Hawk News Service wraps first semester, pairs student with NJ local newsrooms
Hawk News Service, a new student-led media content service based at the School of Communication at Montclair State University, officially wrapped up its first semester at Montclair State University.
Hawk News was created as an externship course by the Center for Cooperative Media to provide real-world local news experience to student journalists.
The Center worked closely with SCM staff to identify and place the university’s top journalism students at local media organizations, where they did an externship this past semester. Students got to pitch story ideas to their assigned news organizations, discussed edits and feedback with their professor, and then submitted their work for publication.
The idea for the course came as the Center was working with Keith Strudler, the Director of the School of Communication and Media, on ways to involve more students in New Jersey news organizations. Once Strudler and the Center decided to move forward with the course, they recruited Carla Baranauckas to be the instructor.
Baranauckas is a journalist with four decades of experience at both local and national news organizations, and she had already worked for the Center for a number of years. Carla currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Montclair Local, a nonprofit newsroom covering Montclair, NJ and the surrounding communities.
Tara George, associate professor and head of journalism and digital media at Montclair State, described Baranauckas as the “magic element” of the course.
“Her role is to help support the students in their internships, give them guidance and basically serve as a support system,” said George.
Baranauckas had two goals for the course’s pilot semester: to help students gain working experience, and to create a portfolio for future jobs. Based on initial student feedback, not only did Baranauckas accomplish these goals. And, adds Baranauckas, she and the students also helped provide assistance to local news organizations that were short staffed.
Jennifer Portorreal, a journalism student at Montclair State University, was able to get her work published in USA Today with the help of Hawk News Service and Baranauckas’ guidance.
“I was able to intern at The Record and NorthJersey.com and get a better grasp of the journalism world. I was able to do real reporting and gain more experience outside of Montclair State,” said Portorreal.
While the future of the course is not yet set in stone, Baranauckas and George both said they hope to offer the course next fall. The goal is to help students gain more confidence in their writing while working through various hurdles they may face in the industry.
Amanda Alicea is a freelance feature reporter and writer who serves as the data entry and membership coordinator at the Center for Cooperative Media. She can be reached on LinkedIn or via email at aliceaa6@montclair.edu.
About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Local News Lab (a partnership of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Community Foundation of New Jersey), and the Abrams Foundation. For more information, visit centerforcooperativemedia.org.
