Who Knew All of This New News?

Often times, while we are engulfed in our daily routine of checking social media, we see snippets of current events. The most notable sites that many young users get their news from are Snapchat and Instagram. Unfortunately, users can post whatever they want from here, and truly reliable sources are scarce. I fall victim to believing in a fair amount of fake news on the Internet, especially some on social media. Here are five reliable and consistent sources that I look to when I need to stay informed.


1. The Wall Street Journal

For as long as I can remember, my father has ordered the paper copy of the 

WSJ. He wakes up with a cup of coffee and walks down to the driveway to get his newspaper. When he's finished, and I am bored while eating, he will recommend a few articles for me to read. The organization has traditionally been an outstanding neutral site. With current events causing news sites to polarize, WSJ has stayed mostly nonpartisan. Historically, the site is largely business focused (hence the name), but it also covers daily breaking news.

2. NPR

National Public Radio is a very well known and accessible source of news. They cover a wide variety on their website, but I prefer to listen to the radio. I first started listening to NPR in the car on Saturdays on the way to soccer games. Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me was always on in the mornings, and I remember them cracking jokes about current events. Currently, it is a more left leaning source, but I tune in to the more neutral BBC live updates hosted on the network.

3. BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a public broadcasting service that is popular in Europe and the United States. This news company is often hosted by NPR. It was founded shortly after WWI and is currently gaining popularity because it is a very non-partisan source by modern standards. Aside from the appeal of their accents, I grew up listening to the British network during breaking news breaks on NPR.

4. Al-Jazeera Media Network

Al Jazeera is a state-owned news broadcaster based in Qatar. It is a popular Middle-Eastern current affairs and events site. Most describe the network as a site that provides a moderate Western face compared to most Islamic news sources based in the Middle East. My experience with the site comes from using it to research and find cards for debate cases. Specifically, my team used many of their articles to support arguments under the "Two-State Solution" public forum debate topic.

5. The Economist

I have many good memories from reading The Economist, particularly using the graphics for school collages and eventually rooting through the magazines to find funny comics. The Economist is an internationally popular weekly news journal. As the name suggests, The Economist covers primarily economic and business events, but it also has many articles covering weekly news.

This has been my top five news sources. The main trend here is that I was introduced to these sites at a younger age and have continued to check in with them regularly (especially the cartoons). Hopefully these five stay credible and non-partisan.

This has been Mac, please come back!

The Battle for the Space Force

In the near future, international conflict may expand into the realm of space. A place where laser guns and planet-sized ships may rule the galaxy. Like many world leaders, President Trump has been trying to push a new Department of the United States Air Force coined the "Space Force." Quite catchy, is it not? Unfortunately for the Trump Administration and military merch enthusiasts, Netflix has beaten the United States to the trademark for the name Space Force. 

How did this happen? The Netflix show Space Force starring Steve Carell secured rights to the trademark before the U.S. Air Force. The Hollywood Press provided that the "Air Force merely owns a pending application for registration" based on an intent to use. While the U.S. will most likely be able to continue the use of this name, they may not be able to sell merchandise using the name. 

Steve Carell stars in Netflix's Space Force

In the event that the Trump Administration sues Netflix, Newsweek provides that "the streamer may have a good claim to using the name first." Netflix submitted their application to use the name "Space Force" well before the Air Force established the Space Force organization. Furthermore, in a "first-to-use" system for processing trademarks, Netflix currently has priority over the name. 

The official logo of the United States Space Force

I find it comical that a department of the United States government inspired the name of a show which was then submitted to be a trademark within another department of the United States. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filters and processes all of the trademark applications. This means that some people would have experienced the moment when a Netflix show stole rights to the name of a newly highlighted entity of the U.S. military. I would love to hear a hypothetical exchange between the USPTO and the Air Force in which the Air Force is annoyed that their fellow department did not give them priority or notice that their name was being trademarked right under their nose!

This has been Mac, please come back!

About the Blogger...

COLLAPSE

Hello! My name is Mac Laborde and I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I am a Media Production and Entrepreneurship major with a Spanish minor. Currently, I am studying the basic techniques of media production and hope to continue strengthening my video editing skills. Outside of class, I play club tennis and eSports, as well as run a YouTube channel. After HPU I hope to either be a freelance video creator or screen writer and director. (Also, my favorite food is chicken-fried steak)