For my final assignment in this class, I was sent to cover the 8th annual Centenarian celebration at the Villa Barone Manor in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. At first I did feel a little wary of going to the Bronx as its more of a farther commute compared to the other boroughs (excluding Staten Island) in New York City. However, I was up to the challenge. I gave myself sufficient enough time to get to the venue early, but when I got off the train I had to take those special MTA buses that run once or twice every hour and so that delayed me quite a bit. All in all I was able to get there just in time. The event didn’t even start yet as a lot of people were getting themselves signed in and seated at their tables.

I did see other reporters there; one crew was from News12, a local news station for the Bronx. It was nice to speak with them  for a little bit and introduce myself they were very friendly. One of the reporters was so kind as to even direct me to one of the senior citizens that they spoke to who had an interesting story being a World War II veteran. That man was Nicholas Calabrese. I found it really nice speaking to Calabrese and hearing a little of his story.

The Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. came in a little later. He gave a nice speech honoring the borough’s oldest residents. I especially liked when he said how can he start Bronx Week without first giving credit to those who helped built the community up to how it is today. There were times when crime was high but these seniors stayed through it all. Diaz then gave little trophies to those aged 95 and over.

I think ways I could have improved my story is to get more quotes from the other seniors present to get their take on the event. Other than that, I think I got a lot of good photos. The difference I’ve seen between the reporting of me and News12 is that my story was a lot more detailed, while News12 was straight-forward and to the point. The Bronx Times also had a short description of the event, and focused more on the photos.

News12 Story:

http://bronx.news12.com/story/40449681/bronx-week-2019-kicks-off-with-tribute-to-boroughs-centenarians

The Bronx Times:

Bronx Week 2019 Centenarian Celebration

For my latest story, I was sent to report on a court case at the Kings County criminal court. I hadn’t done much court cases reporting on this class so far, so I was honestly a little nervous. I don’t think I’m a fan of court reporting; I’d rather much go out to different events in the city as I find those more interesting. The subject of this case did sound really interesting, however, so I choose to go towards it with an open mind.

Now I didn’t see a particular time for this trial, so I used my better judgement and arrived to the courthouse at 9:30, as I remembered that was the time court cases for other students to report to started. Luckily I was early; the trial was set to start for ten, but the jurors and judge didn’t arrive until after 10:30, therefore we started at 11.

This particular case was about a young Asian woman named Li Lin who allegedly drowned her 2-year-old daughter Melody Pheng back in 2016. She also has a son named Alan; he was not killed but was found with bruises all over his body. It felt a little surreal to sit in a trial like this and to see it all happening in person.

The defense bought two witnesses to the stand: both of whom are working for the NYPD. They were of course on duty the day that the child was found dead. I found it interesting to hear the defense on both sides ask questions to the witness about what they did on that day. I’m glad I went on this assignment. At one point the court broke out for lunch and for a second I almost decided not to return but I am glad I stayed as I wouldn’t have seen the second witness testify and just overall how this trial would play out.

I think one thing I could’ve done to better improve my story is to speak to the attorney who was representing Lin. It would be interesting to have a quote from her in the story on how she believed this case would turn out. It is so challenging with these stories to get pictures since no electronics are allowed on in the courtroom. As for the other press covering the story, I was the only one I saw there. When I looked online, all of the articles written about the case were those from 2016, the year it happened. I didn’t find any recent updates. I found that very interesting as well.

So my very first assignment for this class was to attend a nyc council hearing on how the particular land for a spot in Brooklyn might be used. It was the nyc council subcommittee on landmarks, public sitting and maritime uses at 250 Broadway. The agenda included land use applications.  It was held at the committee room in the building. I myself came early to the event; I was the only one there in the empty room.

The council was actually running late on that day; the members that did arrive waited on a few others to show up. The nyc council spoke to two representatives from another organization about how they planned to use a plot of land in a neighborhood in Brooklyn. They propose to use it to build a new school, as the district there is really tight on seats. It was interesting to see the council in action vote on an issue like this.

I was the only journalist there, so I guess the hearing wasn’t much interest to people as it was still in the planning stage. One thing I could have done to improve my story is to speak to some of the council members on why they felt this issue was so important and possibly get some good quotes out of it.

My story:

http://journalism.blog.brooklyn.edu/trying-to-meet-the-needs-of-a-landmark-building-and-thousands-of-students/

 

This story was very interesting and fun to report on; I enjoyed writing it. I covered the 16th annual New York pet fashion show, with this year’s theme being “Masquerade ball for animal rescue”. Although I wasn’t there for the fashion show that evening, I was able to take a look earlier that day at the preparation and set-up for the fashion show. I got a little glimpse and feel of what happens behind the scenes, as well as the dedication and hard work it takes to even put a pet fashion show together.

I arrived at Hotel Pennsylvania and went up to the 18th floor to the Pen top ballroom, where the fashion show would commence later that evening. I asked around for Gregg Oehler, who is the founder for this fashion show. At first he seemed so busy I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to speak with me. Thankfully, Gregg set aside a moment for me to ask him a couple of questions. I got a lot of good quotes from him. I was also able to speak to the primary sponsor of the show about her product so I think that added a nice element to the story. I was able to get a lot of good pictures of the set-up.

in terms of other news outlets that reported on my story, The Guardian took an interesting approach by featuring a gallery of the costumes animals wore for the night. The Daily News also did the same thing.  I found it interesting that they took the approach of doing a photo gallery as opposed to an article. I suppose it is fitting considering the occasion. The Sun-Gazette, however, took the chance to interview a local designer whose line is featured in the fashion show.

My Story:

http://journalism.blog.brooklyn.edu/?s=dog+fashion+show

The Guardian gallery:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2019/feb/08/new-york-pet-fashion-show-in-pictures

The Daily News:

https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/nydn-pets-dress-to-impress-at-the-2019-new-york-pet-fashion-show-20190208-photogallery.html

The Sun-Gazette:

http://www.sungazette.com/life/lifestyle-news/2019/03/local-designer-shows-line-at-new-yorks-pet-fashion-show/

Out of all of the assignments that I’ve covered so far for this class, this one was my favorite to report on.  It was just a very nice feel-good type of story that I believe people would enjoy hearing amidst all of the sad stories we have out tin the media today. Once in a while it is nice to hear of stories like this one that can lift your spirits.

I reported on the Valentine’s Day event at the Carter Burden/ Leonard Covello Senior Center, where a group of kindergartners from a school nearby visited the center and handed out their handmade cards to the seniors. It was nice to see the kindergartners from St. Ann school arrive at the senior center, and the looks on the seniors’ faces as they came in. I can tell that they were very happy to see the kids come in and see them for Valentine’s Day. It was so adorable the kids started out by reciting a poem to the seniors, asking if they would like to be their Valentine’s.

I think I did well on this story with what I had to work with. It was especially helpful to have a public relations person at the event; she was able to give me a press release of the event so that helped me get a little more background on the event and what was happening. One thing I should’ve add to my story is of course a quote from a senior. I was able to talk with a teacher so that was nice. I also spoke to the director of volunteer services, Holly Hedemark, of the Carter Burden Network. She was responsible for putting this event together. I was surprised to not see this story on the website; I thought it would be a nice story to have up on there.

I know for a fact that at least one news outlet covered this story as channel WABC 7 was present, with reporter Kimberly Richardson. It was cool to see her in person as I watch that channel frequently. I was able to see it on the television later. However, I couldn’t seem to find any other articles about it online.

For the ABC news story, the differences I saw in comparison to my reporting  is that their piece reached out to the kids and seniors more; there was a lot more interaction with the kids and seniors as opposed to the director or other staff at the senior center. I can see that was the main focus of their segment.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton