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INSIDE: Letter from Dan Woike, pg. 3 Class Notes, Faculty Notes, pgs. 4, 5 John Ryan retires, pg. 6 Bob Bajek receives SPJ award, pg. 7 MEET US AT: Daily Eastern News’ 100th Celebration Nov. 7, 2015
A publication for journalism and student media alumni Volume 41, No. 1, October 2015
First draft of history
Daily Eastern News to celebrate 100 years
The first edition of the Normal School News, the forerunner of The Daily Eastern News, said in its announcement that after three weeks of preparation The News would stay a “permanent publication.” The News has kept that promise for nearly a century, with Nov. 5 marking 100 years of publishing. To purchase tickets to the Nov. 7 Centennial Celebration dinner or to make a donation to the Publishing the Next 100 Years Fund, go to https://commerce.cashnet.com/eiujou1
And to cap off a perfect weekend, Dru Sefton (’82) booked the big room at the Airport Steakhouse for Sunday morning, and The Daily Eastern New’s 100th Anniversary Gala Breakfastpalooza. She and Andy Savoie (’81) write that they are dreaming up DOOR PRIZES just for giggles. She writes, “No need to RSVP, just show up at 9 a.m. at the airport. We’ll probably be there until 11 or after, recovering from the night before.” Three giants in Eastern News lore will be interviewed at noon Monday, Nov. 2, on Issues and Attitudes, a live,
30-minute local news interview show on Hit-Mix 88.9 FM. You can listen to Jeff Owens’ interview with Reed, JR and Lola streaming live at www. weiu.net/hitmix/streaming.php 100 years … Can you believe it? Thanks for being a part of our history. We hope to see you then! Search Facebook for both the “Daily Eastern News 100th Birthday” and “The NO-BASH Chili Bash” for more information and updates on these events.
No Chili Bash, but drinks at Roc’s The journalism department and student media will not be holding the Chili Bash during the 2015 Homecoming weekend of Oct. 24 because of The Daily Eastern News 100th gala event on Nov. 7. However, alumni are still encouraged to attend tailgating at O’Brien Stadium parking lot between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Stop by and see John Ryan, who will be heading the journalism tailgate. After the game, several faculty will be at Roc’s Blackfront Restaurant and Lounge located on the Charleston Square. See you there.
EIU Journalism Dept. 600 Lincoln Ave. Charleston, IL 61920
We are happy that the 100th anniversary is upon us. Planning has gone into a centennial weekend, featuring lots of opportunity to tour the facilities and campus, to mingle and to meet new and old friends. The newsroom and pressroom will be clean and ready for visitors, and the current staff is excited to meet its predecessors. For those who come on Friday, Lola Burnham (‘83) is planning a fun meet and greet with current students in Buzzard. Contact her at laburnham@eiu if you plan to be here so she can give you details. Friday night, Reed and JR are hosting a reception at the Charleston Country Club. Questions: Contact JR at jmryan@eiu.edu. Saturday, relax during the day or attend the home football game, visit your favorite haunts and walk the campus. You can even pop into Booth Library to see the Eastern News Centennial exhibit in the south entrance display case. The evening’s festivities will start with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m. in Buzzard, with tours of the newsroom and pressroom by current students and faculty, and drinks and hors d’oeuvres served until about 6:15 p.m. We’ll make our way over to the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union for dinner, souvenirs and a program featuring dignitaries, speeches, and a silent auction hosted by Madeleine Doubek (’85) and Mark Turk (’77). After dinner, about 10 p.m., the festivities continue at the BrickHouse, housed in the Unique Suites Hotel (formerly Best Western) on Lincoln Avenue and Douglas Drive.
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO 24 CHARLESTON, IL 61920
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-30- for EIU journalism and student media alumni
Chair’s column
Help us spread the word: EIU journalism is one of the best! Quite a year of change here at Eastern with a new president, no state budget and declining enrollments. On the other hand … SO MUCH NEWS TO REPORT! Our students are covering meetings, speeches, changes and controversies under the leadership of their editors and anchors: DEN EIC Stephanie Markham from Chicago, Warbler EIC Dominic Baima from Collinsville, and NewsWatch anchors/ reporters Nick Ruffolo from Naperville and Nathan Page from Manteno, and their advisers Lola Burnham (’83), Joe Gisondi and Kelly Runyon (’92), respectively. And that’s what we do best: Train journalists to cover news, whatever the medium. We know these students will enter the workforce ready for any entry-level position in whatever career they try because they have solid journalism skills. They can research, write, edit, shoot, design and THINK. And you know that because that’s exactly what DT, Reed, JR, Sue Kaufman, Tidwell, Poulter and the gang over the years taught you. You may have heard that enrollment at Eastern is down again this year, to about 8,500 undergrads
Sally Renaud
compared to about 8,900 last year. And our department’s enrollment is down, too. Counting some freshmen who already have declared journalism as a major, we have 87 majors and 14 minors. That is down from a recent high of 175 majors in 2006. We are not bemoaning those numbers, per se. In fact, Lola and I heard from leaders of our accrediting body in September that our instructor-student ratio is admirable; our class sizes are still small and
“You [alumni] embody the spirit of Eastern’s journalism department, no matter what career path you have chosen.” -Sally Renaud we give individual attention in the classrooms and newsrooms. But we want more students. And you can help spread the word about Eastern, about journalism, and about student media. You, the women and men of our department and student media programs, are our most enthusiastic advocates. The time you spent here, in classes, with The Eastern News, WEIU, WELH, The Warbler, The Agency,
and Minority Today/Fresh! influenced the adult you became. Social and academic development of our students continues. We help young people move from whatever level they come to us to a level that helps them in the adult world. You embody the spirit of Eastern’s journalism department, no matter what career path you have chosen. You are interested in the world around you, you think, you converse. And our students are following in your footsteps. I hope that when you have the chance to promote Eastern, you take it. If you want to send us your children, your neighbor’s children, your children’s friends, your friends, please do. We can call them, take them on tours, and introduce them to our students and faculty. Of course, we’d love them to study journalism, but, really, it doesn’t matter. We just want more students on our campus. We want to return Eastern to its most vibrant and healthy state. We hope you can help. Sally Renaud
Cartoonist V. Gene Myers receives honorary degree
-30- is a publication of the EIU Department of Journalism 2521 Buzzard Hall 600 Lincoln Ave. Charleston, IL 61920 217-581-6003 www.eiu.edu/~journal -30- is organized, edited and designed by The Agency, the student-run public relations firm at EIU. The Agency meets at 3:30 p.m. every Thursday in 2434 Buzzard Hall.
Photo by Randi Bohannon Student Publications alum V. Gene Myers (second from right) enjoyed seeing his adviser David Reed, 1973 Warbler yearbook editor Gayle Gleichman and Student Publications Director John Ryan at a reception honoring Myers, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane letters degree from Eastern at the College of Arts and Humanities graduation ceremony May 9. Myers, a heralded cartoonist, drew for the Warbler, the Eastern News and the Vehicle while an art major at Eastern in the early 1970s. Alums may remember his cartoon strip, “Catatonic State,” which was syndicated to several college papers and which continued for several years after he left Eastern with his master’s degree in 1972. Congratulations, V. Gene!
The Agency produces -30-, writes news for the department’s Wordpress blog at eiujournalism.wordpress.com and handles the department’s Twitter account @EIU_Journalism
Agency director: Alex Chan, achan2@eiu.edu Editor: Megan Ivey, mkivey@eiu.edu Agency Staff: A.J. Seidler, Ashley Jordan, Debby Hernandez The Agency Adviser: Liz Viall, ekviall@eiu.edu
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Dan Woike letter
‘I didn’t plan for Eastern to change my life, but it did’ Editor’s note: Dan Woike (‘05) is a former sports editor of The Daily Eastern News. Woike is currently a Los Angeles Clippers beat reporter for the Orange County Register. He visited campus from Sept. 16-18 as a Fox-Thornburgh Visiting Professional and spoke to journalism and kinesiology and sport studies classes, and student media groups. Here is his reflection after visiting. The plan wasn’t for it to happen in Charleston, but sometimes, plans are overrated. I never planned to attend EIU, but it happened. I never planned to come back to campus for the first time a decade later, but it happened. And I definitely never planned on seeing Mike Shanahan pose for pictures outside an off-campus bar. But all that stuff happened – and more. Thanks to EIU and the people here, that’s been my life. Spending three days on campus this past week re-ignited my passion for learning and improving, and it reminded me just how critical being a “Panther” was in my life. Eastern is where I learned to take
Photo by Roberto Hodge Dan Woike (right), former Daily Eastern News Sports Editor and ’05 alum, talks to associate sports editor Sean Hastings (left) and associate news editor Jehad Abbed (center) in the newsroom while visiting Eastern on Sept. 19.
chances, and really, EIU took a chance on me. I was a bad student prone to making excuses. I didn’t take much seriously, with a lone exception – journalism. Professors, particularly the ones in the j-department, saw this in me and instead of focusing on the weaknesses,
Connections
EIU became a place where I could focus on my strengths. Whatever I’ve achieved since graduating from EIU, the people on campus deserve some of that credit. Being back on campus reminded me of this, so I wanted to say “Thank you.”
Thank you to the professors who didn’t let me skate by because of my talent, pushing me to learn new ways to do things. Thank you to my fellow students who pushed me, who relaxed with me, who celebrated and struggled with me. And thank you to Eastern for even letting a 22-year-old college washout resume his education. This place has done so much for me, but this past week was a whole different experience. Being asked to come back and speak to students was such an honor. Everyone on campus and, in particular, inside the journalism program made me feel so welcome, and they have my gratitude. From the students walking around campus, to the freshmen in a news writing class to the men’s basketball team, I saw people with big dreams. And I know Eastern helped make mine come true. Take the opportunity to look around campus and use all the resources – the stunning WEIU studio, the DEN newsroom and most importantly, the professors. I didn’t plan for Eastern Illinois to change my life, but it did. And I’m so happy that happened.
Summer vocation
Join our listserv or Facebook Alums have a couple of options to keep up with news happening in the Journalism Department and student media in between editions of -30-. If you haven’t already joined the department’s alumni listserv, you can send your email address to Lola Burnham at laburnham@eiu.edu. The listserv is open to anyone who was a journalism major or minor at Eastern or who worked at Student Publications or WEIU. Current and retired faculty are also members. The listserv is used to send out news about the department but mainly is used as a job listing notice. Anyone who is a member may post to it by sending an email to eiujou@ lists.eiu.edu. If you have news of a job Daily Eastern News www.dailyeasternnews.com Instagram: @dailyeasternnews Twitter:@DEN_news, @DEN_sports, @DEN_Verge, @DEN_PhotoDesk Warbler Yearbook Instagram: @eiuwarbler Twitter:@WarblerYearbook
opening, you may post directly yourself or send it to Burnham. On Facebook, check out the department’s page by searching for “Eastern Illinois University Journalism.” If you like what you see, you can like the page to get updates in your news feed. For the 100th celebration, a Facebook event titled “The Daily Eastern News 100th Birthday” has been made. Current updates on the event will be posted there. The student media all have their Photo by Brian Poulter own pages, too. Search their name for As a part of his summer documentary project, professor Brian Poulter their Facebook page, and look below visited and photographed county fairs and festivals in Illinois. See for websites and other forms of social page 5 for more information on his project. media.
WEIU www.weiu.net Twitter:@WEIUNewsWatch @WEIU1 Youtube: weiutv
HitMix 88.9 www.weiu.net/hitmix Instagram: hitmix889 Twitter:@HitMixWEIU
Submitted Photo Professors Eunseong Kim and Byan Murley and participants gesture V.I.A. symbolizing verification, independence, and accountability, the three key elements of news literacy skills, during the 2015 News Literacy Summer Institute for Teachers in Chicago.
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Class Notes 1980
ces McAuliffe, at 1:04 p.m. July 21, 2015. Ellie was 17.5 inches long and Tess Norton Masek was named weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces at editor-in-chief of Vacation Agent birth. Colin reported two days later that “Baby and Mommy are happy and Agent@Home magazines. and healthy.” He also promised to take and share lots of pictures. 1986 Dave McKinney is at home in a newly created position for Thomson Reuters in Chicago focusing on breaking news and analysis of Illinois and Chicago finance, government and politics.
2005
Sawyer Elizabeth Maberry Daniels was born at 11:53 a.m. July 22, 2015, at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Sawyer weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long at birth. Her parents 1988 are Matt Daniels (’08) and Nora Rick Stuckey is busily work- Maberry (’05). ing at NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago as a videographer, vid- 2006 eo editor and live shot technician. Laura Griffith Inlow became Rick recently became secretary of NLGJA, The Association of LGBT the manager of media services at Journalists. Rick can be contacted at Lewis and Clark Community College on May 1. rps66@hotmail.com.
1995 Rich Bird has started working at Crain Communications as digital managing editor for its Crain National Division. Rich left the Pioneer Press, where he had been for three years as the managing editor for 32 weekly newspapers under the banner of the Sun-Times and then the Chicago Tribune. Rich and his wife, Hillary, welcomed a baby girl, Eleanor Veronica, on May 18, 2015.
1999 Justin Kmitch and his wife, Jennifer, had a baby boy, Leo Gordon, born May 19, 2015. Justin is at the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights.
2000 Geneva White Slupski is a communications assistant for the Schaumburg Park District.
2001 Heather Cygan’s media group, the Nurse.com brand, received the 2015 Publication of the Year award from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors. It also received a bronze award for Best Use of Social Media for its “The Ebola Outbreak 2014.”
2003 Ryan Rinchiuso just published his second book, “Love and Family at 24 Frames Per Second: Fatherhood and Films Passed Down Through the Generations.”
2004 Colin McAuliffe and his wife, Claire Vargo McAuliffe, welcomed their first child, Elizabeth Fran-
an account director/senior manager 2014 for the firm. Rob Downen was named the Kevin Kenealy teaches language managing editor of Times Newspaarts for the Crete-Monee School per Group’s five regional publicaDistrict. tions: Pekin Daily Times, Woodford Times, East-Peoria Times-Courier, 2009 Washington Times-Reporter and the Morton Times. Rick Kambic was elected chairman of the Pioneer Press employee Brad Kupiec is a director of union in April 2015, which is part broadcasting/media relations for the of the Chicago Newspaper Guild — Peoria Rivermen hockey team. CWA affiliate local 71. Rick is a staff reporter covering news across many Shea Lazansky has recently acsubjects in the northwest suburbs of cepted a reporter position at the Chicago. As chairman, Rick is the Harrisburg Daily Register in Harrismain official who works with Pio- burg. neer Press management and the Chicago Tribune liaisons when it comes Tyler Noel is working at Home to contract negotiations, contract Depot. enforcement, workplace conditions, workload changes and employee Aldo Soto is a writer for Sports discipline, among other topics. Monkey.
Zach Nugent is starting a new 2015 2007 job as a content and earned media producer at the Animal Humane SoCody Delmendo is a reporter at Jim Allocco married Dyns on ciety at the Twin Cities. Iroquois County’s Times-Republic in Aug. 1, 2015. He is a graduate stuWatseka. dent in history at Illinois State UniKristina Peters is the assistant versity. managing editor for CSP Business Olivia Diggs is a line cook at Media. Peel Wood Fired Pizza outside St. Marcy Workman Jackson and Louis. her husband, Jordan, had a baby 2010 boy, Wyatt Dale, born on May 20, Liz Grubart is doing design and 2015. Marcy works at Leap AdverHeather Holm is a teacher’s publicity for Re/Max Action. tising Agency in Louisville. aide for Hunting Ridge Elementary School in Palatine. Katelyn Ifft is an assistant acMatt Stevens is the Auburn Unicount executive at DCC Marketing versity beat reporter at the Mont- 2011 in Decatur. gomery (Ala.) Advertiser. Jordan Boner and his wife, BritJarad Jarmon started working Holly Thomas left Colorado in tany, have welcomed a daughter, as a reporter at the JG-TC in Matearly August to begin orientation for Kinlee Jo, born Sept. 15, 2015. toon-Charleston in July. Jarad is the accelerated bachelor’s of science covering Charleston, Eastern and in nursing program at Duke UniverBrittney Ferris received her cer- the Mattoon school district. sity that will eventually lead to her tified journalism educator certificate becoming a nurse practitioner. from the Journalism Education AsJosh Jones is a reporter at the sociation. She is a yearbook repre- Centralia Sentinel. 2008 sentative for Walsworth Publishing. Nathan Kissel is working with Jordan Crook is a senior reportLamar Holliday is a PR spe- the Indianapolis Colts in the auer at the Hoopeston Chronicle. cialist at the Indiana Department dio-visual department. of Transportation in Indianapolis. Amanda Dugan is a marketing He had been at WANE-TV in Fort Cayla Maurer is a graduate stuand event manager for the Wash- Wayne, Ind. dent at Eastern. ington Post, a position she has held since March. She had a similar po- 2012 Lauren Morrow is an admissition for four years at Bloomberg in sions counselor at Millikin UniverNew York City. Wally Swenson is Gov. Bruce sity. Rauner’s advance director. He has Sara Cuadrado Gulo is a mar- worked for Rauner in similar capacJasmine Randle is working at keting specialist at DQS Inc. in Chi- ities since November 2014. State Farm in Bloomington. cago. 2013 Jazmin Smiley has started law Matt Hopf and wife Melissa welschool at Northern Illinois Univercomed a daughter, Elizabeth Anne Ashley Holstrom has joined the sity. “Bess” Hopf, born at 5:17 p.m. Sept. Daily Herald in Arlington Heights as 27, 2015. Bess weighed 7 pounds, 12 a multi-platform editor. Katie Smith started working ounces and was 19.5 inches long at as a reporter at the Daily Chronicle birth. Marcus Smith started working in DeKalb in May. She is covering at the Mount Carmel Register in July. courts and general assignments. Eugenia Jefferson is an associ- Marcus is the news editor, which means ate community manager at Golin, a he does everything for the thrice-weekSavanna Tommei is a morning public relations firm in Chicago. She ly paper: reporting, writing, shooting anchor at WKOW 27 in Madison, works with Matt Kelly (’08), who is photos and laying out pages. Wis.
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Students spend summer interning with alumni This summer I was fortunate enough to have a copy editor internship at the Daily Herald. Because I was working at the copy desk, I worked at the main office in Arlington Heights around people who were extremely enShirmeen Amad couraging and helpful. The feeling of knowing I was going to work in an actual newsroom this summer was like no other, it was a dream come true. My supervisor was Neil Holdway, who was the assistant managing director, but along with him there were a lot of others who worked the copy desk that were there to give me assignments and most importantly, guide me to successfully complete my assignments. Some of them were EIU alums:, Sean Stangland, the assistant senior copy editor, Doug Graham, Brian Shamie, and Ashley Holstrom. I’m really glad I was chosen to be an intern at the Daily Herald because it showed me all I can do as a journalist and encouraged me when I saw so many people doing what they’re passionate about.” -Shirmeen Ahmad senior journalism major, from Romeoville copy editor for The Warbler and Student Body President
As I headed into my final semester at Eastern, I decided to try out a network that several professors had mentioned I should look into. The newspaper in Robinson, Ill., which is five miles away from my Blake Nash hometown, had several writers who had attended Eastern or knew the staff very well. After prodding from professors Joe Gisondi and Sally Renaud, I called the managing editor, Greg Bilbrey. He set up an interview with me, and he took me on as an intern around the 4th of July weekend. Throughout my job I wrote up the police reports, covered city council and school board meetings and even took pictures, which I had never before done professionally. After graduating in December, I will be working a full-time job with the Robinson Daily News, covering most of the same topics I did before.” -Blake Nash senior journalism major, from Palestine football beat reporter and sports writer for The Daily Eastern News
I interned at The Dispatch/Argus newspapers in Moline and Rock Island, in the Quad Cities. I started the internship on May 18 and it ended on Aug. 7. During much of my time, I covered things I’ve been meaning to get Roberto Hodge experience in such as car accidents, a shooting and natural disasters. I met editorial page editor Kenda Burrows, who told me she was a former administration editor for The DEN. I even got to meet GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, which I honestly could not have cared less about (Democrat here), but! Nonetheless the experience was well enjoyed and deserved. I actually learned how to cover the Santorum event from all of the forum coverage I did last semester as an editor—it was basically the same setup. The most rewarding thing from this internship was the natural disaster coverage, shooting and car accidents—that stuff was fun! I wanted more experience in that than anything else.” -Roberto Hodge senior journalism major, from Galesburg and news editor for The Daily Eastern News
Faculty notes
Journalism faculty focus on summer workshops, projects Lola Burnham completed the heroic task of serving as acting chair of the journalism department during the summer month of 2015, while Sally Renaud was with her family in New England. And what a time to take over: With low enrollment, budget cuts, layoffs and a new president, Burnham had her hands full. Oh, and she advised The Daily Eastern News’ coverage of the campus happenings, which sometimes was the only area coverage of the complicated events. New EIC Stephanie Markham did the bulk of the reporting for the paper admirably. Burnham this semester is teaching Copy Editing and Comm Law, taking over the class from retired professor John Ryan and his predecessor, James Tidwell. The big question on alums’ minds: With no heavy Oklahoma accent to define her, how will students remember Lola’s recitation of George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words”? Joe Gisondi directed the Illinois Press Foundation/Eastern Illinois University High School Journalism Workshop. For 12 days in June, high school journalists wrote stories, took photos and interned at multiple newspapers around the Charleston and Champaign area. Gisondi brought in alumni and faculty to contribute to the event, including Lisa Green (’86), Graham Milldrum(’08), Dan Hagen, Liz Viall, Herb Meeker (’82) Kayleigh Rahn (nee Zyskowski) (’10), Dann Gire (’75), Amir Prellberg (’14), Emily Steele (’11) and Evan Hill. To see the completed stories written by the high school students from the conference, visit www.illinoisreporter. wordpress.com Gisondi is finalizing his book “Monster Trek: The Obsessive Search for Bigfoot.” The book is available for pre-order on amazon.com.
Eunseong Kim and Bryan Murley participated in the 2015 News Literacy Summer Institute for Teachers in Chicago. The program was hosted by the Center for News Literacy of Stony Brook University and funded by a grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. The workshop trained teachers to establish and teach news literacy courses. Training took place throughout the month of July, with the institute taking place from July 2024. Kim and Murley completed 50 hours of training, with 40 in class and 10 in a hybrid-online setting. The journalism department began offering JOU 1000: News, Information & Media Literacy as part of the social and behavioral sciences general education options this fall. Kim is teaching two sections of the course. Bryan Murley is using Github in his online media class this semester. Github is a version control system center where developers can store projects and network with others. Murley said he is using it as a platform for collaboration on a final class project. He is blogging about integrating the site into the course and modifying it for use at Murley on Media at murleyonmedia.wordpress.com. Brian Poulter received another grant from Verizon Wireless this summer. He used the grant to create his project “Fair People of Illinois.” The documentary project focused on visually capturing the faces and people at county fairs and festivals across Illinois. To see all of his work on the project, visit www.fairil.com. An example is on Page 3. On July 21 and 22 WEIU news director Kelly Runyon participated in a professional broadcast-in-residence program at WTHI-TV (CBS)
in Terre Haute, Ind. Runyon is a former employee of WTHI, serving as newsroom assistant, reporter, anchor and producer from 1992-2001. In her capacity as news director at Newswatch, Runyon oversees a nightly, live, half hour newscast that’s solely produced and anchored by students at Eastern. Runyon also teaches Broadcast News Writing at Eastern, which focuses on story development and execution. Runyon said she thought it would be beneficial to both her and her students for her to return to a commercial newsroom to explore storytelling concepts, reporting, shooting, editing, equipment procedures and production elements. She had the opportunity to participate in the daily morning news meeting, pitch story ideas and work with reporters and videographers in the field. She also witnessed a news crew execute a television live shot from the campus of Indiana State University and observed several newscasts from the production control room. The experience was invaluable and provided Runyon will useful information to share with the WEIU news team. Liz Viall is using Flipboard extensively this semester in Advanced Reporting class. Students flip public affairs stories into the magazine each week as examples of important coverage and excellent writing. Viall has also been named the head of the Participatory Journalism Interest Group for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for the coming year. Viall, who led a Media Entrepreneurship workshop in August at the national AEJMC convention in San Francisco, was the vice head of the group in charge of programming for the convention. AEJMC is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals.
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Ryan retires after 30 years at Eastern By Ashley Jordan Professor and Student Publications Director John Ryan retired in May 2015 after spending more than 30 years at Eastern Illinois University. Ryan first came to EIU as a student, working at The Eastern News, eventually as government editor. He began his teaching career at EIU in 1985 after earning a master’s degree at the University of Illinois and after working at The State Journal-Register and The News-Gazette. He spent 10 years working with those newspapers. He earned his doctorate in journalism at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Ryan has taught every class in the journalism curriculum but ethics and copy editing. “What I miss about teaching is working with students and developing their knowledge of a subject over a semester,” Ryan said. Even though Ryan has taught many of the classes offered in the journalism department, news writing was his favorite class to teach. He said he liked that the class gave the students the foundation to be a good reporter. Ryan was the editorial adviser of The Daily Eastern News for 18 years. He said he worked with editors, reporters and staff members and truly enjoyed the times they had shared. “It was fun getting to know them, give them direction and encouragement to continue practicing journalism,” Ryan said.
Left: New journalism professor John Ryan grades papers at his desk in the 1980s. Right: Commencement Marshal John Ryan leads the graduation processional carrying the University Mace inscribed with the names of past marshals at the noon ceremony of the College of Arts and Humanities on May 9, 2015 in Lantz Arena. Photo by Bev Cruse
Journalism department chair Sally Renaud said Ryan had a one-on-one relationship style and was always there for his students. Renaud has admired his commitment to the department and to the journalism field. “He is one of the reasons I am here,” Renaud said. Although Ryan has retired, he has continued to run the Mid-America Press Institute, which puts on seminars for working or college journalists. As the executive director, he plans and
hosts seminars and runs the organization’s headquarters. Ryan may be directing seminars and continuing to put his journalism skills to use, but he makes time to enjoy his retirement by playing golf. “The journalism department is like a family and I have many fond memories,” Ryan said. Ryan may not be spending as much time with his journalism family anymore, but he is busy at home with two high schoolers and a student in college.
“I gained so much being on the EIU staff, it’s hard to put into words,” he said. Ryan has a will for his students to succeed, which is deeply admirable, Renaud said. Ryan will always be in contact with alums and the journalism department, seeing them at different events. He said he could not have a better career and his time as EIU has flown by. “As they say, time flies when you’re having fun,” Ryan said.
Former pressman Johnny Bough remembered By A.J. Siedler
Johnny Bough, former pressman for The Daily Eastern News, left a legacy not to be forgotten. Bough worked as a pressman for the Mattoon Journal Gazette (JG-TC) before coming to Eastern in 1982. Dave Reed, former adviser for The Daily Eastern News, said he asked Bough to be the new pressman for The Daily Eastern News and Bough said he could do it. “I was surprised when he asked to do it and thankful, too,” Reed said. Reed said Bough was a laid-back person whom everyone could get along with. Reed said Bough never got annoyed, even when students turned their pages in late. John Ryan, former journalism professor and director of Student Publications, said Bough was a high-energy person. “He worked fast and was always energetic while working,” Ryan said. “He was thin, wiry, and his body image matched his personality.” Ryan said he was a favorite with
students and easy to get along with. Ryan said Bough always did whatever he could to get the paper out even when things went Johnny Bough wrong. Ryan said Bough never would get angry at the students. “One time a student wished him a happy birthday and asked him how old he was,” Ryan said. “When he replied 60, she said 60, like she couldn’t believe it. The student then said, ‘Sixty, really? My uncle is 60, and he looks much better than you do.’” Reed said Bough never missed work except one time when he was in a motorcycle accident. Reed said Bough was a reliable and loving person. “He always stayed calm throughout anything,” Reed said. “He was always a personal, warm, friendly guy.”
Submitted photo Johnny Bough looks over an edition of The News coming off the Goss Community Press he ran for about 30 years.
Tom Roberts, production supervisor for Student Publications, said Bough was active in his church and was an avid golfer. Roberts said their job was to precraft the pages the old-fashion way back in the ’80s, which took a while. Roberts said he worked for a month with Bough and during that
time, he said, he found Bough to be a great man to work with. “He was a funny person with a good sense of humor,” Roberts said. “He was a very calm and easy-going guy.” Bough died April 22 at the age of 73.
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Submitted Photo Bob Bajek (‘10) won the Ethics in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for continuing his investigative reporting on the former Chanute Air Force Base despite being fired from the Rantoul Press.
Bajek receives SPJ journalism ethics award for reportiong on pollution concerns By Dan Hagen
EIU 2010 alumnus Bob Bajek has received the Ethics in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his investigative reporting on the former Chanute Air Force Base. County Star editor Christine Walsh nominated her former News-Gazette Community Newspapers colleague for his “continuous commitment to seeking the truth and reporting it.” An SPJ press release said, “Bajek fulfills his duty as a journalist to be a watchdog over the government and military. He shows compassion when reporting and remains fair and accurate.” Bajek’s 2013 articles for the weekly Rantoul Press examined claims of Agent Orange and other contaminants at the former base. “Local readers gave me positive feedback on the story, saying they would never have moved to Rantoul had they known of the pollution concerns,” Bajek said. Local economic interests weren’t so pleased, however, and Bajek was ultimately fired from the reporting position, his first out of college. Warned not to continue reporting on the Chanute environmental
story, Bajek did anyway, taking his work to DCBureau.org, a project of the Public Education Center focusing on investigative reporting on security and environmental issues. Rantoul Press general manager Tim Evans told DCBureau.org that Bajek had been a “troublemaker.” “When asked about his paper’s lack of in-depth coverage of the Chanute story, Evans said that the paper did not have the resources to investigate such a complicated story,” DCBureau reported. “Bob Bajek risked his entire career to tell the truth he uncovered about Chanute Air Force Base,” said Joseph Trento, president of the Public Education Center Inc. “In the best of times in journalism, such courage is rare. To do what he did in a dismal job market for all reporters is amazing. To take on timid editors and publishers is almost unheard of. “Bob did that after he and I spoke about what the blowback on him could be,” Trento said. “He told me if we would edit and run his work, he would take the chance. We collaborated and the result was a terrific piece of investigative work accompanied by an inside look at how his former editors did business. I have the highest regard for this young man.” “Bob and I both transferred (to
EIU) from College of DuPage,” Pioneer Press reporter Rick Kambic recalled. “We were both relentless workaholics, and Bob clearly carried that into his professional career. He’s developed skills and techniques over time, but he’s always had his principles. Bob values putting in a hard day’s work and being a productive member of society. Even when he writes positive feature stories, he’s guided by a strict obligation to tell a meaningful story.” When people ask Bajek why he wrote the articles, even at the risk of his job, he cites the long-time DEN motto. “One tenet I hold fast to as a journalist is to tell the truth and not be afraid,” Bajek said. “If one is reporting on a true matter, sooner or later it will come out, no matter how much the forces stifling the truth try to prevent it. This was something I taught as a journalism instructor at Midtown Center for Boys in Chicago. “After doing significant researching about chemicals, interviewing sources, reading public documents obtained about Chanute from the local library’s microfilm collection and FOIA requests, I knew the story needed to go out to the public. My responsibility as a reporter was to let my readership know, especially when
it concerned the public health.” That came at a cost. “I was unemployed for six months, so it was a financial hardship on me and quite stressful,” Bajek said. Was it worth it? “Despite the financial hardship and long hours, it definitely was. My parents raised me to make a positive difference in this world, and I hope I have with my writing and sharing my experience. My little sister Angela, 15, said that she looks up to me.” Bajek now works as a corporate journalist for News Link Inc., a corporate communications firm in Lincoln, Neb., that contracts with Fortune 500 companies. In 2014, he was nominated to be a Giraffe Hero by the Giraffe Heroes Project, which celebrates ordinary people who stick their necks out for the common good. The Ethics in Journalism Award honors journalists or news organizations that perform in an outstanding ethical manner demonstrating the ideals of the SPJ Code of Ethics. Those SPJ ethical principles include “Seek the truth and report it,” “Minimize harm,” “Be independent” and “Be accountable.” Articles by and about Bajek can be found online at DCBureau.org and the Giraffe Heroes Project.
8
-30- for EIU journalism and student media alumni
Together again
Alumni bring Eastern connection to Daily Herald Eastern alums
By Debby Hernandez
at the Daily Herald
Editor’s note: We’ve been noticing a pattern. Some of our recent graduates have found themselves working with colleagues with familiar backgrounds— fellow Eastern journalism alums. In the coming issues of -30- we’ll be hearing from some of them.
Dann Gire (’75) Tim Broderick (’84)
The Daily Herald is a leading Chicago suburbs newspaper. It is also the third-largest newspaper in Illinois. Justin Kmitch (’99), Sean Stangland (’01), and Ashley Holstrom (’13) are only three of the many Eastern alumni who help bring together the success Photo by Brian Shamie of the publication. The following are their stories: Ashley Holstrom, Sean Stangland and Doug Graham work at the Daily Herald Growing up in the south side of Chicago, Justin Kmitch never imagined he would one day be working for the Daily Herald, a newspaper he was merely familiar with at the time. Kmitch enjoys being able to tell good stories as a journalist. He said even stories with unhappy endings are good. “Every morning we have breakfast, coffee or share a train commute with hundreds of thousands of our best friends, and we tell them good stories,” he said.
Justin Kmitch (‘99)
Kmitch is the legal affairs writer of the Daily Herald’s DuPage Bureau. His job allows him to tell captivating stories about the DuPage County courts and state’s attorney office. “I have a front row seat to all of the high-profile cases working their way through the DuPage legal system. Murders, assaults, financial crimes, you name it,” he said. Kmitch joined the Daily Herald in June 2000, shortly after obtaining his master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Before UIS, Kmitch graduated from Eastern in May 1999. At Eastern, he was staff writer, government editor, administration editor, and news editor for The Daily Eastern News. It was at The DEN where he met a few of his lifelong friends, including Deana Poole, Tammie Sloup, Amy Thon, Christy Kilgore and Jill Tridgell. Kmitch said he also obtained a benefit from his daily interaction with
with Brian Shamie, Justin Kmitch, Robert Sanchez, Dann Gire and Tim Broderick.
Eastern journalism faculty such as James Tidwell, David Reed, John Ryan and Susan Kaufman. Today, Kmitch has the chance to work with some of his Eastern colleagues at the Daily Herald, where many of the alumni now work. “Not too long ago there were even more EIU alums here, and we had our own little fraternity,” he said. Some other alumni he works with include Dann Gire (‘75), Tim Broderick (‘84), and Sean Stangland. “Sean and I worked together at The Daily Eastern News, and now he’s one the last guys to check over my copy before it goes live every night,” Kmitch said. “That’s a cool connection.” Sean Stangland grew up as a devoted reader of the Daily Herald, and his dream was to work at the publication. Stangland grew up in Wheeling, Illinois. His passion for writing reviews derives from his family’s love for films. Stangland wrote reviews in elementary school and in college wanted to become a film critic. He said most of what he knows about writing comes from reading reviews from Roger Ebert and his colleague and co-worker Gire. Today, he is a copy editor and writes weekly entertainment columns for the Daily Herald. Stangland’s title is senior multiplatform editor. He said the word “copy editor” is a definition too narrow to describe the various functions of the job. “Nowadays, the most enjoyable part of my job is designing sports pages. Especially in this time when the Blackhawks and Cubs are generating so much excitement,” he said. Stangland’s job varies from designing the front page, preparing the weather page, helping the sports editor with the scoreboard page, and compiling the business section. Nevertheless, he enjoys the variety of his work.
“It’s a job that requires skill and flexibility. If you can excel at many different things, you’ll have a more varied and exciting work life,” he said. After obtaining a summer copy desk internship at the Daily Herald in 2001, Stangland was given a position as a copy editor. Stangland graduated from Eastern in May 2001. Before the Daily Herald, Stangland was the Verge editor for The DEN and wrote a weekly column. He also worked as a copy editor and wrote film reviews in The DEN for four years. Stangland said one of his most memorable moments is designing his own magazine and website for classes with professors Mary Wohlrabe and Brian Poulter. He also enjoyed contributing to the “Top 10” movies list for the Verge. “One year editor Dan Ochwat and I posed for a top 10 cover that parodied the ‘Fight Club’ poster,” he said. “ I was Edward Norton, he was Brad Pitt. Christy Kilgore gave us a wonderful design.” At the Daily Herald, Stangland works with new Eastern alumni who are now staff, including Doug Graham and Ashley Holstrom. “It’s wonderful to have a bond with people who share my background and training,” he said. “(Doug and Ashley) have become invaluable assets to the company in a short time.” Ashley Holstrom, joined the Daily Herald staff just six months ago in April 2015. She saw the job posting for copy editor through The DEN alumni Facebook page. “One of my friends had interned there,” Hosltrom said. “I went for it and I got (the job). She said the Daily Herald has a variety of alumni. “I don’t think any of the people (at the Daily Herald) were at Eastern at the same time, but we all have the
Robert Sanchez (’94) Justin Kmitch (’99) Doug Graham (’12) Ashley Holstrom (’13) Brian Shamie
same (sort of) experience,” she said. Before working for the Daily Herald, Holstrom worked as a designer for Lee Enterprises’ Regional Design Center in Indiana for about a year and a half. She said she has always had a passion for language and grammar and enjoys working in the sports copy desk. Holstrom graduated from Eastern in May 2013. Her freshman year at Eastern, she began writing for The DEN. Holstrom was also a copy editor for The DEN for three semesters before becoming managing editor. She also worked as a copy editor and designer for the Warbler and the Vehicle. Holstrom’s most memorable moment at Eastern is writing and designing a story for the Warbler about cadavers. “I had no idea anatomy classes actually have cadavers. It was almost my semester-long project, working on the story,” she said. “I went in and sat…the first day the class was dealing with the cadavers. I had a photographer with me and (was) just watching how everyone was reacting to it. It was fun.” Ashley now works the night shift at the Daily Herald with Sean and other alums such as Doug Graham, a reporter. “I have become pretty good friends with Sean mostly because he is an awesome person and we have the Eastern connection,” she said. While she still sees other alumni on occasions, such as Gire, most of them work during the day. “Dann Gire always says he takes Eastern people out for lunch, but I work nights, so he isn’t taking me out for lunch,” she laughed. Holstrom said Eastern alumni could be found working in various places, including in her old job at Lee Enterprises. “Eastern is such a big family; and then when you work somewhere you find the Eastern people,” she said.