A new group of students joins us to find new ways to meet communities’ information needs — Hari Adivarekar Hari Adivarekar is an independent photographer, director/producer, journalist, podcaster, radio jockey, yoga practitioner, urban explorer, and in a different life, a singer in a rock and roll band. His work has been published by BBC News, Al Jazeera, National Geographic Traveler India, and commissioned by Red Bull, Greenpeace and Amnesty…

Good to be back to journalism conferencing for the first time in more than two years — On April 1 and 2, I finally broke out ye old carry-on bag and headed back to my favorite journalism conference, the International Symposium for Online Journalism in Austin, Texas. It was both strange and invigorating to be talking to people in person, instead of squares on a Zoom screen…

We asked a few former students to tell us what they learned in the Newmark J School at CUNY’s Engagement Journalism MA program and how they explain what they do — There is no one better at explaining what engagement journalism is all about than our brilliant graduates. We recently made some videos of them discussing our program and how they talk to others about what engagement journalism is. …

The pace of change in newsrooms is slow, but our students and alumni are getting more creative and radical to meet the moment and involve communities in their work — In January 2015, a brave group of about a dozen students joined our first engagement journalism cohort at the Newmark J-School at CUNY. We were full of conviction that journalists must put the needs of the communities it serves at the center of its work if we want a sustainable…

Much has long been said and written about dogs as our best friends. Better known as Sammy, Fatty, and any number of other random endearments including but not limited to “bunsen burner,” “chunky bear” and “snoogly boogly,” this one was mine. It’s hard to write about Sam without using cliches…

The pandemic hasn’t stopped Newmark J-School at CUNY students from engaging communities this summer — Zee Ngema, Editorial Intern at OkayAfrica

Ideas and Resources for Serving a Community During a Pandemic — **Updated March 19, 2020. Will continue adding to this document with additional resources and ideas as they become available** I developed some ideas on for my social (engaged) journalism students, each of which chooses a community to serve during their time in our MA program. I’m sharing in case this…

Social journalism students showed all that is possible when you engage communities with a commitment to empathy, equity, and sharing power — It was the best night of my professional life. The 14 members of the social journalism class of 2019 at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY shared the results of a year and half of working *with,* not for, communities on a rainy Tuesday night in December, just…

Lessons from the “Weave the People” gathering in DC — In mid-May, a diverse group of community “weavers” from a variety of different professions and passions came from across the United States to Washington, DC to talk about the ways in which they bring people together to solve problems and build meaningful relationships. Supported by The Aspen Institute and led…