Advertising students sweep Central Illinois Addy Awards competition
Students in Advertising Professor Peter Sheldon's creative class swept the student division of the Central Illinois Addy Awards competition in February. Winning 13 of the 17 Addys across five categories, the students' work was judged by advertising professionals, and results were announced at a gala awards ceremony. Nick Ciffone '10 ADV took home the Best in Show in the student division for his advertising campaign for Schlitz beer. Gold winners were automatically sent on to the national competition. To enjoy each student's entire ad campaign, download this PDF (9MB), or contact Peter Sheldon.
CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS BELOW TO VIEW SAMPLES OF STUDENTS' CREATIVE:
Journalism students get glimpse of New York City magazine industry
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| New York Magazine Trip students gather at Hearst Tower, where they visited "Esquire" and "Popular Mechanics" magazines. |
In early March, several Journalism students traveled to New York City to visit with professionals in the magazine industry. Students returned with an in-depth understanding of magazine reporting, editing, and the new world of online publishing, specifically blogs and their audiences.
"When I first started taking students on this trip five years ago, I knew of maybe six journalism graduates in the industry," said Lynn Holley, academic programs coordinator in the Department of Journalism. "As of today, there are at least 30 alumni working for magazines or freelancing in the city. This student-focused project has certainly increased U of I's presence in the New York magazine world."
Here is what some of the students had to say:
Eric Heisig '09 JOURN
My ultimate goal is to be a music journalist. Before the trip, Lynn Holley asked us all what kind of journalists we would like to meet that we weren't already scheduled to visit. Since I didn't see a music journalist on the list, I spoke up. Even when we got to New York, though, I wasn't expecting to meet one.
To my surprise, as we were walking out of "New York" magazine, one of the people talking to us asked who had wanted to talk to a music journalist. When I said it was me, she told me there would be someone at dinner for me to meet.
When we got to dinner, I met Melissa Maerz, who has written for "Rolling Stone" and "Spin." It was great to talk to her, if just to learn a little bit more about what I aspire to. It made my night, and it was probably the highlight of the trip.
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| Construction site at Ground Zero in New York City. |
Maura Sage '09 JOURN
Before going on this trip I never thought I would experience standing in a building that had been re-built after collapsing into non-existence on 9/11. New York City is a place full of energy, and it is any journalist's dream to reside there. When a plane recently crashed into the Hudson River, Fast Company employees could see the wreckage from their windows. Employees saw the ambulances and commotion, and they sent out reporters immediately to get the story.
While New York City is not the only place to work in journalism, it is definitely an appealing city where the opportunities are endless. Yes, the economy is affecting job seekers, but the best part about this trip was realizing we are in control of our careers. If we are determined and take the initiative, we can achieve our goals.
Elyse Schmidt '09 JOURN
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| United Nations Security Council room. |
I can't say many people have visited the United Nations Headquarters. If they have, they certainly haven't sat in the seats where world leaders discuss the most important issues of our time. But it was not just the reverent silence that filled the place or the rows of world flags that outlined the building or prestigious art that hung on the walls. It was not just meeting the Secretary General's press correspondent or sitting in the chair marked 'United States' in the general assembly hall or seeing thousands of international students at a UNIS conference.
For any person, seeing a place where the world literally comes together is overpowering and astounding. I felt more so than ever that people who are compelled by the news, by progress, by change, and by communication can still feel this way and make a difference.
Chris Sienza '09 MS JOURN
Not too long ago, blogs were considered a pestilence to honest journalism. But in a sign of the times, our trip included stops at "The Huffington Post," "Clusterstock.com," and "Gawker Media." All of these are online-only operations using some version of blogging, and all of their representatives spoke to us about the growing legitimacy of blogs in the journalism world.
"Increasingly, our kind of economy rewards speed," John Carney, managing editor of Clusterstock.com, told us, "The closing of the money gap is greatly increasing the credibility of blogging."
Perhaps a more telling sign of blogging's penetration into journalism than its growing financial success is the presence of its proponents at traditional media sources. Will Leitch, contributing editor for "New York" magazine and founder of the sports blog Deadspin.com, attributed his success largely to his own blogging career. He offered up some advice to those of us interested in following in his footsteps: make your blog hyper-focused about a specific topic, have a niche, consistently put out quality material and take it seriously.
"Alumni News" seeks contributors for story ideas, writing, and photography
The bi-annual College of Media publication "Alumni News" is currently undergoing a transformation, and will debut a new issue in September 2009. We look forward to its unveiling and your response. Editor Sarah Dolinar, associate director for communications in the College, is seeking story ideas, contributing writers, and photographers from the alumni community. If you are interested, please submit your ideas and contact information to Sarah Dolinar.
Honors and Awards
WILL-AM-FM-TV-Online honored by Corporation for Public Broadcasting Community Impact Award
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting presented WILL AM-FM-TV-Online with the My Source Community Impact Award for Education for WILL initiatives including book mentoring in pre-school classrooms, the Youth Media Workshop with African-American teens, and a Hoopeston Youth Project. The My Source Community Impact Awards for Education were created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to give recognition to public television stations for their commitment to providing educational services with measurable results.
WILL Youth Media Workshop and Young Learners Initiative earn U of I Carnegie Designation
WILL's Youth Media Workshop and Young Learners Initiative projects helped the University of Illinois achieve the community engagement classification of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Both WILL projects were among 70 separate U of I programs submitted to support the selection. The U of I was selected in the Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships category, which honors institutions with substantial commitments to teaching, learning, and scholarship that engage faculty, students and community in "mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration."
WILL-AM 580 News was named the "Outstanding News Operation"
WILL-AM 580 News was named the "Outstanding News Operation" for the second year in a row in the downstate radio division of the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association Journalism Excellence Contest. WILL-AM 580 news director Tom Rogers also won first place in the Best Newswriting category.
"For the second year, I'm humbled by this award," Rogers said. "Judges in other states who award Associated Press honors are also journalists, so it's gratifying that they recognize the good work that Jim Meadows and Jeff Bossert do, and the importance that AM 580 as a whole places on being a credible source of news in the communities we serve."
Around the College
Journalism Department launches investigative reporting project on poverty with grants from Stevick and Knight foundations
The College of Media's Journalism Department and "The News-Gazette" have launched an innovative, multi-year project to cover and investigate issues involving poverty and disenfranchised members of the community in Champaign County. The multimedia effort plans to use cutting-edge news technologies, including database analysis, digital mapping, and mobile phone text, photo, and video messaging.
The project is funded by a $50,000 grant from the Marajen Stevick Foundation, a matching grant of $100,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and with contributions from the University of Illinois. The grants will provide staffing, equipment, Web support, and training for citizens interested in doing journalism.
The project will gather and deliver news, stories, data, and other valuable information on an interactive Web site from which "The News-Gazette" and other media can cull material. Stories and information also will be presented in audio and video through the Web and community news media.
"The Journalism Department is excited about this collaboration because it involves public engagement to help an under-served population," said Brian Johnson, acting department head and professor of journalism. "The Stevick Foundation's commitment to journalism and the community really shines through in their sponsorship of this project. This Knight Foundation grant will also allow our students to participate in a developing area of participatory journalism."
The Knight grant was one of 21 grants given nationwide to encourage the use of new media and technology to engage communities. The projects are the first winners of the Knight Community Information Challenge, a five-year, $24-million initiative to help community foundations support creative ways to use new media and technology to keep communities engaged. Knight said the grantees had innovative ideas that will help residents lead informed lives.
Associate Professor of Journalism Rich Martin will be the editorial director for the project. Brant Houston, professor of journalism and Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting, will work on research, data analysis, and stories. Johnson will oversee the multi-media efforts.
Editors and reporters at "The News-Gazette" will be active partners in the project and will work closely with the three faculty members and students from the department. The project leaders hope to attract other collaborators from the university and the community media as the project progresses.
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| Alumni present at the 2009 Senior Saturday Career Seminar. |
Senior Saturday 2009 gives students useful career tools
In March, the College of Media held its inaugural Senior Saturday, a career seminar specifically tailored for Illinois students. The day was filled with events beginning with keynote presentations by Murray Gaylord, vice president of marketing for the "NYTimes.com,"
and Brad Karsh, president and founder of JobBound. Students learned about the upcoming role marketing will have in the digital landscape and the key skills needed for networking, interviewing, and creating a professional standout resume.
The College also hosted several of its own alumni from different fields in the industry such as media, public relations, client side, advertising agencies, and journalism. Two disciplined panel discussions were offered for students to pick from to fulfill their specific career interests. They had the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the professionals. Finally, the College of Media paired each student with an alumnus or alumna to receive a private 15-minute resume critique.
Students expressed a great appreciation for the seminar in relation with today's tough job market. After attending, students felt much more prepared and eager to begin their job search by gaining a competitive advantage against the thousands of graduates entering the industry.
With the high attendance and positive results, the College is already planning for the 2010 Senior Saturday. Both students and alumni should keep a look out for more details during the fall semester.
Faculty and Staff News
Amy Aidman, associate dean (currently on leave at Emory University), will have an essay titled "The Mother of the Mohawk" published in the premier issue of "Journal of Family Life," an online publication debuting this spring. Her article explores generational disconnects between adolescents and parents in contemporary middle-class American family life.
Nancy Benson, associate professor of journalism, won two Telly Awards in the categories of Cultural and Tourism Reporting for a story she worked on with WILL-TV on the human-wildlife conflict in Kenya.
Eleanor Blum '58 PhD COMM (pictured at left) turned 100 years old on March 18. In addition to earning her graduate degree from the College, Blum served as a librarian for the Communications Library from 1953 to 1978.
Norman Denzin, research professor of communications, has published a new book titled "Qualitative Inquiry Under Fire: Toward a New Paradigm Dialogue" (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press). His collection provides a history of the field of qualitative inquiry over the past two decades. According to the press, as perhaps the leading proponent of this style of research, Denzin has led the way toward more performative writing, toward conceptualizing research in terms of social justice, toward inclusion of indigenous voices, and toward new models of interpretation and representation. In these 13 essays, Denzin traces how these changes have transformed qualitative practice in recent years. In an era where qualitative inquiry is under fire from conservative governmental and academic bodies, he points the way toward the future, including a renewed dialogue on paradigmatic pluralism. More books by Denzin from Left Coast Press.
Matt Ehrlich, professor of journalism, announces that his latest research article "Living with the Bomb: Fred Friendly's `The Quick and the Dead'" will appear in the next issue of "Journalism History." The article examines a 1950 NBC radio documentary series that Fred Friendly produced just prior to joining Edward R. Murrow at CBS. The series examined atomic weapons and energy, and it starred Bob Hope as one of its narrators. It went on to win a Peabody Award. Ehrlich located an original recording of the series on old transcription discs in the U of I Archives.
Lisa Nakamura, professor of media studies, Asian American studies, and gender and women's studies, will be a keynote speaker at the Texas A & M University Race and Ethnic Studies Institute's (RESI) Race, Ethnicity, and (New) Media Symposium on April 30. She will be presenting her work on race-based social inequality in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft. She will also be a featured speaker at the Games, Learning, and Society Conference (GLS) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in May. She has also been appointed to the advisory board of the "Journal of Asian American Studies."
Michelle Nelson, associate professor of advertising, was nominated to the editorial board of the "International Journal of Advertising," the leading international advertising academic journal. She was nominated by incoming editor, Charles Taylor, John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing and senior research fellow at the Center for Marketing and Policy Research at Villanova University.
Jay Rosenstein, associate professor of journalism, was interviewed about his documentary "The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out," on WILL-AM's "Afternoon Magazine" on January 30.
Ron Yates, dean of the College, and Mark Leonard, general manager for WILL-AM-FM-TV-Online, presented a commemorative plaque on March 16 to Jack Richmond (pictured at right) and his wife Marge, marking the 10th anniversary of the Richmonds' gift that made the Richmond Teaching Television Studio a reality.
Student News
JAMS, the new College of Media student organization dedicated to Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies majors, will debut their first television broadcast on April 16, at 9 p.m., on UI-7, with an encore presentation at 11 p.m. The show, titled, "JAMSESSION," will include an explanation of JAMS' mission and activities; a review of the Urbana campus restaurant, The Spice Box; an interview with Miss Champaign-Urbana; Mike Dalton's Movie Corner; and a feature on the U of I and Being Green. Read more on the JAMS Web site.
Brittany Abeijon '09 JOURN won fourth place in the Personality/Profile Writing competition of the 2008-2009 Hearst Journalism Awards program with her story about a local Champaign resident's battle with cancer. She was honored with a $750 scholarship, having competed with 106 students from 61 journalism schools across the country.
Journalism students were named award winners in several categories of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky) Mark of Excellence student competition on April 3:
General News Reporting
- Third Place: Whitney Wyckoff '09 JOURN, "Black agents await day in court with secret service"
Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper (published at least 4 times per week)
- Second Place: Staff, The Daily Illini
Radio News Reporting
- First Place: Leslie Picker '10 JOURN, "Birth Centers"
- Second Place: Eric Stecking '09 JOURN, "Northern Illinois University vigil"
Radio Feature
- First Place: Whitney Wyckoff '09 JOURN, "Congressional District 15"
Radio Sports Reporting
- First Place: Andy Selby '10 JOURN, Illinois golf practice
Radio Newscast
- First Place: Staff, The Daily Illini
On-Air Television General News Reporting
- First Place: Susanna (Sehee) Pak '09 JOURN, "Food Pantry"
- Second Place: Christine Kim '09 JOURN, "Mock Election"
- Third Place: Christine Kim '09 JOURN, "Library Offender"
Hala Nimeh '09 MS JOURN, has been selected to receive a paid internship through the Illinois Broadcasters Association's Multicultural Internship Program. The program places students in paid newsroom internships across Illinois. Recipients are competitively selected among applicants from state universities. Nimeh will be serving her internship this summer at WLS-TV in Chicago.
Susanna (Sehee) Pak '09 JOURN has been awarded an eight-week-long Society of Professional Journalists internship at KHON in Honolulu, Hawaii, to begin in May.
Madelin Woods '09 ADV, vice chair for the Urbana student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics (ACM SIGGRAPH), helped produce the short animated film, titled "Moon Bean." Woods worked with the ACM SIGGRAPH Chair to guide a team of students through the entire process of developing a short film, from training them to use the Maya software to story boarding, concept art, modeling, animating, rendering, and finally editing the film. "While the film is only a minute long, we have been working on it since early September," said Woods, "and we've all learned the value of how much work it takes to develop even a short film." In all, the group works on three projects each year: short film, video game, and graphics research. Historically, the Urbana SIGGRAPH chapter has been mostly composed of Computer Science and Engineering majors. Woods has worked with the group to gather people from a broad range of majors, such as psychology, industrial design, painting, and physics.
College of Media in the News
John Paul '77 RADIO-TELEVISION, lecturer in journalism, has added an electronic twist to the time-honored news quiz, according to PoynterOnline. He encourages his students to monitor his Delicious account, where he bookmarks interesting news items. They go there, he said, if only to see "where John's getting his questions from."
Jan Slater, department head and professor of advertising, was recently invterviewed by Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's "Hot Topics in Journalism and Mass Communication" blog. "Discussing JMC with..." features a collection of interviews with academics from across the U.S. and abroad discussing current topics and trends in journalism and mass communication.
Upcoming Events
April 21, 5 p.m.: Jabari Asim talks with Chris Benson on "What Obama Means," Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana Campus
Jabari Asim, scholar-in-residence in journalism and African American studies, will talk about the cultural underpinnings of President Barack Obama's historic election, as presented in his latest book, "What Obama Means" (William Morrow). In a conversation with Chris Benson, associate professor of journalism and African American studies, Asim will discuss the effects of film and television in portraying African Americans in middle class settings, breaking down social barriers and assuming positions of power. He also will talk about the impact of popular music, including Hip Hop, on a new generation of voters, and, of course, what it was like to launch an Obama book on Inauguration Day...on the "Colbert Report." This event is free and open to the public. Reception and book signing will follow.
April 22-26: 11th Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, The Virginia Theatre, Champaign
The 2009 Ebert Film Festival will open with "Woodstock," a newly restored director's cut with never before seen footage of the 1969 famous film, and close with "Baraka," a visually stunning 70mm film, shot in 24 countries on 6 continents. All films are screened at the historic Virginia Theatre, downtown Champaign, Ill. (203 W Park Ave.). Academic panel discussions occur Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings of the festival. The panel discussions take place on campus at the Illini Union, Pine Lounge, 1st floor. Individual tickets are now on sale through the Virginia Theatre Box Office at 217-356-9063. For film lineup, guests, ticket sales, and special events visit www.ebertfest.com.
May 20-23: Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Illini Union, Urbana Campus
The Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry's theme, "Advancing Human Rights Through Qualitative Inquiry," builds on recent human rights initiatives taken by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Education Research Association, previous Congresses, as well as the American Anthropological Association, the American Psychological Association, The American Nurses Association, the Center for Indigenous World Studies, Scholars at Risk, and the Society for Applied Anthropology. It is clear that in these troubling political times qualitative researchers are called upon to become human rights advocates, to honor the sanctity of life, and the core values of privacy, justice, freedom, peace, human dignity, and freedom from fear.
Alumni Notes
Alumni Notes will now be published in the bi-annual College magazine, scheduled to debut in September 2009.
Please send your Alumni Notes, along with your hometown, to: media@illinoisalumni.org.
Stay Connected
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Media I is published 10 months a year for the alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College of Media at the University of Illinois.
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Publisher: Ron Yates, Dean of the College of Media
Editor: Sarah Dolinar, Associate Director for Communications