• Christopher Schuetze got into the holiday spirit for The Local with this piece about a store window decoration competition. Joe Walker, meanwhile, wrote about the unclear plans for retail space in an under-construction building. Damiano Beltrami covered a big drug bust.
• Speaking of The Times, Kristen Joy Watts scored the lead photo in a holiday-exodus slideshow.
• Alana Casanova-Burgess earned a Daily News clip with her piece about a row of Harlem buildings slated for a green overhaul. Kate Nocera wrote a first-person piece about testing how fast traffic agents are on the draw. Maria Clark shared the byline on a story about a double-murder in Queens. Rima Abdelakader and Mary Stachyra wrote about the scourge of sex trafficking, interviewing a woman once forced to work in a Queens brothel. Joel Schectman contributed to the paper’s Black Friday coverage.
• Shane Dixon Cavenaugh wrote a piece for the Westside Independent about the crackdown on pedicabs.
• Tim Persinko covered a fraud case sentencing in Manhattan Federal Court for Arkansas Business.
• Sergey Kadinsky’s story about recycling woes in Mott Haven made the Mott Haven Herald. Carla Candia, meanwhile, wrote about the day laborers who congregate on E. 141^st St. and Jackson Ave.
• Karina Ioffee, Sophie Tewa and Nicholas Martinez’s video piece about the hassle of getting rid of e-waste found a home on the News Service, and packages nicely with Karina’s previously published Daily News article.
• Jessica Simeone’s story about an art peddler bounced from the High Line made the New York Post.
• Michael Preston writes about The Boss and David Brooks in his latest post for True/Slant.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• Kristen Joy Watts’ story and slideshow featuring the work of a photographer who chronicled life in a Bucharest children’s oncology ward made The New York Times’ Lens blog.
• Writing for the Times’ Local blog, Mike Reicher examined whether federal stimulus funds will be used to jump-start a development in Downtown Brooklyn.
• Maria Clark sat on the other side of the camera for an interview on BronxTalk, during which she and Prof. Stein spoke about the Mott Haven Herald. Maria also contributed to this Daily News story about the hunt for a serial rapist.
• Speaking of the Daily News, Kate Nocera shared a byline on this front-page story about the probe into an alleged terror plot. Tim Persinko contributed to this follow-up piece about false rape allegations leveled by a Hofstra student. Mark Morales worked on this article about a murder at the Essex House hotel.
• Emily Feldman contributed to NBC Local Integrated Media’s primary coverage. Meanwhile, Maya Pope-Chappell wrote about Twitter’s growing monetary value.
• Jessica Simeone shared a byline on this New York Post story about the murder trial of a garbage truck driver who struck and killed two tourists in Midtown last year – two weeks after he allegedly stopped taking his epilepsy medicine.

In our alumni corner, Rebecca Harshbarger wrote about deadly riots in Uganda that erupted over some men’s anger about women wearing trousers. You’ll find her story in Women’s eNews.

Linnea Covington’s feature article about a 76-year-old roller-skating guru was published by New York Press, after being featured on our 219 Magazine site.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming.

• Rima Abdelkader produced this video about the economy for Al Jazeera.
• Valerie Lapinski was the reporter for this Time.com video piece about wind power.
• Alana Rigal shared a byline with Brigid Bergin (’07) on this WNYC story about the Brooklyn building collapse.
• Speaking of the building collapse: Kristen Joy Watts snapped a picture of the aftermath for The Local, while Jim Flood wrote a follow-up story, as did Mike Reicher, who found the contractor didn’t have proper permits for the work reportedly being done.
• The Straphangers Campaign gave the R train an F — for Filthy, Jessica Simeone reported for the New York Post.
• Kate Nocera wrote about the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots for the Daily News.
• Speaking of the Daily News, Damiano Beltrami and Nick Loomis’ story about struggling immigrant day laborers being forced to cut back on wiring money home to Ecuador made the made the paper’s Queens section. You’ll find Nick’s accompanying audio slideshow on the News Service.
• Xiomara Martinez-White wrote about one of last week’s celebrity deaths – Farrah Fawcett – for People.com.
• Mark Morales wrote for NBC Local Integrated Media about how Time magazine rushed out a special edition commemorative Michael Jackson issue. Emily Feldman also contributed a sidebar to the Jackson coverage.
• Marcella Veneziale interviewed the national PTA president for Parenting.com.
• Nicholas Martinez was the lead researcher for this NBC News piece about former President George H.W. Bush’s latest skydiving adventure.
• Tim Persinko covered a protest by Iranians in Britain for The Independent.

Congrats to all on the clips – and keep ‘em coming!

• Kristen Joy Watts put together a short story and audio slideshow for The Local about an art exhibition featuring the work of Brooklyn Community Housing Services clients.
• Speaking of The Local, Ben Fractenberg filed a piece about a TV show featuring some Fort Greene writers.
• Brian Winkowski worked on this Latina.com video interview with “People’s Court” Judge Marilyn Milian.
• Maria Clark contributed to this dramatic rescue-at-sea story for the Daily News.
• Sergey Kadinsky shared a byline on this Daily News profile of the Queens assistant principal battling Swine Flu.
• Tim Persinko helped out on this Daily News piece about four ATM machines that ended up – empty – at the bottom of the Flushing River.
• Mary Stachyra broke some new for The News with this story about pedicabs coming to Harlem.

In our alumni corner –

• Mathew Warren shared an A-1 byline in Saturday’s New York Times with this great crime piece, which is destined to wind up as a “Law & Order” episode.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

Our News Service was busy this week:

• Joe Walker put together a story and audio slideshow about the recent Building Green Expo.
• Maybe the Yankees’ recent woes can be attributed to karma. Maya Pope-Chappell, Lois DeSocio, Alex Green IV, Nicholas C. Martinez and Rachel Senatore teamed to assemble this multimedia package on how high school ballplayers displaced by the Bombers’ new stadium are still looking for a new home.
• Robert Voris wrote about plans for an 18-story condo that would give DUMBO a free middle school, but potentially block views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Sophia Tewa’s video report on asthma in East Harlem packaged well with Aisha Al-Muslim’s print story, which, as noted previously, made the Daily News.

In our alumni corner, Claudia Cruz found a local angle on Chrysler’s restructuring for the Queens Courier.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• Congratulations to Prof. Trudy Lieberman on the latest edition of the “Talking Health” webcast, which aired live from our TV studio Friday afternoon. The show was produced by Prof. Scotti Williston, with the help of a J-School team that included: Heather Chin, Sophie Cocke, Indrani Datta, Jeanmarie Evelly, Meital Fried, Alex Green IV, Michael Montiel, Rachel Senatore and Lia Wallon.
• Tim Persinko contributed to this front-page Daily News story about the Swine Flu. Sergey Kadinsky shared a byline on this News piece about the proposed tax on plastic bags. Ben Fractenberg reported on a police car accident.
• Jim Flood, working for The Local, went through a rite of passage for any New York reporter: covering a story involving the giant inflated rat. Damiano Beltrami, meanwhile, helped pull together this blog post by a local pastor.
• In our Alumni Corner, Linnea Covington got some major real estate in the Daily News’ Real Estate section with her first-person piece about living in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• Rima Abdelkader’s story about how a material commonly found in cell phones and laptop computers is helping fuel violence in the Congo made The Huffington Post – and got big pickup in the blogosphere.
• Damiano Beltrami also got some play on The Huffington Post with his story about the Zimbabwean health crisis.
• Kate Zhao wrote a post about China’s U.S. Treasury securities holdings for Big Think.
• Kate Nocera wrote a nice sign-of-the-times story for MainStreet.com about how the rickety economy is helping keep some shaky marriages from falling apart.
• Karina Ioffee and Sophia Tewa teamed on this News Service video about a free night out for unemployed Lower East Siders.
• Speaking of our News Service, Marcella Veneziale offered this timely audio slideshow about a Hell’s Kitchen bakery known for its traditional Greek Easter breads.
• Ben Fractenberg is sure to get a bunch of newsroom arm wrestling challenges tomorrow after writing this fun first-person piece for the Daily News.
• Our crew contributed to other Daily News stories: Maria Clark wrote a feature about the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Tim Persinko penned a Good Friday story about one man’s ongoing comeback from addiction. Sergey Kadinsky shared the byline on this story about a Staten Island brush fire. Jeanmarie Evelly wrote about free tax preparation services.

Our Fort Greene Team also has been busy, working for The Local:

• Kristen Joy Watts put together a story and slideshow about the Labor Services Resource Room on Fulton Street. Mary Stachyra covered a public meeting about postal problems in the area. Damiano Beltrami put together a story and a slideshow about a local church that’s broadcasting its services on the radio after a three-decade hiatus.

And from our alumni corner:

• Claudia Cruz, editor of El Correo and staff reporter for The Queens Courier, has been writing for both publications about a spate of gang violence. Check out this piece about two gang-related slayings in Corona.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• Mirva Lempiainen’s very timely – and close to home – story about college students cutting back this year on elaborate Spring fling plans was featured on the News Service.
• Kristen Joy Watts’ touching slideshow about the death – no, the life – of a Ft. Greene matriarch made The Local. Meanwhile, Ben Fractenberg wrote about fundraising efforts by area City Council hopefuls.
• Sandra Roa contributed to this Salon slideshow in which civil rights movement veterans spoke about race and Barack Obama.
• Damiano Beltrami wrote about the NBA and UN’s Basketball Without Borders program for the United Nations Association website.
• The Yankees may have a new park, but some high school ballplayers displaced by the new stadium are being shut out of the action, Maria Clark reported for the Daily News.
• There’s even art in garbage at Coney Island, Tim Persinko found for the Daily News.
• Sergey Kadinsky offered Daily News readers a Page 2 brite on the annual Macy’s Petacular.

Our alumni also have been busy:

• Stephen Bronner’s (’08) capstone, about how New York is losing out to the West Coast as a center of the video game development industry found a home on nycgameindustry.com
• Linnea Covington’s (’08) piece about CUNY fundraising efforts made New York Press.
• NYTimes.com producer Tanzina Vega (’07) reported, narrated and co-produced a story about Lower East Side businesses that won First Place in the Feature Audio Slideshow category at the National Press Photographers Association awards. Meanwhile, the Times’ website was honored with a prestigious Peabody Award.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• The Mott Haven Herald, our latest effort to cover to journalistically underserved neighborhoods, is off to a strong start. Prof. Stein’s staffers, among them Maria Clark, Lindsay Lazarski and Caroline Linton, contributed to the first wave of articles.
• Our other local news venture, The Local, features contributions this week from Kristen Joy Watts (a fun photo) and Mary Stachyra (a piece about a Public Advocate candidates’ forum).
• Marcella Veneziale and Jeanmarie Evelly teamed to report on how pension changes could spur an exodus of nurses. Their story was featured in City Limits.
• In another sign of J-School teamwork, students from Prof. Mifflin’s class – including Nicholas Martinez, Amber Benham, Marcella Veneziale, Collin Orcutt, Maya Pope-Chappell, Kaili Boyd, Xiomara Martinez-White, Lois DeSocio, and Sergey Kadinsky — offered photos and stories about artists working out of Smack Mellon gallery in DUMBO. Their story made the News Service.
• Speaking of our News Service, Robert Voris’ piece about artificial turf wars in city parks was posted this past week.
• Sergey Kadinksy’s account of the impending demise of the Soho DKNY advertisement mural, which started as a local bane and became an icon of the changing neighborhood, was featured in AMNew York.
• Igor Kossov’s article about how merchants along Kings Highway are trying to beat the recession made the Brooklyn Eagle.
• Meanwhile, Tim Persinko’s piece about merchants’ struggles along Brooklyn’s Avenue U found a home in the Daily News.
• Joel Schectman shared the byline on this Daily News story about the murder of a family man in Brooklyn.
• Maria Clark shared a Daily News byline with J-School alum Barry Paddock on another sad murder story.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!

• The second and last part of Carla Murphy’s series on efforts to boost sports opportunities for girls in public schools was featured in Women’s eNews. Carla’s work on this subject has been linked to by Jezebel and Salon.
• Anna Limontas-Salisbury’s story about trees and Brooklyn (this headline writes itself) made the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
• Anastasia Economides’ article about a dispute over a proposal to eliminate some parking spots on Skillman Avenue found a home in The Queens Courier.
• Sarah Trefethen’s piece about plans to rezone Webster Avenue made Norwood News.
• Our Fort Greene Team continues its good work for The Local, the New York Times’ new hyperlocal experiment. A couple of examples: Jim Flood wrote about a theater group that wants to use stories from local folks to put together a play. Mike Reicher uncovered a report detailing lead paint hazards found in a shelter on the grounds of the Walt Whitman Houses.
• Our reporters were all over Sunday’s Daily News. Tim Persinko shared the byline on a front page story about a senseless fire tragedy. Ben Fractenberg contributed to the Natasha Richardson coverage. Joel Schectman scored a solo byline with his story about a bone marrow screening drive aimed at saving a 6-year-old girl. Damiano Beltrami made the Metro page with his profile of Alaa Majeed (it’s not online yet – I’ll keep an eye out). Sergey Kadinsky, meanwhile, contributed to The News’ Richardson coverage in Saturday’s paper. Maria Clark worked on the story of the woman shot by an arrow in Riverdale.

Our News Service was hopping this week, too:

• Rima Abdelkader contributed a multi-media piece about an Iraq-born musician who is a master of the oud, an ancient guitar-like instrument.
• Nick Loomis and Karina Ioffee teamed on an audio slideshow about struggling Latino day laborers in Queens.
• Anastasia Economides offered an audio slideshow about a new interactive website on the history of Brooklyn.

Congrats to all – and keep ‘em coming!