Month: April 2020

A close-up of 3 small business owners (clothing brand, makeup artist, hairstylist) struggles and innovations with maintaining sales through the COVID-19 pandemic.

For my video project, I would like to reach out to organizations that are delivering groceries for those most vulnerable to COVID-19. There are quite a few organizations in my neighborhood that are coming together to help out others in the community. I want to interview the volunteers who go out of their way to help others during this time.

Another topic I might cover is the kitchen workers who are out right now still working in restaurants that are offering delivery and takeout during this time. While most restaurants have let go of front of house employees, the back of house workers are still working as many shifts as they can cooking food. I think it would be great to see those still working behind the scenes during these hard times

HOST INTRO: The surge of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has led many brick-and-mortar businesses to temporarily close and, as a result, lose revenue. While some companies are taking an economical approach to this by laying off workers, others are taking an ethical approach and making their employees their priority. One such company is Aerie, a U.S. intimate apparel retailer owned by American Eagle Outfitters. Known for their inclusive marketing campaigns and refusal to retouch the models in their images, the company has built a positive reputation for putting morals over money. However, they have recently come under fire from their employees who feel like lately, that hasn’t been the case. Alex-Nicole Edwards has the story.

TRACK: Things weren’t adding up for Selena Robinson, a 21-year-old stock lead who’s worked for Aerie for nearly five years, when she checked her work schedule for the week.

ACT: SELENA: The beginning of March I started to see my hours had drastically changed – I wouldn’t say drastically but. . .It used to be 35-40 hours a week because I am a stock lead. My hours started to change to 24-28. So, I started getting four-and-a-half-hour shifts or four-hour shifts when I would usually get between seven to nine hours.

TRACK: She was surprised when her boss gave her the news.

ACT: SELENA: I found out that the store would be closed the night of March 16th. My store manager had a conference call within corporate and the district managers. And she had told us that March 17th would be our last day closing.

TRACK: On March 17^th Aerie posted a statement to their Instagram account. They confirmed that their U.S. and Canada stores would be closed until March 27^th, and that they would “ensure [their] associates receive pay during [that] time”. The post, which currently has over 18,000 likes, garnered a lot of positive feedback. One comment, which earned a reply from the company, read: “so glad to see a company taking the needs and rights of their employees seriously. Thank you for treating the people who work in your stores with dignity and respect”. However, many employees didn’t feel like they were being respected at all.

ACT: SELENA: I felt like it was sneaky and funny, just for the simple fact they said that they would be paying all employees. However, I noticed that March 15th, if I’m not mistaken, was the day that they took all employees off the schedule. And it was just managers and myself. So, I asked some of my friends and they was like ‘no we’re not getting paid, we’re not on the schedule’. I felt like they shouldn’t have put that statement out there, that they were paying all their employees knowing that they weren’t.

TRACK: Selena wasn’t the only one who felt that way. One Instagram comment read: “I LOVE working for Aerie. I am currently a sales associate at the Spring St location in NYC. HOWEVER!!!! I would like to let everyone know that we are not being compensated as this post makes it seem. Yesterday, all of our shifts were cut. I usually work 30 hours a week and I was left with 1 shift. This shift is what I will be paid for, not my average 30 hours. Many of my friends were taken off the schedule completely and they will not be paid at all. This post is very misleading and all of the part time employees at my store have been advised to apply for unemployment”. There was no response from the company. . .While many associates’ hours had been cut down to zero, a select few were kept on the schedule while stores remained closed.

ACT: SELENA: I was getting paid during the store closures. Between March 17^th, which was the last day, and April 3^rd I was getting paid. A couple of the employees had sent me a text message and they was like, we’re on the schedule, was told not to say anything, and that they would be temporarily on the schedule. So, they started getting paid as well.

TRACK: This didn’t last long, however. On April 5^th, after nearly three weeks of stores being closed, Aerie posted a statement to their website stating that all employees were temporarily furloughed and would not be paid during that time. Although their “expectation is for associates to return to work when business conditions return to normal”, it is unclear when that will be.

ACT: SELENA: I haven’t gotten any word since last week, when the stores would reopen. We usually get weekly updates from our store manager because she has weekly conference calls. It’s taking longer than expected, but I haven’t gotten any word on that.

TRACK: The company encourages all employees to file for unemployment during the furlough. However, a large amount of their retail staff is composed of teenagers and young adults who are likely unfamiliar with the process. As unemployment applications have reached historic heights and benefit websites frequently crash, applying for aid can be a difficult road to navigate.

ACT: SELENA: I did file for unemployment on April 8th because I wasn’t going to be able to, you know, fend for myself being unemployed. I feel like the company should have at least told their employees the proper steps to filing for unemployment. Cause a lot of people, you know, Aerie or American Eagle was their first job. I know for me, Aerie was my first job. So, when it came time for me to file for temporary unemployment, I was confused, you know. I had a lot of questions. I had no answers.

TRACK: In addition to helping them file for benefits, Selena feels like the company owes their employees a little bit more.

ACT: SELENA: I just hope that the company do decide to send out their apologies for basically lying and saying that they were paying their employees knowing that they weren’t. I feel like they should also send out letters, you know, emails, updating them as well because when it comes to the managers and, you know, the higher up people it’s just within them and the employees know nothing. They have plenty of questions, I’m sure. So, I feel like that’s something that the company should be doing.

TRACK: While employees may never receive those apologies, they now know where they stand. When business is back to normal, the company may find that their employees aren’t as loyal as they were before. For Baruch College, I’m Alex-Nicole Edwards.

 

1. I want to document how different people across the world are social distancing through a compilation of vlogs submitted to me by friends or colleagues. I would ask people to make short 2 to 3 minute vlogs about how they are practicing social distancing (i.e. what does their daily WFH schedule look like, what new hobbies or projects have they taken up during quarantine). I think this would be an interesting way to see how social distancing looks different in NYC compared to California or even in the U.K. To add more journalistic elements, I might ask how their respective state or country is responding to the pandemic as different countries and states are responding differently. Do they have a shelter in place order? How many cases do they have currently? Etc.
2.  A second idea is about the emergence and reliance on online communities and how companies or people are using social media to stay connected with consumers, customers, and/or their community. I am interested in exploring the increase in Instagram Live conversations, Zoom panels and workshops, Netflix parties, online workout classes, and even newsletters. I know yoga studios like Modo Yoga NYC are hosting daily yoga classes through Instagram, Miley Cyrus has a talk show called “Bright Minded” that she hosts strictly through Instagram Live, and journalist, Suleika Jaouad has a newsletter called “Isolation Journals” where she sends out daily journaling prompts, each hosted by a different guest, for her followers to participate in. I would love to interview people who have started online communities or platforms because of the quarantine about their inspiration behind their projects and also about the role these online communities play in keeping people socially connected, while we’re physically disconnected.

For my video project, I would like to interview people from different regions of the world (Guyana, Canada, and China) and compare their individual experiences dealing with the impact of the Coronavirus.

1. Exploring the effects the coronavirus has had on the job search for students. Some companies canceled their internships all together, while others have turned virtual, but without pay. I was thinking of interviewing my older brother, which would allow me to get some better footage and a friend over a video call.

2. My second idea was the impact of online courses has had on seniors graduating. It has changed what their last semester looked like by a lot. It could look into how they feel emotional and how it’s impacted the future considering they were likely to enter the workforce after graduating.

With the COVID-19 pandemic likely lasting into the summer, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that social distancing measures will be in place until at least May 15. This means that both students and most workers will continue to work from home until further notice. Now that we had some time to settle into our new routines, I want to get a glimpse into how people transformed their homes into workspaces. I’m interested in getting hopefully 5-6 people to give me a brief tour of their desks, their home offices, or even their couch if that’s the place where they do all of their work from. In addition, I would want to get people’s opinions about the challenges they’ve faced while working from home, especially students who have both their classes and their jobs online now (like me!) and how they adapted to those challenges. I expect that my interviewees would have to film their workspaces themselves, but I will work hard to make transitions from one person to another seamless, as well as incorporate my own experiences into the video if I can.

Due to the impact of the Corona Virus, many industries have to move to a virtual format. However, it’s especially not easy for some industries such as Arts and Theater. AMC and broadway shows have all shut down the first time. The entertainment industry is also impacted a lot in China.

In this project, I am thinking of talking to three people who work for different audiences: American mainstream theater people, International Art group, and Chinese artist/ filmmaker.

I can skype with an off-broadway director who is making a virtual show, Gone Missing, at Baruch College. He can talk about this unique experience in his career life and the impact of the arts and the industry.

Also, I can interview a director of a non-profit organization which aims to help Chinese artist in New York via zoom. She is moving the monthly film screening and panel talk online.

Finally, I am can talk to a Chinese cinematographer who is facing the same challenge while the entertainment industry is in the frozen era all over the world.

1. My first idea for the video-reporting pitch would be an adaptation of my radio pitch to chronicle the way that the volunteer organization Pajama Program is adapting to Coronavirus. They have gone ahead with hosting virtual reading parties, rather than in-person events, on their instagram and Facebook using influencers, regular volunteers, and program workers. These would make excellent sources of B-roll, and could be supplemented by zoom interviews with program workers and other volunteers, or broadened to include the actions taken by other volunteer organizations to adapt their work to our current situation.
2. My second idea would be to speak to people currently hosting and participating in online concerts as musicians no longer have a source of income from gigging and in-person appearances. I know of a few who go live regularly, and many independent music sources are hosting “virtual gigs” with several people going online in succession. This would provide a variety of source videos, and potential zoom interviews.

1. I was thinking of doing a story about how the coronavirus is impacting art students that are in majors dealing with drawing such as illustration or cartooning to see how they are adjusting to remote learning. I would focus on highlighting a few stories of students and showing how they do projects now that we are quarantined and seeing what their experience is like doing studio classes, etc. I can also reach out to professors of these courses.
2. I could do a story on the impact of coronavirus on elementary school students. This is important because elementary school students are some of the most vulnerable kids and school is where they start developing important social skills. I can focus on what the day in the life of a young child looks like now since we’ve been forced to do remote learning and schooling. This can highlight the issues kids are facing like boredom, trying to complete work from home without getting distracted, etc. This would also help to show how parents are struggling with having to work from home with their kids there + how everyone is coping with these changes.