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HOOVER, Ala. Texas A&MsafetyArmani Watts wants to flip the Kevin Sumlin hot-seat talk andcall it an opportunity.

People are going to talk regardless of what you do, win or lose, Watts said at SEC Media Days. So there are always going to be naysayers and everything. We just take it as a chip, put it on our shoulder and go out there and work and play for Coach Sumlin, because hes not on the field. We are. So were going to have to win games.

It was zero surprise, but Sumlins job security became part of the chatter Wednesday at the Wynfrey Hotel. In May, Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward placed Sumlin on notice by telling Paul Finebaum the coach has to win, and he has to win this year, and we have to do better than weve done in the past.

The Aggies finished 8-5 in each of the past three seasons. After winning 11 games in his first season in College Station in 2012 and nine the next year, Sumlin has seen his stock decline with disappointing late-season slumps.

Last year, Texas A&M lost five of its final seven games after starting 6-0. In 2015, the Aggies were 5-0 to start before dropping five of eight. In 2014, it was more of the same.

Weve got to control what we can control, Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk said. We focus on us and what were supposed to handle. Coach Sumlin doesnt go out there and play on Saturdays. Thats up to us. Weve got to go out there and win. Weve got to be better. As players, weve got to go out there and win games. Thats all our main focus is right now in the offseason, just finishing games.

It wont be easy for the Aggies to finish games this fall. Theyll replace defensive end Myles Garrett, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Theres also uncertainty at quarterback, with senior Jake Hubenak and freshmen Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel considered possibilities after Trevor Knights departure.

We just do our best not to worry about that, Texas A&M offensive tackle Koda Martin said of Sumlins future. We dont think about that. Its not our concern. Our concern is we have a saying that, Its about us. And so we dont worry about the voices that are going on outside of the program. We trust that our coaching staff is doing everythingthey can to win.

NEXT Former Aggies president: Texas AD wanted to punish Texas A&M for joining SEC

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2017 SEC Media Days: Texas A&M players weigh in on Kevin Sumlin hot-seat talk that creates 'chip' for Aggies - SECcountry.com

July 13, 2017

"News consumers expect the media to cover a range of issues rather than ride hobby horses that feed reporters own interests," writes Jeffrey M. McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University, in a column for The Hill. He cites a recent study from the Media Research Center, which shows that "well over half of all news coverage of the Trump administration on the evening newscasts of ABC, CBS and NBC over a five week period focused on the probe of Russian influence in the 2016 election."

Dr. McCall notes, "The big networks spent 353 minutes covering the Russia investigation, but, for example, only 29 minutes on terrorism. The networks combined to spend only five minutes on the economy and jobs, and only three minutes on Trumps plans to improve the nations infrastructure."

A former journalist himself, McCall opines, "The investigation into Russias meddling in American elections is, indeed, newsworthy. The story needs to be covered and followed closely. The agenda setting issue, however, is one of proportion. Networks can and should be able to focus on multiple major issues in the news cycle."

He adds, "The major problem with the coverage of Russia has been that the coverage has been characterized by much speculation, but few hard facts. Anonymous sources are often cited and stories often begin with phrasing such as, 'If proven' Further, most of the coverage refers broadly to 'meddling,' 'interference,' and 'collusion,' but with little particular definition of how those terms are operationalized or how the election process was actually altered."

The author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences, the professor states, "Sadly, as a Rasmussen Reports poll shows, the public believes the media are more intent in creating controversy than informing the public about issues. No wonder media credibility has declined so rapidly in the last decade."

As McCall sees it, "One of the most crucial functions of the news media is to establish the direction of the nations conversation. The medias priorities, theoretically, become the priorities of the public." He concludes his column by stating, "There is tremendous power in setting a news agenda that provides a conversation for democracy. Unfortunately, there is no magic equation for how it should be executed. It would help, however, if media decisions were made with the public interest in mind and an eye to covering the many issues that affect a wide range of citizens. For that to happen, news producers cooped up in network towers need to expend the effort to find out what stories Americans really want and need."

Access the complete essay at the newspaper's website.

Jeff McCall is a 1976 graduate of DePauw, where he majored in communication and worked on student radio station WGRE, which he now serves as faculty adviser. The media studies professor has been called upon for comment by more than 100 newspapers, and was quoted earlier this week in a Variety story on cable TV news.

Source: The Hill

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Major Media Have a Misguided News Agenda, According to Prof. Jeff McCall '76 - DePauw University

Today's Highlight in History:

On July 13, 1977, a blackout hit New York City in the mid-evening as lightning strikes on electrical equipment caused power to fail; widespread looting broke out. (The electricity was restored about 25 hours later.)

On this date:

In 1787, the Congress of the Confederation adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory, an area corresponding to the eastern half of the present-day Midwest.

In 1793, French revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1939, Frank Sinatra made his first commercial recording, "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Melancholy Mood," with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

In 1955, Britain hanged Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old former model convicted of killing her boyfriend, David Blakely (to date, Ellis is the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom).

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to be U.S. Solicitor General; Marshall became the first black jurist appointed to the post. (Two years later, Johnson nominated Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

In 1972, George McGovern received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1985, "Live Aid," an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

In 1999, Angel Maturino Resendiz (ahn-HEHL' mah-tyoo-REE'-noh reh-SEHN'-deez), suspected of being the "Railroad Killer," surrendered in El Paso, Texas. (Resendiz was executed in 2006.)

In 2013, a jury in Sanford, Florida, acquitted neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager; news of the verdict prompted Alicia Garza, an African-American activist in Oakland, California, to declare on Facebook that "black lives matter," a phrase that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Today in history: A blackout hit New York City in the mid-evening as lightning strikes on electrical equipment ... - Shelby Star

Published: Thu, July 13, 2017 @ 12:00 a.m.

Today is Thursday, July 13, the 194th day of 2017. There are 171 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1787: The Congress of the Confederation adopts the Northwest Ordinance, which establishes a government in the Northwest Territory, an area corresponding to the eastern half of the present-day Midwest.

1939: Frank Sinatra makes his first commercial recording, From the Bottom of My Heart and Melancholy Mood, with Harry James and his Orchestra for the Brunswick label.

1960: John F. Kennedy wins the Democratic presidential nomination on the first ballot at his partys convention in Los Angeles.

1972: George McGovern receives the Democratic presidential nomination at the partys convention in Miami Beach.

1977: A blackout hits New York City in the mid-evening as lightning strikes on electrical equipment caused power to fail; widespread looting broke out. (The electricity was restored about 25 hours later.)

1985: Live Aid, an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, takes place to raise money for Africas starving people.

2013: A jury in Sanford, Fla., acquits neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

VINDICATOR FILES

1992: Country western music fans come from far and near to jam at Ponderosa Park near Salem for a concert by Dolly Parton. Attendance was estimated at 8,200.

General Fireproofing retirees say about $1 million that could restore their health benefits and back-pay claims are languishing in accounts under control of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown.

Betsy King wins a sudden-death playoff against Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon and Donna Andrews to win the Phar-Mor LPGA Tournament at Squaw Creek Country Club and its $75,000 first-place purse.

1977: Four members of a drilling crew are injured when a gas well explodes in rural Southington Township in Trumbull County.

Myra Reddinger of Struthers is released from Hillside Hospital where she had been treated since Oct. 30 when she developed Guillain-Barre syndrome after receiving a swine flu vaccination.

Mahoning County will receive $367,2198 of the $13.3 million allocated to Ohio from the Special Crisis Intervention Program to help low-income families pay high energy bills amassed during the severe winter.

1967: Investigators are trying to determine if a $16,000 fire at the Highland Grocery Store on Highland Avenue was arson.

The will of industrialist and philanthropist Leon Beeghly leaves $3 million to his 26 grandchildren and the remainder of the estate, which is unknown, to the Leon A. Beeghly Foundation.

Two Poland-area Girl Scouts, Elizabeth McEvoy and Barbara McBride, are attending a Conference on the Home at Bowling Green University.

1942: Fruit experts estimate that Ohios apple crop for 1942 will exceed the 7 million bushels harvested a year earlier.

The Firestone Park swimming pool in Columbiana breaks all previous records with 1,400 people using the pool on a sweltering Sunday.

The Henry Stambaugh team, playing on the home course, scores a 23-1 victory over Warren Eastwood to move into first place in the District Public Links League.

The Ladies Auxiliary of Post 59, Jewish War Veterans will meet at the home of Bessie Altman on Saranac Avenue to pack kits for soldiers.

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YEARS AGO FOR JULY 13 - Youngstown Vindicator

News Brief

12 Jul 2017

A bill has been submitted to the Russian parliament which would require social networks and messenger services to remove defamatory statements or comments deemed to promote war or national, racial and religious strife.

If passed, the law would come into force on January 1, 2018 and would compel social networking sites to remove incendiary comments within 24 hours of receiving a complaint or face a fine of 30 to 50 million roubles ($495,000 to $825,000).

The draft bill, submitted by members of the ruling United Russia party, also stipulates that all social networks and messaging services with over 2 million registered users in Russia open a representative office in the country.

In recent years the Russian parliament has passed a number of restrictions on social media and online publishers including a 2016 law commonly referred to as Yarovaya law (named after one of its authors) which requires telecommunications and internet companies to retain copies of all content and communications for six months, including text messages, voice, data and images.

Freedom of expression advocates have described these raft of laws as draconian attempts to limit free speech online.

Dozens of Russians are believed to have been arrested and even imprisoned for their posts on social media.

An explanatory note submitted with the current bill states that it seeks to preserve the informational function of social networking sites, but prevent them from being used for illegal means.

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Social Networking Sites to Remove Incendiary Comments or Face Hefty Fines Under New Russian Legal Proposals - Coda Story