Archive for the ‘News/Commentary/Opinion’ Category

Jonathan Mena & Jacqueline Fernandez With NAM – Uh Oh!

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

This is amusing. After reviewing and then publishing on the WORD their Youtube production about the gay rights rally in New York City November 15,  I told Jonathan Mena & Jacqueline Fernandez that they were doing too much breaking news and that they should focus on more in-depth stuff for their YouTube broacasts (and for their portfolios).

And guess what? New America Media put their production efforts on its front page.* This is exciting. I, with several years of journalism experience and two books and tons of related experience, told two student journalists that I thought what they did was good but they could do better and NAM decides what they did was front-page news.

I love it.

And will address “it” in subsequent posts.

 

*This hit NAM’s first page November 16. By tomorrow, it might be in the archives.

So Much Has Been Happening …

Monday, October 20th, 2008

… that I’ve fallen behind on this blog.

I’m in St. Petersburg, Florida, right now for a workshop of several days at the Poynter Institute, having left yesterday as CNN was contacting Jonathan Mena & Jacqueline Fernandez about their reporting on the protest at the gates of Hofstra University, Long Island, the site of the last presidential debate. Fernandez got roughed up as did several protesters. The New York Civil Liberties Union has issued a statement along with the Nassau County Civil Liberties Union demanding an investigation of the use of horses by the NCPD. CNN eventually published M&F’s broadcast on its iReports.

Mena said that CNN might interview them later. Mena, Fernandez and Kisha Allison – the WORD trio at the Democratic National Convention – have been on a roll unlike any Hunter journalism students in recent memory. And what they do is infectious. I can’t wait to see what other student journalists are or will be doing.

Sometime tonight, after this first workshop, I plan to start catching up.

From New America Media: How the GOP Will Suppress Minority Votes on November 4 – Legally

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

New America Media — News reports that state officials in the crucial battleground states of Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina were purging thousands from voter rolls illegally drew a flurry of media and public scrutiny. Yet, the main ploys the GOP will use to tamp down minority votes on November 4th have drawn virtually no media attention. They include letter writing challenges, residence and citizenship challenges of non-native born Latino voters, and reliance on a provision in the Help America Vote Act on provisional ballots.

Worst of all, these tactics are all perfectly legal. Read more here.

I Could Not Resist

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008


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A Sarah Palin Reader From Carol Forsloff of the Tag Team of Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff of The Real Views

Monday, October 13th, 2008

The Real Views – like the WORD – was a charter member of the first-ever national network of ethnic news media at a Democratic National Convention (organized by New America Media). It was represented by Randy Stellar who attended the Convention and collaborated with Carol Forsloff, who was back in the office in Natchitoches, Louisiana, for a number of stories that they published related to the Convention. The following is from Carol about a book she is having published about the Presidential election, and she specifically addresses Sarah Palin.

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Police/SWAT: An Ubiquitous Presence at the Democratic Convention

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Special Correspondent Jonathan Mena, armed with digital camera and video equipment, pursued the police as the they pursued protesters exercising their First Amendment Rights. This video blog is part of a major project that he’s working on.

 

 

“It’s Biden – I got the text message at …

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

… at 3:09 a.m. but CNN broke the story a full hour early.”

Special Correspondent Jonathan Mena
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Who Is Doing Responsible Journalism?

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

The following is from PR Watch: “If you’re looking for “real reporting” these days, Glenn Greenwald thinks a lot of it is coming from whistleblowers and advocacy groups rather than from journalists themselves.” Read the rest here. I believe “this” referral is especially important for students considering careers in journalism.  

The WORD’s Getting Ready for the Democratic National Convention

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Correspondents’ Profiles:

The two WORD members are seen here at their second meeting to prepare for the convention.

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More About UWIRE (And the WORD)

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

UWIRE Services

Free Content: We have recently re-launched our website, incorporating our old database into the new UWIRE.com. Once you become an affiliate, you will be able to pull stories from UWIRE and reuse in your own paper so long as the stories are correctly attributed.

Professional Networking: UWIRE’s new site features a Facebook-style networking opportunity. Instead of connecting with friends, individuals can connect with other young aspiring media professionals. You can post your resume, stories, videos and photos. It’s a perfect place to keep your portfolio at easy access for internship and professional interviews. To take advantage of this, the individual does not need to be a UWIRE member through their school paper. We encourage any student interested in turning their journalism/media interest into a career to make a profile. In the future we will also be featuring online job fairs.

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