Rolnicki

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM 1980-2006 TRANSFORMED NSPA/ACP INTO FORWARD-THINKING ORGANIZATIONS.

IT’S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTATE just how much student journalism changed in the last decades of the 20th century.

In content and style, in technology and outreach — the nation’s scholastic and collegiate journalism grew to rival commercial journalism.

Supporting, guiding and celebrating that advancement was Tom Rolnicki, executive director from 1980 to 2006.

“Tom was a remarkable diplomat for both NSPA/ACP and for our country and its strong tradition of student-press freedom,” said Mark Goodman, who was then the executive director of the Student Press Law Center. SPLC’s service and outreach grew in parallel with NSPA/ACP.

National conventions for both organizations grew exponentially, with national newsmakers as keynotes and partner associations Journalism Education Association and College Media Advisers expanding and strengthening convention programming.

The Pacemaker became the gold standard of recognition during Rolnicki’s leadership. Individual awards expanded to reflect advancements in student journalism, and the convention Best of Show awards punctuated the conventions with lively celebrations of current student work.

The co-author of “Scholastic Journalism,” one of the most respected textbooks of its time, Rolnicki established himself as both a national and international authority on student journalism.

“Tom was the first person I knew in scholastic and collegiate journalism who made an organizational commitment to connect with international students,” Goodman said. “He taught and supported student-journalism conferences in Germany, South Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic and Croatia.”

Rolnicki earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and his master’s degree at Iowa State University. After teaching journalism and advising publications at Ames (Iowa) High School, he understood the challenges of both student journalists and advisers.

Paul Ender, long-time adviser at Independence High School, San Jose, California, was one of many advisers who benefited from Rolnicki’s support.

“When I started to learn about journalism, I used the NSPA critical service,” Ender said. “Getting critiques really helped confirm what we were doing right and what we needed to do.”

In 1988, the yearbook Ender advised won the NSPA Pacemaker.

“The critiques gave us direction, and Tom gave us the support we really needed,” Ender said. “Tom’s personal interest in making programs better turned a lot of schools around.”

Gary Lundgren, current associate director of the associations, said Rolnicki studied the student press.

“When I got to know Tom, in 1985, NSPA was the epicenter of coolness — high energy and cutting edge.”

Rolnicki, working with designer/ communications manager Donn Poll, launched Trends in Publications.

“The name was very fitting, both in terms of content and design,” Lundgren said. “Thanks to Trends, the design of high school newspapers became as important as the content.

“Tom was brilliant, and I use that word carefully. He was so incredibly smart. Some people found him aloof, but that wasn’t the case,” Lundgren said. “For someone in such a high-profile job, he was rather shy. He had an incredible sense of humor.”

Ron Johnson, now NSPA/ACP communications director, worked with Rolnicki when Johnson was an officer in College Media Advisers, now College Media Association.

As ACP and CMA produced the evergrowing fall conventions, the collaboration occasionally fractured, Johnson said.

“Through the years, Tom had actually expanded ACP’s financial obligations for CMA’s benefit,” Johnson said. “When that institutional memory was lost in CMA, Tom took a strong stand to preserve the independence of ACP.

“I and others worked to maintain the ACP/CMA partnership for the benefit of everyone, and I’m thankful they work together today.”

Rolnicki was honored with JEA’s Carl Towley Award and Medal of Merit, as well as Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Key and the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Merit Award. He served on the board of directors for JEA, SPLC, the National Commission on Co-Curricular Education and Every Penny Counts/AIDS Emergency Fund.

His tenure at NSPA/ACP ended in 2006, in a financial controversy with the board of directors. Rolnicki died in 2009.

Yet his decades as director laid the groundwork for today’s student journalism.

“Often working quietly, behind the scenes, few people have influenced contemporary scholastic journalism more than Tom Rolnicki,” Lundgren said. n

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FOR DONN POLL, becoming NSPA/ ACP’s publication director was a matter of being the right person, in the right place, at the right time.

In its first 61 years, the organization established itself as a credible resource and respected critical service for student publications, but in 1982, executive director Tom Rolnicki was looking for a breath of fresh air.

“Shortly after I joined the staff, we moved from a small, dusty office to a new, bigger space,” Poll said. “It was sort of symbolic — the organization was blowing the dust off and moving forward, but we needed to stay connected to our core.”

Poll worked with Rolnicki to refresh Scholastic Editor, the flagship publication of the organization.

“The redesign of the magazine was really a collaboration with Tom discussing what the publication needed to be,” Poll said. “I came from a commercial, professional background and he knew what the magazine should be. Tom was open to seeing the trends and incorporating some into the magazine.

“We tried some things, worked on design and discussed content. We wanted to step away from old patterns but not give up on the integrity of the magazine,” he said.

Trends launched in the fall of 1982 at about the same time as USAToday. Poll studied what some termed the nation’s newspaper for techniques to translate into Trends.

“The USAToday launch changed how we engage people with information. It prepared us for the digital age,” Poll said. “The user-oriented process of putting it together changed how we connected with people.”

When he adapted some of those techniques to NSPA/ACP publications, the response was positive.

“Students were excited because it was their world — color and infographics connected with people. In the ’80s and ’90s USAToday was what was happening,” Poll said. “There were great discussions with students and advisers about Trends,” Poll said. “People were anxious to talk about what was happening.”

In the 75th anniversary history, Brasler credits Poll for much of the change in the publications.

“His influence in NSPA publications would extend to the entire field of scholastic journalism. Poll’s design technique was adventuresome, crisp, subtle and the epitome of good taste. His 1993 analysis of USA Today remains a model of its kind.”

Poll’s interest in student media continues to focus on connecting with consumers.

“We have to engage people with a conversation,” Poll said. “These days, a whole new dimension of reporters who write, work with video and audio makes the educational process so complicated.

“Today, we have to help people understand their role and teach them to come back from an event and pull together a multi-dimensional package. Our job is to figure out if we are telling the accurate story and not let the technology overwhelm us.”

Poll said he sees NSPA/ACP as a catalyst for communication and growth.

“I’m happy to have been there at a major moment as we figured out how to communicate. We started with a gray page and learned how to package information in a way that was attractive and communicated information clearly. It was just before the internet and we saw it coming and started developing skills. What we did then, got us to today.”

Donn Poll, indeed. The right person, in the right place, at the right time. n

Trends Is A Trendsetter

In September, 1982, Scholastic Editor, the organization’s flagship magazine for 61 years, was redesigned and renamed Trends in Publications. Donn Poll, designer and publication manager collaborated with Tom Rolnicki, executive director, to create a tabloid publication printed on high-quality paper and featuring a hybrid newspaper/magazine format.

“MISH-MASH OR MASTERPIECE?”

With a bold, colorful format, USAToday forever changed the design of newspapers after it launched in September, 1982. Donn Poll provided an extensive analysis of USAToday on the pages of Trends. “Overall, it’s busy, but you know what they said about