Self-Driving Cars

For my Media Writing class, we had a group assignment of a “Convergence Lab” to choose a topic and write a multitude of different stories about that topic. My group chose technology, and from there, we wrote this story (featuring a print news story and a Storify) about self-driving cars.

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Is it Time to Think About Self-Driving Cars in Newport?

Newport locals have mixed beliefs on whether or not self-driving cars would be welcome in the seaside city.

In the past year, the transportation company Uber has begun testing self-driving cars to pick up passengers around Pittsburgh and Phoenix. Uber is now looking to expand testing operations and Rhode Island legislators need to decide whether to ban the technology or embrace it.

A poll conducted by Harris Interactive in 2014 showed that 80 percent of those polled believed that computer glitches would be the greatest drawback of self-driving cars, while only 7 percent of the sample believed there would be no drawbacks.

The greatest benefit in the survey was perceived to be a cure to dangerous driving accidents. The participants believed self-driving cars would limit drunk driving, as well as reducing speeding and traffic.

The Executive Director of the Audrain Automobile Museum on Belleview, David De Muzio, believes that self-driving technology in Newport may help during tourist season.

“Obviously they are working out all the ins and outs of all the technology to make it work on public streets, but I’ve read that they help congestion. We certainly have congestion on the island in the summer with tourism. I imagine initially it would be interesting, but it may not completely alleviate our problem. Over time I imagine it would be a great thing, though,” said De Muzio.

While De Muzio said he has no fears about the change self-driving cars would bring to his career, auto mechanic Paul S’Braccia fears technology is moving too far, too fast.

“Right now there’s not enough information and sources… there’s not a lot of history on it, so I think it’s something to do in the future. Right now, it’s hard to answer that question because we don’t know enough about it yet, it’s in testing stages,” said S’Braccia.

Local opinions pointed toward the biggest problem of self-driving technology: the unknown.

Salve Regina sophomore Angela Augusta admitted to not really knowing much about self-driving cars outside of doing some research for a class.

“I think that self-driving cars being tested in Newport would be cool, but I also think the concept of a self-driving car is actually kind of dangerous, especially in a college town. I feel like there would have to be precautionary measures made, and everyone on campus and in the city would have to know,” Augusta said.

Professionals and townies alike are unsure what to make of Newport’s possible future with self-driving technology and the state has yet to make a move for or against.

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I also made a Storify for the project, featured here.

Panel on Trump’s U.S. Asia Policy

After going to a panel on Trump’s U.S. Asia policies, I wrote this event story for my Media Writing class along with interviewing three people who also attended the panel. It features both a print and a broadcast story.

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Wondering what President Trump and his administration have been up to in regards to Asian policies?

Last week, the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University held a discussion with four panelists who all spoke about the future of U.S. Asia policies under President Trump. They held this panel to inform more people about what is going on in our government, especially internationally.

The panelists were Dr. Tanvi Madan, Jeff M. Smith, Isaac Stone Fish, and the mediator, Dr. Iskander Rehman. They all sat at a table in the front of the Bazarsky Lecture Hall on Tuesday, March 21. Speaking to an audience that was spread sparsely around the auditorium, they explained their positions and views of Trump’s administration and Asian policies.

The discussion started off with Dr. Rehman introducing the panelists, and stating what they would be speaking about.

Jeff Smith, Director of Asian Security Programs and the Kraemer Strategy Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, spoke about how there is currently no clear policy of Asian security, and how President Trump has unstable connections with China. Dr. Tanvi Madan spoke about India’s relations to Trump and the personal relationship between President Trump and President Mukherjee of India.

Isaac Stone Fish spoke about Trump’s unpredictability and overreach in his presentation, specifically about his tweets and Trump’s non-involvement in China’s human rights issues.

“I think so far [China has] been very happy that Trump doesn’t want to get involved in China’s human rights issues and I think they’ll continue to express pleasure at that, because it’s really good for them domestically,” said Isaac Stone Fish, a senior fellow at the Asia Society.

The sparse audience consisted of students, faculty, and people from all around Rhode Island who wanted to hear what these professionals had to say.

“It was a long discussion with a knowledgeable group of people and it was very informative,” said Abby Porzio, a sophomore Psychology major at Salve Regina.

These panelists were invited to speak at Bazarsky Lecture Hall by Dr. Rehman because of personal connections. He has worked with them in the past, dealing with international policies.

“I thought all of the presentations were excellent, but I didn’t expect anything less from these guys. I know they’re good,” said Dr. Iskander Rehman, a senior fellow at the Pell Center.

The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy will definitely be hosting more panels similar to this in the future to both inspire and intrigue students and faculty at Salve Regina University

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422 words.

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Broadcast Script:

00:00-00:10 Anchor:	A panel is being held at Salve Regina University tonight on Trump’s international policies. Here is our reporter Lauren O’Neil with more.
00:10-00:30 SU: Lauren O’Neil in front of Bazarsky Hall CG: Lauren O’Neil	That’s right. I’m here at Bazarsky Lecture Hall at Salve Regina University and behind me is the panel for U.S. Asia policies under Trump’s administration.
00:30-00:50 VO: B-roll: video of the lecture hall CG: Bazarsky Lecture Hall	With a scattered crowd in front of them, four panelists spoke about the international policies with Asia, and how President Trump is dealing with it. A Senior fellow at the Asia Society spoke about how Trump doesn’t want to get involved with China’s human rights issues, and how that will affect the future relationship between China and the U.S.
00:50-01:00 SOT: Isaac Stone Fish (panelist) CG: Isaac Stone Fish	“I think so far they’ve been very happy that Trump doesn’t want to get involved in China’s human rights issues and I think they’ll continue to express pleasure at that, because it’s really good for them domestically.”
01:00-01:10 VOSOT: B-roll: scanning over lecture hall, stopping on the panelists.	The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy set this panel up with the help of Senior Fellow Dr. Iskander Rahman. He knows the panelists personally from working with them in the past and has invited them to come speak at Salve.
01:10-01:30 SOT: mediator (senior fellow at Pell center) CG: Dr. Iskander Rahman	“I thought all of the presentations were excellent, but I didn’t expect anything less from these guys. I know they’re good.”
01:30-01:40 VO: B-roll: film of the lecture hall, focusing on the audience	The audience was made up of students, faculty, and the public. The panelists did a great job of explaining their positions, and how they believe Trump will perform in regards to the U.S. Asia policies in the future.
1:40-1:50 SU: reporter CG: Lauren O’Neil	Reporting for Newport News, I’m Lauren O’Neil.