More Alumni Updates

ERIN GEISMAR ’09
After more than a year at the East Hampton Press, Erin Geismar ’09 has reached one of her career goals by moving to Newsday, the 11th-largest-circulation newspaper in the country. She writes, “As a community journalist at Newsday, I'll be covering community events and telling local people stories across media platforms. I'll be working from my car equipped with a laptop, video camera, smart phone, etc (thank you Digital Journalism Workshop) to file multiple stories, photos and video each day. It's a brand new venture for Newsday as they try and amp up their ‘hyperlocal’ presence around Long Island. As a born and raised Long Islander, I'm really excited to be part of that effort.”

ERICA R. HENDRY ’09

After a six-month internship at Smithsonian Magazine, Erica R. Hendry ’09 (editor in chief 2007–08) has joined the team at Patch.com, a startup network of local news sites backed by AOL. As editor of the Patch site for Vienna, Va. (a suburb just 15 miles outside of Washington, D.C.), she says she’s “like the EIC of The Ithacan again … but this time for the town of Vienna.” She’s in charge of finding, editing and scheduling stories; writing them; hiring training and managing a team of freelance writers, photographers and videographers; editing and producing videos; managing the site’s social media networks; building the site’s community directory (“like Yelp, but better”); and “trying to keep the adventure under budget.” The site goes live October 11 at Vienna.Patch.com. She continues to freelance for Smithsonian Magazine.

ANDREW LOVELL ’08

Andrew Lovell ’08 has been hired as an associate news editor for ESPN.com. As night-time editor on the ESPN.com news desk in Bristol, Conn., he’ll handle everything from editing staff and AP stories to writing headlines, checking facts and posting articles. ESPN.com is one of the premier sports websites in the country, drawing roughly 20 million unique visitors per month. The job comes after a two-year stint with the New Britain Herald in New Britain, Conn., as a local sports writer/copy editor.

Laluk Works Across Platforms in Rochester

Kathy Laluk ’10 is working as an associate producer at 13WHAM-TV News, the ABC affiliate in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. She’s working the night shift, helping put together the 11 p.m. broadcast and keeping the website up to date. She’s doing a lot of writing and has helped out on video on occasion. As if that weren’t enough, she’s also a part-time writer and photographer for the City Newspaper, Rochester’s alternative weekly.

Back for Brew Fest

The 4th Annual Ithaca Brew Fest brought Ithacan alumni back to Stewart Park this Labor Day weekend. Among those who rolled in were Kara Cusolito ’08, Lydia Dimitriadis ’08, Erin Geismar ’09, Erica Hendry ’09, Andrew Lovell ’08, Aaron Munzer ’08, Max Steinmetz ’08 and Andy Swift ’09.
In photo, from left: Munzer, Cusolito, Swift, Lovell, Steinmetz and Hendry.

We're Pacemaker Finalists Again!

The Ithacan has been named a Newspaper Pacemaker finalist for 2010 by the Associated Collegiate Press. Earlier this year it was also announced that The Ithacan Online, the paper’s daily website, was named an Online Pacemaker finalist.

The winners of the award -- widely regarded as the “Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism” -- will be announced at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Louisville, Ky., on October 30.

The Ithacan won the Newspaper Pacemaker in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008, and was a finalist in 2009. The website won the Online Pacemaker in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and was a finalist in 2009.

The Associated Collegiate Press is the oldest and largest national membership organization for college journalists in the country. This year's Newspaper Pacemaker competition was judged by professional journalists in the Washington, D.C., area.

Laura is Racing to Save Lives!

Laura Bauman ’06 has joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training to raise money to fight blood cancers by running the Miami half marathon. Go to her fundraising page to support her efforts.