Studio 20 @ Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute
The program seeks to draw together a diversely talented team of students who can produce excellent work that pushes the field forward and realizes some of the possibilities inherent in a multi-media, interactive and constantly evolving platform for journalism-- namely, the World Wide Web.
Studio classes provide a "hub" for organizing activity and a common space for inquiry and reflection around the program's various projects. Students are expected to be flexible and curious, generous in sharing skills, eager to pick up new knowledge and willing to adapt to what the project--and its deadlines--demand.
The curriculum has three parts: 1.) the traditional requirements of two basic reporting classes plus "the ethics of the web;" 2.) a core of three project-based classes called Studio I, II and III; and 3.) elective enrichment courses that allow students to pursue interests and work on initiatives of their own. In their third and final semester, students design their own projects with an appropriate media partner and try to create innovation--as well as a name--for themselves.
Each year Studio 20 will recruit a mix of writers, editors, videographers, audio journalists, programmers, designers and Web producers under the principle of "bring skills, share skills, learn new stuff." Recruiting will emphasize students comfortable in more than one medium and ready to tackle new challenges. One of our mottos is: "Everyone works on everything." Another: "acquire what the project requires."
In 2009-10, one of Studio 20's major partners was the New York Times. Working with editors at the Times, students and faculty designed and planned a hyperlocal news site for the East Village neighborhood in Manhattan. It launched in September, 2010: The Local East Village.
One of the innovations that came out of that project is The Virtual Assignment Desk, a WordPress plug-in. You can read more about it here.
In 2010-11 Studio20's major project was a collaboration with ProPublica, the investigative reporting non-profit. Students experimented with the genre of "the explainer," a form of journalism that provides essential background knowledge and brings clarity to complex issues in the news. Read more here and see the project site, Explainer.net.
In 2011-12, Studio 20's major project was a collaboration with The Guardian around a different approach to election coverage. You can read a summary from the Nieman Lab. Then see the project in action on the Guardian: here and here.
In December of 2010, NYU announced that the renowned Internet thinker Clay Shirky would be joining the Carter Institute and Studio 20, where he will teach courses and consult on projects.
Think you might be interested in applying? Email studio20.journalism@nyu.edu to let us know. Tell us about yourself and your background and how we can find you and your work on the web.
Here is Studio's 20's official page at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Institute of Journalism.
Here are the official instructions on how to apply. (The initial deadline is Jan. 10; we will accept applications after that but cannot guarantee space or financial aid. Please note that the GRE General Exam is required of all applicants. See our How to Apply page for more details.
Here is a map showing where we are located.
Follow professors Jay Rosen and Jason Samuels on Twitter, as well as Clay Shirky. And check back at this site for updates.
Wondering what the 2011-2012 Studio 20 class has been up to this summer? Of course you are!
From helping to produce documentaries overseas to engaging new audiences right here in New York, we’ve been a busy bunch. See for yourselves:
Ana Maria Benedetti has been spending the summer in Miami working at Univision News, a new joint venture by Univision and ABC to create a hispanic oriented news channel in English. As a multimedia intern she has had the opportunity to collaborate with the UiE team in setting the tone for this new endeavor. Her latest graphic work takes on gun violence in America. She has also worked on various other graphic, video and map projects.
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After finishing a course on photography in human rights at the beginning of the summer, Tracy Levy began working as the web producer on the documentary “The Cola Road.” She is currently in Zambia, where she will spend the next three weeks filming and updating the film’s social media accounts in an effort to make the documentary more interactive.
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Kat Patke has spent her summer working as a Community Intern at The Huffington Post, primarily contributing to the entertainment, culture, and celebrity verticals. In this position, she looks to create opportunities for user ideas and thoughts to be heard via social media and for comments to inform on-site posts. Her goal is to increase overall user-engagement and build communities. In practice, this means Kat has worked on a wide variety of posts, from a serious debate about the conventions and culture of classical music concerts to a less serious Emmy snub deathmatch bracket, Katy Perry record label name speculation, and many others. She is also responsible for curating the Huffington Post Tumblr.
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Nadja Popovich has spent her summer working as a web producer for the Guardian U.S., while continuing various freelance work, including contributing to the Atlantic’s health channel. You can check out some of her recent work here. One of her pieces for the Guardian was recently “drudged” (a.k.a. picked up by the Drudge Report) — a journalistic first.
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Laura Edwins is currently the web intern at the Christian Science Monitor in Boston. There, she has worked on a wide variety of multimedia projects, as well as written pieces. She also fills in part-time as a member of the Production Team, monitoring and updating the homepage of csmonitor.com and chasing trends on Google News. Most recently, Laura wrote some political quizzes and several stories on women’s issues. Be on the lookout for her daily blog on what to watch during the Summer Olympics.
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Silva Shih has spent her summer working with NYU Stern’s economics professor David Backus on a video project, while also reporting for Taiwanese media. She is starting to do pre-research for her Studio 3 thesis project, which will see her partner with the Atlantic Media Company’s new business venture, Quartz, and Studio 20 adjunct professor Zach Seward. Silva’s project will focus on data visualization on the mobile platform.
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Khwezi Magwaza is spending her summer with the BET News division. The popular African American entertainment network’s longform news and documentary unit is currently preparing for their coverage of the 2012 Elections. She has been putting her digital skills to use contributing to their social media platforms and planning for their online presence during the election season, among other responsibilities. Khwezi has also spent time mentoring and teaching minority teens interested in journalism as a graduate assistant on the NYU Urban Journalism Workshop. Check out the outcome of their work at The Spectrum.
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This summer, Tando Ntunja is interning at Global Grind, a Russell Simmons-owned online entertainment journalism site that focuses on the confluence between hip-hop and pop culture. She has co-produced some multimedia pieces including an exclusive interview with multi-platinum South African artist, Lira and a forum with young South Africans living in New York, which also features Studio 20 colleague Khwezi Magwaza. Tando is currently working on a top secret mission for Global Grind which looks to increase the 4.2 million uniques the site already has. She will also soon be a featured multimedia blogger for influential South African publication, The Daily Dispatch. The blog is slated to launch towards the end of the summer.
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Yoo Eun Lee has spent her summer working for the NBC Universal’s iVillage. She has focused on creating compelling health coverage and promoting news content using the right social media tools. Specifically, she is developing a project that looks at what content works best on Pinterest.
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Patrice Peck has been keeping busy this summer. She is currently working as an intern at HuffPo’s Black Voices vertical, where she reports and helps the social media team. She is freelancing for BET.com — for which she is currently working on a stop and frisk piece, among other items — and EBONY.com — for which she writes movie reviews, feature pieces, and profiles.
