Please take some time to explore the site, and to check back regularly for updates. You can subscribe to the blog using the “sign up” field to the left, or by clicking on the “follow” button in the lower right-hand corner of the home page. If you have any questions—or suggestions—don’t hesitate to reach out!
— Dr. Elizabeth Alsop (Assistant Professor, Communication and Media, elizabeth.alsop@cuny.edu)
Interested in working in publishing? The Feminist Press (based in the CUNY Graduate Center) is now accepting applications to its Apprenticeship Program, which is essentially a hybrid internship. Details (including hours and hourly rate) available here: https://www.feministpress.org/apprenticeship?utm_campaign=Spring+2023
Our colleagues in Business wanted to let all CUNY SPS students know that the Management and Entrepreneur Leadership Organization (MELO) will host its sixth Entrepreneurial Ideation Event on December 12, 2024, at 7:00PM Eastern Time. The event is a pitch competition for students who wish to share their best business idea. Students can choose to participate as guests or contestants. The top 3 competitors with the best pitch will win a prize!
To enter as a contestant,please fill out this survey. MELO will contact all participants who will have the option to pre-record their 3-minute pitch or present it to a live audience. A panel of expert judges will review the presentation based on a set criterion. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact MELO@sps.cuny.edu.
Please register using this link if you wish to participate as an attendee. Best of luck with your Ideation Pitch! MELOis open to all undergraduate and graduate students of CUNY SPS.
For those of you eligible to register for CM 490 and CM 499 (the capstone) this coming semester, please see below for some information about your options and feel free to reach out to me or Rokshana with questions.
CM 490: Special Topics
For CM 490, you have the choice between two topics—Introduction to Podcasting, and Introduction to Journalism (aka “Journalism for Non-Journalists”). Both will provide you with strong knowledge of each field, and equip you with durable skills that are transferable across a range of professional contexts.
CM 499: Capstone
For CM 499, you can choose between Capstone to Career—a workshop class that allows you to produce a polished piece of work for your academic, creative, or professional portfolio—and Engagement Marketing, a more independently structured class focused on marketing.
CUNY SPS’ student-run newspaper, The Kiosk, will be hosting an information session for students interested in writing for the site on Tuesday, October 8th, at 6:00pm via Zoom.
The meeting is open to everyone—students can join to learn more about The Kiosk’s past coverage and what we’re looking for in terms of pitching story ideas. The info session will cover our article preferences, submission guidelines, the publishing process, and address any questions students may have. See the attached flyer for more details!
On October 1st, Communication and Media hosted its first virtual co-working session on Zoom, the first of a bi-weekly series during the fall semester. These “Writing Together” sessions are meant to build community and provide gentle structures of accountability for CM students — and faculty! — who want a set time to make progress on a project or class assignment. We hope more students will join us for future sessions!
On Tuesday, September 17th, we held a welcome event for new and continuing Communication and Media students. In addition to sharing some advice for our majors—crowd-sourced from our students, faculty, and alumni—we were joined by a number of professors, who discussed their professional experience and shared a bit about their courses and the skills students develop through the curriculum. We also heard from Ivan DeLuce, the editor of The Kiosk, about what they’re looking for in student submissions. You can view a video of the event below!
In May, the Communication and Media program convened a roundtable discussion with recent alumni who shared their insights and experiences with current students, faculty, and staff. See what they had to say—about thriving during the B.A. and after graduation—in the video below!
Please join us for a roundtable discussion w with recent Communication and Media alumni, taking place Tuesday, May 7th, 7-8pm on Zoom!
It will be a wonderful conversation with some CM alums who have successfully pursued graduate work and built careers in a variety of fields, including strategic communications, journalism, publishing, nonprofit and arts administration, television production, and more. Please see your emails and the attached flyer for the registration link and read on below for the panelist bios!
CM Alumni Roundtable: Panelist Bios
Joe Caffrey ‘21 was born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, to a family emphasizing work over education. He spent four years studying film at Hunter College in the 1980s but found himself without the tools to finish the job. He began working in television and built a career that took him around the country and the world. Joe worked for Bloomberg News in Tokyo, the BBC, in London, PBS in Washington D.C., and most recently for NBC. Itching to get his degree and loyal to brand CUNY, he began studying Communication and Media with SPS while doing remote productions in far-flung locations. Joe graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2021 from CUNY SPS and is now pursuing a Master’s from the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Joe hopes to tell compelling stories that serve the needs of democracy. Joe lives in Staten Island with his wife, Deirdre, and his son, Gabe, who studies philosophy at the CUNY College of Staten Island. Go CUNY!
Ashley Echevarria ‘23 (she/her/ella) works in fundraising for Marwen, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free visual arts education to young people from across Chicago. A native Chicagoan of Puerto Rican descent, Ashley spent several years in New York City working in finance and law while dabbling in the performing arts – and of course attending CUNY for her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media. She’s passionate about arts education as a vehicle for developing a strong sense of self and unlocking myriad professional opportunities, and she strongly believes that access to the arts should not be hindered by class, ethnicity, or background. She serves on the Board of Directors for Filament Theatre, which makes her inner theater kid very happy. When she’s not advocating for the arts and social justice, Ashley can be found taking long walks along Lake Michigan, planning her next international trip, or reading in her perfectly curated reading nook on the northside of Chicago.
Milan Fredricks ‘19, M.S. is a native New Yorker and CUNY alum. She graduated from CUNY SPS in 2019 and from Columbia University with her master’s degree in strategic communications in 2022. She is the strategic communications manager for the department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. As an internal communications professional, Milan’s goal is to inform, inspire and activate employees. She builds connections; giving a voice to employees, deepening their connection to each other and to the missions of the department. As a Millennial, Milan is obligated to tell anyone she meets that her Hogwarts House is Slytherin and her patronus is an owl.
Nori Pérez ‘21 boasts an impressive career spanning over two decades, leaving an indelible mark on both the non-profit and private sectors. Her expertise lies in skillfully managing complex organizations, particularly within academia and corporate law. In March 2024, Nori embarked on a new chapter by joining the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, where her steadfast dedication to social justice illuminates her work. Additionally, she generously volunteers with New York Cares in her spare time. A proud alumna of the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CM ’21) and a lifelong New Yorker, Nori currently resides in Brooklyn.
Anita M. Samuels ‘23 is a nationally acclaimed journalist and critic who writes about media, fashion, music and culture. A frequent contributor to the New York Daily News, Samuels began her career on the staff of the New York Times Style section, where many of her features about the African American community earned her an award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Samuels has been an editor for national publications as BET Weekend, Billboard, Heart & Soul, and Impact Radio, Records and Retail Weekly. Her stories have also appeared in Essence, The Source, Consumer’s Digest, Global Rhythm Magazine, The Asbury Park Press, Upscale, Honey, CODE, Caribbeat, Forum, Child Magazine, fierceforblackwomen.com and diversebusinessnews.com, among others. She was a contributing writer for Mama’s Little Baby: The Black Woman’s Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby’s First Year and the April 2024 anthology, We Refuse to Be Silent. She is the author of Rants & Retorts: How Bigots Got a Monopoly on Commenting About News Online.
As some of you know, Dr. Carla Marquez-Lewis (Psychology) and I have been coordinating a series of events designed to support first-generation college students at CUNY SPS. But not only first-gen students—we also think the topics we cover could be helpful for all students! Check out recordings of our previous events here:
The Kiosk, SPS’s student newspaper, will be offering a Photojournalism Workshop for students, taught by CM professor Dr. Nina Hien, on Monday, April 1, from 6-7:30 on Zoom. Please see the announcement below and the attached flyer for more details and to register for this exciting opportunity! No prior experience necessary (and no April Fool’s jokes—we promise!)
The Kiosk will be holding its first PhotojournalismWorkshop Series this semester!
Hosted by CUNY SPS professor and photographer Nina Hien, the two workshops are designed to teach aspiring student journalists and photographers the foundational elements and essential considerations related to the production, selection and preparation of optimal images for publication.
The first workshop, an introduction to photojournalism, will cover elements of journalistic photography, storytelling, post-production editing, captioning, and ethical considerations. Students will also get the chance to participate in a photojournalism contest/assignment to win prizes and apply what they learned.
The workshop will be held Monday, April 1st from 6-7:30pm via Zoom. Register here.
