Category: College Media

Advice from “College Photographer of the Year”

By Bradley Wilson
CMR Managing Editor

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Carolyn Van Houten is the 70th College Photographer of the Year. Now a staff photographer at the San Antonio Express-News, Van Houten is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After you were named the top college photographer this year, you said, “I’m kind of shocked.” Elaborate.

Photojournalism competitions are quite arbitrary, so when you are named the “College Photographer of the Year,” it’s a bit shocking, because you know that there were a lot of really incredible photographers all around the world that year who also could have won given different judges and different circumstances.

For someone else who aspires to be a top-notch college photographer, what would you suggest?

I would suggest doing a lot of internships, especially ones that put you in communities out of your comfort zone for long periods of time. I would also suggest seeking mentors who will help foster your way of working, not just your work—mentors who take the time to get to know you and recognize your quirks so that they can help you work them into strengths. Continue reading “Photojournalists: Get out of your comfort zone”

Student journalists drive political coverage on campus

In Philadelphia, The Temple News staff is constantly covering elections, from the presidential race to down ballot contests.

• The paper covered U.S. Senate debate for the Pennsylvania seat that took place this week before. http://temple-news.com/news/senate-candidates-debate-tpac/
• Libertarian Vice Pesidential candidate Bill Weld’s visited Temple. http://temple-news.com/multimedia/libertarian-vice-presidential-candidate-bill-weld-visits-main-campus/
• Hillary Clinton comes to Temple (video). http://temple-news.com/multimedia/hillary-clinton-comes-temple-university/
• Donald Trump appearance draws protest (video). http://temple-news.com/multimedia/donald-trump-appearance-center-city-draws-protests/
• Student petition to cancel classes on election day. http://temple-news.com/news/students-petition-cancel-classes/
• Opinion piece on third-party candidates http://temple-news.com/opinion/dont-dismiss-third-party-candidates/
• Opinion piece on professors balancing campaign coverage. http://temple-news.com/opinion/professors-balance-campaign-coverage/

Links provided by John DiCarlo, Student Media Program Director and Adjunct Journalism Instructor, Temple University

Pondering the past, present and future of journalism

Reviewed by Carolyn Schurr Levin, Stony Brook University School of Journalism

A book about the past, present and future of journalism and the news media sounds like a monumental and daunting undertaking. Yet, this is exactly what C. W. Anderson, Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson have written. In The News Media: What Everyone Needs To Know, released in September 2016, Downie, the former editor of The Washington Post and now a professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Schudson, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, and Anderson, an associate professor at the College of Staten Island, start with the first newspaper in 1605 and end with robots writing news stories in 2016. The authors concede in their first sentence that “[i]t might seem presumptuous to write a book promising readers ‘what everyone needs to know about the news media’ in the year 2016.” And, yet, in under 200 pages, written in a lively question and short answer format, with engaging examples, this book is highly deserving of its lofty title.

The genesis of the book was a comprehensive report commissioned by the Columbia University School of Journalism about the present and future of the journalism profession. That report, “The Reconstruction of American Journalism,” written by Downie and Schudson in 2009, stirred significant discussion and debate in the field. The report led to a request to the authors by the Oxford University Press to add a book about journalism to its popular “What Everyone Needs To Know” series. Oxford touts the series as offering “a balanced and authoritative primer on complex current issues and countries,” written by “leading authorities in their given fields.” The series did not previously include a title on journalism and news media. But, now, fortunately, it does. Continue reading “Book Review: The News Media–What Everyone Needs to Know”

Dormant “newspaper” brought back to life online

By Kathy Bryson
St. Petersburg College

Journalism in the last 10 years has been a roller coaster of change, and many of us have probably wondered whether or not we’re teaching a dinosaur. Some programs have gone so far as to merge with other disciplines, becoming double degrees with additional courses in computers, communications, public relations, or social media. With the overlap in subjects that comes with convergent media programs have to make decisions about what they will be be able to cover and, equally, what they will not.

St. Petersburg College’s student newspaper, The Sandbox, began actively exploring change since its reincarnation in 2011. Ours is not a formal certificate or degree program, but rather an associate’s degree in mass communication with classes that transfer into the University of South Florida’s bachelor’s degree. However, the school wanted and needed an active paper to cultivate student interest and encourage practice. Continue reading “Florida college embraces online and social media”

How college media is covering the ground game

College media hubs across the country are engaged in the 2016 elections at all levels. Their coverage includes multi-media projects, news stories, profiles, commentary, and editorial cartoons.

This week, CMR highlights work by two media operations — staff of the Pitt News at the University of Pittsburgh and series of in-depth articles titled “Your Next President,” by Christian Vasquez of The Prospector at the University of Texas El Paso.

• At the Pitt News, editors created a page for college daily reporting related to the election; new stories will be added at the top day after day:

http://pittnews.com/article/category/election-coverage-16/

• Here is the link to the “Your Next President” series published by The Prospector:

http://www.theprospectordaily.com/?s=christian+vasquez&submit=Search

 

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From CMR Editor

People still seek news, with the trend continuing away from print and toward multi-news platforms, the latest media research from the Pew Center seems to suggest.

 As college media plan for 2016-2017 and continue to evolve, the following from the Pew Center may be of assistance for print, broadcast, and web-based collegemedia.

News Media Trends | Pew Research Center

• www.pewresearch.org/topics/news-media-trends/

State of the News Media | Pew Research Center

• www.pewresearch.org/topics/state-of-the-news-media/

State of the News Media 2016: 5 key takeaways | Pew Research Center

• www.pewresearch.org/…/state-of-the-news-media-2016-key-take…

Advisers should consider pros and cons of reliance on Safe Harbor broadcast protections

By Chris Thomas
President, Intercollegiate Broadcast System

Anyone who’s advised radio or television students for more than a week has faced this question:  Can I say (insert questionable word or phrase) on the air?  Your gut reaction is no.  But are you aware that the answer could potentially be yes?

Since 1978 when Pacifica Radio lost their court battle to the Federal Communications Commission over the airing of George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television, there have actually been nine more instances (either court cases or FCC rulings) that have effected what can and can’t be said.  But what many people don’t realize is that something else even more important than what can be said was also decided – when the rules are to be enforced.

Initially the FCC wanted a 24/7 ban on everything obscene, indecent and profane citing that they had a compelling interest to protect children from being exposed to these types of broadcasts.  After some pushback from Congress (who wasn’t interested in unduly burdening our First Amendment rights), it was decided to create a “Safe Harbor” period from 10pm to 6am local time each and every night.

So does that mean that beginning at 10pm anything goes and it turns into the wild wild west on both radio and television?  Continue reading “Navigating the waters of Safe Harbor”

A Q&A with Rachele Kanigel, editor of The Diversity Style Guide

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What would be the most accurate way to describe The Diversity Style Guide?

The Diversity Style Guide is a resource to help journalists and other media professionals cover a complex, multicultural world with accuracy, authority and sensitivity. The guide includes terms and phrases related to race/ethnicity; religion; sexual orientation; gender identity; age and generation; drugs and alcohol; adoption; and physical, mental and cognitive disabilities.

What prompted you to produce The Diversity Style Guide?

About 20 years ago the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism based at San Francisco State University compiled the original News Watch Diversity Style Guide, a compilation of terms from style guides put out by the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Center on Disability and Journalism and five other organizations. It was last updated in 2002.

In 2014, when I was interim director of the center, I wrote an article for San Francisco Magazine about people who identify as genderqueer, agender or nonbinary, and I realized the Diversity Style Guide didn’t include any of these terms, which were just coming into common parlance. I decided to update and expand the guide, which at that time was just a PDF posted on a website. I received a grant from the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation of the Society of Professional Journalists to create a searchable online style guide and then I wrote a proposal for a book that would include the glossary but also provide a context and framework for diversity reporting. I was delighted to find that several publishers were interested and I signed a contract with Wiley to write the book.

The online guide now includes more than 750 terms – about double the number in the original News Watch Diversity Style Guide. Continue reading “A Style Guide for Diversity in the media…”

A dozen ideas on how to focus on diversity issues on your campus

By Rachele Kanigel
San Francisco State University

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Over the past two years, college campuses around the nation have been rocked by unrest as activists have demonstrated against systematic racism, police brutality against people of color, insufficient facilities for transgender and gender-non-conforming people, cuts to ethnic studies programs, and other hot-button issues. These actions have shined a spotlight on long-simmering tensions and forced both administrators and student media outlets to pay closer attention to the realities of living in a diverse community.

Infused with emotion, these stories can be difficult to report, and student journalists sometimes find themselves in the middle of the conflict, with both administrators and activists criticizing their coverage.

Good journalism means building trust and that requires going beyond the news story du jour and taking a deeper look at the enduring and complex roots of these events.

As your student media outlet starts a new school year, consider ways to explore the larger issues behind the headlines. For inspiration, check out The Seattle Times’ “Under Our Skin” project, NPR’s new CodeSwitch podcast and the Associated Press’ “Divided America,” an ongoing series on the economic, social and political divisions in American society.

Here are some ideas for exploring diversity issues on your campus. Continue reading “Explore campus diversity with effective coverage”