The Craft of Research

One last batch of bylines to close things out right…

From the Mott Haven Herald, we had Anna Teregulova’s story about a youth soccer league and a police blotter by Irina Ivanova and Shamanth Rao.

Individually, Irina’s story about the vintage book movement made the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Shamanth’s profile of Lloyd Ultan, the Bronx’s borough historian, was featured on Narrative.ly.  In addition, Shamanth had a piece in the Herald on a startup offering home nursing.

Not to be outdone, Irina combined with Nicholas Wells on another police blotter for the Herald.  Brianne Barry and Jesse Metzger teamed for one too, and Jessica Glazer compiled one solo.

Brianne also reported on the murder of a hurricane evacuee and Jessica wrote about the danger of future floods in the South Bronx.  Plus, Nathan Place got the scoop on a Mott Havenite serving the community through an open gym.

On the nerd librarian beat, I wrote stories for SLA NY ChapterNews on the group’s annual meeting and NPR researcher Kee Malesky.

Hopefully, many more bylines to come in all our lives!  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention 219 Magazine as a potential outlet for some, recently relaunched with my esteemed colleague Steve Strasser at the helm.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Hope everyone survived Sandy unscathed.  Sorry I missed you this week, especially since I know a few of you wanted to discuss your beat memos.

Anyway, a big reason I had been a little slow getting them back to you last month was because I was working on this and this, which comprise an enterprise project I undertake every five years.

And today, it’s worth it as news of the project makes its way around the web, such as here and here.

It’s nice to be recognized.  Particularly when your name is spelled correctly (hint, hint). 😉

See ya soon!

The world is mine!

Welcome to “The Craft of Research,” the official research blog for the Fall 2012 Craft I class of David Lewis and Ellen Tumposky. It’s the spot for research lessons, handouts, assignments, news, tips and whatever else comes up during the semester.

My name is Jack Styczynski and this is my fifth year as a research adjunct at the J-school. If you desire a full résumé, click here.

Outside of work, I’m a huge college hoop-head and unabashed New Orleans Saints fan.  (Bounty system?  Too bad it didn’t work.  Saints defense couldn’t kill an ant.)

In fact, I love everything New Orleans, from the Saints to the food to the music.

I’m also more than happy to groove to gospel, disco or classic soul.

Now get ready for a barrel of fun! In short order, you’ll begin to grasp the vast power of research.

Laugh track: I often joke that I’m “a Little House on the Prairie kind of guy stuck in a Sex and the City world,” and here I am sporting my 19th century finest…

With former J-school research adjunct Barbara Oliver at Party Like It's 1899 in May.

Thanks again for a great semester, everyone!  Here’s the last batch of bylines…

Amital Isaac reported on the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show for the News Service.

At the Local, Erin Horan wrote about Ed Towns’ love of golf and covered a Stop the Violence march in Fort Greene.

And I finished up my season-long series on the most important college basketball statistics.

Research bonus: The Research Center has posted some excellent videos on Factiva and a new mobile app, with the latter hosted by one of your classmates (ask Melissa her middle names…LOL).

Double bonus: Check out the new online photo gallery from New York City Department of Records Municipal Archives, as noted on the New York Times City Room blog.

One more: Here’s a good article on the state of advanced searching in Google.

And a flashback: This week marks a major anniversary.

For those of you who missed Gary Price’s webinar on Tuesday, here’s a link to the tools he reviewed.

I know you remain busy.

Gwen McClure covered a hunger strike in protest of China’s occupation of Tibet.

Tom DiChristopher profiled a Brooklyn skateboarding pioneer, with an accompanying slideshow.

Alexander Tucciarone collaborated on a story and video about families rallying for justice in the Trayvon Martin case.

And Erin Horan wrote about the new Urban Assembly Unison School.

March Madness update: I continued my relentless pursuit of hoop truth here and here.

Last but not least: Congratulations to Class of ’09 graduate Maya Pope-Chappell, who’s soon headed to Hong Kong to be an online news editor for the Wall Street Journal Asia. You can watch Maya’s latest below. One of my best students ever!

Last week after class Martin Burch tipped me off to another resource for archival video. Check it out at archive.org.

With that, it’s about time for another round of links to your work.

Alexander Tucciarone contributed to a City Limits package on the participatory budgeting process.

Minty Grover profiled a first-time novelist.

And Erin Horan recently wrote stories about an arrest for murder, a replacement school and redistricting.

The bonus: It’s that time of year when I’m “feelin’ the madness.”  I recently wrote about Jeremy Lin’s replacement, five college basketball programs going nowhere fast and some others to watch in the NCAA tournament this month.

March is the month that gives me the energy of a kid! (Photo courtesy: not AP...LOL)

It’s been a busy month and I’ve yet to post any news, so here goes.  For starters, I bow to your reporting efforts…

Evan Buxbaum wrote about a plan to bring a Gourmet market to Melrose.

Erin Horan has news on a Baptist church and some Black History Month profiles.

And Minty Grover is also on the Black History Month profiles beat.

Speaking of profiles, I finished mine on Staten Island hoopster O.D. Anosike; only you know how a clip search made it better.  And as long as I’m citing my own work, see if you can figure out the background research I did on this profile of a woman boxer.

Last but not least, here’s the promised Facebook page I mentioned in class that includes a number you can call to check if someone is a Level 1 sex offender in New York.

The bonus: Next time we’ll be discussing how to find video and graphics for use in your stories.  For a preview, watch the segment below that I helped out with just yesterday!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Welcome (and for some, welcome back) to “The Craft of Research,” the official research blog for the Spring 2012 Broadcast Craft class of Marc Kusnetz and Susan Farkas. It’s the spot for research lessons, handouts, news, tips and whatever else comes up during the semester, including links to your work.

For example, I know Evan Buxbaum, Sarah Pizon, Martin Burch and (especially) Minty Grover have been busy during the past month.

My name is Jack Styczynski, and this is my eighth semester teaching at the J-school. When I’m not here, I’m a researcher at NBC and the New York Times. My full professional story is here. Personally, I love college hoops, everything New Orleans, gospel (disco!) music and the spring semester…because there are no beat memos!

Let’s get back to work!

On duty in Studio 3A at NBC, home of MSNBC dayside programming.

Before we gorge on turkey, let’s celebrate some more bylines.

The latest from the Mott Haven Herald includes: Eli Chen’s story about the fight to save a community garden; Evan Buxbaum’s article about a new documentary center in Melrose; Patricia Rey Mallén’s report on the closing of a beloved local restaurant; and Alex Robinson’s piece about a participatory budgeting exercise.

The bonus: Remember when I said comparisons are vital to give context to numbers in stories?  I had a short but sweet example last week.

We’re really rolling now!

Patricia Rey Mallén brings us a feature on the African Movies Mall.

Kamana Shrestha has news on the effects of a terminated government housing program.

Sarah Pizon tells us about the last trip for Mexican immigrants.

Melissa Noel writes of a dancer’s inspirational comeback.

And Gwen McClure gives us a break from Wall Street with a different kind of protest.

The bonus: Check out my latest research-inspired enterprise story.  If you choose this option for your next assignment, contact me with your idea ASAP so I can help you make the best possible pitch to David and Ellen.