Behind the Stories

The news media is facing a reckoning over diversity, equity and inclusion. UConn Journalism students Samara Thacker, Courtney Gavitt and Jordana Castelli go behind the stories to find out how journalists should cover race and racism, and how to avoid practices and reflexes that marginalize people. Featuring interviews with SNY sports anchor Chris Williamson, NextShark head of business development Waylae Gregoire, and UConn Journalism Professor in Residence Gail MacDonald. Hosted and edited by UConn Journalism junior Naiela Suleiman. Recorded in April 2021. Photo by Faith Eselé on Unsplash

UConn Journalism students Izzi Barton, Brendan Carpenter and Raquel Williamson go behind the stories to find out how journalists adapted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Charles Sennott, founder and editor of The GroundTruth Project, explained how Report for America reporters had to do their work "with incredible respect" for the pandemic and the job of the journalist in times of crisis. ESPN Features production assistant Daniela Marulanda said she had to shift her perspective on virtual reporting, seeing it as a personal challenge to test her abilities as a storyteller. Hartford Courant reporter Emily Brindley described how she got a crash course in covering public health while her newsroom permanently closed during the pandemic. Hosted by UConn Journalism senior Rachel Philipson. Featured music: In the Dark by Crowander Additional reading: With the Loss of Physical Newsrooms, How are Young Journalists Faring? The coronavirus has closed more than 70 local newsrooms across America. And counting. Virtual Newsroom: getting journalism done in a digital age COVID-19 Is Crushing Newspapers, Worsening Hunger for Accurate Information Hartford Courant, oldest US newspaper, to close its offices The Hartford Courant's newsroom is closing down .

The Crash Course newsletter team brings you 'behind the stories' with three Connecticut political journalists — Daniela Altimari of The Hartford Courant, Emilie Munson of Hearst Connecticut, and Amber Diaz of WTNH-TV. We hear about their experiences covering the 2020 election and the coronavirus pandemic. We also had them tell us what issues they’ll be focusing on now that the unprecedented 2020 election season is behind us. Reporting is brought to you by UConn Journalism majors Ashley Anglisano, Ben Crnic and Allison O’Donnell, with Fiona Brady and Mike Mavredakis as your hosts. The project is overseen by UConn Journalism Associate Prof. Marie K. Shanahan. The music featured in this podcast is 'Acoustic Breeze' by Ben Sound. Read and subscribe to UConn Journalism's Crash Course newsletter at https://crashcourse.substack.com

UConn Journalism senior Adam Hushin dissects one of the key rights afforded by the First Amendment—freedom of peaceful assembly. In particular, he sought out the recipe for a successful protest or rally. Is it how many people attend? Is it media coverage? Hushin interviewed representatives from UConn PIRG, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, the Women's March, the Connecticut chapter of the ACLU, and an editor from The New Britain Herald to find out how the success of a protest is measured. Watch an accompanying animation about this project at https://wp.me/p3PtH2-rz Photo by Michelle Ding via Unsplash

Derek Slap, Mary Glassman and Lonnie Reed are three Connecticut politicians who began their careers in journalism and made the switch to politics. In this podcast hosted by UConn Journalism senior Ryley McGinnis, Slap, Glassman and Reed outline what motivated them to go into journalism, why they left the industry for politics, and how they think their news experience prepared them for elected office.

Our team of UConn Journalism students asked four Connecticut journalists how the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting changed the way they cover gun violence and the gun control debate. We talked with reporters Jenn Bernstein of Fox61 and Matthew Kauffman of The Hartford Courant, Hearst Connecticut editorial page editor Jacqueline Smith and columnist Susan Campbell. The podcast was hosted and produced by Will Harris. Interviews by Grace Gagnon, Adam Hushin, Laura Gelb and Mike Milius. More details at https://wp.me/p3PtH2-ma File photo courtesy of Hartford Courant

UConn Journalism finds out the story behind three successful hyperlocal news sites in Connecticut: CTNewsJunkie, We-Ha.com and NewCanaanite.com. UConn senior Ryley McGinnis interviewed Michael Dinan of NewCanaanite. UConn senior Amanda Cabral talked with Ronni Newton of We-Ha.com. UConn senior Madison Geerlof interviewed Doug Hardy of CTNewsJunkie.

What skills do journalists need to cover the issues surrounding marijuana? UConn Journalism seniors Adam Hushin and Connor Donahue interviewed Boston Globe reporter Dan Adams, Portland Press Herald reporter Penelope Overton and University of Denver Journalism professor Andrew Matranga about how journalists can stay on the forefront of covering one of the country's most debated and fastest-growing industries: cannabis. Read more at https://wp.me/p3PtH2-jK

Molly Qerim is the co-host of ESPN's 'First Take.' Sportswriter and author Karen Crouse works at The New York Times. Gabby Lucivero is a sports reporter at NBC Connecticut. These three women journalists talked with UConn Journalism students Ryley McGinnis, Connor Donahue and Caitlin Culligan about how they found success covering sports in the male-dominated sports news industry.

How are the political reporters in Connecticut covering the state's bloated race for governor? As of March 9, 2018, there are more than two dozen(!) candidates vying to replace Gov. Dannel Malloy in this year's gubernatorial election. There are no standouts yet. So who gets the news media's attention? Our podcast — hosted by The Roundup's Caio Goncalves, Gracie Enright and Ryley McGinnis — features interviews with Max Reiss of NBC Connecticut, Christine Stuart of CT News Junkie and Neil Vigdor of The Hartford Courant.

What responsibility does the news media have to confront racism? How can journalists avoid perpetuating racist stereotypes? 'Confronting Racism as Journalists' features interviews with Washington Post columnist and ESPN contributor Kevin Blackistone, NBC Asian America essayist Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Helen Ubinas and UConn Journalism Assistant Professor Marie Shanahan. Produced by UConn Journalism students Eliza Kanner, Caitlin Culligan and Connor Donahue. Watch the full Feb. 8, 2018 'Confronting Racism as Journalists' panel discussion at https://youtu.be/GemrxPlIDZ4

This week's podcast features NBC Connecticut chief investigative reporter Len Besthoff who talked with UConn Journalism's Gracie Enright about how he discovered and covered a major patient abuse scandal at the Whiting Forensic state psychiatric hospital.  The second part of the podcast features a conversation with Hartford Courant reporter Vinny Vella and photographer Patrick Raycraft. The two journalists chatted with UConn junior Ryley McGinnis about the eight days they spent in Puerto Rico, documenting the hurricane relief efforts of a team of volunteers from East Hartford. Hosted and produced by UConn senior Eliza Kanner.

UConn Journalism's Caitlin Culligan talks with Hartford Courant Editorial Page Editor Carolyn Lumsden about the #MeToo moment on social media and cracking open the discussion about sexual harassment and sexual assault. The second half of the podcast features Hartford Courant sportswriter Desmond Conner, who talks with UConn junior Connor Donahue about the changing conversation around sports. High profile stories about Colin Kaepernick, ESPN's Jemele Hill, President Donald Trump & the NFL have pulled sports out of the realm of entertainment and into very political, polarized debates. Hosted and produced by UConn senior Eliza Kanner.

#TheRoundupCT's "Behind the Stories" podcast is hosted by UConn senior Eliza Kanner. It showcases conversations with Connecticut journalists whose stories we followed this semester as part of a class taught by UConn Journalism Prof. Marie K. Shanahan. UConn senior journalism major Caio Goncalves talked with Keith Phaneuf of The Connecticut Mirror about the "ugly choices" that had to be made during Connecticut's prolonged and contentious state budget battle. Eugene Driscoll of The Valley Independent Sentinel explained to UConn junior journalism major Amanda Cabral how his 2-person hyperlocal news website managed to host three local debates during Connecticut's municipal election season.