Journalism & Mass Communication

Juliet Eilperin, national reporter for The Washington Post and the author of “Demon Fish: Travels through the Hidden Worlds of Sharks.”

Andrew Light, senior fellow and director of International Climate Policy at the Center for American Progress.

5:30 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 8

Eaton Humanities room 150

Free and open to the public.

Co-sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program

Journalism graduates create multimedia stories for Tagwhat app

Imagine you have a little tour guide sitting on your shoulder that tells you fun facts and interesting stories wherever you go. That’s the gist of a new free smart-phone application from Tagwhat in Boulder. And, many of the multimedia stories on Tagwhat are courtesy of 2010 journalism graduates Phil McMichael, Stephanie Davis, Sara Fossum and Lauren Walter.

Summer Intensive students get a running start on college life and multimedia skills

Students of diverse backgrounds entering CU as Prejournalism freshmen in the fall joined the JMC faculty this week for a Summer Intensive. In addition to taking mini-courses in various skills needed for academic success, participants were hosted by journalism alumni on visits to The Denver Post, KUSA-TV and Cactus ad agency.

David Martinez coordinated the session and  Professor Paul Voakes was the faculty director.

The workshop gave a group of motivated, talented incoming students a solid foundation in both academics and professional practice. JMC brought in partners from the campus’s Student Academic Services Center to teach collegiate writing, math and a variety of skills that included time management, goal-setting and critical reading and listening. Then JMC faculty showed them the basics of reporting, videography and Web design.

“They had to put it all together in a daunting challenge: produce a journalistically substantive, multimedia website in 24 hours, with our coaching from the sidelines. And they rose to the challenge,” Voakes said.

The students said the experience was grueling but rewarding and that they feel much better prepared for freshman year.

“It’s important that young CU students know that despite the organizational changes of the past year, the JMC program itself is still robust and actively recruiting. And we have every indication that student competition for JMC admission will continue to be demanding”, Voakes said.

Helping the students were Instructors Paul Daugherty and Sandra Fish, doctoral student Caitlin Ring and JMC Technical Coordinator Daniel Schaefer.

The projects are posted here.

Associate Professor Mike McDevitt finds the civic life of Latino adults is influenced by their teenage children

A new study co-authored by Associate Professor Mike McDevitt suggests that the best way to encourage Latino adults to participate more fully in civic life may be through their teenage children.

McDevitt’s findings are particularly relevant for schools, media and campaign strategists trying to mobilize Latino adults. However, he also recommends that this outreach needs to be done in ways that preserve family unity and don’t undermine parental authority.

Advertising students win merit award in The One Show college competition

One Show Advertising seniors Marton Wessel (’11), art director and Josh Dick (’11), copy writer, won a merit award from the One Show college competition in May in New York City. The One Show, sponsored by New York City’s The One Club, is the premier international advertising competition with divisions for both students and professionals.

The reinvention and rebuilding of journalism is under way at CU

July 19, 2011

A message from Interim Director Chris Braider

Despite the so-called “discontinuance” needed to allow Journalism and Mass Communi­cation to begin the process of reinvention and rebuilding currently under way, the former school’s work has in fact continued unabated.  Indeed, with the appointment of an interim director who, as an outsider, has no personal or professional stake in the outcome, JMC’s faculty and staff have been given the chance to refocus on what truly matters—the educa­tion of our students and the scholarly, journalistic, and creative work the program’s dis­tinguished faculty produce.

The immediate road ahead thus involves devoting our energies to what brought us here in the first place: designing new courses and teaching old ones; recruiting bright new stu­dents for our seminars and placing those students in fruitful careers of their own; advan­cing research efforts like those pursued in the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, the Center for Environmental Journalism, or the Digital News Test Kitchen; and publish­ing our results in top-flight venues throughout the United States and the world.

However, even as JMC goes about its normal business with a renewed sense of purpose, no fewer than 11 members of the faculty are participating in the reinvention of our disciplines to which the Provost, the Office of Faculty Affairs, and the Dean of the Gra­duate School have helped us set our hands.

As currently envisioned, the next two years will witness the creation of a new institution­al framework and the articulation of a new curricular, professional, and scholarly mission involving elements drawn from across the spectrum of the arts, social sciences, computer and media sciences, and humanities on Boulder campus.

In the first year, the core work of reconceptualization and planning will be undertaken by the Steering Committee for Information, Communication, Journalism, Media, and Tech­nology (ICJMT), chaired by a member of the JMC faculty.  ICJMT will in turn be ad­vised by eight discussion groups designed to ensure that as many interests, insights, and perspectives as possible find a voice.  The plan is to tap CU-Boulder’s unparalleled re­sources in such a way as to enable the Steering Committee to elaborate a model as com­prehensive as it will be adventurous, and as rich as it will be challenging and exact.

The result of this year-long deliberative process will be the publication, in May 2012, of CU-Boulder’s formal plan for a new school, college, or network of research centers and institutes in which JMC will find a new home and fully restored autonomy.  This will then lay the foundation for the recruitment of a new leader capable of guiding JMC into the future.

Even the shrewdest of us can, as yet, only dimly imagine what will come of all of this.  The one thing we do know is that, with the recruitment its new leader, JMC will reemerge from the turmoil of the past few years endowed with a leadership role of its own.  For the social, technological, intellectual, and cultural transformations that contributed to the cri­sis JMC has had to endure affect the university—and in fact the nation—as a whole.

Advertising grad and artist Adam Milner shares his bedroom

Conceptual artist Adam Milner (’11) is putting his bedroom on display for 72 hours at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. In addition to studying advertising at CU Milner earned a BFA in painting and drawing. He was a Hemingway scholar and student assistant at CU. Read more.

Next steps in creating a college or school of information, communication, journalism, media and technology (ICJMT)

Provost Russell L. Moore has announced two important steps in the long-term goal of creating a school or college of information, communication, journalism, media and technology (ICJMT). Moore has appointed a steering committee to examine ICJMT issues and a set of eight discussion groups to inform that committee’s work.

The steering committee will be chaired by Andrew Calabrese, long-time faculty member in journalism at CU-Boulder, and will coordinate its activities with Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs Jeffrey Cox.

Professor Christopher Braider appointed director of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty

June 17, 2011

University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today named CU-Boulder Professor Christopher Braider director of journalism and mass communication faculty.

The move, effective July 1, “marks the next key step in developing a more contemporary program in journalism and media studies,” Moore said.

Braider will oversee the daily administrative operations of the faculty, including the implementation of the new Journalism Plus program, which is housed temporarily in CU-Boulder’s Graduate School. He will not be directly involved in curriculum design issues or teach in the department.

“The transition from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to a new program requires a fair-minded leader who will not be influenced by past conflicts and issues in the school,” said Moore. “Chris Braider has demonstrated in a number of positions at CU-Boulder that he can lead with fairness and objectivity while carrying out the many administrative tasks required to run a program.”

Moore said he chose Braider, a professor of French and Italian, as director because of his long tenure on campus and his programmatic leadership experience. Braider has been on campus for 20 years after having served on the faculty at Harvard University. He has served as chair of French and Italian (1994-2001), acting director of the Center for Humanities and the Arts (2004-05) and chair of Comparative Literature and Humanities (1996-97). He also was the 2010 winner of the Boulder Faculty Assembly Service Award.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted on April 14 to discontinue the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and to offer journalism education at CU-Boulder through a dual major structure beginning in the spring of 2012. With time, the Journalism Plus program could move into a larger interdisciplinary college or school that would incorporate disciplines such as computer science, media and advertising design, media studies and other related fields of study.

Contact:
Bronson Hilliard, CU-Boulder spokesperson, 303-735-6183

Read more:

• A message to the faculty and staff from Director Chris Braider.

• Journalism education continues at CU while program is restructured around new dual major.
• Reorganization timeline.

• Accrediting Council recommends provisional reaccreditation for journalism program.

• Read the Dean’s Message.

• Applications for fall 2011 are highest in six years.

• More information about the future of journalism at CU. Read the program discontinuance documents on the CU Academic Affairs site.

• Dean Voakes moves to professor post.

CU Science Update wins Heartland Emmy Award

CU Science Update won an Emmy Award for outstanding student production on Saturday from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Heartland Chapter for “Pluto the Un-Planet.” Instructor Paul Daugherty and Broadcast Production Students Greg O’Brien and Amanda Yourick were recognized along with Broadcast News majors Sara Handing, Eric Duggan, Sabina Hadzic and Jenna Browder. Read more.

CU Pre-Collegiate students study journalism

Journalism doctoral student Caitlin Ring is the journalism instructor this summer for the Pre-Collegiate Development Program, which began last week.  This is CU-Boulder’s four-week program that gives high school juniors a taste of the academic life and the residential life of a research university.  More than 20 students take classes in anatomy, math, business, art, engineering, leadership – and journalism.

Associate Professor Kathleen M. Ryan captures stories of WW II WAVES

Associate Professor Kathleen M. Ryan’s documentary “Homefront Heroines” tells the missing story of women who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Ryan, a multimedia director and producer, teaches broadcast news classes. The Longmont Times-Call ran a story about the documentary on May 24.

New York Times Features Boulder Digital Works

A New York Times business story Thursday highlighted BDW’s  innovative approach to training advertising creatives: “Though new entrants to the work force had grown up with computers, ‘the big illusion is just because they know how to play on the audience side, they know how to play on the stage,’ ” Associate Professor David Slayden was quoted as saying in the May 12 story.

“The problem with traditional educational programs trying to teach digital is they’re kind of strapped down to that old model,” said Chris Znerold, a 24-year-old student who had been an interactive designer at IAC before enrolling. “One of the things David’s done a great job of is untethering the curriculum. The classes change with the industry and with our particular interests.”

CU students study China’s media in China

China’s media, like the country itself, is rapidly expanding, surprisingly diverse, and continually evolving.  Those are some of the lessons learned in the SJMC’s first Global Seminar entitled China Through TIME.  The course was created and led by Professor and UNESCO Chair Meg Moritz and doctoral student Zhang Liang, a native of Urumchi, in Western China.  Eleven CU undergraduates participated in the course, which began with a series of seminars on the Boulder campus in April and concluded with two weeks of fieldwork in Beijing and Shanghai in May. CU’s Center for Asian Studies awarded the course a  $60,000 Tang Foundation Grant, which provided scholarships to students selected to participate.

In China, students met with a broad array of both Western and Chinese journalists, including the Beijing bureau chiefs of Reuters, CNN, and the Christian Science Monitor as well as correspondents from Time and Al Jazeera and influential bloggers.

In addition, journalists from CCTV, China’s major broadcaster, China Daily, Beijing News and Shanghai Media Group hosted the students for in-depth discussions focused on their editorial practices, their views on censorship and social media and their plans to aggressively market Chinese media products not only in China but also in the US and in the EU as they seek to develop the country’s so-called soft power.

“Thanks to the generosity of  friends and colleagues, we had amazing access to reporters, producers, and news managers, ” Professor Moritz said.  “Some of the discussions got quite heated, but the students were always respectful, open-minded and thoughtful.”

The group also had interactive writing projects and discussions with journalism students and professors from four Chinese universities.

“It was an intense schedule.  We were on the road early and would often wrap up late at night,” Professor Moritz said. “We’d use the bus rides for further discussion, debate and debriefings. It was jam packed and a great learning environment.”

Many students called it the “experience of a lifetime.” Leela Greenberg, a Chinese and Spanish major, summed up her reactions in an e-mail message.  ” I could have read 100 books on China but still would have missed the expressions, candid answers (or lack thereof) and curiosity of the journalists, experts and students…. where people and politics meet, there is never a dull moment and always another perspective.”

Moritz notes that in China traditional media are expanding, not shrinking. “There are enormously exciting opportunities for our students in China,” she says. “As we move toward a new program in journalism education, I hope we pursue them because our students need these kinds of opportunities to compete on the global stage.”

Other students in the program were Annika Amundson, Chinese and International Affairs; Elise Trivers, News-Editorial; Gabrielle Cox, Broadcast News and English; Leela Greenberg, Chinese and Spanish; Stephen Streeter, Advertising and Economics; and Susanna Wang, Economics and International Affairs.

Zhang Liang (PhD ’11) was the teaching assistant for the class.

John Leach Gives May 6 Graduation Speech

John Leach (‘74) (MA ‘79), a visiting professor at Cal Poly State University, managing partner at Digital Strategies and a faculty associate at Arizona State University, delivered the School of Journalism & Mass Communication graduation speech on Thursday, May 6,  in Macky Auditorium. He was managing editor for news and digital media for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

Rick Reilly: Without journalism there will be nothing to tweet, text, bing, blog, flog, poke, smoke signal or quilt about

A 1981 graduate of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Rick Reilly is one of the most decorated sports writers of all time. He received the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award and gave the SJMC’s commencement speech on May 5. Reilly began by commenting on outstanding student and faculty achievements noted by Dean Paul Voakes. Here are excerpts of his speech.

All the awards and stuff — why are we closing this thing? It’s a great place. We’re not going to close, we’re re going to be re-jiggered.

I would like to say whoever is out there and has my gown from, ’81 I’m sorry I spilled a Schlitz on it and let it sit in my closet for a few weeks.

I think my favorite professor when I was here is here. Ardyth Sohn, where’s Ardyth? Ardyth! How are you? She was my favorite. She always took care of me. I got a job at the sports department at the Camera and she sat me down. I was starting to write. I was getting bylines thinking I was pretty cool and she said, “I wanna tell you something. You are better than sports.”  I looked at my tax return from this year, and I would just like to say, “Pfft. No I’m not.

You guys should hang on to those diplomas though. It’s going to be a collector’s item. It’s like something you will never see again. Like a “Donald Trump for president” sticker or a polar bear. But this means a lot to me. Growing up in Boulder all I wanted to be was two things: a writer and a Buff, and this place made me both. So it means a lot to me to be here. I love being a Buff.  I love being a writer. I don’t care what you call this place.

This is my place — Chris Fowler and I talk about it — but it sounds like it’s going to be all right. I get we got to change with the times. We got to learn how to write for people . . . when they put in the contact lens that delivers the news when they blink, or whatever the hell it’s going to be. No matter the medium. If it’s Twitter, bang, boing, whatever, all of this whole giant digital house of cards is going to fold if we don’t send really good hard nosed reporters out there who dig out good stuff, then check it and then deliver it. It’s true! I don’t care what you call it. You need people like that. Because without real journalism there is going to be nothing to tweet, Facebook, text, bing, blog, flog, poke, post, roast, friend, unfriend, Wiki Leak, share, smoke signal or quilt about. They need us.

If there are not schools teaching journalists how to actually talk to people instead of sitting in their mom’s basement holding down couch springs and blogging for 1.3 people, then it all means nothing. If there are not real journalists to find things out for themselves instead of retweeting Rashard Mendenhall, or whatever idiot is out there, and presenting in a clear and accurate way. It’s all going to fall apart. They need you guys. This is why you are getting these jobs.

I know.  I spend half my day chasing down these ridiculous things that people throw out there, and 98 per cent aren’t true. And I know because two different people have pretended to be me on Twitter. Two different people! And it hacks me off because neither of them could spell and both of them were funnier than me.  Anyway, they want us to reinvent — we will reinvent things.

In fact I was thinking how cool it would be to go back and take a look at how some of the great journalism of the past would be done if those guys had graduated from here under this new social media digital directive.  So, 1924 the legendary sports writer Grantland Rice could have texted  “Outlined against a blue gray October sky the four horseman rode again in dramatic lore: famine, pestilence, destruction and — that’s it, he’s out of characters. In 1963 on Walter Cronkite’s Facebook page he wrote “ President Kennedy died today at 1 p.m. CST, 38 minuets ago”  –followed by a little tab you can click on that says, “I like this.’”  In 1969 Neil Armstrong could have Tweeted  “That’s one small step for man, tweeples, don’t hate LAMAO hash mark places your butt will never go.

I don’t know what you are going to call this place, dean, what is it now a department? A twallage? It’s still a great place with great teachers who put out great students, and I’m telling you they need you. So when you get out there I just want you to do me a couple favors. Don’t write for free. Doctors don’t doctor for free, professors don’t profess for free. When you do this stuff for free they won’t respect you in the morning or the next day, and they won’t respect anybody else that comes behind you. Don’t write for free. You are killing us.

Don’t ever use the word  “enjoy.” I was in Denver the other day and I bought a power cord for my laptop. The guy hands me the power cord, a bag, and a receipt and he says, “Enjoy.” Dude, where do you think I’m sticking this power cord?

Think about your questions when you’re out there. I’m interviewing a Philadelphia Philly pitcher last year some new young kid goes  – very gravely — he says to the Philly pitcher who’s been injured, “Where do you stand now physically?” And the guy goes “here?” Lastly, say new things. One of my rules is what Oscar Wilde said — number one rule — write sentences, say sentences that you have never heard or read before. I will break three kitchen table legs and pull two hammies trying to think of new ways to write a sentence.  So get out there and say things that people have never said before. For instance: “Shaq, why don’t you shoot the technical?” Maybe your lead could be something like “Bret Favre has finally made up his mind.” That’s never been said. Also, “Tiger, I would like you to meet my sister.” And if you all become editors hire me because if there is an NFL lock out this year there are going to be tons of lay offs at ESPN. Thank you and good luck. I appreciate it.

J-school spring ceremony is Thursday, May 5

The SJMC commencement ceremony is at 2 p.m., Thursday, May 5, in Macky Auditorium. Tickets are not required. Students may purchase invitations to the J-school ceremony at the front desk in the Armory 116 for $1 each with cash or a check. Please contact Amy Belue if guests need special parking or seating arrangements.

The CU commencement ceremony is at 8:30 a.m., Friday, May 6 in Folsom Stadium.

School applications are highest in six years

The school received the highest number of applications for fall 2011 in six years. The SJMC admitted 171 of the 313 applicants or 55 percent. The school has 750 majors this spring, with more than 250 graduating this spring and summer.

Prejournalism students apply to be admitted into one of five sequences: Advertising, Broadcast News, Broadcast Production, Media Studies or News-Editorial.

CU admissions reported last week that 200 prejournalism majors have confirmed they will attend CU next fall — about 20 more than confirmed at this time last year before the restructuring process began.

Need a job or an internship? Start here!

Resumes and interviewing for media jobs and internships

• Find out how to write a cover letter and resume to catch the attention of busy media managers.

• Learn valuable interviewing skills.

• Leave this fast-paced, one-hour session ready to start your internship or job search!

Monday, May 2, 4 to 5 p.m., Armory 218

SJMC Newsgathering master’s program wins provisional reaccreditation in Portland today

CU News Release

April 29, 2011

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications today in Portland, Ore., granted provisional reaccreditation to the University of Colorado Boulder undergraduate program in journalism and mass communication, in a 20-0 vote, and the master’s program in newsgathering, in a 17-1 vote.

“The vote for provisional accreditation of our undergraduate and graduate journalism programs affirms our confidence in the restructuring we have undertaken to deliver them,” said Provost Russell L. Moore. “We felt all along that, given a careful explanation of our intentions and goals for journalism, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications would see that we are restructuring our program for the better for both our students and our university. We now look forward to moving ahead with a bold vision for journalism education at CU-Boulder.”

With the accrediting council’s vote, the newsgathering master’s program continues as an accredited program and will be eligible for full reaccreditation in two years. Both the undergraduate program and the master’s program in newsgathering received provisional reaccrediting in March by an on-site visiting team of journalism professionals and academics. A lower accrediting council committee had overridden the recommended provisional accreditation for the master’s program earlier this month and denied the program accreditation.

“This is good news for our program,” said Dean Paul S. Voakes. “The process of discontinuance has been difficult to explain to our counterparts across the country, and I am gratified that this morning they understood that the true process is one of realignment and not elimination of the program.

“And also I’m gratified that this body recognized the fundamentally strong qualities of our program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”

-CU-

Contact

Malinda Miller-Huey, CU media relations, 303-999-7808
malinda.miller-huey@colorado.edu

READ MORE

Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism named

April 28, 2011

Five journalists have been selected as 2011-2012 Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The fellowships are hosted by the Center for Environmental Journalism at the School of Journalism & Mass Communication and funded through a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation. The nine-month program offers experienced journalists an opportunity to deepen their understanding of environmental issues and policy through coursework, seminars, independent projects and field trips in the region.

The new Ted Scripps Fellows are:

Tasha Eichenseher is environment editor and producer at National Geographic Digital Media. With nearly a decade of experience covering science and the environment, she has focused most recently on water resources. Prior to joining National Geographic she was a Capitol Hill reporter for online news services Greenwire, LandLetter, and Environment & Energy Daily, and has worked for E/The Environment Magazine, Green Guide, Environmental Science & Technology online news, and the National Geographic Channels. She has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oregon and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University.

Jody Jenkins is a journalist, producer and documentary filmmaker. He is currently an editor at France 24, a Paris-based, 24-hour news network that broadcasts in English, French and Arabic. As European Correspondent for Raleigh’s Spectator Magazine, Jenkins covered Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His first feature film, “American Jihadist,” a look at militant Islam through the eyes of an African-American convert who fought in the Bosnian War, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Slamdance Film Festival. He has a B.A. in journalism, history and French from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Kari Lydersen covered a wide range of environmental stories for The Washington Post for more than a decade when she was a staff writer for the Midwest Bureau. Since the bureau’s closing in 2009, Lydersen has worked as a freelance journalist and journalism professor in Chicago. She is currently a staff writer with the Chicago News Cooperative, a non-profit news outlet that provides content to the local edition of The New York Times. She is the author of three books related to labor, immigration and tangentially environmental issues. She has a B.S. in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

David Philipps is an investigative reporter and feature writer at the Colorado Springs Gazette.  He specializes in writing about the environment, natural resources and the military. For his coverage of the upswing in violent crime among a group of Iraq War veterans at Fort Carson, Philipps won the Livingston Award for national reporting and was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in local reporting. He later turned his series into a book titled after the nickname the profiled army unit gave itself: “The Lethal Warriors.” He has a B.A. in environmental studies from Middlebury College and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.

Jonathan Thompson is a freelance journalist currently based in Berlin.  He has recently published stories on U.S. politics and globalization. Before moving to Germany, Thompson was editor-in-chief at the non-profit news organization, High Country News. During his time at HCN, the publication and its writers won dozens of awards, including the 2010 Hillman Prize and the 2010 Utne Reader Independent Press Award for Best Environmental Coverage. Before that, he owned and edited two publications in the tiny mountain town of Silverton, Colo.  He has a B.A. in math and philosophy from St. Johns College in Santa Fe.

The Center for Environmental Journalism in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at CU-Boulder is the first of its kind in the United States. This will be the 15th class of Ted Scripps Fellows.

For more information call 303-492-4114 or visit the CEJ website.

Contact:

Len Ackland
303-492-0459

Deserai Crow
303-492-0364

Assistant Professor Hun Shik Kim quoted in USA TODAY

In a USA TODAY story today about CBS reporter Lara Logan, reporter Kelly Kennedy (MA ’07) quotes Assistant Professor Hun Shik Kim on the hostility toward foreign journalists. Logan was brutally attacked two months ago during the protests in Cairo.

“Covering war, conflict and political upheaval all entails possible physical danger, and we have to be more careful,” says Hun Shik Kim, who covered Iraq and now teaches at the University of Colorado. “We used to be considered neutral observers, but the level of hostility toward foreign journalists is quite high.” Kim teaches broadcast news and war reporting at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Message from the School to current majors and pre-journalism students

Dear Journalism and Pre-Journalism Majors,

April 22, 2011

As you know, the University’s Board of Regents voted 5-4 last week to discontinue our School, effective June 30.   It was the final moment in a political process that began last August when the chancellor first announced a “program discontinuance review.”  But we’ve had so many questions from students – and heard so many bizarre rumors! – that we thought we’d lay out the facts, and ask for your help in debunking the rumors.

It’s a “demise” of the School in name only.  We will become a Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.  The resolution the Regents adopted last week commits the university to continuing a degree program in journalism/mass communication on the Boulder campus, and in ways that will keep us “competitive for accreditation.”  The administration intends to keep our three most important resources intact  – our budget, our student body and our faculty/staff.  This will enable us to continue our educational programs with no disruption to our students’ progress toward the journalism degree.  And yes, we’re staying in the Armory.

Current majors, plus anyone admitted to the program for Fall 2011, will still proceed through the current curriculum and graduate with a bachelor of science degree from the SJMC.

That’s the immediate-impact news.  To look ahead a year or so, the mid-range plan, in effect for the Spring 2012 admission process, is called Journalism Plus.  It will offer our students a dual major, in journalism/mass communication and another discipline.  We see this as a significant improvement, as our students will be able to graduate not only with a full range of media skills but with a good deal of expertise in a content area.  Students intending to apply to the program for Spring 2012 entry have a deadline of Oct. 3, 2011, by which to submit the application.  Students hoping to enter the program in Fall 2012 likewise will go through the normal application process, next spring.  At this point we anticipate continuing our application procedures into the foreseeable future.  Students enrolled under Journalism Plus will receive a CU degree listing two majors on the same diploma: journalism “plus” the other major.

The long-term plan involves a new school or college.  This year’s Exploratory Committee has recommended the creation of a school/college and research institute to address the confluence of information, communication, media and technology.  I believe our JMC program is now being positioned to become a founding partner in that new enterprise. The teaching and study of media on this campus must remain responsive and relevant in a fast-changing media environment, and the new school will enable us to continue as a national leader in a new kind of media education.

So aside from a name change and the Journalism Plus degree plan for new  students, nothing changes! It’s sad to say goodbye to our beloved “SJMC,” but this program, more than any other on campus, should always be changing with the times.  As painful as the word “discontinuance” has been, it’s the first necessary step of a necessary change.  In terms of what we can deliver “on the ground,” we think the best is yet to come.  So we ask that you perform a valuable act of citizenship for your program: When you hear a friend, classmate or relative offer a statement to the effect that we are closed, raise your voice and say something like, “Actually, the journalism program is NOT ending.  I’m a major, so I should know.  It’s continuing indefinitely, in the same building.”  And then add whatever you feel like adding.   And if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to be in touch with advisers Jeanne Brown or Steve Jones.

Dean Paul S. Voakes
School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Journalism program continues and Armory is open as usual

Dean Paul S. Voakes and Dean John Stevenson tell students that the changes in the structure of the program “will be invisible” to students.

It’s Ad Show time

Creative Advertising students will show their work at the semi-annual Ad Show, beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, in the Boulder Digital Works space at 1010 Walnut St., 2nd floor, in downtown Boulder.

Try a J-school summer class

These classes are open to all.

Maymester
Term M: May 9 – May 26

JOUR 2403-001         Principles of Advertising
MTWRF     9 a.m to 12:15 p.m.

Term A (5 weeks): May 31– July 1

JOUR 4201-100            International Mass Communication
MTWRF    11 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.

JOUR 4331/5331–100        Women and Popular Culture
MTWRF    12:45 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.

JOUR 4871-100            Music, Research and the Media
MTWRF     11 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.

JOUR 4872-100            Digital Newsroom
MTWRF    12:45 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.

Each class offered for 3 semester hours.

Sign up here.

Town Hall Meeting for students on the future of journalism at CU set for April 18

A Town Hall Meeting for students is scheduled for 1 p.m., Monday, April 18, in Eaton Humanities 1B80.  The purpose of the meeting will be to answer any questions students may have about the meaning and implications of discontinuance of the SJMC, or about the new double major program. Journalism Dean Paul S. Voakes and Graduate School Dean John A. Stevenson will answer questions.

Under the proposed plan, journalism faculty will report to Dean Stevenson until a new school or college of communication is formed.

CU Regents are scheduled to discuss and vote on the future of the SJMC at 1 p.m., Thursday, April 14, at CU-Boulder’s East Campus Research Park, 4001 Discovery Drive.

Read more.

Regents vote 5-4 to discontinue SJMC

April 14, 2011

A message to alumni and friends of the SJMC from Dean Paul S. Voakes:

Today the University’s Board of Regents voted 5-4 to discontinue our School, effective June 30.   It’s sad to see the demise of any organization we’ve known and loved for years.  But today’s vote also — finally — enables us to address the underlying purpose of this year’s trying experience.  The University wants to discontinue the School so that it can create a journalism/mass communication program whose innovative and interdisciplinary approaches will propel us to national leadership in media education.

It’s a “demise” of the School only in the technical, administrative sense. We will become a department of journalism and mass communication.  The resolution the Regents adopted today commits the university to continuing a degree program in journalism/mass communication on the Boulder campus, and in ways that will keep us “competitive for accreditation.”

The administration intends to keep our three most important resources intact  – our budget, our student body and our faculty. This will enable us to continue our educational programs with no disruption to our students’ curricula.

The mid-range plan, in effect by 2012, is called Journalism Plus.  It will offer our students a dual major, in journalism/mass communication and another discipline.  I see this as a significant improvement, as our students will be able to graduate not only with a full range of media skills but with a good deal of expertise in a content area.  (In the meantime, current students will finish out their degrees under the current curriculum.)

The long-term plan is even more promising.  This year’s Exploratory Committee has recommended the creation of a school and research institute to address the confluence of information, communication, media and technology.  I believe our JMC program is now being positioned to become a founding partner in that new enterprise. The teaching and study of media on this campus must remain responsive and relevant in a fast-changing media environment, and the new school will enable us to emerge as national leaders in a new kind of media education.

So we’ll raise a toast (or two) to our beloved SJMC, but in terms of what we deliver “on the ground,” I think the best is yet to come.

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Regents schedule SJMC vote for April 14

A special meeting of the CU Board of Regents to decide the future of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication has been set for 1 p.m., Thursday, April 14, at CU-Boulder’s East Campus Research Park, 4001 Discovery Drive.

Tom Rosenstiel will deliver the John E. Holden Journalism Lecture on April 12

News in the 21st Century:
What We Need from Educators and Journalists

Tom Rosenstiel, co-author of “Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload” and director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, will deliver the John E. Holden Journalism Lecture at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, in Education 220.

A reception will follow in the Old Main Heritage Center from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

Tom Rosenstiel is an author, journalist, and founder and director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a think tank that studies the news media and is part of the Pew Research Center in Washington. A journalist for more than 30 years, he worked as media critic for the Los Angeles Times and chief congressional correspondent for Newsweek magazine and is vice chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists.

At Project for Excellence in Journalism, he is the editor and principal author of the Annual Report on the State of the News Media, a comprehensive report on the health of American journalism. He also directs the Project’s other research efforts, including its weekly real time content analysis of the mainstream press called the News Coverage Index and its content analysis of blogs and social media called the New Media Index.

The annual Holden lecture is made possible by an endowment from John E. “Jack” Holden (’48) and his wife, Marguerite “Peggy” Holden.

Recent Grad Among Pulitzer Winning Team

Stephanie Clary (‘08) associate online producer at The Seattle Times is among the team of reporters and editors who won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news on April 12 for coverage of the shooting deaths of four Lakewood Police officers and the 40-hour manhunt for the suspect, Maurice Clemmons. Clary used Google wave to follow the action. She is a former Campus Press editor.
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Need a job or an internship? Start here!

Resumes and interviewing for media jobs and internships

• Find out how to write a cover letter and resume to catch the attention of busy media managers.
• Learn valuable interviewing skills.
• Leave this fast-paced, one-hour session ready to start your internship or job search!

Monday, April 11, noon to 1 p.m. Armory 206

Wednesday, April 20, 5 to 6 p.m. Armory 206

Hearst Journalism Contest Winners Named

SJMC graduate Kasia Broussalian placed in the top 10 in the Hearst Journalism Awards Photojournalism contest in April, and senior Jordan Steffen placed in the top 20 in the Hearst personality profile contest. This is the fourth Hearst award Broussalian has won.

Senior Wins Top Damon Runyon Scholarship

Denver Press Club

Emery Cowan, a News-Editorial senior, is the top Damon Runyon scholarship winner. Cowan received a $2,000 scholarship check from the Denver Press Club on April 9 at its annual Damon Runyon Dinner. She interned at the Greeley Tribune and Delicious Living magazine in Boulder. A student writer for the CU alumni magazine for the past four years, Cowan is also a former Campus Press staffer. This summer she will intern at the Gazette in Colorado Springs.

Benson recommends ‘permanent home’ for journalism at CU-Boulder

CU President Bruce Benson’s memo asks Chancellor Phil DiStefano to “proceed quickly toward solidifying a permanent administrative structure and academic home for CU’s Journalism program.” Chancellor DiStefano responds with pledge to offer dual degree for undergraduates and pursue reaccreditation for both undergraduate programs and Newsgathering master’s.

Memo from President Benson recommending program discontinuance for the SJMC (April 6, 2011)

Response from Chancellor Phil DiStefano to President Benson (April 6, 2011)

Get linked to SJMC alumni group

Join more than 950 SJMC alumni and students in the SJMC LinkedIn group to find old friends and make new contacts.
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SJMC Calendar

Click here.

Social network your way to a job

Make Facebook work for you! Your online presence can put you over the top in a good way — or not. Find out how to put your best face forward. Use social networking to propel your career in the right direction.

5 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, Armory 218

Panelists will include:

Ef Rodriguez (’07), associate media director, conversation cultivation at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Colorado Daily columnist

Sandra Fish, journalism instructor and social networking queen

Marshall Zellinger (’02), 7 NEWS reporter, who advanced his career through social networking

Zach Shapiro (’11), creator of iPhone apps Beeline RTD and My Reading List and business development intern at Next Big Sound

2011 Innovator is Edward Boches, chief innovation officer at Mullen Advertising in Boston

Edward Boches, chief  innovation officer, Mullen Advertising Agency in Boston is this year’s Innovator. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 5, in the ATLAS Black Box Theater. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Boches will be interviewed by business journalist Warren Berger.

Over the last 28 years Boches has helped define the agency’s creative standards, established its public relations group, integrated digital design and production into all of the agency’s operations and launched its growing social influence practice.

In 2010, he gave up his long-held position as chief creative officer to become chief innovation officer. In his new role he focuses on emerging technologies, social platforms and changing consumer media habits to develop innovative ideas for clients and to influence the agency’s ongoing transformation.

Boches speaks frequently on industry and consumer trends; writes an Ad Age 150 blog called Creativity_Unbound; serves on the board of directors at Boulder Digital Works where he helps run executive workshops; and is also a board member at Spring Partners, makers of the popular Springpad application.

The talk is free and open to the public. The Innovators Series started in 2008 with Alex Bogusky.

News-Editorial senior wins 2011 Clinique Fresh Faces Summer Internship

Maggie Schoonmaker, a News-Editorial senior, has been awarded a 10-week rotational internship at Clinique and a one-week, behind-the-scenes experiential opportunity at Teen Vogue in New York City.

Ms. Schoonmaker’s passion lies in women’s empowerment as she spent a year volunteering at the YWCA of Boulder County, a non-profit that provides services to women and children. She created a curriculum to educate young girls on positive body image while also researching how media impacts perception. While supporting herself through college, she interned at three magazines while also working in the CU-Boulder Communications department.

Of Streets, Beats and Tweets: The Role of Social Media, Satellite Television and Popular Culture in Fomenting Revolution in the Middle East

Professor Adel Iskandar of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies & the Communication, Culture and Technology Program, Georgetown University, will speak on Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in Humanities 150. His talk is sponsored by the Certificate in International Media offered by the International Affairs Program (IAFS) & School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The talk is free and open to the public.

Team recommends provisional reaccreditation

The visiting team representing the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication on Tuesday recommended provisional reaccreditation for the School. If this finding is ratified by two national accrediting bodies later this spring, it would mean that the School would have two years to rectify the main problem cited in the team report.

The team found the School out of compliance on only one of the nine standards: governance. Problems with governance, the team writes, have “led the University to step in” and propose the discontinuance of the School. In order to remove its “provisional” status, the team writes, “As the (program discontinuance) process moves forward, an effective structure must be built that includes and acknowledges the high demand for journalism and mass communication education.”

SJMC Dean Paul Voakes said, “I think that under this year’s unusual circumstances, with program discontinuance looming in the foreground, this recommendation is a good result for us. The scenario of building an ‘effective structure’ to move our program forward seems eminently feasible.”

The team also evaluated the School’s master’s program in professional Newsgathering. The program was found deficient in governance, diversity and assessment of student learning. The team recommended provisional reaccreditation for this program as well.

The School now has a week in which to correct factual errors in the team’s report. It will then be forwarded to the national Accrediting Committee, which will vote on the team’s recommendation at its March 27 meeting in Chicago. The Committee’s decision will then be forwarded to the national Accrediting Council, which will meet April 29-30 in Portland, for final ratification.

Applications for Certificate in International Media due March 15

The Certificate in International Media is a unique undergraduate program designed to give Journalism majors the context and perspective necessary to work in international media jobs.  This will help you to present yourself distinctively in a difficult job market—merely cluster 25 specified elective credits (can include Study Abroad with prior approval) and earn an additional certificate with no extra courses or time to graduation.

Coursework allows students to study the geography, economics, history, and policies that shape contemporary practices in media around the world.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. on March 15 to the Journalism front desk (Armory 116).

Download application materials and instructions.

Journalism education in times of creative destruction: Revisiting the academic/professional debate

Steve Reese, the Jesse H. Jones Professor of Journalism and Associate Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, will give the Ralph L. Crosman Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in Education 220.

A reception will follow at the Old Main Heritage Center from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

The School of Journalism & Mass Communication’s annual Ralph L. Crosman lecture series honors the memory of one of the most distinguished faculty members and administrators in the history of the school.  Crosman joined the CU faculty in 1921, the year before the journalism program became a formal department.

Career Day 2011

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wed., March 9
UMC 235

All students and alumni are invited to attend the SJMC’s annual Career Day.

Meet recruiters from print, broadcast, advertising, public relations and non-profits. Representatives of post graduate program in political reporting and advertising will attend. The student Journalism Board is also planning panels on social media, international reporting and diversity in media. More information.

Investigative Journalism in the Age of TMZ

Faculty and students are invited to meet Kevin Davis, CEO of the nationwide Investigative News Network, at noon on Monday, March 7, in Armory 218. Davis helps INN as they replace the work of investigative journalists laid off by corporate media. An expert in revenue and product development for news enterprises, he is a passionate evangelist for empowering investigative journalists in the digital era.Davis is visiting the school as a Hearst Professional in Residence.

He will also participate in a Saturday, March 5 event from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in UMC 245 called Better Business Models to Sustain Non-profit Investigative News. More information.

Get ready for Career Day. Start here!

• Find out how to write a cover letter and resume to catch the attention of busy media managers.
• Learn valuable interviewing skills.
• Leave this fast-paced, one-hour session ready to start your internship or job search!

Armory 1B01
Wednesday, March 2, 4 to 5 p.m.

More on Career Day