Neighborhood News Bureau

Category: Press Releases

NNB journalists add to The Weekly Challenger report

BY ZENENA MOGUEL
Email: zenenam@mail.usf.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2015) –Stories written by Neighborhood News Bureau journalists about education efforts, a new radio station and the longest-living pastor in Midtown were recently published in The Weekly Challenger, the Tampa Bay area’s largest circulating newspaper covering the African-American community.

Neighborhood News Bureau (NNB) journalists, Lorien Mattiacci and Indhira Suero Acosta, graduate students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, are currently working towards their Master’s of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.

Mattiacci’s story In Pinellas County, groups collaborate to get kids reading focused on the Juvenile Welfare Board’s “Read Across the Globe” initiative, which partners law enforcement officers with students to help improve their reading.

When Mattiacci found out her story would be published, she was overjoyed.

“I was so excited,” said Mattiacci. “This was my first non-academic publication.”

Suero Acosta’s stories, Radio for the people and Bishop Leonard: 58 years serving the community, were also recently published. Her first story focused on Black Power 96 which is a radio station created by the African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF) to help the Midtown community. Suero Acosta’s second story made the cover as the main story. It was a feature on Bishop Preston D.H. Leonard, the longest living minister serving the community.

Suero Acosta was pleased that her hard work was being recognized.

“I was really happy because it shows that my effort paid off,” said Suero Acosta. “And, also because English is not my language so it’s really nice to have something published the first time that you do something.”

The Weekly Challenger and NNB partnership helps aspiring student journalists at USFSP get their work published in a professional publication.

Mattiacci and Suero Acosta hope to continue contributing.

To view full stories, please click the links below:

In Pinellas County, groups collaborate to get kids read

Radio for the people

Bishop Leonard: 58 years serving the community

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 30, 2015
NNB Talk: Cynthia Barnett and the lyricism of environmental journalism

Award Winning Journalist Cynthia Barnett at USFSP. Photo courtesy of Eric Vaughan

BY ERIC VAUGHAN
Email: eric12@mail.usf.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 23, 2015) – Award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett talked about her interest in the environment and how she has turned that concern into compelling stories with student journalists from Neighborhood News Bureau at USFSP Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Barnett has a love for Florida’s environment and has spent a majority of her career writing about it for publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Salon and Politico. Barnett has also written three books about environmental issues; “Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis;” “Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.;” and “Rain: A Natural and Cultural History.”

“What I learned from the first two books and covering the environment in general… We are preaching to the choir,” said Barnett. “They are people who know all we wrote anyway.”

Barnett admits her first two books were geared to the more environmental scientist and activist audience. In her latest book, “Rain: A Natural and Cultural History,” Barnett takes a more lyrical approach to her prose and combines colorful language, hard facts, and science to create a balanced book that appeals to a more eclectic audience.

Barnett told the NNB journalists that now is a perfect time to get into the environmental beat. She mentions that a lot is changing in the environment and journalists are needed to tell those stories.

“For the first time since we passed those environmental protections, children are inheriting water that is dirtier and less abundant,” said Barnett. “This is a really crucial time to cover the environment.”

Cynthia Barnett teaching the importance of staying creative and lyrical when reporting about the environment. Photo courtesy of Eric Vaughan

Barnett feels that it is important to pay close attention to the facts when writing about the environment. It is also important to be creative and captivate the audience.

“Environmental stories can be localized and can even be made lyrical,” she said.

View the entire discussion with Cynthia Barnett here.

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 30, 2015
Video: Cynthia Barnett talks to NNB about reporting on the environment

Cynthia Barnett from DJD @ USF St. Petersburg on Vimeo.

Award-winning journalist, Cynthia Barnett talks about her interest in the environment and how to create compelling stories about science and nature with student journalists from Neighborhood News Bureau.

Read more about the discussion here.

October 30, 2015
Times Talk: Targeting the elements of an environmental beat

By ZENENA MOGUEL
Email: zenenam@mail.usf.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Journalist Craig Pittman holding his new book, The Scent of Scandal.Photo Courtesy of Eric Vaughan

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 23, 2015) – Award-winning journalist, Craig Pittman, shared his experiences and advice for covering environmental issues to Neighborhood News Bureau (NNB) reporters Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Pittman has reported on environmental issues for the Tampa Bay Times since 1998. Along with working at The Times, Pittman has written multiple books including “Paving Paradise,” “Manatee Insanity,” and “Scent of Scandal.” With his knowledge and experience, Pittman targeted three major areas that fall into an environmental beat.

“The environmental beat is a great intersection of politics, science and the law,” said Pittman.

A slide titled “Telling the enviro story” from Craig Pittman’s presentation to future Journalists. Photo Courtesy of Eric Vaughan

According to Pittman, the environmental beat is the best part of the paper. As an environmental journalist, you get to cover some of the weird stuff. He mentions telling environmental stories can come in various forms. But, sometimes it’s not all about the cool weird stuff.

“It’s not just fancy nature writing and gee whiz science stories, but stories about human health or taxes,” said Pittman.

But, sometimes these stories can raise challenges including the length of the story and being able to get into the field. However, Pittman talks about his biggest challenge.

“There are too many freaking stories, and, it’s hard to get past all of them,” said Pittman. “Just finding the time to do stories on everything.”

Pittman discussing the “dos” and don’ts” of environmental journalism. Photo Courtesy of Eric Vaughan

In the end, there are different methods to target and build upon environmental stories. And, it’s finding different ways to approach the story. Pittman lays down some advice including using the Unified Field Theory in journalism. The Unified Field Theory is explaining all the forces at work. In journalism, Pittman advises looking at different events and seeing how they connect.

“The bottom line, look for your unified theory, start with a timeline, always keep your notebook dry,” Pittman said.

View the entire Times Talk with Craig Pittman here.

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 27, 2015
Reporting on politics, science, law, money, orchids and people: The lyricism of the environmental beat

Award-winning journalists Cynthia Barnett and Craig Pittman shared their experiences covering environmental issues with NNB reporters Wednesday.

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 21, 2015
NNB reporters help guide PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs program at Academy Prep

NNB reporters help students in the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs program at Academy Preparatory Center in St. Petersburg.

By JARED LEONE

jaredleone@mail.usf.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIDTOWN – Students involved with the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs program at Academy Preparatory Center are learning how to report, record and edit video with the help from NNB reporters.

Middle school students are working on stories, developing probing questions, recording interviews and editing video.

“I knew I would want to film things,” said Jazmine Cunningham, who hopes the experience leads to further fame. “I thought it was fun because I want to make things perfect.”

Cunningham, 11, said she has learned about taking multiple shots, how to pick up good audio and the importance of stability.

“You have to have control of yourself and the camera, everything,” she said.

Academy Preparatory Center is a non-profit, private school that offers students a rigorous 11-hour school day. There are about 100 schools across the country involved in the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs program. Academy Preparatory Center is one of the few middle schools selected to be part of the program.

Students in the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs program set up a camera with help from NNB reporters.

The Student Reporting Labs program pairs students with news professionals in the community.

Students in Academy Preparatory Center’s media club are learning the tips and guidance from NNB reporters, said Laura Manke, the media club teacher at Academy Prep.

The students know how to handle the equipment and are taking leadership roles, she said.

“I’ve seen great growth with the class,” Manke said. “(The students are) excited about it.”

NNB reporters helped the class discuss future projects and scout and film an assignment already.

Danielle Von Dreele, 24, has seen their growth as reporters while working with them twice weekly since the start of the school year.

“It makes me feel confident about where journalism is going in the future,” she said.

The students rearrange desks to get space to film interviews for their story recently. They all have assignments and work together.

Cheyenne Romero, 11, enjoys taking photos and already has learned the importance of organization, how to properly set up the camera for filming and how to give direction to get the best out of the on-camera talent.

“I want to learn how to become a better director,” said Cheyenne Romero.

With the help of NNB student-reporters Romero and the other students are well on the way.

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 9, 2015
Times Talk: Finding the ‘body’ using data and investigative journalism

St. Petersburg, Fla. (Oct. 5, 2015) Tampa Bay Times investigative journalist, Michael LaForgia and data and digital director, Adam Playford shared some tips about finding stories, collecting useful data, and the importance of patience in regards to investigative journalism with Neighborhood News Bureau students Wednesday, Sept. 30.

“Find a body and discover why it’s there,” said LaForgia.

LaForgia and Playford admit that investigative journalism isn’t easy. It takes time, focus, and organization for the story to come together. While discussing Failure Factories, their current investigative project dealing with systemic deficiencies at some Pinellas County schools, LaForgia mentions finding and poring over records can be the most time-consuming element, but is also the most important. Getting the documents can also become expensive.

Tampa Bay Times Award Winning Journalists Adam Playford and Michael LaForgia. Photo by Eric Vaughan.

“We requested millions of records for this story. We have spent $8-$9,000 in records requests and will probably spend more,” said LaForgia.

When it came to gathering personal stories of affected students for the Failure Factories project, LaForgia and Playford admitted getting parental buy-in was tough. Parents weren’t as forthcoming as they had hoped, especially given the controversial topic of the schools their children attended being labeled as “failure factories.”

So how did they get the families to go on the record?

“We just kept showing up,” said LaForgia. “We appealed to their sense of justice and righteousness.”

Eventually their patience and persistence paid off as they were able to gather compelling stories from multiple families.

Investigative journalists must remain patient and thorough throughout working on any assignment. Understanding that some details require a bit of persistence and endurance is key to gathering important data, and eventually having a successful story to tell. There are a lot of stories that still need to be told, LaForgia said.

“All you have to do is think about what might exist in the world,” LaForgia said. “Everybody has to live someplace, everybody makes and spends money.”

View the entire discussion here.

LaForgia and Playford discuss the importance of data collecting to NNB students

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 8, 2015
Video: Lara Cerri, Tampa Bay Times Photojournalist

Lara Cerri NNB from DJD @ USF St. Petersburg on Vimeo.

Neighborhood News Bureau and Tampa Bay Times join together to endow knowledge and real-life experiences in photojournalism to future journalists.

The full story about Lara Cerri’s talk can be found here: http://www.nnbnews.com/2015/10/02/times-talk-building-an-eye-for-photojournalism/

October 2, 2015
Times Talk: Building an eye for photojournalism

Award-winning Tampa Bay Times photojournalist Lara Cerri. Photo by Eric Vaughan.

St. Petersburg, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2015) – Student journalists with the Neighborhood News Bureau got the chance to learn photojournalism techniques and skills from a professional Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Lara Cerri, Tampa Bay Times photojournalist, shared her years of knowledge and experience with these students at the USFSP campus. With these tips, NNB will continue its mission to serve the Midtown area and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg through the practice of journalism.

‘Times Talk’ is what these students call it, and photojournalism was the topic of the week.

Photojournalism is the practice of communicating the news by the use of photographs and images. Photojournalists are the visual storytellers of the story, and Cerri was more than happy to express the important and impactful role photojournalists play.

“I have wanderlust,” said Cerri. “I have always had wanderlust.”

According to Cerri, it’s that curiosity that makes for a great photojournalist. She stresses the importance of trying to get the essence of what the story is about. The job is more than just taking photos. It is finding the story, writing the captions, and getting to know the sources.

“Part of the joy of my job is getting to know these people. If you got time, show an interest,” said Cerri. “It is first about human relationships.”

Lara Cerri discussing tools and techniques needed to become successful as a photojournalist. Photo by Eric Vaughan.

Photojournalists must be confident, patient, and compassionate. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of the another person and share a part of yourself builds trust and relationships. Any and every situation can be an opportunity for a great story, so always be ready for the unexpected.

Cerri’s Times Talk inspired these future journalists. View the entire ‘Times Talk with Lara Cerri’ video provided where she touches on topics including photographing children and funerals, how to approach people and finding story-telling moments.

The full video of the talk can be found here: http://www.nnbnews.com/2015/10/02/video-lara-cerri-tampa-bay-times-photojournalist/

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 2, 2015