Clips of the Week

It’s been unseasonably cold, but seasonably busy as we head into the homestretch of another action-filled semester. Here are some examples of our reporters’ latest work:

• Barry Paddock, working for the Daily News, covered the tragic death of a FDNY lieutenant killed battling a Staten Island blaze.
• The TV studio was in full swing Friday with the latest edition of Talking Health – Political Promises, hosted by Prof. Lieberman and produced by Prof. Williston. The first live hour-long video webcast from our TV studio came together with the help of CUNY TV, the J-School Tech Staff, and the following students: Lauren Bonner, Angela Donadic, Caitlin Drexler, Jessica Firger, Emily Mayer, Tuan Nguyen, Shuka Kalantari, Maureen Ker, Djenny Passe-Rodriguez, Jennifer Saavedra and Erica Sullivan.
• Our radio studio also was buzzing this week – with music. The latest edition of Culture Shock,produced by Abi Ishola, Erin O’Neill, and Craig Thompson, featured a live performance by fusion musicians Gaida and Amir El Saffar.
• Matt Townsend got taken for a ride in this fun Daily News video.
• Sarah Trefethen’s story about a Bronx pastor who established a new church made the Norwood News.
• Just in time for the long-awaited release of “Chinese Democracy,” Kaili Boyd interviewed new Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Bumblefoot. Her article was featured in am New York.
• Lakshmi Gandhi covered the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families’ Caring for Children awards ceremony for SAJA Forum.
• Sergey Kadinsky scored clips in the Jewish Press (he covered the funeral of a slain do-gooder) and the Amsterdam News (he profiled a young black Republican). I have a copy of the Amsterdam News story in my office — feel free to come on by for a look.
• Ria Julien’s piece about how changes in the state Senate might lead to the repeal of the Rockeller Drug Laws made Lives in Focus.
• Clark Merrefield’s story about Queen State Sen. Frank Padavan’s push for re-election was published in The Capitol.
• Collin Orcutt found an inspirational Marathon story for his hometown paper, The Herald Gazette of Maine.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

Hard to believe we’re entering the final month of the semester. Here are some of the latest results of our reporters’ continuing hard work:

• Joshua Cinelli wrote an article for City Hall about local efforts to boost the economy by luring more foreign investment.
• We all know quitting smoking saves lives and money – Francesca Levy offers a state-by-state look at the dollars kept by kicking the habit in this article-and-slideshow package for Forbes.
• Heather Chin reaped the benefits of hopping on a breaking story with her video piece about the New York Times hoax edition distributed last week. Her video accompanies an article put together in short order by the News Service class.
• Joe Filippazzo’s News Service story about Bobby Fischer’s FBI file was picked up by El Nuevo Herald, and got many blog links.
• Karina Ioffee profiled a popular sari tailor for the Queens Courier. (Note: as of this writing, the link seems to be broken. I’ll check into it.)
• Sergey Kadinsky wrote about incumbent Assemblymember Marge Markey’s reelection for the Queens Tribune (I have a copy in my office – feel free to come by for a look.)
• If you missed our latest podcasts during the week, check them out here: Health Pods, produced by Loren Bonner, Shuka Kalantari, and Djenny Passe-Rodriguez; and This Place Called Home, produced by Linnea Covington, Celina Fang, and Tyler Mitter.
• Collin (Hoops) Orcutt predicts great things for the Lakers in his latest Men’s Fitness blog post.
• Busy Barry Paddock shared a byline on this Daily News story about a drunk driving tragedy.

The weather is getting cooler, but our hot streak continues. Here are some of the latest pieces:

• It’s not even Halloween, buy many of us already are beginning to think about holiday travel plans. Before sure to check out these Forbes.com pieces by Francesca Levy  about the best and worst times to fly and  how to save on holiday travel.
• Joshua Cinelli tackles the potential impact of Wall Street’s woes on public pension systems for City Hall.
• Jenni Avins’ story about a former temple that’s been reborn as a mosque made the Queens Courier.
• H’Rina DeTroy’s article about East Village anger over the slow pace of a playground rebuilding project was featured in The Villager.
• H’Rina was joined in The Villager by Matt Townsend, who wrote about a pedestrian mall improvement plan along Allen Street.
• Megan McGibney put together a video piece for nypost.com on the race Staten Islanders seem to care about most this year: the contest to replace disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella.
• Abi Ishola’s been hosting the News of the Week segment for CUNY TV’s Independent Sources, a new show, produced by Prof. Prout, about the ethnic media. Abi’s segments are usually about 17 minutes into each show. But be sure check out the full broadcasts – it’s a great way to learn more about what’s going on, and to pick up story ideas and pinpoint more potential outlets for your work.
• Annie Shreffler’s been added The Huffington Post’s OffTheBus masthead for a feature she started, called Eyes and Ears, which solicits fun election-related items.
• Barry Paddock covered a heartbreaking fatal fire story for the Daily News.
• Caitlin Drexler dished up some food-world news for Saveur’s Word of Mouth blog.
• If you missed this week’s live audio webcast of Health Pods – produced by Loren Bonner, Shuka Kalantari, and Djenny Passe-Rodriguez – check it out here.
• Vinita Singla’s timely TV piece about voter registration drives and her companion print story made the News Service.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

Looks like everybody has really earned the Spring Break respite. Here are the latest fruits of your labors:

• Linnea Covington wrote a very timely story about Passover cooking for The Brooklyn Paper.
• Cristina Alesci wrote a piece for the Daily News about a program that helps train high school students for the business world.
• Claudia Cruz reported on efforts to break gridlock on 181st St. for the Manhattan Times Meeting Tackles 181st St. Gridlock(PDF).
• Joe Filippazzo’s piece about the effects of record high oil prices on fishing in Sheepshead Bay made the Bay News.
• Coney Island is filled with characters and Henry Stewart found one of them: a guy who wants to bring trolley service to the area. His story made Bay Currents (PDF).
• So, what does Eliot Spitzer do next? Carl Winfield takes a shot at that question in the latest issue of The Capitol (I have a copy in my office for anyone who wants to read the article).

Meanwhile, I just posted a slew of new TV pieces to the news service site, including stories by:

• Abimbola Ishola (About a proposed solution to traffic problems in East New York)
• Emily Mayer (On challenges faced by women boxers)
• Megan McGibney (On the Staten Island sushi boom)
• Tyler Mitter (On the increase in organic food sales)
• Adeola Oladele (On how the weakened dollar is hurting folks abroad who rely on money sent from the U.S.)
• Steve Pacer (On a new bar that’s trying to buck the economic odds)
• Djenny Passe-Rodriguez (On efforts to landmark a Chelsea building that may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad)
• Jennifer Saavedra (About confusion encountered by seniors trying to navigate the Medicare Part D prescription plan)
• Anna Limontas-Salisbury (On a Brownsville businesswoman who specializes in personalized party favors)
• Vinita Singla (On the downtown in business faced by Spa owners in Brooklyn)

Check out their great work!

Speaking of video… Be sure to watch alum Chika Osaka’s very lively piece for Reuters (I’m sorry, that’s Thomson Reuters, now) on Tokyo’s cross-dressing maid cafe.

• This week’s NYPulse podcast tackles a disturbing rise in hate crime. Chika Osaka produced the show and contributed a report. Jego Armstrong and Djenny Passe-Rodriguez also reported pieces. Check out the NYPulse on the News Service.
• AnnMarie Costella found a great story pounding her Maspeth beat: anger over plans to put a 27-foot-plus cell phone tower — disguised as a flagpole — atop a residential building. AnnMarie did some digging and learned that in Arizona, cell companies have been know to try to disguise the towers as cacti! Her piece made the Queens Courier.
• Damian Ghigliotty joined AnnMarie in the pages of The Courier with his contribution to an ongoing four-part series about day laborers.
• Erin O’Neill proved a double threat for the Greenpoint Star with her stories on an unsolved murder and the latest community v. developer clash over plans for the old Dominos Sugar refinery.
• Vinita Singla also covered the Dominos controversy in a follow-up story for Brooklyn’s Courier Life papers.
• Tanzina Vega scored a solo byline in the Times with her first contribution to the Neediest Cases series.
• Georgia Kral notched a solo byline of her own in this Times piece about a push in New Haven to put a time limit on public makeshift memorials for crime victims.
• Dan Rivoli contributed to this Daily News story about the tragic death of marathoner Ryan Shay.
• Laura Silver earned a full-page treatment in the Daily News for her profile of an inspiring young woman from Kosovo who’s making her mark in New York and beyond.
• Mariel DiSibio interviewed filmmaker Hope Dickson Leach for Independent magazine.
• Danny Massey got local reaction to the Pakistani crisis in a Newsday article. He also wrote about a would-be robber who messed with the wrong bodega owner and got caught, well, red handed.