The Alestle at SIU-Edwardsville keeping tabs on presidential campaigns

Covering presidential campaigns can be an “invaluable experience” for student journalists, promoting staff collaboration and providing important content for college media, according toTammy Merrett, who advises The Alestle at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, a university with an enrollment of about 14,000 students and about 23 miles from St. Louis. Merrett, a college media adviser with 19 years of student newspaper advising experience, has worked in the field as a professional journalist–both as a reporter and editor–since 1986.

“The staff plans to continue its periodical coverage of the presidential campaigns as Election Day quickly approaches,” Merrett said. “During this season of presidential campaigning, The Alestle  has kept up with the latest issues regarding the candidates as they battle for their parties’ nominations.”

Continue reading “Students in the trenches for political coverage”

Insightful articles examine media’s attempts to inform the world about suffering

By Susan S. Novak
SUNY Potsdam

Student newspaper advisers and journalism teachers know the difficulties of helping young reporters understand the nuances of objectivity and bias, false balance and fair reporting. We ask such questions as: Do we know our audiences? Are we framing? Employing a U.S.-centric or regional slant? Supporting only one side?

Advocacy creep into news reporting is concerning, but in some stories, a degree of advocacy may have a legitimate place. Even some well-known reporters have argued the point: In a 1996 article about the Bosnian War coverage, Sherry Ricchiardi quotes CNN’s Christiane Amanpour as saying, “”In certain situations, the classic definition of objectivity can mean neutrality, and neutrality can mean you are an accomplice to all sorts of evil. In this case, genocide and crimes against humanity,” and Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute as suggesting that in this war, “presenting the other side in the interest of neutral reporting is ‘simple-minded.’”¹ (26)

Human suffering is an area of coverage that reporters should consider carefully, and this is the focus of Tristan Anne Borer’s 2012 volume Media, Mobilization, and Human Rights: Mediating Suffering.

Continue reading “Book Review: Media, Mobilization, and Human Rights: Mediating Suffering”

Student journalists take on presidential political coverage in Florida

By Danielle Mendocha
Palm Beach Atlantic University

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio dropped by the neighborhood the other day along with the national and international press.

Providing news coverage were The New York Times, CNN, a Japanese TV network… and journalists from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.

These days PBAU journalism students are covering national politics for the campus press and the nearby Cox daily newspaper and building portfolio credits along the way.

“Student portfolios that include only parking and cafeteria woes aren’t the kind of content that typically impresses an employer,” noted PBAU journalism professor Michael Ray Smith, author of “7 Days to a Byline that Pays.” “The dean suggested that PBA’s journalism program get off campus and cover the news, and what better venue than the U.S. presidential race?’

Continue reading “Christian university takes on national politics”

Campus media can tell stories of Muslims in ways that help build better understanding of life for these students

By Michael A. Longinow
Biola University

Syed Rizwan Farook walked the campus of California State University in San Bernardino like any other student. Friends remember him as quiet but friendly. He was smart. He finished high school early by testing out of requirements. He made the dean’s list at CSUSB and earned an undergraduate degree in 2010 in environmental health, according to the campus university’s newspaper. But five years later, he and his wife, a woman he’d met on a Muslim pilgrimage in the Middle East, took automatic weapons into a holiday party at a county services building and killed 14 people, wounding 21 others before being killed themselves in a gun battle with police, according to the Washington Post.

Newsweek called this young man and his wife “Terror’s New Face.” Each had, in their own way, taken center stage as a “homegrown extremist.” And the result, on college campuses, was a renewed set of fears about danger and risk from students based on what they look like, what they believe, and where they — or their family — grew up, according to coverage Dec. 5 in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Can campus media stop radicalization of Muslims on their campuses, or nearby? Can it, all by itself, bridge the chasms of suspicion between Muslim students and those on American campuses nationwide? Probably not. But it can tell the stories of Muslims in ways that help build better understanding of life for these students. And the time for that is now — or yesterday.

There is no easy fix for campus newspapers to report on, write about, and provide ongoing coverage of Muslims in the Post-San Bernardino era. And the steps might seem easy. What makes them difficult is more a matter of the mind and heart than of technique.

Continue reading “Getting it Right: Muslims, their stories, and your news staffs”

Retired adviser dies in Florida; had been affiliated with CMA since early days

Special to CMR

The late Shirley Quate’s love of journalism spanned decades—from her teen years, which found her working for her high school newspaper in Muncie, Indiana, and writing a column for the local paper, to being a member of a writing group in her 80s. As a journalism educator, she taught, advised, was active in college media associations, and retired as a professor emeritus of journalism.

A celebration of life service will be held at a later date for Quate, who died Jan. 28 at her home in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, according to her obituary, published on Legacy.com.

“She was an excellent teacher, leader, worker and friend,” said Lesley W. Marcello of Quate, who held offices with the National Council of College Press Advisers, the predecessor to the College Media Association, and also worked with CMA.

Quate held a master’s degree and doctorate from Purdue University. While teaching writing and literature as a professor at the Indianapolis campus of Purdue, Quate was also tasked with founding the student newspaper.

Continue reading “Quate’s love of journalism spanned into her 80s”

Reporting stories for national, regional and college media

While voters trek to the polls in New Hampshire today, college media advisers from Missouri and Oklahoma reflect on the efforts of students in covering last week’s Iowa caucuses.

Northwest Missouri State University students, Steven Chappell go to Iowa

Steven Chappell, director of student publications and multimedia instructor at Northwest Missouri State University, and his political journalism class saw the Iowa caucuses up close and personal—as in covering and producing stories for the campus media at Northwest Missouri, located in Maryville.

A university grant helped cover transportation, lodging and other expenses, he said.

To see the students’ work, here are links Chappell provided:

• This link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm0faj6jUBbJbcwoY5sEfjA connects to our video packages on YouTube.
• This link: http://www.nwmissourinews.com/news/politics/?refresh004 connects to our Missourian newspaper coverage
• The KNWT Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WatchChannelEightNews/
• The hashtags: #NWCaucus and #NWPolitics were used for all of our Twitter coverage.

Oklahoma students cover Iowa caucuses

The University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication sent 14 students to cover the Iowa caucuses, according to John Schmeltzer, professor and Engleman/Livermore chair in Community Journalism.

“They were there from Jan. 17 and returned to campus on Feb. 2. All the stories have revolved around the millennial involvement in this year’s election,” Schmeltzer said in an e-mail.

Continue reading “Student journalists tackle national campaign coverage”

Book finds common ground among writing styles for print, web, promotions, advertising and marketing

By Lindsey Wotanis
Marywood University

Anyone who has taught a required basic news writing and reporting course that serves as a core requirement for all communication majors—from journalism students to those in public relations, advertising, marketing, or even film—has likely heard the familiar groan, which is usually followed by a question like:

“Why do I need to take a news writing course if I’m studying for a career in marketing?”

The answer: Because in order to work well with others and achieve specific writing goals, media professionals need to understand the style and mission of their colleagues’ writing goals.

Beginning students often just don’t get it, but media writing teachers like Vince Filak do. Filak must have been sick of explaining this notion to students—and sick of hearing his colleagues groan about all the groaning—because he’s just published a new textbook called “Dynamics of Media Writing: Adapt and Connect” from CQ Press which is likely to help alleviate the frustration.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Dynamics of Media Writing: Adapt and Connect’”