On this week’s episode, the editor-in-chief and deputy editor of the Chronicle discuss the current Columbia film scene, SGA elections, Riot Fest, how clubs benefit student life and the “What’s in your bag” story.

Transcript:

0:04: Welcome back to Headlines. 

0:06: I’m Will Blakley, the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Chronicle, and I’m Marc Balbarin, 

0:09: I’m the deputy editor of the Columbia Chronicle. 

0:11: Alright, should we just hop right into it? 

0:13: Yeah, top story today, 

0:15: Christian Springer winning 2 Emmys at the Emmy Award show. 

0:20: Yeah, 2 Emmys for their work on two separate shows, the main of which being “Widow’s Bay”, which has been a very successful Apple TV series. 

0:29: It’s like a mystery/thriller comedy, I believe, but they won for their work for Outstanding Cinematography. 

0:37: Yeah, not only Outstanding Cinematography for a half-hour show, but also Outstanding Comedy Series as well. 

0:44: “Widow’s Bay” was the big win, because that’s been kind of a surprise hit from Apple. 

0:50: I mean they did a limited theatrical run of half the episodes, or maybe even the entire series, because I think the first season is only about 8 episodes. 

0:59: So it’s been really successful and that has reflected in their win, which is fantastic.

1:06: And you know, aside from that, there was also the Emmy Awards for the Chicago Midwest chapter, which focuses on short films and stuff like that, where two graduate films, “Cicada” and “I Memorize Your Sadness,” were nominated, and those were graduates here from Columbia. 

1:23: I actually saw a screening of “Cicada,” at this year’s Manifest, which is a really beautiful short film. 

1:31: It’s like this musical drama, and I don’t know, I’ve seen a lot of productions here at Columbia, you know, being kind of a film and television beat reporter for a while. 

1:42: And that one really blew me away just for how much they were able to do with their resources. 

1:48: I mean, we see a lot of great films at Columbia.

1:51: But that one was really beautiful, and I’m glad it got recognition. 

1:55: I mean, you’re not only just a beat reporter for film and television, you’re also a film and television major as well, right? 

2:02: Yes, I am. 

2:03: How’s it feel to see so many successes lately, especially as a senior who’s almost out the door at Columbia? 

2:09: Jealousy. 

2:10: No, I’m kidding,

2:11: I’m kidding. 

2:12: No, I’m actually really proud of my fellow students and collaborators. 

2:15: I mean, I don’t know any of these people personally really.

2:18: because a lot of them, I think, are BFA students. 

2:20: I’m a BA, and you know, the winner for “Widow’s Bay,” has been an alumni for a while.

2:28: Yeah, but still, seeing a Columbia alum doing such great work and being recognized for such great work, it has to make you feel some positive sort of way, right? 

2:36: 100%, yeah, I mean, I think it’s good when we see filmmakers from this college doing well because that means that we’re doing something right.

2:45: And I do think a lot of that work is from outside the college as well, but Columbia gives you the resources and allows you to meet the community that really allows you to push your career along. 

2:55: I mean, I think Columbia first and foremost has been best for me as a film major, in terms of just meeting people I like working with, 

3:02: I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I’ve done without just the community I’ve built here personally. 

3:07: Yeah, all these successes, you know, draw people to Columbia. 

3:10: I mean, once again we had those 1100 first time, first-year students. 

3:15: Speaking of new students, the Student Government Association in Columbia just held their first fall elections for the semester, and a majority of their newly elected senators are actually first-year students. 

3:28: Yeah, that took place on Sept. 15, this prior Tuesday, and a lot of first-years showed up, and a lot of first-years were elected.

3:38: Which again, great to see these first-year students be excited about the college.

3:49: In our coverage, I really liked Amelia Lutz’s quote.

5:53: Amelia Lutz, the president of SGA, who said “I want to focus on the student body.” 

3:57: “I feel like there’s been a lack of communication that sometimes happens between the administration and student body, which is something the administration is aware of,” Lutz said. “And it’s something that I hope to continue and to grow and to foster because I feel like that is the most important thing.”

4:09: “I really want students to feel comfortable like coming to me and telling me their gripes, telling me their grievances.”

4:14: This quote kind of caught my attention because I really think that it’s showing that first years and our student body are very aware of some of Columbia’s potential communication issues, and I’m glad that events like these and organizations like this are trying to bridge the gap between students and administration. 

4:31: Yeah, I mean, of course the experience is great, but also having that first year representation brings in new ideas, brings in new thoughts that allows us to keep moving and keep evolving as we keep growing as a community.

4:47: Yeah, 100%, and I think that Columbia students, especially the ones coming in and the ones I’ve personally talked to, like when we’re boothing for the Chronicle, or often come to me very aware of the college’s issues, right? 

4:58: Very few people are coming to Columbia not knowing the state that it was in or is in. 

5:05: And I think the fact that students are aware of it and are coming in and wanna be leadership at Columbia and make positive changes, so that the college can keep going on and being successful is a great sign, because I think that, there’s a difference between having a bunch of new students, in general, who don’t really know the state of the college than a bunch of new students who do and are actively trying to make changes, which I think is great. 

5:28: Yeah, I actually had an encounter with a few first-year journalism students just outside the newsroom, you know, I was walking outside, then they stopped me and it was like, “Hey, do you work for the Chronicle?”

5:39: And I was like, “Yeah, why?”

5:40: No, not just like that, but they actually were practicing interviews and wanted to interview me. 

5:45: And so I was like, “Why not?”

5:46: “Sure, go ahead.”

5:48: So I talked to them. 

5:50: And had a great conversation, and gave them a little bit of advice.

5:53: I love seeing these new first-years on campus, just learning and growing because they’re in a spot where I used to be, and now I could part some of that wisdom down to them. 

6:03: Yeah, 100%. 

6:04: I remember, when I was doing the booth for the Chronicle, and this one student came up to me, they’re like, “Yeah, you know, I wanna go into journalism.”

6:10: I’m like, “Oh, okay, cool. Why do you want to go into journalism?”

6:12: And they’re like, “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

6:13: “Oh, no, please just tell me.”

6:14: And they’re like, “It’s because of that new Superman movie.” 

6:18: And you know me, I love Superman. 

6:20: And it was just really heartwarming to see the student come up, and watch something and be so inspired by it, or whatever, and wanting to do good journalism, and be excited about the program even if it was for a quite silly reason. 

6:34: I mean it’s part of the reason I’m in journalism, right? 

6:35: I loved Superman since I was a kid so that was just really nice to see and I’m really glad that we have a student body that’s focused on improving things. 

6:44: Yeah, just to quote you from a few weeks back, “What’s more punk rock than journalism?” 

6:49: “What’s more punk rock than good journalism?”

6:53: Speaking of punk rock, as of when this episode comes out, the Chronicle will have covered Riot Fest.

7:02: Aren’t you going to Riot Fest actually? 

7:04: How can you tell? 

7:05: Was it the ripped blue jeans or the sweatshirt while you’re all buttoned up and everything? 

7:10: Oh, I can’t really see below the table. 

7:12: Yeah, I’m kind of a Muppet to you, right? 

7:14: Yeah, just like, talking. 

7:17: I can see your shoes.

7:20: I mean, those are pretty good indicators too. 

7:21: These are the ones I wore last year. 

7:22: You can see how ripped up they are.

7:24: Yeah, and anyone listening to audio, they can’t really see what we’re both wearing. 

7:27: Are you excited for Riot Fest? 

7:28: Very excited, yeah.

7:29: I mean, I’m really excited to see our photographer Carlos. He is leading the photo mission this weekend, and I’m really excited to see what he does because he’s a really fantastic photographer.

7:39: Specifically for underground and hardcore punk shows, and he did a photo essay for us that was highlighting a hardcore, punk show that was in this basement venue. 

7:48: So I’m really excited to see how his photos come out. 

7:50: All of our photographers are really talented, especially when it comes to our arts and culture coverage. 

7:56: For example, during Lollapalooza we had the lesbian mud fighting photos. 

8:01: Unfortunately I wasn’t here for that coverage, but I saw these photos. 

8:03: I’m like, “I love it.” 

8:05: I love it, you know. 

8:07: Yeah, that was such a lightning strike in a bottle moment, right? 

8:11: When Miguel showed me that post, I was like, “I need both photographers there right now. Go, go, go, go.”

8:17: We rushed there. 

8:19: What else has been going on this week, really? 

8:21: Sure, Black Student Union also had their first meeting, at “Welcome Back Cookout!”

8:28: Yeah, it seems like the event went well, just everyone mingling and getting back into the school year. 

8:33: Oh, yeah, building that community, especially, capitalizing on all these first-years because a good way to stay at Columbia is by finding your community. 

8:41: I mean, I found my community through the Chronicle, and also through volleyball as well, and that’s what made me stay all three years now at Columbia.

8:50: Yeah, and especially at Columbia we have such a diverse student body. 

8:53: As of Fall 2025, 43% of Columbia students identify as a person of color, I believe. 

9:00: With 20% of the student population being black, according to, again, this kind of older-ish survey. 

9:07: So who knows, that number might have grown with all these new students, and I think it is really important that these organizations are here on campus again for the sake of community, but also for the sake of communication about what the college should be doing better to serve these students. 

9:20: You know what was a really creative story one of our reporters wrote this week? 

9:24: “What’s in your bag?”

9:25: I would have not written that myself and that idea would never come across my brain.

9:31: But everyone has a bag. 

9:33: Hey, well, what’s in your bag? 

9:34: I’m just curious. 

9:35: What’s in my bag? 

9:36: Currently an issue of the Chicago Reader, an issue of the Chicago Sun-Times, my computer, two reporters’ notebooks, one pen shared between those two reporter notebooks. 

9:49: I need to grab more pens, my keys, my earbuds, and then there is a little figurine my friend bought me of Kaiju from the movie, “Godzilla x Kong,” a movie we both saw together and we both really disliked, and she bought me the figurine as a memory, because it was a really big bonding moment for us, just complaining about that movie after watching it. 

10:14: So, yeah, that’s what I have in my bag. 

10:16: What about you, Mark? 

10:17: I know you have 2 billion bags. 

10:19: Okay, I don’t have 2 billion bags. 

10:20: I have 3 bags. 

10:24: I have a bag for my computer, charger and my clothes. 

10:28: And then I have another bag with all my workout clothes, so I got my rock climbing shoes, shorts, t-shirt and stuff I don’t really care about. 

10:38: Speedo.

10:39: No. No, Speedo. I can’t even swim. 

10:43: Can you not swim? 

10:43: I can’t swim. 

10:44: You go to the beach all the time and you can’t swim. 

10:46: I go to the beach all the time and I can’t swim. 

10:48: Anyways, I still have a third bag.

10:51: And?

10:52: Rude for interrupting. 

10:53: Okay, well, just keep going. 

10:54: Okay, I have a camera bag, with my film camera and all my lenses. 

11:01: Wow, that was a really boring third bag. 

11:06: Anyways, that was this week of Headlines. 

11:08: See how it feels to be interrupted, see. 

11:12: Thanks for listening. 

11:12: We’ll see you next week. 

11:13: Once again, my name’s Marc Balbarin,

11:15: I’m the deputy editor of the Columbia Chronicle.

11:17: And I’m Will Blakley, 

11:18: I’m the editor-in-chief. 

11:19: Thanks for listening. 

11:22: Ow!

Copy edited by Camila Verzino