EntrepreneurialSpreads_v2

TOW-KNIGHT
CENTER
FOR
ENTREPRENEURIAL
JOURNALISM
AT THE CUNY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
LAUNCHING
THE FUTURE
OF NEWS

EXPLORE ENTREPRENEURIAL
JOURNALISM
EJ is an emerging field focused on developing sustainable
business models for quality journalism. Join us to sharpen
your skills and develop a new project.
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We offer programs that fit your experience
and ambitions, whether you want to lead a
startup or help your newsroom pivot and thrive.
We draw on the expertise of NYC’s worldleading
news media entrepreneurs,
including our successful graduates.
We learn from journalism innovators and
from each other: diverse rising stars from
around the world.

HOW YOU CAN JOIN US
Join us in an online program, a short summer session,
a 15-week certificate program or a full 2-year MA.
Determine your goals and how much time you have to
dedicate and we’ll find the right program for you.
Quick Self-Paced Update
Short Summer Study
4 Months to Launch Something
Prepare for a Career
Online Program
1 or 2-Week Summer Intensives
Advanced Certificate Program
Entrep Journalism MA Program

LEARN, BUILD AND LAUNCH
We empower you with the skills, support and network to develop
your startup.
STARTUPS
We’ll guide you through connecting with
an audience, prototyping your ideas and
launching your project or, if your project is
up and running, taking it to the next level.
MINI-MBA
Learn the fundamentals of business and
explore the future of media.
OFFICE HOURS
Meet one-on-one with faculty and mentors.
WEEKLY STARTUP VISITS +
GUEST SPEAKERS
Get inspired by NYC’s innovation hubs and
hear from 30+ entrepreneurs and leaders.
DEMO WEEK
Pitch your project to industry experts and
the NYC startup community.

IN THE HEART OF NYC
Our campus is located in
Times Square, next door to the
New York Times, at the heart
of one of the most exciting
cities in the world.
At the CUNY Graduate School
of Journalism, you have
access to world-class
professors, mentors and
advisors, as well as broadcast
facilities and gear for video,
photo and audio production.
VISITS HAVE INCLUDED:

A DAY IN THE LIFE
Our program gives you the resources to build your project now and
the support to grow moving forward.
9AM
New Business Models for News Seminar with Jeff Jarvis and Jeremy Caplan
12PM
Lunch in midtown Manhattan with classmates
2PM
Visit a top NYC newsroom to learn about its innovation strategy
5PM
Coffee with an industry mentor to discuss product ideas
7PM
Attend startup demo night and socialize with fellow entrepreneurs

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
DESIGN THINKING How to develop an idea
LEAN STARTUP How to run a biz
NEW BUSINESS MODELS for news
READER ENGAGEMENT and community building
GROWTH STRATEGIES
NEW TECHNOLOGY like immersive journalism,
machine learning, bots, internet of things and more
FUNDRAISING
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
NEW FORMS OF ADVERTISING like programmatic
and native ads
CROWDFUNDING Kickstarter and beyond
PUBLIC SPEAKING Presenting persuasively

NEW AND REPEAT
ENTREPRENEURS
Creative disruptors
will play pivotal
roles in shaping the
next generation of
news organizations.
Whether you consider
yourself a journalist,
developer, designer
or entrepreneur,
or something else
altogether, Tow-Knight
is the place to develop
your entrepreneurial
toolkit and build
something new.
PROFILE: NOAH ROSENBERG, NARRATIVELY
Noah Rosenberg’s Narrative.ly, one of Time Magazine’s best
sites of 2013, is a longform journalism outlet that focuses
on quality over quantity. After working as a journalist with
The Wall Street Journal, GQ and The New York Times, Noah
came to Tow-Knight in 2012 to develop his startup idea
and prepare for its launch.
Noah’s venture has flourished as a home for great stories
told not just through longform and shortform writing, but
also through short films, photo essays, audio, and comics. Noah raised more than
$54,000 through Kickstarter to launch. Narrative.ly has since built a community of
more than 2,000 contributors and generated a sustainable set of revenue streams
through sponsorship, syndication, and custom content deals.

SEASONED JOURNALISTS
Tow-Knight fellows come from all media sectors - new media
organizations, newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations and
tech companies. Journalism is their lifeblood. They come to Tow-
Knight to fix the problems they’ve seen in their newsrooms and
create new paths for journalism.
PROFILE: LUZ MELY REYES, EFECTO COCUYO
Luz Mely Reyes worked for years as a reporter, political
editor and investigative editor in her home country of
Venezuela. In 2012, she became the first woman editor-inchief
of a national Venezuelan newspaper. In 2015, due to
the hostile environment for independent media, she quit
her position and cofounded Efecto Cocuyo, an innovative
news organization that delivers in-depth reports in a
restrictive environment. Her project raised $26,428 in a
crowdfunding campaign. Luz came to Tow-Knight in 2016 to explore new ways to
make Efecto Cocuyo sustainable.
With Efecto Cocuyo, Venezuelan journalists are introducing new ways to build a
strong community of users through social media and messaging apps such as
Twitter and WhatsApp. At a time of intense political turmoil in her home country,
Luz took advantage of the Tow-Knight program to develop her entrepreneurial and
leadership skills.

WHAT WE’VE LAUNCHED
Here’s a sampling some of
the ventures the center has
helped grow.
SKILLCRUSH
Learn the skills that will get you hired,
guaranteed
HOW INDIA LIVES
A database and search engine for public
data in India
CLEAR HEALTH COSTS
Bringing transparency to the healthcare
marketplace
NARRATIVE.LY
Human stories, boldly told
NK NEWS
Breaking North Korea news, opinion,
culture & curiosities
BIG GIRLS SMALL KITCHEN
A guide to quarterlife cooking
THE EDGE
Intelligent industry news curated for
business leaders
BUSHWICK DAILY
Get your daily dose of Bushwick
BRICK CITY LIVE
What’s new in Newark
MANDARA ONLINE
The local media portal for Upper Egypt
EFECTO COCUYO
Journalism that illuminates Venezuela
CODA STORY
Original international reporting on
under-the-radar crises
PURPLE
Interactive storytelling through messaging
STREETMUSICMAP
Mapping musicians in more than 90
countries around the globe
EMERGING MARKET MEDIA
High-quality news about the world’s
fastest-growing economies
HAPTICAL
Awesome things you need to know about
virtual, augmented and mixed reality
VRAGMENTS
A tool to create 360 stories easily and fast
ZNEWS AFRICA
Creation and curation of stories about
Africa

WHAT WE’VE LAUNCHED
Here’s a sampling some of
the ventures the center has
helped grow.
SKILLCRUSH
Learn the skills that will get you hired,
guaranteed
HOW INDIA LIVES
A database and search engine for public
data in India
CLEAR HEALTH COSTS
Bringing transparency to the healthcare
marketplace
NARRATIVE.LY
Human stories, boldly told
NK NEWS
Breaking North Korea news, opinion,
culture & curiosities
BIG GIRLS SMALL KITCHEN
A guide to quarterlife cooking
THE EDGE
Intelligent industry news curated for
business leaders
BUSHWICK DAILY
Get your daily dose of Bushwick
BRICK CITY LIVE
What’s new in Newark
MANDARA ONLINE
The local media portal for Upper Egypt
EFECTO COCUYO
Journalism that illuminates Venezuela
CODA STORY
Original international reporting on
under-the-radar crises
PURPLE
Interactive storytelling through messaging
STREETMUSICMAP
Mapping musicians in more than 90
countries around the globe
EMERGING MARKET MEDIA
High-quality news about the world’s
fastest-growing economies
HAPTICAL
Awesome things you need to know about
virtual, augmented and mixed reality
VRAGMENTS
A tool to create 360 stories easily and fast
ZNEWS AFRICA
Creation and curation of stories about
Africa

TESTIMONIALS
“ investors or advertisers.
”
A lot of little things, which come together in
“
This gave me a launchpad
to take what I knew and
push it to the next level.
”
—Adda Birnir, founder,
Skillcrush
Everyone pushed each other to achieve great things. Everyone
came from different backgrounds. I gained a lot of insights into how
to run my business, how to market it, how to reach out to potential
a big, helpful package.
“It’s phenomenal. I would
say it’s life-changing. It’s
the best career decision
I’ve taken.
—Binoy Prabhakar,
founder, Rede
—Amy Stretten, founder, Chief Of Style
“
The other fellows that I met and
the faculty I met are people I’m
going to be in touch with for a
long time if not the rest of my
life. The access to ideas and to
resources, you just can’t compare
that to anything. I look back on
this semester and I wouldn’t
change a thing.
—Noah Rosenberg, founder, Narrative.ly
“
We saw journalists embracing
entrepreneurialism. What was
fascinating was the sheer
range of businesses pitched
to us — they took journalism
in a whole range of places I
hadn’t thought about. It was
wonderful to see.
—Tony Haile, guest speaker, founding
CEO of Chartbeat and Scroll
” ”
The connections here are incredible.
—Stephen Robert Morse, managing partner, Observatory

TOW-KNIGHT
BY THE
NUMBERS
100+ fellows from 32 countries
1st
PROGRAM
45%
STARTUPS STILL
OPERATING
TO AWARD AN MA AND CERTIFICATE
IN ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNALISM
52% 51%
FEMALE INTERNATIONAL
68%
PEOPLE OF COLOR
23-60
40%HAVE EARNED
AGE RANGE OF FELLOWS
FUNDING OR REVENUE
Stats cover 2011-17

JOURNALISM
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CENTER
FOR
TOW-KNIGHT
towknight@journalism.cuny.edu | @tkCUNY | /towknightcenter