Dear Alumni,
We’re excited for our next in-person alumni reunion: Alumni Homecoming will be on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Save the date, and start making plans to join us!
In the meantime, lots of wonderful things are going on for our alumni, faculty and the entire J-School community.
- We announced the inaugural recipients of two new fellowships for Newmark J-School alumni: The first two Guardian U.S. Scott Justice Fellows are Briana Ellis-Gibbs ’23 and Marina Dunbar ’23. Please join us in congratulating them!
- The new Journalism for All coalition is working to get journalism education into more public high schools around New York City. J-School faculty and staff are playing a key role in securing funding for the program, creating the journalism curriculum, and training teachers. Read more about the program here.
- The J-School had a strong presence at the summer and fall journalism conferences—including the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)—with representatives from Newmark’s admissions team, leadership team, faculty, students and alumni in attendance. See above and below for photos from the NAHJ conference in Los Angeles and IJA in Oklahoma City.
Read on for news about upcoming fellowships, events for the J-School community, and tons of alumni updates. As always, reach out to us at Alumni Affairs () to tell us your news anytime you have updates you’d like to share.
And please take 30 seconds (or less!) to fill out this quick Fall 2024 Alumni Survey if you haven’t already, to let us know where you’re based these days. Many thanks!
Cheers,
Salma
Salma Abdelnour Gilman
Head of Alumni Affairs
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Carla Zanoni and Darryl Holiday Join Newmark
Newmark J-School welcomes Carla Zanoni, who joins the J-School as Director of the M.A in Engagement Journalism.
Carla Zanoni, Director of Engagement Journalism
Dean Graciela Mochkofsky announced the news to the J-School community:
“After a competitive national search, Carla Zanoni has been selected as the new Director of our M.A. in Engagement Journalism. A veteran journalist who started her career in community media in uptown Manhattan, Carla was a member of the founding team at DNAinfo New York and Chicago, working as a reporter, social media, and engagement editor. She was The Wall Street Journal‘s first global audience and analytics editor and the first Latina to be named to the paper’s masthead. Most recently, she was the Head of Audience, Marketing, and Analytics for TED. Carla will lead our M.A. in Engagement Journalism into its next stage. Under her leadership, the program will have a strong focus on news product, audience development, and entrepreneurship, training our students in effective strategies to rebuild trust in news—one of the most critical issues facing our profession.”
The J-School also welcomes Darryl Holliday, who joins us this fall as the inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
The Dean welcomed him with this announcement:
“Darryl brings with him a wealth of experience in journalism, coalition building and civic strategy. He co-founded the Pulitzer Prize-winning civic media lab City Bureau, which created the Documenters Network in 2018 to train engaged citizens to document public meetings across 19 cities. He is also the co-author of the ‘Roadmap for Local News,’ an industry guide with recommendations on how to revitalize and reimagine local news ecosystems across the country. At the school, Darryl will continue his groundbreaking work, researching and exploring new opportunities for civic media. He will meet with our Engagement M.A. cohort to offer guidance around the critical issues of nurturing trust with our audiences, building a newsroom from the ground up, and developing entrepreneurial mindsets and strategies that will activate the next generation of community-based storytellers.”
EVENTS
Why Black Media Matters This Election
Three years ago, the Black Media Initiative published Why Black Media Matters Now, a comparative analysis between Black and mainstream media during the last presidential election cycle. The research showed that Black media talked about topics of importance to Black communities more often, and connected news events to history in a way mainstream media did not. How has this work evolved in this election cycle?
Join us for a public conversation where we’ll hear from several newsroom leaders who will share their approach, why their work matters, and the support they need.
When: October 17, 4-5 p.m.
Where: On Zoom
Yoruba Richen’s New Documentary Premieres This Fall
Newmark J-School faculty member Yoruba Richen is set to debut the new documentary she co-directed, ”American Coup: Wilmington 1898,” at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on October 21 and on PBS’s American Experience on November 12. The announcement in Deadline describes the film as “about a forgotten chapter in American history that saw a white supremacist mob terrorize Black residents of a North Carolina city, overthrowing an elected city government.”
Check out the screenings coming up this fall:
When and where:
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Hot Springs, AR, October 21. More info and tickets here.
- PBS American Experience, November 12.
Good Conflict: How Journalists Can Cover Conflict Better
All students and alumni are invited to join a workshop designed specifically for journalists who want to cover conflict in new ways. In this fast-paced, practical workshop, Good Conflict co-founders Amanda Ripley and Hélène Biandudi Hofer help reporters, editors and producers develop the skills of Good Conflict journalism, including proven ways to investigate underneath the usual narratives and to rebuild trust with audiences and sources. They use humor, multimedia content, role-play scenarios and storytelling to equip you to analyze complexities and listen more attentively.
When: October 22, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Newmark J-School, 219 W. 40th St., Room 308
Register here.
Screening: The Night Won’t End
As Israel’s bombing campaign continues in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis deepens to catastrophic levels, the Biden administration has not wavered in their support for Israel. US weapons transfers — from 2,000 pound bombs to artillery shells and tanks — have been a crucial part of the Israeli military campaign. From airstrikes to field executions, Fault Lines investigates alleged war crimes by the Israeli military in Gaza and the United States’ role in the war.
Guests:
- Laila Al-Arian, executive producer of Fault Lines
- Sharif Abdel Kouddous, correspondent and independent journalist
- Kavitha Chekuru, director and producer, “The Night Won’t End.”
When: October 29, 12-2 p.m.
Where: Newmark J-School, 219 W. 40th St., Room 308
Register here.
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
WSJ Finance Reporting Fellowships
The Wall Street Journal Finance Reporting Fellowships program is an opportunity for early-career journalists with an interest in covering financial markets, economics or personal finance to spend 12 months in the New York newsroom as full-time members of the reporting staff.
The fellowships, offered in partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), will provide hands-on experience, exposure, training and mentorship opportunities. Two journalists will be selected for the next session, which runs from January through December 2025. One will be embedded with The Wall Street Journal’s Finance & Economics team, the other with the Personal Finance team on the Life & Work desk.
Fellows will dive into reporting on markets or personal finance – two key areas of opportunity inside the Journal newsroom for engaging and growing audiences. Both deliver stories that help people navigate decisions and improve their lives. Journalists from underrepresented communities are especially encouraged to apply.
More information and application here.
Application deadline: October 23
High Country News Fellowships
High Country News is looking for informed and enthusiastic editorial fellows to report on issues of impact for the Western United States and to create in-depth, inclusive and insightful journalism. Fellows will report from the region’s cities, suburbs, rural and natural spaces.
The Virginia Spencer Davis Fellow will bring a desire to report on rural communities in the West, and how those communities are changing.
The Indigenous Affairs Fellow will ideally have lived experience as a person of Indigenous identity and/or demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of Indigeneity, and an interest in reporting on Indigenous communities and issues.
The Climate and Science Fellow will have an interest in covering the future of the West under our changing climate, including climate justice, the green energy transition, ecosystem resilience, climate mitigation, scientific research and more.
Application deadline: October 27
2024-2025 Central Desi Fellowship Application
Central Desi is currently accepting applications for two reporting fellows. This news organization serves New Jersey’s South Asian community, working in collaboration with media partners including WNYC, The Gothamist and NJ Spotlight News.
You must be based in New Jersey to qualify for consideration, but you do not have to be South Asian to apply. Preference will be given to applicants with knowledge of the community.
Application and more information here.
Application deadline: October 31
The Sidney Hillman Foundation Annual “Reporting the U.S. Workplace” Program
The Sidney Hillman Foundation is sponsoring the fifth annual “Reporting the U.S. Workplace” program in January 2025 for journalists covering labor and workplace issues.
This program is designed to give participants expertise on how to cover a range of pressing workplace issues—including employment classification, strikes and worker organizing, the actions of the National Labor Relations Board, and how to find and use government and corporate data to tell stories.
It will take place in person at the Newmark J-School campus, January 23-24, 2025. All expenses including transportation, hotel and meals are covered by the foundation.
Application deadline: November 1
Video News Production Fellowships at Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! is a non-profit news organization based in NYC. It produces a daily TV, radio and internet news hour that is carried by more than 1,500 stations worldwide. The website, democracynow.org, gets tens of millions of visits annually, and the organization has more than four million followers across social media platforms.
Democracy Now! fellowships are full-time, one-year work placements with benefits including health, retirement and paid time off. The fellowships provide support and mentorship to underrepresented early-career journalists and digital media professionals, including BIPOC, people with disabilities and gender nonconforming people.
Democracy Now! is committed to building greater diversity in newsrooms and training the next generation of journalists. Fellows will develop skills and gain experience in a daily live TV news environment, and have the opportunity to bring their unique voices, perspectives and experiences into the newsroom. Democracy Now! staff provide one-on-one mentorship and supervision to help fellows maximize their exposure to newsroom, production and online publishing practices.
A successful Video News Production Fellow must have camera and video editing skills, work well under deadline pressure and have some news or editorial experience. They should be an avid consumer of daily global news, demonstrating a passion for Democracy Now!’s independent news mission and be a strong team player with a great attitude and a professional demeanor. Key duties include shooting news events, editing video news packages and working on the live broadcast.
The workday begins as early as 6 a.m. ET, to coincide with the live daily TV and radio newscast at 8 a.m. ET.
Session dates: One year, beginning February 3, 2025
Application deadline: November 10
Investigate This! A Criminal Justice Journalism Initiative
The Marshall Project’s new initiative—”Investigate This!”—is a resource designed to empower criminal justice journalism at the local level. It connects journalists and newsrooms with resources and data to help them create strong, original stories that have the potential for significant local impact. Each toolkit includes data downloads, story ideas, multimedia assets, FOIA guidance, expert sources, style guidance and more.
A new election-related toolkit will be available shortly. Check out the “Investigate This!” resources here.
For more info, reach out to Michelle Billman:
ALUMNI UPDATES
Win-Win
These Newmark J-School alumni were all finalists for the 2024 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism:
- Rachael Levy ‘14, with the Reuters team, for “The Musk Industrial Complex.”
- Annie Massa ‘14, Hannah Miller ‘19 and the Bloomberg News and Wondery team, for “Spellcaster.”
- Annie Massa ‘14, Hannah Miller ‘19, Newmark J-School Foundation Board’s Stacy-Marie Ishmael ,and the Bloomberg staff for “RUIN: Money, Ego and Deception at FTX.”
- Will Mathis ‘18 and the Bloomberg News team for “Power Plays.”
- Ben Foldy ‘18, as part of The Wall Street Journal team, for “The Banking Crisis.”
- Gabriel Sandoval ‘19, with the Capital & Main and ProPublica team, for “Checked Out: How L.A. Failed to Stop Landlords from Turning Low-Cost Housing into Tourist Hotels.”
Oliver Morrison ‘14 received a Regional Murrow Award for ongoing reporting on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and won the “Best in Show” Golden Quill award for best audio reporting in Western Pennsylvania last year for the same work.
Eddy Martinez ‘17 won two awards at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism Contest for his work with WNPR.
Benjamin Chambers ‘20 won three awards at the 2023 MDDC Press Association Awards, for his work at The News Journal/Delaware Online. His photo (below) of the 2023 DIAA Individual Wrestling State Championship won first place and “Best in Show.”
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists awarded several stories reported by recently graduated Newmark alums at the Ñ Awards:
- Dashiell Allen ‘23 and Génesis Dávila Santiago ‘23 won for a series examining families sending lost loved ones home to Mexico for burial.
- Maria Mónica Fernández ‘23 and Mariana Martínez Barba ‘23 won for a series on Latina nannies in New York.
- Current student Ana Valdez Saravia won for a story about Indigenous migrants working to maintain their culture in the South Bronx
SPJ awarded “South Bronx Businesses Battle Back,” a project produced for the NYCity News Service, with the Mark of Excellence Award for strongest student journalism in the U.S. The project included the participation of Dashiell Allen ‘23, Naoufal Anhari ‘23, Amanda Braitman ‘23, Ashlee Brown ‘23, Yasmine Dass ‘23, Gerard Edic ‘23, Deidre Foley ‘23, Judith Marks ‘23, Amaya McDonald ‘23, Jajuan Morris-Guity ‘23, Sunny Nagpaul ‘23, Ashley Reed ‘23, ET Rodriguez ‘22, Gretchen Smail ‘23 and Emily Swanson ‘23.
Génesis Dávila Santiago ‘23 was part of the team that won the Margarita Cordero Gender Perspective Journalism Award for her work about the lack of follow-up on complaints that leaves Dominican rape victims unprotected in both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Featured News
Nicole (Turso) Nola ‘09 was promoted to Communications Director for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Shannon Carlin ‘11 (pictured below) released her first book, “Witches Run Amok: The Oral History of Disney’s Hocus Pocus,” about the making of the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus, available here.
Erin Horan ‘12 recently worked on “The John Shippen”, which aired nationally on CBS, and wrote an article for Edible Magazine.
Raed Rafei ’12‘s new documentary, “Tripoli / A Tale of Three Cities,” will have its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) in Amsterdam in November.
Ann Marie Awad ‘13 is the new editorial director for the Institute for Independent Journalists.
Ilie Mitaru ‘13 documentary, Wrangling Russia, was featured in The Eye of Photography magazine.
Emilia David ‘14 will cover artificial intelligence for VentureBeat.
Oliver Morrison ‘14 reported on the attempted political assassination of Donald Trump.
Erin DeGregorio ‘17 was promoted to digital marketing and communications coordinator at Fordham Law School.
Virginia Jeffries ‘18 wrote a story about young people in Gaza with diabetes for Newsweek.
Paula Moura ‘18 was interviewed by the Boston Globe about her work with the Martha’s Vineyard Times on an experiment with an AI tool to translate stories to Portuguese. She reported this series from Brazil.
Sharif Paget ‘18 contributed to this story about the Georgia shooting.
“A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Venezuela”, a documentary produced by Jeff Arak ‘19, was screened at the Americas Society headquarters in New York City.
Netsanet Negussie ‘19 (pictured below) has been selected by Doc NYC to join the 40 under 40 class of 2024, which spotlights emerging documentary talent.
Suzannah Cavanaugh ‘20 was selected as a fellow for the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s 2024 Goldschmidt FRED advanced data workshop in St. Louis.
Terrence Fraser ‘20 was a producer on the documentary series “Down in the Valley”, released on STARZ.
Roman Gresier ‘20 is now editor of El Faro English.
Katie Herchenroeder ‘20 started a position as the Weekend Writer at Vanity Fair for their politics section, the Hive.
Ali McPherson ‘20 started a new role at LinkedIn working as an editorial associate with the LinkedIn Editorial Productions, while still freelancing for BET.com as an arts and culture writer.
Angela Palumbo ‘21 has been promoted as Tech News Writer at Barron’s.
Juanita Ramos ‘21 is the host of Reinterpretar, a Spanish-language podcast that highlights local projects from the Hispanic community living in NYC. The podcast has also featured CUNY alumni like Caroline Mercado ‘18, Bruce Gil ‘21 and Rommel Ojeda ‘21.
Trina Mannino ‘22 joined the Wall Street Journal as an associate audio producer.
Elizabeth Napolitano ‘22 has joined Decrypt as a reporter.
“Don’t Look Away,” a short documentary by Joseph V. Lingad ‘23, will premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival on October 20 (see Alumni Q&A below).
ET Rodriguez ’22 is the new editor-in-chief of the Riverdale Press, a hyperlocal paper in the Bronx, NY.
Some Personal News…
Erin Brodwin ‘13 had a baby boy.
Oliver Morrison ‘14 got married in Pittsburgh.
Ashley Rodriguez ‘14 had a baby girl.
Ashley Rodriguez ‘14’s daughter Penelope Laine Willow-Rodriguez.
Joseph Lingad ’23
A documentary idea that Joseph Lingad ’23 came up with years ago ended up taking an exciting and unexpected journey: First, it turned into his capstone project at Newmark J-School, and now, just months after his graduation, it’s screening at the Woodstock Film Festival (see Events above) on October 20.
The short film was inspired in part by Lingad’s own life experiences with facial difference. Here, Lingad talks to Alumni Affairs about the idea that sparked the film, and what impact he hopes the documentary will have.
How did you come up with the concept for “Don’t Look Away?”
I had already had the idea for “Don’t Look Away” before graduate school in 2018. I was motivated to make this film due to my experience living with a facial difference. I was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. I wanted to make a film that highlights the issues the facial difference community deals with daily, and how their looks impact their lives, from dating to job prospects to friendships. Also, I wanted to make a film that demystifies the stigmas of living with a facial difference—stigmas that mainstream media has created and perpetuated. For example, most villains in most movies usually have some form of facial difference. Think of Scar in “The Lion King.”
How did you initially find out about your subject, Corey?
I found Corey through a Facebook facial-difference support group called FACES. I posted on its page that I was looking for a subject in my film, so the director of FACES put me in touch with Corey. Corey and I hit it off immediately, and he was totally on board after our initial discussion.
What was it like to work on the film as your capstone project?
The film wouldn’t be where it is now if I didn’t go through Yoruba Richen’s documentary program. The program helped me shape and structure the film. From doing my selects to assemblies to rough cuts, I’ve learned so much through the process. There’s a list of faculty members who have had their handprints in the film: Yoruba, David Cohen, Sabrina Gordon, Travis Fox, Vincas Sruoginis, my documentary classmates, and especially Judith Helfand. She was instrumental in helping me shape the film and made me understand what scenes are and how to use them.
Overall, I’ve learned so much about documentary filmmaking in only two semesters. I hope the school expands the program into a major rather than a specialization.
What kind of impact do you hope the film will have?
First, I hope the film is well-received by the facial-difference community. I want members of this community to feel less lonely when they watch Corey’s story. Furthermore, I want the film to have a broad appeal and be viewed by a diverse audience. Hopefully, everyone who watches “Don’t Look Away” can relate to some aspect, whether it is insecurity about one’s appearance, confronting prejudice, overcoming adversity, or living through trauma. I hope the film becomes universal by depicting how Corey deals with his insecurities. Everyone can relate to the experience of feeling unsure about something in ourselves, although most viewers will not have a facial difference.
You worked in video journalism for a number of years before you enrolled at Newmark. What made you decide to go to J-School in 2022-2023?
I wasn’t satisfied with where I was in my career then. I was having difficulty finishing “Don’t Look Away,” and I didn’t like the short video stories I produced. I wanted to create in-depth, investigative, long-form stories but lacked the know-how. So, I decided to do something about it, and that’s how I got my M.A. degree.
What are you working on next?
“Don’t Look Away” is a proof-of-concept project and is part of a larger film that follows three other adults with various facial differences. So, I’m working on a feature film, “Why Can’t You See—I Want To Be Treated Like You,” that follows four adults, including Corey, showing viewers the challenges of living with a facial difference: being stared at, getting employment, and constantly having to explain one’s condition. As remarkable and enlightening as Corey’s story is, sharing three other stories about facial differences and experiences will add more nuance to the narrative of what it’s like to live with a facial condition.
I’m currently using “Don’t Look Away” to fundraise additional money and to convince partners to collaborate to help me finish the feature film.