Covering City Government and Politics
This course gives students a thorough understanding of how the city is governed – how power is wielded and policy decisions are reached. Using a variety of different media formats, students learn how to produce news and feature reports on the vast New York City government bureaucracy, City Council, and unofficial but key players such as lobbyists, labor unions, business, advocacy groups, and community organizations.
Instructors: Errol Louis, Douglas Muzzio, Sarah Bartlett
Covering NYC’s Economy and Business
The goal of this course is to help students understand the economic and business forces shaping life in New York City. Students learn about the city’s most important industries and employers, the role of small businesses and immigrant entrepreneurs, and the impact of real estate and economic development. After getting an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of New York City’s economy, students focus on cutting-edge economic issues the city faces.
Instructor: Greg David
Covering New York’s Social Issues
This course teaches students how to produce fresh, compelling stories about critical social issues in New York City, such as education, housing, health, poverty, criminal justice, and race relations. Students learn about the public policies that attempt to address those social issues, different ways to measure the effectiveness of those policies, and how journalists can improve the public’s understanding of these issues.
Instructors: Jarrett Murphy, Sarah Bartlett
Urban Investigative Reporting
Each semester, students in this class produce an investigative package of stories that are then published by a community or ethnic media outlet. Previous class projects have focused on the problem of slum landlords in the Bronx and courthouse patronage and were published by City Limits and The Riverdale Press. (The most recent project can be seen in the Urban Showcase section of this website.)
Instructor: Tom Robbins
Urban Environmental Reporting
This course is open to both urban and health/science concentration students. Students learn how to produce stories in all formats about the host of environmental problems facing New York City: everything from air and water quality, to rising sea levels from climate change, to renewable energy and waste disposal.
Instructor: TBA