University of Montana School of Journalism

News and Events
• J-School dean selected to steering committee for Hearst Awards • Students, alumni attend prestigious photojournalism workshop • Emptying the Notebook: Clem Work speaks at forum on press performance since Sept. 11; R-TV lecturer wins state-wide reporting awards; J-School Web site gets redesign; Bill Knowles named Griz Football's Professor of the Week. School of Journalism dean selected for Hearst Awards steering committee Jerry Brown, dean of The University of Montana School of Journalism, was recently elected to a committee that directs the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards program. The Hearst Steering Committee meets twice a year to evaluate the program and confront new issues in journalism education that may affect the competition. The Hearst competition – known as the college Pulitzers – awards prizes in writing, photography, television and radio news to undergraduates at accredited schools and departments of journalism. The ten-member Hearst Steering Committee elects new members based on regional and ethnic diversity, as well as participation in the awards program, according to Jan Watten, Hearst Awards program director. Members must also be administrators in the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication. “One of the reasons he was chosen was because of how active and how well UM has been in the program in recent years,” Watten said. “The committee thought he would be a valuable addition to the group.” Last year, UM’s photojournalism program finished second in the nation. The UM School of Journalism finished sixth overall. “Our finishing in the top 10 overall indicates the high quality of student work in all options,” Brown said, “and it further demonstrates that the faculty has been willing to go the extra mile in encouraging students to submit their best work.” Return to top of page Photo students, alumni study at renowned Barnstorm workshop Four alumni and one student from the University of Montana’s School of Journalism were selected to attend Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Photojournalism Workshop in New York last month. The annual workshop, Oct. 5-8 in Liberty, N.Y., brings together 100 students from across the country to work with professional photojournalists. UM Alumni who attended include James Shipley, Jen Sens, Jeremy Lurgio and John Locher. Peet McKinney, currently a student at the School of Journalism, also traveled to the workshop. Students were selected based on their portfolios and on recommendations. Each day of the workshop was divided between shooting, panel discussions and presentations from photographers employed by Newsweek, National Geographic and The Washington Post. “A big part of the workshop is meeting the big time photographers in the U.S.,” said Locher, an alumnus who now works for the Missoulian. He and the other workshoppers shared their portfolios with faculty each night. Lurgio, a UM alumnus who works for the Ravalli Republic newspaper, worked closely with Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes. Frakes edited the projects that Lurgio completed at the workshop and critiqued his portfolio. “He talked to me about where I need to go next,” Lurgio said. “Hearing it from a professional makes it hit a lot harder.” Barnstorm participants could have no more than three years of experience in photojournalism to be eligible for the workshop. Both Locher and Lurgio found it educational to be around the most-talented young photojournalists in the United States. “It was a great chance to be around the best in photojournalism for four days,” Lurgio said. “The best students, best mentors and editors and the best photographers in this field.” Return to top of page Emptying the Notebook: Clem Work speaks on press performance since Sept. 11; Sally Mauk wins Durso awards; J-School Web site gets redesign; Broadcasters-in-Residence keep residing ... The major issues facing American news media in the post-9/11 world are all rooted in our past, Clem Work asserted in a talk at a UM "Community Convocation" on Nov. 6. Work discussed "Seven Deadly Media Sins," involving issues such as the pressures of patriotism, being cheerleaders for war, censorship, manipulation, battlefield access, international coverage and restrictions on constitutional freedoms. The panel on "Television, Radio and the Press: The Role of the Media in Wartime" included Sally Mauk, news director at KUFM, and Ian Marquand, special projects coordinator for KPAX. The program, the third in a series on the origins and aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy, is sponsored by ASUM and the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center. The university series is coordinated by Richard Barrett of the Economics Department and George Cheney of the Communications Studies Department. To read Work's complete statement, click here. Sally Mauk of KUFM radio led the station to the most awards presented for radio broadcasting at the 2001 Montana Broadcasters Association Joe Durso Awards. Mauk teaches as a visiting instructor in the School of Journalism's Radio-Television department. Mauk won five of KUFM's six awards. She won for enterprise reporting, spot news-edited and enterprise reporting. She won honorable mentions for best audio, news writing and spot news-live.The awards are named for Joe Durso, a professor and acting dean in the School of Journalism's Radio-Television Department who died in 1998. ... The School of Journalism Web site received a redesign, courtesy of Paul Queneau, a journalism senior from Golden, Colo., who is also webmaster of the Montana Kaimin. Queneau, a media arts minor who is studying print as his journalism emphasis, spent part of the summer studying Web sites for other journalism programs and schools to help him arrive at his design. Working with Michael Downs, a visiting assistant professor who edits the School of Journalism Web site, Queneau rebuilt the site in the fall -- between his classwork and his reporting for the Kaimin. "We wanted people who visit the site to see a uniform design," Downs said. "We also wanted the site to be easier to maintain and easier for visitors to navigate." ... Mike Dugger, the program director and national sales manager for KHQ-TV in Spokane, visited the School of Journalism on Nov. 7 as part of the ASJMC/Knight Foundation Broadcasters-In-Residence program. Dugger spoke to the Radio-Television senior seminar and to the Broadcast Programming class. Other KHQ personnel to visit UM under the grant include promotions director Traci Zeravica, reporter/anchor Dana Haynes and chief photographer Jeff Hite. News Director Patricia McRae and General Manager Lon Lee will visit during Spring Semester. ... Professor Bill Knowles, chairman of the Radio-Television Department, was named Professor of the Week by the Grizzly football team during the week of the Portland State home game, on recommendation by Student Athletes Academic Adviser Jean Cornwall. The RTV Department was named "Department of the Week." ... Lisa Zimmerman of Poplar, Mont., producer of the spring 2001 documentary, "Meth: Dark Cloud over the Big Sky," was recently hired as producer of morning news for KHQ-TV Spokane. ... The Radio-TV Department has installed EZ-News software on all computers it uses for teaching. EZ News is a proprietary newsroom management program written by Automated Data Systems of LaCrosse, Wis. The software imports the Associated Press wire, allows students to write and time newscasts and drives the studio electronic prompter. Return to top of page Return to November 2001 News