Our times
Boston University Magazine Show Produced by John Baynard and Nini Mtchedlishvili
©All images on this page are produced by Nini Mtchedlishvili, 2022
“Our Times” is a news magazine program produced by John Baynard and Nini Mtchedlishvili for the Department of Journalism’s Video Magazine Storytelling class at Boston University. The student Video Journalists research stories that they can explore in detail, and then they shoot, edit, and produce a multilayered, well-crafted report. The goal is to tell a story that informs, illuminates, and hopefully inspires the viewer.
The stories told in the four magazine episodes of the first season of “Our Times” look at the world around us. A world of stories about beauty, sadness, kindness, conflict, creativity, struggles, complexity, and rhythm & blues.
Meet the team
nini mtchedlishvili
Journalist, Boston University Class of 2023*
*I co-produced the magazine show “Our Times” - I was a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Journalism’s Video Magazine Storytelling class at Boston University. I assisted the students with filming, editing, and developing their stories. I also took the photos and videos, and created the website.
John Baynard
Professor, Documentary Filmmaker, Photojournalist
Episode one
In the debut episode, Laney Broussard tells the story of how a single meal swipe can feed an often-overlooked community; Zoe Zekosgives a tour of the Museum of Bad Art, a museum that offers visitors a chance to learn about art, and challenges how we traditionally appreciate creative genius; Kiara Smith reports on a Pom Pom Dance Class in a local senior center that is good for the heart, both literally and figuratively; Pietro Rossini looks at the building of the first LGBTQ+ friendly senior housing facility in the U.S.; and Caitlin Kelley takes her camera to a museum displaying over 15,000 pieces of living art, the Arnold Arboretum.
Alanis ‘Laney’ Broussard
Swipes for Boston
With a focus on telling the stories of underrepresented demographics, Boston University junior Laney Broussard walks with a college student group called Swipes for Boston as they hand out nonperishable goods to people who call the streets of Boston their home.
Zoe Zekos
Resurrecting Rubbish
Zoe Zekos is currently a senior at Boston University completing a bachelor's degree in Journalism and a minor in Art History. She is interested in telling stories about passionate individuals or unconventional topics — focusing on the values and motivations that drive her subjects.
Kiara Smith
Pom Dance Class
Journalism Graduate Student Kiara Smith reports in Episode 1 on a Pom Pom Dance Class in a local senior center that is good for the heart, both literally and figuratively. While at Boston University Kiara liked to focus on covering community-based stories specifically in communities of color.
Pietro Rossini
The Pryde
As an Our Time Magazine reporter, Pietro Rossini, covered the story of the first LGBTQ+ friendly senior housing facility in the States that is based in Hyde Park, Boston. The reporter interviewed future residents, the management, and some of the volunteers working on the project.
Caitlyn Kelley
The Living Museum
With a focus primarily on print reporting, Our Times reporter Caitlyn Kelley carried her passion for longform storytelling into the world of longform video. Her story features the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and focuses on the intersection of history, environmentalism, and the beauty of a park that’s roughly a 40-minute train ride from South Station.
Episode two
In the second episode, Kaito Au observes what’s going on in Boston’s R&B music scene; Claire Law records the beginning of a long journey for the historically polluted Neponset River, which was recently determined eligible for federal funding to test and clean its water quality; Eliza Billingham examines what role the brain plays in the punches, kicks, takedowns, and elbow strikes of the ancient martial art of Sanda; and Charles Taylor has a dispatch from Narragansett Bay where he found an old man sailing on the sea.
Kaito Au
Love, Joy, and R&B
Kaito Au is a senior majoring in journalism. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he is a music lover, especially R&B. Kaito takes his camera into Boston’s R&B scene and talks with up and coming R&B artists about their lifelong passion for R&B.
Claire Law
The Hidden River Awaits
Our Times Reporter Claire Law is a journalism student at Boston University with experience creating print and multimedia content. She is interested in covering stories on the local level, particularly about equity for communities of color. Law also likes covering human interest stories, and is the features editor at BU’s student newspaper, the Daily Free Press. In her segment, Law records the beginning of a long journey for the historically polluted Neponset River, which was recently determined eligible for federal funding to test and clean its water quality.
Eliza Billingham
Mental Battles
A grad in the Department of Journalism grad program, Eliza Billingham has covered stories ranging from food insecurity and public infrastructure to stand-up comedy and nudist footraces. In Episode 2, Billingham introduces Joshua Bartholomew, a national champion in the ancient martial art of Sanda, who is working to keep the sport alive at Redline Fight Sports in Cambridge, MA.
Charles Taylor
The Seafarer
Charles Taylor is a videographer and occasional reporter based in Newport, Rhode Island. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in Film and English, he decided to pursue documentary filmmaking while studying for a Master of Science in Journalism at Boston University. For Our Times, Charles documented aging Newport sailor Bill Steel’s sailing season coming to an end.
Episode three
In the third episode, Sukanya Mitra looks at the life of homeless women and a place that for forty years has been a haven for them; Julieann Challacombe visits an artist who uses counterculture sarcasm and found objects to create mixed media art; and Adriana Cardenas-Valles interviews First-Generation students at Boston University about their experiences of being the first in their family to attend college.
Sukanya Mitra
Life on The Streets
As a reporter and anchor, Sukanya Mitra explores the grave issue of homelessness among women and how a woman’s shelter helps several homeless women find housing among other necessities. As a Journalism Graduate Student at Boston University, Sukanya aims to narrate the story of Kim, a woman who was homeless, through the eyes of Women’s Lunch Place.
Julieann Kelly Challacombe
Another Man’s Treasure
With profound interest, but limited knowledge of the arts, second-year Journalism graduate student at Boston University, Julieann Challacombe explores the craft of local Boston street artists. “As I’ve taken courses and met so many people from all walks of life and interests,” Julieann said, “ it’s become important to me to educate myself about crevices of the world I haven’t reached.”
Adriana Cardenas-Valles
First in the Family
Boston University senior, Adriana Cardenas-Valles focuses the camera on students who are the first in their family to attend college. As common threads emerge from their unique experiences, each student’s story also becomes the story of their parents who were denied higher education.
Episode Four
In the fourth episode, Vivi Hu reports on a South End excavation that hopes to discover relics tied to the Underground Railroad; Benjamin Roldan visits a four-story brownstone that provides B.U. women an alternative housing choice that is more affordable and has built a sense of community; and Kevin A. Mani investigates the current worldwide protests over human rights abuses in Iran as well as the complex historical events that have given rise to this unrest.
Vivi Hu
Digging the Past
Second-year Journalism graduate student at Boston University, Vivi Hu reports on a story about the South End excavation in Boston; this is the first dig in this neighborhood and it has significant meaning for the black community. Vivi is a journalism major graduate student from Boston University, always preparing for the future visual journalism industry with enthusiasm and faith.
Benjamin Roldan
Life in H.E.R. House
Benjamin Roldan is a junior studying film in the college of communications. With a passion for storytelling in all forms, Roldan is focusing on screenwriting but hopes to do plenty of non-fiction work in the future as well. Roldan is interested in discovering unconventional ways of creating narratives, as well as unconventional heroes and main characters. Driven by a love for the elaborate gossips and tales of Ben’s abuelas and family members, Roldan hopes to persuade viewers of not one truth but many millions of truths. This longform story is one about the different lives resting under one home, and the different truths they all have.
Kevin A. Mani
The Mahsa Amini Protests
Our Times reporter Kevin A. Mani is a journalism student at Boston University with expertise in political journalism. His focus is in covering stories related to human rights, with a particular emphasis on Iranian politics, economics, and society. Mani also likes covering sports and the ways in which they intersect with politics. In his segment, Mani investigates the current worldwide protests over human rights abuses in Iran as well as the complex historical events that have given rise to this unrest.
