REPORTER SHARES INSIGHTS
By Tenyse Williams

Congressional reporter Sue Davis today talked to high school journalism students at Georgetown University about the important aspects of becoming a reporter and shared insights on what it’s like being a reporter on Capitol Hill.

Davis described what she goes through on a day-to-day basis. She explained that she enjoys her job because everyday there is a different story she has to cover and a task that she has to fulfill.

“I know I just don’t want to sit at a desk all day,” said Davis, who covers the House for Roll Call.

Working on Capitol Hill, Davis spends her day not sitting at a desk but going to congressional hearings and tracking congressmen down for interviews. She told the teen journalists that she never knows whom she might see besides politicians. Just walking through the halls of congress she has run into many celebrities, such as Dave Chappelle, Queen Latifah, and even Richard Simmons. She said they come to the Capitol to support issues they care about.

Davis said another fun part of her job is covering congressional scandals. She reported on Mark Foley, the former congressman who sent inappropriate e-mails to congressional pages.

She explained that trying to get stories like the Davis scandal is very hard. Davis said that many politicians would not comment at all or would not even return her phone calls or e-mails. She said dealing with scandalous stories such as Foley’s requires patience and there is a lot of competition with other news groups.

Talking about the competition, Davis shared the interesting fact that in the Periodical Gallery there are 1,300 publications registered. This shows how much competition she has on a day-to-day basis with other reporters. Besides the plenty of competition that goes on, she says its good for reporters to have each others back, and that there actually is a team effort besides it being all individual work.

TEENS ARE HAVING THEIR OWN SAY
PARENTS SAY NO WAY
By Tenyse Williams

Teens are into today’s fashions and what’s new, and parents are into old politics and the old things. Today teens also don’t follow their parents’ political lead. They have there own views without their parents holding their hands.

“My mother is liberal, and my father is a conservative, but they both influence me to be in the middle and make myself choose,” says 17-year old Alex Gambale from Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Many teens like Alex Gambale look to other sources for their choice in a candidate. Influences from other peers, news media, and stars can make a difference. For example celeberties including Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett have supported Barack Obama’s campaign, and donated $4,600 to his campaign. Actor and musician Jamie Foxx also donated $2,300 to Obama’s campaign according to an ABC news report.

In the year 2004, 21 million young Americans voted due to these celebrity endorsements. According to the Youth Vote News, there are many young voter programs such as the P. Diddy’s, Rock the Vote, and Hip Hop Vote. Famous people such as Jay-Z and P.Diddy come out and speak to young voters and get them to register to vote.

The people who were born between 1982 and the present are known as the Millennial Generation. According to Mary McClelland of Young Voter Strategies this generation has more to deal with than their parents did, like Sept. 11.

According to an article in TIME magazine, young voters are showing more interest in the 2008 election than adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. This shows that teens are influenced more by the information and news presented to them, rather than relying solely on their parents for information. After declining turnout characterized the under-30 age group for more than a decade, turnout increased by almost 5 million in 2004 and almost 2 million in 2006 (http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1639707,00.html).

Many teens today tend to argue about the importance of voting at 18. A Georgetown journalism workshop informal survey found that 73 percent of teens are planning to vote in November of 2008. Gambale was one of the teens that surveyed. “Today many people are planning to vote. I think in order to criticize of what’s going on in today’s government people should vote”.

Other teens surveyed echoed Gambale. “ Yes I’m going to vote, so I can have my say, and show my support.,” says Nick Emenhiser, 16, Norman, OK.

The informal Georgetown survey found that 47 percent out those questioned have the same beliefs as their parents. They said that cable channels such as CNN and shows like The Daily News give them much of their political information. According to the survey, 59 percent out of those responding said these sources influenced their information. According to the survey the top issues for teens are the war in Iraq, the foreign policy, and global warming. Twice as many teens are concerned about the War as global warming, which was the second most popular response.

Many teens stated that they have kept their options open for presidential support, but 40 percent consider themselves independent and 54 percent are Democratic, according to the Reaching Out early for Youth Vote. Democrats are responding by really targeting young voters such as Sen. Barack Obama’s contacts with www.facebook.com founder Chris Hughes, and Hillary Clinton using www.youtube.com. According to Young Voter Strategies, most of the teens’ vote is going to Obama.