Spring ‘22 NYCJ students learn what it takes to make it in New York, studying and interning in the city as the pandemic eases

Students taking part in the NYC Semester in Journalism program have spent the past two months covering important local and national news stories as the world slowly emerges from COVID-19. 

This semester’s students followed in the footsteps of past NYCJ classes by participating in the unique semester-long, off-campus study program operated by the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College in NYC.

After two years when internships were remote, many are now hybrid while classes at King’s are back in person. 

“I would absolutely recommend NYCJ to anybody who thinks journalism may be a career they pursue seriously,” said Banks Halvorson, who hails from Covenant College in Georgia and is currently interning at the Brooklyn Paper.

“The experience of working with newspapers in the media capital of America is priceless, and the classes you take and people you meet are incredible. I was excited about this program, but it has blown all my expectations out of the water.”  

Students taking part in the 14th NYCJ cohort that chose to make New York their home this semester. The students are enrolled in classes, including History of Journalism and New York City with Prof. Clemente Lisi and Entrepreneurial Journalism with Prof. Paul Glader. Under Glader’s guidance, the students work 20 hours per week in a New York newsroom, earning six academic credits and pursuing bylines.

Paige Taylor, a student from Abilene Christian University in Texas, is currently an intern at Bold TV. She said her internship and courses — in addition to living in New York City — has made this semester a unique experience.  

“Living and working in New York is much more fast paced than I anticipated,” she added, “but I adapted very quickly and have actually grown to love the hustle and bustle.” 

Esther Wickham, a King’s student who is taking part in NYCJ this spring, said her internship at amNewYork and living in the city has given her a chance to gain valuable experience needed for her to get a job once she graduates. 

“I would definitely recommend the program! It grants you the opportunity that the current college you attend can't give you,” she said. “Living in New York City during your college years while pursuing a career in journalism with highly skilled and talented professors that have been in the journalism field for decades is a dream many have.” 

Camila da Silva, a student who attends the Sao Paulo-based Mackenzie Presbyterian University in Brazil, is spending the semester as an intern with Religion Unplugged. She said her favorite class was History of Journalism, a course that looks at coverage of various events in U.S. history, including the 9/11 attacks, and the beliefs, values and character that goes with working in a New York newsroom.

“It brings together what we can learn from the past and perspectives for building modern journalism,” she said. 

Both Taylor and Wickham are taking Religion Reporting this semester, giving students yet another chance to get bylines since the advanced reporting class works closely with ReligionUnplugged.com. The non-profit religion news website, which has offices at TKC, is part of The Media Project. 

“We have gone really in depth on reporting and getting outside of our comfort zone when it comes to reporting on topics we are not very familiar with,” Taylor said. “I have learned so much about reporting.” 

The New York City Semester program partners with more than 41 universities and colleges across the U.S. and the world. Students can apply to join the program for a future semester by clicking here. 

King's Alumna Talks About Her Path To EuroNews, Columbia University And Forbes

Anastassia Gliadkovskaya came to The King’s College in New York City as a 17-year-old from California with a background in performance classical piano and a burgeoning career in fashion modeling. Very quickly at King’s, she started gravitating to journalism classes, reporting for The Empire State Tribune and pursuing training and internships from The Daily Dot in New York to EuroNews in France to the European Journalism Institute in Prague. She worked for Prof. Paul Glader and Dr. David Tubbs as a faculty assistant. Her tireless work ethic led her to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied investigative reporting, and now is continuing her reporting career. She took a pause from reporting to answer questions from Prof. Glader.

Q: Tell us about your current role at Forbes magazine and what you are doing there?

A: I’m a reporting intern on the wealth team at Forbes, covering billionaires. My primary role is to help put together the World’s Billionaires issue, which comes out this spring. I help value the net worth of the billionaires on our list (possibly close to 2,700 this year!), and I also write about billionaires who are doing something unique or interesting.

Q: You put the time in with internships during your time at King’s. Tell us about that process and how internships helped you develop as a journalist. And how did the MPJI team help facilitate some of those internships?

A: Getting newsroom experience early is fundamental to getting ahead in the industry. Every employer looks for three things — newsroom experience, clips and the ability to find unique stories. Without the foundational internships in undergrad, I would be having a much more difficult time landing prestigious positions. Internships varied, but they ultimately all taught me to always think quickly and commit myself fully to what I was doing, even if I was afraid or uncertain. I’m lucky MPJI strongly encouraged me to apply for every right opportunity that presented itself. I was able to figure out what I like and don’t like early on, and what my strengths and weaknesses are.

Q: After college at King’s, you applied to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, were you were accepted and completed a Master’s in journalism. Prof. Lisi and I were glad to see that as we are fellow Columbia alums. Tell us about some of the key skills and knowledge you gained at Columbia.

A: Some of the most memorable teachings to me have got to be ethics and information warfare reporting. My ethics class challenged me to consider scenarios both hypothetical and real that called for difficult decisions. Would I publish if I got my information this way? Would I approach a source, given x circumstance? Would I have done what that reporter did? In class we debated, considered and justified. We heard every argument for and against. Not every student had the same answer — and that was the point. We had to dig deep into ourselves to understand where we each wanted to draw lines, morally. It was a critical class for establishing my own standards and defining what kind of reporter I want to be. Information warfare reporting was a class I chose to take, but strongly believe every student should be required to. In it, we learned about the dynamics of platforms and ads, how to investigate them and the dangers of amplification. In a time when we are all vulnerable to bad actors and disinformation online, it is more important than ever to study the ecosystems in which they thrive and the myriad ways they find to take advantage.

Q: You studied at the Stabile center at Columbia, which focuses on investigative reporting. What are some key software, apps, skillsets you think are really helpful to young journalist today especially if they want to do investigative reporting?

A: In terms of investigative reporting, the first outlet and resource that comes to mind is Bellingcat. I see it as the holy grail of modern investigative and digital forensics reporting. In addition to incredible longform reporting, like this, Bellingcat offers everything from guides to case studies to newsletters to webinars. Bellingcat reporters rely on OSINT — open source intelligence — to conduct their investigations. What that means is they don’t just rely on people as sources, but also on publicly available data. On that note, I highly recommend Craig Silverman’s Verification Handbook, which you can find for free online. It’s as close to a comprehensive course on information warfare reporting as you can get. In general, knowing how to work with complex datasets is critical to investigative reporting. Taking a course on advanced Excel at Columbia propelled my work to another level — I strongly suggest taking a course on at least Excel, but also on R or SQL if you want to really get into data reporting. I am attending the NICAR conference this year, led by IRE, which is quite affordable since it’s online this year — keep an eye on this annual conference! IRE’s annual conference is great, too, but less focused on the data reporting aspect. IRE membership is a huge plus to have, and IRE also features fantastic resources on its website. Also, sign up for LinkedIn Premium — journalists qualify for a free version. It is my favorite hack for finding and connecting with sources.

Q: You graduated last May (2020) right? Into a tough Coronavirus-affected market. What has been your strategy to keep reporting and moving forward in your career?

A: I graduated last May, online. Columbia’s career fair got short-squeezed because of the pandemic, and it was clear that the job market would not be forgiving in 2020. But thanks to how much reporting I got to do at Columbia and King's, I felt comfortable freelancing if I had to. I was lucky to land a reporting fellowship during the summer through a program Columbia sponsored last-minute for graduates, but after that ended in August I freelanced for the rest of the year. The key to keep moving forward is to not think of reporting as the only thing that will strengthen your skills and qualifications. Reporters have tons of assets — copy editing, fact-checking, content writing, researching, filing records requests. There’s a job market out there for all of those, and we can definitely work those gigs to pay the bills if needed. So many reporters in the field have a side gig — and it typically pays much more than reporting does! I think one of the biggest misconceptions I overcame after graduating was that if I wasn’t reporting, I was failing. That’s just not the case. And as a freelancer, I had time to pursue longer investigations that I really cared about. My biggest advice would be to take every opportunity that presents itself and put yourself out there. Join Study Hall — an incredible network of freelancers that offers everything from a Slack chat to pitch guides to a database of editors’ emails. Be active on Twitter and network. Help promote other reporters’ work. DM editors with your questions and pitches. These things have not only kept me preoccupied during this turbulent time but also have helped me progress.

Q: Was there a pivotal moment for you when you realized you were all in on journalism as a calling or career?

A: My sophomore year, several King’s students including myself had taken a trip with you, Paul, to Washington, D.C., for a journalism conference. There, we got to hear Edward Snowden speak via video call. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I’ll never forget the things he said, how he encouraged us in our fight for the truth and for exposing corruption. I felt so alive and invigorated, I knew this was what I am meant to be doing.

Q: What would you tell high school or college students who want to be journalists regarding the importance of studying in NYC?

A: I realize it’s a privilege to study and live in New York City, and that not everyone can do so. But for me, it was the reason I got into this business, so I owe a lot to the city. Here, you're surrounded by the biggest and most important hallmarks in the world. I remember waiting in line in the dark, waking hours of a chilly fall morning to attend Good Morning America in Times Square. I remember touring the New York Stock Exchange, the Museum of American Finance, The Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, Vice. Few things can inspire a budding reporter like getting to walk inside some of the most exciting halls of our time. And learning to report in a place like NYC will make you a more dogged and patient reporter. You’ll be running around the city figuring out the subway system, hauling equipment and trying to convince strangers to talk to you, and that’s just your typical Monday morning. But that’s what will make you better as a person and more competitive as a reporter. You’ll prove yourself, and you will be rewarded; having lived here for several years, I have established many connections that I trust will go a long way to support my career. If you can be anywhere, this is the place.

Q: What else would you like to tell friends of MPJI and future students at our various programs?

A: Reach out to other reporters and editors. Ask questions. Apply again for jobs when you get turned down. Always be thinking about ways to tell unique stories and always propose new ideas! Figure out what you like and hone that niche. If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out!

Q: How did your time at TKC help you find your path in journalism?

A: I am so grateful that I ended up at a small school like TKC and that it had such a thriving journalism program. I realize that had I gone to a giant undergrad school, I would have been paid much less attention to by professors and mentors. It would have also been more difficult to get involved on campus, and there would have been more bureaucracy to push through to implement change or to experiment with, say, the campus paper’s content. Naturally, with such a small set of students, TKC is able to closely monitor and mold its students’ progress, when it wants to. I think the journalism program is a brilliant example of that. I never felt forgotten or unimportant thanks to the individualized mentoring and encouragement I received from professors and older students alike. Both the big things, like internship recommendations, and the seemingly smaller things, like resume workshops, were of key importance. You can’t succeed in the industry if you aren’t prepared, and you can’t succeed in college if you don’t have guidance. My consistent excitement about reporting and confidence in my own abilities was nurtured because of both.

MPJI is based at The King’s College in New York City. MPJI provides education, training and professional development projects for journalists at the high school, undergraduate and professional levels. It is named after the late John McCandlish Phillips, a legendary reporter at The New York Times.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @JMPjournalism and LinkedIn at McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute.

An Actor Discovered How Creatives Can Build A Personal Brand on TikTok

Brittin Ward works at The King’s College in NYC as Educational Ventures and Services Administrator. In that role, he helps organize several academic programs at King’s including the Summer Academy for high school students each July and the NYC Semester programs in Journalism and Theater for visiting college students from 41 partner schools.

We knew that Brittin is an aspiring actor, who stared in several theater productions at King’s and in New York City since he graduated from Kings in 2018. So we were excited to learn that Brittin has made the most of the Coronavirus pandemic by applying his theater skills and interests to a TikTok, where his videos have gained millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. Brittin maintains a humble and studious attitude about this social media virality. And he agreed to answer questions about what he’s learning on TikTok that other actors, creatives and journalists might appreciate.

Q - How did your life in theater change when Covid emerged last March, April and May?

A - Theater stopped--everything stopped. I love theater and acting and suddenly I was not able to participate in any of it for the foreseeable future. Other than a couple of Zoom improv classes I had no creative outlet. I was not in any shows at the time, but I was a member of a performing choir that stopped due to COVID. Like everyone else, I felt a bit lost. My dream has always been to have a career in theater, and though I've done a couple of professional shows, I still have not hit my stride with performing. I don't have an agent and am not equity, so like most other actors in the city I'd been in the trenches trying to get booked. I was already fighting discouragement with the rejections and failure of "making it" as an actor when COVID hit, so when it became clear that my dream was in limbo and it was uncertain when theaters would re-open, I realized I needed to shift my priorities.

Q - How did you decide to get involved with TikTok and why?

A - Prior to COVID, I had been growing increasingly interested in social media and the format of entertainment being delivered via the internet. The Actor's magazine "Backstage" and other actor publications have really been emphasizing the importance of having a presence on social media (here's a 2020 article from them on why every actor needs to be on social media). I made a TikTok account in December of 2019 because of the popularity the app was gaining and I posted a few videos to the app, but I was uncommitted prior to the pandemic. Once the theaters closed and I could not perform anything in person, I decided to spend all the found time I had in making videos for the internet and trying to build an audience. I decided to specifically start putting all my efforts into creating TikTok content because I knew that it was the fastest growing social platform in 2019-2020, it had the highest demographic of teen users at the time, and because I regretted missing the wave with Vine (a popular video app that died in 2016). I thought that if I could get good at keeping an audience engaged through short videos, it would help my storytelling skills and increase my understanding of what it takes to build an audience. Since I was trapped at home in quarantine anyway, I decided it would be a good way to have some sort of creative outlet while growing my understanding of how to keep people entertained.

Q - Tell us about how your audience grew there and what you learned from that audience?

A - It took a solid couple months of uploading consistently videos that barely broke 100 views before one took off and gained over a couple thousand views. From there it was probably another month and a half of posting before one of my videos broke the 100k views mark. As I continued to consistently post throughout the year, that window between the successful videos would grow shorter. Eventually, after about 6 months of posting with a few viral videos, I had gained a following of 40k. Up to this point, I had a general idea of the kind of audience I attracted (a younger demographic), so I started focusing my content more on what I thought they might find engaging. Taking the time to really work through that helped my growth and I was able to produce successful videos on a more consistent basis, ending the year with 590K followers. Consistency was the most important part of the growth. I posted videos daily for a few months, then pulled back to every other day once I started feeling burnt out.

I learned quite a lot from the audience, but I would say the two most important things would be: never-ending improvement, and consistency are key. There is always something I could improve in my videos whether it be lighting, sound, pacing, dialogue, etc. Also being consistent with the upload schedule and the kind of videos I posted were the most important factors of growth.

Q - Tell us about the process of figuring out what kinds of posts do well and play to your strengths? E.g. Do you do dances? Songs? Skateboard tricks? Monologues?

A - I quickly realized that I was (regrettably) not a part of the class of creators who could simply hit record, strike a couple poses, look attractive, and get millions of views. Nor was I a dancer. So, I took stock of what I was good at and how I might incorporate that into my videos. Being from a theater background, I was very familiar with conflict and motivation (i.e. what is the conflict of a story and what is motivating the characters to act), so I decided to try and incorporate that into my videos. I tried a basic skit where I played two characters fighting over something they both wanted (a yellow balloon), and I tried to keep the conflict at the center of the video. Conflict with high stakes engages an audience, and that was my first video to hit 1 million views. From there, I did a ton of research on how to make entertaining videos, what keeps people engaged, attended workshops, listened to podcasts--everything. I ruled out trying to do monologues or straight theater scenes as I saw other actors doing that on the app but found the videos to be pretty cringy. Not that my videos aren't cringy, but I had more fun going the direction I did.

Q - How might other young artists and actors think about personal branding and craft on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram?

A - I am still trying to figure this out myself. I definitely think it's important to be on social media as an actor, since so much of the world relies on it. But I also see so many actors on social media only posting "actor" content, which I find really one-dimensional. As performers, our bodies are our instruments and our faces are our brand. As such, I think it's easy for us to be so self-focused that we get tripped up by what people actually enjoy or are entertained by. We post as a way to put ourselves out there, to show we're working on theater stuff, to say how happy and grateful we are to be involved in such-and-such production or Zoom play. But that does not attract an audience. That's "selfish content". The best thing you can do is offer value to people, whether that be information, entertainment or inspiration. Offering content that is valuable to people is what attracts them to follow you. I believe this is true across all social platforms.

Brittin Ward and his brother Titus

Q - What kind of discipline or time commitment have you developed and what might other people develop?

A - Each video I posted in the latter half of the year took around 3-4 hours to shoot, edit, and post, so it definitely required a good amount of discipline. That also does not include the time it would take to come up with a video idea and plan out the video. It sounds silly since it was only for TikTok, but I would literally storyboard my videos and break them down into increments of 5-10 seconds and plan what action I wanted to happen at which segment of the video. I basically spent all my time outside of my day job working on my videos.

Q - Why is it important for artists to build self-marketing skills?

A - Honestly, being cut off from theater was really great for me as it forced me to take stock of the direction my career was going and think creatively about how to entertain people. As an actor, I am my own business so it is solely up to me whether I succeed or fail. If I don't have the drive to keep picking myself back up after each failure and continuing to pursue my dream, it will not happen. Self-marketing is crucial for actors and entertainers, but I would emphasize the importance of not just self-promoting. No one likes that. But everyone appreciates a chuckle at a funny video, or feeling inspired to try something new because of a video they watched. I don't know who said this originally, but my dad always told me "people won't remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel.”

Q - When the pandemic is officially over (what a wonderful thought!) do you expect to remain as involved on TikTok? Or do you expect to channel your creative energies elsewhere?

A - I've really enjoyed building an audience on TikTok, and I will continue to post there, but I would also like to turn my attention to other platforms. With videos restricted to being 60 seconds long, I have a hard time creating content that connects with people on a deeper level. I don't think it's possible for a TikTok to have the same impact on a person as a great podcast or youtube video. You just can't go deep (whether it be comedy, inspiration, etc.) in 60 seconds. When the Pandemic lifts I will go back to auditioning and trying to book stage roles. However, I will continue to devote plenty of my time to making videos. I feel like I am only just now beginning to understand how all this social media stuff works, so I'd like to see what I can accomplish in another year.

- Edited by Paul Glader, executive director of MPJI.

MPJI is based at The King’s College in New York City. MPJI provides education, training and professional development projects for journalists at the high school, undergraduate and professional levels. It is named after the late John McCandlish Phillips, a legendary reporter at The New York Times.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @JMPjournalism and LinkedIn at McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute.