The tenth of several stories by Hunter students describing their communities and especially focusing on their methods and strategies for getting important news information that could effect their lives.The project was inspired by the reported death of newspapers around the country followed by future obits about the demise of the news print industry. Requiescant in Pace.
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My immediate neighborhood, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, consists of mostly Russian and Chinese people. Most recently, more African Americans have been moving in. Bensonhurst use to be predominantly Italian and Indian, and some are still residents in the neighborhood but not as many as before. In Southwest Brooklyn where Bensonhurst is located, cancer is a lethal killer, the primary cause of death and the main reason for premature deaths, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which is a primary source of demographic information about my community.
In general, residents are less likely to visit the emergency department or even know a personal doctor. One in five report being uninsured or went to emergency rooms without health insurance. More specifically, women are least likely to be screened for cervical cancer and residents are less likely to be screened for any other type of cancer.
One in five smoke and die from heart disease, which is higher in this community compared to other communities in New York City. However, more than half the residents are also attempting to quit. Even though more people die of heart disease here compared to other communities, less seek hospitalization. Obesity is known to be a contributing factor to heart disease; ironically, obesity in Southwest Brooklyn is 18 percent; that is a lower percentage compared to Brooklyn overall.
One in 14 adults in this area also known to have diabetes, but that is lower compared to Brooklyn and New York City, according to DHMH. Also, less than half the residents in this area are engage in exercise or physical activity which can b be therapeutic. About forty-four percent exercise at least three times a day. However, hospitalization for mental illness is lower in this area. In Southwest Brooklyn, five percent of the residents experience serious psychological distress and a significant number report receiving help for depression. Alcohol and drug related deaths are fairly low and 13 percent of adults report drinking more than five drinks at one sitting. Hospitalizations for binge drinking is also lower in Southwest Brooklyn as well as for drug abuse.
In terms of physical well being, older adults register below the desired target rate of those receiving flu shots. They safeguard their homes and children. In terms of birth rate and pregnancy, women in Southwest Brooklyn have a good amount of healthy babies and are less likely to experience late or no prenatal care. Teen pregnancy and birth rate are also lower in Southwest Brooklyn.
In Brooklyn as a whole, the property crime rate is higher than violent crimes, according to DHMH stats. This borough is safer than 33 percent of the cities in the United States. One’s chances of becoming a victim of violent crime are one in 144. From highest to lower reported crimes are assault then robbery then rape and finally murder. Reported assaults are nine out of 228, whereas reported murders are 179. One’s chances of becoming a victim of property crime is one in 44. Theft in Brooklyn is significantly higher than burglary.
Brooklyn residents complain about blocked driveways, illegal parking, and establishments violating smoking laws. There have been a moderate number of complaints about vagrant vehicles, noise and rodent control. There have been even less complaints regarding disorderly conduct amongst the youth.
I do not follow mainstream broadcast news reports very often or thoroughly. I suppose it is because I do not find an interest in the selected topics – car accidents, shootings and other typically tabloid TV fare. I feel I cannot change issues that may show up in broadcasts, and I also believe that that kind of news does not affect me directly. I understand that the second reason can be perceived negatively because there is always something residents can do about issues in their communities or for the nation. The difference of one extra vote during elections, for example, can make the slightest difference.
However, I presume that my mind set is like the typical New Yorker, which is to focus on the individual. In which case, I am more focused on my own life and that which is important and directly effects me here and now, such as school, work, family, friends, and so forth. I am concerned about things that go on in my communities, such as Hunter and my neighborhood, Bensonhurst, which is located in Southeast Brooklyn.
I do entirely block out mainstream news whether it be local, international, or anything in between; there are some issues that I feel are important, but I assume just not important enough for me to research myself. Also, because I do not read or watch the mainstream news often, I do not keep up to date about issues that could affect me so I cannot research or read what I do not know.
In my household, my parents are the ones who read news and so I learn from them by word of mouth. My mother will read the news on the Web and I believe my father, an U.S. postal worker, reads newspapers or watches television when he is on his lunch break at work in the Post Office.
There are times I use aol.com, to read the news about my neighborhood, community, city, states, and country. How often do I use Internet Explorer browser to read the highlighted topics on AOL.com? I would say maybe four or five times a day depending on how long I am at home. However, that has greatly changed because recently I have not been using Internet Explorer, I switched to Google Chrome, which does not direct me to a homepage; it only displays my favorites and most visited websites.
In terms of my Hunter community I actually receive news through the Hunter Gathers emails (from Career Development) or through emails sent from faculty at Hunter. In terms of the NYU Langone Medical Center community where I currently work, I also hear news pertaining about NYU through co-workers or notices posted on the walls. For example, the change in the name of NYU Medical Center to NYU Langone Medical Center or news about a death in the staff is posted on the walls in the buildings.
Also there is a large influx of medical magazines and so I browse through those occasionally, but those are only pertaining to the medical community. I also learn of city, state, country and world news by word of mouth from co-workers, usually during a lunch break. As I mentioned earlier, my mother reads the news online, usually the Daily News and the New York Times. I work with my mother so, occasionally, about once a week, I will read the news.
I usually just look at what is highlighted and largest on the page. Occasionally I look at the lower portion of the webpage and just look at the titles of the articles. I use to read AM NY given outside of Hunter. I stopped quite a long time ago because I simply was not very interested in the articles and also because I do not find it to be a reliable news source.
As I have been told, and also as I have noticed, AM NY is more like a secondary news source rather than a primary. It’s news and information is a second-hand reiteration of what other newspapers like the Associated Press, Times or The Daily News publishes. On the rare occasion I do read a newspaper, it may be the paper of the person adjacent to me in the train; usually it is the NY Times. I cannot give a specific amount of times I do this, but I would say maybe once every other week.
I also hear news on the radio when I am in the car. I listen to the news in the car about three or four times a week. Usually, it is either one of the music stations and a DJ will mention an important news topic that is on 1010 WINS. Radio is my second source of the news. Most often I simply learn about local or world news from friends and family or I read online.
In my household we do not watch the news much at all, I am not sure why but we just do not. Although, the interesting part is that there are various times that we do, and those times are right before or after a program we have recorded on our DVR. My father and sister record so many shows and so usually before or after the show a news commercial or infomercial will come on stating the topics to be highlighted at 10 or 11 p.m.
On the rare occasion we watch the news because it is preceding a show that one of my family members wishes to watch. I cannot say how often this happens. Sometimes, we watch Fox news, which I strongly dislike. A documentary on the Fox news channel convinced me to dislike Fox. It opened my eyes to how Fox reports its news. It attracts many viewers and influences other news channels to report news in the same manner as Fox.
Regarding newspapers, I am aware there is only one very popular news stand that has all the newspapers one can think of to purchase. I know of two others that sell but they do not have as much business. The most popular newsstand is the second to last store on the corner of Bay Parkway and 86th Street, located right in front of the busiest train station stairwell, the Bay Parkway stop on the D and M train line, and next to a bagel shop and Chinese bakery and coffee shop. The convenience makes it easy for commuters.
As for the other newsstands, one is located near one of the other three train station stairwells, along 86th Street and the other is located in front of a bus stop, along Bay Parkway. Recently I have seen the placement of newspaper boxes containing Chinese newspapers, which use to only be located in the Chinese bakeries. I assume it is only a matter of time before there are Russian newspapers because there is such a large Russian community now.
My neighborhood is a good one, not the best because crime does occur every so often. I have seen at most two robberies since I have been here; I moved here when I was 1. A reoccurring issue in Bensonhurst is drunk driving or just terrible driving in general. I have seen the wreckage of about eight or nine car crashes. Most have been accidents between a car and a corner house. I know of one house in particular that has repaired its brick fence at least five times because a car has always crashed into its fence; it is located at the end of my block on the corner of Benson Avenue and Bay 31st street.
The other area that has the most accidents would be Bay Parkway going onto the Belt Parkway or into Caesar’s Bay. This area is most known for drunk driving, I suppose; the community went so far as to place a light sign stating the offense of drunk driving. Fires and accidents involving elderly people are also common in my neighborhood because I have seen many fire trucks go by and also ambulances. One in particular has caught fire possibly two or three times in one year and always the second floor of that house; but different families lived there.
I am not sure if crime rate has risen in my neighborhood since the recession, but I have noticed more car sirens at night.
The largest physical change in my neighborhood has been the rise of condos and the topic of everyone’s mind is this: Who is buying? Why are they building these condos? How expensive are they? Many stores have also closed. Mostly stores on 86th Street have closed; some new but similar stores have opened in others place.
Although I live in Bensonhurst, I also spend a large amount of time in Springfield Gardens, Queens. This area seems highly populated with African Americans. It has a significant crime rate reflected in reports of rapes, gun fire, and drug trafficking. It does not have the convenience of Bensonhurst since most shopping areas are a drive away. The only Asian Americans I have ever seen in the neighborhood work in a Chinese restaurant. The only white and Hispanic people I have seen work in the Italian restaurant next door to the Chinese restaurant.
Also, my boyfriend’s family is the only Indian family I have seen in Springfield Gardens. Between Bensonhurst and Springfield Gardens there is also a great deal of road construction as well.
If there are issues concerning the MTA, Brooklyn, Hunter, or weather in Brooklyn I am most inclined to read news articles because that news directly affects me, as far as local and city news are concerned. I consider the news about weather to be very important, which makes News12.com my most visited news source.
At the moment the two major issues on my mind in terms of national news concerns President Obama’s healthcare plan. I am a bit confused about the details of his plan and am confused about whether it will mimic the healthcare of England and Canada or becomes a modified form. [Editor’s Note: This article was researched and completed before the U.S. House voted to approve a $1.1 trillion 10 year health plan November 7 and well before the U.S. Senate voted to proceed with its health plan.]
However, it does concern me because soon I will graduate and will no longer be insured under my parents. The recession also concerns me, obviously because I will be graduating soon, but also now because I want to build up my work experience now so that once graduate school is over I will have the experience I need by then.
Also, I am looking for a new job and the low employment rate is making me uncomfortable. [Editor’s Note: Unemployment was reported at 10.6 percent November 7 and the unofficial rate was, according to several sources, estimated to be twice taht.] Regarding international issues I suppose the weather and natural disasters occurring in other countries like the recent typhoon in Taiwan attract my interests. This concerns me because sometimes obscure natural disasters occur in places they are least likely to happen and so I worry if something similar or unforeseen could happen in New York.
Otherwise, I would say international news is the least of my focus because I am not sure of our exact relations with other nations, and I am not sure how to feel about the issues and relationships, but I do know that I hope for the best and no more major battles or wars.
The article Bad News, and More Bad News by Clark Hoyt, is about the reporting of essentially bad news by various media outlets and more specifically, of course, the New York Times. As times worsen and the recession becomes worse and worse, more Americans wish to read or hear about good news. They want journalists to search harder for more uplifting news; to go outside the bounds of their job and not report what is happening, which is a recession, but to find something more pleasing. However, others like Times’ reader David Leonhardt, believe that media outlets reporting pleasant news will not help the reality that America is in a recession.
Hoyt writes, “A newspaper’s responsibility is not to be an economic cheerleader, but to maintain a level head and help put the world in perspective for readers.” There is also a question as to how well the New York Times reported this crisis and if it gave readers any warning, which Hoyt says that it did give fair warning of what would and did happen. And when the recession hit America, the New York Times tried to keep the news in perspective. The business editor tried to keep the balance by reporting what the staff had gathered, separating themselves from the news and let the audience take in what they read. However, the New York Times main objective is to report the news even if it is bad and even if its viewers refuse to read it.
The article A Few Points Along the Line Between News and Opinion by Daniel Okrent writes about the different types of opinion pieces written in newspapers and the markers that help readers identify them without the article blatantly stating it is an opinionated piece. Most articles are identified by the type face or the wording of the title. He also touches upon the relations between the executive editor and the editorial page editor. They do not share information or discuss any topics related to the news or the editorials. There is this boundary that is not crossed, most likely because of differing opinions.
However, the one section in news that can have some small amount of opinion is the sports section. Today that is becoming increasingly apparent in other sections of the news; where opinions are inserted into articles, but until the day readers are ready to accept opinions in the news in general journalists will have to use slugs or some kind of indicator that tells readers that there are opinions expressed in a particular article.