In this research paper I combine statistics from various reports and studies with around 20 different interviews with female journalists to understand how women are faring in national and local television newsrooms in 2019. I explore issues such as the pay gap, sexual assault, the importance of appearance, balancing work and family life and obstacles that women of color uniquely face. I spoke with women from various cultural backgrounds, experience levels, and in different positions within their newsrooms. Through my scholarly research and 19 interviews with women who either currently work at NBC News in New York City and women who currently or recently worked at 12News, the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, I conclude they share similar stories of oppression, sexism and issues. However, women have made more progress in local markets and have more opportunities when compared to the national level. I also explore reasons for why this disparity is happening and why local newsrooms seem to have more women represented through their on-air talent than national newsrooms do. One of the reasons I concluded for this include, how local newsrooms have a better understanding of their audience members thus making them more able to reflect their talent to their diverse audience. Another factor that might play a role in this disparity includes, the historical factor and societal norm of seeing men in higher positions and authoritative roles, such as being an anchor, at the network level. Lastly, the idea of how family and having children impacts women’s careers more than men. This can lead to less women pursuing a job at the network since they must spend time raising a family and have the ability and flexibility to do that easier at the local level. Overall, I focused on the barriers, obstacles and stories these women have had throughout their careers all while looking at it from both a local perspective and a national one.

For my honors creative project, I designed my own travel website. Through my travels over the last three years, serving as an au pair and studying abroad in the U.K., I decided to incorporate all that I had learned on a user-friendly platform for people to find. I hope to inspire the young and old alike to experience the world as I have. The title of my website is globalgetaway.me.

A Regional Analysis of Police Shootings Through Local Media Coverage studies broadcast reports of officer-involved shootings in the most dangerous cities across the country in order to determine if bias is present while providing readers with a tool they can use to analyze officer-involved shooting stories in their own community. Based on the geographical regions of the United States, the website analyzes the most dangerous city of the region and the most dangerous city in the most dangerous state in the region. For each city, a random broadcast piece is selected from the local media coverage. I then created a list of 10 points journalists should be aware of when reporting on officer-involved shootings. I used this list to break down and analyze how the story fared against my list. In the beginning of this process, I believed that all local media would have a slight bias depending on the region from which they were reporting. In my original hypothesis, I believed that the reports from the West would be against police, reports from the South and Southwest would be pro police, reports from the Midwest would be against police, and reports from the Northeast would be pro police. After analysis, many of the reports did not show any obvious bias. I wanted this project to be a tool readers and viewers could use in order to learn more about officer-involved shootings. With the help of my checklist, viewers would be able to then analyze stories on officer-involved shootings and determine the quality of the reporting. Not only did this project open my eyes to the different reporting styles that could be used to report an officer-involved shooting, it instilled a deeper sense of pride for local journalism. Even through the recent eruptions surrounding officer-involved shootings, the stories I analyzed continue to stick to journalistic ethics and remain unbiased, even in breaking news.

Locals only. An exclusionary phrase used to preserve the unique, lesser known aspects of a destination. Sunny San Diego's city defining local spots are in danger of being washed away by overwhelming tourism. This visual journey acts as a historical marker for the local destinations that exemplify San Diego's diverse culture. The website and book design outlines ten different places that play integral roles in the foundation of the city through photography and written stories. The places were chosen based off of their significance to the San Diego community, whether that be in relation to lifestyle, history or culture. The process for determining each destination was an initial discussion with San Diego natives to determine the top 15 places that are influential in the city. From there, research was conducted on each place to determine which ten places would best fit the visual and storytelling platform of the project. Once the destinations were determined, people representing each place were contacted to gather more information. Each destination had at least one, if not several days of shooting photos in order to gather an array of visuals that would fit properly into the design and goal of the final thesis project. The website design was built almost originally using wix.com. Using the photos and stories from the site, the final project was turned into a digital layout of a book that can be printed. The places that the book and website outline are Kobey’s Swap Meet, Hodad’s, Carlsbad Flower Fields, Sunset Cliffs, Windansea, Torrey Pines Gliderport, Spruce St. Bridge, Julian, Mount Soledad and Presidio Park.

Herzog History is a retelling of the Holocaust escape of Godofredo Herzog and his family. This thesis project aims to provide a family history for the Herzog family, as well as a Holocaust story that you don't typically see, in a different way than a documentary or book. The creator took a journey with her grandfather to retrace the escape through the cities he and his family lived in. She used her knowledge in videography, editing and website development she gained from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to create this project. There are many stories of Holocaust survivors, but this one is a personal history that impacts her family. The project comes in the form of a website with photos, journal entries and an interactive map. Website link: https://isabelgreenblatt.wixsite.com/herzoghistory

For my thesis project I decided to research the H-2B visa program that is run by the United States Department of State. The program allows U.S employers who meet strict requirements to bring foreign nationals to the U.S in order to fill the jobs that are not being taken by American citizens. The yearly cap for the visas is set at 66,000 workers. 33,000 workers begin their employment the first half of the fiscal year from October 1 to March 31. The second 33,000 workers begin working from April 1 through September 30. I had the chance to speak with an employer and a worker to get a feel for what it was like to be a part of the H-2B visa program. I found out that hiring foreign workers through this program it is not an easy way out of hiring U.S citizens to fill jobs. The cost to hire a worker through the program costs $3,500, plus at least a state required minimum wage. The employer also said that he has to buy ad space in the paper for two weeks, as a pre-requirement to enter the visa program. He says that he will receive one call if he is lucky. The research I did revolves around talking about the myths that surround the visa, such as taking away American jobs, as well as the processing hardships that the employer and worker have to go through before being able to work. YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYveMApCml8&feature=em-upload_owner

Link to documentary: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxFCDFfMBwpoNVdybDZOaGhaUWc/view?usp=sharing For my thesis project, I decided to do a documentary on Special Olympic Athletes in Arizona. These individuals have always inspired me because they have faced many challenges and yet they still go through life with a smile on their face. I believe they all deserve recognition for what they have accomplished during the games and outside of them. I wanted to give them this recognition. In my documentary, I interviewed five athletes, three of which are siblings. The first athlete I interviewed was Jesse McGirl, who is a star track and field athlete. In his part of the video, I talk about his strategy as well as his involvement in the games. I also talk about him being a Global Messenger and how he travels the world in order to spread the message of the Special Olympics. The next athlete was David Fromh, who started competing in the games in 1978. In his section, I talk to him about his relationships with his coaches and teammates as well as the strategy he uses while running. He is one of the most positive athletes out there, and I really emphasize on his positivity. The last set of interviews I did was with the Meagan, Emily, and Quincy Jones, three siblings who all suffer from intellectual disabilities. David and Gena Jones adopted them when they were young and their story is a true inspiration. The family is the main focus of my documentary, so they have three parts: Early Life, Special Olympics, and Future. The Early Life focuses on how David and Gena raised their kids and their high school life. The Special Olympics section focuses on their success at the games and the Future section is about the siblings' interests outside of the games. Along with my athlete stories, I have an introduction and conclusion as well as a brief history section describing the founding of the Special Olympics. I had a great time making this project, and I am very fortunate to be able to tell such inspirational stories.