The Denver Trip Still Resonates

November 10th, 2008

A writer for Hunter’s alumni magazine is working on an article about my students trip to Denver to report on the Democratic National Convention. I’m not sure when it will be published but I thought I would publish the questions she asked of me via email and my responses. I’m still working to document the trip so responding to the query was beneficial for me. And it might be a decent reading for anyone interested in innovative ways of teaching undergraduate journalism, especially in light of this economic crunch that could seriously defer students’ plans to attend graduate journalism schools.

 

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Baruch’s New Undergraduate Journalism Program

November 8th, 2008

Below is a facsimile of a recent email to my department. It’s oblique but I think still informative for anyone cruising this site. But first some background: My department’s journalism initiative has been faltering for years and years. The faltering started as soon as Serafina Bathrick announced her retirement and the chair who replaced her was planning to dump the J-effort. I wouldn’t go along with the plan, disrupted it and got tenure despite my obstinance. But that fueled an internecine  war that continues to this day.

Nevertheless, here is the “memo” to my department as it is reconsidering its program [the College is undergoing a Middle States accreditation review]. 

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NAHJ – 50 Internships And One Great Scholarship: Dear Student Members and Educational Leaders

October 25th, 2008

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) has compiled a list of 50 top journalism internship opportunities with looming deadlines. Don’t miss out on this vital experience toward your journalism career. View the internships.

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So Much Has Been Happening …

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

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

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

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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This Guest Lecturer in a Hunter News Writing Class September 18 Is Running for Vice President on a National Ticket

October 11th, 2008

 

 

Who is this U.S. Vice Presidential candidate guest lecturing in Hunter Newswriting Class

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Bleeping News Media Bloopers! Can I get an Amen?

October 4th, 2008

From mediamatters.org:

With little more than a month to go before Election Day, voters need the news media to cut through the clutter of the candidates’ competing sound bites and spin. They need clear and concise explanations of what, exactly, the candidates would do if elected. And they need the media to provide this every day, not just once in a while. Unfortunately, they aren’t getting it. Instead, they are faced with countless news reports that simply repeat charges and counter-charges or obsess over minor details while failing to provide the big picture.

 

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Protected: Requiescat in Pace Dead Bunny

October 3rd, 2008

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