MURL Descends on Feltonville!

MURL: What is It? A virus? A new "epidemic'? Is there an innoculation I should get? NO!

MURL is the Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab at the Temple University Lewis Klein College of Media and Communication, Center City Campus.

The 2019-2020 Masters of Journalism Cohort of their end product; "Philadelphia Neighborhoods" had a field experience, field orientation to Philadelphia's Feltonville community, and talked about community assets, and the 'deficits' of services provision by city, state and federal agencies and departments. And the responses, or lack of to under-served, minority, low-income, non-gentrified or gentrifying communities.

I was honored to escort six students and two professors around our neighborhood to provoke story leads and ideas for future stories.

A 1948 TV Series and film began with the narrative" "There are eight million stories in the naked city, ... " And, a former newsweekly in the Philadelphia, "City Paper" had a regular column entitled "The Naked City" where its writer most often took on corruption and politics in the city.

My hope is that these budding young "J" students will go on to live out the saying "The task of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable." Attributed to Finley Peter Dunne . Or, of course my fave: "Newspapers Should Have No Friends" (-Joseph Pulitzer)! I seem to have NO PROBLEM living up to both standards. And, I lose no sleep over it!

Because, after all H. L. Mencken who I've been known to refer to as "Uncle Henry" said "Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

---
D Michael Blackie
 at Wyoming Library - Free Library of Philadelphia. 

The Week of the Tenth Sunday after #Pentecost
#TeachingTuesday August 2019
TUESDAY OF THE TWENTIETH WEEK IN #ORDINARYTIME
Liturgical Color: Green, (Symbolic of Church Growth)

Today, I happily, PROUDLY hosted an Instructional Field Trip for 6 Masters of Journalism students in the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University MURL Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab (Center City Campus)

Professors: Linn Washington (former Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Tribune writer, reporter and editor) and his Co-Instructor, Dr. Maida Odom.

We toured from Feltonville War Memorial Rising Sun and Wyoming Avenues, to Tacony Creek Park at G Street and Wyoming Avenues, and a return and de-brief "Q&A" at Wyoming Library - Free Library of Philadelphia

My Topic: Asset Based Community Development #ABCD and "#CommunityTreasures" like Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Watershed Partnershipand Free Library of Philadelphia Branches among other things. (Commercial corridors, housing affordability/stock, ethnic/racial/economic mix of neighborhood, and, of course, representation, service delivery by elected officials) and how organizations like ONEFeltonville CCDC - RCOOlney Neighbors Empowered CDC (RCO), #ONECDC give under-served, under-represented folks a 'voice' in the systems that so often neglect, ignore or deny neighborhoods.

That includes 'Main-Stream" Media... unless it's bad news.

STAY TUNED, for more on-site learning cohorts, and NEWS... with a different angle to it - in and from Feltonville! (y)

Thanks to all of the participants.

Brother Michael, OSL