Transcript of Drew Biedermann's Interview with Nassau County Tax Assessor Harvey Levinson on Uniondale Taxes

Q: With the change in the tax code, how would that affect the per pupil dollar amounts Uniondale School District students would get?

A: The question, I think, is if they build at the hub, and produce millions and millions of school revenue, the commercial class would pay most of those taxes, and the condominuim class would pay also. That’s what’s known as class two. That would reduce the percentage of the pie paid by homeowners. So when you reduce the percentage, that would reduce the school tax bill substantially for every home in Uniondale. It’s hard to estimate it, but it wouldn’t be too far fetched to say the school bills could go down by maybe forty or fifty percent from what they presently are now if all of this property got added to the tax rolls.

Simply put, the way to reduce property taxes is to have new construction, because you cannot rely on the state to give us additional state aid in any large numbers, because the state doesn’t have the money to do that. And there are issues whether we get our fair share of state aid. But the way to really get reduced school property taxes is very simple. You just have to do construction. But the problem is its very hard to get new construction since there’s not much land to develop in Nassau County.

But in Uniondale, they fortunately, as a quirk I suppose, historically the district line included all the way over to Mitchell Field. And as a result, they will get all of this tax revenue. And so the issue that I raised is, wouldn’t this be a good timing, assuming The Hub gets approved, to change the way the commercial taxes are distributed to the different school districts.

For example, North Merrick, which is very close to the Coliseum area, gets just pennies of commercial taxes, because there’s very few businesses in North Merrick. Uniondale presently gets a lot of tax revenue from businesses, but if they got all of The Hub, it would reduce their tax burden significantly. It would go down a lot. Maybe fifty percent, maybe more, because you don’t know the extent of the building that’s going on there. From what I can see, they’re building a whole new village there of apartments, condominuims, office buildings, coliseum and the like. All of that will probably, not probably, will generate a lot of new tax revenue.

So my plan is, it goes back to 2004. But I was waiting for The Hub to be announced cause now I have a place to use my bully pulpit is to say, “Look, we should share all the commercial value. Roosevelt Field, all of the malls, all of the commercial property should be shared among all of the school districts, with one caveat. Uniondale, where the property is located, or wherever there is commercial property within a school district, should get a disproportionate amount of the school tax revenue because they have to suffer the consequences of having it in their community.”

Now it may not be any suffering at all, especially Uniondale, because Uniondale is really south of Front Street. It really isn’t north of Hempstead Turnpike.

Q: Where the University, Nassau, all the schools are?

A: Right. I don’t really think the community will be impacted significantly, any more than Carle Place, and the surrounding areas will have issues with traffic, and other issues. So Uniondale is not alone. It’s a pretty simple concept that I suggested in ’04. Let’s change the whole tax system in Nassau County. Now in order to do it requires an act of the state legislature. The county legislature cannot do this. State of New York must change the way we tax.

Now part of this plan is to remove all property tax from owners of single family homes in Nassau County. All of them. And they would be taxed by an income tax. So it’s an iconoclastic and unique idea, but I believe it makes sense. So what we do is we merge the commercial taxes, and everyone gets a piece of the pie. But Uniondale should not worry. They’re gonna get more than anybody else, but they won’t get all of it. But they will also pick up the Miracle Mile in Manhassett. They will pick up the Great Neck commercial value, cause it will all be merged.

This is the way it’s done in New York City. We have all of these levels of government here. We have too much government. I sound like a republican, but I’m not. We have too much government in Nassau County. And the way to reduce it is to change the system. And the other part is, to eliminate property taxes entirely for single family homes, if you live in a home and pay based upon an income tax.

That’s my plan in a nutshell, and I think people are actually talking about it because they recognize the system is presently broken. And let me give you another example.

If you live in Island Trees, in a Levitt home, you pay thirty percent less school taxes than the identical Levitt home in Levittown, New York. And you’re both in the same zip code, Levittown. Because of the commercial valuation, other unique factors, the people in Levittown, and they don’t even know it, that they’re paying thirty percent more, because no other political person has ever told them. And they don’t get their neighbor’s school bill, or property tax bills, at all. They don’t know what anybody else is paying. The information is on my website, and you can see it. But most people are not even going to look at it.

And so, the present system is broken, because people in the same value home are paying substantially more school taxes than in another community, the neighboring community. And that’s wrong. So if you have a four hundred thousand dollar home, everyone should pay the same school property taxes. But it can’t be fixed, other than accepting the current system is badly broken, and should be ended and stop school property taxes, and replace it with an income tax.

Interview transcript for Sarah Miller, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Nassau County

Could you please tell me your name, title and spell it out please

“Sarah Miller, S-a-r-a-h, Miller, M-i-l-l-e-r, Director of Public Affairs, Planned Parent Hood of Nassau County.”

Can you tell me how do you feel planned parent hood benefits women in Hempstead or Long Island?

“Planned Parent Hood Provides a full range of reproductive health care and preventative healthcare, sex ed, comprehensive sex ed, family planning, disease prevention and we are a full service healthcare provider for women and their families and men here in Hempstead and in Glencove and in Massapequa, we have three centers.”

Do you think the area would be different if Planned Parenthood weren't around?

“I think we definitely are a very strong provider for the community and many many people use our services, so I'm glad that we're here.”

Do you think women in particular would be, their lives would be a little harder if places like this didn't exist?

“Yes I do because we have a sliding scale, we don’t turn people away, women know we are trust worthy, confidential, everything that we do here is confidential and we're here to help women and their children get that health care they need.”

Do you think that people focus too much on the fact that planned parent hood is a provider of abortion?

“Absolutely, I think planned parenthood is one of the most misunderstood organizations, 5% we are a first trimester abortion provider, but that is only 5% of what we do, most of what we do is prevention, prevention of unintended pregnancies, family planning comprehensive sex ed, so young can people can get the information they need to stay safe and healthy and most of what we do is about prevention of disease and prevention of unintended pregnancy, so yes we are much more than an abortion provider.”

I have another source that looks at Planned Parenthood in a way saying that they just tell women like in providing abortion they are basically telling women that they are not equipped to raise a child, how do you feel about this?

“No, here’s our goal, we have what we call all options counseling and the goal there is for the woman to make the best decision for her, we never guide anybody in that decision, we lay out all of the woman’s options, carrying the child to term, parenting adoption and termination, the counselor never directs that person in making that decision, its her choice, her life and we're here to help that person make the best decision for them.”

Do you think this area in particular, is in need of education, the sexual reproduction area?

“We're very strong believers in comprehensive sex ed, which is abstinence quest messaging, of course the only sure way not o get pregnant and not to get an std is to abstain and we totally have the abstinence message but we also give additional messaging so that a person is going to be sexually active they know how to keep themselves safe, and healthy and so everybody is in need of that, we all need to know the facts, knowledge is power, the more you know the better decisions you can make.”

Could you tell me a little bit about how Planned Parenthood got started?

“Well this is our 75th anniversary of Planned Parent Hood of Nassau County, and it was started by women that believe that women had the right to control when and the timing of when they will have their children, so we're family planning providers.”

This site in particular, do you know how long it's been here?

“You know I’m sorry I don’t know exactly when we came here but Planned Parenthood of Nassau County has been here for 75 years.”

“Another thing, for those women who would like to carry their babies to term and mother their babies we have an amazing prenatal program here that serves women of the community. We have a whole beautiful wall of babies downstairs that were born under the healthcare services of Planned Parenthood.”

Could you say a little about the HIV quilt that you have here?

“Last year we had a 5 campus wide effort, we created a quilt for the national quilt project which memorializes so that we never forget the people who died from HIV aids across the globe and planned parenthood fights everyday for a cure to HIV aids and prevention of that disease, so the quilt that you took a picture of memorializes that fights.”

How do feel about the younger twelve year old that have access to contraceptives now, how do you feel about that?

“I think that children can hopefully talk to their parents, we encourage everyone to talk to their parents, not every family is a perfect family and the most important thing is that women stay safe and healthy.”

Christine Gonzalez Interview Transcript: Interview Transcript for interview with Pat Shea, Director of Mommas House

What does Mommas House offer to women of Long Island?

“Specifically it targets women between the ages of 17 and mid 20’s who are pregnant but parenting and are either homeless or endangered of being homeless , and usually their homelessness is a reflection of the fact that they have chosen to parent a child and they don’t have a support system. If you are young, unmarried, without a job or without the skills to get a decent job, you’re going to wind up homeless very shortly because of the fact that it’s almost impossible to live here on Long Island without a certain income level. The mothers are really seeking a way of parenting their children, some have given their children up for adoption, after they’ve been with us for a while because it was more than they could handle, but most of the mothers have come because they want to help their children and keep them and raise them, themselves.”

“The ones who have chosen to do this have sometimes faced opposition from their families and boyfriends and said if they don’t have an abortion they have to leave whatever home they are in and as a result that’s how the homelessness occurs and they’re not equipped to go out on their own, so what we’re trying to do is give them an opportunity to fulfill all their gifts, all the things that they are capable of doing to find a way of being that person. With our help for the few years they are with us and it shows that with that kind of support those miracles can happen.”

Is this program only offered to women that come from Long Island?

“No, there’s no geographical limitations, it’s most commonly used by women who are on long island but or the 5 boroughs of New York City, but we’ve taken girls from out of state and out of this country actually.”

What does Mommas house teach women?

‘It also teaches them how to take care of themselves, you know, health wise, how to avoid getting ill, how to pick and choose good partners for themselves during life, how to get out of domestic violence situations and then on a practical side, how to cook and clean and shop and keep a budget and pay their bills, the things they are absolutely going to need in order to get on with their lives”.

How did you get started with constructing this program?

“We share this office with birthright, birthright has been a program that’s helped women who have wanted to proceed with their pregnancy, to get medical care and to find a place to live during their pregnancy and we used to take these young women into our homes and there have been several girls who weren’t able to find a place to live with their children after the baby was born so we decided that we needed to find a residence for them and there wasn’t any on long island when we started so almost 22 years ago we started this program in response to the needs of these young women who couldn’t find a place to live, they’re young, nobody will rent to them, they’re not legally able to sign a lease nobody is willing to support them so how often will the landlord get the rent, so it was really a desperate situation for these young women.”

Do you think long island would be a different place if Momma’s house didn’t exist?

“Well it would be a different place for people who need us that's for sure, they couldn’t survive, and what happens then is that it leads to situations of danger, the mothers are living with friends or relatives and they keep moving around and children’s needs aren’t being met, the mother isn’t staying healthy they’re not eating well, tonight they don’t know if they are going to have a bed to sleep in, they wind up with people who are going to take advantage of them. Its a very bad situation and it just keeps getting worse and worse as time goes on, and I think that they sometimes lose their children because of their homelessness and the dangerous situations they're living in, so it would definitely be a far worse situation for them; and in addition I feel that Momma’s house helps women get off of public assistance by helping them to get a job, and the way they get a job is that they go to school and they get job training, so as a community we benefit from the fact that they’re no longer going to be dependent on us, they are going to be tax payers, they are going to be people that are living in the community, contributing to the community and giving back money to the community through their own taxes.”

So along with providing care they gain freedom and independence as well from Momma’s House

“Yes, and also they raise healthier, stronger children, some of the girls that we've seen, their children are going to college because the mother was given the opportunity to improve her life, so once she raises her expectations then the children will have raised expectations, and that benefits the community in general.”

Do you think that an organization like Planned Parent Hood, even though it is very different do you think women of Long Island benefit from it as well?

“It depends on what they are going there for, if they're going there to stay healthy, to learn more about their health, maybe, but unfortunately Planned Parenthood is a major provider of abortion services so someone leaves that clinic or facility no longer alive, so I certainly don’t think they benefit in that respect, I think it demeans women, in that respect, that women are being put down in saying you are not capable of raising a child, your not good enough to raise a child, you’re not wise enough to place a child up for a adoption if you cant do it yourself. It puts them in that place and I think it doesn’t appeal to the strongest of women’s attributes, it says I know you’re going to fail, I know you don’t have any self respect, I know that you’re going to do what some man tells you to do, so here’s something to prevent you from getting pregnant or here’s a way of getting rid of your child, should you get pregnant, its so self destructive of self esteem and I think, I feel that they’re motivation is good they feel that are helping women, but at what cost, the cost is way too high especially if the child dies as a result.”

As far as things like offering contraceptives and the healthcare part of it, would you say it compares?

“Some Planned Parenthood’s provide prenatal care which is excellent and they provide it in the neighborhoods where the girls live which is excellent, so transportation isn’t as big an you know, I’ll give the devil its due I think they do some good things. I don’t agree with their programs of contraception availability to young children in schools, I don’t think you should be giving condoms to children in schools I think that the parents have to be involved with this they should be involved in I thin they have to know what’s going in their children’s lives, I think what's happening is they're interfering with the child parent relationship, you could be 12 or 13 and you’re getting condoms in school, and your parents don’t even know so who are you sleeping with, who’s having sex with these children not 12 or 13 year old boys they are 25 and 30 year old men and they’re taking advantage of these girls because of the fact because they saying ok I can get this I can get that I can get on the pill, who are we protecting, we're not protecting the girl or young women were protecting the men who don’t have to take responsibility for their children should thy get pregnant its a big issue and its one of the ones that make me the most upset because a lot of planned parenthood emphasis is on we know better than you do as a family, well each family has their set of values and their own moral code, so what’s right for your family may not be right for my family so don’t presume that I don’t love and care about my children just because I have a certain moral code and you don’t have that one, and I’m not saying that about you, I’m not saying, you raise your children one way and you say you love your children and you care about them and that’s how you want to raise your child that’s fine, but don’t presume because I have a code of ethics and a code of morality and I don’t want my children given contraceptives in Junior high school that I’m not raising and loving my child? And that’s exactly what’s going on here.”

So momma’s house emphasizes more of the family aspect…

“Actually we so seldom get involved with those issues that I just discussed because these girls are already pregnant they’ve already decided to have their babies, they are living with us, they’re not out there with their boyfriends, so it’s a mooch point for us really, but it’s the way I feel about it and the reason I feel so strongly is because so many of these women had gone to planned parenthood, had been down that road and they wound up pregnant anyway because they’re young, they’re immature, they don’t know how to use contraceptives properly and they think they’re invulnerable and nothings ever going to happen to them and that can lead them into very bad relationships which is why they wind up where they are, homeless or pregnant.”

So it sounds the caring to help them do things right is implemented in mommas house….

“I think that if you build a woman’s self esteem and give her skills and make her feel good about herself these issues will resolve themselves because she’ll be much wiser in her relationships and much more demanding of her partner to participate in their relationship, he will be as committed to her as she is..so many of these women use these men to help them get out , get out of their homes whatever, so maybe he’ll support her for a month and then he’s gone and she can’t maintain, and it happens quite often, this is not a unique thing I am describing to you, and we want them to be equipped that they can say ok go, I can do this on my own, I’m strong enough and I have the skills and I’m going to be successful whether you’re here or not, and they get that by getting an education and getting a job and feeling good about being a mother and they take their responsibilities seriously that’s when they get good self esteem.”

How is Momma’s House funded?

“We do a lot of our own fundraising, we are not a government agency but we get some funding from the Nassau county and the state but not a huge amount, mostly our own private funding.”

And there are 5 sites...

“There are four; we have a house in Glen Cove, Jericho and Hempstead, and a transitional living house in east Massapequa”

Class Agenda for Oct. 2, 2007

For Context
Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Blog

http://apresidentvisits.blogspot.com/

Watch the video

http://apresidentvisits.blogspot.com/2007/09/blog-post_26.html

Discuss

Turn in the papers
Discuss standards – for e-mail, for papers

Give students 5 minutes to present their topics for peer review

Student Presentations, Discussions

Photojournalism

How many students have cameras? We are beginning to go into our multimedia segments – in this course you have to use more than one tool.

Flickr
www.flickr.com

Get a flickr account by next week and post photographs
We will create private groups so that we can look at and critique our still photography.

Take a portrait of someone, a different other, as anthropologists would say.

Take a picture of a group of people, preferably indoors, using flash
Be ambitious,
Capture an emotion

Tips for photojournalism
http://www.ndsu.edu/communication/collins/242photojournalism/Principles.html




http://krochmal.tumblr.com/page/3
Kenji Nagai

Take a look at photojournalism

Changing face of photojournalism, awards from the National Press Photographers Association

http://bop.nppa.org/2007/web_sites/winners/

2007 Best of Television Photojournalism
http://www.nasites.net/projects/1296/newsfeatureweb.asp

The winner:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/interactives/blackmen/blackmen.html

And, now for some fun
Let’s take a look
http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/

Read and remark
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/09/breaking_government_blockadesy.html

On YouTube and Flickr and governments


Assignment
Turn in 10 sources for your final project
3 must be top down – the official voice
annotated -- e-mail, title, address and rationale
3 must experts in the field
annotate -- e-mail, title, address and rationale
1 must come from open-source methods
How will you verify they are who they are?
2 must be MWOS
Who is the person who this story hits home for and how are you going to find them.

Syllabus for JRNL 215 Fall 2007

Welcome to Online Journalism
Fall 2007
Professor Mo Krochmal

Goals

Students will:

1. Examine the theoretical, legal and ethical underpinnings of this new but fast-growing element of journalism.

2. Understand the connection among platforms in community journalism.

Objectives

Students will:

1. Develop and use the practical skills of Web-based reporting and writing.

2. Implement design and construction of Web sites.

3. Learn the practical skills of multi-media/cross-platform content gathering.

4. Examine connections between online journalism and print and broadcast media.

Introduction:

Welcome to a world where nothing remains constant, change is rapid, the future is wildly unclear, and your opportunities might only be limited by the breadth of your imagination and by your grasp of the basic building blocks of journalism. Today, we call it online journalism, but it’s journalism, unbound.

This is an exciting time to enter journalism. There are many opportunities opening up as traditional or mainstream media wrestles with how to use the new tools and capabilities of the Internet and still fulfill its critical role in a free society while, at the same time, sustaining a viable business.

Journalism needs people who are undaunted by technology, comfortable with the traditional core values, mores and ethics of the field, and willing to work around any obstacles to get the story and get it right. You aren’t guaranteed riches, or even job security, but you can make the world a better through your public service.

By your very presence here, you are playing a part in building this medium. That is an amazing opportunity, and a serious one that requires determination and a disciplined work ethic.

Welcome pioneers.

What We Will Do

If you add up the times we spend together over the period of a semester, you will see that it hardly adds up to one working week, and a light one at that. The time we spend in class together is really important and special. Let’s use it to the best possible advantage by convening on time, being prepared, participating, questioning and working efficiently.

We have a lot of ground to cover.

The goal of this class is not to make you an HTML wizard, or a Photoshop guru, or even to make you a "plug-and-play" intern in some newspaper's web shop. You are paying much too much money for us to just teach you HTML. That’s knowledge you can learn easily enough on your own, or even from an 11-year-old. In fact, much of today’s HTML coding is automated. As a journalist, you should know how to write a link, and how to provide appropriate and useful links.

The goal of this course is to nurture in you the intellectual tools you will need to make a meaningful contribution to an evolving field where the only constant is change. You are entering a dynamic and relentless environment that builds on a foundation of solid writing, ruthless editing, having "a nose for news," diligently reporting, holding a strong ethical compass and having a willingness to use technology to innovate and create.

The objective of the course is to exercise your writing and reporting skills, to hone your understanding of the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press, and to know how this medium is different.

You will need to recognize that you are operating in a diverse multicultural and multilingual global environment. Additionally, you will get practical experience in the ethical use and presentation of images and information and be able to explain the ethical principles that guide the decisions you make. You must demonstrate the ability to think critically, creatively and independently, and to work within a group.

You will also be able to critically evaluate your work, and that of others. You must do the math, and crunch the numbers, and ask questions. You will be able to critically examine new technologies and apply them where appropriate.

We will work at an extremely high level, classes will be interactive, and we will be proceeding on various tracks concurrently. You are expected to be well read in current events (read the daily editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsday, at the minimum) be aware of current events, and be prepared to always ask questions and contribute to the discussion.

For every hour spent in class, I will expect you to spend two hours outside. Part of the skills you need in life are the ability to manage your time and juggle many projects.

I'll be here and I expect you to be here on time, and to stay for the full class. Being late is being absent, and you will be marked that way. We have a lot to do and you will have daily, weekly and long-term assignments that require your presence. Pop quizzes, news quizzes and style quizzes can not be made up and an absence is not an excuse for not handing in work on time.

If you miss too many classes, it is my responsibility to let the university know out of concern for your wellness. Miss three classes, and you fall one letter grade, and an A becomes out of the question. Doctor’s appointments and job interviews are not excused absences.

You will soon be entering the newsroom of the future. Along the way, you will be forging lifetime bonds of friendship and trust. You are expected to conduct yourself professionally, and respectfully, towards your colleagues. This is a demanding class, but you aren’t alone. Your colleagues can be a big help, so treat them with respect.

You are expected to bring to the table a grasp of grammar, style and punctuation and to turn in clean copy and to communicate professionally in whatever medium you are using (and that includes e-mail).

Here are our rules:

Accuracy

All articles must strive for accuracy: Quotes must be exact, names must be spelled correctly, and addresses should be accurate. Errors of this type in a piece will result in an F.

Integrity

"A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." I like the simplicity of the honor code of the U.S. Military Academy. Do not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do. As journalists, we hold a trust in this society. We are looked upon to seek truth and serve the public. Let us work to uphold that trust. We do not take shortcuts. If you didn’t write it, it’s not yours and you must credit where you got it.

Writing and reporting. This is the foundation of any type of journalistic endeavor. You must be able to come up with story ideas. You then must do the reporting, the writing, the editing, the re-writing, and then, and only then, the posting, or publishing.

You will learn how to write and report for online presentation and how to collect and produce multimedia and critically evaluate it and then use it in publication online. You will also evaluate the writing and reporting of your peers.

Teamwork and Deadlines: No matter what the medium, today's professional journalism requires the ability to work well with others – editors, artists, producers, photographers, videographers, audio engineers – and most importantly, with readers, who are empowered with the ability to fact-check your work and to respond well beyond the letters-to-the-editor page of the newspaper. Ask Dan Rather.

You will be working in teams and your success in this class will depend on your ability to integrate with each other, support each other, and meet deadlines.

Deadlines count. In the newsroom, if you don't make your deadline, you don't keep your job. It's just that simple. So, know that deadlines count in this class too.

A skilled online journalist should: have innate multitasking ability, extreme attention to detail, fluent skills in multimedia and personal communication, comfort in working under the duress of extreme deadline pressure, be fearless and eager to deploy new technology, be able to work collaboratively in a team environment and successfully manage projects.

Additionally, an online journalist should understand the business/revenue issues of this medium and realize the value of understanding and cultivating diverse communities and encouraging user-generated content.

You will get experience in all of this as well as in evaluating news and online presentation, generating news story ideas, and, of course, in lots of writing and reporting. You will go off the campus for your reporting.

New media

You will learn how to write and report for Web, including the emerging channels of blogs, vlogs, and mobile. You will learn and practice the skills of writing headlines, captions, blurbs, voice-overs, and audio reports to create compelling matrix that meets the highest standards of ethical journalism and keeps the user engaged and interacting with the articles that will be assigned throughout the class. You will take photographs, collect audio and video, and generate graphics and perhaps even some animation.

The Business of Online Journalism

In this field, while respecting the traditional and inviolable ethical "wall" between editorial and business, you will still need to know about the financial fuel that powers your ability to conduct your journalism. We will look at the search for successful business models for online journalism, within traditional and start-up companies, and well in as solo efforts.

Each week, students will have required readings from the textbook, web research, editing and writing. The class meetings will include instructor lectures, deadline writing exercises, multimedia production, guest lectures and tests. But, this is not a class about somebody at the front reading, and you typing. The professor serves as a guide and a facilitator.

Assignments will be turned in electronically, via e-mail or posted in a website.

Students will earn points for attendance, and for contribution in class.

Required Texts:

Rich, Carole. Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method. Fifth Edition. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth Publishing. 2006.

Norm Goldstein. The Associated Press Stylebook. New York, Associated Press. 2006.

Note: With the exception of the first class meeting, all assigned readings should be completed prior to each class meeting.

Note 2: There will be a number of unannounced quizzes on the reading, asking you to work with ideas from that day's assignment, or to put ideas from that reading into a context developed earlier in the term. Missed quizzes can not be made up.

The overall course score will be assigned based on the following criteria:

Class participation and attendance -- 25 percent
Assignments -- 20 percent
Quizzes, grammar, punctuation, style – 10 percent
Final Project -- 45 percent

Your work will be edited and you will have the chance to rewrite the assignments but you will not receive letter grades on your reporting/writing assignments. This is a non-graded, coaching approach that is designed to let you concentrate on your skills, not your grades. At midterm and at the end of the semester, we will meet and look at your work, which will be graded at those times. You will receive grades on style quizzes, pop quizzes and class work. At mid-semester, you will turn in a self-evaluation, detailing your progress, what you have learned and your goals for the remainder of the semester.

Grade criteria
A = Outstanding work with excellent content, ideas, writing, reporting and style. Shows leadership, innovation, participation, support.
B = Very good work. Minor changes required.
C = Average. Requires substantial changes such as additional reporting, major rewriting and correction of numerous style errors
D = Poor. Fundamental problems in the assignment.
F = Unacceptable – late, inaccurate, incomprehensible, factual errors or misspelled names. Plagiarism is an automatic F.

Standards

Every article you do for this class must be original for this class. No repurposing of other work. You are encouraged to submit work done for this class for publication elsewhere, but not to take a piece written for another publication and turn it in for credit here. So, if you work for the student newspaper, or the radio station, or elsewhere, your work for this class must go through the editorial process, and then you can publish it elsewhere. All work assigned may be posted online.

No use of art that you have not produced. If you don't own it, or haven't received specific permission to use it, it's not acceptable for use.

Every piece you turn in must follow these standard forms:

Date: [This is the turn-in date]
Class: JRNL 80 A or B, or JRNL 215
Professor: Mo Krochmal
Headline: [No more than 40 characters]
Byline: By Joseph Pulitzer (joe@pulitzer.com)

In an e-mail, subject lines will be simple: Class Name and Section, and Assignment. All pieces may be posted. In a notebook, you will keep a hard copy of the assignment, the edits, and rewrites. Newer work will go after previous work. Get an e-mail and a phone number for all sources. This information must be included in your notebook and e-mailed to me with every assignment. You will also post your final rewrites to a portfolio site that you will set up on Googlepages.

On your assignments, basic grammatical spelling and style errors will be indicated. You will be expected to discover what you did incorrectly using the style guide and/or other resources.

Headlines are required and will follow New York Times style (mixing uppercase and lowercase) and will be judged as strictly as the writing that follows. All work will have a headline that is compelling, and grammatically correct.

Articles will have a lede, a nut and a kicker. All will include appropriate and specific links. Multimedia will be captioned, people will be identified, photogs/videographers/creators will be credited.

No unidentified or anonymous sources unless approved by the professor. You can not interview your family or friends for an article for this class. Wikipedia links are not acceptable.

The Schedule:

Your semester is designed to build your skills and knowledge and culminate in a final project, a multimedia article for publication in NassauNews.org, the school’s hyperlocal journalism online publication.

The following schedule is subject to change – we are in journalism and news events sometimes dictate a change in the path we walk – that is part and parcel of the business. Get used to it. Additionally, I reserve the right to change the schedule to reflect your abilities and needs. You must be comfortable in this atmosphere, it’s like the real world.

Following is an outline of the topics we will cover by week. You will have readings, you will write, you will edit your colleague’s work, and you will collect lots of URLs for your portfolio.

Week No. 1 Background, Ethics, law, copyright

Class 1. Introduction, Background.

You will take a short test to gauge your facility with AP style and grammar. We will also learn about each other and review the syllabus. In-class writing: You will have 10 minutes to write a short essay that describes the state of journalism today, as you see it.

Assignment: You will prepare a short professional of yourself. This describes your skills and aspirations and highlights of your career. Also, it will include links to previously published materials and other references that you choose, such as social networks.

Reading Assignment: Rich, Ch. 1, “Changing Concepts of the News” Rich, Ch. 12, "Web Journalism"

Assignment:
Write a short professional profile of yourself and include any social networks and links to articles written.
Prepare a memo that describes the final project you would like to undertake.

-- Week No. 2 Writing
This is the keystone for this class. We will talk about, look at and write headlines, captions and scripts. You will select a topic to research for your final project and create a list of reference sites and potential interview sources. No matter the medium, it’s about the writing. Word.

-- Week No. 3 Research
We will cover the skill of online research, how to evaluate news sources, and how to collect and archive materials. We will talk about your potential project topics and evaluate newsworthiness.

-- Week No. 4 Multimedia
We will talk about graphics, maps, mashups and coming trends. You will find examples and write an analysis of what you see.

-- Week No. 5 Pictures
We will look at the state of photojournalism, and we will examine some photographer and journalism websites. You will do a photo essay, mug shots, and postcards.

-- Week No. 6 Video
We will train in video shooting and editing techniques.

-- Week No. 7 Community
We will examine the concept of community journalism and apply it to our neighboring communities.

-- Week No. 8 Project Pitches, Mid-term conferences and personal evaluations.
You will write an evaluation of what you have learned at the midpoint of your semester, assess goals and leave the week with your final project approved.

-- Week No. 9 Social
Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, your AIM list. We will look at the social aspects of Web 2.0 and you will create a plan to incorporate that into your final project.

-- Week No. 10 Business
We will examine the business plans of multimedia journalism and you will prepare a plan to exploit your journalism for possible revenues.

-- Week No. 11 Global
After getting very local with your journalism, this class allows you to step back and examine from a global perspective, considering multiculturalism, multilingualism, and poverty.

-- Week No. 12 Rough drafts of projects
You will present a rough draft of your final project for peer review.

-- Week No. 13 The culture of the Internet
Are you a geek or a dweeb; a social networking king or an e-mail forwarder? We will look at these issues, as well as examine bloggers and vloggers to create a cultural framework that is Internet savvy.

-- Week No. 14 Review
As you are polishing your rewrites and finally catching up with that source, we will review the semester.

-- Week No. 15 Presentation of Final Projects

So, that's the plan. Please know that this is a road map. In our journey, we may veer off the road in response to your needs.

We are going to do a lot, and you will be able to do it. Just hang in, come to class, and do the work. I am available to you, after class and online. Ask for help, and do it before your deadline.

Also, remember that in this medium, you have a community. Ask for advice.


Disabilities

If you have any documented disability-related concerns that may have an impact upon your performance in this course, please meet with me within the first two weeks of the current semester, so that we can work out the appropriate accommodations. Accommodations are provided on an individualized, as-needed basis after the needs, circumstances and documentation have been evaluated by the appropriate office on campus.

For more information on services provided by Hofstra, and for submission of documentation of your disability, please contact:

o Ann Marie Ferro in 101 Memorial Hall at 516-463-5341 (for physical and/or psychological disabilities) or
o Dr. Diane Herbert in 202 Roosevelt Hall at 516-463-5761 (for learning disabilities and/or ADHD)

All disability-related information will be kept confidential.

Office Hours

Tuesday – 10:00 a.m.-11:30
Wednesday – 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Thursday – 10:00 a.m. – 11:30
And, by appointment

Your Syllabus, Coming Soon

Professor Krochmal will post your syllabus here as part of the first class.