Chuck Stone The Mix 2014 – Page 2 – A home for student-produced journalism

Review: “African Americans in the History of Mass Communication — A Reader”

Book Review by Ashlea Brown

Hollywood often perpetuates negative stereotypes about African Americans, which influences how they are viewed in this country. That is the message of the essay “When Hollywood Crossed the Color Line,” which appears in Naeemah Clark’s edited book African Americans in the History of Mass Communication.

Lorraine Ahearn mainly focused on stereotypes of African Americans with media. This section really goes in depth about false accusations of African Americans being presented to the public. Ahearn gives a great deal of information. She provides facts about FDR’s New Deal, the Emancipation proclamation, different newspapers and their insight stories and insight from students attending Bennett College and A&T University in Greensboro, North Carolina. She also describes how Hollywood’s history of racism crossed the line with the usage of racial slurs, false advertisement of African Americans and ignorant books being published about African Americans.

Overall Ahearn did a great job, it was a very informative article. It presented the topic well because of all the hard facts that she gave. Every point Ahearn made she supported it with facts. I’d recommend this book to anyone especially if they are interested in the history of journalism.

Student DTH reporters keep campus informed during summer

By Ashlyn Steelman

Since 1893, The Daily Tar Heel has provided news to students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Spring semester classes have ended, but the newspaper doesn’t stop coverage for the summer.

Each Monday during the summer, the staff critiques the past week’s paper with Erica Perel, the newsroom adviser at The Daily Tar Heel. Perel helps with internships and tough decisions, and she is good at providing constructive criticism.

“She is kind of like a newsroom ‘mom’,” Paige Ladisic, 2014 summer editor, said.

Ladisic is a political science and public relations major who loves the paper and the close friendships she shares with her staff. In relation to her major, she is interested in business and community journalism.

Ladisic was hired as the editor in March and then played a major role in hiring the rest of the summer staff. She helps interview, determine payroll, and find solutions to the daily problems her reporters encounter. She is a rising junior and is from Oak Island, North Carolina.

Ladisic has been on the staff for two years. Last spring, she was the online editor. She will return to that position in the fall.

“That’s what I love the most—social media and that kind of stuff,” Ladisic said.

The summer edition of The Daily Tar Heel runs from May until the last week of July. The newspaper’s summer staff consists of 30 people. There are nine editors.

MarcelaGuimarães is the current Arts & Diversions editor. She is a rising senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil who is majoring in journalism and minoring in anthropology.

As the Arts & Diversions editor, Guimarães writes about music and arts coverage on campus. During the summer when there’s not as much happening on campus, she looks for events in town, such as arts exhibits.

“I try to do stuff related to the university somehow,” Guimarães said.

Despite the smaller population of students in the summer, The Daily Tar Heel works to publish a newspaper each week for the Chapel Hill community.

Guimarães said The Daily Tar Heel provides a good learning opportunity for its staff.

“You do everything you do out in the field,” Guimarães said. “It’s definitely valuable.”