Multimedia Reporting: Around New York

By: Hayley Bifulco

The trend of when women are having children and the circumstances surrounding that decision has been changing for the last few decades.

The National Center for Health Statistics found that “the number of women giving birth at age 30 has doubled, at age 35, tripled and after age 40 has almost quadrupled” from 1980-2004, Psychology Today said in 2008.

There’s a correlation between going to school and having a family. “The average female college grad (of any race) starts her family at 30 and many wait longer, according to the CDC,” CBS News reported in 2012.

Jamie LeGrand is part of the increasing number of women giving birth over  the age of 35. Instead of delaying pregnancy for later to go to school first, LeGrand delayed school and became a mother first…and then again.

LeGrand became a step-mom, at about 20 years old, to a young boy when she married her husband. LeGrand’s first pregnancy came shortly after she got married and she gave birth to her daughter. LeGrand birthed her second daughter  four years later.

By the time LeGrand’s stepson moved out of the house, and her two daughters were in high school and middle school, she made plans to go back to school herself to fulfill her dream of becoming a Social Worker.

While working hard to achieve her Associate’s Degree, LeGrand became unexpectedly pregnant with her third child at age 37.

LeGrand had to shift gears in her life in order to raise a new baby, two teenagers, and figure out if she would ever finish school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWg4Zew_xf0

As we wrap up this current assignment, we need to start moving forward on your next multimedia feature. Please hand in the pitch for your next story on Monday, March 24. Again, these will be graded and your ability to meet deadlines will be considered.

For the story pitch, you MUST do advance interviews with potential sources to understand what the story is, and to confirm that they will actually be available to do interviews.

You will be shooting video and/or recording audio for this feature the last week of March and first week of April.

When you write your pitch, you must include who you talked to and what they said. This is to show me that you aren’t just basing your pitch on a Google search but that you actively researched the topic and know you will be able to report the story.

By: Deena Farrell

The dog run in Tompkins Square Park, the city’s first, is a forerunner of New York’s now well-established canine culture. But its importance looms even larger in the East Village. Many residents and dog owners think it has helped turn around the neighborhood after the tumultuous 1980s.

A fast-growing trend in Manhattan neighborhoods is encouraging coffee shop goers to combine caffeine and commerce. Known as hybrid boutiques, these coffee shops incorporate coffee bars and retail items, such as surf boards, clothing and grooming products. Among those participating in this new experience are Lost Weekend and Saturdays Surf, among others.

https://vimeo.com/89536350

I will be opening up the lab today at 5:30pm so you have more time to work on your stories. PLEASE come, especially if you still have a lot of editing to do.

My aim is to have these features completed and posted on the blog by next Monday, March 17. We will begin screening them in class that day.

My videographer friend (who worked on the Brooklyn church video we watched in class) will be coming to speak to us either Wednesday, March 19, or Monday, March 24, so we need to finish up this first assignment now.

Looking forward, you should all be already thinking about your next story.  Your story pitches will be due before March is over, and many of you learned with the first story that reaching people and getting commitments for interviews takes time. Start now.

POSTING:

Each story should be posted on the blog with a headline, and a written introduction that can vary in length, but should be about 250 words long. This written introduction should set up the multimedia feature, which will be embedded in the post.

For podcasts, also include a photo.  To embed podcasts, upload finished MP3 file to SoundCloud and grab link.

I want to be clear about how I will grade your work this semester. I have already said I will be looking at the whole process, not just the final product. Here is my plan for each of four features you will produce this semester (current assignment will be your first graded assignment):