1520 Grove Avenue Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 335-861 [email protected] Owen FitzGerald
SKILLS
● Quickly formulate newsworthy stories for print and web, accompanied by multimedia elements ● Mastery of AP Style, copy editing, proofreading and grammar ● Adobe Creative Suite - InDesign, Audition, Photoshop, Premier ● Social Media Management - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
EXPERIENCE
Capital News Service, Virginia Commonwealth University — Student Journalist January 2019 - PRESENT
● Covered the Virginia General Assembly as a reporter ● Worked under tight deadlines for a large number of client publications ● Collaborated with peers on larger stories
Growlers-To-Go, Richmond, VA — Beer Server June 2015 - July 2016, August 2017 - December 2019
● Maintained high knowledge of beer styles, the brewing process and a basic understanding of beer and food pairings ● Developed ability to match customer desires to beer selections currently available on a 56-tap menu ● Managed bottle and packaged beer stock in an inventory system
Young Life, Hanover County — Volunteer Team Leader March 2013 - June 2018
● Dedicated to mentoring high school youth through personal interaction and planned group activities, meetings, and social events.
● As Team Leader, created clear and concise schedule for semester activities, direct weekly club meetings, and supervised other Leaders.
EDUCATION
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA — Bachelor of Science, Digital Journalism August 2017 - December 2019, Robertson School of Media and Culture
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' 01' 1%!% $$$% $! $" #$%## 234562$44$$77$35 85259@ 4/4/2019 How to watch the General Assembly from anywhere - Virginia Mercury
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019 GOVERNMENT + POLITICS RIGHT TO KNOW How to watch the General Assembly from anywhere By Capital News Service - January 15, 2019
Virginia State Capitol. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)
By Owen FitzGerald/ Capital News Service
As legislators gather in Richmond for the 2019 General Assembly session, citizens in the far corners of the commonwealth might feel distanced from their elected representatives. But any computer or cellphone user with internet access can watch live and recorded video of state lawmakers in action.
The House and Senate each live-stream their committee meetings and oor sessions. And the advocacy group Progress Virginia broadcasts subcommittee meetings over the internet.
ProgressVA launched its Eyes on Richmond project in 2017 before the legislative session. Initially, the program live-streamed both committee and subcommittee meetings — because at the time, the House and Senate provided video only of their https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/how-to-watch-the-general-assembly-from-anywhere/ 1/4 4/4/2019 How to watch the General Assembly from anywhere - Virginia Mercury oor sessions. Since then, state of cials have started live-streaming the committees; so ProgressVA now focuses on subcommittees.
The importance of public access to subcommittee meetings cannot be overstated, as many important pieces of legislation are often killed at that level. Anna Scholl, executive director at ProgressVA, said the results of subcommittee votes would often remain unknown to the public.
“When we started Eyes on Richmond,” Scholl said, “it was standard for bills to pass or fail on unrecorded voice votes, and it was often impossible to know how a particular legislator voted on important bills unless you were in the room when it happened.”
That is why ProgressVA has put “legislative fellows” — college interns — in the room, equipped with a cellphone and tripod to provide live online video of government meetings.
Program Director Ashleigh Crocker said live-streaming the subcommittee-level meetings allows citizens to engage with their representatives as they decide the fate of legislation.
“We thought it was really important that citizens from across the commonwealth be able to know how legislators were voting when they were coming to Richmond to represent them,” Crocker said.
In its rst year, the Eyes on Richmond program won the Virginia Coalition for Open Government’s Laurence E. Richardson’s Citizen Award. The coalition, along with ProgressVA, is a part of Transparency Virginia, a collection of advocacy groups and nonpro t organizations assembled to promote transparency in the General Assembly on every level.
Both the House and Senate began recording and archiving committee meetings during the 2018 session in response to a bipartisan effort from the Virginia Transparency Caucus, co-founded by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, and Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chester eld. Likewise, the House of Delegates began recording subcommittee votes in 2018 following a push from the Transparency Caucus.
Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the General Assembly has done a commendable job retro tting meeting rooms to allow for the recording and streaming of committee meetings. But the work of ProgressVA to give citizens insight into subcommittee meetings has been vital to the cause of transparency in the state government, Rhyne added.
“General Assembly transparency is important because it is the work of the people,” Rhyne said. “They are making decisions that affect us as individuals and as workers and as members of various organizations and groups.” https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/how-to-watch-the-general-assembly-from-anywhere/ 2/4 4/4/2019 How to watch the General Assembly from anywhere - Virginia Mercury How to watch the General Assembly online
House oor sessions:
https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/chamber/chamberstream.php
House committee meetings:
https://publications.virginiageneralassembly.gov/display_publication/209
Senate committee meetings and oor sessions:
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3
Subcommittee meetings covered by ProgressVA:
https://eyesonrichmond.org/
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Capital News Service
https://vcucns.com/
Capital News Service is a flagship program of VCU’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students participating in the program provide state government coverage for Virginia’s community newspapers and other media outlets, under the supervision of Associate Professor Jeff South.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/how-to-watch-the-general-assembly-from-anywhere/ 3/4 4/4/2019 Black leaders call for forgiveness, second chance for Northam - Virginia Mercury
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019 GOVERNMENT + POLITICS LOOK AWAY Black leaders call for forgiveness, second chance for Northam By Capital News Service - February 12, 2019
Former Richmond City Councilman Henry "Chuck" Richardson read a prepared statement in support of embattled Gov. Ralph Northam. (VCU Capital News Service)
By Owen FitzGerald/ Capital News Service
Redemption was a word used repeatedly Monday as ve black leaders from across Virginia urged state legislators to rescind statements calling for Gov. Ralph Northam’s resignation following his blackface photo scandal.
On the steps of the Capitol, former Richmond City Council Member Henry “Chuck” Richardson read a prepared statement, saying that racial issues in the U.S. still permeate virtually every aspect of American life.
“There are no more complex, abiding and haunting questions in America than those surrounding race,” Richardson said. “And through it all is the constant that https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/black-leaders-call-for-forgiveness-second-chance-for-northam/ 1/4 4/4/2019 Black leaders call for forgiveness, second chance for Northam - Virginia Mercury though we have come far, we still have far to go.”
“We are drawn here under the Christian doctrine that it is human to err but divine to forgive. We have evaluated the governor’s past performance as we have known him and choose to forgive,” Richardson said.
Richardson added that the group of leaders believes almost every person in the Southern United States in the latter half of the 20th century has been in uenced by, has participated in or has been associated with blackface in a similar nature to the governor.
“Rather than pursue measures that accomplish nothing,” Richardson said, “we choose to use this opportunity to advance the cause of African-Americans rather than wallow in the punitive measures of revenge.”
Northam, a Democrat, has been under re since the discovery on Feb. 1 of a racist photo on his page of his 1984 medical school yearbook. The picture showed two men — one in blackface and the other in a Ku Klux Klan hood.
Initially, Northam said he was in the photo and apologized. Later, he said that he was not in the picture but that he did wear blackface for a Michael Jackson dance contest in 1984.
The controversy prompted many state and national Democratic leaders as well as advocacy groups to call on Northam to resign. Northam has said he does not plan to do so.
John Boyd, founding president of the National Black Farmers Association, also was at Monday’s press conference in support of Northam. Boyd said he met with the governor following the disclosure of the yearbook photo. Boyd said he prayed with the governor and used the meeting to address the issues of white privilege and blackface.
Boyd said Northam asked for forgiveness.
“He has a good heart,” Boyd said. “I looked in the governor’s eyes, and I believe that he was sincerely sorry for what has happened.
“I believe today that we need to give the governor a second chance. I believe that he is the right person to guide Virginia and bring us through this troubling time in history.”
Boyd added that during the federal government shutdown, he met with Northam to discuss the effects of closure on Virginia’s black farmers. Boyd said that even following the release of Northam’s yearbook photo, his constituents still trust the governor to advance the cause of farmers in the state. https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/black-leaders-call-for-forgiveness-second-chance-for-northam/ 2/4 4/4/2019 Black leaders call for forgiveness, second chance for Northam - Virginia Mercury Leaders at the press conference refused to directly address questions regarding a statement by Attorney General Mark Herring that he wore blackface to imitate a rapper for a college party in 1980.
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax also is under pressure after two women came forward last week to say that he sexually assaulted them. Several Democratic leaders and groups have called on Fairfax to resign.
At Monday’s news conference, the leaders said that they support due process and that Fairfax should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chester eld, released a statement Monday in support of Fairfax’s right to due process.
“The women involved in Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax’s allegations must be heard in the jurisdiction where the incidents occurred,” Chase’s statement said. “Due process must be followed to ensure both parties the right of innocence until proven guilty.”
Previous article Next article Delegate backs off immediate impeachment; Women Tax deal temporarily blocked; Fairfax aides resign; willing to testify against Fairfax; Voters split on Northam; Cracking down on shopping carts; A geologist named SNL mocks Virginia and more headlines Bubba and more headlines
Capital News Service
https://vcucns.com/
Capital News Service is a flagship program of VCU’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students participating in the program provide state government coverage for Virginia’s community newspapers and other media outlets, under the supervision of Associate Professor Jeff South.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/blog-va/black-leaders-call-for-forgiveness-second-chance-for-northam/ 3/4 Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax would become governor if Northam resigns
potomaclocal.com/2019/02/02/lt-gov-justin-fairfax-would-become-governor-if-northam-resigns
Potomac Local February 2, 2019
By Owen FitzGerald Capital News Service
RICHMOND — If Gov. Ralph Northam resigns because of the scandal over a racist picture in his medical school yearbook, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax would become the 74th governor of Virginia.
That would make Fairfax, 39, the second African- American governor in Virginia’s history and just the fourth to hold the office nationwide in recent years. In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder became the first elected African-American governor in the United States.
Article V, Section 16, of the Constitution of Virginia sets out the succession to the office of governor: “In the case of the removal of the Governor from office or in the case of his disqualification, death, or resignation, the Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor.”
Like Northam, Fairfax is a Democrat. He ran for lieutenant governor in 2017, defeating the Republican nominee, state Sen. Jill Vogel of Fauquier County. This is Fairfax’s first term in elective office.
Fairfax, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a descendent of Virginia slaves. When he was sworn into office, Fairfax was carrying in his breast pocket the manumission papers that freed his great-great-great-grandfather.
In private life, Fairfax is an attorney with a law firm in Northern Virginia and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney. He is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia Law School and in 2013 won the National Bar Association’s “Nation’s Best Advocates Award,” which recognizes 40 top attorneys nationwide under the age of 40.
Northam said in public statement Saturday afternoon that he would not resign but instead would work to reconcile the “people he has hurt.” Northam added that Fairfax, who did not attend the governor’s press conference, did not want him to resign.
In a statement following the Northam’s press conference, Fairfax did not join Democratic colleagues calling for the governor’s resignation. Fairfax’s statement said of Northam: “While his career has been marked by service to children, soldiers and constituents, I cannot condone the
1/2 actions from his past that, at the very least, suggest a comfort with Virginia’s darker history of white supremacy, racial stereotyping and intimidation.”
As lieutenant governor, Fairfax is the presiding officer in the Virginia Senate. Republicans have a 22-19 advantage over Democrats in the Senate. The lieutenant governor votes only in the case of a tie.
Under the Virginia Constitution, if Fairfax does end up succeeding Northam, the Senate’s president pro tempore would serve as the Senate’s presiding officer. That position is currently held by Republican Sen. Stephen Newman of Bedford.
Newman issued a statement Saturday saying that “my wife and I have asked God to give our Governor wisdom in the coming hours, and for the health, clarity and resolve to do the right thing for the people of Virginia.”
“After this dark hour has passed, the President Pro Tempore must be in a position to serve as a healer, bringing all parties back together to work for a better and stronger Commonwealth,” Newman said.
2/2 4/4/2019 Forget points. What if March Madness focused on graduation rates?
Forget points. What if March Madness focused on graduation rates?
March 20, 2019 at 5:22 PM EDT - Updated March 20 at 5:22 PM By Owen FitzGerald
Capital News Service
RICHMOND - March Madness has historically been a season of underdogs and upsets. But what would the brackets look like if teams in the tournament were pitted against each other using the graduation rates for their men’s basketball players?
Some college teams may be great at nishing close games, but their players aren’t so successful at nishing their degrees.
For example, Iowa State - the No.No. 2424 seedseed overall in the NCAA Tournament - has graduated only 8 percent8 percent of the men’s basketball players who enrolled in recent years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. If that were the Cyclones’ eld goal percentage, they would be lucky to have won any games at all this season.
www.nbc12.com/2019/03/20/forget-points-what-if-march-madness-focused-graduation-rates/ 1/7 4/4/2019 Forget points. What if March Madness focused on graduation rates?
Murray State, the 46th seed, awarded degrees to only 9 percent9 percent of its men’s basketball players. On the other hand, Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, graduated 57 percent57 percent of its players, which beats the team’s eld goal percentage (47.7 percent).
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Capital News Service used data from the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Education to create tournament-liketournament-like bracketsbrackets based on graduation rates instead of success on the court.
Graduation rates can be measured in two ways:
The Education Department computes the federal graduation rate, or FGR. It represents the proportion of rst- year, full-time student-athletes who entered a school on athletic scholarship and graduated from that institution within six years. This rate does not account for student-athletes who may transfer to another school and graduate elsewhere. The Education Department calculates the FGR for regular students, too -- not just student- athletes. In the early 2000s, the NCAA developed its own measurement -- the graduation success rate, or GSR. NCAA of cials say this rate more accurately re ects modern patterns of student-athlete enrollment and transfers. The GSR holds institutions accountable for students who transfer into their school and does not penalize colleges whose student-athletes transfer from the school in good academic standing.
CNS created a set of brackets comparing teams based on their federal graduation rates and another set based on their graduation success rates.
Using the FGR, the Final Four teams would be Yale, Buffalo, Colgate and Northeastern.
Using the GSR, the Final Four teams would be Yale, Gonzaga, Colgate and Washington.
((Source: Capital News Service))
Either way, in both sets of brackets, Yale was the national champion, having graduated 100 percent of its men’s basketball players. (Colgate also had a GSR of 100 percent, but we gave the nod to Yale based on the graduation rate for students overall.)
The CNS brackets and data can be seen hereherehere.
More information about NCAA graduation rates can be found on the NCAA’s websitewebsitewebsite.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
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