Indiana University School of Journalism » 2008 » January

Coffman explains fundraising processes

Tian Ming — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:59:21 +0000

Photo by Tian Ming

IU Foundation’s Barbara Coffman used an easel to write the major points of donor development: identify, inform, involve, invest and stewardship.

Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19)
Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)
Lehrer draws on many presidential debates to analyze political process (April 15)

Barbara Coffman knows how important the first impression is. The Indiana University Foundation executive director for strategic planning and communications invited J560 Principles of Public Relations students into the foundation’s Wells Room during their visit last Thursday.

“This building got a renovation in 2000,” Coffman said to students in the class. “We wanted it to be more beautiful, because the way you present yourself is what you perceive.”

The room is dedicated to the former IU president Herman B Wells.

“Wells served as chair of the board for decades and he was a master of public relations,” Coffman said. “He would often walk past Ballantine Hall and ask students questions like ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘Who is your favorite professor?’”

Coffman and her team are responsible for raising funds for the university, and for this, she relies on public relations principles.

“Public relations is building the mutually beneficial relationships upon which success and failure depends,” she said.

“When we talk to donors, we never say ‘please give us some money,’” said Coffman. “Instead, we help people realize that by making a gift, they can accomplish what they want to do but cannot do by themselves. Sometimes, the wishes are as simple as wanting someone to get education.”

She identifies the donor development process as four I’s and the S: identify, inform, involve, invest and stewardship. She explained how the foundation identifies prospective donors, informs them, gets them to participate, makes them happy to donate and spends the money responsibly.

To make the full use of the money, the foundation invests so that the interest keeps rising. Normally, the principal stays intact. The earnings, after paying out 1 percent for investment management and 3 percent for offsetting inflation, are used for various payment activities, including financial aid and building decorations.

Students, especially those who receive financial aid, were interested in learning about the fundraising process.

“I think Barbara has lots of experience about fundraising and investment,” said graduate student Anas Alahmed, who has a scholarship from the School of Journalism. “She has a good method to tempt the donor.”

Instructor Beth Wood asked Coffman how the four-step PR process was applied in a fundraising setting. Coffman described her usual style by writing down key notes on an easel: research, planning, action and evaluation.

“The team looks into tons of materials, which we speculate on, the donation environment and determine various objectives,” she said. Strategizing the best way to reach the goal is pivotal, for this directly influences the final result, she added.

Finally, the team evaluates what they learn from this project. The foundation surveys donors and focus groups and analyzes the results.

“We will have a better start next time,” she said, while marking an arrow to the research section on the easel.

Some students made notes on Coffman’s advice.

“I just got information for how to offer and introduce your organization on the public,” said graduate student Xin Jin. “And the four-step process can be applied to other PR campaigns as well.”

IDS ‘off the record’ story gains national attention

Erin N. Riley — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:16:46 +0000

IDS makes the news

Check out these links to organizations talking about the IDS. Several picked up sophomore Brian Spegele’s IDS report about the controversy.

The New York Times
Uwire
Daily Kos
CBSNews.com
Student Press Law Center
Society of Professional Journalists
Commentary from the IU SPJ student chapter
Assistant professor Tony Fargo on Indy Star blog
Poynter Institute’s Romenesko column and blog
The Indianapolis Star’s AP report
The Herald-Times story is available through its sister paper, the Bedford Times Mail
Watch Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg’s video editorial about issue
The original SANS press release

IDS coverage of the event:

PRSSA team wins Contiki contest (May 14)
Journalists for Human Rights chapter seeks photos for calendar (April 15)
Yahoo's global design director visits Monday (March 29)

Last week, the Indiana Daily Student gained national attention when staffers refused to accept an off-the-record request from former deputy national security adviser Meghan O’Sullivan, who was scheduled to deliver a speech regarding the war in Iraq. Organizers of the Jan. 22 speech cancelled the event when reporters in the audience identified themselves and O’Sullivan refused to go on the record.

Media organizations around the national followed the situation. The Student Press Law Center, Poynter Institute, Society of Professional Journalists, the Indianapolis Star, the (Bloomington) Herald-Times, the Washington Post, U-Wire, Associated Press, CBS News and others reported the story either in print or on their Web sites. Some posted IDS stories and editorials on their own sites, while others offered blogs for commentary. (See sidebar for links to those reports.)

The controversy started with the press release the sponsoring organization, Student Alliance for National Security, sent to the IDS. The release said the lecture was "free and open to the public," but "off-the-record for the press."

Holding a public event on public property using public dollars and not allowing the press to cover it is against the law, said IDS editor-in-chief and School of Journalism senior Carrie Ritchie. “It’s really important to protect those journalistic rights, especially nowadays when you hear reports everyday about the government being more secretive.”

The IDS sent reporter Elvia Malagon to cover the talk, where students affiliated with SANS argued in favor of O’Sullivan’s request and said cancelling the lecture was a waste of time and money for the university. The IDS staffers countered they were not responsible for the cancellation, rather the speaker chose not to lecture.

“It was all to benefit the readers of the IDS,” said Malagon, a freshman. “So I think it’s important for every journalist to keep in mind that we do have a responsibility to report about what’s going on, not only at the university, but around Bloomington and the world. I think every journalist should definitely do some homework about what their rights are.”

Blog postings and Web comments flowed in, agreeing and disagreeing with the IDS’ position, critiquing O’Sullivan’s behavior and debating an administration’s right to keep information “off the record.” For example, some Daily Kos bloggers lauded the IDS, but extended the discussion to address government’s right to keep information from the public.

IDS editors, reporters and staff tracked and evaluated the national attention.

“I think it’s wonderful because Carrie Ritchie and her staff handled everything so thoughtfully, ethically and professionally,” said Nancy Comiskey, interim director for student media at IU. “It’s just terrific that we’re getting all this kind of recognition for college students doing everything right.”

Ritchie said the reporters and editors learned from this real-world situation.

“Even if it hadn’t turned out so well, yes it would have been harder to deal with,” Ritchie said. “But the thing is, if we would’ve let them get away with that, we would’ve set a precedent that’s not only bad for this university, but bad for both government and media officials across the country.”

Team evaluates PR program

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:16:07 +0000

Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19)
Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)
Lehrer draws on many presidential debates to analyze political process (April 15)

The week of accreditation activity continues Wednesday through Friday as a team looks at the public relations classes and programming at the School of Journalism.

Public Relations Society of America’s Cathryn Gibbs Harris and Judy VanSlyke Turk will observe classes, talk to PR instructors and chat with former and current students in their efforts to review and report on the program.

Gibbs teaches at Marshall University and VanSlyke Turk, who also was a member of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications accrediting team that reviewed and prepared a report earlier this week, is director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications.

For the PR review, the two also will meet with community organizations PR classes have worked with in recent semesters, such as administrators from Boys & Girls Clubs and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

J560: Literary Journalism

Jeff Johnson — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Read about snipers, campus crusaders and other disrupters of the status quo in this sampler of stories from the Fall 2007 J560 Literary Journalism class.

Raymer keynote speaker at KNPA

Gena Asher — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:03:07 +0000

Courtesy photo by David Stephenson, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader

Associate professor Steve Raymer was a keynote speaker and contest judge at the Kentucky News Photographers Association annual seminar.

Associate professor Steve Raymer was a keynote speaker Saturday at the annual Education Day Seminar of the Kentucky News Photographers Association in Louisville.

Raymer spoke about "A Life in Pictures," leading students and professionals through his 35-year journey as a National Geographic photographer from the final days of the Vietnam War to the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the rise of China and India as global powers.

Raymer also was a judge of the KNPA annual photo and multimedia contest along with Pulitzer Prize-winner Rene Byer of the Sacramento Bee, David Frank of The New York Times and Seth Gitner of the Roanoke Times.

"My two sons-in-law get very generous Christmas bonuses," said Raymer, "but I remind myself every day what a privilege it is to go inside the lives of the people whom we photograph and to be society’s professional eyewitnesses."

ACEJMC accreditors to evaluate program

Emily Wilson — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:33:55 +0000

Student Sessions

The ACEJMC accreditation team invites undergraduate students to share their thoughts on the school and its programs at several sessions Monday afternoon:

Open session, 3 p.m.

Weil Journalism Library

Special sessions, 4 p.m.

Broadcast: EP 157
Newspaper: EP 207
Magazine: EP 205
Visual Communications: EP 208
Public Relations: EP 214

Students will have a chance to participate in an evaluation of the School of Journalism when an accreditation team from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication visits Sunday through Wednesday.

The team will evaluate the school on nine ACEJMC standards, including diversity, scholarship and research, and student services. (See a complete list below.) The evaluators will meet with faculty and will observe undergraduate classes Monday. The team asks students and instructors to ignore their presence so that they can observe the typical activities in the classrooms that day.

However, the team does want to learn about students’ experiences at the school. Monday, evaluators are inviting undergraduates to sessions in the library and various classrooms to offer their input about the school and its programs. (See sidebar at right for times and sessions.)

ACEJMC accredits 110 programs in North America, and the School of Journalism has maintained accreditation status since 1948. During the accreditation team’s last visit in 2002, the school failed to meet the ACEJMC standard of diversity and inclusiveness.

Dean Brad Hamm is confident that the program has cultivated a more diverse student body in the last six years. As of fall semester, “we had the highest number of minority students in the school’s history,” he said.

The accreditation team will deliver an initial report Wednesday, recommending reaccreditation, provisional accreditation or no accreditation.

Regardless of the team’s decision, Hamm is motivated to propel the school’s success.

“We plan to continue to work hard to be one of the best programs in the nation over the next decade,” he said.

ACEJMC’s Nine Principles

Mission, governance and administration
Curriculum and instruction
Diversity and inclusiveness
Full-time and Part-time faculty
Scholarship: Research, creative and professional activity
Student services
Resources, facilities and equipment
Professional and public service
Assessment

Visit the ACEJMC Web site for details.

Leyden advises having ‘tool box’ of skills

Erin N. Riley — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:58:14 +0000

Photo by Erin N. Riley

IndyStar.com content editor Tom Leyden advised students on the skills they will need to work on the Web.

Visit the IndyStar.com Web site.
Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19)
Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)
Lehrer draws on many presidential debates to analyze political process (April 15)

Journalism students should gain experience in Web reporting, audio and video to prepare themselves for job demands, according to IndyStar.com content editor Tom Leyden, who visited campus Wednesday to talk to J351 Newspaper Editing students.

The growth of multimedia is behind this demand, Leyden told students in associate instructor Lanier Holt’s and interim director of student media Nancy Comiskey’s combined classes. To demonstrate the effects of this trend, Leyden cited statistics: The IndyStar.com receives 45 million views monthly, compared to the newspaper’s circulation of fewer than 4 million copies.

While journalists always have battled tight deadlines and writing pressures, Leyden said this is what drives multimedia reporting.

“The first thing about writing for the Web,” he said, “is get it now, get it fast and just write it.”
While many students in the class said they were not familiar with Web reporting, most of them have experience with it.

“I knew a lot about it before, but now it’s something that I would definitely consider more,” said junior Rachael Altoff. “It’s very similar to newspaper reporting.”

Leyden recommended students get as much multimedia experience as possible while in college. Without Web reporting experience, it will be hard to get a job in the field of journalism, he said. Students should have a “tool box” of skills, including video, photo, Web knowledge and the ability to report and write quickly.

But the writing itself should not be complicated, he said.

“Keep it short and simple, because everyone scans,” Leyden said. “No one reads on the Web. We’re hunters and gatherers on the Web.”

At the end of his presentation, Leyden asked students how long they expected newspapers to survive. Some predicted in 10 to 20 years, newspapers will not exist and people will look for news only on the Internet or television. Others disagreed, saying that newspapers will last forever.

“People like to own and keep the news,” Altoff said. “People will always want something to back it up. The Internet can’t provide that.”

J460 students learn about Japanese government

SoJ Web Report — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:57:50 +0000

Photo by Matt Beuoy

Shuichi Nazaki talks to J460 student Ashley Thursby after discussing the Japanese legal system in class Wednesday.

Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19)
Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)
Lehrer draws on many presidential debates to analyze political process (April 15)

Shuichi Nezaki, a judge from Japan who is at IU studying for an advanced law degree, visited J460 International PR Wednesday to talk to students about the Japanese government and legal system.

This information will give the students background for their upcoming trip to Japan March 7-15. As part of their class requirements, the students will spend spring break in Tokyo, visiting journalists and PR professionals and learning about Japanese media.

Two volunteer as journalism mentors for King Day project

Abby Tonsing — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:35:37 +0000

Photo by Abby Tonsing

Assistant professor Mike Conway worked with Bloomington High School North sophomore Claudia Sanchez to report on King Day service projects.

In keeping with the national trend of turning the observed birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. into a day of community service, two IU Bloomington School of Journalism faculty members volunteered their time and journalism expertise Monday.

Adjunct lecturer Scott Burgins and assistant professor Mike Conway joined 30 other volunteers at Bloomington community radio station WFHB to assist with the production of “A King’s Legacy,” a news story compiled by young journalists.

The project paired young journalists with community service projects around the city. Using digital recorders and news scripts, the young reporters asked other children questions about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and diversity. Adult mentors assisted with the process.

In his first effort volunteering for WFHB, Burgins served as a journalism mentor for 6-year-old Templeton Elementary School student Kai Grise. Burgins and Grise traveled from the radio station to cover the the Crestmont Boys & Girls Club project. There, members cleaned up litter and sorted it into recycling bins as part of their service project. They also worked on various art projects, including a “celebrate diversity” banner and paper dolls.

In addition to serving as reporter, Grise lent his voice-over talent at the radio station, reading as the host of “A King’s Legacy.” Grise said he liked playing the role of a journalist better than that of the show’s host.

Burgins, who usually spends the holiday on service projects with his co-workers at Strategic Development Group, said he was inspired to volunteer for the radio station in part because of the Martin Luther King public service announcements the station had aired.

“I think it’s a great program,” he said. “WFHB and the clips they’ve been running, where King says everyone can be great because everyone can serve — very inspiring.”

Photo by Abby Tonsing

Adjunct lecturer Scott Burgins helped 6-year-old Kai Grise interview Boys & Girls Club members about their project.

Burgins was impressed by children’s interviews.

“Kai did a great job, and I thought the kids that Kai spoke to also were amazingly eloquent,” he said.

Though he has been working with WFHB since 2005, Conway had not participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day project until this year. He visited the Shalom Community Center, housed in First United Methodist Church. The Shalom Center hosted a Children’s Health Day, where children received dental work and vision screening, among other health services.

There, Conway met Claudia Sanchez, a 17-year-old sophomore at Bloomington High School North. Originally from Mexico, Sanchez said she moved to the United States when she was seven or eight.

Sanchez, who is bilingual, conducted some of her interviews in Spanish. She said her favorite part of being a journalist was hearing different opinions and answers to her questions. “I think that was important and awesome.”

Conway noted that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of the radio station’s busiest news days because of the emphasis of coverage on volunteerism. He responded to a call-out for help from the station.

Conway said volunteerism is a good habit to maintain, not just on the holiday, but year-round, and that Bloomington “is a great city for volunteerism.”

“A community is really based on the people and how they help each other,” he said.

According to Craig Brenner, special projects coordinator of the Community and Family Resources Department for the City of Bloomington, the community-wide program had a record number of 60 service projects this year. Some were conducted on the King holiday while others are still to come, he said in an e-mail.

Of the 60, 39 participating agencies produced and recorded public service announcements for WFHB, also a record number, said news director Chad Carrothers.

Zaltsberg explains newspapers’ transitions

Rosemary Pennington — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:27:40 +0000

Photo by Abby Tonsing

Graduate student Zeynep Altinay talked with Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg after his talk with professor David Nord’s J510 Media and Society class Wednesday afternoon.

Panel on women in news set for Monday (April 19)
Panel discusses media coverage of LGBT community (April 17)
Lehrer draws on many presidential debates to analyze political process (April 15)

If one word could sum up the newspaper business right now, it would be “transition” – at least in the mind of (Bloomington) Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg.

“We are in a period of transition,” Zaltsberg said. “That’s the best way to describe it.”

Zaltsberg described that period, as well as how the Herald-Times is adjusting to it, to students in J510 Media and Society Wednesday. In class last week, the graduate students learned about the rough climate of the newspaper business, a lesson amplified Wednesday when the Los Angeles Times fired editor James O’Shea.

But some of these worries, especially those of declining revenue, have been overblown, Zaltsberg said.

“Newspapers are making a little less than they used to make,” Zaltsberg said. “But they’re still profitable. The idea that newspapers aren’t making money is not true.”

But pressure to make money isn’t the only thing newspapers are worried about. Increasingly, papers also are feeling pressure to create multimedia portals that pull readers in and keep them. The hope is the video, audio and blogs on a paper’s Web site will be able to compete with all the other forms of information available on the Web as well as generate ad revenue.

“The math just doesn’t work out,” Zaltsberg told the students when asked if the Herald-Times will push harder for advertising on its Web site. “People are still tied to that print ad and they’re willing to pay much more for it. Online advertising just doesn’t bring in as much.”

Adding multimedia isn’t the only transition underway at the Herald-Times. Just a few months ago, editors changed the approach to how the newspaper covers news, breaking the staff into breaking news and non-breaking news teams. The breaking news staff covers the traditional newspaper topics such as crime and court beats and feeds news to the Web site. The non-breaking news staff focuses energy on enterprise stories that help readers understand issues, Zaltsberg said.

“We think these are the kinds of local stories we need to be doing. It’s the business of being a journalist,” Zaltsberg said. “And we think it’s going to help us get through these trying times. I think the local thing is all we can do.”

Graduate student and former Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader intern Stacie Meihaus Jankowski said that philosophy makes a lot of sense.

“I think it’s intriguing,” she said. “and smart. These small papers aren’t going to compete with papers like the Indy Star or the Chicago Tribune.”

Toward the end of the class, when the business of running a newspaper had been hashed out, graduate student Daniel Robison had a much more practical concern.

“What do I need to do to not get fired?”

“Do what we’re doing, these enterprises stories,” Zaltsberg said. “Learn to tell stories in a multimedia style. If I have to make a firing decision, it’s not going to be based on who the last one in the door is, but who’s pulling his weight. Make yourself indispensable.”

Indiana University School of Journalism » 2008 » January

Coffman explains fundraising processes

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IDS ‘off the record’ story gains national attention

IDS makes the news

IDS coverage of the event:

Related

Team evaluates PR program

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J560: Literary Journalism

Raymer keynote speaker at KNPA

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ACEJMC accreditors to evaluate program

Student Sessions

ACEJMC’s Nine Principles

Visit the ACEJMC Web site for details.

Leyden advises having ‘tool box’ of skills

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J460 students learn about Japanese government

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Two volunteer as journalism mentors for King Day project

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Zaltsberg explains newspapers’ transitions

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