Nellie Bly, My Hero

How one journalist can make a difference.

Elizabeth Cochrane appeared to be a frail girl, but inside of her was a will of iron. After taking up the pen name Nellie Bly at age 18, she started out her career writing for The Dispatch, a Pittsburgh newspaper. She covered controversial issues at the end of the 19th century like divorce, worker’s rights, and the treatment of the mentally ill.

Nellie Bly wasn’t afraid to go behind the scenes as a female reporter, and is one of my heroes. I feel that Nellie Bly is a true example of two main things.

The first is to not judge a book by it’s cover. Even though she appeared to be a delicate young lady, she proved that she was stronger and smarter than many of the male reporters of the time.

Since I’ve been stereotyped for my looks, I always love to learn about women in history who have proved that women can be both pretty, strong, and smart at the same time. It helps feed my courage to do the same.

Bly is also a good example of someone who really took a stand for something she believed in. She took it upon herself to further investigate terrible and gruesome issues. Although at times she was asked to back down, Bly never gave up.

I truly feel this is an amazing thing to do, especially since women were often made to feel like they had no power to change anything. Through her hard work and courage, Nellie Bly was able to do great things and raise awareness for many controversial causes. It’s no wonder the The New York Journal called her the “best reporter in America.” And adding to that, she will always be someone who inspires me.

—Miranda Rector

March Madness!

It’s that time of year again. I’m not talking about spring break or the blooming of trees. I’m talking about the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, possibly the most jam-packed two-and-a-half week stretch of any sport during the course of the year.

It’s called March Madness for short, and anything can happen—anyone can be a hero.

The madness begins on Thursday with first seeded teams Kentucky and Kansas squaring off against their primary opponents. The next day will feature the other two top seeds, Syracuse and Duke, two hard working teams with title dreams.

Not only the large, well-known schools will make it to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. In fact, look for some unknowns to pry their way in with good conditioning and lockdown defenses.

One of these Cinderella teams is Murray State. The Racers went 30-4 this year, and drew a 13 seed in the tournament. Although they have a tough first round match-up in Vanderbilt, if they can get by the Commodores they have a legitimate chance to advance.

Another team to watch is Louisville. Lower seeded than usual, the Cardinals can rely on the expertise of their coach Rick Pitino and the great guard play of Edgar Sosa to ride them past the California Bears. Don’t expect them to stop there, however. If Louisville manages to pull off the upset vs. Cal, Pitino’s squad would potentially have to play Duke—a game that they could, in reality, win with a great showing.

Also watch out for Siena, coming into the tournament as a 13, first pitted against a Robbie Hummel-less Purdue. Look for an upset here and see whether Siena can drive themselves past the first two rounds.

Of the four top seeded teams, I think only one will fail to make it to the Final Four.

Kansas is a well coached, hard working team, led by experienced senior Sheron Collins, and should roll past anyone.

Kentucky, led by John Wall, a freshman who seems bound for the NBA, should have no issue getting to the final round, especially with a great coach in John Calipari.

Duke, though not as well rounded as the previous two, has their “big three”: Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith. Also, Duke is better on the boards than they have been in years past—plus, don’t forget Mike Krzyzewski.

That leaves Syracuse. The Orange are literally limping into the tournament with their prized big man Arinze Onuaku hurt. They have lost two straight games. If Gonzaga can win its first round game, the Bulldogs would square off against Syracuse in the second round, with a chance—a solid one—to knock them off for a major upset. If Orange can survive that threat, however, look for them to go down in the Elite Eight against second seeded Kansas State.

Overall, it should be a Kansas-Kentucky final. They are the two best teams in the country with the two best records. Look for John Wall and his supporting cast to knock down the Jayhawk defense and find themselves national champions. You heard it here first.

And you can hear it all here throughout the tournament, as I follow the action. Check back to find out if my predictions come true!

—Sean Coffey

PHOTO: The University of North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate after defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA men's basketball national championship basketball game in Detroit, Michigan, on April 6, 2009. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Earthquake Update

Save the Children reports on progress in Chile and Haiti.

Hard on the heels of the recent crisis in Haiti, the South American country of Chile was struck by one of the biggest earthquakes on record—an 8.8 magnitude.

I had written a story about the efforts of Save the Children to help people in Haiti. I wanted to know what the non-profit organization was doing in Chile, so I called my source, Kathy Connolly, Senior Director for Resource Development.

Ms. Connolly informed me that a rescue team arrived quickly in the nation’s capital city of Santiago.

"The first three members of our team deployed to Chile on March 2 and more are on the way,” she said. “They are working with the Chilean Government to assess the damage done by this major earthquake."

I asked Ms. Connolly how she would compare the two catastrophes.

"A major difference between the Haitian and the Chilean crises is in the ability of the respective host governments to manage the aftermath,” she explained. “Chile has long been at high risk for earthquakes, given its geographic location, and the government has a strong, capable civil defense in place to provide support. The country's infrastructure—the quality of its building construction, for example—is more advanced than Haiti's as well."

The organization also plans to help kids living in Chile. "Save the Children will provide psychological and social support, hygiene kits, and many other services such as child protection support and educational programs," she said.

Meanwhile, the government in Haiti is still struggling to recover from it 7.0 earthquake, which did much more damage to that poverty-stricken country than the 8.8 quake did in Chile.

"Haiti will be a long-term project,” Ms. Connolly said. “We'll be there for quite a while. Approximately 1.2 million people still need shelter, so that is an urgent priority."

Save The Children has a six-month plan and a proposal called "Build Back Better” to help support the longer term needs of the children of Haiti. In addition to food and shelter, Ms. Connolly says that education will be an important issue for the future. For more information, or to donate, visit savethechildren.org.

— Nick Berray

PHOTO: Food aid is distributed in Constitucion, Chile, some 300 km south of Santiago. (Photo Credit:MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images/NewsCom)

Walter Wick's Magic

Inside the studio of the artist/photographer of I Spy!

When I recently visited Walter Wick, the photographer and artist for the I Spy and Can You See What I See book series, I got to see the sets he uses for his pictures up close and personal. I am working on a video story about the visit, which will be posted on the Scholastic Kids Press Corps web site later this month.

The sets were the coolest things in the whole studio. The one I thought was the best was the Jolly Roger set, which will appear in the book Can You See What I See? Treasure Ship.That book comes out on April 1.

Something that really surprised me was how much detail goes into each and every set! As I was looking at the Jolly Roger set, the detail, color, and lifelike look took my breath away.

One page of the book depicts the Jolly Roger Gift Shop. It looks like the sunken ship from a previous page. When I looked at the set, I could see the tiniest details in the splintering wood.

Sitting on the table, the Jolly Roger set was taller than me! Mr. Wick begins his sets by first making them out of cardboard. Then he actually designs them out of wood. Before the pictures are taken, he adds color and props, which are all those little trinkets you see in his work. He has over 15,000 props in his studio!

In a room off the huge open area where he takes pictures sits a big cabinet of containers filled with cars, people, blocks, and anything else that might be needed to decorate a set.

When you step into the workshop, you can’t help but smelling the scent of wood. As Mr. Wick says, “The workshop is where all the magic happens.”

That was what my fantastic day with Walter Wick was like—magic.

—Caitlin Wardlow

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Caitlin Wardlow and Walter Wick in Mr. Wick's Connecticut studio. (Photo Courtesy Caitlin Wardlow)

"Up" Wins Oscar

Pixar's Up Takes You Soaring

Pixar Studios won another Oscar last night at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California. Also nominated for best original screenplay, original score, and sound editing, Up won the much coveted award for best animated movie of the year. It was also nominated for best picture of the year. This is only the second time in the 82-year history of the Oscars  that an animated film was nominated in that category.

Director Pete Docter accepted the award, recalling his life as a young boy creating mini-movies with paper.

"Never did I dream that making a flipbook out of my third-grade math book would lead to this," Docter said.

Kid Reporter Daniele Bond saw the movie when it was released last summer and wrote this review:

Up is about a man named Carl Fredrickson who dreamed all his live of  traveling to South America with his wife, Ellie. But Ellie dies before he can keep his promise, and Carl lives a sad and lonely life afraid his wife had never fulfilled her dreams of adventure. When contractors threaten to take away his home, Mr. Fredrickson ties helium balloons to his house and floats away to South America. Accidentally on board for the ride is a young boy named Russell.

Russell is a wilderness explorer trying to earn his helping-the-elderly badge. When he and Carl reach South America they begin walking to Paradise Falls with a floating house tied to their backs. Carl is determined to put his house by the falls as a way of finally keeping his promise to his wife.

I liked the symbolism in this movie. When Carl ties a rope around his house, I saw it as a symbol of him carrying all the memories he shared with his wife.

Along the way, Carl and Russell met a bird they call Kevin. They also run into famed explorer Charles Muntz and his talking dogs. As a young boy, Carl idolized Muntz, who disappeared on a quest for a mysterious bird. And yes, that bird is Kevin!

When the explorer discovers that Kevin is following Russell and Carl, he tries to kill them to capture the bird. The rest of the movie is an action packed adventure mixed with comedy and drama.

Up is one of my favorite movies. It shows that life is an adventure as long as you're with someone you love. It’s a movie I’ll never forget, just as Carl never forgot his promise to Ellie.

—Daniela Bond

PHOTO: Carl Fredricksen and Russell drag a floating house through South America to Paradise Falls in the Oscar winning movie Up. (Photo Credit: Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved)

All Aboard An Amazing Adventure

Let's have lunch on the circus train!

What is over one mile long, moves at about 35 miles per hour, and is home to elephants, clowns, and pie? It’s the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train!

That seemingly never ending stretch of silver railroad cars was the first glimpse I got on Tuesday of my assignment to cover the Ringling Brothers new show Barnum's FUNundrum. I climbed up into the pie car with several other hungry reporters. We were there for lunch and interviews.

The pie car is a special part of the train that looks very much like the inside of a diner. It’s where the performers eat and gather to chat.

I was there to interview Nicole and Alana Feld, the producers of Barnum's FUNundrum. The Feld family owns the circus, and these two sisters are the first women to produce one of the company’s shows.

The ceiling over the booths is a shiny circus red with big round lights. Pink shades cover the windows. On the walls inside the train hang framed photos of the circus past and present. The tables were decorated with orange, red, and yellow flowers. I expected to hear circus music at any minute!

A very tall man dressed in a sparkling, mirrored outfit commanded everyone’s attention as he stepped into the car. It was Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson, the first African-American and also the youngest ringmaster ever for Ringling Brothers Circus.

But let’s get down to an unusual and exotic lunch. The meal included honey brushed scallops w/strawberry and pistachio risotto; spinach and goat cheese salad with blueberries, roasted cashews and pomegranate vinaigrette; and Hudson valley foie gras w/ sweet pea cream. Not so kid friendly, I agree, but maybe that’s what the peanut butter grits further down the menu were for!

We ate a lunch that could have been served in one of the world’s fanciest restaurants. I received a little special surprise from the chef who made me the most flavorful and delicious French fries I have ever had. (Now, that’s more like it! Thank you Chef Michael Vaughn!)

FUNundrum is a celebration of P.T. Barnum’s 200th birthday. You’ll see more about that story later from another Kid Reporter. Meanwhile I’m working on my story for Women’s History Month about Nicole and Alana Feld. Check back later for more from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus!

—Danielle Azzolina

PHOTO: Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson and Kid Reporter Danielle Azzolina aboard the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train. (Photo Courtesy Danielle Azzolina)

Behind-the-Scenes with NBC

Inside the International Broadcasting Center at the Winter Games.

The International Broadcasting Center—called the IBC by those who worked there the last few weeks—is where members of the media did all their planning, writing, and editing during the 16 days of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. As the games wrapped up over the last weekend, the IBC began to wind down. I spoke to the people behind the scenes at NBC—and one very prominent front-of-the-camera person—as I prepared to leave the Winter Games behind.

—Daniel Wetter

Today Show's Olympic Memories

Kid Reporter talks to Today Show "family" about life at the Olympics.

I turned the cameras on NBC Today Show hosts Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Al Roker at their Today show set on Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. The team spent several weeks at the Winter Games. They came to find Canada a home away from home whether they were interviewing athletes, climbing mountains, or eating on the run to the next assignment.

—Daniel Wetter

Olympic Spirit

Talk a walk through the streets of Vancouver!

As I was wondering around Vancouver during the last week of the Winter Games, I found the Olympic spirit everywhere. People from all over the world gathered together in fun and friendship and the Spirit of the Games! Click play to experience it yourself!

—Daniel Wetter

Olympic Sponsors and Fun at the Games

Live City pavilions attract thousands.

Did you know that the perfect temperature for a Coca-Cola is 39° F? I didn’t either until I visited the Live City Pavilion in downtown Vancouver.

Live City showcases the various sponsors of the Olympic Games, including Coca-Cola, Panasonic, and Samsung. It is a chance for these companies to showcase their products, but more importantly, they say, it is also a chance to get into the Olympic spirit.

“We call if the happiness house,” Leigha Cotton said of the Coca-Cola space in the pavilion. As part of the “happiness house” spectators see a quick video about Coca-Cola’s Olympic torch relay, and some of the 4,500 torch bearers.

Coca-Cola also featured various games for kids to learn more about “giving back” to the environment.

“I think one of the biggest messages we want to send here is about living positively,”
Cotton said.

Panasonic is the Official Worldwide Olympic Partner of audio and visual products.

“We are trying to provide a space for the spectators, citizens, and athletes to enjoy the Olympic experience as well as to experience our 3-D TV technologies,” said Yoko Nakamizu of Panasonic.

Spectators viewed a 3-D show on a 103-inch plasma screen theater.

“The immersive and beautiful pictures make them feel as if they are in the action,” Nakamizu said. The 3-D TV home theater is expected to be available to consumers this spring. “We really see the possibility of 3-D that could become that new stream of the new Olympic broadcast.”

Panasonic featured an environmentally friendly experience.

“We’re trying to achieve the most green Olympic Games,” she said. “One of the strong messages is to nurture the next generation.”

Samsung is the Official Wireless sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics. More than 50,000 people visited the Samsung pavilion, where spectators can see the official mobile phone of the Olympic Games, the Omnia II.

“Spectators are encouraged to see what kind of technology we’re providing,” said Vice President of Samsung Worldwide, Gyehyun Kwon.

Samsung will introduce an eco-phone in about four years, says Kwon. These phones will operate with solar power and will be made from 100 percent recycled products.

“The phone is becoming a fundamental tool, not just a phone,” he said. “It’s a part of the human body.” Marketing to young people who will grow into Samsung buyers is a big part of the company's strategy. “The kid is our future,” Kwon said.

—Daniel Wetter

PHOTO: Sports fans pose with an Olympic torch at the Coco-Cola exhibit in Live City Pavilion at the Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo Courtesy Daniel Wetter)