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Part of the new Fifth Estate – Latitude News

A brand new news site, Latitude News, that I have found to be really excellent. I’ve been using their beta site for a couple of weeks now. What I particularly like is their world view. Founded by Wojtek Szczerba and Maria Balinska, Latitude is not the pre-programmed, corporate-speak journalism that you might get from major media sources. The wider perspective comes from the fact that readers can be co-creators of international journalism (which includes local journalism). Co-creation is founded upon the fact that: “international isn’t ‘foreign’ anymore.” The American community is both local and connected to the world. Those connections are prime territory for exploration. Check Latitude out. Latitude describes themselves as follows:

Are you curious about how the rest of the world affects your everyday life?

Do you think it would be cool to know what the Koreans (who live in the most plugged in nation on earth) are doing about cyber bullying and how the Finns have drastically reduced heart disease rates?

Do you have great and surprising stories to share about your connections with people and places in other countries?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

For the next few months we invite you to collaborate with us at Latitude News as we navigate new media territory: the co-creation of international journalism with you as a crucial contributor. We’ll be posting different stories to kick start conversations with you. We’ll be testing different discussion technologies together. We want your feedback as to what you think works – and what doesn’t. Our promise to you is that we are responsive, respectful and committed to reliable, fact based reporting

Here at Latitude News our starting point is that international isn’t “foreign” anymore. Scratch the surface of any American community and you’ll find loads of exciting connections between Americans and the rest of the world just waiting to be explored. Most of the issues that we’re debating around the water cooler or online don’t exist in isolation: they have relevant and useful parallels abroad. Our approach is simple. We’re looking to tell stories about the world that connects with your heart and soul: because they’re relevant; because they’re engaging; because they’re entertaining.

It’s your news!

Finally, look out for our daily updates in Ear to the World, where Latitude News journalists highlight topical content from news providers around the world. Where else would you find out that Nigeria’s first lady is being urged to take Betty Ford as a role model; hear the latest popular ring tone in Egypt – ex President Mubarak saying “I completely deny all these charges”; and watch a slide show of how Chinese shrimping families are coping with an oil spill not unlike the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Journalism is taking a turn to the future with your name on the masthead.

Stories are alive and dynamic at Latitude News. One story has the potential to become 100 and your input will determine our journalistic trajectory. Join a new movement in journalism that brings the world home.

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Our veterans

From Hudson Reporter: Keeping the traditions alive: Veterans’ posts seek younger vets

Bayonne has a long history of being one of the most patriotic cities in America. Men and, more recently, women from Bayonne have often been among the first to volunteer when the nation faces a military threat. Testifying to this is the fact that the city has 12 active veterans’ posts.

Yet, as patriotic as Bayonne is —“ with men and women still shipping out from Bayonne to help defend the country —“ membership in these posts is declining. This is because most of the members of these posts are getting old or dying off, and newer veterans from wars such as Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan are not joining.

While some of the posts still have a number of members on their rolls, they often operate with a core group who attend meetings regularly and bear the burden of civic events.

—We know there are younger veterans in town, and we’re trying to get them to join,— said Frank Perrucci, a World War II veteran.

National trend

This is, unfortunately, a national trend that has been going on since the late 1980s.

Veterans groups like those in Bayonne flourished after World War II, when posts served as a social network for those returning home from war, where men who had gone through similar experiences could gather and offer support for each other. But several studies done since the 1990s seem to indicate the these social networks are less appealing to younger veterans, even though these groups tend to form the backbone of lobbying efforts for veterans rights.

—The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are the two biggest organizations in the country, and they fight for veterans’ benefits whenever Congress wants to cut them,— said Perrucci. —Posts like those in Bayonne are needed to support that effort.—

The bulk of members of these organizations come from World War II and the Korean War. Though some Vietnam War veterans have joined in recent years, many of these men and women are also beginning to age —“ most now in their 50s and 60s.

The most recent study done by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs said there are wide social gaps between younger and older veterans that appear to discourage membership. Older veterans groups, the study showed, tended to center around a tavern-like setting, where veterans play pool, trade stories and such, while younger veterans appear to want a setting where they can set up a laptop, drink coffee or play video games.

More losses

Although less an issue in Bayonne —“ where younger veterans received a warmer welcome coming home from wars over seas —“ in many parts of the country, the report said, older veterans groups actually closed their doors to homecoming veterans, an exile that lasted almost 20 years in some cases, creating an even greater social gap between younger and older veterans.

The study, which concluded in 2002, showed that almost half the veterans groups saw a deep dip in membership during the late 1990s, as the population of older veterans died off.

—We lost two veterans just this week,— Perrucci said on Nov. 4, when he and other veterans gathered for the wake of Frank Sullivan.

The study shows that as the number of World War II veterans dwindle, so does membership in the VFW and American Legion.

Federal statistics show that American Legion and VFW membership nationally declined 24 percent to 3.9 million, from 1995 to 1998…

Veteran’s Posts, much like other social clubs, are also falling prey to a narrowing of interests and the over specialization of group membership. Rather than focusing on the common interests of all concerned, likely members are advocating for their particular needs alone (and this includes older, long standing members).

If we look at the wider good achieved through the social linkages created in these clubs we recognize their benefit. Traditionally, groups like the Moose, Elks, Lions, and Eagles as well as veteran’s organizations brought together people from various social strata. They worked for each other, for what they held in common, and did a whole lot of good for the wider community. Hopefully people will recognize that what they hold in common is far greater than the difference between the tavern and coffee club lifestyles. There is room for everyone because in unity there is strength.

If you are interested in working together contact the VFW, American Legion, DAV, or the Polish Legion of American Veterans.

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