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INSIDE: Daniel Verdun’s history of Eastern football, pg. 2 Randi Bohannon builds relationships, pg. 6 Class Notes, Faculty Notes, pgs. 4, 5, 8 MEET US AT: Homecoming North, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, pg. 6
A publication for EIU journalism and student media alumni Volume 40 , No 2, February 2015
Together again
Alums handle copy desk, reporting, production at Chicagoland Shaw Media newspapers
Editor’s note: We’ve been noticing a pattern. Some of our recent graduates have found themselves working in familiar surroundings – together again, this time in a professional setting. In the coming issues of -30- we’ll be hearing from some of them.
The copy desk at the Northwest Herald is full of former Eastern Newers. Kristina Peters (’09) is the night production editor, and she works next to Juliette Beaulieu (’09). Across the way is Kevin Murphy (’10), and now Chris Walden (’08) has joined the team. The group is part of a team that designs and copy edits five Shaw Media newspapers: The Northwest Herald, The Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, The Kane County Chronicle, The Morris Daily Herald and The Joliet Herald-News. Reporter Stephen DiBenedetto (’10) is across the way near the scanner, listening for breaking news. Here are their stories. Photo: H. Rick Bamman, Shaw Media photo editor From left, Stephen Di Benedetto, Northwest Herald reporter; Kevin Murphy, copy desk designer/copy editor; Juliette Beaulieu, assistant night production editor; Chris Walden, copy desk designer/copy editor; and Kristina Peters, night production editor. The copy desk works with five newspapers: The Northwest Herald, The Kane County Chronicle, The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle, The Morris Daily Herald and The Joliet Herald-News.
“It made me want to take the job,” she said. Beaulieu works the 4 p.m. to midnight shift Tuesday through Saturday. “It’s fun,” Beaulieu said. “I like working with them.”
As editor-in-chief of The Daily Eastern News, Kristina Peters was a leader in the newsroom. And now she’s the leader of the copy desk. After she graduated from Eastern she went to work at the Ottawa Times as a designer, and for the past
four years she has been on the copy/ design desk at the Northwest Herald, circulation of about 33,000, and the other four papers owned by Shaw Media. There she has been able to create a mini-Eastern News newsroom. On any given night, of the 12 copy editors/designers on the desk, four of them are from Eastern. “We have people from Northern Illinois and Northwestern and other schools, but Eastern is the most represented on the desk,” Peters said.
Because they have worked together, Peters says, they play on each other’s strengths. Peters explained that she is better at design while Beaulieu is better at copy editing. “It’s a good collaboration,” she said. “If I have a copy editing question, I can just ask her. We sit next to each other.” And knowing each other for a long time brings another kind of reliability. See Alums, Page 7
EIU Journalism Dept. 600 Lincoln Ave. Charleston, IL 61920
For Juliette Beaulieu, going to work at the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, Ill., a little more than three years ago was like going back to EIU Student Publications newsroom. “I had a desk right next to Katie Anderson,” she said. “When I got there I already had a friend.” Anderson-Tedder (’08) was a reporter at that time. Beaulieu had worked in Virginia as a copy editor and page designer at The News and Advance in Lynchburg. She saw the advertisement on journalismjobs.com and even though she was a team leader at her paper in Virginia, she was ready to think about coming back to Illinois. And she knew she’d be with Eastern News friends.
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO 24 CHARLESTON, IL 61920
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Alum chronicles history of Eastern football
“My degree from Eastern Illinois played a vital role in this book. I used research methods gained from my history side as well as interviewing principles and writing skills from my journalism side.”
By Sharita Harris
Journalism alumnus Daniel Verdun continues to represent his alma mater proudly with the 2014 publication of his book, “Eastern Illinois Panthers Football.” Verdun was making the rounds during Homecoming 2014 weekend to talk to friends and to sell his new book, “Eastern Illinois Panthers Football.” It is the second in a series of books about college football in Illinois. The first was about Northern Illinois University. Verdun said his publications are different from other football books because they go more in-depth for readers to learn about the football players of Eastern Illinois. “‘Eastern Illinois Panthers Football’ is part of a five-book series on college football in our state,” said Verdun. “The series combines my interests in sports, history and writing. More importantly, it chronicles some amazing human interest stories about the men who played and coached at universities like Eastern Illinois.” Verdun enjoyed writing about the history of Eastern football because of its unique legacy both on and off the football field. “Eastern Illinois University is unique in that it has produced a national championship (1978), three NFL head coaches (Mike Shanahan, Sean Payton & Brad Childress), two of whom have won a combined’three
Dan Verdun
Photo: Paul Pinderski Dan Verdun (‘88) signed copies of his book at Homecoming in October.
Super Bowls, two Walter Payton Award winners (Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo), an NFL offensive coordinator (Mike Heimerdinger), a Tuskegee Airman (Charles Hall) who became the first African-American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft and an Academy Award winner (Burl Ives),” Verdun said. Diving deeper, Verdun used his skills from his education and current profession to help shape his books, especially during the process of writing “Eastern Illinois Panthers Foot-
ball.” Verdun graduated from Odell Community High School in 1983. He grew up in Odell, Ill., with his three brothers. He graduated in 1988 and was a double major in history and journalism. While at Eastern, he was sports editor at The Daily Eastern News and was on staff for The Warbler. Verdun said many of his lifelong friends come from those days. “My degree from Eastern Illinois played a vital role in this book.
I used research methods gained from my history side as well as interviewing principles and writing skills from my journalism side,” he said. “The experience I gained through coursework and through working on a daily newspaper in college taught me a wealth of techniques and methods that I continue to use to this day.” Since graduating, Verdun has used knowledge acquired from Eastern and his love for teaching, which has served as the foundation for his career choice as well as his daily hobbies. He teaches English at Scullen Middle School in Naperville. “I have taught English language arts and social studies for the past 27 years. I have also coached. I enjoy working with young people, both getting to know them and seeing them grow and mature,” he said. Verdun said a perfect day for him involves family, friends, good food and some sort of sporting event with a little reading and writing sprinkled in.
From the chair
Journalism, students keep department going By Sally Renaud
Let me paint a picture. It’s busy around the faculty offices of Buzzard Hall. Fine-tuning the curriculum. Creating new content for the website. Rethinking promotional materials. Meeting prospective students. Getting to know our underclassmen. Advising student media. Teaching classes. Welcoming professional guests. Serving in various capacities across campus. And we are doing this with fewer faculty than before. More with less. Across the campus and across the country, we are being told no. No new faculty. No supplies. No money. No. It’s discouraging, to say the least. We know that many of you are facing the same kinds of workplace stress that we are, filling in the gaps as needed but feeling a little discouraged about the state of, well, our state and our industry. Illinois seems to be in bad shape financially and in uncertainty. The news industry is suffering at the hands of corporate leadership and declining profit margins. But two things keep us going:
journalism and our students–past and present. Journalism As it has been throughout American history, the role of journalism now is vital. And it’s exciting, both the positive and the negative. We love good story-telling. We revere reporting that goes beyond, that analyzes and interprets. We continue to marvel at the reporting in times of crisis, whether it be in Ferguson or in Paris or in the Middle East. We are not so enthused about other aspects of the industry. We were incensed at the influence of outside forces who can dictate content and staffing, which hit home this fall when a battle with then-gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner and Sun-Times culminated in the resignation of Illinois Statehouse reporter Dave McKinney (’86) after he worked almost two decades at the paper. We are agitated about work being done in the name of journalism that’s false, slanted or mere opin-
ion disguised as journalism, and we continue to urge the study of news literacy so that the audience can tell the difference. In fact, the department has developed a news literacy course that will be offered through the university’s general education program starting in the fall. It’s that important. But we take the good with the bad, and we are proud of the role journalism plays in exposing societal ills, in disseminating news and information, in providing public forums, in ensuring democracy remains strong. EIU students, past and present It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to our graduating seniors, and we always wonder how we’ll get along without them; they play such a big role with our student media. Our 10 December graduates included two editors-in-chief of The Daily Eastern News, two sports editors, the Silver Dome winner for the best college sports play-by play, the host of WEIU’s Illinois and two News Watch
anchors. Big shoes to fill both in the newsrooms and the classrooms. But as always, the remaining students rise to the occasion. New editors, reporters, disc jockeys and anchors are chosen, following in the footsteps of the students who’ve been going through our program for nearly 40 years. The paper comes out. The shows go on. We help these new journalists as they cover government, crime, the economy and the personalities of the campus and the community. Eventually they, too, will leave us, and we will watch closely as they move on to new adventures. We follow our alumni’s career paths with pride and their familial adventures with joy. You can read about some of them on pages 4 and 5 of this issue of -30-. Our passion for journalism and for the men and women of Eastern’s journalism program who love it, too, makes whatever crises we face on campus worthwhile. We work to serve journalism and the people who love it. They both are the reasons we are here.
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February 2015
Office administator earns degree By Jazmin Smiley
Elizabeth Kastl, known as “Beth” in the journalism department, graduated in the fall of 2014 from Eastern’s School of Continuing Education. “In the beginning it was easy and in the end I really got senioritis,” said Kastl, journalism department office administrator. Kastl has been an EIU employee since 2000 and has worked as the office administrator since 2006. She has been enrolled as a student at EIU since fall 2007. “I don’t know how she does everything she does during the time she has been here. She has cultivated close relationships with our students and effortlessly seems to balance family, work and her own personal development,” said Sally Renaud, professor and interim chair of journalism. Kastl was determined to get her degree, despite being a full-time employee and single mother to an 11-year-old. Kastl mentioned several reasons she pursued her degree, but her daughter was the No. 1 reason. “My parents didn’t attend college and I felt that I didn’t have to either. I lived in Charleston all my life and never set foot on campus. As my
daughter grew older, I didn’t want her to have any excuse not to go,” Kastl said. “In my house it’s ‘when you go to college,’ not ‘if you go to college.” Kastl said she has learned so much from her general studies degree. She took classes in business, family and consumer science, and sociology, as well as online, which she found the most challenging. “This degree has been beneficial in all facets of my life, in career, family and other avenues I choose to pursue in the future,” she said. Kastl’s accomplishments are significant because as she pursued her degree, she was simultaneously the glue that kept the journalism department together. “All of these years she has been taking care of us. Family, staff, faculty, in crises and in happiness,” Renaud said, “I’ve watched her over the years really take care of people and not ask for anything in return. I’m really proud of her.” In addition to playing an important role in the journalism department, Kastl has achieved one of her major life goals. “By pursuing this degree, I wanted to show my daughter that she can do anything you set your mind to, it doesn’t matter where Photo: Mindy Fonner you come from,” Kastl said. Beth Kastl, journalism office administrator, earns EIU degree.
The Daily Eastern News to mark 100th anniversary By Liz Grubart
Room blocks have been set aside at Charleston’s two hotels in preparation for The Daily Eastern News’ 100th anniversary celebration Nov. 7 at the University Union. Alumni wishing to stay overnight can book a room at either the Unique Suites Hotel, formerly the Worthington Inn, or at the Days Inn, said John Ryan, director of Student Publications. “We have a 50-room block at Unique Suites and a 30-room block at the Days Inn,” Ryan said. “However, both hotels have said they could extend the room block, depending on availability.” Reservations should be made at least two weeks in advance of the celebration. Unique Suites, 920 W. Lincoln Ave., has undergone an extensive renovation. Executive rooms go for $86.49 a night, while standard rooms go for $74.49. Reservations can be made by calling 217-3488161. The Days Inn, 810 W. Lincoln Ave., will charge $59.99 for a king bed room and $64.99 for a room with two beds. Reservations can be made by calling 217-345-7689. Ryan said he will gauge the de-
mand on the rooms and could possibly set aside room blocks at hotels in Mattoon. Plans for the 100th anniversary so far include a reception and a dinner in the University Ballroom from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. An after-party may also be held, possibly at Unique Suites. The Daily Eastern News officially turns 100 on Nov. 5, 2015, a Thursday. Fundraising Drive A fundraising drive to raise $100,000 for The Daily Eastern News Endowment fund is also underway. Thus far nearly $30,000 has been raised and another $10,000 pledged to the fund. The endowment fund will be overseen by the Eastern Illinois University Foundation with interest money going each year to help finance the student newspaper into the next 100 years. Madeleine Doubek (’85) and Mark Turk (’77) are co-chairs for what has been dubbed the “Publishing The Next 100 Years” campaign. A golf outing and perhaps a summer reception are tentatively being planned, Ryan said. Additional reporting by John Ryan
-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 5 p.m. every Thurday in 2434 Buzzard Hall. The Agency produces -30-, writes news for the department’s Wordpress blog at eiujournalism.wordpress.com and handles the department’s twitter @EIU_Journalism
Editor: Lexi Stickel, aestickel@eiu.edu Writers: Lola Burnham, John Ryan, Sally Renaud, Tenicha Hudson, Jazmin Smiley, Sharita Harris, Liz Grubart The Agency Adviser: Liz Viall, ekviall@eiu.edu Photos: Paul Pinderski, Mindy Fonner, H. Rick Kamman, Lola Burnham, Joe Gisondi, Liz Viall
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Class Notes 1980 Tom Keefe earned an all-expenses-paid trip to Super Bowl XLIX (49 for Latin-numeral-challenged readers). Tom’s employer, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., held a contest in which employees could submit a 15-second video and 150-word statement regarding their “favorite football moment.” His entry of a Bear/Packers game at which Tom first saw Aaron Rodgers in action was one of three finalists. After an employee vote, Tom’s entry was the winner. Tom is also developing a second career as a paid public speaker under the moniker of “Commakazi,” and he would love to hear from other Eastern journalism alums who are working as a paid speaker or who could provide referrals to opportunities. For more information, contact Tom via email at commakazi@commakazi.com or by phone at 847-977-8172. 1982 Dan Brannan recently left The Telegraph in Alton to become content director for an Alton-based website, Riverbender.com, which contains news and information for northern Madison, Calhoun, Jersey and Greene counties. Riverbender also recently launched a website, EdGlenToday.com, that focuses on the communities of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. Dan and his wife, Michele, have three children and live in Glen Carbon. You can contact Dan at dbrannan1978@gmail.com. (Thanks to Brent Feeney [Class of 1988] for the update.) Dru Sefton reports that she and husband Andy Savoie (Class of ’81) will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary April 9. Dru writes, “He’s planned a very top-secret weeklong jaunt. Friends and family know what’s up but it’s a total surprise for me. Can’t wait!” Dru is also learning to play an instrument called a Saron in a Gamelan group in Washington, D.C. Gamelan is an ancient Indonesian musical tradition. Dru practices twice weekly in an ensemble at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington. The instruments are mainly percussive metallophones, which she said are similar to xylophones, drums and large gongs. “The music is very ethereal, almost otherworldly,” she writes. Peggy (McMeen) Stankoven has accepted a limited partnership invitation with The Jones Financial Cos., the holding company for the financial services firm Edward Jones. She joined Edward Jones in 2007 and works as a communications specialist in the marketing department. 1987 Nancy Yamin Smith received a 2014 Distinguished Adviser Award
1990 Deb Bullwinkel lives in Villa Park and if you see her there you will have to address her as everyone there does and call her Village President. She was elected in a landslide. She ascended to the presidency after serving four years as a village trustee. She continues to run her own PR/marketing company but says she does more convention meeting and planning PR/marketing these days.
from the Dow Jones News Fund at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., in November. Smith, a former editor-in-chief of the Warbler, has taught high school journalism for nearly 30 years, for many years at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo., where she advises the Image newspaper, the Legend yearbook and 1992 lhsimage.com. Debbie Carlson has expandDiana Winson recently celebrat- ed the number of publications she ed 20 months as the Career Tech- writes for to include The Guardian nologies instructor at the Du Quoin (London), where she writes weekly Impact Incarceration Program — a about commodities. That includes “boot camp”-style minimum-securi- everything from the impact of ty correctional facility. The course is OPEC’s decision not to cut oil prooffered through Lake Land College duction to why your steak prices are in Mattoon. Di writes that she con- so high. She still writes for the Chitinues to work on her photography cago Tribune and a number of other and writing skills and hopes to have financial publications. This summer a creative project finished by the end she interviewed one of her favorite authors ever, short-story master and of this year. MacArthur Genius grant winner Stuart Dybek, as part of a monthly arts 1988 Brent Feeney writes that he and podcast she does for the Guild LiterDan Brannan (Class of 1982) are ary Complex. You can take a listen at teamed up again, working for an Al- https://soundcloud.com/guild-literton-based website, Riverbender.com, ary-complex. which contains news and information for northern Madison, Calhoun, 1993 Women’s Media Center pubJersey and Greene counties. Riverbender also recently launched a web- lished Laura (Durnell) Hincks’ site, EdGlenToday.com, that focuses commentary on breastfeeding eduon the communities of Edwardsville cation in August. It is titled, “Education About Breastfeeding Needs to and Glen Carbon. Dan recently left a 17-year stint Start Earlier — Much Earlier.” The as executive editor of The Telegraph URL for the article is: http://www. in Alton to take the position of con- womensmediacenter.com/feature/ tent director, while Brent is cover- entry/education-about-breastfeeding sports. The two of them worked ing-needs-to-start-earliermuch-eartogether in Sikeston, Mo., Rocky lier Mount, N.C., and Clemson-Seneca, 1995 S.C. After working exclusively for meBrent writes that he is still single. In addition to his work with River- dia companies since he was 16, Ryan bender, he is also a caretaker for his Giusti decided to feed a midlife crisis mom, who suffered a stroke in Octo- and risk it all for the exciting world ber 2013 (his father died in January of banking. In January he became 2013), and he himself has recovered the senior digital content developer from a small stroke he suffered Dec. for SunTrust Bank, the ninth largest 11. Brent (when not spending time bank in the U.S. He’ll be writing softin Glen Carbon with his mom) lives ware requirements for the bank’s new in the Carondelet neighborhood of content management system as well as helping lead a team responsible for south St. Louis. You can contact Brent at Brent- publishing content to the bank’s various digital products. He notes that he Feen16@yahoo.com. “will also have to suck it up and use Jean Wright Medina continues Windows for the first time” in his life. to lead communications for Airlines Rob Manker is approaching two for America, the D.C.-based trade association for the largest U.S. airlines. years out of newspapers after leaving She commutes between home in Ge- the Chicago Tribune for the world of neva, Ill., where she lives with her marketing, advertising, PR and social three teen-aged daughters, and D.C., media. Rob is now manager of conwhere she stays in her Mary Tyler tent marketing for ConAgra Foods Moore apartment, constantly on the in Naperville. He leads an internal team of writers and graphic designers lookout for Rhoda. creating multi-platform digital and Michelle Mueller Teheux is a social content—articles, infographgrandma! Charlotte Rose Moritz was ics, listicles and videos—for brands born to April Hebron Moritz and such as Hunt’s tomatoes, RO*TEL, Zach Moritz (both EIU grads) on PAM cooking spray, Reddi-Wip, OrDec. 5, 2013. When she’s not doting ville Redenbacher’s and more. In this on her granddaughter, Michelle is role, Rob is also editor of the newly editor at the Pekin Daily Times, where launched Forkful.com, dedicated to covering ConAgra’s brands and their she has been since 2008.
stories with editorial-style content. On the side, Rob has taken up freelance marketing communications and social media consulting. Chris Seper is now vice president of healthcare at Breaking Media. Seper was formerly chief executive officer and founder of MedCity Media, which was acquired by Breaking Media. Breaking Media runs Above the Law, Dealbreaker, Fashionista, Breaking Defense, Breaking Energy and Breaking Gov. 1998 Reagan Branham started a new job in August as a senior marketing coordinator at Hastings+Chivetta Architects in St. Louis. She also married Greg Jonsson, a Northwestern University journalism grad and an editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The couple met while Reagan was still working at the Post-Dispatch. Chuck Burke and his wife, Kathy, welcomed a baby boy, Blaise Theodore, on Jan. 17. Blaise joins two siblings. Katie (Vana) Manker just marked 14 years at the Chicago Tribune where she works as a part-time photo editor. She also recently launched her own side business, The Scan Artist (check out her page on Facebook), where she specializes in scanning, restoring and archiving digital versions of treasured printed photographs. That’s all in addition to her full-time gig of keeping the Goodship Manker sailing while ensuring that James (11), Tori (9) and Tommy (6) are all where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there. Katie and Rob still live in Naperville and would love to hear from you. 1999 Tammie Sloup has been promoted to managing editor of The Times at Ottawa, where she had served as associate editor since 2008. She joined the newspaper as a reporter in 2002. 2003 Alta King has been the communications specialist for the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce since April 2014. She is responsible for member retention, media relations and newsletters. She also is in charge of the women’s networking and the Chamber’s sales and marketing events. King is also the editor of the bi-monthly newsletter of the Quincy Charter Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association and is in charge of publicity for the organization. 2004 Holly Henschen is the director of communications at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. 2005 Matt Williams has been the assistant director of pagination for Civitas Media’s design hub in Lumber-
February 2015 ton, N.C., since June 2014. His son, nician at Walgreens and is waiting to 8.2 ounces and was 20 inches long Lyle, turned 3 in November, and his hear where he will be attending school at birth. Grandfather John Plevka daughter, Lorelei, turns 2 in April. to become a physician’s assistant. (Class of 1981) is general manager of the Vidette at Illinois State University. 2006 Amanda Dugan is doing con- Rounding out the list of Eastern alums David and Laura (Griffith) In- sumer media marketing at Bloomberg is John’s wife and Elsie’s grandmother, low, of Alton, welcomed a daughter, LP in New York City. She had been Jeanenne Plevka (Class of 1983). At Amelia Harper Inlow, at 9:42 a.m. involved in marketing and audience the end of her list, Hannah wrote, Sept. 4 at Alton Memorial Hospital development for Bloomberg LINK, “Elsie ’37 (kidding…sort of).” Maybe in Alton. Amelia Harper weighed 7 following a stint at Crain Communi- we’ll see Elsie around the halls of Buzpounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches cations. zard in the future. long at birth. Her grandparents are In other news, Hannah and MiJim and Nancy Inlow, of Alton, and Kevin Kenealy is teaching at chael bought a house in Morton and Robert and Minette Griffith, of God- Crete-Monee High School as a fresh- moved there in July. frey. Her great-grandparents are Lois man honors and regular teacher. Donahue, of Godfrey, and Wayne In- Kevin was hired in September as a Rick Kambic is now a staff relow, of Alton. late hire and writes that he is “loving porter for the Chicago Tribune Media every minute of it.” The school has a Group. For two years he has worked Jennifer Chiariello Orland and journalism club that Kevin hopes to as a beat reporter covering news in the husband, Geoff Orland, bought their be involved in next year and also has northwest suburbs of Chicago for the first home at the end of September in journalism classes that he plans to Pioneer Press newspaper chain. On Tinley Park. Jennifer writes, “We had volunteer to teach. Outside school, Oct. 31, the Chicago Tribune bought surprise expert organizational help Kevin continues to whittle away at Pioneer Press from the Chicago Sunfrom The Rachael Ray Show on mov- his 50-state bucket list. He visited 18 Times, ending its more than 30-year ing day.” states in 2014 and only has about 10 to ownership over the suburban chain go to reach his goal. of 32 weekly newspapers. So far, Rick Danny Williams and his wife, is maintaining his geographic beat for Stephanie, welcomed their second Hollie Smith, former Warbler ed- Pioneer Press covering a variety of child, Rory Odin Williams, born itor, married James Conroy on Nov. news topics in Central Lake County, at 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7. Rory weighed 9 23 in Key West, Fla. Hollie is a biz with some of his articles being repubpounds, 5 ounces and was 20 inches team section editor at Brafton, which lished in the Chicago Tribune or other long at birth. He was also welcomed provides content marketing strategies affiliated publications. by his big sister, Grace Mae. In other and the online writing, graphics and news, Danny was also named pres- videos for businesses. 2010 ident of the Rochelle Chamber of Ashley Corbett is part of the upCommerce late last year. Adam L. Tedder and Katie An- dates team in the operations departderson-Tedder moved to Woodstock ment at GrubHub Inc., where she has 2007 in October and will celebrate their worked since October 2011. GrubHub Adam Testa accepted a position third year of marriage on Oct. 5, 2015. is an Internet company where users as a communications specialist with Adam currently works for the Infor- can search for and order food for dethe Anthem (Arizona) Community mation and Technology Department livery and pickup online in about 800 Council. In that role, he writes and of the Kane County government in U.S. cities and London. As part of the edits a variety of materials, including Geneva. Katie manages her family update team, Ashley handles logo and social media, internal and external business, Anderson’s Candy Shop in menu updates. publications, and news story for the Richmond, and also writes freelance Ashley writes, “Journalism helped council website. He also photographs articles for various publications. Katie me get this job and keep this job. The community events and participates in writes that they both “miss their DEN style that GrubHub uses is AP style. event promotion. One of my jobs is to copy edit, or as we buddies.” call it QA, the work as it gets completHolly Thomas is a case managChris Walden is just starting a ed. Knowing the style makes it easier.” er working with sexual assault and new job as a copy editor and designHer knowledge of the “ins and domestic violence survivors at Ad- er with Shaw Media’s local newsdesk, outs” of Photoshop and InDesign led vocates Building Peaceful Commu- which oversees several daily papers in to her work with logos. She said she nities in Steamboat Springs, Colo. In the area, one of which is the Northwest is surprised by the lack of people who September, she also started a project Herald. He’ll be working alongside know how to use those programs. called Operation No Shame with the several Eastern alums, including KrisIn her off-hours, she is still doing mission to illuminate the fact that no tina Peters (’09) and Juliette Beau- theater in Chicago as a freelance stage one deserves to be raped, abused or lieu (’09). manager with different storefront thebullied. Holly writes, “We encourage ater companies. And as if that’s not survivors of sexual assault, physical 2009 enough, she also works as a tax preand emotional abuse, and bullying Angela Pham was promoted to a parer for H&R Block during tax seato raise their voice through art.” She manager in the Thought Leadership son. Whew! is working toward nonprofit status in Institute at PwC in November and is 2015. Spenser Nobles is working at Allstill working in the Manhattan office. Holly also published a book based Angela writes, “My big project of the state in Northbrook. on her graduate thesis, “IR Theory last several months has been strategizand State Cooperation on Blood Di- ing for and managing the social meAlycia Rockey, associate photo amonds,” and had several short sto- dia presence of two executives at my editor at Rodale, Inc., and a photo reries, essays, and poems published in company to promote their book, The searcher at Budget Travel, is engaged various literary journals, such as The Self-Made Billionaire Effect, published to Jason Grafinger. Cream City Review, The Veterans Proj- by Penguin’s business unit Portfolio in ect, The Review, and Crack The Spine. December.” 2011 In addition, her daughter MadeDan Cusack joined Officite in line turned 1 year old in 2014. Dylan Polk is the news and sports Downers Grove in September. He is a copywriter there, editing dental, chieditor at the Woodford Times. 2008 ropractic and veterinary blogs. Matt Daniels was named actHannah (Plevka) Schulte and ing sports editor of the Champaign her husband, Michael (also an EastJennifer (Brown) Olson startNews-Gazette in January. ern alum, Class of 2008), welcomed ed as a sales associate at JCPenney in daughter Elsie Eileen Schulte on Nov. Champaign last April. She also pubJason Duarte is a pharmacy tech- 25, 2014. She weighed 8 pounds, lished her first book in 2014, a poetry
5 collection titled “Rolling Tides” that is available on Kindle. You can read her blog at http://jenolson.net. Kayleigh Zyskowski changed her last name to Rahn when she married William Rahn June 21. In September they bought a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Douglas County. Kayleigh also recently started a new gig as editor of The Tuscola Journal. 2012 Wally Swenson is head of advance operations in Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Springfield office. 2013 Sara Hall recently accepted a position as a search engine optimization coordinator at Crate and Barrel, where she works on, among other things, product descriptions for the CB2 brand. Chacour Koop is working for The Daily News in Galveston, Texas. He covers the suburbs of south Houston and Galveston Island. 2014 Sean Copeland was just hired as a featured columnist at Chi City Digital Media. The company is a start-up focusing on entertainment, sports and fashion, as well as national trends, in the Chicago area. The site officially launched Feb. 1. Sabrina Ann Duncan is working at Decatur Memorial Hospital in materials management. Kaylia Eskew recently completed a two-month internship at an archeological dig site called Huacca Pullcana in Lima, Peru. Brandyce Gordon joined the Easter Seals Central Illinois in October as development coordinator and executive assistant, based in Bloomington. Beginning in March, she and another young woman will be running a 5K each month to raise money. You can follow her progress on her blog at beautifulisnotanumber.wordpress. com and check out her fundraising page at https://www.kidstherapyprogress.com/Volunteers/Brandyce%20 Gordon. Zachary White accepted a job as a photographer and reporter at the Thermopolis Independent Record, a small weekly newspaper covering the town of Thermopolis, Wyo., which has a population of a little more than 3,000 and the largest mineral hot spring in the world. Zach reports that he made this decision on purpose, even though when he moved west he hardly had anything someone in Wyoming would consider “boots.” Amy Wywialowski is working on her master’s in historical administration at Eastern and has been occasionally freelancing for the Effingham Daily News. She also became engaged to Alex Gillespie on Dec. 4.
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Bohannon builds relationships with alumni By Tenicha Hudson
Randi Bohannon, EIU director of development, said she’s found journalism alums to be a “really tightknit group.” “The alumni seem to make their own effort to stay in contact with the department,” she said. Since Bohannon started working at Eastern in 2013, she has had to adjust to navigating her way around to get in contact with alumni. “This is a first time I have worked at a university level,” Bohannon said. Bohannon has worked for congressmen and the House of Representatives but said she enjoys this role more. Bohannon’s job as director of development is to connect with alumni of the university. “My job is to generate revenue for the university through fund development,” she explained. “It was a happy accident. The position came open at Eastern and I just thought that would be nice to be at home and here I am,” Bohannon said. Since Bohannon has been here,
she has been able to build relationships with alumni whom she has connected with through her job. “I consider some of the alumni my friends,” she said. Many of the alumni whom she has maintained contact with have established a relationship with the university. “The alumni that I have contacted are motivated to give back to the university because of their experience here,” Bohannon said. As an alumna Bohannon is familiar with the university. “I was a non-traditional student, working full-time and a single mom when I went to get my degree,” she said. Bohannon’s oldest daughter recently graduated and she has another daughter who currently attends Eastern. Even though Bohannon has worked here a short time, she has seen how Eastern’s alumni want to continue to have a relationship with the university. “I love the loyalty that alums have
Connections 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 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. The student media all have their own pages too. Just search for: • The Daily Eastern News • Warbler Yearbook • The Verge at EIU • WEIU TV Public Broadcasting Station
saw how Renaud interacted with students. “She has a genuine concern for people and their success,” Bohannon says. Renaud has helped Bohannon network with journalism alumni. “I needed a speaker for an event and she told me about a young lady that would speak at the event,” Bohannon said. She relies heavily on the people in the departments to help her contact alumni. “They maintain relationships and stay in contact with their alums and genuinely want them to be successful and do what they can to support that,” she said. Randi Bohannon Bohannon said many alumni want to make sure that future generafor EIU,” Bohannon said. tions will have the same opportunity As the director of development, as they had when they attended EIU. Bohannon has seen how many alum“I want to make sure that we are ni continued to stay active in their doing everything that we can to not department. only provide scholarships but make Bohannon said the first time she sure people know that they are out met Sally Renaud, the interim chair there,” she said. of the journalism department, she
Homecoming North set Feb. 21 in Chicago By John Ryan
The what, when, where and how have been determined. Now the only question left unanswered is who will show up for the Journalism Department’s Homecoming North celebration Feb. 21 in Chicago. A large gathering is expected from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Seven Ten Lounge, 2747 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Some finger foods, beer and bowling will be provided, but alumni will be asked to contribute to cover the cost of the event or else we’ll all be doing dishes. Journalism Interim Chair Sally Renaud and journalism faculty Lola
Burnham, John Ryan, Joe Gisondi, and Bryan Murley, among others, will be on hand to greet alumni and to catch up on what they are doing. Alumni will be let in on the plans for The Daily Eastern News’ 100th Anniversary Party on Nov. 7 at the University Union, and, of course, they’ll hear about our efforts to raise $100,000 in an endowment fund.
If you’re Twitter friendly, follow the department at @EIU_Journalism.
Kupiec, Warbler, News Watch, DEN take home awards • News Watch was named best TV newscast at that same event, held in Chicago. • The Warbler took a Pinnacle Award (formerly known as the Best of Collegiate Design contest) for an entertainment spread with a photograph by journalism senior Katie Smith, story by Brian Vorce (’14) and design by editor Brandyce Gor• Brad Kupiec (’14) received a don (’14). It also took Best of Show Silver Dome Award this fall from the for yearbooks under 300 pages at the Illinois Broadcasters Association for ACP/CMA national college media the best college play-by-play in the convention this fall in Philadelphia. state. • The Daily Eastern News took We are always proud of our student media, the students who produce them and the advisers who guide them. In the past several months, others have noted exceptional work in that regard. The following awards have been given to Eastern Illinois student media in the past few months:
ninth place in the four-year daily category at the ACP/CMA national college media convention this fall in Philadelphia, by far the school with the smallest enrollment in the top 10. Bobby Galuski (’14) was the editor of the Eastern News.
Brad Kupiec (’14) won a Silver Dome award from the Illinois Broadcasters Association for best college play-by-play in the state.
February 2015
Photo: Lola Burnham Brad Kupiec (’14), Liz Grubart, Meg Simpson, Katelyn Ifft, Savanna Tomei and Matt Gagnier commune during Chili Bash.
Chili Bash 2014
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Photo: Liz Viall Homecoming North, set for Feb. 21 in Chicago, is another chance for EIU journalism and student media alums to catch up with each other. Above, journalism professor Dan Hagen and Zach White (’13) talk during the department’s annual Chili Bash on campus.
Marco Santana (’08) second from left, was named journalism Alumnus of the Year during Homecoming festivities. Also partaking of chili and beverages were Pam Schwartz, Eric Hiltner (’10) and Christy Kilgore (’01). Photo: Lola Burnham
Alums together again Continued from Page 1 “We have confidence in each other,” she said. “We have that background. We have each other’s backs.” Kevin Murphy loves sports. But he’s also a good copy editor. News and sports. He started in 2010 at Sauk Valley in Sterling, Ill., copy editing (and occasionally covering sports) for two papers six days a week. Since August 2012 he has been in news and sports at the major design hub in Crystal Lake. And he likes being the go-to person. “It’s all over the map,” Murphy said. “I am trained on every section, so when we need someone to fill in, I can.” Murphy’s experience in sports has paid off, since he can fill in for the sports desk when needed. “I probably undertand that [sports] copy the most,” he said. “I know the conferences, if a person’s last name is spelled wrong or there are inconsistencies. I am a lot more confident in sports,” he said. But he’s not limited to sports. “I like doing A1 covers,” he said. “It’s not the same every day.” Murphy said that is one of the most exciting things about working at the Northwest Herald. One of the others is the pace.
“It’s like triage,” he said. Designers and copy editors have to be able to see the problems, evaluate which need to be handled first, and fix the problems. “I really like going to work and doing what I do. I love catching mistakes and not doing the same section every day. It keeps me on my toes.” And it’s fast. “Since [Kristina]’s taken over, as stressful as newsrooms can be, she’s done a good job of managing that.” Murphy said Peters has created a good working environment. “It’s been really great working with her, and it’s been fun working with everyone,” he said. “It’s good to be with all these Eastern people.” Although they see his stories all the time, at least one night a week they actually see Stephen DiBenedetto. He has a desk near the scanner, which may be noisy, but he’s used to it. Once a week he’s in the newsroom working the night shift, covering breaking news such as fires and accidents. DiBenedetto’s path to the paper was through the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois-Springfield. After interning in 2011 with fellow Eastern alum Dave McKinney, (’86) then at the Sun-Times, DiBenedetto worked for seven months at the Galesburg Register-Mail covering area local government. He started at the Herald in April 2012, covering local school and
village boards. “It’s not a typical office job,” he said. “Every day is a new story, and there is never a dull moment.” As a reporter, DiBenedetto is not in the same division of the paper as the rest of the alums, but he works with them indirectly. “I think it’s kind of neat. It’s rare to have four other people in the newsroom that you went to school with,” he said. “It’s comforting to know I’m working with people I have worked with in the DEN newsroom.” When Peters was editor-in-chief, DiBenedetto was the news editor. And now they are all employed and they still get to work together. “It’s especially nice in this day and age when times are tough are in the industry,” he said. And now there is Walden. Chris Walden has just joined the group on the desk. “It’s been fun,” Peters said. “It’s been awesome to see familiar faces when we’re at work, and it proves what good talent comes out of Eastern. We felt good hiring Chris because we know what he can do.” Murphy agrees. “Going back to our Eastern days, we know what we’re good at,” he said. “It’s good to be with Eastern people. We know our strengths and weaknesses and we feed off each other. You know who to go to for help.”
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EIU Journalism Faculty and Staff Notes Lola Burnham (’83) returned from her fall 2014 sabbatical. She studied for her comprehensive exams, which she hopes to take this semester, and continued her research on her dissertation that will examine First Amendment issues that concern junior high and high school speech directed at school officials that occurs off campus but online. Her first topic choice, however, was media in the Harry Potter books. Lola has been appointed to Committee for the Assessment of Student Learning and is still coordinating the department’s assessment, while advising The Daily Eastern News, with Katie Smith, a senior journalism major from Lake Villa, Ill., as editor. Welcome back, Lola. In Lola’s absence, John Ryan (’75) returned to editorial advising after a 10-year absence. His critiques bled blue ink, but the staff was heartened by the $5 bills awarded for the Best of the Week. JR is still busy directing the Mid-America Press Institute, now preparing for the Feb. 28 management workshop in St. Louis. Find out more information at https://mpinews.wordpress.com/. Eunseong Kim is on sabbatical for the spring 2015 semester. She is traveling to Korea and researching. When she comes back, she will be teaching Race and Gender in the Media and a section of the department’s new general education class, “News, Information and Media Literacy,” which is designed to help students dissect the messages that surround them: their origins, their sources, their biases. Joe Gisondi was a presenter Feb. 6 and 7 at the College Media Association’s second Sports Reporting Workshop at the Bridgestone Arena, home to the NHL’s Nashville Predators. [Four members of the Daily Eastern News’ sports staff: Bob Reynolds, Jehad Abbed, Blake Nash and Sean Hastings attended the conference.] Gisondi is also advising the Warbler, whose final deadlines are right around the corner. The Warbler editor is Gina Volk, a senior journalism major from Olney, Ill. Gisondi’s book, “Monster Trek: The Obsessive Search for Bigfoot,” will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in fall 2015. He has also been commissioned to write a second edition of his popular textbook, “Field Guide to Covering Sports.” Liz Viall is the adviser for The Agency, whose talent show for the Salvation Army is in its third year. The Agency staff, under the direction of senior journalism major Katelyn Ifft of Morton, Ill., coordinates the entire event, from the acts to the promotions. Viall also created a new promotional flier for the department to use
Photo: Joe Gisondi DEN sportswriters Blake Nash, Sean Hastings, Bob Reynolds and Jehad Abbed attended the College Media Association sports workshop Feb. 6 and 7 in Nashville. Standing in front is Buster Olney, ESPN senior baseball writer, who spoke at the event.
at open houses. Brian Poulter is the sponsor for the Society for Collegiate Journalists. Twenty-six new members were inducted in December, which included a suprise induction for Poulter as an honorary member. This semester the group will be staffing the journalism table at open houses, working at the IHSA state contest and other activities. Poulter was also happy to receive 17 new cameras for the advanced photojournalism class. Thank you, generous alums, for providing the money to purchase this equipment! Kelly Runyon (‘92) is teaching the beginning broadcast news writing class. News director of WEIU’s News Watch since 2001 and teaching for the department since 2011, Runyon has become a vital part of our faculty. Her staff won a Silver Dome Award from the Illinois Broadcasters Association this fall. Brian Murley traveled to Western Illinois University this fall to work with its journalism staff and students on multimedia. In his spare time he is still playing his guitar and working on a comprehensive music website for East Central Illinois at http://colescountyrocks.com/. Beth Heldebrandt, former features editor for the Journal Gazette, has been teaching Introduction to
Copy Editing for the department since 2004. For her “real job” she now works in Booth Library handling publicity and public relations. On Feb. 12 she presented a program on Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker at the Crawford County Historical Society in Robinson, Ill. Les Hyder participated in the Booth Library’s Revolutionary Decade, Reflections on the 1960s exhibit and program series. On Oct. 1, he presented Neglected Promises Realized: The First Amendment Comes of Age in the ’60s. Hyder focused on a series of rulings during the ’60s when the Supreme Court finally began to interpret the rights specified in the First Amendment as being guaranteed to all American citizens. Beth Kastl, the department’s office manager, is preparing to graduate with a degree in general studies. She walked in the December graduation and is finishing her final course as she takes care of the students and faculty who walk through our doors. Beth as been with the department since 2006. See the story on Page 3. Joining Runyon teaching Broadcast News and Heldebrandt teaching Copy Editing this semster as adjunct faculty members are two more seasoned professionals: Drew Wilder and Rich Moser.
Drew Wilder, a morning host and anchor on WCIA-3, the CBS affiliate in Champaign, teaches the Advanced Broadcast News class twice a week. He started at WCIA as a sportscaster and then moved to the morning show in 2012. Wilder worked for four years at News Watch as a student at EIU, and he graduated in 2008 with a degree in communication studies. Rich Moser, the sports information director for EIU since 2006, is teaching Sports Media Relations, a new course in the journalism department’s new sports media relations minor. Moser came to EIU from Gonzaga University where he was an assistant SID. Since arriving at EIU, Moser has worked with many journalism students who help with media guides, game stats and promotions. Welcome Drew and Rich to our staff! It was great to see retired journalism professor Evelyn Goodrich at our Sweet Fest to celebrate our December graduates. Goodrich had been hospitalized this summer but is getting her strength back. Goodrich came bearing chocolate chip cookies and was able to join us for the afternoon. So glad you are feeling better, Evelyn!