Indiana University School of Journalism

Mint intern Kohli reports from Delhi

Gena Asher — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:59:12 +0000

Journalism senior Risha Kohli is spending the summer as an intern at Mint, a the second-largest financial newspaper in India and a partner of the The Wall Street Journal.

Raymer article on mentors set for photography magazine

Gena Asher — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:34:23 +0000

Associate professor Steve Raymer writes about the need for professional mentors in the June 2009 issue of News Photographer Magazine, the official journal of the National Press Photographers Association. The article looks at this issue as journalism becomes more dependent on private citizens writing blogs and using mobile phones, Facebook and Twitter to report the news.

Weaver in Spain as guest professor (June 23)
Dilts appointed to campus mediation committee, review board (June 23)
Gillis article on sports coverage set for publication (June 23)

Mini U session on media coverageprovokes laughter, banter, outrage

jbirthis — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:49:11 +0000

Photo by Jessica Birthisel

Assistant professor Lesa Hatley Major chatted with Mini U participants after her talk about gender and race in political coverage. She was one of seven faculty members who presented talks during the weeklong workshops.

Learn more about Mini University.
Dilts appointed to campus mediation committee, review board (June 23)
Teaching Fellows arrive June 14 (May 28)
School to host alumni at Cream and Crimson breakfast (May 28)

There was laughter, lively banter, shock and even a little outrage.

It had the makings of a good Hollywood movie, but in reality it was one of more than 100 Mini University sessions hosted by the IU Alumni Association and IU Bloomington Continuing Studies this week at the Indiana Memorial Union.

Wednesday, School of Journalism assistant professor Lesa Hatley Major presented "The Impact of Race and Gender on News Coverage of Political Candidates,” her research on the 2003 coverage of Kathleen Blanco’s gubernatorial race against Bobby Jindal, and the ways it fit into previous scholarship on politics and stereotypes.

"This was a historical race," explained Hatley Major, who lived in the state at the time. "Louisiana politicians have always been white males.”

The race pitted a woman against an Indian-American, making it ripe for analysis of gender and racial stereotypes used in media coverage, said Hatley Major.

"It’s very important to think about what journalists include and what they leave out of a story," said Hatley Major in her explanation of stereotypes, schema and media framing.

Hatley Major’s study found that even though Blanco had more experience with traditionally “masculine” topics such as crime and defense, she was more likely to be covered in reference to traditionally female social issues such as health care and education. Conversely, despite Jindal’s background with these more “feminine” social issues, his coverage revolved around the more traditionally masculine political issues.

Blanco, a grandmother who often played into gender roles in her self-promotion, received more coverage based on gender traits. Jindal, a minority, received more coverage about race. Hatley Major said both Blanco’s gender-based coverage and Jindal’s race-based coverage could be described as positive. She concluded that journalists had made some progress because they did not focus on the female candidate’s appearance, but they had applied the same old gender stereotypes to both politicians despite their areas of expertise.

Hatley Major then took the same topic and applied it to the recent Democratic primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, briefly discussing the few studies that she’s read about the election. To finish, she showed a YouTube clip called “Sexism Sells,” a montage of political cable news clips that degrade females, including references to Clinton looking “haggard” and “92-years-old” and looking “like everyone’s first wife standing outside a probate court.”

The combination of Hatley Major’s research and the montage prompted emotional responses and heated discussion among participants.

“The fact that these journalists are serving as role models for a younger generation of journalists and making comments like these, it’s saddening,” said one participant.

Another noted how her feelings on the issue shifted from anger to sadness throughout the course of the presentation.

“I can’t help but think how easy it is to default,” she commented. “When I first started watching the video, I was angry, but now I’m overwhelmed by sadness from seeing how easy it is to fall back. I remember weeping during the election, because I just thought we’d come too far [with race and gender equality] for this all to be happening again.”

Others commented on different types of frames they noticed in the recent presidential campaign, such as the “Obama-as-terrorist” frame and the way pundits referred to Obama by his last name but Clinton by her first name, something some Mini University students perceived as disrespectful to Clinton.

Another participant made the tie back to journalistic power.

Photo by Jessica Birthisel

One reason Eva Mintz chose Hatley Major’s session is because Mintz’s daughter is a journalism alumna now working in Baltimore. The session looked at media coverage of gender and race issues.

“Everything we get comes from you,” he said to Hatley Major, a former television reporter, who mentioned earlier in the presentation her desire to hold workshops with journalists about this topic.

“The fact that audiences compare all journalism to this,” said Hatley Major, referring to the sensational cable personalities, “that’s what breaks my heart.”

She explained that the audience is key, too.

“If audience members say ‘we won’t watch,’ there’s power in that,” said Hatley Major. “Media literacy is a huge part as well.”

Hatley Major eventually had to cut off discussion because the session had run over on time.

Participant Louise Hillery, who received degrees from IU in 1968 and 1985, said she was drawn to Hatley Major’s session because the 2008 election coverage made her angry.

“None of it seemed fair,” she said. She said she enjoyed Hatley Major’s presentation adding, “I wish the session could have gone on twice as long.”

Hatley Major was one of seven journalism faculty presenting Mini U sessions. The others were Hans Ibold, Steve Raymer, Peter Jacobi, Mike Conway, Jim Kelly and Claude Cookman.

Next June, Mini University participants will once again have a chance to continue their education through the program. Since 1972, the IU Alumni Association and IU Bloomington Continuing Studies have hosted the week-long sessions. Next year’s Mini University will June 20-25 and registration will begin March 1.

HSJI wraps up teacher sessions

jbirthis — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:29:21 +0000

Photo by Jessica Birthisel

IHSPA’s Donna Hadley worked with students in Tony Fargo’s law class during the second week of HSJI teacher workshops. Here, she talks to Becky Hoyle, who also attended the yearbook advising workshop.

Learn more about HSJI.
Gillis article on sports coverage set for publication (June 23)
11 finish Teaching Fellows Workshop (June 22)
Teaching Fellows arrive Sunday (June 11)

Teachers from around the country have been renewing their skills and learning new tricks of the journalism trade over the past two weeks during the annual High School Journalism Institute teacher workshops.

The 63-year-old program was designed to help new publications advisers and journalism teachers as well as those shifting to advising high school publications. It offers four workshops every year, two per week, for these instructors seeking certification credit, recertification units or enrichment hours. Some teachers come for all sessions while others come for a week at a time.

Last week IU Student Media Director Ron Johnson worked with newspaper advisers on sports profile packages, center spreads, news pages and graphics. Early Wednesday, he showed this session’s participants a slideshow of Society of News Design award-winning publications.

“Notice the different illustrative styles, the different formats, the different ways of telling stories,” Johnson said as the slides progressed.

Throughout the session, Johnson brought in various cultural and historical influences on publication design, such as trends in text wrap styles (“In Britain, they keep them really tight”) and photo knockout popularity in the 1990s (“Designers went off the deep end”).

Johnson also talked about the line designers should straddle between their preferences as news consumers and their preferences as designers.

Several students learned about scholastic journalism law with journalism associate professor Tony Fargo, who covered some First Amendment basics as well as historical influences on the constitutional framers, such as John Milton’s marketplace of ideas, John Locke’s focus on the self and individual rights, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of the social contract.

Midway through the morning, Fargo turned the floor over to Diana Hadley, executive director of the Indiana High School Press Association.

"When I look back at how little I knew that first year as a newspaper adviser, I feel so lucky," joked Hadley, who taught and advised scholastic media for 33 years. "I dodged many bullets."

Hadley used her time with the students to discuss recent lawsuits involving scholastic journalism advisers and the lessons they provide for others. She also talked about current IHSPA initiatives, such as enhancing mass media curriculum at the high school level, emphasizing to administrators the value of scholastic journalism, and teaching students the value of the First Amendment.

Thursday, in a darkened downstairs room, associate professor Steve Raymer talked with students about digital photography. After a recap of the use of visual elements and principles of design in photography, Raymer used photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s theories on retaining photographers’ composition as a launch pad into the pros and cons of cropping.

Using historical examples, current celebrity photos and hot-off-the-press Associated Press pictures, Raymer demonstrated how cropping could be used to change the emphasis, mood and framing of a photograph. He showed examples of effective and ineffective cropping.

"Some of these editors are practicing surgery without a license," he joked, referring to a photographer’s decision to crop off hands and feet of picture subjects.

In addition to a discussion about caption writing, Raymer used his own work at National Geographic to describe how his photos were edited. He also shared the stories behind the photos, such as the field of poisonous snakes below his feet or the emotional connection to wide-eyed orphans in a Red Cross tent.

Throughout the two weeks, several participants expressed their motivations for attending the institute as well as their reflections on the experience.

Susan Yingling, a newspaper adviser at Yorktown High School, said she decided to take the design class because she considers herself to be “a little rusty” after several years away from advising.

“I’ve got a lot of learning to do,” said Yingling, explaining that she’s new to the popular publication design program Adobe InDesign. “Professor Johnson has been very flexible. He came in with a plan, yet he assessed his students. It really has been collaborative learning.”

Photo by Jessica Birthisel

IHSPA’s Hadley used her time with the students to discuss recent lawsuits involving scholastic journalism advisers and the lessons they provide for others.

Janet Levin of Arlington Heights, Ill., said she’s enjoying her second summer at the institute. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Levin, a 1980 Indiana University alumna with nearly 30 years of newspaper advising experience.

"The institute is a way for me to focus on being a newspaper adviser," said Levin, who admits that during the school year her focus is divided between advising, her English teaching, her family and other demands. "It’s a week to think through what we need to do for next year."

In last week’s yearbook advising session, instructor Susanna Coleman gave students an assignment to do just that. As participants critiqued their own yearbooks and those of fellow students, they used a National Scholastic Press Association yearbook critique score sheets to point out strengths and weaknesses in each book. Their assignment for the final day was to come up with a to-do list upon their return to school.

“Based on those ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ moments from this week, I want you to come up with five real, attainable goals,” advised Coleman. “And not pie-in-the-sky goals.”

Becky Hoyle, who attended both the yearbook advising and the scholastic law sessions, said she appreciated the practicality of the assignments.

"We’re getting a lot of concrete things to do when we return to school," said Hoyle during the yearbook session. "All of the assignments are relevant and everything is useable. It’s great because you get the credit you need to teach, but all of the work and knowledge is something you can take back and use in the classroom."

For Wrean Fiebig, a teacher at the Cleveland School of the Arts, the extracurricular yearbook continues to be a work in progress and she continues to solicit help whenever she can.

“I’m here because I want to pick their brains, and her brain," said Fiebig, pointing to her classmates and then instructor Coleman. "This is not just a fill-in accreditation course. I really plan to use all of this."

The High School Journalism Institute breaks next week as organizers prepare for the arrival of the high school participants. Student workshops begin July 6 and participants will explore all aspects of scholastic media, analyze publications and develop new journalistic skills.

Big Ten Network to air NSJC panel event

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Photo by Zach Dobson

From left, panelists Steve Lavin, Sage Steele and Bob Kravitz discussed covering sports at the National Sports Journalism Center’s panel discussion. The Big Ten Network will air the event next week.

Read about the panel discussion.
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Web site seeks summer reporters, photographers (May 2)

The inaugural event at the new School of Journalism National Sports Journalism Center will be aired on the Big Ten Network next week.

The panel discussion, “Heroes, Hype and the Truth,” presented March 11 at the center at IUPUI, will air June 30 at 5:30 p.m., July 2 at 5:30 p.m. and July 3 at 7:30 a.m. on BTN. The network is available on satellite and cable. Check you listings for specific channel numbers.

Panelists included Steve Lavin of ABC-TV and ESPN; Sage Steele, ESPN SportsCenter anchor; Gene Wojciechowski, senior writer for ESPN. com; and Bob Kravitz, sports columnist at the Indianapolis Star and EPSN Radio cohost. Center Director Tim Franklin moderated the talk.

The center was launched early this year and will offer sports journalism courses on both the Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses, but is headquartered at IUPUI. It also will offer training for working professionals through workshops and special events.

Franklin said future panel discussions and other events that are part of the center’s Speaker Series will be aired on BTN and other Indianapolis-area networks.

Gillis article on sports coverage set for publication

Gena Asher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:23:28 +0000

Doctoral student William Gillis’s article, "‘Rebellion in the Kingdom of Swat’: Sportswriters, African-American athletes and coverage of Curt Flood’s lawsuit against Major League Baseball," has been accepted by the journal American Journalism and will appear in the Spring 2009 issue, available in July.

Raymer article on mentors set for photography magazine (June 29)
Weaver in Spain as guest professor (June 23)
Dilts appointed to campus mediation committee, review board (June 23)

Weaver in Spain as guest professor

Gena Asher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:51:54 +0000

Roy W. Howard Professor Dave Weaver was in Pamplona, Spain, in mid-June, where he was a guest professor at the School of Public Communication at the University of Navarra, teaching a one-week course on media agenda setting with professor Maxwell McCombs of the University of Texas.

Raymer article on mentors set for photography magazine (June 29)
Dilts appointed to campus mediation committee, review board (June 23)
Gillis article on sports coverage set for publication (June 23)

Dilts appointed to campus mediation committee, review board

Gena Asher — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:49:18 +0000

Professor Jon Dilts has been chosen to serve on Indiana University’s Faculty Mediation Committee and on the Student Academic Appointees Board of Review. Appointment to both committees is by election of the members of the Bloomington Faculty Council.

The mediation committee serves faculty, librarians and administrators by investigating grievances and attempting to resolve them through mediation and consultation.

The board of review is a committee to which associate instructors may bring grievances of administrative action taken against them when those grievances cannot to be resolved by the Student Academic Appointee Affairs Committee.

Dilts is a Registered Civil Mediator in Indiana and is a board member of Bloomington’s Community Justice and Mediation Center.

Raymer article on mentors set for photography magazine (June 29)
Weaver in Spain as guest professor (June 23)
Gillis article on sports coverage set for publication (June 23)

Alumni, faculty reminisce at Cream and Crimson breakfast

jbirthis — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:28:30 +0000

Photo by Chris Pickrell

Marge Blewett (foreground) and Martie Dietz laughed over some of the pictures they saw in an old Arbutus. They were among the alumni attending the school’s breakfast event during the campus-wide Cream and Crimson weekend.

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School to host alumni at Cream and Crimson breakfast (May 28)
Take It Easy Open July 18 (May 28)

Alumni, current students and faculty members gathered Saturday morning for the School of Journalism’s Cream and Crimson alumni breakfast.

In conjunction with the IU Alumni Association’s annual Cream and Crimson weekend, the school hosts the breakfast give journalism alumni taking part in the campus-wide event a chance to reconnect at Ernie Pyle Hall.

Guests gathered in the lounge for a catered meal while musing over old photos, flipping through Arbutus yearbooks from days gone by and catching up with old friends.

“On behalf of Dean Brad Hamm, and on behalf of all of the faculty and staff, it’s my pleasure to welcome you home,” said Ralph Winslow Visiting Professor Jim Bright in his opening remarks following the meal.

Much of the morning was devoted to alumni sharing stories and memories of their time at the school.

Alumna Martie Dietz, B.A. ’52, recalled her time in charge of promotions for The Crimson Bull, a now-defunct campus humor magazine. In anticipation of a big issue, she managed to arrange for an aircraft to drop promotional pamphlets over the IU football stadium. Unfortunately, the “good idea” led to delay of game and thus a penalty for the Hoosiers.

Dietz also recalled a calendar project that featured one model who, in the final print, looked like she was wearing no clothes. The photo made the Indianapolis news media where the model’s father, a Baptist minister, had an adverse reaction.

“’Gee, I don’t know, President Wells,’” joked Dietz, recalling her pledge of innocence to then-president Herman B Wells during the fallout from the incident.

Longtime School of Journalism placement director Marjorie Blewett, B.A. ‘48, said she’s enjoying her retirement here in Bloomington.

“I enjoy my journalism friends and I still read the Daily Student every day,” she said of the newspaper she once edited.

David Albright, from the class of 1959, attended the event with his wife, Ruth (Padgett) Albright , who also is an alumna. They hadn’t been in Bloomington for 35 years when they decided to retire here several years ago.

“We would’ve come back to Bloomington as we remembered it, but it’s much, much nicer now,” he reflected.

Ruth Albright, who said she spent 20 years largely in scholastic magazines, added, “It’s been a good life as a journalist.”

Helen (Probst) Schroeder, from the class of 1959, said that her favorite memory of her time at the school was when she stumbled upon a story that resulted in an interview with Wells. She said she was walking through campus when she noticed work being done on the president’s home.

“I snuck in, saw the blue prints, and arranged for an interview with Dr. Wells to get the story,” she said. “That was a pretty neat experience.”

School of Journalism Student Media Director Ron Johnson promised the alumni that today’s journalism students are getting the same experiences that they received years ago and thanked them for the legacy they’ve left at the school.

“Thank you so much for laying the groundwork for these great students,” he said, gesturing to the current Indiana Daily Student staffers who attended the event.

Bright wrapped up the morning on a similar note, informing the group that there are 8,000 living Indiana University journalism alumni, himself included.

“Other than your parents and your professors, no one wants to see you succeed more than we do,” said Bright to the students in attendance, acknowledging the alumni for the “competitive edge” they give to IU journalism students.

11 finish Teaching Fellows Workshop

jbirthis — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:29:57 +0000

Eleven new teachers from around the country ended the week with some new ideas, some practical advice and a network of colleagues to call on for help.

As participants in the School of Journalism’s 32nd annual Teaching Fellows Workshop, they spent June 14-18 learning from longtime professors and instructors and brainstorming their own ideas about teaching journalism at the college or university level.

For Gail MacDonald of the University of Connecticut, “everything was great.” She came to the workshop after a long career in print journalism, teaching 18 years part-time and one year of full-time teaching.

“Not one session was not useful,” said MacDonald.

The workshop is designed for those transitioning to teaching from professional journalism or other disciplines. Participants apply in early spring and must have fewer than three years’ experience as college-level teachers. School of Journalism assistant professor Hans Ibold and visiting professor Marty Pieratt were among the participants this
year.

The workshop sessions, taught by primarily by journalism professors, covered topics such as developing effective course policies, academic misconduct, transitioning from the newsroom to the classroom, experiential learning opportunities, motivating today’s college student, assessment, the tenure dossier, teaching writing and presentation skills.

The workshop concluded with dinner at workshop director Amy Reynold’s home June 18. During the event, participants reflected on the week-long workshop.
Minjeong Kim came to the workshop after her first year of teaching at Colorado State University. She said the sessions were especially useful in helping her rethink her teaching philosophy.

“I’m taking back many practical ideas to use in my classroom next year,” said Kim.

For Kyun Soo Kim, who just finished his first year as assistant professor at Grambling State University in Louisiana, the workshop helped supplement his doctoral studies, in which he says he served exclusively in a research capacity.

“I consider this workshop to be a turning point for my career,” he said. “As a relatively new professor, this first year was painful and insane.”

He came to the workshop after a visit to his home in Seoul, and said he suffered jet lag for most of the week, but that it was worth the journey.

“I’ve almost overcome it now,” he joked, “but the knowledge I learned made it well worth the long trip.”

Pam Davies, finishing her second year of teaching at Roosevelt University in Chicago, came to the workshop at the recommendation of a colleague who had attended. She said she enjoyed many parts of the workshop, but especially the sessions with professor emeritus Peter Jacobi.

“The sessions with professor Jacobi really showed us how to construct a classroom assignment,” said Davies. “I’ve been more accustomed to following a text, but he showed us how to create a truly original assignment. I think this workshop would absolutely help any new professor.”

In March, the School of Journalism will accept applications for next year’s workshop.

Indiana University School of Journalism

Mint intern Kohli reports from Delhi

Raymer article on mentors set for photography magazine

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