Faculty Spotlight: Kadia Tubman Kadia Tubman has been fascinated with the news since she was a little girl. Whether it was reading The New York Post in middle school or dedicating time to listen to 1010 WINS with her mom every day, Tubman’s interest in the news came naturally to her. However, despite her strong interest in becoming a reporter, Tubman attended Babson College, a private business school in Massachusetts that was widely known for students interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. During her time at Babson, Tubman would naturally lean toward liberal arts courses allowing her to hone her skills in writing but still earn a business degree. After graduating, Tubman landed a job at Nielsen for marketing and communications and worked there for four years. Although Tubman was thriving, her passion for journalism had not waned, and she decided to leave Nielsen to pursue a career in reporting. Tubman’s start in journalism began with enrolling in a digital journalism course to test whether she would be able to succeed in such a competitive field. Tubman realized she made the right decision while interviewing strangers for a homework assignment on a crowded 42nd Street. “I was so scared of doing this that I felt reawakened. I knew that this was something I needed to go towards instead of running away from,” says Tubman. Read Full article on Hunter’s journalism website. Link in bio.

Faculty Spotlight: Professor Alex Newman is eager to bring her expertise in data journalism to the Hunter College Journalism Department. Newman got her start in journalism at the University of Nevada at Reno. As a student, she studied print journalism and was an active member of the student newspaper for two years, ultimately running it during her third. Outside of school, she interned at the Reno Gazette-Journal, USA Today, and the Arizona Republic. More recently, Newman was a visual editor for the Wall Street Journal for almost three years before pursuing a new opportunity at FiveThirtyEight, where she currently works as the senior editor of Interactives.  FiveThirtyEight is dedicated to data journalism and tells stories about politics and sports through the lens of data. Newman is part of the team responsible for the charts and data graphics viewers see on its website. In addition to Newman’s professional achievements, she has taught at four universities over 15 years and is now teaching MEDPL 297: Data Journalism: Telling Stories With Numbers. Read full article on Hunters journalism website. Link in bio.

Hunter journalism professor Charity Elder releases book, Power: The Rise of Black Women in America Elder reveals that success is an inherent trait in Black women. After pairing data compiled from the US Census–including growth of median wages, college attendance and professional and managerial roles–and national polling focused on Black women’s view on personal successes, she found that 70% of Black women in America say they are successful or have it within their power to succeed. Elder not only focuses on data, but real stories–both personal and historical–to help reframe and shape what it means to be a Black woman today. Referencing the uptick in books detailing Black women, their stories and their “firsts,” Elder acknowledges the importance of those stories but says Power emphasizes intentionality and how to recognize–then use–personal power in everyday life. Read full story on Hunter’s journalism website, as well as a link to purchase Power. Link in bio.

The Journalism Program’s Hunter News Now newscast is back in business for the first time in two years, and students are already working on their first of four biweekly shows for the fall. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, remote learning was not a viable option for this course since students produce and report stories on campus and then anchor the newscast from the fourth floor TV studio. “I am thrilled that Hunter News Now will be back on the air this semester. We have a great team of student journalists who are ready to cover the stories that really matter to the Hunter community,” says Prof. Sissel McCarthy, a Distinguished Lecturer, and director of the Journalism Program. This course prepares its students for a career in broadcast journalism by having them rotate between taking on the roles of a reporter, anchor, and producer.  Read full article on Hunter’s Journalism website! Link in bio.

Hunter College welcomes Polly Leider as a new professor for MEDIA 211: News Literacy in a Digital Age! Leider knew early on that she wanted to pursue journalism. As an undergraduate at Columbia University, Leider landed her first internship at the BBC. She remembers walking into the newsroom and feeling the buzz and excitement. From there, she worked at the Center for Investigative Reporting and that led to her first TV job at CNN. “What I realized is that every day was going to be different. That the dynamic nature of the work was just going to keep me engaged forever,” Leider recalled. Now, Leider works as a producer at CBS with a reporter to tell breaking news stories. In addition, she works on longer term projects where she pitches story ideas, sets up and conducts interviews and writes the scripts. “I think of writing as really kind of the backbone of my work, I write and I write and I write,” she said. Read the full article on the Hunter College Journalism website! Link in bio.

Thank you Salvador Rizzo and @swmccarthy for today’s event! Rizzo said he had never been asked such good questions from the students. #hunterjourn #hunterjournpgm

HAPPENING NOW: A conversation about fact-checking with Sal Rizzo. #hunterjourn #hunterjournpgm

Last Tuesday, freelance journalist Anna-Cat visited Hunter’s Journalism department and gave a talk about her experiences reporting abroad, moderated by our program director @swmccarthy. Thank you, Anna-Cat! #hunterjournpgm #JournalismAtHunter

Join us for a conversation with Sal Rizzo, fact-checker for @washingtonpost, on April 6th to talk about the spread of misinformation and his book, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth.” Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/289748153527 to register.