• Photographer wins Hearst award for series on women at biker rally
• J-student a winner in online writing contest
• Barrett advises Fulbright Lectureship Program

Photographer wins Hearst award for series on women at biker rally photos by Lee Tortorelli On Wednesday of rally week many bikers go to nearby Huelett, Wyo., to walk the city’s five-block main strip, admiring bikes and women. This woman was stopped so many times for pictures that she made it up the strip only once. Win brings photo dept. into Top 10
	Wives and girlfriends of motorcycle gang members wear patches that declare them as property.

"It’s about the objectification of women, kind of a look at how women are treated,” he told Kaimin reporter Kayla Stewart in a story that ran April 7. “The whole theme of Sturgis is disappearing. At one time it was about the bikes. Big cargo vans pull up, and people get out in their leather. A good portion of people have never ridden a bike before. A lot of guys come to take pictures of naked women. They never leave their campsite.”

Tortorelli wins $500, an amount matched by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program. His sixth-place propelled the J-School's photo department into 10th place in the year-long Hearst competition.

J-student a winner in online writing contest

Erin Madison

J-school print student and Kaimin reporter Erin Madison won New West’s essay contest last month with her article that illustrates the debate over privatizing the University of Montana.

Her article,“Should a University be a Business?” was published March 7 on New West’s citizen journalists site, where readers can comment and discuss their ideas about the posted articles.

Madison currently covers UM administration for the Kaimin, and she said she’s “seen all sides of the issue pretty well.” The University’s contentiously debated contract with Coca-Cola, increased tuition costs and the proposal for a retirement community all led her to the central premise: the university is being treated more and more like a business.

“ I think (the article) brought up a lot of discussion,” she said. “It’s a pretty controversial issue.”

Courtney Lowery, managing editor for New West, said Madison’s essay won not only because it was well written, but because it was different. “It was a unique look at something that’s been written about over and over,” she said.

The New West essay contest, along with a separate photo contest, promised winners a night’s stay at Idaho’s Tamarack Ski Resort and two ski lift tickets. Madison says she hopes to go there soon, or she may have to wait until next year’s ski season.

-Kelley McLandress

Barrett advises Fulbright Lectureship Program

Sharon Barrett

The Fulbright scholarship lecture program named J-School Professor Sharon Barrett to be a member of the Peer Review Committee for the Fulbright Senior Specialists Program for the second year. The program officer, Brad Niemann lauded Barrett as “one of six authorities in your field, representing a range of specializations and institutions.”

Her duties will be to review applications sent to the 2005-2006 Fulspec Communications and Journalism 1 Peer Review Committee. This is the program’s fifth year and Barrett’s second nomination to the committee.

Barrett and her five colleagues will review between 60 and 100 applications from professional journalists. The thought of reading dozens of applications does not faze Barrett.The number of lectureships will depend on the funding available from the U.S. State Department and host country governments.Last year people applied for positions all over the world, she said.

The Fulbright program is named for Sen. J. William Fulbright, an Arkansas Democrat who sponsored legislation passed by Congress in 1946 to send American scholars overseas to help promote peace and the exchange of ideas. Since then the program has expanded so that established professionals might teach overseas.
Barrett was awarded a half-year Fulbright lectureship in journalism to the University of Lima, Peru in1987. The Fulbright program sent Barrett to the University ORT, Montevideo, Uruguay, for one month in 2003.

At University ORT, Barrett taught classes and gave workshops for students and faculty. She also worked with professional journalists. “It was great,” she said. The lectureship assignments are tailored toward different country’s needs. Barrett speaks Spanish and has worked in journalism in Mexico and Colombia, as well.

-Jim Beyer

Return to Journalism main page