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Sometimes, despite our best copy editing efforts, (stuff) happens.

Opportunity for high school J teachers

The Eastern Illinois University Journalism Department is partnering with the McCormick Foundation, the Illinois Press Foundation and the Illinois JEA to offer another free Multimedia Workshop for high school journalism teachers and advisers in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago Oct.14-15 at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Ill.


In addition to free registration, we also have a limited number of stipends for substitute teachers on the Friday of the workshop on a first-come first-served basis.

For more about the workshop and a registration form go to http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~jtidwell/Multimedia/Oct2011.pdf

2011 Fall Conference is set

In a year of blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, it’s only natural to focus NINA’s Fall Conference on disaster coverage.

Kevin Wendt, editor of the Hunstville (Ala.) Times and a 2000 graduate of Northern Illinois University, will serve as keynote speaker for the Oct. 20 evening event. Wendt’s paper provided acclaimed coverage of this year’s tornadoes in northern Alabama.

In 2005, while with the San Jose Mercury News, parent company Knight Ridder sent Wendt to Columbus, Georgia, to help the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald cover Hurricane Katrina. From Columbus, Wendt helped organize the desk operation that remotely published the paper for 11 days. The coverage received a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

In 2001, with Wendt as a key designer, the Mercury News was named one of the five “World’s Best Designed Newspapers” by the Society for News Design. He later would serve as the paper’s assistant managing editor before departing for Huntsville in 2008.

The Oct. 20 event at NIU also features NINA’s annual awards dinner, with honors announced in 28 individual categories, plus newspaper sweepstakes awards for dailies and nondailies. Judging has been completed and contest results now are being compiled, said contest coordinator Jim Killam.


What: NINA Fall Conference and Awards Dinner

When: Thursday, Oct. 20

Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Social hour (cash bar); 6:30-7:15 dinner; program follows

Where: University Suite, second floor of the Holmes Student Center, NIU-DeKalb

Cost: $30 a person for dinner and program

To register online: http://www.ninaonline.org/

To register by phone or email: Contact Jim Killam at 815-753-4239 / jkillam@niu.edu

Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 10.

Contest deadline

Here's a reminder that the postmark deadline for this year's NINA contest entries is TOMORROW, June 30. You can enter either via mail or online. Full details on the NINA website. Good luck!

Combining Wordpress and Google Docs

Looking for an inexpensive way to integrate online and print newspaper? This VIDEO and accompanying blog post may give you some ideas. The Bangor Daily News has come up with a combination of Google Docs and Wordpress.

Tracking our scholarship winners

We’ve tracked down most of our 13 previous first-place NINA scholarship winners. Many are working in media. Here are brief updates.

2010 – Allison Prang, Bartlett High School

Allison just finished her freshman year as a journalism major at the University of Missouri. She’s been named city, state and nation editor for The Maneater, the student-run newspaper there. In April, Allison flew back to the Chicago area to attend a speech by her journalistic hero, Bob Woodward. A friend took this photo of the two of them together. It’s now Allison’s Facebook profile photo and someone even made it into a coffee mug for her.
Allison is interning this summer at the St. Louis Beacon, an online daily, and also is working for http://www.patch.com/.


2009 – Emily Busse, Prospect High School.

Emily is a student at University of Iowa, and is metro editor for the Daily Iowan.

2008 – Rebecca Krase, Deerfield High School.

Becca is studying abroad this year in Madrid, Spain. She’s working toward completing her dual-degree of communications and Spanish, and will graduate from the University of Missouri in December. In addition to studying in Spain, she’s also working as an assistant English teacher in a Madrid middle school. After graduation, she’ll be looking to get into either bilingual education or public relations for organizations that work with Chicago’s Latin American community.


2007 – Tara Grimes, Huntley High School.

Tara has been a reporter for KOMU-TV (NBC affiliate) in Columbia, Mo., the only university-owned commercial station in the U.S. She graduated in May 2011 from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. More at http://www.taragrimes.com/.


2006 – Erika Strebel, Glenbard North High School.

Erika is a page designer copy editor, reporter and occasional photographer at the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News. She earned her B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. “It’s my first job since I graduated in December of 2009,” she says. “When I get a chance to do reporting, I usually write feature stories. I’ve roamed the pastures with alpacas, learned how to make homemade soap and even hung out a local shooting range all between designing for our daily paper and special sections.”


2005 – Whitney Wyckoff, Elk Grove High School.

Whitney has been temping the past year and a half for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. She’s worked as an assistant producer, production assistant and editorial assistant on a variety of desks and shows, including science, digital news and Weekend Edition. “Right now, I’m a rundown editor for ‘All Things Considered,’” she writes. “As a rundown editor, I edit dacs lines (which are used by member stations as intros), write promos and coordinate the show’s Web presence.”

As a University of Illinois student, her internships included Congressional Quarterly and the Chicago Tribune’s Washington Bureau.


2004 – Kristen Sackley, Mundelein High School.

Kristen works as a sales & marketing specialist at EnvirOx, LLC, in Champaign, Ill. She handles internal and external communications, creation of marketing materials and project management. At the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, she worked three years as a reporter, designer and editor at the Daily Illini. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in advertising and now is pursing an MBA at the university.


2003 – Matt Weir, Naperville Central High School.

Information not available. We do know that Matt graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University


2002 – Laurel Jorgensen, Prospect High School, Arlington Heights.

Laurel lists herself on LinkedIn.com as web editor at the American Bar Association, Chicago. Previously, she was overnight supervisor, night broadcast editor and reporter at Associated Press. She completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern University in four years.


2001 – Brandon Hoops, Freeport High School.

According to soulation.com, Brandon works part-time as a teaching assistant at the Columbia Missourian, and full-time as a campus missionary with Great Commission Ministries at The Rock Church. He coaches a junior high basketball team. And, he blogs at http://www.hoopshundred.com/. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2005.


2000 – Hannah Kenser, Joliet West High School.

Hannah (Kenser) Heck graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology. While there, she was an editor of the Harvard Crimson as well as a contributing writer to the Harvard Political Review. Upon graduation, she went to work for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as his criminal justice policy adviser.

“I advised the governor on criminal justice legislation and budget priorities and helped implement policies to curb methamphetamine production and use, decrease recidivism in the Georgia prison system and decrease highway traffic fatalities,” she writes.

In 2007, Hannah was asked to serve as the governor’s Director of Policy. She helped lead a staff of five advisers in all policy areas, including healthcare, transportation, education and the environment, as we developed legislative and budget initiatives and advised the governor whether to sign or veto legislation.

In 2009, she entered Emory University School of Law. This summer she’s working at the Atlanta law firm of Alston and Bird, and plans to graduate from Emory Law in 2012. She also serves on the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health, where she chairs the Care Management Committee, and is vice chairman of the board at Westside Atlanta Charter School.


1999 – Nathan Charlan, Johnsburg High School.

Nathan is director of development and executive producer at Warm Springs Productions, Missoula, Mont. He creates new concepts for television series, casts for new talent/characters, creates television show formats, writes treatments for television series, field produces/directs shoots, and ultimately pitches series ideas to TV networks.

He and his wife, Renee, have a 4-year-old son, Zachary, with spastic quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy. Zachary is the inspiration behind them creating Exceptional Family TV, a website that focuses on raising special-needs children. They live in Arvada, Colo.


1998 – Laura Kuhn, Dixon High School.

Laura lists herself on LinkedIn.com as a professional copywriter and editor at Professional Medical, Inc., and also a freelance copy editor and proofreader at Triumph Books. She graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

And our 2011 scholarship winners are ...

Student journalists from Prospect, Evanston Township and Rolling Meadows high schools were honored by NINA in the 14th annual Northern Illinois High School Journalist of the Year Scholarship competition.

A total of $2,050 in scholarships was awarded, including $1,800 from NINA and $250 from The Daily Herald.

The annual scholarship competition is open to graduating high school seniors in northern Illinois. NINA presents the scholarships to high school students who demonstrate the standards of honesty, integrity, attention to detail, hard work, creativity and an understanding and commitment to quality journalism.

Applicants submit an autobiographical essay, letters of recommendation and a portfolio of their work.

John Etheredge, NINA scholarship coordinator, said the association has received nearly 500 applications for scholarships since the association first offered a single scholarship award in 1998.

“Each year our judges enjoy examining the students’ portfolios and, as in prior years, they were impressed with the high quality of the students’ work and their passion to pursue careers in journalism,” Etheredge said. “Our judges found it extremely difficult to select the top three portfolios for this year’s scholarship awards.”

NINA and its member papers have awarded a total of $20,500 in scholarships since 1998.

Despite the economic downturn, the NINA Board voted earlier this year to increase its annual contribution to this year’s scholarship program by $300. Revenues for the scholarship program come from NINA member dues and proceeds from NINA training seminars and programs.

“I would like to thank my colleagues on the NINA Board for their increased support for this year’s scholarship program and to The Daily Herald for its continuing support and assistance,” Etheredge said.

And the winners are ...


First place: Gina O’Neill, Prospect High School

O’Neill has been a member of the staff at Prospect High School’s “Prospector” newspaper for the past three years. She served as editor of the paper’s Opinion section her junior year and this year as copy editor.

In selecting O’Neill for the top scholarship award, NINA judges were impressed with her concise and compelling writing on a broad range of difficult and, at times, controversial topics, including teen suicide, student drug use and the separation of church and state.

O’Neill’s skill as a copy editor was also evident to NINA judges who took note of the high quality of The Prospector.

In a letter of recommendation, Jason Block, O’Neill’s journalism instructor, noted that O’Neill has “contributed in every way possible” to the Prospector over the past three years.

Block wrote of O’Neill: “In addition to being a gifted writer who is willing to take risks, Gina is also a gifted leader who is willing to do anything to help those working under her succeed. She is one of the most patient editors I have ever been around, spending countless hours walking a younger staff member through a story in order to get that story up to Gina’s very high standards.”

Block added: “Gina has not allowed all of her responsibilities as copy editor to distract her from writing amazing stories of her own. She tackles large topics like drug use at our school and traffic issues, and handles them with a maturity rare for a high school journalist. And she manages all of this while also holding a demanding part-time job, never allowing her grades to slip in the process.”

“I’ve grown to love reporting, editing and even layout just as much as the writing,” O’Neill wrote in her autobiographical essay. “I’ve learned to respect what reporting stands for; I’ve seen how stories can not only inform others but affect their lives as well. When I wrote a story about drug usage in school, it did not spark controversy with the administration. Rather, people respect how well we informed the school of this issue. After writing a story on teen suicide, several teachers showed me their appreciation for bringing that topic to light. I’ve seen how thankful and touched the wife of a late Marine was after we ran a story of his passing and what being a member of a military family entails. That’s why I want to purse a career in journalism.”

O’Neill noted that The Prospector transitioned to the web last year while retaining its print edition.

“As copy editor I had to learn to break out of the normal, three-draft routine of editing in order to work with writers efficiently for online stories.”

Describing herself as The Prospector’s “resident grammar diva,” O’Neill said, “I have learned so much about AP style and editing in general, and I know how to pace myself and focus when reading 24 stories an issue, three times each.”

O’Neill plans to major in journalism with an emphasis on print and online reporting at either DePaul University or Northwestern University. She received a total scholarship award of $1,200: $1,000 from NINA and $200 from The Daily Herald.


Second place: Meredith Newman, Evanston Township High School

In selecting Newman for a second place scholarship award, NINA judges took notice of her excellent writing and eye for detail as shown in her work as an executive editor for her school’s student paper, The Evanstonian.

Newman has been on the newspaper’s staff the past three years, excelling as a news reporter and editor.

Judges were also impressed with feature stories Newman has written for her hometown paper, The Evanston RoundTable.

Rodney Lowe, a journalism instructor for almost 30 years and faculty adviser to The Evanstonian, said Newman’s “continuous, tireless” work ethic alone warrants a scholarship award.

In a letter of recommendation, Lowe wrote of Newman: “She is committed, hardworking and compassionate. Moreover, Meredith is conscientious and tenacious. You should know that she has set some lofty goals for herself and these goals, in my professional opinion, are in reach.”

In her autobiographic essay, Newman said she was inspired to pursue a career in journalism partly because of the influence of Lowe and a feature story she wrote early in her high school journalism career on a classmate, Kelly Chong. Kelly’s mother died when she was 3 years old and Kelly has since lived in 15 different foster homes.

Newman wrote, “While writing Kelly’s story, I realized that if I became a journalist, I would be able to share important stores like Kelly’s with others…A career in journalism will allow me to write people’s untold stories.

Newman received a $500 scholarship from NINA. She will attend Syracuse University this fall.


Third place: Alexandria Johnson, Rolling Meadows High School

NINA judges picked Johnson for a third-place scholarship based on the high quality of her work for The Pacer, the student newspaper at Rolling Meadows High School.

“Accomplished” is the word one NINA judge used to describe Johnson’s work, while another said her passion for journalism was clearly evident in her portfolio.

In recommending Johnson for a scholarship Stan Zoller, a journalism instructor and Pacer adviser, wrote: “It’s not unusual for a scholastic journalist to excel at design or editing. It’s also not unusual for a high school journalist to be the proverbial editorial leader or outstanding writer. What sets Alexandria apart is that she is exemplary in all of the aforementioned areas and more.”

Zoller added: “As I reflect on Alexandria’s four years in journalism…it is clear that her passion, leadership, motivation and quest for excellence is unsurpassed.”

In her autobiographical essay, Johnson said she has worked to create an improved standard of journalism at Rolling Meadows High School.

“There is nothing I would rather dedicate my life to; journalism makes me feel powerful, confident and important,” she wrote. “To have the opportunity to work on a prominent newspaper and share my words and my voice with millions would be one of the great honors to be accomplished.”

Johnson will continue her journalism education at Northwestern University this fall. She received a total scholarship award of $350: $300 from NINA and $50 from The Daily Herald.

The stories we're missing

On a recent trip to Lebanon, a friend and I got to spend time in Bourj Hammoud – a crowded, lower-class community bordering Beirut.

It’s a true melting-pot neighborhood. Armenians, Egyptians, Syrians and Kurds – many undocumented – live in concrete, high-rise apartments, above a cacophony of markets, small shops and traffic spewing diesel fumes.

 

About 60 people packed into a tiny storefront for Sunday-evening church. Afterwards, as journalists, we could interview anyone we wanted (with the aid of interpreters). Every person in the room, it seemed, had a compelling story. We ended up writing about:

• A Syrian music-store owner who fled to Lebanon rather than face continued government oppression over the kinds of CDs he was selling;
• A Lebanese man who left a lucrative business career in Abu Dhabi to come live in Bourj Hammoud and train to be a pastor;
• And a Sudanese pastor who watched his brother be murdered for his Christian faith, and who now lives and ministers among the people who killed him.

Every person has a story, and those stories are worth telling. Good journalism schools have emphasized that maxim for generations. For all of these people, this was the first time their stories had ever been written. That’s as true in my own neighborhood as it is in a place like Bourj Hammoud. Yet, as an industry we’re missing them.

  

As newsrooms have shrunk, the must-cover beats – government, cops/courts and, to some extent, business – have crowded out all else. Newspapers still have features, but they’re usually confined to the Lifestyles or Entertainment pages and the reporting is necessarily shallow. Time and competing demands don’t allow for anything more.

 

Walt Harrington opened his wonderful 1997 textbook, “Intimate Journalism,” with this quote from historian Will Durant:

 

“Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record; while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks.”

 
Newspapers today are still doing a decent job of covering the stream. We’re doing a lousy job of covering the banks. As we search our industry’s soul for areas where we can continue to excel – and that readers can’t get anywhere else – we ignore great feature writing at our peril.

 

Harrington wrote:

“The stories of everyday life – about the behavior, motives, feelings, faiths, attitudes, grievances, hopes, fears and accomplishments of people as they seek meaning and purpose in their lives, stories that are windows on our universal human struggle – should be at the soul of every good newspaper.”

  
As our industry collectively neglects these great stories, another problem arises: We are forgetting how to write them. A generation of new reporters can deliver a live story from a press conference with a series of Tweets, but has never written a compelling, 30-inch feature story.

  

The formula is simple. Jon Franklin outlined it in “Writing For Story”: “A story consists of a sequence of actions that occur when a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation that he confronts and solves.”

  

Simpler yet: Characters. Conflict. Resolution. Redemption. That’s every good novel, every good TV drama, every good movie. Fellow journalists: We can do this. We need to do this.

  

At a Rockford coffee shop the other day, a guy named Ray struck up a conversation with me. A former master machinist in a town where those are almost extinct, he’s looking for full-time employment. He fills his days by fixing cars and computers for friends, doing odd jobs and hanging out at the coffee shop. There, he talks with staffers and customers about everything from theology to martial arts. And he surfs the web on his laptop, watching videos about ancient astronauts and intelligent life on Mars.

 

Shadowing someone like Ray for a day or two would produce a wonderful feature story. He is a face of the Rust Belt: a brilliant, supremely talented technician whose skills are no longer valued in the town where he’s lived his whole life. So, for now, he’s constructed a life that pays the bills, he cares about people and he’s a central character in this neighborhood. Yet, he’s the kind of guy that a passerby would dismiss without a second thought.

 

He’s also the kind of guy that newspapers don’t have time to write about anymore.

 

So, here’s my plea to reporters: Develop an eye for stories like this. Write one per month. Here’s my plea to editors: Let them. Carve time, even if it means missing a government meeting once in a while. And then devote serious space for these stories.

 

Reporters and editors: This will stoke creativity that you forgot you had. You’ll remember a big reason you got into this business. And your readers will remember, or discover anew, the value of a great newspaper.

 

2011 NINA contest

Information about NINA's annual competition -- including rules, entry forms and a link to submit entries online -- is now posted to our website, http://www.ninaonline.org/. Entry deadline is June 30.

We'll be sending the same information by mail to members in the next week.

Good luck!

High school photojournalism winners

Here are the winning images shot by high school photojournalists Saturday during the IHSA Journalism Sectional held at NIU. Students turned in their best three images, captured that morning on campus. These three students qualified for this Friday's state competition in Charleston.

Full sectional results can be found at the IHSA site.

First place: Jordan Geigle, Huntley

Howard Eckdahl, a grad student, prepares for a concert. He is finishing an afternoon rehearsal with the concert choir. They concert will be held, along with this rehearsal, in the Music Building.

Katie Mccarcy (front) and her friend BriAnna Bedi laugh as a gust of wind blows their hair. Leaning along the bridge outside of the library, they take pictures of geese below in the water. They spent the afternoon wandering the campus until the carnival starts at 1 p.m.

Andrew Reeves studies in a quiet corner of the library. He is taking his last chance this afternoon to review before his final on Monday. Reeves is studying Electrical Engineering.

Second place: Chelsea Hearyman, Stillman Valley

Using all their strength, one of the fraternity groups from NIU tries to pull their opponent to their side. The fraternities participate in an annual "tug" war every spring. The tug grounds were located next to the Huskie Stadium.

In the awakening of spring, an ambitious squirrel munches on its leftover stock from the winter. It was April 30th, and the signs of spring were becoming more apparent on the NIU campus. The squirrel was resting in a tree near the Visitors Center.

On the last Saturday of April, students wander out of the library and venture around the campus. The Holmes Student Center is located across from the library. Students like to go to the center to eat lunch with their friends.

Third place: Amon Rizvi, Bartlett

Motorcycle instructor, David Gordan, teaches and conducts NIU students about motorcycle safety through his driving obstacle course on April 30, behind the convocation center.

Jyne Bruce works on her Chicago bears laptop while she sells sports merchandise during DeKalb County’s largest garage sale, the Convo’s Colossal Clean Sweep on April 30, in the Convocation center. Bruce has been a bears fan since she was a young girl and has been selling sports merchandise for over a year.

NIU’s tugs team stretches before their final competition on April 30, outside of Huskie Stadium. Tugs has been around since the 1960s and is competed in mud filled trenches. 

Discounted webinar for writers

NINA members can get a 25-percent discount next Thursday, May 5, for the Poynter Institute's webinar, "How to Use Detail in Your Writing." So, instead of the $29.95 advertised price, you pay just $22.46. The webinar will last an hour and 15 minutes. The instructor is Steven Gray, Washington correspondent for TIME magazine.

Contact me for the discount code. You have to register prior to the 1 p.m. CDT start time to receive the discount. But, once you've signed up for the live event, you also get automatic access to the replay, which will be available by May 10, allowing you to watch as often as you want, whenever you want.

In the Year 2000 ...

Watch this Knight Ridder video from 1994, about how newspapers, by the turn of the century, would migrate to tablet devices that look a lot like the iPad. Then the web happened.

First vs. Fair

The Rockford Register Star published results today of a four-month investigation into allegations about the city's (now departing) school superintendent. These allegations stemmed from a long letter written to the superintendent by a departing administrator. A weekly newspaper in Rockford, The Rock River Times, FOIA'd for the letter, received it several months ago and immediately published it. The Register Star -- in the face of critics that said it was protecting the superintendent -- chose not to publish it until allegations could be checked out.

Here's Register Star executive editor Linda Grist Cunningham's accompanying blog post about how the paper approached this thorny ethical issue.

And here's the letter in question, turned by the Register Star into an interactive graphic where all of the serious charges are footnoted.

Tricky stuff. By the time the paper's investigation was finished and published, the superintendent had resigned -- her last day is this Saturday. And anyone who wanted to see the letter had already seen it on the Rock River Times website.

In the face of all that, the Register Star stuck to its journalistic principles and had the story last ... but probably best.

A sticky ethical issue

Repeating a semi-annual complaint: Those sticker ads on the front pages of newspapers are annoying enough. But political ads plasted across a newspaper's flag, saying "Vote for John Doe," really ought to trigger ethical alarm bells.

That's not too idealistic, is it?

Let's remember why we're here

Financial woes can’t obscure
reasons we became journalists

By Wally Haas

Remember why you first became a journalist? For some of us it was because we loved to write, or we loved to read or we loved working with words or because we believed stories that appeared in a daily newspaper could make a difference in people’s lives.

We need to remember when we first walked into a newsroom, when we thought we were kings and queens of the information world. Remember your first big story, or remember that first election night when the adrenaline rush of working under deadline pressure gave you a high unlike any other.

We got into this business because we loved it and newspapers will survive because dedicated journalists believe in what they do.

Consider all the options available to a new journalist. There’s video, audio, blogging, texting, more ways to deliver information than ever before. We should celebrate that and not dwell on dwindling circulation numbers for our print products. People are reading us in different ways. We still make a difference.

No one knows what 2011 will bring. Early indications are that it won’t be pretty. Good journalists are leaving the business because they can no longer be confident that a paycheck will be there at the end of the week. We just saw another round of furloughs that affect our friends in the Gannett Company. Job security is at an all-time low.

We can’t ignore the financial realities that face us, but we can’t let them paralyze us either. In 2011 we can resolve to be the best journalists we can be, to serve our readers whether they pick up a print product or access us online. We can learn to use all the tools to inform, entertain and educate.

The Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is here to help journalists no matter their level of experience. We design workshops to help you learn the skills needed to be a 21st century information provider.

What journalists do is important.

By remaining dedicated to our craft, we give people the information they need to go about their lives.

We can’t forget that.

2011 NINA President Wally Haas is editorial page editor of the Rockford Register Star.

Redistricting: A Primer for Journalists

April 15 conference will help you
help your readers

Register online HERE

How does legislative redistricting work? How does it impact your community? And how can journalists monitor and question the process, and then involve their readers in the conversation?


With the redistricting process affecting all of Illinois in 2011, the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association is working with the Citizen Advocacy Center to help journalists learn about the process and how to explain to readers why they should care.

Redistricting will be the focus of NINA’s Spring Conference April 15 at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. This important issue will help shape communities for the next decade.

“Redistricting might seem like government gibberish, but it’s going to determine the kind of elected representation your community will receive,” said Wally Haas, NINA president. “Journalists need to understand this process and help educate their readers. It will be well worth your time to attend the conference.”

The morning’s main speaker is slated to be Terry Pastika, executive director and community lawyer for the Citizen Advocacy Center, based in Elmhurst. Pastika last spoke to NINA journalists in 2010 at a session about Illinois’ new Freedom of Information law.


NINA Spring Conference
Friday, April 15, 2011

Schedule:
8:45-9 a.m. Check-in
9 a.m. - noon Program

Where: Blackhawk Annex, lower floor of Holmes Student Center, NIU-DeKalb. MAP.

Cost: $15. Includes light breakfast.

Parking: Please park in the NIU visitor lot, off Lincoln Highway and Carroll Avenue. Cost is $5.

To register: Contact Jim Killam, 815-753-4239. Or, register online HERE:


Registration deadline is April 7. Payment may be made at the door.

Working blue on the copy desk

A college paper (not mine, thankfully) recently ran a writer's byline, and the affiliation line beneath it said: "Bad Motherf-----." Only it didn't use dashes.

Our paper did once do a top-of-page-1 promo for a story about the horse-slaughtering plant in DeKalb. The designer needed a generic photo of a horse, so he grabbed one from AP and used it. Unfortunately, that horse was Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who had shattered his leg and had just been euthanized.

At one paper I worked for, on the day musician Lawrence Welk died, a designer did a space-filler cutline that said: "Welk cutline here. Welkie welkie welkie cutline cutline cutline here here here." And of course it ran.

What's the worst / funniest thing that's ever made it into your paper unintentionally?

Grammar? Style? Punctuation? LOL

These are notes and links from Jim Killam's session, "Grammar? Style? Punctuation? LOL." The session will be part of NIU's New Ideas in English conference, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2011.

Journalists may enjoy some of these links, too.


Jim's Powerpoint file 

Links


NBC news report

Guy reading bad grammar in online comments

Newsroom 101 exercises – grammar, style, punctuation, usage


The 20 most common grammar errors


"What Happens in Vagueness Stays in Vagueness"


Dave Barry's "Ask Mister Language Person"


Protocol for a Free & Responsible Student News Media


Grammar lessons from "Louie, Louie"


“Decyphering Teens” video


Video interview: “The Dumbest Generation” author Mark Bauerlein


Shorter interview w. same author

NIU and the value of remembrance

Three years after the NIU shootings, I heard some sentiment today that it’s time for the university, and the Northern Star, to scale back on these yearly remembrances and move forward.


Agreed. But I think sometimes in our desire to put an awful event behind us, we forget about the value of remembering, and teaching future generations.

Several thousand students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for a brief memorial ceremony this afternoon outside Cole Hall. With the building finally undergoing renovations and a facelift after sitting empty for three years since the shootings, President John Peters remarked that the construction signals “a sense of renewal and a resolve to move forward.”

Before the procession, I heard groups of students talking quietly about where they were when the shootings happened, and what they experienced. Other, younger students stood respectfully and quietly. For a supposedly narcissistic generation that cares little about history, these were good moments.

At the Northern Star today, a framed photo of shooting victim Dan Parmenter and a bouquet of flowers graced a table near the advertising department, where Dan worked. It was an ordinary day, but the reminder was front and center. Uncomfortable, but right.

Before the ceremony outside Cole, a student who was wounded in the shootings stopped by the Star to say hello. He had ended up being a Star reporter last year, right before he graduated, and always impressed me as someone who had made peace with the whole experience. He works in another state now but wanted to be here today for the ceremony. To him, there’s value in taking time to remember what happened. Not to wallow in it, but to acknowledge its significance. That strikes me as a healthy approach.

Several other Northern Star students, past and present, were in that Cole classroom when the shootings happened. They’ve spoken, both publicly and privately, about how surviving that day gave renewed meaning to how they want to live their lives.

It’s not about reliving the terrible, vivid memories so many of us have. It’s simply about taking a few moments, once a year, to remember. Yet, I can understand why some student journalists who have been here for four years experienced a relapse in recent days of what experts call “event fatigue.” For them, these stories require a lot more than a few moments.

“I cannot wait to not write about this any more,” one reporter told me this afternoon.

We both understood that sentiment. The reality is, though, that she probably will, in one form or another. Feb. 14, 2008, does not define any of us at NIU, but it is forever a part of us all.

And it’s OK to be OK with that.

Nominate someone for Illinois Journalist of the Year

NIU seeks nominations for the 2011 Illinois Journalist of the Year. You can nominate someone online HERE.

The award is presented annually by the Department of Communication of Northern Illinois University to a person who has made a significant contribution to the mass media or, through them, to the public they serve, either as a result of a single accomplishment during the past year, or through a sustained effort over a longer period of time.

Any journalist employed by an Illinois mass medium, or an Illinois resident associated with a national medium serving the people of Illinois, is eligible to receive the award.

A panel of judges consisting of the chair of the Department of Communication, members of its faculty, and student presidents of appropriate journalism organizations at NIU will consider all nominations and choose the award winner.

Nomination deadline is Feb. 28, 2011. The award will be presented at NIU’s 2011 Journalism Banquet in April.  A scholarship also will be presented in the recipient’s name to a deserving journalism student.

Past winners:

Mike Royko, 1972, Chicago Daily News

Clayton Kirkpatrick, 1973, Chicago Tribune
Walter Jacobson, 1974, WBBM-TV, Chicago
Ralph Otwell, 1975, Chicago Sun-Times
Karl Monroe, 1976, Collinsville Herald
Lois Wille, 1977, Chicago Daily News
Roger Hedges, 1978, Gannett News Service
Pamela Zekman, 1979, Chicago Sun-Times
Bill Kurtis, 1980, WBBM-TV, Chicago
John Whiteside, 1981, Joliet Herald-News
Anne Cusack, 1982, Chicago Tribune
John H. Johnson, 1983, Johnson Publishing
Gary Watson, 1984, Rockford Register Star
Marx Gibson, 1985, Kankakee Daily Journal
William O'Connell, 1986, Peoria Journal Star
John Callaway, 1987, WTTW, Chicago
Carol Marin, 1988, WMAQ-TV, Chicago
Dan Miller, 1989, Crain Communications
Reynold Hertel, 1990, Joliet Herald-News
Clarence Page, 1991, Chicago Tribune
Colleen Dishon, 1992, Chicago Tribune
Paul Hogan, 1993, WMAQ-TV, Chicago
John Hultman, 1994, WBBM-AM, Chicago
Bob Greene, 1995, Chicago Tribune
Jack Higgins, 1996, Chicago Sun-Times
William Shaw, 1997, The Telegraph, Dixon
Phil Ponce, 1998, Chicago Tonight, Channel 11
Linda Grist Cunningham, 1999, Rockford Register Star
Doug Ray, 2000, Daily Herald
Ken Armstrong and Steve Mills, 2001, Chicago Tribune
John Drury, 2002, WLS-TV, Chicago
Chuck Goudie, 2003, WLS-TV, Chicago
Tim Novak and Steve Warmbir, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times
Jonathan K. Whitney, 2005, Carroll County Review
John Foreman, 2006, The News Gazette, Champaign
Olga Gize Carlisle, 2007, The Journal Standard, Freeport
Scott Strazzante, 2008, Chicago Tribune
Bob Frisk, 2009, Daily Herald
Jodi S. Cohen, 2010, Chicago Tribune

Scholarships for graduating high-school seniors

Please remind high-school journalism advisers in your area about NINA's annual scholarship competition for graduating seniors. We have a mailing going out this week, but application materials are available online now at http://www.ninaonline.org/.

Smartpen for reporters

Has anybody experimented yet with this product -- the Livescribe Echo Smartpen? Much as I'd love to have an iPad, this gadget seems like it could be an even more useful -- and basic -- tool for reporters. Used in tandem with a special notebook filled with dotted paper, the pen records everything you write. Here's the best part: You can tap the pen on any word in your notes, and the recorder plays back the audio from the point that you wrote that word.

I've talked with a couple of writers who use these and they swear by them.

A Wired.com reviewer writes:

"And for college students and journalists in particular, the Pencast option is quite simply a Godsend. Simply hit the record icon on the included paper and start taking notes as you usually would. Once you’ve finished the lecture/meeting/interview, you can not only replay the entire recording, but also instantly move from one section to another by simply tapping on a specific note. The pen will automatically play back the audio from that precise moment. This has the obvious benefit of helping you navigate long, meandering lectures, but it also frees you up to write random or tangential thoughts without the fear of missing important information."

Take a look at the available apps, too, including dictionaries and translators. Here's the video on the company's site.

The pen comes in 4 GB and 8 GB capacities, and lists on Amazon for between $157 and $174. Best Buy, Target and a few other stories also sell them. The notebooks come in various sizes. Basically, a four-pack of 100-sheet, spiral notebooks runs about $20.

If you've used one of these for journalism, let us know what you think of it. Is it worth the price?

Another loss for Illinois citizens

Legislature fails to protect transparency and the rights of taxpayers

By Jay Dickerson
Galena Gazette

Like knowing your tax dollars are being spent wisely? You’re in the wrong state.

Performance evaluations of all public employees in Illinois are now exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after both the House and the Senate voted to override Gov. Quinn’s amendatory veto of House Bill 5154. Quinn’s amendatory veto narrowed the exemption to law enforcement personnel.

The Senate voted Dec. 1 to override the governor’s veto, making all evaluations of public employees exempt. The House also voted in favor of the override, on Nov. 16.

The Illinois Press Association still believes that the evaluations of all public employees whose salaries are funded entirely by taxpayer dollars should be accessible to the public. Before the override veto, the FOIA stated, “The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy.”

“The law couldn’t be any clearer,” said Josh Sharp, director of government relations for the IPA. “Nothing bears more clearly on the public duties of public employees than their performance.”

In arguing that all evaluations of public employees should be kept from the light of public scrutiny, the Illinois Municipal League wrote: “Performance reviews are simply not documents that are designed to be distributed to a broad audience … these reviews are rife with personal and private information that could be harmful to individuals if disclosed.”

The Illinois Municipal League also wrote that the Freedom of Information Act “reduces the use of performance evaluations as a tool for the efficient management of communities. Communities need the ability to communicate honestly and openly with their employees concerning job performance. This need outweighs the need for the public to review routine employment matters.”

I disagree. So should you.

I believe that government should be transparent. And so should you.

Claiming something is a personnel issue gives far too wide of an exemption that may be misused. You don’t need to look any further than Jo Daviess County for an example.

In Jo Daviess County, several years ago, there was an issue with a county employee in an administrative position. At the time, a number of county employees who worked underneath this administrator shared their concerns with the Gazette. They alleged this administrator was misusing his position, and making it difficult for other employees to serve the public. He was fostering an environment of distrust. People were concerned about their continued employment.

After learning of the troubles with this employee, the county board did act. The county board gave the administrator a list of goals to accomplish, and ways to improve. When The Gazette tried to receive the goals through the Freedom of Information Act, the Gazette was denied: the Gazette was told the list of goals was personnel-related, and therefore, exempt to public scrutiny.

A list of goals for a public servant to accomplish, but the public is not allowed to know what those goals are? It doesn’t seem right. Taxpayers should be offended that goal-setting is considered a personnel issue.

This was more than just a “routine employment matter,” as the Illinois Municipal League might argue. This was about openness, and transparency. This was about a public servant misusing his position.

Only weeks later, this individual was fired by the county board, but not before each county department head spoke to the county board in a closed session. The Gazette also learned that this administrator had a history difficulties at his previous job in Wisconsin as well, culminating in a physical altercation with an alderman. And Wisconsin does not have the same personnel exemption that Illinois does.

Incidentally, a physical altercation with an alderman also should not be exempt from public scrutiny.

I believe taxpayers have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. I believe you have the right to know how people paid with those same tax dollars are doing their job–at the very least, if they are meeting their goals.

We live in a state of entitlement, where some public servants feel their actions are above public scrutiny.

We live in a state that has seen four governors in the past 35 years see prison time.

We live in a state where we need transparency, now more than ever.

We don’t need another level of secrecy.

The public needs to know that an employee paid with tax dollars is doing his or her job effectively. This override took away that right from every taxpayer in the state.