Journalist, editor, writer, researcher
“The White House & The Press” was a project of the fall 2017 Fleischaker/Greene Scholars in First Amendment Studies program in Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting.
Ten students were selected as Fleischaker/Greene Scholars to spend the semester in a joint history and journalism class studying the relationship between the president and the media, both currently and historically.
The project was guided by professors, Western Kentucky University Provost and historian Dr. David Lee and veteran political writer and journalism Professor Amanda J. Crawford.
Zimmerman: Hey we’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there’s a real suspicious guy, uh, [near] Retreat View Circle, um, the best address I can give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, … Continue reading Black Lives Matter: ‘new civil rights movement’ requires new media
It was Oct. 8, 2016, a day which should have disqualified any other candidate from becoming president. Unless you’re Donald Trump. Last year, one month before Election Day, the Washington Post published a video and subsequent article of Trump and Billy Bush of Hollywood Access having “an extremely lewd conversation about women.” The tape was recorded on a hot mic during … Continue reading News? Opinion? What’s the difference and can the public tell anymore?
There’s a high probability many have seen the image above of a young black woman walking, sunglasses protecting her eyes — but perhaps not protecting them from the sun as much as from the mob surrounding her. In the photograph, you’re able to see a white woman of the same age standing behind her almost … Continue reading Little Rock Nine: a flashpoint for the media in civil rights coverage
“My name is Harvey Milk and I want to recruit you.” It was a line which Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the state of California (and one of the first in the nation) often used when speaking in front of a crowd. Milk ran for political office in … Continue reading The ‘Mayor of Castro Street’ fights beyond San Fransisco, for the U.S.
Doing a quick Google search of things you can do in D.C. provides thousands of results, but one of the first things to pop up is the National Mall. This long, grassy stretch is home to iconic monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. With the U.S. Capitol casting a shadow to the … Continue reading Who’s in? Who’s out? Memorials & monuments in D.C.
It was the spring of 1903 and Mary Harris “Mother” Jones was traveling to Pennsylvania to support 75,000 striking textile workers, 10,000 of which she estimated were children. Pennsylvania law prohibited children working before the age of 12, Jones, in her autobiography, recounted how “the law was poorly enforced and the mothers of these children often … Continue reading The ‘Most dangerous woman in America’ marched to meet Teddy Roosevelt
Much credit can be given to President Theodore Roosevelt for taking the press into the White House. In a figurative sense, he had a hand in forming what today has become a traditional White House press corps; in a literal sense, he welcomed them in from the cold, blustering rain one evening and gave reporters … Continue reading FDR’s familiarity with the press gave a still comparable twist on media relationships, but at what cost?
Nowadays, it can be easy to look at the relationship between the press and the president and say things are, in a sense, ugly and getting uglier. While this could arguably be a correct observation of today’s relationship between the press and the president, it obstructs the long history of the president always being cross with … Continue reading The First Amendment was made for criticism. Cherish it.
Andrew Henderson 