Social Journalism student and alumni happenings
Updates from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Social Journalism students
Got more CUNY-J social journalism news that we missed? Let us know!
Updates from summer and fall, 2019
Social Journalism students past and present participated in the Open Newsroom event at the Brooklyn Library in October. The event was run by The City’s engagement director Terry Parris Jr., who is also an adjunct faculty member in the Social Journalism program. The discussion centered on learning differences in NYC schools. Several students moderated small group conversations at the event.
- Max Resnik, ‘17
- Lauren Costantino, ‘19
- Erica Anderson, ‘19
- Daniel Laplaza, ‘19
- Mekdela Maskal, ‘19
- Karla Arroyo, ‘20
- Allison Dikanovic, ‘20
- Zinhle Ngema, ‘20
Social Journalism students from the classes of 2019 and 2020 attended the Hearken Summit in Brooklyn last month, which focused on engagement.
Kristine Villanueva, Social Journalism, ’17, and audience engagement editor at the Center for Public Integrity, recently partnered with the Roosie Report in Jackson Heights, Queens to crowdsource a data project on complaints about child separation at the border.
Documenting Hate, Frontline and PBS won the Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary from News and Documentary Emmys. Rachel Glickhouse Social Journalism ’15, and adjunct professor, is the partner manager for Documenting Hate.
She was also highlighted in the Gather Newsletter for her engagement work and a new tool for crowdsourced projects and a collaboration guide.
John Philp, Social Journalism ’20, was recently interviewed by CNN about Rudy Giuliani. In 2003, Philp and Matthew Carnahan released “Rudyland”, a documentary they co-wrote and co-directed about America’s Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
Lena Camilletti, Social Journalism ’19, was highlighted by Buzzfeed for her work at Vermont-based newsweekly Seven Days. She helped develop the All Our Hearts project that features her sister’s memorial and which aims to show the human cost of the opioid epidemic.
Head of Latino Content at Sports Illustrated and Social Journalism adjunct professor LuisMiguelEchegaray, Social Journalism ’15, presented at the Hearken Summit last month in Brooklyn. He provided lessons on how to successfully create content that the broad and growing Latino community is looking for, including and beyond Telemundo and Univision.
Alyxaundria Sanford, Social Journalism ’17, was recently named the interim Social Media Manager at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Additionally, Alyxaundria has provided multiple trainings across the country through the Society of Professional Journalists. She has trained more than 100 journalists, including the Social Journalism class of 2020.
Melissa DiPento, Social Journalism ’17, was recently named the Educational Program Coordinator at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She will be working with both the Social Journalism program and the Executive Program for News Innovation and Leadership.
Tiziana Rinaldi, Social Journalism ’19, moderated a panel in September on “Effective Models of Immigrant Workforce Integration in New York and Across the U.S.” at the annual workforce conference organized by the NYCETC.
She was also featured by World Education Services (WES), alongside 6 other immigrants, in a video exhibit that WES produced: “Living The Mission: Stories of Immigrants Project.” She gave a speech at a September event at the Tenement Museum related to this project.
Diara J. Townes, Social Journalism ’19, was selected for the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship program at MIT. The fact-checking workshop was held November 8–10 in Dedham, Massachusetts.
She also spoke at the Lemonade, Inc. Climate Activism Panel. She and others participated in a panel discussion regarding the climate emergency.
Sabrina S. Gordon, Social Journalism ’15, and Producer of Quest, was nominated for two News and Documentary Emmys — Best Social Issue Doc and Best Doc.
She was also selected to give the keynote/master’s class at the 2019 Southern Documentary Fund Artists Convening in Durham, North Carolina.
Ariam Alula, Social Journalism ’19, was featured in Black Youth Project with her essay “I worry about how to care for my brother with autism and his mental health when my parents are gone.”
Her piece is a finalist for the Excellence in Student Journalism Awards category which will be announced at the New York Association of Black Journalists Awards Gala on Nov. 14.
Additionally, she was also featured in the Gather Newsletter for her community engagement work on the informational and social needs of families impacted by autism.
Allen Arthur, Social Journalism ’16, was named a Livingston Award Finalist for his work with The Marshall Project and USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee.
Simon Galperin, Social Journalism ’16, was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered to discuss a solution for communities underserved by local news: newsroom and library collaborations.
With help from a Solutions Journalism Network travel grant, Allison Dikanovic, Social Journalism ’20, published a three-part series comparing New York City and Miluwakee’s different approaches to juvenile justice.
Tori Hoffman, Social Journalism ’19, detailed her classmates summer internships in a Medium post. (TLDR: Hire them!)
Social Journalism program director Carrie Brown was quoted in a piece by Insight into Diversity about empathy in journalism in “Journalism Schools Find New Approaches to Covering Underrepresented Audiences.”
Send any updates to melissa.dipento@journalism.cuny.edu.
