Today, Monday October, 28 whatamievendoing, oceanwanderer and cheeseandcrackers55 lead a newsroom discussion on a variety of stories;
Our local news story came from our very own student run newspaper, The Breeze, whose culture section wrote an article about the 90’s resurgence in clothing. Social media outlets such as tiktok, seem to be fueling this trend, bringing in classic items like animal print or outfits Rachael green wore. Sweat Seats from Y2K are becoming popular for students leaning more into comfortThe class discussed this resurgence, how it seemed to be a continuous trend for old eras to reappear. We discussed the importance of expressing ones selves through their clothing, and how fashion can define somebody’s identity. Conversation switched when someone brought up how food restricted the 90’s were and the class began discussing body positivity and the differences in the Victoria Secrets fashion show.
Our first national news story is unfortunately a bit of a tougher topic. The class disscussed a New York Times article that told the story of a greving mother who is looking for justice after her 14 year old son committed suicide. Sewell Setzer III grew an unhealthy attachment to an AI charter on the app Character.AI. Setzer was diagnosed with Asperger’s as a kid but never had any serious behavioral or mental health issues, until the trouble started at school and his grades suffered. He would talk to Dany about his thoughts of suicide. On the night he died, he wrote to Dany telling her he would come home soon, she replied “please come home to me as soon as possible, my love.” he replied “what if I told you I could come home right now?” to which Dany said “please do, my sweet king.” he then shot himself. His mother now puts together a team of lawyers to go against the app. Our class discussed who was to blame for the boy’s death. We largely agreed, the family neglected the boy’s signs and had an obligation to protect their son from the internet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/characterai-lawsuit-teen-suicide.html
Our second national news story was about the recent breakup between famous country singer Zach Bryan and social media influencer Briana Lapaglia. Suspicion around their breakup started forming earlier last week when Bryan was spotted on the celebrity dating app Raya. On Tuesday last week Zach Bryan released an Instagram story post announcing their split. Bryan has claimed to have a hard year, creating the breakup. Taken off guard by this Briana released a Youtube video asking for space and privacy while she grieves this, she will release the reason that caused them to break up when ready. While the reason has not yet been released, fans speculate that Bryan cheated on Lapaglia as it flows his dating trend and that’s how they got together. Adding onto this, Brianna has been involved with some recent controversy and a canceling trend after a podcast on the Mendez Brothers came out. Our class discussed the double standard of women and how men can make personal life mistakes and their careers do not suffer, but that is not the case for women. We also discussed privacy for celebrities and how maybe it’s best their personal lives are for themselves.
https://www.vulture.com/article/zach-bryan-brianna-chickenfry-breakup-drama-explained.html
Our Global news story was the recent death of One Direction bandmate Liam Payne in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Oct 16, 2024. He fell off his third-floor balcony of his hotel room, just 31 years old. Autopsy reports multiple drugs in his system including crack, cocaine, benzodiazepine, and “pink cocaine” (mix of meth, ketamine, and MDMA) Police reported to the scene around 5pm on Wednesday after an emergency call was placed complaining about a “guest under the influence of drugs and alcohol” who was manic and destroying items in the hotel room. The person who placed the 911 call was particularly concerned about Liam’s well-being because his hotel room had a balcony and the person was afraid he might do something to harm himself. When Argentinian authorities arrived at the hotel 7 minutes after the call was placed, Liam’s body was discovered in the inner courtyard of the hotel. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Our class focused our discussion on the photos of Liam’s body being released and whether or not that was ethical. One student claimed it was a “Gross invasion of privacy” to which most others agreed. Just like our national news conclusion, the class agreed celebrities deserve privacy. The public has a need to know and a want to know, it’s their obligation to learn the difference.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 