Unrest in Philadelphia

Monday shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. causes protests, more attention on Pennsylvania

Walter Wallace Jr. was fatally shot by police in Philadelphia Monday after his family called for help with a mental health crisis. Upon arrival at the scene, Wallace was seen holding a knife and did not follow orders to drop the weapon. After raising his arm, police officers fired 14 rounds, killing Wallace. Police officers drove Wallace to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

The identity of the police officers has not been released at this time, but both officers have been moved off street patrol pending investigation. Their names will not be released until officials can verify they do not face potential harm in releasing their information.

Video of the shooting was posted to social media by a bystander.

The shooting gave rise to protest demonstrations in Philadelphia both Monday and Tuesday nights. During the demonstrations, many downtown stores were broken into and two police officers were injured. The National Guard will arrive later this week to protect businesses from further damage.

This all comes at a time where Pennsylvania is already in the public eye; the state has been labeled a key battleground for the 2020 election. Both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have visited the state in the past month as we draw closer to the 2020 election.

The Electoral College

How your vote counts

You may have heard the term “popular vote” before in conjunction with the presidential election. That’s the old one-person-one-vote standard. However, this is not the vote that determines the outcome of a presidential election: that is the Electoral College‘s job.

So, what is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is a body of representatives, the same as the number of representatives and Senate members in each state, that votes on behalf of the constituents that make up a certain area within their state. There are 538 members of the Electoral College. The job of the Electoral College is to vote on behalf of the citizens that make up their Congressional district; however, their vote is supposed to be cast in favor of the party that wins their state.

Let’s say you live in Iowa: there are four congressional representatives for the state and two senators. That means there will be six votes total that go toward the candidate representing the state’s popular winner. Two states — Maine and Nebraska — apportion their electoral votes according to each district. So in Nebraska in 2008, Barack Obama carried one district and John McCain carried the other two. McCain also got the other two votes from Nebraska — representing its Senate seats — to win Nebraska 4-1.

The number of congressional representatives varies depending on population size which is tallied every 10 years in the U.S. Census.

Thirty-two states require their votes to go to the candidate that wins the popular vote. If electors fail to do this, they run the risk of owing a fine or facing criminal charges.

How are electors determined?

Each election year, political parties in each state nominate candidates that are loyal to party lines to act as electors. There are no specific requirements a state must meet in selecting their electors. Members of Congress cannot be electors.

If an elector’s party affiliation is known, how do swing states come into play?

Because the majority of states require their vote to go to the candidate that wins the popular election, popular votes are incredibly important. More than that, the number of electors for each state can have a large impact on an elections outcome, especially if the state is large, like known swing states Texas and Florida, who hold 36 and 27 congressional seats, respectively.

When will the Electoral College vote be determined in 2020?

On Election Day (November 3) the general election determines what electoral voters will cast their ballot for president. After Election Day, states count the popular vote ballots to certify popular vote results. However, electors do not vote in their state until December 14, 2020.

Why is it important that I vote?

The popular vote determines which electors in your state are chosen. Because electors are based off their loyalty to party lines, your vote (for either major party) is one more vote in count for a certain elector to cast their ballot in favor of your selected candidate.

News outlets as channels for misinformation

Journalists need to prioritize reporting truth rather than covering hot button statements

Here at Quill and Scroll, we’re focused on truth: one of our founding principles. We constantly look for red herrings in news coverage, or informed articles on stopping the spread of misinformation as one of the largest problems and criticisms of journalism today.

Journalist’s Resource author Thomas Patterson wrote a commentary on the misinformation that news media spreads. While we are all aware that untruthful information is stated by public officials, what we don’t talk about is the widespread coverage that information receives. While the coverage may be calling out the information for being untruthful, it also is giving that information airtime – placing the statements in front of the public eye with little to no context.

This imbalance of information may be seen as coverage of newsworthy statements; yet, what does misinformation have to do with the American public when the primary audience of the statement is much smaller than the viewership of news media?

Patterson points to the coverage of President Donald Trump‘s tweets. Every time Trump tweets something that is inaccurate, he receives media coverage. Media coverage exposes people without a Twitter account (those who would not have direct exposure to Trump’s tweets) to false statements: but for what purpose? Because he is the President of the United States, nearly everything he does is newsworthy in some matter, but when that coverage spreads misinformation, is it necessary to be covered?

Covering misinformation attracts viewers. While viewers don’t necessarily know what is going to be covered in the five o’clock news, they can expect the most relevant happenings of the day to be featured. Covering misinformation passes along the information to unsuspecting viewers who may not note the information is false. Once that misinformation is discussed among viewers, it becomes “truth,” because viewers are not sharing that it is false.

The simple solution to this problem is halting coverage on misinformation. The less a topic is covered, the less chance for spread of that misinformation in an unhealthy manner.

 “The only effective way for news outlets to fight misinformation is to reduce their contribution.” – Thomas Patterson

In a report for the News America Foundation, political scientists Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler suggested specific tactics as a manner of accurate reporting:

• Getting the story right the first time
• Minimizing repetition of false claims
• Making rapid corrections
• Relying on credible sources/Ignoring unreliable ones
• Not amplifying the problem

Not new ideas, eh? Prioritize information that can be verified as true and leave the rest at the door.