Rising Senior at Cherry Hill West High School. Editor in Chief of the school newspaper. Alternate Board of Education Representative. Captain of West's boys swim team. Future News Reporter.
WASHINGTON — Assistant News Director Matt Glassman of NBC Washington guided us on a tour of the newsroom last week, showing and explaining the inner workings of the control room and studios.
Students were surprised when “Meet the Press” Moderator and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd walked past as we entered the building on Nebraska Avenue in Northwest DC.
Glassman explained the teleprompters and lighting technology on the news set before showing off the historic “Meet the Press” studio.
Then it was off to another studio to see the 11 a.m. broadcast, the most important because people are watching the news on their phones, tablets and NBC 4 app, Glassman said. There are three anchors and one meteorologist on the program, and in the control room there are television screens that showcase NBC’s competitors as well as what the station’s own staff is doing on site and in the field.
The weather patio where the NBC 4 meteorologists do outdoor live shots. Photo by Justin Gick
The students met meteorologist Amelia Segal in the newsroom, who explained how she reports the weather — without a teleprompter. Segal broke away from the students to do her live segment.
Glassman showed us the assignment desk — where the phones never stop. He took the our group for one more look in the studio, where we were able to view the anchors giving their reports.
Glassman is a graduate of American University, where he majored in public communication, learning about group communication and public speaking; he later completed his master’s at New York University. “Don’t be just a journalist, minor in something else and know other things,” Glassman said. It is the key to being a good journalist.
WASHINGTON — In the nation’s captial, you might not imagine that people have time to plant their own flowers and vegetables. But The Newark Street Community Garden, on the corner of Newark and 39th streets in the McLean neighborhood, is one of 26 urban gardens throughout the District where people can do just that. There are also education programs where toddlers and young children can learn about plants and wildlife. There are 200 plots and 190 gardeners who maintain this green sanctuary.
As the community garden social services chairperson and veteran gardener, Susan Akman takes pride in how the garden benefits the surrounding community. Newark donates a portion of her crops to local food banks for families that are less fortunate, she said. She recently took this reporter on a tour of the garden.
The garden got started in 1974 on National Food Day, a day that inspires Americans to change their diets and food policies. The grounds where the gardens now stand used to be military offices during World War II. Akman said when the community was looking for space to plant these gardens the foundation was a clay field, which made it perfect for planting crops. The rules of the garden are enforced by a board and members must read and agree to all, Akman said. “Gardeners must commit 10 hours a season, weed weekly, and maintain their plots,” Akman said. In other words, if you do not maintain your plot, the board will ask you to give up your plot and the next person on the waiting list will get it.
The National Cathedral, which can be seen from the gardens, is nearing a $22 million repair job due to the 5.8 magnitude earthquake in 2011. Photo by Justin Gick
The garden also includes a tennis court, dog park and children’s playground. The key feature of these gardens, the largest in the District is that you are able to look out and see the magnificent National Cathedral.
The gardens are a peaceful sanctuary for community members and gardeners to unwind after a stressful day at work. “On 9/11 when the plane hit the Pentagon, one gardener, instead of running home to family like many others, came and just reflected in the garden because it was peaceful,” said Akman.
The community gardeners also take time to educate children, Akman said. “There are special days when children can come and learn about the garden and what insects help fertilize the soil,” Akman said. “The children’s favorite part is when they get a chance to water the garden and get muddy.” After each session the children are given healthy snacks, such as a watermelon slice, graham crackers and water, she said.
In the garden there is a variety of flowers and vegetables, including beans, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peppers and radishes. During the winter months, gardeners must have their plots cleared if they are not planting anything. There is one gardener who plants lettuce year-round.
But there’s a two-year waitlist. “It is well worth the wait,” Akman said.
Librarian Megan McNitt shows off the collection of magazines. Photo by Giovanna Scirrotto
WASHINGTON — In the cosmopolitan age of the Internet and smartphones, the printed word has seemingly been suffering an agonizingly slow death — as devices for reading such as e-books are becoming ever more popular, libraries have had a hard time of it. But in the neighborhood of Tenleytown, this is simply not the the case. “The library is really engaged in the community,” says Karen Blackman-Mills, the library’s branch manager. “We host a lot of community focus groups.”
The Tenleytown library has actually become an enormous fixture in the community during an era where most libraries’ usage has plummeted. The library is a hugely popular study destination for college students, who enjoy the usage of the study rooms and the 20 powerful computers arrayed around the library. Local families also come for the children’s read-alongs every day. In fact, the Tenleytown library has such popular children’s events that there are tickets to reserve spots. The library sees “easily 100 or more upstairs every day,” whether they are looking for a quiet study space, or simply perusing the library’s literary collection of thousands of books, Blackman-Mills said.
Karen Blackman-Mills holds one of the summer reading programs for children. Photo by Giovanna Scirrotto.
It is these local families who comprise the majority of the library’s business. Children’s books are the most circulated, and the library’s staff tries to develop a love for reading and knowledge in the children of the community.
The library’s status as a community fixture is not new. The two story building on Wisconsin and Albemarle, originally constructed in the 1960s, underwent extensive renovations in 2011 to become more technologically advanced and environmentally friendly, a controversial move at the time. Features added include a green roof, solar panels and a reduction in water for sewage by 49 percent. These innovations, among many others, make the library 27 percent more energy efficient than a comparable building.
The $16 million renovations, while expensive, had a dual purpose: representing the community’s liberal values, which include an interest in protecting the environment, and saving money in the long term, she said.
“If you can save $1 million in utilities a year…it’s amazing,” says Megan McNitt, one of the adult librarians. Additionally, the library felt pressured by the community to renovate due to problems presented by aging materials at the nearby Cleveland Park library. “People become very attached to their neighborhood library…a lot of people even come from other towns,” says McNitt.
Strollers line the wall while the popular children’s reading program is in session. Photo by Giovanna Scirrotto
Indeed, while the library is a fixture for the Tenleytown community, it remains a public space, open for anyone’s use. People from nearby towns in Virginia and Maryland often come to the library, and enjoy the same level of access as anyone from Tenleytown; they are even able to get library cards. When checking out books, the current policy is that they have no late fees for children’s books, and coming soon library-goers will not be required to pay for any books they lose.
Whatever else the future may hold, McNitt believes that the Tenleytown library will only continue to have an immensely positive impact on its community. She is also confident that the library will remain successful in the face of competition from e-readers, and she will “expect the unexpected,” she said.
