Journalistic Blogging

My first idea for a blog is talking about the NYC dessert scene in terms of up and coming restaurants, old favorites, trendy spots, and pop-ups. BUT the twist is that it’s all lactose intolerant friendly. There are a lot of blogs dedicated to being vegan or gluten-free which is exactly what I don’t want this to be. I’m not concerned with desserts that cater to those groups, but rather, places that work for people who are lactose intolerant since it’s not something that’s often talked about. I’ve been lactose intolerant for 10 years and it’s still the butt of all my friends jokes everytime we go out to eat ice cream. I’d like to post reviews of places that have dairy free products, interview shop owners that are trying to work with more dairy-free ingredients, and updates on new openings/dairy-free products. This idea I am most passionate about.

My second blog idea could be about immigrant parents struggling to raise children with developmental delays and Autism. My mother has been a special education teacher for 35 years and now is retired and does parttime therapy with children from 3 months-3 years old. She goes into the homes of mostly immigrant families and helps their children get on track for their age group. She often comes home with stories about the families and what I’ve gathered is that a lot of them have not been exposed to children with delays and don’t know what to do. I’d like to explore and expose this dilemma because it seems like a trend for these families. I could interview them and try and link outside resources for other people who might be going through the same thing.

My blog topics would be a weekly sports blog. With a great knowledge of American Professional sports, each week using videos and highlights from specific sporting events. Each week I’d like to focus on the best news sports related. I would detail stories in written form and in actual video form, using both forms to get out the information of each story to the viewers of my blog. The sports blog will also serve as a search engine for sports where it will provide links to scores and schedules for every NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL team and game. My blog will also provide clips from the Sports Show I am developing on YouTube, where it’ll give videos and clips of my interviews and discussions I’ve conducted on the biggest breaking news stories. Each week, I would give a collection of Top 10 list, from NBA’s top ten players of the week, with the top one being awarded “King of the Corner”, for that specific week, as well as “Top 10 Dunks”, “Top 10 Power Rankings” and “Top 10 rumors”.

Art Blog

On this blog I would post stories about local artists in NYC. Reoccurring features would be a major part of my posts. Many of them would include interviews and profiles about up and coming artists. I could possibly do an artist of the week segment in which I would post a different artist every week and feature artists that have very different techniques or do different styles of art. There are a lot of up and coming or amateur artists in the city so I would have a lot of potential subjects. I could also include multimedia posts featuring photos of different art pieces or videos of how they were done.

Canarsie News Blog

I would focus this blog on news in Canarsie, a large residential neighborhood in Brooklyn. This would be different than other news blogs in NYC because it is focused on a specific neighborhood and covers local news. This blog would feature reported news stories about events that have occurred in the neighborhood. I could also include a news feature about the history of the neighborhood or places to go there.

Blog Idea #1:

The first idea I have for a blog is a page centered around rap. Growing up in NYC, rap has been a large focal part of my life making the soundtrack of my life. The name of the blog would be “Chopped Cheese”, named after the legendary NYC delicacy. Being the most popular form of music right now, rap has a broad audience that ranges from “old heads” in NYC to preppy white boys in the suburbs (a topic I would love to address). As of right now, I have three ideas for content that I could post. The first is to post any updates that happen in rap, things such as new music and album releases, events such as concerts and festivals, and just general things that happen within rap music and culture. The second is a weekly round-up of the best stories. I will select around 5 events that happened that week and discuss them, preferably with a friend to gain a different perspective. It is intended for these posts to be  My last and the most interesting idea would be to do interviews with up-and-coming rappers. I know many underground rappers that would be willing to do an interview. This can be paired with their music as well as interesting stories about their music and their lives.

Blog Idea #2:

My second idea for a blog would be to cover my favorite type of food ever: ramen. I tried ramen the first time my freshman year of college and ever since then it’s become my go-to comfort food. When talking about ramen, I don’t mean cup noodles, I mean actual Japanese style (or trying to be) ramen. I will be looking at the broth, the garnishments, the vegetables inside, the noodles, and the meat.My main goal is to visit different restaurants in NYC and try their ramen and other types of food. Many of these restaurants have other options besides ramen allowing me to find something that pertains to every type of reader. The blog will include pictures of the ramen because the way they are laid out adds to the overall attraction towards ramen. If possible I will interview people who work at the restaurants trying to find out interesting facts about the ramen. I will also try to take videos of me and maybe a friend trying the ramen to show  our reactions to trying the ramen. There are also events for ramen in NYC. When I find one that takes part during the semester I will try to cover and report on them.

1. Recycling in NYC
   As more and more people become interested in sustainable living, there is an increased need to learn about how to recycle. Over the last few years I’ve tried to reduce the household waste I produce that goes into landfills. However, this can sometimes be challenging. What can be donated where? Why are Styrofoam cups such an issue to recycle?

My blog could investigate the quick and easy ways to reduce waste in NYC. This could include finding the best locations for electronic recycling in the city or finding which companies offer deals to those who recycle.

There are many non-profit and city-run groups that encourage recycling. New York also has many greenmarkets that host events and have weekly recycling and composting services. There is an increased push for recycling in New York since 2015, when the city made it illegal to throw away electronics in the trash.

I could also interview people on their experiences with recycling and what tips they have for others.

2. Students and Debt

As a senior I’ve started to think more about how to handle student debt when I leave college. Every student has different strategies for dealing with debt. For some it becomes overwhelming. For this blog I want to learn how students plan to deal with student loans. Is it something they prepare for?

I also want to interview school advisors on their advice to students. I want to let people know the best sites to find scholarships and unique ways to save money while still enjoying life. I want to discover companies that offer discounts, etc.

I could write about students experiences working and going to school. Many students at Baruch work at least part-time jobs, and I want to learn about their strategies for success.

The first topic that came to mind to cover would be Entrepreneurs In NYC. There are so many small businesses that are up and coming and people aren’t fully aware of because of the fact that there isn’t enough recognition or exposure surfacing. I also think it would be interesting to find out why people decided to take that leap in creating their business, in such a competitive city like New York.  Being able to interview different people will also allow me to network, after all this is a business school and we have to get out of our comfort zone. So many companies are constantly closing/opening, I am intrigued to know what creative ideas or plans they brainstormed or have that is up and coming to have them stand out. It is essential to help small business’ that have a dream. It’s nice to see a brand/company rising from the bottom especially when it’s in your own city.  This may also spark some fuel to other fellow entrepreneurs to either step it up or take a dive and have their ideas become reality. We are so caught up with all around the world that we tend to forget about companies that are our constant reach.

 

Second Topic- Fitness & healthy meal recipes

For many we instantly think that we are healthy because we are eating the right thing because from time to time we include a smoothie or a salad into our meals. I think this would be a perfect time to actually reach out to different trainers and also give healthy meal options to those that are in the process of living a healthier life. Everyone is put into a category, whether its vegan, vegetarian or simply eating whatever comes their way. Many are prone to say they are busy and have no time so this would be a great way to find out different type of options that we have to aim for other than the gym, home work outs, yoga, pilates, prepping for marathons and the list goes on. This would be a nice way to bring options to people that is not Instagram based, actual interviews that is going to make this information credible and probably change the outlook on how people view fitness and eating healthier. Knowing what works for you and knowing where to begin is always the hardest part, this blog topic can help guide those that are trying to find the way.

Just last weekend was the 59^th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death—when he and his fellow rock and roll musicians were killed in a plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa. Twelve years later, singer-songwriter Don McLean would write a song called “American Pie” that referred to that ill-fated day as “The Day the Music Died.”

For this class, I’d like to run a blog that covers everything that’s happened since The Day the Music Died (to be more specific: a rock music blog). Because I often go to newsworthy concerts—tributes, benefits and anniversary shows—my major focus will be these events. However, I’d also like to feature small blurbs of classic rock history and listicles (“On This Day,” and “10 Best Soundtrack Albums,” etc.) on the side.

Also, the spring semester falls on Record Store Day, which is like Christmas for music nerds. All over the country around daybreak, fans line outside independent record stores, eagerly awaiting doors to open to buy special releases, participate in activities and meet music celebrities. Taking place in mid-April, I’d love to do a feature on this event in which I interview record store owners and collectors.

Another option would be coffee. I’ve been working in the industry for the last ten years and have watched it grow exponentially. I assistant manage Blue Bottle Coffee, in which I train baristas and facilitate brew classes to the public.

I could have a blog in which I cover different specialty coffee companies in the city and write features on events, like latte art competitions and lab tastings. I could also do Q&As with higher-ups at shops like Noble Tree, Counter Culture and Variety. I could interview “green buyers” in places like Hawaii and Guatemala to inform readers on different coffee varietals and climates. Lastly, it would also be fun to take videos of baristas explaining how to do latte art.

Crazy shakes and the restaurant atmosphere — nowadays, everything is on social media in one form or another. Instagram is arguably the most-used platform for showcasing the latest food creations and through this it generates buzz for the newest trends. Crazy shakes took the country by storm last year, and since then they’ve only grown in popularity and the options are endless.

Should this become my blog topic, I would look at some of the most talked-about crazy shake hotspots in Manhattan. I wouldn’t just look at the shakes themselves–I would analyze the atmosphere inside the restaurants and talk to the manager (or owner) about the design choices that were made when the restaurant was established. For one of my pieces, I could have the server order what they think is the best shake at the establishment. Another idea for a piece would be a “behind the scenes” look at how the most popular shake at a restaurant is made. A different aspect of the crazy shake phenomena is how these businesses market their products. Black Tap, for example, is one of the more famous options and they are constantly posting photos and updates on their social media accounts (specifically Instagram). I could talk to them about how they plan their posts and how it affects business as well.

Unions in 2018 — Unions have been around since the Industrial Revolution. As students, we learn the basics about them in high school history class and we may someday become a part of one, although membership is on a steady decline. I’m an intern at a retail union that represents over 16,000 people across Long Island, NYC and Westchester County. Something I’ve realized during my time at Local 338 is that people my age don’t realize the benefits of having a union. Before I worked at Local 338, I was actually a member in one of their stores, and so was my father.

If this were the topic of my blog, I could interview members of the union about how Local 338 has helped them in the past. If possible, I would do a Q&A with some of the leadership at my job about what it’s like to run a union and what it means to represent one. I could also cover some of the efforts being made by my union and the international UFCW to unionize Best Markets in their “Do Better Best Yet” campaign. I would have to get permission from my boss and the leadership at my job before I do any of this, because press (even if it’s something for a class) is something that they’re pretty strict with.