March 2008
Upcoming Events | SJMC Media Hits | Awards and Kudos |
Publications, Presentations, and Research | Murphy Hall Happenings
New Media Research Breakfast
Wed., Mar. 12, 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Murphy Hall Conference Center, Room 100
"Tubers: the why of YouTube"
Julie Jones, Ph.D. candidate, SJMC
Who are the producers of YouTube? What are they producing? Why YouTube is an area of interest for scholarship?
Julie Jones' doctoral research is on citizen producers and how this phenomenon intersects with traditional news media. Her dissertation investigates the connection between individual’s self-concepts and the videos they produce and post on sites such as YouTube, Yahoo Video, and other social media sites. Julie began her photojournalism career as a general news photographer in 1982. After 22 years, she left the industry to pursue her doctorate degree at the University of Minnesota. Please RSVP to 612-625-0576 or klose004@umn.edu. Sponsored by the Institute for New Media Studies.
Global Media-Diasporic Cultures Series
Lecture/discussion: "Globalization, Liberal Democracy, Mass Media and the Rainbow Nation"
Sean Jacobs, University of Michigan
Wed., Mar. 12, 12:00 p.m.-1:15 p.m.
Murphy Hall Conference Center
Professor Jacobs, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, holds a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of London. He is working on a book on the role of media in the transition to liberal democracy in South Africa. His research interests are media and political power, citizenship, social movements, and popular culture. Before coming to the University of Michigan, he was a postdoctoral fellow of the International Center for Advanced Studies at New York University. He is co-editor of Thabo Mbeki's World: The Politics and Ideology of the South African President (Zed Books, 2002) and two other books.
"The Digital Reproduction of Inequality”
Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern University
Thurs,. Mar. 13, 4:00 p.m.--5:00 p.m.
Room 120 and 125 Nolte Center
RSVP to Christine Greenhow
Hargittai is assistant professor of Communication Studies and Sociology, and Faculty Associate of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University where she heads the Web Use Project. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University where she was
a Wilson Scholar. She spent the 2006-07 academic year as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the social and policy implications of information technologies with a particular interest in how IT may
contribute to or alleviate social inequalities. Her research projects have looked at differences in people's Web-use skills, the evolution of search engines and the organization and presentation of online content, political uses of information technologies, and how IT are influencing
the types of cultural products people consume. Her current work is funded by two grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Robert and Kaye Hiatt Fund at Northwestern University.
Cosponsored by the Institute for New Media Studies.
Medical Arms Race: Health Policy, Media Coverage and Public Relations
Mon., Mar. 24, 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
McNamara Alumni Center,
A.I. Johnson Great Room
Health care spending represents 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, with projected increases at what some say are unsustainable levels. Much of this spending is on new treatments, tests, products and procedures that may be of unproven benefit. You are invited to discuss this “medical arms race” from the perspectives of journalists, policy experts and communications professionals.
More information available on the Minnesota Journalism Center Web site.
Space is limited. Register online.
The Obesity Crisis: Covering Childhood Obesity in Communities of Color—A Workshop for Journalists
Wed., Mar. 26, 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Murphy Hall Conference Center
Children in communities of color are disproportionately affected by the obesity crisis and University researchers are working to develop solutions. Come hear about the latest research and how professionals in the communities are working to address the epidemic. More information available on the Minnesota Journalism Center Web site.
Space is limited. Register online
"Bringing Feminism Home" with Daisy Hernandez
Thurs., Mar. 27, 7:00 p.m.
Wiley Hall, Room 125
There's a lot of stereotypes about feminists: they hate men, they're lesbians, they run for president of the United States. But what is feminism really about? Can it have anything to do with your own life? Come listen to a discussion and reading by writer and editor Daisy Hernandez on her own experiences with feminism, on how gender and race have shaped her identity as a feminist and what it means to connect feminism to the communities we call home. Hernandez is the managing editor of ColorLines, the national newsmagazine on race and politics, and has reported for the metro desk at the New York Times and written on feminism and Latina life for Ms. magazine.
RSVP to women@umn.edu or 612-625-9837. Sponsored by the Office for University Women. Cosponsored by the SJMC, Department of Chicano Studies, Department of English and University Women of Color.
Emerging Digerati Rendezvous: Where are they now?
Mar. 31-Apr. 4
A weeklong event showcasing innovative new media projects happening around campus. University research labs will host an open house from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for tours, demos and presentations. The open houses include:
Mon., Mar. 31,
Minnesota Traffic Observatory/Intelligent Vehicles Lab,
790 Civil Engineering; Tues., Apr. 1,
SimPORTAL – medical simulation lab,
A509 Mayo; Wed., Apr. 2, Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Third Floor, Blegen Hall; Thurs., Apr. 3, Digital Design Consortium, First Floor, Walter Library.
On Fri., Apr. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Weisman Art Museum will host Emerging Digerati Exhibition featuring demos, art, performance, and the incredible cast of past Emerging Digerati presenters. Visit these cutting edge labs and experience the innovative work of past Emerging Digerati participants in this special weeklong event! More information at the INMS Web site.
Global Media-Diasporic Cultures Series
Lecture/discussion: "A Theory of Hypermedia Events: Reality TV and Public Contention in the Arab World"
Marwan Kraidy, University of Pennsylvania
Fri., Apr. 4, Noon-1:15 p.m.
Murphy Hall Conference Center
Prof. Kraidy is a scholar of global communication and an expert on Arab media. Kraidy was previously a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the founding director of the Arab Media and Public Life (AMPLE) project at American University, both in Washington, D.C. He has published two books and more than 40 articles and essays. He is a regular expert guest on public media programs like: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, On the Media, All Things Considered, NPR News, The World, Day to Day, and The Diane Rehm Show.
Associate professor Gary Schwitzer's column "Is This Test Really Necessary?" was published in the Star Tribune on Feb. 29.
In February, Nora Paul, director of the Institute of New Media Studies, described to an audience of game scholars and developers at the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Franscico how she and a colleague, Kathleen Hansen, created a game to train journalists with a $10,000 grant from the university and advice from some experienced gamers. Her talk was featured in this Chronicle of Higher Ed article. In other media news, The Rake magazine quoted her in its March 2008 issue about the Twin Cities’ newest online news site MinnPost in the article, “All the News That Fits—and Then Some.”
Associate professor Chris Ison's article, "Where have all the polls gone?," was published by MinnPost, on Feb. 18. The article, written with Rob Daves, former Star Tribune pollster, now of Daves & Associates Research, reported that budget cuts at Twin Cities newspapers and television stations resulted in a lack of polling prior to the Minnesota caucuses.
Professor Jane Kirtley was a guest on "The Roy Green Show," airing on AM 940 Montreal (radio), on Feb. 16, where she discussed the ethics of media coverage and commentary on the presidential campaign.
On Mar. 9, she was a guest on the show again, talking about journalism ethics and discussing the decision of a Scottish newspaper reporter to reveal that one of Barack Obama's advisers referred to Hillary Clinton as a "monster" but then tried to characterize her comment as "off the record." Kirtley was interviewed for "Good Question" segment on WCCO-TV’s Feb. 21 10 p.m. newscast. The topic was "How do news stories turn tabloid?,” discussing the media's reaction to a New York Times story about alleged misconduct of Sen. John McCain.
She was quoted in various newspaper articles including the AP’s story about the St. Paul Police Department's guidelines for investigating groups exercising their free speech rights, which some groups believe may be linked to the upcoming Republican National Convention in St. Paul. This AP story was a follow-up to the story that appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Feb. 28, in which Kirtley was also quoted. The story was picked up by many Denver media outlets, since Denver is the host city for the Democratic National Convention.
Associate professor Gary Schwitzer and his award-winning work were praised in the blog, "Canadian Medicine: News and views from the editors of the National Review of Medicine." The writer said, "University of Minnesota journalism professor Gary Schwitzer is one of the most astute and intelligent critics of misleading, erroneous and fear-mongering health reporting."
Health journalism M.A. student Suzanne Sobotka has been hired as a health writer for MayoClinic.com, working on the heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol centers of the Web site. Sobotka's article titled "Empirical analysis of current approaches to incidental findings" has been accepted for publication in the Summer 2008 issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. The article is part of a longer symposium presented at the University of Minnesota in May 2007 that tackled the issue of the disclosure and management of incidental findings in human subjects research.
SJMC alumna Leslie Hill made her debut on ESPN2 as a color commentator for a women's Big Ten basketball game (Michigan State ve. Purdue) in February. Hill was a member of the Gopher women's basketball team and studied broadcast journalism in the SJMC.
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On Feb. 19, Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality Catherine Squires delivered a keynote address at Hamline University for its Black History Month speaker series. The talk covered her ongoing research about mainstream press coverage of Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Associate professor Chris Ison led a panel discussion on journalism ethics at this year's annual convention of the Minnesota Newspaper Association on Jan. 24. The session was titled "Staying Ethical in a Changing Industry."
Associate professor Gary Schwitzer delivered a lecture to the University of Southern California/California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship workshop on Feb. 29, titled, "How to deliver quality stories with limited air time." His article, "Misplaced priorities in health news coverage," was published by The American Editor, a publication of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. This week, Schwitzer is in residency at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., as one of their 2008 Ethics Fellows. Poynter says this year's Fellows "were each selected for their dedication to ethical journalism in a time of dramatic changes in the industry." The Poynter news release also refers to them as "future rock stars of professional journalism," a description which, Schwitzer says, at age 56, he embraces warmly.
Adjunct instructor Dan Sullivan will judge the national finals of the American College Theater Festival's Young Critics competition at the Kennedy Center Apr. 14-18. The winner receives a full scholarship to the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in July. Sullivan has directed NCI since 1999.
The NeverWinter Nights mod created by Nora Paul and Kathleen Hansen for Jour 3004, Information for Mass Communication was featured in Paul's talk at the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Serious Games Summit in San Francisco on Feb.18. Her presentation generated a lot of comment and commentary online. Below are links to some of the articles about her talk.
- Gamasutra: SGS: The News Game: Using Neverwinter Nights to Teach Journalism
- Kotaku: Being Brian Crecente covering Brian Crecente
- Online Games: SimJournalist: Can a Game teach you how to win a Pulitzer?
- Cocking a Snook: Learn Journalism Through Role-Play Video Game?
- N4G (News for Gamers): Journalistic Integrity via Neverwinter Nights
In late February, Paul moderated a panel, “Participatory Journalism & Journalism Participation: Interacting and Authoring in New Media,” for Computation and Journalism: A Georgia Tech Symposium. The gathering of computer scientists and journalists addressed opportunities, and challenges, melding the latest technologies and journalistic practice. She also participated in a panel discussion about the Knight News Challenge grant program at the We Media conference, held in Miami on Feb. 27-28. She later traveled to Houston for the annual National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting (NICAR) conference and gave three talks. Earlier in the month, fifty reporters and editors at the Star Tribune attended Nora Paul’s talk on the Internet for Journalists. She gave the same talk, created along with colleague Kathleen Hansen, to the Pioneer Press and the Columbus Dispatch newsrooms.
Jane Kirtley was a panelist and facilitator for a workshop, "Hot Issues in Ethics" at the American Bar Association's Forum on Communications Law 13th Annual Conference in Boca Raton, Fla. on Feb. 15. She was a “contributing expert" at the "New Media, New Standards? Ethics in Online Journalism" program sponsored by Minnesota Pro Chapter of SPJ, the Silha Center, the Minnesota Journalism Center, and other groups on Feb. 24 at Minnesota Public Radio’s UBS Forum in St. Paul. Kirtley, together with her colleague, associate professor Chris Ison, conducted a Gallery Talk, "Need to Know: Freedom of Information and Photography," in association with the exhibition, "Paul Shambroom: Picturing Power" at the Weisman Art Museum on Mar. 6.
SJMC students recently submitted their entries for The One Show College competition. The competition is only open to aspiring copywriters and art directors from accredited schools, including professional portfolio schools as well as universities. The creative brief was sponsored by Doritos and the creative challenge was to make Doritos iconic. One of the concepts created by SJMC students is pictured at left. The winners will be announced in May.
Good luck to the SJMC students who submitted entries in this year's competition!
Applications now being accepted for Fall 2008 enrollment in the Health Journalism program*
Interested in health journalism or communication?
Whether you want to report on health for the media, work in communications for a health care organization, or promote health to the public, our master’s program can help you launch—or advance—your career. Our innovative program bridges the disciplines of public health and communication and builds on the excellence of two of the University of Minnesota’s nationally ranked schools—the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the School of Public Health. Students specializing in health journalism will learn to evaluate claims from health, medical, and scientific sources. Students specializing in health communication will learn the fundamentals of writing about health topics for different audiences in different formats, as well as health campaign development. All students will develop multimedia skills and advanced computer-assisted research and reporting skills. Students will be able to work with high-caliber faculty from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the School of Public Health, and across the University. Those interested in gaining hands-on skills will also have practicum opportunities to work in local news organizations or in communications roles with health care organizations. For more program details and information on applying, contact Director of Graduate Studies Gary Schwitzer or Program Coordinator Leyla Kokmen.
*The graduate program in Health Journalism has proposed a name change from the Master of Arts in Health Journalism to the Master of Arts in Health Journalism and Communication, effective for fall 2008. The name change and some curriculum revisions are currently under review by The Graduate School. The review of these changes will be completed around May 1, and a recommendation will be made to the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents will consider the proposed changes in July. Please note that you must apply to the Health Journalism program at this time for entry in fall 2008. If the Board of Regents does not approve the name change to Health Journalism and Communication and the curriculum revisions, you will be given the opportunity to request a refund of your application for admission fee. For information about the proposed curriculum changes please visit our Web site.
Alums: Alumni societies offer ways for you to stay active
For more information on how to become involved with the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Society, contact Erica Giorgi in the CLA External Relations office at giorg003@umn.edu or 612-625-8837.
Submit items for the April issue of the Murphy Monthly
Deadline for publication is Monday, March 31, 2008.
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Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
March 2008