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Example of Intercultural Interview assignment

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Example of News Brief assignment

Cohn responds to Trump’s remarks on Charlottesville

           President Trump’s top economic advisor, Gary D. Cohn, has finally spoken publicly about his reaction to the President’s remarks regarding the violence in Charlottesville two weeks ago (Haberman & Kelly, 2017).  On August 12, white supremacist groups attending a “Unite the Right” rally violently clashed with counter-protestors.  One woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed when James Alex Fields Jr., 20, a Unite the Right participant, drove his car into a group of counter-protestors.  Nineteen others were also injured from the attack (“Charlottesville attack,” 2017).  President Trump has received bipartisan criticism for his response to the violence in Charlottesville.  Twice, he condemned “both sides” (white nationalists and anti-fascist protestors) for their behavior, seemingly drawing a “moral equivalency” between the opposing parties (Pramuk, 2017).  Cohn, who is Jewish, remained silent on the matter until Thursday, August 24, when he gave an interview to The Financial Times (Haberman & Kelly, 2017).

The New York Times

           Haberman and Kelly (2017) covered Cohn’s response for The New York Times. They highlighted many of Cohn’s comments during his interview with The Financial Times, and noted that he is “so far one of the few in the administration to publicly condemn the president’s remarks” (para. 4).  The article also reveals that according to close friends, immediately following Trump’s initial remarks, Cohn was “disgusted and deeply upset” (para. 5). Cohn was said to have drafted a resignation letter because of the President’s remarks, however he did not submit the letter.  Rather, he has remained on as Trump’s economic advisor allegedly for a number of reasons implied in the article.  First, he is quoted as saying that he “will not allow neo-Nazis ranting ‘Jews will not replace us to cause this Jew to leave his job” (para. 8).  Second, he was troubled by the drop in U.S. stocks following rumors of his departure.  Finally, rather than resign, he met privately with the president to plainly discuss his concerns.  

Breitbart

           Carney (2017) focuses his Breitbart article less on the content of Cohn’s interview with The Financial Times, and more on criticism of Cohn’s remarks and apparent perfidy to President Trump.  Notably, Carney says of the President’s infamous remarks following Charlottesville, “Establishment media have inaccurately described those remarks as a defense of white nationalist protestors” (para. 2).  Carney goes on to say that Cohn “parroted the misleading line that left-wing Antifa forces… were simply ‘citizens standing up for equality and freedom’” (para. 5).  Finally, Carney contrasts Cohn with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, also Jewish, who publicly defended the President’s remarks.  Carney suggests that the divergent reactions to Trump were based on the political backgrounds of Cohn and Mnuchin.  Carney highlights that Mnuchin is a Republican, while Cohn is a long-time Democrat.

Analysis and Opinion

           The neutrality of both The New York Times and Breitbart have been questioned. Breitbart is notorious for being a biased right-wing news source, while the President himself has called out The New York Times as “fake news.”  In these particular articles, Carney does seem to use more explicitly subjective language (e.g. calling criticisms of Trump’s remarks “misleading” and “inaccurate”) than Haberman and Kelly.  While both articles offered some of the same facts—specifically, what Cohn was quoted as saying—they present different implications.  The New York Times article seemed to make a good attempt at neutral reporting, although there is some evidence that Haberman and Kelly are supportive of Cohn’s comments.  On the other hand, the Breitbart article makes a very week attempt at neutral reporting, and it is obvious that Carney disapproves of Cohn, either for his political affiliation, or his disloyalty to Trump.  Both articles failed to discuss the significance of Cohn’s decision to stay on Trumps administration, although Haberman and Kelly do mention it.  It is difficult to evaluate Cohn’s remarks completely without knowing his true motivation for not resigning.  It could be that he really was concerned about how the market reacted to his potential departure (Haberman & Kelly, 2017), however it could also be that in his private meeting with Trump, he struck some kind of deal that influenced his decision.

References

Carney, J. (2017, August 25). Gary Cohn condemned Trump, drafted resignation. Steve Mnuchin defended the president. Breitbart. Retrieved from http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/25/cohn-drafted-resignation-letter-charlottesville/

Charlottesville attack: What, where and who? (2017, August 16). Aljazeera. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/charlottesville-attack-170813081045115.html

Haberman, M. & Kelly, K. (2017, August 25). Gary Cohn, Trump’s adviser, said to have drafted resignation letter after Charlottesville. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/politics/gary-cohn-trump-charlottesville.html?mcubz=0

Pramuk, J. (2017, August 16). Republicans back away from Trump after his fiery defense of Virginia rally. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/16/republicans-back-away-from-trump-after-his-fiery-defense-of-virginia-rally.html

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This is a short video of ChaCha and Loki.  There’s no point to this video other than to demonstrate uploading a video.  Students will have to upload videos of their speeches in COM 1000.

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The purpose of a blog like this

Beginning this semester, COM 1000 students will be required to build an online portfolio of their coursework via a blog.  This blog should be maintained and updated throughout their academic careers.  Students may choose whatever blogging platform they are comfortable with, as there are numerous free and easy to use platforms available.  Students in other Communication classes are also encouraged to create their own online portfolios.  

It’s a good idea to keep track of all your work as a student.  Having everything readily available in one place makes it easy to refer back to your work when you need to later.  And chances are, you will need to do this, whether it be for creating a professional portfolio for whatever career you embark on, or for selecting and submitting writing samples for graduate admissions.

Having a blog of your coursework will also serve as a kind of journal of your academic progress.  For example, having videos of your speeches from the beginning and the ending of the semester will show you how you’ve improved as a public speaker.  You will also be able to see where you can improve further.  Certainly, being able to compare what you write as a freshman to what you will write as a senior will demonstrate how you’ve grown as a writer.