INSIDESTORY
SUMMER 2013 Vol. 7, No. 3 WWW.JOURNALISM.CUNY.EDU
Admissions Are Up in a Down Year for Applications
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mid the most difficult year for graduate education recruitment since its founding in 2006, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will welcome its largest entering class ever this fall. Better yet, quality did not suffer in the down market. “We had more top-notch applicants in a smaller pool,” said Assistant Dean Stephen Dougherty, director of admissions and student affairs. The decline in grad school applications seems to be a direct result of improvement in the jobs picture. Dougherty believes our innovative curriculum that teaches multimedia storytelling and technical skills alongside the fundamentals of good journalism puts us in a strong competitive position. As of now, 103 students are slated to start their studies in the Class of 2014: 71% women, 29% men, and 37% students of color. Of the 46% from outside New York State, 13% are from countries other than the U.S., including Argentina, Canada, China, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Jordan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The roster includes graduates of UC
Class of 2014 Profile Students Beginning Program in August 2013 Total Enrollment
103
Female/Male 71%/29% Students of Color
37%
Non-New York State Residents 46% (includes non-U.S. citizens)
Admissions Director Stephen Dougherty addresses prospective Class of 2014 students at the Open House in April.
Berkeley, Brown, CUNY’s City College of New York, Cornell, Howard, Harvard, McGill, Michigan, Oberlin, Occidental, Vassar, UCLA, and the University of Paris. The class is diverse in other ways, too. In past lives, students have helped create video and interactive computer kiosks for New York’s American Museum of Natural
History, taught English in Thailand as a Princeton in Asia Fellow, acted in professional theater productions, worked in corporate mergers and acquisitions, and led wine tours in Argentina. In general, this class starts with more advanced social media and digital skills than previous cohorts. That’s one reason
CUNY Graduates
11%
SUNY Graduates
7%
Average Age
27
the J-School has continued to upgrade its course offerings, with new five-week modules in motion graphics storytelling and interviewing debuting this fall. Dougherty and his admissions team have no time to rest on their laurels. With the summer being primetime for industry and journalists-of-color meetings, recruitment for the Class of 2015 has already begun. n
Interns Abound, from Manhattan to the Middle East
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IN THIS ISSUE:
vol . 7 , no . 3
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The 2013 Gala • CUNY J-Press Book in the News 3 Dean’s Corner • Welcome to The Nabe 4 School Notes • On the Job at France 24 • Photo Box: All About Book Publishing SUMMER 2013
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FRANK ROCCO
he 93 members of the Class of 2013 have blanketed the world this summer, working the WHYY intern. “Everyone’s really friendly and approachable, and I see Terry Gross at internships in the city, the nation, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Eunear the coffee maker almost every day.” rope, the Middle East, and Africa. “These students are workBroadcast internships have been especially far-flung. ing at phenomenal places and will receive amazing experience,” In New York, students landed spots at CNBC, NY1, said Career Services Director Joanna Hernandez. WNYC, National Public Radio’s “Science Friday,” and Closest to home are those just a few steps from the NBC Local Media. Others are at Oregon Public BroadJ-School — at the New York Times video unit and magacasting, KPFA in Berkeley, Calif., WBAE in Atlanta, zine. The Class of 2013 has also invaded the New York and WGCU-FM in Fort Myers, Fla. And two Daily News, with 12 students scattered throughout broadcast students are working overseas: at A24 the newsroom and in the boroughs. Others are Media in Nairobi, a pan-African 24-hour news working in U.S. bureaus of international outlets: at channel, and NPR’s Moscow bureau. Al Jazeera in New York and Washington and at the The CUNY J-School requires all students German Press Agency, also in D.C. to work in a professional media internship in New internship partners include the Philadelphia the summer between their second and third Daily News, where one student is on the city desk semesters. Those in unpaid positions receive a and another is writing features, and public radio $3,000 stipend from the School. The stipend, station WHYY-90.9 FM, also in Philly. “We get funded initially by the John S. and James L. treated more like reporters than interns, which is Knight Foundation, now depends on private Summer intern Chris Dell, ‘13, interviews New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton for the New York Daily News. an awesome experience,” said Ann Marie Awad, support. n
A Tribute to Two Men Who Made the CUNY J-School Happen
SKYLER REID
Clockwise from top left: Guests of honor Dean Stephen B. Shepard and Howard J. Rubenstein with their wives, Lynn Povich (far left) and Amy Rubenstein, at the 2013 Awards for Excellence in Journalism; Shepard, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, with Class of 2012 alumni honorees Carla Astudillo, Sarah Kazadi, and Taylor Tepper; New York Times Publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., who presented the award to Shepard; Mistress of Ceremonies Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News; former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who introduced Rubenstein; Kazadi leaving the podium with her plaque; Rubenstein with New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
CUNY J-Press Book Proves Topical in Wikileaks Controversy
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he most recent CUNY Journalism Press book, by former New York Times chief counsel James C. Goodale, has been frequently cited in the continuing debate over the Obama Administration’s efforts to restrain leaks to the press. In Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles, Goodale not only recounts the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case but also warns that President Obama may be a bigger threat to press freedom and the First Amendment than President Nixon was. In the first weeks after the April 30 publication of Fighting for the Press, Goodale gave dozens of interviews to news organizations across the U.S. and abroad, and the book was mentioned by many more, from Fox News to National Public Radio. Goodale has credited early interest in his book to a pre-publication story in the Columbia Journalism Review by CUNY J-School Class of 2013 student Susie Armitage. Amid his major network appearances, Goodale was also featured in a CUNY-TV news magazine segment produced by Professor Linda Prout’s “219 West” class. “It has been 40 years since the Pentagon Papers made its indelible mark on journalism, but Goodale contends that many of the same issues that were central then remain today. He sees the continuing WikiLeaks case as a second Pentagon Papers, except that so far, the government’s attempts to stifle First Amendment rights have proceeded unchecked,” said TheAtlantic.com. “Goodale, also known as the ‘father of reporters’ privilege’…, says Obama is cen2
www.journalism.cuny.edu
soring the media by using an illegitimate justification of national security concerns,” the New York Observer reported . The book is the second published by the CUNY Journalism Press, launched last autumn by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism as an academic imprint devoted to serious books about journalism. The first release, Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Journalism Revolution, by NPR senior strategist Andy Carvin, also received considerable attention from the national media. Journalism programs across the country have expressed interest in adopting the books as required reading for classes next fall. Upcoming titles planned by the CUNY Journalism Press include: n An oral biography of seminal jazz critic and First Amendment activist Nat Hentoff by CUNY J-School Professor David Lewis n A historical look at how independent media has promoted democracy across the globe by David Hoffman, the founder of Internews, which has promoted development of independent journalism in many countries n A history of investigative reporting in America by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) co-founder Steve Weinberg n An illustrated review of courtroom art over the past 50 years n A how-to on writing feature stories by The Wall Street Journal’s front-page legend and writing coach Barry Newman. n
J-School Sees Hyperlocal Future
DEAN’SCORNER
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Boy, Was I Wrong
he CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in mid-May launched The Nabe, which serves Brooklyn’s Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods and extends the J-School’s experiment in collaborative hyperlocal journalism. The Nabe (TheNabe.me) is the successor site to The Local, which The New York Times began in March 2009. The JSchool worked with the Times and the community from the start of The Local, before taking over day-to-day operations in January 2010, under the supervision of Times editors.
The Nabe shares the same goal as its predecessor: to help residents cover their neighborhoods, using the emerging tools of journalism to tell and share stories in compelling new ways. Faculty and students of the CUNY J-School are working to make The Nabe a virtual gathering spot where neighbors can discuss local issues – and serve as tipsters, writers, editors, crowdsourcing project participants, videographers, and photographers. J-School reporters are covering a mix of crime, school, political, and arts news. But they’re also helping residents with everything from write-ups of community board meetings to videos of school concerts and breaking news photos. The Nabe started strong with “Two Fort Greenes,” a multimedia special report that looks at largely hidden signs of change in the rapidly transforming neighborhood. The site also boasts a mobile-friendly design that makes it easy to access via smartphones. n
Matthew Goldstein Chancellor, The City University of New York
Stephen B. Shepard Founding Dean Judith Watson Associate Dean
BOARD OF ADVISERS Jesse Angelo
Norman Pearlstine
Publisher of the New York Post
Chief Content Officer at Bloomberg News
Dean Baquet
Managing Editor of The New York Times
Merrill Brown
Director, School of Communications and Media Montclair State University
David Carey
Howard Rubenstein
President of Rubenstein Associates
Vivian Schiller
Chief Digital Officer of NBC News
Richard Stengel
President of Hearst Magazines
Managing Editor of Time Elizabeth Vargas “20/20” Anchor, ABC News
Connie Chung
David Westin
TV Journalist and Anchor
Jared Kushner
Publisher of The New York Observer
Adam Moss
Editor-in-Chief of New York Magazine
Michael Oreskes
Senior Managing Editor at the Associated Press John Paton CEO of Digital First Media
CEO of News Licensing Group
Mark Whitaker
Former Managing Editor of CNN Worldwide and Former Editor of Newsweek
Matthew Winkler
Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News
Mortimer Zuckerman
Chairman and Publisher of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report
INSIDESTORY John Smock Photographer
Shannon Firth Reporter
Nancy Novick Designer
vol . 7 ,more no . 3information For
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hen I first considered taking on the role of founding dean of a brand-new journalism school, I initially thought of it as a personal capstone – the culmination of a lifetime in journalism and a chance to pass on my experience to the next generation. Boy, was I wrong. As the journalism world changed in content and delivery, I was the one who became a student. To be perfectly candid, the new world seemed upside down to me. In the traditional world I knew best, we journalists took great pride in acting as trustworthy gatekeepers, professionals who filtered the news for you, who sifted through the glut of information to tell you what was important and why – and who uncovered stories you wouldn’t think of asking for on a Google search. Suddenly, our traditional model was shattered. The people formerly known as the audience could now talk back. In fact, anyone could now be a journalist – or at least commit an act of journalism on their blogs or websites. Then, all of a sudden there was something called Twitter, something called Facebook. As journalism became decentralized, we professionals were dethroned. It was a psychic shock, a loss of esteem, as well as a loss of livelihood for many people. Not surprisingly, my instinct was to be defensive – to protect the world I knew and treasured. Only gradually, and sometimes with great reluctance, did I come to see the value of the new technologies. Only gradually did I realize that digital technology would
I thought I’d be the wise elder of journalism. But all the changes have made me a student. enrich journalism, creating an interactive, multimedia form of storytelling that invited community participation, that could be personalized, that could be delivered on a vast array of mobile devices, that could be consumed globally, that could be distributed using social media. And so, slowly, I finally managed to embrace the changes necessary to create a new school for a new age. My personal passage is, of course, a microcosm of the larger struggle within the journalism profession to come to terms with the digital reckoning. Though many mainstream media companies have been hollowed out by all those layoffs, a parallel universe is slowly growing in journalism. Everywhere you look, new digital outlets are springing up that offer promising alternatives – from Politico and ProPublica to the Texas Tribune and Kaiser Health News, to say nothing of blogs, websites, and hyperlocal ventures. This year, something called Inside Climate News won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, and a blog named California Watch was a Pulitzer finalist for Public Service. There is more journalism produced today by more people on more platforms than ever before. And much of it is reaching new audiences through social media, creating new communities of like-minded readers.
No, the real problem is not journalism per se. The defining issue is now financial: The traditional business model that sustained journalism, based largely on a lucrative stream of advertising revenue, has seriously eroded.
Founding Dean Stephen B. Shepard
I am not a futurist. I do not claim to know how the public will consume media 10 years from now or what the next Twitter will be. But I do believe that we will find new revenue streams for quality journalism in the digital age. Readers are now starting to pay for content, advertisers are developing new ways to target digital readers, and publishers are learning to use e-commerce. Some publishers are even becoming more than just newspapers and magazines; they are learning to be information platforms, building deeper relationships with their communities – whether those communities are geographic or demographic. In this new era, and whatever the new formats, I think we must keep technological change in perspective. The new technologies, as dazzling as they seem, are but a means to an overriding end. And that end is journalism. I mean a special kind of journalism – a journalism that is vitally needed in this era of media fragmentation and information overload. I’m talking about in-depth reporting, community engagement, analysis, deep understanding – and, on our best days, something approaching wisdom. This is the stuff of great journalism. Our children will get this wisdom delivered in new ways, perhaps even via a wireless appliance implanted in their brains. So be it. But I believe, in the smithy of my soul, that even if the medium ultimately changes – and it will – the intellectual need, the human need, for thoughtful journalism will never, ever go away.
SKYLER REID
Amy Dunkin Editor
After an eight-year tenure as the founding dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Stephen B. Shepard has announced that he will step down from the post at the end of the year. Shepard was honored at the J-School gala on May 13. Here is an excerpt of the remarks he delivered on that occasion.
Stephen B. Shepard Dean, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
about the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, go to our website: www. journalism.cuny.edu
SUMMER 2013
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SCHOOLNOTES
Honan and Emmy
ALUMNI NEWS Class of ’12: Elbert Chu is associate producer at MedPage Today for Everyday Health. Cara Eisenpress is editor/content manager at Blue Apron, a recipe-subscription startup. Sean Flynn is the social media coordinator for the law firm of Spar & Bernstein. Michelle Gross is a reporter at the Martha’s Vineyard Times; Erin Horan is breaking-news assignment editor/news associate for the CBS News National Desk. Kevin Loria is associate web producer at Condé Nast. Lisa Mahapatra is infographics graphics editor at International Business Times. She also became engaged to ’12 classmate Martin Burch. Mariya Pylayev is associate editor at AOL Real Estate. Casey Quinlan is a reporter for Investment Wires, covering mutual funds. Paulette Safdieh and husband Irv welcomed their first child, Jacqueline, on April 4. Kamana Shrestha is a copywriter at WRNN-TV. Taylor Tepper is a staff reporter at Money. Vanesa Vennard is a production assistant at Early Today and First Look at MSNBC. Class of ’11: Alva French is an associate producer at NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Alcione Gonzalez is associate producer in Miami for Fusion, a new 24-hour cable news channel launched
Safdieh and Jacqueline by ABC News and Univision. Eliza Ronalds-Hannon is a reporter at Skift.com covering travel and tourism business news. Class of ’10: Jordan Shakeshaft is editorial director at DailyBurn. Katie Honan has taken a new job at DNAInfo.com, where she will be covering Jackson Heights and Corona. Class of ’09: Emily Feldman has moved to Istanbul to become a freelance writer. Sergey Kadinsky married Keren Chumakova on June 16. He is working as a community liaison for City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Queens). Maya Pope-Chappell has been named Asia editor for social media and analytics at The Wall Street Journal. Class of ’08: Kathryn Lurie was promoted to digital features editor at The Wall Street Journal. Cristiana Oliveira is freelancing for Brazilian publications from San Francisco. She, along with husband Reginald King and son Alexander, 3, welcomed second child Phillip Wallace King last Sept. 12. Class of ’07: Amy Goldstein was promoted to general editor at ESPN.com and became engaged to Josh Somer. Megan Kelty
got a new job at CBS News in New York as producer of “On The Road with Steve Hartman.” Joe Orovic is covering Croatia as a freelance writer. Marlene Peralta is a political reporter in charge of the mayoral election coverage at El Diario-La Prensa. Dan Rivoli is a staff reporter for amNewYork.
AWARD NEWS “The Doctor Drain,” a NYCity News Service multimedia special report, won the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Mark of Excellence Award for Online In-Depth Reporting. Shuka Kalantari, ’08, and Danny Gold, ’10, won 2013 reporting fellowships from the International Center for Journalists. Craig Giammona, ‘13, was one of 10 winners of a $3,000 New York Financial Writers Scholarship. The Society of Silurians chose Irina Ivanova, ’13, to receive the $1,000 Dennis Duggan prize. Narratively, a storytelling platform developed by 2012 Entrepreneurial Journalism Fellow Noah Rosenberg, was named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites of 2013. Patricia Rey Mallén, ‘12, won an Overseas Press Club Foundation Award. Katie Honan, ‘10, was part of a team at WNBC-TV that received a New York Emmy for Breaking News.
ON THE JOB with Inez Bebea ’10 By Shannon Firth, Class of 2012
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INSIDESTORY
Inez Bebea
When one of her resumes hit the mark and France 24 invited her for an interview, she was thrilled but nervous. The broadcast channel, which produces shows in French, Arabic, and English, was looking for native English speakers who were strong in French. Bebea survived a slew of timed tests in both languages and she got the job. Today, as an associate producer, she helps manage live news and prerecorded shows. Her main job is finding video clips to match the news narration. Bebea likes testing herself, mentally and physically. She started running in the fall of 2011 and completed a half-marathon five months later. Her next goal: covering the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. She plans to start learning Portuguese while she’s there. n
ALL ABOUT BOOK PUBLISHING
CUNY Graduate School of Journalism 219 W. 40th Street, Third Floor New York, NY 10018
ABBY KRAFTOWITZ
For five days in June, writers, editors, academics, and business people heard experts in modern-day publishing explain everything from how to produce e-books to how to use Tumblr as a publicity tool during the first CUNY Publishing Institute at the CUNY J-School. Students learned about marketing in the Internet age, evolving copyright issues, and how to get books reviewed online and in print. John Oakes (left), co-founder of OR Books, ran the Institute. Here he’s with Johnny Temple, publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books, a Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to supporting urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors largely ignored by the mainstream.
HEATHER MARTINO
t was New Year’s Eve 2011 when Ines Bebea gave herself an ultimatum: Find a job in media within a year or leave France. Every Monday morning on her way to work as a hotel receptionist in Paris, she’d drop 10 resumes into a mailbox—five in English and five in French. She sent another 10 resumes by email. While Bebea had concentrated her studies on print reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, she included television networks in her search. Living and working in France had been Bebea’s dream for years. During
orientation week in August 2009, Associate Dean Judith Watson spoke about an exchange program at the Sorbonne. “Right then and there, I knew this was the school I was meant to go to because I could go to Paris,” she said. But Bebea, who grew up in Spain and speaks fluent Spanish, had only basic French skills. So she applied to a semester-long CUNYwide program, Mission Universitaire de Coordination Échanges Franco-Américains, or MICEFA, that allowed her to spend more time studying French. After the program ended, her European Union citizenship allowed her to remain in Paris.