Author: Mark Noonan (Page 1 of 5)

Students,

Thank you for a thought-provoking semester during a period in which international events have caused enormous challenges to journalists trying to practice their trade. Never has the battle for a free press and free speech been so fraught with risk and danger.

I leave you with an article from the Queens College Student Newspapers about journalism opportunities across CUNY. I should add that I am just beginning my own new project: an attempt to build a larger journalism presence at City Tech (hopefully, we’ll have a minor one day and perhaps even a Journalism Center).

I also want you to look at an important project run by Media Professor Nolan Higdon, called Modern Censorship. It focuses on the challenges of doing quality journalism today and provides links to additional journalism opportunities.

Reminder:

Be sure to finish revising your OpEds. Most of you can revise your OpEd on the same document in our google docs drive: HERE.

Be sure to also upload your final journalism project proposals (Due Wed., Dec. 20).

HERE.

You can use the following template:

Project Title: _______________________

Paragraph One (Description): Describe what your feature story or project is specifically about. What form will it take (website, feature article in a magazine, podcast, documentary film, book)?  Who is your expected audience? Will it include photography, video links, charts, a timeline?  

Paragraph Two (Interest): Explain what makes your project or story interesting or newsworthy.  Consider its potential impact, its timeliness, its human interest, and/or its educational value.

Paragraph Three (Sources): Will it involve interviewing people? Will you rely on expert sources? Will it involve original reporting and/or observation on the ground? Will it utilize social media (which platforms)?

If you are unsure about a project topic, consider expanding your OpEd topic into a larger work of some kind. Explain what additional research and/or journalism tools you could include to reach a wider audience [if a book, what might be the table of contents].

Please stay in touch with any questions or concerns you may have.

Hi Students,

First off, I want to give you a message from the amazing City Tech student, Mohammed Amin, who is editor of the revived City Tech News and is currently looking for writers and designers:

Call to Action for City Tech News

Are you looking to make an impact with your words, photos, or designs? New Tech Times is on the lookout for passionate individuals ready to bring their unique talents to our transformative school newspaper. Writing, photography, art, or event coverage–there’s a place for every skill set. It’s not just about contributing; it’s about connecting with the campus life and being a voice for our community. Let’s collaborate to craft a newspaper that’s not only informative but also a beacon of student talent and engagement. If you’re ready to step into this exciting role, reach out to us with your ideas and let’s explore how you can fit into our team. Together, we can redefine our publication and create a dynamic campus legacy. To join or for more information, please stop by at Namm G-517 or contact us by email, and we’ll guide you through the process.

Best regards,

Mohammed Amin

Editor-In-Chief

New Tech Times

Mohammed.amin2@mail.citytech.cuny.edu

Here is a link to the most recent issue: City Tech Times

—————————————————————————————————

I strongly support being a part of City Tech Times. A former City Tech student, Donnell Suggs, decided to join and fell in love with journalism. He is now editor-in-chief at the famous and important Atlanta Voice, and will be a guest speaker at our school next semester (which I’ll let you know about).

It’s clear we also have lots of talent in this class, as demonstrated by your riveting OpEd drafts across a variety of cool topics.  By now, I have commented on all of those that were uploaded or emailed to me. Please review my suggested edits and comments (be sure to click “accept”), and I will then post your final grade on it. Most of you can revise your OpEd on the same document in our google docs drive: HERE. If you have any issue finding my comments or editing the document, please let me know.

For this week, I want you to also keep thinking about your final journalism project proposal.

You can use the following template:

Project Title: _______________________

Paragraph One (Description): Describe what your feature story or project is specifically about. What form will it take (website, feature article in a magazine, podcast, documentary film, book)?  Who is your expected audience? Will it include photography, video links, charts, a timeline?  

Paragraph Two (Interest): Explain what makes your project or story interesting or newsworthy.  Consider its potential impact, its timeliness, its human interest, and/or its educational value.

Paragraph Three (Sources): Will it involve interviewing people? Will you rely on expert sources? Will it involve original reporting and/or observation on the ground? Will it utilize social media (which platforms)?

If you are unsure about a project topic, consider expanding your OpEd topic into a larger work of some kind. Explain what additional research and/or journalism tools you could include to reach a wider audience [if a book, what might be the table of contents].

Upload your Project Proposal (Due: Dec. 20): HERE.

To help you think some more about your project proposal, let’s consider the work of former Newsday journalist, Mark Chiusano, who is currently teaching in the City Tech English Department.  He recently published a book on George Santos (The Fabulist), who was just expelled from Congress, and is sharing his work in a variety of formats.  The Fabulist is getting a great deal of attention and HBO has just contracted with him to make a documentary from his exciting material.

Start by watching this short video in which Chiusano discusses his subject, Congressman George Santos, and why telling his story is so important

“When Lying Becomes a Way of Life”  by Mark Chiusano

Here is his book information, which includes a short, interesting podcast. Take a listen.

Lastly, read an excerpt from The Fabulist as it appeared in Vanity Fair Magazine.

On Jan. 10 at 7pm Mark Chiusano will be giving a talk at Books Are Magic on Montague Street in Brooklyn.  You can hear him speak or watch his book talk live on youtube (below).

Enjoy.

Journalism Students:

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving break.  We only have a few more weeks to go and I’m looking forward to finishing up reading your OpEd essays. I will have comments on all of them by this Friday.

For this week, I want to get you started thinking about your last, small formal assignment. This assignment will be due: Mon. Dec. 18. Essentially, I ask you to think about a larger journalism project you might like to work on if you had more time – and a budget!  What would this project be?  Who would be your audience?  What journalism techniques, platforms, and technologies would you use?  What steps would you need to take? What would be the outcome?  What challenges do you foresee?

To help you start thinking about his final assignment, I want you to consider a variety of exciting projects professional journalists, writers, and CUNY students have been working on.

Let’s begin with Brooke Kroeger, author of Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism. She is a former journalism professor at NYU and director of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

Here is a 10-minute interview with her (entitled “Eye Roll Moments”) in which she discusses touchy situations female journalists have had to deal with up until quite recently (and certainly still today).

Please also look at this news story on the amazing work CUNY graduate students are doing at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

They received two dozen awards in recent national journalism competitions.  According to the article: “The winners represent stories told in a variety of media formats — and range from New York’s scramble to combat the climate crisis to tales behind street names in Queens to the push to boost shipping on New York’s waterways.”

Finally, please also look at the work of a former student of mine (Emily Hu) who wrote an important letter to the community on Anti-Asian Violence during the pandemic.

“Many Years After: A Letter on Anti-Asian Violence”

The following year she transformed the letter into a short film:

Many Years After

POST ASSIGNMENT (Due. Wed. Dec. 6)

Choose one of the readings or videos and discuss what you liked about it and
any ideas it gave you for a longer, extended journalism project of your own (or
for someone else).  You can choose to respond to the interview with Kroeger, a project by a CUNY Newmark student (scroll down in the article to find them), or Emily Hu’s letter and/or film.