a department of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota,
for alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the School.
- SJMC Happenings
- News for Alumni
- SJMC Media Hits
- Awards and Kudos
- Publications and Research
- Upcoming Events & Important Dates
The first cohort for the professional M.A. in strategic communication has been filled, reports Gordon Leighton, program coordinator. "We are very happy because we have acheived our enrollment goal for the first cohort," Leighton said. "I'm also enthusiastic about the quality of enrolled students, as well as the breadth of experience and diversity they will bring to the classroom." The M.A. in strategic communication is one of two professional master's degrees offered by the SJMC. The professional M.A. in health journalism is the other.
The Institute for New Media Studies will host the third edition of New Research for New Media: Innovative Research Methodologies Symposium on the Twin Cities campus Sept. 15-16. The goal of the conference is to examine current new media research practices and to provide an opportunity to reflect on future directions new media research methods might take.
The Minnesota Journalism Center will host "A Celebratory Remembrance for Beverly Kees" Sunday, Sept. 18 from 2-5 at the SJMC. A high tea will be held beginning at 2 p.m. in the plaza behind Murphy Hall, and there will be a program beginning at 3 p.m. in Murphy Hall 130. The ceremony will conclude with a reception in the plaza from 4-5 p.m. Kees graduated from the SJMC in 1963 and was a long-time reporter and editor, finishing her career as an executive at the Freedom Forum, a foundation that focues on issues of free speech and free press. For more information about the Kees Celebratory Remembrance, click here.
The Alumni Wall of Honor will be dedicated Friday, Sept. 23 during the 2005 University of Minnesota Homecoming weekend. A dedication, pep fest and complimentary lunch will be available to all University community members and alumni from noon-1 p.m. at the Gateway Plaza on the corner of Oak Street and Washington Avenue.
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association has added the Minnesota Daily Alumni Association as one of eight official UMAA interest groups. Interested alumni who worked at the Daily can visit the UMAA interest group site or contact the UMAA office at umalumni@umn.edu for more information.
Upcoming UMAA events, 2005-06
August 28: Maroon & Gold Day at the Minnesota State Fair
September 23: Alumni Wall of Honor Dedication
September 24: Homecoming Breakfast
October 7: Alumni Volunteer Awards
October 8: Alumni Volunteer Leadership Forum
Jane Kirtley was recently a guest on the Minnesota Broadcasters Association's "Access Minnesota," a public affairs radio program. The program Kirtley contributed to was about media privilege and was distributed for airing on Minnesota radio stations for the week of July 17. Kirtley also was a guest on two other radio programs regarding the practice and implications of using confidential sources by members of the media. Both programs aired July 6. The first program aired on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midday" show hosted by Gary Eichten, and the second on KCRW radio's "To the Point."
Kirtley was also quoted in several newspapers in the past month about the Valerie Plame case and using unnamed sources, a possible probe into the firing of an FBI whiste-blower and the developing area of Internet libel law. On July 15, Kirtley was quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an article titled "Where's Bob Novak in CIA probe?," and on Aug. 1 she was quoted in The New York Times in the article, "Newsrooms seek ways to shield identities." On July 22, Kirtley was quoted in the Los Angeles Weekly in an article titled "FBI's dirty laundry."
On July 31, Kirtley was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentintel in an article with the headline, "On blogs, libel law not so cut and dried; court system yet to catch up with Internet." Said Kirtley, regarding the case of a radio host who was sued for libel after posting a factually incorrect email from a listener: "In legal terms, giving your opinion is the best thing you can do. In ethical terms, for a journalist, it's the worst thing you can do." To read the article, click here.
Gary Schwitzer appeared on the National Public Radio “On the Media” program, which aired nationally on the weekend of July 29-31. The segment, titled “License to Ill,” concentrated on his Columbia Journalism Review article, “TV Medical Reporters – Puppets and Pros.” Read the article by clicking here. The program is available online here.
SJMC graduate student Jun Wang received the Markham Prize (first place) from the International Communication Division
of AEJMC at the 2005 AEJMC convention in San Antonio for his paper
titled "Hong Kong Cultural Identity in Jackie Chan's Hong Kong and Hollywood Movies."
Ph. D. student Huaiting Wu has been infomed that her paper titled "Globalizing Chinese
Martial Arts Cineama 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'" has been accepted
for publication in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Media, Culture & Society.
Recent SJMC graduate Lou Raguse ('05) won the national first place award in the broadcast news television category of The Hearst Journalism Awards program. Raguse received a $5,000 grant and recognition at the 2005 AEJMC convention along with the winners of the other categories. The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is presented annually under the auspices of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). The program's mission is to encourage and support excellence in journalism.
Dona Schwartz's ongoing photographic project, "In the Kitchen" was selected for inclusion in the Photographic Center Northwest's 10th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, "FOCUSED." This year's juror, Mary Virginia Swanson, selected 67 photographers and 70 images for the exhibition from 450 entrants and more than 2,500 images from which to choose. The show features a diverse spectrum of photographic work including conceptualism, evocative portraits, non-traditional urban landscapes, and narratives in black & white, color, digital & alternative processes. Swanson is a leader in the fields of marketing and licensing fine art photography. The show runs July 15–Aug. 30.
Jisu Huh presented two papers at the 2005 Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication convention (Aug. 10-13) in San Antonio, Texas. The paper was written by Huh, Denise DeLorme and Leonard Reid and titled "A qualitative investigation of older adults' perceptions of the influence of DTC advertising on self and others." The second paper, "Perceived influence of DTC prescription drug advertising: Do the general public and the expert think differently?" was authored and presented by Huh, with SJMC Ph.D. student Rita Langteau contributing as second author.
Gary Schwitzer gave a presentation titled "Health News 2005: What Separates Us from Snake Oil Salesmen?" at the summer conference of the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network. The audience included about 100 health-care marketing, strategy and communications professionals from across Minnesota who represent hospitals, health-care systems, health insurers and marketing and public relations agencies with an interest in health care.
Schwitzer also has two recent publications. The Poynter Institute published Schwitzer's article "Commercialism in TV Health News" on July 25, and Schwitzer was one of eight authors who contribued to a discussion that focused on the roles and responsibilities of the media in disseminating health information that appeared in PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine. PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal. A link to the discussion may be found here.
Nora Paul participated in a panel discussion at the 2005 AEJMC conference. The title of the panel was "Visual Communications and the New Media." Paul also moderated a panel discussion during the Asian American Journalists Association conference (Aug. 17-20) in Minneapolis. The topic of the AAJA panel was online media and the future of journalism. Paul was also recently asked to join the board of the World Press Institute, a nonprofit organization with the mission of promoting and strengthening freedom of the press around the world.
The Minnesota Journalism Center and the American Press Institute will host a one-day business journalism workshop on "The Craft of Business Writing" Sept. 28 at the SJMC conference facilities. The workshop is free and open to working journalists who want to improve their writing skills in the field of business. For more information or to register, visit www.businessjournalism.org's web page about the event.
The 20th annual Silha Lecture will be held Oct. 24 and will feature Floyd Abrams. Abrams is the William J. Brennan Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Abrams has also served as counsel or co-counsel in a variety of high profile court cases concerning First Amendment issues. Those cases include currently representing The New York Times reporter Judith Miller in the Valerie Plame leak investigation, as well as representing The New York Times in the famous "Pentagon Papers" case.
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August 2005