Stories published by J-School Students
Lily Mihalik: Money Talks as T-Mobile Replaces Ritmo RecordsNorteño music and balladeers move over, chirping cell phones now rule the corner. After a year of plummeting sales, the Mission’s Ritmo Latino closed its doors and will re-open October 8th as a T-Mobile phone retailer. “The music industry is dying, I had to change my strategy,” said Massry, owner of Ritmo Latino Inc., once a national chain store selling CDs to the Latino consumer and fast becoming a national chain that sells T-Mobile. To stay afloat, Massry has joined forces with T-Mobile, as part of its “ERP 2.0 Latino” initiative—a program that taps community-based entrepreneurs to link to a growing Latino population. [Read More...]
Linsay Rousseau Burnett: "There'll be No Revolution Anytime Soon"
Linsay Rousseau Burnett, class of 2010, presents her views on the Generation Y reaction to the war in Afghanistan. Published on page E4 of the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday Insight section.
Jordan Conn: Consistent Kevin Riley Could Propel California Bears to BCS Berth
Jordan Conn, class of 2010, writes for SI.com about Cal quarterback Kevin Riley as the key to the Bears' chances this football season.
Lily Mihalik: Ritmo Latino: Latin CD Sales Falter
As the Monday morning customers shuffled through the star-studded entryway of the Mission District’s Ritmo Latino, loud posters of Michel Jackson, and Los Tigres Del Norte invited them to buy their latest releases. In the background, the sad serenade of Espinoza Paz floated over a wailing brass section, singing, “We tried to make it work, but it couldn’t…” [Read More...] Like Paz, Latino music purveyors across the nation are struggling to make it work–their business model, that is. For years, the rising popularity of salsa, cumbia and reggaeton and the new buying power of Latinos, offered hope to a music industry facing diminishing sales. Nowadays, rising unemployment among Latinos and a new movement toward digital media has Latino stores hoping they can survive.
Catherine Price: Moonshine Returns!
Catherine Price, class of '06, writes about the return of Moonshine -- excuse me, "artisanal spirits" -- for Salon.
Nick Burns: Facing Japan: Waist Watchers
Nick Burns, class of 2010, produced a video for The Washington Post (as part of the Digital TV and the World course) focusing on Japan's method of curbing the skyrocketing healthcare costs.
Nick Burns: Facing Japan: After the Camps
Nick Burns, class of 2010, produced a video report for the Washington Post (as part of the Digital TV and the World course) about one Japanese-American woman's experience during World War II.
Nick Burns: Last Call: Night Snacks
Nick Burns, class of 2010, produced a video for The Washington Post (as part of the Digital TV and the World course) about the dying tradition of street food stalls in Tokyo.
Martin Ricard: Shedding the Stigma of Prison
For some ex-offenders, the most important part of reentry is not freedom from a jail cell but making an internal change. For some, that means forgiving themselves for their crimes. For others, it’s deciding to stop and listen to the world around them.
Jon Mooallem: The Self Storage Self
Jon Mooallem, class of 2006, writes for The New York Times Magazine about adventures in American storagedom.
Bryan Gibel: Demand for Urban Gardening Exceeds Space
As community gardens have grown more popular in San Francisco's Mission District, so have wait lists, and it could take up to 20 years to get a plot. By Bryan Gibel, class of 2011, for Mission Loc@l.
Jenny Chu: City Goats: Barnyard Animals in Back Yards
Jenny Chu, class of 2009, produced a video story about Oakland-based urban farmer and writer, Novella Carpenter, for Time.com
Lillian Mongeau: Gen Y: People with Promise, and Problems
In the final installment of her occasional opinion column, "mY generation," for The Oregonian, Lillian Mongeau, class of 2011, writes that Generation Y has the potential to be the most important generation since the Greatest Generation.
Helene Goupil: Unusual Tours Give View of Paris' Hidden Corners
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, reports on offbeat tours of Paris, for The Associated Press.
Noah Buhayar: Home Energy Plan Spreads Out Costs
Empowered by recent changes to local, state and federal laws, municipal governments are launching energy-efficiency programs to help residents finance the cost of improvements to their homes, writes Noah Buhayar in an article for the Wall Street Journal.
Helene Goupil: France May Charge Tourists Rescued From Hot Spots
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, reports for The Associated Press.
Kate Kilpatrick: For Nats Wives, Life Around This Diamond Isn't So Glittery
Life in the big leagues isn't so grand for the wives of the Washington Nationals.
Shaleece Haas: Seabird Sanctuary Celebrates Centennial
One hundred years ago, Teddy Roosevelt set aside St. Lazaria Island in Southeast Alaska as a wildlife refuge. Today the island is the nesting site for more than half-a-million seabirds. To celebrate its centennial, local agencies teamed up to lead the first-ever public walking tour of the island. Shaleece Haas, class of 2010, reports for Alaska Public Radio Network.
Kate Kilpatrick: White House Objects to Poster That Invokes Obama Children
White House decries Physician Committee's poster, which mentions Obama girls.
Helene Goupil: Odd Tricycle Mapping Paris Streets for Google
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, reports for The Associated Press.
Helene Goupil: French Auto Workers Threaten to Blow Up Factory
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, writes for the Associated Press
about laid-off workers in France threatening to blow up their factory.
Kate Kilpatrick: The Streets Still Have a Hold on Her
Rye Rye is the Baltimore club kid who had to grow up fast.
Madeleine Bair: Tcheka
Madeleine Bair, class of 2010, reports for the public radio program, The World, on the Cape Verdean musician, Tcheka.
Madeleine Bair: Colombian refugees' tent city a reminder of crisis
Madeleine Bair, class of 2010, reports on the thousands of Colombian internal refugees occupying a Bogota park for the Associated Press.
Andrea de Brito: The Goods on Graywater
Andrea de Brito looks at new graywater use legislation just passed in California and the history of graywater use policy.
Helene Goupil: Workers End Threat To Blow Up Factory Over Layoffs
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, reports for The Associated Press
Shaleece Haas: Native Composer's Movie Music Inspired By Tradition
"The Proposal" finally arrived at the one-screen theater in Sitka - the town in which the movie is set. Most of the film was shot in Massachusetts and there's very little in "The Proposal" that's authentic to Sitka. But among the few home-grown elements is a Tlingit wedding chant, composed in the traditional style by one of Sitka's own.
Angela Bass: A Camp For Health Care Wannabes
Angela J. Bass, class of 2010, writes in the The Baltimore Sun about a healthcare camp's aim to lure high schoolers into the profession.
Bagassi Koura: Sitting on top of the world
Bagassi Koura, class of 2009, writes on the Reuters' blog about one of the first women bus drivers in Ivory Coast, West Africa.
Martin Ricard: Cupcakes for College
At Lighthouse charter school in downtown Oakland, students have formed an organization to raise money to help their fellow undocumented classmates who need funds for college.
Alex Weber: Tapping the Veins
Alex Weber, class of 2011, wrote this piece on an up-and-coming Cincinnati band recently signed to L.A.-based Dangerbird Records. Initially just another obscure, impoverished indie pop act, the two rockers now sip Perrier and talk about their plans to buy Porsches. "Tapping the Veins" was Weber's final story for CityBeat before hitting the road to study journalism at UC Berkeley.
Zachary Slobig: California Budget Woes No Threat To An Off-Roader Favorite
Zachary Slobig, class of 2007, and Sachi Cunningham, class of 2005, teamed up to take a closer look at a contested patch of the Central Coast for the Los Angeles Times.
Heather Gilligan: Drowning in the Shallow End: Third Wave Feminism
Heather Tirado Gilligan, class of 2011, examines the failures of the last wave of feminism at Conducive Magazine.
Bridget Huber: In Buzzing Urbs, Real Hives Revive
Beekeeping gains ground among urban foodies, environmentalists and science geeks. Bridget Huber, class of 2011, reports.
Alex Weber: Fighting the Good Fight with The Read
For the Cincinnati CityBeat, Alex Weber, class of 2011, wrote this profile on a wily group of D.I.Y. bohemian punk rockers who live in a "rough" part of Cincinnati, ride and construct their own mutant bicycles, host neighborhood parties and shows, and play some incendiary tunes.
Matthew Durning: Meet Africa's First Green Cops
Bagassi Koura and Matt Durning, class of 2010, produced this video story from Cote D'Ivoire, W. Africa about the government's fledgling efforts to fight vehicle pollution in its major cities. The story recently launched as part of PBS FRONTLINE/World 'Rough Cut' series.
Shaleece Haas: Alaska Growing Older, Leads the Nation
Shaleece Haas, class of 2010, reports from Sitka, Alaska News Nightly, Alaska Public Radio Network, about one segment of the senior population that's having a difficult time finding the care they need: those with mental illness.
Linsay Rousseau Burnett: Kentucky Oil Tycoon Pleads Guilty to Ponzie Scheme Charges
Linsay Rousseau Burnett, class of 2010, exposes the actions of Kentucky oil tycoon David Rose who agreed to serve 52 months and to compensate victims on the heals of the Bernie Maddoff verdict.
Bagassi Koura: Cote d'Ivoire: Up In Smoke
Cote d'Ivoire: Up In Smoke
Jenny Chu: Overcoming The Stigma Of A Childbirth Injury
Jenny Chu, class of 2009, produced a video story from Sierra Leone, W. Africa about women suffering from obstetric fistula, a devastating medical condition, and the Sierra Leonean doctor who tries to help them. The story can be seen on Frontline World'swebsite.
Phoebe Fronistas: Epidaurus: Religion Like No Other
Phoebe Fronistas, class of 2011, discusses how the ancient amphitheater of Epidaurus is both a theatrical venue and gathering place for Greece's Kathimerini English Edition.
Helene Goupil: French Restaurant Tax Drops in Bid to Lure Diners
Helene Goupil, class of 2010, writes about restaurant tax drop in France for The Associated Press
Cynthia Gorney: Ripped (or Torn Up?)
For The New York Times Magaine, Cynthia Gorney profiles the international tennis champion Rafael Nadal, whose most serious battle right now is with his own beaten-up knees.
Emma Cott: Saying No to Dowry
Emma Cott, class of 2009, writes in India's foremost English language newspaper,The Hindu Sunday Magazaine, about a website that is tackling India's dowry system, one couple at a time.
Imran Vittachi: Catching Up with an Old Friend...
Imran Vittachi, Class of 2003, has just launched his first blogging endeavor, Lanka Peace Watch, which is about post-war Sri Lanka. Here's Imran's latest blog entry. It details his 1996 brush with a Tamil Tiger operative who, 13 years later, still is wanted by Interpol but has taken on a new role as the defeated Tigers' de facto leader.
Huda Al- Hamdani: War Zones - From Afghanistan To East Oakland
Huda Ahmed,class of 2010, writes in San Francisco Chronicle/ SFGate about refugees try to assimilate to the new life in U.S. and the challenges they face.
Angela Bass: Financial Help For Women with Breast Cancer
Angela J. Bass, class of 2010, writes about Baltimore health nonprofit The Red Devils for The Baltimore Sun.
Alex Weber: Eat Sugar Gets a Buzz
For the Cincinnati CityBeat, Alex Weber, class of 2011, wrote this cover story on Cincinnati-based dance-punk outfit Eat Sugar. Contained within is an examination of how the group formed, where they hope to take their music and exactly what it is that makes the boys in the band tick.
Bridget Huber: How America Used to Eat
Bridget Huber, class of 2011, reviews Mark Kurlansky's latest book.
Cynthia Gorney: Anti-Abortion Rhetoric Still Strong
The murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller has put the abortion debate back in the national spotlight. Journalism professor Cynthia Gorney, author of Articles of Faith: A History of the Abortion Wars discusses the state of the abortion debate on NPR.