Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

From Labor Day through early December, armies of parents spread out across the city, combing the admissions offices of private schools and public talented and gifted programs. According to the Department of Education, more than 16,000 students applied to public gifted kindergarten and first grade programs alone last year. And the competition is surprisingly stiff, with less than one seat for every ten applicants last year. In recent years a demographic bulge of children born after 9/11, has meant that times are even tougher for would-be kindergarteners and the parents.

Monique Walker, a mother of two, who recently returned to the city has applied to eleven private schools for her son.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The competition, raft of tests, and the Byzantine application process amount to a trial by fire that leaves many parents overwhelmed.

For Serge Avery a public high school teacher and father of two young children, testing presented an additional problem. In testing his son he found himself doing something he wouldn’t otherwise agree with.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Despite how foreign this world can look to onlookers and its inhabitants, most parents express a desire to simply give their children a good education–though the process has some asking just where it ends.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

But many parents are concerned that having to go to such lengths for something as simple as a good education means that many children will be educationally left out in the cold.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And while these parents spend an uncertain  application season getting their children into the best public and private schools to city has to offer, what is certain is that many more children will have to settle for less.

Last week citizens around the globe celebrations gathered to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

UN photo by H'rina DeTroy

From Pretoria to Paris panels, film showings, lectures and public ceremonies commemorated the signing of the historic document that enshrined theories of universal rights famously established in the French and American Revolutions.

At an event at the UN, and sponsored by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ten short films were shown, each touching on one of the rights guaranteed in the Declaration. Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako’s film is a mediation on dignity and justice. Finding working people going about their business in the market, in their cars, on their way from place to place, he asks them the film’s eponymous question: “C’est Quoi La Dignite?”

His respondents’ stares are arresting. Some look at the viewer with confusion,  others with defiance. “Why are you asking me,”one man demands. Though the lens of his camera, Sissako conveys the answer he seeks in the faces. This, he suggests, is what dignity looks like.

It was remarkable, and a not so subtle statement, of the UNHCHR’s concerns that among the international selection 2 of the 10 short films were from Israel/Palestine,  both addressing the absurdity of the Palestinian predicament. In A Boy, A Wall, A Donkey by Palestinian filmmaker  Hany Abu-Assad three young boys attempt to make a movie   using the only technology available: first a neighbor’s intercom, and later the surveillance cameras mounted on the Israel’s “security barrier.” When members of the IDF approach the boys in a speeding military vehicle, the boys do not run, but ask only “Where’s the tape?”

Israeli filmmakers Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret take a different approach. In their film What About Me? a magical realist take on the subject of crossing borders in the occupied territories, a Palestinian businessman is refused entry to Israel with his load of bananas, while his talking donkey is waived ahead. Like Sissako’s film, What About Me was selected to address the issues of dignity and justice in the  declaration.

Still by H'rina Detroy from the film What About Me?

Together the ten films offered a beautifully articulation of the strivings of a document that has shaped the way we think about ourselves and each other.

A couple weeks ago, some people who live on my block in Fort Greene put this holiday abomination out in front of their building:

All I can think whenever I walk by it is, “How high is their electric bill going to be?”

Some people really go overboard with Christmas to the point of wasting insane amounts of electricity. Is it ego, misplaced enthusiasm, competitiveness or something else that drives them? I don’t know. I do know that when Chevy Chase covers his entire house in thousands of lights, it makes me laugh.

With environmental sustainability becoming a higher priority for more and more people, LED Christmas lights are a hot item. Not to the touch, though: they burn cool. That makes them less likely than traditional holiday lights to start fires or singe little kids’ fingers. These shining beacons of eco-hipness last longer, reduce pollution and save you money on your electric bill. They may cost a bit more than the regular lights, but the Environmental Defense Fund says the cost is easily offset in a year or two by the electricity savings.

Kids line-up to receive their gift bags from Santa Claus.

The Caribbean American Center of New York spread Holiday Cheer with gifts for over 100 New York’s needy children at its 11^th annual Christmas Holiday Celebration on December 5 at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

“I grew up in poverty and I understand what it means when others make your holidays special,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who spoke at the event. “So it’s almost like it is me. I know the way they feel because I felt that way.”

The Christmas gift bags handed out to the kids at the party.

CACNY Board Members and volunteers prepared 150 of the 4,000 gift bags given at the event with new toys, clothes, books and other items. All the gifts will be distributed before Dec. 23 to disadvantaged children who live in more than 22 homeless shelters in Brooklyn, Queens and Harlem.

“It’s a lot, a lot of work to put this together,” said Jean P. Alexander, executive director of CACNY, “but it is so satisfying to see the kids.”

CACNY will host two more holiday parties to get Santa Claus to continue to help distribute some of the remaining gifts.

“I feel good because it is something minor, but to see the smile on their face is like wow,” said Tiffany Williams, 24, a volunteer from Bed-Stuyvesant.

Miss Brooklyn 2008 Cherelle Gaines, 22, and Miss Brooklyn's Outstanding Teen 2008 KeyAna Williams, 13.

Volunteer Sheila Singleton, whose organization Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. helped to prepare the gifts for the first time, said she was excited to have her Soros participate help children in need.

“We said we will all come down here to help, it is not a problem, you know, it is all Brooklyn,” Singleton said.

Borough President Marty Markowitz addresses the kids at the Caribbean American Center of New York holiday party.

Markowitz ended his remarks with some inspirational advice to the kids.

“In America, you can fly as high as Barack Obama,” Markowitz said, “or you can fly a little lower like Marty Markowitz, but your ability to fly depends upon you. Enjoy your Christmas and enjoy your presents.” 

By Maya Pope-Chappell

Photo by Unknown

Are the days of dating really over?  New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow says it is.

In the article titled “The Demise of Dating,” Blow writes:

“Under the old model, you dated a few times and, if you really liked the person, you might consider having sex.  Under the new model, you hook up a few times and, if you really like the person, you might consider going on a date.”

While Blow raises a good argument, one that I agree with, he doesn’t really address the why.  Why is “hooking up” more prevalent than it was in years past?  Although he offers a quick explanation at the end, I would like to offer my two cents.

I think the answer lies partly in technological advances.

As technology grows, so does the distance between people.  Nowadays, people are less connected in ways they weren’t before.  Love letters have been replaced with emails, Post-its with text messages, and phone conversations are nearly obsolete.  Done are the days when relationships based on courtship and compatibility ruled.

Like DSL and Wi-Fi, we want a quick and instant connection; a connection that results in instant gratification with little work, time, or effort.

Which brings me to the concept of “hooking-up”.  Instead of wasting time getting to know one another, many rather cut to the chase and figure the rest out later.  This often leads to emotional detachment, hurt feelings, and unrealistic expectations.

How’s that for an instant message.

Photo: Nick Loomis

The most time-consuming, enjoyable and rewarding project I completed this first semester in journalism school was a package for Broadcast class about growlers. If you don’t know what growlers are, or even if you do, watch the video on the New York City News Service, then come back and read the rest of the post.

When we initially pitched ideas in class, my classmates and teacher John Schiumo seemed to like the two I’d come up with: “Life on a tugboat” and a recycling exposé. I liked them too, but I thought they might be logistically tough to pull off. When it came time to request the story we wanted to work on, I put ego aside and chose the idea proposed by this guy. I had never heard of growlers before, but after learning that they’re a vessel for carrying beer I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Even if the story turned out to be uninteresting or the people we interviewed were jerks, I would still get to drink beer while reporting. You can’t beat that.

Things turned out much better than the worst-case scenario. Not only did I get to drink beer, I learned a lot and got to meet some really great people. I also became a believer. The first time we filmed at Bierkraft, I bought a growler of Hop Obama. Now I’ve added another growler to my collection, acquired last Friday on a trip to the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Pleasantville, NY.

The inside of my fridge

The brewery is open to the public on Friday evenings and Saturdays for free tastings. I’d had their Freshchester Pale Ale before, but the other offerings on tap were new to me. When I first saw “Espresso Stout,” I had doubts. I’m not a serious coffee drinker and I wondered if the taste would be overpowering. To my pleasant surprise, it was subtle and smooth. I couldn’t resist getting 64 ounces to bring home.

I’m hopeful that after I’m done with J school the media landscape will be less dire and the skills I’ve learned will be impressive enough to land me a decent job. But whatever happens a year from now, I’ll always have beer.

By Maya Pope-Chappell

President Bush received his farewell in Iraq today; with a size 10 shoe!

At a news conference with Iraqi leaders, Bush stood at the podium next to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, when what appeared to be two heavy boots went flying past his head, just shy of hitting the president.

My first reaction to the video was pure laughter. How does something like this happen to the foremost leader of this country? Are we at all surprised? Not really. Given the Bush blunders at home and abroad in the past eight years since his 2000 “election,” how could anyone be surprised at any pent up anger that is then expressed in a hurled shoe. Apparently, the shoe didn’t bother Bush. “So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?” Bush said to a reporter at the news conference.

If only the shoe thrower, said to be an Iraqi journalist, had precision as good as Randy Johnson’s…

It was impossible to avoid the news of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich’s arrest this week. Federal prosecutors charged him with blazing a trail of corruption in pay-to-play schemes, culminating with a “show me the money” approach to appointing Barack Obama’s successor as senator.

The 24-hour cable news channels reveled in the scandal. After the feel-good story of Barack Obama’s historic election, which inspired millions of people, I think the media enjoyed the chance to wallow in the mud of political sleaze.

Today the New York Times published an analysis of Illinois’ history of political corruption. It suggests that residents of the state are comfortable with a degree of criminality in their politicians. Being a major cynic and a former Illinois voter (who helped elect Blagojevich to Congress in 1996), I don’t find his behavior at all shocking. While it’s definitely objectionable, it’s the kind of thing I assume goes on all the time in American politics but in most cases is never exposed to public view.

I thought it would be interesting to see how Blagojevich’s woes were playing out in the social networking arena. If you search for the governor’s name on Facebook, the top results include earnest-sounding citizen groups with names like Impeach Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and People for the Removal of Rod Blagojevich as well as satirical groups, including Rod Blagojevich for President, 2016. That group’s page includes a hilarious possible explanation for the governor’s behavior. Under all those results, however, you’ll find what appears to be Blagojevich’s actual Facebook page, which features the photo below.

The official page lists “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” as a favorite quotation and “Getting things done for people” as the governor’s job description. Those statements may have seemed like throwaway platitudes a week ago, but now they’re bursting with ironic double-entendre potential.

The Facebook account boasted 1,780 supporters as of this evening. The group Citizens of Illinois Against Rod Blagojevich, by contrast, has 5,156 members, almost three times as many. Judging by sheer numbers, it seems that Illinoisans may not be so comfortable with corruption after all. Then again, the number of supporters on the governor’s page was 1,769 earlier today. So despite his ethical troubles (or who knows, maybe because of them), he’s still gaining fans.

Book people are maybe antiquarians by nature. The mere mention of an e-book is greeted in the publishing world with jeers of something overhyped.  And despite the advent of the Kindle, for book people, the physical object of a book is as sacrosanct as the words written on it.

Various publishers, such as Ugly Duckling Presse, have experimented with online only books, but few looked to the digital future as a replacement rather than a supplement for paper books. The book world, if many publishers had their way, would not go quietly into that digital good night. Far less than newspapers, books seemed ill -adapted to becoming paperless.

Last weekend the New York Center for Independent Publishing held its 21st annual bookfair and addressed the possibility of publishing in the digital age. These talks occurred against the backdrop of layoffs in that touched the highest reaches of the corporate publishing world at Simon and Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, and Thomas Nelson, as reported by the Times and elsewhere.

 So while addressing their long term survival in the face of changing technology, publishers were also facing the more immediate question of survival. But for independent companies, the news was somewhat mixed.

“Things are really grim out there. With what’s going on with the large companies it might be good for independents, so there may be an opportunity for independent presses to step into the breach. But what I worry about is how many independent presses will not be able to survive if people don’t buy books,” said Karin Taylor, executive director of the center.

Johnny Temple, publisher of New York based independent publisher Akashic Books  echoed Taylor’s sentiments. Asked whether the corporate shake up created opportunities for independent houses he was hopeful  that the size of independent companies might offer some advantage.  Nonetheless he cautioned that these companies would face real threats to their survival in the marketplace. Hear an interview with Johnny_Temple_here.

Opportunity in crisis. This mantra of globalizing free-marketeers has apparently not lost all of its power, even as the architects of a deregulatory system are chastened to admit the reckless deregulation of their heyday has led to a global financial catastrophe. (For the likes of former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, the flaw in the system of market self-regulation has led to a sort of cognitive dissonance.)  

So even as the grim news of the Chicago Tribune’s filing for Chapter 11 came in on Monday, while more than 15,000 newspaper jobs were cut in 2008 according to the web site Papercuts, members of a new generation were not as entirely shaken as their professional elders.

Here at the journalism school, among next week’s graduates, the mood is far from uniform.  The crisis of the old guard and the industry more generally is seen as an opportunity for the digitally armed, who might just find themselves in the right place at the right time. The death of the newspaper merely clears the way for the bright digital future. Carl Winfield of the class of 08 was was ready to embrace the promise of that future.

Hear an interview with Carl.

But not so for all his cohort. For some the crisis in newspapers is just that–a crisis. So while Damian Ghigliotty doesn’t fear that he will  not find work, he sees the crisis largely as limiting rather than expanding his options. For him, a failing company’s preference for new recruits to replace senior staffer is hardly a draw, he said.

Hear an interview with Damian.