Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-19-16 Edition

Presidential News
All Mediums Covered President’s Final SOTU Speech
State News
Senate Democratic Caucus
On Tuesday night, Presi- dent Obama will deliver his sixth and final State of the Union address. And as details trickle out about what it will include, it’s clear that the ad- ministration is focused equally on both the message and the medium.
This, according to a Sunday evening Medium post by the White House’s chief digital of- ficer and Twitter veteran Jason Goldman: “The American people will see a multi-platform streaming and social broadcast of the State of the Union that reflects the ways people experience live events in 2016,” he wrote.
Specifically, the White House’s media team part- nered with Amazon to stream the address via its video plat- form as a way to reach “those who’ve cut the cord from
General Rescind Decision
President Obama’s final State Of The Union (SOTU) speech.
In a letter on Friday, the Sen- ate Democratic Caucus de- manded that the State Surgeon General rescind a decision to remove standards pertaining to pediatric heart surgery. The let- ter, signed by Senate Demo- cratic Leader Arthenia Joyner states:
“Dear Dr. (John) Arm- strong:
“The Senate Democratic Cau- cus has recently learned of a troubling decision made by you to remove quality standards for pediatric heart surgery in Florida.
“These standards of care which were designed to safe- guard the health and safety of children with heart defects, have not only been in place for almost 40 years, but have served as a model for other states.
“They were the safety net to ensure accountability in surgi- cal procedures, and responsible for triggering reviews when a physician or hospital failed to adhere to them. As you are well aware, these standards were the benchmark against which the performance of one hospi- tal was measured in the wake of multiple deaths and one paral- ysis of children who underwent heart surgeries.
“Following news reports by CNN last year, the hospital’s heart surgery program was fi- nally closed and its CEO re-
SENATOR ARTHENIA JOYNER
Senate Democratic Leader
signed.
“Unfortunately, CNN just
this week also reported that rather than applaud the stan- dards for ensuring the integrity of medical care, a decision was made to jettison them - not only over the opposition of nu- merous cardiac physicians, but possibly as a result of political influence.
“For the sake of the children of Florida, this letter is to de- mand that you immediately re- scind your decision and reinstitute the quality stan- dards for pediatric heart sur- geries forthwith. In addition, this Caucus is seeking the drafting of, and passage of leg- islation as soon as possible in support of codifying these medical standards in state law. “We anticipate your compli- ance and response,” she con- cluded.
cable and network TV” and now use smart TVs, laptops, mobile devices and tablets to watch shows. Per usual, the White House also offered a live stream of the event on its YouTube channel and the White House website, and hold Twitter Q&As with top
officials the following day. Meanwhile, the White House has premiered a proj- ect that features contextual notes from President Obama and his former staffers on past State of the Union speeches via the online
annotation platform Genius.
The Day Before President
On Monday, just a day be- fore President Obama de- livered his final State of the Union address, the White House joined Snapchat, pre- miering its account with a short video that panned up from the floor to reveal the President’s desk in the Oval Office. The moment screamed “exclusive access.”
The White House joining the evanescent social platform is the final frontier in the Obama administration’s quest to connect with a younger generation of Ameri- cans online — a move that has as much to do with solidifying his legacy as it does with pushing his policies.
Ever since his successful digital grassroots campaign in 2008, the has recognized technology as a mobilizing medium. During his tenure in the White House, his team has slowly collected accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and Facebook to bolster its messaging machine. And the President himself has set- tled comfortably into the role of sometime social media star: deadpanning on “Between Two Ferns,” voguing for Buz- zfeed, and, —most recently, —
State Debates Issue Of
Obama’s Final SOTU
Demands State Surgeon
White House Joins Snapchat
Keeping The Names Of
Lottery Winners Secret
Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama on Snapchat.
If you think winning a big lot- tery jackpot is enough to buy you anonymity, think again. Too often, their names are made public by state law.
Now, it’s becoming increas- ingly impossible for big win- ners to hide their identity and lottery executives are trying to strike a balance between ensur- ing privacy and safety while still proving to the public that real people can win.
Some feel forcing people to reveal their names is the same as throwing meat into a shark- infested ocean. However, al- lowing winners to collect jackpots in secret invites public suspicion and makes it easier for cheating to go undetected.
The three states with Power- ball winners from Wednesday’s $1.6 billion drawing – Califor- nia, Florida and Tennessee – require winners to disclose their names, which is the policy of most states that play the game.
talking about nothing in par- ticular on Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”
President Obama’s team has been successful in its so- cial media campaigns because it has avoided the all-too- common strategy of carpet- bombing every platform with a single piece of content. It recognizes that genuinely communicating to an audi- ence requires understanding the differences in format and digital culture of each app. For instance, the First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a “turnip for what” pun on Vine that would’ve likely seemed too weird and fast on
Facebook. A recent photo of snowmen on the White House lawn got more than 28,000 likes on Instagram, though it would have quickly been buried if it were posted into a sea of breaking news on Twit- ter. The President assured Twitter in a Q&A that he too thought peas in guacamole were disgusting, when no other normal person would care. The President’s social media whisperers are always in the background, offering tips to appease the new online audiences he faces on any given day.
And their attention was no less acute when it came to de- buting on Snapchat.
Delaware, Kansas Maryland North Dakota Ohio and South Carolina allow winners to re- main anonymous. A number of other states, including Col- orado Connecticut, Massachu- setts and Vermont, will award prizes to a trust and allow a trustee – usually an attorney – to collect without disclosing the name of the ticket holder.
States like Illinois and Ore- gon have made exceptions to their policy of disclosure when winners demonstrate a high risk of harm.
Bills to keep lottery winners names confidential failed in North Carolina and New York.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016