Spotlight on the Fellows: Sarah Ferris
Posted July 8, 2014
Sarah Ferris (right) interviews Mary Ann Jacob, a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, at her home in Newtown, Connecticut. Photo by: Morgan Spiehs
Name: Sarah Ferris
School: George Washington University
Style of reporting: Breaking news in any form
Previous internship or work experience: Formerly interned with the Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle and GOVERNING Magazine, where I reported from the White House, the Supreme Court and Congress. I also interned with GateHouse Media New England, where I wrote features about professional wrestling and fiberglass rabbit scandals in the Boston area.
Favorite reporting experience: I wrote about a transgender voice therapy clinic that taught clients how to talk, laugh, cough and sneeze like women.
Connect with me: @sarahnferris on Twitter/Instagram.
Website: www.sarahferris.contently.com
Favorite app: The Congressional Record (Just kidding, though I use that app all the time). My true love is Facebook Paper.
Everytown announces 2014 election strategy
Posted July 7, 2014
Posters bearing Everytown’s “Gun Sense Voter” slogan sit on a table at a May 7 Moms Demand Action press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Justine McDaniel
By Justine McDaniel
Gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety announced on Monday a three-stage strategy for creating change at the federal level that aims to collect information on Congress members’ views and use it to mobilize voters in key elections in the 2014 midterms and beyond.
The group plans to “take a page out of the Obama campaign” by using a data-driven strategy that combines technology with grassroots advocacy, said Mitch Stewart, a senior advisor to Everytown who worked on Obama’s reelection.
Starting Monday, the bipartisan group is sending a questionnaire about gun regulations to every candidate for Congress. Candidates will have until August 15 to respond to the 10 questions, which cover background checks, domestic violence and high-capacity magazines, among other things.
“What we want to do is empower Americans. We know how Americans feel about this issue. It’s time for Americans to find out how political candidates feel about the issue,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown.
The group will analyze questionnaire responses from each candidate along with his or her voting record, co-sponsorships and prior statements. It will then publish the information for voters and determine which 2014 candidates Everytown will support. The organization is also hiring new staff for the effort in 12 key states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas.
The last step of the organization’s plan will attempt to increase voter turnout in the elections it deems most important.
Drawing on the Obama campaign’s technique for harnessing grassroots power, Everytown will make a coordinated effort to register new voters, speak with undecided voters and get Americans to go to the polls with gun safety in mind.
The questionnaire parallels the National Rifle Association’s well known scorecard system, which gives each member of Congress a letter grade for their stance on guns. Unlike the NRA, Everytown has made their questions available to the public online and will publish information about the candidates’ views rather than assigning a grade.
Spotlight on the Fellows: Jordan Rubio
Posted July 7, 2014
Jordan Rubio writes a story at TCU. Photo by: Michael Macias-Martinez
Name: Jordan Rubio
School: Texas Christian University (TCU)
Style of reporting: Digital and advocacy reporting
Previous internship or work experience: San Antonio Express-News, executive editor of student media, and a bunch of other stuff for student media.
Favorite reporting experience: Big investigative piece on bicycle safety in San Antonio. Took me two months but I broke a huge story.
Connect with me: @jordan_rubio
Favorite app: SportsCenter. It’s beautiful and everything I want.
Spotlight on the Fellows: Marlena Chertock
Posted July 7, 2014
Marlena Chertock (right) reports in Tuscon, Arizona. Photo by: Jim Tuttle
Name: Marlena Chertock
School: University of Maryland, graduated in December 2013
Style of reporting: I am most fulfilled when writing feature stories, producing radio pieces and designing interactive graphics and data visualizations.
Previous internship or work experience: I have previously worked as an editorial intern at Education Week Teacher, a social media intern at USA TODAY, a news intern at WTOP, an MDDC Reese Cleghorn reporting intern at The Gazette, an editorial intern at Electrical Contractor Magazine, and an editorial intern at the International Women’s Media Foundation. I also served as editor-in-chief of The Writers’ Bloc, a literary-focused newspaper I helped to create on campus.
Favorite reporting experience: On June 26, 2013 I worked as a mobile reporter for USA TODAY, covering reactions to DOMA and Proposition 8 outside of the Supreme Court. It was incredible to report on the people outside the Court, some who traveled for several hours by car or plane to be in D.C. when the gay marriage decision was announced.
Connect with me: @mchertock
Website: marlenachertock.com
Favorite app: Snapchat—for life’s fast, funny moments.
Spotlight on the Fellows: Justine McDaniel
Posted July 3, 2014
Justine McDaniel shoots photos in the mountains of southern Montana. Photo by: Jessica Boehm
Name: Justine McDaniel
School: University of Maryland
Style of reporting: Long-form and investigative stories, breaking news
Previous internship or work experience: In Washington, I worked at the Capital News Service and interned at McClatchy DC. Before going to graduate school, I was senior editor of Cake Central Magazine, and I have interned at various publications on the West Coast, including South Sound and 425 magazines and the North Bay Bohemian.
Favorite reporting experience: I will never forget wading through the marshes of the Chesapeake Bay with nutria trappers when reporting on Maryland’s project to eradicate the invasive rodent. I got to see an amazing part of the Chesapeake watershed while reporting a thoroughly unique story.
Connect with me: @McDanielJustine
Website: justinemcdaniel.com
Favorite app: Spotify
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