January Academy

Covering Congress 101, with Michaela Ross

Thursday, Jan. 6, 1-3 p.m. EST (Remote)

This class will serve as a crash course for new reporters on the basic resources and procedural understanding needed to cover Congress. It will also present strategies for reporters and freelancers who work on non-federal-government-focused beats but are looking to enrich their stories by sharpening their skills in tracking legislation and regulatory policy development. Michaela Ross is a 2015 graduate of the Newmark J-School and has worked for different arms of Bloomberg News for the past five+ years in Washington, D.C.

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Nonfiction Book Writing, with Glenn Lewis

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022⋅10:30am – 3:30pm (In-person)
ROOM 442

Take this one-day crash course on the essentials of conceptualizing, researching, organizing, and writing a professional-level non-fiction book proposal. The seminar also focuses on techniques for reporting and writing non-fiction books. Students are given insights into negotiating book contracts as well. The session draws on Professor Glenn Lewis’ experiences as a book packager, agent, writer, and book proposal doctor. Students should bring a one-paragraph pitch for either one or two nonfiction books they might want to write. Guest speaker Stephen Morrow, executive editor of Dutton, will help evaluate pitches. Professor Lewis is director of the journalism program at York College and is a consortial faculty member at the Newmark J-School. His narrative nonfiction book SPARRIN’ WITH SMOKIN’ JOE was published in 2021.

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Virtual Reality Video Workshop, with Bob Sacha – CANCELLED

Friday, Jan. 7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST (In-person)
ROOM 330

Virtual reality lets you put your audience in your story in the first-person point of view. Join us for this hands-on workshop with Bob Sacha to get started in exploring this exciting new format for visual journalism. Documentary producers and news organizations around the country and world like the New York Times, National Geographic and Euronews are experimenting with how to transport viewers right onto the scene through immersive experiences.  In this one-day workshop, you’ll have an opportunity to produce a short 360 VR video piece.

Please bring an Android or iOS smartphone to this workshop.  You can see Bob Sacha’s work at www.bobsacha.com.

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Social Newsgathering, with Rima Abdelkader, ’09

Saturday, Jan. 8, 9:30-11:30 a.m.(Remote)

This course will provide students with an exposure to online resources to verify and confirm breaking news and information. It will explore and investigate misinformation online and identify ways to debunk it through traditional and more modern methods. This course requires students to come prepared with examples to workshop in the class. Rima Abdelkader is part of a diverse team of reporters at NBC News and MSNBC that discover, verify, and report breaking news stories and enterprise pieces globally. As a digital media literacy instructor, Abdelkader teaches team courses at NBC on data verification and the use of social media in human-interest storytelling.

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2-Day Video Storytelling Workshop, with Bob Sacha

Monday, Jan. 10 and Tuesday, Jan. 11, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. EST (In-person)
ROOM 330

When you think of how easy it is to watch video on a smartphone or how beautiful video looks on an iPad, it’s no wonder that everyone wants more visual content on their screens. As a multi-platform journalist, it helps your job prospects if you know how to tell a story in more than one medium. This two-day workshop concentrates on video storytelling for the web, focusing on non-narrated stories of compelling characters and short, sharply focused pieces targeted for online viewing. We’ll talk about what type of stories work best for web video, finding strong characters, structuring stories, how to film and conduct an online Zoom interview for a non-narrated piece, how to capture compelling visual sequences and finally, how to assemble a short video using Adobe Premiere. The mantra for the class will be “show, don’t tell.” This advanced class will be hands-on, so you’ll need to be up to speed with Premiere. You can use a DSLR and audio recorder or your phone (with 5 GB of free space)  You’ll also need a tripod or and a clip to attach your phone to some support.  You can see Bob Sacha’s work at www.bobsacha.com.

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On Camera: Like It or Not, with Susan Farkas and Frederik Kaufman

Monday, Jan. 10, 1:30-3:30 p.m. EST (Remote)

More and more reporters are being asked by their news organizations to speak on camera about the story they’re covering. Get the basics of how to do this without embarrassing yourself. The workshop will include on-camera work with participants, followed by analysis shared with all. Taught by video journalism instructor Susan Farkas and Professor Frederick Kaufman.

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The Business of Freelancing, with Lynn Brown

Monday, Jan. 10, 5-7 p.m (Remote)

The only way to make money in the business of writing is to treat it like an actual business, rather than a hobby. Longtime freelancer Lynn Brown offers tips, tricks and inspiration on various aspects of running a freelance writing business: how to find the best outlets for your work, how to market yourself, negotiating contracts, record-keeping, taxes (and deductions) and more. The class will also talk about what to do to get the most out of every story, from the small piece that (hopefully) goes viral overnight, to the book project that will take years to complete.

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Portrait Photography, with Jennifer Altman

Tuesday, Jan. 11 and Wednesday, Jan. 12, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 442

Part 1 of this two-session class led by photojournalist Jennifer S. Altman, we will cover a brief history of portraiture through various photographic genres and discuss the elements of basic portrait techniques. Students will be introduced to lighting equipment through strobes, flashes and continuous light sources and learn how to use stands, backdrops, reflectors, gels, and essential accessories. We will address location scouting and how different lighting techniques are applied in practice. We will learn tips and tricks of professionals, such as making the subject feel comfortable and solving lighting problems. Participants will photograph each other in a studio session.

Part 2 is devoted to post-production photo editing skills. Participants will identify and retouch up to three selected images with supervision from the instructors. The workshop will conclude with presentation and critique of participant work. Students can bring their own cameras or check out gear from the school equipment room. They must have their own computers already loaded with Adobe Photoshop and a sorting system (such as Adobe Bridge, iPhoto, or Photo Mechanic) to do hands-on editing.

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How to Run a Podcast, with Mia Lobel and Lidia Jean Kott

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2-5 p.m. EST (Remote)

You’ve come up with a brilliant podcast idea, and now you need to execute. How do you do it? Pushkin Executive Producer Mia Lobel covers how to pull together a brilliant and efficient production team, how to make a budget, and how to create a production plan that doesn’t break that budget or burn out your team. The class will be taught with a combination of lecture/presentation slides and hands-on exercises. Lidia Jean is a producer at Pushkin. Previously she’s worked at NPR, the BBC World Service, and WNYC.

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Towards a Working Class Cultural Criticism, with Jasmine Sanders

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1-4 p.m. EST (Remote)
Room 440

What does it mean to engage in cultural criticism focused on working class cultural production? This class from longtime writer and critic Jasmine Sanders will attempt to expound upon this matter, endeavoring to provide something of a guide and prompt. What does it mean to be a critic of working-class origins? How does one work within and alongside the rich intellectual traditions of the proletariat? What are the ethical and emotional guidelines which ought to remain at the fore when writing about one’s own family, culture, upbringing and art? What are the difficulties in situating yourself as an authority, either on your own experiences or someone else’s? These matters and others will be discussed. Bring your questions and potential story ideas for a class-wide conversation about how to be a critic and essayist who works and is concerned with the lives and art of others who do so.

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How to Write about Fashion, with Constance White

Monday, Jan. 10 and Tuesday, Jan. 11th, 10am-12pm EST (Remote)

This two-session course will teach students how to cover a fashion show, including identifying and contacting fashion publicists, writing vividly about the clothes that come down the runway and developing related stories on models, manufacturers, buyers and other members of the fashion show ecosystem. Each student will write a 400-word fashion report that will be workshopped in the second session. The class will be taught by Constance White, who covered fashion for The New York Times and has served as style director for eBay and editor-in-chief of Essence magazine.

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10 Incredibly Useful Little Tools for Journalists, with Jeremy Caplan

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 11-12:30 EST (Remote)

Discover useful new tools to save you time and boost the impact and efficiency of your work. Walk away with a short, curated list of sites and resources you can use right away. See examples of the tools in action. Learn what they do, how they’re useful, and why and when to use them. Open to digital novices as well as pros looking for new workflow ideas. Take home a guide to share with colleagues and friends. We’ll touch on new features in Craft, Notion, Projector, Flourish, Canva, Roam, and a few other surprises.

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Fun with Animated GIFs, with John Smock

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 1-3 p.m EST (Remote)

This workshop taught by John Smock, director of the Newmark J-School Photojournalism Program, will cover using Adobe Photoshop as a design tool with a special focus on GIF animations. News organizations today are experimenting with media content that combines elements of still photography with graphic design and video to tell stories in new and interesting ways. GIFs are a basic building block of this frontier.

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News Photography Workshop for Applicants and CUNY Undergrads, with John Smock

Thursday, Jan. 13,  10am – 1pm EST (Remote)

This workshop led by veteran photojournalist John Smock will help you improve your photographic skills for use in all media. We will cover the technical and conceptual aspects of basic camera usage, composition, visual vocabulary, photo editing, lighting, and Photoshop. You will learn how to handle portraits, news conferences, politics, intimate photo essays, and international conflicts. You will also learn how to photograph while recording audio, shooting video, or reporting for print. Whether you are a beginner or intermediate photographer, you will learn the tricks of the trade that professional photojournalists use.

NOTE: NEWMARK J-SCHOOL STUDENTS SHOULD NOT REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS.

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3-Day News Photography Intensive, with James Estrin

Thursday, Jan. 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. EST (In-person)
Friday, Jan. 14, 10 a.m.5 p.m. EST (In-person)
Friday, Jan. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. EST (In-person)

This three-day workshop led by New York Times staff photographer James Estrin will help you improve your photographic skills for use in all media. We will cover the technical and conceptual aspects of basic camera usage, composition, visual vocabulary, photo editing, lighting, and Photoshop. The workshop will concentrate on practical tools and problem-solving. We will learn how to handle portraits, politics, intimate photo essays, and international conflicts. We will also learn how to photograph while recording audio, shooting video, or reporting for print. Whether you are a beginner or intermediate photographer, you will learn the tricks of the trade that professional photojournalists use. There will be an assignment between Days 2 and 3.

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Reporting on Indigenous Communities with Graham Lee Brewer

Thursday, Jan. 13, 1-3 p.m EST (Remote)

Reporting on Indigenous Communities will touch on the history of Indigenous journalism, how American journalism has influenced perceptions of Native communities, and how reporters can avoid furthering harm and instead do impactful accountability reporting in tribal nations.

Graham Lee Brewer is a national investigative reporter at NBC News, the vice president of the Native American Journalists Association, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

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Brush Up On Your C100 Skills, with Emmanuel Alexandre

Thursday, Jan. 13, 5-7:30 p.m EST (Remote)

Brush up on your C100 skills or learn some new tricks to complement your storytelling know how. In this workshop, you will learn all the basics on how to set up the camera as well as advanced features such as color profiles, push autofocus, shooting in different settings, and more. Emmanuel (Mano) Alexandre is on the Newmark J-School’s broadcast team.

**Open to Newmark J-School students and alumni only

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Sound Design for Narrative Audio, with Ariana Martinez

Thursday, Jan. 13 and Friday, Jan. 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EST (Remote)

This session will share ways to let sound communicate what an interview or narration alone cannot. We’ll explore some big-picture concepts for developing our distinct creative voices as sound designers, and some technical strategies for giving each thing we touch its own signature sound. We’ll cover the basic mechanics of sourcing and incorporating found sound and music, using our audio software’s built-in tools for manipulating audio, managing complex multi-track digital audio workstation sessions, and the practicalities of applying sound design to both traditional and experimental stories. This course is best suited for students with some knowledge of both recording and audio editing. Course examples will be shown in Pro Tools, but course concepts can be applied to projects in any digital audio workstation. Ariana Martinez is an audio documentarian and multimedia artist working across radio, podcast, and digital storytelling platforms. Their work can be found at arianamartinezstudio.com

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Advanced Photoshop, with John Smock

Friday, Jan. 14, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST (Remote)

Photoshop is much more than just a tool for editing photographs. It is also a powerful design platform. This workshop, taught by the J-School’s photojournalism director, will show you how to created compelling graphics that combine text, multiple images and other design elements to be used in multimedia stories and your portfolio site. The workshop assumes an introductory knowledge of Photoshop.

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Travel Writing, with Tim Harper

Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1-4 p.m. EST (Remote)

We all want to do travel writing, but we don’t know how to get started. This class from longtime freelancer and travel writer Tim Harper, the Newmark J-School’s writing coach, shows you how to turn ideas and experiences into stories, clips and cash — including stories both around the world and across the street. Bring your questions and your story ideas for a class-wide conversation about how to become a travel writer in your spare time.

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3-Day Covering the Pandemic and Biden Impact on the Economy, Markets, and Business, with Greg David – CANCELLED

Tuesday Jan. 18, Wednesday, Jan. 19, Thursday, Jan. 20, 5:15-7:45 p.m. EST (In-person or Remote)
Room 442

The pandemic led to the most severe — and unequal — recession in American history, disrupting every aspect of the economy. The recovery has been equally uneven. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has taken office with a sharply different economic agenda committed to reviving the economy and bolstering the country’s safety net, tackling what it says are the disastrous effects of corporate consolidation, while mostly leaving in place the trade policies of the Trump era. This three night class, taught by Greg David, director of the Business and Economics Reporting Program, will tackle all these issues. *THIS SERIES IS NOT FOR STUDENTS IN THE BUSINESS & ECONOMICS CONCENTRATION AT THE NEWMARK J-SCHOOL.

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2-Day “Voice Coaching,” Section 1, with Michael Lysak

Wednesday, Jan. 19 and Thursday, Jan. 20, 4-7 p.m. EST (Remote)

The workshop begins with a live via Zoom discussion on the basics of broadcast announcing, using audio samples to demonstrate concepts. Micro-videos are employed as well. Topics covered include diaphragmatic breathing, considering the audience, listener distractions, radio versus TV, reporting versus anchoring, differing styles, pacing, and sounding conversational. Practical exercises are taught and demonstrated. The second day involves a hands-on voice coaching session in the “virtual radio studio.” A professional radio newscast is played and analyzed. Students then read newscast scripts. After receiving immediate feedback and critique, students get the opportunity to try again, implementing the skills they have learned. Michael Lysak is head of Global Radio and TV Syndication at Bloomberg and oversees operations for Bloomberg Radio’s national network. Previously, he has been a news anchor and reporter at WCBS, WOR, WNEW, and WRKS (Kiss-FM), all in New York City

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Context Journalism: Helping Readers Understand the News, with John O’Neil

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 6-9 p.m. EST (Remote)

Just reporting the news isn’t enough anymore, when readers face an ever-faster fire hose of facts. Context journalism means giving them the background or analysis they need to turn facts into meaning, whether through well-crafted paragraphs within news stories, standalone explainers or graphic presentations. Every working journalist these days should be ready to handle this kind of assignment. Topics will include figuring out who your audience is and what level of context it requires, how to simplify without distorting, and what to do when you know too little – or too much – about a subject or are facing a tight deadline.  The course will be a combination of presentation and workshop; students should come with examples of articles that have left them scratching their head and wishing for more. John O’Neil is an editor on the QuickTake explainer team at Bloomberg News; he previously led a context journalism initiative at The New York Times.

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Ghost Writing, with Tim Harper

Thursday, Jan. 20, 1-3 p.m. EST (Remote)

One of the things we can learn — and get paid for — is writing other people’s stories. We can do this as collaborators, in “with” or “as told to” projects, or as ghostwriters who may or may not see their names anywhere except on the checks they cash. This informal, lively discussion will cover how to find and manage such projects, along with editing or doctoring books and other content for individuals and institutions. There are many pitfalls, but this workshop will scratch the surface to help decide whether this type of work might appeal to you. The workshop will be led by Newmark writing coach Tim Harper, who has a lot of good ghost stories — and a few scary ones.

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Intro to Product Management and Product Thinking, with Anita Zielina

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2-4 p.m. EST (Remote)

Product management is the new, in-demand skill everyone is talking about. This workshop will explain basic concepts of product thinking in news media, guide participants through the stages of the product development and product management process, and introduce core product frameworks that are being used by innovative media organizations all over the world. Anita Zielina is the director of strategic initiatives at the Newmark J-School and board chair of the News Product Alliance, a network of support and practice for news product thinkers. Before joining the school, she worked as a media executive, editor-in-chief, and chief product officer in several European newsrooms.

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Video Editing 01: Adobe Premiere Basics, with Kayle Hope, ’14

Thursday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 21, 4-7 p.m. EST (Remote)

Brush up on your video editing skills in this workshop taught by Kayle Hope, ’14. Over the course of two days, this class will cover the basics of video editing in Adobe Premiere. Students will learn how to edit in premiere from setting up a project to organizing footage, selecting clips, editing sequences, working with stills and audio, applying motion to still images, exporting and mastering the overall video editing workflow. The class will also cover editing theory and offer tips and tricks for building your story in the edit.  Kayle Hope is a video producer and freelance video editor.  Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CBS, Retro Report, and Quartz, among others. Kayle is also the Video Editor for the annual New Yorker Festival, and she teaches video production and editing at the Newmark J-School. You can see Kayle’s work at www.kaylehope.com. This workshop will be taught over zoom with asynchronous learning opportunities.

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Mastering Crypto: How to Cover Bitcoin and Beyond, with Robert Hackett

Saturday, Jan. 22, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. EST (Remote)

Welcome to Web 3.0. This class is a crash course on the essentials of crypto reporting and the basics of blockchain technology. The session will provide hands-on training about how to set up a digital wallet and participate in token-governed communities. Join for a tour of the most cutting edge tools—from NFTs to DAOs—and walk away with the expertise necessary to continue spelunking down the rabbit hole yourself. Taught by Robert Hackett, head of content and editorial at a16z Crypto and former senior writer and tech editor at Fortune magazine.

Robert has received national recognition for his reporting, including as a finalist for the 2018 Larry Birger Young Business Journalist Award. His work on the Aug./Sept. 2021 issue of Fortune magazine, “Crypto vs. Wall Street,” helped raise millions of dollars in NFT sales and won “best innovation project” and runner-up for “best business reporting” at the 2021 EPPY Awards. Before joining Fortune in 2014, Robert worked at Nautilus Magazine, TED Conferences, and Johnson & Johnson. He earned a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate Journalism School and a double major in chemistry and English with minors in science and technology studies and history from Cornell University. He lives in New York.

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Interviewing “Others,” with Kovie Biakolo

Monday, Jan. 24, 2-5 p.m. EST (Remote)

In this workshop, students will learn strategies for interviewing people they do not identify with and specifically those in marginalized communities that may have disfavorable attitudes in the media and a history of underrepresentation and misrepresentation. Kovie Biakolo is a writer, journalist, editor, multiculturalism scholar, and Newmark J-School adjunct specializing in culture and identity.

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Covering the LGBTQ+ Community, with Wonbo Woo

Monday, Jan. 24, 2-5 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 442

In this workshop, we will discuss ethical considerations that journalists will face in covering the LGBTQ+ community. We’ll review AP/NYT/GLAAD style and talk about how pronoun usage and naming conventions have evolved, as well as discussing best practices for interviewing minors, outing, respecting privacy and anonymity, and thinking about when additional sources are appropriate in stories. Note: this will be a participatory class — students should come ready to engage in discussions, and will be invited to submit examples, questions and additional topics that they’d like to cover in advance. Guest speakers may be brought in to help address some of these topics. Wonboo Woo is an Emmy Award-winning producer and a recipient of the prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard. A former Broadcast-Journalist-in-Residence at the Newmark J-School, he has worked for WIRED, NBC’s Nightly News, and Nightline and World News Tonight at ABC.

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No Such Thing as Boring, with Amanda Aronczyk

Monday, Jan 24, 5-7p.m. EST (Remote)

Are you trying to do an audio story about taxes? or Medicare reform? or the interbank lending rate? Are you trying to find fun and interesting ways to tackle complicated subjects? Then this is the workshop for you. In this session, you will learn how to take a topic that some might deem “boring” and find new and creative approaches for interviewing on that topic, understanding it, and then explaining that topic in a radio story or podcast. Amanda Aronczyk is a co-host and reporter for Planet Money, NPR’s award-winning podcast and teaches audio journalism at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

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Power, Politics, & Money, with Tom Robbins

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 442

The Newmark J-School’s Investigative-Journalist-in-Residence Tom Robbins explains how to use public databases to analyze the impact of campaign donors and lobbyists on local elected officials. This session will focus on those individual and institutional players seeking to influence the incoming administration of Eric Adams in City Hall. Robbins has been Investigative Journalist in Residence since 2011. He often writes on political and criminal justice issues for The New Yorker’s online edition, The New York Times and the Marshall Project and has been a staff writer and columnist at the Village Voice, the New York Daily News, and The New York Observer.

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Breaking into Broadcasting, with Walter Smith Randolph, ’10

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 12-2 p.m. EST (Remote)

Whether it’s TV or radio news, in this workshop you’ll learn what skills you need to break into the world of broadcasting. We’ll go over making a resume tape, how to initiate the job search, and the tips and tricks to make it in the broadcast world. You’ll also hear from on-air reporters, producers and hiring managers from radio and television stations to learn more about their journeys and what they’ve learned along the way.

Walter Smith Randolph ’10 is the investigative editor at CT Public Broadcasting where he leads The Accountability Project, producing and reporting in-depth stories for CT Public’s NPR and PBS stations. Previously, Walter spent a decade at local TV affiliates in Elmira, NY, Flint, MI, Kalamazoo, MI and Cincinnati. He also serves as national Treasurer of the National Association of Black Journalists and chair of the Newmark J-School Alumni Board.

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How to Brand Yourself on Social Media, with Austen Tosone

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2-5 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 330

As a writer, you know you should be on social media. But what should you be posting? How can you share your work without coming across as “braggy”? What opportunities can you create for yourself by posting on your social media accounts?

In this workshop, we’ll go over all of that and more. We’ll also discuss creating original products and services to generate passive income, why showing up on social media is good for your long-term success, and easy ways to create content and a posting schedule to stay consistent.

Austen Tosone is a digital content creator, writer and consultant based in NYC. She has previously worked on staff at Nylon and Interview and as a freelance writer she has been published in HuffPost, Refinery29, Fashionista, Teen Vogue, and more. She has a social media following of 60,000+ across her various platforms, and believes creating content on social media can unlock many other doors for writers. Austen creates content full-time and also created an e-book called Right on Pitch sharing her best practices for pitching publications and brands.

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Video Editing 02: Advanced Editing in Adobe Premiere, with Kayle Hope, ’14

Tuesday, Jan. 25 and Wednesday, Jan. 26, 4-7 p.m. EST (Remote)

Learn some new tools and tricks in this advanced video editing workshop taught by Kayle Hope,  ’14. Over the course of two days, this class will introduce students to some advanced tools and techniques used in Adobe Premiere. We will look at improving audio, color correction, multi camera editing, nesting and working with multiple tracks, creating captions, and working with effects, keyframes and motion graphics templates. This class is designed for people who are comfortable with basic video editing, but want to take their skills to the next level. Basic understanding of editing in premiere is a prerequisite for this class.

Kayle Hope is a video producer and freelance video editor.  Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS, Retro Report, and Quartz, among others. Kayle is also the video editor for the annual New Yorker Festival, and she teaches video production and editing at the Newmark J-School. You can see Kayle’s work at www.kaylehope.com. This workshop will be taught over zoom with asynchronous learning opportunities.

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2-Day Freelancing Workshop with Ellen Walterscheid and Fred Kaufman

Tuesday, Jan. 25 and Wednesday, Jan. 26, 1-4:30 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 434

This course runs on two consecutive afternoons. We’ll cover such topics as generating ideas, understanding the market, getting to the right editor, pitching the story, revising the pitch, understanding the contract, negotiating a good price, and working with editors. Prof. Frederick Kaufman is a faculty member at the Newmark J-School and CUNY’s College of Staten Island and a veteran freelancer who has published work in Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy, Gourmet, Saveur, GQ, New York, Interview, Allure, Spin, Spy, Salon, Slate, Vice, Men’s Health, Scientific American, Popular Science, Nature, The New Yorker, and Wired, among many others. Ellen Walterscheid, the Newmark J-School’s founding career services director, has written for or edited publications including The Sciences, AARP The Magazine, and National Geographic World. She has also taught feature writing at New York University and served as writing coach for the Newmark J-School’s international students.

On the second day, Jonathan Lyons, a founding partner of Lyons & Salky Law LLP, will discuss such issues as copyright and how to read a freelance contract. Luke Mitchell, a story editor for The New York Times Magazine, and Patia Braithwaite, the health director at Well+Good, will critique student pitches.

Note: Once you sign up for the workshop, you’ll receive an email with further instructions. Focus is on the magazine/web market.

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Smart Videos with Smartphones, with Jennifer Altman – CANCELLED

Wednesday, Jan. 26 & Thursday, Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 330

This is a two-day class. Smartphones have created a new realm of photographic possibility for both professional and citizen journalists. Images produced with today’s smartphones now have sufficient quality to be published on all media platforms, from digital to print. This course, led by photojournalist Jennifer S. Altman, will concentrate on making better videos with your smartphone. We’ll discuss the history of the technology in today’s world of photojournalism and media, composition, exposure, how to capture decisive moments, as well as conceptualizing and developing an approach. We’ll examine the use of some popular apps and the controversial journalistic and ethical issues relating to post-production. The session will include time for students to shoot a video while on assignment. We will learn how to edit the videos within our phones on deadline. The workshop will conclude with presentation and critique of participant work. *Students must bring their iPhone or similar Android device, power charger, external hard drive, and laptop computer. Cell phone must be uploaded with Apps: Snapseed and iMovie, and computer should have iMovie software if you have an Android phone. Students will need to check out gear from the school equipment room prior to class: small mobile tripods with holder for phone, a wireless lavalier with connector for the cell phone. Students must also bring headphones. Please clear 10 GB of space on your phone prior to class, so you can shoot video footage. This will be a valuable and insightful experience for an amateur to a more advanced level of photographer.*

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Video Across Platforms: Reporting on TikTok, IG, and YouTube, with Wonbo Woo

Wednesday, Jan. 26, Panel discussion, 12:30-1:30 p.m., followed by class, 2-4 p.m. EST (Remote)

For years, media outlets have been chasing younger audiences by following them from platform to platform. From websites to social, Facebook to YouTube, Snapchat to Instagram and TikTok—many have tried (and many have failed) to create authentic, scalable content. Why are the stakes so high? Can you really build a business around Tiktok? What are the keys to success—and where are the limits of what we call journalism? We’ll hear from journalists and creators who are leading the way in producing news and news-adjacent content across all platforms.

The panel and class will be led by Wonboo Woo, an Emmy Award-winning producer and a recipient of the prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard. A former broadcast-journalist-in-residence at the Newmark J-School, he has worked for WIRED, NBC’s Nightly News, and Nightline and World News Tonight at ABC.

Panelists:
–Raney Aronson-Rath, Executive Producer, Frontline
–John Friia ‘17, Host/Creator, @hereinnyc
–Madeleine Haeringer, Senior VP, Editorial, NBC News; formerly Senior Executive Producer, NBC News on Quibi and founding Executive Producer, VICE News Tonight
–Dave Jorgenson, The Washington Post’s “TikTok Guy”
–Moderator: Wonbo Woo

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Audio Workshop 01: Back to Basics, with Chad Bernhard

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 6-8 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 440

This class is ideal for students continuing on with radio classes who feel behind on basic audio mixing skills: problems with recording, basic Pro Tools use, organization. Students should come with plenty of questions! Chad Bernhard is senior audio engineer at the Newmark J-School.

**Open to Newmark J-School students and alumni only

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2-Day “Voice Coaching,” Section 2, with Michael Lysak – CANCELLED

Wednesday, Jan. 26 and Thursday, Jan. 27, 2:30-5:30 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 442

The workshop begins with a classroom lecture on the basics of broadcast announcing. Audio samples are used to demonstrate concepts. Topics covered include diaphragmatic breathing, considering the audience, listener distractions, radio versus TV, reporting versus anchoring, differing styles, pacing, and sounding conversational. Practical exercises are taught and demonstrated. The relationship between good broadcast writing and smooth voice delivery is explored. The second part of the workshop involved a hands-on voice coaching session in the radio studio. A professional radio newscast is played and analyzed. Students then read newscasts scripts and are offered immediate feedback and critique. They then are given the opportunity to try again, and implement the skills that they have learned. Michael Lysak is head of Global Radio and TV Syndication at Bloomberg and oversees operations for Bloomberg Radio’s national network. Previously, he has been a news anchor and reporter at WCBS, WOR, WNEW, and WRKS (Kiss-FM), all in New York City. NOTE: A virtual (via Zoom) version of this workshop is also offered on January 19 and 20.

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Audio Workshop 02: Advanced Mixing, with Chad Bernhard

Thursday, Jan. 27, 6-8 p.m. EST (In-person)
Room 440

This class will cover two of the most important audio processing tools available to you in Pro Tools: compression and equalization. Students should feel very comfortable with Pro Tools and want to push their skill set forward. Basics will not be covered; students requiring that should sign up for Audio Workshop 01: Back to the Basics. Chad Bernhard is senior audio engineer at the Newmark J-School.

**Open to Newmark J-School students and alumni only