Convergence is on the rise in the social media industry. Fans share footage with journalists who meet veterans and those who serve on the frontline of COVID-19. But what about your American Legion Post? Where do you draw the line when you attend a “Buddy Check” call? As a person who steps up by meeting in-person as an ambassador of the American Legion, where do you know where to step? Social distancing virtual communication networks come in handy. Over watch shared footage helps build blogging for outreach, which avoids getting our members sick by connecting through a social media administrator.

Liability is at stake. Where do you look to when working with at-risk or at-large veterans? The County Veteran Service Officer.

The following scenario happened to an American Legion Post following Buddy Check orders:

Veteran calls from the Madison VA hospital, says he needs the Post Service Officer to go do his grocery shopping, when COVID-19 sees record spikes in their county. Your Second Vice Commander calls and orders you to go help the guy, even though you know handling someone else’s check card may cost the Post it’s reputation. You tell your Second Vice Commander to have them stop at the Madison VA Social Worker to check in before they leave because of COVID-19 hospital programs who will help them.

None-the-less, your Second Vice Commander throws a fit and slams the phone who thinks all of the quarantine is a hoax. The Service Officer maintained the Post Facebook page on-call 24/7 as a service to the Post. By utilizing blogs, hyperlinks and shared data, the Service Officer worked from home to connect with several hundred veterans at once.

The following Virtual Buddy Check network will connect you at Outpost 422. We are taking you on a historical American veteran journey during a time of confusion during the 11th hour of crisis impact due to COVID-19 and unemployability. The American Legion of Wisconsin works through their Engage 22 foundation, which centers around outreach.

Please take a moment to reflect at this point in your veteran journey and connect to the Outpost 422 multimedia center if you are in crisis. You will be directed immediately to our director who will connect you with the American Legion, VFW and DAV to assist you. Reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line anytime. Open the pantry door at 1-877-4-AID-VET, and check in with your County Service Officer.

Due to backlog of  VA appeal, we are conducting a communications experiment at University of  Wisconsin Whitewater to allow Veterans Choice on campus. The Buddy Check Program, Engage 22 and the American Legion brand are not affiliate with any claims made on this site. The Service Officer who belongs to all three organizations shares information as a segue service. The blog is the buddy check. As we work to develop American Legion Zoom meetings, work virtually to stop the spread, think about all who are affected in the event a buddy check may put your comrades at your Post in the line of fire during COVID-19.

Disabled veteran returns to school facing challenges as a nontraditional student to overcome the impossibility of winning appeal.

Bradley J. Burt builds a social media watchtower through multimedia outreach by combining all fields of journalism under a brand called “blog-casting.” Blog-casting assists corporations who offer veterans employee assistance programs, which helped Burt win his appeals. Outpost 422, Burt’s Social Media Writing Course final project, takes on the challenges veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder face, by creating an internship outlet at Madison College to collect data, find resources and find a place to intersect with Burt’s WordPress portfolio.

The News Reporting for Media Course at University of Wisconsin Whitewater requires students to build a broadcast reel for their final class project. Bradley J. Burt’s development started at Madison College in the Practicum 2 Course as a consortium transfer in Fall of 2019. Burt combined courses from UW Whitewater with the Madison College Journalism Certificate Program, which operates as a crisis blog outreach reporter.

Multimedia Gallery: Home | Bradley J. Burt (wixsite.com)

Bradley J. Burt takes the viewer on a journey to uncover resources to help those who are utilizing employee assistance programs. Information blog-casted helped Burt win his Veterans Administration appeal. The Outpost 422 Multimedia Center evolves UW Whitewater undergraduate research to create a prototype for virtual off-campus case studies.

Outpost 422 Samples

COVID-19 impacts the Warhawk Vote outreach Friday before the presidential election – Outpost 422

Whitewater Student Government meets virtually to address options on behalf of students addressing ongoing COVID-19 virtual organizing – Outpost 422

Zaroni’s owner makes paying forward to the community through food bank and blood drive first priority on Thanksgiving Eve – Outpost 422

Madison College offers opportunities for students to virtually showcase projects for corporate social responsibility – Outpost 422

Madison VA social workers assist qualifying veterans with navigating services – Outpost 422

The Weird Turn Pro—COVID 19 Distance Learning Assignment for Investigative Journalism at Madison College – Outpost 422

Burt created the Sacred Warrior Search and Rescue Foundation in Fall of 2020 through the Madison College Small Business Development Course to locate grants for those who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Outpost 422 develops on-campus QR voucher assistance through Veterans Choice and private care options. The 501 c 3 funds the Outpost 422 Multimedia Center seeking angel investors and board members to offer clinical trials on University of Wisconsin campuses.

Oshkosh, Wisconsin local pizza and macaroni restaurant collects and delivers donated food while hosting a blood drive on Thanksgiving Eve.

COVID-19 continues to surge leaving local restaurant owners questioning the future of business success. Zaroni’s A Macaroni and Pizza Pub serves double orders of good faith and charity to those who are quarantined and hospitalized by offering discounts for food and blood donations. The Community Blood Center of Oshkosh RV sets up in the Zaroni’s parking lot, while Account Manager Lisa Koeppel works with Doemel’s business to keep up with supply and demand as the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

Zaroni’s owner Jon Doemel continues to work with his staff and community supporters to collect donations and host blood drives. As Doemel’s family centrally collects donated items at his restaurant, curbside donators offer to help. Doemel’s discounts, volunteer opportunities and announcements continuously update on the Zaroni’s Facebook page inviting patrons to come forward and pitch in.

Spring of 2020, the Electronic Media Writing Course at UW Whitewater introduced Audio Production I. After finishing the ad campaign final project, the thought of “wouldn’t it be cool to write copy and produce commercials” led to enrolling in the Audio Production I Course.

91.7 The Edge WSUW – Home (weebly.com)

Audio Production I offers students an opportunity to pursue a career in the Electronic Media Emphasis field as Communication majors. Outpost 422 tracks every step of the Wisconsin G.I. Bill journey offering samples of the experience. The project assists all who transfer from the Madison College Journalism Certificate completion to collaborate during their UW Whitewater Communications major pursuit. Veterans and students come together to help each other sharpen their skills when projects require Adobe software to complete projects. Tutorials and Practicum opportunities help students find the answers to software riddles on the Outpost 422 Multimedia Resource Center Facebook page. 

 

 

The Bucky Beer Commercial offers a fun and rewarding experience. The project opened up the opportunity to run wide open with Adobe Audition 2020 software to record, mix and produce a 60-second commercial to engage students who work from home. The uniqueness of virtual off-campus projects in Audio Production I challenge students to get creative with recording.

Through tutorials and lavalier microphones, a radio commercial is born. COVID-19 in the broadcast field challenges journalists to work as a collective to offer new methods to keep the audience informed. Audio Production I challenged students this semester to go outside of conventional studios to get the job done.

President Jody Wentworth expressed frustrations with her organization reiterating Senator committee representation November 9, 2020.

The Whitewater Student Government collectively bargains on behalf of students who are seeking change on campus. As residence halls begin to vacate November 20, Senators receive warning by Pres. Wentworth who are not showing up to committee meetings. Director of Student Affairs Jaida Shallaugh focuses on distributing information without in person meetings, while Director of Academic Affairs maintains Satisfactory No Credit negotiations facing COVID-19 campus virtual membership vacancy.

The Whitewater Student Government organizes change on campus centrally focused on addressing student grievances. The organization seeks to impact University of Wisconsin Whitewater online dealing with campus social distance restrictions for meetings in room UC 259. Pres. Wentworth faces the challenges student present as the voice of the organization to ensure the student voice gets heard.

Madison College seeks students who go above and beyond as leaders to bring projects forward for virtual showcase display starting December 3, 2020.

Outpost 422 corporate social responsibility seeks to assemble a Madison College University of Wisconsin philanthropy to combine the Center for Entrepreneurship with the Journalism Certificate Program. Bradley J. Burt shares his journey utilizing the Wisconsin G.I. Bill to overcome the impossibility of surviving by going back to school. Outpost 422 offers resources Burt shares with veterans in crisis as a WordPress administrator for the Sacred Warrior Search and Rescue Foundation.

The Madison College Virtual Showcase submission ends November 22, 2020. Burt continues to develop a Live Plan philanthropy business plan through the Small Business Development Course through the Madison College Center for Entrepreneurship. Corporate Employee Assistance Programs helped him win his appeals while journalism writing opened portals to overcome the impossibility of surviving in school.

High noon Friday before the presidential election at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater ramps up students to vote and become active with civic duties.

The Political Science department works with the Whitewater Student Government through a campaign called “Warhawks Vote” utilizing the Hamilton Room for public speaking and tabling. The Hamilton Room at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater hosts events for students and voters to attend. COVID-19 cancelled the event creating flux on campus by sending the long standing tradition to campaign online.

Journalism majors take on the task of answering the call on campus to cover Election Day events for News Reporting for Media. The flux between Political Science and Journalism covers the territory between all branches of the Constitution including the fourth estate. COVID-19 event cancellations continue to challenge both fields with social distancing, limited interaction on campus, left to the means of being creative, innovative and collaborative when covering the election.

The Crux and the Crucible

As a returning student later in life, the hardships I face in the learning environment turn disastrous with the drop of a dime. The crux of making mistakes leads to the crucible of being overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts. Journaling and self regulation during panic attacks prevent future hardships.

Outpost 422 offers tricks to becoming successful despite uncertainty. Weathering the storm starts with communication and the blog service is your watchtower. The crux develops from the crucible and the narrative starts with microinsults leading to intrusice thoughts. The Outpost 422 blogs are an exhibit of class projects and occurrences when dealing with microaggressions. Be cautious, considerate and for God’s sakes, use your brain when collaborating accommodations with professors. Cut them some slack.

The Narrative

As a veteran who receives free tuition through the Wisconsin G.I. Bill, crowdsourcing and networking help when impulsiveness overcomes impossibility. Multimedia journalism across the globe spreads like wildfire with social injustice. Awareness through multimedia journalism helps develop an understanding of socially acceptable behavior. Madison College opened the door through the Journalism Certificate Program, where the pilot for Outpost 422 began. The storytelling of the Outpost shares features from vets who served in America’s classrooms and outposts as light fighters.

Microaggressions

Writing out your thoughts and analyzing rhetoric commonly found in environmental microaggressions will open up doors to journaling events. Do not panic. Asked to be excused if need be. A small pocket recorder protects your college investment.  Microaggressions crop up when asking for accommodations. Be vigilant when uncovering them. The 11th hour pops up the minute micro assaults rear their ugly head. You are the detective. Record them, journal them and wave them around on display for the next person who is unaware they exist. They will write your Gonzo ringside story.

October 23, 2020 10:56 a.m. calming moment

My first mission seeks to train members of the community how to conduct microaggression analysis. I will be conducting a communications survey and analysis to develop microaggression awareness campaigns. Speech develops intrusive thought. Microaggressions get phased out through awareness. Respect collects rewards.

The Journey

As a Service Officer in the classroom, opportunities arise when conflict spreads like wildfire. Distance learning stresses everyone out. The outpost looks out through an objective lens to report through blogs.

The Journal

The Fall 2020 Experience journals offer outlets to all viewers who are in crisis. The goal with journaling through the experience opens minds afflicted by the Veil of Ignorance. Objectivity and collaboration share positive and negative experiences for all who relate. The journal seeks grant funding for undergraduate research to develop corporate employee assistance strategies, survey data collection, sample vouchers and Q and A panelists.

The Fall 2020 Experience journals from UW Whitewater and Madison College help write catalyst recovery services for the next venture as a data collection agency. Small Business Development Live Plan updates made weekly will open funding opportunities in pursuit of a mobile multimedia studio. The internship starts at Madison College and ends with Corporate Communication. Blogs offer solutions in the heat of the moment. If you have Terminal Brain Injury, check out the following project. Blue light from computer screens can cause migraines and triggers. Mindfulness helps awaken in the moment when dealing with panic.  This week’s Audio Production I project sought to tackle a new item on the spectrum eye charts called “Computer Vision Syndrome.”

Please keep an eye out for the 20-20-20 Rule. After tacking Adobe Audition and meeting with my professor off hours who graciously went above and beyond, I present to you the audio for Outpost 422. Our next phase in blogcasting seeks the listening ear for survey for calming mechanisms. The joy of stress develops through fruits of labor. The crux developed through the journey of the crucible weighs heavily on the merits of the narrative. Synchronous learning is strenuous. The challenge of taking a Satisfactory/ No Credit saves GPA, but creates flux in the flow for the next student in line when taking courses over again.

The purpose of the Outpost 422 project as a brainstorm service seeks to address ad hoc solutions regarding campus protection for administration and faculty from harm and protect your rights as a student. Please comment below for tips and advice or email our pressroom at bobcobbfreepressink@yahoo.com to share your Satisfactory/No Credit feature story. One testimony can change the outcome of the University of Wisconsin. We are a conflict resolution revitalization service.

Are you at risk of homelessness during the latest COVID-19 American crisis? Here are some helpful links to get you through.

September 2018, the bottom fell out. Social Security denied my last appeal and was represented by a prestigious law firm who guaranteed I would win. The Veterans Administration would not budge on my appeal, but the final devastating blow happened when Financial Aid at Madison College ripped $3,800-worth of much needed rent money away from me. Walking a mile in the shoes of homelessness and despair is never easy. Going back to school is never a guarantee, yet the Wisconsin G.I. Bill and FAFSA are still options if you are honorably discharged.

What am I to do if I fall on financial hardship? Call 1-877-4-AID-VET.

The following links will help loved ones navigate and locate information to pass along. The Veterans Administration provides research and respite programs to assist with guidance.

• https://www.research.va.gov/in_brief.cfm#155164
• homelessness-suicide
• https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0419-Housing-for-homeless-Veterans.cfm

Veteran homelessness during COVID-19 does not translate to hopelessness. Treatment and assistance are available. 

If you are having thoughts of suicide, Building 22 at the William S. Middleton VA offers Cognitive Processing Therapy. Hope and the light to revitalization are only a phone call away at the Veterans Crisis Line. Dial 1-800-273-8255 Press 1. The operators will help you navigate where to turn.

Porchlight is located at 306 N. Brooks St. in Madison, Wisconsin. The phone number is (608) 257-2534

Although outreach and wait times are causing confusion, reaching out to local services help with getting acquainted. Be sure to register with the Dane County Veteran Service Officer while waiting for opportunities to open up to receive help.

The Dane County Service Office:

210 Martin Luther King Dr.

Madison, WI 53705

(608) 216-4568

Once the veteran is enrolled in the VA, social workers can help them track their progress and connect them with community services. Reaching out to the William S. Middleton Hospital social workers open the door to revitalization during COVID-19 hardship.

https://www.madison.va.gov/services/socialwork.asp

Knowledge is power. Please pass the information along and leave a comment if you would like more information or would like to express concerns.

 

Local journalists across Wisconsin utilized convergence to develop ways to report from home preventing the spread of COVID-19 beginning in March.

Media outlets reporting from the Wisconsin State Capitol, Lambeau Field and the Lake Michigan shoreline rapidly improve newsgathering methods through social media when writing stories. Multimedia journalists distribute the weight on the frontline providing footage to anchors, website portals seek viewers to share found footage, while newspaper senior editors require photojournalists to mix and produce found footage. Convergence with viewers happens when newspaper and television mediums accompany their stories with blogs, websites and social media outlets during breaking news.

     “We’ve pretty much gone the direction of multimedia journalism. Multimedia journalists basically shoot and write and edit their own stuff,” said Ryan Logenstein assistant manager of WMTV NBC 15 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Covergence happens when breaking news connects viewers with journalists who are reporting from home trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Over Logenstein’s 22 years in television, he is witnessing a rapid change in the reporting field. Logenstein observed viewership utilizing social media to deliver leads with both citizen and multimedia journalists. During stay-at-home restrictions, Logenstein utilized multimedia journalists to create weekly stories, while a citizen journalism portal offered a bank of uploaded material from phones on the NBC 15 website.

“If you look at the NBC 15 website you will see there is a link where you can submit video. We get a lot of video from that,” Logenstein said.

Northeast Wisconsin local news source WLUK Fox 11 puts social distancing first when on the job. Assignment manager Brian Kehrin required ride sharers to take separate vehicles, which is now a standard practice. Kehrin converges press releases with viewers on social media through blogging to live stream information from the Green Bay Packers public relations who enforce the use of Zoom meetings for social distance interviewing.

“We can’t just ask for Packer players like Jake Kumerow from UW Whitewater upon request anymore. You only get who the team selects,” said Kerhin.

While 57 percent of viewers choose television as their primary news source, only 20 percent utilize newspapers. Convergence newsgathering connects both mediums interacting with viewership on the frontline. Multimedia convergence in journalism requires newspaper reporters to possess social media skills, while multimedia journalists from the television industry connects both worlds to produce, write and report stories independently.

     “For the last 15 years, all photographers hired by the Sentinel have had to be able to shoot and edit video. ‘Convergence’ is actually an old story—at least to me,” Greg Borowski senior editor of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.

Borowski’s newsroom has changed over the past decade. Social media reporting has taken priority, which is Borowski’s way of updating subscribers at the scene of breaking news. Journalists are tweeting text and video, offering interactive maps, charts and photo galleries for subscribers to view.

     “Convergence challenges professional journalists in many ways. I feel we are up to the challenge, provided readers rise to the occasion too,” said Borowski.

When COVID-19 breaking news hits, convergence between newspaper and television media intersects on the web. Citizens and subscribers connect with journalists who use multimedia producing skills from their home base. New methods of newsgathering have developed the newsroom through multimedia journalism benefiting all sides of the news spectrum.