Maryland Newsline

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The CNS-TV Bureau - Fall 2006

Their broadcast will air at 7:30 p.m. on UMTV. That's Channel 72 in Prince George's County; Channel 2 in Montgomery County. CNS-TV reporters are reachable at umtvdesk@jmail.umd.edu.

The TV news crew for fall 2006. Seated, from left, students Chris Williams, Catherine Citroni, Jackie Congedo, Kimberly Moore and Farrah Childs. Standing, from left, Bureau Chief Cassandra Clayton, students Kathy Park, Nicole Alberico, Danielle Hayner, Chelsea Jones, Sarah Merkey and Dan Griffin, Executive Producer Sue Kopen Katcef and production advisor Kevin Swift. (Newsline photo by Melissa Pachikara.)

About the bureau chief:

Cassandra Clayton oversees production of UMTV’s nightly newscast, "Maryland Newsline." Hired as an NBC News correspondent in 1983, over the next two decades she reported from their Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., bureaus. She co-anchored a nightly news and talk program on CNBC called "The Real Story," and substitute anchored "Nightly News," "Weekend Edition," "Sunrise" and the "Today" news segment. She most recently reported and anchored for MSNBC and taught broadcast journalism at Howard University.

The grad student:

Dan Griffin is covering criminal justice and politics for CNS-TV. After graduating in December, he hopes to be working in production. Griffin graduated from the University of Delaware in May 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. He was a producer for Maryland Newsline in the spring and has worked as a production intern at Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and The Washington Bureau on Capitol Hill. He is originally from the Philadelphia area and can be reached by e-mail at dancgriffin@yahoo.com.

The undergrads:

Nicole Alberico, 27, is covering military affairs and homeland security for CNS-TV. She served a five-year stint as a military print journalist and plans to graduate with a broadcast journalism degree in May 2007. She aspires to work as a television reporter and has been a news assistant for D.C.'s 630 AM - WMAL radio, an ABC news talk station. She is from Salt Lake City, Utah, but now lives in Silver Spring, Md. She can be reached at nalberic@mail.umd.edu.

Farrah Childs, 30, is covering ethnic and religious affairs for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor's degree in December and plans to be a reporter. She has reported and anchored for "Terp Weekly Edition" on WMUC 88.1 FM. She is from Redmond, Wash., but now lives in Beltsville, Md., and can be reached by e-mail at farrah@umd.edu.

Catherine Citroni, 21, is covering Prince George’s County and political news for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor of arts degree in May 2007 from the College of Journalism. Citroni has interned at Comcast SportsNet, ABC2News in Baltimore and Soundprint Media Center Inc. She worked as a reporter for "Terp Weekly Edition" on WMUC Radio, as well as an anchor/reporter for "Maryland Newsline College Park Edition."  After graduating Citroni hopes to pursue a career as a reporter. She is from Linthicum, Md., and can be reached at ccitroni@umd.edu .

Danielle Hayner, 21, is covering education for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in May and plans to be a sports reporter. Hayner has interned at the YES Network, NBA Entertainment, ESPN’s "Around the Horn," NBC-4 Sports and Viewpoint Communications.  She is from Parsippany, N.J., and can be reached at dhayner@umd.edu.

Chelsea Jones, 21, is a senior broadcast journalism major covering transportation for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor's degree in May and hopes to be a producer. Jones  interned for the Mt. Airy Times Express newspaper in Philadelphia, WRC-TV in Washington, and most recently the Discovery Times Channel. Jones was also a regular contributor to "Terp Weekly Edition," a 15-minute news radio program. And she's volunteered at UMTV. Jones is from Philadelphia and can be reached at cmjones01@gmail.com.

Sarah Merkey, 21, is covering health and medical news for CNS-TV.  She will earn her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in May and is looking forward to pursing a career as a reporter. Merkey has worked as a freelance assignment editor and an occasional associate producer for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and as a freelance reporter for The Baltimore Sun Harford Bureau.  During a semester abroad, she worked with BBC-TV in London on a short documentary series about the personal debt crisis sweeping the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2005, Sarah traveled to Costa Rica to work on a film project about rapidly disappearing cattlemen from the Guanacaste region of that country. She has also interned with the NAHB Production Group in Washington, D.C., and Howard County's government TV station, G-TV.  She can be reached at sarahmerk@gmail.com.

Kimberly Moore, 21, is covering the environment for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor's degree in May 2007, with a double major in broadcast journalism and criminal justice. Moore interned in the sports department at WMAR ABC 2 News, is the student newsroom manager at UMTV and will be interning at ESPN’s "Pardon the Interruption" in the spring.  She hopes to pursue a career in sports journalism and would like to report from the East Coast. She is from Baltimore and can be reached at kimamoore@gmail.com. 

Kathy Park, 21, is covering the lifestyle beat for CNS-TV. She will earn her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in May and plans to pursue a career in reporting. Park interned with the consumer unit at NBC4, the DIY Network and Soundprint Media. She has also held internships with Lockheed Martin and T. Rowe Price. She is from Silver Spring, Md., and can be reached at kpark26@gmail.com.

Chris Williams, 21, is a senior broadcast journalism major covering Baltimore City for CNS-TV. For the past four summers, he has interned with WTTG FOX 5  in his hometown of Washington, D.C. In the fall of 2005, Williams interned with the "CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer" in the Washington bureau. He aspires to be a network reporter but plans to start in local news. He can be reached at williams4200@comcast.net.