
A new study will examine how the relationship between science and religion impacts political power, social authority and culture, according to Dr. Myrna Perez Sheldon, assistant professor of Gender and American Religion at Ohio University and editor of “Cosmologics,” a magazine that is the project of the Science, Religion, and Culture Program at Harvard Divinity School.

Dr. Perez Sheldon believes that too often we become fixated on whether science and religion are polar opposites of one another and whether if one believes in one it precludes any belief in the other. She feels that concentration purely on science versus religion begs many more important questions.

Instead, Dr. Perez Sheldon thinks we should dig deeper and examine the relationship of religion and science and the impact of both on our political debates and cultural decision-making. She cites that in modern times that both “scientific knowledge and religious institutions are involved in debates over contentious topics such as reproductive technologies, immigration policy, environmental protection, and healthcare.”

Her most recent grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation will enable her and her colleagues to study questions such as: Who should citizens trust to make decisions about their health and bodies? Who decides whether public funds should be used to support access to contraceptives and/or abortions? And, what uses of science and technology should be considered unethical by the state?

Critical Approaches to Science and Religion also will sponsor a symposium and an edited work from scholars studying this relationship. Additionally, Dr. Perez Sheldon will be piloting a new curriculum at Ohio University to address these issues.

If you wish to explore this topic beyond the Spectrum Podcast conversation with Dr. Perez Sheldon, go to the magazine “Cosmologics”: a magazine of science, religion and culture. https://cosmologicsmagazine.com/

The magazine shifts discussion away from science versus religion and instead examines looks at the impact of each on matters such as race, gender, and inequality.
36 min
January 23, 2019 Immigration Deadlock Strangles Congressional Initiatives & Real Reform
As President Trump is deadlocked with Congress over border wall funding, the government suffers a partial shutdown and true immigration reform is put on the back burner.

The fight over border wall funding is distracting Washington from making true immigration reform, according to Dr. Andrew Selee, the President of the Migration Policy Institute – a fact-based institute seeking to improve immigration and integration.

Most Americans are in favor of controlled immigrations, according to Dr. Selee. But, immigration laws and loop-holes certainly need reform.

However, lawmakers can’t grapple with true reform while they are entrenched in positions about the border wall being proposed by Trump and part of the federal government remains shut-down. These are distractions away from a true immigration overhaul.

Dr. Selee also defines our immigration problems and describes the distinctions between illegal immigration and requests for asylum. He notes that most of the people currently seeking asylum from fearful conditions in their countries are from Guatemala and other Central and South American countries and not from Mexico.

Dr. Selee points out flaws in the arguments of both sides. He notes that the President is not correct when he says most hard-drugs come through illegal immigration or asylum seekers. Instead, they are ferried into the country in vehicles, planes and ships through ports of entry.

He notes that some in opposition are incorrect when they say that some walls don’t work. Dr. Selee notes that at some parts of the border walls are a proper deterrent whereas in other places walls would not work at all.

He is hopeful that politicians and policy-makers can pull back from current brinksmanship and delve into true immigration reform matters.

Prior to the Migration Policy Institute, Dr. Selee spent 17 years at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. and founded the Center’s Mexico Institute. He also served as Vice President for Programs and Executive Vice President.

He has written several books including his most recent: “Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together published by Public Affairs in 2018.
36 min
January 16, 2019 Wildlife Conservation in a Warzone: Perils and Triumphs in Afghanistan
A new book, “The Snow Leopard Project and Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation” has been recently authored by Dr. Alex Dehgan.

Dehgan is an entrepreneur, expedition leader, diplomat and development official who specializes in creative science, technology and leadership.

The book is about his efforts as the Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Afghanistan Biodiversity Conservation Program.

In the middle of a warzone, Dr. Dehgan helped created the first national part, established biodiversity laws and curtailed the illegal trade in wildlife. Currently, there are four national parks as a result of the efforts of his team.

Dr. Dehgan uses specialized innovative approaches using entrepreneurship and technology to solve global conservation issues. He also talks about how he incorporated the people of Afghanistan into the projects and the cooperation he received from various indigenous groups.

He has had experience working in 90 countries and six continents. He is the founder of a relatively new company, Conservation X Labs which uses high tech approaches to solving long-standing problems.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Dehgan was the Chief Scientist for the US Agency for International Development (USAID). There he grew the Office of Science and Technology into a $100 million research program in just four years.
35 min

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