Looking for voices [journalism student covering p. hts -ed.]

coleybird

Hi everyone,

I am a student at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, and have been assigned to cover Prospect Heights for the semester. Am looking to compile a list of story ideas, local sources and more for the next four months.

If any of you would like to be considered for interviews, as sources for stories I will be working on, or have an interesting idea for an issue or story you feel should be reported, please contact me. I am open to any and all ideas.

Thanks,
Nicole Caldwell

emily

I have a friend who graduated from that program a few years ago. I didn't know that our neighborhood was one of the choices; I have vague recollections of her riding a bike all over the Bronx. But I guess you can't consider yourself entirely lucky since we're so far from Columbia.

I'm sure you'll be able to get ideas of what we consider reporting-worthy just by seeing what we "report on" right here. I would mention that many people consider it kind of...ooky to be quoted, even by their handles and not their real names, without their permission. (ETA: I'm not sure if that's ever come up here, I just mean that there have been kerfuffles about this on other boards I use.)

Do the articles end up in a student publication or elsewhere? I can't remember. If you can get an article about the Carneviento into one of the major city publications, we'll take you out for a drink.

dailyheights

EmilyM wrote: I would mention that many people consider it kind of...ooky to be quoted, even by their handles and not their real names, without their permission. (ETA: I'm not sure if that's ever come up here, I just mean that there have been kerfuffles about this on other boards I use.)

Your friend Medusa got quoted in the Daily News recently for a comment she made on this board. I thought you knew about that...? I don't know if it was an ooky kerfluffle. She seemed cool with it, but it seemed a bit strange to me that the reporter just copied and pasted the quote without trying to follow-up with her.

dailyheights

Here are more details:

http://www.dailyheights.com/archives/2005/07/woot_medusa_mak.html

July 18, 2005
[woot!] Medusa Makes the 'News

Check it out! Medusa recently waxed nostaglic about the closing of the YWCA gym and pool in the Daily Heights message boards... and now her quote has been picked up by the Daily News: "It makes me a little sad as I learned how to swim in that pool and took gymnastics for many years in the gym ... But the plan looks good, honorable and in keeping with their mission."

Also, thanks to Daily News reporter ELIZABETH HAYS for properly attributing the quote to Dailyheights.com. We are glad that we can serve as a resource for local media--particularly for the Daily News, which consistently has outstanding coverage of issues that affect Prospect Heights.

And yes, by complete coincidence (pinky swear), we happened to reference Elizabeth's "Yummy Outdoor Getaways" article today (see post below about JRG Fashion Cafe).

LINKS:
YWCA Closes its Gym & Pool [mr underhill in Daily Heights Forums]
Budget Homes at the Y [New York Daily News]

emily

dailyheights wrote: [quote=EmilyM]I would mention that many people consider it kind of...ooky to be quoted, even by their handles and not their real names, without their permission. (ETA: I'm not sure if that's ever come up here, I just mean that there have been kerfuffles about this on other boards I use.)

Your friend Medusa got quoted in the Daily News recently for a comment she made on this board. I thought you knew about that...? I don't know if it was an ooky kerfluffle. She seemed cool with it, but it seemed a bit strange to me that the reporter just copied and pasted the quote without trying to follow-up with her.

I knew about that, but in my edit I explained that I was referring primarily to another board I use, where people tend to post relatively personal stuff, and reporters routinely come around and freely copy and paste from the board, and no one finds out about it until it's in print. At that point, the user has no recourse. It's one thing to say "people on a blog called Daily Heights are talking about X,Y,Z." But I don't think anyone would want our conversations with AG or RBG quoted without context in public.

In any case, coleybird PMed me about this and said that she would need to follow up in person and on the record for anything she's writing, so it seems she's on the up and up.

daniel

http://www.dailyheights.com/archives/2005/07/flute_on_kurdis.html

I think this post on the home-grown Kurdish museum, found by Flute, is one of the more interesting neighborhood stories that I've heard on here, and would certainly make a good basis for an article.