Clips of the Week

I took a week off from Clips of the Week – but our reporters didn’t rest. Here are some offerings from the past two weeks:

• Rima Abdelkader scored a scoop with this interview with the victim of a suspected Election Night hate attack. Her piece appeared on the News Service, and is scheduled to be published by In Focus, a monthly newspaper based in Southern California.
• Alana Rigal reported from the red carpet outside the Gotham Awards, and co-produced this video for the Daily News’ website.
• Henry Stewart offers some off-beat holiday gift ideas in this fun piece for The L Magazine.
• Francesa Levy has the lowdown on the most and least family friendly cities in the U.S. Check out her story and slideshow at Forbes.com.
• I’m just catching up to this fine Marathon story Kristen Joy Watts wrote for Law Times about a group of runners from Toronto who call themselves the Fatboys Running Club.
• Kate Lurie’s feature about a group of former prisoners who performed their off-Broadway show about life in a Manhattan half-way house for a grateful audience at the Greenhaven Correctional Facility merited full-page treatment in the Daily News.
• Stephen Bronner shared a byline on this Daily News story about protests at Rent-a-Center outlets.
• Matt Townsend contributed to this Daily News article about complaints over a new Burger King ad campaign.
• The city’s efforts to push its new regulation mandating chain restaurants to post calorie counts was chronicled in this video by Aisha Al-Muslim and Mirva Lempiainen. Their story is featured on the News Service.
• Cristiana Oliveira hit a Manhattan food pantry on Thanksgiving Eve, and found a huge line of folks waiting for turkeys and trimmings to take home. Her video made the News Service.
• Kieran Meadows and H’Rina DeTroy reported on the effort to force building owners to provide parking for bicycles in this video piece for the News Service.
• Mary Stachyra’s story and slideshow about the 75^th anniversary of Prohibition’s end made the News Service.
• Michael Preston and Collin Orcutt profiled an up-and-coming high school basketball star. Their video was picked up by sportcaster Adam Zagoria’s blog.
• Sergey Kadinsky’s Flushing River photo essay as featured on the Forgotten New York website.
• One of Candice Johnson’s Election Day photos made about.com.
• Three of our recent podcasts – Culture Shock, HealthPods and This Place Called Home – were broadcast Dec. 1 on radio station WHCR.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em 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!

What a week! We produced more than 40 story packages on Election Day alone, as well as completed our great interactive map. Some of our work was widely linked to, and run by Off The Bus, Our Town, the West Side Spirit and the Queens Courier.

As Dean Shepard noted, we kept the momentum going with Cristina Alesci’s David Halberstam/FBI file scoop. The AP piece was picked up locally and around the country –  NY 1, Channel 4, WNYC, the Village Voice, the Daily Beast (Tina Brown’s new internet venture), and many other media outlets and blogs ran the report and/or linked to us.

The election coverage and Halberstam story helped fuel the News Service’s strongest month ever: more than 30,000 page views for the 30-day period ending yesterday.  Simply tremendous – and another of sign how much impact our work can have.

There are too many contributors to the election coverage to mention – suffice to say, it was a school-wide effort. Meanwhile, some of our reporters still found time to do other stories. Here are some of the latest pieces (forgive me if I’ve missed anybody – our reporters produced so much great work this week, I’m having a hard time keeping up.):

• Matt Townsend shared a byline on this Daily News Marathon story about a firefighter’s inspirational comeback.
• Claudia Cruz, who filed election dispatches from Ohio to Off The Bus, saw two magazine pieces published this week: She asked actor and filmmaker Manny Perez a few questions about his upcoming flick, “The Butcher’s Son,” for Mujer Unica, a national women’s magazine in the Dominican Republic. Writing for Elan Magazine, she profiled a Barcelona DJ who takes risks spinning world music.
• Clark Merrefield wrote about Mayor Bloomberg’s grim budget revisions for City Hall.
• Mathew Warren helped put together this nytimes.com video featuring Muslim NYU students talking about how Islam was used by the McCain and Obama campaigns.
• Collin Orcutt takes on Marbury, Iverson and the rest of the NBA in his latest Men’s Fitness blog post.
• Ben Fractenberg took on Sarah Palin in this pre-Election Day blog post for Off The Bus.

Congrats to all on a week to remember – and keep ‘em coming!

Not surprisingly, there’s a strong election theme this week – a sign of much more to come. Here are some of our reporters’ latest pieces:

• Rima Abdelkader’s story about the challenge foreign-language journalists are having translating “maverick,” “Joe Sixpack,” and other colloquial campaign phrases made Off The Bus. The article became our latest election piece to get big pickup, and drove a large amount of traffic to our News Service.
• Maya J. Pope-Chappell wrote about Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama for the Amsterdam News. You’ll have to register to gain access to the site, but it’s well worth the effort.
• Adeola Oladele profiled a Kenyan woman who can’t vote in the U.S. election, but is trying to make an impact by joining a Harlem-based group that traveled to Pennsylvania to register voters. Adeola’s broadcast piece can be found on the News Service.
• Ria Julien and Sandra Roa exhibited great planning and timing with this News Service broadcast story in which they covered a swearing-in ceremony for naturalized U.S. citizens on Oct. 10 – just in time for the new Americans to make the New York voter registration deadline.
• If you missed the live This Place Called Home podcast, produced by Tyler Mitter, Linnea Covington, and Celina Fang, you’ll find it here.
• Just call Sergey Kadinsky Mr. Queens. He put a fun lede on this Queens Courier short about some teens’ sewer-diving misadventure. He wrote a piece for the Queens Tribune about a schoolyard reconstruction project – and he recently was profiled by the paper (by the Class of ‘07’s Joe Orovic). The Trib pieces aren’t on-line – I have copies in my office. Come on by for a look.
• Karina Ioffee’s powerful story about the parents of a murder victim who attended the killer’s sentencing was featured in the Queens Chronicle.
• Collin Orcutt played Friday afternoon quarterback, offering football predictions for the Men’s Fitness blog.
• Matt Townsend scored a solo byline in the Daily News with his article about the return of the Concorde – as a museum piece.
• Stephen Bronner contributed to a Daily News story about pedestrian fatalities in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
• Barry Paddock covered a fire that killed a great-grandmother for the News.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming.

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!

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.

It was a great week for clips – and our News Service. Check these out:

• Vinita Singla and Megan McGibney’s News Service story about an email warning to Obama supporters to leave the T-shirts and buttons home on Election Day — or face problems at the polls — got big pickup. The New York Observer’s Politicker blog, Off The Bus and the Daily News’ Mouth of the Potomac blog linked to our piece. Similar stories have popped up online and in print in Pennsylvania, Alabama and Kentucky. This story, as we say in the business, may have legs. Our part of it started when Prof. Williston got one of the emails and handed a copy to Vinita and Megan with the three words that have spurred so much great journalism: “Check it out.”
• Everything old again is new again. There’s a push to rechristen the Crown Heights-Prospect Heights border Crow Hill, which was the area’s 19^th Century moniker. You’ll find Steve Pacer’s TV report detailing the neighborhood name game and Franklin Avenue’s revival on the News Service.
• Dwindling supplies at city food pantries have prompted one Bronx man to ride his bicycle from pantry to pantry in search of nourishment. You’ll find Cristiana Oliveira and Adeola Oladele’s TV report on the News Service.
• Jessica Simeone wrote about the opening of a new teen center in a Jersey City library for the Jersey Journal.
• Francesca Levy put together some great news-you-can-use articles and slideshows for two major media outlets. Her analysis of 20 business school websites can be found at BusinessWeek.com. She also put together a package about the U.S. cities with the most- and least-expensive rents for Forbes.com.
• Speaking of Forbes, Eliot Caroom wrote about the continuing fallout from the travails of America’s least-favorite couple: Fannie and Freddie.
• Mathew Warren shared a byline on this New York Times story about a couple’s mysterious rooftop plunge.
• Rebecca Harshbarger wrote about the screening of a documentary chronicling the post-9/11 violence against — and the resilience of — South Asian-Americans and Arab-Americans  for Queens Tribune.
• There’s a definite Yankees theme this week, much as it pains me to say (you’ll find me at Shea tomorrow, hopefully not weeping in my beer.): Collin Orcutt wrote about the unhappy October coming up for Bronx business owners who had been hoping for a post-season boost. His story made the Highbridge Horizon.
• Fritzie Andrade produced a video about the last game at Yankee Stadium for nytimes.com.
• Barry Paddock and Matt Townsend contributed to the Daily News’ coverage of the last game at the Babe’s  House.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

There’s no “I” in team — but there is one in “clip.” I’m not even sure exactly what I mean by that, but I happily noticed that teamwork played a role in some of this week’s work. Here’s a sampling:

• Dan Macht found a great local angle to the story of the week (and likely beyond). He wrote a piece for Crain’s  New York Business about the impact Lehman Brothers’ fall could have on charities and foundations. Dan gave himself a head start: he began researching and pitched his article before the bankruptcy was official. Rosaleen Ortiz snapped an eerie nighttime photo of Lehman’s headquarters to go with Dan’s story.
• Barry Paddock and Matt Townsend also worked the Lehman story, talking to shell-shocked employees for the Daily News.
• Matt contributed to a local primary story package for City Hall that also included pieces by Joshua Cinelli and our Class of ‘07 pal Andrew Hawkins.
• Francesca Levy shows — and tells — what kind of digs a million bucks will get you in cities around the world in this story/slideshow package she put together for Forbes.
• Mathew Warren scored a solo byline and some prime real estate in the Times’ Metro Section with his fun takeout on circus and sideshow performers who bring their acts to clubs and private parties.
• Walking along 41st Street just isn’t the same anymore. Valerie Lapinski captured that spirit and more in her radio story about the closing of “Rent.” Her piece was featured on WNYC.
• Rebecca Harshbarger weaves some great information and images into her first-person piece for The New Vision about the Seven Wonders of Kampala.
• Here are some amazing numbers: One man, 20 cannoli, six minutes. Megan McGibney hit Little Italy for this fun nypost.com video piece on the annual cannoli-eating contest
• Sarah Trefethen witnessed lots of pie eating when she headed upstate to cover a boating festival. She focused, of course, on the local angle: The South Street Seaport Museum’s W.O. Decker took Tugboat of the Year honors. Her story and photo made Downtown Express.
• On his first day out for the Daily News, Stephen Bronner covered a dramatic rescue story.
• Speaking of the Daily News, Lee Hernandez scored a clip with his interview of actress Dania Ramirez, who spoke about the upcoming season of “Heroes.”

Congrats to all — and keep ‘em coming!

Welcome Class of ‘09 — and welcome back, Class of ‘08. Here’s a sampling of some of the latest fine work from our reporters:

• TIVO Alert: A video about the Brazilian music scene in New York, co-produced by Fritzie Andrade for the nytimes.com, is scheduled to be featured this weekend on NY1’s New York Times Closeup (Saturday at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.) For those who can’t wait, here’s a link to the video, which made The Times’ homepage this week.
• Speaking of The Times, Mathew Warren contributed to this talker about “knock-off sushi.”
• It’s been a long week for our incoming class. But take heart: you could be in business school. Check out Francesca Levy’s BusinessWeek piece about growing orientation sessions for MBA students.
• I don’t feel so silly about the hundreds of records I’m hoarding in my basement after reading Carl Winfield’s BusinessWeek story about rising vinyl LP sales. The accompanying slide show is worth a look, too.
• You might feel a little less guilty about watching TV after reading Matt Townsend’s Columbia Journalism Review piece suggesting the media overstated the environmental impact of flat-screen televisions.
• Money-saving Tip: Check out Henry Stewart’s reviews in The L Magazine before hitting your local multiplex. This week, he has some choice words for “Traitor.”
• Barry Paddock scored a solo byline on this sad crime story published in the Daily News.
• In our Alumni Corner, Annaliese Griffin interviewed actress Amber Heard for V Magazine.

We’re at the end of a busy summer, and the beginning of what I’m sure is going to be a very productive fall. I know we’re going to see contributions from many new names in the months to come.