NYC24

Incoming Pulitzer Chair Steiger Wants More Web In Awards

2006-05-11T16:04:00.000-04:00

Incoming Pulitzer Chair Steiger Wants More Web In Awards

By Joe Strupp

Published: May 11, 2006 11:15 AM ET
NEW YORK Paul Steiger, the incoming chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, wants the prestigious awards to delve even more in to Web-based journalism, calling it "the biggest priority for us."

But when asked about the leaking of Pulitzer finalists, which has become a growing problem for the secretive awards, Steiger, who is managing editor for The Wall Street Journal, said it was not a major concern. He even said he could not remember if he had ever leaked the name of a finalist during his time as a juror in the mid-1990s. "I honestly do not remember," he said. "It is a long time ago."

He also said he will step down from his Journal post at the end of 2007, citing mandatory retirement age restrictions.

Stating what he considers priorities for the Pulitzer board, which will meet again next in the fall, Steiger was clear that rewarding Web journalism was a key to keeping the awards relevant. "So much of our work continues to be online," said Steiger, who was appointed chair earlier this week. "So much exciting stuff is being done online, and by essentially print newsrooms, that have made it a bigger and bigger adjunct of the newsroom."

His comments followed the rule change in late 2005 that allowed Web elements to be included for the first time in submissions for all 14 journalism categories. Previously, since 1999, only the Public Service prize could include such submissions.

"I think the biggest priority for us is to continue to find ways to move forward," said Steiger, 63. "Last fall, we opened up the use of online material. We will probably look at ways to do more of that." He declined to cite specifics, but noted that the online entries are still limited to the written word and still photos. Podcasts, audio, video and a number of interactive Web elements remain restricted from Pulitzer submissions.

When asked if such audio and video Web items could be included in Pulitzer submissions, Steiger said "sure." He also cited Web services such as 'newstrackers,' which provide interactive updates and links for ongoing stories, and online data bases such as those that follow presidential polling in each state, the past rulings of judges, and congressional votes.

"That requires the board to meet and decide," Steiger stressed about any changes. "I've got an open mind. We are more focused on how we can embrace the kinds of innovative things that people are doing now."

Steiger noted that online entries were a key element of the papers that won Pulitzers for Hurricane Katrina coverage, The Sun Herald of Bilxoi, Miss. and The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. "It was less than the majority of submissions," he said about the overall percentage of Web entries among finalists. "But more than in the past."

Turning to the problem of Pulitzer finalist leaks, Steiger said it was not a priority for him, although he understood why Pulitzer Administrator Sig Gissler makes it a major issue. "Sig worries about it a lot and he is the administrator and that is part of his job," Steiger said. "It is not one of the things I spend a lot of time worrying about."

Pointing out that journalists are trained to get information out that they know, he even showed some sympathy for the leakers. "I think when there is information that is of interest to a significant number of people, intrepid reporters will try to get it," he said. "That is fair. For people to try to get it. It is also fair for the Pulitzer Board to have rules to try to limit that."

As a two-time juror in the mid-1990s who chose finalists, Steiger said he could not recall if he had ever leaked any names. But when asked if he had ever leaked the names of winners during his eight years on the board, he said "to the best of my knowledge I have contributed nothing to those receiving leaks from the board."

Noting he will turn 65 in August 2007, Steiger said that will require him to step down as Journal managing editor at the end of 2007. "They could kick me out sooner, but under the company rules, I have mandatory retirement," said Steiger, who has held the post since 1991. "I love the job, but I have done it 50% longer than anyone else. It will definitely be time for someone else to try their hand at it."

We must have great stories...

2006-05-08T12:02:00.000-04:00

Because they have a tendency to appear in the Times two weeks after they appear in NYC24. The latest is...vinyl records in Greenpoint.

Click here to read.

You're not alone

2006-05-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

You are not the only ones debating the whole immigrant vs. illegal label.
http://forums.go.com/abcnews/GMA/thread?threadID=352349
this is just one of many threads going on in the GMA message boards

and on a jen note, the jens were united today when WSJ.com was featured on GMA. jen, did you notice?
(this concludes your random moment of the morning)

jb

FINAL COPY DEADLINE

2006-05-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

Please send to me (CC Erin) by Tuesday, 5/2 @ 6 p.m. Let me know if you have a question.

Anne

It's 10 O'Clock Somewhere.

2006-04-29T03:50:00.000-04:00

The long-awaited, much-anticipated and soon to be picked apart by
Jeff Gralnick issue of the New New Yorkers is now available at a
staging server near you.

But first, a word.

What you see tonight is a work-in-progress. Many things are still
coming along. Some of you are still working on videos and
slideshows, and haven't had a chance to finish, or to compress your
files, and so obviously, that work is not up here.

We are also not done with our work. The scavenger hunt and rally
story are not completed, neither is the site index, or the 'about us' page with the masthead. We are missing some photos (clearly, the
donkey photo is a placeholder) and some images (the multimedia link
will become a graphic). Also, there is a slight problem with web browser compatability that would be solved if the people at Firefox would just go away.

So bear in mind that this is very much a soft launch.

(One more thing. The homepage is a flash page with text for each subdivision, and it rolls over and swaps images and text and is quite lovely. But that's not what you'll see. You will see an HTML stand-in, without animation rolloevrs, and with inexact spacing and text, from which you will have to use your imagination. But I will be happy to show you the real thing anytime this week.)

In the next few days, the QA team are going to look at the
multimedia, and the sitewide pages. For now I'd like the
reporters to focus on improving their own stories. Anne sent back copy tonight, which is due Tuesday at 6PM. I urge you all to continue working on your stories, and to take the opportunity to discuss them with Anne, the QA editors, and me--along with each other. Duy has offered to review copy with anyone who is interested.

You have until Thursday at 9PM to perfect your multimedia. We will not extend this deadline any later that that. The other editors and I need Thursday night and all day Friday to make sure the site is perfect. This is non-negotiable.

We launch for real on Friday at 5.

So without further adue, welcome to the New New Yorkers...and give yourselves a mini-round of applause on your work thus far. We have much left to do, but we are really are coming along.

http://128.59.98.64/finalproject/

FINAL CALL FOR PODCAST FOOTAGE

2006-04-25T19:03:00.000-04:00

All--

I have spent the afternoon going through tapes for the podcast, and I plan to finish going through the audio / picture submissions tomorrow. If you have a video that you have not yet submitted to me, please leave it in my mailbox on the sixth floor before 6 p.m tomorrow. After that, I will select from what I have and interview people I have footage of as of then.

Thanks,

Sushil*

Dan Gillmor

2006-04-25T13:22:00.000-04:00

For those of you with a few spare moments, here's a link to Dan Gillmor's blog: http://citmedia.org/blog/. He's the guy giving the new media lecture on Thursday.

The Final Project

2006-04-25T11:43:00.000-04:00

We are launching on Friday. So far, many of you handed in copy that
required significant revision, skipped the photo deadline, and
didn't hand in multimedia.

Perhaps you think I'm kidding when I say its unacceptable. But let
me be clear: we're not putting anything up on the site that doesn't
meet a high standard of quality. I would rather launch the final
project with six stories then put up badly edited video,
disorganized copy, and poor slideshows.

The way it looks right now, we WILL be cutting stories from the
final issue. And you'll have to work out with Duy what that means
for you.

So get your act together. I'd like an email from each of you today,
explaining exactly where your photos and multimedia are.

Final copy is due TONIGHT, at 10PM to Anne, copy me. Unless you
have come to me for an extension already, I expect your revised
copy to come in, on time.

eb.

FREE PIZZA AT...

2006-04-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

I've decided on a new approach to get people to read my posts (lies about free food) ...

Anyway, I hate to sound like a broken record, but very few of you are actually following my production "requests." Use the new-media/new_yorkers folder for all final project work. Each of you has a folder within the working directory.

As of now, none of your work is being backed up because it's scattered in a hundred different places on the new media server. You are tempting fate...

Also, I still see tons of uncompressed video files from Issues 1 to 4. DELETE.

Thanks (again),
Alex

New Media Survey in the Economist

2006-04-24T08:19:00.000-04:00

There is a good sequence of articles in this week's Economist on new media.

Here is the link:

http://economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=6794156

Video Interviewing Solo

2006-04-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

Because Jeff said to use this blog to bitch and vent, here goes:

Just wanted to say that doing this all by yourself is a little nuts. Today I interviewd this dude while holding the camera. Kind of felt like I was kissing a girl from a distance. It really does not work unless you have a really long tongue, which I don't. I'm not Gene Simmons yet. We are both Jewish, but that's where the similarities end. It's good I had the cordless mic so it didn't look like he was interviewing like a rock star. I've seen some of the videos looking like that.

Sweet dreams, kids.

Abe

Storage space

2006-04-23T19:16:00.000-04:00

All:
As I mentioned in class on Thursday night, and as others have pointed out, storage space has become a significant problem and will halt production altogether if we don't deal with the issue.

So, here's what needs to happen by tomorrow:

1) EVERYONE needs to login to both capture computers (the two closest to the printers) and delete any of your movie-related files that remain on the desktop.

2) Space on the new media server is also running low, and we're going to run out of space as people build movies and slideshows for the final project. Again, please go into your folders on the new media drive and delete all of the movie files that you created for the first four issues. As long as you keep the Final Cut project files, you will be able to recreate any old movies, if necessary, by reinserting your raw tape. (You, of course, will still have the compressed movies that were uploaded to the website, as well.) It is the uncompressed .mov files, however, that each take up hundreds of megs. Delete them.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks.

-Alex

VIDEO PODCAST of the Scavenger Hunt

2006-04-23T18:37:00.000-04:00

Dear all,

I am making a video podcast using the video we all captured during the scavenger hunt. Please leave the tapes in my mailbox on the sixth floor. If you will be needing those tapes back (i.e., if you have important footage that you still need to work on), shoot me an email (skc52@columbia.edu) and I will arrange to put the tape back in my mailbox or into yours when I have finished with it.

For those of you who did NOT have a video camera, please leave the audio tapes in my mailbox if you used a marantz. You can put photos in my public folder online under the final project section.

Thanks,

Sushil*

With style...

2006-04-22T18:51:00.000-04:00

Below is a link to the NYC24 Final Project style guide.

We will be following AP style in most cases. The style guide is a list of exceptions, clarifications and reminders. If a point is not addressed here, please refer to your AP stylebook (which we also now have access to online; see Sushil's post for login info):

NYC24 Style Guide

Topics include:
Fact-checking
Language
Punctuation
Grammar
Appearance
File Setup

Learn it, love it, bookmark it. Questions? Talk to your QA editors. We're here for you.

- Sarah, Sushil and Tripp

ERASE THE FOLDER YOU USE TO CAPTURE

2006-04-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

Dear staff -

Matt was trying to capture footage tonight on the first computer (next to printer) but couldn't save any of his captured takes.

Why?

Because people (namely us) are properly deleting the folder they save their material to on the desktop.

This weekend and the following week promise to be a clusterfuck. Please do us all a favor and log on to the first computer sometime this weekend, and delete the files on your personal hardrive.

You are the only one that can delete.

Thanks folks.

Your friendly multimedia editor

SLIDESHOWS...A Correction.

2006-04-21T17:28:00.000-04:00

When saving your photos, save them within Photoshop under 'Save for the Web' as a jpg. Within that function, you can size the photo to get a good idea of what it will look like.

When sizing photos for slideshows, the dimensions of the photos are to be 600x400 megapixels. If you use a vertical photo, you need to size it to a height of 400 pixels.

NYYers...Scavenger Hunt

2006-04-20T22:01:00.000-04:00

The eve of the "New" New Yorkers Scavenger Hunt is upon us!

Remember, you are to capture still photographs of the outside of the building and the object you are to "find", and find out some information about the object and the place. Talk to the owners, the workers, the people shopping there. Get good info.
While you're there, shoot video of yourselves, your journey, and of the places you are going. The video is for use in a video podcast.

Send to me, copy Erik, the photos and what you learned, by midnight tomorrow. LABEL your video and place it in Sushil's mailbox.

Here are the pairings and assignments:

Cara/Anne/Sarah: Chinese therapy balls, Hawaiian shirt
Matt/Courtney/Larrison: Irish Step Dancing Lessons, surfboard
Julia/Jessica: Cambodian grocery store, chat
Dakin/Abe/Erik: cowboy boots, Jamaican meat patty
Kylene/Rebecca/Maria: Dominican style cigars, Russian bookstore
Cherry/Mariana/Alissa: cuatro, dashiki
Sushil/Cardiff/Susan: Pearson's Salted Nut Bar, Bier Garden
Erin/Khody/Rodrigo: Ethiopian beer, Red Sox bar
Alex/Tripp/Jill: Cricket equipment, Al-Ahram newspaper

If you have trouble or questions, you can reach me all day at (617) 818-6810

Good luck and enjoy yourselves!

new media testament: the sacred texts

2006-04-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

Thanks for sitting through my tutorial. I hope it helped, and for those still seeking answers to complicated questions, check out this site. It taught me everything I know about Flash.

Click here to learn the gospel of flash slideshows!

AP STYLEBOOK -- ACCESS ONLINE

2006-04-19T18:08:00.000-04:00

All: We now have access to the AP Stylebook online. Please access that IN ADDITION to the style guide that we are putting together (it will be finished very shortly). The login information for the stylebook is:

http://www.apstylebook.com/online/index.php?do=logout
login: NYC24
password: to be distributed in class (I was warned by the Tech department not to email / post passwords)

Sushil*

Off-Topic

2006-04-19T14:01:00.000-04:00

This doesn't have anything to with our final project, but it looked like a good read (if any of us ever get the time). It is from the Oxford Research Group, which did a study last year on the number of Iraqi civilian deaths. This latest report is of the consequences of war with Iran:

"A US military attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure would be the start of a protracted military confrontation that would probably involve Iraq, Israel and Lebanon as well as the United States and Iran, with the possibility of west Gulf states being involved as well. An attack by Israel, although initially on a smaller scale, would almost certainly escalate to involve the United States, and would also mark the start of a protracted conflict.

Although an attack by either state could seriously damage Iran’s nuclear development potential, numerous responses would be possible making a protracted and highly unstable conflict virtually certain. Moreover, Iran would be expected to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and engage in a nuclear weapons programme as rapidly as possible. This would lead to further military action against Iran, establishing a highly dangerous cycle of violence.

The termination of the Saddam Hussein regime was expected to bring about a free-market client state in Iraq. Instead it has produced a deeply unstable and costly conflict with no end in sight. That may not prevent a US or an Israeli attack on Iran even though it should be expected that the consequences would be substantially greater. What this analysis does conclude is that a military response to the current crisis in relations with Iran is a particularly dangerous option and should not be considered further – alternative approaches must be sought, however difficult these may be."

Village Voice on the April 10 March

2006-04-19T13:14:00.000-04:00

"Whether you believe the low-ball attendance figure of 70,000 or the organizers' claim that 300,000 showed up, the April 10 rally that shut down Broadway from Barclay Street to north of Canal was a success. It took place on a Monday afternoon, in a city with a legendary diversity in its foreign-born population, and was put together in less than two weeks by a coalition embracing more than 100 groups."

Click here for more.

Photos/Photo Deadline

2006-04-19T09:48:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

I know that everybody is currently in the thick of reporting, but I just wanted to provide details about the photo deadline and how photography is going to work.

For the photo deadline (Sunday, April 23, by 10 p.m.) –

(Send to: nyc24photos@gmail.com, copy nyc24_final@yahoo.com)

-Five best photos. Be sure to include at least one good photo of each orientation. (vertical and horizontal)

- Include A photo to preview each multimedia element (whether a slideshow,
video, graphic, etc.)

-Please specify which photo(s) you want to preview your multimedia

-Preview photos must come with a headline AND a brief caption summarizing the multimedia element the photo will preview (one sentence).

Once I have reviewed and approved them, I will ask you to drop them in the folder in the New Media server called /new_Yorkers (see Alex’s message)

File names –

As in Alex’s message, rally_wander_photo1.jpg

File sizes (for preview photos) –

I’m going to get back to you on this. I will give you the file size to send me, and I will take care of re-sizing them.

For those doing audio slideshows or photo essays –

I need to see all of the photos you intend to use before you produce the slideshows. Get them to me by the photo deadline or update me. If you’ve already produced the slideshows, then let me know and I’ll take a look at them.

Feel free to bounce things off of me before the deadline.

And finally, I have some talented photographers at the ready, so let me know if you need somebody to shoot for you. I’m also happy to provide tips and pointers on shooting if you need that.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures. Thanks and happy reporting!

Erik

Staff bio info

2006-04-18T23:07:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that updated staff bios (past tense), pictures (if you want a new one) and links to your NYC24 stories (with headlines) are due to me tomorrow (Wednesday) at midnight.

Tooting My Own Horn

2006-04-18T17:37:00.000-04:00

My colleague, Aaron Rutkoff, and I just launched our first installment of "Border Lines," a regular look at immigration writing from around the Web. (This link should give it to you for free.)

Tale of Two Immigrants

2006-04-18T04:06:00.000-04:00

Something like this interactive feature from NYTimes.com could work well in New New Yorkers.

And The Times does it again ...

2006-04-18T03:38:00.000-04:00

Just noticed this story on "cyberstalking" -- it even has the same source: Jayne A. Hitchcock.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/technology/17stalk.html

The Art (or Science) of Headline Writing

2006-04-18T02:15:00.000-04:00

A New York Times article claims that headlines are increasingly being written for the software programs that scour the Web and not for human readers. That means more facts and less wit. (Read article.)

As someone with a copyediting background, this makes me pretty sad. But it also makes a lot of sense. Something to consider while writing headlines for your final project.

Faces of the Fallen

2006-04-18T01:56:00.000-04:00

The "Faces of the Fallen" feature on washingtonpost.com is pretty darn cool. It's a searchable database of all the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the way, this is the second version of the site. The first version was completely done in Flash; this version is not -- giving credence to my belief that Flash doesn't work for everything.

Pulitzers in the Digital Age

2006-04-18T01:45:00.000-04:00

Also, (in case you weren't paying attention) the New Orleans Times-Picayune won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday for its reporting on Hurricane Katrina.

This award is especially significant because the Times-Picayune published its content only online for the first three days after the storm, making it the first Pulitzer ever given to online-original news content.

More from cyberjournalist.net:

"In the first year since the Pulitzer Prizes changed their rules to allow online components in most categories, five winning entries included online elements. Online material was part of the winning entries in both Public Service Awards, the Breaking News reporting award and the photography awards.

Sig Gissler, administrator of the prizes, said about 10% of the entries included online elements. In the Public Service category (which previously allowed online entries) about one-fourth included online entries; and in the breaking news reporting category, about 15% included online entries.

"We're moving in the right direction," Gissler said. "Will be fine-tuning the rules as we proceed."

Full list of award winners.

Q&A: NYTimes.com's Len Apcar

2006-04-18T01:40:00.000-04:00

Departing from the immigration conversations for a minute, I wanted to point out the Online Journalism Review's Q&A with Len Apcar, editor of NYTimes.com. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at the redesign.

undocumented and illegal

2006-04-17T21:04:00.000-04:00

I have to start by saying that I was not in class for this discussion. But I really believe that there should not be a sole term used throughout our site. Every single article comes with a by-line, and I think we all know by now that there is no such thing as objectivity in journalism. We can let our readers know where each of us stands in this issue by giving our writers the freedom to use the word or words they want. If we go for homogeneity in this, maybe we will sound very boring to our readers; political correctness leads to jargon sometimes.

Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, NPR Ombudsman on the ilegal vs. undocumented debate

2006-04-17T19:56:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, NPR Ombudsman wrote on a column published yesterday (April 17h):

“ …While NPR has (correctly in my opinion) avoided loaded terms such as “illegals” or “illegal aliens” as being overly charged and largely inaccurate to describe all of the people affected, there still is no word or phrase that can be used without fear of objection by someone in this debate.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has put out a helpful glossary of terms that is very useful and some of the NAHJ’s recommendations are being used, coincidentally by NPR.

A number of NPR and member-station journalists asked that NPR put out a guide of which terms and phrases are preferred on NPR. Vice President for News Bill Marimow says that common sense should guide journalists, rather than any specific dos-and-don’ts:

When there is only one word which precisely and accurately describes a situation, we will use that. But when there is a range of choices, we prefer that journalists use their common sense and choose words that describe the situation with accuracy, thoroughness, fairness and sensitivity.

My own suggestion is that the word that seems to be the most accurate but least incendiary is “undocumented.” The debate seems to be about whether people who come to the United States have some recognizable legal status, signified by their possessing the proper documents. To me, that’s what the core of the debate is all -- or mostly -- about. Anything else sounds like advocacy to me.”

Read the whole piece on:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5347494

Production notes

2006-04-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

I know everyone is currently focused on their reporting, but I wanted to share a few notes on production. The sooner we put a consistent production process in place the smoother everything will go from now thru our final launch.

Here’s the plan:

The newsroom
511c (and the new media server) will be the official newsroom for the final project. Feel free to report/write wherever you are most comfortable, but the versions saved in the new media server will be the only files used for production and the only versions backed up. This means if you only have a file saved on your laptop or a personal folder somewhere else it will not get used. The idea here is to minimize any confusion that can stem from having multiple versions of files floating all over the place.

File names
All file names should be labeled with slug, name and status. For example, “rally_eule_copy.doc” would by my draft copy about the rally. For audio, please use rally_eule_audio1.mp3, rally_eule_audio2.mp3, etc.

Folder structure
We have created a new folder in the New Media server, called /new_yorkers. It is on the first level of the folder and doesn’t require you to enter the “public” sub-folder. Within /new_yorkers, you'll find a sub-folder labeled "working."

Within new-media/new_yorkers/working, we've created a personal folder for every member of the new media workshop. This is where you should save all working material, including copy and multimedia. Reporters will inform editors via blog or e-mail that they have saved material in their personal folder. Editors would then use these folders to review, edit and approve materials. [Photos will be sent directly to Erik via the nyc24_final@yahoo.com address Erin has already provided.]

Include all video in your personal folder. Once you have edited videos on a local computer, be sure to move and store your entire project in the /new_yorkers folder. This includes all files in your scratch folders.

Backup
The entire /new_yorkers folder will be backed up on a daily basis until launch. This will ensure we avoid the loss of data faced by last year’s workshop. PLEASE keep in mind, however, that any work saved outside the new media/new_yorkers folder will not be backed up.

Next steps
In order to avoid confusion, editors will be the ones to move files once copy/multimedia has been reviewed. Unlike in the first four issues, we will not be asking reporters to move files/folders to the staging server. Again, by streamlining the production process we’re trying to reduce confusion and potential technical issues.

Of course, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the info above or the production process in general. Thanks.

-Alex

Calling all Immigration reporters

2006-04-17T01:11:00.000-04:00

Hello everybody,

You'll recall that my story topic concerns the economic impact of immigration on jobs, wages and the labor force of New York City. If any of you is covering an immigration story that is also related to my topic - for example, a story about an immigrant business owner or about an immigrant group that tends to work in one type of industry - it may be a good idea to discuss ways to merge our pieces. As Duy suggested in class, a collaboration such as this one would give the site more fluidity and bolster each of our stories. Any takers?

Also, Erin might have previously sent this out when pitching the final project idea, but I highly recommend reading the brief overview of the findings from the Newest New Yorkers survey from the Department of City Planning. Below is the link, followed by a paragraph copied and pasted to this post that describes broadly the particular impact that constant immigration has on New York City:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/census/nny_overview.shtml

New York City's demography is not static, but a dynamic process defined by the ebb and flow of people. As some people leave the city for points in the region and beyond, the city's population continues to be replenished by the flow of new immigrants. These demographic processes result in a unique level of diversity: 43 percent of the city's 2.9 million foreign-born residents arrived in the U.S. in the previous ten years; 46 percent of the population speaks a language other than English at home; in just 30 years, what was primarily a European population has now become a place with no dominant race/ethnic or nationality group. Indeed, New York epitomizes the world city.

Covering Immigration Fairly

2006-04-16T23:42:00.000-04:00

Timothy J. McNulty
From the Chicago Tribune's Public Editor
Read the article online.

The words and photos prompt chagrin and vitriol among some readers. They resent the coverage of demonstrations in which illegal immigrants and their supporters protest new enforcement legislation now in Congress. They believe the newspaper is too sympathetic to lawbreakers, too willing to be enticed by a human-interest story and perhaps by political correctness.

The voices that complain about our coverage cannot be written off as just racist or the perpetually resentful. The language some use may be off-putting, but the issues they raise deserve attention.

Readers who want stricter immigration enforcement claim our coverage of demonstrations here and around the country is too positive. They are upset at the prominence of the stories and the photos. That, however, is news coverage, and I suspect we would give as much prominence to any group of 100,000 demonstrating in the Loop, whatever the cause.

Much of the enterprise in our reporting is in the telling of the stories of legal and illegal immigrants and the hardships they endure to make it into this country, plus their ability to become successful once they are here.

The newspaper's lead immigration writer, Oscar Avila, and a half-dozen other reporters have been diligent in keeping readers abreast of Chicago's immigrant communities. Their tales are compelling. We are a nation that prides itself on being built by immigrants who often arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

People open their hearts to those who strive for a better life and endure separation and exploitation in order to build a better life for themselves and their families. But the changing job picture, especially with globalization and jobs moving abroad, is adding to a national anxiety.

The immigration story is one that the Tribune is determined to tell. "We cover immigration as one of the two or three top stories in the city today," said Steve Kloehn, a deputy metropolitan editor. "It's a story that tells us where we're going to be 20 and 30 years from now." The newspaper's Washington bureau and its national and foreign correspondents also contribute to the ongoing immigration report.

But reporting on immigrant groups, both legal and illegal, tends more to the personal than it does to the systemic issues of society. It does not address the problem that some readers see with our coverage.

Many of the complaints about coverage are valid: We have written well about the people who are illegal immigrants and about the politics of the debate, but not as well about the impact illegal immigration has had on society. The fault lies not in the stories we report, but in the stories we ignore.

The newspaper writes about the politics of illegal immigration in both news and opinion pages, but too often fails to focus on the problems created by illegal immigration. Some of that is understandable. Those who want stricter enforcement are rarely able to provide concrete and direct examples or to personalize the plight of citizens who suffer because of illegal immigrants.

They rarely produce the citizen who is out of work--or making only $6 an hour--because illegal immigrants take the jobs and drive down the pay scales. They talk about higher costs for health care and education consumed by illegal immigrants--but can't show it as a line on your tax bill.

The role of illegal immigration in the workplace, how it drives down wages, does not get wide coverage. We don't write as much about the business owners who seek out illegal immigrants because they can be paid less and are easily intimidated by threats of disclosure.

While there are mentions and even occasional stories, not often do we highlight the consequences of illegal immigration in the public schools, or the stress it puts on health care, especially emergency room services at public hospitals.

We have noted the rise of the private militia group called the Minutemen both in the Southwest and in Illinois, but the rise of gangs among illegal immigrants gets only occasional attention. The fairness issue to those immigrants who wait years for legal entry is only a footnote in our coverage.

Polls show that American attitudes have shifted noticeably in recent years. A majority appears to be forgiving and welcoming to those illegal immigrants already here, but the surveys also show less and less tolerance for allowing that flow to continue. We have to be mindful and report on the reasons behind that change.

On the Media: Word Watch

2006-04-16T02:16:00.000-04:00

Here is the transcript of "On the Media"'s discussion about words in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. (I mentioned it in class.) This may be helpful in deciding how you'll refer to immigrants.

propaganda war

2006-04-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

Below is a piece by the Phil. Inquirer on the illegal/undocumented debate.

Here's my thing -- there is no neutral term in this debate. We can put together impassioned arguments for one or the other, but either way we're choosing a term that reveals a certain agenda.

- Sarah

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

War on words heats up in immigration debate
"Undocumented," not "illegal," some say. Others scoff. A linguist calls it a "propaganda war."

Post a Comment

By Lini S. Kadaba
Inquirer Staff Writer

Are the 12 million people living in the United States in violation of immigration law "illegal aliens" or "undocumented workers"?

Or how about "global economic refugees"?

As Congress and the nation continue to debate changes to immigration policy, factions ranging from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to Rush Limbaugh are engaged in a war of words over how to refer to U.S. residents affected by the proposed legislation.

Last week, the Latino journalists' group called on the media to stop "dehumanizing" undocumented workers - the association's preferred term - by labeling them "illegal aliens" and "illegals," a term the group called particularly insensitive.

Other journalist associations, including those representing blacks and Asians, gave their support.

If the distinction seems like "splitting hairs" to some, said Iván Román, the Latino group's executive director, "to us, it's not. The language helps frame or distort the argument."

Words one side finds neutral, the other considers an exercise in political correctness intended to obscure many immigrants' status as law-breakers.

"They're not 'illegal,' " Limbaugh, the conservative political commentator, cracked on his syndicated radio show last week. "Why humiliate them? Call them 'undocumented aliens.'

"Well, let's call people like Jesse James and Willie Sutton 'undocumented bank withdrawers,' " he said. "Just so we don't hurt anybody's feelings... somebody who's not paying taxes... 'undocumented taxpayers.' "

The word-slinging - which recalls the tussle over the abortion-debate terms pro-life and pro-choice and the recent controversy over refugee to describe Katrina evacuees - is "part of a propaganda war to win hearts," said Robert Ness, who teaches linguistics at Dickinson College. "The way the battle will be fought is rhetorical first."

Many groups that advocate for immigrants support the phrases "undocumented immigrant" and "undocumented worker." Labor activist Nathan Newman recently raised the ire of conservatives with his use of "global economic refugee" in a blog.

"These are not small questions," said Frank Sharry, director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration advocacy group based in Washington. "The language, and who wins the framing of the language, likely will win the debate" on immigration legislation.

Sharry likes "undocumented immigrant." His list of preferred language does not stop there, however. For example, he rejects "amnesty" - which he says implies wrongdoing - in favor of "earned path to citizenship."

Critics say such phrases are political spin.

"It's an attempt to deny the illegality of the illegal alien," said Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that supports tighter controls on immigration.

Krikorian sees nothing wrong with "illegal alien," the term federal agencies use. Yet even President Bush has used "undocumented worker" as he makes his case for an overhaul of immigration policy.

David Caulkett, of Broward County, Fla., designed his Web site, http://illegalaliens.us, to lampoon what he considers the absurd "undocumented" distinction.

"Those undocumented are actually highly documented with fraudulent documents that the government readily accepts," said Caulkett, who describes himself as being for "legal immigration."

Many immigrant groups take "illegal alien" as a double insult.

Illegal in that context, or when paired with the word immigrant, is "dehumanizing because it criminalizes the person rather than the actual act," the Latino journalists' group said in a statement.

"We're not against saying, 'people who cross the border illegally,' " Román said.

And alien has a strange, hostile, even "non-terrestrial" connotation and "is considered pejorative by most immigrants," the group said.

The Inquirer, like many news organizations, prefers "illegal immigrant," though other terms have been used on its pages. The word undocumented is not favored because many illegal immigrants have access to some state and federal documents.

At the Associated Press, "illegal immigrant" is also the preferred term, a spokesman for the news agency said.

Lexical controversies frequently erupt when highly partisan issues are being considered, experts said.

This dust-up, in the age of blue states and red states, is "another expression of the political and cultural polarization that the country finds itself in," said Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, in St. Petersburg, Fla., which trains journalists.

Clark suggests using "illegal immigrant" and "immigrants without legal status" as alternatives to more loaded phrases.

But in the end, he said, "there's going to be no perfect term."

undocumented or illegal

2006-04-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

I've been reading up on the immigration debate. This is from a Christian Science Monitor article dated April 12, 2006. "Felony threat rouses immigrants."

"Currently, those who enter the US illegally can be charged with a federal criminal misdemeanor and be sentenced to six months in prison. But simply being in the country without proper documentation is not a criminal offense."

Thoughts?

Peace. K

Illegal vs. undocumented

2006-04-14T17:57:00.000-04:00

The word “illegal” in the term “illegal-immigrant” is neither accurate nor appropriate to use for our final project.
As journalists language and its usage is the primary tool we use to communicate.
Words might seem the same, but are not. In our lives as writers, it is necessary to watch out for terms that derive from agendas rather than accuracy, truth and fairness.

The word “illegal” in the term “illegal-immigrant” does not specify what type of violation that person committed.
If anyone who has broken the law was called “illegal”:
Murderers would be illegal,
tax evaders would be illegal,
pot smokers would be illegal,
deadbeat dads would be illegal…
even gay people would be illegal in some states, and yet we don’t call them illegal. Why?

A deadbeat dad, tax-evader or pot-smoker can still engage in public life, teach a class or get college degree. They still have protection under the law, --and a right to due process-, even if they not always observe it.

Using the term “illegal immigrant” defines that person’s moral character or condemn him or her to be outside the civil society, outside the law, unlawful, the literal meaning of the word.

We would be saying: You are illegal, your voice is illegal, and your presence and your very existence are deemed as illegal.

We would be taking this position in the debate simply by using the term.

If we instead refer to “undocumented-immigrants” as such, we would be more accurate.
The crime they committed is not having proper documentation to be in this country. They are people who overstayed their visas, crossed the desert or used false documents to enter the country.

Specifying what type of violation these people have committed puts them back in to the legal and civil debate about their presence in this country. For that reason, “undocumented” most clearly reflects their situation.

Final project multimedia design reqs.

2006-04-14T14:24:00.000-04:00

The desing team is meeting Monday at 7 to discuss the design of the home page for the final project. Let your opinions be heard or forever hold your complaints.

We met today, and here's what we decided about slideshows for the final project. We'll present everything Thursday; this is just in case you're eager to start.

Our main concern is that everything be consistent. So...

Audio slideshows will be done in Flash. If you don't know how to use Flash, now's your chance. Courtney volunteers to give you a quick tutorial, and there are lots of other people in the class who also know how to use it.

Photo slideshows can be done in Flash or html -- we'll leave that to you.

Photos for the slideshows: horizontal (450 x 350) and vertical (350 x 450).

Every photo should have a 1 px black line around it.

Every photo needs a caption and credit, whether it's in Flash or html.

If you want to see an example, go to folders/2006/finalproject/templates. If you're doing a Flash slideshow, you'll simply put a Flash plug-in where the photo is now and get rid of the top nav buttons, but the photo credit and caption need to be built into your Flash show to match the template.

The first slide of Flash slideshows need to list audio, photo and production credits. We'll give you a template.

Video projects need the same title card; we'll give that to you this week, as well.

Any questions, suggestions, let me know.

Courtney

2006-04-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

Just to weigh in here.

What's new about Dominican baseball in terms of the NEW New Yorkers? The Dominican Republic has been the "infielder factory" for major league baseball for years and the Dominican community has been part of the City for years as well.

As for NASCAR that's going to be a new EVENT for New York but unless it is has started to grow a new community of expatriot southerners forming a new "bubba community" in the City, what's IT got to do with NEW New Yorkers. So where's the NEW New Yorker drive to the story?

NASCAR....

2006-04-14T07:51:00.000-04:00

I wrote Erin last night to get her perspective on my story. Please read the e-mail and offer feedback:

That whole NASCAR idea I threw out tonight - would it be more
interesting than Dominican baseball?
The proposed track at Staten Island wouldn't be ready for racing
until the end of the decade, but it is interesting that the sport
will be a "New" New Yorker. The multimedia could include a
slideshow/video on local NASCAR fans, and another on SI opponents
to the project. The article could focus on the business decision
behind purchasing the land on SI. Why NASCAR did it? How long
they'd been thinking of doing it? Etc. Art could be a proposed
drawing by them or an AP photo from a race or graphic from a
race...
Let me know.

Erin said either story would work, but this a collective effort and I wanted you all to have some input. I could do either one. Hanging out and watching baseball on warm spring days suits me fine and trying to find New York rednecks (they exist... go to the next Allman Brothers show at the Beacon) or talking to pissed off Long Islanders would be a fun challenge. Shoot me an e-mail or blog your response and I'll move ahead with the article you all feel is best.
(By the way, I've now joined Cardiff and am no longer a blogging virgin. Next thing you know, I'll be creating a sports site, sitting in my boxers, eating Cheetos and pontificating about how Duke sucks and North Carolina can go to hell.)

A note on staff bios - please read

2006-04-13T23:29:00.000-04:00

Since we'll be graduating just a few short days after our site launches, we're going to make the bios past tense. (Tripp's idea; I'm not taking credit.) This means that even if you don't want to switch up the info, please put it into past tense.

Also, send me not just story links but the headline of your story. Otherwise, I'll make up my own. "Duy robs bank" and the like.

DEADLINES, SCHEDULE AND OTHER INFO -- A MUST READ

2006-04-13T22:17:00.000-04:00

I think I half expected to log in and find a blog about how much you all hate me. Glad to see its not up here yet; although if that's what it takes to get you all to post to this thing, then go for it.

So, the deadlines, schedule and other important information:

MONDAY, APRIL 17th 10 PM
To: Khody, copy Erin
-Multimedia plan. This is not a wishy-washy list; this is a list that says, "I've thought through my story and this is exactly what I am doing with it".
-Multimedia consultation. By 10PM, you need to have reached out to Khody if you want to bounce ideas off him, and ask for guidance. I expect that all of you will check in with him and ask for his feedback. He's a smart kid with a pretty good sense of what works and what doesn't. Seriously. He doesn't suck at this.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19th, 5PM
To: Courtney, copy Erin
-Updated bios, web sites, and story links

THURSDAY, APRIL 20th 5PM
To: Anne, copy Erin
-First draft story copy is due for the following people: Matt, Julia, Mariana, Cara, Susan, Larrison, Sarah, Cherry, Dakin, Cardiff, Tripp
-Design mock-up unveiled
-QA Stylebook distrubuted

FRIDAY, APRIL 21st, ALL DAY GROUP REPORTING SCAVENGER HUNT
I will send details regarding times, meeting places, etc. over the weekend so you have plenty of time to plan. But I want to make this crystal clear--this is mandatory. Not at all optional. And we are all going out to do it at the same time.

FRIDAY, APRIL 21st
To: Anne, copy Erin
-First draft story copy due is due for the following people: Rodrigo, Courtney, Maria, Aili, Abe, Rebecca, Alissa, Kylene, Jessica, Jill

SUNDAY, APRIL 23rd, 10PM
To: Erik, copy nyc24_final@yahoo.com
-Five best photos. Be sure to include at least one good photo of each orientation. (vertical and horizontal)

MONDAY, APRIL 24th, 10 PM
To: Alex will send detailed instructions including which folder to save this in
-All multimedia elements for your story are due.

TUESDAY, APRIL 25th, 10PM
To: Alex will send detailed instructions including which folder to save this in; copy Erin.
-Final copy due.

FRIDAY, APRIL 28th, 10PM
-Soft Launch.

FRIDAY, MAY 5th
-Final Launch.

THURSDAY, MAY 11th
-Duy buys us drinks.

We have also broken the Designers and QA editors into pairs and grouped reporters under them. While you are submitting all copy directly to Anne, each deisgn/QA pairing will work with you to ensure that your text is clean, that you have conformed to NYC24 style, and will discuss with you how all of your story elements fit in with the page design.

The pairings/groups are as follows:

Courtney/Sushil:
Rodrigo, Matt, Maria, Mariana, Julia, Cara, Courtney, Erin

Rebecca/Sarah:
Aili, Abe, Susan, Larrison, Rebecca, Sarah, Cherry

Jessica/Tripp:
Dakin, Cardiff, Kylene, Jill, Tripp, Jessica, Alissa

I know that some of you were daunted by the amount of work that needs to be done, and the schedule that we laid out for acomplishing that work. The key to this project is to ask for help--from your editors, from past partners, from new people with whom you haven't had the chance to work. Use each other as resources, get out there, and do some great reporting. Flashy graphics are nice, strong navigation is important, the words we use matter and all that jazz. But this project will succeed or fail based on the strength of our reporting. So use tomorrow and the next week to get out there.

Questions, day or night: (617) 818-6810/(212) 362-6302/eb2282@columbia.edu

eb.

PS. Design was a contentious issue way back on the first issue. The designers have put together a bunch of links to stuff they like, here on the blog. Check it out, comment on it, make yourselves heard. Now is your chance.

Design

2006-04-13T09:54:00.000-04:00

Here are some sites the design team likes for various reasons. Weigh in and suggest aspect of sites that you absolutely love. There are a lot here, but I would encourage you to take the time to browse through them and make your opinion known.

http://www.newyorker.com/

http://www.observer.com/20060417/subtoc_culture.asp
(i like the rollovers under the nav bar)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

http://www.harvardindependent.com/

http://www.washingtonian.com/visitors_guide/tourist_page.html
(only the left nav bar - drop downs)

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/

http://www.02138magazine.com/
(another look entirely, but might work with a people-based issue)

http://www.ajc.com/
I like the tabs that lead you to preview different stories but keeps
full page looking the same.

http://www.clarin.com/
This might give us an idea on what embedding video on a page would
look like. Their video doesn't start automatically. You must hit
play. I also like the ticker tape that rolls across the page.

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/april/lemurs.php#related
I like they deal with related links of the story all at the bottom.

http://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/second/natural10.html
This is another way of handling a photo gallery, particularly the
rally if there are multiple photographers.

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat245&navLevel=2&rsc=mslnav
I like the division of topics on the bottom.

http://www.epicurious.com/features/entertaining/kbnewyears/food
I like the idea of running a photo large verticle photo along side
the story, we could put a pull quote where the dark in boxes are.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/alias/
I like how the nav bar breaks into more navigational options on the
Alias portion (the gray bars).

http://abc.go.com/fsp/index.html?channel=Lost
A possible way to deal with a video gallery.

http://theforgotten.org/site/intro_eng.html
I like the timeline, this might come in handy for a photo story it's
a way to break up the story. I also like the flash on the nav bar
but it's a bit too much for our purposes.

http://www.teamtoyo.com/racers/
I like this for our staff pages. This will give us the chance to
have our bio, personal web sites and our work from the semester.
It's some work but it would be great to feature us this way.

http://www.instyle.com/instyle/flash/0,24293,1182566,00.html
(nice, subtle flash on front page)

http://men.style.com/
(nice use of tabs to organize)

http://www.style.com/
(clean design, very simple yet effective flash)

http://www.elle.com/
(simple, logical layout, but highly visual…a true “web site”…not just the magazine content republished online)

http://www.cnet.com/
(another example of tabs…bottom is a mess, though)

< ahref="http://www.ign.com/">http://www.ign.com/
(example of a preview gallery coupled with main section)

http://www.georgetown.edu/
(front page only is a great example of a site effectively using an unusual color as a background)

http://hcs.harvard.edu/~yisei/
(really unusual, interesting idea)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/

http://www.salon.com/

http://www.slate.com/

http://video.on.nytimes.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=a-1d0baee9:10a903d6e56:6f46&st=1144884192438&mp=FLV&cpf=false&fr=041206_072311_w1d0baee9x10a903d6e56x6f47&rdm=654272.7117435883

Staff page

2006-04-13T09:53:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone,

We're going to be re-doing the staff page for the final issue. Here's what I need from you by next Wednesday, April 19:

- A revised bio, if you want to switch it up (100 words max)

-A new photo, if you don't like your old one

- Most importantly: links to your homepage and NYC24 stories. We're going to make it so that when users click on your photo, a bio will pop up along with links to your web work. We'll add the links to your final project work.

If I don't get any info from you, I'll assume you want to use the bio and pic we already have and don't want your web work linked.

Thanks,

Courtney

Major Site Redesigns

2006-04-12T16:58:00.000-04:00

News giants redesign sites: Do they work?
(a Chicago Tribune columnist weighs in ... requires login, but it's free.)

An excerpt:

"Simply put, the growth is in digital. From January to December of last year, newspaper Web sites collectively saw a 21 percent increase in unique visitors, and in November, more than a third of all Internet users visited a newspaper site, according to a recent study from the Newspaper Association of America. This growth, part of the reason newspaper sites are the dominant digital information providers in most local markets, comes as print circulation continues a decades-long slow decline.

But the Times and Journal sites are especially important not only because of their journalistic stature, but because they are the first and sixth most popular online papers, respectively, according to Nielsen/NetRatings' February measurements of unique visitors. (ChicagoTribune.com is ninth, and the Sun-Times' site 11th, while the suburban Daily Herald placed second in the NAA's ranking of papers that have used their Web sites to expand their reach among the coveted 25-34-year-old demographic.)"

Immigration Resources

2006-04-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

There's probably many more expert-type sources, but I overhead a professor from another course recommend the following to a few of his students looking into an immigration story:

-- SIPA Prof. Rodolfo de la Garza
-- The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute

Design meeting

2006-04-12T11:47:00.000-04:00

For anyone who's interested in putting in their 2 cents about the design of the final project, the design team is meeting Thursday at 5 p.m. We'll meet in the Mac lab and then find a room. We'll be discussing aspects of sites we like and talking about how we want to organize the content on the main page.

PITCHES DUE TODAY, 12 NOON

2006-04-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

Pitches for the final project are due today, 12 noon. Copy both me and Anne on the pitches; the first half of the alphabet will receive comments from me, the second have will receive them from Anne.

We will return comments by the end of the day.

Questions, concerns, or commentary, you can reach me all day at (212) 362-6302.

Check the blog later today for minutes of the editorial board meeting last night, and other conversations...

Podcastic

2006-04-12T08:52:00.000-04:00

Folks -- keep the podcasts coming. Even though we are not publishing for another few weeks, this does not mean that our podcast should stay dormant. Please send the files to me (mp3 for audio, mp4 for video) along with the podcast's title and a short description of the podcast (a line or two). Our goal was to have at least 10 episodes before the year's end and I think we can make it and then some.

Remember, the podcasts are freeform. Where else do you get the flexibility at the J-School.

Good work,

Duy

This Week's Podcast

2006-04-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

I am working on an audio podcast to go up this week about yesterday's rally. I'm going at it from the angle of our personal experiences / impressions of the event. As reporters, we don't get to talk about our own experiences and opinions, so this will be a great opportunity. If you were at the rally yesterday, let me know as soon as possible so we can get some audio recorded. I'll be at school tomorrow (Wednesday) after three o'clock for sure, but possibly also in the morning. Call my cell phone if you are around and want to meet up. ~Sushil*

On the Subject of Podcasts- #6

2006-04-11T16:58:00.000-04:00

Sushil and I did an audio podcast about our trip to hear the Princeton Laptop Orchestra. For bookkeeping purposes, ours is #6,

Possible Angle for NNYers Story

2006-04-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

The number of foreign graduate students studying in the U.S. is on the rise, following a sharp post-9/11 dip.

Applications from foreign students to U.S. grad schools rose 11% for classes starting in the fall, the Council of Graduate Schools said. That compares with a 32% total decline from 2003 to 2005.

Indian students made up most of the applicants, followed closely by Chinese. The majority apply to engineering and life science programs. Foreign students currently make up 50% enrollment in U.S. engineering graduate programs and 41% in physical science programs.

-- WSJ's Washington Wire

2006-04-11T12:32:00.000-04:00

Once again, with our great reporting skills, we published a story before the Times. By a couple of months. I don't know if any of you have seen this yet today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/nyregion/11ink.html

Abe

JUST KIDDING...THE WEST END HAS CLOSED

2006-04-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

so here's the deal--weather looks good, so we will meet on the steps in front of the journalism building at 5; we'll sit down somewhere in the courtyard...

my cell phone, in the event you get lost: 617-818-6810.

see you at 5.

MEETING TODAY - 5PM, The West End Bar, 114th and Broadway

2006-04-11T09:57:00.000-04:00

The meeting this afternoon will be at 5:00 at the West End. If all
goes well, we'll meet outside--if there are no tables outside, then
inside, toward the back. We will be done by 7:00.

In the future, I won't start any meetings this early, and I
apologize to those of you who will be coming a little bit late.

Topics to be covered include:
theme
deadline schedule
podcasts
yesterday's rally
pitch night
position responsibilities
communication
style guide
design ideas

Let me know if there are any questions, and remember all are welcome. This project belongs to all of us, and everyone should come by and put in their two cents.

audio podcast || Rally

2006-04-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

I got a lot of great photos and great audio at the rally today, and I was thinking about putting together an audio podcast. I have to go through what I got tomorrow and see just what can be done with it. Thoughts? Sushil*

new New Yorkers video podcast

2006-04-10T14:27:00.000-04:00

What up? Greetings from Chicago! From all the e-mails, I assume we have a big group out at the rally today, which is excellent.

I'm writing because as the managing editor I want to keep the momentum from Issue3 & 4 of posting video podcasts alive! I am clearly enamored w/ getting my face in front of that camera and love telling everyone I come in contact with that our class has a video podcast on iTunes (yes, I told EVERYONE I interviewed w/ on Saturday, and they loved it!).

So, I want to have a few video podcasts of producing the new New Yorkers, one on the final issue, and one on the new media workshop experience. As you're crafting your pitches for tomorrow and shooting video, make sure to get a TON of good B Roll. I see all 15 reporters being on camera and telling their stories in one of the podcasts, so the more footage you get, the better.

I look forward to seeing the pitches tomorrow and plan on keeping in close contact w/ everyone throughout the process of reporting and writing. I'll let you know when your time has come for the podcast. And, everyone who isn't reporting, I'll get the editors on camera too...a little behind the scenes action might be nice.

Hope pre-reporting is going well! Again, I look forward to seeing those pitches tomorrow.

Anne

Immigration economics and a question for the editors

2006-04-10T00:45:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody,

A big part of the current immigration debate is the impact (or lack of impact) that new immigrants have on the jobs and wages of native workers. For anybody that wants to learn about this but lacks the stomach for phrases like "labor demand curve" and "capital reduction", below is the link to a concise - and in my opinion fair - overview on the subject in this week's The Economist.

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6771382

Also, right now I'm considering two story topics for the project: the first about somebody who has won the green card lottery in his or her country and moved to New York City, and the second about young foreign-exchange students. Specifically, I'd like to investigate how living here has affected their impression of the United States, and of Americans.

Thomas Friedman used to write that one of the best things the U.S. could do is invite more young students from other countries - especially from countries that regard Americans with distant hatred or suspicion - and let them see for themselves that we're not so bad while receiving a much better education than would otherwise be possible. Over time, the theory goes, many of these students return to their countries and start having an influence in the way America is viewed. Is Friedman right? I don't know, but it would be interesting to find some of these students in New York City and present their stories.

I have a friend from a poor village in Senegal who won the green card lottery and moved to New York when he was 16. The details of his story are amazing but too long for this post - ask me about it in person, if you're interested. But the point is that he finished high school and college here, obtained his citizenship and he is now more fiercely patriotic than most native-born Americans. (And I'm not talking about anything related to the war, just how much he loves the U.S.) He returns often to Senegal to see his family and share his story.

He is only one example, but a good one that demonstrates the potential impact of educating foreign students while they're still young. Is this the case for all, or even for most of these students? Again, I don't know, but I like the idea of looking into it.

Editors, can you tell me if New New Yorkers include people who come here for only a set period of time? In other words, does a foreign exchange student scheduled to return to his country after a few years fit within the theme, or by New Yorkers are we talking about people who plan to settle here?

This is my first-ever blog post - BOOYAH

Actually, it's kind of anticlimactic...

IMPORTANT April 10 Immigrant Rights Rally Information (NYC)

2006-04-09T18:51:00.000-04:00

Subject: IMPORTANT April 10 Immigrant Rights Rally Information (NYC)

pass the word...

Canal Street, Canal Street, Canal Street!!

We are very excited to see so many community, labor, and religious groups organizing for Monday's event. I have received several calls requesting more information about Monday. I hope the information below helps. The three most important things to note are:

1) We are expecting all City Hall train stops to close down early so we are asking everyone to enter the rally through Canal Street.

2) Some groups are gathering and marching to the rally from various locations; however, many of these groups do not have marching permits. The sites below are the three confirmed locations that have obtained a permit to march and that folks can join without putting your constiuents at risk.

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK (1 to Christopher Street, A/C/E or B/D/F to West 4th Street)
Meet at 2:00pm and march via Broadway
Contact: The New York Immigration Coalition, (212) 627-2227

CHATHAM SQUARE, CHINATOWN (F to East Broadway)
Meet at 2:00pm and march via Worth Street

CADMAN PLAZA, BROOKLYN (A/C to High Street, 2/3 to Clark Street)
Meet at 2:30 and march across the Brooklyn Bridge at 4:00 pm
Contact: Ana Maria Archila (917) 330-5337

3) If you encounter or observe any problems during the rally particularly between police and participants, you should notify one of the rally marshals (wearing white caps with the purple word MARSHAL) and/or call the New York Immigration Coalition at (212) 627-2227.

If you are meeting up with a large group of people and walking to the rally, you can legally walk on the sidewalk but you can not:
- use amplified sound
- walk in the street/block traffic
-block the sidewalk with large banners
I urge you to join one of the groups above if possible, but if you are already planning on meeting in another location in the city, please email Laura Eldridge at LEldridge@seiu32bj.org with the following information:
Meetup Location
Time of Meetup
# of People Expected
Any permits you have secured
Contact name and phone number
We have a pool of police monitors, legal observers, and possibly some trained crowd control folk who can meet you and help you get to the rally without incident but if we don't know we can't help you.

If you are planning on taking public transportation:
- Arriving 2pm-2:30pm: use the R/W to City Hall/Broadway, J/M/Z/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall, A/E/2 to Park Place/Broadway
-Arriving after 2:30pm: Use the 4/5/6 or A/C/E to Canal Street and walk south on Broadway to join the rally.
It is likely that the City Hall subway stops will become very crowded early on and will possible be shut down, so it's better to get off the train a bit further away and walk to the rally.

We desperately need legal observers for the April 10th rally! Spanish-speaking legal observers will be in particularly high demand!
We are asking videographers, photographers, lawyers, legal workers and law students who can be available on the afternoon and evening of April 10th from 3 pm to 7 pm, to come to a training being sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter, on the evening of Sunday, April 9th, from 5 pm to 7 pm, at the New York Immigration Coalition 137-139 W. 25th Street, 12th floor
RSVPs to Julie Dinnerstein at jdinnerstein@thenyic.org for the Sunday evening event are appreciated but not required.

Hi, A-10 NYC Mobilization Network for Immigrants Rights Members:

We are sending you the latest generic flyer for April 10 Rally with an updated list of participating organizations.
If you have names of organizations that are participating and are not included, please let know to make any correction.

In Solidarity,
Rhadames Rivera
1199 SEIU
------------------------

Don't let them destroy the freedom we fought so hard to win!

MONDAY APRIL 10
National Day of Action Rally for Immigrant Rights

CITY HALL / MANHATTAN
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Join thousands of unions members, immigrants and activists in 30 cities across America in a massive coordinated rally to stop the U.S. Senate from passing an appalling anti-immigrant bill that would destroy the fabric of our country and the hopes of immigrant families seeking a better life. We will come together across the nation to:

* Stop anti-immigrant House resolution 4437
* Bring an end to all attacks against immigrants and the unwarranted criminalization of immigrant communities
* Demand real immigration reform that includes a true path to citizenship, worker and family protections and full rights for immigrants.

As a sign of peaceful protest! Join us in wearing a white shirt

Trains /Trenes:
4,5,6 to BROOKLYN BRIDGE; 1,A,C to CHAMBER ST.;
2,3 to PARK PLACE; N,R to BROADWAY/CITY HALL

Immigrant History Week

2006-04-09T18:16:00.000-04:00

April 17 to April 23 is Immigrant History Week in NYC. There are some interesting talks and events going on that could give inspiration for story ideas.

Also, Gotham Gazette's immigration page is a good place to go for information.

2006-04-09T17:56:00.000-04:00

Something that might work somewhere in New New Yorkers.

On Broadway now. Bridges and Tunnels. It's the "immigrant experience" as one-person "multi-character" show.

Supposed to be very good and the woman who stars is articulate about the subject not just the show.

Info for tomorrow's march

2006-04-09T14:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a press release. Also, there's more information at april10.org.

Flash

2006-04-09T07:25:00.000-04:00

None of the Flash is working when the site is viewed in Internet Explorer on a PC. Is that something that will be fixed when the site goes live or is there something we need to change to make it work?

Final Project Photography

2006-04-08T18:10:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

I need anyone interested in doing photography for the final project to get in touch with me (ejw2116@columbia.edu). I'm compiling a list to begin with. So far I have Rodrigo and Rebecca on board, and I will shoot myself, but I know there are plenty of other talented photographers out there. Same goes for people willing and able to shoot video. Reporters, please let me know if and when you need a photographer or a videographer, and I will hook you up.

Any photographers (other than Rodrigo) planning on attending the march on Monday? Let me know. We can use all the pictures (and video) we can get of the event. Thanks!

Online Journalism Symposium

2006-04-07T17:28:00.000-04:00

If you're interested, you can catch the live webcast of the International Symposium on Online Journalism (April 7-8, University of Texas, Austin). You'll need the latest version of Quicktime. During the event, you can e-mail questions for the panels or any comments.

FINAL PROJECT - THE "NEW" NEW YORKERS

2006-04-07T14:00:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone-

Now that Issue 4 is just a fond memory, I wanted to give you all
some things to think about over the weekend.

First of all, my primary mode of communication about deadlines and
other information will be the blog. In reality, we are producing
two projects - the final project website, and the class blog on
blogger, nyc24. So at the risk of sounding more like Sree than I'm
comfortable with, you should be checking the blog every day, and
posting often.

We are going to do a few things differently for this project. With
the exception of ths week's pitches, we will be staggering all
other deadlines. I am telling you this now for a few reasons. One
is to warn you to pay attention to your specific deadlines. But
more importantly, I want you to realize that you will be working on
a much more expedited timeline than you have been thus far. So plan
your lives (and your reporting) accordingly.

As Jeff and Duy mentioned, you may be coming up with pitches on your
own, but reporting out your stories with multimedia will requre
everyone to pitch in. Right away, when you schedule an interview,
or know you are going to an event, your first emails should be to
Erik, who is the photo editor, and Khody, the multimedia editor.
Let them know where you're going and what you need, (and listen to
their input about what you need) and they will help to hook you up
with someone to shoot video, man the marantz, or take photos.

I encourage all of you to attend the immigration march on Monday and
I will be posting details to the blog this weekend regarding times
and locations. A few of you will be asked to cover the march, and
capture still photos and audio.(If you have an interest in covering
it, contact me ASAP) But even if you aren't covering it, it is a
great opportunity to brainstorm and get ideas.

The editorial team will be having a big-picture meeting on Tuesday,
April 11th, from 5-7PM. It is mandatory for the editors, but anyone
who wants to attend is welcome and encouraged to do so. I'll blog
more details once I have secured a location.

Finally, the preliminary deadline schedule for next week is as
follows. You will note that you have two pitch deadlines--your
initial pitches on Wednesday and your revised pitches on Thursday.
This way, by Thursday night, your pitches should be in great shape,
and we will have plenty of options.

DEADLINE SCHEDULE FOR NEXT WEEK:
(BE PREPARED: ADDITIONAL DEADLINES WILL BE ADDED)

EDITORS' BRAINSTORMING MEETING:
5 PM, APRIL 11, LOCATION TBD.
*THIS IS AN OPEN MEETING - ALL ARE WELCOME*

PITCH DEADLINE:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 12 NOON
3 STORY PITCHES, TO ERIN AND ANNE

3 complete, well-thought pitches, fitting into the theme of The
"New" New Yorkers. We want to know how and why each pitch fits into
the theme, who you've spoken to, and possible multimedia angles.

Anne and I will return your pitches, with comments, APRIL 12, BY
5PM.

REVISED PITCHES DUE: THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 3PM, TO ERIN AND ANNE

CLASS: PITCH NIGHT, 6:30 PM

Miscellaneous notes:
Wednesday, April 12 begins the first night of Passover. I know some
of you will be unable to attend class on Thursday, the 13th; if
that is the case, just please let me know ahead of time, and we'll
arrange a time to talk about your pitch before class.

Any questions, concerns, problems -- you can reach me at either my
cell or home phone, on the blog, or by email.

Good luck on your pitches, and check the blog this weekend.

Erin

Final Project Positions

2006-04-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

EDITORIAL BOARD

Executive Editor: Erin Blakeley
Managing Editor: Anne Machalinski
Production Editor: Alex Eule
Multimedia Editor: Khody Akhavi

Q/A Editors: Sushil Cheema, Sarah Feightner, Tripp Mickle
Design Editors: Courtney McLeod, Rebecca Castillo, Jessica Arabski
Photo Editor: Erik Wander

REPORTERS/PRODUCERS:

Jill Bauerle
Dakin Campbell
Larisson Campbell
Rodrigo Campos
Maria Castro
Cardiff Garcia
Julia Drapkin
Kylene Kiang
Abe Lebovic
Susan Lee
Mariana Martinez Estens
Matt Reed
Cherry Sricharatchanya
Alissa Swango
Cara Tabachnick

fonts for issue 4

2006-04-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Many people have asked me about this. Fonts for issue 4 are arial for text, verdana for captions and headlines. Colors are same as always -- white, black, gray (666666 or 999999).

job fair tip

2006-04-06T19:53:00.000-04:00

hey kids,

the following is a super-secret, sure-fire interviewing technique (at least in the publishing world -- jeff can shoot this down if it's a bad idea in real-world journalism).

at the end of the interview, your interviewer will ask you: "do you have any questions for me?"

your answer: "WHAT ARE YOUR RESERVATIONS ABOUT HIRING ME?"

be prepared for an honest answer, and have a rebuttal ready that'll put all their doubts to rest.

good luck,
sarah

From Tripp's e-mail...

2006-04-06T16:54:00.000-04:00

Mark Twain wrote, "It's a worthy thing to fight for one's freedom,
it's another sight finer to fight for another man's."

Sharon Engeldrum, the wife of a New York City fire fighter, found
those words among her husband's papers after he was killed by a
roadside bomb in Iraq. In many ways, they encapsulate the power and
the potential of a final project on the way the Iraq War has hit
home in New York City.

You might say the Iraq War is overplayed, but ask yourself: when
have you seen it fully examined here in New York?

If we undertook that effort, we'd find ourselves in the midst of a
project brimming with human emotion. Everything from patriotic
passion to sorrow at the loss of family to political frustration
could be found with a click at www.nyc24.org. It's hard to imagine
anything more compelling.

During the mayoral race last fall, Bloomberg refused to comment on
the war, saying it was not a local issue. Let's prove the mayor
wrong. Here are 15-20 stories that might do so:

- a multimedia presentation on the 37-plus New Yorkers who have died
in the war with a break out feature article or two on the most
compelling stories that haven't been told (all modeled after the
Times portraits of grief after 9/11
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/portraits/)

- a story on how a family has dealt with the loss of a loved one

- a story on how a soldier who has returned has
struggled/triumphed/succeeded/failed in reacclimating to life in
the states

- a story on local Iraqis and their perspective on the war

- - A profile of a veteran who was fitted last week with the first
prosthetic leg that uses artificial intelligence to help its wearer
walk.

- Recruiters and those being recruited. Which high schools and
neighborhoods are being targeted?

- - Other amputees and injured veterans in NYC. These types of
stories appear often, but there's room for more
coverage. There have been more than 16,000 U.S. casualties.

-- a look at the Fighting 69th, NYC's national guard group that
served a long stint abroad

-- An Iraqi psychologist who was important in developing treatment
for post-traumatic stress disorder used to be based at the Brooklyn
VA (he might be retired now).

-- 9/11 families and their evolving feelings toward the Iraq War. Do
they feel the memories of their loved ones were properly or
improperly appropriated to go to war in Iraq?

-- Views from Wall Street and university economists on the war's
effect on national debt, oil supply and potential long-term effects
on the national and world economy.

-- Attitudes and opinions of 18 year-olds: How would they feel if a
draft were put in place? I know a draft is unlikely, but the biggest
reason the war is often ignored is because of the lack of a draft.

-- Attitudes and opinions of firemen toward the war.

-- Profiles of families of servicemen and women.

-- Organizers of protests and counter-protests. Are street protests
still relevant?

-- the cost of the war - Stieglitz and his research into the war -
what's this guy's story? how did a famous economist decide to
calculate the war's cost?

Look, there was some skepticism in the room about whether or not
this story could be told from a multimedia platform. Remember that
every story can, it just requires creativity. Here some examples of
narratives told in multimedia worth reviewing:

http://msnbc.com/modules/flash%5Fmediateam/ps%5F051025%5Ffunerals/
http://boston.com/news/special/audio_slideshows/vets/vet.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/content/multimedia/20060226katrina/
http://www.fotoco.dk/flash/ireland/UK/indexUK.php

NYC's Dynamic Art Scene

2006-04-05T21:25:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks,
Here is the ART pitch. Enjoy. And good luck to the other pitches, they are good ideas and I am sure that whatever we choose will be a very strong project.

New York City has always considered itself the cultural capital of the world. Some of the world’s greatest museums, galleries, forums, and designers call the city home. But, as a new century is ushered in, New York’s status as the “cultural capital of the world,” is in jeopardy more than ever. Boiled down, this theme is: The changing state of NYC’s art scene in the 21sst century.

I think we should strike out on our own and do something that is unique and cutting edge. It hasn’t been done in a multimedia/online way or in a way that gets into people’s lives and real concerns. This has the potential for us to take it to the next level, act as a resource for NYC artists, arts supporters, and others. With this theme we can build a real readership.

It also has the greatest potential of the three themes, for my money, to fully engage the audience through multimedia and interactivity. Art is visual (in most respects); the Internet is visual. They really make a perfect match.

Our project could begin to address what is happening in and around the NYC art world. This can include stories in visual and multimedia - art, music, film, literature, outsider art, and genuine weirdness. There are few constraints except that we are trying to capture the stories that characterize the art scene in NYC, here and now, and trying to dig deep to cover artists and scenes doing truly different and expanding things.

As Duy said in class one day there are three things that make a good story: something challenges traditional convention, something changes, and something that’s been overlooked. We have all three in spades with this theme.

Before I continue I should address the other themes. The Iraq War theme is an important story, but in my mind it is too “heavy” and emotional for us to be working on it for a month. And as spring arrives, readers may not have much patience to make their way around the site. I think multimedia would be a little hard and I don’t think we want videos of families crying. It may make for engaging TV but is that what we want to be covering for our last month in school? I also think access would be kind of hard; not all families will want to talk to us, and government officials will almost certainly not.

With New New Yorkers, immigration seems like it is shaping up to be the issue of the year. But because of this, every media outlet you can think of is devoting huge amounts of space and covering it on many levels. It already feels a little played out and I worry that joining the discussion now might look a little bandwagon-ish. Five months from now when we expect our site to have legs, will our audience be oversaturated with immigration news?

On the other hand there is the right type of buzz about the state of the art scene in NYC. It is a story – many people are worried the city is losing its creative class – but it has not yet been covered to death.

See these resources for background of what’s been done lately:
A study done in December 2005 by the Center for Urban Progress: http://www.nycfuture.org/content/home/index.cfm?CFID=20839531&CFTOKEN=47210562
Or this report on WNYC:
http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/58821
Or these NYTimes articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/arts/05recr.html?_r=1&oref=login
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70B12F63D540C7B8DDDAB0994DD404482

Here is a small sample of story ideas that would fit the theme. It is just a starting point and your input is wanted and expected, but they should illustrate that there are many, many possibilities:

• Making it (and not making it) in the NYC art world. What does it take, now vs. then
• Richard Florida on the death of the “creative class” (http://www.creativeclass.org/)
• Richard Florida talks about educating and nurturing a new generation of artists as a way to grow our economy. What does he mean? Do others agree, and what are they doing about it? Why have math and science careers and education received all of the press lately?
• Philadelphia, the new Williamsburg?
• What about Bushwick? How do artists lead the housing wave into a new frontier neighborhood? What do they think about it?
• The Freelancer’s Union – artists and health care
• Immigration issues for foreign-born artists (see above article on Yo-Yo Ma’s plea before a House panel)
• Creative solutions to the lack of affordable studio space in NYC (ex. Exit Art, http://www.exitart.org/traffic/)
• Five minutes of fame – what happens to an artist/art form after its 5 minutes of fame are over? (ex. graffitti artists)
• City Hall’s new plans to support artists and nonprofit art institutions
• How senior citizens affect the art world. Are they making art? Donating to art institutions? What does this mean for the arts if our country is becoming older?
• Immigrants who have come here and make art? Is it influenced by their native country? Will there growing presence influence the art scene in some way?
• How do artists benefit from gentrification? Talk to Franco the famous store grate painter along 125th street. What does he think about the gentrifying of Harlem?
• In MOMA’s recent contemporary art show the large majority of art featured was installation pieces, and specifically video installation pieces. Why? What does this mean for other art forms?
• What is the resale value on video installation art? Are art collectors on the UWS buying video art?
• There are many private art collections in Harlem that are substantial and little known. What will happen to these collections? Who are the people who have them and what do they expect to do with them? How did they survive the decades of decay in Harlem before its present resurgence?
• Is the “Bodies exhibit” art? What kind of an influence will emerging technologies in fields outside of art have on the art world.
• Alex Gray has a gallery in Chelsea just like many other artists. Yet Gray creates “transformative art” that shows people meditating with visible chakras and energy fields. Gray has been hailed - I think - by Ken Wilber, an American philosopher and psychologist, for his progressive art and expanding concepts.
• How has the definition about what is art and what is not changed over time? How is it defined now? Who is in charge of this concept?
• What does the corporate marketing of cool mean for good old authentic artists? How is it changing our world?
• Rodrigo and I know an artist that takes photos of himself suspended by a harness from bridges, buildings, the ceiling. He then removes the harness from the finished image. How did his art come out of his comfort with hanging hundreds of feet up in the air by a harness. Is he a rock climber? Did he have to learn to tie knots and use a harness to advance his art? How did this affect his identity as an artist?

the iraq pitch debate

2006-04-05T20:45:00.000-04:00

hey all -- duy wanted this added to the blog, so for the record:

Quoting Matt Reed
I think there has been little pre-reporting all around, on all of the ideas. Access could be a problem on the other ideas, too. But, yeah, I admit that access could be an issue here.

As for importance and impact: I think part of the story is the war's potential for greater impact. It doesn't look like the situation in Iraq is getting any better, and could get a lot worse, and that could have negative consequences for a lot of things, everywhere. And the fact that U.S. voters have had the luxury of ignoring the war is, for me, a reason to put it back in their face.

What's going on in Washington and Baghdad is, of course, more important. But we are a New York publication in name, if not in reach.

mattreed8@mac.com

************************

Hi all --

Let me preface this by saying that the Iraq theme could be really exciting. I have a few reservations, though, and a few questions:

- Access: Access is key with this theme. Have the folks behind the Iraq pitch done any pre-reporting? Do we know how hard it's going to be to get sources (esp. vets and grieving families) to talk to us?

- Importance: While the war may be having a local impact on NYC, the REAL story is happening in Baghdad and the back rooms of Capitol Hill. Are we covering the smoke instead of the fire?

- Impact: What impact HAS the war had on NYC? It hasn't had the impact of past wars on the U.S., either in terms of loss of life (WWII) or a culture shift (Vietnam). I would argue that the reason the war has gone on so long is because it HASN'T had a local impact on the majority of U.S. citizens, giving voters the luxury of ignoring the war's effect abroad.

I'm not saying that any of these are deal breakers, I just want to know how we'll answer these ?s for ourselves and our readers.

- Sarah

************************

Quoting Matt Reed
Hi everyone,

Tripp's pitch probably deserved more support from me Thursday night, which is why I'm writing this e-mail.

I became interested in this idea last fall when Bloomberg refused to comment on the war during the campaign, saying it was not a local issue. I disagree. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I think the decision to invade Iraq has the potential to be even more disastrous, for everyone. And I think the war is unique to New York because the memory of 9/11 was used to justify the invasion.

I first thought this could be like the Times' Portraits of Grief of 9/11 victims (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/portraits/index.html) -- quick profiles of the 37 NYC soldiers who died in Iraq. But there are other potential stories:

-- A profile of a veteran who was fitted last week with the first prosthetic leg that uses artificial intelligence to help its wearer walk.
-- Other amputees and injured veterans in NYC. I regularly see these types of stories, but I still think it doesn't receive enough coverage. There have been more than 16,000 U.S. casualties.
-- An Iraqi psychologist who was important in developing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder used to be based at the Brooklyn VA (he might be retired now).
-- 9/11 families and their evolving feelings toward the Iraq War. Do they feel the memories of their loved ones were properly or improperly appropriated to go to war in Iraq?
-- Views from Wall Street and university economists on the war's effect on national debt, oil supply and potential long-term effects on the national and world economy.
-- Attitudes and opinions of 18 year-olds: How would they feel if a draft were put in place? I know a draft is unlikely, but the biggest reason the war is often ignored is because of the lack of a draft.
-- Attitudes and opinions of firemen toward the war.
-- Iraqi-Americans in NYC.
-- Profiles of families of servicemen and women.
-- Organizers of protests and counter-protests. Are street protests still relevant?
-- Recruiters and those being recruited. Which high schools and neighborhoods are being targeted?

Khody said Thursday night that the primary priorities for choosing our final project should be whether a project lends itself to multimedia and whether we have access. He's right. Having a news hook is also important. Whether or not it is interesting to the majority of the class comes next.

"The New New Yorkers" is a great idea and would be a great choice -- lots of angles and opportunities for multimedia, and a news hook with immigration looking to be one of the top political issues of the year. But "Iraq Hits Home" would make a bigger splash. When a New Yorker dies in Iraq, its just a two day story, as we saw last fall. Coverage of the war's effect here at home isn't commensurate with its effect or potential effect. We should try to change that.

Matt

************************

Other comments?
- Sarah

My $.02 about the final project

2006-04-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd post ideas/comments from a few conversations I've had with other people in the class.

It seems that the new NYers, art is NY and Iraq are getting the most back & forth, and for good reason. The other ideas still haven't been flushed out in class, via e-mail or on the blog. So, I'm only addressing these three.

I would be happy working on any of these topics. They all have their individual strengths and weaknesses, which I see as the following:

New New Yorkers:
Strengths:
-Easy multimedia. Audio slideshows and videos work well with stories about people and their experiences. I also think a front page has other graphics that would work well: statistics on new groups (per Erin's pitch last week), maps of where people have come from, historical trends, etc.
-Wide open topic. Each reporter the ability to report on what they're interested in. There are excellent business, education, culture, technology, etc. stories in this topic, which I think is an asset to the reporters.
-Strong nutgraph. Immigration is at an all time high, new groups are coming in (again, stats from Erin's part of the pitch).
-Is about NEW YORK. A few of the other ideas feel like they can be done as well, if not better, from other places.
Weaknesses:
-Tying it all togther. This is a big topic, and it might be difficult for editors to make it cohesive.

Art in New York / the Creative Class:
Strengths:
-Easy multimedia. (see above) And, art makes it even more interesting to create strong multimedia. This could be VERY engaging in a multimedia format.
-Open to all types of stories. Similar to above, there are certainly business, arts and technology stories here.
Weaknesses:
-How to tie it together? Do we pick an idea we're trying to support? Last week some talk about the creative class dying - is this are topic, or only one story?
-What is the news peg? Artists have been moved out of their locations for years. SoHo, Williamsburg...not sure if this is new.

Iraq
Strengths:
-It's big and important. No other class has picked such a serious topic in the past. This could be amazing...or it could totally flop.
-News peg/Timely.
-Tight theme. Would all flow well together.
Weaknesses:
-Because it's a tight theme, there are less options in terms of stories to cover.
-Access.
-Multimedia?
-The story isn't in New York.

So, I think these are things we all really need to think about tonight. What I keep going back to: as our final project both in this class and at Columbia (except for us part timers), what is a project we can all feel passionate about? I think that while a strong final product is important, it's equally important that each person brings something out of this that they can showcase to potential future employers.

My gut feeling, New New Yorkers or Art. But, the vote tomorrow will tell...

Response to The New New Yorkers pitch

2006-04-05T17:11:00.000-04:00

Personally, I would really like doing The New New Yorkers. I think it is an interesting topic, but I worried last week that the original pitch was too broad. Expanding it beyond immigration makes it, for me, definitely too broad. I would rather that The New New Yorkers idea was defined down to, say, immigrant groups that only began arriving en masse in the last 20 years. Or even some other theme that would set us apart from all the other immigration reporting likely to be churned out over the next few months.

Our first issue was criticized for having stories disconnected from one another and too remote from the Power theme. I feel like The New New Yorkers idea would make the same mistake if it were expanded to the point that any reporter could interpret the topic to whatever story happened to interest them.

I'm not writing this just to push the Iraq idea. I could also live with Art in New York if I had a better sense of what exactly we would do with it, and if it had a a focus that would generate stories that have clear commonality.

THE "NEW" NEW YORKERS

2006-04-05T14:12:00.000-04:00

So I wanted to write with a flushed out breakdown of The "New" New Yorkers, in anticipation of the final project pitches on Thursday.

Some of you balked at the idea of solely covering immigration, for reasons of access, or interest, what have you. So I'd like to propose a revised theme, and tagline: The "New" New Yorkers: So Much More than Bunch of Immigration Stories.

I am not excluding immigration stories, mind you--far from it. I just think this idea has room to be much more broad, and can (and should) include newcomers from around the world, and across the U.S.

New York City is a city of turnover, of comings and goings, of moving in and moving out. People come here from all over the world, to gain a foothold in this country, to escape poverty and persecution, to make a living. To carve out a new identity.

But they also come here from every corner of this country. They are relocated from Seattle, or San Antonio or New England. They come to start a career, or to take their shot on Broadway. Or they come here to expand a business that has never existed in New York before, like the new Trader Joe's that just opened in Union Square. Or to bring an industry that hasn't existed here before--like the Biotech industry, which is making a splash in New York with the under-construction East River Science Park.

But its not just business that brings people to New York. Its leisure, too. Its the growing numbers of older people who are retiring to New York, as opposed to Florida or California, mirroring the growing number of people nationally who are retuiring to cities rather than golf courses. Or they are grown children who move to New York to live closer to their parents. College students seeking summer internships. People chooising to raise families here, rather than elsewhere.

Its people who move to New York to seek medical treatment for a rare ailment, or to seek out a specialist or surgeon that they couldn't find where they were from. I have heard stories of people moving clear across the country to seek out a pediatric oncologist in New York; since these are treatments that often take years, families pick up and move, rather than live fragmented lives.

In short, the "New" New Yorkers are everywhere, everyday, building their lives here. We see The "New" New Yorkers as a theme that has something for everyone--there are art stories, music stories, business stories, immigration stories, and quirky offbeat stories. There is enough to keep everyone busy, and to allow everyone to select their own interests and to carve out their own path.

The only requirement is that you report on the people and institutions who are looking upon this city with fresh eyes.

Exporting sound from Final Cut

2006-04-04T17:03:00.000-04:00

Has anyone exported sound from video they captured on Final Cut (so you could use it elsewhere, like an audio slideshow)? It doesn't seem to let me export sound as an MP3--is there any other format, eg. WAV, that will work?

Thanks!
-Aili

New Media Reading ...

2006-04-04T04:30:00.000-04:00

For Future Readers, Papers Should Look Online (WaPo -- April 4)

New Trends in Online Traffic (WaPo -- April 4)

Generation of IM Users Make Lives Transparent (WaPo -- April 4)

As Magazine Readers Turn to the Web, So Does Condé Nast (NYT -- April 3)

Times Redesign

2006-04-02T23:53:00.000-04:00

The NYTimes.com redesign caused quite an uproar among my coworkers. What do you guys think?

Reminder: Final Project Ballot

2006-03-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

Visit this link to fill out a ballot for your final project positions. The deadline is Monday, April 3, by noon.

Also, would each "pitch" group designate someone to post their final project pitch to the blog at some point? I think there were seven or eight final project pitches at last count. It would be helpful to see them all in one place.

Copy deadline and photo/audio deadline

2006-03-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to send a reminder out about Friday's deadline. Send your copy to Jen and your editor by 6 p.m.

The next deadline is Tuesday, April 4. Send photos and audio to your assigned editor by 6 p.m. Include your two best photos and please also make sure to include photo credits and headlines. As far as audio, each group should send a total of at least 30 seconds of finished sound.

Issue 4 overview

2006-03-29T16:22:00.000-05:00

Here are the remaining deadlines for issue 4, as well as information about fonts, color, and assigned story numbers.

Deadlines:
Copy | Friday, March 31 by 6 p.m. Send to Jen and your editor.
Two best photos | Tuesday, April 4 by 6 p.m. Send to your editor.
Multimedia elements | Thursday, April 6. Send to your editor.
Finish sites | noon on Friday, April 7.

Fonts:
Arial for the text, Verdana for captions and headlines

Colors:
Same standards as before…white, black, gray (666666 or 999999) plus
one color of your choice.

Group numbers:
1. Maria/Sarah
2. Rebecca/Alissa
3. Tripp/Abe
4. Cara/Erin/Aili
5. Khody/Cardiff
6. Matt/Anne
7. Jill/Sushil
8. Courtney/Larrison
9. Rodrigo/Julia
10. Erik/Mariana

2006-03-27T12:47:00.000-05:00

I think it’s time to throw my idea hat into the ring as well. I agree, to a certain extent, with Anne and Erin about the place themes seeming a little tired but I am not so quick to give up. In past years perhaps the reporting or story ideas added to what seemed like a played out theme (No offense intended for last years’ classes). But with good story ideas like this class is capable of I think we can get people to re imagine a place that they may take for granted.

I’d like to propose waterways as a theme. As it gets warm around here think about how nice it will be reporting along and on the waterways of NY. We can find unique people that use the water for recreation, study; do projects on the state of the waterways; and look at them from any number of angles. I think in a theme like this there is something for everyone no matter what your taste in stories - a wide variety of stories that would be of interest for us in reporting them and for readers to our site.

And I think our theme, whether it is waterways or not, needs to be place or idea based. Although people make every story compelling, as a theme I think they can be too diffuse. Places, though they may seem played out, give a physical location in which to base the story. It makes it much easier for the reader to gain their footing in the context before being taken on a bunch of diversions and stories.

In talking to Tripp he mentioned an idea Matt Reed had (and I hope Matt doesn’t mind me putting this out there) about a project that looks at the Iraq war’s influence on NY. This is what I am talking about when I say idea-based. In my mind it doesn’t have to center on politics or conflict, and can move off into artists’ take and any number of other things you might not think of when originally thinking of the idea. And Matt please jump in here if I have it wrong or you want to add anything.

It is a grander idea that moves us above the simple place theme, but it has a very good central premise. If you like the waterways theme let me know, we can sharpen story ideas and make it into a great pitch. If you like Matt’s idea, reach out to him or post to the blog.

But my personal thought on the people-based themes is that it doesn’t feel concrete or compelling enough. Again, just my thought and thanks Erin and Anne for advancing the discussion.

Before you publish issue 3

2006-03-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,

I really like what you've done with issue 3 -- great improvements all around.

A few things to consider before you publish:
I love the flash movie on the hp, but it does'nt link to anything. That's an awful lot dead real estate.
The video blog link is dead
If you havent' done so, I would definitely consider linking to your personal Web site on your bylines. This is the time when you are looking for jobs, so promote yourself as much as possible.
On that note, you could also link to your personal sites on the about us page and the "about this issue page". I would deifnitley link to the articles on the about this issue page.

Cheerio,
jen

Final Project Job Descriptions

2006-03-24T23:29:00.000-05:00

Below are the job descriptions for the final project. Please read them all before submitting your ballot. You may discover an interest in a position you hadn't been considering.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR BALLOT:

Visit this link to access the ballot.
Fill out ALL fields.
You can only submit your ballot once, so please make sure it's correct before hitting send.
The deadline to submit a ballot is Monday, April 3, at noon.
If you have questions about any of the positions or their time commitments, I suggest emailing me or Jen Brown, since we've both gone through this process before.

FINAL PROJECT JOB DESCRIPTIONS

TOP FOUR EDITORS:

1) Executive Editor (1): The executive editor will oversee the entire staff and be the final decision-maker on all matters. This person will set all deadlines and ensure they are met. The executive editor will be responsible for coordinating and planning all aspects of the site, including its vision, scope and editorial voice. This 800-pound gorilla reports to the instructors (publishers). Availability: Must be able to meet frequently with the other editors. Be prepared to spend the last four weeks of school in 511C.

2) Managing Editor (1): This person will manage the content of the entire site and serve as assignment editor. This editor will ensure that all pitches have been vetted and that reporters stay on theme and on deadline. The managing editor will edit all copy, with help from the Q/A editors and others, if necessary. Reports to the executive editor. Availability: Must be able to meet frequently with the other editors and invidually with reporters. Be prepared to spend the last four weeks of school in 511C.

3) Production Editor (1): The production editor will oversee the designers and Q/A editors as they assemble the site. They will also be responsible for managing the site's file structure and ensuring that the site works properly -- from broken images and broken links to pop-ups and interactive elements. This person should understand how the basic file structure of a Web site works and be very comfortable using Dreamweaver. Problem-solving skills are a major plus. Reports to the executive editor. Availability: This person should be available to meet frequently with the main editors, as well as the designers and Q/A editors. Be prepared to spend the last four weeks of school in 511C.

4) Multimedia Editor (1): This editor will work with the designers and reporters to create a multimedia-rich final project. The editor will work closely with each reporters to execute any multimedia elements -- from audio to flash to interactive graphics. This editor should ensure that multimedia elements fit within the theme of the final project and that the appearance of these elements are consistent with the rest of the site. Reports to the executive editor. Availability: This person should be available to meet frequently with the main editors, as well as the designers and Q/A editors. Be prepared to spend the last four weeks of school in 511C.

OTHER POSITIONS:

1) Reporters (16): Reporters play a vital role in the final project, generating all of the content for the site. Reporters will write all copy, record all audio and video and develop any interactive elements related to their stories. In doing so, they will work closely with the appropriate editors to deliver content on deadline. Reports to the managing editor. Availability: While you must make yourself available to various editors and your sources, this position does offer some flexibility since much of the work is done on your own or in small groups. You are required to meet all deadlines set by the executive editor.

2) Designers (3): Designers will work within their given deadlines to develop the look-and-feel of the site, with guidance from the four main editors. They will also be responsible for assembling each page of the site with help from reporters, the photo editor, etc. Reports to the production editor. Availability: This job requires a lot of front-end work during the development of the site's appearance and structure. Obviously, there will be many meetings at the beginning to hammer out the design. This designers will work steadily throughout the month, with a big push at the end to assemble all pages.

3) Q/A Editors (copy editors) (3): The Q/A editors will make sure the copy is clean and adheres to AP and "final project" style guidelines. They will also make sure every link, pop-up, interactive graphic, etc. is working properly. If something on the site is broken, they must work with the appropriate people to fix it. These three individuals will also be charged with creating a style guide (to address situations outside the realm of the AP stylebook) and making that guide available to the class. The managing editor may call on the Q/A editors to help edit the large amount of raw copy. Reports to the managing editor and production editor. Availability: These editors will need to quickly develop style guidelines, including font type and size, caption and headline style, as well as any style points that aren't covered in the AP stylebook. There will be a slight lull before copy comes in (staggered deadlines will help here). You must be available in the final stages to look over copy with a fine-tooth comb.

4) Photo Editor (1): The photo editor will work with reporters to select the best photos for stories and multimedia elements. They will also make sure that every photo and its caption (whether stand-alone or part of a larger multimedia project) adheres to the style guidelines set by the Q/A editors. This person will also help organize photo and video shoots, ensuring that every event is covered and that cameras or other equipment are available for use. May require close contact with the school's equipment-room staff. Reports to the multimedia editor.

2006-03-24T18:33:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have already seen this, but I thought I'd pass it on. Take a look at a St. Patrick's day search for a leperchaun (sp?) in Mobile, Alabama.

Sushil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8&search=mobile%20alabama

Re: Final Project Ideas

2006-03-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

Erin/Class -

I was similarly trying to think of ideas around people in New York, so was happy to see that Erin agrees the "place" themes seem a bit tired. Check out this v. cool presentation on MediaStorm, called CloseUp. It's just a flash presentation of human faces, but got me thinking how interesting NYers really are - and how amazing it would be to do a people-based theme. (http://mediastorm.org/0002.htm) Actually, the work on MediaStorm is generally really interesting and worth a good look moving into the final project (http://mediastorm.org)

Personally, I love stories on old people. It's relatively easy getting access, esp. when someone is retired, older people have rich histories and great stories to tell! And, as Duy mentioned before, this would allow all of us reporting to go back to those RW1 (or other) stories we've been wanting to tell and see them through now. And, as Erin said, there's a built in news peg. I also love the idea of "The New New Yorkers." I think it'd be more difficult to focus on one specific group...but the idea of telling stories of new arrivals is a really interesting concept.

Ok, that's my $.02. I agree, let's start having a discussion now so we can all find something we feel passionately about and agree on.

Anne.

FINAL PROJECT...IDEAS.

2006-03-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

A few ideas popped into my head regarding the final project in the last week or so, and I thought I'd throw them out there to you guys. For one, I think that "place" themes have been done to death. The 7 train, Central Park, New York's Other Islands--even the Emprie State Building, which I would describe as an iconic theme rather than strictly a place, still revolves around an actual place. So I was thinking that we might want to pick a thematic structure that wasn't geographic.

One thing I thought of was that we could do a population-based issue. "Growing Older in New York", for instance, and covering the population of people over 60 living in the city. There are a number of story tie-ins, in health care, education, lifestyle, finance, legal rights, etc. And as a news peg, the first of the baby-boomers began turning 60 this year--so stories about older adults are timely.

Of course, if old people aren't your thing, we could always switch to the other end of the lifespan--"Growing Up in New York". The tie-ins are obvious, and we have a built in nut--for the first time in several years, the population of children under the age of 5 is growing. This growth has already had an effect on school enrollments, and is undoubtedly affecting other areas of city life.

Aside from age, we could also focus on one ethnic group or region of immigration--"Africans in New York", "Chinese New Yorkers", Mexican New Yorkers. Or we could play off the NYC Department of Population's report "The New New Yorkers", and focus the theme around new arrivals--from immigrants, to college students, to recent graduates, to foreign diplomats, to new businesses.

So, those are all the ideas I have right now. I'd love to hear thoughts, or get some more discussion going on the final theme topics. Our final issue should be awesome, so we can all get cool jobs, and more importantly, trash talk the Jens about why our project is better than either of theirs.

eb.

Sounds

2006-03-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

Hey guys-

Cara, AIli and I are working on a story about sound archiving, and an exciting project at Columbia University. What is a sound archivist? Why is sound archiving becoming a popular career choice?

Find out Thursday during pitch night...

Erin, Cara, and Aili

Privacy Issue | Sunday Times Story

2006-03-19T21:38:00.000-05:00

Group 2, writing on the Orthodox man who had his photo taken in Times Square - article in the NYT Arts&Leisure section today about the photographer, etc. Some of it is v. similar to where you were going w/ your version...BUT, will be much better told online!

Read the Times story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/arts/design/19phot.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

Car Alarms

2006-03-19T15:21:00.000-05:00

For the sound issue, Anne and Matt will pitch a story on the campaign to ban car alarms in New York.

Sending Video From Laptops

2006-03-16T11:42:00.000-05:00

Lost Remote: "AP and Sprint are partnering on SNAPfeed which will enable reporters and photogs to send video back to the newsroom right from their laptops."

2006-03-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

I happened to land on Personal Democracy Forum tonight and found this post http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/852 for a journalism scholarship for the story that best captures citizen journalism. Since citizen journalism is part of our mandate, in my view, I thought I would point it out.

Shotgun!

2006-03-14T18:35:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about the next issue, Soundz, and want to put in a claim on doing a podcast on the theme of analog vs. digital, what the difference in sound is, and why vinyl record sales are almost back up to the levels of the 1970s.

state of the media

2006-03-13T13:32:00.000-05:00

Here's some nice vactaion reading for you,

The State of the News Media 2006

Cheers,
Jen

Stylish Online Media

2006-03-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

A front-page article in the Style section of yesterday's Times talks about what's going on in new media. Good-bye Silicon Valley, hello Manhattan. New media start-ups are making money and attracting investors with deep pockets. The map they use is cool, too.
Click here for article.

Google Page Ranking

2006-03-11T17:30:00.000-05:00

Dakin mentioned in class that a Google search for his name now brings up the NYC24 staff box. This reminded of something Sree said in the fall about linking to our personal Web sites. The more links to our Web sites there are, the greater the rank Google gives our Web sites. It's explained here.

Sree said that new media students from last year are all at the top or near the top, partly because they included links to each other's sites on their own sites. For example, here's what happened when I did a search for Sean Leahy.

Given the state of my Web site right now, I'm not sure I want people who search my name to then see it at the top. But it could help in the coming months with job searches. If anyone wants me to post a link on my site to their page, let me know.

ISSUE 3 Deadlines

2006-03-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hey Class:

Per class discussion tonight, send your nutgraf, multimedia descriptions and links by 6 p.m. tomorrow to Jeff (jcg1@optonline.net). Copy on that e-mail your reporting partner, your editor, me (anne.machalinski@gmail.com), Duy (duy@resolutionseven.com) and Jen (jenniferbrooke@gmail.com).

The following are ALL deadlines for this issue:

Fri, 3/10 6p | Nutgraf, multimedia explanation, links (both embedded and extra)

Fri, 3/17 6p | Story copy (send to editor and me). Yes, this is early, but almost every team had comments from issue 2 on a need for more reporting. This will give your editor and Jen time to let you know where there is missing information and for you to do addl. reporting, if necessary.

Tue, 3/21 6p | 3 BEST photos to editor (to use on front page).

Thurs, 3/23 6p | All multimedia elements due. We want to see your multimedia BEFORE class. After class we will check out your web design and look through your copy to make sure all editing changes have been made per instruction.

Fri, 3/24 12p | Page finished.

On copy & photo deadlines, send to both your editor and me. This should straighten out any confusion from earlier issues about who has turned what in, etc. If you don't get something back, need input on your story, etc. - please let us know sooner rather than later. If something is going to be late, you need to let your editor know. While emergencies happen, we need to have better communication in the final issues.

For those of you who are ambitious and want to get started creating your pages, the following are FINAL story assignment numbers (build everything in the public folder).

1. Rodrigo&Erin, Ed. Cardiff
2. Jill&Tripp, Ed. Anne
3. Rebecca&Sarah, Ed. Khodi
4. Dakin&Abe, Ed. Cardiff
5. Courtney&Alex, Ed. Khodi
6. Larrison&Matt Sushil
7. Maria&Susan, Ed. Sushil
8. Erik&Mariana, Ed. Cara
9. Jessica&Cherry, Ed. Alissa
10. Kylene&Julia, Ed. Cara

Colors:
white, black, gray (666666 or 999999) and one color of your choice

We are still figuring out fonts. We will let you know this by Mon, 3/20.

That's it. Will post this to the blog as well. Any questions, please let me know.

Thanks! Anne

I just love New York City

2006-03-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

So... you really never know what will happen in this wonderful city.

Yesterday, after a fun and easy going interview with a private eye in Midtown, where Susan ended up in the hot seat hooked up to a polygraph machine, we were ready to go back to the J-School. But just before taking the subway at Grand Central, a lady selling newspapers at 42nd asked Susan to take over while she went to the bathroom. Within 10 minutes, Susan sold four newspapers at 25 cents each. Way to go Susan.

Anyway, I just thought this would be a good excuse to use the blogg and make Duy happy.