Rubenfeld leading new wave of political journalists

By Stephany Pena

Click here to view Rubenfeld's work

Professor Maurice Krochmal was vacationing on Fire Island last year when he received an 11 p.m. phone call from one of his journalism students. It was Samuel Rubenfeld.

While reporting on the New Hampshire primaries, Rubenfeld decided to take a bus to Manchester. When he arrived downtown, he had little money and no local connections. He found himself stranded on a dark Elm Street with no place to stay. He decided to call his journalism professor Maurice Krochal for advice.

With Krochmal on the phone guiding him, Rubenfeld made his way to a Dunkin’ Donuts, where he explained his predicament to a young man behind the counter. The young man said his friend could give him a mattress for the night.

The next morning, undaunted, Rubenfeld was back on the reporting trail. Krochmal, who acted as Rubenfeld’s online editor said, Rubenfeld’s “prototypical journalist personality will allow him to apply his passion and quest for the truth in all places.”

Though still an undergraduate, Rubenfeld has already contributed to his hometown weekly newspaper, The Times of Middle Country. In addition, he’s interned for Newsday, The Village Voice and Dow Jones Newswires, where he edited business news as a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Intern. Now, Rubenfeld spends most of his time as the senior news editor of the Hofstra Chronicle and at the congressional newspaper, The Hill, in Washington, D.C., where he contributes to the Congress Blog.

He was recently chosen as a recipient of the Top 10 Journalism Scholarships in the country by the Scripps Howard Foundation, most notably for his coverage of the 2008 presidential election including directing live online coverage of the Super Tuesday contests.

“His ability reflects the ability of people who have been in the field a long time,” said Stephen Cooney, editor-in-chief of the Chronicle. “He is journalism.”

Rubenfeld says that covering last year’s campaigns and being present at Obama’s first, “Yes We Can” speech were the most defining moments for him. His coverage even caught the eye of Martha Stewart, who asked Rubenfeld to appear on her show to discuss expectations for the final Presidential debate.

A political junkie since high school, Rubenfeld decided to pursue a career in journalism in the spring semester of his freshman year. He took a journalism ethics course at Hofstra with Dr. Steven Knowlton and learned how journalism could be used as a force for good in the world.

“He's certainly inquisitive, well-read, thoughtful, opinionated, loud, and abrasive—just about all the things we want in a journalist,” said Knowlton, who currently teaches at Dublin City University. “As is almost always the case with an 18-year-old, particularly the best ones, we had a little trouble getting him calm and even-handed enough to be considered credible. But that is a result of a passionate commitment and a deep belief in justice and in journalism's ability to fix things.”

Rubenfeld has investigated and reported stories ranging from Governor Eliot Spitzer’s “Troopergate," to Rudolph Giuliani's business ties with the man who sheltered the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Many of his investigations involved tough obstacles, for example, sources that wouldn’t trust a young reporter or and would withhold information from him. He responded by devoting more time to his reporting.

“Every day the hunt is different, and the battle is diverse, but journalism is not a routine job,” Rubenfeld said. “It takes drive, ambition, and vigor to navigate around those challenges and come up with the story that one is looking for.”

At a time when the media is under fire, Rubenfeld stands out as a stunning example of someone who has succeeded because of his ethical judgment and drive to present the truth.

“There’s nothing like a real-world experience,” Rubenfeld said “It puts you into a state of ecstasy so transcendent that emotionally you will not be able to handle it.”

Watch the video of Rubenfeld on the Martha Stewart show.