MMW 14: July 2014

Jay Singer has been in love with one Brooklyn neighborhood his entire life. He grew up there, pined for it when he was forced to leave and returned when he couldn’t stand to be away. “Coney Island Jay” really loves Coney Island.

Coney Island Jay

by Thomas McDade, Claire Molloy, Annette Porter, Ingrid Styrkestad, Suzanne Arden and Annemor Larsen

MMW 13: Nov 2012

Benny is a “certified” garbologist. He collects what others throw away. Benny is also at war with his family. Here is a man sharing a house with his wife but living as a stranger. This is a household on the edge.

The American-Made Benny

by Marcin Szczepanski, Markel Redondo and Bill Johnson

Dani Luv is a musician and comedian at the well-known Sammy’s Roumanian Restaurant in New York. Luv likes to sing classics from the likes of Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong.

by Lukas Augustin, Jillian Kitchener and JT Thomas

MMW 12: Mar 2012

For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It’s the embodiment of his family. As a third generation seltzer man, he follows the same route as his grandfather. But after 90 years of business, Walter may be the last seltzer man.

Remember These Days

by Frederic Menou, Galen Clarke and Marian Liu

In 1987, Catherine Russell first stepped on stage in the play, Perfect Crime. Twenty-five years and only four missed performances later, she’s in The Guinness Book of World Records for the most performances by an actor in a single part.

A Hundred Different Ways

by Chris Capozziello, Lauren Hermele and Peter Lundberg

MMW 11: Nov 2011

Joe Soll has spent half of his life searching for his birth parents, in the process he uncovered a mystery that’s haunted him for years.

by Martine Fougeron, Richard Kendall, Frank de Ruiter and Simon Schorno

Ian Willey had his first experience rhyming in second grade. Now at 28, Willey is pursuing his dream of becoming a hip hop artist. The motivation behind his rap comes from an unexpected place — 90 fifth grade students at a school in Harlem.

by Christian Als, Edith Champagne and Janine Boreland

MMW 10: July 2011

A family is determined to give their disabled son a whole and vital life. In the midst of a great burden, one small child – with a seemingly endless supply of love – is the blessing that holds a family together.

A Thousand More

by Kristina Budelis, Piotr Malecki and Jeff Rhode

Nine Digits tells the story of Cesar, a young man fighting for U.S. citizenship.

by Gabriela Bulisova, Meredith Davenport and Dominik Baumann

MMW 09: March 2011

Using humor and a love of fantasy, "The Amazing Amy" Harlib connects with audiences through performing strenuous yoga-based contortion acts in New York City.

The Amazing Amy

by Espen Rasmussen, Terje Bringedal, Torsten Kjellstrand and Finn Ryan

MMW 08: Nov 2010

Samuel Hargress Jr. is the owner of Paris Blues bar in Harlem, New York. While experiencing dramatic changes around him, Sam created a timeless place where regulars wear godfather hats, snakeskin leather shoes, and 1940's styled zoot suits.

by Mariana Bazo, Benjamin Norman and J. Pinkley

Brian Machon has been practicing his craft for over 20 years and has close relationships with his clients. When he narrowly escaped a heart attack, questions surrounding his life, and his real family were raised.

Running With Scissors

by Ricky John Molloy, Thomas Tolstrup and Nancy J. Haws

MMW 07: July 2010

Diana Ortiz spent over half her life in prison for a crime she committed when she was a teenager. Now 45, she has turned her life around and works to help other inmates rebuild their lives. Exodus is her story.

by Laurentiu Diaconu-Colintineanu, Natasha Elkington and Leah Thompson

MMW 06: March 2010

Johnnie Footman, 90, may be the oldest cabbie in New York City. His age limits his time in the cab, but he remains young at heart carrying a cigar in his mouth and a cap reading: "Old Dude made of Achey Breaky Parts."

Johnnie Footman

by Jan Johannessen and Charlotte Oestervang

Roxanne Pickering is a Brooklyn resident bound by family and economics to live near the Gowanus Canal, a polluted waterway recently declared an EPA superfund site.

by Mary Beth Meehan, Michele Asselin and Maria Finitzo

Virginia Gandee's brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old's life. Inside her family's Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.

by Gillian Laub, Elena Ghanotakis, Henrik Björnsson and Laura Varma

MMW 05: Sept 2009

MediaStorm intern Maisie Crow goes behind the scenes of the September, 2009, Multimedia Workshop, where participants challenge themselves with new technology, share new perspectives, and discover the beauty of collaboration.

Behind the Scenes: Workshop 5

The Tic and Tac All-Stars don't need a publicist - they have what it takes to attract a crowd. When the twin brothers appear in Washington Square Park, their energy, humor, and amazing acrobatics have the audience eating out of their hands.

The Art of Attraction

by Paolo Black, Scott Lituchy and Melissa Pracht

Kryssy Kocktail grew up in troubled family and, as an adult, followed the mythic path of joining the circus. Amid the lights and energy of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, she has found something that she never dreamed would be hers.

Family Kocktail

by Deanne Fitzmaurice, Doug Grant and Stan Alcorn

MMW 04: June 2009

For one week in June of 2009, eight professional storytellers dove into what it means to tell a great story, how the internet has opened up new worlds to them, and why it matters so much for skilled people to share their expertise.

Behind the Scenes: Workshop 4

A young man feels he can't really be himself, until he makes an unusual discovery. In A Tail of Identity, we meet three such men who, with candor and humor, reveal how the path into their most honest lives led them outside the human world.

A Tail of Identity

by Toni Greaves, Jeff Davis, Steve Rowland and Gregory Warner

One evening, David Sheets read a story about a new basketball arena proposed for his neighborhood. Then he realized the plans were drawn right over his house. Hold Out is the story of a few neighbors who haven't been very easily dislodged.

by Zachary Barr, Uma Sanghvi, Jeff Hutchens and Nacho Corbella

MMW 03: Dec 2008

Evelyna's petite dancer's frame holds a bursting creative soul, which drove her from her home in Germany to a year of creativity in New York. 14 years later she longs to return to Europe, but her newest creations won't fit in her suitcase.

Beautiful Noise

by Morag Livingstone, Mareile Paley and Kimberley Porteous

MMW 02: Sept 2008

One night a week, the stage at the Apollo Theater is an amateur's battleground, where performers have competed for stardom since 1934. Today, the legend of Ella Fitzgerald lives on in the hearts of those who pray for their own big break.

An Apollo Legend

by Ricky Montalvo, Bernadette Tuazon and Evan Vucci

MMW 01: May 2008

In the heart of New York, the MediaStorm workshops are committed to training professional storytellers in the tools they will need to thrive in today's journalism. Get inspired as eight pros dive in, learn, create, and inspire each other.

Behind the Scenes: Workshop 1

by Tim McLaughlin

A beloved Italian-American enclave suffers the impersonal tide of gentrification, as committed old-timers struggle to hang-on. In Roots in the Garden, we get a personal glimpse of what it means to watch your neighborhood fade away.

Roots in the Garden

by Carolyn Cole and Pia Sawhney

Robert Burck couldn't get anyone to listen to his music, until he made a simple discovery. In One Man Brand, we meet a man who has transformed himself from a penniless outsider into one of the Big Apple's most visible attractions.

by Lucy Nicholson and Jassim Ahmad