The Columbia News Tonight Team

Each Thursday morning, 28 intrepid young reporters and producers from the Columbia School of Journalism get together to ask a simple question: What are New Yorkers talking about this week? Over the next 36 hours, a 30-minute newscast is researched, reported, edited and, produced, before it is broadcast Friday evening. The result is Columbia News Tonight.  
 
We aim to bring you a kaleidoscope of local, national and international news and features. How much is my Metro fare going to increase? Is the local playground safe for my kids? What’s the latest on national politics? What's happening in the Middle East?  
 
In addition to the news of the day, Columbia News Tonight week features four weekly segments that take a closer look at personalities and issues in New York City.  

For the students who make up the Columbia News Tonight team, this is an early step on the road to a career in journalism. Join us as we develop our news reports. 

OUR TEAM

	MOHAMMAD AL-KASSIM. Mohammad graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a degree in Political Science and Communication Studies. He lectured there on global social issues in developing countries and served as an adjunct at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He was also the photo editor and wrote for "U-News" the college publication at UMKC and worked as the news director at KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio Station. Mohammad interned for eight months at KCTV5, the Kansas City CBS affiliate. He is an aspiring international reporter.
	ELIZA BROWNING. Eliza is a dual-degree student, pursuing graduate degrees at the Journalism School and at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She likes to report on international affairs, business and politics. Before returning to school, Eliza worked at the Associated Press in New York for four years. She was a project manager, where she oversaw the development of web-based products, and then she moved to the editorial department as an online video producer. She reported, shot and edited video clips and podcasts for AP's daily multimedia service, 'asap.'
	JANELLE BURRELL. Prior to Columbia, Janelle worked behind the scenes at Fox 5 in New York City and most recently as a production assistant at MSNBC-TV. She is a 2005 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University where she studied English and biology. Janelle is a native New Yorker and plans to work as an on-air reporter.
	PETER CARDWELL. Peter graduated from Oxford and is this year's Alistair Cooke Fulbright Scholar. He has worked as a journalist in Belfast, Oxford, London, Cape Town, Dublin, New York and Washington DC. Prior to Columbia, he was a producer at BBC Newsnight. In June, he will become a producer on BBC World News America in Washington DC.
	MEGAN CHUCHMACH. Megan grew up in upstate New York and Ontario, Canada, where she dabbled in local reporting while studying Media, Information & Technoculture at the University of Western Ontario. She graduated in 2007 before heading to Columbia to learn more about the journalism craft. Upon graduation, Megan hopes to venture into the world of news as an on-air reporter, with an emphasis on consumer and investigative reporting.
	GAYLE ISSA-FAKHOURI. Gayle grew up in Cyprus before moving to the U.S. after high school, where she attended college in Michigan. Prior journalism experience includes an internship with the (then) Knight Ridder Tribune Washington D.C. bureau, an editor position at her college newspaper and a freelancing for a regional Michigan daily. Following a brief stint with a political action committee in Washington D.C, Gayle returned to Michigan where she worked for a translation company before moving to New York.
	N. IVETTE FELICIANO. Before coming to Columbia, Ivette worked as an assignment desk editor at Telemundo-44 in her hometown, Chicago. As an Emma Bowen Foundation Scholarship recipient, she worked at NBC 5 in Chicago for five consecutive summers. Ivette is the 2001 National Hispanic Heritage Youth Award Recipient for Literature and Journalism.
	YANG GUO. Fan of Superman, inspired by Superman & Clark Kent, big-four-accounting firm-auditor-turned-television reporter, producer, editor and anchor, Yang flew over the Pacific Ocean from China to come to the U.S. to attend Columbia and learn American broadcast journalism.
	AMALIA GORO. In addition to attending the Journalism School, Amalia hosts the radio program "Hellenic Dialogues" on Cosmos FM, 91.5 WNYE, Tuesdays at 7p.m. Amalia received a bachelor's degree in media studies and political science and a master's degree in public communication from Fordham University. She also worked as a desk assistant and assignment editor for WCBS-TV.
	TERRA FELICIA HALL. Terra attended the University of South Florida, where she graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism and international studies, with a minor in Spanish language and literature. While there, she interned at The Tampa Tribune, WFLA, and TBO.com. She also produced two documentaries, one about swing dance and music, and the other about the soldiers of the Iraq War. After graduation, Terra hopes to work as an on-air broadcaster in New York City in the business or entertainment sector.
	LYLAH HOLMES. Prior to Columbia, Lylah was a television news producer for CNN International in London. She has spent the past 10 years covering national, international, live and breaking news. Lylah was also a freelance producer for Associated Press Television News and CNBC Europe, based in London. Prior to moving abroad, she was a segment producer for MSNBC. She began her career as a desk assistant at NBC News in Washington, DC.
	TAMARA LINDSTROM. Tamara grew up in Los Angeles, California where she earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from UCLA. Prior to attending Columbia, Tamara worked as a field producer on various television shows and documentaries. After graduation, she plans to become an on-air reporter.
	LAUREN MORASKI. For this Columbia Journalism graduate student, it's Lauren Moraski weekdays and "Alex" on the weekends. She spends her week as a reporter for Launch Radio Networks, writing news copy for hundreds of radio stations. It's not uncommon to see Lauren on the red carpet and at press events trying to get the latest entertainment scoop. The University of Virginia graduate also reports for the trade publication Inside Radio. And on weekends she goes by "Alex," an on-air host at WBAB-FM. A native New Yorker, Lauren has written features for ABCnews.com and worked as a talent booker.
	KRISTEL MUCINO. Kristel is originally from Mexico City. Prior to Columbia, she worked in Washington D.C. as the Mexico Program Officer for the Washington Office on LatinAmerica (WOLA), a human rights advocacy group. She holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Boston University.
	TESFAYE NEGUSSIE. Tesfaye is a former editorial aide for The Washington Post Magazine. He has interned for The Washington Post Radio and Voice of America. Tesfaye has a bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College of Maryland, and he enjoys playing basketball and traveling.
	CLAIRE OBUSAN. Claire worked as an analyst at UBS Investment Bank for four years in Singapore and in New York, before coming to Columbia. She left the financial industry to pursue her secret dream of being a journalist, and she's loving every minute of it. She hopes to pursue a career in business broadcasting.
	SRUTHI PINNAMANENI. Sruthi grew up in Hyderabad, India, and moved to the U.S. to study Mathematics at the University of Michigan. With a head full of Greek alphabets and numbers but no long-term plans, she moved to New York City and designed websites before becoming a producer at Spike Lee’s advertising firm. She began a new life in journalism by working on American Guru, a documentary about yoga in the U.S. Sruthi now works in the multimedia department at The Economist and is a part-time student at the Journalism School.
	OLIVIA PRATTEN. Olivia is originally from Vancouver, Canada. She interned at Global National, a national TV news program, and completed print internships in the UK at local papers. She has also worked as an advocate and spokesperson for change in assisted reproductive technologies. She has lived in the UK, France and Cambodia. Eventually, she would like to work as foreign correspondent.
	J. ASHE REARDON. Ashe comes to Columbia after four years working for the City of New York. During his time with the City, Ashe worked to refine his understanding of local government and politics. Ashe has had a lifelong interest in journalism and hopes to develop his skills at Columbia and ultimately report on national politics and international affairs. Ashe Graduated from Trinity College in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in political science.
	BETWA SHARMA. Betwa received her bachelor's degree from National Law Institute University in India and a master's degree in international law from Cambridge University where she was a Commonwealth Scholar at Trinity College. She has written about life in rural India and is widely published in India and has been freelancing for newspapers in New York City. She is presently interning with TIME magazine and hopes to be a war correspondent.
	LINZI SHELDON. Linzi is an aspiring reporter and producer and is interested in international, investigative and daily news reporting. She has interned at NBC's "Today" show and Spokane's NBC affiliate, KHQ TV. Prior to Columbia, Linzi earned a bachelor's degree in English from Dartmouth College.
	GREGORY SIMMONS. Gregory graduated in 2004 from the University of the South, Sewanee. After a completing a one-year fellowship with National Student Leadership in Washington, D.C., she took on the role of Executive Assistant to Grace Nelson, wife of Senator Bill Nelson, helping run her non-profit organization. Simmons took time off to work on Senator Nelson's re-election campaign in 2006 and traveled to the Middle East and Africa before beginning her studies at Columbia.
	SHIRA SKY. Shira Sky is an aspiring political journalist. Prior to attending Columbia, she worked at CNN in New York City. Shira graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University in 2006 with a dual degree in Political Science and Jewish Studies. She has interned at NBC Nightly News and MSNBC.
	JORDAN SMITH. Jordan is a native of Kenova, West Virginia, a small town outside of Huntington. She graduated from Marshall University in Huntington in May 2007 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, and a minor in criminal justice. While at Marshall, Jordan worked part-time for two years at an NBC affiliate station, WSAZ News channel 3, as a photojournalist, weekend one-woman-band reporter, and editor.
	RANJINI SRINIVASAN. Before coming to Columbia, Ranjini interned at CNN, NBC and KTVU Fox affiliates in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also was an anchor and reporter in India before moving to the U.S. She enjoys reporting and hopes to do human interest stories.
	MARTHA ST. JEAN. Martha is a first generation Haitian-American who grew up paying attention to what was occurring in her parents' home country. Dinner conversations revolved around the media's portrayal of Haiti. Though she was too young to understand it at the time, her parents were exposing her to media theories. She graduated with a degree in Culture and Communication Studies from New York University. As a journalist she strives to be a better communicator, break new grounds, and reach audiences - both new and old - with her distinctively different personality.
	RHEMA THOMPSON. Rhema graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut, double majoring in journalism and sociology. She then spent a year working in Rhode Island as a daily reporter for Courthouse News Service and a weekend reporter for the Newport Daily News. She hopes to pursue a career in television news production.
	MARINA YALOYAN. Marina grew up in both Russia and Armenia and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. Soon afterwards, she went to UCLA to pursue her passion of writing, languages and literature. After graduation she moved to France for three years, where she worked as an English teacher. Marina is interested in broadcast journalism because it is dynamic, visual, creative and real. Marina would like to work as an on-air international correspondent, doing human-interest stories. Her long-term journalism goal is to host an arts program on television.