Fall 2012 | Volume LXXIII | issue 1
What’s inside: Stories from India New director takes office Professor Makes historic flight Alumna goes for the gold
Excellence in Action
Contents
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A change in leadership: JMC has passed the torch to a new director with a fresh perspective and enthusiasm for Kent State Soaring to a world record: Professor flies vintage plane across Ohio, raises money for a scholarship JMC Anniversary: A timeline
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Holocaust project documents survivors’ stories
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Lessons from media’s top innovators: Student recounts what she learned visiting New York media giants as part of JMC class
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Kent in London provides students with global industry perspective
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National survey indicates strong presence of scholastic media in U.S.
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ASNE Institute provides high school teachers with fresh look at advising
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JMC class launches data-driven website
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Alumna named 2012 recipient of William D. Taylor Award
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Sisters seek to tell the ‘Story of Your Life’
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Young entrepreneur conceptualizes business during graduate study
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Alumna finds success ‘Down Under’ Going for the gold: Recent grad overcomes setbacks to continue training for 2016 games Alumni notes and student awards
11 Students chronicle Indian life with the ‘Dateline Delhi’ project
On the cover: The illustration was created by photo illustration major Melinda Yoho using a combination of Adobe Photoshop and photo collage techniques. Kent State University School of Journalism & Mass Communication 204 Franklin Hall, P.O. BOX 5190, Kent, OH 44242 Phone: 330-672-2572 | Fax: 330-672-4064 | E-mail: thor@kent.edu http://jmc.kent.edu
Editor: Thor Wasbotten Managing Editor: Trevor Ivan Graphic Designer: Allison Struck Photo Editor: Melinda Yoho Art Director/Production Manager: Katie Barnes
Director’s note
JMC Aims To Build On Success As I write this, I am in my third full month as the Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Since my arrival, I have spoken with faculty, staff, students and alumni, and as is the case with any leadership transition, there have been many questions regarding my vision and plans for the School.
To look at the future, however, I must first acknowledge the past. Jeff Fruit, who led our program for the past 10 years, has returned to the faculty. We all need to thank Jeff for his service to JMC and Kent State. His leadership in the Franklin Hall remodel provided the students, faculty and staff with one of the most technically advanced buildings anywhere in higher education. The future is bright for our School. We have a strong faculty, dedicated staff and engaged students. Our alumni have expressed enthusiasm for helping JMC achieve even greater success. My vision for JMC is simple: We will be the most relevant, student-centered and ethically driven accredited program in the country. This vision focuses on the four areas that are the most critical to the success of journalism and mass communication programs in 2012 and beyond. Let me take a moment to explain the components of the vision.
Relevant It is our mission to educate students so they can both enhance their critical thinking and build their skill set to be competitive in the workforce. To fulfill that mission, we must offer a curriculum that will prepare undergraduates for changing industries, and we must create more challenging scholarship agendas to train our graduate students for increasingly competitive research careers. We need to invest wisely in technology, equipment and infrastructure that will allow us to maintain industry standards. We need to continually assess, synthesize and refine our program to maintain relevancy. Student-centered We must have support mechanisms in place for the entire student life cycle, from recruitment to academics, to internships, to career placement support and to alumni relations. We need to develop our retention strategies to make sure our students are finishing what they have started. Students must take responsibility for their own education, but we have to do what we can to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks. Ethically Driven More than ever, critical thinking skills are going to help distinguish graduates who are prepared for jobs and those who are prepared to establish careers. We must have ethics embedded in our curriculum, in our programs and in our students. The curricular and extracurricular opportunities we offer need to challenge students to think not only about their decisions but the process they use to reach their decisions and the potential outcomes of those decisions. Accredited We are one of only 109 journalism and mass communications programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). Accreditation helps us remain focused on improving every aspect of our School.
I am looking forward to working with our faculty, staff, students and alumni to improve JMC. It is a special place that has a great future.
Thor Wasbotten Director, School of Journalism & Mass Communication
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NEW DIRECTOR
A Change in Leadership JMC has passed the torch to a new director with a fresh perspective and enthusiasm for Kent State By Kelly Pickerel He’s heard the jokes about his name. He’s even made a few himself. That thunderstorm rolling through? Yeah, he made it that loud. But all joking aside, the man at the School’s helm knows he has a job to do. Thor Wasbotten was hired as the new director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University to use his vast experience to steer the School into the future of modern journalism. The School had seen great success under the 10-year reign of Jeff Fruit, and now there’s excitement in the air to see how much further JMC can be pushed. Wasbotten should have no problem leading the charge. “The level of excitement and passion, I don’t want to say surprised me, but it was definitely a bit more than I expected,” he said just after his first full week in Franklin Hall, with his office belongings still stacked in boxes waiting to be unpacked. “The School has been led by Jeff and the group of senior faculty who really gave so much to the School — it was a great, strong past decade. But at the same time, I think that everybody, including Jeff and the recently retired faculty, is looking forward to seeing what we can do next. I’m ready for that as well.”
Photos by Melinda Yoho
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Wasbotten most recently was the assistant dean for student media and online operations at The Pennsylvania State University, where he also was a senior lecturer of journalism. But before that, his professional career was deeply involved in television news. His first job was with the CBS affiliate in Portland, Ore., in 1994. He then moved to Boise, Idaho, first as managing editor of the NBC affiliate and then the news director at KTRV-TV, building the Fox station’s newsroom from the ground up. Eventually, he took on the role of news director of KGUN 9-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Ariz. But in 2004, he switched from the industry to the academic world and joined Penn State. “Penn State is a large program. It’s larger than Kent State’s program,” he said. “But Kent’s program is still robust and has a good-sized student body. I think being part of a larger program is a benefit. Focusing on the growth of student media, curriculum building, teaching and fundraising and all the things I did there, I think, will transfer very well here.” At Penn State, Wasbotten taught two classes — a newscast class and a half-hour sports magazine for television class. He said he can’t imagine not teaching, but right now JMC needs him for other things — like marketing the School’s graduate program. “Our graduate program is a tremendous one with a lot of great opportunities, but we need to be able to manage it better,” he said. “Our online public relations master’s program has grown by leaps and bounds and is a model for how to build a program. Our Center for Scholastic Journalism has an online program that also is extremely strong and has opportunity for growth. Our Plus 24 program needs more effective management.” Mark Goodman, professor and Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism, said he’s excited to have Wasbotten as the new team leader because he brings a fresh perspective and enthusiasm for the job that’s contagious.
NEW DIRECTOR
Thor Wasbotten, the new JMC director, meets with former director Jeff Fruit, assistant professor Danielle Coombs, associate director Greg Blase and senior secretary Sharon Marquis. Wasbotten assumed duties as director July 1.
“I’m pleased to see Thor’s interest in strengthening our graduate programs and ensuring that they all receive the resources they need to maintain the highest quality,” he said. “That will be a great benefit to our online master’s degree program for journalism educators, which is the only one of its kind in the country.”
“I’m not one to say that things are going to be difficult; they are what they are. You have a focus, you have a vision and you build consensus, and I think that things will happen the way they need to happen,” Wasbotten said.
Wasbotten believes in focusing on the student experience in three areas — academics, extracurriculars and professional opportunities. “Student media gives students an incredible opportunity to understand their professions prior to their graduation,” he said. “We’ll try to maintain that experience for them. There are other opportunities within classes where you can identify opportunities to help students still grow professionally and still grow academically. “If we’re really focused on the student experience, that will allow us to help the faculty to be as strong as they can be, help us to offer the right curriculum and give us the opportunity to build a lasting education for the students who are coming here.” Wasbotten is definitely confident in the talent at Kent State, and he wants to let the world know.
“Everything from letting people know all the incredible things that our faculty has accomplished, what our students have done and incorporating that with our Web efforts, our mobile efforts, our social media efforts — we need to do a better job with that,” he said.” We need to go from an institution that is well known in Northeast Ohio and spread that out. Our message needs to be heard in California and Oregon and Florida and Spain and Italy and China and every place else.” These first few months at Kent State were a learning curve for Wasbotten. He wants to be a comfortable fixture in Franklin Hall, but he also wants to push the School to the next level.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I think there are certain things that will work really well and certain things that we will need to reassess and address differently,” he said.
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HISTORIC FLIGHT
Photo by Sam Verbulecz Associate professor Joe Murray (above) and Ron Siwik each piloted a 1946 J3C-65 Cub plane across the state during a nine-day period in May. Their journey took them to each of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Soaring To A World Record Murray flies vintage plane across Ohio, raises money for a scholarship. By Britney Beaman and Nicole Gennarelli
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Two Northeast Ohio pilots flew two antique airplanes on a 1,809-nautical-mile journey to Dayton Wright Brothers Airport. A direct flight from Kent State University to Dayton is about 160 miles, but this particular trip involved a more scenic route.
The aircraft were aloft for 36 hours and six minutes over nine consecutive days, but weather delays and time spent on the ground at each airport added to that time. Their journey was documented at http://www.lostinoscarhotel.com.
Associate professor Joe Murray, Ph.D. and Ron Siwik, M.D., a retired radiologist and former U.S. military flight surgeon who served in Vietnam, were at the controls of two 1946 Piper J3C-65 Cub airplanes in the skies over Ohio in May.
The “Lost in Oscar Hotel” moniker is a light-hearted reference to the peculiar trip with all of its zigs and zags across the state. “Oscar Hotel” is “pilot-speak,” referring to Ohio’s abbreviation, OH. This phrase comes from the Federal Aviation Administration’s phonetic alphabet used for in-flight radio transmissions.
Murray and Siwik departed Kent State’s Andrew W. Paton airport on a record-setting flight in which they landed in all of Ohio’s 88 counties before the journey’s end. A flight like this has never been attempted before.
Inspiration for this flight came from Murray’s desire to write a book about general aviation in Ohio. Murray said, “Aviation is full of character and also good characters.” He hopes to capture the spirit of flying in the state, while improving the public’s understanding of general aviation and creating
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HISTORIC FLIGHT
...the people who donated gave from the heart, and that really meant a lot to me. I had farmers walk up to me and stick dollars in my pocket and say, ‘Give it to the kids’.
opportunities for his students to learn about digital storytelling and narrative non-fiction. Throughout the journey, Murray and Gary Harwood, an award-winning photographer and JMC instructor, researched stories and recorded video, audio and photographs that will be used in a documentary video and book to be published next year. Their route took them to every corner of the state from May 13 until May 22 when they landed in Dayton. “What I didn’t expect was the interest from the communities, the people who came out to the airport to shake our hands and see us. You know, they’d buy us a tank of gas, make a meal for us, put us up overnight, hangar our airplanes,” Murray said in a WEWS news report. The pilots have raised about $3,000 toward a scholarship established by Murray at Kent State University to help disadvantaged students attend the school.
“But I’ve got to tell you, the people who donated gave from the heart, and that really meant a lot to me. I had farmers walk up to me and stick dollars in my pocket and say, ‘Give it to the kids.’ I had a student put $100 in an envelope and leave it on my seat. I knew she couldn’t afford that, so the people who donated truly donated from the heart and that meant a lot,” Murray said. In September, Murray and Siwik were invited to the House of Representatives in the state capitol to be recognized with a special resolution to the 129th Ohio General Assembly honoring the historic flight.
Individual donations toward the scholarship are also appreciated. These checks can be made payable to the Kent State University Foundation and mailed to School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kent State University, 201 Franklin Hall, Kent, OH, 44242-0001.
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JMC ANNIVERSARY
This year, we mark a few milestones—the School of Journalism and Mass Communication celebrates its 75th anniversary, the College of Communication and Information turns 10, and JMC relocated to Franklin Hall five years ago. For a little historical perspective, we stroll through some of the accomplishments and triumphs of the past three-quarters of a century.
1937: Journalism is offered as an independent four-year major.
Students working in the offices of the Kent Stater.
Professor William Taylor, Head of the School of Journalism
2007: The School moves into its state-of-the-art renovated facility in Franklin Hall. The building, which is one of the most technologically up-to-date of its kind in the country, affords students with immeasurable opportunities for professional growth.
2007: The Center for Scholastic Journalism is established as a national clearinghouse for information and research pertaining to scholastic media. The Ohio Scholastic Media Association is formed after NOSPA and several other scholastic press associations in the state decide to combine efforts to better serve the needs of students and teachers.
Journalism students work in a photographic darkroom.
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2011: The School offers two fully online master’s degrees, one in public relations and another in journalism education.
JMC ANNIVERSARY
1938: NOSPA (Northeast Ohio Scholastic Press Association) is established as an outreach project to area high school journalism students and advisers.
1946: A public relations degree is offered.
1948: The School of Speech establishes a radio broadcasting sequence.
1968: TV2 broadcasts on campus. The first cable broadcast occurs in 1975.
1970: An advertising degree is offered.
Students film a program for a WKSU television class.
A student cameraman films a WKSU News television show.
1987: The School of Journalism and the School of Telecommunications are formally merges to become the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
2002: The College of Communication and Information is established. It houses four schools: Journalism and Mass Communication, Library and Information Science, Communication Studies, and Visual Communication Design.
“Prize-winning pictures in the journalism lounge are a constant reminder to students of the increasing importance of photography. The lounge is also a haven for journalism students who come in to watch TV and read papers.” Photograph appears on Page 38 of the 1955 Chestnut Burr. Photographs were entries in the university’s annual Short Course in News Photography photographic contest.
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HOLOCAUST EXHIBIT
JMC students collaborated earlier this year to tell the stories of Holocaust survivors. Photojournalism instructor David LaBelle said the project sought to preserve and celebrate the lives of those so instrumental in the world’s history. Several Holocaust survivors are pictured with LaBelle at right: Rose Gelbart, Arthur Gelbart, Erika Gold, Sol Factor, Mimi Ormond, Betty Gold and Ruth Frojmovic. Clockwise from top left are some of the photographs shot by photojournalism students for the project: Arthur Gelbart (by Jacob Byk); Sidney Steinberger, son of a Holocaust survivor (by Matt Hafley); Erika Gold (by Jacob Byk); Roman Frayman (by Thomas Song); Alice “Mimi” Schleissnere (by Lindsay Frumker).
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INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING
Photo by Melinda Yoho Anne Dudley, along with her Amity University student partner, interviews an adopted child and her mother at an orphanage in Delhi, India.
Students Chronicle Indian Life With ‘Dateline Delhi’ Project By Anne Dudley Eighteen communication students and three professors from Kent State spent 10 days during March in Delhi, India, reporting on culture, environment, the economy and more for DatelineDelhi.org, a multimedia news website and product of the International Storytelling course.
have led. Last year, the team produced Dateline Shanghai with Shanghai International Studies University. LuEtt Hanson, Ph.D., the associate dean of the College of Communication and Information, accompanied the group and secured relationships with Amity leaders for future academic exchanges.
The School of Journalism and Mass Communication partnered with Amity University School of Communication in Noida, India, for the project.
Teams of students gathered images, video and audio for news and feature stories from the Delhi area, taking in the sights and sounds of the capital city and its people. Some rode elephants and visited orphanages and hospitals, while others ventured into the slums, construction sites and the local YMCA.
Amity provided students and faculty to help with collaborative reporting. These partners provided guidance and helped the class find sources. The Kent students stayed in on-campus housing and even set up a newsroom in the School of Communication’s facilities. This is the second International Storytelling course that faculty members Gary Hanson and Mitch McKenney
The course met for 10 weeks prior to leaving for India, using the time to report on Indian culture in Northeast Ohio as a practice run with multimedia journalism in teams. After returning to Ohio, students spent the remaining course time preparing their stories for the website debut.
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NEW YORK TRIP
Lessons From Media’s Top Innovators Student recounts what she learned visiting New York media giants as part of JMC class By Cassie Neiden
There’s media, and then there’s New York media. The 11 students, including myself, enrolled in this spring’s New York Media Seminar learned this firsthand as we spent a week in New York City this May touring media organizations and meeting with professionals who are spurring innovation within the industry. Faculty members Ann Schierhorn and Cheryl Kushner led our class as we visited organizations like The New York Times, the Associated Press, People Magazine, TIME Magazine, ESPN, NBC, Bloomberg News, Newsday, Billboard and Vibe magazines and Sports Illustrated.
Other publications are taking advantage of new ways to distribute their content. We spoke to designers at People Magazine and learned how they design each page for an iPad application. Designers must create a page both for when the tablet is vertical and horizontal. Thus, they need to create two iPad “pages” for every page of the magazine.
Our class already knew today’s media environment is in a state of transition. The experience helped answer our questions about thriving in a multimedia-driven world.
The trip showed Airielle Farley, senior information design/ visual journalism major, that jobs exist in the journalism field. She said all the desks we passed on our tour of People surprised her.
Publications like The New York Times have started experimenting with ways to both deliver content and strengthen their brands. Nancy Lee, ’75, is the vice president and executive editor of news service and The New York Times Syndicate. She helps The Times prepare its content as a product to sell to other media such as National Geographic and Bloomberg News.
“It never occurred to me how many people really worked for a magazine,” she said. “It made me feel like it may actually be something that I can manage to do.”
Ellen Kirtner, a public relations graduate student who also attended the seminar, said she appreciated The Times’ syndication efforts as well as innovative projects like Lens, a blog created by senior staff photographer Jim Estrin to tell stories through photos. Readers can browse through photo galleries on topics ranging from tornadoes, attacks in Pakistan and horses in Iceland. During our class’s meeting with Lee and Estrin, they devised a plan to create a book about Lens. It was amazing to see some of that innovation taking place in front of our class.
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Photo by Jessica Denton Rachel Hagenbaugh and Airielle Farley talk with Kathy Kudravi, ’87, following a media discussion panel at the Fashion School.
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We also met Tom Curley, CEO of The Associated Press, who stressed the importance of presenting journalism on a multimedia platform. But he also said that aside form learning all the fancy tricks of the Web, video, design and social media, it’s still important to have credibility and accountability by citing sources correctly and by verifying information. From the contacts our class acquired to the first-hand look at how major media are changing, taking this class was worth the time and money. New York is the powerhouse of media. It’s the place where all major media organizations converge. New York is the place where innovation happens and can be experimented with on a larger scale. And the preparation to work in a place like New York starts right here at Kent State.
LONDON TRIP
Photo by Christina Loss Students in the Global Advertising and Public Relations course visited London for a two-week period in May. Students toured agencies throughout the city and expanded their understanding of the worldwide communication industry.
Kent In London Provides Students With Global Industry Perspective By Nicole Gennarelli Twenty-four students from Kent State’s College of Communication and Information traveled to London May 10-27 for a life-changing study abroad experience. Kent in London: Global Ad & PR, taught by assistant professor Danielle Coombs, Ph.D., and associate professor Michele Ewing, was designed to provide an academically challenging yet professional study abroad experience for students interested in communication careers. The two-part course began in January when each student was expected to select an area of expertise. These areas could be contentfocused (health and beauty, fashion or sports), rolefocused (copywriting, event planning or management), or media-focused (social media, television or print). During the semester the students researched and gave a multimedia presentation about their area of expertise in relation to the United States. Once in London, students began to research the same area in relation to the United Kingdom. The final presentation compared and contrasted the differences between the two countries.
“The Global Ad & Public Relations course focused on a comparative research project to help students develop an area of expertise and learn about the influence of cultural differences in advertising and public relations strategies,” Ewing said. “This cultural understanding will give students an edge when they interview for internships and jobs.” The students visited we are social, a global conversation agency; Action Aid, a non-profit charity dedicated to ending poverty; Mother, a major advertising agency; and Edelman, a global public relations firm. They attended a social and global PR lecture with students from the London College of Communication and also took a trip Oxford. While planning this course, Coombs and Ewing wanted it to pay off for students. “Our thinking was that we wanted this to be a chance for the students to test the waters,” Coombs said. “You need to go out and interview people. You have to get good at pitching yourself and what you’re doing.” To read more about the trip, including students’ experiences, visit http://www.kentinlondon.com.
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CSJ CENSUS
National Survey Indicates Strong Presence of Scholastic Media in U.S. By Trevor Ivan The Center for Scholastic Journalism undertook a survey project last year to gauge the number of journalismrelated opportunities available to students in public high schools across the country. Candace Perkins Bowen and Mark Goodman, both faculty members in the Center, directed the project, along with guidance from Piotr Bobkowski from the University of Kansas. The survey, conducted by randomly sampling more than 4,300 high school principals across the country, found approximately 11,000 student publications and media outlets, the most prominent being a yearbook. “The survey’s purpose was to provide concrete evidence amid a lot of speculation,” Goodman said. “For instance, many assume student publications do have some online presence. However, the survey pointed out that an online presence was lacking for many scholastic publications.
The researchers also compared the data about the number of student media outlets in a given school with demographic data. This analysis showed a lack of media opportunities in smaller, poorer schools or those with a higher minority population. Goodman also noted that the students who produce and consume student media will one day create and use professional news products. “Student media present an opportunity to teach young people about becoming news consumers,” he said. “Professional news organizations can find ways to better support scholastic journalism and to teach young people about media literacy.” The Center plans to repeat the survey in about two years to track changes in the data. To learn more, visit the Center’s website at www.csjkent.org.
“This survey gives us some understanding of where educators can direct their resources to help student publications succeed.”
Six Faculty Receive Promotions Four tenure-track faculty members received the rank of associate professor this spring:
Two non-tenure-track faculty were promoted as well:
Candace Perkins Bowen: Director of the Center for Scholastic Journalism and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association
Gene Shelton: A former reporter, music publicist and press agent
Jan Leach: Director of the Media Law Center for Ethics and Access and coordinator of the yearly ethics workshop in coordination with the Poynter Institute Jacqueline Marino: Long-form narrative journalist and author of the recently published “White Coats: Three Journeys Through an American Medical School” Joe Murray: Digital storyteller, Web designer and aviation enthusiast
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Traci Williams: Director of the Center for Pan-African culture, documentarian and film producer
ASNE INSTITUTE asne institute
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Photo by Susan Tantillo Amy Reiman of Illinois waits to ask a question during a mock press conference led by instructor John Bowen at the ASNE Institute.
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JMC NEWS
JMC Students Launch Data-Driven Website Students from the schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and Digital Sciences have created a data-driven website, www.opencampuskent.com, that features a recent feed of what’s happening in the Kent area, including Kent State campus buildings.
Photo by Melinda Yoho Associate professor Jacqueline Marino works with a student in Web Programming for Multimedia Journalism. The class created an open-source site about Kent State and the surrounding community called OpenCampus Kent.
Visitors to the OpenCampus Kent website will be able to get the latest crime updates, news, event listings, information on discount deals and restaurant reviews. Users can also check out the latest Kent-area photos and videos uploaded to Flickr and YouTube.
According to AEJMC, the goal is to implement these projects in ways that enhance the education of future journalists for the new media landscape.
“This resource will have a community-building effect, helping students and local residents look at what they have in common, be more knowledgeable about what’s going on around them and make better decisions about what to do with their time,” said associate professor Jacqueline Marino. OpenCampus Kent is a product of the Kent State course Web Programming for Multimedia Journalism. Last fall, the project was awarded one of 10 Bridge Grants funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation through the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Bridge Grant recipients were tasked with developing new academic applications of projects already funded by the Knight News Challenge, which, according to the Knight Foundation, is a contest to spur innovation in news and information by funding cutting-edge applications and projects.
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OpenCampus Kent uses the open-source software OpenBlock, a technology that was developed through funding by the Knight Foundation. Kent State students are among the first to apply OpenBlock to a college campus and its surrounding city. Customizations of OpenCampus Kent allow users to search events, news and other information by neighborhood, zip code or street. The campus is also searchable by building. Kent State student media took over the site’s operations this fall and will continue to improve its design and function. The course was co-taught by Marino, Liz Yokum, an instructor in the School of Digital Sciences, and Sue Zake, a JMC instructor and adviser to KentWired, which is an online collaboration of the university’s independent student media. This story originally appeared on www.kent.edu.
HOMECOMING
Bartz Named 2012 Recipient of William D. Taylor Award By Nicole Gennarelli Elizabeth Bartz, ’80, is still in awe she is the 2012 William D. Taylor Award recipient and said she feels extremely honored to be chosen.
Elizabeth Bartz
The Taylor Award is the highest distinction JMC bestows on alumni who are nationally and/or internationally recognized for preeminent contributions to their professions or life’s work as they relate to the field of journalism and mass communication.
Bartz holds a Bachelor of Science in public relations and a Master of Arts in political science, both from Kent State University. Originally from Warren, Ohio, she resides in Akron, Ohio, where she is president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc. According to its website, it is a company “with a strong commitment to helping companies and organizations comply with their political contributions, state lobbying and procurement activities.” “Every day is a new adventure in the office,” Bartz said. “I come in with a plan of what I want to get done. Am I dealing with budgets, editing or marketing proposals? I’m always working on something different. We had a lot of clients who were involved with party conventions, Democratic and Republican. They want to know if they can give a gift to a legislator who attended an event or who is running in a certain state. We provide them with that information.”
Before her current job, Bartz spent time working as the assistant director of the Washington Program in National Issues in 1982. After she left that position, she spent 10 years managing the publications department at State and Federal Associates. She oversaw updates to guidebooks about lobbying and campaign contribution laws. She bought the department in 1993, moved it to Akron, and renamed it State and Federal Communications, Inc. She now has a staff of 30. A lesson Bartz learned from her time spent at Kent State University is to always jump at opportunities. “Whether it was a summer job, or any of the jobs I’ve had, I’ve always been the person to raise my hand and ask what needs to be done,” she said. “Regardless of how small a company is, it wants someone to count on, and I made sure I was that person. I always wanted to step up and be the person who can help.” When JMC Director Thor Wasbotten contacted Bartz to tell her she was this year’s award winner, she swore it had to be a mistake. “My predecessors of this award have been Pulitzerprize winners,” she said. “I don’t do that. I’m still in shock I’m being compared to people with those accomplishments. I’m very happy because last year’s winner was Stephanie Smith who has worked with the Central Intelligence Agency. She and I both started as commuter students at Kent State’s Trumbull campus and not many people finished the journalism program. For two Trumbull campus people to be a winner of this award is an honor.”
Homecoming weekend is Friday, Oct. 19 and Saturday, Oct. 20. JMC and CCI are hosting several events to mark the weekend: A reception Friday evening in Franklin Hall will honor Taylor Award recipient Elizabeth Bartz, this year’s Fast Track Award winners and the Friends of JMC Awardee.
Afterward, JMC will host a luncheon in the first-floor lobby of Franklin Hall. This includes a silent auction sponsored by PRSSA.
On Saturday morning, visitors will be able to join Friends of JMC at a hospitality tent along Main Street outside of Franklin Hall to watch the annual Homecoming parade.
The Homecoming football game will take place at 3:30 at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes will take on the Western Michigan Broncos.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Sisters Seek To Tell The ‘Story of Your Life’ By Nicole Gennarelli
Sisters Michelle Park, ’05, and Stephanie Park, ’08, began creating their own newspaper when they were children. Michelle wrote the articles and Stephanie used scissors and a glue stick to put the paper together. From a young age, they were dedicated to celebrating milestones, as their first newspaper’s lead story was a feature on the family cat’s birthday. Today, the Park sisters are using their love of storytelling and design to share other’s life stories as though they are front-page news. “To me, it’s just something my sister and I are both passionate about, and we do because we love it,” Stephanie said. “For us, it’s the excitement and exhilaration of a deadline and getting the publication out.” Michelle and Stephanie — respectively a former Daily Kent Stater editor and design director — have created Story of Your Life, a way for everyday people to see their life’s milestones written and designed as front-page news. When a colleague of Michelle’s got married, she thought that it would be a one-of-a-kind gift to write her love story as if it were front-page news. Although the gift idea was never executed, when Michelle moved back to Cleveland, she and her sister created the business. “I guess the proximity to my sister and just the desire to do something entrepreneurial with the talents and skills we have developed took over,” Michelle said. “We launched the business in August 2011, so we’re a year old.” Michelle said the process of putting together a client’s story is the same as any story she writes for her fulltime job at Crain’s Cleveland Business. For Stephanie, she uses the design skills she learned while working at the Daily Kent Stater, a year-long position at the Plain Dealer and her current job as art director of custom media at Great Lakes Publishing.
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Story of Your Life has been hired mostly in its first year to create stories about weddings. Michelle interviews the bride and groom, and the couple can choose four to five more people, whether friends or family, to contribute to the story as well. “I then take all of the notes I’ve taken from all of those people and craft the best story I can that is highly reflective of the bride and groom, but also gives the couple a window of what other people see in them,” Michelle said. The company gathers photographs of the couple from the bride and groom. Then, Stephanie takes Michelle’s story and the photographs and designs a newspaper layout.
“It’s a nice gift because no love story is the same,” Stephanie said. “Just running with their personality and having photos that reflect that often helps our stories look different.”
The sisters set up a Story of Your Life booth to introduce their business during a bridal show hosted by Today’s Bride in Cleveland in January. The booth included more than promotional materials. It had an interactive feel. The sisters set up a red-carpet runway, at the end of which brides could speed-interview with Michelle. “It’s safe to say I did more than 150 speed interviews,” Michelle said. “We are still in the process of taking those speed interviews and writing mini stories for the brides and grooms. This gives the couple a taste of what it’s like to be written about and see if they like it.”
ALUMNI NEWS
Photo by C Julia Photography Co-founders, journalists and sisters, Michelle and Stephanie Park model the popular bumper stickers they stuck to brides during their first bridal show in January 2012. Brides-to-be began their speed interviews, which have been used to create mini stories for them, by filling in the blanks.
Probably the most eye-catching feature of the sisters’ bridal show effort was the bumper stickers they asked speed interviewees to stick on their backs. The stickers featured three prompts, among them, “I love him because...” and “Our relationship started with...” and the brides filled in the rest. Michelle used their answers to guide their speed interviews. After they participated in the show, Today’s Bride wrote a feature about Story of Your Life. Stephanie
said it “felt pretty sweet” to be covered, especially since they were a new business. So far, the sisters have created stories about weddings, a sister who gave her brother a kidney and a retirement. Stephanie said they’d be open to any kind of project. Michelle said she urges journalism students to have a passion for what they’re doing. “If I didn’t have a passion for what I do, I wouldn’t come home after working, interviewing and writing all day wanting to work, write and interview all night for Story of Your Life,” Michelle said. “Having that passion will help get you through some of the tougher experiences, and it will also make the accomplishments and peaks you achieve so much more satisfying.”
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ALUMNI NEWS
Photos by Melinda Yoho Justin McCraw launched Dumpling Magazine as part of his master’s professional project.
Young Entrepreneur Conceptualizes Business While in Grad Program By Jessica Scheve Upon graduation, many students craft a resume and cover letter, sending them out with fingers crossed, in hopes of finding a job. Justin McCraw, ’11, designed a magazine and drafted a business plan in hopes of starting a company. As founder and editor of Dumpling Magazine, an online publication for Asian Americans, the entrepreneur not only conceptualized the entire enterprise but has successfully launched it. And McCraw has a day job. An R&D Developer at Paragon Robotics LLC, McCraw spends eight hours at the office, mostly at his computer, and then goes home, often spending an additional four hours— or more—on his computer working on the magazine. Dumpling Magazine began as part of McCraw’s master’s project, which he started at the end of his first year in graduate school. The name of the magazine was chosen for what it represents. A culinary classic, the dumpling is versatile—with appearances in both Asian and American cuisine. McCraw’s friends and classmates from Kent State and Oregon, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in computer information science, write for the magazine, and he is hiring two interns. Although it targets the “second- and later-generation Asian-American,” as the online magazine states, its subject matter varies. With a sleek, minimalistic design, the magazine has articles about everything from food,
celebrity profiles and book reviews to politics and current events. A cover story this summer profiled Asian Americans on the U.S. Olympic Team. McCraw’s bio, which accompanies a headshot with a faint glimpse of Franklin Hall in the background, explains that Dumpling Magazine was created to address “a lack of Asian American content in mainstream media.” McCraw’s love of magazine journalism started in high school when he worked at his school’s newspaper. “I started getting into magazines when I was taking driver’s ed class,” he said. “Afterward, I would go to a grocery store and wait for my mom to pick me up, so I would buy a magazine to flip through and then I’d read it cover-to-cover.” Today he subscribes to more than 20 magazines, including Esquire, New York Observer and Entertainment Weekly. The leadership roles he’s assumed as the founder and editor of his own magazine are nothing new to McCraw. While in graduate school, he served at various times as managing editor, editor-in-chief and art director of the School’s award-winning Fusion magazine. Dumpling Magazine is not yet making a profit, but with more than 1,000 hits in the first months and companies like Toyota showing interest in advertising, Dumpling Magazine could be McCraw’s next day job. To check out Dumpling Magazine, visit www.dumplingmag.com.
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ALUMNI NEWS
Grad Finds Success ‘Down Under’ By Nicole Gennarelli
After spending time in Sydney, Australia, in 2010, Brianne Kimmel, ’11, decided to make the city her home a year later by accepting an advertising position.
Brianne Kimmel
Kimmel, who graduated with a degree in advertising and a minor in marketing, landed the job at Apparent in Sydney through networking with previous acquaintances in the city and using networking sites like LinkedIn.
As part of her duties at the agency, Kimmel works closely with more than 30 fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Pizza Hut to ensure they have up-to-date nutritional menu board data. New South Wales was the first Australian state to implement mandatory kilojoule labeling on menu boards at large fast-food chains. “This campaign focuses on fast facts on fast food and helps consumers make more informed choices on the go, especially for young children at risk of obesity,” she said. Kimmel also serves as the social media strategist and account manager for Nikon. She works closely with photographers and partners, who include Australian fashion designers sass & bide, Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival, and Surfing Australia. She helped the agency launch “Nikon In Focus,” which provides the opportunity for My Nikon Life members to interact with a group of photographers known as Nikon Ambassadors through Google+ Hangouts. “Becoming a Nikon Ambassador is one of the highest honors as a professional photographer. Giving My Nikon Life members the chance to ask Ambassadors questions on their life experiences and lessons learned
over their photography career is invaluable,” she said. “We work really hard to provide exclusive content for photographers at all skill levels.” Her portfolio also includes freelance writing and photography. She worked alongside a photographer at an exclusive Katy Perry shoot for the Sydney premiere of her movie “Part of Me.”
“Working with Nikon photographers and getting involved in the entertainment and fashion world has been such an amazing experience,” she said. “The hours are long, but it’s worth it. You’re always on your toes and up against harsh deadlines.”
She said starting her first agency job in Sydney has presented challenges. “As with any new country, there are many cultural differences,” she said. “Not to mention I had to brush up on my British English and metric conversions. Sydney is such a safe and progressive city. Not to mention, we are surrounded by beautiful beaches. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.” She said her time at Kent State equipped her to work for an advertising agency by providing her with a well-rounded view of the industry. “At an agency you have to wear many hats. Some days I’m writing copy and other days I’m working with a media company on a multi-channel media plan,” she said. “It’s such a relief to understand how each department of an agency works and having the skills to contribute to the overall success of a major campaign.”
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JMC NEWS
Going For The Gold Recent grad overcomes setbacks to continue training for 2016 games By Meghan Caprez Brittni Borrero, ’12, has Olympic-sized dreams. She hoped to compete to represent Puerto Rico in the discus-throwing event during this year’s games in London, but she didn’t meet the minimum throw length to qualify. However, that setback has not deterred her from setting her sights on the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro once she resumes her training in January. In addition to finishing grad school and starting her job hunt, Borrero sustained two leg injuries that delayed her training. “Now I have four more years to train,” Borrero said. “Most women peak between 28 and 32 years of age, and I’ll be in that range by the time the next Olympics rolls around. I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot as long as I keep going and stay healthy.” Borrero received her Master of the Arts degree in public relations in May. She also received a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Kent State. While at the university, she was part of the track and field team. Borrero now works for Gelia, a marketing communications agency based in New York. Borrero joined the company’s Detroit branch this summer. Her main responsibilities include creating press releases and blog posts, attending trade shows, and organizing product launches for one of the agency’s biggest clients, Caterpillar.
Brittni Borrero at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in 2011. She won the silver medal at that meet.
She said the support she received at Kent State helped her excel both on and off the field. “The professors at Kent State were always very supportive, not only with my education, but also with my track career, too,” Borrero said. “Everyone was always interested, and they always wanted to know what was going on. Getting to know my professors on a personal level was really nice. They’re genuinely interested.” She also plans to pursue a doctorate degree from Michigan State.
JMC Welcomes New Faculty Wendy Wardell joined the School’s advertising faculty. After working for ad agencies in Northeast Ohio and Chicago, Wardell said she hopes she can instill in students a “positive outlook on the industry and that I can help them attain the qualities of a successful advertising professional—detail-oriented, thick-skinned, creative, analytical, individualistic, open-minded.” Wardell will also serve as adviser to the ad club. Luke Armour is an assistant professor of public relations and the coordinator of Flash Communications at University Communications and Marketing. He has
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worked at several public relations firms, most recently at Fleishman-Hillard. While there, he managed social media, mobile and Web project development for consumer, state and healthcare clients. Cheryl Kushner assumed a full-time position on the faculty after teaching in JMC since 2009. A 1973 grad, she has worked as a reporter and editor at major newspapers across the country. She received her master’s from Kent State in 2011 and has co-authored a textbook about theater and theater criticism.
JMC NEWS
JMC Students Receive Numerous Recognitions The Student Media Business Office staff received recognition from the College Newspaper Business & Advertising Managers in March during the group’s convention in Miami. The staff received a second place award for “sales increase of a special section” and first place in the “display ad—color” category. Lindsay Ridinger, ’12, was awarded Student Leader of the Year by the Kent State Center for Student Development. She served as president of the university’s PRSSA chapter during the past academic year. Christine Morgan, senior public relations student and 2012-13 PRSSA Kent president, won a PRSSA National Gold Key award. This award honors PR students who excel in academics, professional development and as PRSSA chapter leaders. The Associated Collegiate Press bestowed a pacemaker, the group’s highest award, on KentWired.com and Fusion in 2011. TV2 received the following recognition from the Broadcast Education Association: Second Place — Rich Pierce for sports anchoring. Third Place — Jasen Sokol for weather anchoring. Honorable Mention — “The Agenda” for video studio production. Three entries placed in the top three of their categories in the 2012 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Student Magazine Contest. Third Place, Consumer Magazine Article — “Waiting for ‘I do’” by Leighann McGivern in the Burr. Second Place, Online Magazine — theamag.com, the online presence of A Magazine. First Place, Single Issue of an Ongoing Print Magazine: Design category — Winter 2012 issue of Fusion. The Society of Professional Journalists announced its Region 4 Mark of Excellence Award winners in March for the 2011 calendar year. Kent State student media received the following recognition: Best student magazine: Second Place — The Burr; Third Place — Fusion. Non-fiction magazine article: First Place—“In an instant: How former Kent State basketball star Malika Willoughby lost everything” by Joey Pompignano. Third Place—“Jim Nash: Speaking for the transgender community” by Simon Husted. Best affiliated website: Third Place — KSU Buzz (ksubuzz.com). Online feature reporting: Third Place — Rock the Runway, KentWired.com staff Online in-depth reporting: First Place — “Kent’s changing landscape: Redefining a college town” by Nathan Edwards. Online news reporting: Third Place — “Tracking downtown Kent development” by KentWired.com staff. Television in-depth reporting: First Place — “Kent State sues former student for unpaid tuition” by Megan Moore-Closser. Television breaking news reporting: Second Place — “Crain Avenue crash injures five” by Chris Lambert, Rich Pierce and Casey Braun. Third Place — “House explodes in Suffield Township” by Kassandra Meholick and Nathan Edwards. Television sports reporting: Third Place — “Kent State’s bass fishing team” by Jenn Bellissimo.
ALUMNI NOTES William Moushey, Jr., ’76, coauthored the book “Game Over: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Code of Silence” with Robert Dvorchak. Both men were former investigative reporters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They wrote the book in six months by gathering documents and interviewing more than 100 people. Melissa Andrews, ’04, joined WTOL in Toledo, Ohio, as a morning newscast anchor and traffic reporter. She previously worked for WTVG in Toledo and WBGU in Bowling Green. Darlene Biese Schultz, ’79, recently published her first novel, titled “Decisions or Destiny.” She also teaches a fiction-writing class for seniors and writes a column for her local newspaper. Kathy Kudravi, ’87, became CNN’s first editorial sports director in July. She helped coordinate the network’s coverage of the summer Olympics. Before moving to CNN, she worked for 13 years at ESPN, and, previous to that, she worked for newspapers in Fort Worth, Nashville, Cleveland and Myrtle Beach.
In Memory Kenneth Ketcham ’57, passed away in March at age 83. He resided with his wife in Easton, Md. Terry Oblander, who attended some classes at Kent State, passed away in November at age 64. His newspaper career included time at the Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer.
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JARGON What’s inside: Stories from India New director takes office Professor Makes historic flight Alumna goes for the gold
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