911 Emergency

911 Emergency
Justin Hill
5-2-19

A Child's Heroism

An Orangeburg girl is being called a hero. Authorities were called to Wilson Avenue this afternoon after a 6-year-old Laura contacted them. You can hear the child plea for help saying that "Somebody's hurting my mommy." According to the police, the victim Laura Burke was raped by neighbor Andrew Caspinwall. 

Laura could be heard on the recording telling authorities on how Caspinwall came in from the back door and hit her mother. The dispatcher described Laura as "timid" and also "calm" while on the phone with him. 

We were given access to some of the 911 call placed this afternoon by Laura

Dispatcher: "Don't hang up. Just put the phone down and go lock the door. Then come back, talk to me some more."

Girl: "My mommy. What'll happen to my mommy?"

Dispatcher: "We've got 3 police cars coming. They'll be there in a minute. Now go lock the door, and don't let anyone in until I tell you. OK?"

Girl: "I guess so" 

Dispatcher: "Hello? Hello? Laura, are you there?"

Girl: "I locked the door"

Dispatcher: "How old are you Laura?"

Girl: "6"

Dispatcher: "You're doing a good job, Laura. You have to be brave now to help your mommy. Tell me, is the man armed?"

Girl: "What does that mean?"

Dispatcher: "Does he have a gun?"

Girl: No. a knife."

Laura's heroic actions were praised by her mother and father. "I can't tell you how grateful I am for my daughter to called 911 and help save me." said Mrs. Burke. "Our daughter is very smart and courageous." said Mr. Burke.

Caspinwall was obtained and charged with the rape of Mrs. Burke. Bail was set at $250,000 and is being held at the Orangeburg County Detention Center. 

        

About Me

In my sports broadcasting class, we had to create an about me video which talks about ourself as well as the athlete or sports we are covering in a beat. My beat focuses on Serena Williams. You can view the clip below

5 Things You Should Never Say in a Job Interview

5 Things/Job Interview
Justin Hill
4-18-19

5 Things You Should Never Say in a Job Interview

Justin Hill

My copy editing class viewed a video by Don Georgevich who is a high performance job interview coach. Georgevich is also an author of 4 best selling books. The video which is on YouTube focuses on 5 things to never say in a job interview

• Don't talk bad about your previous company 

You should keep a positive outlook on your previous place(s) of employment. Even if you did hate your old job, you may have to lie. "You will get labeled cancerous" said Georgevich. Places of employment are not looking for anyone who bad mouths their workplace.

• Never say "I'll do anything" 

You should not shower the interviewee that you are desperate for a job. You should hold tight unto your values and be specific as to what you exactly want to do for the company.

• Never say cliche phrases such as "goal-oriented"

 If you have done previous things such as "being a leader," you should say "I have led people."

Put your accomplishments into context and let your actions speak for you.

• Don't say that you don't know how to do something

You should be willing to learn and show some type of understanding of what will be asked to perform. Georgevich insisted that you should say "let me think about it for a second."

• Don't ask what the company does

If you have to ask what the company does, then that means that you haven't done your research. This also shows that you have no excitement about the job. 

In the words of Georgevich "take that extra step before your next job interview and spend some time researching the position." With these 5 tips, you should be sure that you will land that job you desire.

The Times and Democrat Visit

T&D Tour
Justin Hill
April 11, 2019

Pressing The Issue of Newspapers

By: Justin Hill

Our copy editing class had the opportunity to go visit The Times and Democrat which is a local Orangeburg S.C newspaper. We were given a tour of the facilities by Lee Harter who gave us an depth look on how the newspaper operates. "Where do you get your news?" asked Harter. Students quickly shouted out social media. "Does anybody else get their news anywhere else besides social media?" It's a rarity that people even watch television anymore.

 Inside a room, students were shown the printing press in which the Times and Democrat newspapers were made. "We generally crank the press up around midnight" said Harter. This is to ensure that the days paper will be ready for distribution in a timely manner.











"Newspapers are dying!" Wait what? yes Harter said "Newspapers are dying" and he gave a great explanation as to why. "Newspapers have always been measured on paid circulations. Paid circulation keeps going down for multiple reasons. Millennials don't read print. If you do read the newspaper you are going to read it online." Harter said their team is still trying to figure out the right business model.

After talking about the printing press, students were then told about their website, social  media and the traffic that it accumulates. "Our Twitter traffic is unbelievably small compared to Facebook." A lot of older people aren't on twitter. They are mainly on Facebook thus resulting in the heavy Facebook page viewers.

In terms of Copy Editing, Harter stated that "It is incredibly hard to read a story for content while you are also over here reading it for sentence structure, and grammar, and all these other things that you are watching. Copy editors are people that refine a story. Harter made it clear that stories should be wrote so that people will be interested in reading the material.

Officer Life

Officer Life
Justin Hill
Mar 7, 2019

Local Police Thought his Life Was Over

Orangeburg police officer Carlos Vacanti thought he was going to die. Vacanti responded to a call about a a suspect stealing from parked cars.

"I remember his eyes. They were cold, the eyes of a killer." Vacanti recalled that suspenseful night and events. "There's no doubt in my mind that he wanted to to kill  me last night just because I stopped him."

According to Vacanti, the suspect had a handgun in his waistband, and began shooting when confronted on the corner of Buckley street near SC State and Claflin University. "When I heard the shot, I thought he had hit me"

Five minutes later after Vacanti's backup had arrived, the suspect was found trying to break in a house to hide from the police. The suspect was apprehended and turned into custody.

Vacanti still remembers the bone-chilling encounter saying "I still smell the gunpowder this morning. I thought I was dead." 

The suspect is due in court next month.

### 

Broke, Busted & Barely a Fortune

Maria Montez and her companion of 10 years Sidney Qeuvedo are butting heads regarding a will. Instead of leaving Montez money, Quevedo is leaving it to his cocker Spaniel Samantha.

Samantha will gain the house as well as most of his $5 million dollar estate. Astonished, Montez said "I gave him the best years of my life."

Montez is seeking $2.7 million of the $5 million estate.

###

Library Resolution

Library Resolution
Justin Hill
Feb. 21, 2019

Christians Against Smut on the Internet Says No To Pornographic Material in the Library

By: Justin Hill

Christians Against Smut On the Internet (CASOTI) had a meeting today about the passing of the resolution to demand computers to be restricted to adults only. 

In the Fellowship Hall of Bellbuckle Interfaith Church, the christian group passed a resolution that demands computers in the Sunbright City Library be restricted to only adults and monitored by librarians.

The reason being is because people are using the computers to view pornography. One of the founders of the group Mary Edith Ricks said "I don't want my tax money going for providing pornography. If they want to poison their minds, then let them buy their own computers." 

After Ricks statements, the audience applauded and agreed to what she was saying. Offering a different perspective, one member in the audience raised the question of the First Amendment, but was quickly shouted down. 

Ricks urged members to show up at the City Council and Library board meetings to show that they were not playing and they want changes to be made. 

Analysis of The Post and Courier Newspaper

In my copy editing class, we had to analyze a newspaper. I decided to analyze The Post and Courier and incorporate the different news values from various stories within the paper. Here are my findings with the various news values:

• Conflict/Controversy - "Rural haven Awendaw faces realities of growth" talks about Awendaw which is a sparsely populated rural town in South Carolina that resides on the edge of a face growing city, but residents think that there isn't enough room for development. The town is approaching a build-out and there soon won't be any land left to develop. 

• Consequence (Impact) - "Teachers lobby for pay raise, respect" teachers from across the state protest at the state house for higher pay, and more respect. SC school system is one of the worst in the nation and teachers more input on the legislators' plans to overhaul education. 

• Prominence/Timeliness - "SC State plans series of events to mark Orangeburg Massacre" one of the most prominent events of the civil rights movement and it happened right here in Orangeburg on the night of Feb. 8, 1968. SCSU will hold events Thursday which will include showing Bakari Sellers documentary "While I Breath, I Hope" at the Fine Arts building at 1p.m. and a student re-enactment protest will occur at 4p.m.

Proximity - "Talks underway for Hollywood sewer fix" talks about how some leaders are concerned with the town being at 'bottom of list' of who benefits from a with Dorchester and Charleston. 

Novelty - "A pancake lover's paradise" instead of your typical iHop or Denny's, there are independently owned pancake house between Pawleys Island and Little River. These pancake houses include: Omega pancake house, Southern pancake house, Theo's pancakes, and Donald's pancake house just to name a few. 

Human Interest - "Running back reunion" La Rams Todd Gurley and New England Patriots Sony Michel reunited Sunday Feb 3 at the super bowl game in Atlanta. Before the game, Gurley said he was avoiding talking to his old Georgia teammate at least not directly. 

Features - "Apple opens new chapter amid weakening demand for iPhone" talks abut how Apple raised its prices for iPhones due to its low demands only for it to backfire. The revenue dropped 15 percent from the previous year. Apple's total earnings dropped slightly to $20 billion. 

All about Serena Williams

In my Sports Broadcasting class, we had to conduct an interview about our Beat which focuses on a sports team, or athlete. My beat is focusing on Serena Williams and I had the opportunity to interview Broadcasting student Stephen Mason. You can view the interview below.

LA Times,The Daytona News-Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In Copy editing we had to compare 3 newspapers that had similarities and differences within the front page headlines. With the help of Newseum, I decided to compare and contrast The LA Times, The Daytona News-Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The LA Times headline was "A new movement in L.A?" It talks about teachers on strike against the city's education inequality. Another headline which read "Trump retreats as Pelosi delays State of Union" involves Trump seeking an alternative as the speaker refuses the address until the government reopens. Other headlines include "A scene stealer yes, but an Oscar thief?," Cohen delays hearing, citing threats," and "Trumps Venezuela gambit."



The Daytona News-Journal headline "Panhandling limits pass"talks about beggars and how they will be dealt with by the city of Daytona. Other headlines include "The Race for business," Pelosi disinvites Trump," and "Local donors help unpaid Coast Guardsman, TSA workers."






A few of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution headlines consist of "Poultry lab fixes could cost taxpayers $4M," and "Shutdown hits those on housing aid."Other headlines include "Five die in shooting in FLA. bank," Experts: game brings sex traffickers," and "Voice of dissent joins development board."

All of these major newspapers include the stories of the government shutdown as well as Nancy Pelosi wanting Trump to delay the State of the Union address. 

NFC Championship Game

The NFC championship game was played Sunday with kickoff starting at 3:05 p.m. ET involving the Los Angeles Rams and The New Orleans Saints. This highly anticipated game was going to determine who went to this year's Superbowl game. Preceding the game, Fox sports commentators gave their predictions on who they think will go on to the Superbowl as well as their views on a few of the key players from each team. Micheal Strahan's prediction was "the Saints and the Patriots." Sideline reporter Erin Andrews said "Micheal Thomas says he doesn't care who he faces.

The Saints started off good in the first quarter scoring 13 points from two field goals from Will Lutz and a Garrett Griffin 5 yard pass from Drew Brees. The Los Angeles Rams began to catch up and throw some points of their own on the board during the second quarter with a 36 yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein and a II 6 yard run from Todd Gurley. Fast forwarding to the 4th quarter, the game was tied 23-23 with only 15 seconds thus making the game go into OT.

The real highlight of this nerve wrecking game was the controversial no-call. Drew Brees had thrown a pass at WR TommyLee Lewis and although Lewis seemed to be positioned to catch the ball, Rams DB Nickell Robey-Coleman hauled into him and appeared to hit him with his helmet. Many spectators though this play should have penalized for pass interference, but the officials did not say a word. WLWT sports reporter Brandon Saho tweeted "This might be the worst no call in NFL history" while showing a replay of the no call on his twitter account.

I feel as thought the refs known what had happened between Lewis and Coleman, but decided to act like they were apart of the birdbox film and keep their blindfolds on. I think this would have also changed the outcome of the game as the LA Rams Advanced to the Superbowl with a 57 yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein. It is going to be a while before the controversy of this game dies down. Alvin Kamera routes were also highly praised throughout this game on social media.

The Rams will go on to face the NE Patriots at the Superbowl on February the 3rd and I predict that the NE Patriots will come out on top, but who knows? We just have to wait and see.