School of Journalism

The University of Montana

November 1998

Washington Post editor hired as visiting Native American journalist

A veteran editor on the foreign desk of the Washington Post will be the journalism school's first Native American journalist in residence, acting dean Carol Van Valkenburg announced this week. Starting spring semester, Dennis McAuliffe Jr., an enrolled member of the Osage tribe of Oklahoma, will teach courses for one year at both UM and Salish Kootenai College in Pablo. The hiring of McAuliffe was made possible by a $90,000 grant from the Freedom Forum last July. The grant pays for his salary as well as support, travel and student recruiting costs. "We are really pleased to have Denny join our faculty. He will be a wonderful mentor for students and will also help us reach our goal of attracting more Native American students to journalism," Van Valkenburg said. "We are also grateful to the Freedom Forum for providing the support that allowed us to attract a journalist of Denny's caliber." McAuliffe has worked at the Post since 1983 and on the foreign desk for 11 years. He has been the night foreign editor for the past several years, working the 7:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift. According to one recent in-house evaluation, "Denny McAuliffe is perhaps the most gifted all-round editor on the Foreign Desk. He brings a grace to his writing and editing that is rare, even at The Post, and is universally agreed to be a pleasure to work with. He knows when to rewrite-and when not to. He can un-muddle and redo the worst we get, but his judgment is good enough to make only essential fixes in the good stuff. A graduate of the University of Maryland (and, as he says, "a graduate of the Harvard School of Hunt and Peck Journalism"), McAuliffe began his first newspaper job at age 15 with the now-defunct Washington Daily News. After a stint in the Army during the Vietnam conflict, McAuliffe worked as a stringer in Panama for Reuters and the London Observer, and then on the copy desk of the European Stars and Stripes. The Post editor is looking forward to his new responsibility. He said, "I believe strongly that I would be performing a valuable service, both to my own sense of personal responsibility and to the larger societal need, if I can assist the University of Montana in setting itself up as the center for Native American Journalism, both to train Indians for the profession and to educate all journalists, be they Native or not, on Indian issues. In spring semester, McAuliffe will teach a two-credit seminar on multicultural journalism and help teach the school's award-winning Native News Honors class. The class will be combined this year with the Radio-Television Department's Student Documentary Unit, which has won several Rocky Mountain Emmy awards for its productions. In the spring term at Salish Kootenai College, on the Flathead Resevation, McAuliffe will teach a reporting class.

State broadcasters' award named after Joe Durso Jr.

A new journalism awards competition for Montana television and radio stations will honor the late Dean Joe Durso Jr. The Joe Durso Awards for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, recognizing broadcasters' premier work, will be awarded by the Montana Associated Press Broadcasters Association. Dean Durso died of a heart attack in July. "Joe was a good friend of many of us," said John Kuglin, the AP Montana bureau chief. "He did a lot for the AP broadcasters." Kuglin noted that Durso moderated panels, found panel speakers and headed writing workshops for the AP and individual news stations. Kuglin said Durso was very helpful and an inspirational leader to many broadcast journalists working in the state. "In expanding our awards, we will recognize the good journalism done in Montana newsrooms across the state," he said. Kuglin said Montana radio and television stations will submit tapes for Best Spot News; Best Feature or Documentary; Best Investigative Reporting; Best Sports Coverage, and possibly a Best Cinematography award. The entries will be judged by AP-member radio and television journalists in another state. Journalists in South Dakota will judge the '98 Montana entries. Although the award details are not finalized, Kuglin expects to offer 12-15 prizes each year to Montana AP broadcasters. He said journalists in each of the categories should win $100-$150 prizes and a plaque for their award-winning efforts. Kuglin said many newsrooms, one way or another, have benefited from Durso's influence. The award is to remember his inspiration. "Joe's greatest legacy is surely his students. Many of them are working in broadcast newsrooms throughout the country," Kuglin said.

Broadcasting scholarship to honor Durso

The Montana Broadcasters Association plans to fund a new scholarship for radio-TV students in the honor of the late Dean Joe Durso Jr. Chad Parrish, president of the MBA, said $3,000-$4,000 will be set aside in January for a senior UM student majoring in broadcasting. The scholarship will help pay for a student's tuition and fees. Parrish said he has to work out a few details with Greg MacDonald of UM's Radio-TV Department, but expects the first MBA/Joe Durso Scholarship should be awarded to a broadcasting student at Dean Stone Night in April. "We're pretty excited about it," he said. "Joe was thought of highly by the broadcasters. I could go on for days about Joe." At their October retreat, the MBA Board of Directors voted to establish the Durso scholarship. Parrish said the scholarship will be funded out of MBA expenses the first year or two. The long-term plan is to create an endowment to perpetually fund the scholarship. As the endowment builds, the intent is to keep up with the rising cost of tuition and add additional scholarships, Parrish said.

Radio-TV Department searches for new professor

The Radio-TV Department of the School of Journalism is looking to hire a tenure-track faculty member to teach broadcast news classes, replacing the late Dean Joe Durso Jr. Durso taught courses in news writing, news reporting and senior seminar. Professor Bill Knowles, chair of the search committee, said the School hopes to hire an experienced broadcast journalist. This semester, the courses are being taught by Don Oliver, a UM journalism graduate and former NBC correspondent. The successful candidate will help Knowles supervise the Radio-TV Department's award-winning student documentary. Knowles said the candidate should have ten years industry experience and some college teaching. A master's degree is preferred. "The key thing we need is somebody to teach broadcast news writing," he said. Resumes or correspondence may be sent to: Professor Bill Knowles, Chair of Search Committee, Radio-TV Dept./School of Journalism, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812.

Hood initiates self-study for school's accreditation

Former Journalism Dean Charlie Hood is coordinating a self-study this year for the school's upcoming accreditation visit. Hood is assisting interim Dean Carol Van Valkenburg with the accreditation process, something he has prepared for before. Hood served as the school's dean from the early 80s to the early 90s and prepared for two accreditations during that time. Hood said it's important to be accredited. "There are many hundreds of journalism programs across the country and only a relative handful are accredited, so it really does mean something." The accrediting process takes place every six years. The School of Journalism has been accredited since 1944, Hood noted. UM's journalism school was one of first in the country to be recognized as offering a quality journalism education. The accreditation visit is scheduled for the 1999-2000 academic year. Hood's job is to initiate a year-long self-study. The first step took place in early October at the journalism faculty's annual retreat. Suzanne Shaw, executive director of the Accrediting Council on Education and Journalism and Mass Communications, shared tips with the faculty about the upcoming accreditation visit. In the self-study, faculty members assess strengths and weaknesses of the program and develop a plan to address issues needing improvement. "It's a huge undertaking," Hood said. But a thorough self-study should nurture a successful visit, he added. The accreditation process will look at the School's performance according to national standards, including minorities and women in student body and faculty. The team will also inspect the quality of instruction, the appropriateness of the curriculum, internships, public service, communication with alumni, technology, scholarships and the graduate program.

DATES AND DEADLINES

Nov. 10-23 Registration for Spring Semester by Dial BEAR Nov. 11 Veteran's Day Holiday (No classes) Nov. 20 End of advising for Spring Semester Nov. 25-27 Thanksgiving Vacation (No classes)