Author: MICHAEL GRULLON

Have an amazing and safe Christmas break, everyone, it’s been great working with you all!

I would like my video story to involve a selection of interviews from various different individuals, of different age groups, about their reactions to the recent election. I feel I can round up a good, diverse group of people to gather opinions from, as well as include various videos of other people in public reacting to the election. I believe that this may be a good pitch because this past election was arguably the most important one in America’s history, and with the diverse group of young adults I can find who voted for the first time this past year, I could get some great quotes and dialogue to group into one video. Whether they support Joe Biden or Donald Trump, reactions will definitely bring together a good story following such a tense couple of weeks in our nation.

Host intro:  Swaggy Sie has been in the ears of New Yorkers since 2015 on Sirius XM Radio. Alongside the likes of Sway Calloway, Torae, and more, she has been a staple in New York Radio and Hip Hop, not only as a DJ but for her Interviews with some of the biggest artists in the game. Swaggy is rapidly growing on a national scale, with her interviews being featured on prominent social media sites like The Shade Room, even having clips of her interviews shown on Access Hollywood. Michael Grullon has the story. 

AMBI- Intro to Swaggy shows- 7 secs

Track- I’m on a Zoom call with Swaggy Sie, who is speaking from her home in Harlem. To her, her recent success in radio is something she didn’t plan from the jump.

Act- When I was in college, I never really put so much emphasis on the fact that I had this secret desire and love for radio until I went to Long Island University, CW Post. I originally wanted to do sports, because I was always a sports-person.

Track- She also loved basketball and when she first got to college she wanted to play in the WNBA. While unfortunately, we don’t get to see her lace up her shoes for the New York Liberty Basketball Team, she realized that radio helped her combine her love for music, sports, and showing her outgoing personality.

Act- I saw the radio station, and I said “Yo this is crazy!” I could do anything I wanted to do, talk about everything I wanna talk about, and I could also play the music that I love. So (the radio station) for me in a sense was like how I was able to put together my melting pot, of all the things I was passionate about.

Track- Over the years she has interviewed rising stars from the ever prominent Cardi B to Blac Chyna and the late great Pop Smoke. When asked how she has been able to stay composed during these interviews in the presence of such star power, she said that it isn’t as nerve-racking as you’d think.

Act- “There’s nothing wrong with giving somebody their flowers while they can still smell them, but it’s also about still remaining professional. So like you said, sitting down with Cardi B, I’m a fan, I loved Invasion of Privacy.

TRACK: Still, she says we’re all human in the end.

“It sinks in sometimes, but then you snap back to reality and you’re like “Yo, this person is bleeding the same blood as me: you know? They might be on TV every day, they might be on the radio every day, but at the end of the day when you make those connections that make us human, and you find out what you guys relate on, that’s where it gets back to reality.”

Track- The past year, of course, has been drastically changed for all of us, and Swaggy isn’t any different. With the Sirius XM studio just down the block from Radio City Music Hall, she had to transition everything to working and hosting from home. 

Act- Once the radio station is shut down now, that creates a barrier of how we meet people, how we interact. So I have completely transitioned to doing everything 100% at home. Everything you hear from me, from my interviews whether it be Cardi B or Lil Durk or whoever, that’s literally from my living room. Which is crazy to say, you know I’ve had some big interviews, even Blac Chyna, technically in my living room. Those things have been a transition and it’s weird because we don’t know when we’re gonna go back right now, that’s just where we stand right now.

Track- Being one of her interns the last two months has been great, but I wanted to give another unique perspective on working with Swaggy Sie. So I also sat down with Niesha, one of my partners who interns with SwaggySie, and asked what this internship has been like compared to previous internship positions she’s held.

Act- It’s definitely been a different experience, that’s for sure. My last internship wasn’t fully mobile, and we had an office we would go to weekly to meet up, this has definitely been a transition. But Swag has made what would’ve been a difficult transition nearly seamless.

Track- She went on to explain how understanding, kind, and experienced Swaggy has been in their few Zoom interactions.

Act- Obviously zoom University has become very demanding being a stay at home college student, but she’s been very understanding. The internship has taught me nearly as much as my last one without the same immersion, and to me that says a lot about her and my teammates. It has been very fun and I’ve become a better writer and publisher in the last few months working under Swaggy. 

Track- Obviously this has been a rough year of change for all of us. But Swaggy prides herself on uplifting the youth and others around her and remaining optimistic. So she shared her advice on staying motivated and maintaining the hustle of life through the pandemic.

Act- You have to find those things, they may be very very small things that keep you sane at the end of the day. Maybe it’s cooking, maybe it’s reading, maybe it’s just unwinding and watching an episode of Stranger Things on Netflix. You don’t know what it might be, but whatever it is, make sure you’re doing that, however often as you can, whenever your schedule permits.

 

Track- If you want to hear more from Swaggy you can catch her on Hip Hop Nation’s The Heat weekday mornings and weeknights on Sirius XM radio. For Baruch College, I’m Michael Grullon, in Brooklyn.

AMBI- Intro to Swaggy shows- 7 secs

Track- Swaggy Sie has been in the ears of New Yorkers since 2015 on Sirius XM Radio. Alongside the likes of Sway Calloway, Torae, and more, she has been a staple in New York Radio and Hip Hop, not only as a DJ but for her Interviews with some of the biggest artists in the game. Swaggy is rapidly growing on a national scale, with her interviews being featured on prominent social media sites like The Shade Room, even having clips of her interviews shown on Access Hollywood. And according to her, this is something she didn’t plan from the jump.

Act- When I was in college, I never really put so much emphasis on the fact that I had this secret desire and love for radio until I went to Long Island University, CW Post. I originally wanted to do sports, because I was always a sports-person.

Track- She also mentioned how she loved basketball and when she first got to college she wanted to play in the WNBA. While unfortunately, we don’t get to see her lace up her shoes for the New York Liberty Basketball Team, she realized that radio helped her combine her love for music, sports, and showing her outgoing personality.

Act- I saw the radio station, and I said “Yo this is crazy!” I could do anything I wanted to do, talk about everything I wanna talk about, and I could also play the music that I love. So (the radio station) for me in a sense was like how I was able to put together my melting pot, of all the things I was passionate about.

Track- Over the years she has interviewed rising stars from the ever prominent Cardi B to Blac Chyna and the late great pop smoke. When asked how she has been able to stay composed during these interviews in the presence of such star power, she said that it isn’t as nerve-racking as you’d think.

Act- “There’s nothing wrong with giving somebody their flowers while they can still smell them, but it’s also about still remaining professional. So like you said, sitting down with Cardi B, I’m a fan, I loved Invasion of Privacy.

It sinks in sometimes, but then you snap back to reality and you’re like “Yo, this person is bleeding the same blood as me: you know? They might be on TV every day, they might be on the radio every day, but at the end of the day when you make those connections that make us human, and you find out what you guys relate on, that’s where it gets back to reality.

 

Track- The past year, of course, has been drastically changed for all of us, and Swaggy isn’t any different. With the Sirius XM studio just down the block from Radio City Music Hall, she had to transition everything to working and hosting from home. 

Act- Once the radio station is shut down now, that creates a barrier of how we meet people, how we interact. So I have completely transitioned to doing everything 100% at home. Everything you hear from me, from my interviews whether it be Cardi B or Lil Durk or whoever, that’s literally from my living room. Which is crazy to say, you know I’ve had some big interviews, even Blac Chyna, technically in my living room. Those things have been a transition and it’s weird because we don’t know when we’re gonna go back right now, that’s just where we stand right now.

Track- Obviously this has been a rough year of change for all of us. But Swaggy prides herself on uplifting the youth and others around her and remaining optimistic. So she shared her advice on staying motivating and maintaining the hustle of life through the pandemic.

Act- Right now it’s definitely tough times, and if you’re based in New York or wherever you’re based at, you gotta find what makes you happy during these tough times and really hone in on that. You have to grasp those things because that’s what’s gonna keep you balanced and rooted. 

You have to find those things, they may be very very small things that keep you sane at the end of the day. Maybe it’s cooking, maybe it’s reading, maybe it’s just unwinding and watching an episode of Stranger Things on Netflix. You don’t know what it might be, but whatever it is, make sure you’re doing that, however often as you can, whenever your schedule permits.

 

Track- If you want to hear more from Swaggy you can catch her on Hip Hop Nation’s The Heat weekday mornings and weeknights on Sirius XM radio. Reporting from Brooklyn New York, I’m Michael Grullon.

For my radio segment, I’ve decided to have a brief interview with the boss at my internship, Sienna Garraway, A.K.A SwaggySie at SiriusXM radio. She is a DJ that used to work with HipHopNation’s The Heat weekday mornings and evenings live on the radio. Right after COVID hit, her job was hit hard, and she had to transition from working live at the studio to recording at home, which was a very rough transition. I want to talk to her more about why she needed us interns in the first place, and just how tough it was (or wasn’t) working the show from home, and how it’s impacted her getting interviews strictly via zoom and no longer getting to work with her friends and other Sirius XM members. Radio is a lost art in the world I feel, and COVID has definitely impacted some of those that still practice this art, so I want to talk to her more about it.

For my story, I had a lot of different ideas, but the one I settled on that may be the best visually would be covered next weekend. I plan on spending a weekend with my girlfriend for our anniversary, and we will have a city exploration day.

I plan on going with her to different restaurants, site-seeing places, and just traveling around Manhattan and Brooklyn. I hope to tell a story that revolves around love and exploration. So the visuals will feature us in a variety of places, in a variety of styles, from riding Citi bikes at a park to eating at a rooftop restaurant.

I think this story would be an interesting story considering the time we are in right now, under COVID restrictions, has limited not only plenty of human interaction but also for some couples a long time to be apart. Since she will be returning to NY from another state for the first time in months, I hope this story of our reunion, as well as hers with NY, will be a breath of fresh air from the ongoing unrest and sadness in the world, through strong and beautiful images.

The other idea I have also revolves around something taken away from us during COVID. Since social distancing was put in place, many people are limited in their recreational activity with other people outside, for example not being able to play basketball in the park with others in fear of COVID. Since my group of friends and I have all been cleared of COVID testing negative, I think a nice story would also be us reuniting with our pastime and capturing images of us playing ball for the first time in months.

I think this would be an interesting story because again, people have been stuck inside and limited to what they can do outside out of fear and restrictions. This may be a nice break from everyone just being on their phones or watching tv inside all day, and capturing my friends in motion playing the game they love may create some quality photos, both in motion, close up, and have nice lighting from the sun.

I really like both of these ideas, and I’m not sure if one has to be accepted for me to do it. If I had to choose one for the assignment I’d probably choose the reunion/anniversary adventure in NYC just for the variety of possible photos. However, I might end up capturing some pick up basketball games with my friends just for myself for fun.