Ask a New Yorker: Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Alex: Sure! I’m a Fulbright Scholar here in New York. Fulbright
Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the
United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge,
and skills. I’ve been here for five months. I’m from Moscow and
I am conducting research in new media and citizen journalism.
Ask a New Yorker: Not an easy thing to become a Fulbrighter, I would imagine.
Alex: To become a Fulbrighter you have to work very hard actually. There is
a contest you have to pass. There are several stages. You have to write an essay
and face a jury, you have to convince that you are the best candidate to go
to New York or to some other states in America and work on your topic of research.
Also this Fulbright scholarship is one of the most respected exchange programs
in the world. The Americans can also get the scholarship and go to other parts
of the world and study or research there.
Ask a New Yorker: And your essay was obviously about New Media.
Alex: My topic is about New
Media. I am writing about citizen journalism. So you are actually the object
of my research – the citizen
journalist.
Ask a New Yorker: I like that. So who have you met recently through your citizen
journalistic ways?
Alex: I’m meeting journalists, authors, managers from various media outlets
in New York. And even politicians. This city is a gorgeous place for this kind
of research. Yesterday I had a great, great interview with Governor
George Pataki in his office at Rockefeller Center. Mr. Pataki was one of
the first ones to start promoting poking (a Facebook word) new media industry
back in 1996 by cut the sales tax for internet.
Ask a New Yorker: What books are you reading now?
Alex: I’m reading a great called one, ‘Convergence Culture’
by Henry Jenkins. It’s about the empowerment of the modern man –
his empowerment by the web.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite movie?
Alex: I just subscribed to NetFlix. I have a list of great movies I want to
see again. But my favorite I would say is Roman Polanski’s Bitter
Moon.
Sitting next to Alex is his mother, Zhanna, who is visiting from Moscow.
Ask a New Yorker: What was the very first book your mother read to you as a
child?
Zhanna: It was a Russian Fairy Tale about a red Flower. It is very interesting.
Alex: It’s very interesting actually, her mother, my grandmother, was
reading this Fairy Tale to my mom in French while she was pregnant and was so
impressed about the heroine whose name was Zhanna. So my grandmother when she
knew she was going to have a girl she gave the name Zhanna to her daughter because
of the concept of this book.
Ask a New Yorker: Very nice. Let’s switch gears so to speak. Give us your
straightforward impressions of New York and any misconceptions Russians might
have about New York?
Alex: Well I was here two years ago. It was the most stifling, boiling time
ever. It was extremely hot and humid. I stayed inside for two months for July
and August. Subsequently, I had a very strange impression of the city because
I was only out at night and during the day I was asleep with the air conditioner
on. I couldn’t get out because it was so hot. So I was getting the idea
of the city only at night. Now I feel the real beat – you have to stay
in New Yorker longer, and preferably, in autumn to understand it.
Ask a New Yorker: And how has the shopping been here in New York?
Zhanna, Alexander’s mother: The shopping has been excellent but I have
not had enough time because I wanted to see some exhibitions, museums and concert
halls as well. I’ve been to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center.
Alex: Tomorrow wer’e going to The Metropolitan and the Guggenheim
. We also went to Ground Zero.
Ask a New Yorker: Great anywhere else?
Alex: I’m a big fan of jazz. I play vibraphone. I wanted to show my mom
the different types of Jazz clubs in New York. We enjoyed Lincoln Center which
is very luxurious, and then we went to Smalls
in Greenwich Village. One’s about the glamour and the view and the other
is about the more informal New York atmosphere.
Ask a New Yorker: I think you’ve got the real spirit of the city! Thank
you Alex and it was great meeting mom.
Alex Zolotarev will soon be writing a daily piece called Mosquire (a mixture
of Moscow and Esquire) Manhattan which will explore New media, citizen journalism
as well as Alex’s day to day observations of his experiences here in New
York.
