1. COUNTDOWN TO COMMENCEMENT
Masha Gessen, a staff writer at The New Yorker and author of 10 books, will address the Class of 2019 at the school’s 13th commencement on Dec. 13 at TheTimesCenter in New York. “Gessen exemplifies all that our school hopes to inspire in its students: work that is deeply reported, passionate, well-written, and challenging to those in power,” said Dean Sarah Bartlett. Also speaking to the graduates are Walter Smith-Randolph ’10, a reporter with Local 12 in Cincinnati who will represent the alumni, and Natalia Rodriguez-Medina, who was selected by the graduating class as the student speaker. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, the chancellor of the City University of New York, will also speak.
2. WELCOMING THE CURIOUS AND BRAVE
The Class of 2020 arrived this summer, 102 strong and ranging in age from 21 to 60. More than half identify as other than white, and the majority are New Yorkers. Meet one of the students, Kevin Truong, whose journey to campus began nearly 40 years ago in a Malaysian refugee camp.
3. INVESTIGATING THE PERILS OF PRISON HEALTH
When she’s not teaching, Tow Professor Lisa Armstrong has focused her own reporting for several years on solitary confinement and the treatment of the mentally ill in prison. In her most recent story, published on HuffPost and as a 25-minute CBSN documentary, Armstrong profiles a young woman who was diagnosed with serious mental illness and, after being isolated in suicide-watch cells and solitary confinement, ended up taking her own life.
4. NEWS ON CAMPUS
We have two journalists in residence this academic year: Azmat Khan for investigative and Vanessa Botelho for broadcast. Khan is running a reporting clinic with six students focused on a health-care related investigation. Botelho is broadening the broadcast curriculum, closely integrating it with the school’s studio.
Our award-winning NYCity News Service has a new leader, John Mancini, who until recently was global news editor of Quartz. A Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award winner who has worked in top posts at Newsday, the AP, and NBC News, Mancini will also oversee reporting and writing courses and help students get their work published across the industry.
As part of its mission to offer in-depth education to mid-career journalists, the J-School is hosting a new program in labor reporting. Launched by the Sidney Hillman Foundation, Reporting the U.S. Workplace will cover all expenses for reporters for a two-day training in January. The J-School’s Tom Robbins will serve as the program convener.
5. UPCOMING EVENT
The disruption in the news industry has prompted journalists in legacy and digital-native newsrooms to organize for better conditions, job security and wages. While a few publishers have taken extreme measures to avoid unionization, others are at the bargaining table with a message that they’re fighting for their very survival. How is the new push affecting journalism?
Join us for a panel discussion with Dean Sarah Bartlett (moderator); Michael Lebowich, partner, Proskauer; Nastaran Mohit, director of organizing, NewsGuild of New York; and Eric Morrow, news curation editor, BuzzFeed News.
Nov. 18, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
LISTEN UP! Favorite Podcasts
A survey of the Class of 2020 reveals that their most-listened-to podcasts are two newscasts — The Daily from The New York Times, followed by NPR’s Up First. After that is an eclectic smattering of programs that cover everything from the anatomy of international revolutions to what’s happening with our neighbors up north. Check out their other favorites: Chapo Trap House, Slay Girl Slay, Two Girls, One Ghost and Canadaland.