Clips of the Week

Here are some great stories to enjoy over the holidays:

• Tim Persinko’s article about a rising Brooklyn boxer made the Canarsie Courier.
• Henry Stewart cites some Brooklyn history to bolster his opinion piece about plans to eliminate the B-37 bus. You’ll find all the reasons he’s against scrapping the line in the Brooklyn Eagle.
• Linnea Covington has the lowdown on New York’s best empanadas for Serious Eats.
• Maya Pope-Chappell made Essance – as an interview subject. She talks about how she won two tickets to the inauguration through Sen. Schumer’s lottery. Maya will be reporting from Washington – but she doesn’t reveal whom she’s taking.
• Damiano Beltrami’s audio slideshow about how Arthur Avenue’s merchants are weathering the economic crisis and other changes is featured on the homepage of i-Italy.org.
• Sergey Kadinsky wrote a piece about Councilmember-elect Liz Crowley’s transition effort for the Queens Tribune. (I have a copy in my office – come on by for a look.)
• Igor Kosov’s story and slideshow about half-completed ghost buildings in soon-to-be-rezoned Brighton Beach was featured in City Limits.
• Jessica Firger also made City Limits with her story about an ad campaign encouraging pit bull owners to have their pets spayed or neutered. Jessica’s companion piece and video – produced by Steve Pacer – can be found on the News Service.

Our News Service had another busy week:

• Valerie Lapinski shot a video piece about a group of bikers who made their annual holiday visit to a Brooklyn nursing home.
• Tracy Chimming’s video story features interviews with Union Square holiday market merchants who are singing the blues over slow business.
• Maya Pope-Chappell, keeping with her inauguration theme, put together a print-and-video package about a Brooklyn youth marching band whose members hope Barack Obama’s big day will be their next gig.
• Maureen Ker, Vinita Singla and Adeola Oladele combined on a print-and-video package about the push to get shoppers to use reusuable bags – and Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to hit plastic bag users with a six-cent surcharge.
• Cristiana Oliveira found a food pantry that offers the hungry more than food. Clients can get free haircuts – courtesy of volunteer pantry workers from Manitoba, Canada.

Congratulations once again to the Class of ‘08 – it was a pleasure attending that inspiring ceremony.

Have a great and safe holiday – and keep those stories coming.

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!

Even with the end of Daylight Savings Time, there still aren’t enough hours in the day for all the reporting our staff is somehow managing to do.

We added 14 election-related stories to the News Service this week – including pieces that were picked up by Off The Bus (via Lives in Focus), am New York and the Queens Courier.

I won’t list them all here, but you can check out our stories on our nearly ready-for-prime-time election site. The interactive map, featuring our massive audio vox pop spanning the city, is almost completed, thanks to the hard work of our first-semester reporters, Interactive I profs, Russell Chun and Drew Geraets.

The map hasn’t quite gone live yet, but due to a technical quirk, many of the individual posts are on the web – and the Village Voice has noticed. The Voice’s post on our project has been picked up by several local blogs.

Much more of our election coverage, of course, is yet to come.

Here are some of the non-election pieces our reporters somehow found the time to work on this week:

• Mathew Warren helped assemble this NYtimes.com video about an Iraq war veteran adjusting to his new life as a student at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
• Dan Macht’s article about the thaw of the municipal bond market found a home in Crain’s New York Business.
• Barry Paddock contributed to this Daily News story about two brothers killed in a Brooklyn shootout with cops.
• AnnMarie Costella’s review of a provacative exhibit by the British artist Bansky made The Villager.
• Jessica Firger’s fun talker about how some pet shelters ban black cat adoptions around Halloween became a Page 3 story for am New York.
• Linnea Covington’s feature on the latest frozen yogurt boom (Pinkberry, anyone?) made New York Press.
• Last week, you read Collin Orcutt on the NFL. This week, he takes on the NBA for Men’s Fitness.
• Sergey Kadinsky wrote a couple of local profiles for the Queens Tribune. I have copies in my office – come on by for a look.
• In case you missed the live audio webcast of Culture Shock, produced by Abi Ishola, Erin O’Neill and Craig Thompson, you can check out the show here.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming.

In between embracing Summer’s final Fall visit, enjoy some fine reading, listening and viewing:

• Fritzie Andrade worked on a couple of videos posted this week on nytimes.com. She’s particularly proud of this fun piece starring chef Ferran Adria that could have been straight out of a Food Network show.
• Shuka Kalantari has been contributing to thehealthcareblog.com. She recently put together a post – combining text, links and audio interviews – about the push for a single-payer national health care plan.
• Kate Zhao’s been writing for New American Media about the economic crisis, with an eye on China. This piece tackles the relationship between the U.S. and Chinese economies.
• H’Rina DeTroy notched a clip in The Villager – a direct result of a connection made at the Meet the Media Makers mixer. Check out her feature on the annual Lower East Side Kids’ Art Bike Parade.
• Matt Townsend scored a solo byline on a Daily News story about a pregnant woman pulled from a burning house by two good Samaritans.
• Speaking of the Daily News, Lee Hernandez profiled designer Isabel Toledo, who gained notice when Michelle Obama wore one of her creations to a Manhattan gala.
• Jessica Firger and Maureen Ker’s TV-and-print package about the “pop-up” store trend made the News Service.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming.

Even with the recent holidays, our newsroom has been buzzing. Here are some of the latest rewards of your hard work:

• Rosaleen Ortiz reported for the AP from Chile about a document-preservation effort to help tell the full story of those who “disappeared” during the murderous Pinochet era. Her story was picked up by MSNBC, among numerous other outlets.

• Damiano Beltrami covered the first annual New Italian American Cinema festival for i-italy.org.

• Some ethnic radio outlets fear that new Arbitron “People Meters” will lead to an unfair undercounting of listeners, Karina Ioffee reported for New American Media.

• Francesca Levy put together a story and slideshow for Forbes.com about the hardest and easiest places to sell a home in the  U.S.

• Lee Hernandez interviewed actor Laz Alonso, star of Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna,” for the Daily News.

• Barry Paddock is learning the art of covering the “perp walk.” He managed to get the Daily News a (denial) quote from a suspect in a vicious beating.

• Matt Townsend covered the seventh annual Tunnel to Towers Run, which commemorates the life of Firefighter Stephen Siller, who sprinted through the Battery Tunnel on 9/11. Matt interviewed Siller’s widow, who participated in the run for the first time.

Our News Service benefited from some fine work this week, as well:

• Check out Jennifer Saavedra’s TV piece about Borough Park residents’ fight against a construction project many fear will overwhelm the neighborhood.

• Jessica Firger and Emily Mayer teamed on a TV-and-print package about The Waterfalls public art exhibition.

• Steve Pacer exhibited good timing with his TV piece about the battle to preserve an East Village synagogue.

• Barry Paddock and Maureen Ker teamed on a fun article and slideshow that says a lot about kids and the presidential election.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming.

Many of the internships are wrapping up, but the clips just keep coming. Here’s a sampling of the latest:

• I can guarantee that not one word of Henry Stewart’s review of “Henry Poole is Here” will be used as a blurb in any future advertisements. Check out his very entertaining piece in the L Magazine. He also said a lot in very few words in this blog item — sounds like a full-blown story waiting to happen.
• Linnea Covington, writing for New York Press, offers a short, but image- and information-packed review for the enticingly titled play, “Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell.”
  
• Jessica Firger found a hipster friendly doctor in Williamsburg who offers E-mail, video and IM consultations — but will occasionally make an old-fashioned house call. You’ll find her story in The Brooklyn Paper.
• Shuka Kalantari hosted the latest edition ofKPFA Radio’s “Voices of the Middle East and North Africa,” and contributed a segment about the late Palestinian poetMahmoud Darwish. She also started a companion blogf or the show.
• Dan Macht put together a piece about McCain’s and Obama’s reactions to the Russia-Georgia conflict for the Telegraph.co.uk
  
• Francesca Levy wrote about the world of for-profit universities owned by publicly held corporations for BusinessWeek. Check out her video interview with the new dean of the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland
• Barry Paddock contributed to today’s Daily News front page story about heroism amid tragedy in Queens.
• Damian Ghigliotty reports for Crain’s New York Business that unemployment in the city is down – even as unemployment claims are up.
• Meanwhile, in a glimmer of sunny economic news, the hotel business on Long Island is doing well, Danny Teigman found for Newsday.
• Mathew Warren contributed to this New York Times talker about MetroCard ethics (which may be an oxymoron these days.)

Congrats to all — and keep ‘em coming. (But make sure to enjoy what’s of summer, too).

We’ve hit August, but they’re hardly the dog days for us. Here are some of the latest example of the Class of ’08’s fine work:

• Rebecca Harshbarger contributed to this Washington Post A-1 story about abducted Ugandans. She’s also been writing many pieces for The New Vision, including this story about the apparent rising asthma rate in Uganda.
• Claudia Cruz also got the wood this week, notching the front page of Diario Libre with her story about the grand opening of a Mets training camp in Boca Chica, where she met Dominican President Fernandez.
• Francesca Levy made the BusinessWeek.com’s homepage with her timely story on lost luggage. Be sure to check out the accompanying slideshow.
• Kate Lurie is everywhere these days, it seems. You’ll find some of her latest work on abcnews.com, marieclaire.com and in the Daily News.
• Speaking of the Daily News, Allison Esposito helped the student reporters at Children’s Press Line assemble this story about the Sikh community’s battle again hate crimes.
• Roisin O’Connor-Mcuinn has been very busy at Time Out New York. I love this piece about the rollgate at the Jay Street-Borough Hall Station. She answers a question I’ve had for years — but I never bothered to look into, now much to my chagrin.
• Mathew Warren contributed to this New York Times subway story of another sort: the MetroCard machine foul-up that snagged thousands of credit card users.
• Emily Mayer produced this fun nypost.com video with the grabber title, “Seven Days to Sex Appeal.”
• Fritzie Andrade helped put together this lively nytimes.com video about a fledgling band promoter. It’s part of the ongoing “Breaking in” series.
• Clark Merrefield takes a literary turn in this Point Reyes Light article: He interviewed new U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan.
• Also working hard on the West Coast is Shuka Kalantari, who interviewed an Iranian musician for KPFA radio. Check out Shuka’s blog for QUEST, a science- and environment-driven KQED multimedia series.
• Danny Teigman found a sweet — or rather, sweets — story for Newsday: an Oyster Bay bakery that delivers desserts directly to customers’ docked boats.
• Come up with your own headline for this one-of-kind bank robbery story Jessica Firger wrote for The Brooklyn Paper. She also contributed this more uplifting piece about a local Little League team headed to a top tournament in Puerto Rico.
• Steve Pacer’s story about Canadian shoppers flooding Buffalo, spurred by the declining (U.S.) Dollar, has been picked up by central and northern New York radio station WRVO. You listen to his piece at the Public Radio Exchange . You’ll have to set up a free account — it’s quick and well worth the effort.
• Fritzie Andrade helped produce a NYTimes.com video about the return of the Zeppelin (not Led Zeppelin — the German airship).
• Mathew Warren shared the byline on this New York Times story about a fatal upper East Side fire.
• Jessica Firger nicely turns some phrases in this Brooklyn Paper piece about how the owner of Debbie’s Reins, an equestrian shop in Gowanus, is riding off into the sunset.
• Clark Merrefield’s latest article for the Point Reyes Light is the story of an anger management teacher with an alleged anger management problem.
• Stephen Bronner has the scoop on the city’s newest Family Justice Center in this Queens Courier article. This was a story Stephen has been trying to snag for months. His persistence paid off: he became the first reporter to get a tour of the facility and to interview its director.
• Dan Macht’s been contributing to The Telegraph’s political blog, and got to write about the much-talked-about Paris Hilton campaign video.
• If Danny Teigman comes back sporting a tan, this story may have something to do with it: He wrote a major battle-of-the-beaches takeout for Newsday on how Long Island and New Jersey shore towns are vying for visitors.
• Eliot Caroom, writing for abcnews.com/Nightline, profiled about a demographic group that’s getting hit harder than most by high gas prices: country folks with long commutes to city jobs.
• Barry Paddock did a story about a mode of transportation that’s not oil dependent: he wrote a very sweet piece for the Daily News about some Queens kids headed for the national Soap Box Derby championships.
• Allison Esposito helped the young reporters at Children’s Press Line put together a story for the Daily News about how Queens was excluded from a program that gives poor families vouchers to buy healthful foods at Greenmarkets.
• Maureen Ker’s story about the “cosplay” phenomenon — youths massing in public dressed as anime characters — made am New York, along with a gallery of her photos. The piece has been picked up by fan sites and the Florida Sun-Sentinel’s website.
• Carl Winfield wrote a news-you-can-use (but hopefully won’t have to) story for BusinessWeek.com about how to negotiate a severance package. You’ll find a companion video and story here. * Speaking of BusinessWeek.com, check out the video of Francesca Levy’s interview with the new dean of UC Berkeley’s business school.

Congrats to all — and keep ‘em coming!

Some more great news this week: The NYCity News Service took Best News Site honors at the first annual eduStyle Awards ceremony. The recognition is particularly gratifying because we didn’t enter this contest — they found us. We also beat out some quality competition: Virginia Tech and Boston University were the other finalists.

The award is another tribute to your fine work. Here are some of the latest examples:

• Claudia Cruz traveled to the Dominican town of Sánchez where she found that the government has yet to provide promised new housing for many folks who lost their homes to devastating landslides.

• Matt Townsend reports on a ban on voter registration drives at VA facilities for Pro Publica.

• WARNING: This video contains footage of people eating live octopus. If you’re brave enough, check out this unforgettable food piece Fritzie Andrade helped produce for nytimes.com.

• Allison Esposito has been working with young journalists from Children’s Press Line. She helped shape this story about a Little League for children with autism. The article made the Daily News.

• Some Queens homeowners may lose part of their backyards to a city-owned nature trail, Barry Paddock reports for the Daily News.

• Danny Teigman, reporting for Newsday, talked to Long Island golfers about Greg Norman’s flirtation with history.

• The Real World is coming to Red Hook, Jessica Firger reports for The Brooklyn Paper.

• Speaking of reality TV, Craig Thompson talked to some participants in the controversial new show The Baby Borrowers for this babble.com piece.

• Elephants let their feet do the talking, Shuka Kalantari reports for Quest, a mutli-media science site put together by Northern California Public TV and Radio station KQED. Shuka also has been working for KPFA radio. She did a segment for Voices of the Middle East and North African about a photo exhibit called, “Not Given: Talking of and Around Photographs of Arab Women.”

• Clark Merrefield reports on a deal to preserve a 582-acre ranch in this Point Reyes Light article.

• Think New York rents are bad? Check out Carl Winfield’s businessweek.com slide show about the world’s most expensive cities.

• Damian Ghigliotty shows the value of follow up in this Crain’s New York Business article about the debut of a new law requiring owners of large stores to provide a recycling bin for plastic bags.

• Linnea Covington wrote about a band that’s bringing the Balkans to Brooklyn. Check out her profile of Slavic Soul Party in New York Press.

• Dan Macht assembled a slide show for the telegraph.co.uk showing a recreation of the Battle of Waterloo. He also did some rewrite on a story about a battle of another sort: Madonna’s alleged marital woes.

• In our alumni corner, Sebastian Bednarski produce a video for the nypost.com about well-traveled soccer superstar David Beckham.

Prescription for a steamy July day: Dress in loose clothes, drink plenty of liquids and check out these cool clips:

• Fritzie Andrade pulled together this nytimes.com video interview of All-Star Texas Ranger teammates Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton just before Hamiliton’s Home Run Derby show.

• Barry Paddock made it into The Boss’ private suite (The Boss, in this case, meaning Steinbrenner — Springsteen doesn’t hit town until next week) as part of the Daily News’ All-Star coverage. But I’m partial to this very sweet story Barry wrote this week about a retiring postal worker.

• High oil prices mean trouble for jelly-bean eaters. Carl Winfield explains in BusinessWeek.

• Mathew Warren scored a solo byline in the Times with this story about the campaign to stop the “stop snitching” campaign.

• Lots of proof this week that all news is local. Claudia Cruz covered a news conference by Dominican President Fernandez for Diario Libre — and found a New York angle involving Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat.

• Clark Merrefield packed quite a bit of detail into this story about a vicious beating in Point Reyes, Calif.

• Back on this coast, Stephen Bronner wrote a piece about convicted sex offenders living in Queens for the Queens Courier — and included a map.

• He was joined in the Courier by AnnMarie Costella, who penned a feature on a “green” pet store.

• Jessica Firger’s story in The Brooklyn Paper about a homeless man in Park Slope got some notice from authorities, who promised to help the man get his Social Security checks.

• Danny Teigman wrote this very timely story for Newsday about steps being taken by Hempstead officials to battle the heat.

• In our alumni corner, Kate Pastor interviewed Tiki Barber for an amNY story about how the former football star and other celebrities are doing public service announcements promoting affordable housing.

• In our faculty corner, Prof. Trudy Lieberman took to our TV studio to host the debut edition of Talking Health, a new series of health-related Webcasts for journalists.

• It’s still too damn cold out, but a couple of our colleagues are helping the Sun shine (sorry, I can’t help the puns).
  Check out Fritzie Andrade’s story in the New York Sun about a chef with an unusual hamantaschen recipe and her piece about upcoming foodie events, including the always fun Ninth Avenue International Food Festival.
• Fritzie and Jessica Firger combined on a comprehensive guide to springtime family activities in the city.
• Joshua Cinelli wrote about a medical van that’s supposed to help Bronx veterans – but is stuck in a parking lot 361 days a year. Check out his story in the Norwood News.
• Eliot Caroom chronicled a raucous community board meeting for the Greenpoint Star. Eliot’s story about the fight to preserve school funding made the News Service.
• Lakshmi Gandhi covered filmmaker Mira Nair’s keynote address at the South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum for SAJA Forum.
• Cristina Alesci reported on a new gold rush for the Daily News.
• In our alumni corner, Carolyn Nardiello told New York Times readers about a deer tick extermination plan set for Shelter Island and Fire Island.