1. Two questions for Bobby Ampezzan about how Arkansas Public Media works, what experience you need to publish there, etc.

• On your twitter account, you publicly tweet with a lot of charisma and humor. Is this for any specific reason? A tactic to reach a certain audience? If so, please explain and teach us why.
• What is a characteristic or skill that everyone must have in order to work for Arkansas Public Media?

2. At least one question or a significant observation on reporting on the working poor from Ch. 2 of Nickel and Dimed.

• I wonder how the Maids must feel like to constantly be assumed as a thief always being observed under surveillance cameras and tape recorders when they are simply just trying to provide a meal on the table for at least one person? In Chapter 2 of Nickle and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich describes in great detail the challenges that housecleaners and “maids” have to face daily, one of them being the constant underlying assumption that these cleaners will try to steal from the homeowners. Homeowners go to great depths to make sure that these women do not attempt theft of their belongings. Ehrenreich tells a story of one women watching her scrub the floors on her hands and knees to not only make sure she does not attempt to steal something, but also to make sure she gets every spot cleaned to the T. I am sure that provides an immense amount of pressure, but it is hard to imagine how that must actually feel. It is similar to (on a much larger scale) when a friend accuses you of stealing a scarf out of her closet, when you promise that it is in fact yours. However, in this case, these homeowners are not your friends at all, and this is not a one-time circumstance; this is a daily affair, and your work becomes your identity as long as you are wearing the uniform. Wow.
• It is also a sad observation that being pregnant, injured, or ill is such a negative thing, and is considered to be your fault. We see this with Barbara’s co-worker or “teammate” Holly. She breaks her ankle on accident, she is malnourished, and she is most likely pregnant, and all of these are considered a burden. They are occurrences that are simply a part of life, but unfortunately to some people, like Holly, they can ruin everything. A pregnancy is usually praised, but to a low-wage worker, this is another mouth to feed, and pregnancy comes with days off. Missing one day of work is one day with no food on the table. It is a sad fact that Holly is the one getting blamed for all of these occurrences rather than life itself.

3. List two examples of how the NY Times writer uses detail in The Holdouts. For example, how does she describe cigarettes? How does she describe a sense of community?

• Lizette Alvarez describes the social stigma nowadays in New York City (despite the shockingly high numbers of how many people smoke in the big city) as making “peace with living on the wrong side of acceptable.” Something that was once so normal that if you didn’t participate you stuck out like a sore thumb, is now embarrassing and shameful. “They look at you like you just clubbed a baby seal,” said Mr. Devila. It is interesting how times can change so drastically within a social realm.
• I love how Alvarez utilizes similes and metaphors to describe their small community of smokers. For example, “When it rains, they crowd under a tiny overhang near the loggia and hope the security guard won’t shoo them away like loiterers at a convenience store.” This truly gives the reader a picture of how smokers are portrayed in today’s society; they are being compared to those who linger around and do nothing —mall rats– when in reality they have individual backgrounds and stories.

4. Chart with census income: find your assigned county’s median income, the number of people in $15,000-$24,999 wage band, and the percentage of people in the $15,000-$24,999 wage band, compare to state and national averages. –BONUS: Visualize this in Tableau, upload graphic

EXCEL SPREADSHEET:

TABLEAU CHART:

5. Identify a low-wage worker you intend to interview for the class

• I currently do not have a specific individual in mind yet, however, I do have some more ideas. Possibly a filling station attendant or an auto repair worker? I also like the idea of the women and men (few) who work at a nail salon.