September 30th, 2009
Feature writing class has been learning that this instructor’s course  — taught as an in-depth writing course — does not match the description of feature writing described by their basic reporting instructor of spring semester 2009 who told them that a feature story was “light” and that features didn’t use summary news leads. Uh oh!
And D:F/M’s journalism effort is back in the stone age. Should the students be told? Should prospective applicants be warned? Colleagues zonked on Zombie Juice? Uh Oh!
Tags: D:F/M, feature writing, in-depth writing, teaching writing
Posted in Journalism Education | Comments Closed
September 27th, 2009
A former WORD writer is a Deputy Press Secretary for the Manhattan Borough President. She was introduced to politics via an advanced reporting class assignment several years ago when she was a student at Hunter and was required to contact her elected officials for her article. She was persistent about getting her phone calls returned and being treated with respect. She eventually visited the office of a New York State senator to accentuate her seriousness. It’s not easy being a serious student journalist.
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Tags: politics, real-world journalism assignments, student journalists, Victoria Nee-Lartey
Posted in Journalism Education, News/Commentary/Opinion | Comments Closed
September 25th, 2009
“Right now, thousands of activists who have gathered in Pittsburgh to protest at the G20 summit have been met with what we have come to expect: Overreaction by authorities and illegal preventive tactics by law enforcement officials at all levels. A secret communications hub with “electronic eyes†has been established by the Secret Service …
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Tags: Center for Constitutional Rightgs, Civil Liberties, G20 Summit
Posted in I Didn't See This on the Evening News (A Work in Progress), Journalism | Comments Closed
September 25th, 2009
USA Today, AP Mislead on Honduran Coup - 9/24/09: This week, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned to Tegucigalpa – though not to office. Unfortunately, press accounts are still misreporting the story behind his ouster, relying on those who supported the coup to supply the explanation for their actions.
More here.

Tags: associated press, FAIR, Honduran Coup, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, news criticism, USA Today
Posted in Journalism, Journalism Education, News/Commentary/Opinion | Comments Closed
September 22nd, 2009

June 9-12, Washington, D.C.: “The goal of the conference is to provide a faculty perspective on critical issues in higher education presented in a format accessible to the general public.”
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Tags: AAUP, Academic Bullying, academic freedom, academic integrity, critical issues in higher education, higher education
Posted in Journalism | Comments Closed
September 21st, 2009
September 18, 2009 – “The new semester is well underway at almost all the nation’s journalism schools. Students have received their syllabi, explaining exactly what the school expects from its students during their courses. But what should students expect from their schools?
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Tags: journalism education, Journalism Schools
Posted in Journalism Education | Comments Closed
September 20th, 2009
Students in the instructor’s feature writing class have been assigned to write about their commuting experiences to and from campus. The instructor will be providing pedagogical tidbits from time to time. Mostly images.
ACLU Petitioning for an Important Cause
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Tags: ACLU, Civil Liberties, commuting, gay marriage, gay rights
Posted in Journalism, Journalism Education, Photo Journalism | Comments Closed
September 18th, 2009
Said what was needed to be said no matter what the right of center, far right and fringe right have to say and bitch (as news media, pundits, whatever) about what he said. Like the New York Daily News – the only major urban daily ever to lose a federal discrimination lawsuit because of the way it treated its journalists of color – said what was to be expected, it’s headline: “Jerky Jimmy’s junk: Carter’s cries of racism are both wrong and destructive.” [Destructive?!?]
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Tags: fringe right, Juan Williams, New York Daily News, President Barack Obama, President Jimmie Carter
Posted in Journalism | Comments Closed
September 14th, 2009
Students in feature writing have to produce a “Commute” as the final assignment, a journalistic narrative about their commuting to and from the campus for the semester. Words and pictures. The instructor has been warming up for this assignment also. And two encounters on the subway indicate his reflexes need to be revived.
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Tags: commute, feature writing, Jesus, subways
Posted in Journalism, Journalism Education, Photo Journalism | Comments Closed
A Pithy But Soft Rant About the Value of Real-World Journalism Assignments for Students
September 27th, 2009A former WORD writer is a Deputy Press Secretary for the Manhattan Borough President. She was introduced to politics via an advanced reporting class assignment several years ago when she was a student at Hunter and was required to contact her elected officials for her article. She was persistent about getting her phone calls returned and being treated with respect. She eventually visited the office of a New York State senator to accentuate her seriousness. It’s not easy being a serious student journalist.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: politics, real-world journalism assignments, student journalists, Victoria Nee-Lartey
Posted in Journalism Education, News/Commentary/Opinion | Comments Closed