Orientation

All the Deans: Graciela Mochkofsky, Allison Lichter, Colleen Leigh, and Paul Sunda

What is the future of news? How can you, as you begin your J-school journey, become an agent of change in the industry? We’ll hear from Stacy Marie Ishmael on how to transform journalism to become more rigorous, more inclusive, more empathic and – above all – more trusted by the communities we serve. 

Bio: Stacy-Marie Ishamel is the managing editor for cryptocurrencies at Bloomberg News, and was previously in the editorial leadership at the Texas Tribune, Apple, Buzzfeed News and the FT.  Ishmael is also the chair of the Foundation Board of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

News research is its own system of knowledge. The Research Center has created a program to teach you basic thorough investigative research skills to help you add context, history, and detail to your reporting. Barbara Gray will tell you what superpowers you can expect to learn and help you get the most out of our unique training program.

Bio: Barbara Gray, Director of the Research Center

Learn more about the J-School’s Student Affairs Office and how we can help you be successful in the program. 

Bios: Lindsey Allen, Matthew Brown and Alexa Maurer

Photos are the first thing people look at in social feeds and on news sites. You can win or lose your audience with that first image. Mobiles are an amazing visual tool that everyone in journalism today should know how to use to take a basic photograph. This workshop will show you how to get the most out of your mobile’s camera technically, explore some fundamentals of visual composition, and introduce some strategies for working in the field.

Bios: John Smock, Jessica Bal and Cinthya Santos Briones

This session will help you set yourself up for a great start to your J-School journey.  We’ll explore systems for organizing your work, and you’ll outline a toolkit to help you stay on top of multiple classes and reporting projects.  

Bio: Jeremy Caplan

Meet Director of Audio Journalism, Kalli Anderson and Lead Audio Engineer, Chad Bernhard to learn about audio journalism courses and opportunities at the j-school. We will also be giving an overview of the mandatory online ProTools training course and exercise you need to complete before the beginning of your Fundamentals of Audio course, which starts week 4. 

Required reading: ProTools Training and Exercise Instructions Fall 2023

Bios: Kalli Anderson and Chad Bernhard

Career Services welcomes you, incoming Newmark J-School students, with an overview of the resources, programs, and technology available to you as you develop your careers as journalists. You will also hear all about the required summer internship program and have an opportunity to connect with some recent summer interns as they reflect and share their experiences over lunch.

Required Readings: Career Services Summer Internship Syllabus and Checklist

Bios: Adia Tucker and Yolanda Rodriguez

The Office of Fellowships and Financial Aid orientation session will provide information on the financial aid process, details about student loans and repayment, and answer any questions.

Bio: Kelsey Woodford, Associate Director of Fellowships and Financial Aid

This session will offer a brief introduction to the SOJ’s Public Safety staff. We will provide an overview of crime prevention tips and situational awareness for the incoming class.

We will also teach you the most essential strategy for staying safe as a reporter – carrying out a proper risk assessment. Working with Joel Simon, the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Newmark School, along with leading industry experts, you will learn how to evaluate and reduce risk, so that you are always prepared to get the story.

Required Readings: How to Report Safely with Joel Simon

Bios: Joel Simon

This presentation will present an overview of CUNY’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct (PSM). The discussion will include: the categories of misconduct covered by and prohibited under the PSM; a brief look at the different grievance procedures in the PSM; procedures for reporting under the PSM; rights afforded to students under the PSM; and available resources for members of our community who have experienced sexual misconduct.

Bio: Jessica Morak is the Executive Director of Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer at the Graduate Center.

Stop by the Alumni Affairs Table on the 3rd floor lobby to register students for Newmark Connects, our in-house platform that links students with alumni for mentorship programs, networking and career opportunities. Please stop by to register for Newmark Connects and get an instant network of alumni and J-School industry friends to connect with starting now or whenever you’re ready!

with Francis Vargas

Photos are the first thing people look at in social feeds and on news sites. You can win or lose your audience with that first image. Mobiles are an amazing visual tool that everyone in journalism today should know how to use to take a basic photograph. This workshop will show you how to get the most out of your mobile’s camera technically, explore some fundamentals of visual composition, and introduce some strategies for working in the field.

Bios: John Smock, Jessica Bal and Cinthya Santos Briones

Meet with SOJ’s Director of Data Journalism, Sandeep Junnarkar, who will walk you through the power and potential of data-driven journalism. You’ll learn a handful of tools to get you started off in this first semester.

Bio: Sandeep Junnarkar

This exercise requires you to turn around a quick person-on-the-street story that gives your reporting professors a chance to get to know your work.

Bio: John Mancini

You will have three hours to report, write, and file your text story with its accompanying photos, based on the instructions distributed at the 1:30 p.m. session.

Bio: John Mancini

Dr. Nestor Borrero-Bracero will provide a brief overview of the services that the Wellness Center offers, how to request those services, what to expect when you do, and some common barriers that get in the way of asking for help. Questions about the process will be answered.

Bio: Nestor Borrero-Bracero, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in the Wellness Center specializing in individual, group, and couple therapy. He is passionate about supporting academic success by examining the impact of relationships and context. 

Professor Jeff Jarvis will lead a discussion of the readings by Wesley Lowery, Lewis Raven Wallace. Additional videos to watch ahead of orientation: Here are the videos we sent to students for orientation in the last two years. 

Required videos: History of journalism and Business of journalism

Optional Video: Discussion with Nikole Hannah-Jones from ISOJ.

Optional Video: Discussion with Lewis Raven Wallace about his book, The View from Somewhere.

Bio: Jeff Jarvis

Meet the newsrooms that serve New York City’s diverse immigrant communities and learn more about the publishing and engagement strategies editors and reporters use to meet a range of information needs. 

Bio: Mikhael Simmonds, Executive Director, Center for Community Media

Using the tools of community engagement and design thinking, we’ll cap off the day with an exercise that will help us think of ways to build trust with the communities we serve as journalists.

Join A.G. Sulzberger, the chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of the New York Times for an intimate discussion about objectivity and journalistic independence. This event is exclusive for students of the Newmark School of Journalism. 

Required Reading: Journalism’s Essential Value