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Dennis
McAuliffe named secretary
of Native American Journalists Association
That professor
Dennis McAuliffe works overtime to promote newsroom diversity
is an understatement.
The University of Montana’s Native-American-Journalist-in-Residence,
who also serves as a Diversity Fellow for the Freedom Forum, recently
added another job to his already full schedule.
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Dennis
McAulliffe
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McAuliffe
was recently elected
secretary of the Native American Journalists Association. His
duties will include taking notes and minutes from NAJA monthly
conference meetings, and taking part in executive sessions.
NAJA was established in 1984 to improve journalism by and about
Native Americans. McAuliffe became involved in the organization
in 1994, working as director of the Native Voice, a newspaper
assembled at the NAJA annual conference by Native American college
students from throughout the nation.
McAuliffe also mentored the students, many of whom were enrolled
at the University of Montana in its School of Journalism.
“Over the years many University of Montana students have
worked for the Native Voice,” McAuliffe said. “This
is one of the many reasons our program has become well-known among
the Native American journalism community.”
Last year, McAuliffe filled in for a member of the NAJA board
of directors who stepped down. He was elected secretary at the
organization’s summer conference in Buffalo, New York, in
June. However, he was only able to attend one day of the conference
because of yet another job.
McAuliffe was working in South Dakota for the Freedom Forum’s
Native American Journalism Institute during the NAJA conference.
At the month-long session he taught journalism to 38 Native American
students from throughout the United States.
“The aim of all of these programs is to try to increase the
number of Native Americans in journalism,” he said.
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Ray
Fenton: Studied and taught,
journalism, PR in the 1940s
by Carol Van Valkenburg
Chairwoman, print division
School of Journalism
Ray
Fenton, 80, who helped establish and operate the first accredited
public relations firm in Montana, died Aug. 20 at his home in
Helena.
Fenton also had been an instructor in journalism at the University
of Montana for the 1946-’47 and 1948-’49 school years.
He received his journalism degree from UM in 1943 and served as
a Marine during World War II, earning a Bronze Star with a citation
for valor, three Purple Hearts and a Navy Unit Commendation. After
his discharge he took on the journalism instructor’s job,
which became available when enrollment in the school jumped following
the end of the war.
In 1948 he began working at the Great Falls Tribune as telegraph
editor. In 1960 he and his wife, Mary, who also graduated from
the J-School in 1943, joined Joe Renders in forming Public Relations
Associates in Great Falls. In 1982 he and Mary formed Fenton &
Fenton communications consultants. He was a consultant in both
writing and design and together he and Mary presented public relations
workshops in the region, often including UM journalism students
at no charge when the workshops were in the Missoula area.
Mary died in 1984. Ray Fenton is survived by four children and
six grandchildren.
The family has established a scholarship fund in both Ray and
Mary Fenton’s name at the School of Journalism. Contributions
may be made to the fund through the UM
Foundation.
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High School
press reports
to second Grizzly J-Camp
by
Sheri Venema
Visiting assistant professor
In
its second year, the Grizzly Journalism Camp once again helped
high school kids from around Montana fall in love with reporting,
writing, and taking pictures.
Of the 18 students who attended this year's camp, held from June
24-27 at the University of Montana, most pronounced the camp "awesome."
"I learned a lot of great things I hope not to forget,"
said Bethaney Paine, a student at Lincoln County High School in
Eureka.
In addition to teaching high school journalists, the camp also
introduces them to UM's School of Journalism and many of its faculty
members.
"This camp has made me more inclined to study at the J-school
at the University of Montana," Will Holmes, a student from
Bozeman, wrote in his evaluation.
In the sports writing class, students covered a Missoula Osprey
minor-league baseball game, taking photos, keeping a scorebook
and interviewing players.
At a lunch with Journalism School Dean Jerry Brown, campers learned
how press law applies to their student publications and heard
first-hand about high school censorship problems.
Campers also practiced interviewing techniques, learned Web design,
wrote editorials and features and studied the basics of broadcast
journalism. Photo students had cameras in their hands everywhere
to document the camp while improving their shooting.
By the time it was over, students had reported, written, edited,
designed and photographed a special Grizzly Journalism Camp newspaper
page that was published by the Missoulian in its regular "Represent"
student-produced section..
J-School faculty who participated in this year's camp were
• Denise Dowling, broadcast
• Michael Downs, print
• Keith Graham, photo
• Dennis Swibold, print
• Carol Van Valkenburg, print
• Sheri Venema, print
In addition,
Sherry Devlin and Ginny Merriam, both adjunct J-school faculty
and full-time Missoulian reporters, taught classes, as did UM
students Paul Queneau and Jay Ericson and Great Falls High School
newspaper adviser Linda Ballew.
Financial
contributions that helped fund the camp included $1,250 from the
Great Falls Tribune through Gannett Foundation, and another $1,250
from the Montana Newspaper Association.
For more
information about the Grizzly Journalism Camp, contact Sheri Venema,
visiting assistant professor and camp director, at 406-243-2577,
or send e-mail to svenema@selway.umt.edu.
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Emptying
the Notebook . . .
"Backroads
of Montana" won the Non-commercial Television Program of
the Year at the Montana Broadcasters Association/Greater Montana
FoundationÕs E.B. Craney Awards held this summer at Big Sky. William
Marcus, director of UMÕs Broadcast Media Center and former
Scbool of Journalism adjunct instructor, accepted the award for
co-producers John Twiggs, Gus Chambers and Ray
Ekness. Ekness is an assistant professor in broadcast production,
and Twiggs and Chambers teach as adjuncts. Also, adjunct Sally
Mauk of KUFM Radio won the Noncommercial Radio Program of
the Year for her program "Fires of 2000." ...
"Backroads of Montana" was nominated for a regional
Emmy Award from the Seattle chapter of the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences. Ekness and Twiggs attended the awards
this summer in Seattle. ... Eleven Montana businesses were highlighted
as Broadcast Journalism and Radio-TV students produced two episodes
of "Business: Made in Montana"
that aired on MontanaPBS in July and August. More than 50 businesses
have been featured over the eight years of the program. ...
Ray Ekness visited Fox Sports NW this summer thanks to an
National Association of Television Programming Executives Faculty
Development Grant. Ekness spent time at Safeco Field learning
about Fox's Seattle Mariners baseball coverage. He also spent
time in the Fox newsroom learning about the two regional sportscasts
being broadcast to the NW region and the Detroit region. ... Professor
Dennis Swibold is taking a sabbatical this school year
to research and write a book about the Anaconda company and its
influence on MontanaÕs press. ...
Oona Palmer, a second-year graduate student, came up with
the idea and organized a panel of journalism professors to talk
about coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington, D.C. and
New York City. Professors Carol Van Valkenburg, Bill
Knowles, Clem Work, Dennis McAuliffe Jr., and
Michael Downs participated as panelists. Dean Jerry Brown
moderated and welcomed questions from the audience of about 40
people. ...
The Society of Professional Journalists gave its Best of 2000
Deadline-Reporting Award for Newspaper or Wire Service work (circulation
less than 100,000) to the staff of the Great Falls Tribune, including
School of Journalism alumni Peter Johnson, Takˇ Uda,
Rick Ecke, Linda Caricaburu, Sanjay Talwani
and Kim Skornogoski for its coverage when charges were
filed against a Great Falls man accused of kidnapping, butchering
and feeding to neighbors the body of a 10-year-old boy. The staff
put together an eight-page report in which they tried to balance
informing the public against the risk of sensationalism. Skornogoski
was the lead reporter and writer for the coverage and continues
to cover the story.
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to top.
Return to
October 2001 archive
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