1. INTRODUCING NEWMARK J-CORPS
A student-powered news service to bring pandemic coverage where it’s most needed
The J-School will launch an innovative summer news service staffed by the Class of 2020 and showcasing professionally edited coverage for underserved communities. Newmark J-Corps will report for New York — now Ground Zero for the U.S. pandemic — and for communities, many in news deserts, across the country. Up to 70 of our current students will listen to and connect with communities on public health and economic topics, pointing out resource gaps — and tackling the most essential reporting. The school will provide each intern the $4,000 living stipend given to students whose required summer news internships are unpaid. This virtual newsroom will unleash state-of-the-industry engagement techniques and multimedia reporting. This will support dozens of eager news outlets that are stretched thin by the crisis. The J-Corps newsroom will be led by John Mancini, the director of editorial projects who has served in leadership roles at Quartz, Newsday, NBC News, and the Associated Press. The newsroom also will be supervised by Dr. Carrie Brown, director of the school’s Social Journalism program, as well as other instructors with rich experience in reporting, visuals, audio, interactives, and research.
Learn more about Newmark J-Corps here
2. DOUBLE YOUR DONATIONS
An urgent appeal to get 2020 students over the finish line
Even as the J-School rises to meet a crisis, our community’s generosity is needed more than ever, Dean Sarah Bartlett reports. We launched an urgent campaign to raise $505,000 by June 30 so none of our students are forced to drop out before December graduation because of Covid-19-related financial burdens. A private foundation that wishes to remain anonymous has stepped up and agreed to match each dollar we raise for our campaign. This doubles the impact of gifts to the Future Journalist Fund. Please support our students during this critical time. Thank you!
Donate to Future Journalist Fund
3. MEET OUR STUDENTS: RACHEL GREEN
How do you get from Appalachia to Manhattan? Try a detour to Spain.
Rachel Green ’20 has pursued her diverse interests from the hills of Appalachia all the way to Spain and now back to the Newmark J-School and front-line reporting in the epicenter of a pandemic. “I realize that you need to take things day-by-day and that will get you wherever you’re supposed to be,” Green says of her life. Her story is a masterclass not just in going with the flow but also in the persistence needed to turn passions into accomplishments — with education and by building skills.
4. KAREN MULLARKEY’S COACHING MAGIC
She gets inside photographers’ heads — and is their key to getting ahead.
Some J-School students may know Karen Mullarkey only for her shock of multi-colored hair. But zoom in and focus here: Her brain, wits, experience, accomplishments, and legendary skill in figuring out each photographer’s individual spark have made Mullarkey an icon of her craft. After editing some of the biggest names in the business and leading staffs at publications renowned for their visual appeal, she now finds great joy in coaching young talent. She puzzles about what makes them tick — and employs a life’s knowledge to help them see their paths to becoming consummate pros.
5. COVERING THE BIG STORY
When a story dominates the news, it’s a certainty that J-School students, faculty, and alumni will shine. Just consider:
Our students
The Solutions Journalism class has cranked up The Coronavirus Chronicles, with students’ stories, photos, videos, and audios on how people are coping. They have documented how: Peace Corps volunteers returned to a much-changed city; renters struggle to replace roommates who have fled; and Broadway performers, restaurant employees, and dog walkers have dealt with disruptions. Reporting for the Mott Haven Herald and Hunts Point Express, students have provided timely data, useful news about local food resources, and details about stress at the supermarket and the taco shop. Meantime, our students also showed the importance of our unique bilingual program, posting on Univision (with ProPublica and en español ) about the virus’ harms to immigrant communities and the plight of a Mexican Uber driver.
Our faculty
Tow Prof. Lisa Armstrong (left) broke an important — and much-followed — story in the HuffPost on how the death of a 58-year-old inmate set off panic in SIng Sing. Associate Dean Andrew Mendelson wrote for Medium on how the pandemic’s high risks have upended photojournalism norms. Peter Beinart, our political reporting professor, has posted regularly in The Atlantic. Our distinguished lecturer Tim Harper rediscovered the pleasures of talking on the phone, as he wrote on Medium. Associate Prof. Bob Sacha, also on Medium, offered the homebound his expertise on looking good via video conferencing.
Our alumni
Rima Abdelkader ‘09 (left) has helped to put a human face on the terrible toll of the pandemic in her role as a reporter at NBC News, while Joseph Walker ‘09 has detailed for The Wall Street Journal how pharmaceutical giants are racing to develop effective therapies for the novel coronavirus. Clark Merrefield ’08, an economic research reporter for Journalist’s Resource (Harvard University), has delved into how the pandemic has added to problems in oil prices and the inequality of working remotely, especially with rural broadband.
6. WELCOME DEVELOPMENTS
Jobs, jobs, jobs, yes, thank you
When times get tough, J-School students get going — notably into new assignments that provide reasons for cheer. From the Class of 2019:
Cristian M. Arroyo-Santiago (left) has joined CNN Opinion as an associate producer. Mekdela Maskal has joined Covering Climate Now, a global journalism initiative committed to more and better coverage of the climate beat. Chris Polansky recently drove from Manhattan to Tulsa, Okla., where he will be a reporter/Morning Edition host at NPR-affiliate KWGS News. Before departing, he wrote the Meet Our Students profile of Rachel Green and dealt with his editors on the story during his 1,300-mile trip. Olivia Raimonde has joined Bloomberg News in its rotation reporting program, following a post-graduation internship with the company.
Online skills-building for reporters
J+, the school’s professional development unit, is launching free, 25-minute webinars for a series, The Remote Reporter. The on-demand sessions seek to help journalists boost their online reporting, notably when they can’t get to sources face-to-face. Our faculty will offer tips and approaches on varied topics from how video reporters can use copyright-free footage to how to leverage LinkedIn to find a job.
PLUS!
Health and science issues touch every aspect of our lives, from familiar items such as artificial hips and smartphones to menaces such as air pollution and pandemics. To report on these issues, journalists must know how to find and interview scientists and public health experts, and how to translate research into compelling prose, audio, and video. Journalists educated in these skills can provide needed context and call out hype and distortion in health care. The video (above) describes the school’s Health and Science Reporting program. It is led by Distinguished Lecturer Emily Laber-Warren, who writes for The New York Times and other publications.