On this episode we're joined by Alana Van Der Sluys. Alana is a journalism teacher at Kinnelon High School in Kinnelon, New Jersey. Alana was a guest on episode 16 on this podcast back in December 2020. She's back nearly 250 episodes later to reflect on what happened since, which includes writing a book. Alana is a graduate of Iona University with masters' from there and Montclair State.

Alana talked about her experience as a teacher, how her program includes the possibility of college credit, how the value of journalism goes beyond the class itself, and her own writing about a difficult personal experience.

Kinnelon Colt Chronicle School Newspaper: https://coltchronicle.org/

Alana's salutes: Ava Gutkin (Colt Chronicle editor-in-chief), The Garden State Scholastic Press Association, Anna Helhoski (Nerd Wallet)

Alana's book: https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Food-Fitness-Alana-Sluys/dp/1953027199

You'll also hear from Anita Pinto, a speech therapist for Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology, a high school in Manhattan in which she started a journalism club last year. Anitahas been checking in with us once a month to let us know how her club is doing, the challenges the students face, and the things they learn. We thank the non-profit Press Pass NYC for connecting us with her.

Anita'sSchool Newspaper: The Gateway Times

You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here,

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Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

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Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social

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On this episode we're joined by Stacy Kess. Stacy is a journalist and the founder and head of editorial for Equal Access Public Media. She's a graduate of Indiana University and is based in Boston.

The mission of Equal Access Public Media is to make news more accessible to all audiences so that it is more inclusive of those with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and others with accessibility needs; and to make jobs more accessible to journalists with disabilities, with chronic illnesses, who are military veterans, and who are caregivers.

Stacy talked about her connection to disability, what her organization does and its points of emphasis, the importance of alt text, and why she believes journalism is a calling.

Stacy's salute: 4 journalism professors she interviewed: Nicole Carr, Meghan Irons, Nicki Mayo, and Jason Strother

Donate to Equal Access Public Media: https://equalaccesspublicmedia.org/

You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here,

Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org

Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social

Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by David Covucci. David is the editor-in-chief of FOIAball – FOIA standing for "Freedom of Information Act." It's a newsletter that uses public records reporting to investigate college football. As he said- collectives, consultants, cops, contracts, and communications.

Whether or not you like sports, I think you'll find this conversation informative as we're going to talk about the idea of finding a niche in a very crowded field.

David's past experience in journalism includes time as a news editor for BroBible and the senior tech and politics editor for nearly 9 years at The Daily Dot. He's a graduate of Virginia Tech.

David talked about his experience with FOIA requests and what led him to doing a newsletter centered around them. He gave examples of the kinds of stories he's done (from tax fraud allegations to how much schools spend on entertaining recruits), and how accidental discoveries can lead to significant revelations.

The website: FOIAball.com

David's salutes: College sports newsletter founder Matt Brown, Daniel Libit (Sportico), Matt Baker (The Athletic), Jason Leopold (Bloomberg News)

You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here,

Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org

Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social

Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com