Beats of '25: Spring Semester
Covering crises, culture and community — recognizing the stories driven by students.
“The Past is the Present:” Covering Religion in Ireland
From Belfast: “At 8:41 a.m., after a six-hour direct flight, our airplane landed in Dublin. Twelve excited students, Dean Melanie Huff and Adjunct Professor Liz Donovan, '19 M.S., arrived chock full of expectations for the journey.”
Students in Ari Goldman, '73 M.S., and Gregory Khalil's "Covering Religion" class are reporting from Ireland, offering a unique opportunity to explore and report on how religion is practiced outside the U.S. View their daily dispatches and additional work here.
Amancai Biraben, '25 M.S., reported on the aftermath of the LA wildfires, publishing two stories for the Los Angeles Daily News and one for the Pasadena Star-News. Biraben also contributed to a New York Times article on how the wildfires have affected homebuyers in Los Angeles County.
Bella Bromberg, '25 M.S., covered a New York state law banning the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores for Columbia News Service, highlighting the significant impact this law has had on the stores’ profit margins
Shalina Xufang Cao, '25 M.A. Politics, reported on the Los Angeles wildfires for Columbia News Service, interviewing evacuees who had sought refuge in the Westwood Recreation Center.
Leilani Combs, '25 M.S. Documentary, reported on shark conservation efforts on Long Island following 13 unprovoked shark encounters in 2022 and 2023.
Hayley Duffy, '25 M.S., covered the departure of undocumented workers from Martha’s Vineyard due to fears of immigration raids under the Trump administration for The Martha’s Vineyard Times.
Vito Emanuel, '25 M.S., wrote a piece for WNYC’s All Things Considered about supply chain challenges in the Christmas tree market that forced curbside mom-and-pop tree shops to close in low-income neighborhoods across NYC.
Lauren Farkas '25 M.S., Racquel Miller '26 M.S. Part-Time, and Eric Santomauro-Stenzel '25 M.S., interviewed Grace Rauh, executive director of the 5Boro Institute, about freedom of the press under the Trump administration.
Mariana Hernandez, '25 M.S., worked with James Madison Visiting Professor on First Amendment Issues Aida Alami to report on the escalating political repression under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s third term.
Jacob Kushner, Newsday/David Laventhol Visiting Assistant Professor of Journalism, and his students attended asylum hearings at two New York immigration courts, met asylum seekers from Senegal, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic and are now writing explainer stories on America's asylum system under the Trump administration.
Karen Lindell, '25 M.A. Arts & Culture, published a profile of Meredith Augustin, a New York-based musician and the music director at St. Francis of Assisi Church, for the National Catholic Reporter.
Paul Maniaci, '26 M.S. Part-Time, covered a legal battle over noise complaints in Forest Hills for Columbia News Service, where a homeowner's group conflicts with Forest Hills Stadium.
Diba Mohtasham, '25 M.A. Arts & Culture, profiled Broadway actress Ava Lalezarzadeh for The Brooklyn Rail, exploring her career and contributions to the theater world.
Ivan L. Nagy, '25 M.A. Politics, recapped the pardon scandal and resignation of Hungarian President Katalin Novák for Visegrad Insight.
Alex J. Rouhandeh, '25 M.A. Politics, covered Vice President Harris’ struggle to win over voters concerned about climate change and young activists preparing to organize against the Trump administration’s climate policies for Newsweek.
Claudia B. Rosel, '25 M.S. Documentary, and Carl David Goette-Luciak, '25 M.S., both won 2025 Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar Awards.
Christine Stoddard, '25 M.S., published portions of her master's thesis in City Limits focusing on the closure of the Floyd Bennett tent shelter in Brooklyn and the potential educational disruptions this could cause for migrant children. She also reported on the urban exploration of Dead Horse Bay for the New York Almanac, covering its history as a dumping ground and its ongoing attraction to scavengers and adventurers, despite its contamination.
Shailee Shah, '25 M.S., Christine Stoddard, '25 M.S., and Rana Roudi, '25 M.S., examined developments in NYC education for City Newsroom in a piece titled, "Vanessa Leung on Invisibility and Myths of the Asian American Community."
Hope Talbot, '25 M.S., and Anna Kane, '25 M.S., coproduced "Ganka Smirnova on 1000 Days of War,” a short film following an NYC-based Ukrainian activist’s art installation in Times Square.
Cate Zanardi, '25 M.S., published a piece for City Newsroom on Mayor Eric Adams' political rivals criticizing the Department of Justice's motion to drop the corruption charges against him.