Resume

Matthew R. Masterson

46 Thomas Jefferson Lane, Snyder, NY 14226 / Home Address

614 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706 / School Residence

716-479-4881 / Cell

MattMan1001@aol.com

EDUCATION

• St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Buffalo, NY. / 2004 – 2008.

N.Y. State Board of Regents Diploma.

• University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. / 2008 – present.

Double-majoring in Journalism and History.

 

JOURNALISM COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCE

• Sports Writer for The Daily Cardinal.
  • Beat Writer for Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey Team (2011-12).
  • Beat Writer for Wisconsin Athletic Department Press Conferences (2011).
  • Gained Valuable Media Knowledge While Honing Writing and Interviewing Skills, Writing 1-2 Stories Per Week.
  • Interacted Effectively With Fellow Staff Members, Gaining Access to Exclusive Stories.
  • Contributing Writer for Bleacher Report.com.
    • 2009-Present.

 

RELEVANT COURSES

• Journalism- Effects of Mass Communication.
• Journalism- History of Mass Communication.
• Journalism- Mass Communication Practices.
• Introduction to Communication.
• Human Geography / Economic and Political Perspectives.

 

OTHER ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCE

• Rowing:
  • Seven years on Crew Team for St. Joseph’s, West Side Rowing Club, and University of Wisconsin.

• Jolly Roger Car Wash
  • Car Wash Attendant, Fuel Pump Attendant (2005-2008).
  • West Side Rowing Club
    • Crew Coach and Rowing Instructor (2009-2011).
    • Physical Fitness Enthusiast.
    • Avid Reader and Writer.
    • Knowledge and Understanding of the Spanish Language.
    • Knowledge and Understanding of Microsoft Excel and Adobe InDesign.

“Threats And Lies, And ‘Who I’m Supposed To Be’” Reaction Piece

For most people, we never have to hide who we are. We have grown up in an accepting age. More and more, parents have accepted and tolerated their children for who they are, rather than forcing them to be the people that they want them to be. This is a great thing, and it allows people to be the person they want to be.

But that isnt the case for everyone. Certainly Nathan Hoskins knows how that feels.

In the NPR piece Threats And Lies, And ‘Who I’m Supposed To Be, we are given the story of a man who had to hide his true being from the world- his friends, his wife, and even his family- the people who are supposed to love him most.

It’s one thing for a parent to reject their child’s orientation or chosen way of life, but for a mother to do what Nathan’s did sounds like fiction- like the work of an author trying to drum up support for his protagonist. But alas, this was real life.

Nathan wasn’t facing the choice of “act straight or be ostracized,” he was facing “act straight or die.” Despite every feeling that was inside him, Nathan had no choice but to put on a mask and pretend, act, that he was the normal, straight, child that his mother wanted him to be.

Going as far as getting married, Nathan did everything he could to tell the world “I’m straight.” But it wasn’t the truth. And after nine years of marriage, he finally had to come out and tell the word the truth.

Whether Nathan’s mother would have ever actually pulled the trigger we will never know, but what she did do was put Nathan in a shell, a shell that took him decades to finally break free from.

“Unspeakable Conversations” Reaction Piece

In Unspeakable Conversations, Harriet McBryde Johnson’s piece for the New York Times, the reader is given an all access view to a debate of sorts between herself and noted professor/philosopher Peter Singer on the topic of rights to life and how this applies to disabled people.

Singer, a professor at Princeton, speaks about the irrationality of allowing abortion, but not allowing “active killing.” He believes that parents should be allowed to kill their infants if they are disabled, because if they do, it will allow for the greatest possible happiness among the greatest possible amount of people.

This may seem like a grossly irresponsible misreading of the utilitarian principle, which is “an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall ‘happiness,’” but Singer believes that he is simply going by the letter of the law (in the utilitarian sense of the word).

“Written on the Body” Reaction Piece

In her piece “Written on the Body,” author Anna Badkhen gives us a powerful look into the lives of the people most affected by the war in Afghanistan- not the combatants, but the natives of Afghanistan themselves, who have seen their homes turned into a war zone and seen friends and family members killed with regularity.

Often we forget that wherever a war is fought, whenever a was is fought, people’s homes are destroyed and lives are ruined (if not taken). Perhaps because we as Americans have never been forced to endure such a nightmare on our own soil, it is hard for us to imagine seeing our neighborhoods turned into bombed out shells of what they used to be. That is exactly what Kamrana, her family and countless others have come to accept as normal, routine even.

“This road is no place for a little girl. This road is no place for anyone.” This quote sums up the piece in itself. Nobody should be forced to live through this horror, or live a life where you dont know whether or not you will survive the day.

Badkhen also does a good job of giving humanity to her piece. The daily processes that families carry out to try and distance themselves from the pain and the henna tattoo which now bonds her with her adoptive family in Afghanistan all combine to make us feel very deeply about these people and the hell that their lives have been turned into.

Rough Weekend for UW Athletics

Lost in the haze of a particularly memorable Superbowl on Sunday night were a couple of big losses for University of Wisconsin-Madison athletics. The men’s hockey team suffered consecutive losses to conference rival St. Cloud State which effectively ended their shot at home ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs, while the men’s basketball team blew a golden opportunity to upset #3 Ohio State at the Kohl Center on Saturday.

While Jordan Taylor and the basketball team still have a chance to avenge their loss to the Buckeyes, the Badgers hockey team (7-13-2 WCHA, 12-14-2 overall) is running out of time in the regular season. Head coach Mike Eaves and his young squad have just six games left this season before entering the WCHA playoffs and each contest left is crucial. The team is six points away from home ice advantage and with series’ against Denver, Bemidji State, and Minnesota remaining, the Badgers are going to need help from others. St. Cloud, Bemidji and North Dakota all sit just above UW, and the Badgers will need all of those teams to go on extended losing streaks if they want home ice to be a reality.

Meanwhile, the Badgers basketball team (7-4 Big Ten, 18-6 overall) held the Buckeyes to 19 points below their season average and just one three pointer, but it was not enough as UW fell 58-52. Wisconsin shot an abysmal 5-27 from three and had just three total free throw attempts- numbers that are not conducive to beating a top five team.

The Badgers fell to #21 in the latest rankings after the loss and will head to the twin cities to face the rival Minnesota Gophers on February 9th.

“An Ambush and a Comrade Lost”- Reaction Piece

The New York Times piece “An Ambush and a Comrade Lost” gives us the story of a U.S. army platoon on patrol in Afganistan, and how a routine walkthrough in a familiar area can turn deadly in just seconds.

In war, there is never a moment to let your guard down- soldiers must be on full alert at all times, regardless of how secure they feel or how safe an area may be. In this piece we are shown the consequences of letting your guard down, even for an instant, when you are in the enemy’s territory.

The platoon is crossing a river on a thin, makeshift bridge in a known Taliban area that they have secured several times before. Rain from the night before has made the river flow at a torrential pace, and one misstep could cause disaster. However, it would not be the river that would cause the tragedy on this day.

The way the New York Times tells this story- through a video slideshow with the live audio of the bomb’s explosion and subsequent gunfire- gives the viewer a visceral feel that makes you feel as if you were right next to the soldiers. The pictures from both before and after this battle show us how quickly an event can turn ugly, as well as the lasting effects that it can have on the soldiers who just lost a close friend.

While a print story may be able to portray an incident like this effectively, the natural sound of the event itself, combined with the voices from soldiers who were there, makes this a very emotional piece about the human element in war.

Opening Post

Well here we are, first post on wordpress.com- I’ve finally made it. CNN link on Newt