JAC - Spring Issue by The Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communication

THE SCRIPPS HOWARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATIONS

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

SPRING | 2015

THE H A M P TO N

GLOBETROTTERS 20 1 4 STU DEN T I N TER N S L E A RN I N AF R I C A, ASI A, EU RO P E

P LUS

EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY: EARL CALDWELL

ISSUE NO. 2 | SPRING | 2 0 1 5

FEATURES

COVER: DEDRAIN DAVIS POSES WITH A RESIDENT AT ADDO ELEPHANT PARK, SOUTH AFRICA DURING A SUMMER INTERNSHIP. BELOW: DAVIS AT A GAME RESERVE IN CAPE TOWN. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DEDRAIN DAVIS. LEFT: RAYAHNA HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHS A BIKE RIDER AT A SKATEBOARD PARK IN HAMPTON DURING A CLASS OUTING. PHOTOGRAPH BY AARON DOGGETT.

COVER STORY

“THEY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HBCUS.” — Dedrain Davis, 21

WORTH REPEATING “Dori would want us all to carry on her work in media diversity. Honor her and her family’s legacy by stepping up and speaking out about media diversity. Help mentor and train the next generation of journalists who help give front-door access to the truth.” -Benet J. Wilson, a digital journalist who was mentored by the media diversity crusader and friend to the Scripps Howard School, Dori Maynard, who passed away in February at the age of 56.

12 “WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, I DIDN’T SEE THE STORY. BUT NOW I DO.” EARL CALDWELL: EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST AND SHSJC PROFESSOR TELLS HIS STORY

18 2009 GRADUATE WHITNEY RICHARDSON PROMOTED TO PRODUCER/WRITER FOR LENS, THE ACCLAIMED NEW YORK TIMES PHOTOJOURNALISM BLOG. HER STORY AND OTHERS FOUND IN ALUMNI NOTES

DEPARTMENTS

PUBLISHER

BRETT A. PULLEY EXECUTIVE EDITOR

WAYNE DAWKINS GRAPHICS EDITOR

MICHAEL DIBARI JR. WRITERS

DOMINIQUE SPANN ALEXIS BOLDEN ASHLEY WRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHERS

AARON DOGGETT KEELI HOWARD EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

ALEXIS BOLDEN ASHLEY WRIGHT COPY EDITORS

21 POP-CULTURE ANALYST. ASSISTANT UPCOMING PROFESSOR.EVENTS COVER MODEL. UPDATES ON APRIL WOODARD AND OTHER FACULTY IN FACULTY NOTES.

23 “WE ARE STILL JUST AT THE START OF A REVOLUTION.” READ SCRIPPS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ELLEN WEISS’S NOTES ON A MEDIA REVOLUTION.

23 CHECK OUT NEW ENTERPRISES FROM THE SCRIPPS HOWARD SCHOOL: NEWS757 AND BRAND757

JACK WHITE DANYELLE GARY CONTRIBUTORS

BATTINTO BATTS DREW BERRY ALLIE-RYAN BUTLER EARL CALDWELL MAVIS CARR CAROL DAVIS TANYA HOWARD WILLIAM LEONARD KANGMING MA FRANCIS MCDONALD REGINALD MITCHELL VAN DORA WILLIAMS APRIL WOODARD

M E M B E R S O F T H E S C R I P P S H O WA R D S C H O O L ’ S B O A R D O F A D V I S O R S TIM ARMSTRONG: CEO, AOL CORP. • RICHARD BOEHNE: PRESIDENT AND CEO, E.W. SCRIPPS CO. • SUBHASH CHANDRA: FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, ESSEL GROUP • BARBARA CIARA: ANCHOR AND MANAGING EDITOR, WTKR NEWSCHANNEL 3, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA MARK CUBAN: CHAIRMAN, HDNET; OWNER, NBA’S DALLAS MAVERICKS • MICHAEL DAYS: EDITOR, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS PAT FORD: GLOBAL VICE-CHAIRMAN, BURSON-MARSTELLER • SIMON GILLHAM: SENIOR EXECUTIVE VP, COMMUNICATIONS, VIVENDI CORP. • MICHELLE HORD-WHITE: VP, TALENT DEVELOPMENT & PIPELINE PROGRAMS, NBC UNIVERSAL • KIM L. HUNTER: PRESIDENT AND CEO, LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS •, SHEILA JOHNSON: CO-FOUNDER, BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV; CEO, SALAMANDER HOSPITALITY ROB KING: SENIOR VP AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF; ESPN DIGITAL MEDIA • PHYLLIS MCGRADY: FORMER SENIOR VP, CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT, ABC NEWS • MICHELLE MILLER: CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS • ZENIA MUCHA: EXECUTIVE VP AND CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, WALT DISNEY CO. • JAMES MURDOCH: DEPUTY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, NEWS CORP. • NORMAN PEARLSTINE: CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER, TIME INC. • MIKE PHILIPPS: PRESIDENT AND CEO, SCRIPPS HOWARD FOUNDATION • DAVID RHODES: PRESIDENT, CBS NEWS DESIREE RODGERS: CEO, JOHNSON PUBLISHING CO. • HARRY SMITH: CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS • PAUL STEIGER: CEO AND PRESIDENT, PROPUBLICA • JIM WIATT: STRATEGIC ADVISOR TO AOL; FORMER CEO, WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY INC. • MICHAEL WOLF: FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACTIVATE

DEAN’S NOTE

LEADING ON MANY FRONTS From the top of South Africa’s famed Table Mountain in Cape Town, to the depths of the coastal Pacific waters in French Polynesia, Scripps Howard students are going places. Our spirited fledglings, like the great journalists and communications professionals of our time, are proving themselves to be curious, adventurous and hungry for knowledge. And as you’ll see in this issue, they are wondrously traveling the globe and witnessing first-hand, the complexities, intrigue and beauty that the world has to offer. But what’s more, the world is bearing witness to the beautiful minds that are emanating from this school of journalism and communications, here on the southeastern shores of Virginia. What a great time to be a Scripps Howard student. Our building, now 13 years young, is alive and teeming with recruiters from global media companies such as NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Co., Burson-Marsteller and E.W. Scripps -- just to name a few. Last summer, more than 60 Scripps Howard students populated paid internships at media companies around the world. Our students are not only learning from the best professionals, they are becoming some of the industry’s most highly sought candidates. For example, at NBC Sports last summer, a stunning five of the 32 interns from colleges around the country were Scripps Howard students. At the New York Times, 2 of the 26 students in the Student Journalism Institute were Scripps Howard students. At ABC’s “Good Morning America,” in New York, there were less than 10 summer interns, and 2 of them were from right here, the Scripps Howard School. These students are winners. In fact, one student, Temperance Maupin, produced a documentary film that was recently awarded a regional Emmy. We are becoming a leader on many fronts. This coming summer, a Scripps Howard student will be among the first of an elite group of CNBC scholars, working as a paid intern at the global business news network, and returning in the fall with a CNBC scholarship in pocket. Along with our partnership with Bloomberg News, this is confirmation that our work to become a leader in diversifying the ranks of business and financial journalism professionals is paying off. We have diverse talent that the global media industry needs. And that reality is what’s behind one of our new initiatives, the Center for Innovation in Digital Media. With initial funding from the Knight Foundation, last fall we launched the pilot for our Center, which is designed to prepare a new generation of diverse professionals for the rapidly expanding world of social media, mobile apps, and other digital news and storytelling platforms. The Center’s new lecture series and television program, “The Digital Genius,” kicked off with a campus visit from Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive of Take Two Interactive, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of video games. Once it’s fully funded, the Center for Innovation in Digital Media will enable our students to be among those who are pioneering the future of digital media around the globe. And to be sure, we are no less vigorous in our work to enhance traditional media platforms. The work of our students on “NewsWatch,” the weekly newscast on WHOV television, can now be viewed from anywhere in the world, via internet streaming. Likewise, WHOV radio can be heard around the globe on iHeart Radio. And this is our 2nd edition of JAC, a magazine for our alumni and friends. It’s the result of the hard work of students and graduates, and the keen leadership of faculty members, Associate Professor Wayne Dawkins, and Assistant Professor Dr. Michael DiBari. Even when they are not traversing the legendary corners of the globe, Scripps Howard students find themselves in the midst of legend. In this issue, you’ll read about our in-house living legend, writerin-residence Earl Caldwell. His own career has been epic -- matched only by the people he brings to campus to interview in “The Caldwell Cafe.” His recent guests have included the former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, and Essence Magazine’s co-founder, Ed Lewis. These elite programs, global opportunities and esteemed fellowships don’t just occur on their own. They don’t fall on our school’s doorsteps, like manna from heaven. These opportunities happen as a result of hard work. And they require resources. So after you have enjoyed reading about the exciting things happening at the Scripps Howard School, please, be sure to take a close look at the back cover. There you will see how you can personally help the Scripps Howard School, and its beautiful minds, to continue to take this beautiful world by storm.

BRETT A. PULLEY

F E AT U R E

T H E H AM P T O N

GLOBETROTTERS 20 1 4 ST UDENT INTERNS HO NE MED I A SKI L L S IN A F R I CA , A SIA , EU ROPE BY WAYN E DAW K I NS , A L E X I S B O L DE N AND AS H LE Y WRIG H T

For Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications broadcast journalism major Brandon Theo Dorsey, the most memorable experience of his visit to Japan last May began with a memory lapse. On the way to the bullet train from Tokyo to Hiroshima, he discovered that he had forgotten his ticket. HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI CHRISTIAN HENRY (LEFT) AND KEELI HOWARD SNORKEL AT TAMAE BEACH ON THE ISLAND OF MOOREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA. PHOTOGRAPH BY KEELI HOWARD

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Going back to retrieve it meant that he and his eight fellow student journalists would be at least an hour late for their tour of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. And that meant that they might miss their highly anticipated meeting with a survivor of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing that had helped bring an end to World War II. As the realization sank in that his forgetfulness had jeopardized what had been expected to be an emotional high point of the nine-day tour sponsored by the prestigious Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition, it dawned on Dorsey that he had committed “meiwaku.” That is the Japanese term for bringing dishonor upon the cause one represents, something the Japanese go to great lengths to avoid. The realization shook Dorsey deeply. “How could I recover? How could I forget?” he wrote in an article for an online blog about his experience. “How could I continue, knowing I could be the reason we never got to meet a living bomb-affected person from Hiroshima?” Dorsey sprinted a half mile from the train station to the hotel and back. As it turned out, Dorsey found the answer when the group arrived in Hiroshima and discovered, to their surprise, that the Japanese harbor no animosity toward America for the

horrific blast that killed 80,000 people immediately and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands more from radiation poisoning. They listened, with fascination, to the story of the survivor, who had waited patiently for their arrival, as he recalled the blinding flash and earth-shaking reverberations that collapsed his home and killed his mother while he watched, stupefied, from outside. Despite his vivid memories of all he had lost that day, the survivor said, he bore no ill toward America because it had done so much to help rebuild Japan once the war had ended. Like the motto of his city, he had dedicated himself to a lofty goal: No more war. No more nuclear weapons. No more Hiroshimas. Awed by such an example of forgiveness on a grand scale, Dorsey, 21, a senior from Houston, was able to pardon himself for his own small act of carelessness and appreciate the unexpected insight it had provided into the important role that the concept of shame plays in the culture of Japan. It changed him forever. Dorsey’s was the kind of unique learning experience outside the class room that only international travel can provide, especially for students of journalism and strategic communications.

“STUDENTS NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO OTHER CULTURES AND ENVIRONMENTS TO HELP THEM GAIN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD.” THEO DORSEY “The world that we live in truly has been made smaller because of technology. In addition, companies are thinking more globally, seeing opportunity for growth beyond our shores,” observes Battinto L. Batts Jr., PhD, SHSJC’s assistant dean for academic affairs. “Because of these factors, students need to be exposed to other cultures and environments to help them gain perspective on the world, and so that they may communicate relevantly about current events and what they mean to us here in the United States. Those who have had international exposure will be of significant value in a competitive media marketplace.” That message has stuck a chord with an increasing number of students at SHSJC. Dorsey was the first SHSJC student to be selected by the highly competitive Roy W. Howard program, which selected nine students nationally for the summer in Japan. But he was only one of the Scripps Howard School’s current students or recent graduates who spent part of 2014 widening their horizons by venturing far from their “Home By The Sea.” Here are some of their stories: Dedrain Davis, 21, a senior public relations major, political science minor from St. Paul, Minn., and Porchia Bradford, 22, also a senior public relations major, political science minor from Atlanta-area small town Sharpsburg, Ga., both spent time in Cape Town, South Africa. Davis spent more than a month as an exchange student at Stellenbosch University, living in a girl’s dormitory where the janitors not only cleaned the building but also washed the students’ clothing. Along with students visiting from Princeton, Auburn and the University of Alabama, she became friends with several young women from South Africa. “They didn’t know what a HBCU [Historically Black College or University] was,” she says, “It was fun enlightening

OPPOSITE: TOP LEFT - KENDALL ALEXANDER ENJOYS THE SIGHTS IN FLORENCE, ITALY. BELOW BRANDON THEO DORSEY POSES WITH HIS TRAVEL GROUP AT THE HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK IN JAPAN. RIGHT - DORSEY AT GOLDEN PAVILLION ZEN BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN KYOTO, JAPAN. THIS PAGE: TOP - PORCHIA BRADFORD POSES WITH YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP OF LANGA. BOTTOM - KEELI HOWARD EXTRACTS DNA SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM A MORNING DIVE AT THE GUMP STATION LIBRARY ON THE ISLAND OF MOOREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA.

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them about life in America.” have meat all the time,” she recalls. “Kenyans are She was struck, at times, by the similarities big on food and making sure nothing goes to waste.” between life in the U.S. and in South Africa. “The Ashley also had to get used to not always having food was similar to the food here like pizza and warm, uncontaminated water. “They suggested that hamburgers,” says Davis, though in Cape Town, “they we always use bottled water to brush our teeth and put avocados on everything!” She also learned how to wash our faces.” prepare traditional foods such as curry chicken. She A three-day safari to Masai Mara was the also got the opportunity to see up close South Africa’s highlight of the trip. “I was able to see lions, legendary wildlife in a visit to a game park. elephants, zebras and much more up close.” She also Traveling overseas, says Davis, “helps you grow,” visited a Masai village where the people killed a goat and she enthusiastically encourages other students to and cooked it on an open fire on top of a mountain. follow in her footsteps. She raised the funds for her trip “The meal was more than delicious especially since through gofundme.com, a personal crowdsourcing meat isn’t provided all the time,” she says. website that allow users to seek financing for medical One thing Fisher did not miss out on is helping expenses, education costs, volunteer programs, youth others. “To volunteer with children who live in Kibera sports and other purposes. slums was an honor. They were full of happiness and In contrast, Bradford served as an intern at were grateful for the simple things they had,” Fisher Positive Dialogue Communications, a Cape Townshared, “I want to be able to keep that humbleness based public relations company, with me at all times.” from mid-June to mid-August. Her duties included organizing a Keeli Howard, 22, broadcast “TO VOLUNTEER competition for a client that gave journalism major, and marine away hair appliances as prizes, and environmental science minor WITH CHILDREN writing a press release for the who graduated in May 2014, WHO LIVE IN launch of a company’s website spent a month at the University and arranging the contacts for of California Berkeley’s Richard KIBERA SLUMS an award show. Perhaps her B. Gump South Pacific Research WAS AN HONOR.” most memorable experience Station on Mo’orea, an idyllic was interviewing Siza Kele island in French Polynesia. ASHLEY FISHER Macutlulle, a U.S.-trained media Howard was a participant in the professional who has become Diversity Project, a collaboration something of a legend in South among the University of African business circles. California, Los Angeles and Hampton University, Bradford praised the food quality in the cities Spelman College and Morehouse College. The as “very fresh.” In the townships however, she said program’s goal is to increase the participation of traditional African meat markets were open-air and minority students in the biological sciences by sometimes as symbols of pride, proprietors attached providing a 10-week integrated research experience chicken heads at the front of stalls as decorations. that combines field work on the colorful and diverse “I haven’t had chicken since,” says Bradford. coral reefs with advanced genetic research. Howard And, yes, Bradford and Davis ran into each other at a learned about the program from Hampton’s Marine mall in Cape Town. There are times when the world and Environmental Science Department. can seem rather small. Adjusting to the relaxing lifestyle of the Gump Station was easy for Howard and the rest her group. Ashley Fisher, 22, a senior broadcast journalism Local women on the island cooked all the meals of major from Queens, N.Y., and a group of friends fish, fresh fruit, and vegetables. And fresh French spent two weeks as volunteers in Nairobi, Kenya. baguettes were always available (though, toward the After a sixteen-hour flight to Africa, Ashley moved end if the trip, Howard found herself craving Krispy in with a host family, and found that she had to make Kreme doughnuts and pizza). An accomplished some cultural adjustments. “I had white rice and diver, Howard spent many hours in the waters potatoes and vegetables as well as noodles. Meat is around the island, swimming with the creatures of very sacred and expensive so my host mom did not the sea.

SENIOR PORCHIA BRADFORD AFTER HIKING TABLE MOUNTAIN TAKES A “SELFIE” AFTER HIKING TABLE MOUNTAIN IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA. PHOTOGRAPH BY PORCHIA BRADFORD

Howard studied the effects of bacterial communities on algal herbivory. She also studied the effects of different sediment types and depths on turf algae. She and the other students grew very close learning about each other’s projects in the daytime and had dinner and socialized at night. She considers the other students lifelong friends and talks to them almost every day. Her advice to students who are considering studying aboard: Never turn down the opportunity, pack light and learn to love the simple life. Now back in the U.S., Howard is working as a news desk editor for a company called Issuer Direct. “As a member of the shareholder communications team, I conduct complete editorial reviews of press releases for public and private companies,” she said in a recent email. “I will be attending the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Conference this February (2015) in Spain to present my research from the summer. This summer experience opened my eyes to the importance of communicating sciences. My future career plans include graduate school related to both journalism and marine and environmental science.” Kendall Alexander, 22, a broadcast journalism major from Philadelphia, traveled for two weeks in Italy and Spain after graduating in May 2014. “It was my first time out of the country and I traveled solo,” says Alexander. By the time she checked into a hostel in the Italian city of Pisa after a long flight from the U.S., she was tired, lonely and sad, but she soon overcame those emotions. “I put myself in ‘Amazing Race,’ mentality, she says. “You’re here for two weeks. Learn how to survive. Stop crying and

get yourself together.” And that’s just what she did, opening herself to a whirlwind of cultural and culinary experiences in Pisa, Rome and Florence and then the Spanish city of Barcelona. “The food was fantastic — not genetically modified, completely fresh. I ate a lot of carbs – pizza, pasta and gelato,” she laughs, “I thought I was going to gain weight, but actually, I lost some because I was walking everywhere.” “I visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa, museums, I went to a lot of churches, not for the services, but for the architecture [of the cathedral],” she says. “I found a cool bar there and had flaming shots. Never done that before. “ Sometimes her adventures verged on unintentional comedy. “I speak Spanish. In Italy, the language is loosely Latin-based, so many people could understand me. But sometimes things got lost in the translation,” she recalls. “Once when I was sending a postcard, I asked someone for change in order to buy stamps and the person gave me money,” thinking she was a pan handler. It remains to be seen how their wildly diverse international experiences will shape the lives of these and other SHSJC adventurers. But as Assistant Dean Batts observes, “Students who return from study abroad are more enlightened and curious. They appear to think more broadly and display an interest in the impact of news and events on other cultures.” That alone is reason enough for more SHSJC students to use their “Home by the Sea “as a launching pad to the wider world. Bolden and Wright are Scripps Howard School students. Dawkins is an associate professor.

photograph by Michael DiBari Jr.

EARL CALDWELL: Eyewitness to History BY DOMINIQUE SPANN

“You’re black. Nobody around here is going to hire you,” were the piercing words once uttered to the man who would become one of the most prolific newswriters of our times. But before he ever became an award-winning wordsmith, Earl Caldwell was just a young college student interviewing for a summer insurance gig, when being black personified unemployment and echoing words of “not hired” stopped him from putting cash in his pocket. The words even crushed his spirit. “When I interviewed I was told that I came highly recommended and showed a lot of promise, but I was black. Nobody was going to hire me. I thought, ‘I’m not going to have a career.’” Caldwell not only thrived in his profession, he would pen his way into American history. Behind the printed bylines and subject lists that could surface from any civics book, stands a man with a distinctive raspy voice and a story of his own. Over the course of two conversations, Earl Caldwell, now writer-in-residence at the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, surprised and exuded a quality that you wouldn’t expect from someone so seasoned who carries such prestige: Caldwell has, to paraphrase the great poet Rudyard Kipling, walked with Kings yet maintained the common touch. As a New York Times reporter, he covered the Civil Rights Movement during the Sixties, traveling with and interviewing Martin Luther King

Jr. He was with King on that fateful day in Memphis, Tennessee. As a reporter, Caldwell gained access to leaders of the Black Panther Party, at a time when U.S. officials feared the radical group’s groundswell and uprising. And he was a central figure in one the most important reporter’s rights cases in the history of journalism. And so begins his narrative. After the defeat of not getting an insurance job sent him home, a chance opening at a Clearfield, Pennsylvania newspaper opened another door. Caldwell began his work at The Progress. There he was exposed to the inner workings of the newsroom, reading proofs, eyeing the work of reporters as he helped out at the sports desk. His front row seat to news coverage later helped him become the sports editor of The Progress and he hit the ground running. “In my time, you had to have the skills to write the stories. And you had to have the two most important things to succeed in journalism: curiosity and great story sense,” he said, that raspy voice becoming excited. “Reporters have every fact but forget the story! I had that! And my sense of curiosity came from being from a place like Clearfield, I learned a lot.” Caldwell’s career soared. Walking into some of the most notable and respected newspapers in the

PROFILE

business, he had earned his title as the self-professed And even with such a strong list of people he has “newspaperman.” He reported for the heavy weights interviewed, there is still one interview on his docket: of print: The New York Herald Tribune, New York The president and first lady.“President Obama has Post and The New York Times. But it was Caldwell’s severe critics,” said Caldwell. “The media in many mother who had much earlier awakened his affinity ways has gone backwards in coverage. I would love for the power of the pen and sharpened his story to see if he believes race plays a role. And knowing sensibilities. “My mother thought it was important all that he knows now in the six years he has been in for me to be a good reader. She would get letters or office, if he had to do it all over again, would he still newspapers in the mail and sit at the dinner table put his hat in the ring for the presidency?” and read. We would go back and forth reading and Caldwell knows all too well the role media discussing content.” plays in race relations. Forty-seven years ago, the Caldwell candidly talks about his humble civil rights era called for a specific kind of reporter beginnings in Clearfield, chuckling about his love to cover issues. In Caldwell’s words, “the papers in for baseball and how he once held the title of high my time were bringing in black journalists to tell school batting champion. He excitedly talks about those hard-to-reach stories. I began to write stories writers that he adores like Toni Morrison and James regarding race. I had a very swift rise because of the Baldwin, and he notes that works civil rights era.” from Gabriel Garcia Marquez are currently on his nightstand. In 1968, Earl Caldwell was the “I INTERVIEWED He even drifts into thought only reporter to witness the as we talk about whether his assassination of the Rev. Dr. KING THE DAY work in radio was his true calling. Martin Luther King Jr. When he BEFORE HE DIED. “Radio has this wonderful ability was asked to detail his personal to judge you on the quality of account of the Southern I JUST FELT HE the argument your making, your preacher’s death, he hesitated. personality,” he says. “It’s not “I’m writing a book about the WAS SO STRONG based on the way you look, age, assassination now. I couldn’t tell ON HIS COURSE. ” race.” my story then but I’m trying now. Caldwell is a wealth of But I don’t want to talk about it EARL CALDWELL knowledge on life’s experiences, right now.” offering his motto, “Do unto With a little more others as you would have them prodding, he did offer an do unto you. You don’t have to be nasty to people. If anecdote in his meeting with the civil rights leader. nothing else, it makes you feel good” to treat people “I interviewed King the day before he died,” well. Caldwell revealed “I just felt he was so strong on It would be safe to suggest he has had great his course. He received a lot of criticism but wasn’t success in life, but please don’t call him lucky, “I hate worried about that. Before he let me go, the two of that. I think I was blessed. My journey was beyond us stood on the balcony. We stayed for five minutes anything I imagined. But I worked hard. I liked what for a personal chat. I thought this was opening up a I was doing and found it was everything and more.” whole new area of my career.” Caldwell’s catalogue of interviewees contains Caldwell was involved in another momentous some of the most notable people of the 20th century event in 1972. At that time, the U.S. Supreme Court and gives a surprising anecdote for each. Nelson made a groundbreaking decision on reporter’s rights, Mandela. “He would correct the proposition. He was when Caldwell refused to appear before a federal insistent that you understood exactly what he said. I grand jury to reveal his sources in his coverage of didn’t expect to him to be so feisty.” the Black Panther Party. Jackie Robinson. “I was struck by how old he Caldwell worked alongside black journalists to looked. In hindsight, it occurred to me that kind become the “firsts” to make a stamp in the press. of life he lived, all that he had to give in that life, Their stories, like Earl Caldwell’s, were never really showed.” told. Because of this reality, “The Caldwell Café”

EARL CALDWELL FOLLOWS REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AT THE LORRAINE MOTEL IN MEMPHIS, TENN. THE DAY BEFORE KING WAS ASSASSINATED. PHOTOGRAPH COURTEY OF THE MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL

at Hampton University was born. Starting as oneon-one audio-taped interviews with journalists conducted on the fifth floor of the university’s library, these oral stories explained the triumphs and the pains of breaking barriers. But there were just one issue. There were no students or an audience present to hear about the path that had been paved. With the leadership of former journalist and current Hampton University Center for Public Policy Director Kelly Harvey Gill, The Caldwell Café was turned into a discussion that took place with an audience of students inside the Scripps Howard School. It later evolved into its current format -- a television show, produced by students in front of a live studio audience. The lists of guests for The Café’ have been a who’s who of the industry. Caldwell chose Dorothy Gilliam (the first black female reporter at the Washington Post in 1961) as his first guest in hopes that her story

would resonate with the Hampton female student body. Elaine Brown, Emmy Award-winning writer and vice president of HBO, Jack E. White, national correspondent with Time magazine, and Bill Rhoden, New York Times columnist and author, are but a few of the guests who have recounted their journeys on The Caldwell Café. Caldwell says he is proud of the work of The Café and what it has brought to the forefront: “Some of our guests hadn’t gotten the recognition they deserved. These are the journalists that came up on the rough side of the mountain. They went through hell to integrate in the business.” Earl Caldwell’s career work has become his life work and he attributes his success to the era and plans for his next chapter. “I came along in the perfect time,” he said. “I had enlightening moments. I was tested. I stood up for what I believed in. I’m not finished. I want to

PROFILE

do many things. Hampton has been wonderful to me. When I first got here, I didn’t see the story. But now I do. My whole life is the story of the American newspaper.” Spann is a 2007 Scripps Howard School graduate and a producer with M2 Pictures, a Hampton-based television production company. TOP: EARL CALDWELL TALKS WITH PUBLISHER RODNEY J. REYNOLDS, THE PUBLISHER OF AMERICAN LEGACY MAGAZINE REYNOLDS TRAVELED WITH HIS TRAILER DISPLAYING EXHIBITS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY. TOP RIGHT: EARL CALDWELL INTERVIEWED JOURNALIST JIM VANCE IN APRIL 2012. BOTTOM RIGHT: CALDWELL INTERVIEWED CNN ANCHOR BERNARD SHAW DURING A VISIT TO HAMPTON UNIVERSITY IN NOVEMBER 2014. FAR BOTTOM RIGHT: DIRECTOR SHIOLA LYNCH TALKS WITH CALDWELL IN NOVEMBER 2013.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL DIBARI JR.

ALUMNI NOTES

ENTERPRISING, TENACIOUS AND AT THE TIMES

WHITNEY RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPHED HAMPTON UNIVERSITY’S PHOTOGRAPHER, ARCHIVIST, AND ALUMNUS, REUBEN V. BURRELL DURING A RECENT VISIT. BURRELL, 95, PASSED AWAY ON FEBRUARY 3. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL DIBARI JR.

Richardson

WHITNEY (BOYD) RICHARDSON, JAC ’09, was recently promoted to a producer/writer for LENS, the acclaimed New York Times photojournalism blog. She collaborates with photo editors to select images across wire services for the Times’ Picture of the Day slideshow. Richardson also writes articles for LENS and profiles photographers. She interviews visual journalists about their processes, experiences and subjects. Before joining the Times in 2011 as a news assistant, Richardson worked as a visual content web editor with the music and lifestyle venture Afropunk from June 2009 to April 2011. She recruited and managed a staff of 15 to produce daily content for the Brooklyn-based online site and also developed and maintained Afropunk’s social networking accounts. As a Scripps Howard School student, Richardson participated in the 2007 New York Times Summer Institute at Dillard University in New Orleans. Also that summer Richardson was a Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Competition Reporting Fellow and she traveled to South Korea and Japan. Richardson was a 2006 intern with the Scripps Howard-owned Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Her journalistic tenacity was on display even as a student. In February 2007, the winter after her internship, she was covering the “Tom Joyner/Tavis Smiley and Friends State of the Black Union” summit inside the HU Convocation Center, as part of a class assignment.

ALUMNI NOTES

Richardson called her former newspaper and asked the editors if they were interested in a dispatch from the national event. The editors replied only if she was about to interview people from the Commercial Appeal’s readership area, the tri-state region of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Undeterred and enterprising, Richardson pasted a note in the women’s room seeking Memphis-area people to interview. People replied to her query and Richardson’s account was published in the next day’s Sunday edition.

CHARLES “CHAZZ” GILBERT, JAC ’06, joined Albany State University in Albany, Ga., as the lead multimedia and video production specialist in the Office of Telecommunications. The Marietta, Ga., native began his position at ASU in March after serving as a writer/producer and field producer with such CNN shows as the “Morning Express with Robin Meade” and the “Clark Howard Show.” In his higher education role, the JAC alumnus works closely with students and faculty, filming and editing official university events,

overseeing student newscasts, and developing promotional videos for the institution. As a member of the first graduating class of the Hampton University Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communication, Gilbert fondly remembers his experiences at Hampton and frequently encourages communication students to gain skills in all aspects of media to improve their marketability.

KATHRYN KENNY, JAC ’14 and JARED COUNCIL, JAC ’10, are the husbandwife duo who wrote the cover and lead inside feature for the JAC premiere issue. They have recently made a number of moves: Council is now a

staff writer at the Indianapolis Business Journal. He was previously at Hampton Roads Inside Business. At IBJ, Council’s December reporting included a piece on slow but steadily growing credit unions in the Hoosier state, and a piece on an entrepreneur’s digital trash bin. Shortly after graduation last May, Kenny was hired to teach high school English in her hometown, Indianapolis. Oh, and the couple recently became homeowners.

MARVIN ANDERSON, JAC ’07, is now digital media producer with Northern Long Island Jewish Health Systems in Manhassett, N.Y. Anderson does content digital marketing. “With content curation, writing is the pillar of what I’m doing, i.e. getting patients to understand how to pay their bills. How to tell a story goes into digital design. That [writing] is what we learned at Hampton. Anderson was editor of the Hampton Script newspaper during 200607. Before Long Island JHS he was a senior reporter covering financial retirement issues at Bloomberg/Washington during 2014 and before that a news assistant at the New York Times.

ALUMNI NOTES

over 500 affiliates worldwide. While attending her “Home by the Sea” Alexander completed three internships, including one at WTKR News Channel 3 in Norfolk, Va. At Hampton, Alexander was a member of the Honors College, Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society, and the Center for Broadcast Excellence, as well as, a writer for the Hampton Script.

KIRSTEN DELGADO, JAC ’10, joined Fox35, Orlando, Fla. as an anchor/reporter. She was previously at WLTZ-TV NBC 38 and the CW affiliate in, Columbus, Ga. Delgado also did a stint at Spanish language network Univision at editor/ photographer. APRIL ALEXANDER, JAC ’11, currently serves as a desk associate for award-winning media outlet CBS Radio News in New York. Among her many responsibilities, the JAC alumna is also tasked with assisting the assignment desk and coordinating correspondence between the national desk and

SHEILA SOLOMON, MME ’74, is an editor/producer and internship coordinator at Rivet News Radio [rivetnewsradio. com], a platform that delivers personalized audio news to smart phones. The service

brings a mix of local, national and world news based on consumers’ interests. Solomon, a 2014 National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame inductee, is based in Chicago.

FELICIA MASON, MME ‘84, recently published “Hidden Richies,” her 14th novel. Mason’s latest story introduces us to a respectable Southern family turned upside down and a hilarious and sometimes undignified search for a substantial inheritance. In addition to the literary life, Mason is metro team editor with the Daily Press of Newport News, Va.

Your Opinion Matters We’re conducting a survey of our alumni. Whether you attended the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications or it’s predecessor, the Department of Mass Media Arts, we want to hear from you. Your feedback is valued. Please follow the link below to access the survey. It will only take minutes to complete. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SHSJCAlumni In addition to mailing addresses, we are compiling an alumni contact list with email addresses and telephone numbers. Please send us your contact information with the subject line: Contact Information. tanya.howard@hamptonu.edu Thank You!

F A C U LT Y N O T E S

FACULTY NOTES: MODEL, HISTORYMAKER, STEM REALITY TV-PRODUCER APRIL WOODARD, assistant professor, was the cover of the fall edition of Achi magazine, a fashion and lifestyle quarterly whose motto is “For women that want it all,” and “Strength in Sisterhood.” Woodard is correspondent with “Inside Edition” and a pop culture analyst and entertainment connoisseur.

VAN DORA WILLIAMS, assistant professor, is researching the black communities’ response to “Birth of a Nation” for its 100th anniversary in 2015. She plans to create a short film or documentary about the polarizing movie. Williams is also a co-investigator on a Violence Prevention research grant project. The program is designed to help at-risk young black men to avoid and prevent violence. DREW BERRY, visiting professional, was featured as one of the HistoryMakers in the Library of Congress exhibit. He one of the two African Americans to

do this orally. Berry is an Emmy award- winning media executive and consultant. His career has spanned over 25 years and numerous media organizations.

CAROL A. DAVIS, Scripps Howard Endowed Professor, is principal investigator of Getting Students Engaged in and iMPACTED! by

F A C U LT Y N O T E S

Education, a reality television project that engages students in STEM education and STEM entrepreneurialism. The grant project was submitted to the National Science Foundation. In addition to that she was author of “Game Theory and Reality TV: Pathways to Democratic Thinking. Diversity & Democracy: General Education and Democratic Engagement,” published last summer in the Diversity & Democracy, journal of the Association of American Colleges & Universities.

WAYNE DAWKINS, associate professor, reviewed “African Americans in the History Mass Communication: A Reader,” edited by Naeemah Clark, for the summer edition of American Journalism, quarterly of the American Journalism Historians Association. Dawkins is co-investigator of the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference Multimedia Men’s Health Project, sponsored by the campus Minority Men’s Health Initiative. Florida International University is the grant project co-collaborator.

PhD and assistant professor, for the past decade has been expanding J&F Productions Inc. His company that specializes in sound and light has been on the move at local venues. Recent productions include Hampton University’s 2014 alumni party and a Norfolk jazz concert featuring Lonnie Liston Smith and Ken Navarro. McDonald says he wants to keep designing and growing the company so that it can become a legacy for his family. MICHAEL DIBARI JR., PhD and Scripps Howard endowed professor, submitted a book review on Darryl Mace’s “In Remembrance of Emmett Till” for the American Journalism, publication of the American Journalism Historians Association. He is also writing a research paper on “Image, Race, and Rhetoric: The Contention for Visual Space on Twitter.” His recent projects include “Breaking Stereotypes” a photojournalism examination of Hampton University students and a research biography on photographer Robert Lerner of Look magazine.

Compiled by Alexis Bolden and Ashley Wright

FRANCIS C. MCDONALD,

TANYA MADISON HOWARD, assistant professor, joined the faculty this fall. Madison Howard is president of TMH Communications, a public relations consulting agency. Last fall, her article “The Barcelona Principles: How is PR Measuring Up?” was published in the PR Measurement Guidebook by PR News Press.

Journalism and Communications honor society Kappa Tau Alpha inducted its new members in Februrary. KTA is the seventh oldest national honor society and the only one in journalism/ mass communications recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Seated from left: Chya Staton, Margie Merritt, Evadne Eddins, Tyra Virgil, Darryn Mumphrey, London-Coleman Williams. Standing from left: Niccolas Gadsden, Marlena Smith, Meghan Kee, Ashley Liggins, Taylor Fuller, Amber Bentley, Ryan Jordan, Justin Henderson (not pictured: Kia Robinson and Beverlee Sanders). Prof. Carol Davis is the KTA advisor.

COMING SOON:

Brand757

BRAND757, an online site that will give students hands-on experience doing work companies and community and non-profit organizations. The highly anticipated agency is on track to launch during the spring semester. Professor Tanya Madison Howard is leading the initiative.

MEDIA REVOLUTION IS JUST GETTING STARTED Ellen Weiss, Scripps Washington Bureau Chief, addressed JAC students during October Scripps career days. Here is an excerpt from her speech. Let’s face it, for the news industry, we are still just at the start of a revolution. This year’s annual Pew Report on the state of the media gives just a flavor of the amazing changes that have emerged in just the past year: • Buzzfeed, once better known for its celebrity photos – now has a news staff of 170, including Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporters. • Ezra Klein left a high profile job at the Washington Post to join Vox media. • Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, bought the Washington Post and the paper is adding jobs • While mainstream media has almost entirely pulled back from global coverage, Vice Media has 35 overseas bureaus; The Huffington Post hopes to grow to 15 countries from 11 this year.

• Local television, which remains the primary place American adults turn to for news, saw its audience increase for the first time in five years. • The overlap between public relations and news continues. The New York Times, The Washington Post and most recently The Wall Street Journal are now participating in one of the greatest areas of revenue experimentation involving website content that is paid for by commercial advertisers – but often written by journalists on staff – and placed on a news publishers’ page in a way that sometimes makes it indistinguishable from a news story.

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