Alumni Newsletter Spring 2011

spring

2011

alumni newsletter

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t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r o f s y r ac us e , n.y.

M AKING NEWS

R EFLECTIONS

D.O. alumni report, photograph and illustrate from around the world. Page 3

Daily Orange staffers from the 1930s recount the stories they’ll always remember. Page 2

A F O N D FA R E W E L L

Friends and former co-workers give a hats-off to Rob Howard for his nearly 10 years of service to The Daily Orange. Page 4

From the editor’s desk: Anniversary weekend successful, staffers receive awards for work

B

raving a near-blizzard, my

K ATIE McINERNEY

managing editor Kathleen

series of speakers and discussions held at Newhouse. The morning

Ronayne and I made the trek

began with stories about the 1971

from the East neighborhood to

independence, the 1991 financial

the Newhouse complex early one

independence and finally, today’s

Saturday morning. Typically, we

D.O. We also separated into

wouldn’t be up that early. But as we

smaller groups to talk about more

hiked through the quickly piling

such a chief

snow, we knew the trip would be worth it.

cess. And boy, did that feel good.

That Saturday morning kicked

As my time as editor in chief

specific topics — from sports enterprise beat writing to finding feature stories to covering issues visually. The weekend ended

off the bulk of a weekend celebrat-

winds down, I know the 40th anni-

with a small goodbye brunch on

ing The Daily Orange’s 40th anni-

versary celebration will stand out

Sunday morning.

versary of independence. We were

most in my mind. Meeting alumni

honored when we discovered

who were in the same position

anniversary for the rest of cam-

we’d be the management team in

as me years ago is inspiring and

pus, we published a small section

charge of commemorating the

gratifying. If that doesn’t show me

in that Thursday’s edition (to read

anniversary. But that excitement

why I work at The Daily Orange, I

the content, visit dailyorange.

quickly became nervousness —

don’t know what will.

com/alumni). Kathleen and I

we knew we’d need to pull it off

The weekend began with a

To commemorate the 40th

would like to thank everyone who

well.But at the end of the day,

casual meet-and-greet at 744

attended. It was more than any-

after the room had cleared out

Ostrom for staff members to meet

thing we could have imagined.

and we were left on our own, we

alumni. Saturday was the bulk

realized the day had been a suc-

of the celebration, with a daylong

But that was not the only

NEW FEATURES FOR ALUMNI Feeling nostalgic for your D.O. days?

See what your friends have been up to at alumni.dailyorange.com and make or update your own profile.

Then check back in the next few months as we make improvements. Suggestions for the new site? Let us know by sending an email to alumni@dailyorange.com.

An easy way to contribute Giving a gift is now as easy as making an online purchase: www.dailyorange. com/donate.

Stay up-to-date Visit dailyorange.com/ alumni for alumni newsletter archives and other content produced especially for our valued alumni until our alumni site is finished.

SEE MCINERNEY PAGE 2

Alumni, we need your help!

The newly relaunched Alumni Association is looking for volunteers to help with various projects.

Fundraising: Extra manpower is needed to run a fundraising campaign. Contact Frank Surette at fsurette@aol.com or 703-736-1660.

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

Event/reunion planning: Help plan the next alumni weekend in Syracuse. We’d also like to organize regional meetups.

Email alumni@dailyorange. com.

Newsletters: Article pitches and writing volunteers are always welcome. Contact Brittney Davies at brittney. davies3@gmail.com.

Mentoring: We’re looking for journalism vets to read over student work and provide feedback, and advertising pros to help our business students.

Email alumni@dailyorange.com. spring 2011

1

The good old days

By Beckie Strum

I

Alumni recall perks of working for The D.O. in the ‘30s: Covering FDR, strong ad sales and an excuse for the women’s curfew

Having celebrated her 100th birthday last June,

From their offices in the long-ago demol-

Wartman said she remembers little from her SU

ished Yates Castle, D.O. staffers worked long

n the thick of the Great Depression,

days, but with a few details, strung together a very

and hard hours, Wartman said.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt kicked off his

different country, university and newspaper.

EDITORIAL EDITOR

1936 re-election campaign from today’s

Armory Square in downtown Syracuse.

Dorothy Hamburger (’39) remembers type-

Throughout the ’30s, The D.O.’s masthead

writers, radios and cameras being the only

included a special group of women’s editors,

technology in the newsroom. “Certainly there

Virginia Wartman, an undergraduate stu-

she said. She worked alongside about five other

were no computers,” she said with a laugh. “It

dent at the time, remembers covering the

women, and the job excused them from the 9

seems when people talk about computers, each

Democratic State Convention as one of the

p.m. women’s curfew, which wasn’t fully lifted

time I say, ‘My gosh, how did we survive without

most memorable and exciting moments as a

until decades later.

them?’ as we were doing any of the activities we

D.O. reporter. “My days at The Daily Orange

“We were second-class citizens in the ’30s,

were a good time. The Democratic Convention

so of course there were curfews,” Wartman

was held in Syracuse and I got to cover it,” she

recalled. “We had to be in at 9 o’clock — on

said. “Of course it was not always that exciting.

special occasions we could stay out to 11. But if

I remember Syracuse held a bakers conven-

we worked at the paper, we got to stay out to at

tion. I was so annoyed — all they talked about

least 1 a.m. It was one of the perks.”

was what do they do about stale bread.”

Even though SU owned the paper, much of its

had to do. But we were always capable of doing everything, somehow.”

The university required students to pass a typing course, Wartman said.

“I remember an editor, Drew Middleton, who later became a very famous journalist for the AP,” she said with a laugh. “I remember we sat side by

The fall of 1936 was also a time of change on

funding came from advertising, recalled Win-

campus. The university had named William

ifred Skversky (’36), a former ad representative.

Wartman said she spent hours typing

P. Graham the new chancellor that summer,

A host of department stores and locally owned

articles, but her commitment to the paper

after Charles Wesley Flint’s 14 years of leader-

shops — Flah’s, H.J. Howe, Inc., and Edwards

sometimes got in the way of academics — a

ship. The now-iconic Maxwell School of Citi-

Store for Men, all located on South Salina Street

symptom that persists for D.O. staffers today.

zenship and Public Affairs and a number of

— filled the paper, Skversky said. Many of the

other buildings — ones now relegated to SU’s

businesses, excluding Varsity, were wiped out

history — went up that year.

during the city’s economic decline. summer internship at The Oregonian. Jared

MCINERNEY FROM PAGE 1

bright spot of this gray Syracuse winter.

side, trying to pass that freshman typing class.”

Beckie Strum (‘12) is the editorial editor at The Daily Orange. She can be reached at opinion@ dailyorange.com.

Kathleen and I will be stepping down from

Diamond (sports editor, fall 2009) earned third

our positions next semester to take on differ-

place in the sports writing category for a story

ent roles. Although we’re sad this year has

about the culture of lacrosse on Native Ameri-

passed so quickly, we can only hope we set a

can reservations near SU.

sturdy platform for our newest staff members.

Three former staff members were selected

Staff members have accepted internships

As always, please reach out with any com-

for Region 1 Mark of Excellence awards by

at several reputable news outlets: The Center

ments, questions or concerns. Feedback from

the Society of Professional Journalists. Molly

for Responsive Politics, The Buffalo News,

alumni is not only helpful, but it’s also heart-

Snee (art director, spring-fall 2010) earned

The Denver Post, Alloy, The Cleveland Plain-

warming to hear from others who care about

a first-place award for editorial cartooning

Dealer and Newsday, among others. Most staff

The D.O. as much as we do.

and will continue on to the national competi-

members are waiting to hear back. But if last

tion. Andrew Burton (special projects editor,

year is any indication, The D.O. will again see

spring 2010) took home a second-place award

its editors employed by some of the top publica-

for feature photography from work at his

tions across the country.

RECENT

DONORLIST Thank you for supporting independent student journalism. Your donation is appreciated.

2 spring 2011

Katie McInerney is the editor in chief of The Daily Orange. She previously held the position of presentation director from fall 2009 to spring 2010. Contact her at editor@ dailyorange.com.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ludewig Mr. Larry Kramer Mr. Robert S. Benchley Mr. Robert Tischenkel Mr. Patrick McCue Mr. Stephen Cohen Mr. Michael Swartz and Ms. Elyse Andrews Mr. Michael D. Becker Mr. Timothy Gorman Mr. Matt Gelb The Toby and Nataly Ritter Family Foundation

1952 1972 1974 1974 1985 1999 2006 2006 2007 2009

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

NEWSM A KERS Alumni in Japan

chronicled his trip through words and photos

spirited” comics. And that was that. “Evil

Chico Harlan (’04), The Washington Post’s

on his personal blog, www.andrewburtonpho-

Twin” became the title of the strip that ran

East Asia correspondent, found himself in

to.com/blog (scroll down for Japan coverage).

during his tenure as a D.O. illustrator.

the thick of Japan’s national disaster when

Follow him on Twitter @HABurton.

the March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck.

It’s now the name of the comic book publishing company Dunlavey launched in 2005 with

In an email recounting his experiences a few

Alumna on Pulitzer-winning team

weeks ago, Harlan wrote, “In the last week I’ve

Paloma Esquivel (G ‘06), a former staff writer,

gotten a better sense for the destruction, as

was part of a Los Angeles Times team recognized

Evil Twin Comics’ first hit, the “Action

I’ve spent a few days in some areas/towns that

with a 2011 Pulitzer Prize. Led by Ruben Vives

Philosophers!” series, light-heartedly summa-

were completely wiped off the map. Totally

and Jeff Gottlieb, the reporters won top honors

rizes the lives and thoughts of prolific thinkers

annihilated… As a journalist in Japan, life is

in the public service category for exposing cor-

such as Plato, Nietzsche and Thomas Jeffer-

exhausting (often) and thrilling (sometimes)

ruption in Bell, Calif. At The D.O., Esquivel wrote

son. It’s now sold as a comic anthology of the

and plenty intimidating, too, when you think

about the role tenure played in faculty response

history of philosophy.

about the weeks and months ahead.” Follow

to the HillTV shutdown and the struggles of the

his work at washingtonpost.com and his expe-

Onondaga Nation, among other topics.

riences on Twitter @chicoharlan.

Andrew Burton (‘10) spent nine days travel-

fellow SU alumnus Fred Van Lente, whom he met in the campus club Comics Plus.

The duo continued their nonfiction track with “Comic Book Comics,” about the comic book industry. No. 5, “The All-Lawsuit Edition,” was

Company named after a D.O. comic

published in March, and the last issue, which

ing in Japan to shoot photographs for USA

Ryan Dunlavey’s (’93) nice-guy reputation

covers graphic novels, Japanese comics and the

Today. His work appeared on the front page,

inspired the name of his D.O. comic strip. “It’s

future of the industry, is slated for a June release.

and he produced a video explaining some of his

like these were done by your evil twin,” the

—Compiled by Brittney Davies (’10)

photographs for the newspaper’s website. He

then-art director said of Dunlavey’s “mean-

and Kathleen Ronayne (’12)

A L U M N I U P DAT E S

1998

Kristen (Bergman) Morales (Lifestyle Editor) left her position as senior design editor at The Times in Gainesville, Ga., to pursue freelance writing and graphic design. Her recent projects include newspaper redesigns, InDesign training sessions and designing books, logos and brochures. She is married to Ed Morales, has a daughter, Sofia, 3, and lives in Athens, Ga.

2006

Elyse Andrews (Managing Editor) and Mike Swartz (Presentation Director) are getting married in August 2011 in New Hampshire. They currently live in Boston, where Elyse is an editor at Cabot Heritage Corporation and Mike owns a Web design and development firm, Upstatement. They met and fell in love at The Daily Orange.

Jessica Hegger (Ad Representative) was recently promoted after four years of moving up the chain at a Denver ad agency.

2009

Heather Mayer (Copy Editor) was promoted from project manager to junior copywriter at grey healthcare group, a pharmaceutical advertising agency in New York City. She is also a freelance reporter for Carroll Gardens Patch, a hyperlocal news site for the Brooklyn neighborhood. She continues her love for copy editing as chief copy editor for The Juice Online, a Web-based publication for Syracuse University athletics.

In memoriam More than two decades later, those who worked with Denise Cramsey (’90) at The D.O. remember her work ethic and passion.

“She loved The Daily Orange and was my News Editor in 1989/90,” Bruce Carroll, the paper’s editor in chief in 1990, wrote in an email. “I’m not sure there was a harder worker that I’ve ever met in my life than Denise.”

Cramsey died in November of a brain aneurism. She was 41 and had recently executive produced NBC’s “School Pride.”

After graduating from Syracuse in 1990, she became a producer at Medstar Television, then Banyan Productions. She was an executive producer for TLC’s “Trading Spaces” and ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” for which she was also showrunner.

Among other shows, she also worked on TLC’s “A Baby Story” and “A Wedding Story” and ABC’s “True Beauty.” She received two Emmy Awards for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and was nominated four other times. a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

2010

Brittney Davies (Copy Editor) joined the oodles of other D.O. alumni at The Star-Ledger. It’s almost like being on the 744 porch again, minus the floor slant.

Releasing a book soon? Win an award? Finish a degree?

Let us know!

Submit your alumni update to us at alumni@dailyorange.com.

Special thanks to: • Brittney Davies for organizing and editing the alumni newsletter • Kathleen Ronayne for editing and factchecking alumni newsletter content • The Daily Orange Board of Directors • David Dwiggins (‘98) for overseeing the alumni website over the years • The Daily Orange Alumni Association Questions? Comments? Feedback?

Contact alumni@dailyorange.com or editor@dailyorange.com.

Stay in touch!

Facebook.com/dailyorangenews (profile) Facebook.com/thedailyorange (news) @dailyorange @DOSports

spring 2011

3

D.O. Heart Rob

It’s about time we fawned over Rob Howard (‘05), who retired from the Board of Directors after nearly a decade of service to the paper. (He’s currently kicking back in South America, living the newlywed life.)

Special thanks to Mike Swartz for compiling the following:

R

ob Howard is a Daily Orange institu-

When I came to The D.O. I was a D student

tion. He started as a sports writer,

with some Photoshop skill, and Rob was a

worked his way through almost every

huge inspiration to me as I learned to be

[Tito Bottitta could not be reached for comment — Ed.]

department, then rose to editor and eventu-

an adult. When we started our company,

ally long-serving alumni board member. On

Rob taught me how to build a business and

journalism. Now, seven years later, as he’s

January 15, a group of alumni gathered in

shmooze clients like a pro. Now that he’s

working on other ventures, I’m still writing. I

Washington, D.C., for Rob’s wedding to his

graduated to marriage, I think we can all

am forever grateful for that. And, even if they

high school sweetheart, Chrissy. The weekend

learn something from how Rob’s particular

don’t realize it, so too are the people of Dallas.

showcased Rob’s singular skill to bring us all

brand of adulthood plays out.

For without me, there would be no one review-

together, and we partied like it was a guide

Mike Swartz

night. Here are some of our memories of Rob through the years:

Sophomore year, Rob restored my faith in

ing all these CDs from crappy local bands.

And, OK, some decent ones, too.

Rob always said “College is a Sham” and

Pete Freedman

then, as if to prove it, he managed to complete Howard, Rob: A champion of journalistic

it in 2.5 years. Turns out life wasn’t any less

I’ll never forget the first time I met Rob.

integrity who rose to power thanks to his

shammy — he breezed through building (and

We were both covering a field hockey game

sharp wit, charismatic demeanor and a

selling) a Web start-up; helped start a success-

for The D.O. We decided that I would write the

general lack of viable competition. During the

ful Web design firm (before bolting); married

game story and Rob would write the sidebar.

rowdy aughties, he spearheaded a campaign to

his high school sweetheart and then took off

Thank God, I thought, because I didn’t really

reform Syracuse University’s corrupt Student

(fled) to South America ... just like the Nazis.

understand what a sidebar was. Neither,

Association. Although no changes were actu-

Jared Novack

ally made as a result, tens of students read the

apparently, did Rob. He wrote his sidebar, which never ran, on the rules of field hockey.

barrage of articles with moderate interest. He

Pup food did Rob in

That man went on to become one of the finest

enjoys long conversations and short pants.

But now he is pin thin

editors in chief I ever had the honor to serve

Half the man he used to be

under.

Eric “Snowflake” Grzymkowski

Still the same ol’ Rob to me From f***ing with copy to dealing with the

Scott Lieber Elyse Andrews

consequences of printing the word f*** in 120point font, Rob did it all. Whether it was ask-

Rob ran The D.O. Tito and I, as a management team, decided

ing people for their input on sensitive stories

to hire Rob at The D.O. while… inebriated. Rob

or coordinating spot-news coverage, he never

did an amazing job. Considering some of the

lost sight of the fact that The D.O. is a place to

a**holes we hired sober, we probably should

hang out with your friends.

have done that more often.

Ryan Gainor

Justin Young

As if it were a cruise ship ‘Oh, God, we’re sinking!’

Michael Becker

Dave Levinthal (‘00) and Tiffany Lankes (‘03) filled Rob’s seat on the Board of Directors. We’re happy to have them aboard.

D.O. alumni APSE winners of 2011

The Associated Press Sports Editors ranked the work of these writers in the top 10 for the following categories. For more results and to see final placings, see http://apsportseditors.org/.

Circulation: 175,000 or more Game story Andy McCullough (‘09), The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) Greg Bishop (‘02), The New York Times Jeff Passan (‘02), Yahoo! Sports Breaking news Jackie Friedman (‘08), The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.)

Circulation: 30,000 to 75,000 Game story Pete Iorizzo (‘04), Times Union (Albany) Feature writing Tyler Dunne (‘10), Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer Tyler now works for The Buffalo (N.Y.) News Explanatory writing Tyler Dunne, Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer

Circulation: Under 30,000 Game story Chris Carlson (‘04), The Berkshire (Mass.)

Eagle Chris now works for The Virginian-Pilot.

While we tried to ensure all D.O. alumni recognized by the APSE were included in this list, it is possible that names are missing here. If that’s the case, please email alumni@dailyorange.com.

4 spring 2011

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com