Monday, September 3, 2012
For weeks and weeks, I had been planning to complete my “D:F/M Mob Does a Bronx Cheer” and put off writing about a number of topics. Well, time passed, obviously, and here I am in Charlotte at the Democratic National Convention and need to blog and write and …
So, I will have to re-publish the earlier “D:F/M Mob Does a Bronx Cheer” and then complete the project in the next few weeks.
The WORD received considerable interest and support and that led to it receiving press credentials from the Independent Press Association (now known as the New York Community Media Alliance) for two students to join a cadre of professional news reps from 10 NYCMA member organizations to report on the New Hampshire Primaries in January, 2008. The students reported on rallies and news conferences and met with the University of New Hampshire survey center associate director who briefed all the journalists about the primaries.
And the success of that trip led to the WORD receiving press credentials for three students to report on the Democratic National Convention. (more…)
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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I had to send the following email to the WORDÂ Special Correspondents who were in Denver August 24-28. They are so hot, like heat seeking missiles, that I got wrapped in the wakes of their planning strategies to try to continue reporting on the election like they did in late August. Uh oh.
I can’t:
From Left to right: Kisha Allison, Jonathan Mena and Jacqueline Fernandez.
I will be writing a lot about the Democratic Convention even though it ended August 28 and the Republican event is about to begin. There was so much going on and I’m not just referring to the political wheeling and dealing and the pageantry. I’m going to provide a kind of behind-the-scenes look. Journalism technology, for example, was on awesome display.
Being a journalist is tough. Being a student journalist is even tougher. Student journalists have absolutely no clout and very few connections. This reality has never been more apparent than in my quest to interview New York City Council Member John Liu.
… at 3:09 a.m. but CNN broke the story a full hour early.”
… attend the Democratic National Conventions are:
“…coming from all over the country to protest the DNC and show the world that there are people in this country that are resolutely opposed to an attack on iran, furthering the wars in afghanistan and iraq for even one more day, the looming threat of American theocracy and in short the whole program begun by Bush.”
Lu Chun-Chao, former Hunter Student.
WORD Special Correspondent Jonathan Mena says he will be checking out Lu Chun-Chao’s reminder. Chun-Chao also wrote: “I’m helping organize the protests from NYC; I do know some people who would love to be interviewed by your paper, some who are organizing the protests on a national level and some who are going themselves. I don’t know right now of any Hunter students going”
Chun-Chao said that Cindy Sheehan; Vietnam war vet and author Ron Kovic; Debra Sweet, director of World Can’t Wait, revolutionary activist and journalist Sunsara Taylor; Militiary Mother Elaine Brower and author Larry Everest will be there. Contact information for interviews: Linda Rigas – 714.235.8213 or Debra Sweet 718.809.3803.
Police/SWAT: An Ubiquitous Presence at the Democratic Convention
Thursday, September 4th, 2008Special 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.
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Tags:Democratic National Convention, Police, protests, SWAT
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