Media and journalism reccomendations from the staff of The College Voice
Dana Gallagher:
“DOJ Says Russian Trolls Are Interfering Online With the Midterms,” The Atlantic. A criminal complaint filed Friday charges a Russian national, employed by a firm linked to President Vladimir Putin and Russian intelligence, with helping direct interference in the 2018 midterm elections. The complaint says that the Russian conspirators directed their army of trolls to “[s]tate that during past elections, namely, this mainstream media, which supported Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, disseminated fake news,” with a citation to one such article from CNN.
“A Look at Where North Dakota’s Voter ID Controversy Stands,” The New York Times. The state is embroiled in a battle over Native Americans’ ability to vote under a law the Supreme Court just let take effect. Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp is behind in the polls, and pundits warn that if turnout is low among Native Americans — who helped elect her in 2012 — it will be all but impossible for her to win re-election.
Max Amar-Olkus:
“Trapped by the ‘Walmart of Heroin’,” The New York Times Magazine. The opioid crisis that is currently ravenging the United States is depicted with harrowing clarity in Philadelphia, PA. The author describes how heroin users from across the country travel to the Philadelphia neighborhood Kensington to buy “Philly dope,” an extremely cheap and powerful iteration of the drug, often cut with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which killed more than 1,200 people in 2017. The article discusses the socio-economic reasons Kensington has become the “Walmart of Heroin” and speaks to addicts about how they feel trapped by the cycle of addiction, how they originally became addicted, and whether or not they seek support. The photos in this piece are also incredibly powerful.
Saadya Chevan:
“Russian Orthodox Church severs links with Constantinople,” BBC. This past week the Russian Orthodox Church has broken communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The split came less than a week after the Patriarch recognized two churches in Ukraine as being independent from Moscow’s control. This event is being described as the largest split in Orthodox Christianity since its schism with Catholicism in 1054. Another major split in the Russian Orthodox Church occured in the mid-17th Century with the formation of the Old Believers, who resisted church reforms of the period.
Grace Amato:
“Down With the Year of the Woman” The New York Times. This New York Times opinion piece makes an interesting point about the phrase “The Year of the Woman,” first used in 1992 when many women were elected to government positions which had made a comeback this year. The author comments on how using this phrase reinforces the idea of women as the minority in politics by implying that the women are still an “other.” She also critiques the use of the phrase “pink wave,” as it is inaccurate for the push for female political representation as “pink is tender and sweet… exactly the opposite of the red-hot rage fueling many women this election cycle.” It is important to question the discourse around feminist movements and other social justice movements as it may reinforce hierarchies or stereotypes, even if that isn’t the intention. However, I argue that maybe it is important to highlight women’s achievements in this election year by claiming it as the “Year of the Woman,” as women have not historically had a large voice in politics.
