ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NY - The tough economic times have hit New Yorkers hard, but maybe not as hard as one would think. There are people who are getting by just fine despite the increase in lay-offs and unemployment around the country. This doesn’t mean that lives aren’t affected at all. For most, it seems that it’s the little things that are getting hit hardest.
“I bring my lunch to work now instead of buying because it’s just, it’s too much,” said Rutgers student Katelyn Maziekien, 22. “Especially with buying a bus ticket home from New York and all my other expenses, it’s really hard to afford things.”
Besides smaller expenses being cut, others have felt the recession in their work hours. “Because of the recession, they like to cut back overtime for a lot of the pages, which means I’m only working sometimes like 30, 35 hours” said Brett Harris, a 23-year-old page at NBC Universal. “Because we’re paid hourly, a lot of our money is basically made in overtime.”
It would appear that the recession has hit the average New Yorker in the wallet, but hasn’t really left a hole in the bottom of the pocket. If anything, the recession has seemed to encourage people to be more aware of their finances and spend less money on comforts and luxuries. For example, Maziekien hasn’t “been able to get to the mall a lot to shop” and Harris continues to live at home with his parents.
Perhaps the only good thing about the poor economy is that people are definitely learning tricks on how to save money here and there. Maziekien’s tip? “Food shopping, I try to cut as many coupons as I can because I find that that helps a lot,” she said. “Saves you some money.”
Confessions of a Journalism Major
- Kelsey Kloza
- A collection, or portfolio if you will, of stories and articles written for various journalism classes, as well as insights to being a journalism major
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Recession Session - Making It In Journalism
NEW YORK - On February 11, 2009, Diane Dragan, the online executive editor of “Every Day Rachael Ray” spoke to Jill Hamburg-Coplan’s journalistic inquiry class at New York University about working as a journalist on the web. Dragan started out as a struggling freelance writer and worked her way up to executive editor through sheer determination and talent.
At her job at “Every Day Rachael Ray,” Dragan is responsible for the website design and content of the online counter-part to the magazine. Her talk to the wide-eyed students however focused more on an inside look to the workings of a magazine company during a recession rather than the job itself.
The stress of the current economic state wore on the faces of all the students as the questions turned to how to get a job and keep it in a few years after leaving NYU. Dragan calmly explained how although 300 people were cut from Reader’s Digest (Rachael Ray’s parent company) in the last year, most of these cuts were in the human resource, advertisement, and corporate departments. Dragan also offered another reassurance to the aspiring journalists, saying how small properties inside of a larger company is usually safe from cutbacks. For example, her online department is smaller compared to other areas of the company, making it less prone to lay-offs though their budget has been decreased.
Just because life is easier on journalists than human resource employees during hard economic times does not mean that it’s easy going; there are hiring freezes occurring and less opportunities for freelance writers to get their pieces bought. However, Diane Dragan is living proof that with perseverance, a hard worker can make it through anything.
At her job at “Every Day Rachael Ray,” Dragan is responsible for the website design and content of the online counter-part to the magazine. Her talk to the wide-eyed students however focused more on an inside look to the workings of a magazine company during a recession rather than the job itself.
The stress of the current economic state wore on the faces of all the students as the questions turned to how to get a job and keep it in a few years after leaving NYU. Dragan calmly explained how although 300 people were cut from Reader’s Digest (Rachael Ray’s parent company) in the last year, most of these cuts were in the human resource, advertisement, and corporate departments. Dragan also offered another reassurance to the aspiring journalists, saying how small properties inside of a larger company is usually safe from cutbacks. For example, her online department is smaller compared to other areas of the company, making it less prone to lay-offs though their budget has been decreased.
Just because life is easier on journalists than human resource employees during hard economic times does not mean that it’s easy going; there are hiring freezes occurring and less opportunities for freelance writers to get their pieces bought. However, Diane Dragan is living proof that with perseverance, a hard worker can make it through anything.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Me thinks doth thou protest too much...
Protip: Camera phones are so useful for the aspiring blogger journalist.
Though I wish I could carry my beautiful Nikon d70 around with me all the time in case something like this should happen, it's just not practical. However, my LG Venus actually managed to get some great shots.
Pictures from the "Take Back NYU" protest and the counter-protest to the protest:
Protesters outside of Kimmel Center for Student Life handing out flyers and holding up signs.
Banner posted from inside the barricaded 3rd floor cafeteria in Kimmel
More signs from the cafeteria inside of Kimmel
Bystanders cautiously approach the protesters to pass by on the sidewalk of W 4th St.
Counter-protesters stand opposite of Kimmel, calling for the students to "Take back Kimmel"
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