irinebeans

[irinebeans]

The Jane Doe Ponytail + Dan Barry Interview

In November 2017, Song Yang jumped to her death from her apartment building in Flushing. 

Had been arrested for prior three different times on prostitution charges. 

Originally from China. Worked in Saipan before moving to Flushing. Husband is 40 years older, dreams of opening a restaurant. 

40th Road. Mandarin is more spoken than English. Population almost entirely Asian or Chinese. 

The massage parlor/sex trafficking scene in Flushing (specifically 40th Road) is extensive. 

Jeff Singer speaks fluent Mandarin -- joan didion???

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The largest single population in NYC shelter system is kids under 6 years old. 

Infants can either lengthen their stay or make families leave shelters. 

The image of the woman pregnant in the chair with the birth control and condoms and safe sex/contraceptive poster above it. Shows the contrast. 

Homeless pregnant women experience high rates of depression and post traumatic stress disorder. 

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notes on social media reporting:

Article uses five different tweets from five different people about a Hasidic Jewish man who chose not to sit between two women in an airplane row. 

Use the right search terms. In point of using twitter, use the correct hashtags. 

“Most people relating a personal experience — aka, good sources — will use it. Most people observing from afar — aka, useless sources — won’t.“

All of the tweets used as examples included me/my/mine. 

Once you get this step down, use twitter’s advanced search to help with research and key search terms. 

notes on ethics: 

Cardinal sin -- plagiarism 

To avoid plagiarism: paraphrase another writer’s words and state the sources from.

Plagiarism can also include simple rearranging of words without citation.

Different forms of plagiarism include: fabrication, doctoring photos and videos, and fictional devices. 

Examples of non-plagiarism include using public stated and known facts. 

When in doubt, just cite your information to make sure. 

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how millennials like their makeup: notes

Beautycon was created in 2012. CEO decided, “What would happen if Coachella and Sephora combined?” 

The makeup is representative of all people. Signs around Beautycon - “All races, all genders, all sexual orientations.” “Very women’s march vibes” 

Youtubers giving tutorials, as well as people like Laverne Cox speaking on the main stage. 

I really loved this article for the photography and visuals. The header image really intrigued me; it was a girl with braces and bright red glitter lipstick. The image had very dreamy and nostalgic vibes. 

Initially, I thought that the dreaminess of the photo was part of a theme of Beautycon, until I found out that the picture was of a 14 year old attendee. 

I had never heard about Beautycon before prior to this article. I really liked this article due to its very get-to-the-point nature and mentions of social justice within makeup. It was extremely gratifying to read about the very inclusive nature of Beautycon, as makeup often can be somewhat exclusive due to price, pigmentation of makeup, and more.

inside the book maker’s studio

Yolanda Cuomo is a graphic designer. Describes it as visual storytelling. Lots of exhibitions and projects. “If all of your books look the same, then your ego is too big.”

Chinese saying - “if there is one mistake in a book, that means that a person made it.”

Original space on the High Line. Described how her studio has shaped her life, her kids grew up there. 

I really liked this video because of Yolanda Cuomo’s energy. Especially at the end, she was voicing how she was kind of sad that she had to move studios, but that didn’t deter her. She was saying how the magic is what we bring and doesn’t stick to just one location. 

bust magazine is on a mission

I was drawn to this article due to its focus on feminist print publications. I remember there was a bit of controversy on social media and sadness amongst my friends when the news that Teen Vogue was going out of print came out. 

“This is a great time to be a small magazine. You’re in the business of customers who count, rather than counting customers.” 

Bust has managed to survive and flourish for 25 years despite magazines like Jane, Teen Vogue, and the Village Voice going under.

In the face of financial struggles, Bust founders Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel cut their salaries first.

Reading this article made me both pretty optimistic and internally nervous about the direction of print journalism. This article did a really good job of showing both the gritty reality of print journalism (such as Stoller and Henzel cutting their own salaries for months in order to pay their writers, other magazines going under), but also the upward direction of Bust Magazine. They focus a lot on their staff writers and the writers’ work. In addition, they hold a lot of events such as the Bust winter craft fair and events with their cover stars.

[irinebeans]

on staten island, haunting memories of those killed by hurricane sandy

the lede: [A daughter obsessively imagines the final moments of her father’s life five years later. Was he afraid? What was his last thought as the waters of New York rose around him and his wife? A granddaughter likes to picture that they died holding hands. She knows it didn’t happen that way.]

A lot of the paragraphs begin with ledes regarding the negative memories that people have from Hurricane Sandy, such as the deaths of their family members.

Beatrice Spagnuolo, colon cancer survivor. Died from drowning after going back into her house to grab her pills. The contrast between the details of Spanuolo being strong through her entire life, this one moment in Sandy that led to her death. 

Contains profiles and flashbacks from survivors of Sandy.

Story ends with “Whenever I feel bad for myself, I think of her [the case of the Colbournes].” 

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This is an article that I found on CNN that I found to be a good example of journalism. The headline was intriguing, “And just like that, Kanye West appears to be over politics.” In the news over the past year, West has made a lot of controversial statements regarding politics and history, particularly his comments about slavery being a choice and his support for Trump. 

West has made comments regarding his controversial views as recent as a couple of weeks ago, but suddenly has had a change of heart and wants to step away from the political limelight. The article uses tweets directly from West regarding his change of heart regarding politics, citing that he wants to focus more on his creative projects.

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A topic I’d like to report more on is neighborhoods in New York, and maybe another topic like commute (something we were discussing last class). It would be interesting to see how these two topics go hand in hand and reporting and learning about the different neighborhoods/commutes people have and their experiences.

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This is an example of good journalism. The article comes from a reputable news source (The Washington Post). It is timely and current. In addition, it is a breaking story and there are sources and links attached.

[irinebeans]

george packer’s tips for reporting

Don’t go in cold, make sure to do the appropriate research needed to know background info on subject!

Don’t be afraid to talk to people you know for more info and background knowledge. Talk to the people at event/place, ect.

Start off with a question to base your work and interview.

Carry around a notebook with you to take notes, collect work. 

Explore other mediums like blogging.

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notes on ledes

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These are the notes I took for the quipus exhibit. The quote above was from the docent leading the tour. 

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Interview with Margaret, 21, from Raleigh, North Carolina

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Interview with Liza, 28, from New Jersey.

[irinebeans]

Notes on the Brooklyn Museum

This Saturday, October 6th, I decided to take advantage of the Brooklyn Musuem’s free admission on the first Saturday of every month. However, the first Saturday isn’t just a night for free admissions; exhibits around the museum do special tours, poets come in for exclusive readings, and there was even a special salsa dancing event on the third floor of the museum.

I had originally planned to attend a poetry reading that started at 7, but my train was delayed, causing me to miss it. Luckily, there was a planned tour a bit later that I made it to on time - Cecilia Vicuna’s exhibit called Disappeared Quipu. Cecilia Vicuna: Disappeared Quipu is an exhibit organized by the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Prior to attending the exhibit and tour, I had no idea what the exhibit would actually entail. I wasn’t sure what quipus were or what Vicuna meant by “disappeared.” I quickly learned through the speakers and docents (Vicuna, herself, was one of the speakers). 

[irinebeans]

an interview with elaine

Earlier this week, I was studying at The Bean over on 3rd and East 9th when thinking more about how to conduct this assignment. I wasn’t sure if I’d go back to Washington Square Park and randomly interview someone (like an extension of the vox pot). However, the table I was sitting at was a 4 person table (it was the only table open), and I was the only person there. An NYU student came up to me and asked if the spot was open. When she sat down, she pulled out a copy of Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara. This struck as interesting to me as this was a book I read for high school and haven’t seen or heard since. From there, we started a conversation, and after a bit, I told her about this assignment and how I was a journalism student at The New School and she agreed to an interview. This conversation didn’t last the maximum 20-25 minutes, but was rather a quick conversation about American history and pleasure reading.

(Prior to officially starting the interview; we decided it would be pretty interesting to include this in here because it was the entirety of our conversation together).

E: Hey, are you using all these chairs? 

I: Nah, feel go for it. 

(Elaine sets stuff down) E: Do you mind looking after this? I have to go pick something up from the bar. 

I: No problem

(This is the part of the conversation before we agreed to do an interview together and were just talking about the book that she was reading. We realized we had similar interests and I had really enjoyed Rise to Rebellion (the book she was reading and we decided to actually record/write down what we were saying). 

Elaine: Yeah, I’m a first year student at NYU. I’m an English major from Oregon. I was actually considering journalism at a certain point.

Irine: What made you decide against it?

Elaine: I wouldn’t say I decided against it, just haven’t gotten the chance to explore it more yet. That’s a reason why I’m so excited to start school in New York because I feel like there are a lot of ways to pursue reading, writing, and the like. 

Irine: Are you more into writing or reading?

Elaine: I’d say a split between both, but definitely into pleasure reading when I have the chance. Like right now. 

Irine: What made you choose to read Rise to Rebellion, especially for pleasure reading? When I read it, it was required for class during the summer. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good book, but it definitely felt dense for a pleasure read. 

Elaine: Oh, simple, it was on sale at this bookstore I was at earlier. It seemed cool, and I’m really into U.S. history. The summary seemed pretty cool, and it didn’t seem too academic to me. Please don’t give me spoilers.

Irine: I promise, I won’t.

[irinebeans]

notes on the guardian

importance of information:

Helpful to create a hierarchy of information, to decide what is important, what is not. You must think of your audience during this time!

Must understand the intentions of the publication you’re writing for. Be as accurate as possible. 

“Overriding message of journalism is: keep it simple” - people are just trying to understand the point!

introduction:

Has two purposes: to engage the reader instantly and to summarize what the story is all about. This is called the “inverted pyramid.”

rest of the story

After the intro, you are already amplifying the story. Journalism students are taught the 5Ws: who, what, when, where, why

Try to detach yourself from your prose. “Come cold to the story” - in other words, separate feelings from your writing? 

Active always!

Use short, incisive, and more direct quotes. These “add flavor and character.” NEVER USE ANOTHER WORD OTHER THAN SAID TO DESCRIBE A QUOTE. 

[irinebeans]

Story Ideas for Rebekah

- Why is there a homeless man on a mattress? How long has he been there? Have any other people in Washington Square Park seen him there? Are there any other people sleeping like that in the park, or on the mattress in general? Why was he holding the alcohol? Write and research more about laws/history regarding sleeping in public areas in New York.

- The emphasis on Rebekah’s map about the park being a versatile place to meet people. Write a story and do sort of a vox box asking people about their most memorable experience with strangers in the park, except if they’ve become friends with any of those strangers and the relationship.

- What does the man who talked about his rent costs think about rising costs of rent in the city? What are the other places within the city he’s lived? The different neighborhoods and historical rent trends?