Just some of my most memorable stories…
Published May 2018
I pitched this profile of Stacey Abrams in Winter 2018, and filmed this video profile on location in Savannah, Georgia as a one-person band. Later, I scripted and edited this video, posted as part of BuzzFeed News’ coverage the Georgia Governor’s race in 2018.
These teenagers fighting gun violence in Chicago say the country has reacted very differently to their activism efforts than it has to the Parkland students’ efforts. So the two groups are teaming up to call for gun control.
I pitched this video, then filmed it as a one-person band on location in Chicago, later scripted, and edited the video published on BuzzFeed News’ online platforms in March 2018
This Vintage Shop Lets You Own A Piece of Black History
I pitched this news video for Black History Month 2018, then scripted, filmed and edited this for BuzzFeed News and its social media platforms.
I scripted and edited this video on the death of Dolores O’Riordan for BuzzFeed News’ online platforms.
Jody Meche and his fellow crawfishermen are joining forces with environmentalists to protect southern Louisiana wetlands from the Bayou Bridge pipeline expansion, set to begin crude oil delivery later this year. I scripted, narrated and edited this video report in February 2017 for Reuters.tv.
America’s student loan crisis hits the working poor especially hard
Lakisha Johnson is a homeless single mother in Philadelphia. She was hoping to move out of a homeless shelter and into a new apartment with her daughter using her tax refund. The U.S. Department of education had other plans, as a Reuters review found the federal agency is clamping down on borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans by garnishing their wages, holding back IRS refunds, and reducing Social Security benefits. I field produced this video on location in Philadelphia, PA, and later collaborated with Senior Reuters Reporter Michelle Conlin to script her narration based on her special report on student loans. I edited this video to accompany that special report.
Bars open early for Comey’s Senate testimony
Bars across the US opened early so that folks could watch Former FBI director James Comey’s long anticipated Senate testimony about possible interference by Russia in the 2016 presidential election. I pitched, narrated, filmed the NYC scenes and interviews, as well as edited this breaking news piece for Reuters.
Last Tag Looms for 5Pointz
Published by the NYC News Service at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism May 18, 2011
Text & Video report by Alva French
5Pointz Aerosol Art Center in Long Island City has been considered a mecca for graffiti artists, hip-hop performers and aficionados for more than 10 years. Yet as the urban art center battles for its existence, some graffiti artists wonder where the big-name celebrities are to defend the haven against developers eager to transform the property into an apartment complex.
Curated by veteran graffiti artist Meres One (Jonathan Cohen), 5 Pointz encompasses 200,000 square feet of industrial space between Jackson Avenue and Davis Street where artists showcase their aerosol creations. The graffiti is legal through an agreement with the building’s owner, Gerry Wolkoff of G & M Realty.
But in March, Wolkoff announced the building could become the cornerstone of a neighborhood revitalization project aimed at transforming Long Island City into the next downtown Brooklyn.
Meres handpicks the artists from submissions from around the world. His goal is to transform the space into a graffiti art museum. Over the years, 5Pointz has attracted well-known hip-hop and R & B artists like Joss Stone, Grandmaster Flash, and Doug E. Fresh. Stone is one of the few celebrities to start a petition to prevent 5Pointz from being closed.
Zeso, a graffiti artist from France and a 5Pointz denizen, recently took time to talk about what makes the center more than just a colorful New York artifact.