I might have burst into happy tears late into “The Queen of Basketball,” a short documentary from The New York Times that won an Oscar last Sunday. I’m hard-pressed to sit still for 22 minutes, much like some of your students, but this one was totally worth it. Besides just being incredibly joyous to watch, this film is a master class on how to fill visual spaces. You can talk to your students about the intro, the pacing, the revelations, archival footage, b-roll, character development and so much more.
After you watch it, then and only then should you click this link for a lesson on why it’s so important to tell these stories now. I think both will resonate with your students.
We’ve all been there
From the Tufts Daily: “Somerville landlord sues students over Tufts Daily coverage.” Hang in there, Tufts Daily students!
The harassment is real
Although I am skeptical about just how far some leaders are willing to go, I am continuing to follow this topic with interest: “Publishers Are Getting Organized to Protect Female Reporters from Digital Harassment” (Adweek). Have any of your students reported any kind of harassment? Do you feel well-equipped to help them?
No wonder they aren’t talking
Did you see this important piece? State schools would be especially wise to take a read. “Gagged America | Policies show employee speech heavily restricted across government.”
Who’s behind it?
I found this piece in CJR to be interesting and helpful, and I bet your students would, too: “Who’s behind this website? A checklist.”
Data journalism help
My friend David Simpson, director of student media at Georgia Southern University, recently dropped this onto the College Media Association listserv (and this is your reminder that if you’re advising a student media outlet, you belong in CMA):
“After attending the great Google Tools breakout at (CMA’s recent spring conference in New York City), I got inspired to put together a lot of info in one place for students with zero data knowledge.” You can read his document here.
Three more years
The Scripps Howard Foundation announced recently that it’s extending its support of two collegiate investigative units at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University.
The two schools launched their Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism three years ago, and each school will receive $3 million to continue their work for the next three years.
From a release: “Since the programs launched, student journalists have produced numerous investigations, such as Printing Hate, a thorough exploration of the racist pasts of some newspapers, and COVID’s Invisible Victims, exploring the pandemic’s impact on America’s homeless residents. The student journalists’ work has been recognized with nearly a dozen national journalism awards.”
Headlines about higher ed
Great journalism to share with your students
Diversity, equity and inclusion
This week in fact-checking
