Sandy Close, Executive Editor and Director of New America Media, said, in so many words, in a conversation at the New York Times building in New York City (of course), May 8, that she really liked the WORD (because of its student writers learning and reporting* about ethnic, immigrant issues) and that she wished other colleges repeated the experiment.
This compliment BELONGS to the students who write for the WORD. It was made May 8 in a conversation during a lull in the opening session of the Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshops funded by the New York Times Company Foundation in collaboration with the New York Community Media Alliance and Investigative Reporters and Editors. I like to state the following occasionally when I’m feeling mischievous because I know the statement stupefies colleagues with preconceived ideas and opinions: Students who write for the WORD do not compete so much with undergraduates journalism programs in the New York City metropolitan area as they do with their undergraduate peers from the Ivy League and Big Ten.
*Students writing for the WORD learn by doing real-world stories.
Tags: ethnic news, immigrant news reporting, journalism, journalism education, New America Media, NYCMA
The compliment is well-deserved indeed and also makes me proud to have been part of THE WORD in its infancy. Prof. Gregg Morris has been at one time my teacher, mentor, comrade, compadre and dear friend, though the craziness of life tore us apart.
I knew from the start he would make THE WORD into something big and worthy, well at least news-worthy. I have so many memories of those first self-imposed deadlines and HTML coding. Mrs. Close comment makes me smile inside, and that is something.
Congratulations to all of you/us and to Prof. Morris
Sincerely
FC
The compliment is well-deserved.