Word Count: 2,058 December 11, 2017 “Every nation condemns conquest, and every nation with power to enter upon a career of conquest rushes eagerly upon it.’ ‘We are told, that, in selling yourself to the Devil, it is the proper traditionary practice to write the contract in your blood. Douglas, in binding himself against him, did the same thing.’ ‘‘Dear me!’ interrupted Sally, “a real war coming! and I a’n’t any thing but a woman!’’ ‘All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called facts. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain.’” These are the words of “an original American magazine of the highest literary order at the same price of the magazines which are in part composed of matter borrowed from foreign sources,” according to the New York Times’ review of the first printed edition of The Atlantic Monthly - now called simply, The Atlantic - released in November of 1857. Each excerpt is from a story or article published in the edition. Now 160 years old as of November 2017, The Atlantic has maintained its place as a national influence. The Atlantic, The Captain & Crew The magazine welcomed a new Editor in Chief in October of 2016, Jeffrey Goldberg. Goldberg is the publication’s fourteenth top editor in its 160 years and replaces James Bennet, who left The Atlantic for The New York Times in the spring of 2016. Goldberg reports to the company’s President, Bob Cohn. Goldberg published a story introducing The Masthead, a membership program and took the time to define his goals. “I have several main goals as The Atlantic’s editor in chief,” said Goldberg in the article. “The first, and of course most urgent, is to argue for the importance of fact-driven journalism at a time when the president of the United States has declared the press to be the enemy of the American people. My next three goals are related to the first: to make sure we publish journalism that honors our history; to guarantee, by extension, that we provide you, our readers, with journalism that helps you become more informed; and finally, to ensure that The Atlantic, which celebrates its 160th birthday this November, will reach its bicentennial year as a thriving, self-sustaining business with global reach and clear purpose.” Due to the publication’s multi-platform approach, it has an extensive staff list called the Masthead (not to be confused with the previously mentioned membership program by the same name). Chairman David G. Bradley, Cohn, and Goldberg are among the first on the list. They are followed by an extensive list of editors, correspondents, staff writers, and the heads of various background departments that include publishing, data and growth, and advertising. The Atlantic, The Decks Today, The Atlantic not only releases ten print issues a year but also maintains a website in addition to incorporating podcasts, live events, and videos in their multi-platform model. The Atlantic and TheAtlantic.com, the print publication and the website, tie in closely with each other. Nearly all of the issues published in print since 1857 can be found in the website’s archives. The website is updated daily with the works of writers on topics including politics, business, science, and national and international issues. The publication also features creative literary elements which includes fiction and poetry. Radio Atlantic carries the tagline “Weekly conversations with leading journalists and thinkers to make sense of the history happening all around us.” A new podcast is posted weekly with a single episode spanning anywhere from roughly 40 minutes to as much as an hour and a half. The exception would be Episode 9, “News Update: Questions After Harvey” which was posted in between the regularly scheduled episodes, and lasted about fifteen minutes. Each episode is accompanied by a summary of what the episode will entail, as well as a list of at least five relevant links. This fall, the magazine also has began a special membership program called “The Masthead” (referenced in ‘The Atlantic, People at the Helm’). The Masthead is a way for readers to connect with editors at the publication, discuss what is happening in the world, read exclusive members-only coverage; members of this group also get the opportunity to participate in weekly conference calls where the editors of The Masthead sit down with an Atlantic writer or a notable figure and answer members’ questions live. Members can access a ‘Conference Call Archive’ which contains conversations with people such as author John Green, Stranger Things’ Lenika Cruz, and the Atlantic’s Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The publication also has a sub-site called CityLab. According to a press release from The Atlantic CityLab, “which debuted six years ago as a cities-focused spin-off of The Atlantic. In that time, the site has successfully carved a niche as the leading destination for those who lead, live, and work in modern cities. Cities of all sizes are emerging as hotbeds of local action and global innovation, with more people gravitating to urban areas than ever before.” In 2017, CityLab was in Paris. 36 mayors from cities worldwide attended the event, including Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Tokyo’s Governor Yuriko Koike, Riga’s Mayor Nils Ušakovs, and Nashville’s Megan Barry. In 2018 it is scheduled to be held in Detroit. The Wire was brought back into The Atlantic in 2014 after an extended period of time of complicated politics. In a short article published in October of 2014, J.J. Gould reported to readers that “The editorial staff from The Wire has joined up with The Atlantic. We're very happy about this, because it brings The Atlantic a dedicated news team with all the energy and focus of The Wire, as well as an enhanced culture team, and gives everyone around here the opportunity to work together more closely.” The Atlantic, Below Deck The company as a whole comes across slightly left leaning to the public, although they remain objective and their reports are well-researched and factual. The most drastic change comes from their cover art: it went from simple and classic in 1857 to colorful and bold. The November 1994 issue of the magazine provided an article titled “The Atlantic: A History” which was pulled from a presentation given by the magazine’s managing editor. It detailed the founding moments of the publication: a meeting in Boston’s Parker House Hotel between “Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and several other gentlemen with three names and impeccable Brahmin breeding...As one of the participants wrote to a friend the next day, ‘The time occupied was longer by about four hours and thirty minutes than I am in the habit of consuming in that kind of occupation, but it was the richest time intellectually that I have ever had.’ Soon the new magazine acquired an editor, James Russell Lowell, and a name--The Atlantic Monthly.” The publication, as spoken of in the presentation, strives to adhere to the standards put forth by these founders in the magazine’s Declaration of Purpose, found in its first printed edition. "In politics, The Atlantic Monthly will be the organ of no party or clique, but will honestly endeavor to be the exponent of what it’s conductors believe to be the American idea. It will deal frankly with persons and with parties, endeavoring always to keep in view that moral element which transcends all persons and parties, and which alone makes the basis of a true and lasting prosperity. It will not rank itself with any sect of anties: but with that body of men which is in favor of Freedom, National Progress, and Honor, whether public or private." The Atlantic has been the starting ground in the world of literature: they saw the first stories into print of Mark Twain, Henry James, Louise Erdrich, Sue Miller, and Bobbie Ann Mason. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe also first appeared in this magazine’s pages and it was where James Dickey went when he wanted to publish his work Deliverance. The company has first drafts from those such as Robert Frost and Rabindranath Tagore hanging on their wall. The publication also distinguished itself in the world of politics over time. It published the essays of Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, W.E.B. DuBois. Martin Luther King sent The Atlantic a handwritten draft of a letter in 1963 that would become known as his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. The publication was also used by Al Smith to explain the competence of a Catholic to run for national office. It was also where the interviews between William Greider and David Stockman were published, which caused President Reagan to take action. The Atlantic, according to this presentation strives to “combine the qualities of general-interest magazines, of political magazines, of intellectual magazines, and of literary magazines.” The Atlantic, The Sails The magazine has stayed focused in terms of the areas it covers and has not seen a huge change in its overall views in its 160 years. Here are story summaries of a few past stories from their print issues. The first edition, published in November 1857, of The Atlantic Monthly’s content was split half and half between fiction (poetry, short stories, etc.) and writing under business, politics, and ‘general-interest’. The first nonfiction piece is called “The Financial Flurry” and was published without an author’s name. Like many of the early articles it is heavy with descriptive and high-level language. The accompanying blurb under the headline gives an idea of this: “The bowels of the banks, with us the great money-lenders, close with the snap and tenacity of steel-traps; and then a general panic, or want of commercial confidence, brings on a paralysis of the domestic exchanges, and wide-spread bankruptcy and ruin. Importations are checked, of course; but they are checked in a sharp, rapid, and violent way, accompanied by the most painful embarrassments and convulsions.’ The article, after a thick descriptive passage, discusses the idea of precious metals and the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to money and debates the idea of paper money. In April of 1864, The Atlantic Monthly published an in depth story by Fitz-Hugh Ludlow after he spent three months living with Mormons in Salt Lake City, UT. This article was also heavy in description - it spends paragraphs describing the mountains and the area they lived before talking about the people and culture. He meets Brigham Young and describes what happens when you decide to become Mormon in terms of your money, he discusses polygamy, and goes in-depth on other topics in their society. The writing style holds extremely similar to the style found in the first article. In October of 1950 an article by Naboth Hedin was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the Nobel Prize. It discusses the origin of the prize, how nominations work, and the intention of the award as stated in the will of Alfred Nobel. He touches on past winners of the prize. Hedin also goes in-depth into the history of Noble himself. The style is much less descriptive in terms of nature and scenery and reads closer to a feature or soft news story. Nevertheless, the tone is still consistent with the past issues of the magazine. To give a sample: “To this enormously wealthy bachelor, late in life, came the idea of awarding young men of genius the money to carry on their lifework unhampered by poverty. What better way to distribute his fortune, which now grossed thirty-three million Swedish crowns?” In the January/February 2017 issue of The Atlantic published a business article titled “The Four-Letter Code to Selling Just About Anything” by Derek Thompson. The article gave a nod towards its extremely descriptive ancestors, but does so only slightly. The writing is much clearer and concise, but still matches the same tone and overall style as the early editions. The lead, like all of the stories mentioned is lengthy - this one focuses on Raymond Loewy before widening to talk about the topic of the article itself: “Why do people like what they like? It is one of the oldest questions of philosophy and aesthetics.” The Atlantic has seen a consistency in readership to have the ability to retain its style, tone, and editorial lean across its time of production. Of all the products people like, for whatever reason, for 160 years Americans have favored this one in particular.
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Traffic flowed in a steady stream down Union Turnpike, the main road that lines one side of the St. John’s University campus. The chatter in the line at the halal cart made a quiet discussion impossible. Destiny McIntosh, a member of the University’s women’s fencing team, told me about the practice she had just came from. McIntosh, a junior, fences foil, one of the three weapons in the sport and has done so for nine years. An order of lamb over rice and a short walk later, she entered the women’s locker room - which is occupied by members of multiple St. John’s teams. Her fencing equipment sits in her locker, which she settles down in front of to eat. There is something in common about every athlete that enters the locker room, and that is the presence of the brand Under Armour, which sponsors athletics here. Sponsorships are seen across the board when it comes to Division fencing and the world of advertising carries over to the professional sphere of the sport, with athletes not only being sponsored by brands, but also becoming brand ambassadors, appearing in advertisements, and entering into modeling for clothing brands. “Fencing is absolutely gaining popularity. It's appearing more in media, but that's because the athletes within the sport are actively trying to put themselves out there in order to make a living,” said Monica Aksamit, a saber fencer and bronze medalist in the 2016 Olympic games. The sport has recently been incorporated in more advertisements, broadening opportunities for fencers who worked independently as models to now incorporate their sport into their jobs and for fencers to make money through brand ambassadorships to support their training and competition fees. A recent advertisement that incorporates fencing is the No.7 Makeup advertisement featuring Ms. Aksamit. The video featured the brand’s makeup products, with the colors splashing across the scene with every attack made by Aksamit and her opponent. “It's been incredible to work with the brand. Shooting the advert was so much fun and a wonderful experience. I met many great people and in my opinion created a unique commercial. The brand sent me more makeup and skincare products than I know what to do with so that's obviously been fantastic,” Ms. Aksamit said of the collaboration with the brand. Fencing has also been incorporated in a commercial for the new Surface Pro, which began broadcasting in the late summer of 2017; Nike’s new ‘Women in Sports’ advertisement, and some older advertisements for companies such as Ascics (2011) and Mitsubishi Electric (2012). Aside from video advertisements, fencers have been making the move into the fashion industry through modeling much more consistently and frequently. Many higher level fencers from all countries are featured as models for various clothing companies. A few fencers who do this are American foil fencer Race Imboden, Ms. Aksamit, Division I foil fencer Hunter Williams-Burrows, American foil fencer Miles Chamley-Watson, French foil fencer Ysaora Thibus, and Austrian foil fencer Rene Pranz. American saber fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is not a model, but a designer of a line of clothing geared toward Muslim women called Louella. Ms. Aksamit recently was featured on the cover of Trend Prive Magazine. “It was pretty surreal to see myself on the cover of a magazine. It's always been a goal of mine for that to happen. And I didn't really think it was a realistic goal. Turns out that I was wrong,” she said. Mr. Imboden can be seen walking the runway and having stills taken for brands like Rag and Bone and Bottega Veneta. Mr. Williams-Burrows recently signed with Crawford Models. In an article for “Fashionista”, Mr. Imboden details how modeling and fencing promote each other ( he was recruited by an agency in New York after being seen by a scout at his first Olympic games): “When I got back from the games, I had built up a little press around myself. Things were starting to take shape, and I was able to fence full-time. Fencing doesn't have the publicity that modeling does, but by modeling I get publicity for my fencing as well because my stuff is either [framed in the context of] me as an athlete or they look me up. I let them bounce off each other,” Mr. Imboden said. Many fencers see an advantage when attempting to enter the fashion industry. Ms. McIntosh believes it gives those individuals a competitive edge when looking for a modeling agency. Khalil Thompson, a saber fencer who previously attended Penn State University and a member of the Peter Westbrook fencing community, also agrees: “I think that being an athlete and having a brand along with knowledge of the fashion industry and a good sense of fashion helps.” Ms. Aksamit on the other hand, already had ties to the fashion industry before she began fencing full time and there was far from harmony between the two professions. “...I would have been in the industry regardless. I almost signed with a major modeling agency when I was 15 but they told me that I had to choose between fencing and modeling, and as you can guess I chose fencing.” Sponsorships, which are closely tied with the fashion and fitness industries, make it easier on higher-level fencers to train and to afford the travel, equipment, and other fees required for competition. It is another way for athletes to make money besides modeling and being featured in ads. “Having sponsors makes my life a lot less stressful. Fencing costs money, a lot of money actually. I commute to practice, I travel to compete. Obviously I also have to eat. It's really difficult to work and train so having sponsors makes it a lot easier to focus on training rather than finding ways to pay the bills and stressing about that,” Ms. Aksamit said. Mr. Chamley-Watson is sponsored by Red Bull, and this can be seen on his fencing mask. The brand also wrote an article featuring the fencer, highlighting his achievements in both fencing and modeling, titled “This Man Is Foiling Preconceptions About Fencing.” His particular sponsorship has turned into mutual promotion instead of a one way promotion with some cash in return. Red Bull also sponsors four other Olympic-level fencers: Switzerland’s epee fencer Max Heinzer; Alexander Choupenitch, a foil fencer for the Czech Republic; Rossella Fiamingo, an epee fencer for Italy; and Ukrainian saber fencer Olga Kharlan. Ms. Aksamit has found sponsorship from Polish & Slavic Credit Union. She posts on her social media to raise awareness of their business and had filmed a video about their scholarship program; in return for this they pay her. The relationship between sponsors and college athletes is not as direct. Companies sponsor a certain school - for athletic wear companies like Nike and Under Armour provide clothing - and the school distributed the clothing to their athletes, who have to wear it for practice and competition. “[The benefit of sponsored collegiate athletics]...depends on the person. Some people use it to further their goals. Some people get cocky about it and think because the school is sponsored by someone, they also are...unless the sponsorship is coming directly to the person it is just in general for the school,” Ms. McIntosh said. In an article by Sheena Butler-Young for Footwear News, it is said how brands such as Nike and Under Armour sponsor collegiate athletics for a variety of reasons, one of the main reasons being an intention to “build long-term, personal and financially-rewarding relationships with these athletes… the logic is that the odds of nabbing that athlete as an endorser later on becomes more likely.” In fencing however, this does not seem to hold true for the majority of fencers. Most find their sponsors outside of their college fencing career, since ranking is based on an individual’s points in the national and international ranking systems, not solely in the college system. This means that the sponsorships given to schools usually, but not always, fail to keep a firm hold on their fencing teams after college, or even practice outside of the team during college. Ms. Aksamit, who attended Penn State, said: “To be honest, the brands that sponsored Penn State aren't brands that sponsor me currently and I love the brands that I've been working with.” Ms. McIntosh, whose University is sponsored by Under Armour does not turn to that brand outside of the school’s athletics. “I like Nike, Adidas...I go for comfort, fashion, and price - [SJU being sponsored by Underarmour] does not really influence me. It depends more on if you are a ‘big brand person’ and I am not that person.” Mr. Thompson is a prime example of a fencer who does not fall into this trend. He still favors Nike, which is partnered with Penn State. “... it did. We weren’t allowed to wear other brands during practice besides Nike and to this day I still wear Nike apparel,” he said. Written for The Torch & Published on Feb. 22, 2017 Soon after being chosen to win the Big East in the Coaches’ Preseason Poll, receiving six of the available eight first place votes, the St. John’s softball team opened their season with split games, a loss to Florida and a win against Delaware. The softball team has brought on five freshman this season. “The expectation is that they all truly learn the game and our system as well so that they can instill it into the new people each year. Peer education is a big part of what we look to within our program. We want them all to gain valuable experience, learn from mistakes, mature, adjust and adapt to the speed of play at this level,” said Coach Amy Kvilhaug. The team also has eight of their starters returning and retained their entire pitching staff. “As far as the upperclassmen, the expectation is really the same as the freshmen. We expect adjustments, learning and an even keeled mentality and approach to the season,” Kvilhaug said. “No one person stands out in our program as we believe that every role has extreme value for us. A bench player or pinch runner brings every bit as much significance to our team as a starter,” she continued. Despite the significant number of new and returning players, the transition into this season has been smooth. “Our team chemistry is coming along very nicely. It has been an enjoyable process watching the team mesh as a unit. I only see our bond getting stronger with each game. It’s been a fun challenge.” Gretchen Bowie and Madison Morris both received a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after helping the team win three games at the `Strike-Out Cancer’ Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.. Morris held hitters to a .119 batting average and had seven strikeouts. Bowie, a rookie, was only a single shy of the cycle and also finished the game with three runs scored in her fifth collegiate game. The week before, Kaitlin Mattera, McKenzie Murray, and Kaitlyn Wilkens were named to the honor roll. Mattera, a rookie, led the team in their opening weekend with a batting average of .667. Murray stood out in the game against Delaware, pitching six strikeouts. Wilkens also stood out in the game against Delaware, hitting a three-run home run to break the 2-2 tie. The team’s record is currently 4-5. They will compete this weekend in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, a renowned competition in Cathedral City, Calif.. The Johnnies will make their way through the Collegiate Classic, Buccaneer Classic, and the St. John’s Invitational in their attempt to make the Big East tournament that takes place mid-May. Every game has equal importance to us. The most important game is always the next one we are preparing to play. Our approach is very much one game at a time. We firmly believe that no one opponent is any more or less important than the other. Written for The Torch & Published on Nov. 16, 2016 Men’s tennis standout senior Roberto Livi recently made consolation finals at the Oracles/ITA Masters tournament, a prestigious 32-player tournament held at the Malibu Racquet Club in Malibu, Calif. “To compete against the best players in the country, [I am] very honored…I got some great victories as well as losses…this is the only tournament where players [of this level] get to play all together,” Livi said. “To be able to contribute consistently, it shows that my hard work pays off.” “[Roberto Livi] had a really good tournament and played some of the best tennis I have seen from him. This event gave him the chance to play against five really good players, and to come away with three wins and make it to the consolation finals is a great achievement,” Assistant coach Cory Hubbard said in a press release. Most recently, Livi competed with four other teammates in the ITA Northeast Regionals. The team went 4-7 overall, but in doubles went 1-2 with a victory by Livi and teammate Andrei Crapcenco. Livi was named Big East Freshman of the Year and is a two-time Big East Player of the Year. Livi stated that he was “very happy, very honored” and that it “shows my consistency at St. John’s in tennis” to earn these titles. He hopes to earn himself a third Big East Player of the Year title this season. Other goals he has for his senior season is to continue to perform consistently, win the conference and lead the team to the NCAA Championship. “Next spring I am going to try to play in more professional tournaments…” said Livi, who intends to continue his tennis career after graduation, “I will try my best to get high in the rankings.” Last season, Livi had a singles record of 17-5 and a doubles record of 13-8. He won one match in the No. 1 position but primarily won matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. He also went undefeated in doubles while at the No. 1 position and won a majority of his doubles matches with Daniel Skripnik at the No. 2 position. His sophomore year, Livi had a record of 16-4 in singles and 10-9 in doubles. He went on to win 12 straight to close out the season. He won five matches with Michael-John Every, including victory in the Big East Championship finals. His freshman year, Livi had the most singles wins by a freshman since 2009, while also leading the team in singles wins and clinchers, with a record of 14-8. He scored a 6-0, 6-2 victory at fifth singles over DePaul’s Paul John in the Big East Championship. St. John’s claimed its third conference title and first NCAA Tournament bid. Born in Venezuela, Livi moved to the United States when he was three-years-old. His family settled in his hometown of Port St. Lucie, Fla, where he grew up. He began playing tennis at six-years-old because of his father; who, although not professionally, played when he was younger. Livi heard about St. John’s University from “a friend from an academy I trained at, he went here, he is graduated now, he told me about St. John’s.” He was looking for a change from Florida and found it here. He credits the St. John’s tennis program for much of his success. “I came not playing the best…over the years I’ve been improving a lot more…my game is where it is now because of this program,” said Livi. “Robbie’s deep run at [Oracles/ITA Masters] also showed our program can compete with the best and garnered a lot of respect from players and coaches around the country,” Hubbard said in a press release. Besides tennis, Livi is a computer science major. He has designed an idea for a video game slated for release in the spring. “…I am investing in a video game…I hired a company to make my idea a reality,” Livi said. Published Oct. 19, 2016 for The Torch The laptop program offered by St. John’s underwent a dramatic change over the summer, to the surprise of many students. |
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