Neighborhood News (MEDP 299.70, section 001) will cover the South Bronx community of Hunts Point, posting stories about its people and institutions on a web site and publishing them in a community newspaper distributed to residents.

Hunts Point has plenty of both strengths and problems. Unemployment is high, residents are poor, and crime, though declining, remains a serious issue, as do asthma and other chronic health issues associated with poverty and pollution. In recent years, though, organizations like Mothers on the Move, Sustainable South Bronx and The Point CDC have raised environmental awareness, fought to create parks and improve schools, and founded exciting arts and theater programs to serve the neighborhood.

This class will continue the effort to produce a neighborhood news outlet. You can see the results at www.huntspointexpress.com.

In addition to students majoring in film & media, students in urban affairs, sociology, political science or English might find this course both challenging and enjoyable. It offers liberal arts students, regardless of their career goals, a way to learn to marshal and evaluate evidence and present it in an orderly and compelling fashion. For students who are exploring a career as journalists it offers an opportunity to report and write news in the real world, reaching an audience that will hold them accountable.

The syllabus and readings for this semester are on the Blackboard, and guest access is enabled, so you can check them out. 

MEDP 299.70 will meet on Wednesdays from 9:45-12:45. Enrollment is limited. Hope to see some of you there.

Bernard L. Stein
Professor of journalism