Fruit King a personal and historical audio narrative of a Sicilian immigrant turned American success completed in conjunction with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. This project was completed with the guidance and support of thesis director, Dr. Dawn Gilpin and thesis second-chair, Dr. John Craft. This thesis project has been executed in the form of a podcast, website and research report that recounts and relishes in the legacy and life of Joseph DiGiorgio, the once 14-year-old who immigrated from Cefalu, Sicily to Ellis Island, New York in 1888. He went from selling fruit in a cart and borrowing money from the bank to establishing the Baltimore Fruit exchange and becoming the director of the Maryland National Bank by 21 years old. His billion-dollar business, the DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation, became the world’s largest fruit grower of grapes, plums and pears in the 1940s, and he landed a feature story in Fortune Magazine in 1946. To me, he is my great-great-great-uncle Joe, but to the world, he is what the New York Times crowned him: the Fruit King.

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. There are few words that have proved as controversial and dividing as these in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Especially today, it seems like every few months we are faced with a new, darker reality of mass shootings and unintended deaths. And everyone has their opinion on the matter. The primary goal of this paper and documentary, A Middle Ground, is to get to the root of the issue: what was the original intent of the Second Amendment and how has that intent changed from 1789 to today? Is there common ground for both sides of the issue? The paper describes the pre-production, production and post-production process of A Middle Ground documentary including problems, solutions and triumphs. The paper also discusses the history of the Second Amendment from its inception to its current day status in the Supreme Court. A Middle Ground follows the Supreme Court case Printz v. United States through the eyes of one of its main plaintiffs, former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack. The documentary follows Sheriff Mack from his original choice to sue the Federal Government over the Brady Bill to the Supreme Court’s decision. It also touches on the history of the Second Amendment and how Printz v. United States impacted recent historic court cases on the Second Amendment. The case also jumpstarted the individual right movement that is the most prevalent interpretation of the Second Amendment today.

Scholars have identified the mass media plays a crucial role in the dissemination of terror messages. Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, much attention has been paid to terrorism in the global television landscape. More recently, the discourse surrounding acts of terror has changed, in part due to the people behind the attacks. This study seeks to understand how global television news broadcasts frame acts of terror based on two current threats: the individual terrorist (the Lone Wolf) and the organized group (the Islamic State). Using the theoretical framework of Entman’s framing theory and Altheide’s (1987) notion of a global drama, this research identifies the ways global news organizations frame acts of terror both visually and verbally based on the classification of the attacker. Using content analysis methodology, this study analyzed six terror attacks that took place between November, 2015 and December, 2016. Three of these attacks were classified as “Lone Wolves” and three were carried out by the terrorist organization called the Islamic State. This study looked at 562 stories on six global news channels and examined 9,479 images. Through a comparative analysis, three American and three International news channels were examined. It was discovered global news networks contain visual differences in framing, but similarities in verbal framing. Although it was expected to find vast differences in global news’ framing of acts of terror, this study finds a homogenization of the television news narrative following terrorist attacks. This study builds on existing research and suggests a global script for covering acts of terror that has several implications from a theoretical and practical standpoint. Findings indicate global coverage of Islamic State attacks employ and “Us vs. Them” frame, while Lone Wolf attacks are framed as “Us vs. Us”, a new frame presented in this study. The results advance the literature focused on framing theory, comparative journalism research and global television news coverage of terrorism. As terrorism has garnered extensive media attention, understanding the ways that global news frames terrorism has vast implications.

The purpose of this project is to use powerful visual storytelling techniques to convey a social need and an effective solution. Guatemala is a third world country, where poverty is widespread and the birth rate is high. Among the most economically and educationally disadvantaged are the Mayan women. Arizona nun, Sister Marife Hellman, recognized the needs of this population and founded a school to serve them. Hellman's mission is to provide a quality education to those underserved, so they can become positive leaders in their native communities. The website and video materials produced for this thesis are meant to be used for fundraising purposes on behalf of the school. All funds raised will help Hellman's alumni launch schools in their native areas, giving access to education that has long been nonexistent. Watch the mini-documentary here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxTiuwQCH44&t=17s.

Social media is shaping a new generation of hikers and adventurers, as more and more millennials are finding themselves out on the trails. Are they doing it all for the 'gram? Are they seeking adventure? Or is it a combination of the two? "Social Parks" follows three millennials through national parks like Zion, The Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain in search of an answer.

The primary goal of this paper is to walk the reader through Arizona State University student Alicia Gonzales’ documentary-making process from the early beginnings of her Barrett, the Honors College at ASU creative thesis project all the way through her distribution strategies. The documentary, Fire Strong, was made to inform viewers about the wear and tear of the firefighter career — emotionally, mentally and physically — on the individual and on his or her family. The documentary was made to help raise awareness about the duty these individuals have committed to their city, and what they must deal with after the multitude of incidents they respond to every 24-hour shift. Gonzales provides several sources to help describe the mental, physical and emotional trials that both Phoenix Fire Department members and their families endure. While some sources take the form of a traditional document, others come from a firefighter or family member directly. The pre-production, production and post-production processes are explored in depth. The hurdles Gonzales faced throughout the last year are explained and eventually her solves are revealed at the end of the paper. Additionally, the reader will gain more insight as to what a documentary is and what the overarching purpose of making documentaries is by comparing the works of Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014). Gonzales uses Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014) to demonstrate her argument that almost every documentarian is usually trying to either inform or entertain the viewers. Quite often, it seems that the he or she aims to do both.

Find the documentary here: https://youtu.be/jSJjdrnfee8

Asha Kirana: Working with Angels is a documentary about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Southern India and how one hospital has taken the lead in giving their patients, especially children, a better quality of life. The documentary film uses the story of one hospital and the doctors working there to illustrate a larger problem with the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS in India. The goal of this film is to start a conversation about how India can help to destigmatize HIV/AIDS. The film uses a positive message of education, hope and passion to show how doctors and patients in India have already begun to reverse the stigma surrounding HIV in their community and how they hope to expand their efforts in the future. This project includes a written methodology explaining the goals for the film which include: showing how infected women and children in India are perceived, how important counseling is for a person with a terminal illness and how important education is in de-stigmatization of HIV/AIDS. The methodology also explains the current situation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India, the inspiration behind the film and the ways in which this film can create social change in India. The entire process of creating this documentary is also explained in a first-person narrative from the filmmaker. This gives insight into the filming process, immersion into another culture, how sources were cultivated, how interviews were conducted, restrictions and obstacles during the filming process, how those issues were overcome and the filmmaker's personal reflections.

The documentary genre offers something other than a simple form of entertainment. Instead, it is a visual form of research that informs its audience. It is a form of communication through visual and audio elements. This article is about why the use of documentaries is beneficial in storytelling that is driven by an historical event (the Olympic Games). My documentary is about my personal story to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In my documentary, I attempted to tell the my experience and journey of how I got to the pinnacle of my career. One of the most important elements that I aim to capture is the illustration that the journey of an Olympic athlete is never a single stream. It is supported by many people. I wanted to expose the assumptions made in other documentaries or highlight reels about athletes. Often times, athletes only get media attention once they have reached the successful point in their careers. The goal and vision for my personal story was to show that there is much more density within the lives of athletes. I will take a look at philosopher Habermas' theories and see how they apply to the construction of documentary films, and also how his theories were used directly in my personal production. Also, I will attempt to breakdown the techniques of documentary filming and explain the benefits behind them. Since documentary filming has a distinct stylistic manner, I will explain why I chose the different types of shots and methodology I employed.

A Tale of Two Deserts: Examining Food Deserts in Downtown Phoenix is a 26 minute 46 second documentary by Kaly Nasiff. Link to documentary: https://youtu.be/4pRBIwHb2qM. The documentary starts by explaining what a food desert is, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, and how the problem is compacted in downtown Phoenix. The USDA defines food deserts as, "parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets and healthy food providers." There are over 40 food deserts in the city of Phoenix and two of them are in the heart of downtown. The documentary goes on to explain how food deserts can negatively affect the health of residents, who are most likely getting food from convenience stores in order to supplement the lack of grocery stores. The project also addresses how the city of Phoenix currently works to help residents and what its plans are for the future. There are several community initiatives that are fighting food deserts. Discovery Triangle's Fresh Express Bus makes weekly stops in the community to sell fresh produce at a discounted rate out of a refurbished city bus. The open air market at Phoenix Public Market is a farmers market that was established in 2005 to connect consumers with farmers, ranchers and food producers. Members of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church set up a mobile food pantry every fourth Saturday of the month for people to come and take an assortment of food, free of charge. Lastly, Roosevelt Growhouse is an urban farm that shows volunteers how to grow their own vegetables, along with supplying nonprofits and local restaurants with fresh produce. Downtown Phoenix won't be a food desert for much longer. RED Development is planning a multi-use project called Block 23, which will include a Fry's Food Store. The project doesn't open until 2019, so residents of downtown will have to continue utilizing the resources they have to keep themselves fed.