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Covering a Tragedy: NIU

series: Special Report | added: February 17, 2008

Produced by Hassan S. Ali

It was the day after a man shot and killed five students at Northern Illinois University, and I had just arrived on campus.

The shootings that ravaged this community opened the door to a media frenzy a town this size should never have to see. And I, a guy with a camcorder sandwiched between global news teams, stood out like a sore thumb amidst all of it.

Or so I thought, until I decided to ditch the stodgy press area and visit the offices of the Northern Star, the campus newspaper whose constantly updated website has served as a lifeline to concerned NIU parents, students, and outside journalists.

LINKS

Northern Star. For the most up-to-date information on the investigation as it unfolds, look no further than NIU's student newspaper.

Reader Comments

Comment Number:: 1
Written by:: Em
Posted on:: February 17, 2008 at 10:33 pm

Hassan, good work. Interesting to see the reactions of the Northern Star staff to what was said the press conference, how they’ll synthesize that with the students’ perspective, and eventually weave a story out of it.

Comment Number:: 2
Written by:: skoop
Posted on:: February 19, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Excellent video. I used to work at the Northern Star back in the 90s in my college days, and it makes me absolutely swell with pride to see those reporters rushing around to cover such a huge story … especially when they’re also students, and feeling the emotions that come with that.
And it was so cool to see the Star newsroom again. Everything looks just about the same — I’m so homesick for DeKalb now.

Comment Number:: 3
Written by:: Miguel
Posted on:: February 19, 2008 at 3:05 pm

This is exactly why I’m proud to be a student journalist.

Comment Number:: 4
Written by:: John Puterbaugh
Posted on:: February 19, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Good work Hassan, your ambition in beating us to the newsroom Friday morning surely ensured you a story far superior to those of many area college newspapers. We enjoyed having you and hope you were able to learn from the experiences we shared as well. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.

Comment Number:: 5
Written by:: bourree
Posted on:: February 21, 2008 at 10:05 pm

Nice doc Hassan. Really goes to show how the lag that big networks suffer, and how they actually rely on the people on the ground. Also very interesting to see the special role that these students reporters played as insiders: who were not at the press conference to get information but rather to cover the interaction between big press and their administration and what this meant for their community.

Comment Number:: 6
Written by:: Audrey from Oregon
Posted on:: February 22, 2008 at 11:22 am

thank you for putting this video together! very well done and i enjoyed it.

im praying for the NIU victims families!

Comment Number:: 7
Written by:: Adam
Posted on:: February 22, 2008 at 11:15 pm

Great video. Incredible to see the reporters covering such a story so well and very professionally even though they are students too.

Comment Number:: 8
Written by:: Jim Sulski
Posted on:: February 23, 2008 at 6:17 pm

Hassan,
Your video was an integral part of our session on NIU at the Illinois College Press Association Convention.
Thank you so very much.

Jim Sulski
Associate Chair, Faculty and Columbia Chronicle Adviser
Journalism Department
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
voice: 312-344-8954
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.ccchronicle.com

Comment Number:: 9
Written by:: Fresh Cut couvre la tragédie du Northern Illinois University « Projet de refonte - Site HEC Montréal
Posted on:: February 29, 2008 at 11:42 am

[…] Cut couvre la tragédie du Northern Illinois University Hassan S. Ali de Fresh Cut a fait un reportage sur la récente tragédie du Northern Illinois University de l’intérieur. Il a suivi l’équipe du Northern […]