Seth Mnookin at Silha Spring Ethics Forum: On Monday, May 1, the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law will host its Spring Ethics Forum featuring author Seth Mnookin, entitled "The Customer is Always Right?:The Assault on Media Impartiality from the Empowered American Consumer." The Forum will begin at 7 pm in the Coffman Memorial Union Theater. Seth Mnookin is the author of Hard News: Twenty-One Brutal Months at The New York Times and How They Changed the American Media. Silha professor Jane Kirtley will moderate the Forum, which also features Star Tribune readers’ representative Kate Parry responding to Mr. Mnookin's remarks. The Forum is free and open to the public. For more information, contact silha@umn.edu or call 612-625-3421.
Workshop for Newsroom Editors:The APME NewsTrain Workshop, co-sponsored by the Minnesota Journalism Center, will provide senior-level editors with training in editing, coaching, and newsroom management. The workshop will be held May 24-25 in the Murphy Hall Conference Center. Tentative session topics include The Five Minute Editor, Coaching Writers and Giving Feedback, Motivation, Situational Leadership, Covering Diverse Segments of Your Communities, and Digital Storytelling. The workshop is hosted by the Star Tribune and co-sponsored by the Pioneer Press, the St. Cloud Times, the Minnesota AP, the Minnesota Journalism Center, and the School of Journalism & Mass Communication. The workshop fee is $35. Contact rachelj@umn.edu or 612-626-1723 for more information.
UMAA Annual Celebration with Sandra Day O’Connor: There are still about 1,500 show-only tickets available for the 2006 UMAA Annual Celebration with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The Campus Club also still has space available for its special pre-show dinner. See http://www1.umn.edu/cclub/UMAA2006Dinner.htm for schedule, pricing and menu information.
Minnesotans on the Beat in DC: The Washington D.C. chapter of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association is hosting “Minnesotans on the Beat in DC” on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 from 6-8 p.m. at RFD, 870 7th Street at Gallery Place, Washington, DC. The program will feature an informative conversation with two award-winning newspaper writers who launched their journalism careers at the U of M. Kevin Diaz (MA 1984) and Dan Eggen (BA 1991) both were editors at The Minnesota Daily before rising to their respective positions at the Star Tribune and the Washington Post. Cost: $20 for UMAA members, guests and recent U graduates (since 2001); $30 for non-UMAA members. For more information, contact Lora Pollari-Welbes at 703-527-7676 or welbes@yahoo.com.
Professor Don Brazeal was quoted in the April 23 Pioneer Press in a story about the upcoming sale of the paper. “Regardless of how this plays out, the underlying problems confronting the newspaper industry are going to continue to exist,” Brazeal says in the story.
The “Neverwinter Nights” project, in which Professor Kathy Hansen and Institute for New Media Studies director Nora Paul have modified a computer game for use in the classroom, was featured in an April 20 Star Tribune article entitled “Teaching takes a virtual twist.” The project was also mentioned in the April 20 “Technology” edition of the Guardian Unlimited, a UK paper. A summary of the project is now available on the Communication Initiative website, an online resource designed for the international development community and people interested in communication for social development and change. The project is also featured on the “Minnesota Moments” section of the University Libraries blog and is available as an audio download.
Visiting associate professor Chris Ison was a studio guest on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midmorning" show on March 10, discussing the purchase of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain and its potential impact on journalism in Minnesota.
Silha Professor Jane Kirtley was quoted in a number of print outlets, including a March 28 AP story about the subpoena of student journalists in South Dakota; a Minnesota Daily article on March 30 about a bill that would keep searches for future U presidents confidential; a April 2 Los Angeles Times story entitled “Judge Calls Speech Rights Central to Espionage Case”; and a story in Editor & Publisher magazine on April 3 about the increasing power of White House press secretaries. Kirtley made several television appearances, on Fox 9 News and WFTC-TV, discussing the FCC’s investigation of recent radio “payola” charges against Clear Channel and CBS Radio. Kirtley was also interviewed by Jim Ribble for CNN Radio on March 27, 2006, discussing the US Supreme Court's decision not to review a lower court's ruling permitting a libel suit brought by scientist Steven Hatfill against the New York Times for reporting that he was a "person of interest" in the anthrax attack investigation to proceed to trial.
Assistant professor Gary Schwitzer was interviewed for two stories in the March 13, 2006 edition of TelevisionWeek: “Journalists Divided on Need for Certification” and “Covering Health’s Vital Statistics: Sector is Growing Fast on Newscasts.” Schwitzer was also quoted in an article in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier on March 25 about a recent study regarding TV health coverage.
A 2002 study conducted by professor Dan Sullivan, which measured the impact of using newspapers as a classroom teaching tool, was cited in a March 22 article in the Eastern Arizona Courier.
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The SJMC’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team won first place in the regional competition of the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition on April 22 in St. Paul. The SJMC team, pictured at left with faculty adviser Howard Liszt, was one of thirteen teams to compete in their region; second, third, and fourth place in the region went to University of Wisconsin-Madison, South Dakota State, and Marquette University. The SJMC team will now go on to compete in the national NSAC competition June 11-13 in San Francisco.
Professor Kathy Roberts Forde is the winner of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s 2006 Nafziger-White Dissertation Award, which honors the most outstanding dissertation in the field during the year. AEJMC's Standing Committee for Research reports that it had a record number of nominations spanning the wide range of topical, methodological, and theoretical approaches to mediated communication research. The committee reported being in "awe" of the quality of the many dissertations submitted but that Forde’s made the most significant new contribution to the field and had the best potential for publication.
The Society of Professional Journalists has awarded Mark of Excellence Awards to eleven University of Minnesota students and three more to The Minnesota Daily. The Daily’s awards included a second place for Best All-Around Student Newspaper and two first places for Editorial Writing and Sports Column Writing. Individual Mark of Excellence awards were given to Elise Adams and Marshall Long, Second Place, Breaking News Photography; Brie Cohen, Second Place, General News Photography; Adam Elrashidi, First Place, Editorial Cartooning; Kim Johnson, Second Place, Television Feature; Emily Kaiser, First Place, In-Depth Reporting and Third Place, Feature Writing; Kevin McCahill, Second Place, Breaking News Reporting; David McCoy, First Place, Radio Sports Reporting; Jenna Ross, First Place, Television Sports Reporting; Than Tibetts, First Place, Breaking News Reporting; and Anna Weggel, Third Place, General News Reporting.
Professor Gary Schwitzer, in collaboration with the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM), launched HealthNewsReview.org on April 17. The web site is the first U.S. online service expressly designed for journalists and consumers who want reliable, unbiased analysis and evaluation of healthcare news articles that make claims about treatments and procedures. The launch was covered in several news outlets, including Genetic Engineering News and the Kaiser Network’s web site. “HealthNewsReview.org could help make all of us smarter consumers of news and healthcare by making us think more critically," said Schwitzer.
Professor Brian Southwell has won the College of Liberal Arts’ Arthur “Red” Motely Exemplary Teaching Award for 2005-06. The award recognizes members of the CLA faculty who inspire and motivate their students, who create an active learning environment where students are eager to learn, who enthusiastically devote time to advising their students, and who care about their students’ lives, well being, and education. The Motley award is based on student nominations and recognizes distinguished and dedicated teachers—those who exemplify the best in teaching.
Professor Kathy Hansen gave a lecture on the “Neverwinter Nights” project at a conference at St. Cloud State University on April 7. Joining Hansen was Matt Taylor, a colleague from Dunwoody University who assisted Hansen and INMS director Nora Paul in modifying the game for use in the classroom.
Visiting associate professor Chris Ison's article on open records law violations in Minnesota was published in March by the Minnesota Newspaper Association as part of its observance of national Sunshine Week, which recognizes the importance of public access to government information. Ison also gave the opening address and participated in two panel discussions at the Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Forum at St. Cloud State University on March 24. His address was entitled "Getting the Goods: Six Rules For Using Public Records Law To Get Good Stories."
Professor Jane Kirtley delivered a number of lectures in March and April, including the keynote address at the 29th Annual Law Review Symposium on March 24; a lecture on first amendment rights" to the Normandale chapter of the Minnesota State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs on March 28; a lecture on media law and ethics at the Minneapolis branch of the American Association of University Women on April 10; and a lecture about the Justice Department's new task force to prosecute obscenity at William Mitchell College of Law on April 10. Kirtley also moderated a panel on "Fabrication and Plagiarism," on April 4, 2006 at a conference sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at the College of Mass Communications at Middle Tennessee State University, and was one of two speakers at the opening session at the National Freedom of Information Coalition's 2006 conference in Indianapolis on April 22.
Graduate student Pamela Hill Nettleton has two major feature articles in the April issue of Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine. One is a profile of James Sewell and Sally Rousse of James Sewell Ballet; the other is a feature on the Jackson Meadow development in Marine on St. Croix.
Adjunct instructor Jim Pounds published an article in the April issue of Marketing News regarding local marketing to GLBT consumers.
Professor Dona Schwartz's photographic series "In the Kitchen" was featured in the inaugural issue of Magenta Magazine, a new joint endeavor of the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Magenta Foundation. The magazine was distributed to 100,000 Globe and Mail readers. In the Kitchen was exhibited in Darmstädt, Germany in the Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie photo festival, April 21-23. Professor Schwartz is one of nine international exhibitors included in the festival.
Assistant professor Gary Schwitzer was a member of a keynote panel and also conducted a workshop at the American Medical Association’s 26th annual Medical Communications conference in Phoenix April 6-8.
Assistant professor Marco Yzer presented a paper at a symposium in honor of Martin Fishbein, a social psychologist who is chair of the health communication group at the Annenberg School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Yzer’s presentation was based on a paper that will be published as a chapter in a book edited by Icek Ajzen, Bob Hornik and Dolores Albarracin that Lawrence Erlbaum publishes this year.
A number of SJMC faculty presented seminars on various topics for the twelve African journalists (pictured at left) who visited the SJMC as part of the State Department’s Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program April 5-12. Faculty presenters for the Murrow Program included Chris Ison, Gayle Golden, Leyla Kokmen, Jane Kirtley, Nora Paul, Dan Sullivan, T.K. Chang, and Kathy Hansen. During their visit, the journalists also visited the Star Tribune, KFAI Radio, Twin Cities Public Television, Minnesota Public Radio, KSTP Radio, and watched a taping of "Almanac" at the Capitol in St. Paul.
Mary Charnes and Steve Olson from Fairview Health Services presented to Donald Brazeal's On-line Media Creation and Design class. They discussed Fairview’s new “MyChart” service that allows patients to access their records, seek medical advice and schedule appointments through the Internet. SJMC professor Gary Schwitzer also talked to the class about his personal Weblog site on medical journalism topics.
Guest speakers in Chris Ison's advanced reporting and public affairs reporting classes included Star Tribune business editor John Oslund and Star Tribune City Hall reporter Rochelle Olson.
Pioneer Press film critic Chris Hewitt and SJMC visiting professor Thom Swiss recently spoke to instructor Dan Sullivan's “Covering the Arts: Backstage at the Jungle Theater” course.
Assistant professor Gary Schwitzer had several guest speakers in his Mass Media Ethics class, including Mary Story, of the U of M School of Public Health, and SJMC professor Jisu Huh.
Attorney Terrance W. Moore, of the firm Steingart, McGrath & Moore, P.A. in Edina, was the guest lecturer in Professor Jane Kirtley's Mass Communication Law course on Thursday, March 23. Moore, who represents the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, spoke about broadcast regulation.
Ph.D. candidate and graduate instructor Kate Edenborg had a number of guests speak to her Publications Editing course this spring including Randy Johnson and Heidi Raschke of the Pioneer Press; Lee Dean and Rhonda Prast of the Star Tribune; Dan Bernard, formerly of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Egypt; John Ullmann of the World Press Institute; and Marjorie Lisovskis of Free Spirit Publishing Inc.
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April 2006