Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

By Anastasia Economides and Karina Ioffee

The economy may be in a freefall, but tourists from all over the world are continuing to flock to New York City. They come for the iconic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and of course, the world-famous shopping in Times Square.

The euro exchange rate plummeted this summer and has not fully recovered.

Although the value of the euro against the dollar has fallen since July, European tourists especially are still finding good deals in the Big Apple.

 In Times Square, German tourist Nicolas Wallens said he booked his ticket earlier this year, and despite the financial turmoil, never considered canceling.

Nicolas Wallens, Tourist

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Seventeen-year-old Charlotte, who is visiting from England, said she had been planning to splurge on some clothes while in New York. Now, she says, she has to be a bit more careful with her money.

Charlotte, Tourist

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Tour guides are also singing the blues. At the Empire State Building, Selemi Adediq, 30, an agent for CitySights NY, a tour bus company, said that he had sold only three tickets by 4pm on a recent Friday. And because Adediq’s income is based on commission, less tickets means less money in his pocket.

Selemi Adediq

Selemi Adediq, Tour Guide

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For more information on how tourism has declined over time, check out the December report from the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”  Says the man who once quoted philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, during his resignation speech:

“Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Eliot Spitzer is back- as a concerned citizen with insight on governmental affairs.  And how does one like Mr. Spitzer, with such a looming past of foul decision-making get heard?

By using the power of the pen, and getting published by Slate.com.  Definitely sets him apart from all the experts and publi figures spewing babble that favor a large bailout.

Eliot Spitzer returns. Photo by Getty Images.

His voice still resonates that of a former leader thinking of his citizens.  It’s straightforward and talks of pro-competition, a true American.

Spitzer proposes a “better” plan for the auto bailout crisis.  He’s weary of the government stepping in and leaving its imprint in the automobile industry, with the help of taxpayers’ money. 

 Instead, he offers the free market approach, where the two of the “Big Three” would battle out the $25 billion and make all sorts of reports and bids as to why they think they should be saved.  Because it’s just not fiscally possible to keep all three around, so he says.  So, the loser of the Three, would lose greatly, with consequences like massive layoffs, among other things.

Is this idea like communism- just good in theory?

Besides that, who else is surprised to find his byline in Slate?  He wrote another article a few weeks ago, also dissuading bailout plans.   Well, it definitely attracted a lot of readers…and comments.

New York Giant's Plaxico Burress from www.wallpaperpimper.com

The case of New York Giants football star Plaxico Burress, who shot himself in a nightclub last month, has stirred up another type of gun battle in New York City.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed for a law in New York City requiring mandatory a minimum of three and half years in prison for anyone with an unregistered gun in public. Bloomberg said he would make sure that same law would be put to the test to convict Burress.

Now, mayors in other cities are looking at New York City as an example to find a way to deal with illegal guns. The Mayors in Greater Cleveland recently joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group organized less than three years ago by Mayor Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to help create local, state and Federal laws to keep illegal guns out off the streets.

The New York City Police Department said the number of murders and shootings this year have increased by over 10 percent compared to 2007. NYPD reported there have been 377 murders in September 2008 compared to 344 during the same period last year. Shootings are up from 1,324 incidents last year to 1,420 this year.

An estimated 66 percent of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms, according to the FBI’s Crime in the United States, a Web publication of its annual uniform crime report. Nine percent of the 4.7 million victims of violent crimes in 2005 stated that they faced an offender with a firearm, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Homicides of teens and young adults are more likely to be committed with a gun than homicides of persons of other ages, according to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports from 1976 to 2005.

The NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office tried to find a solution to the city’s gun violence problem with the $100,000 program known as “Cash for Guns.” Research shows that government gun-buyback program take out about three million guns out of circulation each year from the 200 million to 350 million privately owned guns in the United States, with at least 4 million more added annually, according to the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California-Davis. However, other studies show that the pool of guns that are used in homicides and suicides are different than the guns turned in, according to the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Firearm Injury Center.

Although big city mayors like Bloomberg are trying to find ways to keep illegal guns off the streets, they couldn’t deter those people from around the country who ran out to buy legal firearms after the Nov. 4 presidential election.

On the night of October 18th, 1988, Police Officer Michael Buczek was killed while working undercover on a drug bust in Washington Heights.  One of the two suspects shot him while fleeing the scene.

Twenty years later, members of the 34th Precinct and children from P.S. 48 Michael J. Buczek School in Washington Heights attended a  memorial service held at St. Elizabeth’s Church on 181st Street.

A little league has been named after the slain cop, along with the playground where they practice.  Many of the precinct officers are coaches of the football and baseball teams.  It’s their way of continuing Buczek’s legacy of protecting the neighborhood.

Though Washington Heights is not considered as dangerous as twenty years ago, Rick Huerta, VP of the Little League, said, that they strive to keep kids off, not on the streets.  As a result, children gain a different outlook on authorities, seeing them as friends, rather than “out to get them.”

Many never met Buczek, but young team members are grateful that the Buczek family helped in donating money to fix up the once dirt field they now play on.

Daniell Rumore finished a 26 mile marathon running in New York today. This year is her fifth marathon race.
High technology creations helped her make the Marathon miracle in her life. She began her training in the summer of 2000, and she finished her first marathon in January 2001 at the Bermuda Marathhon.
“My real job is a public relationship manager at Peppercom company,” Rumore said.  A friend mentioned to her one day that charity foundations looked for people to participate in marathon and raise money to help children. Her friend recommended her to join in the marathon.  “It’s a good way to meet people and stay healthy, and raise money for charity purpose.” She did the NYC Marathon four more times in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Rumore’s best friend in her training with Team In Training organization is Nike+ system and ChampionChip in her shoes. The Nike+ system is basically a small pedometer that goes in her shoe and wirelessly transmits data to her Apple iPod Touch. Once Rumore was back to her home or office, she can upload her jogging data to her computer, and send to her coach in Team in Training. The coach would analyze her data, such as calories, heartbeat, pace speed and jumping heights, then give her feedback. This is what is interesting about the story, the focus; she nevers goes running without this technology, and it helps her in several ways
“It’s more mental struggling than body,” Rumore said. However, from online communication with her coach and data tracking everyday from her “secret weapons,” Rumore insisted on running everyday and overcame her mental barriers in training and every year’s Marathon.
The NYC Marathon is not only a personal challenge, but also a city festival for participants, relatives and friends, tourists and other watchers. “Gone Mommy, Gone!” Ashley Thomas and Katelyn Thomas were waving pink poster board for her mother Debb Thomas at the central park destination. 
“No matter how much long you have run, it’s a victory for yourself,” said Janarima Bruns from Brazil. She ran a half Marathon in 2004. She pointed to the runner and excitedly claimed:  “Next year, I hope I were there running.” Bruns also used ChampionChip to. People don’t use the chip in jogging, in training; only in racing
ChampionChip is a miniature chip that the race organizers give no to each runner to ensure they go through all the checkpoints of the race.  ChampionChip doesn’t provide any performance data in and of itself, but it sets up electronic monitoring stations on the course that listen for the chips going by. Then athletes wearing a ChampionChip can be timed every time in training and race worldwide. Runometer, a startup company based in San Francisco, created a website — www.runometer.com to take information from Nike+ system and let every participant track and plot that data on a map. The interactive ways of training and participation made running joyful, as well as encouraging.
“Sometimes, jogging is boring and painful, but when you finished, you’ve found you accomplished so much.” Rumore said. She was going back home with her little yellow ChampionChip. Now she has one more record data in her ChampionChip, the 2008 NYC Marathon race.

Shopping for clothing made out of organic materials.

Kermit the Frog said it, now average New York-area residents are, too.

As the green movement gains momentum in cities and small towns across the country, citizens are becoming more aware of both the issues being discussed and the ease with which they can live a greener lifestyle. Especially now that fuel prices have shot through the roof and oil and gas are such hot commodities, people – and governments – are more willing to embrace everything from recycling and reusing water bottles to shutting of light-switches and faucets.

Helping support green education this year was New York City’s 20th annual Ecofest celebration at Lincoln Center. Held on the alternately rainy and sunny last Saturday of the month, the festival was full of clothing and food vendors, school parents, community organizers, dancers, tourists and volunteers, this event serves both as a reinforcement and a new introduction to environmental living.

At this year’s September festival, entrepreneurs, students and Upper West Side moms and dads alike noted that global warming gets a lot of talk-time and cited everything from clean air, land preservation, sustainable clothing and recycling as green issues they think could use some increased awareness.

Interview Subjects:
Beverly Stycos, mom and volunteer with The Blue Rock School in West Nyack, NY
John Rossini, vendor and owner of Travel Chocolate, which sells certified organic and fair trade chocolate products
Jessica Park, stylist at Fox News Channel
Kate Brill, education assistant at Scenic Hudson
Erica Brooks, New York resident from California
Neena Ajwani, NYU grad student at the School of Social Work
Jean Mone, creator of online green product swap site
Ann and Marc Nioche, uptown residents and parents to two young children

By Heather J. Chin

New York – City health officials stepped up their efforts in August to alert residents that some imported cosmetics threaten them with lead and mercury poisoning.

While federal and state standards already prohibit lethal cosmetics from entering the country, consumer demand keeps the supply steady, according to officials at the Board of Health during their quarterly meeting on Wednesday.

“The problem with global … products [is] that they are falling through the cracks,” said Dr. Nancy Clark, Assistant Commissioner of the department’s Bureau of Environmental Disease Prevention.

Specific deodorants, skin creams, aphrodisiacs and herbal remedies used by residents of Dominican, Indian and Chinese communities are on the list of products with poisonous ingredients.  These cosmetics are imported from Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Tests done by NYC’s health department and by others around the country have shown these products to have lead and mercury levels as much as 6,000 times higher than limits recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The FDA limit for lead levels is 10 parts per million; for mercury, it is 1 part per million.

At last month’s meeting, the board authorized the health department to find and remove dangerous cosmetics from store shelves, just as tainted food or drugs are.

These tools will come in the form of signs and fact sheets in the languages spoken by consumers, explained Ms. Paromita Hore, a risk assessment coordinator. “They’re often not aware” of the danger, she said, adding that use of the unhealthy products “is longstanding in their culture.”

At least in the Chinese community, such awareness efforts are welcome, says Gary Lee, the owner of a pharmacy in Chinatown that offers both U.S. name brands and popular Chinese medicines and herbs.

“[Officials] usually want to put pressure on the importer, not putting pressure on the shop,” he said. He notes that if a store has non-FDA approved drugs in stock, it is because they sell.  “What [the consumer] wants, they make a request.”

For Indian Americans, kohl and surma – two skin products listed by the Health Department as being laced with high levels of lead – pose a great threat because they are so embedded in the culture.

“Loving kohl is one of the commandments for being desi,” writes Anu, an Indian American freelance writer on her blog, The Indian Make-Up Diva.

When ingested or absorbed through the skin, high levels of lead and mercury can pose a danger to brain function, as well as to blood and renal system function.  These effects are particularly dangerous in children and pregnant women.