From the Editors

This magazine showcases top reporting and storytelling by undergraduates at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, stories developed and edited under their professors’ guidance, and ours.

All work originated in journalism classes of the 2008-2009 academic year.

It was almost impossible to choose from among the nearly 70 submissions we received, most of them engaging and a number of them extraordinary. Had time permitted, we certainly would have included more.

But these nine spoke to us especially, for their wonderful characterizations, fine observations, sense of humor, truth-telling, originality and powerful narrative drive. And from each, we learned something new.

We’d like members of the university community, and other New Yorkers, to read these stories and think: “I didn’t know that.” And we’d like professional editors to read these stories and think: “I could use that reporter.”

Especially in such troubled times for our field, we present this work as an argument that great journalism still counts. We still need well-trained young journalists who can find out things we want to know, can tell a great story and can show us something new.

We salute this year’s contributors, and enthusiastically recommend them.

Thanks to all who helped

We’d like to thank those who make Street Level possible. First, to Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute Director Brooke Kroeger, who conceived Street Level and charged us with showing the world the best that NYU’s journalists had to offer. We also appreciate the generous support of Dean Matthew Santirocco of NYU’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the design work of Carolyn Moore and the FAS publications department. Journalism Institute systems director Michael Napolitano, web administrator Elena Zoubanova de Jesús and publications assistant Joe Hardesty managed and produced the website.

Talented undergraduate photojournalists Nicole Tung and Benjamin Norman, both graduating now, traveled around the city to shoot for us.

And we owe an enduring debt to two alumnae of our journalism master’s program, Heather Graham and Amy Zimmer. They paved the way for us with the original Street Level, an innovative webzine that devoted each issue to a single block of New York City. You can find it here.

Pete Hamill and Mary D’Ambrosio
New York University
May 12, 2009