Nothing seems quite as dated as “yesterday’s tomorrow.” That may turn out to be the story of Snapchat. Not so long ago, it was seemingly everyone’s media darling. Now it is facing substantial doubts, especially with investors. A year ago publishers who couldn’t get into Snapchat Discover started private accounts, so they could benefit from all the buzz. Now Digiday reports that publishers are migrating to Instagram. Proving once again, there are no “sure things.”
There are, however, media heroes.
Global Voices posted a fascinating story on how Syrian journalists living in exile are providing hope for their homeland, at a time when that quality is exceedingly rare. What we do, as journalists, does make a difference. It’s not always life-changing, but even the most modest story is important. And you don’t have to travel to the ends of the Earth to have an impact. Just look out your window. There are stories out there just waiting to be told.
Editing instructor Elizabeth Chatelain, when not teaching NYFA students, has been working on a spectacular PBS documentary called “Life on Parole.” It is about former prisoners in the state of Connecticut, and follows them as they navigate the challenges of their first year on parole. It’s a collaboration with The New York Times, and Beth was an associate editor on the project. It airs
tomorrow (7/18) on the PBS “Frontline” series (check your local listings for times). Outside the United States, check t
he “Frontline” website.
Here is a galley proof of the Broadcast Journalism title page in the new NYFA Viewbook. I think it pretty well captures the essence of the program, demonstrating that our students are trained to be multimedia journalists (MMJs). This particular trio comes from Spain, New Jersey and Sweden.
The new Summer session students arrived on campus last week, and they are already hard at work on their first stories. In fact, as you read this — assuming you are reading it on Monday 9a-5p NYC time, or the equivalent international off-set — they are out in the field shooting!
As always, we have students from around the world and across the United States. Some of them are accomplished journalists back home, who have come to NYFA to increase and deepen their skill set(s). One is Amina Aslanova, who works for Moscow 24 in Russia. On Saturday — yes, they were in school on a Saturday in July — she shared with her classmates a story in which she reported from a race in which she was actually running…
