MCOM 1003 | Lauryn Singletary

2. Coronavirus in Arkansas: state faces highest number of deaths in a single day- The Arkansas Department of Health released the state’s updated COVID-19 statistics Sunday. The state's total number of active cases has increased to a total of 10,420 and saw 33 new deaths in a single day. This brings up the total of Arkansans that have died to 1,958. Governor Asa Hutchinson responded to the new update in a tweet stating, “There are 867 new COVID-19 cases in AR. This number is higher than normal for a Sunday which reminds us we must win every day in this fight. Sadly, the 33 deaths are the highest yet. Be safe this week & let’s all do our part to stop the spread in our communities.” (KNWA Fox24)

3. 13 Battleground states to watch- The 2020 presidential election could be decided by just a few states. With over 90 million people already have cast ballots as of Saturday, records have been broken. The toss-up states are: Arizona, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida. The leaning states are Nevada, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire. (CBS News)

4. The Latest: Italy announces new national virus restrictions- Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has announced new national restrictions to stop the increase of coronavirus cases. The restrictions include closing malls on the weekends, closing museums, and limiting travel between regions. High schools can also go on full-time distance learning to decrease spread on public transport. The only difference between this and their last lockdown is that some measures will vary by region, depending on how many cases each region has and the pressure on hospitals. (The Roanoke Times)

5. Indoor audiences can see Pasco school sports teams, but not arts groups- Play at River Ridge High School was canceled due to the school district’s new rule that prohibits indoor performances for any viewers. Despite these regulations, volleyball games are being held in gyms with little to none restrictions, and ACT and SAT tests are still taking place with less ordinance than the theater program is trying to offer. They have proposed to block off seats, take temperatures, and enforce the wearing of masks. Students are outraged at the notion that “the line has to be drawn somewhere.” and that line is the theater program. (Tampa Bay Times)

6. New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton to keep remaining $218 million in deal- Giancarlo is keeping his seven-year guarantee contract with the New York Yankees. In 2018, he hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs in his first season. The next two years his stats only rose despite having strained his left bicep one season and his left hamstring the next. He has since become one of the best offensive players the Yankees have had. (ESPN)

7. Tracy Chapman gives a rare performance of “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” on Late Night with Seth Meyers- Tracy Chapman is trending on Twitter after giving her first TV performance since 2015 on Seth Meyers Late Night. She performed a solo acoustic rendition of her song. She concluded her performance with a message urging people to go and vote. (Twitter)

8.Beyoncé Endorses Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Just Before Election Day- The Grammy winner is hoping her home state of Texas votes blue this Election Day, after endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on social media on Monday. Beyoncé is just one of the many celebs to publicly endorse Biden, others include: Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Bruce Springsteen, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Aniston, and Cardi B. Beyoncé, who is a good friend of Barack and Michelle Obama, has been critical of Trump’s policies in the past. (Entertainment Tonight)

9. Ig Nobel science award: An alligator on helium sounds like ...?- A global research team was curious to see what an alligator on helium sounded like. The experiment won an Ig Nobel Prize for Acoustics. The Ig Nobel Prizes are an annual honor for accomplishments in science and humanities that are intended to make you laugh. Their question was do “alligators have vocal tract resonances like human speech?” The alligator on helium did not squeak, but let out a belch. (Reuters)

10. Pregnant Hilary Duff admits to 'stress eating' prior to election- Due to the stress from election tension, Hilary Duff is turning to her pantry to deal with it. Hilary recently posted a photo on Instagram that shows her reaching for a bag of chips. Her caption says “stress eating bout tomorrow. What u getting into” She also just recently announced the pregnancy of her and her husband's second child. (MSN)

11.Trump, on 'Fox & Friends,' claims 'solid chance of winning,' won't 'play games' in declaring victory- One election day Trump expressed confidence in his chances of returning to office this election. He also insists he won’t “play games” in declaring victory. During this interview, Trump also gave a message to undecided voters, focusing on economic progress. (FOX NEWS)

12. You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You. So Say Fox's Lawyers- Fox News’ top-rated host has been accused of anti-immigrant and racist comments. Yet Carlson keeps his prime-time slot. Carlson has even been guilty of coming after his own network’s chief news anchor on the air. In an attempt to defend Carlson against accusations of slander, the Fox News’ lawyers argued the “‘general tenor’ of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not ‘stating actual facts’ about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘non-literal commentary,’” Fox News won that case along with another that argued Carlson’s viewers know he is not stating facts and “that the reasonable viewer would do no such thing.” (NPR)

13.Trump says 'weak leadership' in Dem cities could allow election unrest: 'The other side is radicalized'- Trump blames Democratic leaders for not keeping extremists in line after areas across the country are bracing themselves for possible riots and lootings. “I think it’s very sad and part of the reason is it’ll all be in Democrat cities, Democrat-run cities,” Trump said in an interview with “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning. He also said Republican leaders are more strict, even if they don’t like being confrontational. “And, you know, my side is a very strong side if they wanted to, but they don’t like doing that, you know, they’re proud of their country, they don’t want to hurt our country,” Trump said. (FOX NEWS)

14. Biden signs wall of childhood home: 'From this house to the White House'- On Tuesday morning, former Vice President Joe Biden signed one of the living room walls of his childhood home while he was in Scranton, Pa. He wrote “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-20” Biden grew up in Scranton before moving to Delaware when he was 10. He has repeatedly visited his childhood home, and when he stopped in 2008 as the VP nominee the current owner asked Biden to sign the wall in his old room. Biden signed his name and above wrote “I am home.” (Politico)

During March of 2020, China held a press conference that announced they would be banning American journalists that work for some of America’s biggest newspaper outlets. This resulted after Trump’s administration limiting the number of Chinese citizens who worked for Chinese news organizations. American journalists working in China “will not be allowed to continue working as journalists in the People’s Republic of China.” This is their response to the United States' “unreasonable oppression” the Chinese media is experiencing in the U.S. China is notorious for having strict policies on the release of media that could depict their country poorly. These American journalists have to return their working visas and without visas are required by law to move back to America.

In the United States of America, the first amendment of the US constitution grants anyone the right to freedom of speech, religion, and the press. It is one of the few countries where citizens are not suppressed or punished for their opinions. This is not the case for many other countries. China, for example, maintains censorship over all media adept to reach wide audiences. Television, radio, video games, literature, the Internet, and many other things are monitored by Chinese officials. As of 2017, thirty-eight Chinese journalists were imprisoned for expressing their opinions on press freedom. Chinese rights activist, Liu Xiaobo was incarcerated for eleven years for promoting freedom of speech and democratic reforms. Liu won a Nobel Peace Prize for all his hard work, but censors blocked the news in China. Pen America’s 2016 report on the constraints of foreign journalists from China says “The hostile environment against foreign journalists is being fueled by efforts to publicly mark Western media outlets as not only biased but Part of a coordinated international effort to damage China’s reputation.”  

Another country that is listed as the most strict, according to CPJ is Eritrea. Eritrea is a country in Eastern Africa. Only the state is allowed to publish news. The last international journalist was banned in 2007. Even people who work for the government live in fear of arrest for reporting anything that could be seen debased. In 2001, the last privately-owned media outlets were deferred and their journalists were imprisoned. In Africa, Eritrea has the most jailed journalists. All Internet service providers are required to the government-controlled gateway. According to the U.N. International Telecommunication Union, less than 1 percent of the population gets online. Five of the journalists arrested in 2001 may have died in prison, but because Eritrea is so private we cannot confirm their deaths.

Along with China and Eritrea, other countries are cracking down on journalists and freedom of the press. But not in revolt against Trump. Many of these other countries are worried about the image of how they are handling the coronavirus to stay positive. Not only to keep their citizens calm but to also keep themselves from looking as idiotic as the United States has looked throughout this year. In South Africa, the government has implemented a new law that makes it a crime to publish false information retaining the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislation in Hungary proposed the same concept to prevent misinformation from being spread of the Coronavirus. Violators in Hungary could be imprisoned for up to five years. In Honduras, the government has responded to the pandemic in the same manner, but instead suspended the part of the constitution that “prohibits censorship and protect the right to free expression.” 

These types of regulations on media are not realistic. With the continual growing internet industry and increasing popularity in social media, the government will not be able to censor everyone who makes an Instagram post. Other than countries such as North Korea, most government censorship monitors news outlets and excludes social media. That’s not to say that they do not have “black-out” days, where they shut down social media sites when there seems to be a breach of security. Overall, they can not stop their citizens from posting from, let’s say, an international VPN. When Trump threatened to shut down TikTok, many teens opted to do just that to avoid losing their favorite app. In countries where freedom of the press is suppressed, social media can be used as an important resource to inform the public on what the government does not want the people to know. Social media has been a key resource in helping other countries citizens gain their freedom of expression. 

As of November 6th, 2020, the hashtag “collateralfreedom” has been trending on sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Within these efforts, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has restored online access to eight websites, in the past month, that have been censored in their own country for publishing information about the pandemic that the government did not approve. The process involves copying sites and posting them on international servers, so they can’t be censored by their country's government. They have unblocked 34 sites within the past year in five different countries. This censorship has kept access to news and information about COVID-19, which is crucial during these times. 

Social media has played an important role in the Black Lives Matter protests, Australian bushfires, COVID-19 pandemic, Beirut explosion, West Coast fires, and many other newsworthy events. Maybe not so much for older adults, but for young teens and adults, social media is the main form of news. It is constantly growing and rather than hearing things from one source the Internet, along with social media, provides them with accessible information that is seen from every perspective. Americans don’t even know how lucky they are in the aspect of their freedom to express themselves through news, media, and the press. Hopefully, these other countries will gain the privilege to have their voices heard.

     According to Nielsen’s Total Audience Report, American’s 18 and older spend, on average, about four and a half hours watching TV a day; beating the average of three hours they spend using their smartphone. The report found that younger generations typically watch less TV than those aged between 50-64. It is assumed that younger people are most likely watching streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, which would result in a decline in viewing conventional television. In the long run, the television industry needs to focus on creating shows that target the younger audiences and reality shows never seem to fail. 

Reality shows aren’t made to be informative or teach a life lesson. They are simply there to entertain. It’s kind of pointless when a show tries to pretend there is a lesson to learn like MTV’s Real World or Netflix's Love is Blind. When in reality (no pun intended) viewers are only there for the drama and awkwardness that comes along with following people around with cameras. One of my favorite shows Below Deck follows a group of yachties, people who work on yachts, throughout a charter season. Each season consists of a deck crew that will be working on a superyacht for the next 6 weeks. Some there are returning personalities, and others are new. The premise of the show revolves around strangers having to learn to work together to appease their super-rich charter guests.  

When I try to explain the plot of Below Deck to someone, they always wonder why anyone would want to watch a show about 10 people just working. Reality shows have been using the “shove strangers into a house for so many months” strategy for years. If you have had to quarantine with your family you may understand how entertaining this concept could be. Shows like Big Brother and Are You The One are a few examples. The difference between Below Deck and other shows is that it is not staged or scripted. So the producers say. It is believable though because sometimes 45 minutes will go by and nothing interesting will have happened. There aren’t any games to draw a natural competitive tension between the cast or a cash prize at the end. At the end of the season, the cast goes home with a paycheck, their tips, and an experience no one else can say they've had. 

The producers have to rely on the people they cast to keep it interesting. As for charter guests, 90% of the time they are high maintenance and overdramatic about everything. This in result stresses the crew out when, for example when they spend 2 hours putting out a waterslide so guests can use it for 20 minutes. Or when a charter guest makes a stewardess angry so she folds a blanket into the shape of a penis on his bed. Every few days, the crew gets a day off from their 16-hour workdays. On those nights you can always expect someone to get too drunk or for one of the crewmates to hit on another. The show is undoubtedly relatable when it comes to hating your boss or co-workers. Also, did I mention they are all very attractive and not because of casting. Apparently the yachting industry, in general, is super exclusive and requires all CV’s to have a headshot. So, to gain experience to even be considered to work on the show you have to have a pretty face to get a job as a greenhand on smaller yachts. It’s hard to summarize all the hilarious and relatable things that happen throughout this show, but people like it so much they have made two spin-offs, each with different crews and captains: Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Sailing Yacht.

I think the demographic groups most likely to watch this program are millennials and younger adults. This show resonates with anyone who relates to working under continual pressure and dealing with bothersome clients and co-workers. Reality personalities mostly use their social media to create “beef” with their former crewmates. These kinds of stir result in publicity for the show. They also use social media to announce engagements and pregnancies which also creates a stir, but in a different way.

Another show that I and so many others have grown to love is Love Island. Originating in the UK, the show revolves around a group of unearthly hot strangers placed in a house for 8 weeks. While there, they are forced to couple up and share a bed with whoever they are most attracted to. The show, also, hosts games. Unlike other shows, the games have no winner. The point of the game is for everyone to be immensely awkward and provide entertaining content for editors and producers. Every now and then, a new member is added to the house, which would naturally cause problems if they are more attractive than someone already on the show. Because there are only so many beds someone will have to be kicked out by the end of the week. At recouplings, the one left without a partner is booted from the house, and as shallow as it sounds the person who is kicked off is usually the least attractive, subjectively speaking. Shallowness and jealousy are what make the show so enticing.

This show is targeted towards a younger audience, because there is, for one, a lot of sex and, two, a lot of  other things most older people don’t think is okay to talk about in public much less television. The show has also been spun off in many different countries. I’ve only seen two of which were the American and Australian versions. Neither as good as the original UK version. The Australian version’s cast is too hot, incomprehensibly hot and I hate that it adds to the stereotype that hot people are dumb, but somehow the whole Australian cast seems to be dumb. They never catch on to hints and most subtle flirting goes completely over there heads. The American version, in my opinion, is probably worse. They are all too reasonable and have “morals.” When they tell someone they are going to stick with their partner, they do it because they think they owe them some type of loyalty. I’m not trying to watch a show where people “care about other people's feelings.” Care outside of the show. Which is perhaps the reason why it doesn’t do as well as the UK version. The cast uses social media platforms the same way Below Deck does, to cause drama or keep audiences up to date on relationship statuses. 

If I could create a show, I would create a show about TikTok stars. They already have so much of their personalities on the internet I don’t think they would mind having more. It would be easy to produce. Most already live together, they’re uber-rich so finding things to do wouldn’t be hard, and they always have drama going on between another rival TikTok houses. Most of them are teenagers and if they are anything like my friends they can’t avoid drama. If I knew we already had a fan base, I would make a show following me and my friends. Most of the original members of the Hype House (pictured below) have left and joined a new house or left because of all the drama. With TikTok stars, they already have a huge fan base. Charli D'amelio has more than 94 million followers. I’m not saying they all would watch the show, but even if a fifth did, it would be more than enough to support the show. I doubt this is an original idea, but there is so much buzz around this group of teens I’m surprised no one has made a show yet. 

Reality shows have been around forever and I doubt they are going anywhere. With fewer young people watching TV creators are having to make content for younger generations to keep the industry thriving and prosperous. These shows may seem radical to older generations, but for us, they are a way to relax and know that other people are going through what we are going through.

2. Shots fired early Saturday near Dudney and Pearce- Saturday, at 3:18, gunshots were reported near the intersection of Dudney and Pearce street. A Magnolia police officer in the area heard the shots and called in to report. There were no reports of injury in that area. The incident is still under investigation. (Magnolia Reporter)

3. Placemaking with public art in Arkansas- Fort Smith introduces a mural of a woman drawing back her bowstring, to release a paintbrush, instead of an arrow. In South Fayetteville, local artists collaborated on a piece inspired by the years’ uprisings against racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd. Fort Smith’s new Coffee Co introduces a new mural by Hilda Palafox, painted on silos. More artists and murals are showcased. Below are the paintings of Hilda Palafox and Jason Jones. (Arkansas Times)

4. Pence addresses fly on his head at vice presidential debate: 'I didn't know he was there'- VP Mike Pence did not notice the fly that landed on his head during last week’s vice presidential debate. The insect hung around Pence’s head and stayed there for about two minutes. The fly has since gone viral. Pence told The Daily Briefing that he found out about the bug from his children. (FOX News)

5. The Midwest’s Fall Colors Give New England A Run For Its Money- Thrillist made a list of places with vibrant fall foliage that isn’t overrun by out-of-town leaf peepers. Great River Road, Minnesota lands first on the list. Following, is Door County, Wisconsin and Madison County, Iowa. Many places in Michigan and Minnesota made it on the list. Pictured below is Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio and Nashville, Indiana. (Thrillist)

6. How the NBA survived nearly 100 days inside the Orlando, Fla., bubble- In effort to keep COVID-19 at bay for the duration of the NBA season, players and staff were kept in an isolation zone at Walt Disney World. The Lakers finished the season as champions and also had zero positive tests because of the strict protocol the team had to endure for about 90 days. The bubble was equipped with a pool, a pickleball court, and multiple basketball courts. (Los Angeles Times)

7. Mick Fleetwood says “fantastic” viral ‘Dreams’ TikTok video “is hugely gratifying”- After Nathan Apodaca’s viral ‘Dreams’ TikTok Video, Mick Fleetwood has spoken out in praise. Apodaca has brought Fleetwood Mac a big resurgence in popularity over the past few weeks after he filmed himself singing and holding a bottle of cranberry juice while longboarding on his way to work. Fleetwood then remade the viral TikTok. Since then TikTok users have been making their own version of the video. (NME)

8. ‘SNL’ Drops Musical Guest Morgan Wallen After Artist Ignores COVID Guidelines- Country musician Morgan Wallen was uninvited from “Saturday Night Live” after a video of him ignoring social distancing guidelines. Wallens acknowledged his mistakes and apologized on Instagram for his actions, saying he knew the consequences and just got caught up in the moment. Loren Michaels, SNL creator, let Wallen know that he’ll find another time to make this performance up. (Indie Wire)

9. Adam Sandler’s Hubie Halloween Includes a Dedication to Cameron Boyce- Hubie Halloween, Adam Sandler’s newest film, which premiered on Netflix Oct. 7, includes a tribute to Cameron Boyce, who died from epilepsy in 2019. Boyce had originally been cast as the bully in the film. (POPSUGAR)

10. #accidentally Trending on Twitter- After local Virginia news station, @wusa9, tweeted “An accidentally cut cable has caused the entire Virginia voter registration online system to go down on the last day to register to vote before election day. “ twitter users are skeptical. Quoting the tweet implying that maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. Other users are defending them saying maybe the wires did accidentally get cut. (Twitter)

11. Trump reportedly wanted to rip open his button-down to reveal a Superman T-shirt to surprise people when he left the hospital- To surprise observers, President Donald Trump offered the idea to leave the hospital appearing physically weak. Then, rip open his button-down dress shirt to reveal a Superman t-shirt underneath. Monday, he left the hospital, sadly with no stunt. (Business Insider)

12. “Emily In Paris” Is Bad, And Not In A Fun Way- The new Netflix show Emily in Paris moved to the streaming services top 10 as soon as it premiered. Creator Darren Star, also creator of Sex and the City, sets the standard high when it comes to dramedy. Which is why most viewers were let down. Lily Collins’ stars as the title role, Emily. The audience can’t really relate to Emily. Also, viewers expected she would have a lot in common with Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie, but lacked in the fashion department and and was described as “disturbingly matchy-matchy.” (Buzzfeed News)

13. India Is Shocked Over The Rape And Killing Of A Young Dalit Woman- Police in India were accused of forcibly cremating a 19- year-old woman after she died of injuries as a result of rape. The family reported that the police officers refused to give the body back so that the family could perform final rites, instead they hurriedly cremated her in the middle of the night. The department said members of the woman's family were present at the cremation ground, but a video of a lone pyre with no one but officers around suggests otherwise. (Buzzfeed News)

14. Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus- On Sunday, the 35-year-old forward played for Portugal against France in the Nations League and against Spain in a game last week. Ronaldo will miss his next game against Sweden on Wednesday. The Portuguese Football Federation said that every other player tested negative on Tuesday morning and that Ronaldo is “well, without symptoms, and in isolation.”