CRAIG NEWMARK GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AT CUNY 2019-20 ACCREDITATION SELF STUDY ACCREDITING COUNCIL ON EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS SELF-STUDY REPORT FOR ACCREDITATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS GRADUATE SITE VISIT 2019-20
Submitted to the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Name of Institution: City University of New York Name of Journalism/Mass Communications Unit: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Address: 219 West 40th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 Date of Scheduled Accrediting Visit: Oct. 27-30, 2019
We hereby submit the following report as required by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications for the purpose of an accreditation review. Journalism/mass communications administrator Name: Sarah Bartlett Title: Dean
Administrator to whom journalism/mass communications administrator reports Name: Felix V. Matos Rodriguez Title: Chancellor TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I General Information 1 PART II Supplementary Information 14 PART II | STANDARD 1 Mission, Governance and Administration 33 PART II | STANDARD 2 Curriculum and Instruction 41 PART II | STANDARD 3 Diversity and Inclusiveness 72 PART II | STANDARD 4 Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty 89 PART II | STANDARD 5 Scholarship: Research, Creative and Professional Activity 100 PART II | STANDARD 6 Student Services 107 PART II | STANDARD 7 Resources, Facilities and Equipment 116 PART II | STANDARD 8 Professional and Public Service 123 PART II | STANDARD 9 Assessment of Learning Outcomes 132 PART I GENERAL INFORMATION PART I GENERAL INFORMATION
This general information section will be included in its entirety in the site team’s report, and it must present the most current information available. Before the site visit, the unit should review its responses to the questions below and update them as necessary. The unit then should provide a copy of this updated section for each team member when they arrive on campus. A digital copy in Word document format of the updated responses also must be provided to the team chair to be included in the digital team report sent to the ACEJMC office. In addition, if any significant changes not covered in this section have occurred since the original self-study report was submitted, the unit should describe and document those changes and present this new material to the team when members arrive.
Name of Institution: City University of New York Name of Unit: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Year of Visit: 2019
1. Check regional association by which the institution now is accredited. ___ Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools ___ New England Association of Schools and Colleges ___ North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ___ Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges ___ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ___ Western Association of Schools and Colleges If the unit seeking accreditation is located outside the United States, provide the name(s) of the appropriate recognition or accreditation entities:
2. Indicate the institution’s type of control; check more than one if necessary. ___ Private ___ Public ___ Other (specify)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 2 3. Provide assurance that the institution has legal authorization to provide education beyond the secondary level in your state. It is not necessary to include entire authorizing documents. Public institutions may cite legislative acts; private institutions may cite charters or other authorizing documents. Section 6201(2) of the New York State Education Law provides that CUNY will be maintained as an independent system of higher education governed by its own Board of Trustees responsible for the governance, maintenance, and development of both senior and community college units of the City University. Under 6202 of the New York State Education Law, the term “senior college” includes a professional or graduate institution.
4. Has the journalism/mass communications unit been evaluated previously by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications? ___ Yes ___ No
If yes, give the date of the last accrediting visit: Nov. 17-20, 2013
5. When was the unit or sequences within the unit first accredited by ACEJMC? 2014
6. Provide the unit’s undergraduate mission statement and the separate mission statement for the graduate program. Statements should give the date of adoption and/or last revision. Adopted May 29, 2013 The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York prepares students from a broad range of economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds to produce high-quality journalism at a time of rapid change. We are rooted in the core skills and ethics of journalism: strong reporting and writing, critical thinking, fairness and accuracy. We teach new technologies and storytelling tools across media platforms to engage audiences and promote a broader democratic dialogue. We serve our local and global news communities by sharing our reporting, research and facilities. We serve our profession by graduating skilled journalists, diversifying the voices in the media and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship to help build a sustainable future for journalism.
7. What are the type and length of terms? Semesters of 15 weeks Quarters of _____ weeks Summer sessions of _____ weeks Intersessions of _____ weeks
8. Check the programs offered in journalism/mass communications: ___ Bachelor’s degree ___ Master’s degree ___ Ph.D. degree
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 3 9. List the specific undergraduate and professional master’s degrees as well as the majors or sequences being reviewed by ACEJMC. *Indicate online degrees. Master of Arts in Journalism Master of Arts in Social Journalism
10. Credit hours required by the university for an undergraduate degree: (Specify semester-hour or quarter-hour credit.) N/A
Credit hours required for a professional master’s degree: 43 for the M.A. in Journalism; 36 for the M.A. in Social Journalism
11. Give the number of credit hours students may earn for internship experience: (Specify semester-hour or quarter-hour credit.) Three semester hours for summer internship; one semester hour for part-time internship during the spring or final fall semester.
12. List each professional journalism or mass communications sequence or specialty in the undergraduate program and give the name of the person in charge. Sequences/specialties in our graduate program: Arts & Culture Reporting Janice Simpson Business & Economics Reporting Greg David Health & Science Reporting Emily Laber-Warren International Reporting Alia Malek Urban Reporting Daryl Khan Spanish-Language Reporting Graciela Mochkofsky Documentary Reporting Yoruba Richen Investigative Reporting Andrew Lehren Visual Journalism, including video, broadcast and photo Travis Fox Audio Journalism Amanda Aronczyk, interim Interactive Journalism Sandeep Junnarkar Writing Judy Watson
13. Number of full-time students enrolled in the institution: Spring 2019: 124 students Fall 2019: 237 students
14. Number of undergraduate majors in the unit, by sequence and total (if the unit has pre-major students, list them as a single total): N/A
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 4 15. Number of graduate students enrolled on-site: Spring 2019: 124 students Fall 2019: 237 students Online: N/A
16. Number of students in each section of all skills courses (newswriting, reporting, editing, photography, advertising copy, broadcast news, public relations writing, etc.). List enrollment by section for the term during which the visit will occur and the preceding term. Attach separate pages if necessary. Include a separate list for online skills courses, which also must meet the 20-1 ratio. (The Council has ruled that campaigns courses are exempt from the 20-1 ratio.) SPRING 2019
NUMBER OF CLASS CLASS NAME INSTRUCTOR ENROLLED STUDENTS
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71151 Judy Watson 12 Advanced Writing and Reporting
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71151 Lisa Armstrong 12 Advanced Writing and Reporting
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71151 Michelle Higgins 8 Advanced Writing and Reporting
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71152 Linda Prout 16 Advanced Video Reporting
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71152 Susan Farkas 19 Advanced Video Reporting
Craft of Journalism II - Sandeep JOUR 71153 16 Advanced Interactive Reporting Junnarkar
Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 71154 Miguel Paz 10 Advanced Writing and Reporting in Spanish
JOUR 72201 Cultural Issues Jan Simpson 13
JOUR 72201 Cultural Issues Steve Daly 11
Greg David and JOUR 72301 Covering the Economy 21* Ben Casselman
Emily Laber- JOUR 72401 Introduction to Health Journalism 16 Warren
JOUR 72501 Introduction to International Reporting Alia Malek 16
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 5 Errol Louis and JOUR 72601 Covering City Government and Politics 34** Daryl Khan
JOUR 72701 Covering Latino Communities Edward Morales 11
JOUR 73104 Feature Writing Tim Harper 13
JOUR 73104 Feature Writing Tim Harper 12
JOUR 73104 Feature Writing Fred Kaufman 12
JOUR 73106 National Political Reporting Peter Beinart 13
JOUR 73252 Social Video Bob Sacha 13
JOUR 73261 Introduction to Documentary Film Yoruba Richen 15
JOUR 73261 Introduction to Documentary Film Sabrina Gordon 9
JOUR 73271 Photojournalism John Smock 11
JOUR 73271 Photojournalism Jennifer Altman 8
JOUR 73351 Data Journalism Miguel Paz 16
Ann Choi JOUR 73351 Data Journalism 12 Fitzpatrick
JOUR 73351 Data Journalism Lam Thuy Vo 13
JOUR 73371 Advanced Social Media Delia Paunescu 13
JOUR 73372 Motion Graphics for Journalism Michael Schmidt 9
JOUR 73451 Radio News Writing and Reporting Michael Lysak 7
Fundamentals of Business for Entrepreneurial JOUR 74001 Jeremy Caplan 13 Journalists
JOUR 74002 New Business Models for News Jeff Jarvis 13
JOUR 74003 Entrepreneurial Incubator Jeremy Caplan 13
JOUR 74004 Entrepreneurial Skills Jeremy Caplan 13
JOUR 74005 Media Innovation Fieldwork Jeremy Caplan 13
JOUR 75002 Metrics and Outcomes Terry Parris Jr. 16
Meredith Bennett- JOUR 75005 Advanced Reporting for Social Journalism 15 Smith
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 6 Ethical & Legal Considerations in Social JOUR 75007 Geanne Belton 15 Journalism
JOUR 75008 Data Skills Malik Singleton 17
JOUR 76007 Topics in Visual Journalism: On Camera Vanessa Botelho 14
JOUR 76007 Topics in Visual Journalism: Drone Journalism Travis Fox 15
Topics in Visual Journalism: Using GIFs, JOUR 76007 John Smock 14 Memes & Animation for News
Topics in Journalistic Writing: The Business of JOUR 76008 Tim Harper 15 Freelancing
Topics in Journalistic Writing: Investigative JOUR 76008 Barbara Gray 14 Research Techniques
JOUR 76009 Topics in Audio Reporting: Audio Documentary Karen Duffin 10
JOUR 76009 Topics in Audio Reporting: Audio Documentary Ilya Marritz 12
JOUR 76009 Topics in Audio Reporting: Podcast Pilots Mia Lobel 14
Topics: Craft of Journalism II - JOUR 76009 Dana Roberson 16 Advanced Audio Reporting
JOUR 76012 Topics in Journalism: Prototyping the News John Keefe
JOUR 78001 Voices and Perspectives in Conflict Wayne Svoboda 10
JOUR 78001 Voices and Perspectives in Conflict Wayne Svoboda 10
* This course had two instructors for 21 students. **This course had two instructors for the 34 students, keeping the ratio below 20:1. In addition, there was a TA to assist with grading.
FALL 2019
NUMBER OF CLASS CLASS NAME INSTRUCTOR ENROLLED STUDENTS
JOUR 71101 Craft I Judy Watson 12
JOUR 71101 Craft I Wayne Svoboda 13
JOUR 71101 Craft I Lisa Armstrong 11
JOUR 71101 Craft I Ellen Tumposky 14
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 7 JOUR 71101 Craft I Tim Harper 14
JOUR 71101 Craft I Dana Roberson 15
JOUR 71102 Craft I - Spanish Ronny Rojas 11
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues Ruth Hochberger 13
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues David Kaplan 18
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues David Bralow 15
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues Ken Vittor 14
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues Geanne Belton 14
JOUR 71103 Legal and Ethical Issues Charles Glasser 15
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Veralyn Williams 14
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Sean Carlson 14
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Alex Goldmark 13
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Cindy Rodriguez 15
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Amanda Aronczyk 15
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Michael Lysak 13
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Julianne Welby 14
JOUR 71104 Multimedia - Audio/Visual Karen Shakerdge 7
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Hanna Sender 14
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive T.C. McCarthy 15
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Nelson Hsu 14
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Stephen Stirling 13
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Alex Laughlin 11
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Ann Choi 12
JOUR 71105 Multimedia - Interactive Elbert Wang 12
JOUR 72010 Arts Criticism Margot Miflin 8
JOUR 72010 Arts Criticism Alan Light 14
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 8 JOUR 72203 Arts & Entertainment Reporting Steve Daly 13
JOUR 72203 Arts & Entertainment Reporting Pat Cole 8
JOUR 72302 Covering Markets and Companies Greg David 15
JOUR 72302 Covering Markets and Companies Greg David 5
JOUR 72402 Science Journalism Alicia Chang 8
JOUR 72403 Investigative Health Reporting M. Allan 9
JOUR 72404 Urban Environmental Reporting E. Laber-Warren 11
JOUR 72502 Cross-Cultural Reporting A. Malek 16
JOUR 72503 Issues in International Reporting Elmira Bayrasli 11
JOUR 72602 Covering New York's Social Issues D. Khan 13
JOUR 72603 Urban Investigative Jarrett Murphy 12
JOUR 72604 Covering NYC Economy and Business Greg David 13
JOUR 72604 Covering NYC Economy and Business Cara Eisenpress 13
JOUR 73101 Narrative Journalism F. Kaufman 9
Salma Abdelnour JOUR 73101 Narrative Journalism 9 Gilman
JOUR 73102 Investigative Reporting A. Lehren 11
JOUR 73103 Opinion Writing P. Beinart 11
JOUR 73105 Editing the News Dave Pettit 12
JOUR 73107 Sports Reporting Matt Gagne 4
JOUR 73251 Video Storytelling N. Abdou 12
JOUR 73252 Social Video B. Sacha 10
JOUR 73262 Video Documentary Production Y. Richen 14
JOUR 73271 Photojournalism J. Smock 16
JOUR 73272 Advanced Photojournalism J. Estrin 13
JOUR 73281 The Art of the Video Interview Susan Farkas 7
JOUR 73291 Television News Magazine - 219West L. Prout 10
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 9 JOUR 73292 Broadcast Deadline Vanessa Botelho 6
JOUR 73372 Motion Graphics for Journalism Michael Schmidt 14
JOUR 73452 Radio News Magazine: Audiofiles Curtis Fox 8
JOUR 75001 Community Engagement Carrie Brown 14
JOUR 75003 Reporting for Social Journalism Terry Parris Jr 13
Luis Miguel JOUR 75004 Social Media Tools 13 Echegaray
JOUR 75006 Design and Development John Keefe 16
JOUR 75009 Community Practicum Carrie Brown 15
Topics in Arts & Culture Reporting: Writing JOUR 76001 Ryan Sutton 8 Critically About Food and Restaurants
Topics in interactive journalism: Advanced JOUR 76006 T.C. McCarthy 4 Coding
Topics in Interactive Journalism: Interrogating JOUR 76006 John Templon 8 Algorithms
Topics in Interactive Journalism: Advanced JOUR 76006 Lam Vo 15 Data Reporting
Topics in Interactive Journalism: Custom Data JOUR 76006 Julia Wolfe 12 Graphics w/ Illustrator
JOUR 76007 Topics in Visual Journalism: Drone Journalism T. Fox 14
Topics in Visual Journalism: The Art of Video JOUR 76007 K. Hope 14 Editing
Topics in Visual Journalism: Lighting JOUR 76007 Jennifer Altman 8 Workshop
JOUR 76007 Broadcast Live! Vanessa Botelho 7
Topics in Journalistic Writing: The Business of JOUR 76008 T. Harper 7 Freelancing
Topics in Journalistic Writing: Investigative JOUR 76008 B. Gray 13 Research Techniques
Topics in Journalistic Writing: Investigative JOUR 76008 Seth Wessler 7 Research Techniques
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 10 Topics in Audio Journalism - Radio Voice JOUR 76009 George Bodarky 5 Workshop
JOUR 76009 Topics in Audio Journalism - Podcast pilots Mia Lobel 11
Topics in Entrepreneurial Journalism: Startup JOUR 76010 Jeremy Caplan 16 Sprint
Topics in Entrepreneurial Journalism: JOUR 76010 Jeremy Caplan 17 Innovation Lab
JOUR 76012 Topics in Journalism: Latino Media Landscape G. Mochkofsky 12
Topics in Journalism: In-depth Reporting in US JOUR 76012 Ronny Rojas 9 Latino Communities
JOUR 76012 Topics in Journalism: Satire and Journalism Joanna Hausmann 9
17. Total expenditures from all sources planned by the unit for the 2019–2020 academic year: $18,758,000 - this number includes, among other things, foundation funding and CUNY’s allocation for rent, fringe and utilities
Give percentage increase or decrease in three years: Increase of 37% since 2016-17 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 16% increase 2017-2018 to 2018-2019 10% increase 2018-2019 to 2019-2020 8% increase
Amount expected to be spent this year on full-time faculty salaries: In 2019-20 we will pay $1,879,409 in annual salaries for full-time faculty plus fringes of $904,210.17, for a total of $2,783,619 from all sources.
18. List name and rank of all full-time faculty. (Full-time faculty refers to those defined as such by the university.) Identify those not teaching because of leaves, sabbaticals, etc.
UNIT ADMINISTRATORS PROFESSORS ASSOCIATE INSTRUCTORS/ Sarah Bartlett Peter Beinart PROFESSORS LECTURERS Andrew Mendelson Jeff Jarvis Lisa Armstrong Greg David Linda Prout Travis Fox Timothy Harper Barbara Gray Daryl Khan Sandeep Junnarkar Emily Laber-Warren (on sabbatical) Yoruba Richen Robert Sacha John Smock Wayne Svoboda Judith Watson
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 11 19. List names of part-time/adjunct faculty teaching at least one course in fall 2019. Also list names of part-time faculty teaching spring 2019. (If your school has its accreditation visit in spring 2020, please provide the spring 2020 adjunct list in the updated information.)
SPRING 2019 Altman, Jennifer Farkas, Susan Malek, Alia Schnell, Kayle Arendt, Kelsey Fine, Felisa Marritz, Ilya Selemon, Helina Bennett-Smith, Fitzpatrick, Ann Choi McCarthy, Andrew Simpson, Janice Meredith Gallardo, Adriana McCarthy, Timothy Singleton, Malik Botelho, Vanessa Gordon, Sabrina Morales, Edward Vo, Lam Thuy Caplan, Jeremy Higgins, Michelle Ortega, Ralph Nelson-Williams, Casselman, Benjamin Keefe, John Parris, Terry Veralyn Cruz, Wilbert Lobel, MIa Paunescu, Delia Zavadski, Katie Daly, Steve Louis, Errol Roberson, Dana Dimiceli, Vince Lysak, Michael Savits, Natalie Duffin, Karen Maldonado, Cristina Schmidt, Michael
FALL 2019
Abdelnour Gilman, Cruzado, Andrea Laughlin, Alex Santos Briones, Salma Daly, Steve Lehren, Andrew Cinthya Abdou, Nyier Dennis, Yvonne Lesser, Benjamin Schmidt, Michael Alford, Natasha Diaz, Carmen Light, Alan Schnell, Kayle Allen, Marshall Echegaray, Luis Linton, Caroline Selemon, Helina Altman, Jennifer Miguel Lobel, MIa Sender, Hanna Aronczyk, Amanda Eisenpress, Cara Lysak, Michael Shakerdge, Karen Bal, Jessica Estrin, James Malek, Alia Stacke, Sarah Bayrasli, Elmira Farkas, Susan McCarthy, T.C. Stirling, Stephen Beachy, Susan Fine, Felisa McNeill, Sheelagh Sutton, Ryan Belton, Geanne Fox, Curtis Mifflin, Margot Templon, John Benitez, Juan Freleng, Maggie Mitaru, Ilie Tumposky, Ellen Bodarky, George Gagne, Matt Mochkofsky, Graciela Vittor, Ken Botelho, Vannesa Glasser, Charles Murphy, Jarrett Vo, Lam Thuy Bracken, Kassie Glickhouse, Rachel Ortega, Ralph Wang, Elbert Bralow, David Goldmark, Alex Paddock, Barry Welby, Julianne Brown, Carrie Gordon, Sabrina Parris, Terry Wessler, Seth Caplan, Jeremy Green, Leonard Pennar, Karen Williams, Veralyn Carlson, Sean Hausmann, Joanna Pettit, Dave Wolfe, Julia Chang, Alicia Hochberger, Ruth Rao, Ankita Zavadski, Katie Chin, Alan Hsu, Nelson Roberson, Dana Choi, Ann Kaplan, David Rodriguez, Ashley Cole, Patrick Kaufman, Frederick Rodriguez, Cynthia Cruz, Wilbert Keefe, John Rojas, Ronny
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 12 20. Schools on the semester system: For each of the last two academic years, please give the number and percentage of graduates who earned 72 or more semester hours outside of journalism and mass communications.
72 OR MORE SEMESTER HOURS OUTSIDE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS
YEAR TOTAL GRADUATES NUMBER IN COMPLIANCE PERCENT
2018-2019 N/A academic year
2017-2018 N/A academic year
21. Schools on the quarter system: For each of the last two academic years, please give the number and percentage of graduates who earned 104 or more quarter hours outside of journalism and mass communications.
104 OR MORE QUARTER HOURS OUTSIDE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS
YEAR TOTAL GRADUATES NUMBER IN COMPLIANCE PERCENT
2018-2019 N/A academic year
2017-2018 N/A academic year
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part I 13 PART II SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION PART II SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
1. Complete and attach here in the main body of the self-study report the following tables: TABLE 1. STUDENTS List below each of the separate programs of study in the unit. These may be called emphases, concentrations, sequences, or majors; please identify each program with a separate set of requirements. Please also provide separate sequence or emphasis listings for all graduate programs in the unit. Give the number of students by class (year in school) in each of these programs at the end of the 2018–2019 academic year. If all of your students technically come under one major but you subdivide those majors into sequences or tracks, please list students by those sequences or tracks. Please be sure to list separately all subsidiary programs of study, even if not formally identified by computer or register codes. Please also list any such subdivisions in your graduate programs. Add or delete lines as needed. Show the number of degrees conferred during the 2018-19 academic year. Please include all semesters or quarters. If the unit has a formal pre-major status, list the number of such students.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS DEGREES CONFERRED NUMBER OF STUDENTS OF STUDY 2018-19
Arts & Culture 22 13
Business & Economics 17 12
Health & Science 12 19
International 14 14
Urban 30 23
Spanish Language 11 9
Social Journalism 15 0
TOTAL STUDENTS 121 90
*Because Newmark J-School students enter in August and graduate three or four semesters later, the numbers shown under the column titled Degrees Conferred 2018-19 represent students in the Class of 2018 who graduated in December 2018 or completed their degree requirements by June 2019. Out of 100 students in the Class of 2018, 90 graduated during the 2018-19 academic year. The Number of Students column represents students who remained at the school
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 15 at the end of the 2018-19 academic year — students in the Class of 2019 or any students in the 2018 cohort who still had not graduated.
TABLE 2. FULL-TIME FACULTY, SPRING 2019 List names of full-time journalism and mass communications faculty members assigned to the unit and provide requested information for the quarter or semester immediately preceding the accreditation visit. Add or delete lines as needed. (As part of the updated General Information Section, faculty lists will be updated to reflect the academic term when the visiting team is on campus. For more information, see the “General Information” section of the Self-Study report form.) % OF TIME CREDIT HOURS TENURED (Y/N) YEARS FULL-TIME YEARS FULL-TIME TCHG. RSCH. SVC TEACHING EXPERINCE TAUGHT PER SEMESTER TAUGHT YEARS ON THIS FACULTY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE HIGHEST EARNED DEGREE YEARS AT PRESENT RANK YEARS AT
UNIT ADMINISTRATOR
100% Sarah Bartlett 40 17 13 13 M.Phil. Y 0 service
100% Andrew Mendelson 2 22 5 5 Ph.D. Y 0 service
PROFESSORS
Peter Beinart 23 10 10 1 Master’s Y 6 40/40/20
Jeff Jarvis 46 13 13 6 Master’s Y 3 20/60/20
Linda Prout 44 30 13 13 Master’s Y 6 40/40/20
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS
Lisa Armstrong 13 13 13 2 Master’s N 6 40/40/20
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 16 Travis Fox 20 5 5 5 Bachelor’s Y 6 40/40/20
Barbara Gray 23 13 13 4 Master’s N 2 10/40/50
Sandeep Junnarkar 16 18 13 13 Master’s Y 6 40/40/20
Robert Sacha 40 19 7 1 Master’s N 6 40/40/20
Wayne Svoboda 36 26 13 13 Master’s Y 6 40/0/60
Judith Watson 20 5 13 13 Bachelor’s Y 6 40/0/60
INSTRUCTORS/ LECTURERS
Greg David 49 13 9 1 Bachelor’s N 6 40/20/40
Timothy Harper 48 13 12 1 Doctorate N 6 40/20/40
Daryl Khan 20 6 6 1 Master’s N 3 40/20/40
Emily Laber- 32 9 9 1 Bachelor’s N 3 40/20/40 Warren
Yoruba Richen 21 11 11 1 Master’s N 3 40/20/40
John Smock 31 21 12 1 Master’s N 4 40/20/40
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 17 TABLE 3. PART-TIME FACULTY List names of part-time faculty paid from journalism and mass communications funds and provide requested information. List should include personnel, including laboratory instructors and teaching assistants, who taught any regular course during the year preceding the accreditation visit. Present the names in groups by semester or quarter. Put an X under the appropriate teaching responsibility. Add or delete lines as needed.
FALL 2018 RANK LECTURES SEMESTER EXPERIENCE FACULTY NAME FACULTY PROFESSIONAL TEACHER IN CHARGE IN CHARGE OF COURSE HIGHEST EARNED DEGREE WORKING TOWARD DEGREE WORKING TOWARD CREDIT HRS. TEACHING THIS YEARS TEACHING EXPERINCE NOW WORKING FULL-TIME AS YEARS FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL
Adjunct Abdou, Nyier 21 8 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Allen, Marshall 18 7 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Altman, Adjunct 24 6 Bachelor’s Y N 1 Y X X Jennifer Lecturer
Bannon, Adjunct 29 1 Master’s Y N 1 Y X X Christopher Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Bayrasli, Elmira 24 3 Master’s Y N 1 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Benitez, Juan 18 10 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Biggs, Marcia 19 1 Master’s Y N 1 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Bodarky, Adjunct 27 7 Bachelor’s Y N 1 Y X X George Lecturer
Adjunct Bode, Nicole 10 1 Bachelor’s Y N 6 N X Lecturer
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 18 Bracken, Adjunct 15 5 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Kassie Lecturer
Adjunct Bralow, David Assoc. 31 2 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Adjunct Brown, Carrie 8 20 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Adjunct Caplan, Jeremy Assoc. 21 18 Master’s Y N 2 Y X X Prof.
Adjunct Carlson, Sean 11 4 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Cruz, Wilbert 19 1 Bachelor’s Y N 6 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Daly, Steve 24 11 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Dennis, Yvonne 28 11 Bachelor’s Y N 6 N X Lecturer
Diez, Maria Adjunct 12 1 Master’s Y N 6 N X Sanchez Asst. Prof.
Echavarri, Adjunct 11 5 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Fernanda Lecturer
Adjunct Echegaray, Luis 4 3 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Eisenpress, Adjunct 13 4 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Cara Lecturer
Adjunct Estrin, James 32 12 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Farkas, Susan 38 9 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Fine, Felisa 7 4 Master’s Y N 1 N X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Firger, Jessica 11 2 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 19 Fitzpatrick, Ann Adjunct 8 4 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Choi Asst. Prof.
Forhecz, Julius Adjunct 6 0 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Christopher Lecturer
Adjunct Fox, Curtis 21 2 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Freeman, Adjunct 38 23 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X George Asst. Prof.
Freleng, Adjunct 8 2 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Maggie Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Fung, Hilary 6 2 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Garnham, Juan Adjunct 13 9 Bachelor’s Y N 6 Y X X Pablo Lecturer
Glasser, Jr., Adjunct 23 6 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Charles Prof.
Adjunct Goldmark, Alex 14 10 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Gordon, Adjunct 16 9 Master’s Y N 1 Y X X Sabrina Lecturer
Greene, Adjunct 29 2 Bachelor’s Y N 6 N X Leonard Lecturer
Higgins, Adjunct 20 2 Bachelor’s Y N 6 N X Michelle Lecturer
Adjunct Hochberger, Assoc. 25 17 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Ruth Prof.
Adjunct Hsu, Nelson 20 4 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Jones, Coulter 13 1 Bachelor’s Y N 3 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Kaplan, David 20 10 Docorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 20 Laughlin, Adjunct 4 2 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Alexandra Lecturer
Adjunct Lehren, Andrew Assoc. 24 12 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Prof
Lesser, Adjunct 19 11 Master’s Y N 3 N X Benjamin Lecturer
Adjunct Linton, Caroline 14 2 Master’s Y N 6 N X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Lowry, Tom 27 1 Bachelor’s Y N 3 N Lecturer
Adjunct Lysak, Michael 26 8 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Maldonado, Adjunct 20 3 Master’s Y N 1 N X Cristina Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Malek, Alia 10 1 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
McCarthy, Adjunct 29 4 Bachelor’s Y N 2 Y X X Timothy Lecturer
Adjunct Mitaru, Ilie 9 1 Master’s Y N 3 N Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Mochkofsky, Assoc. 28 15 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Graciela Prof
Adjunct Murphy, Jarrett 19 5 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Newman, Adjunct 20 1 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Elizabeth Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Parris, Terry 11 3 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Rashid, Tania 11 0 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Reid, Skyler 14 3 Master’s Y N 3 N Asst. Prof.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 21 Richardson, Adjunct 22 .5 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Mark Lecturer
Adjunct Rincon, Sonia 18 6 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Riordan Adjunct 8 1 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Seville, Lisa Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Roberson, Dana 21 4 Master’s Y N 6 N X X Lecturer
Rodriguez, Adjunct 9 3 Master’s Y N 3 N X X Ashley Lecturer
Rodriguez, Adjunct 13 1 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Cynthia Lecturer
Rotkiewicz, Adjunct 15 4 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Jessica Asst. Prof.
Santos Briones, Adjunct 11 2 Bachelor’s Y N 2 N X Cinthya Lecturer
Adjunct Savage, Karen 4 15 Master’s Y N 6 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Savits, Natalie 9 2 Master’s Y N 1 N X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Schiumo, John 20 11 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Schmidt, Adjunct 19 15 Master’s Y N 2 Y X X Michael Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Schnell, Kayle 11 6 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Selemon, Adjunct 3 2 Master’s Y N 2 N X Helina Lecturer
Adjunct Sen, Nina 14 6 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Sender, Hanna Adjunct 8 2 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Julia Lecturer
Shakerdge, Adjunct 11 1 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Karen Asst. Prof.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 22 Adjunct Simpson, Assoc. 45 11 Master’s Y N 6 Y X X Janice Prof.
Singleton, Adjunct 14 0 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Malik Lecturer
Sontag, Adjunct 35 30 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Deborah Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Stacke, Sarah 18 6 Master’s Y N 2 N X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Sutton, Ryan 14 2 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Templon, John 13 2 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Tsaintar, Dody Assoc. 28 13 Master’s Y N 6 Y X X Prof.
Tumposky, Adjunct 38 10 Bachelor’s Y N 6 Y X X Ellen Lecturer
Adjunct Tung, Larry 21 17 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Velsey, Adjunct 11 0 Master’s Y N 3 N X Kimberlea Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Vittor, Kenneth Assoc. 40 4 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof
Adjunct Vo, Lam Thuy 11 5 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Welby, Julianne 26 11 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 23 SPRING 2019 RANK LECTURES SEMESTER EXPERIENCE FACULTY NAME FACULTY PROFESSIONAL TEACHER IN CHARGE IN CHARGE OF COURSE HIGHEST EARNED DEGREE WORKING TOWARD DEGREE WORKING TOWARD CREDIT HRS. TEACHING THIS YEARS TEACHING EXPERINCE NOW WORKING FULL-TIME AS YEARS FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL
Adjunct Altman, Jennifer 24 6 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Arendt, Kelsey 7 2 Bachelor’s Y N 3 N X Lecturer
Bennett-Smith, Adjunct 7 3 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Meredith Asst. Prof.
Botelho, Adjunct 24 .67 Bachelor’s Y N 1 Y X X Vanessa Lecturer
Adjunct Caplan, Jeremy Assoc. 21 18 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Casselman, Adjunct 16 3 Bachelor’s Y N 3 N X Benjamin Lecturer
Adjunct Cruz, Wilbert 19 1 Bachelor’s Y N 4 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Daly, Steve 24 11 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Dimiceli, Vince 23 1 Bachelor’s Y N 4 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Duffin, Karen 6 1 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Farkas, Susan 38 9 Bachelor’s Y N 4 Y X X Lecturer
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 24 Adjunct Fine, Felisa 7 4 Master’s Y N 1 N X Asst. Prof.
Fitzpatrick, Ann Adjunct 8 4 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Choi Asst. Prof.
Gallardo, Adjunct 11 1 Bachelor’s Y N 4 N X Adriana Lecturer
Adjunct Gordon, Sabrina 16 9 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Higgins, Adjunct 20 2 Bachelor’s N 4 Y X X Michelle Lecturer
Adjunct Keefe, John 30 18 Bachelor’s N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Lobel, MIa 20 8 Bachelor’s Y N 1 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Louis, Errol 17 9 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Professor
Adjunct Lysak, Michael 26 8 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Asst. Prof.
Maldonado, Adjunct 20 3 Master’s Y N 1 N X Cristina Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Malek, Alia 10 1 Doctorate Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Adjunct Marritz, Ilya 18 0 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
McCarthy, Adjucnt 9 1 Master’s Y N 1 N X Andrew Asst. Prof.
McCarthy, Adjunct 29 4 Bachelor’s Y N 4 N X Timothy Lecturer
Adjunct Morales, Edward 25 9 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Ortega, Ralph 21 2 Bachelor’s N 4 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Parris, Terry 11 3 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 25 Adjunct Paunescu, Delia 10 2 Bachelor’s Y N 1 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Roberson, Dana 21 4 Master’s Y N 4 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Savits, Natalie 9 2 Master’s Y N 1 N X Asst. Prof.
Schmidt, Adjunct 19 15 Master’s Y N 2 Y X X Michael Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Schnell, Kayle 11 6 Master’s Y N 5 N X Asst. Prof.
Adjunct Selemon, Helina 3 2 Master’s Y N 2 N X Lecturer
Adjunct Simpson, Janice Assoc. 45 11 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Prof.
Adjunct Singleton, Malik 14 0 Master’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Adjunct Vo, Lam Thuy 11 5 Bachelor’s Y N 3 Y X X Lecturer
Nelson- Adjunct Williams, 11 3 Bachelor’s Y N 4 N X Lecturer Veralyn
Adjunct Zavadski, Katie 6 0 Bachelor’s Y N 1 N X Lecturer
2. Describe the history of the unit in no more than 500 words. The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY opened its doors in August 2006 as the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Its creation had been authorized two years earlier by the City University Board of Trustees, with the goals of expanding diversity in newsrooms across the nation and providing an affordable, publicly supported graduate school in the New York region. Stephen B. Shepard, the veteran editor-in-chief of Business Week magazine, was named dean. Shepard and a group of journalism professors from CUNY undergraduate campuses devised a three-semester program combining the best of journalism’s traditional values with cutting-edge practices and tools of the digital age. The demanding curriculum of 45 credit hours (since reduced to 43) included a required summer internship. The core format remains in place 13 years later, while dozens of new courses have been added to the curriculum.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 26 Since 2006, entering cohorts have grown from 57 to more than 100 students, and the number of M.A. degrees offered has expanded to three: the M.A. in Journalism, an M.A. in Entrepreneurial Journalism and an M.A. in Social Journalism. This year, the M.A. in Entrepreneurial Journalism was put on hiatus. While new approaches to that program are being looked at, many elements of the original program are being folded into a proposed Executive Leadership M.A. The school has gained a reputation for innovation in its curriculum and in its outlook. In 2010, the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism was founded with the aim of ensuring a sustainable future for news. The center originated our entrepreneurial and social journalism programs. More recently, it has created events, research and training on new revenue models and best practices for community engagement. In 2012, the school opened its Center for Community and Ethnic Media to teach business and digital media skills to journalists at the city’s more than 350 publications and to translate their best stories into English for its Voices of New York newswire. The center recently announced a strategic shift to serve even more community and ethnic news outlets across the nation. In January 2014, Sarah Bartlett, a charter faculty member of the school, succeeded Shepard as dean. Under her leadership, the school established a foundation to assist in raising funds for student scholarships and to advise the school on industry developments. One of Bartlett’s first initiatives was to create the nation’s first Social Journalism M.A. degree. In 2016, with the U.S. Latino population growing in political and cultural influence, the school pioneered a Spanish-Language program to train bilingual students interested in covering Latino communities in the U.S. or abroad. The News Integrity Initiative, a global consortium focused on helping people make informed judgments about news they read and share online, launched in 2017 with $14 million in funding from tech industry leaders, academic institutions, nonprofits and other organizations. And in 2018, in recognition of a $20 million gift from media entrepreneur Craig Newmark, the school changed its name to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
3. Describe the environment in which the unit operates, its goals and plans, budgetary considerations, and the nature of the parent university. The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university system, enrolling 274,000 degree-seeking students at 25 institutions throughout New York City. These include seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate, honors and professional schools, of which the J-School is one. About 70 percent of CUNY undergraduates are students of color. CUNY’s founding mission, at its conception in 1847, was to prepare the city’s citizens, many of them immigrants, for the advanced work and skilled professions needed in the Industrial Revolution. In recent years, the CUNY system has been revamping its undergraduate and graduate programs and facilities for the information age. TThe university counts the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s cutting-edge curriculum among its signature efforts to address the shifting needs of the 21st century. The J-School operates as an independent CUNY campus, with the dean reporting directly to the system chancellor. The dean also serves on the CUNY Council of Presidents, while the associate
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 27 dean serves on the CUNY Academic Council of campus provosts. While the school was started under the leadership of Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, it enjoyed strong support through the four-year chancellorship of James B. Milliken and that support continues today under the new chancellor, Felix Matos Rodríguez, the first person of color to lead CUNY in its 172-year history. As the only publicly supported graduate school of journalism in the Northeast, the Newmark J-School has a growing reputation that attracts a diverse group of students not only from New York City but from around the country and the world. Its state-of-the-art facilities occupy three floors of the old New York Herald Tribune building, located next to The New York Times headquarters and within easy walking distance of many Manhattan-based media companies. Within the university, we work with 14 undergraduate journalism programs to strengthen their offerings, provide a graduate pipeline for their students and offer specialized training to their students and faculty through our J+ professional development unit. We convened and are active in a cross-CUNY journalism council for sharing best practices, ideas and resources with all the undergraduate programs. Public universities across the nation have faced funding cuts from state legislatures over the past several years, and no CUNY institution has been spared. Funding to the university over the past five years has not kept pace with increased expenses, including for new labor contracts and state mandates, while full-time equivalent enrollment has risen. While in-state tuition has increased gradually to make up some of the funding gap, a majority of undergraduates qualify for full tuition abatement through the state’s generous Tuition Assistance Program. While CUNY has continued to dedicate substantial funding to the J-School’s core operations, the growth in new programmatic activities has been accomplished with a combination of fundraising, entrepreneurialism and tight cost controls. We have never lacked the resources to provide our students with a top-notch education, including small class sizes and exposure to the latest technology. After graduating a dozen classes, we continue to develop an alumni donor base. In addition, in fall 2015 the school launched a revenue-producing professional development arm called J+. Its workshops, boot camps and custom on-site trainings have since taught more than 3,000 working journalists how to use the most relevant digital skills of the moment, whether data journalism, artificial intelligence, augmented reality or the latest product development. Over its 13-year existence, the school has brought in nearly $85 million in funding from individuals and foundations – including the Sulzberger family of The New York Times, cable pioneer Leonard Tow and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the McGraw family and the Revson Foundation. Three out of four dollars have come from foundations, many of whom are repeat donors. The commitment has helped us create many scholarships and new incentives, including the Spanish-Language M.A., the Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, the Social Journalism M.A. and now a new executive program in news innovation and leadership. The $20 million endowment from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will be used to enhance the school’s mission in three broad ways: scholarships, new programs, and recruiting and retention of faculty. Despite the name change, the school’s mission remains unchanged – to be a national leader in preparing a diverse range of students to produce high-quality journalism at a time of rapid change.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 28 4. Describe any recent major changes in the mission, goals, or programs and activities of the unit. Change has been the Journalism School’s only constant. Since our initial accreditation review in 2013, the school has responded to market forces by launching new academic programs tailored to the changing media landscape and the interests of our students. We have also constantly updated the offerings in our curriculum and revised course syllabi, as part of our continuous outcomes review process. Examples of an estimated 20 new courses introduced over this period include: Motion Graphics and Animated Storytelling, Virtual Reality, Advanced Data, Audio Documentary and Clemency Project. The school also introduced numerous five-week, one-credit modules – such as Drone Journalism, Investigative Research Techniques, Social Video and Podcast Pilots – to give students a broader range of elective choices in their chosen media field. And we have beefed up our investigative offerings with 10 courses focused on investigative and data reporting. New programs introduced over the past six years include:
The master’s degree in social journalism. In spring 2014, the school announced a new one- year M.A. program that would focus on engagement, social video, audience growth, social news gathering and verification, data, analytics, social media tools, design thinking product development and other emerging fields of journalism. It proved highly popular, prompting the school in 2018 to align the program’s calendar with that of the M.A. in Journalism, which requires a paid summer internship.
The Spanish-Language journalism option in our M.A. in Journalism degree. In 2016, the school announced an initiative to train bilingual students interested in covering Latino communities in the U.S. or abroad. The program, a partnership with leading Latino media organizations, has since launched an annual Latino Media Summit that attracts journalists, news media industry leaders, innovators, thinkers and entrepreneurs from the Latino and Spanish-Language world.
A specialization in documentary filmmaking, approved in April 2019, to start in the Fall 2019 semester. It will allow students to learn all aspects of documentary production while focusing on completing a single film project over the course of the three semesters.
The Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program, which offers fully funded fellowships for state and local reporters to attend one-week advanced training sessions at the Newmark J-School. The aim is to improve state and local fiscal reporting and create a community of journalists specializing in this area of reporting.
The Resilience Fellowship Program, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, offers mid-career science and environmental journalists the opportunity to spend a week – unfettered by the daily demands of journalism – learning first hand about the science and practice of climate resiliency.
The News Integrity Initiative, backed by $14 million in donations from a technology consortium, supports efforts to connect journalists, technologists, academic institutions and nonprofits around the world to foster engaged communities, combat media manipulation and support respectful civic discourse.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 29 J+, the school’s professional development arm, which offers workshops, webinars and customized training for individuals and groups. The workshops attract working journalists, photographers, novices and other communicators who want to advance their careers, change jobs or tell high-impact stories in new ways.
The Executive Leadership Program, which will host its first cohort in January 2020, aims to address the demand for innovation and leadership in the news industry by preparing the next generation of news executives. The program, which will be noncredit for its first year while awaiting degree approval from New York State, will bring together candidates from new and legacy institutions working in editorial, product and audience development, business, technology and management. A focus will be on understanding data analytics, revenue generation and business models, as well as managing and leading talent in inclusive news organizations.
5. If the unit was previously accredited, summarize each deficiency noted in the most recent accreditation report that the site team said should be addressed (Part 3 of site team report), followed by a response to each, explaining actions taken to address the problems and the results. If the unit was in noncompliance in the same standard(s) on the previous two visits, identify the standard(s), the reasons cited, and how these problems have been addressed. No deficiencies were cited in our previous accreditation review.
6. Describe the process used to conduct the self-study, including the roles of faculty members, students and others. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the program discovered during the process, and describe any changes undertaken or planned as a result. The school’s self-study process is an ongoing activity, but over the past two years has been ramped up to ensure continued compliance with all ACEJMC standards. This has taken place in faculty and staff meetings, student governance sessions, governance committee meetings, and informal lunch sessions sponsored by the school’s administration. The school’s Diversity Committee updated our diversity plan to cover broader categories of diversity and, in particular, to address issues of sexual identification that had surfaced. The plan prompted a faculty-wide discussion on concerns raised by transgender students and resulted in a semester-end training session for the faculty in inclusionary language and practices. A review of the school’s strategic plan began in 2016 with interviews of department directors, to learn about challenges they saw ahead and changes they felt were needed. In these sessions, the Strategic Planning Committee learned of the high debt that many students are carrying, the surprising number who were forced to hold part-time jobs while in graduate school, and the number who indicated in a needs survey that they sometimes went hungry to pay tuition and cost of living expenses. This then prompted a faculty-wide discussion about the need to be conscientious about unduly overloading students with assignments and the desirability of setting up a food pantry. The Curriculum Committee, in addition to considering proposed new courses and overseeing scheduled reviews of all J-School programs, also began a design thinking review of the school’s overall curriculum. Committee members interviewed a sampling of faculty, students, alums and hiring editors/news directors to determine whether our curricular offerings continue to address
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 30 current newsroom needs. Questions raised in this process included: Should we reduce the credit requirement for the degree, make subject concentrations optional, issue a skills transcript in addition to the degree, eliminate or alter the capstone requirement, allow students to individualize their course of study to permit greater depth in a media specialty? The dean and associate dean have traditionally held invited lunches with all first-semester students to encourage free communication with the administration and to learn of any concerns students are voicing about the J-School. In the past year, these sessions have prompted action to better align workload and the timing of assignments among the school’s required 6-credit Craft of Journalism sections and a review of the requirement that students acquire Apple laptops for school instead of more moderately priced computers. This spring, the administration invited all full-time and adjunct faculty members to join them for a series of lunches to hear faculty concerns in an informal setting. Topics ranged from tardy student submission of assignments and the desirability of establishing a common template for all course syllabi to Title IX protections and the need to better advertise technical requirements for each course. Action is being taken on a number of these issues, including imposing consistent penalties for late work in the first semester, developing a template for all syllabi and creating a technical-requirement addendum to each course description. The school will also better communicate its fourth-semester option for students who need to work while attending school. The school also reviewed the efficacy of its outcomes process as part of the self study and instituted a few changes. Those included reworking the forms used by review judges, to get more specific responses, and redefining what students must submit as an interactive element for their outcomes portfolio. A self-assessment questionnaire that is part of the portfolio review was combined with student exit surveys to streamline the outcomes process. Recommendations made by external outcomes reviewers for curricular changes, and actions responding to them, are discussed at length in Standard 9. To ensure that the faculty is aware of best pedagogical practices as they emerge in the literature, Associate Dean Andrew Mendelson invited faculty members to join him in a teaching book club. Over sandwiches, participating faculty members discuss how they might incorporate the new strategies into their classrooms, and that often leads to a sharing of favorite techniques for engaging students and drawing better work out of them. Selections included “Promoting Student Mental Health: A Guide for UC Faculty and Staff,” “Teaching What You Don’t Know,” by Therese Huston, and “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo. These conversations informed the revision of the school’s faculty peer observation process. There is no standing still and resting on laurels at the Newmark J-School. There is always room for improvement, uncovering new perspectives, and sharing – and the faculty drives that push for continued excellence.
7. Provide the web links to catalogs and other publications that describe the mission and scope of the unit, its curriculum, administrative and graduation requirements. Mission Statement Scope of the unit, curriculum, administrative and graduations requirements: Future Students FAQs
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 31 How To Apply Curriculum: M.A. in Journalism Spanish-Language Social Journalism Interactive: Which Program Is Right For You? Student Handbook
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II 32 PART II STANDARD 1 PART II | STANDARD 1 Mission, Governance and Administration
TAKEAWAYS
The Newmark Graduate School of Journalism has a strong ethos of open governance that includes full- time faculty, adjuncts and students.
The administrative structure is well-defined, the deans meet informally with faculty and students to hear concerns, and processes are in place to hear student, staff or faculty complaints.
Committees of faculty, staff and students shape school policies ranging from strategy planning to curriculum, technology, student life and diversity.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 34 Before the visit: As part of the self-study process, the unit should self-report data directly into ACEJMC’s searchable database, by the time of the site visit. Instructions are here.
During the visit, the unit should provide the following in the workroom or access to: internal reports on curriculum, educational policy, etc. files related to searches and hiring decisions regarding administrators
files related to concerns and complaints expressed by faculty, staff or students Respond to each of the following instructions. (Boldface type on questions/directives. Use regular type on responses.)
1. Describe the administrative structure of the unit, including to whom the unit administrator reports to within the university. Include names and titles. The information should extend from the lowest level of administrative responsibility within the unit to the institution’s chief executive officer. The Journalism School is an autonomous campus within CUNY. Because of its small size, however, some of the school’s administrative support work is provided under the auspices of the CUNY University Center at the CUNY Graduate School, which awards most of the university’s doctoral degrees as well as degrees in seven master’s programs in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. The most recent memorandum of understanding between the J-School and the University Center outlining the services provided was made on February 11, 2019. Additionally, the J-School joins with the other entities that utilize the services of the University Center and the Graduate School for regional accreditation (Middle States). We are one of six institutions utilizing various shared services from the University Center; the other campuses are the School of Professional Studies, the CUNY Baccalaureate Program, the School of Public Health, The School of Labor and Urban Studies, and the Macaulay Honors College. In line with CUNY’s “integrated university” model, we share several services with the Graduate Center, including human resources, student aid, bursar, registrar, wellness center and international student services. We share a general counsel with two other CUNY colleges and a chief diversity officer with two colleges. The CUNY Central Office provides payroll, procurement and accounts-payable functions. The school links its planning and annual goal-setting timetable and format to the university’s performance management process. Under this system, the chancellor sets performance targets for all of CUNY every spring for the upcoming school year. Each campus then maps out its performance goals and targets in accord with its strategic plan and in alignment with the university’s performance targets. Campuses can also establish school-specific goals. At the end of the academic year, the school’s administration reports to the chancellor on the progress made toward the performance targets. The targets include such items as enrollment, graduation and retention rates for the general population and for students of diversity, fundraising, and review of academic programs. The dean has nine direct reports, including the associate dean, assistant deans for external affairs and administration, the executive director of development and the director of finance. The directors of the school’s academic centers – the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, the McGraw Center for Business Journalism, the Center for Community and Ethnic
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 35 Media, and the News Integrity Initiative – also report directly to the dean. The associate dean oversees faculty and curriculum, with direct reports being the assistant dean for the student experience and the various curricular area heads, and the director of Newmark J+.
2. Describe the unit’s process for strategic or long-range planning. Provide a copy of the unit’s written strategic or long-range plan. This plan should give the date of adoption/revision and any timeline for achieving stated goals. Discuss how the plan provides vision and direction for the unit’s future and how it is has encouraged and contributed to quality and innovation in the unit. The school’s standing Committee on Strategic Planning began the process of developing an updated plan in Fall 2016. The committee reviewed the previous strategic plan and agreed that virtually all items had been accomplished or were underway. The panel then outlined information needs and compiled a list of stakeholders to interview. Beginning in January 2017, the committee met with representatives from the offices of Career Services, Student Affairs, Development, Admissions, Technology, professional development (J+) and student government. All directors of curricular areas reviewed curricula from competing schools. The school’s mission and values were discussed and reconfirmed in faculty meetings. Faculty and staff also brainstormed goals for the years ahead. Other standing governance committees, including Diversity, Technology and Library, and Campus Life and Facilities, discussed relevant aspects of strategic planning and passed on their suggestions. All of this was compiled into a draft report in Spring 2017. The draft was tabled when the new Newmark endowment appeared likely to become reality, since that would change the context for the plan, along with many of the goals. A new draft was written and distributed to committee members for feedback in early Fall 2018. The committee conducted additional interviews with the then-director of diversity and inclusion, as well as the director of technology. Finally, the dean weighed in. The final version of the plan was written by Graciela Mochkofsky, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, and Associate Dean Andrew Mendelson. The committee reviewed and approved this version on Dec. 3, 2018, and the Governance Council discussed and approved the final draft on Dec. 11, 2018. The plan addresses the key challenges the school sees on the horizon and sets a timeline for achieving concrete actions called for in the plan. Many activities are already underway and are expected to come to fruition in the next couple of years. For example, in the curricular area, the school has studied its investigative offerings, added a few courses to the mix, and is discussing creating a new investigative reporting concentration that would be available to those accepted into the Class of 2021. We are making solid progress toward the goal of developing an executive M.A. in News Leadership and Innovation. A program director has been hired and work is already underway to develop courses that in the first year will be offered on a non-credit basis while approval for the M.A. is sought at the New York State Department of Education. We plan to offer a for-credit version of this program in January 2021. We have our road map and we are making steady progress in most areas, as the timeline report
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 36 filed with the Strategic Plan indicates. There is a time for discussion and there is a time for action and we’re now in the action phase on the priorities laid out in the plan. That won’t stop our continual assessment of what could be improved or innovated and what new developments in journalism require an immediate curricular response.
3. Describe the unit’s policies and procedures for faculty governance. Provide in a digital format or make available in the site team workroom a print copy of faculty policy manuals, handbooks or other documents specifying policies, procedures, and the roles of faculty and students in governance and in development of educational policy and curriculum. (Note the passages and pages specific to the directive.) The school has a strong culture of faculty governance. Our Governance Council includes all full- time faculty members, plus elected adjuncts, consortial faculty (those with appointments at other CUNY colleges) and student members. The dean and associate dean also attend and have a vote. The Council meets at least once a semester to consider and vote on curriculum, standards and policy. In Spring 2019, governance members voted to expand the Council to allow two elected staff representatives to join as voting members and to designate the director of academic operations as secretary. Faculty felt that staff members have a large vested interest in the fate of the school, have useful specialized knowledge and that adding staff representation would not significantly dilute faculty voting rights.
On matters requiring a decision between governance meetings, an Executive Committee may take action and then report that action for review to the full Council at its next meeting, The Executive Committee is made up of the chairs of each of the standing committees, an elected chair, and the dean and associate dean. Meeting agendas are jointly drawn up by the faculty chair of the Executive Committee and the associate dean. Five standing committees report to the Governance Council: The Curriculum and Degree Requirements Committee makes recommendations on courses and programs, as well as on standards for student retention and granting degrees.
The Campus Life and Facilities Committee advises on financial aid and other services, on facilities maintenance, on security policies and on school activities and events, including graduation.
The Technology and Library Committee advises on multimedia plans and research center services.
The Strategic Planning Committee recommends long-term strategies and goals for the school. The Diversity Committee recommends strategies and goals to achieve diversity at the school in ethnic and racial origin, gender, age, income levels, physical abilities and sexual orientation. The school has committees with discrete responsibilities that operate outside the framework of the Governance Council. These are the Personnel and Budget Committee, the Admissions Committee, the Academic Appeals Committee and the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee. Faculty volunteer for service on the last three committees, while membership in the Personnel and Budget Committee is limited to tenured full-time faculty. That committee approves
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 37 appointments and reappointments; votes on requests for leaves, promotions and tenure; and generally advises the dean and associate dean on a variety of matters.
4. How often did the faculty meet during the most recent academic year? 10 times
5. List faculty committees and chairs. List any ad hoc committees in operation at the time of the self study. See #3 for Governance Council standing committees and chairs. Here are committees that operate outside the framework of the Governance Council:
Personnel and Budget Committee (all tenured faculty members) Andrew Mendelson, associate dean, chair The P&B committee sets standards for the school, approves hires, reappointments, promotions, granting of tenure and leaves of absence. It also provides advice to the administration on issues that arise in the school.
Admissions Committee Admissions Director Maximo Patino, chair
Academic Appeals Committee (Four members serve on each appeals case, depending on availability and potential conflicts of interest. The associate dean convenes the committee as needed.)
Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee Ruth Hochberger, rotating chair
6. Describe the faculty’s contributions to the administration and governance of the university. A university faculty senate provides advice and input to the university administration on various topics and the Newmark J-School faculty could send a representative. But faculty members have chosen to expend their energies in other directions.
7. Describe the process for selecting, appointing and evaluating unit administrators. The CUNY Board of Trustees appoints the school’s dean, as it does all CUNY campus presidents, following a broad search conducted by the board. The search committee typically includes board members, faculty representatives, students, alumni and a president of another CUNY college. In the most recent search, three finalists were invited to visit the school for a day, sitting in on classes and meeting with various members of the campus community. Subsequently, anyone in the school committee was invited to offer written comments to the committee. Search committees typically recommend anywhere from one to three candidates to the chancellor, who then makes a recommendation to the board. The school conducts its own searches for all positions below the dean’s rank. When a position opens, the administration prepares a job description and appoints a search committee. The position must be advertised on the CUNY website as well as a variety of external sites and in publications that reach underrepresented groups. A chief diversity officer whom the journalism school shares with two other campuses must approve where advertisements will be placed.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 38 The search committee scores all applicants according to the qualifications listed in the job description. The committee then identifies those whom it wishes to interview, usually four to six candidates. The chief diversity officer also must sign off on the selection of interviewees, ensuring a diverse pool of candidates. Following interviews, the search committee sends two or three finalists to the dean or associate dean to interview. Once the dean or associate dean makes a final selection, in consultation with the search committee chair, the chief diversity officer must sign off on the whole search process before the human resources office at the Graduate Center makes an offer to the candidate selected. All members of the administration are evaluated annually except for the dean, who must report school outcomes yearly but is currently evaluated by the university chancellor in person every other year. The dean submits an overall report for the school to the chancellor, along with school goals/ targets for the upcoming year. The performance report is accompanied by a letter highlighting what the dean feels were the key accomplishments and what she personally would like to achieve in the upcoming year. Every other year, the chancellor meets with the dean for a one-on-one evaluation meeting and subsequently sends the dean a follow-up memo placed in her personnel file.
8. Describe the unit’s process for timely and equitable resolution of complaints and concerns expressed by faculty, staff or students. Because we are a small institution with an open-door policy, a member of the faculty, staff, or student body may raise a problem privately simply by dropping by the office of the dean or associate dean, who will attempt to find a resolution. Alternatively, a faculty member may raise a concern at one of our monthly faculty meetings for full discussion. A staff member may do the same at one of our monthly staff meetings. Students can also speak to the director of student affairs or raise issues at the student advisory board, the Graduate Student Council or the school- wide Governance Council. In their first semester, all students are invited to attend lunch with the deans and are encouraged to speak freely about any issues they have with the school. These lunches serve as an early warning system. The deans have heard about inconsistencies between the multiple sections of required courses, for instance. The concerns are brought directly to the area heads to address with faculty. As another example, students raised concerns about access to audio recording equipment. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the deans hosted 10 lunches with about 85 students present. In Spring 2019, the deans also began holding lunches for faculty and staff, meeting on four occasions with more than 30 attendees. By keeping our doors open, we are usually able to resolve complaints informally. However, if we are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution, we abide by formal procedures as outlined by CUNY for handling issues such as grade appeals, academic integrity violations, disciplinary problems, student record disclosure, sexual and gender harassment complaints, and disability accommodations. For example, under federal Title IX rules and New York State’s “Enough is Enough” legislation, a student (or staff or faculty member) may file a formal sexual or gender harassment complaint that undergoes a thorough investigation by the campus Title IX coordinator.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 39 At the conclusion of the investigation, the Title IX coordinator writes a report that is sent to the dean, and the dean decides whether to take any disciplinary action against the respondent or provide accommodations to the complainant. Students facing dismissal from the program may submit a written appeal to the associate dean, and then the appeal is considered by an Academic Appeals Committee made up of faculty members. Potential disciplinary actions go before the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee. The school also has in place formal procedures for resolving personnel disputes. Faculty and staff members have the option of filing a formal grievance with the union that represents them depending on their titles -- either the Professional Staff Congress or District Council 37. Any student with a complaint against a faculty member also may use a formal process. Within 30 days of the alleged conduct, the student may file a written complaint with the department supervisor, or if that person is the subject of the complaint, with the associate dean or a senior faculty member designated by the dean as a fact finder. The fact finder sends a copy of the complaint to the accused faculty member and attempts to resolve the issues. If that proves unsuccessful, the fact finder conducts an investigation and issues findings that the student or faculty member may appeal to the associate dean. Following completion of these procedures, the dean decides the appropriate action to take, if any.
Professional master’s program:
9. Describe the role of the graduate director, other persons or committees assigned to the professional master’s program. N/A
10. Provide a copy of the written strategic or long-range plan for the professional master’s program. 2018-2023 Strategic Plan
11. Describe the unit’s policies and procedures for faculty governance of the professional master’s program. Provide online or make available in the site team workroom a print copy of faculty policy manuals, handbooks or other documents specifying policies, procedures and the roles of faculty and students in governance and in development of educational policy and curriculum of the profession master’s program. (If these documents are the same as those provided in response to Q. 3, there is no need for duplication. Note the passages and pages specific to the professional master’s program.) See #3 above
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 1 40 PART II STANDARD 2 PART II | STANDARD 2 Curriculum and Instruction
TAKEAWAYS
Our curriculum is designed to ensure that students learn the “eternal verities” of journalism, as well as how to tell stories across multiple media platforms, using the latest tools and social media technologies.
We consult a variety of working journalists to ensure that our curriculum is up to date and that we are using state-of-the-art technologies.
A summer news internship is a required and valuable part of our curriculum. When employers cannot offer payment, the school provides a cost- of-living stipend.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 42 Make the following documents available in digital format and in the workroom during the visit: a complete set of syllabi for all courses offered by the unit during the current term, the immediate past regular term, and the immediate past summer and special session (including interim terms and courses offered by correspondence, online or distance education). Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Use the following format to provide an outline of the curriculum required for the major and for each of the unit’s specializations. Add lines for courses and categories as needed. (Please see example provided separately with this template.)
Number of hours/units required for graduation: 43 for the M.A.-Journalism; 36 for the M.A.-Social Journalism
Number of hours/units required for major degree: N/A
CORE COURSES FOR STUDENTS IN THE M.A.-JOURNALISM PROGRAM (22 CREDITS)
First Semester JOUR71101 Craft of Journalism (6 credits) OR JOUR71102 Craft of Journalism – Spanish (6 credits) JOUR71103 Legal and Ethical Issues (3 credits) JOUR71104 Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling: Audio and Video (3 credits) JOUR71105 Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling: Interactive Journalism (3 credits)
Second Semester (pick one) JOUR71151 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Writing and Reporting. (4 credits) JOUR71152 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Video Reporting (4 credits) JOUR71153 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Interactive Reporting (4 credits) JOUR71154 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Reporting and Writing, Spanish (4 credits) JOUR76009.3: Topics in Audio: Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Radio Reporting and Newswriting (4 credits)
Summer after second semester JOUR77004: Summer Internship (3 credits)
Additional course in track/sequence that all students in track/sequence must take: Degree Emphasis (6-9 credits earned). In our Arts/Culture concentration and our Health/Science concentration, students have the option of taking only two courses in the sequence and taking an elective in lieu of a third course, with approval from the concentration director.
Arts and Culture Reporting JOUR72201 Cultural Issues (3 credits) Required Pick 2 of 3 JOUR72010 Arts Criticism (3 credits) JOUR73107 Sports Reporting (3 credits)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 43 JOUR72203 Arts & Entertainment Reporting (3 credits)
Business and Economics Reporting (both required) JOUR72301 Covering the Economy (3 credits) JOUR72302 Covering Markets and Companies (6 credits)
Health and Science Reporting JOUR72401 Introduction to Health Journalism (3 credits) - Required Pick 2 of 3 JOUR72402 Science Journalism (3 credits) JOUR72403 Investigative Health Reporting (3 credits) JOUR72404 Urban Environmental Reporting (3 credits)
International Reporting (all 3 required) JOUR72501 Introduction to International Reporting (3 credits) JOUR72503 Issues in International Reporting (3 credits) JOUR72502 Cross-Cultural reporting (3 credits)
Spanish-Language Journalism (all 3 required) JOUR72701 Covering Latino Communities (3 credits) (in Spanish) JOUR76012.1 Topics in Journalism: The Hispanic Media Landscape (3 credits) JOUR76012.2 Topics in Journalism: In-Depth Reporting in Latino Communities (3 credits)
Urban Reporting JOUR72601 Covering City Government and Politics (3 credits) - Required Pick 2 of 3 JOUR72604 Covering NYC Economy and Business (3 credits) JOUR72602 Covering NY’s Social Issues (3 credits) JOUR72404 Urban Environmental Reporting (3 credits)
Elective Course Credits: 12-15 CORE COURSES FOR STUDENTS IN M.A.-SOCIAL JOURNALISM (36 CREDITS)
Semester 1 (fall) Community Engagement 3 credit hours Reporting for Social Journalism 3 Social Media Tools 3 Fundamentals of Multimedia-A/V 3
Semester 2 (spring) Metrics and Outcomes 3 credit hours Advanced Reporting for Social Journalism 3 Ethical and Legal Considerations 3 Data Skills 3
Summer Summer Internship 3 credit hours
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 44 Semester 3 (fall) Startup Sprint 2 credit hours Innovation Lab 1 Community Practicum 3 Design and Development 3
Elective course or courses that must be taken within the track/sequence N/A
Elective courses that must be taken within the program N/A
Required outside of the accredited unit N/A
2. Explain how requirements for the major do not exceed the maximum credit hours allowable under the 72-credit hour rule and how students comply with the minimum of 72 hours they must take outside journalism and mass communications. If a minor is required, include these details. N/A
3. Describe how the core and required courses instruct majors in all of ACEJMC’s 12 professional values and competencies with a balance of theoretical and conceptual courses and skills courses.
M.A. in Journalism: ACEJMC’s 12 professional goals and competencies permeate the Newmark J-School’s M.A. in Journalism program, having been built into the curriculum from our beginnings 13 years ago. From before Day 1 of class instruction – during our week-long orientation – students are given a thorough grounding in the importance of a free press, the role it has played over the history of this country and across the globe, and how the media are updating today in response to changing technology. Additionally, students are introduced to concepts of diversity, journalism and trauma, community listening and empathy, and design thinking. Throughout their time at the school, students are asked to discuss ongoing developments in the news business and in the news itself and how they impact the roles and challenges these journalists will face. The school was founded with the goal of bringing more diversity into the news ecosystem, and so diversity of all stripes and colors is a core part of our teaching – it is discussed in virtually every class, with almost every assignment. As students pitch their stories, they are asked to state how they will incorporate diverse viewpoints and sources into the stories. In our required first-semester Legal and Ethical Issues course, the emphasis is increasingly on the ethics of all forms of storytelling, in an endless variety of circumstances. Students discuss ethical dilemmas they face daily on their beats in that class, as well as in Craft and in every class that follows. It is often encouraging to hear the questions they debate among themselves, demonstrating that they are taking the ethics of the profession seriously, even when it may mean forgoing a juicy angle on a story or a story itself. Essential to the core 6-credit Craft of Journalism I course is an emphasis on thinking like a journalist, looking at events critically and evaluating data and all forms of information and sources to uncover where the truth lies. In the second and third semesters, in Craft II and subject concentration courses, critical thinking is stressed even more – and it generally shows in the students’ work.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 45 Starting in Craft of Journalism I and continuing throughout the program, strong writing skills are emphasized and developed, through instruction, workshopping of peer stories and close editing of students’ own work. Most writing courses require a rewrite of any story that receives lower than a B grade – and in some courses, all stories are expected to be rewritten, to help students understand that rewriting is central to every good story. In both the first and second semesters, professional researchers are assigned to each Craft class to ensure that all students are familiar with a broad array of research skills and tools, information evaluation and verification. In both semesters, students complete at least two research-specific projects, to demonstrate they have absorbed those teachings. These skills are practiced in all courses and particularly are put to the test in student capstones. Also in the first semester, students are immersed in audio, video and interactive skills in two required courses, and are taught the critical value of strong visuals in today’s online news delivery systems. Photos, videos, charts, graphs, timelines – they’re all part of the required curriculum. Most students subsequently take one or more electives in visual skills, and in every course, an effective photo is now a requirement with every story submission. Data have increasingly become central to good reporting, so spreadsheets, numerics, pivot tables and various data platforms are built into every student’s first-semester experience. Some don’t like it – they say they chose writing to get away from the world of numbers – but almost all come to see how valuable it can be to finding and documenting great stories. In later semesters, more advanced data and coding courses are available, and in our investigative courses, data literacy is key. Staying at the leading edge of technology has been a defining feature of the Newmark J-School, prompting us to develop new courses and modules to ensure our students emerge with many state-of-the art skills and perspectives. Examples include: Virtual Reality, Social Video, Bots That Talk, Interrogating the Algorithm, Scraping for Journalists, Drone Journalism. Our social journalism students often use Medium as a platform to share what their experience has been and what they have learned about working with communities. The contributions that our core master’s program students make is in providing local coverage in communities, which are otherwise often overlooked, and providing content to help support struggling, small community publications. We operate publications in two Bronx communities, Mott Haven and Hunts Point, that otherwise would have no news outlet serving them. And every summer, we provide stipends of up to $3,000 to allow students to work with local (and national) news outlets. This gives the students valuable on-the-job experience but also assists the publications by providing knowledgeable help and sometimes by injecting new ideas and technologies into their newsrooms.
M.A. in Social Journalism: Social Journalism students also take the core law and ethics course that covers many of the ACEJMC core principles and reviews major relevant legal cases. In addition to class discussions around ethical case studies in journalism, the students each write their own code of ethics for their work with the communities they serve throughout their time in the program. In the SJ community engagement course, students hear from community organizers and political activists who challenge power in a variety of different ways. They are then asked to to discuss,
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 46 write about and think critically about the ways in which journalism can both amplify dissent and challenge the status quo. We discuss the importance of interrogating journalists’ complex role in examining systems of power and inequity and in holding people in power accountable. In the community engagement and entrepreneurial journalism courses, students discuss the history of journalism and the press dating back to Gutenberg and the many developments that contributed to the current state of journalism, both as a business and a profession. We talk about how professional norms like objectivity have arisen and encourage students to query how well these norms apply in modern times. Students are asked to write about their understanding in weekly reflection posts. An understanding of all forms diversity is deeply infused in all of the SJ coursework. The core principle of the program is to listen to communities, so as to better understand and meet their needs, instead of relying on journalists’ assumptions. Instead of viewing “the audience” as an undifferentiated mass, we emphasize empathy and collaborating with diverse communities to create journalism that is relevant and impactful. Students are taught a variety of techniques to do this, such as creating listening posts or using the technology Groundsource to solicit story ideas and other information from readers via text message. In the community engagement class in particular, we discuss how media representations have often ignored or harmed many diverse communities. We bring in speakers from outside of journalism who work in fields like psychology or advocacy to get different perspectives on how to better connect with diverse communities. Students in the class also write weekly Medium posts in which they grapple with various diversity-related questions. Students are often asked to submit short papers or Medium posts in which they critically reflect on their work and/or on readings, guest speakers and class discussions. Following major projects or assignments, they are asked to think critically about what lessons they learned and what they might have done differently. The metrics and outcomes courses teaches students how to critically evaluate the efficacy of engagement strategies and measure impact. A number of our courses also require and nurture creativity. Students learn brainstorming techniques in the community engagement class in a unit on design thinking and building new products and services for news organizations; they ultimately present these ideas to real news organizations like the Guardian or WBEZ. Students in the social media tools class are asked to come up with creative ways to use a variety of social platforms to not only distribute news but also engage audiences in new ways. In addition to instruction in research techniques offered in both master’s programs, Social Journalism students also receive extensive training from First Draft on how to evaluate and verify information online and on social media, training that they then have the opportunity to practice in a newsroom setting in major projects like Electionland, in which we worked with several major newsrooms to find and verify information about voting for the presidential and midterm elections. First Draft training is being extended to the M.A. in Journalism program this fall. The two reporting classes required for Social Journalism students ensure that they have the tools to write correctly and clearly. They must write and revise several reported stories. They also learn techniques for writing social media posts, including news alerts. In the advanced reporting class, students learn to critically evaluate their work and that of others.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 47 They do semi-regular peer edits and after completing their own stories, they often are asked to write critically about what lessons they learned and what they might have done differently.
4. Explain how instruction, whether on-site or online, responds to professional expectations of current digital, technological and multimedia competencies. It is impossible at the Newmark J-School for a student to escape interaction with current digital and multimedia technologies. In the required audio/video course in the first semester, students learn how to collect audio on Marantz equipment and edit it using ProTools software. In the video portion of that class, they use Canon C100 video cameras, microphones and lavaliers, and tripods, then edit their footage with Adobe Premiere. In required out-of-class workshops, students learn Photoshop, WordPress and Divi. In the required interactive course, students are introduced to such programs as DataWrapper, Carto, GitHub, DocumentCloud, Adobe Illustrator and Tabula. Courses taught in the second and third semesters ramp up the technology instruction and expectations, employing equipment like the Canon DSLRs for photojournalism, the Sony FS5 used in Cinematography or the DJI Mavic Air in our drone module. Coding, data and investigative courses rely on technologies in use in newsrooms city wide, including JQuery, Anaconda, JavaScript, Python, Pandas and Beautiful Soup, among others. And our required research component of Craft I and Craft II introduces students to such tools as Dataminr, Ban.jo, CrowdTangle, NexisUni, Factiva, Spokeo,CitizenAudit, Social Explorer and Nexis Public Records. As educators, we consider it important that we use updated tools in our instruction. Google Docs, Slack, Dropbox and Google Classroom are the most popular for communicating with students and sharing materials. We also employ Socrative.com for in-class surveys and commenting on ideas, Zoom and Skype for web conferencing and guest speakers, Peergrade.io for peer commenting and feedback, Flipquiz.com to create Jeopardy-like games to promote student learning, Canvas for online discussions and information sharing, and Acclaim for video commenting and feedback. How do we know these are technologies in current use? Our adjuncts from working newsrooms around the city won’t let us get away with anything less. They make sure we know what technologies are in use in their newsrooms and they press us to keep up to date. Full-time faculty are expected to keep informed of the latest technologies and tools in their fields and consider how to work them into existing courses or new ones, an example being our drone journalism module, taught by Travis Fox, the director of our visual journalism program. Key to making this all happen is our faculty-led Technology and Library governance committee, which meets every semester to review technology needs identified by our director of technology and our chief librarian, as well as by requests from faculty. Student technology fees are used to supplement the operating budget for technology purchases to ensure updated technology in the classroom. This summer new projectors were installed in all the classrooms. The school is also requesting capital monies to update the newsroom, the television and radio studios, and room 308, our larger event space.
5. Explain how the accredited unit ensures consistency in learning objectives, workload and standards in courses with multiple sections. All course outcomes are approved by the school’s Curriculum Committee and Governance Council. This provides the baseline for all courses, including those with multiple sections. Each
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 48 course with multiple sections is overseen by an area head. For example, Craft of Journalism I is overseen by the writing and reporting area head, the Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling - Interactive is overseen by the interactive reporting head, the Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling -Audio/Video is overseen by the heads of visual journalism and audio journalism, and the Legal and Ethics course is overseen by the head of Legal and Ethics. These area heads provide a standardized set of outcomes and course outline, if not a standard syllabus. Moreover, ongoing in-person meetings are held with the various instructors for the multiple sections of a class, as well as ongoing communication through platforms such as Slack. These methods ensure consistent communication and the sharing of ideas.
6. Describe the methods used to select sites for internships for credit in the major; to supervise internship and work experience programs; to evaluate and grade students’ performance in these programs; and to award credit for internships or work experiences. In a digital format, provide the unit’s internship policy, questionnaires and other instruments used to monitor and evaluate internships and work experiences. Provide examples of recent internship sites. The Office of Career Services continues to build on employer relationships that have been forged since the school opened. It is also continuously looking for new partnerships. Consistent internship partners include legacy news organizations such as the New York Daily News, Bloomberg, NY1, NBC News, and ABC News as well as community-based sites such as City Limits, Brooklyn Deep, Red Hook Revue, Schneps Media and Straus News, among many others. What we look for in an internship partnership is the quality of the news site and the journalism experience of the editors who will be working with our students. News sites must provide a meaningful learning experience. Students should have the opportunity to see their work published. We adhere to the “primary beneficiary” test as outlined by the courts and the U.S. Department of Labor. Internship partners are asked to sign a Summer Internship Agreement in which we spell out the program requirements, including: “Internships must involve news-editorial work — no public relations, marketing or advertising. We ask that internships consist of hands-on editorial work: reporting, writing, research, producing, fact checking, copyediting, social distribution, social news gathering and verification, photo, video and multimedia journalism.” Near the end of the internship, the Office of Career Services sends the internship supervisors a link to an online questionnaire that asks them to rank the students’ journalism work and professional soft skills: editorial judgment, initiative, ability to meet deadlines, interpersonal skills and growth during the internship. There is room for supervisors to elaborate on each of their responses to these questions. We also ask: If there were funding available, would they consider the student for a staff or freelance position; if they would consider taking on another J-School intern again; and are there any courses or skills training the J-School should consider adding that would have better prepared the student for this internship. There is an additional text box that allows internship supervisors to comment further. Students are required to file two reports during their required summer internships. The first report
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 49 is filed about midway through the internship and is a private report between the student and the Office of Career Services. The second report is the public report, which is available in hard-copy format in the office. Under construction is an index, in Google spreadsheet format, to all of the internships that have been completed, with synopses of the students’ reports. Students doing academic-semester, one-credit internships are required to submit one report. They must also be evaluated by their supervisors. Certain very advanced students are permitted to work on independent projects in lieu of internships. They must submit a project proposal in an Independent Project Agreement. They must also submit the required midsummer and final reports and project supervisors must submit evaluations.
LINKS TO EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS
Summer 2018 Summer: Midsummer Report. Mandatory 2018 Summer: Final Internship Report. Mandatory 2018 Summer Journalism Intern Evaluation 2018 Summer Student Independent Project Eval
Academic Semester 2018 Fall Internship Report Mandatory 2018 Fall Newmark J-School Intern Evaluation 2019 Spring Internship Report. Mandatory 2019 Spring Intern Evaluation
LINKS TO RECENT INTERNSHIP SITES
The Brooklyn Eagle For Sunset Park tenants, improvements may mean displacement Jeffery Harrell, June 6, 2019
New York Daily News Helicopter crash-lands on roof of Midtown NYC skyscraper in heavy rain, thick clouds, killing veteran pilot Ennica Jacob , Kerry Burke , Catherina Gioino And Cathy Burke, Jun 10, 2019
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) UN Staffers Detained in Kosovo as Part of Organized Crime Probe Annie Todd, Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Cannabis Wire Cannabis Taxes State by State: What We Know So Far Ben Jay, Aug 8, 2018
City & State Spending measures aim to help military veterans find jobs: funding for veterans services includes career counseling Max Parrott, July 3, 2018
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 50 CNN School security is a rapidly growing business Talib Visram, July 2, 2018
Nashville Public Radio (Neighbors Podcast) Sexual Assault Counselors In Tennessee Confront Stigmas With Bicultural Therapy For Latinos Paula Moura, Aug 6, 2018
Wall Street Journal Why Innovation Is a Team Sport Janaki Chadha, Aug. 9, 2018
Professional master’s program:
7. Describe the process and requirements for admission to the program. If requirements are different for an online program, please explain. The Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY typically receives 400-450 applications for entry into a class. It makes between 250 and 300 admission offers for its two degree programs (master’s in journalism, master’s in social journalism) plus its Spanish language journalism program. (That cohort is admitted separately but the degree awarded is the master’s in journalism.) We typically enroll a total of 100 to 115 students. In the Class of 2019, that broke down to 107 students in the Master’s in Journalism program, including 11 in the Spanish-Language program, and 15 students in the Master’s in Social Journalism program. We have a holistic admissions process in which our admissions officers and admissions committees look at candidates from many perspectives. Among the factors they weigh are grades, performance in our own admissions tests, one-on-one interviews, the required three letters of recommendation, personal essays and writing samples. GRE scores are not required but may be submitted for consideration. We also require TOEFL scores from applicants whose first language is not English. A relative weakness in one area is not necessarily a disqualifier. We seek applicants from a variety of backgrounds. Some students come straight from college while others are practicing journalists. Yet others are seeking a new career. In all cases, we look for demonstrated writing proficiency, a broad-based undergraduate education, a passion for current events and a commitment to journalism. The school’s own admissions tests are designed to help us identify an applicant’s talent for journalism. We require four timed tests: (1) writing a news story from provided information, (2) writing an analysis of an issue in the news, (3) demonstrating knowledge of current events and (4) demonstrating knowledge of English grammar. After reviewing all applications thoroughly, the admissions office sends to its volunteer admissions committee the most promising two-thirds of applicants. The committee, meeting in two separate groups for the first three months of the year, votes to make offers of admission to those it deems qualified and who are likely to benefit from our programs. We do not offer an online program.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 51 8. Report the applications, admissions and enrollment for the years below. If the degree is offered on- site and online, provide each separately in the chart below. ON-SITE
YEAR APPLICATIONS ADMISSIONS ENROLLMENT
2018-2019 440 315 133 academic year
2017-2018 479 253 116 academic year
2016-2017 421 238 123 academic year
ONLINE
YEAR APPLICATIONS ADMISSIONS ENROLLMENT
2018-2019 N/A XX XX academic year
2017-2018 N/A XX XX academic year
2016-2017 N/A XX XX academic year
9. Tell how the graduate program is distinct from the undergraduate program. Show how instruction and curricular requirements for graduate students are at a more advanced and rigorous level than courses for undergraduate students, including courses open to both undergraduate and graduate students. This discussion should include online courses. For us, the distinction is simple, since we offer only graduate courses. The CUNY undergraduate colleges voluntarily share their core course syllabi| through the CUNY Journalism Council, but with a couple of exceptions, our offerings are considerably different, with much higher expectations and assignments. Undergraduates are eligible to apply to take a course at the Newmark J-School, and, on occasion, when a student has proven adept in a journalistic medium, we allow it after the professor of the course has an opportunity to review the student’s resume and work and determine if s/he can benefit from the course and will not slow the pace of the class or require extraordinary support. This has occurred only a handful of times over the past five years. When it does, the graduate credits earned are accepted by the undergraduate college but are not accepted as fulfilling a degree requirement at the Newmark J-School should the student subsequently be accepted here.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 52 10. Provide a list and a brief description of specialized professional graduate courses offered as part of the curriculum. This involves virtually every course in our curriculum, depending on how you define “specialized.” Here’s a list from the 2018-2019 academic year.
M.A. IN JOURNALISM REQUIRED COURSES
JOUR71101 Craft of Journalism (6 credits) The foundation course for all students. Teaches the essential skills of researching, reporting and writing, photography and social media. Students are assigned a neighborhood in New York and concentrate their reporting there for the semester. OR JOUR71102 Craft of Journalism – Spanish (6 credits) Teaches the essential skills of researching, reporting and writing, photography and social media. Students are assigned a neighborhood as their beat. The course is taught in Spanish and assignments are produced in Spanish.
JOUR71103 Legal and Ethical Issues (3 credits) Through a rigorous examination of court cases and ethical controversies, students will learn to anticipate, recognize, and properly address ethical and legal concerns in journalism.
JOUR71104 Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling: Audio and Video (3 credits) This course teaches the basics of producing radio and television news stories for broadcast or web. Students learn best practices in visual and audio storytelling and editing across platforms, and how to write for the ear and eye.
JOUR71105 Fundamentals of Multimedia Storytelling: Interactive Journalism (3 credits) Students learn to conceptualize and produce stories across multiple platforms, from websites to mobile devices, how to build an audience using social media, interactivity, and other methods, and methods for finding and using data. CRAFT II – Pick One JOUR71151 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Writing and Reporting. (4 credits) This course involves more complex NYC-based storytelling. Stories are enterprise-driven and combine the written word with multimedia and interactive elements, and require the strategic use of data and social media.
JOUR71152 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Video Reporting (4 credits) Students get practical experience with in-class exercises and field assignments using technology integral to video journalism, whether for TV, the web or in theaters. Strong reporting, storytelling and production values are stressed.
JOUR71153 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Interactive Reporting (4 credits) This course explores more complex forms of interactive storytelling, using computer programming, interactive visuals and solid reporting. Students find statistics and raw data to complement their interactive and visual stories.
JOUR71154 Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Reporting and Writing, Spanish (4 credits) This course is about reporting on an advanced level, with different journalistic genres and
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 53 techniques discussed. Students work on research and reporting, writing, multimedia production and interactivity, all taught in Spanish.
JOUR76009.3: Topics in Audio: Craft of Journalism II: Advanced Radio Reporting and Newswriting (4 credits) Students strengthen their reporting, writing and research skills for the ear--and hone their recording and digital editing skills. The goal is to create a professional radio reel, including voicers (spots), wraps, a non-narrated audio story and two 3-to-5 minute features. Students also produce an hourlong news magazine as a class.
MEDIA COURSES Interactive JOUR73361 Coding the news (3 credits) This course elevates students’ HTML and CSS skills and introduces them to JavaScript and jQuery. Through assignments and in-class work, students learn how to build interactive and dynamic components for news stories.
JOUR73351 Data Journalism (3 credits) Journalists today have access to more data than ever before. Students learn to expose the stories buried in the numbers, deal with troves of documents and use this information in their reporting. They learn the nuts and bolts of data analysis and visualization to create insightful interactive narratives.
JOUR73371 Advanced Social Media (revised name: Audience Engagement and Metrics (1 credit) Students focus on the nexus of social media and journalism, from the effects of Facebook’s algorithms to the role of analytics and metrics in newsrooms. The course emphasizes how to better report and research stories and how to better distribute and engage with an audience.
JOUR73373 Design and Presentation (revised name: Information Design) (1 credit) This module covers the fundamentals of good presentation, layout, and design for print and the web. It includes basic typography, color theory, page layout, information design as well as navigation and usability. Tools explored include Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, along with the languages of web design: HTML and CSS.
JOUR76006.1: Bots that Talk: The art and code of conversational news interfaces (1 credit) In this five-week module, we explore the emerging role of conversational bots in society (including journalism), the qualities that make a bot effective (or not) and the process of making good bots. Students make their own bots and learn some code.
JOUR 73352 Scraping for Journalists (2 credits) Students learn to pull data from public web sites and social media and store the information in a way that’s suitable for analysis, interactivity or to track changes over time. They build on Javascript and JQuery and add Node.js.
JOUR73372 Motion Graphics and Animated Storytelling (2 credits) This 10-week module explores how motion graphics are used to enhance stories. Students learn to choose the right subject matter, to storyboard ideas and to design style-frames. They also learn fundamentals of the After Effects software.
JOUR76006.3 Topics in Interactive Journalism: Interrogating the Algorithm (1 credit)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 54 Algorithms are now commonly used to make economic, health and policy decisions. Often, the people who write them infuse them with cultural biases. We train how to break down algorithms to uncover discrimination in the code.
JOUR76006.1 Topics in Interactive Journalism: Advanced Coding the News (3 credits) This delves into the refined and effective use of coding and development to create customized data-driven interactives. Students learn to employ JavaScript libraries like Lodash to tell in- depth, complex stories.
JOUR76006.6 Topics in Interactive Journalism: Advanced Data Journalism (3 credits) Students learn to gather and analyze complex data to uncover stories and bullet-proof their nut grafs. They learn Python, a popular newsroom language, and use Python libraries to process and query millions of rows of data. Writing and Reporting JOUR73104 Feature Writing (3 credits) This class aims to find, report, write and sell news features to magazines, newspapers and websites. Most students pitch at least one story during the semester; many publish and are paid for one or more pieces. Students can choose from a variety of feature forms: travel, service or explanatory pieces, reported essays and narratives. Classes are heavy on workshopping.
JOUR73106 National Political Reporting (3 credits) Politics is the peaceful struggle for resources. This class teaches how to investigate that struggle to explain why some people win and others lose. A key question discussed: How do politicians make decisions? By the end, students are expected to offer a well-reported, sophisticated account of why and how a political action occurred.
JOUR76008.1 Topics in Journalistic Writing: The Business of Freelancing (1 credit) This five-week module lays out the basics, pro and con, of the freelance life, part-time or full-time. We cover how and where to pitch, home offices, life and work styles, equipment, negotiating fees and contracts, managing time, budgeting and tax tips. Guest freelancers tell how they work and charge.
JOUR76008.2 Investigative Research Techniques (1 credit) This module provides a good foundation for any investigative reporting class or for anyone seeking to produce high-impact stories. Students cultivate an investigative and document- centered mindset and learn how to dive deeply into court and other public records to investigate government agencies, public officials, people and businesses.
JOUR78001: Voices and Perspectives in Conflict (3 credits) This course introduces students to people on all sides of issues, including those whose voices are not often heard: unlettered and unseen Americans who live on the fringes and are on the receiving end of journalism. Reporting trips go to places where these people live and work. They tell us what they think about how reporters portray them.
JOUR73105 Editing: The Big Picture (3 credits) This provides hands-on experience in editing and in packaging the work of first-semester reporters into presentations. Students learn the roles and skills of editors: assigning and selecting stories, shaping content, enforcing standards and promoting good writing.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 55 JOUR73101 Narrative Writing (3 credits) Students explore the art of long-form storytelling, writing 3,000-5,000-word pieces. They study the techniques of nonfiction masters, enhance their skills of research and analysis, and write polished magazine articles based on character, plot, scene and dialogue.
JOUR73102 Investigative Reporting (3 credits) This intensive course explores the advanced reporting, writing, organizational, analytical, and critical reasoning skills that are the foundation of investigative journalism for print and broadcast. Students pursue an investigative project and submit regular memos of progress, eventually producing a 2,500 story or 15-minute broadcast.
JOUR73103 Opinion Writing (3 credits) Students read and discuss editorials and columns dating from the civil rights movement to the present, to discover what makes opinion writing effective. They also write opinion pieces aimed at opening minds or changing them, on local, state, national and international issues.
Audio JOUR73451 Radio News Writing and Reporting (3 credits) This course builds on the editorial and production knowledge learned in the first semester. Students strengthen their audio reporting, writing, and production skills through assignments that emphasize original reporting and the production of enterprise stories.
JOUR76009.1 Topics in Audio Reporting: Audio Documentary (3 credits) Students create well-researched, richly reported, audio documentary features. Emphasis is placed on developing advanced interviewing techniques, solid ethics, working within communities, a sophisticated understanding of narrative tension and arc, and the deft use of scene and character within a well-told story.
JOUR76009.2 Topics in Audio Reporting: Podcast Pilots (1 credit) This five-week module challenges students to develop their own ideas for a podcast and to produce a demo. Marketing and business development are also addressed, but the focus is on creating a viable podcast idea and working on production logistics.
JOUR73452 Radio News Magazine: Audiofiles (3 credits) This advanced workshop focuses on creating and packaging news and information for broadcast and download via the internet. Students rotate duties as producers, reporters, and editors on a professionally hosted and produced news magazine.
JOUR76009.1 Topics in Audio Reporting: Radio Voice Workshop (1 credit) This course covers the basics of professional announcing for radio and podcasts. Fundamentals of speech and diction are taught, as well as microphone and interviewing techniques, proper breathing, and writing for voice.
Visual JOUR73251 Video Storytelling for the Web (3 credits) Students learn to research, report, shoot, and edit short, focused video stories designed specifically for the web. They move beyond the basic video concepts of first-semester interactive and broadcast to more advanced techniques, particularly the skills involved in having subjects tell their stories in their own voices, without heavy narration.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 56 JOUR73252 Social Video (2 credits) Students develop fluency in a variety of new visual languages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Vine. Classes use smartphones as a primary visual reporting and editing tool, creating explainers, animations, streaming coverage, text on video. They also work with archival and found footage.
JOUR73271 Photojournalism (3 credits) This is an introductory course for students who want to take better photos to accompany other media, as well as students who want to pursue photography more intensively. Instruction progresses from basic camera operation and the news “one shot” to more comprehensive visual storytelling and post-production skills.
JOUR73272 Advanced Photojournalism (3 credits) This is an intermediate-to-advanced course aimed at students with a strong interest in photography, photo editing and visual journalism. Students hone shooting skills, develop photo editing skills and learn the ability to work as a photographer in a professional environment.
JOUR73261 Introduction to Documentary Film (3 credits) Students analyze the building blocks and visual demands of documentary filmmaking, develop and pitch a story idea and build their camera skills. They watch and analyze documentaries of various lengths and read and write about them. Students complete short production exercises and leave the class with a viable documentary film idea.
JOUR73262 Video Documentary Production (3 credits) Students begin the process of producing a documentary or documentary series for television or the web. The course is part survey, part production. Students analyze different styles of documentaries and work in small groups to research, report, write, shoot and edit a formal proposal for a 30-minute documentary or series.
JOUR73281 The Art of the Video Interview (1 credit) In this five-week module, students learn to conduct an on-camera interview, using questions designed to effectively elicit sound bites and information. The principal assignment is shooting and editing a two-camera interview.
JOUR73291 Television News Magazine - 219W (3 credits) Students work in teams to produce stories of approximately 10 minutes and create a monthly magazine-format show. They must identify compelling central characters and connect their stories to larger issues or common experiences. Students learn sophisticated writing and audio/ visual approaches that sustain longer-form pieces.
JOUR76007.1 Topics in Visual Journalism: On Camera! (1 credit) This five-week module gives students experience being in front of the camera instead of behind it. It covers the different forms of on-camera appearances such as standups, the “reporter’s journey” style, and studio appearances; students spend time in the studio, practicing anchoring a news show and conducting live interviews and roundtables.
JOUR76007.3 Virtual Reality (3 credits) Students examine successful journalistic VR projects, brainstorm and pitch a few class projects and create and stitch several 360 immersive video stories. They discuss using 360 video in web VR, dive into editing and post production for 360 Video, and look at how VR/360 video and
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 57 Augmented (AR) reality can work together.
JOUR73099 Broadcast Deadline (3 credits) This course provides a real-life setting for day-of-air reporting. Students gain the skills and confidence needed to work in a local newsroom for broadcast or internet. Students learn to manage their time efficiently on location and in editing, to shoot and use more informative B roll, and to elicit strong sound bites from interviewees.
JOUR76007.8 Topics in Visual Journalism: Drone Journalism (1 credit) The advent of drone technology gives journalists and filmmakers a powerful new tool – a camera that flies. Aerial photography is a consideration in nearly every major production today, from breaking-news pieces to feature documentaries. Federal, state and local laws and regulations, however, drastically limit what is possible.
JOUR76007.3 Topics in Visual Journalism: The Art of Video Editing (1 credit) This five-week course focuses on advanced editing techniques and color correction in Adobe Premiere, building on skills taught in introductory classes. Students bring existing video projects to class and focus on finishing edits and taking a story from the final cut to being ready for publication.
JOUR76007.2 Topics in Visual Journalism: The Art of Cinematography (1 credit) This five-week course teaches the technical and aesthetic aspects of cinematography for non- fiction films. Students examine different styles of cinematography in the documentary and web video world, and examine how great cinematographers use light, color and focal length to contribute to the visual language of a story.
JOUR76007.5 Topics in Visual Journalism: Lighting Workshop (1 credit) This hands-on workshop introduces techniques for both location and studio lighting to transform images and scenes from average to extraordinary. Students learn tools and techniques ranging from an off-camera flash to stylized studio portrait lighting.
JOUR76007.6 Topics in Visual Journalism: Using GIFs, Memes & Animation for News (1 credit) This five-week module is a hands-on introduction to the world of animations and the ever- expanding uses in journalism. Students learn how to build animations ranging from simple looping GIFs to more complex animations. Adobe Photoshop is the primary tool used, though others are introduced.
SUBJECT CONCENTRATION COURSES
Arts and Culture Reporting JOUR72201 Cultural Issues (3 credits) This course surveys the major issues and controversies facing artists and arts organizations today, including how to treat intellectual property, the role of art in developing cities, branding, the influence of digital technology on art, the history and impact of celebrity, censorship, and diversity. Students choose a genre beat and report on it.
JOUR72010 Arts Criticism (3 credits) This is a course in writing reviews, critical roundups, and critical essays for the popular press. Students deconstruct reviews, debate what makes a good review, and examine the way syntax,
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 58 word play, tone, and allusion shape literary style in print and broadcast/audio reviews. Ethical considerations reviewers face are also discussed.
JOUR73107 Sports Reporting (3 credits) This course teaches modern-day sports writing, a field in which the reporter must be a blogger, news breaker, and storyteller. Students pick a beat, either a high school or college team or league, and cover it together, using a class blog as the distribution medium. Students regularly analyze the coverage of breaking sports news.
JOUR72203 Arts & Entertainment Reporting (3 credits) Students focus on the types of stories most common in cultural reporting: the walk-up preview story, trend pieces, tie-ins that examine the connection between cultural events and the broader society, and the process piece that examines how specific arts are conceived, made, distributed, marketed.
JOUR76001.1 Topics in Arts/Culture Reporting: Writing Critically About Food and Restaurants (3 credits) This course trains students to write restaurant reviews and cookbook reviews, as well as how to produce informed commentary on aspects of the culinary world such as food policy, labor issues, food-related laws and economic data. Students also read some of the major works in food journalism.
Business and Economics Reporting JOUR72301 Covering the Economy (3 credits) Students learn the economic context of the business world they seek to cover, including business cycles, fiscal and monetary policy, and globalization. They interpret statistics, identify trends, explain policy, and analyze economic controversies. In-class writing exercises and assignments stress understanding and analysis of our economic system.
JOUR72302 Covering Markets and Companies (6 credits) This six-hour class examines markets and companies together. The markets sessions focus on markets, Wall Street, and investment practices and financial tools such as options, futures, and derivatives. The company classes look at company accounting and strategies. Students choose a company to follow and complete a corporate strategy piece. Health and Science Reporting JOUR72401 Introduction to Health Journalism (3 credits) In this required course, students choose a beat — pain, life extension, the microbiome, health disparities, or love and relationships, to name a few examples. They master skills such as how to assess scientific claims, find and vet experts, connect with patients, and identify the emerging trends that don’t make it into medical press releases.
JOUR72402 Science Journalism (3 credits) In this advanced class, students broaden their focus to include climate change and renewable energy, cosmology, and the natural sciences. They learn how to handle scientific controversies, produce explainer videos, and translate technical material into compelling audio, video, and prose.
JOUR72403 Investigative Health Reporting (3 credits)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 59 In this class, students gain the tools necessary to expose substandard patient care and financial irregularities. Students learn to identify potential abuses, obtain relevant court documents, make public records requests, utilize publicly available health data, question officials, and navigate ethical dilemmas.
JOUR72404 Urban Environmental Reporting (3 credits) This course provides the knowledge and skills reporters need to cover the environment beat, which is certain to yield some of the most significant stories of the coming decades. The focus is on the environmental challenges of cities, from garbage disposal and sewage treatment to air quality, urban farming, and climate resilience.
International Reporting JOUR72501 Introduction to International Reporting (3 credits) This course introduces students to the basics of international reporting and the way in which it differs from local or national reporting. Students cover stories involving the U.N., U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, and global economic and health issues. They also cover immigrants and refugees in New York and how international issues affect them.
JOUR72503 Issues in International Reporting (3 credits) This is a comprehensive, project-oriented course that will target one or more newsy regions overseas for coverage, either through a class project or with individual assignments. Students are required to do extensive research and reporting to produce work that could constitute a capstone project.
JOUR72502 Cross-cultural reporting (3 credits) Students receive in-depth training in reporting across cultural lines -- the essence of international reporting. They immerse themselves in one or more ethnic or national groups in New York, learning customs, communication styles, political attitudes, family life and history. They report on these communities and make ties to the countries of origin.
Spanish-Language Journalism JOUR72701 Covering Latino Communities (3 credits) Students learn how to produce compelling stories about such critical issues in U.S. Latino communities as education, housing, health, poverty, race relations, citizenship and political access. Using New York City as a lab, they look at how mainstream media portrays these communities and analyze issues of stigmatization and discrimination. Taught in Spanish.
JOUR76012.1 Topics in Journalism: The Hispanic Media Landscape (3 credits) Students look at the state of the Latino news media in the U.S. today and the context in which it developed. They assess the industry’s strengths and weaknesses and its most important challenges and suggest how to strengthen the industry and help reinvent Latino journalism. Taught in Spanish.
JOUR76012.2 Topics in Journalism: In-Depth Reporting in Latino Communities (3 credits) This course explores the advanced reporting, writing, organizational, and analytical skills that are the foundation of in-depth journalism. Students are assigned to cover an issue that affects Latino communities in the U.S. By semester’s end, each student or team produces an in-depth written or multimedia story. Taught in Spanish.
Urban Reporting
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 60 JOUR72601 Covering City Government and Politics (3 credits) Students receive a full understanding of reporting on how the city is governed, power is wielded and policy decisions are reached. Students produce news reports in a variety of media formats on the NYC bureaucracy, public authorities and unofficial players like lobbyists, labor unions, business, advocacy groups and community groups.
JOUR72604 Covering NYC Economy and Business (3 credits) This course helps students understand and report effectively on the key economic and business forces shaping New York City. They learn about the city’s most important industries and employers, the role of small businesses and immigrant entrepreneurs, the impact of real estate and economic development, and economic issues the city faces.
JOUR72602 Covering NYC’s Social Issues (3 credits) This course teaches students how to produce fresh, compelling stories about critical social issues in New York City, such as education, housing, health, poverty, criminal justice, and race relations. Students look at public policies designed to address those issues and learn how to measure their effectiveness.
JOUR72603 Urban Investigative Reporting (3 credits) Students undertake investigative reporting on behalf of local and ethnic media looking for in- depth coverage of unsolved problems in their communities. They learn Freedom of Information request techniques, analyze data, and conduct on-site interviews and research at courthouses, government agencies, businesses, and organizations.
Entrepreneurial JOUR76010, Sec 1: Topics in Entrepreneurial Journalism: Startup Sprint (2 credits) This 10-week module focuses on developing students’ own journalism startup, from conception to taking the first steps toward launching their new venture. Students examine what helps journalism startups succeed or fail and to develop new, topic-focused websites, newsletters, apps and brands that fill gaps in the media ecosystem.
JOUR76010, Sec 2: Topics in Entrepreneurial Journalism: Innovation Lab (1 credit) This five-week lab focuses on using developing platforms and tools to create innovative journalism products and services. Each session includes hands-on demonstrations, experiments, games, challenges and debates. We tackle questions about the best ways to use Snapchat, Whatsapp, Line, Kik, and Viber for information gathering and news distribution.
M.A. IN SOCIAL JOURNALISM
JOUR75001 Community Engagement (3 credits) This is a course in listening to a community: understanding and empathizing with its needs and learning how to help it share its own knowledge. Students meet people from multiple geographic, ethnic, interest-based and business-related communities and learn how to interact with a community they plan to serve.
JOUR75003 Reporting for Social Journalism (3 credits) This course helps students learn how to find and best present the information their communities want to know. Students identify the best sources in a community, including other media. In coordination with the community engagement course, students profile communities and meet people in them.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 61 JOUR75004 Social Media Tools (3 credits) Students look at the multiple tools communities use to interact — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, NextDoor, SeeClickFix, etc. — focusing on their capabilities, how their use affects interactivity and quality of information, and how they could be better used. They learn how to verify information from social media.
JOUR75002: Metrics and Outcomes (3 credits) Students learn how to gather and analyze behavioral data and other signals to understand what does and does not succeed with a community. They learn that metrics can be corrupting, that striving for more unique users and page views can lead to sensationalism and degraded value, credibility and reputation.
JOUR75005: Advanced Reporting for Social Journalism (3 credits) This course offers more advanced skills in reporting, crowdsourcing, interviewing, fact-checking, and the like to social journalism students. Students learn how to find and interact with sources and how to work collaboratively with a community to find trustworthy information. They consider the optimal forms to present that information.
JOUR75007: Ethical and Legal Considerations in Social Journalism (3 credits) Students learn the ethical implications of working with communities. To succeed, it is vital they develop a relationship of mutual trust and understanding. In this seminar, students discuss these considerations and anticipate pitfalls to avoid. They also study libel and copyright, freedom of speech and information rights.
JOUR75008: Data Skills (3 credits) This course presents the fundamentals of data gathering, analysis, and presentation for social journalism. Data skills are critical to effective public engagement, gathering information about communities, analyzing audience behavior, gathering and presenting credible information for a community, and knowing pitfalls in misinterpreting data.
11. Show that at least half the required credit hours in the master’s program are in professional skills courses appropriate to professional communications careers.
Our M.A. in Journalism program has 31 required credit hours out of 43 required for graduation. We believe all teach professional skills appropriate to professional communication careers, but no matter how one defines professional skills, it is easily more than half the required credit hours: Craft of Journalism 6 credit hours Audio/Video 3 Interactive 3 Legal/Ethics 3 Craft II: Options in Writing/Visual/Interactive/Spanish Language/Audio 4 credit hours Reporting concentration: Urban, International/Business/Latino Communities/Health-Science/Arts-Culture 9 credit hours (Students can opt out of one concentration course in Arts/Culture and Health/Science with permission of the concentration director.)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 62 Summer Internship 3 credit hours
Our M.A. in Social Journalism has 36 required credit hours out of 36 required for graduation. We believe all teach professional skills appropriate to professional communication careers.
Semester 1 (fall) Community Engagement 3 credit hours Reporting for Social Journalism 3 Social Media Tools 3 Fundamentals of Multimedia 3
Semester 2 (spring) Metrics and Outcomes 3 credit hours Advanced Reporting for Social Journalism 3 Ethical and Legal Considerations 3 Data Skills 3
Summer Summer Internship 3 credit hours
Semester 3 (fall) Startup Sprint 2 credit hours Innovation Lab 1 Community Practicum 3 Design and Development 3
12. Complete the two professional master’s program curriculum tables below.
Curriculum for Professional Master’s Programs Provide the first 15 names on an alphabetical list of the graduate students who received a professional master’s degree during the 2018–2019 academic year. Provide each student’s name, undergraduate major and school attended as an undergraduate.
LAST NAME FIRST NAME UNDERGRAD MAJOR SCHOOL
Alfiky Amr Abdelsamie Pre-Med Alexandria University
Andiorio Janessa Marie Journalism Quinnipiac University
U of Michigan, Ann Boyer Trevor Thomas English Arbor
Brooks Anna Catherine Journalism Mount Royal
Cardona Christina Media Studies Queens College
San Jose State Castro Itzel T. Multimedia Journalism University
Ceasrine Lea Nonfiction Writing New School
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 63 Universidad Cerda Campero Sofia Journalism Iberoamericana
Chowdhury Shabnaj English Lit Hunter College
Christensen Joshua Theater U of Rhode Island
Crenshaw Madeleine Marie Culture & Media New School
New College of Cutler Matthew Economics Florida
U of Minnesota Dangor Graison Robert English Minneapolis
DeSantis Michael Thomas Journalism Stonybrook University
Dozier Robert Alexander Robyn Communications U of Hartford
Professional Master’s Credit Hours Show master’s credit hours earned in all courses by the 15 students listed above.
Craft I 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Craft I - 6 6 Spanish
Legal and 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Ethical Issues
Multimedia - 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Audio/Visual
Multimedia - 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Interactive
Cultural Issues 3 3 3 3 3 3
Covering the 3 3 Economy
Introduction to Health 3 3 3 Journalism
Introduction to International 3 3 3 Reporting
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 64 Covering City Government 3 and Politics
Covering Latino 3 3 Communities
Feature Writing 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
National Political 3 3 Reporting
Video Storytelling for 3 3 3 the Web
Social Video
Introduction to Documentary 3 Film
Photo- journalism
219W - Television News Magazine Production
Data 3 3 3 Journalism
Coding the News
Motion Graphics for 2 2 Journalism
Presentation 1 1 and Design
Radio News Writing and 3 Reporting
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 65 Topics in Interactive Journalism: User 1 Experience & Interaction Design
Topics: Craft II - Advanced 4 4 Interactive Reporting
Topics: Craft II - Advanced Interactive Reporting
Topics in Visual 1 1 1 Journalism: On Camera
Topics in Visual 3 Journalism: Virtual Reality
Topics: Craft II - Advanced 4 4 4 Video Reporting
Topics: Craft II - Advanced 4 4 4 4 Writing and Reporting
Topics: Craft II - Advanced Writing and 4 4 Reporting in Spanish
Topics in Audio Reporting: 3 3 3 Audio Documentary
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 66 Audio 3 3 3 3 Podcasting
Topics: Craft II - Advanced 4 4 4 4 Audio Reporting
Topics in Journalism: Voices and 3 3 Perspectives in Conflict
Topics in Journalism: Prototyping
Topics in Journalism: Technology, Media and Democracy
Arts Criticism 3 3
Arts & Entertainment 3 3 3 3 3 3 Reporting
Covering Markets and 6 6 Companies
Science 3 3 3 Journalism
Investigative Health 3 3 Reporting
Urban Environmental 3 Reporting
Cross-cultural 3 3 3 3 Reporting
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 67 Issues in International 3 3 3 Reporting
Covering NYC’s 3 Social Issues
Urban 3 Investigative
Covering NYC Economy and 3 Business
Narrative 3 3 Journalism
Investigative 3 Reporting
Opinion 3 3 Writing
Sports 3 3 Reporting
Video Storytelling
Social Video 2 2 2 2 2
Video Documentary Production
Photo- 3 3 3 3 3 journalism
Advanced Photo- 3 journalism
The Art of the 1 1 Video Interview
Television News Magazine - 219W
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 68 Broadcast Deadline
Scraping for Journalists
Motion Graphics for 2 Journalism
Radio News Magazine: Audiofiles
Community Engagement
Reporting for Social Journalism
Social Media Tools
Topics in Arts & Culture Reporting: Writing 3 3 3 Critically About Food and Restaurants
Topics in Interactive Journalism: Advanced Coding
Topics in Interactive Journalism: Interrogating Algorithms
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 69 Topics in Interactive Journalism: 3 Advanced Data Reporting
Topics in Visual Journalism: 1 1 The Art of Cinema- tography
Topics in Visual Journalism: 1 The Art of Video Editing
Topics in Visual Journalism: Lighting Workshop
Topics in Visual Journalism: Using GIFs, 1 1 1 1 1 Memes & Animation for News
Topics in Visual Journalism: 1 Drone Journalism
Topics in Journalistic Writing: The 1 1 Business of Freelancing
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 70 Topics in Audio Journalism - 1 1 Radio Voice Workshop
Topics in Audio Journalism - 1 1 1 1 Podcast Pilots
Topics in Journalism: 3 Latino Media Landscape
Topics in Journalism: In-depth 3 Reporting in U.S. Latino Communities
Summer 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Internship
Independent 3 Study
TOTALS 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 2 71 PART II STANDARD 3 PART II | STANDARD 3 Diversity and Inclusiveness
TAKEAWAYS
Expanding newsroom diversity and ensuring that news accounts better reflect diverse points of view are at the heart of the school’s mission and curriculum.
We have steadily increased the diversity of our student body (56 percent for the Class of 2019). We have also continued to diversify our faculty, staff, and top administrative positions.
Our Diversity Committee has a strong plan to continue our diversity efforts and monitors our progress in reaching its goals; it also keeps the school alert to new issues in diversity.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 73 Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Complete and attach the following tables: TABLE 4. AREA POPULATION SCHOOLS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES should adjust the response and listing below to best represent the racial/ethnic/socio economic groups of the area’s population. Service Area: Describe here the unit’s geographic service area as far as student enrollment is concerned (region, states, state, counties, etc.). The Newmark J-School draws students from across the nation; we recruit in all regions of the country. In the Class of 2019, roughly half are from out of state, including international students. These figures are drawn from the U.S. Census.
Based on the most recent Census figures, what percentages do the following groups represent of the population of the unit’s geographic service area as described above?
GROUP % OF POPULATION
Black/African-American 12.2
White 63
American Indian/Alaskan native 0.7
Asian 4.7
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 16.3
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 0.15
Two or more races 1.9
Other race 0.2
Female 50.8
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 74 TABLE 5. GRADUATE STUDENT POPULATIONS Show numbers of male, female, minority, white and international students enrolled in the unit, the percentages they represent of total journalism and mass communications enrollment, and the percentages these racial/ethnic groups represent of the total institutional enrollment. Use figures from the most recent academic year for which complete data are available. SCHOOLS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES should adjust the list below to best represent racial/ethnic/socio economic groups presented in Table 4.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2018–2019
% OF TOTAL % OF TOTAL IN GROUP MALE FEMALE IN UNIT INSTITUTION* (N=230)
Black/African-American 13 26 17 18.4
White 50 88 60 46.2
American Indian/Alaskan native 1 0 .5 .2
Asian 4 15 8 17.3
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 14 19 14 18
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0
Two or more races 0 0 0 0
Other race 0 0 0 0
International (any race) 0 0 15% (34) N/A
ACADEMIC YEAR 2019–2020
% OF TOTAL IN % OF TOTAL IN GROUP NUMBER UNIT (N=230) INSTITUTION
Male 82 33 N/A**
Female 165 66
Other 4 2
TOTAL 251
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 75 Black/African-American 53 21
White 114 45
American Indian/Alaskan native 0 0
Asian 26 10
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 50 20
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 0 0
Two or more races 0 0
Other race 8 3
International (any race) 35 14
TOTAL 251
TABLE 6. FACULTY POPULATIONS, FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME Show numbers of female, male, minority, white and international faculty members and the percentages they represent of the unit’s total faculty. (Report international faculty the same way the university reports them.) SCHOOLS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES should adjust the response and listing below to best represent the racial/ethnic/socio economic groups of the area’s population. ACADEMIC YEAR: 2018–2019 FULL-TIME FACULTY
% OF % OF GROUP FEMALE TOTAL MALE TOTAL FACULTY FACULTY
Black/African-American 2 12 0 0
White 3 18 9 53
American Indian/Alaskan native 1 6 0 0
Asian 0 0 1 6
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 0 0 1 6
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0
Two or more races 0 0 0 0
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 76 Other race 0 0 0 0
International (any race) 0 0 0 0
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2018–2019 PART-TIME/ADJUNCT FACULTY
% OF % OF GROUP FEMALE TOTAL MALE TOTAL FACULTY FACULTY
Black/African-American 7 7 3 3
White 30 29 35 34
American Indian/Alaskan native
Asian 9 9 2 2
Hispanic/Latino (any race) 11 11 6 6
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0
Two or more races 0 0 0 0
Other race 0 0 0 0
International (any race) 0 0 0 0
TABLE 7. FULL-TIME FACULTY RECRUITMENT Provide the following information for any searches for full-time faculty members conducted by the unit within the past three years.
ACADEMIC YEARS: 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019
Openings 2 1 2
Total applicants in hiring pool 12 105 42
Females in hiring pool 2 35 12
Female finalists considered 1 6 2
Offers made to females 1 1 0
Offers accepted by females 1 1 0
Minorities in hiring pool 7 37 23
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 77 Minority finalists considered 7 5 0
Offers made to minorities 2 1 0
Offers accepted by minorities 2 1 0
International faculty in hiring pool 0 0 0
International faculty considered 0 0 0
Offers made to international faculty 0 0 0
Offers accepted by international faculty 0 0 0
TABLE 8. PART-TIME/ADJUNCT FACULTY RECRUITMENT
Provide the following information for any searches for part-time or adjunct faculty members conducted by the unit within the past three years. Adjunct faculty are not advertised searches. Program heads recruit adjuncts as needed. A diverse faculty is expected. From the Faculty Policies Manual: Recruitment of New Adjuncts New adjuncts are recruited and screened by program heads. When possible, they will also be interviewed by the Associate Dean. Among our 87 adjuncts in Fall 2018, 50 were women (57%) and 34 (39%) were from underrepresented groups. Among the 39 adjuncts in the Spring 2019 semester, 24 (62%) were women and 19 (49%) were from underrepresented groups.
2. Attach a copy of the unit’s written plan for achieving an inclusive curriculum, a diverse faculty and student population, and a supportive climate for working and learning. This plan should give the date of adoption/last revision, any designated timelines for reaching goals, the unit’s definition of diversity and the under-represented groups identified by the unit. Describe how the unit assesses its progress toward achieving the plan’s objectives. Our diversity plan was updated on May 7, 2019. We assess progress toward achieving these objectives in several ways. The Diversity Committee meets several times per semester, monitors any student or faculty concerns, and makes suggestions for improvements through faculty meetings, the governance process, and recommendations to the administration. Our diversity enrollment, retention and graduation rates are computed and reported annually as an aspect of university’s performance management process. We pay close attention to these numbers. All syllabi are expected to address diversity in some way, and when faculty and adjuncts have their semester peer reviews, this is an area on which they are graded. It should be noted that since the Diversity Report was written, we have already made progress toward achieving Goal #2 by promoting two women of color to newly created assistant dean
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 78 positions. Yahaira Castro is our new assistant dean overseeing all aspects of the student experience, and Colleen Leigh is now assistant dean for operations. Of the school’s six administrators, 50 percent are from underrepresented groups, and 83 percent are women. In addition, we recently hired a Hispanic man and an African-American woman as director and assistant director, respectively, of the Student Affairs Office. Additionally, Max Patino, a Hispanic man, was promoted to the director of admissions position.
3. Describe the unit’s curricular efforts to foster understanding of issues and perspectives that are inclusive in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. For both the M.A. in Journalism and the M.A. in Social Journalism, the school has outcomes that emphasize the importance of diversity. For the M.A. in Journalism: Ability to Produce Stories Reflecting a Diversity of Sources and Topics Does the reporter tackle interesting and informative original stories that encompass multiple viewpoints and voices? Does the breadth of the reporter’s work show a diversity of story topics? Does the work demonstrate cultural competency and show an ability to journalistically serve underserved communities? For the M.A. in Social Journalism: Be able to move past comfortable associations to learn how to understand people of diverse backgrounds and different perspectives and needs. To achieve these outcomes, the school bakes in an emphasis on diversity throughout the student experience. This starts with admissions. The school recruits a diverse student body to bring a variety of experiences and perspectives to the classrooms. In orientation, there are sessions on building diverse communities and about engaging with diverse communities. In the first-semester Craft I classes, students are assigned local neighborhoods from which to report, providing them firsthand opportunities to connect with residents who are not necessarily like them in terms of race, class, religion, etc. Such an emphasis on diversity is expected to be reflected in all syllabi. The school has a standing Diversity Committee to help foster best practices on building diversity into classes and hosts a variety of events to support the emphasis on diversity. For example, we held a session on gender and the workplace and a session with alumni on navigating the newsroom. The faculty regularly discuss issues of diversity in meetings. Most recently, the LGBT liaison of the NYC Department of Education conducted a session for faculty on building a trans-inclusive community. We have also had other sessions/guests on diversity topics in faculty meetings. As part of the school’s teaching book club, a voluntary group, faculty have read and discussed books on race and student mental health. In the most recent student exit survey (December 2018), 75 percent of the students in the class of 2018 reported being very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the quality of instruction on issues of diversity; 73 percent reported being very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the diversity of viewpoints represented in the classroom; and 74 percent felt very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with how well the J-School prepared them to cover diverse issues and communities. Moreover, the external judges reviewing student portfolios as part of the outcomes process were impressed with the wide range of sources used, especially in the capstones.
4. Describe the unit’s curricular instruction in issues and perspectives relating to mass communications across diverse cultures in a global society.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 79 In addition to the above, the school recognizes that New York City is a global community reflecting people from across the globe. Students take advantage of this variety for their stories. Moreover, two of the school’s subject concentrations are international reporting and Spanish- Language Journalism, both of which emphasize diverse cultures at the global level. Through our Center for Community and Ethnic Media, the school has strong relationships with news outlets that serve a variety of ethnic and immigrant communities. Students are able to take advantage of these relationships for sourcing and for internships, as well as for freelancing.
5. Describe efforts to establish and maintain a climate that is free of harassment and discrimination, accommodates the needs of those with disabilities, and values the contributions of all forms of diversity. The Newmark Graduate School of Journalism abides by the City University of New York’s policies on equal opportunity and non-discrimination and by federal Title IX and New York State “Enough is Enough” policies governing sexual and gender-based harassment and misconduct. We start educating our students about these policies at our incoming-student orientation in August. During one session, the Title IX coordinator makes a presentation describing sexual and gender-based harassment and violence and outlines the procedures for reporting and investigating complaints. In addition, the director and assistant director of student affairs run a workshop on diversity for all new students. The school’s new chief diversity officer will be conducting presentations for faculty and staff this fall on these topics, as well as on issues related to accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Our standing Diversity Committee, made up of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, meets two to three times a semester to discuss and monitor diversity issues. In 2017, the Diversity Committee scheduled two “train the trainers” sessions for its members with Hunter College social work professor Willie Tolliver, an expert on diversity and race relations in academia. Following these sessions, the Diversity Committee presented case studies at two faculty meetings based on incidents that involved professors’ cultural insensitivities to students. Faculty members broke into small discussion groups to discuss how matters could have been better handled. In Spring 2015, Keith Woods, vice president of newsroom training and diversity at NPR, spoke to the faculty about ways to improve diversity in journalism. In May 2019, in response to concerns raised by a transgender student of color about insensitivities to gender issues, including failure to use preferred pronouns, we invited the LGBT community liaison for the NYC Department of Education to address the faculty on the subject of gender inclusivity. We also hired a new chief diversity officer who plans more engagement in school-wide awareness training on such subjects as microaggressions and implicit bias. The Newmark J-School complies fully with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Office of Student Affairs helps to ensure reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, including support services and assistive technology. For example, after we admitted our first wheelchair-bound student in Fall 2018, we installed automatic doors on each of our three floors to improve campus accessibility. During a major website redesign in 2017, we added features to make the site fully accessible to users with visual, auditory, and motor impairments.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 80 6. Describe the unit’s efforts to recruit and retain a student population reflecting the diversity of the population eligible to enroll in institutions of higher education in the region or population it serves, with special attention to recruiting under-represented groups. Our admissions team continually develops and aggressively implements specific strategies aimed at maintaining diversity as a core priority in our recruitment efforts. We develop strong relationships with the established journalism affinity organizations, including NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA, NAJA and NLGJA, attending and recruiting at their annual conferences. The diversity of our admissions staff is key to our recruitment success, as they are all members of the established organizations and identify with an underrepresented population. In an effort to further increase focus and support of our diversity recruitment efforts, we have redesigned the role of one of our associate admissions directors to focus exclusively on multicultural recruitment initiatives. Max Patiño assumed the role of associate director of multicultural recruitment in April 2018. He has a breadth of experience in diversity recruitment, having previously held the role at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, where he helped the school through two successful accreditation reviews. As of July 1, 2019, Patiño assumed the role of director of admissions and a new search has been approved to fill his former position. Our field recruitment efforts include a focused outreach to HBCU (Historically Black College and Universities), HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions), and TCI (Tribal Colleges Initiatives) schools, in-person and virtual presentations to established student chapters of nationally recognized journalism organizations of color, and nationwide geographical outreach in areas of large underrepresented communities, including a proposed tour to Puerto Rico. The admissions department also hosts student visits to the campus in collaboration with HBCUs. This was our third year hosting Howard University on its annual New York City Media Tour. This two-day program brings 20 to 30 students from the iconic HBCU school, allowing the students to learn about and network with a number of media outlets in New York City. The Newmark J-School is one of only two journalism graduate programs that are part of the tour. We’ve also had campus visits by Lincoln University and Morgan State University students in the past two years. In 2018, the school launched the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting scholarship fund, in an effort to continue to financially support diverse journalists in their graduate studies. The scholarship will allow us to remain competitive in the pursuit of the best talent. Our Spanish-Language program, the only bilingual M.A. program in Spanish-English journalism, continues to attract top talent among aspiring journalists interested in covering the Latino experience with a bilingual advantage and cultural perspective. Two of our admissions officers are fully bilingual, bringing a personal approach to the recruitment of this cohort. We conduct recruitment presentations of this cohort in both English and Spanish. Our goal is to prepare journalists who recognize the value of all forms of diversity and who can help shift the culture of newsrooms nationwide.
7. Units in which admission is selective or varies from general university admission requirements should describe considerations given to the effects of selective requirements on minority enrollment. N/A
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 81 8. Assess the unit’s effectiveness in retaining minority students from first enrollment through graduation. Describe any special program developed by and/or used by the unit in the retention of minority students. Note the role of advising in this process. The school is extremely effective in retaining journalists of color. In the Class of 2018, the one- year retention rate for students of color was 97 percent. The two-year retention rate for these students was 92 percent. We have not had to develop special programs to retain students of color as they benefit from programs we offer all students. Like all of our students, minority students have access to our strong advising system whereby students are paired with an advisor familiar with the school’s resources. When students are in danger of receiving below a B- in a class, students receive a midterm warning from a professor. That warning is then sent to the student’s advisor so the advisor can meet with the student to develop a plan that’s tailored to the individual student’s needs. For example, if the student needs help with writing, s/he is encouraged to meet with one of two writing coaches at the school. We also have coaches in a variety of technical areas to assist students in need of that particular help. Finally, students in need of mental wellness are connected to a Wellness Center where they can meet with a counselor.
9. Describe the unit’s efforts to recruit women and minority faculty and professional staff (as enumerated in Table 7, “Full-time Faculty Recruitment”). The effort to recruit women and minority faculty and professional staff is built into the job search process for all full-time employees. Like all other CUNY colleges, the School of Journalism retains a chief diversity officer (CDO) who must first certify that each search committee is composed of a diverse group of members and is reaching out to venues that will attract as diverse a group of qualified candidates as possible. Once the job posting closes, the CDO reviews the applicant pool to make sure it is sufficiently diverse. The School of Journalism posts on wide-reaching job boards, as well as those for minority journalism organizations, such as the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. We also notify our faculty and staff of job openings so they can tap their own personal contacts and professional networks, giving us access to potential applicants who may not otherwise hear of our available positions through online sources. The heads of our media specialties and subject concentrations recruit part-time faculty for their areas, and they are explicitly instructed to employ a diverse group of adjuncts. The associate dean, who oversees faculty hiring, helps ensure that our diversity needs are met.
10. Describe the unit’s efforts to provide an environment that supports the retention, progress and success of women and minority faculty and professional staff. The school desires to create a community that is supportive of everyone, with specific concern for the success of women and minority faculty and staff. Most recently, the school restructured its administration, creating two assistant dean positions. This allowed two long-time staff members, both minority women, to be promoted from within. All tenure-track faculty are supported with 24 credits of release time to facilitate their scholarship. Junior faculty meet regularly with the associate dean to discuss progress and support needed. The school’s Diversity Committee reviews
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 82 and recommends ways to build a more supportive environment. After a group of faculty and staff members read Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” this year, it was recommended that the dean and associate dean hold monthly lunches with small groups of faculty and staff. So far four sessions have been held, with more scheduled.
11. If the unit hires adjunct or part-time faculty members, describe the unit’s effort to hire minority and female professionals into these positions (as enumerated in Table 8, “Part-time/Adjunct Faculty Recruitment”) and list those who are minority and female professionals. As stated in response to Table 8 above, our program directors are responsible for finding, interviewing and assessing prospective adjuncts and then recommending hires to the associate dean. All directors are expected to recruit a diverse part-time faculty, and in recent years we have worked hard to diversify our pool of adjuncts. In 2013, the time of our last accreditation review, 25 percent of our adjuncts were non-white. Of 87 adjuncts who taught in Fall 2018, 50 were women (57%) and 34 (39%) were from underrepresented groups. Among the 39 adjuncts in the Spring 2019 semester, 24 (62%) were women and 19 (49%) were from underrepresented groups. Here is a listing for the two semesters:
PART-TIME FACULTY BREAKDOWN: FALL 2018 AND SPRING 2019
NAME WOMAN MINORITY
Anulina (Nina) Sen Y Y
Alexandra Laughlin Y Y
Alia Malek Y Y
Amanda Aronczyk Y
Ann Choi Fitzpatrick Y Y
Ashley Rodriguez Y Y
Cara Eisenpress Y
Caroline Linton Y
Christine McKenna Y
Cinthya Santos Briones Y Y
Cristina Maldonado Y Y
Cynthia Rodriguez Y Y
Dana Roberson Y Y
Deborah Sontag Y
Dody Tsiantar Y
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 83 Elizabeth Newman Y Y
Ellen Tumposky Y
Elmira Bayrasli Y Y
Felisa Fine Y
Fernanda Echavarri Y Y
Hanna Sender Y
Helina Selemon Y Y
Hilary Fung Y Y
Ilie Mitaru Y
Jennifer Altman Y
Jessica Firger Y
Jessica Rotkiewicz Y
Juan Manuel Benitez Y
Juan Pablo Garnharm Y
Julianne Welby Y
Karen Savage Y
Karen Shakerdge Y
Kassie Bracken Y
Kayle Hope Y
Kimberlea Velsey Y
Lam Thuy Vo Y Y
Larry Tung Y
Leonard Greene Y
Lisa Riordan Seville Y
Luis Miguel Echegaray Y
Maggie Freleng Y Y
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 84 Malik Singleton Y
Marcia Biggs Y
Marco Avilés Y
Maria Sánchez Diez Y Y
Michelle Higgins Y Y
Mónica Cordero Sancho Y Y
Natalie Savits Y
Nelson Hsu Y
Nicole Bode Y
Nour Saudi Y Y
Nyier Abdou Y Y
Rawya Ragheh Y Y
Ruth Hochberger Y
Sabrina Gordon Y Y
Sarah Stack Y
Sherine Tadros Y
Sonia Rincon Y Y
Susan Farkas Y
Tania Rashid Y Y
Tinamarie Vella Y Y
Wilbert Cruz Y
Yvonne Dennis Y Y
Adriana Gallardo Y Y
Clarissa Sosin Y
Delia Paunescu Y
Dominic McKenzie Y
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 85 Edward Morales Y
Errol Louis Y
Geanne Belton Y
Julia Wolfe Y
Karen Duffin Y
Katie Zavadski Y
Kelsey Arendt Y
Meredith Bennett-Smith Y
Mia Lobel Y
Ralph Ortega Y
Vanessa Botelho Y Y
Veralyn Williams Y Y
12. Provide examples of professionals, visiting professors, and other guest speakers invited or sponsored by the unit during the past three years whose background or expertise served to introduce students to diverse perspectives. (Five examples a year are sufficient and those examples should include the name, title, subject area/expertise, race, gender of speakers to provide context. The unit has the option of providing a complete list in a separate digital file.)
2019 6/21-6/22: Latino Media Summit: A two-day experience hosting journalists, news media industry leaders, innovators, thinkers and entrepreneurs focused on U.S. Latino journalism. Featured speakers included Almudena Toral, director, feature video team for Univision News Digital; and Juan D. González, co-host, “Democracy Now!”
6/3: Inclusion in Storytelling: GLADD’s Monica Trasandes discussed the media’s role in promoting cultural understanding of LGBTQ lives. Open to the entire Newmark J-School community.
5/9: Screening of “We the Stones” documentary followed by a Q&A with Costa Rican filmmaker, Alvaro Torres Crespo: The film about a group of panners searching for gold in Costa Rica’s rivers questions the country’s conservationist fame.
1/24: Reporting on Criminal Justice Reform in New York City, with Errol Louis, host of NY1’s Inside City Hall and Newmark J-School adjunct professor.
2018 10/3: Hot Docs Screening: “Quest:” The award-winning documentary by Jonathan Olshefski and Newmark J-School professor Sabrina Schmidt Gordon (a woman of color) follows a black couple
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 86 in North Philadelphia who raised a family while nurturing a community of hip-hop artists in their basement home music studio.
August: Diversity Workshop in Incoming Student Orientation 6/21: 2018 Ippies Awards: The awards are given to the ethnic and community press by the Center for Community and Ethnic Media. The keynote speaker was Errol Louis, host of NY1’s Inside City Hall and Newmark J-School adjunct professor. (man of color)
4/18: When Bad People Create Good Art: Writing about Culture in the #MeToo Era: Hosted by Janice C. Simpson, director of the Arts & Culture Reporting Program (woman of color)
3/13: Covering Sexual Misconduct in the #MeToo Era: Are You Ready? Featuring Koa Beck, editor-in-chief of Jezebel; Alexandra DeSanctis, National Review fellow and co-host of “The Liberty Files”podcast; Emily Steel, media reporter, The New York Times
3/1: What’s Happening Now in Indie Film Distribution: Denae Peters of Film Sprout and Founder/ CEO Deshuna Peters of kweliTV discussed the film distribution landscape with Roselly Torres of Third World Newsreel.
2017 11/30: Panel on Sexual Harassment in Journalism, moderated by Associate Professor Lisa Armstrong (woman of color)
10/23: Covering Hate: When the KKK and Neo-Nazis are the Story, a panel discussion featuring Newmark J-School Associate Professor Sandeep Junnarkar (Asian man)
10/20: Screening of “BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez,” a documentary about poet, activist, and professor Sonia Sanchez, who is a pioneer of the Black Arts movement, by adjunct professor Sabrina Schmidt Gordon. Featuring a Q&A with Sonia Sanchez.
10/16: A Screening of Two Short Documentaries by Canadian filmmaker Louie Palu: “Kandahar Journals” and “Road Through War” follow front-line combat in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
10/3: Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition: Free panel discussion in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
2/25: Hosted NABJ event on Black Twitter.
Professional master’s program:
13. Describe the curricular efforts in the master’s program to foster understanding of issues and perspectives that are inclusive in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. See #3 above
14. Describe curricular instruction in the master’s program in issues and perspectives relating to mass communications across diverse cultures in a global society. See #4 above
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 87 15. Describe the unit’s efforts to recruit and retain professional master’s students who reflect the diversity of the population eligible to enroll in institutions of higher education in the region or population it serves, with special attention to recruiting under-represented groups. See #6 above
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 3 88 PART II STANDARD 4 PART II | STANDARD 4 Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty
TAKEAWAYS
We have increased the size of our full-time faculty by more than 50 percent since our last accreditation, and it is a more diverse group.
Because of our NYC location and our reputation for graduating hard-hitting journalists, we have attracted a diverse group of talented adjuncts from the best newsrooms in NYC.
We have clear guidelines for faculty teaching, scholarship and service; all non-tenured faculty are reviewed by peers and all faculty receive student feedback and suggestions.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 90 Make the following documents available in a digital format: curriculum vitae of each full-time faculty member (Full-time faculty refers to those defined as such by the unit.) résumés of adjunct or part-time faculty, and of graduate students serving as teachers of record, teaching during the fall 2019 semester Print copy in the workroom only: records on faculty promotion and tenure Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Describe faculty balance in terms of degrees, professional experience, gender, race and rank. Newmark J-School faculty members constitute a highly accomplished and diverse group of journalists. The full-time faculty members average more than 28 years of journalism experience and nearly 15 years of full-time teaching experience. Five of the faculty are tenured, full professors; three are tenured, associate professors; four are associate professors on tenure track; and six are distinguished lecturers. The J-School does not bring in faculty members at the rank of assistant professors, given their extensive experience. Seven of the 18 (39%) full-time faculty are women, and five identify as non-white (28%). Twelve of the full-time faculty members have master’s degrees, one has a Ph.D., one has a J.D., and four have bachelor’s degrees. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the full-time faculty was supported by 103 part-time faculty members. These faculty members averaged 18 years of professional experience and more than five years of teaching experience. Fifty-seven of the part-time faculty members were women (55%) and 38 (37%) of them identified as non-white. Forty-five of the part-time faculty members hold a bachelor’s degree (44%), 48 hold a master’s degree (47%), nine hold a J.D. and one holds a Ph.D.
2. Describe how the unit selects full-time and part-time faculty and instructional staff. Provide in digital format examples of published advertisements for faculty openings in the past six years (before the self-study year) that show required and preferred qualifications of candidates. The dean and associate dean of the Newmark J-School, in consultation with the school’s Personnel & Budget Committee, determine full-time hiring needs, in light of budgetary and programmatic considerations. When a faculty search has been approved by the dean, the associate dean, in consultation with the P&B committee, will appoint a search committee chair and other committee members. All searches will follow the CUNY search committee procedures, including: a. The search committee will be charged by the associate dean and the school’s chief diversity officer. b. All full-time positions must be widely advertised in a diverse group of venues, including job boards of minority journalism organizations, and allow for an appropriate application period. c. The search committee reviews candidate credentials and conduct interviews with the selected candidates, using the same set of questions for all candidates. d. Following this, the search committee selects a short list of finalists (generally three to four)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 91 to be invited for on-campus interviews. When possible, on-campus interviews include guest lecturing in an appropriate class; meeting individually with the dean and associate dean; and meeting with the search committee, other members of the faculty and staff, and students. The dean makes a final selection and offer, in consultation with the HR office at the CUNY Graduate Center. All appointments are subject to approval of CUNY’s Board of Trustees and to financial ability. Searches are traditionally carried out for a position that will be open at the start of the following academic year, but mid-term appointments may be made where there is a demonstrated need. New full-time faculty members are hired for up to one academic year only, with the possibility of reappointment following an annual performance review and subject to programmatic needs and the financial ability of the institution. There is no presumption of reappointment. All hiring procedures must conform to CUNY requirements. CUNY is an equal opportunity employer; we take pride in our pluralistic community and continue to seek excellence through diversity and inclusion. New adjuncts are recruited and screened by area heads. When possible, they will also be interviewed by the associate dean.
Sample Job Postings Associate Professor - Video Storytelling Associate Professor - Graduate School of Journalism Distinguished Lecturer - Audio - Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Distinguished Lecturer - School of Journalism
3. Describe the unit’s expectations of faculty members in teaching, research, creative and professional activity, and service and its process for the award of tenure, promotion, reappointment and salary. (Provide digital access to relevant faculty handbook sections and any supplementary promotion and tenure criteria and procedures adopted by the unit. Please provide specific page numbers.) Full-time faculty members, including tenured professors and professors on the tenure track, are expected to contribute as teachers and scholars, to give service to the school and participate in professional activities in their fields. Distinguished lecturers are not required to produce scholarship under the CUNY contract -- though many of ours do -- but they oversee programs, teach and mentor large numbers of students. Because most of our adjunct faculty are working journalists, they contribute to our scholarship with news stories and broadcasts on top of their teaching duties. Service expectations at the school are high. Because we are committed to actively involving faculty in governance and school activities, most faculty serve on several committees and are active in recruitment and advisement of students. This extends to our part-time faculty, as well. Faculty salaries are spelled out in the PSC contract with CUNY, based on number of years at various levels such as assistant, associate professor, and professor. Many of our faculty members receive salaries above those negotiated rates, under a provision in the contract that allows the administration to propose additional pay of up to 165 percent of the contract rate upon approval
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 92 by an ad hoc committee of tenured professors. Donors also have generously offered stipends to support the professional opportunities of faculty members deemed important to the school’s success. Our expectations for scholarship are specified in the school’s guidelines for appointment, tenure and promotion. Pages 1-5 clearly lay out all expectations for faculty members.
4. Describe professional development programs, workshops in teaching, or other methods used to stimulate and encourage effective teaching. The school discusses teaching in faculty meetings, with faculty members demonstrating teaching tools and techniques. The school also provides travel money for faculty to attend conferences for development purposes. Moreover, for the past three years, the school has organized a voluntary teaching book club, which meets about three times per semester to discuss a book on pedagogy or journalism education. To bolster the level of teaching, the school appointed Jeremy Caplan as its first director of teaching, learning and assessment. One of his first projects has been to launch a series of monthly workshops on teaching techniques.
5. Describe the normal workload for a full-time faculty member. Explain how workloads are determined. If some workloads are lighter or heavier than normal, explain how these variations are determined. Full-time, tenure-track and tenured faculty generally are expected to fulfill a workload of the equivalent of 21 contact hours per year, with a minimum annual assignment of 12 contact hours of teaching, and nine contact hours of engagement in course development, student advisement, committee work and scholarly work. Untenured faculty members receive 24 contact hours of reassigned time to be used for scholarship during their first five years of appointment pursuant to Section 15.1(e) of the PSC contract. Faculty must inform the associate dean prior to the start of a semester in which reassigned time is to be used. Full-time, non-tenure-track faculty generally are expected to fulfill a workload of 21 contact hours per year, with a minimum annual assignment of 15 contact hours of teaching, and six contact hours of engagement in course development, student advisement, committee work and scholarly work, as applicable. The associate dean may make adjustments to a faculty member’s teaching load in light of limited or extensive service and/or scholarly efforts. Full-time faculty members who serve as a program head, overseeing a subject concentration or a media specialty, receive three contact hours of reassigned time from teaching.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 93 6. Demonstrate that full-time tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term faculty have taught the majority of core and required courses for the three years before the site visit. If full-time faculty have not taught and are not teaching the majority of core and required courses, the unit should explain how its staffing plan accomplishes the goal of reserving the primary responsibility for teaching to the full- time faculty. Percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty: 2018-2019 - 125 classes/sections taught across the year: 42% taught by full-time 2017-2018- 112 classes/sections taught: 30% by full-time 2016-2017 - 118 classes/sections taught: 34% by full-time In addition, all curricular areas are overseen by full-time faculty, who work closely with adjuncts, ensuring learning outcomes are adhered to. The exceptions are Arts and Culture and International Reporting, which are overseen by adjuncts on half-time appointments, and Audio Journalism, which is overseen by an interim director who is half-time. A search for a full-time replacement is underway. For classes that have multiple sections, a full-time faculty member oversees all of the adjuncts, meeting regularly with the group of instructors to ensure common approaches. Most adjuncts have been teaching for multiple semesters. Adjuncts are also included in governance of the school, serving on the admissions committee and standing committees (with appropriate compensation).
7. Describe the unit’s processes and criteria for evaluating the performance of full-time and part-time faculty and instructional staff. Use a digital format to provide any course evaluation forms, peer review forms or other documents used in evaluations. The school has a two-pronged process for evaluating performance of full-time and part-time faculty: peer observation and student feedback. Peer evaluators first study the syllabus of a faculty member they are assigned to observe, then sit through a full class session. After scoring the faculty member on numerous aspects of teaching, the observer sits down with the faculty member to discuss the observation report. Both parties sign the report and it goes into the faculty member’s personnel file. If the observed instructor is a tenure-track professor, those reports are read by members of the P&B committee prior to voting to reappoint, promote, or grant tenure. Under the PSC-CUNY contract, these observations must continue every semester until a faculty member gains tenure or an adjunct has taught for 10 semesters. Student feedback is also collected at semester’s end for each course and for the faculty member who taught it. When the feedback indicates a faculty member has gone off track or is using outdated material or methods, or is not performing at expected levels, the instructor is often called in to discuss the report with the relevant program head or the associate dean. These reports go into professors’ personnel files and also are consulted by P&B members when considering reappointment, promotion or tenure. These reports also inform program directors when they are considering which adjuncts to bring back the following semester. The dean and associate dean meet each semester to review student evaluations of faculty. For a full discussion of the evaluation process, see pages 8-10 of Guidelines For Appointment, Reappointment, Tenure, Promotion And Workload Of Faculty. Here is our peer observation form.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 94 Here is our student course and faculty evaluation form. (N.B., the main program that we use for course evaluations is called Blue Explorance, software that leverages enrollment data. However, we cannot create a blank digital form from it. The above link is to our backup Wufoo form that we send to students only if they experience a glitch with receiving evaluations from Blue Explorance; it contains all the same questions.)
8. List selected achievements in teaching in the past six years: awards or citations for high-quality teaching; grants or other support for development of curriculum or courses; publications and papers on teaching; etc. (Five citations a year are sufficient, but the unit has the option of providing a full list in a separate digital file.) Professional master’s program:
2019 NewsPro, a news magazine published by Crain Communications, named Director of Interactive Journalism Sandeep Junnarkar one of the Outstanding Journalism Educators for 2018. Professor Sandeep Junnarkar also received a $100,000 open challenge grant to train community journalists to analyze how artificial intelligence is impacting immigrants and low- income communities. The grant was made by the Ethics and Governance in AI Initiative, a joint project of the MIT Media Lab and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Dean Sarah Bartlett was chosen by City & State NY as one of New York’s most powerful leaders over 50.
2018 Joe Hirsch, the long-standing editor of the Newmark J-School’s Mott Haven Herald and The Hunts Point Express, was named one of the most influential people in the Bronx by City & State New York. Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism honored Graciela Mochkofsky, director of the Spanish-Language Journalism Program at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, with a Maria Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding reporting on the Americas. Associate Professor Lisa Armstrong and Graciela Mochkofsky, director of the Spanish- Language Journalism Program, were named 2018-2020 Tow Professors. The professorships were established by The Tow Foundation to enable the Newmark J-School to support the research of two teachers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in their fields. The New York Financial Writers’ Association named Business and Economics Reporting Director Greg David the 2018 Elliott V. Bell award winner, given to an outstanding journalist for a significant long-term contribution to the profession of financial journalism. Carrie Brown, director of the Social Journalism program, and Jeremy Caplan, director of education for the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, made MediaShift’s inaugural EducationShift20 list of journalism innovators and educators. Azmat Khan, an adjunct instructor in International Reporting, was among the winners of the 68th annual Hillman Prizes, awarded by The Sidney Hillman Foundation. Khan, along with Anand Gopal, was recognized for a New York Times Magazine examination of the U.S.-led battle against ISIS in Iraq.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 95 2017 Documentary professor Sabrina Schmidt Gordon was named to the sixth annual class of Women at Sundance Fellows, following the success of her film “QUEST: A Portrait of an American Family.” “QUEST” also notched three Cinema Eye Honors nominations and two Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Documentary, on the heels of Gordon’s Emmy nomination for “BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez.” Carrie Brown, director of the Social Journalism program, and Jeremy Caplan, director of education for the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, were AEJMC 2017 Great Ideas for Teaching (GIFT) finalists. Adjunct Nina Alvarez won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for “America Reframed: Class of ‘27.” The short film spotlighted the profound benefits of early education in impoverished and often ignored parts of America. She was credited as a producer and director. Stephen B. Shepard, the first dean of CUNY’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, accepted the Society of Professional Journalists’ highest professional honor, a Fellow of the Society, on Sept. 9, 2017. Community and Ethnic Media Journalism 360 led by Tow Professor of Visual Journalism Bob Sacha was among the 11 winning ideas in the Journalism 360 Challenge for immersive storytelling, sponsored by The Knight Foundation, along with partners Google News Lab and the Online News Association. Associate Dean Andrew Mendelson participated in the “So you want to teach in academia” panel at the Online News Association 2017 in Washington, D.C.
2016 Jeremy Caplan, education director for the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, won the “Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century” 2016 award for the Newspaper and Online News Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Wonbo Woo, an Emmy Award-winning producer who previously served as a broadcast coach, returned to the J-School as Broadcast Journalist in Residence for the 2016-2017 academic year after spending a year as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A series on violence in New York prisons by Investigative Journalist in Residence Tom Robbins was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist in the category of Investigative Reporting. A Q&A on teaching health and science reporting, with Health & Science Reporting Program Director Emily Laber-Warren, appeared on The Open Notebook, a respected blog in the science journalism community.
2015 Associate Dean Andrew Mendelson co-authored an essay for an academic journal, The Communication Review, that analyzes the impact of technology on the future of journalism. Almudena Toral, a multimedia journalist who taught web video at the J-School and graduated from its master’s degree program in 2010, was one of 25 women selected for the first Online News Association-Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 96 2014 Journalist-in-Residence Ta-Nehisi Coates and Documentary Program Director Yoruba Richen were named to The Root 100 list of African Americans 45 years old and younger who are responsible for the year’s most significant moments and themes. Resident documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen discussed the impact of the civil rights movement on gay rights in this TED talk. Video Storytelling Professor Bob Sacha was the videographer on The Guardian’s multimedia piece, “NSA Files Decoded,” that won a Pulitzer Prize and national Emmy Award. Tina Pamintuan, director of radio projects and initiatives, was selected as a 2014 visiting fellow by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This video by ’10 alum Almudena Toral, who teaches Video Storytelling for the Web, was named the top News Multimedia story in the 2014 Pictures of the Year International competition.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 97 9. List members of the graduate faculty and show that they meet the institution’s criteria for graduate instruction. See linked CVs for all faculty. Full-Time Faculty Caplan, Jeremy Malek, Alia Armstrong, Lisa Carlson, Sean McCarthy, T.C. Bartlett, Sarah Chang, Alicia McNeill, Sheelagh Beinart, Peter Chin, Alan Mifflin, Margot David, Greg Choi, Ann Mitaru, Ilie Fox, Travis Cole, Patrick Mochkofsky, Graciela Gray, Barbara Cruz, Wilbert Murphy, Jarrett Harper, Timothy Cruzado, Andrea Ortega, Ralph Jarvis, Jeff Daly, Steve Paddock, Barry Junnarkar, Sandeep (on Dennis, Yvonne Parris, Terry sabbatical) Diaz, Carmen Pennar, Karen Khan, Daryl Echegaray, Luis Miguel Pettit, Dave Laber-Warren, Emily Eisenpress, Cara Rao, Ankita Mendelson, Andrew Estrin, James Roberson, Dana Prout, Linda Farkas, Susan Rodriguez, Ashley Richen, Yoruba Fine, Felisa Rodriguez, Cynthia Sacha, Robert Fox, Curtis Rojas, Ronny Smock, John Freleng, Maggie Santos Briones, Cinthya Svoboda, Wayne Gagne, Matt Schmidt, Michael Watson, Judith Glasser, Charles Schnell, Kayle Glickhouse, Rachel Selemon, Helina Fall 2019 Part-Time Faculty Goldmark, Alex Sender, Hanna Abdelnour Gilman, Salma Gordon, Sabrina Shakerdge, Karen Abdou, Nyier Greene, Leonard Stacke, Sarah Alford, Natasha Hausmann, Joanna Stirling, Stephen Allen, Marshall Hochberger, Ruth Sutton, Ryan Aronczyk, Amanda Hsu, Nelson Templon, John Bal, Jessica Kaplan, David Tumposky, Ellen Bayrasli, Elmira Kaufman, Frederick Vittor, Ken Beachy, Susan Keefe, John Vo, Lam Thuy Belton, Geanne Laughlin, Alex Wang, Elbert Benitez, Juan Lehren, Andrew Welby, Julianne Bodarky, George Lesser, Benjamin Wessler, Seth Botelho, Vannesa Light, Alan Williams, Veralyn Bracken, Kassie Linton, Caroline Wolfe, Julia Bralow, David Lobel, MIa Zavadski, Katie Brown, Carrie Lysak, Michael
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 98 10. Demonstrate that graduate faculty taught the majority of professional master’s courses for the three years before the site visit. Percentage of professional master’s courses taught by graduate faculty: 2018-19 school year: 100 percent 2017-18 school year: 100 percent 2016-17 school year: 100 percent
13. In cases where graduate faculty are not teaching the majority of professional master’s courses, the unit should explain how its staffing plan accomplishes the goal of reserving the primary responsibility for teaching to the graduate faculty. N/A
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 4 99 PART II STANDARD 5 PART II | STANDARD 5 Scholarship: Research, Creative and Professional Activity
TAKEAWAYS
We expect scholarship from full-time and adjunct professors, emphasizing original reporting, sophisticated analysis and publication in a respected journalistic venue.
We track faculty scholarship and activities in our annual performance report to the University and we celebrate faculty accomplishments on our website and in newsletters.
Our scholarship output doubled in the past year. Faculty members regularly are asked to speak at journalism or internet conferences, or write to about journalistic or civic issues.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 101 Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Describe the institution’s mission regarding scholarship by faculty and the unit’s policies for achieving that mission. Scholarship expectations for the Newmark J-School’s faculty are substantial and rigorous, but they are weighted toward the practice of journalism. While scholarly articles and educational texts are always welcome, faculty scholarship tends toward journalistic works that contribute to public knowledge or current debate on matters of significance and/or advance the practice of journalism. The subject matter of such work can range from contemporary events and topics, to criticism, to a focus on the journalism profession itself. While qualifying work may be produced for a general audience, it must demonstrate substantial original reporting/primary research, secondary research, sophisticated analysis, critical thought, and mastery of its subject. Qualifying work should appear in respected venues and may span a range of media formats; work is evaluated not on its length, but on its quality and intellectual impact. This might be shown by: substantive reviews of a piece of work by experts in journalism or in the subject matter; citations or online links by peers that address how a piece of work advances journalism or the subject matter; external assessment by experts regarding a work’s impact on journalism or the topic covered; invitations to present or discuss the work in public forums; the level and quality of debate spawned by the work; awards, including fellowships, granted to the faculty member by peer groups; or the reputation of the journalistic outlet that has chosen to publish or air a piece of journalism. More traditional forms of scholarship, e.g., academic research into a journalistic topic, or inquiries into ways to improve journalistic pedagogy, will be valued equally with outstanding works of journalism. All faculty at the school, regardless of tenure or rank, are expected to continue producing, on a regular basis, high-quality journalism or journalism scholarship that meets the standards enumerated above. Those in tenure-track positions face a higher expectation with each successive appointment, as do those seeking promotion/tenure. Every year, the associate dean meets with full-time faculty to discuss scholarship activity and possibilities. One course release is given each semester for scholarship activity and if a faculty member has received a grant or is writing a book, additional release time or a leave of absence can be arranged. In cases where no scholarship or grant activity is reported, faculty members are expected to teach an extra course or do additional work for the school. Under a university agreement with the faculty union, every faculty member seeking tenure receives 24 credit hours of release time over the first five years to conduct scholarship. Close track is kept of scholarship activity: Every year, the Newmark J-School is expected to provide a detailed report to the university on the level and type of scholarship produced by full-time faculty during the preceding 12 months.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 102 2. Define the group of faculty whose work is included in this section and state time restrictions used to incorporate activities of faculty who were not employed by the unit during all of the previous six years (for example, new faculty and retired faculty). All those included were full-time faculty in a given year.
3. Using the grid that follows, provide counts of the unit’s overall productivity in scholarship for the past six years by activity; first the totals for the unit as a whole and then for the individuals who produced these totals, broken down by academic rank. The chart should provide a snapshot of scholarship activity within the unit during the six-year period. Therefore, the grid should capture relevant activity by all full-time faculty only while at the accredited unit. Provide the total number of individuals in each rank in place of the XX. Adapt the grid to best reflect institutional mission and unit policies and provide a brief narrative. The following grid reflects faculty scholarship for the years 2016, 2017, 2018. The grid reflects that our faculty members lean heavily toward creating journalistic works as their scholarly contributions, rather than journal articles. The number of invited lectures for such a relatively small faculty (12 at the time) indicates that our faculty members are known as thought leaders in their areas of interest and are sought out as invited conference speakers, panelists or presenters.
SCHOLARSHIP, INDIVIDUALS RESEARCH, TOTAL CREATIVE AND FROM FULL ASSOCIATE ASSISTANT OTHER TOTALS PROFESSIONAL UNIT* PROFS. PROFS. PROFS. FACULTY** ACTIVITIES
Awards and 4 1 2 1 4 Honors
Grants Received Internal
Grants Received 3 3 3 External
Scholarly Books, Sole- or Co- 1 1 1 authored
Textbooks, Sole- or Co-authored
Books Edited
Book Chapters 2 1 1 2
Monographs
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 103 Articles in 3 3 3 Refereed Journals
Refereed Conference Papers
Conference Presentation, 114 35 63 16 14 other
Encyclopedia Entries
Book Reviews
Newspaper/ 475 208 155 112 475 Magazine articles
Juried Creative 3 3 3 Works
Film/Television/ 69 52 17 69 Web Production
Invited Lecture 82 53 26 3 82
Review/ Commentary 74 60 8 6 74 (including blogging)
Other (please specify)
*Co-authored work should be counted as a single publication in the unit totals. However, if, for example, two members of the faculty are co-authors on the same journal article, it would be reported as a publication for both authors. **Includes all full-time faculty who do not hold listed ranks, such as instructors and others on term appointments. Many faculty in this category may hold teaching appointments without significant scholarship, research or creative requirements.
4. List in a digital file list the scholarly, research, creative and professional activities of each member of the full-time faculty in the past six years. Limit to 10 per faculty member through the six-year period. The unit has the option of providing a complete list in a separate digital file. (Full-time faculty refers to those defined as such by the unit.) If including faculty who have since left the unit, please note. Professional service activities should be reported in Standard 8. Faculty scholarly, research, creative and professional activities
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 104 5. Describe the institution’s policy regarding sabbaticals, leaves of absence with or without pay, etc. List faculty who have taken sabbaticals or leaves during the past six years. Give one-sentence descriptions detailing the academic achievements of each sabbatical. Applying for a Fellowship Leave Tenured faculty members who have completed six years of continuous paid, full-time service with the University are eligible to apply for a fellowship leave. The purpose of this leave is to produce a substantial piece of journalistic scholarship or to improve a faculty member’s teaching practices. Application may be made for a full-year or half-year leave at 80 percent of the biweekly salary rate or a half-year leave at full pay, the availability of which is more limited. Interested faculty members must complete a fellowship leave application and submit it to the associate dean according to the schedule laid out below. The P&B Committee will review applications. Applicants will be expected to explain how their proposed project will advance thought leadership in journalism or their area of expertise, and how it will contribute to the value/reputation of the school. Applicants will be asked to include a plan of study or timeline for completing their proposed project, and specify what they will produce by the end of the fellowship year. Those applying for a fellowship to improve their teaching will explain how their plan of study will measurably improve their instructional practice and redound to the benefit of their students and the school. Criteria for approval may include, among other things, the worthiness of a proposed project and its potential impact on the profession or field of study, the expected benefit to the school, the demonstrated ability to accomplish the project, and the staffing needs of the school in the semester/year in which the leave is requested. Special consideration will be given to applicants who have not had a fellowship leave in 14 or more years. If approved by the P&B Committee and the dean, the application will be sent to the Human Resources Department at the CUNY Graduate Center for compliance with all rules and procedures and submitted for approval by the CUNY Board of Trustees. Within thirty (30) days of the end of a leave, the faculty member must file a report to the associate dean detailing the scholarship work that was produced. The faculty member must return to the school to serve for at least one year following the expiration of the leave. For fellowships that begin in the fall semester, the deadline for filing an application is no later than the preceding February 1 and the deadline for approval by the dean is April 1. For fellowships that begin in the spring semester, applications are due by the preceding August 1; the deadline for approval by the dean is October 1. Faculty who have taken sabbatical in the past six years: 1. Peter Beinart - Fall 2015: Researched and wrote several magazine articles on how millennials, because of their different life experience, view America differently than their parents and grandparents. 2. Linda Prout - Spring 2015: Worked on pre-production and production for two documentaries, one in London, the other in Washington DC. One is a bio-doc on Val McCalla, who founded “The Voice,” a newspaper for the U.K.’s black community and the oldest black publication in Britain. The other documentary is about integration in Washington DC during the early 1950s. The documentary tells the story of the activists and families, including her own, who were
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 105 pioneers in the struggle to integrate a neighborhood. 3. Wayne Svoboda - Fall 2014: Researched how Judy Klemesrud, a reporter at The New York Times from 1966 until her death at 46 from breast cancer in 1985, changed how the newspaper covered women and redefined what would be considered women’s news.
6. Describe travel funding, grant support, or other methods or programs the unit uses to encourage scholarship, research, and creative and professional activity. Over the past four years, we have budgeted and spent more than $30,000 per year for faculty travel. Additional travel is supported by grant funding. The school supports faculty travel to conferences for those presenting and for those seeking training/development. As a new fiscal year approaches, the associate dean sends out a note asking if faculty members would like to attend a conference and, if so, to submit an online travel request. Priority for funding is given to faculty members who are presenting at a conference or to those whose attendance will support the school’s educational mission. The university and its Professional Staff Congress make thousands of dollars in research grants available to faculty across all campuses on a competitive basis each year. Amounts range from $3,500 to $12,000.
7. List faculty who have taken advantage of those programs during the past six years. Three J-School faculty members, Barbara Gray, Wayne Svoboda and Travis Fox, have received grants from the PSC-CUNY research fund. Faculty receiving travel support over the past four years:
2015-2016 John Smock, Sandeep Junnarkar, Miguel Paz, Tina Pamintuan, Jeff Jarvis, Carrie Brown, Daryl Khan, Barbara Gray, Andy Lehren, Tom Robbins = $36K
2016-2017 Lisa Armstrong, Graciela Mochofsky, Carrie Brown, Daryl Khan, Jere Hester, Sandeep Junnarkar, Miguel Paz, Tinamarie Vella, Barbara Gray, Ruth Hochberger, = $26K
2017-2018 Jeremy Caplan, Lisa Armstrong, Graciela Mochkofsky, Jere Hester, Bob Sacha, Sandeep Junnarkar, Miguel Paz, Carrie Brown, Travis Fox, Prue Clarke, Andy Lehren, John Smock, Ruth Hochberger, Amanda Aronczyk, Barbara Gray, Tinamarie Vella = $35K
2018-2019 Lisa Armstrong, Graciela Mochkofsky, Jere Hester, Sandeep Junnarkar, Tinamarie Vella, Andy Lehren, Barbara Gray, John Smock, Travis Fox = $33K
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 5 106 PART II STANDARD 6 PART II | STANDARD 6 Student Services
TAKEAWAYS
Ensuring student success is at the heart of everything we do. All students have a faculty advisor for curricular and career planning. Many are mentored long after they graduate.
We provide students a range of coaches outside of class, for writing, multimedia skills, grammar, English for native speakers of other languages.
Our Student Affairs office helps students register, find financial aid and scholarships, resolve personal issues and navigate school-life balance.
Our Career Services office helps students find internships and jobs, advises on cover letters, resumes, and strategies, and continues to support them as they rise in the profession.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 108 During the visit, the unit should make the following documents accessible to the team: advising records
other files related to student services Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Complete and attach Table 9, “Student Aid.” TABLE 9. STUDENT AID Provide information for each of the two years preceding the accreditation visit.
SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNIT 2017-2018 2018-2019
Total of scholarships from funds controlled by institution $0 $0
Number of students receiving scholarships from funds controlled by 0 0 institution
Median individual scholarship from funds controlled by institution 0 0
Total amount of scholarship dollars from funds controlled by unit $699,041 $737,748
Number of students receiving scholarships from funds controlled by 137 148 unit
Median individual scholarship from funds controlled by unit $5,102 $4,985
Graduate Assistantships Or Work-Study Appointments In Spring 2019, seven students held work-study appointments that paid a stipend of up to $1,250 for the semester. In Fall 2019, six students were approved for work-study appointments at a stipend of up to $1,250 for the semester.
2. Describe how the unit informs students of the requirements of the degree and the major, advises them on effective and timely ways to meet the requirements, and monitors their compliance with the requirements, including the 72-hour rule. Provide digital files of advising guides, manuals, newsletters or other internal communication with students. Provide a print copy in the workroom. Describe availability and accessibility of faculty to students. Our student handbook thoroughly details degree requirements. We also hold the following information/advisory sessions each year: Orientation - Academic Overview session, required for all incoming students (once a year, in August) Concentration Information Session - required of all first semester students (once a year, in the fall) Electives Info Session - offered every semester so that students are introduced to courses being offered the following term (every semester)
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 109 Second Semester Info Session - offered to students in their second semester to make them aware of requirements and resources available to them in that term (in the spring) Third Semester Info Session - offered to students in their third semester (in the fall) The culture around advisors and students’ accessibility to their advisors is one we consider to be an extremely important facet of the experience we offer students. We only match students to full-time faculty members or adjuncts who teach every semester and are familiar with the school. That way, students are advised by faculty who can answer most questions and can guide them through most obstacles they encounter.
3. Describe the unit’s process for evaluating its advising and counseling services. Include measurements of the accuracy of academic advising, student and faculty opinion of the quality of advising, or other indices of the effectiveness of advising. Discuss the results of these assessments. The Office of Student Affairs conducts an exit survey of graduating students at the end of their final semester. Participation in commencement is contingent on filling out this survey. Students are asked their level of satisfaction in a variety of areas, including personal counseling, website information, class registration, special programs and the school’s ability to handle student concerns and problems. In addition, students are asked to rate their satisfaction with faculty members, including the quality of advising they received from their faculty advisor. The results of the survey are tabulated and sent to the dean and associate dean for appropriate follow-up with relevant faculty and staff members to ensure student concerns are addressed. The school’s graduate student council also provides feedback through town hall meetings held every semester. Concerns and comments, particularly negative ones that require attention, are forwarded to the associate dean for further action. In addition, the dean and associate dean generally meet with the Grad Council at least once a semester.
4. Describe student media, student professional organizations or other extra-curricular activities and opportunities provided by the unit or the institution that are relevant to the curriculum and develop students’ professional and intellectual abilities and interests. The Journalism School helps its students prepare for professional work by offering a full array of media outlets designed to showcase their work as well as give them real-world experience in meeting competitive deadlines. The centerpiece of our student media is the NYCity News Service, an online outlet founded by the former city editor of the New York Daily News and now run by a veteran journalist from the same newspaper. The news service distributes the best stories from journalism classes – in all media forms – often editing and otherwise reworking pieces to make them marketable. Many students submit stories directly to the service, appreciating the chance to acquire a professionally edited clip. The news service director also works to help students get their stories published or posted at outlets ranging from The New York Times to neighborhood newspapers to HuffPost. The news service showcases these published stories on its website. It also links to personal online portfolios where readers or potential employers can find an archive of a particular student’s work.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 110 In addition, the news service helps generate large-scale multimedia projects, working with individual classes or groups of classes. Some of the projects have been produced in partnership with professional media outlets, including City Limits and the “PBS NewsHour.” Many have earned awards from local and national journalism organizations, and our NYCity News Service has won the Best College/University Newspaper Website EPPY from Editor and Publisher for the past three years running. The NYCity News Service links to a variety of other school publications that showcase student work. These include: Audiofiles, an advanced radio class, produces award-winning hourlong podcasts of news analysis and culture that are broadcast on radio stations in Manhattan and beyond. 219West , a TV newsmagazine show, produces half-hour programs on New York City (people and issues) that are broadcast on CUNY’s citywide cable television channel. NYCity Photowire provides a picture-driven platform to spotlight students’ photographic coverage of New York. The Mott Haven Herald and Hunts Point Express are community newspapers and online outlets created by the school to cover underserved neighborhoods in the South Bronx. Students get excellent newsgathering experience while providing news to residents of the Mott Haven, Melrose, Port Morris, Hunts Point and Longwood neighborhoods. A dedicated class assigns stories for the papers. Students also have a strong voice in the school’s governance. They elect representatives to the Graduate Student Council, which has a voice in school-related issues. They pass concerns directly to the administration through the associate director of student affairs, a non-voting member of the council. Students can share their concerns directly with the faculty and administration through their power to appoint three representatives to the school’s Governance Council. In addition, the Graduate Student Council decides how to spend student activity fees and recommends the level of those fees. These funds support student travel and projects. It also appoints six student members to a panel eligible for service on the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee.
5. Describe the unit’s career counseling and placement strategy for assistance in students’ searches for employment. List placement statistics for the three most recent years before the self-study year for which accurate information is available. The Office of Career Services works closely with students and recent graduates to help them prepare for careers in journalism. The Career Services staff provides career coaching, resume and cover letter reviews, and interview preparation. The office hosts three annual job and internship fairs during the academic year: The main fair is held in October and brings nearly 50 media companies to campus; the Latino Media Fair in November connects students with media companies specializing in the Latino community; and the Community Media Fair in February is open to local community and ethnic media. At each of these fairs, recruiters are looking for interns and potential staffers.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 111 Additionally, each academic year the office hosts more than a dozen information sessions with various media companies. Representatives talk to students about working at their companies, answer company-specific questions and offer general career advice. Also, the Office of Career Services hosts Meetup Fridays: Mock Interviews, which are one-on- one interviews with representatives of various media companies. For these sessions, students prepare as if the interviews were real. Afterward, the interviewers provide students with a written assessment and suggestions for improvement. The J-School’s signature program, the Summer Internship, is required for students’ master’s degrees. The office does not place students in internships. Instead, the office provides students with the tools they need to help them find, apply and prepare for internships. In addition to the info sessions, job and internship fairs and mock interviews, the students also have technical tools at their fingertips to help them in their search: a jobs database on the Symplicity Career Services Management System platform; a shared Google sheet with lists and links of career opportunities; a class Facebook group page and a Newmark-J Jobs group page. Hard copies of internship reports written by students since the school was founded are available in the Career Services office. An online index to these reports will be unveiled for the Class of 2020. All of these tools help students develop the job-hunting skills they need after they graduate.
Class of 2016 (entered August 2015, graduated December 2016) Seventy nine students completed their degree requirements in December 2016. A year later, 54 (68%) were working full-time – at least 30 hours per week – in journalism. This figure includes: 33 staff, 13 freelancers, 4 fellowships and 4 internships. Some of the places where alumni were working as full-time staffers include: Axios, Digiday, Penske Media Group, the New York Daily News, Bloomberg, NY1 and New York Magazine. There were 18 students who had opted to go on to a fourth semester, graduating in Spring 2017. Six months later, several were working full time in the field. Some of the companies where these alumni were working include: NowThis, Spectrum Austin and Debtwire. Others were doing full- time fellowships or internships with companies such as Vox and Magnum. In December 2016 the J-School graduated the second cohort of students in the Social Journalism master’s program. There were 11 graduates. One year after graduation, seven were working full-time for companies such as Shareablee, Meetup and Planned Parenthood. Others were working part-time or freelancing for the Marshall Project, Democracy Now! en Español and GroundSource.
Class of 2017 (entered August 2016, graduated December 2017) In December 2017 there were 78 graduates. One year later, in December 2018, 52 alumni (67%) were working full-time in journalism. This figure includes: 32 staff, 6 contract, 5 fellowship and 9 freelance. With the Class of 2017 the Office of Career Services also began tracking a new category: full- time employment using journalism skills. Six members of the class were in this category and were working for: the New York City Council (communications), Under Armour (social media), Morgan State University (video), Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company (marketing), Blue Apron (associate culinary editor) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (communication). Six members of the class had opted for a fourth semester in the spring of 2018 and in December
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 112 2018, four were working as full-time staff at CBS Radio, Money, Times Community Newspapers (LA Times) and Asahi Shimbun. Of the remaining two, one was working as a full-time freelancer and the other was on a full-time internship with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The third Social Journalism cohort had 11 December graduates. One year later, seven of these young alumni were working full-time in journalism as freelancers or staff members for companies as varied as Politico, NowThis, The Salvation Army of Greater New York and the New York Athletic Club. Another was freelancing at the J-School for the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism.
Class of 2018 (entered August 2017, graduated December 2018) There were 75 graduates, and by May 2019, six months after graduation, 45 (60%) were working full-time in journalism. These were: 25 staff, 4 contract, 2 fellowship, 8 freelancing, and 6 internship. Companies where these young alumni were working included Hearst TV, Everyday Health, Texas Public Radio, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Brut Media, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, CNN, The Villager, QNS, and the new nonprofit news site The City. One member of the class was in the first cohort of The New York Times new Fellowship program. Another joined the First Draft news verification operation, which established an office at the J-school. The Office of Career Services works with current students and alumni one year after the December graduation. After that they are assisted by the Office of Alumni Services. Staff from both offices work closely to ensure recent graduates and seasoned alumni continue to be successful no matter where they are in their careers. Our ever-expanding alumni network has people working at such legacy companies as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, Thomson Reuters, the Associated Press, and CBS News, specialty news sites such as Everyday Health, NPR’s Latino USA, the Haitian Times, and Soledad Obrien’s Starfish Media Group. Others are working for tech giants such as Facebook and Google. The two offices collaborate frequently on events, including the annual homecoming and the three annual job and internship fairs. Additionally, in 2019 the two offices collaborated on a pilot mentoring program designed to connect current students with alumni and to develop their leadership skills. Alumni often reach back to help recent graduates and students find jobs and internships. Alumni have an active Facebook group page. They also frequently post opportunities on the separate Newmark-J Jobs Facebook page. Recently, a small group has started meeting at the J-School to help one another with their own job searches and share career experiences. The school encourages this type of networking. During annual journalism conferences such as the National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Office of Alumni Services hosts breakfasts or receptions for alumni and current students. This helps expand their network and strengthen their connections to the school.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 113 6. Discuss the processes in place to collect, maintain and analyze enrollment, retention and graduation rates within the major and in comparison with university rates. Discuss the findings of the analysis. Provide the URL where the unit shares its most recent retention and graduation data with the public. The Newmark J-School’s posted retention and graduation rates show that the school has a record of retaining students and graduating them at rates that exceeded 90 percent, with the exception of the year 2015. The university does not track graduate-program graduation and retention rates. The one-year retention for undergraduates who start at a CUNY senior college is 68.8 percent and the six-year graduation rate was 51.9 percent for the class that entered in Fall 2012. A better comparison is the CUNY School of Public Health, which has class cohorts roughly the size of ours. The one-year retention rate at the School of Public Health in 2017-18 was 87.6 percent and the most recent five-year graduation rate is 81 percent. There are two main factors behind our high retention and graduation rates. First, we take great care to admit students who have already shown a serious interest in journalism. Most of our students have been in the workforce – many of them as journalists – for a few years and come here because they are sure of what they want. We admit them because we see concrete ways in which we can build and improve on their skills. Also, we provide a great deal of support at the school. We offer small classes and a great deal of counseling and advice. A student facing difficulties has ready access to his or her classroom professors and an array of advisors and coaches. It’s hard for a student who takes advantage of all of our resources to fail. To maintain their status at the school, students must be making satisfactory progress toward a degree. That is, their grade point average must not fall below 3.0, a B, and they must not accumulate more than two incompletes. The Office of Student Affairs reviews each student’s record every semester, and matriculation may be terminated for unsatisfactory performance. A student who has not met standards may register only upon petition to the associate dean. Students may graduate when they complete their required courses, accumulate 43 hours of credits with a GPA of at least 3.0 and submit a graded capstone project. Students who complete the course of study and have not attained a 3.0 may have one additional semester in which to take one or more courses to bring their GPAs up to the 3.0 standard. Any further extension must be approved by the dean.
Professional master’s program: 7. Describe the process for academic and career advising of professional master’s students. As noted previously, all incoming students are informed of their advisor on the first day of orientation. We ask advisors to set up at least two meetings, one to get to know their advisees and the other to discuss advisees’ course selections prior to registration for the following term. Students are encouraged to meet with their advisors as many times as needed. The pool of advisors consists of full-time faculty or faculty who teach every term. Because we match students with advisors who are consistently available and are familiar with the school, we achieve a culture whereby students form strong connections with their advisors to discuss matters, including academic and career advising.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 114 In terms of career advising, three people – two full time and one part time. They are available to coach students in resume and cover-letter writing and to talk to students about career development. Whenever necessary, a former director of the Office of Career Services, now a writing coach, assists the Career Services team in helping students with resume and cover letters.
8. Discuss retention and graduation rates in the master’s program, including the grade-point average required to remain in the program and the expected time to degree. Provide the URL where the unit shares the retention and graduation data of its professional master’s students with the public. See response to #6
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 6 115 PART II STANDARD 7 PART II | STANDARD 7 Resources, Facilities and Equipment
TAKEAWAYS
The Newmark J-School receives significant per- student funding from the University, an amount that compares well with support for other units within CUNY.
Fundraising efforts by the dean and the foundation board have brought almost $60 million in new resources to the school and its students since 2014.
The school continues to upgrade its hardware and software to ensure students receive training on state-of-the-art equipment, software, and online resources.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 117 Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Complete and attach Table 10, “Budget.” If necessary, provide a supplementary explanation. TABLE 10. BUDGET Show below the annual unit budget for each of the three years preceding the accreditation visit. “Annual budget” refers to funds directly under control of the unit for the entire year (12 months). Budget figures should not include expenditures for building maintenance, retirement allowances, scholarships, prizes or student aid. List student newspaper budget only if it is under control of unit and is used in instruction.
BUDGET ITEM 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019
Administrative salaries $1,658,504 $1,827,267 $1,870,203
Teaching salaries (full time) 1,293,496 1,982,082 1,901,789
Teaching salaries (part time/adjunct) 1,627,215 1,023,498 1,311,085
Teaching assistants 0 0 0
Clerical salaries 3,883,785 2,632,153 2,845,456
Equipment 352,000 191,000 195,000
Equipment maintenance 0 0 0
Supplies 112,750 166,000 244,000
Library resources 21,000 6,000 5,500
Databases, online information services 96,000 91,000 92,000
Travel 94,400 102,876 91,000
Research 0 0 0
Other (software and subscription renewals) 166,064 223,249 265,259
TOTAL ANNUAL JOURNALISM/MASS 9,305,214 8,245,125 8,821,292 COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET
2. Describe the process through which the unit develops its budget, including preparation of the budget request and spending plan, review and approval, and the role of faculty in the process. The Newmark Graduate School of Journalism doesn’t develop a budget request. It receives an annual allocation from the State of NY, mediated by CUNY’s office of budget and finance, and that allocation is supplemented with tuition revenue. Once the annual budget is received from the central office, the dean works with the school’s Director of Finance and Administration to ensure that our activities remain within those boundaries. We strive to maintain and, when
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 118 possible, bolster our cumulative reserve fund (known as a CUTRA balance) for unanticipated expenses. As part of the annual budget process, the dean and the finance director meet with the heads of the departments that have Other Than Personnel Expenditures (OTPS) to review those departments’ previous-year expenditures and identify opportunities for savings and any shortfall in resources that may have hampered their effectiveness. Adjustments (up and down) to the departments’ OTPS budgets are made at that time. The school’s governance plan mandates that we have a Technology and Library Committee composed of faculty, staff and students. That committee makes recommendations to the dean for how the technology fees collected each year are distributed. Historically, the dean has accepted those recommendations. Given CUNY’s budget constraints due to limits on state spending for higher education, initiatives at the school have generally only occurred with private funding. Those private funds are typically donated to the school’s 501(c)(3) foundation, and the annual budget of that foundation is reviewed and voted on annually by the foundation board. (Its current chair is the school’s founding dean.) New faculty hires whose salaries are on the tax-levy budget are done in consultation with the J-School’s Personnel & Budget committee, composed of tenured faculty. The dean makes decisions about budget priorities in consultation with the associate dean, the assistant deans, faculty and staff. Those decisions also reflect the school’s goals, as articulated in the Strategic Plan. The dean reports on the budget at Governance Council meetings held once each semester, and frequently updates faculty and staff on the university’s fiscal condition at monthly meetings with each group.
3. Describe the adequacy of resources for the unit and the sources of revenue for those resources (university funds, fees, private funding, other). Describe how the unit will supplement its annual budget from other sources or reallocate resources to reach its strategic goals. The annual operating budget is generally adequate to support the core functions of the school, but we run a very lean operation in order to make it work. For instance, none of the deans have administrative support, preferring to allocate more of our budget to faculty and staff members who are providing direct service to students. About 80 percent of the budget is spent on the faculty and staff needed to teach courses and operate the school’s various departments. The rest is spent on OTPS expenses, as explained above. Our current resources are not sufficient to meet our expansion plan, e.g., supporting our new executive program or hiring journalists-in-residence who supplement our core teaching staff and help us build the school’s reputation. To meet those needs, the school relies on a combination of grant funding from foundations and individuals. Soon we will be able to tap some of the investment proceeds of our new $20 million endowment. If that endowment generates about 4.25 percent a year, generally regarded as a conservative figure and the amount CUNY allows us to draw down, the potential addition of $850,000 to our annual budget will go far in helping us address our ambitious growth plans.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 119 4. Describe how the resources provided by the institution compare with the resources for similar units on your campus. It is difficult to provide relevant comparisons between the resources allocated to the Newmark J-School and those allocated to other colleges at the university. We are but one of 25 CUNY colleges and schools, and we have the smallest number of students (100-120 enroll each fall), making us tiny in comparison to the undergraduate colleges, many of which have more than 15,000 students. CUNY invested heavily in the school at the time of its launch in 2006, ensuring a world-class facility, faculty and staff. Many of the other CUNY campuses face severe maintenance issues with older buildings; by contrast, visitors to our campus often comment that our facility looks brand new. In general, we feel well supported by CUNY, especially given the lack of growth in the operating and capital budget allocations the university has received over the last five years. This is one reason we have placed so much emphasis on seeking private support for our expansion plans. Given more extreme needs elsewhere in the CUNY system, it seems like the right thing to do.
5. Describe the unit’s classrooms, offices, computer labs or other building spaces, as well as technology support services. If the unit administers university media or student publications, include a description of equipment and facilities devoted to those operations. The Journalism School opened in 2006 with the latest in technology and state-of-the-art facilities in the old Herald Tribune building, next door to The New York Times. In the intervening years, several updates have been made to keep pace with the rapid change in equipment and software, including ensuring wireless access throughout the school. This summer, the school began its most ambitious update yet, thanks to a $1.4 million capital authorization from the city and state. The school has seven classrooms that seat between 22 and 28 students, each with a display screen, a desktop computer and an audio/video projector. Four other classrooms also serve as computer labs. Seating at least 20, they have the above equipment plus 12-20 desktop units and are often used for classes where specific software is required. One other classroom being tested as an updated “smart” classroom has multiple display screens and can seat 20. Full video/editing equipment is installed on all computer terminals in the newsroom plus in classrooms equipped with desktop units. We also have two “whisper booths” available to students for recording audio in a noise-free zone. All students are required to have Apple laptops equipped with specific software so they can operate anywhere. We find that, increasingly, they are filing and editing stories directly from news sites or from home. They have access to all J-School technologies from any location. Our Research Center includes standard library facilities as well as three Bloomberg terminals. Through the center, students have access to 157 databases; the most frequently used are: Lexis Uni, Factiva, Reference USA, Academic Search Complete, Social Explorer, and various leadership directories. Our admissions and student service offices are located adjacent to our lobby, as is an assembly room that seats 74. At the center of our enterprise is a spacious newsroom where students can work on stories and confer with coaches. It can be converted to an assembly space for our largest events.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 120 Adjacent to the newsroom is our television studio and attached engineering room. Down a hallway is our audio recording studio and attached engineering room. Adjacent to that is our equipment room, where students may check out the gear summarized below. Students may keep equipment for five days after checkout. As our enrollment has grown, so has the school’s equipment needs. This necessitated converting a classroom into space for equipment storage and prep. Our administration and faculty area on the fourth floor contains office space for all full-time faculty and several administrators, plus cubicles for adjuncts and other administrative staff members. Our significant programmatic expansion through grant activity since our last ACEJMC review necessitated renting an additional 6,000 square feet of space on the 14th floor of our building. That space is occupied by our external affairs and development offices, J+ professional education program, the Center for Community and Ethnic Media, the News Integrity Initiative and First Draft, a London-based nonprofit focused on verifying online information, The space also contains a large open area for relaxed meetings and for students to work in a quiet environment. Software taught and in use at the school includes: Adobe Air, Adobe Creative Cloud 2018, Adobe Premier, Cisco AMP, Android File Transfer, Atom, Audio Hijack, Call Recorder for Skype, Cyberduck, dBpoweramp Music Converter, EasyFind, EditReady, Google Chrome, Google Voice and Video, HDD Fan Control, Jamf Pro, Keynote, Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Remote Desktop, Numbers, OpenRefine, OutWit Hub, Pages, Pro Tools, Property List Editor, R, Reflector, Skype, Slack, Tabula, VLC. Equipment available for student checkout includes: 114 Marantz audio recorders, 50 audio processors, 28 360 video cameras, 426 microphones, 25 Go Pro cameras, 136 Canon still and video cameras, 269 camera lenses, 128 lighting kits, and 106 tripods. Our technology support staff totals 19 people, ranging from broadcast and networking engineers to IT specialists, equipment and audio/video specialists, audio engineers, web designers, and IT managers. Our four venues for publication/airing of student work all receive support from our IT department. The NYCity News Service, which publishes student work in all media formats and makes it available to local news outlets, is supported by all tech staff at the school. “219 West,” our outlet for student broadcast work on CUNY TV, a cable station that serves more than 2 million viewers, is supported by four broadcast technicians on our staff. Our Audiofiles news magazine podcasts are supported by two audio technicians. The Mott Haven Herald and Hunts Point Express newspapers are financed by the J-School. Their websites are hosted on our server and our tech staff provides support when problems arise on either publication. The $1.4 million upgrade launched this summer will modernize the school’s underlying server, storage, wired and wireless connectivity infrastructure. It will also upgrade our video editing lab to a high-performance computing lab that allows students to do virtual and augmented reality reporting and storytelling. The first phase involved changing the control systems and projectors in the classrooms to make it easier for faculty and guests to operate the A/V systems and to ensure perfect focus on all material displayed on classroom screens.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 121 6. Describe the unit’s most urgent needs for resources, if any, and the plan to address these needs. We have two urgent needs: more scholarship support for incoming students and more space. As students are becoming increasingly concerned about debt levels and increasingly aware of the challenging economic conditions of the journalism industry, journalism schools are likely to find it more difficult to attract top-quality applicants. Already, there is a noticeable increase in competition for the most high-achieving students. In order to remain competitive, we need to be able to offer additional scholarship support. This is true despite our lower tuition levels, which give us an important inherent advantage. When students are offered free tuition, living stipends and even health insurance at another school, it becomes hard to ignore that, even if they prefer our curriculum or program. In recent years, we have focused more aggressively on -- and had more success in -- generating support for programmatic activities. We are now pivoting to focus more on new sources of scholarship support, and this is a high priority in our search for a new Executive Director of Development. We also have a need for more space and for garnering more financial support for the space we already have. In order to accommodate our recent growth, we leased another floor in the building several years ago. Unfortunately, it is only accessible from the other side of the building, often requiring about 10 minutes to navigate elevators and walkways. In recent years, there has been no support from the board of trustees or the chancellory to cover the cost of new leases. As a result, we have had to raise money privately to cover the $340,000 in annual rent payments. The new floor has very few offices, and they are already full. We are adding another six cubicles to accommodate new hires. Over the long term, the school will need to come up with a more satisfying answer to its space constraints.
Professional master’s program: 7. Provide a summary paragraph that demonstrates needed resources (budget, faculty, staff, equipment and facilities) are provided for an effective professional master’s program. Describe the program’s most urgent needs, if any, and the plans to address these needs. See # 3 and #6 above
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 7 122 PART II STANDARD 8 PART II | STANDARD 8 Professional and Public Service
TAKEAWAYS
The Newmark J-School is heavily involved in non- curricular activities aimed at improving journalism at all levels, from high school to professional.
We regularly consult practicing journalists, including adjuncts and those on our foundation board, to ensure our curriculum is up to date and the skills and values we teach are in demand.
The school is in regular contact with alumni through newsletters, social media and events. Our alums are active and as invested in our success as we are in theirs.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 124 Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Summarize the professional and public service activities undertaken by the unit. Include operation of campus media if under control of the unit; short courses, continuing education, institutes, high school and college press meetings; judging of contests; sponsorship of speakers addressing communication issues of public consequence and concern; and similar activities. The Newmark J-School is involved in a host of professional and public service activities, from the work of our centers and publications, to the many journalism-serving projects we’ve become involved in over the years. Some highlights: The Center for Community and Ethnic Media brings together editors and reporters from some of the 350 ethnic and community publications in New York for training, discussions of mutual concern, and events featuring prominent newsmakers in NYC. Until June of this year, the center produced Voices of New York, a website that collated the best of ethnic/ community journalism, translated it into English when necessary, and vastly broadened its audience. CCEM also hosted the Ippies awards, which recognized and honored the best journalism produced by these small publications. The Center is adapting its strategy to serve as an essential hub of information, resources and training of community and ethnic news outlets across the U.S. Through regional partners, it will develop in-depth programs aimed at strengthening these media sectors, with a particular focus on Latino and Black-owned press. CCEM is in the process of creating a national database of news outlets, raising their visibility with public officials, advertisers, professional associations, investors and foundations. It also conducts relevant research and training, and offers fellowships in reporting and entrepreneurship to help make these news organizations more sustainable. The J-School’s NYCity News Service publishes the best work of its students and offers it to any publication that wishes to print it with attribution. Students also routinely provide neighborhood stories to hyperlocal publications that cannot afford to hire full-time reporters. Our summer internship stipend allows students to take internships at many news outlets that cannot pay but that rely heavily on this assistance during the summer months. Many students continue to provide content even after returning for the third semester. The School’s Mott Haven Herald and Hunts Point Express online and print publications provide coverage for two communities least served by mainstream publications, helping to unite those communities and tipping larger publications off to stories and characters in those communities that otherwise would go unnoticed. Our “219West” news magazine broadcast and our AudioFiles radio shows provide similar coverage in other formats for NYC residents. The school and Dean Bartlett were instrumental in the creation of The City, a lively, aggressive digital news outlet providing in-depth coverage of issues affecting New York City and its citizens. Following the demise of DNAInfo and the downsizing of local news staffs, Bartlett convened a broad group of people committed to holding public officials and businesses to account. They agreed that a new news vehicle for New York City was needed. The City began publishing in May under the leadership of Jere Hester, former director of the school’s NYCity News Service.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 125 The J-School’s McGraw Center commissions in-depth stories on economic and business topics through the McGraw Fellowships, which provide experienced reporters with up to $15,000 to do the work. Stories are published in partnership with established media outlets. The center also funds scholarships for J-School students who concentrate on business reporting, and it holds an annual conference for business journalists. The Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism has helped more than 100 aspiring journalism entrepreneurs from around the world to develop new media ventures, through its temporarily suspended Entrepreneurial Journalism M.A. and Certificate programs. In addition, the Center initiated the first social journalism degree in the country, filling a niche that media professionals said was badly needed. In the last few years, the center has focused its attention on a Communities of Practice program, through which the center helps journalists and journalism educators share resources and develop expertise in emerging roles such as news product and audience development. We also conduct research and convene events to support collaboration among media leaders and a sustainable future for news. The News Integrity Initiative, launched under the Tow-Knight Center’s auspices with $14 million in funding from a coalition of foundations and technology firms, supports efforts to connect journalists, technologists, academic institutions, nonprofits and other organizations from around the world. The aim: to foster informed and engaged communities, combat media manipulation, and promote inclusive, constructive and respectful civic discourse. The Newmark J-School has become a hub of photographic training and exhibitions in NYC. We host the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship Program, The New York Portfolio Review (co-sponsored with The New York Times), the American Society of Magazine Photographers Review, the New York Press Photographers Annual Review, and the judging of the Northern Short Course in Photojournalism annual photo contest. We also provide training at all levels of photography to the general public through our J+ professional offerings. The School’s professional development program, J+, offers dozens of affordable workshops teaching the digital skills of tomorrow to working journalists, career changers, and any interested community members. The workshops are taught by J-School faculty and other leaders in digital journalism. Topics range from data analysis and visualization to social media management, news product development, and video storytelling. J+ also provides customized trainings to newsrooms and organizations on a wide range of skills. The J-School hosts annual conferences of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, as well as the Financial Writers Association. We have, on occasion, hosted IRE trainings and an ONA Unconference. We also host a local AR-VR Meetup group, all free of charge as a contribution to these journalistic organizations. Our AR/VR Lab supports the application and understanding of new immersive and 3D tools for non-fiction storytelling. We conduct trainings and provide access to equipment and software for our students, assorted media producers, news organizations and media not-for-profits. We have a contract with New York City’s RLab that supports this project through 2021. The J-School originated and hosted the third Latino Media Summit this June. The summit brings together journalists, media industry leaders, innovators, thinkers, product specialists and digital news entrepreneurs focused on Latino audiences in the U.S. In preparation, the
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 126 school issues a State of the Latino News Media Report researched and produced by the Spanish-Language journalism program, including a map of the industry, a diagnostic and recommendations. We turned our newsroom over to hundreds of journalists participating in ProPublica’s Electionland during the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections and provided significant staff and student support for the project. Working journalists took in reports from news organizations around the country, plus reports filed by J-School students in NYC, to discover problematic online content impacting voters’ ability to cast ballots. We are providing office space at low cost to First Draft, a London-based nonprofit focused on verifying online information. The school houses the U.S. bureau of the nonprofit, which trains professional journalists on discovery and verification strategies. First Draft works with our professors to teach students how to find problematic content online, verify that information, report on it ethically, and develop a curriculum around verification that can be used at other universities. The school is an originator and active partner in the CUNY Journalism Council, composed of directors and interested faculty at all undergraduate journalism programs across CUNY. Council members share syllabi and solutions to common problems facing their programs, and work with local high school journalism programs to recruit students. The J-School shares with the undergraduate campuses equipment that it no longer uses. The J-School also created, and hosts, a website, Dateline: CUNY, that showcases and more broadly distributes the best of undergraduate journalism around CUNY. The Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program provides free advanced training in state and local fiscal issues through week-long seminars to professional journalists from around the country, emphasizing in-depth knowledge of key controversies, overcoming reporting challenges and improving storytelling. Every summer, 12 science journalists have the opportunity to study the science and practice of climate resilience for a week through our Resiliency Fellowship Program. The program combines fieldwork – discussions with scientists, observation of resilience thinking as it relates to on-going projects, and meetings with businesspeople and community members on the front lines of resilience work – coupled with classroom discussion on resilience economics and story framing. This summer, the training took place in New York’s Adirondack Park.
2. In a digital file, list examples of professional and public service activities undertaken by members of the faculty in the past six years (before the self-study year). Limit to five examples per faculty member. The unit has the option of providing a complete list in a separate digital file. Do not include service to the unit or institution; this information should be presented in Standard 1. Faculty professional and public service activities
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 127 3. Describe the unit’s contact with alumni, professionals and professional organizations to keep curriculum and instruction, whether online or on-site, current and to promote the exchange of ideas. Contact may include alumni and professional involvement in advisory boards, curriculum development, guest speaking, placement, internships, and fundraising. Provide advisory board members’ names and contact information. Contact with journalism professionals to ensure our curriculum is up to date is pretty much a daily occurrence. Examples: Our adjuncts come straight from New York newsrooms into our classroom. They are all working journalists, from organizations that include The New York Times, NBC, Buzzfeed News, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, City Limits, Pro Publica, PRI, Quartz, Associated Press, NPR, Latino USA, Reuters, ESPN, PBS and WNYC. These professionals expect course syllabi and curricular expectations to reflect the current state of the art. If they don’t, they let us know and help us bring courses up to date. The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Foundation Board members represent as broad a spectrum as our adjuncts. They are asked to weigh in on plans for curricular expansions and on areas of anticipated needs in their own newsrooms so that we can stay ahead of the curve. Board meetings provide a venue for robust discussions about where the news industry is headed, and board members often jump in to provide guidance. For example, two members, one from CNN, one formerly from CBS, assisted us with a major rethinking of how we teach broadcast journalism and how our studio needs to be updated to respond. Board members are: Cristina Alesci, correspondent, CNN, [email protected] Jesse Angelo, president of global news and entertainment, Vice Media, angelo.jesse@ vice.com Sarah Bartlett, dean, Newmark J-School, ex officio, [email protected] Geraldine Baum, assistant dean for external affairs, Newmark J-School, ex officio, [email protected] Kai Falkenberg, former deputy commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, [email protected] Nikole Hannah-Jones, staff writer, NYTimes Magazine, [email protected] Laurie Hays, Exec. V.P., Edelman, [email protected]
Andrew Heyward, visiting scholar, MIT Media Lab, former CBS News president, [email protected] Stacy-Marie Ishmael, senior editor, Apple, and Entrepreneurial Journalism certificate alum, [email protected] Marjorie Miller, V.P. and global enterprise editor, Associated Press, [email protected] Craig Newmark, founder, Craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, [email protected]
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 128 Geneva Overholser, senior fellow, Democracy Fund, [email protected] Karen Pensiero, managing editor, The Wall Street Journal, [email protected] Richard Ravitch, former New York lieutenant governor, [email protected] Howard Rubenstein, president, Rubenstein, [email protected] Vivek Shah, CEO, j2 Global Inc., [email protected] Steve Shepard, chair, founding dean, Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, [email protected] Richard Siklos, V.P. for corporate communications, Netflix, [email protected] Arthur Sulzberger, vice-chair, chairman, The New York Times Company, [email protected] Jose Zamora, Sr., V.P. strategic communications – news, Univision Network, [email protected] Our Spanish-Language Journalism program has its own advisory board, whose members hail from a variety of Spanish-Language news organizations and academic departments focused on Latino affairs. Publications such as El Pais, The New York Times, Telemundo, Al Dia News and Radio Ambulante are represented on the board. In our annual external outcomes review, working journalists inspect the work portfolios of 30 new graduates to determine whether the school is living up to its stated graduation outcomes and, if not, to suggest what we need to do to correct matters. In the past three years, reviewers have been working journalists from news organizations ranging from NBC’s investigative unit, to The New York Times Business desk, to WNYC, Marshall Project, Pro Publica and CNN. The reviewers do not mince words when they find performance lackluster, and we take copious notes and report the findings to the full faculty as well as the curriculum committee. Our alumni are particularly active in class Facebook groups and the alumni Facebook group, and are excellent resources when we want to get a fast read on current practice in newsrooms and in hiring. Our alumni board meets regularly and has suggested a number of trainings that we could offer not only alums but students, as well. Alums are frequent guest speakers in our classrooms and their tales of how they got where they got, what they wish they had learned in J-School, and what they recommend students pay particular attention to in school provides useful feedback to students and faculty alike. Alums are only a fraction of our guest speakers. NYC provides a hearty selection of working journalists eager to share their knowledge with students. Most guests distribute their email addresses to students after speaking and offer to provide informal guidance. While it is refreshing when they reinforce lessons from class professors, it is even more valuable when their comments force professors to bone up on new developments or challenge accepted wisdom. It is not uncommon for a course to schedule three guest speakers over the semester. The Newmark J-School’s Curriculum Committee oversees a professional review of one of its curricular areas each semester, on a rotating basis. Three reviewers selected from a list of working journalists and academics study the syllabi in the selected curricular area, sometimes
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 129 sit in on classes and interview the program director. Reviewers for the school’s health-science program that was evaluated in the spring and summer were from Spectrum News, Columbia and Princeton. This fall, our urban subject concentration will be reviewed. Panel findings are reported to the Curriculum Committee, which then asks the program director to address suggestions for improvements. The Curriculum Committee also has underway a design review process for the overall curriculum. This initially entailed interviewing two dozen stakeholders, including faculty and students, alumni and employers, to respond to a detailed set of questions about the curriculum. Common themes were identified and presented to the committee and faculty at large. Questions under review include whether the school should drop its subject concentration requirement to give students greater freedom to fashion a more individualized course of study, whether the 43 credits required for graduation should be further reduced, to relieve student stress, and whether we should encourage more students to pursue a 4th semester option to permit them to work while attending school. Since 2016, the Tow-Knight’s Communities of Practice initiative has regularly convened top journalists in critical, emerging roles such as audience and product development, talent, inclusion, change, and e-commerce. The groups meet privately in person and online to exchange ideas with their peers. The substance of their discussions informs Newmark’s curriculum and its Career Services efforts.
4. Describe the unit’s methods for communicating with alumni, such as newsletters or other publications. Provide the web link for communication during the previous academic year or provide print copies in the workroom. The communication methods used to interact with alumni include our closed Facebook pages. One page is open to all alumni and others are open only to graduates of each class. Additionally, we have a Newmark-J jobs page and subject concentrations and media specialization pages. Our alumni director, Brooke Stachyra, also uses the school’s class personal email listserve, which includes lists for each class and a combined list for all alumni. Our quarterly alumni newsletter is another form of communication to share updates and news with alumni. This was launched in Spring 2017; the volume of submissions to it has grown considerably since then. Our website’s Alumni Services section provides updates, news and a link for alumni to update their contact and job information.
5. Describe the unit’s support of scholastic (high school) journalism, including workshops, visiting lectures, critiques of student work, etc. The Newmark J-School supports high school journalism in New York City in several ways. Journalism school faculty are an integral part of the New York City High School Journalism Collaborative, a group that offers training sessions for high school newspaper faculty advisors, operates workshops for student journalists, and sponsors The Newsies!, an awards ceremony that honors the best in journalism produced by New York City high school students. The CUNY Journalism Council that the school helped launch eight years ago works to recruit
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 130 talented NYC high school students to consider studying journalism at CUNY’s undergraduate colleges. This includes presentations to high school guidance and college counselors hosted in all five boroughs as well as participation in an annual high school journalism conference at Baruch College. One of the council’s achievements is Dateline: CUNY, a website amalgamating the best of undergraduate journalism at CUNY colleges that was launched in Spring 2016 and provides support and resources to student publications at the colleges, as well as to local high schools. Several times a month the website’s editor emails more than 180 NYC teachers with opportunities for students and teachers to be published or get training. This strengthens the community of scholastic journalism and the quality of the work produced. In November, the Newmark J-School partnered with New York’s Deadline Club to host the NewsHounds Censored! First Amendment panel, which focused on high school journalism and featured local high school student journalists and teacher as panelists. The J-School also connects with high school students as the host for The New York Times’ Summer Academy. This joint program with the Times brings high school students from around the country to New York for a two-week program on topics such as journalism, media, technology, arts, culture, sports, fashion, business and science. In addition to physically hosting the program, J-School faculty members also participate as instructors.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 8 131 PART II STANDARD 9 PART II | STANDARD 9 Assessment of Learning Outcomes
TAKEAWAYS
We have in place a rigorous process to define and measure the learning outcomes we expect from our students in every course and for each degree.
Professional journalists join us in our annual review of whether we are delivering our stated outcomes, as measured by student work and surveys.
Findings from our outcomes reviews are presented to faculty and to our curriculum committee and have led to numerous changes in how we teach and what we teach.
We consider a final outcomes test to be whether our graduates get jobs in journalism and progress steadily in the field, and we are gratified by results on this indicator.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 133 Please respond to each of the following instructions:
1. Provide a copy of the unit’s written plan for assessment of student learning outcomes. This plan must include the dates of its adoption and of implementation of its components. Approved by the Governance Council of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism on May 3, 2011. Implemented the first time for the class graduating in December 2011. Since 2011, our process has been updated to include our Social Journalism program, revise the number of reviewers and reflect our name change. For the M.A. in Journalism program, we now have six reviewers. Our Social Journalism program uses two external reviewers. Although the Spanish- Language Program is a component of our M.A. in Journalism, we also invite two external reviewers to give us feedback on that program. The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will conduct an assessment each year of the work of its graduating class. The goal is to generate data that can help the school determine if the students are mastering its outcomes and core competencies. To assist in this process, the school will collect a portfolio of work from each graduating student. The four pieces of work in the portfolio will be: Students’ first ungraded, unedited written work produced in their community districts for a Craft 1 class (to be collected by the Craft teachers) – for use as a reference point An ungraded, unedited print piece from a third-semester subject-concentration class A capstone A piece of work that illustrates multimedia work (should include at least one of the following elements: audio, video, interactive graphic, tools for engaging with the audience) In addition, the school will survey each graduating class about its experience with interactivity and entrepreneurship (Outcomes #6 and 7). A six-person panel will be assembled by the administration each January consisting of one professor from the Journalism School and two independent journalism professionals drawn from a list submitted to the administration by the Outcomes Committee. Ideally, one of the three panelists would serve for two years to ensure continuity. Each January, the panel will review the portfolios of 20 percent of the graduating class (by 2019, the number reviewed was 30 portfolios). Names will be removed from all the work being reviewed. The assessment will be based on a four-point scale, with one being the lowest and four being the highest. We will ask the panel to grade the first-semester Craft piece from each portfolio as it relates to our program’s learning outcomes. We will ask the panel to grade separately the remaining three pieces from each portfolio as they relate to the first six of our program’s seven learning outcomes. At the end, the school will have an average grade for the class for each element of each outcome. The Journalism School will track each class’ grades, and make adjustments to the curriculum and instruction as needed.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 134 2. Provide the unit’s definition of goals for learning that students must achieve. If this definition is incorporated into the plan for assessment, a page reference will suffice.
Outcomes for the M.A. in Journalism program 1. Demonstrate a Commitment to the Eternal Verities of Journalism Does the reporter demonstrate a dedication to fairness and accuracy? Understand the role of an independent press in society? Know the laws and ethical codes that govern journalists and media organizations – including protecting sources? Possess the knowledge necessary for ethical decision making?
2. Demonstrate an Ability to Conceive, Pitch and Produce Journalistic Stories Is the story: Compelling? Fresh? Timely? Relevant? Focused? Newsworthy? Pitchable to a professional news outlet?
3. Demonstrate an Ability to do Professional-level Reporting and Research Does the reporter effectively find, evaluate, verify and utilize information from a variety of relevant sources? Is data used correctly and effectively? Is there appropriate attribution/ factual support? Are facts checked? Is there sufficient context?
4. Ability to Write Well and With Versatility Is the writing clear, concise and engaging? Grammatical? Consistent with AP Style? Flow smoothly and logically? Is the reporter able to write effectively in various formats and adapt core reporting and writing skills to emerging storytelling forms?
5. Ability to Produce Stories Reflecting a Diversity of Sources and Topics Does the reporter tackle interesting and informative original stories that encompass multiple viewpoints and voices? Does the breadth of the reporter’s work show a diversity of story topics? Does the work demonstrate cultural competency and show an ability to journalistically serve underserved communities?
6. Mastery of a Subject Beat Does the reporter demonstrate the ability to learn a beat and produce in-depth stories on a specialized topic? Do the stories show a strong level of knowledge about the topic? Does the work demonstrate critical thinking/analytical skills? Do the stories show a selection of varied sources and media and an effective use of data?
7. Demonstrate Ability to Package and Present Stories Does the reporter demonstrate an ability to produce, package and present engaging stories incorporating various media, across platforms?
8. Ability to Find, Learn About and Apply Emerging Technology to Journalism Does the reporter use new methods and tools? Does the reporter show an ability to identify and learn emerging technologies that can be applied to journalism? Does the reporter display a willingness to experiment and take risks in storytelling, while keeping within professional standards?
9. Ability to Listen to, Interact with and Serve an Audience Does the reporter effectively interact with communities, in person and via social media and other digital means? Can the reporter effectively assess – and serve – the needs of a community?
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 135 10. Ability to Identify and Adapt to External Forces Changing Journalism Does the reporter understand the forces that are transforming journalism – including economic pressures, globalization, evolving technology and changing news consumption patterns? Does the reporter recognize the importance of versatility, innovation and entrepreneurship in adapting to those forces? Does the reporter have sufficient grounding in journalism history to learn from trends, past and present?
11. Ability to Succeed as a Professional Journalist Does the reporter meet deadlines and otherwise demonstrate time management skills? Does the reporter work well with colleagues and supervisors, in team situations or otherwise? Does the reporter deal with sources in professional manner? Demonstrate passion, perseverance and a professional-level work ethic? Know how to effectively market himself/herself and navigate the personal business side of journalism, whether as a freelancer or staffer?
Outcomes for the Social Journalism Program Social Journalism graduates will:
1. Begin all aspects of the journalistic process – from reporting a story to cultivating a beat to designing a new product - with the audience and its needs at the center. Practice the core principles of social journalism - the mindset of journalism as service and why engaging readers in the process of doing journalism matters.
2. Use a variety of tools and techniques to listen to communities, understand their information needs and pressing issues of concern, and build empathy and trust.
3. Employ crowdsourcing strategies and tools to collect information and viewpoints from a diverse range of sources.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the current media landscape, how it’s changing, what its future looks like.
5. Report - find relevant information, conduct research, interview diverse sources, mine social media for newsworthy signals.
6. Write in a clear and concise and engaging manner. Tell stories and distribute information in a variety of media forms, including photo, video, audio, and graphics.
7. Verify the accuracy and ownership of many kinds of content, including news shared via social media or offered by other sources, and apply critical thinking to understand the motivation of sources and the relationship of facts to shifting “truth.”
8. Find and utilize data to serve communities and create basic visualizations of that data 9. Interpret a wide range of digital metrics, from page views to impact, and use this information to iterate strategy.
10. Learn basic coding skills to communicate well with more experienced web developers and build basic web interactives or tweak websites.
11. Use social media to grow and engage audiences, report stories and network within the field, including popular tools and emerging ones.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 136 12. Develop, test and pitch ideas for startups and new products within existing news organizations. Understand the business of journalism to help news organizations develop new routes to sustainability.
3. Describe the collection and reporting of data from both direct and indirect assessment measures and how the unit used its analysis of the data to improve curriculum, instruction, etc. Provide copies of any end-of-year assessment reports. If there are multiple reports from the six-year period, summarize the findings and make the reports available in a digital format. The process for collection and reporting of data from both direct and indirect assessment measures is stated in our outcomes plan, as detailed above. In January, judges are invited in for a full-day of reading portfolios and student surveys on indirect outcomes, followed by grading them in each outcomes area, and then discussing their findings with leaders of the Outcomes Committee, the dean and associate dean. Copies of year-end assessment reports from the past six years can be found at the end of this section. Overall, judges have been positive in their reactions and scoring. In every year, judges report seeing a significant progression of skills from the incoming baseline to the final capstone project. They are impressed with the quality of many of the stories and story ideas and the wide range of sources cited. They gave high marks for the focused angles of many stories, thorough research, and solid execution. Originality of story ideas plus thorough reporting have also been pluses cited by the judges. Our “219West” television broadcast and the depth of our audio/video work also have been praised. Our reports and our attentions typically have focused more on the problem areas cited by judges. The reports are shared with the school’s Curriculum Committee and with its Governance Council, composed of all full-time faculty plus representatives of the adjunct faculty, staff and student body. Discussions of possible solutions take place in the curriculum committee, faculty meetings and in governance council meetings, often informed by proposals from relevant program directors, until agreement is reached on the way forward. Problems cited by judges have revolved around some common themes and when one attempt at solving a problem does not produce the desired effect, as measured by the following year’s assessment outcomes, we try a different approach. Here is a summary of those issues and how the school has responded to improve the curriculum and instruction.
CAPSTONES While many capstone projects have won high praise, judges have noted that many are longer than warranted by the material, sometimes lack sufficient focus or do not break new ground, and are poorly edited. The school has responded by making clear to students and capstone advisors that quality, not length, is the key factor in assessing the success of capstones. We have begun paying adjuncts who are capstone advisors an additional stipend to compensate them for spending additional time with students to better shape and edit their capstones. At our end of semester faculty meeting this past May, a proposal to require students to continue working on defects in their capstones until they earned at least a B grade, even if that delayed their graduation, received favorable consideration. A proposal to more clearly lay out the responsibilities of students and capstone advisors for line editing prior to the capstone’s being accepted and archived was approved by the
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 137 Curriculum Committee and awaits a vote by the school’s Executive Committee. Further, we have added to our coaching staff to assist with capstones and with associated multimedia elements.
EXPERT USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA While students receive instruction in using social media for verification, finding sources and story ideas, and cultivating an audience, judges have cited a paucity of evidence that students are using social media to full advantage and to professional news organizations’ expectations. A couple of judges have questioned whether students see value in this area. To address this issue, the first semester Craft I faculty has been asked to double down on teaching these skills and require evidence they are being employed in reporting and writing assignments. Students already receive significant instruction in using social media for outreach and verification, but to augment what has come before, the school recently partnered with the London-based nonprofit First Draft to work with professors and our research staff to strengthen verification lessons. In many courses, a social media plan is part of the pitch for any story. We also are asking all incoming students who do not have a personal website to arrive early to orientation so our coaches can help them develop one. This will give them a site to link to in social media dispatches if an assignment is not published elsewhere.
REPORTING/STORY BASICS While the judges have given good ratings to most stories they reviewed in student portfolios, they have noted some instances of insufficient reporting or poor story structure, including mediocre or missing nut paragraphs. We have asked our Craft of Journalism faculty to emphasize these basics even more in the first and second semesters, and made our subject concentration professors aware they need to be more vigilant in addressing deficiencies that show up in their student work. This summer, we sent to incoming students who scored lowest on our admissions tests a raft of materials to start absorbing so they are better prepared for the first semester. As stated earlier, we have added to our coaching staff for writing, photography and data journalism. We also are using our January Academy non-credit workshops over the winter break to provide supplemental instruction for those who need additional support.
STORY PACKAGING Judges expressed concern about students’ ability to package their work effectively, often reporting and writing their stories first and then tacking on a relatively weak multimedia element almost as an afterthought. To address this, the school increased non- teaching adjunct hours to provide more one-on-one and in-class training in this area. Course content also was shifted to focus on enhanced story packaging; pitch forms in many courses now require that students state their plan for multimedia along with their story idea and reporting plan.
INTERACTIVE PRACTICES Judges commented in 2016 and 2017 that interactive elements often were buried at the bottom of stories and frequently did not have a close enough connection to the thrust of the stories. This led to changes adopted by all interactive instructors to ensure that students find a tighter connection to their stories in the graphics and charts they produce, that they clearly make the connection between a graphic and the text, and they move strong interactive elements further up in stories. On the recommendation of one judge, we began teaching Adobe Illustrator as a way to create graphs and charts on deadline when time constraints preclude extensive coding.
SOCIAL JOURNALISM MULTIMEDIA REPORTING In response to judges’ feedback in the Social Journalism review that audio/video materials were weak, we now require an introductory audio
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 138 and video reporting course of Social Journalism students and a required internship. The Fall 2018 semester was the first time this requirement was instituted. The addition of a required internship will make students even more job ready.
OUTCOMES PROCESS REVISIONS Over the past six years, we’ve updated our student outcomes and, based on judges’ comments, clarified the process for them and students. In 2016 we updated our outcomes to reflect current professional expectations. We clarified to students what they should submit as a multimedia sample in their portfolio and, in cases where they submitted group projects, we asked that they clearly identify who did what. Because our collection of samples was erratic and sometimes unwieldy for the judges, we updated our collection process for much easier reading and reviewing. The judging form was also overhauled, to better define the characteristics we wanted scored. It should be noted that the school’s outcomes process, defined by skills we want students to master prior to graduation, is supplemented by an outcomes process that focuses on priorities outlined for all CUNY colleges by the University chancellery. That performance management process requires setting of performance targets in key areas, followed by reporting of what was accomplished a year later. Areas tracked include retention and graduation rates, job placement, faculty scholarship, diversity of student body and faculty/staff, and fundraising. Both outcomes processes inform our strategic planning, curriculum revisions, student recruitment and support efforts, and budget priorities. In addition to the last three years’ outcomes reports, a copy of our 2018 CUNY performance management report is appended. Class of 2018 Class of 2017 Class of 2016 Class of 2015 Class of 2014 Class of 2013 PMP Report for 2017-18
4. Describe the involvement of journalism and mass communication professionals, including alumni, in the assessment process. The M.A. in Journalism uses six reviewers – two faculty members and four outside journalists, on staggered two-year terms. They are divided into two teams that, between them, review about one- third of all student portfolios. In the past three years, these were the reviewers for that program, identified by affiliation:
2018 Daryl Khan, J-School faculty (second-time judge) Susan Farkas, J-School faculty Carla Astudillo, Alumna/NJ.com data editor Mohammed Hadi, editor, NYT business desk Brandy Zadronsky, NBC investigative unit Meg Cramer, producer at WNYC
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 139 2017 Brigid Bergin, WNYC/alumna (returning judge) Kirsten Danis, Marshall Project (returning judge) Daryl Khan, J-School faculty (first-time judge) Miguel Paz, former J-School faculty (returning judge) Olga Pierce of ProPublica (first-time judge) Tanzina Vega, author/alumna (returning judge)
2016 Brigid Bergin, WNYC/alumna (first-time judge) Kirsten Danis, Marshall Project (first-time judge) Miguel Paz, former J-School faculty (first-time judge) Randall Pinkston, formerly CBS News and Al Jazeera (second-time judge) John Smock, J-School faculty (second-time judge) Tanzina Vega, CNN/alumna (first-time judge) The bilingual program within the M.A. in Journalism and the M.A. in Social Journalism follow the same model but include two outside reviewers to assess a portfolio demonstrating the students’ efforts to serve their communities. Spanish-Language Program judges for 2017 and 2018: David Gonzales, reporter,The New York Times Juliana Barbassa, managing editor of Americas Quarterly Social Journalism judges for 2017 (no class in 2018): Adriana Gallardo, engagement reporter, ProPublica Alyssa Zeisler, R&D editor, The Wall Street Journal
5. In a digital format, list the major awards won by the unit’s students in local, regional or national competitions in the past six years. Limit to five a year.
2019 Six NYCity News Service reporters won the 2018 national award for “best student investigation” from Investigative Reporters and Editors for Food Plight, which examined tainted food and unsanitary conditions in New York City’s public school cafeterias. The NYCity News Service was named Best Independent Online Student Publication in the nation in the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2018 Mark of Excellence Awards. A national SPJ Mark of Excellence prize for Radio In-Depth Reporting went to Josh Christensen, ‘18, for his AudioFiles piece, “Sleep Paralysis,” about a common condition in which someone wakes up from a dream and can’t move. The student project “Rikers and Beyond” won in the Online News Reporting category in the SPJ’s Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. “Sex, Apps — and Bingo,” a student project about online dating for seniors, was No. 1 in the Online Feature Reporting category in the SPJ’s Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards.
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 140 2018 NYCity News Service was named Best College/University Website in the nation in Editor & Publisher’s EPPY Awards. J-School news outlets took home four first-place prizes in the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards for Region 1, which covers most of the Northeast.
2017 NYCity News Service was named Best College/University Website in the nation in Editor & Publisher’s EPPY Awards. Invisible Hands, a News Service special report that examined the impact of undocumented workers on New York’s economy, won E&P’s national Best College/University News or Event Feature category. Breakdown, which examines how New York City’s mentally ill are left with little place to turn – sometimes with tragic consequences – won for Multimedia Story of the Year in the Associate Collegiate Press national awards competition. Table Scraps, a look at how the rising minimum wage affects working New Yorkers – and the people who employ them – captured the top award for Multimedia Feature of the Year in the Associate Collegiate Press national awards competition.
2016 NYCity News Service was named Best College/University Website in the nation in Editor & Publisher’s EPPY Awards, and The End won national first place in the Best College/University News or Event Feature category. “UnCharted Territory for a Brooklyn School,” Levi Sharpe’s AudioFiles report about the challenges facing a charter school, was named a national winner in the Radio In-Depth Reporting category of the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Mark of Excellence Awards. “The Missing,” a NYCity News service report that tells the stories of missing New Yorkers, placed as a national finalist in the Online News Reporting category of SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Awards. The package previously notched a first-place trophy in the Online News Association’s national Online Journalism Awards. The AudioFiles podcast and NYCity News Service combined to take home four first-place honors in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards competition for Region 1, which covers most of the Northeast. A team of graduates from the Class of 2015 received a 3rd place Emmy in the Magazine category of the 2016 College Television Awards for their work on the student show “219West.”
2015 A series of stories produced by the NYCity News Service and the New York Daily News detailing the scourge of mold in New York City public housing was named a finalist in the Deadline Club Awards competition. Class of 2014 grad Gwynne Hogan took the top prize in the Radio In-Depth Reporting category in SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Awards for “Beleaguered School in Far Rockaway Bounces Back,”
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 141 which aired on the AudioFiles podcast while she was a student. The J-School’s news outlets – including 219 West TV news magazine, the AudioFiles podcast, 219 Magazine and the NYCity News Service – scored a dozen awards in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards competition for Region 1, which covers most of the Northeast. Two NYCity News Service multimedia special reports – one examining the troubled for- profit education industry, the other looking at the plight of the missing and their families – were named finalists Tuesday in the Online News Association’s Online Journalism Awards competition. Class of 2015 student Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn was chosen for one of 15 Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholarships awarded to aspiring foreign correspondents.
2014 The Society of Professional Journalists named the NYCity News Service the best website of its kind in the country. The Class of 2014’s Rachael Levy won a 10-week Google Journalism Fellowship to do research, produce multimedia pieces, and write blog posts this summer for the West Africa desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York. The New York Financial Writers’ Association selected three Class of ’14 business concentration students for $3,000 awards in its annual scholarship competition for students in the tristate area interested in pursuing a career in business and financial journalism. The winners were Patrick Gillespie, Antonia Massa, and Brianna McGurran. The Society of Silurians, the nation’s oldest press club, chose Rosa Goldensohn from the Class of 2014 to receive the Dennis Duggan Prize -- given annually to a student for outstanding work in school and for professional potential. The NYCity News Service took home six honorable mention certificates in Editor & Publisher’s national EPPY Awards competition.
6. In a digital file, list by specialty each member of the graduating class of 2015 and those graduates’ current jobs. If practical, give a total number of “unknowns” rather than including them in the list. Describe the program used to track graduates to assess their experience in the professions and to improve curriculum and instruction. Link to file
NAME CONCENTRATION CURRENT WORKPLACE
Owen Agnew Health Video Producer at Nexus Media
Digital Imaging Technician at Susan Jessica L. Bal Urban Meiselas Studio
Pilar M. Belendez Desha Urban Producer at Zeteic Films
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 142 Lisa Marie Brown Arts and Culture Freelance
Videographer/Multimedia Editor at Colliege Andrew Caringi Urban of Fine Arts at Boston University
Aliza Chasan Urban Digital Producer at PIX11
Video Producer at Yale University School Kimberly H. Conner N/A of Medicine
Jack D'Isidoro Urban Lead Producer at First Look Media
Maya Dangerfield Arts and Culture Video Journalist at CNN
Patrick T. Donachie Urban Writer/Editor at Industry Dive Brand Studio
John Emrys Eller Health Freelancing/Filmmaker
William J. Engel Arts and Culture Not Known
Maura W. Ewing Urban Freelance
Executive Search Consultant at Lucas Allison B. Fox Health Group
Maggie J. Freleng Health Producer at Large for NPR's Latino USA
Beimeng Fu International World Reporter at Buzzfeed
Senior Communications Associate at Mia A. Garchitorena Health Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Communications Coordinator at Life Center Damian Jon Geminder Business Of Long Island Inc
David Gershgorn Health Artificial Intelligence Reporter at Quartz
Andrea Cristina Senior News & Politics Writer at International González Ramírez Refinery29, Inc.
Rose C. Itzcovitz Health On Air Reporter at Valley News Live
Justin D. Joffe Arts and Culture Deputy Editor at SHIFTed Magazine
Brian C. Josephs Arts and Culture Staff Writer at SPIN
Anthony Ryan Kane International Video Producer at Yahoo News
Alison C. Kanski Health PRWeek
Lillian L. Knoepp International Digital Producer at Forbes
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 143 Olivia R. Leach Urban Executive Assistant at ABC News
Tionah Y. Lee Arts and Culture Writer/Producer at ¡HOLA!
Ashley Lewis Health Assistant editor, Readers Digest
Samuel Lieberman Urban Associate Producer at The Huffington Post
Kathryn Long Health Staff Editor at Mental Floss
Lena Masri International Reporter at Reuters
High School Sports Reporter at Newsday Desiree A. Mathurin Health Media Group
Monica C. Melton International Assistant Editor Innovation at Forbes
Andrew Menezes International CQ Roll Call
Isabel María Riofrío International Program Editor at teleSUR English Miranda
Catherine A. Roberts Health Health Reporter at Consumer Reports
Digital Video Journalist at Univision Ana M. Rodriguez Health Communications
General Assignment Reporter, Naeisha Rose Arts and Culture Photojournalist at TimesLedger
Cole D. Rosengren Urban Senior Reporter at Industry Drive
Dept. of Homeland Security Reporter at Michaela Anne Ross Business Bloomberg Government
Business Reporter, Restaurants at Skift Danni Santana Business Table
Producer / Editor - People Now at Meredith Derek R. Scancarelli Arts and Culture Corporation
Video Producer at Omega Institute for Natasha Scully International Holistic Studies
Helina Y. Selemon Health Adjunct Lecturer at Newmark-J
Karen Shakerdge Health Adjunct Faculty at Newmark-J
Levi Sharpe Health Podcast Producer at Fusion Media Group
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 144 Gabriela L. Sierra International Founder at Ilumínate Consulting Alonso
Reporter/Photojournalist at The Haitian Bianca Silva Arts and Culture Times & Freelance Broadcast Associate for the BBC
Town and State reporter at Jackson Hole John S. Spina Urban News&Guide
Luke Tress International Journalist at Times of Israel
Kanyakrit Assistant editor for audience and breaking International Vongkiatkajorn news at Mother Jones
Freelance at OZY.com, Panoply, Wall Street Ryan M. Wallerson International Journal
Zachary D. Wasser Business Producer at CNN BUSINESS
Brooke Williams Urban Reporter at WFXR
Marcia Sanchez Diez Entrepreneurial Operations Editor at The Washington Post
Developer and founder of Impacto.jor Pedro Burgos Social-J (Google News Lab/Knight Center)
Deron Dalton Social-J Deputy Editor at The Tylt
Communication Specialist at Thornton Sean Devlin Social-J Tomasetti
Producer, Presenter and Head of Latino/ Luis Miguel Echegaray Social-J Spanish content at Sports Illustrated
Producer/Editor and Outreach Specialist at Cristina Furlong Social-J Bike the Big Apple
Partner Manager, Documenting Hate Rachel Glickhouse Social-J project at ProPublica
Audience Development Manager at Sports Emily Goldblum Social-J Illustrated
Engagement consultant team lead at Julia Haslanger Social-J Hearken, Inc
Adriele Parker Social-J Inclusion & Diversity at GLG
Aaron Simon Social-J Managing Editor at Greenpointers.com
Self-Study Report for Accreditation Visits in 2019-20 | Part II | Standard 9 145 Erica Soto Social-J Creative Marketing at Netflix
Professional master’s program: 7. Attach the unit’s written assessment plan for the master’s program. Provide any end-of-year assessment reports. If there are multiple reports from the six-year period, summarize the findings and make the reports available in a separate digital format. See #1 and #3 above.
8. Show that the unit has defined outcomes in the professional master’s program appropriate to such a program, such as a professional project, a thesis or a comprehensive exam demonstrating development of analytical and critical thinking abilities appropriate to the profession. All students must complete a capstone project to graduate. These projects typically are completed within one of the courses the student takes in the final semester and are overseen and graded by the faculty member who teaches that course. It is one of the four pieces of work that external reviewers assess to determine whether the school is living up to its promise to prepare students to do professional-level work upon graduation. A four-page capstone guide published on the J-School’s website clearly states expectations for these stories, including that they must demonstrate deep reporting and the ability to package a story with multimedia elements. Here is a key paragraph in that guide: Any medium can provide the base for a capstone, but each project must showcase the essential reporting and communication proficiencies of a journalist. The capstone can comprise one major story or a set of related smaller stories built around a theme. It must be presented as a web page and demonstrate competence in at least three different storytelling elements, most likely with one element being dominant, such as text, photography, audio, video, charts, timelines, data visualizations and/or HTML, CSS and JS files if the webpage is created from scratch, and not from one of the selected platforms. It should be a significant piece of journalism.
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