Future Scene - FS MED Addition

24/02/2015

Family Christian Stores Chain Files for
Bankruptcy
In a news release, Family Christian Stores
announced it has filed for bankruptcy
under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code. They have 250 stores and 4.000
employees.
Family Christian Stores was purchased in
2012 by three businessmen, Rick Jackson,
Mike Kendrick and Larry Powell, and they
donated to Family Christian Ministries, a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The
three men retain control Family Christian
Stores since Jackson is the president of the
nonprofit and the other two men are
directors of it according to the most
recent IRS Form 990 disclosure.
Questions Emerge
Family Christian Stores does not expect to
close any stores or lay off any employees,
but their plan nevertheless raises questions.
All companies and organizations must have
more income than expenses, so the fact the
bookstore chain was owned by a nonprofit is
a problem. If Family Christian Stores was
not turning a profit, it means that Family
Christian Ministries did not receive money
for Christian outreach as promised to
bookstore customers. If the nonprofit
received funds, it was at the expense of
Family Christian Stores creditors.
If Family Christian Ministries owned the
bookstore chain, there is a question about
why it has not been dissolved in accordance
to IRS regulations. To avoid that, it appears
that the failed company will be sold to a new
organization with the same leadership. A
newly formed subsidiary of Family Christian
Ministries will serve as the lead bidder for
a Section 363 sale process, according to
information supplied by Family Christian
Stores.
The new entity will maintain operation of
Family Christian Stores 266 stores in 36
states and its bookselling website,
www.familychristian.com.
Bankruptcy a Result of Prayerful
Consideration
Chuck Bengochea, CEO of Family Christian
Stores, said “We have carefully and
prayerfully considered every option. This
action allows us to stay in business and
continue to serve our customers, our
associates, our vendors and charities around
the world.” Bengochea has no experience in
the bookselling industry; he assumed his
present role in June, 2014 after serving as
the CEO of The Original Honeybaked Ham
Company of Georgia.
It seems that creditors may take a big hit
from this prayerful consideration. According
to Publishers Weekly , Family Christian Stores
owes $7.5 million to the Zondervan and
Thomas Nelson divisions of
HarperCollins, $1.7 million to Tyndale
House, $516,414 to B&H Publishing Group,
$537,374 to Faithwords and $572,002 to
Barbour Publishing. Spring Arbor, a book
distribution company owned by Ingram, is
owed $689,533.
While Family Christian Stores was losing all
that money, former CEO Earl Bartow was
collecting an annual salary of $501,429 plus
other compensation of $51,427 according to
IRS filings. The other seven members of the
management team collected over $1.3
million in salary plus nearly a quarter of a
million dollars in other compensation
annually.
UPDATE: Publishers Weekly reported that it
was revealed at the bankruptcy hearing held
on February 17,2015 that Family Christian
Stores owes $100 million. $58 is secured
debt, and the other $40 million is unsecured
debt. Unsecured creditors are unlikely to get
their money back or may have to settle for
pennies on the dollar.
The secured debtors are Credit Suisse ($34
million) and FC Special Funding ($24
million). The quirk in that the person behind
FC Special Funding is Rick Jackson, the same
person who donated the bookselling chain
to Family Christian Ministries and is
allegedly set to buy it back after the
bankruptcy. That means Jackson will receive
$24 million as a result of the bankruptcy
and others will be left empty-handed.
Jackson was represented at the hearing by
Todd Meyers of the firm Kilpatrick
Townsend, based in Atlanta, according to
Publishers Weekly. He said. “My client
[Jackson] wants to wear the white hat here,”
but some observers think that is impossible
under the circumstances. Publishers Weekly
said, “One point raised during the six-hour
hearing before Judge John T. Gregg was the
‘significant issue of transparency,’ according
to Credit Suisse bankruptcy attorney Jennifer
Hagle.”
Business as Usual
According to Family Christian Stores,
business will continue as usual after the
bankruptcy. The same leadership will
acquire the company and continue to run it
under the same nonprofit banner.
Bengochea said, “Our customers will not see
any change in operations during this
process. After the court approves the sale, we
can begin to reinvest in our stores and bring
our customers products and services that will
help us better fulfill our mission.”
Family Christian Ministries also owns two
other companies through their nonprofit
orgnanization, iDisciple, a website, and
Giving Films, a movie production company.
These two companies are not part of the
bankruptcy and will continue to operate
independently of Family Christian Stores the
company said.

Family Christian stores - leading Christian store selling books, bibles and music. 100% of Family Christian bookstore profits are donated to Christian charities.

24/02/2015

Make Up Your Mind - by Toni Babcock
Whose mind do we allow ourselves to be led
about by? Our own mind, or the mind of Christ?
The Bible gives a very clear directive: "Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men: and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross," (Philippians
2:5-8 KJV).
Here is a great thing about the mind of Christ:
Jesus never displayed a double-mind about
himself. He never moped around in life
expecting others to fill in the gaps of a faltering
faith. No! Jesus spoke plainly about who he
was with all the confidence and assurance of a
man who made no apologies that He was the
Son of the Living God.
If we have believed on Jesus Christ as our Lord
and our Savior, we don't have to apologize for
ourselves either. At the same time we should
live out our faith in a quiet and humble
assurance. We should not seek recognition, but
be satisfied to be made of no reputation, being
a humble servant of Christ, obediently bearing
whatever cross the Lord has chosen for us to
bear in this world.
Jesus said to his disciples, "…If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will
lose his life for my sake shall find it," (Matthew
16:24-25 KJV).

24/02/2015

News media
Electronic News Gathering trucks and
photojournalists gathered outside the
Prudential Financial headquarters in
Newark , United States in August 2004
following the announcement of
evidence of a terrorist threat to it and
to buildings in New York City .
The news media are those elements of the
mass media that focus on delivering news
to the general public or a target public.
These include print media ( newspapers,
newsmagazines), broadcast news ( radio
and television), and more recently the
Internet ( online newspapers , news blogs ,
etc.).
Etymology
A medium (plural media ) is a carrier of
something. Common things carried by media
include information , art, or physical objects.
A medium may provide transmission or
storage of information or both. The
industries which produce news and
entertainment content for the mass media
are often called "the media" (in much the
same way the newspaper industry is called
"the press "). In the late 20th century it
became commonplace for this usage to be
construed as singular ("The media is...")
rather than as the traditional plural.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and
video signals (programs) to a number of
recipients ("listeners" or "viewers") that
belong to a large group. This group may be
the public in general, or a relatively large
audience within the public. Thus, an Internet
channel may distribute text or music
worldwide, while a public address system in
(for example) a workplace may broadcast
very limited ad hoc soundbites to a small
population within its range.
The sequencing of content in a broadcast is
called a schedule.
Television and radio programs are
distributed through radio broadcasting or
cable, often simultaneously. By coding
signals and having decoding equipment in
homes, the latter also enables subscription -
based channels and pay-per-view services.
A broadcasting organization may broadcast
several programs at the same time, through
several channels ( frequencies ), for example
BBC One and Two . On the other hand, two or
more organizations may share a channel
and each use it during a fixed part of the
day. Digital radio and digital television may
also transmit multiplexed programming, with
several channels compressed into one
ensemble .
When broadcasting is done via the Internet
the term webcasting is often used.
Broadcasting forms a very large segment of
the mass media .
Broadcasting to a very narrow range of
audience is called narrowcasting.
In a broadcast system (television),
journalists or reporters are also involved
with editing the video material that has been
shot alongside their research, and in
working on the visual narrative of the story.
Broadcast journalists often make an
appearance in the news story at the
beginning or end of the video clip.
In television or broadcast journalism , news
analysts (also called news-casters or news
anchors) examine, interpret, and broadcast
news received from various sources of
information. Anchors present this as news,
either videotaped or live, through
transmissions from on-the-scene reporters
(news correspondents).
News films ("clips") can vary in length; there
are some which may be as long as ten
minutes, others that need to fit in all the
relevant information and material in two or
three minutes. News channels these days
have also begun to host special
documentary films that stretch for much
longer durations and are able to explore a
news subject or issue in greater detail.
The desk persons categorise news stories
with various formats according to the merit
of the story. Such formats include AVO, AVO
Byte, Pkg, VO SOT, VOX POP, and Ancho
Visual.
The AVO, or Anchor Voice Over, is the
short form of news. The story is written in a
gist. According to the script visual is edited.
The anchor reads the news while the visual
is broadcast simultaneously. Generally, the
duration of an AVO is 30 to 40 seconds. The
script is three to four lines. At first the
anchor starts to read the news, and, after
reading one or one-and-a-half lines, the
visual is aired, overlapping the face of
anchor.
The AVO Byte has two parts: An AVO, and
one or more bytes. This is the same as an
AVO, except that as soon as the AVO ends,
the Byte is aired.
The Pkg has three parts: Anchor, Voice
Over, and Sign Off. At first a Script is written.
A voice over anchor reads the anchor or
anchor intro part.
Newspapers
Reading the newspaper: Brookgreen
Gardens in Pawleys Island , South
Carolina.
A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable
publication (more specifically, a periodical ),
usually printed on low-cost paper called
newsprint. It may be general or special
interest, and may be published daily, weekly,
biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly.
General-interest newspapers are usually
journals of current news on a variety of
topics. Those can include political events ,
crime, business, sports , and opinions (either
editorials , columns , or political cartoons ).
Many also include weather news and
forecasts. Newspapers increasingly use
photographs to illustrate stories; they also
often include comic strips and other
entertainment, such as crosswords .
Journalists at work in Montreal in the
1940s
A story is a single article, news item or
feature, usually concerning a single event,
issue, theme, or profile of a person.
Correspondents report news occurring in the
main, locally, from their own country, or from
foreign cities where they are stationed.
Most reporters file information or write their
stories electronically from remote locations.
In many cases, breaking stories are written
by staff members, through information
collected and submitted by other reporters
who are out on the field gathering
information for an event that has just
occurred and needs to be broadcast
instantly. Radio and television reporters
often compose stories and report "live" from
the scene. Some journalists also interpret
the news or offer opinions and analysis to
readers, viewers, or listeners. In this role,
they are called commentators or columnists.
Reporters take notes and also take
photographs or shoot videos, either on their
own, or through a photographer or camera
person. In the second phase, they organize
the material, determine the focus or
emphasis (identify the peg), and finally write
their stories. The story is then edited by
news or copy-editors (U.S. style) or sub-
editors in Europe, who function from the
news desk . The headline of the story is
decided by the news desk, and practically
never by the reporter or the writer of the
piece. Often, the news desk also heavily re-
writes or changes the style and tone of the
first draft prepared by the reporter / writer
originally. Finally, a collection of stories that
have been picked for the newspaper or
magazine edition , are laid out on dummy
(trial) pages, and after the chief editor has
approved the content, style and language in
the material, it is sent for publishing. The
writer is given a byline for the piece that is
published; his or her name appears
alongside the article. This process takes
place according to the frequency of the
publication. News can be published in a
variety of formats ( broadsheet, tabloid ,
magazine and periodical publications) as
well as periods (daily, weekly, semi-weekly,
fortnightly or monthly).
Newsmagazines
Cover of 2512 , a monthly
newsmagazine published in
Réunion .
A newsmagazine , sometimes called news
magazine , is a usually weekly magazine
featuring articles on current events. News
magazines generally go more in-depth into
stories than newspapers, trying to give the
reader an understanding of the context
surrounding important events, rather than
just the facts.
Newsreels
A newsreel was a documentary film common
in the first half of the 20th century, that
regularly released in a public presentation
place containing filmed news stories.
Created by Pathé Frères of France in 1908,
this form of film was a staple of the typical
North American, British , and Commonwealth
countries (especially Canada, Australia and
New Zealand) , and throughout European
cinema programming schedule from the
silent era until the 1960s when television
news broadcasting completely supplanted
its role.
Online journalism
Newspaper "gone to the Web" in
California
Online journalism is reporting and other
journalism produced or distributed via the
Internet. The Internet has allowed the formal
and informal publication of news stories
through mainstream media outlets as well
as blogs and other self-published news
stories. Journalists working on the Internet
have been referred to as J-Bloggers, a term
coined by Australian Media Academic Dr
Nicola Goc to describe journalists who
[blog] and [blog]gers who produce
journalism. "J-Bloggers: Internet bloggers
acting in the role of journalists disseminating
newsworthy information, who subscribe to
the journalistic ideals of an obligation to the
truth and the public's right to know". [1]
An early leader was The News & Observer in
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Many news organizations based in other
media also distribute news online. How
much they take advantage of the medium
varies. Some news organizations, such as
the Gongwer News Service , use the web only
or primarily.
The Internet challenges traditional news
organizations in several ways. They may be
losing classified ads to Web sites, which are
often targeted by interest instead of
geography. The advertising on news web
sites is sometimes insufficient to support the
investment.
Even before the Internet, technology and
perhaps other factors were dividing people's
attention, leading to more but narrower
media outlets.
Online journalism also leads to the spread of
independent online media such as
openDemocracy and the UK, Wikinews as
well as allowing smaller news organizations
to publish to a broad audience, such as
mediastrike.
News coverage and new media
By covering news, politics, weather, sports,
entertainment, and vital events, the daily
media shape the dominant cultural, social
and political picture of society. Beyond the
media networks, independent news sources
have evolved to report on events which
escape attention or underlie the major
stories. In recent years, the blogosphere has
taken reporting a step further, mining down
to the experiences and perceptions of
individual citizens.
An exponentially growing phenomenon, the
blogosphere can be abuzz with news that is
overlooked by the press and TV networks.
Apropos of this was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's
11,000-word Rolling Stone article apropos
of the 2004 United States presidential
election , published June 1, 2006. By June 8,
there had been no mainstream coverage of
the documented allegations by President
John F. Kennedy's nephew. On June 9, this
sub-story was covered by a Seattle Post-
Intelligencer article. [2]
Media coverage during the 2008 Mumbai
attacks highlighted the use of new media
and Internet social networking tools,
including Twitter and Flickr, in spreading
information about the attacks, observing
that Internet coverage was often ahead of
more traditional media sources. In response,
traditional media outlets included such
coverage in their reports. [3] However,
several outlets were criticised as they did
not check for the reliability and verifiability of
the information. [4] Some public opinion
research companies have found that a
majority or plurality of people in various
countries distrust the news media. [5][6]

23/02/2015

From: JUDEX OKORO, Calabar

Seven inmates of Afokang prison in Calabar who died in the gun duel between security agencies and fleeing inmates on attempted jailbreak on Friday morning were buried on Saturday.

The inmates were reportedly buried in Calabar South.

It was learnt that 9 persons, including three wardens and inmates are critically lying ill at an undisclosed hospital receiving treatment.

The Comptroller of Prison, Mr. Clement Udosen, had told newsmen that nobody died as at Friday, the day of the incident. But reliable sources told Sunday Sun that seven inmates have been confirmed dead by prison authorities who are trying to manage the situation.

Udosen, however admitted that several inmates and some prison guards sustained serious injuries during the jailbreak attempt.

A reliable source told Sunday Sun that the jailbreak plan was hatched by some inmates comprising hardened criminals, ex-militants and drug dealers who were remanded in the prison custody but were desperate to escape.

The source revealed that the suspected criminals were taken to court early in December last year, but were later brought into the prison on awaiting trial status since the courts have not been sitting.

The source said since they were brought into the Afokang Prison, the authorities have been on high alert against any invasion of the facility from outside, adding that they never suspected that the plan was being hatched from within.

However, trouble was said to have started when the inmates were brought out for the usual morning bath at about 11:00am on Friday, and they suddenly engaged one another in a fight as a smokescreen to attract the attention of prison guards.

When the guards came closer, they swooped on them, disarmed them, quickly moved to the armory, took some assault rifles and started shooting sporadically.

While the shooting was going on, the source further said, some of the inmates attempted to break the wall of the prison with a wood to enable other inmates to escape, but were unlucky as a team of crack security men moved into the prison and took control of the situation.

A prison warden confided in Sunday Sun that the leader of the plot was unlucky as most of the riffles he seized had no magazines, except one that had 36 rounds of ammunition, and when he exhausted the bullets in the riffle, he was simply over-powered by a combined team of security operatives, but not without wounding some inmates as he was shooting indiscriminately.

The officer, who doesn’t want his name in print narrated what happened, he said: “Some hardened criminals arrested by the police were brought in here in December. Since the courts have not been sitting, one of them, a notorious criminal, tried to lead others into revolting saying that they should be taken to court rather than keeping them here.

“From there, he plotted with others to escape by engaging the guards who were on duty, disarming them and made straight to the armory and took some riffles not knowing that most of them were just dummies with no magazines. Only one of them had about 36 rounds of ammunition which he exhausted without escaping.”

As at the time of going to press, the prison authorities have rounded up the inmates involved in the ugly incident, and some of them are said to be undergoing interrogations.

23/02/2015

A female su***de bomber has killed 5 people in a renewed bomb attack at the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) market in Potiskum, Yobe State in north-east Nigeria.

Residents said a female su***de bomber hit the entrance of the market located in the heart of Potiskum town around 1:15 this afternoon killing five on the spot.

“We saw the girl and we became suspicious of her movement and when one of us tried to whisk her away, the bomb went off killing both of them and three others while several others sustained injuries and are being taken to the General Hospital in Potiskum,” a witness said.

The Police Public Relations Officer ASP Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirm the incident, said details of the blast was still being expecting.

“Yes, I can confirm to you that there is a blast at the Kasuwan Jagwal market (GSM market) in Potiskum where it happened last month but how it happened and the casualty figure has not been known,” the police spokesman said.

According to him, 48 other persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were being treated at the Potiskum General Hospital.

A top hospital source told Channels Television that rescuers had started rushing the victims of the blast to the Potiskum General Hospital for urgent medical attention.

Su***de bombing has become rampant in the commercial city of Yobe State, North East Nigeria.

Motor parks, GSM market, restaurant and several public places have been hit in recent times in the troubled Potiskum town and at the various times, several lives were lost, with lots of property destroyed.