*Official J-school site

CJS Graduation 2003
That's right, 10 months has come and gone faster than a war in Iraq. Sorry, that was a bit tasteless but an appropriate current events joke, which is all I've been exposed to this past year. But seriously, the year was amazing, intense and fun. I was named SPJ Student of the Year and my teams' documentary film was awarded Best Documentary film for "Made in Queens," a 24-minute piece about a Latin drag queen making it in New York City (more to come on that...).

Master's Project Complete!
At Columbia Journalism School, the main, big story the student works on all year is called the Master's Project. There are many ways to present the story: print, video, radio and new media. Most students choose to produce a print piece, which most of the time is a magazine piece, reported in depth, of about 6,000 words. If you've visited my site before, you already know that this is the path I chose to tell the compelling story of Juliet Jones, a brave woman fighting a grave disease. But, because I also like other forms of media, I have created a web site for her, www.julietjones.net, and I am in the process of cutting an hour-long video documentary [release date TBA]. For now, please click here read the print version titled "Juliet's Legacy."

Smoke Free Air Act 2002
Winter has been harsh on New York this year and on March 30, 2003, for smokers, it will become even harsher. That's when it smoking in bars or restaurants will be completely outlawed. This issue is large and complex and has developed some controversy along the way. I have chosen to follow one specific bar through the month leading up to the ban and the month after the ban to see its true affects. To record the events, I have created a mini-site which will house text, photos and video. Please click here to visit it.

The structure:

The program breaks down into two semesters. For a view of my work completed during first semester, click here. This semester I'm taking four classes, including the Master's Project workshop, which is the core story students work on throughout the year. Below are links to my work completed for each course:

Covering Social Movements- Social movements are omnipresent in the contemporary scene, frequently written about but difficult to figure out--sometimes in the ways that all social phenomena are difficult to figure out and sometimes in distinctive ways. This course teaches us how to effectively report on social movements.

Advanced Photojournalism- This course digs deep into the practices and issues of photojournalism today. By the end of the course, each student should have compiled a working portfolio.

Documentary- The Documentary Workshop is aimed at developing journalists skilled at reporting, pitching, and producing a story worthy of an outlet.

Master's Project- I've been following an amazing woman on a difficult journey. During her 23rd week of pregnancy, Juliet Jones was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.