Thank you students for your insightful commentary on “The Origin of the News” and the Virtual Print Tours you took.

Some of the key points you noted from “The Origin of the News” included:

1. The constant evolution of the news and news platforms
2. The history of censorship
3. The diversity of print producers across eras and in our own nation (which we also saw in the virtual tours of various printing districts)
4. The incessant curiosity humans have for news of all kinds
5. The very real dangers of “news cycle fatigue”
6. The merits of “the general public becoming more aware of the news”
7. The danger of “bias” in the news and the question of whether “news” coverage has become weaker over time

These are just some of the many media issues we will continue to track across the semester and I look forward to continuing to hear more from you about them.

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This week, we turn to the practice of journalism by examining a news feature that has always fascinated readers: interviews of famous, or otherwise interesting people.

If you end up working in the media, inevitably you will be asked to write a profile on an important person in a field of wide general interest.

In an upcoming assignment, I will be asking you to interview a fellow student. In preparation for your assignment, this week I want you to review two profiles, one on legendary journalist Juan Gonzalez and, the other on Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, editor of the legendary Ebony Magazine.

The first pieces are on Sklenar:

1) “Ebony Returns to Chronicle a New Moment” 

2) “Did I Really Just Buy Ebony?”  Interview with Eden Bridgeman Sklenar

The second profile features Gonzales, now co-host of alternative news site, Democracy Now.

3)  “Street-Beat Confidential”

and the best interview of all (!) is one by Jillian Jorgensen of New York 1 in which she interviews City Tech student Carlos Rodriquez. Carlos was a student in my writing course this summer, where Jorgensen did the filming.

4) City Tech Student Profile on NY1

POST ASSIGNMENT: By Monday, Sept. 18, post a response to what you found interesting about one or two of these pieces (a technique, unique focus, or rhetorical move) that you think will be helpful for a student journalist. Be sure to read the student responses before yours and try to focus on a different point if you can.