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Donald Borenstein

Writer/Journalist/Videographer

Astoria, NY

Donald Borenstein

Multimedia journalist with experience in covering environmental policy, public & maternal health, critical review, and on-site reporting. With experience as a videographer, along with my audio and video production skills, I can be the one-person multimedia team your publication needs.

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Challenging Patriarchy: The Changing Definition of Women’s Empowerment

Recently named the 6th best post in the history of New Security Beat, as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center: http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2014/09/20-20-celebrating-decades-tracking-environment-population-security/ Baldwin applauded Basu’s message about expanding the traditional approach to empowerment, urging organizations to “unpack the concepts” behind their goals to determine what they define as successful empowerment. The idea of women’s empowerment is not clearly defined. For example, organizations should ask themselves when they start employment initiatives whether they are addressing working in the house or out of the house, in the formal sector or the informal sector, Baldwin said. “What is it about having that job or that income that makes a difference when [women] come home?” For organizations making these decisions, “it would be extra helpful to actually understand how these concepts knit together so that you would have half a chance that pushing on this part of the concept is actually going to give you the effect at the other end that you want,” she said.
New Security Beat Link to Story
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10 Ways to fix Twitter

Twitter is going off the rails and I propose a couple super serious fixes.
Link to Story
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Donald Borenstein-- 2014 Reel

Highlights and samples from some of my work as a cinematographer, director, and editor in 2014.
Vimeo Link to Story
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Bouncing Forward: Why “Resilience” Is Important and Needs a Definition

As policymakers respond to the threat of climate and environmental change, the concept of resilience has found itself at the center of discussion. Few scientists and policymakers, however, can come to a consensus on how to define, evaluate, and build resilience. The concept is sometimes defined as “the ability to bounce back.”. Featured on the front page of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars website.
New Security Beat Link to Story
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Planet Experts presents: The People's Climate March

Planet Experts brings you on the ground at the largest environmental protest in history. I produced, directed, edited, and co-DoP'd this short feature, turning it around in less than 24 hours. Second in a three part series.
Planet Experts Link to Story
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Exclusive: Footage From the UN Climate Summit

Yesterday, the leaders of countries, corporations and environmental organizations gathered in New York for the UN Climate Summit. Planet Experts was there. In this exclusive video, we take you from the People’s Climate March – a historic gathering of 400,000 activists in the streets of New York – into the UN itself. Filmed and Edited within 24 hours, singlehandedly.
Link to Story
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Nancy Schwartzman on Fighting Rape Culture Worldwide With Emerging Social Technology

Sexual assault remains distressingly common throughout the world, and too often it’s the victim who gets the blame, says Nancy Schwartzman, filmmaker and executive director of Tech 4 Good , in this week’s podcast. “A lot of services for young women tell them how to dress and to watch their drink,” she says.
New Security Beat Link to Story
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DC Votes Yes on Initiative 71 and Marijuana

AirsNext brings you on the ground coverage of the DC Vote to Legalize Marijuana. AirsNext ® All Rights Reserved (Video Content Producers LLC) Produced, Directed, Shot, and Edited by Donald Borenstein
AirsNext Link to Story
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PHOTOS: Innovation in Urban Infrastructure Financing in Latin America

Photos from the event "Innovation in Urban Infrastructure Financing" for the Urban Sustainability Laboratory at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Taken on May 6, 2014 with a Canon 5D MKII and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L lens. Additional events I photographed at the Wilson Center: "Social Accountability: The Answer to Ensuring Reproductive and Maternal Health Rights in the Post-MDG Era?" for the Environmental Change and Security Program on May 5, 2014, using a Canon Rebel T4i with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L lens. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecsp/sets/72157644695476306/ "Climate Change in a Growing, Urbanizing World: Understanding the Demography of Adaptation (Book Launch)" for the Environmental Change and Security Program on October 2, 2013, using a Canon 5D MK II with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L lens. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecsp/sets/72157636630617055/
Wilson Center Link to Story
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MetalWars 3 Review

Metal Wars 3 is not content with generic ineptitude. This game outright bullies its players into making in-app purchases by slowing the upgrade system down to a crawl, while ramping up the difficulty of its monotonous gameplay at a highly disproportionate rate. When I think about the time I spent grinding through this game to completion without giving in to Goorusoft’s extortion racket, I lament my quickly fading youth, and the wasted hours spent trying to simply play this game that I theoretically already owned.
Hardcore Droid Link to Story
Cambodia-forests_profile

Dark Forests: Interview With Bopha Phorn on Investigating Land Deals, Logging, Gender Issues in Cambodia

Cambodia is a young democracy in transition. It has the highest rate of urbanization in Southeast Asia, but the lowest percentage of current urban dwellers and widespread poverty. The Mekong River, on which millions of rural Cambodians rely, is being dammed at a rapid pace, both upstream, beyond the country’s borders and within. Aided by weak land laws, both foreign and domestic industrial forces have staked claim to large swaths of the country for logging and rubber plantations, displacing thousands. Bopha Phorn, editor-at-large for The Cambodia Daily, the country’s largest English-language newspaper, has amassed an impressive record of investigative coverage on logging, government land deals, dam construction, and gender issues, but not without considerable personal risk. She was recently in Washington, DC, to be honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation for courage in journalism, due in part to an investigation into illegal logging during which one of her companions was killed by military police. Phorn has continued her investigative efforts in spite of increased government pressure. While she was in DC, we had a chance to talk to her about covering environmental corruption in Cambodia and the future of journalism in the burgeoning nation.
New Security Beat Link to Story
Gorillaweb_profile

Gorillas and Family Planning: At the Crossroads of Community Development and Conservation in Uganda

“The potential benefits of an integrated approach are not inevitable,” Petruney said. “Effective implementation of such a multi-sectoral program requires some really important adjustments to the single-sector models of the past.” “The staff has to become familiar with a whole new universe of policies, regulations, and guidelines…and evidence, and indicators, and tools,” Petruney noted. “No matter how strong the rationale might be for PHE, or even the commitment of a passionate program to it, I don’t think that these are minor details.” It’s one thing to know about PHE and understand its potential benefits; it’s another to deliver “evidence-based programming” in the real world. The best way to overcome these knowledge barriers is to follow the model of CTPH and FHI 360 and partner with other organizations, she said.
New Security Beat Link to Story

About

Donald Borenstein

My work has appeared in publications such as the Associated Press newswire, New Security Beat, Planet Experts, SEJournal, RatingsIntel, HardcoreDroid, and Inflatable Ferret. I am an experienced freelancer in subjects ranging from on-site coverage, environmental journalism, policy review, research and analysis, critical review (television/video games/film/music), and more! I'm also experienced working in Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Audacity, and Photoshop for multi-media coverage.

Please feel free to contact me at donaldlborenstein@gmail.com at any time.

Profile Photo Credit: Hans Spiegel http://1x.com/member/hmlspiegel

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donaldborenstein.com

Skills

  • Audio Editing
  • Critical Review
  • Interviewing
  • Research
  • AP Stylebook
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Final Cut Pro
  • Photography
  • WordPress Platform
  • HTML
  • Videography
  • policy analysis
  • environmental policy
  • environmental journalism