Ferguson Situation Escalates
Michael Brown, whose death on Saturday sparked the current protests.
Last night, police used tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse protesters, some of whom threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at officers. This might sound like something that would occur in a country like Ukraine, but no, it’s actually going on in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, in response to a fifth night of demonstrations over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer. Protesters faced heavily armed police who occasionally trained automatic weapons on them from an armored truck. After nightfall, the situation had deteriorated, with police ordering demonstrators to go home before using smoke bombs and tear gas. So far, there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police inched forward to disperse the protesters into small groups pushed down side streets; some people were unable to get to their homes. Earlier in the evening, two reporters, Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of The Huffington Post, were arrested after police officers tried to clear a McDonald’s. After being detained, the two reporters were released without any charges. Both newspapers spoke out against the incident, saying the the officers’ actions were completely unjustified.
The incidents in Missouri are in response to the fatal shooting of the unarmed 18 year-old Michael Brown last Saturday. Police officers claim that the incident occurred after Brown and a friend got into a scuffle with the police and tried to grab an officer’s weapon. Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown when the shooting occurred, tells a very different story, claiming that the policemen tried to force Brown into his car, and when Brown tried to run, the officer ran after him and shot him multiple times. Both Johnson and another witness say that Brown was on the street with his hands raised when the officer repeatedly fired at him. As the protesters faced the police on Wednesday, some of them raised their arms above their heads. The most popular chant of the protests has been, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting, the notorious hacking collective Anonymous burrowed into the city’s website and shut it down for most of the day Monday. They also released what it claimed to be audio experts from St. Louis County dispatch on the day Brown was killed. Authorities have resisted calls to identify the officer who shot Brown, fearing retribution, and claim that there is no police security video of the confrontation.
Shawshank Redemption Prison
An abandoned prison cell at the Ohio State Reformatory.
Due to its compelling story and powerful acting, the 1994 film “Shawshank Redemption”, based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, is considered by many to be one of the best movies of all time. It tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a prisoner who forms an unlikely friendship with fellow prisoner “Red”. The prison that was used to film the movie, the Ohio State Reformatory outside of Mansfield, has been out of use for a long time. However, the building is getting a new lease on life as a tourist attraction after escaping demolition.
Last year alone, the former prison drew up to 80,000 visitors. Last week, it hosted the celebrations that marked the 20th anniversary of the film’s release, which included a 40s-themed cocktail party. Up until 1990, the Ohio State Reformatory was an actual prison, although it was originally due to be demolished to make way for a parking garage. Over the years, the massive granite building had fallen into disrepair. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society purchased the site 20 years ago with the understanding that it would revert to the state if progress wasn’t made to turn the prison into a viable tourist site. Popular events at the site include mystery dinners, Halloween haunts and festivals and ghost hunting activities. The site is apparently haunted by the ghosts of prisoners and guards who met their end at the site over the years.
The building will get further enhancements over the course of the next six months, being cleaned up and decorated so that it will be weatherproof for tourists. Right now, tourists can take a 13-stop self-guided “Shawshank” tour that takes in some of the movie’s key moments, such as the bench where long-term convict Brooks fed the birds, the courthouse where Dufresne was convicted of murder and the old oak tree where Andy concealed money for Red. For a long time, the site has also been serving as a haunted prison during the Halloween season, where the expanse of halls and abandoned cells make for a great night of frights.
About Nelson Lewis
An exposure to politics at a young age had a profound effect on media maven Nelson Lewis, who worked as a volunteer for numerous Republican politicians in and around his native Savannah. Nelson worked as a reporter and eventually anchor at two Savannah television stations growing up, WJCL ABC-22 and WTGS FOX-28, also recording voice teasers for airing on Fridays on WJCL-FM KIX 96 and previewing his upcoming stories, which aired on the Sunday evening news.
One of Nelson’s favorite experiences at WJCL was reporting live from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade (America’s second largest) from 1998-2000. Continuing in the spirit of his grandfather’s pioneering and trailblazing footsteps (he was the first to bring all-color television and stereo to the Savannah market), Nelson became the first person in Savannah market to bring a kid’s perspective to local news as its first youth reporter. In fact, one of the competing stations, WSAV NBC-3 hired their own youth reporter, Sean Champion, 18 months after Nelson began his reports and WJCL/TGS’s ratings dramatically increased.
Work In Political Media
While a sophomore and junior at Lynn University, Nelson Lewis hosted “Politijam”, a lively political debate show that became well known across the university campus and served as the media editor of the univeristy’s weekly EPulse newspaper. While at Lynn, Nelson was selected to represent the entire undergraduate student population as a member of Lynn University’s Academic Task Force, charged with the duty of streamlining the core curriculum of the universities.
While attending Lynn’s College of International Communication, Nelson developed a friendship with Irving R. Levine, a well-known and nationally recognized correspondent for NBC News who became the network’s first full time economics correspondent, and was the creator of the precursor to CNBC. After a 45-year career in journalism, Levine went on to become Dean of Lynn’s communication program. After finishing college, Nelson Lewis followed Levine’s suggestion and moved to Washington, DC where his first job was as a press intern for a Republican congressman, which then led to a job booking at the Fox News Channel from 2006-2010. Here, he was able to put his love of politics and interest in the Republican Party to good use.
Upon the suggestion of Mr. Levine, Nelson Lewis enrolled in the Masters of Professional Studies in Journalism (International Politics) program at Georgetown University in 2009, where a special emphasis was placed on the dissolution of America’s Fairness Doctrine and on the major player in its demise, Bruce Fein.
Nelson was honored to be invited to speak at a roast honoring Levine’s 2009 death at the National Press Club, where he spoke alongside Levine family members and contemporaries such as former Meet the Press Moderator Marvin Kalb. He subsequently wrote a letter to the editor published in The Hill newspaper eulogizing Levine as a “top-notch raconteur” who many others have tried to emulate.
From his work at Fox News, Nelson Lewis was able to take a firsthand role in the DC journalism scene, and was blessed with the opportunity of meeting entertainment, political, and academic luminaries on a daily basis, including numerous sitting and former representatives, senators, governors and cabinet secretaries. These unique experiences gave Nelson a front row seat to many historic events and gave him a firsthand experience of how the Washington system works, from how laws are created to how news is made.
Through Nelson Lewis’ work creating Her Golf Network, coupled with his extensive booking experiences in segment producing gained at America’s highest rated cable news channel and through his time performing key internships at places such as WPBT’s Nightly Business Report in Miami, where he honed his scriptwriting skills, and at WTOC in Savannah, where he provided copyediting and on-site production assistance at the 2004 Sea Island G-8 summit, have provided him with a solid foundation and understanding of the news business. His time as a reporter/anchor growing up prior to his undergraduate studies helped him get an early start at doing what he loves most, reporting.
