SUNY New Paltz Journalism Professor Robert Miraldi’s biography of a famous American investigative reporter has been named the best journalism biography in the United States in 2013.

The announcement of the Ann Sperber Biography Award came out recently from Fordham University which administers the prestigious prize. Dr. Miraldi, a professor at New Paltz since 1982, will receive his award on Nov. 19 at Fordham’s Manhattan campus.

Professor Brian Rose, acting director of the Sperber Awards for 2014, praised the book as “a probing and provocative investigation of this country’s premier investigative journalist.”

Miraldi’s book, Seymour Hersh: Scoop Artist, chronicles the work of a journalist who many consider to be America’s greatest investigative reporter. Hersh won the Pulitzer Prize for his exposé of the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the village of My Lai in Vietnam in 1968. He then, in 2004, revealed the story of the torture of Iraqis in a prison at Abu Ghraib. Hersh is the author of eight controversial and best-selling books and has won virtually every major award in journalism.

Miraldi joins a distinguished list of biographers who have won the Sperber Award for books on subjects ranging from Walter Cronkite to William Randolph Hearst to Henry Luce, all major figures in American journalism.

“I worked on this Hersh biography for nearly a decade,” Miraldi commented. “So it is gratifying to receive this award and see my Hersh work in with some wonderful other biographies. Hersh is perhaps America’s greatest investigative reporter, and his work deserves this recognition.”

Miraldi added, “The book has a dimension beyond Hersh’s work. He is an iconic figure — irreverent, brash, indefatigable, headstrong, arrogant, and passionate. He is really a great American character.”

The 445-page book, which was published by Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, came out last fall and was named one of the 10 best investigative books in the U.S. by Harvard University’s Nieman Reports. The History News Network called it “refreshingly readable and very impressive.”

Miraldi came to New Paltz in 1982 after a career as a reporter. He teaches courses on freedom of speech, press history and news reporting. He has won many awards for his writing and research and was named one of America’s top journalism teachers by the Poynter Institute in 1989.

In 2004, his biography, The Pen Is Mightier (Palgrave/Macmillan Books), was named the best book in the country in media and journalism. That book told the life story of a famous turn-of-the-twentieth century investigative reporter, Charles Edward Russell, who was the most prolific of the so-called “muckraking” journalists.

Dr. Miraldi, who has a PhD in American Studies and a master’s degree in journalism, thanked SUNY New Paltz for its support of this book with a sabbatic leave, reduced teaching time to write, and various grants to fund research.

Miraldi lives in Stone Ridge, N.Y, with his wife, Mary Beth Pfeiffer, a reporter. He has two children and two grandchildren.

“Uneasy Sisters: Voodoo and Christianity in New Orleans” features Voodoo and Yoruba priestess Ava Kay Jones, who is also a devoted Catholic.

By Despina Williams Parker
parkerd@newpaltz.edu

A documentary showcasing the unlikely union between Voodoo and Christianity in New Orleans’ culture has earned digital media and journalism lecturer Thomas Cznarty a Telly Award.

Thomas Cznarty

“Uneasy Sisters: Voodoo and Christianity in New Orleans,” which Cznarty co-directed with executive producer Casey Grayson, earned the bronze Telly in the online video category. The Telly Awards were founded in 1978 to honor excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials, and has since expanded to include television programs and non-broadcast productions.

“The Telly Awards are very important because the award is given out by industry professionals, and that recognition for the film might help it possibly get broadcast,” said Cznarty, who is shopping the film to a New Orleans PBS affiliate, with hopes for a broadcasting deal.

The documentary debuted at New Paltz on April 24, 2014, as a featured selection of the annual Communication and Media Week. The screening was followed by a question and answer session with the documentary’s star, Ava Kay Jones, one of New Orleans’ most prominent Voodoo and Yoruba priestesses.

Like other Africa-descended residents of New Orleans, Jones has synthesized elements of Catholicism, Voodoo and Yoruba into a creole spiritual practice. In the documentary, she hoped to dispel the myth that Voodoo, which was brought to America by African slaves, is a dark religion incompatible with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments.

Jones agreed to star in the film without compensation, and provided a glimpse into a religion that is closely guarded by practitioners. “She felt that Voodoo had been marginalized in the media and in Hollywood for decades. She wanted to show that Voodoo could be for good. To have her in our documentary really lent it credibility,” said Cznarty.

Cznarty will follow up his award-winning work with two new documentaries slated to begin filming this summer: an examination of homelessness in Ulster and Orange Counties and a short film on the Gardiner distillery, Tuthilltown Spirits.

Uneasy Sisters Trailer from Casey Grayson on Vimeo.

SUNY New Paltz communication and media professor Gregory Bray ’00 (Communication and Media) has assembled a team of fellow alumni for the production of “Liner Notes,” a film based on a stage play written by his brother, John Patrick Bray ’00 (Theater).

Gregory Bray

Bray said that after numerous productions and readings of “Liner Notes” were performed nationwide, he and his brother John, a playwriting and screenwriting professor at the University of Georgia, decided to collaborate on bringing the play to the big screen.

“I saw two readings in New York City, and after talking with John about the work, we came to the conclusion that it would make a terrific film,” said Bray. “It’s a dramatic comedy, or perhaps a comedic drama.”

“Liner Notes” tells the story of Alice, a young woman from Rochester, N.Y., who learns of the suicide of her estranged father, Jake, a lead singer of a popular CBGBs-era rock band in the 1970s. She drives to Georgia to reconnect with Jake’s former guitarist, George, who she convinces to come with her on a road trip to visit her father’s grave in Montreal.

“This is the major portion of the film – their road trip, their interactions, their visit to an open mic bar in New Paltz, N.Y.,” said Bray. “Alice is one of my favorite characters I’ve encountered in any medium. It takes a particular level of determination to drive from Rochester, N.Y., to northern Georgia, only to turn around and drive all the way to Montreal to visit a headstone.”

Bray said the story is “ultimately a meditation on what it means to be a rock star, and what kind of damage does celebrity culture create? At the same time it’s a story of two very different people taking a journey together, and learning about themselves through each other.”

“Liner Notes” also serves as “a love letter to music,” Bray said. “There’s something immediately nostalgic about music. It can serve as our own autobiographies. We hear a song on the radio, and suddenly it’s that summer day from 20 years ago we wish we could revisit. Or a first dance.”

The film is being shot in and around New Paltz, with a crew entirely made up of New Paltz digital media production alumni: Jason Latorre ’11, first assistant director/editor; Tara Latorre ’11, social media director, Matt Brunner ’14, swing crew/grip; Vincent Carnevale ’13, director of photography; Brenna Landerkin ’13, art director; Ian Todaro ’14, camera crew; Carol Lee ’06, post production; and communication and media lecturer Joseph Vlachos ’04.

Bray said he is also in the process of enlisting several current students who have indicated interest in serving as production assistants, and that final audio mixing will also be done at SUNY New Paltz with the help of student assistants.

For more information about “Liner Notes,” check out the film’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/linernotesmovie, or on Twitter (@linernotesmovie) or follow the conversation via the hashtag #rememberjake. Bray also plans to launch a contest for #rememberjake videos on video sharing social network Vine, with a prize to be presented for the best user-created video.

Ray Williams achieved fame as a New York Knicks point guard, but ended up bankrupt and homeless. He is one of the subjects of Thomas Cznarty’s documentary, “After the Sweat Dries.”

By Despina Williams Parker
parkerd@newpaltz.edu

There are hoop dreams, and there are harsh realities.

“After the Sweat Dries,” Thomas Cznarty’s cautionary tale about the often cruel aftermath of athletic success, was an Official Selection at the Hoboken International Film Festival, held May 30-June 5 in Middletown, NY.

In the documentary, Cznarty, a New Paltz Digital Media instructor, sought to explore a topic that he believes has not garnered adequate media attention. “We wanted to inform athletes, sports enthusiasts and the layperson that after the stadium lights dim low and the cheering crowds go home, professional athletes need to have goals beyond sports, because their window of success is fleeting.”

The film profiles the lives of former New York Knicks point guard Ray Williams and Seton Hall University basketball assistant coach Shaheen Holloway. Both men experienced admirable success in the game, but their lives outside the stadium took very different turns.

Williams, who played 10 years in the NBA, found his career suddenly over after a contract dispute with the New York Nets. Once accustomed to a salary of $4-5 million a year, Williams could not sustain his former lifestyle. Within a decade, he had blown through his NBA pension, was homeless and living in his car.

Williams was photographed living in his car by a Boston Globe photographer.

Holloway, a Queens native, was a standout guard for Seton Hall from 1996-2000. After leading his team to the NCAA Tournament, his college career ended when he broke his ankle in three places during a game at Syracuse.

Holloway would go on to play in the European basketball league, but returned home to help raise his daughter, who was struggling academically. He has experienced great success as a Seton Hall coach, and gives back to his community by hosting summer basketball camps for youth. His daughter is now a Seton Hall undergraduate student.

Cznarty sought to highlight the differences in the two men’s responses to adversity. While Holloway was able to bounce back from disappointment and pursue positive career and personal changes, Williams proved completely unprepared for life after the NBA. “Ray didn’t have a back-up plan,” Cznarty said.

Just as Williams’s life seemed to briefly take a turn for the better – a profile in the Boston Globe led to a job with the Mount Vernon recreation department, and he reunited with and married a former girlfriend – Williams developed cancer. In less than a year after Cznarty visited him at his home, Williams passed away without ever seeing the finished documentary.

At the June 2 screening at the Hoboken Film Festival, held in the Paramount Theater, the film received a positive response from attendees. “After the screening, everyone applauded loudly. It made an impact on the audience, so that was very rewarding,” said Cznarty.

Cznarty returned two nights later to attend the screening of the short film, “Choices,” by his student and Digital Storytelling standout Catherine Kaczor. Cznarty called the fictional film, about a young, disillusioned woman, “beautifully rendered.”

Thomas Cznarty

This year, the Hoboken International Film Festival had over 1,500 film submissions, and a jury of industry insiders accepted less than 10 percent. Only a handful were documentaries.

Cznarty said festival success is crucial, as numerous distribution company representatives attend the screenings and broker deals with filmmakers. “The goal is to sell the film and get it broadcast and get a distribution deal,” he said.

In June, “After the Sweat Dries” won the Accolade Competition’s Award of Merit in the short documentary category. Accolade is a juried, international awards competition, and the Award of Merit recognizes “notable artistic and technical productions.”

Cznarty has also submitted the film to the Sundance, South by Southwest and American Film Institute festivals, and hopes to showcase his work in these venues in the fall and winter.

– Despina Williams

“Jogger John” is the subject of an award winning documentary by 2013 Digital Media alumni Kaleigh Griffin, Claudia Gallo, Lindsay Nimphius and Keri Sheheen.

By Despina Williams Parker
parkerd@newpaltz.edu

The Digital Media and Journalism Department is pleased to announce New Paltz alumni’s grand prize win at the SUNYWide Film Festival, held in April at the SUNY Fredonia campus.

The documentary, “First Name: Jogger, Last Name: John,” by Kaleigh Griffin, Claudia Gallo, Lindsay Nimphius and Keri Sheheen, all 2013 graduates, earned Best in Festival.

The 15-minute film, which was directed, written and produced by Griffin, tells the story of “Jogger John,” a homeless man and former drug addict who became a Woodstock, NY treasure. Gallo served as cinematographer and co-edited the film with Sheeheen. Nimphius scored the film.

The festival was founded in 2009 as an opportunity to showcase the cinematic excellence of students and faculty from the SUNY system.

The young filmmakers were thrilled to receive the award.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all and it came as such a wonderful surprise,” said Griffin. “I can’t wait to tell Jogger John. He’s always so happy when I tell him about another accomplishment the film makes.”

The project was created as part of the Seminar in Digital Filmmaking capstone course last spring. The documentary premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival and earned the Second Place Documentary award at the annual international Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts in the spring.

View the trailer for the documentary here.