Spectrum

When you think of college students you might think of affluent young people reveling in the joys of care-free campus life…But, that doesn’t describe all college students – especially many non-traditional students. They often are juggling families, jobs, mounting debt and hunger. Yes, hunger. Many go to regional campuses or community colleges. They are enduring current hardships for the promise of a better life with a degree. Bob Long was a long-time voice on WMUB radio at Miami University in Southwestern Ohio. He spent almost 30 years working with students and gaining broadcasting and journalism awards. Late in his career and since his retirement, Long started working with students at one of Miami University’s regional campuses. This is a campus inhabited by working students and those with limited resources in an impoverished area of the state. “I was amazed at the conditions in which I found some of these students,” Long says. “Many of them had gone days without eating so that they could pay for school, b

Children who have been in foster care are a special group of children to be adopted. Currently more than 110,000 children are waiting in this category for adoptive parents. However, more than 20,000 will leave foster care without ever being adopted increasing their risks for anti-social behaviors as adults. These figures are the result of a recent national survey conducted by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national nonprofit public charity. One of its main purposes is to find adoptive parents for these foster care children. Rita Soronen, the President and CEO of the foundation talked with SPECTRUM about this issue. She says that 80 percent of Americans who consider adoption now consider adopting a foster child. This is a significant increase over the past five years. Foster children are often children taken away from birth parents by court orders for their safety. Instead, they are put in foster homes for their care. The study shows that four out of five children in foster care are there

This is a personal story…the story of journalist Colin Lasu…a son of South Sudan, Africa’s newest country. Because of the chaos since its independence in 2011 and a Civil War beginning in 2013, over 1 million refugees have fled to neighboring Uganda and Ethiopia and over 200,000 have fled to other countries. Lasu, a journalist in his home country, came back to America and received asylum here. He proved to the U.S. government that he would probably be killed if he had to return to South Sudan so the U.S. has allowed him to stay indefinitely. Meanwhile, this seasoned journalist has obtained his master’s degree and now is studying for his doctoral degree. He talks with SPECTRUM about his life in his home country and the chaos that ensued after independence. He also talks about his projects to train average S. Sudanese residents to become fearless radio reporters. At one time, Lasu created a certificate program with the University of Juba and created the Sudan Radio Service. For two years, he helped non-j

USA Today, in partnership with YouTube, delivers a weekly virtual reality newscast called VRtually There, produced by VR veteran Robert Padavick. It is the first native VR series, says Padavick and it produces three feature stories a week. Although VR is in its infancy, Padavick claims that watching something in VR is like having a movie theater on your face. The experience is totally immersive and like no other. Consumers can experience stories…not just hear them or see them. He thinks that VR is the news delivery vehicle of the future and it is now in its experimental and developmental stages. But, he thinks it will become mainstream soon. Even though the visuals are the base of VR, Padavick claims that sound is equally important and spatial audio is complicated to capture and deliver. It also is in its developmental stage. In creating VR new products that must be captured, produced, monetized and delivered to consumers, Padavick says he feels like a “pioneer.” He also claims that “writing” is stil

Laurel Wamsley, a young but veteran reporter and producer at National Public Radio (NPR), says she loves working there because she feels the NPR is truly serving the public. She also knows that NPR has made a concerted effort to attract a younger millennial audience and to broaden its base. Wamsley is in her second stint at the radio giant. She has served as both a “producer” and a “reporter.” She shares with us that there are two kinds of producers at NPR…show producers who work on a particular program like Morning Edition or All Things Considered and there are desk producers who work on particular topics such as politics, national desk, international, science and education. A producer finds guests, books the guests, arranges for studio time or field logistics and edits interviews to fit the time slot needed. She said often 20 minute interviews need to be reduced to six minutes or less. That editing responsibility falls on the producer and not the reporter. Currently, Wamsley is writing “breaking news” fo

Never before have we had a President that spoke his mind almost daily to the American people. Like it or hate it, President Trump, through his use of social media, broadcasts across the globe his likes, dislikes, and policy thoughts. He is unedited. While President Obama was closed, guarded and cautious, Pres. Trump says what he thinks or feels regardless of the consequences. Some argue, this makes him the most accessible and transparent President ever, while others claim his behavior reflects a dangerous, almost-cavalier approach to Presidential communications. The contrast between Trump and Obama is significant for those assigned to cover the White House like Gregory Korte of USA Today. This veteran, award-winning journalist covered both administrations and he tells Spectrum of the differences between the two approaches. Korte not only covers the White House but he accompanied President Trump on his nine-day trip through the Middle-East and parts of Europe and his most recent trip to the G-20 meeting in

Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who created pioneering British pop-rock outfit The Hollies with childhood friend Allan Clarke in his late teens and was a featured initial in Crosby, Stills, and Nash. He continues to be socially and politically active well into his older years. Last year he released his first solo project in 14 years, “This Path Tonight,” crafted with the assistance of longtime collaborator Shane Fontayne. Nash refers to himself as a writer, and his ability to master expression with the written (and sung) word is showcased on the lean, 10-song release. Earlier this year Nash announced that he would be going on tour in support of the album this summer, giving fans across the U.S. a chance to take part in his spirited and career-spanning live shows. Spectrum’s Emily Votaw spoke with Nash about his feelings on the 2016 Presidential election, what he feels all artists should be doing as a result of it, and what it means to be a hippie in 2017.

What Russia may lack in modern traditional military assets, it more than compensates through its ability to wage tactical cyberattacks and ultimately the potential for cyberwarfare. That’s the opinion of Dr. Steven Miner, professor and Director of the Contemporary History Institute at Ohio University. Russia’s military hardware is deteriorating and the Russian economy is not strong under its leader Vladimir Putin. So, Russia is opting for committing cyber terrorism to advance its positions in the world. These attacks, which can be done cheaply, have become pervasive by Russia throughout Europe, the countries bordering Russia and even in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, Dr. Miner says. They are not new. One of the Russian objectives is to “make trouble” and to discredit the authenticity of democratic electoral systems…leading people to think that elections, for example, are “rigged.” He feels that the cyber interference in the American election was sparked more by a hatred of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton

President Donald Trump states that his actions through Executive Orders will bring coal mining jobs back to America. Jonathan Norris, researcher and engineer, says that is not likely to happen. Mining jobs have been on a steady decline since the 1980’s, according to Norris. The main reason is that natural gas has become a much cheaper way to run power plants to produce electricity. So, even if the President eases carbon emission standards, it will not bring back mining. Coal is a more expensive way to produce electricity. So mines will not come back unless the economy allows them too, Norris says. Norris’ research interests include energy policy, innovation systems, and the transition of small Appalachian communities from being coal bases to being economically diverse. A native of the coal fields of Ohio, Norris describes the boom or bust history of extractive industries in his home region. He says that when coal jobs disappeared that many small communities had no other economic base. The poverty that f

Passions can run high with immigration issues. Some Americans embrace immigration and immigrants as being the backbone of the United States. While with others, immigration is seen as problematic and even frightening and a threat to America. Although often we, as Americans, see immigration issues as simplistic black and white issues, but instead, according to Dr. Andrew Selee, we need to take a broader view to immigration and its complexities. We, as a country, need to work on how we can improve our immigration instead of concentrating on how to limit our immigration policies, he says. Dr. Selee is the Executive Vice President of the Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington. On August 1 he will become the President of the Migration Policy Institute, a global policy and research think tank-- also in Washington DC. Dr. Selee’s expertise is in immigration with a special emphasis on Mexico and the inter-relationships between Mexico and the United States. Under the Trump Administration enforcement

American foreign policy under the Trump Administration currently is “chaotic, amorphous, and …unprofessional,” according to Ambassador Reuben Brigety, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Ambassador Brigety expresses to Spectrum podcast that he is concerned about the huge number of important positions in the State Department that are not yet filled after four months in office. The Trump Administration has not nominated a sufficient number of people for the U.S. Senate to confirm. This leaves foreign policy work undone and sends the wrong message to our allies, according to Brigety. He believes that there are multiple reasons for these vacancies. He said that the Trump Transition Team was the most “slow and chaotic that we’ve seen in decades.” Therefore, nominations were not ready early in the Administration. He also says that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has decided to “take his time” making these appointments since the Trump administration has called for a

During the scramble to be the first and provide the best possible coverage of the ongoing Trump/Russia investigations, credible news organizations have published numerous stories based upon “leaks” from sources who are listed as “anonymous” or described without using their names or titles. Some Administration officials decry “leakers” and infer that they are not credible and chastise news entities for using the information from these unnamed sources. Some officials call stories based on anonymous sources “fake news.” Journalists, however, often must rely on these anonymous tips to get the facts and after the stories and sources are completely vetted – the resulting story is anything but “fake news.” Often these stories are, in fact, the most reliable types of stories. They must, however, be what Andrew Alexander calls – subject to “prosecutorial editing” – severe editing for fairness, credibility and accuracy. Alexander is a former Washington Post ombudsman, a former Washington Bureau chief for Cox Newspa

We have investigations ongoing of the Trump campaign/Russia connection in the Senate, the House and with the Special Counsel appointed by the Interim Attorney General. It seems we don’t have any one place to follow the events and with each entity conducting its own investigation, we as average citizens can feel like we’re drowning in a sea of terminology and confusion. We can’t keep up or keep the news straight in our minds. Philip Ewing, national security editor for National Public Radio (NPR), helps us traverse this confusing investigatory landscape. Ewing breaks down the recent Senate hearings with Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers and former FBI Director James Comey. Phil gives us an insiders-update on all of the Trump/Russia investigations. He points out and explains many of the nuances that we might otherwise miss. We discuss “executive privilege,” “classified information,” “the Fifth Amendment,” “immunity,” and “contempt of Congress” amo

Authenticity and great storytelling combine to form the backbone of good advertising, according to advertising expert Chuck Borghese. Borghese is an award-winning veteran of the creative side of advertising having spent nearly four decades in the business and charting its changes over time. He notes that in the days of Mad Men advertising executives, up through the early 1960’s, that most advertising was based on “authority.” The advertisers, according to Borghese, told consumers what they wanted and even down to dictating the colors that would be most popular. Beginning in the mid 1960’s until now, he claims that most effective advertising is being based on “authenticity.” He says that this is especially true in the era of heightened social media. If a product is not authentic or the message is not accurate, people on social media will be talking about it immediately. Social media can destroy an advertising campaign in a heartbeat, Borghese says. No matter how advertising messages are delivered in the “Digi

Linda Tirado, author and activist, has written and spoken around the globe about what it's like to be poor in America. She now has a new project. She is seeking truth about our democracy by traveling the country and interviewing voters in the last Presidential election to find their current reaction to the Trump Administration and to the apparently stalled Congress. Tirado is finding that we have groups of disparate people living in the same geographical country but most people no longer having common goals or purposes. She contends “factionalism” has never been this bad. She challenges whether we even have a “country” beyond geography. This great divide is breeding danger: increased violence and a rise of the American style of fascism, according to Tirado. She notes that reporters, just doing their job, are not safe and that far right-wing political people blame the news media for spreading lies and “fake news” as is trumpeted by President Trump. She cites the recent assault on a reporter covering the Mon

This White House is run differently than the West Wings of past Presidents. Those were based on fairly rigid protocols, roles, traditions and procedures. This White House is not the norm. It sometimes appears to be chaotic but it actually reflects the temperament, the personality and the style of its primary occupant – President Donald Trump. “It’s not better or worse…it’s just what the President wants,” says TIME Washington Correspondent Philip Elliott. Some traditional roles are quite different than with past Presidents. For example, the Chief of Staff position usually is a strong position and the Chief often has acted, in the past, as almost a surrogate President. Long-time Washington veteran Reince Priebus holds that position but most assuredly does not have the power of past Chiefs. Instead, under President Trump, that power role is most often played by Vice President Mike Pence, according to Elliott. He says that Trump relies on Pence for traditional Washington power and procedure. The President fe

This is a special edition of SPECTRUM featuring intelligence expert, David Crane. The way President Trump is dismissive of “intelligence briefings” and makes disclosure decisions without prior consultation with intelligence experts causes grave concern to a long time security veteran. Recently, the news has focused on security gaffes in the White House. Some reports have said that President Trump gave the Russians intelligence information that was classified at the highest level of secrecy. It is reported, by Trump’s National Security Advisor, that he made the decision to do so “on-the-spot” without any prior consultation with his security team. His National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said at a press briefing that before making the disclosures, the President did not know the source of the information or from where the information came. Although McMaster claims the President’s disclosures to the Russians were “wholly appropriate,” many experts question the wisdom of such spur-of-the moment Presidential

World-renowned international lawyer and national security expert David Crane is heading the Syria Accountability Project to hold Syrian governmental and faction leaders accountable for thousands of verified war crimes. He and his group are building war crime cases and trial packages against Syrian government and faction leaders. To date, Crane’s group has verified over 8,000 pages of individual war crimes. Crane is building conflict maps and criminal law matrix to help international, national and local prosecutors in Syria try and convict war criminals. He also has compiled a massive data base and incident index. He even has prepared model indictments against named Syrian leaders. Crane brings a wealth of experience to this effort. He was the lead prosecutor in war crimes trials for the United Nations against Sierra Leone and other leadership in the 1.2 million massacre of its citizens in that 11 year civil war. His work resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of Charles Taylor, the former preside

The job of the editorial teams at National Geographic is to make a “round world” come to life on a “flat plane” of a magazine, a web-screen, a phone or other mobile device. That, often, is a big challenge. Kaitlin Yarnall is Deputy Director for the Centers of Excellence in Journalism, Mapping and Photography at the National Geographic Society. She also has been the lead editorial manager for National Geographic’s 2014 multi-year, multimedia food initiative – to examine all aspect of food in our lives. It has been the most commercially successful editorial initiative in the history of National Geographic. Yarnall’s designs for Geographic have won numerous awards. She claims that even in the 21st century that maps have relevance. In fact, she claims that maps are making resurgence in our lives. Despite electronic GPS and other tracking methods, ordinary maps give individuals context and perspective that other electronic tracking devices do not, says Yarnall. Along with graphics, photos, and other interac

National Public Radio’s Bob Boilen has shaped the way an entire generation consumes music. During his 20 plus year career at NPR, Boilen has served as creator and host of the online series “All Songs Considered” and created the increasingly celebrated “Tiny Desk Series.” Earlier, he was producer and director for the afternoon news show “All Things Considered.” Sound is important to Boilen. He grew up in a noisy Brooklyn neighborhood and he recalls falling in love with the sound of a baseball card tucked in the spokes of his bicycle as a child. Throughout his young adulthood, he worked at record stores, which acquainted him with a diversity of musical knowledge that would carry him throughout his professional career. After growing disillusioned with the nature of the recording business, Boilen sold his car and bought a synthesizer, subsequently becoming one of the first musicians to extensively utilize sound sampling in the late 1970’s. His band, “Tiny Desk Unit”, continues to release at least one record p