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Media as National Citizen webzine published
The students in Nancy Rivenburgh's COM321/POLS330 class have published Volume 4, Issue 1 of Communication and International Relations: Media as National Citizen.
One of the key roles media play relative to international relations is that of national citizen. The media encourage millions of people, who will never meet, to feel a shared sense of citizenship, fate, and national pride.
The articles in this issue reflect on the actions of U.S. media in this role of national citizen — for better or for worse.
Camille Elmore is Edward E. Carlson student leader
Undergraduate Camille Elmore was named a 2009 Edward E. Carlson Student Leader at UW, an award that recognizes students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, provided outstanding leadership in the community, and who are committed to continued creative civic participation. Elmore was also accepted into the Summer Research Institute in the Arts and Humanities, a highly competitive program of study wherein student participants develop individual, original research ideas related to an interdisciplinary theme, create a scholarly research paper or project, work through a faculty and peer critique process and formally present their work to their colleagues and the larger community at a closing symposium.
Tiia Koppel wins Lagrant scholarship
UW Communication senior Tiia Koppel is a 2009 recipient of a Lagrant Foundation Scholarship. She is one of 10 undergraduates from universities all over the United States to receive this prestigious award. Koppel traveled to New York City last spring to receive her award.
The Lagrant Foundation awards $100,000 in scholarships each year to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. Foundation chairman Kim L. Hunter is a graduate of the UW Foster School of Business (’82). He started The Lagrant Foundation in 1998; which has since awarded more than 150 scholarships nationwide totaling close to $1 million.
Recent MCDM graduate wins King County grant
King County 4Culture recently awarded a grant of $4,000 to MCDM graduate Vaun Raymond for work on his Lake Union Virtual Museum, a multimedia history website. Raymond established this website as a final project in the MCDM program, with help from advisors Kathy Gill and Hanson Hosein, in the fall of 2008.
Raymond’s virtual museum consists of 16 web pages, and includes exhibits about Gasworks Park, houseboats, boatbuilding and the lake’s native Duwamish people. Each exhibit includes a short HD documentary video, text stories, archival images and displays of artifacts, in a format designed to emulate the experience of visiting a physical museum.
The 4Culture grant will allow Raymond to develop new exhibits, including the story of Lake Union’s role in Seattle’s first world’s fair: the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909. Raymond began work on this new exhibit in July by taping an extensive video interview with historian Paula Becker of Historylink.org, who co-authored the definitive timeline history book about the AYPE, published this year.
Peg Achterman writes Newslab.org piece on video
Doctoral student and former journalist Peg Achterman has done a number of workshops on multimedia journalism. Her most recent public thoughts about ways that journalists can present a story from multiple angles are posted on Newslab.org, an online resource and training center for journalists >>
Posted: 8.20.09
Students to present best uses of Twitter
Students in a summer MCDM class that has been exploring how organizations use Twitter presented their findings on the best uses of Twitter during an open house Aug. 19.
The "study areas" included airlines, hospitals, food banks, politicians, government, Latin America, news media, food service, visual communication and the military.
Watch the UStream of the presentations or follow the Twitter backchannel by searching for the hashtag #uwtwtrbook.
Posted: 8.18.09
Students reporting for Vietnamese paper
Students in Karen Rathe's News Lab class now count Vietnamese-language newspaper Nguoi Viet Tay Bac among their client publications.
Students in the class write for more than 30 neighborhood and ethnic newspapers and online news sites.
Julie Pham, managing editor of the paper, spoke to the class during summer quarter. She is working to rebrand the paper and expand its reach. Pham’s responsibilities lie in re-branding the paper and expanding its reach. One way the paper is reaching out to more people, she said, is by publishing some articles in English. Pham said she discovered active groups of Vietnamese youth who couldn’t access Nguoi Viet Tay Bac because they couldn’t read it.
Read more about Julie Pham's visit >>
Posted: 8.14.09
Four Communication students reporting from abroad
This summer four UW Communication students are working for English-language news outlets overseas, as part of the journalism program's Foreign Intrigue Internships. Students apply for these internships early each year. This summer students are working in Cambodia, Sierra Leone, China, and Peru.
Judy Vue is working in Sierra Leone for Awoko Newspaper. You can read her blog at http://asianchickinafrica.blogspot.com/
Madelyn Fairbanks is working in Peru for Reuters News Service in Lima. She is keeping a blog as part of her experiences: http://madmadelyn.wordpress.com/
Chantal Anderson wins Dick Larsen Scholarship
Chantal Anderson is the winner of the 2009 Washington News Council Dick Larsen Scholarship. Anderson is a UW senior who is majoring in journalism and international studies with a minor in Spanish.
The WNC awarded two $2,000 scholarships to Washington state students planning careers in communications. The scholarships are named after Dick Larsen and Herb Robinson, both former editors at The Seattle Times.
Anderson was a reporter intern for The Seattle Times in Olympia during the 2009 Legislature. She also is on the staff of The Daily, and has been a reporter intern for Real Change, a nonprofit weekly newspaper. She is secretary of the UW chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and also runs a wedding photography business. In an essay accompanying her scholarship application, Anderson wrote:
"The convergence of print and online journalism has redefined the way reporters and readers interpret and define ethics today. The new mantra of newsrooms to churn out stories at high speeds, mixed with emerging professional and personal blogs, has created an upsurge of content on the net. These new forms of media have blurred ethical ideas…. I believe honoring ethical standards has become more challenging for professional journalists in the digital age."
Posted: 7.2.09
Spring roundup: Student awards, achievements
Undergraduate Students
Four undergraduate students were awarded the Foreign Intrigue Scholarship at the Department’s annual Scholarship Awards ceremony. These students will have the opportunity to live and report this summer in China, Cambodia, Sierra Leone and Peru. Congratulations to the 2009 Foreign Intrigue Scholars: Chantal Anderson, Kristin Okinaka, Judy Vue and Madelyn Fairbanks.
You can read Judy Vue's blog at http://asianchickinafrica.blogspot.com/
The Society of Professional Journalists announced the Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards winners for 2008. SPJ Region 10 includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. This year, collegiate journalists submitted more than 3,700 entries in 39 categories across SPJ’s 12 regions. The honorees were recognized in April and among them were four Communication journalism students:
Yekaterina Yefimova, General News Reporting, “More day cares may unionize”
Christian Caple, Sports Column Writing
William Mari, Online News Reporting, “How I burnt my shoe & met Rudy”
Meghan Peters, Online Opinion and Commentary
Communication undergraduate Margitte Kristjansson was named a Mary Gates Leader Scholar 2008-2009 for her work in Communication. The Leadership Scholarship supports Margitte’s growth as a leader in public service in the community and on campus.
Eight students received Pioneer Newspapers Journalism Awards at the Department’s Undergraduate Excellence in Communication Awards ceremony at the end of May. The students and their awards:
Catherine Daley; Area: Opinion Journalism
Madelyn Fairbanks; Area: Legislative Journalism
Sarah Jeglum; Area: Visual Journalism
Page Level; Area: Digital Journalism
Shasha London; Area: Diversity Journalism
Will Mari; Area: Community Journalism
Devon Mills; Area: Feature Journalism
Scott Nordquist; Area: Environmental Journalism
Brandon Schlepp; Area: Global Journalism
Also at the Department’s Undergraduate Excellence in Communication Awards ceremony, three students received Jody Deering Nyquist Awards for research. The students and the research for which they received awards:
Angeline Candido |
Title: Seattle Freeze |
Area: Communication & Culture |
Margitte Kristjansson |
Title: The Fat Suit |
Area: Rhetoric and Critical Studies |
Nancy Pham |
Title: Don’t Sell Your Children |
Area: International Communication |
Graduate Students
Doctoral student Peg Achterman is an assistant professor specializing in New Media at Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash.
Katherine Bell received a Huckabay Teaching Fellowship. The Huckabay Fellowships were created in 1995 by an endowment from University of Washington alumni. Each year, nine graduate students from across the campus are selected by an interdisciplinary faculty committee to receive these one-quarter awards, during which they teach an innovative new course.
Manoucheka Celeste is the Mortar Board Alumni/Tolo Foundation’s 2009-2010 Mortar Board Madeline Jones Campbell Scholar. Mortar Board is the oldest continuing national honor society of the University of Washington campus and recognizes outstanding scholarship, leadership and service in graduate and undergraduate students.
Tabitha Hart received a 2009 Fritz Fellowship to support her research in Communication. The Fellowship comes from the Chester Fritz endowment, which was established to support international study or research by UW graduate students in the social sciences and humanities.
Madhavi Murty received a 2009-2010 Simpson Center Dissertation Fellowship Award for Textures of Representation: Stories of Neoliberalism and the Gendered Subaltern in Postcolonial India.
Graduate students Amoshaun Toft and Kristen Gustafson have been selected to be Fellows in the Project of Interdisciplinary Pedagogy (PIP) at UW Bothell. Fellows at PIP work closely with faculty mentors, participate in a daylong workshop focused on interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary course design and pedagogy, teach one interdisciplinary course each quarter on the Bothell campus in an area related to their teaching and research interests, and engage in quarterly workshops with the other graduate students and faculty mentors in the cohort.
Student's feature on UW alum in Columns
Journalism student Kelly Gilblom contributed to the June 2009 edition of Columns with her piece on UW alum Webb Miller.
Department part of 'Dialoguing Difference' event
Congratulations to Manoucheka Celeste and to everyone else who participated in the first annual "Dialoguing Difference" conference, put on by the UW Women of Color Collective on June 5. A number of professors and researchers from across the U.S. presented. In addition to coming up with the idea for the conference, Celeste was part of a panel, with Communication professor Leilani Nishime, on negotiating one's way through higher education as a career. Communication professor Ralina Joseph gave a provocative keynote address titled, "The Race Card." Other department presenters were graduate students Rebecca Clark, Kristine Mroczek and Vanessa Au. Undergraduate Camille Elmore served on the conference committee.
Posted: 6.17.09
Journalism student's story featured in Seattle Times
Journalism undergrad Maks Goldenshteyn has the featured-display byline on page one of the June 8 edition of The Seattle Times with his story, "Seattle's confusing parking meters: Pay to 6 p.m., get towed at 3." Mike Henderson, one of the journalism faculty, writes, “Maks has only been in our program for a couple of quarters and is yet another example of the quality of professional journalists we've been putting out for a long time.”
Posted: 6.17.09
Students explore role of communication
in international relations
What role do the media play in international relations? How does culture influence news coverage? Is there a difference in what is considered newsworthy across the globe? These were some of the questions posed by students in Dr. Natalie Debray’s Communication in International Relations course (COM 321 and POLSCI 330). Read more >>
Doctoral students selected for teaching fellowship
Communication doctoral students Kristin Gustafson and Amoshaun Toft were selected by the Project for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy as fellows for 2009-10. Recipient Tim Jones, who has an interest in political communication, is also active in the department.
Five students were selected for the fellowship from a highly-competitive pool of applicants. PIP provides an opportunity for UW doctoral students to develop their teaching skills in the context of an integrative interdisciplinary program that spans the arts and sciences.
Kristin Gustafson (mentored by Constantin Behler): Kristin Gustafson is a doctoral candidate in Communication interested in media history, alternative and ethnic media, political communication, and social movements and organizations. Her research and teaching interests are informed by and emerged from years of work in Minnesota's mainstream and alternative media. As an instructor, she strives to link clear learning goals with experiences that engage students beyond the classroom.
Courses to be taught in 2009-2010: BIS 204: Introduction to Journalism (autumn); BIS 313: Issues in Media Studies: Alternative U.S. Media (winter); BIS 204: Introduction to Journalism (spring).
Tim Jones (second year PIP mentor): Tim Jones is a doctoral candidate in Political Science where he studies comparative politics and international relations, with an interdisciplinary concentration in political communication. He has taught courses in political science, communication and law, both at UWS and Bellevue Community College. For the past two years, he has worked with a group of faculty, graduate students and community members to develop a curriculum on the U.S. economy and other developed world economies and their connections (or disconnections) with quality of life, sustainability and social justice.
Courses to be taught in 2009-10: BIS 293A: Special Topics: Critical Media Literacy (autumn); BIS 330: Democratic Capitalism in the United States (winter); BIS 344: International Relations (spring).
Amoshaun Toft (mentored by Susan Harewood): Amoshaun Toft is a doctoral candidate in Communications. He is a media activist with experience in community radio, independent media, and radio journalism. He has produced radio stories for nationally syndicated programs, as well as local community radio stations. His doctoral research explores the role of communication structures in democratic institutions. He hopes to combine his experience in independent media with his background in political science to research how new communication models can facilitate democratic change.
Courses to be taught in 2009-2010: BIS 445: Meanings and Realities of Inequality (autumn); BIS 3XX: Media Production Workshop: Social Documentation and Community Voice (winter); BIS 445: Meanings and Realities of Inequality (spring).
Posted: 6.2.09
Awards recognize student excellence
Communication undergraduate students were recognized May 28 in the Excellence in Communication awards ceremony. The awards presented included the Jody Deering Nyquist Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, the Pioneer Newspapers Excellence in Journalism Awards and the Jody Deering Nyquist Awards for Excellence in Public Speaking. Watch and read work from the award recipients >>
Posted: 5.29.09
Undergraduate Media Literacy Presentations
Students in COM 343, taught by Manoucheka Celeste, will present Media Literacy Programs that they designed this quarter in order to help educators engage young people and help them to be more thoughtful media consumers.
Teachers, principals, and community organizations who work with children and teens as well as some young students will join us as our undergraduates present their programs on gender, race, self-image/health and violence in media. They have done extensive research throughout the quarter on media literacy, media effects, their specific age groups and their topics.
This has been a great public scholarship project that encouraged our undergraduates to interact with members of the community as learners and teachers as well as bringing their research to life. This project was initially designed as a fellowship proposal by Celeste with the guidance of Profs. Jerry Baldasty and Ralina Joseph. We hope to see you there!
Schedule: All presentations are in COM 126
2:30-4 Tuesday, May 26, Self-Image/Health (Vu) Gender Race (Annie) Gender (Mykel) Violence (Angell)
Thursday, May 28 Violence (video games) (Patterson) Self Image/Health (Nari) Race (Danielle) Self-Image/Health (Heather)
Posted: 5.26.09
Communication undergrads present research
A record number of Communication seniors presented their work May 15 at the 12th Annual UW Undergraduate Research Symposium. Over the course of one day, this special event is designed to showcase the work of nearly 700 of the university’s most motivated and accomplished students.
From the Communication Department, Kristy Hogue gave a talk titled, “Thick passports, thin excuses: Debunking the neocolonial myth of tourist contact” based on an independent research project she has been conducting with her mentor Professor Crispin Thurlow.
Camile Elmore presented her poster titled “New face, post race? The politics of mixed race identity and the emergence of post-race discourse,” which was based on work mentored by Professor Ralina Joseph.
Seungwha Lee’s presentation “Googling race and gender: Decoding the digitization of Asian women” was based on work co-mentored by Professor LeiLani Nishime.
Joshua Hubank’s presentation “Praise, blame and advocacy: An examination of President George W Bush’s post-9/11 discourse and rhetorical genres that define it” was based on work mentored by Professor Leah Ceccarelli.
Under the mentorship of Professor Gerry Philipsen, Angeline Candido presented a paper titled “The Seattle Freeze: An ethnographic study of discourse surrounding a local social phenomenon.”
Other students who presented at the symposium were Nancy Pham with a poster titled, “‘Don’t sell your children’: An analysis of framing by anti-trafficking organizations” and Alyssa Goldberg and Tiffany Martin with a co-authored poster, “Peace activism and media: A clash of values” — all three were mentored by Professor Nancy Rivenburgh.
As Chair of the Department, Professor David Domke had this to say: “It is wonderful that so many of our students participated in this year’s symposium, showcasing the fascinating range and top-notch quality of the work being done in Communication. Congratulations to the students and their mentors!”
Posted: 5.19.09
Students awarded $70,000 in scholarships
The Department of Communication held its 2009 Scholarship Awards Ceremony in Communications 120 on May 7. About $70,000 in scholarship money was awarded to the 26 recipients. Read more and see photos of the event >>
Posted: 5.9.09
Celeste is Madeline Jones Campbell scholar
The Mortar Board Alumni/Tolo Foundation has announced that the Department of Communication 2009-10 Mortar Board Madeline Jones Campbell Scholar is Manoucheka Celeste.
Mortar Board is the oldest continuing national honor society of the University of Washington campus and recognizes outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service in graduate and undergraduate students.
Congratulations to Manoucheka!
Undergrads create arts and culture Facebook app
In:Site is an online student publication dedicated to providing interesting, relevant and insightful arts and culture news. You can get involved by joining the In:Site Facebook community.
Pocketmedia Film Festival open to UW community
Are you out to change the world, go hang gliding, study ducks, fight for social justice, or just hang out? Can you tell the story in 90 seconds?
Shoot your engaging, exciting story in a video using a camera that fits in your pocket. Upload it to Zooppa, vote and comment on other videos, and compete for wonderful prizes. The videos will be judged by the quality and the originality of the content. There will be prizes for winners of the community voting as well as prizes assigned by a select jury
The UW Pocketmedia Film Festival is free and open to all UW faculty, staff, students and alumni. Submit your film between April 17 and May 13. Winners will be screened at the MCDM-sponsored final celebration the evening of May 28, HUB 106B.
Posted: 4.15.09
Create a video about hope for graduation
What does "hope" mean to you?
The Department of Communication at the University of Washington invites undergraduate students and Communication department seniors to create a short video that encapsulates the theme of "hope." This theme can be interpreted in any way by the filmmaker(s). We are looking for videos that are inspiring, thought-provoking, and creative. The top three videos will receive awards ($300 for the first place winner) and will be shown at the Department of Communication's graduation celebration on June 12. The deadline for submissions is May 18.
Even if you have never made a video before, this is your chance to voice your opinion, your thoughts, and your interpretation of what hope means to you. In an effort to conserve paper, we are striving to make this contest "green," so please check out information about the video contest and download forms on our Facebook page!
For more information visit our Facebook page or search for our group: A New Hope Film Contest.
You can also shoot us an e-mail for more information: anewhope@uw.edu
Posted: 4.7.09
'What Would You Do?' keeps Anna Norman busy
Student Anna Norman had a big hand in the latest episode of ABC's "What Would You Do?," which aired March 10. She set up the shoot, worked in the field, processed hours of material, and helped script. Watch for more episodes March 17 and March 24.
Student's article appears in International Examiner
UW journalism student Sarah Cox wrote an article titled, "Students Say, UW Apparel Made in ‘Sweatshops,’" which was published in the International Examiner on March 4.
Posted: 3.12.09
MCDM student creates Lake Union Virtual Museum
With today’s dire economy you probably won’t see many new museums being built. But lack of funding has not stopped Vaun Raymond, an MCDM graduate student, from building a new kind of museum — a virtual museum — about the history of Seattle’s Lake Union, which can be found at www.lakeunionhistory.org.
“Why do museums need buildings?” asks Raymond, 51, who grew up loving history museums in New England. “They need buildings to exhibit artifacts, but a lot of what you find in museums today are not artifacts; they are media: pictures, text, videos, and audio recordings. If it’s media, you can put it on a web site — for millions of dollars less than building a brick-and-mortar museum.”
Posted: 2.23.09
Huang contributing to Northwest Asian Weekly
Nina Huang is a contributing writer at the Northwest Asian Weekly. Huang is a student in the Department of Communication.
Posted: 2.17.09
Foreign Intrigue Journalism Scholarship applications due March 13
The department is accepting applications for the summer 2009 Foreign Intrigue Journalism Scholarship. Applications are due March 13, 2009, in CMU 118.
Posted: 2.11.09
Environmental Journalism class launches Sound News
What's happening to Puget Sound? Find out at Sound News, the new place for news affecting Puget Sound and the communities around it.
Created by reporters in the Environmental Journalism class taught by Warren Cornwall of The Seattle Times, Sound News features incisive, original news stories and blogs about the Puget Sound environment, as well as headlines from other news sources around the Sound updated daily.
Among the stories coming your way: What do locals think about removal of the Elwha River dams? How to kill invasive blackberry bushes. A look behind the battle over Maury Island. What toxic PCBs are doing to our orcas. What rubber sports fields have to do with Puget Sound.
Posted: 2.6.09
Camille Elmore receives Flip Wilson Memorial Scholarship
Camille Elmore, a senior majoring in Communication and Comparative History of Ideas, has won the Flip Wilson Memorial Scholarship. Scholarship applicants complete an essay that explores Wilson’s work and its impact on television and comedy during the 1970s.
Elmore is working on her honors senior thesis, which analyzes discourse on mixed-race blackness in the media, more specifically, the political and racial identity of President Barack Obama. Last spring, Elmore spent the quarter studying issues of racial hybridity and identity politics in five different cities of Brazil. In 2007, Elmore spent a quarter in Cape Town, South Africa studying and exploring themes of freedom, liberation, apartheid and community engagement.
Elmore is the 2008 recipient of the Jody Deering Nyquist Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research in Rhetoric and Critical Studies for her essay on the production of domesticity performed by black queer men. She is also the 2008 recipient of the International Program and Exchanges scholarship for studying abroad in the country of her choice. On campus, Elmore is involved in numerous organizations including the Race/Knowledge Project for graduate students, Communication Diversity Community, Rethinking CHID 390 Project, and the Anti-racist Pedagogy group.
Elmore is passionate about teaching and education and aspires to obtain a Ph.D. in American Studies (with a major emphasis on Black Cultural Studies) at a major research institution. After receiving her Ph.D., Elmore wants to be a university professor.
Posted: 2.5.09
Students release webzine on media and peace
Volume 3, Issue 1 of a web magazine written by students in COM495/SIS490 has hit the newsstands. Media and Peace investigates complex relationships among the media, journalistic practice, and public understanding and pursuit of peace. This first issue explores the current situation, including topics such as media coverage of peace activism, the growing peace journalism movement, and organizations that utilize media as tools for peace. See it now >>
Posted: 2.3.09
Interns from UW covering legislature for state media outlets
The Washington State Legislature has convened, and eight UW journalism students are there to cover it all. The students participating in the Olympia Legislative Reporting Internship are chosen for their academic excellence and interest in political reporting. Each student represents a daily newspaper or radio network and reports on Washington Legislature news and events for the duration of winter quarter. The students develop their reporting skills and knowledge of state politics, as well as learn whether political reporting is a career they’d like to pursue. Good luck to all of you!
The Olympia Legislative Reporting interns are:
Chantal Anderson (The Seattle Times) of Bothell, is a junior majoring in journalism and international studies. During her internship she will be working for The Seattle Times. Anderson comes into this experience with a strong journalistic background from previous courses such as COM362-NewsLab where she was able to freelance with more than five different Seattle-area newspapers. She also worked as a writer and editor for The Daily, which “has been critical in helping me grow as a writer.” With great encouragement from her professors Florangela Davila, Karen Rathe, and Roger Simpson, Anderson is confident that she has the wherewithal to meet the demands of this intense program. “Jumping into a political beat is a lot like jumping into a three-ring circus. It’s crazy, fast-paced, and exciting. I can’t wait.” Anderson is excited to be involved with creating multimedia, and looks forward to seeing her first article on the pages of The Times. Her goals during the internship are to land an A1 front-page story, and to finish the program with “a greater understanding of what it is like to be a reporter day-in and day-out.”
Madelyn Fairbanks (Covering Higher Education for Collegiate Press) comes into the Olympia Legislative Reporting Internship a senior journalism major. This Seattleite will have the duties of covering higher education and Clark County, and will be pitching her stories to The Oregonian and various community college papers. When asked how she has prepared herself for this experience, Fairbanks likens her feelings to the pain of ingesting spicy, yet tasty, Thai-style hot sauce. “Kind of like how I feel about putting away too much Sriracha in my pho. It hurts to breathe and move my mouth when I eat it, but I keep squirting more and more in!” She said she's excited and “not completely terrified.” Fairbanks credits the UW journalism department for doing a good job preparing her for this internship, and any journalistic opportunities she may come upon once she graduates this spring. During her internship, Fairbanks looks forward to finding out “exactly what’s going on with state politics,” and coming away from it with the skills required to cover politics at the state level.
Chris Mongillo (Covering Community College Issues for Collegiate Press) enters this internship as a senior majoring in journalism with “a bit of a unique case.” Chris points out that he doesn’t have much practice with reporting, and hasn’t even taken Reporting 101! However, this Olympia local has ten years’ worth of marketing and promotions experience from his work as a professional musician. Mongillo plans to take the knowledge he has gained from his life as a musician and use it to help him find his niche in journalistic writing. His background in the music industry “has been the biggest help to me regarding how to speak to people, how to interview and be interviewed, and digging up information that seems impossible to find.” During his internship Mongillo will be covering community college issues for the collegiate press. He hopes to learn from this experience “the art of finding important information fast” as well as form a better understanding of the legislative process.
Ryan Morden (Northwest News Network)
Bethany Overlake (Lewiston Tribune)
Kaitlin Strohschein (UW Daily), a Renton native, is a senior majoring in journalism and classical studies. During her internship she will represent the UW Daily. When asked about her perceptions of the hard work ahead of her, Strohschein recalls the sentiments of Ann Landers: “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” From her experience as a journalism and business student, as well as a job editing for the Jibsheet, the Bellevue Community College student newspaper, Strohschein has developed a foundation she says has prepared her for this internship. She looks forward to using this opportunity to learn more about Washington state’s politics, and accurately inform others about what the state’s government is doing. Strohschein feels it is the responsibility of every American citizen to “stay informed about their government so they can vote judiciously.”
Keith Vance (Kitsap Sun), majoring in journalism, hails from Minnesota but has called Seattle his home since 1999. Vance graduated from high school in 1990 and spent the bulk of his adult life working in technology. After winter quarter Vance will have earned his BA, and he plans on combining his technical skills and knowledge gained at UW to pursue his new career as a journalist. During the summer of ’08 Vance spent his time in Cambodia writing for the Cambodian Daily, which he says has helped him prepare for his internship with the Kitsap Sun. He looks forward to meeting the politicians and journalists he will be working with, and being able to “read between the lines in order to find something that at least resembles the truth.” Vance intends to take away from this experience a stronger understanding of political journalism, as well as some “good clips” to add to his portfolio.
Judy Vue (Seattle P-I)
— By Mandy Weber
Posted: 1.14.08
Register to attend Communication Graduation Celebration
The Department of Communication Graduation Celebration will take place Friday, June 12, 2009, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the HUB Ballroom. The reservation deadline for the ceremony is May 29, 2009. A registration form and information for graduation are available here.
Posted: 1.12.09
Anna Norman working as production assistant for "Primetime"
Anna Norman (BA, 2009 projected) is in New York working temporarily as a production assistant at ABC News on the show "Primetime: What Would You Do?" It premieres Jan. 6 at 10 p.m. and airs every Tuesday after that. She is having a great time and says the experience is invaluable. Norman will finish her degree after the "Primetime" series is over. She expects to be back on campus in spring 2009 unless ABC offers her a full-time job.
Posted: 12.12.08
Film marks centennial of Association for Women in Communication
In 2009, the Association for Women in Communications will celebrate 100 years of service to communication professionals. Recently, a group of students from the UW student chapter of AWC acted in a video produced for the centennial event, which takes place Oct. 15-17, 2009, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. Bon Kelly, assistant director of student publications for The Daily hosted the video production group, which was overseen by AWC DVD Centennial Committee Co-chair Nancy Wright. The pictures were taken on the UW Seattle campus in historical Hansee Hall and The Daily newsroom. For more information on the event, please visit the AWC national Web site.
Posted: 12.8.08
Communication Diversity Community meets
The Communication Diversity Community held its second meeting on Nov. 6 and created a tentative mission statement. Read the minutes from the meeting.
Posted 11.7.08
Seattle Times reporter speaking at SPJ meeting
Join the UW Society of Professional Journalists and Seattle Times investigative reporter Ken Armstrong Friday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m. in The Daily’s office to learn more about old-school journalism. We’ll be talking about how to make records requests, research, and generally read between the lines. If you have any questions, call Will Mari, SPJ chapter president, at (425) 890-5900, or e-mail him at wtm2@uw.edu. There will be a Facebook page with the latest info; search for “University of Washington SPJ chapter.” And there will be free pizza.
Posted 11.3.08
Department accepting applications for Foreign Intrigue Scholarship
The Department of Communication is offering internship opportunities for journalism students for summer 2009 at English-language newspapers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is an exceptional opportunity to learn about other cultures and journalism. Foreign Intrigue Scholarship application forms are now available in the Communication Advising Office (Communications 118).
Possible locations include: Cambodia, China, and Sierra Leone. Several Latin American sites are also being considered.
Submit applications to the Communication Advising Office. Your application should include:
- Signed application form (available in CMU 118)
- Resume - with 3 references (at least one from a Communication faculty member)
- Three examples of your published work (preferably journalistic work)
- Cover letter (no more than two pages) indicating:
a.Your goals for this internship
b. Your foreign language proficiency, if any
c. Your experiences living in or working in another culture, if any, and how you perceive those challenges and opportunities
Applications are due Monday, Nov. 17, 2008.
The department will make the internship assignments. Students will be required to attend several orientation sessions before leaving for their internship. Students will also be expected to contact their host newspapers and learn more about the host country during the winter and spring terms. Questions? Contact Sue Lockett John (suej@uw.edu).
Costs paid by the Department of Communication:
- Airfare: The department will contribute up to $2,000 to round-trip airfare.
- Housing: The department will contribute $750 for housing.
- UW credits: Through the UW Office of International Programs and Exchanges, the department will pay for interns' summer credits and UW basic health insurance.
- Housing, food: Depending on location, you may need to spend $500 to $1,000.
- Additional travel (beyond roundtrip to the internship site).
- Additional health insurance. If you want extra health insurance, you'll need to buy it yourself.
Updated: 10.29.08
Ph.D. candidate receives research grant
Doctoral candidate Tabitha Hart was awarded a research grant of $2,500 by the Bridges Center for Labor Studies to research intercultural customer service.
Posted: 10.22.08
Diversity Community kicks off
The Communication Diversity Community met for the first time on Oct. 16 to draft a mission statement. Read the minutes from the meeting. The next meeting is Thursday, Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m. in CMU 126.
The department's Communication Diversity Community is a student-driven and student-oriented community that aims to address the particular needs and concerns of our students who may be marginalized by institutional systems (like the university) because of their race/ethnicity, their sexuality, their age, their disability, their religion, their nationality, their class status, their gender, or other identity markers.
Plans for the year include establishing personal mentoring pairs, hosting an anti-bias training for our members, hosting forums on diversity (broadly defined) and the presidential election, and possibly designating other support-group focused meetings about diversity issues. To set all of this in motion, we want your help in drafting a mission statement and organizing the community. Please fill out a short survey.
For more information contact Fahed Al-Sumait at alsumait@uw.edu or sign up for the Communication Diversity Community e-mail list.
Updated: 10.27.08
Get help editing that video during open lab hours
Extra help for multimedia projects is available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 8-Dec. 11, 2008, in 302 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. (the week of Thanksgiving there will be one open lab on Monday, Nov. 24). Kristina Bowman or Journalism TA Peg Achterman will be available to answer questions about audio/video editing, Soundslides and programs in the Adobe Creative Suite.
Posted: 10.10.08
Applications for Olympia Legislative Reporting Internship due Oct. 23
Each year, a small group of our best journalism students head to Olympia to cover the Washington Legislature through the Olympia Legislative Reporting Internship Program. Students chosen for this capstone experience develop excellent political reporting skills, starting with the governor’s State of the State address and staying through bill hearings, floor actions and occasional vetoes. Applications are due Thursday, Oct. 23. Contact Cindy Simmons for more information.
Posted: 10.1.08
Department welcomes new graduate students
Incoming graduate students have been learning their way around campus and getting familiar with their program requirements. Learn more about them by clicking on their names below:
- Angela Abel (Ph.D.)
- Lindsey Brewer (M.A.)
- Toby Campbell (returning for Ph.D.)
- John Crowley (Ph.D.)
- Damon Di Cicco (returning for Ph.D.)
- Brittany Fiore-Silfvast (Ph.D.)
- Phyllis Fletcher (M.C.)
- Deen Freelon (returning for Ph.D.)
- Christopher Gamble (Ph.D.)
- Jason Gilmore (Ph.D.)
- Muzammil Hussain (Ph.D.)
- Katherine Knobloch (Ph.D.)
- Wenlin Liu (M.A.)
- Lindsey Meeks (M.A.)
- Pamela Pietrucci (Ph.D.)
- Justin Reedy (returning for Ph.D.)
- Justin Rolfe-Redding (M.A.)
- Gary Thomson (graduate nonmatriculated M.A. student)
Posted: 9.23.08
Association for Women in Communications awards scholarships to two UW students
Students Judy Vue and Nina Huang were each awarded a $1,500 scholarship from the Seattle Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications. Northwest Asian Weekly reported on the awards in its July 26-Aug. 1, 2008, issue. The newspaper said Vue is pursuing a career in journalism and plans to become an international reporter after graduation, perhaps in Thailand. Huang is a communication major and wants to pursue a master's in communication. She eventually wants to work for a public relations firm. The awards were presented at a June 18 dinner at the Seattle Yacht Club.
Posted 8.15.08
Foreign intrigue interns blogging about experiences
Follow along with journalism foreign intrigue scholarship recipients Keith Vance, Meg Peters and Yu Nakayama as they blog about their experiences. Vance is working at the Cambodian Daily, Peters is working at Beijing's China Daily, and Nakayama is working at the AWOKO newspaper in Sierra Leone. Peters also maintains a blog at The Huffington Post.
Posted 8.14.08
Journalism students attend UNITY convention in Chicago
Three UW journalism students attended the 2008 UNITY convention July 23-27 in Chicago. UNITY is a coalition of the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association. Read reflections on the conference from Anusha Ghosh Roy, Erica Metzler and William Kim.
Posted 8.5.08
News lab students visit with Seattle Times' Terry Tazioli
Karen Rathe's news lab class had a chance to tour The Seattle Times in the spring and talk with travel editor Terry Tazioli. Tazioli, who is incoming president of the Department of Communication Alumni Board, stressed to students the importance of honesty in good journalism and recounted for students one of his first assignments — a profile on Miss Teen Missouri. Learn more about how Tazioli wrote the story here.
Posted 7.29.08
Press and politics students volunteer as poll workers
Two students in Taso Lagos' American press and politics class, Ann Litowitz and Ryan Mielcarek, will volunteer as poll workers in the upcoming elections. The students appeared in a King 5 news story June 25 about the King County Elections Department and its preparations for record voter turnouts, starting with the Aug. 19 primary. The county is trying to recruit young workers.
Posted 6.27.08
2008 graduates honored during celebration
The Communication Department honored its 2008 graduates at a ceremony on June 12 in the HUB Ballroom. See pictures from the event here.
Posted 6.16.08
Design students visit Seattle Medium Newspaper Group, tour printing press
UW Publication Design students visited The Seattle Medium Newspaper Group in the Central District to tour the home base of four radio stations, four newspapers and a printing press. Chris B. Bennett, co-publisher and editor who spoke with the students, called his father’s creation a “community potpourri of media outlets.”
The newspapers include not only the flagship Seattle Medium, founded in 1970, but also the Portland Medium, the Tacoma True Citizen and the Seattle Metro Homemaker. In addition, the company owns and operates radio station KBMS-AM in Portland and three AM stations in Seattle collectively known as the Z-Twins: KRIZ, KZIZ and KYIZ. Read more about the students' visit.
Posted 6.10.08
First-generation Filipino American student recognized
Angeline Candido, who is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in both communications and English, received the EOP Endowed Scholar award at a celebration hosted by The Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity on May 7. Candido is the first in her Filipino family to attend college in the United States and she has been honored as a Mary Gates Scholar and worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant. She is exploring the significance of language and human interactions and is engaged in a research project exploring the history of Filipinos in Seattle and at the UW. Read more about Angeline Candido in Northwest Asian Weekly.
Posted 6.5.08
Career Center highlights student's achievements
Junior communication major Anna Norman is highlighted in the Career Center's June newsletter (at the bottom in the My Story section). Norman spent fall quarter 2007 interning with ABC News on the hit shows Primetime and 20/20.
Posted 6.2.08
UW students finalists for national SPJ awards
Meaghan Peters and Camden Swita, from the University of Washington, were national finalists in the Society of Professional Journalists 2007 Mark of Excellence awards. They received finalist recognition in the breaking news category for their reporting of the story, "UW staff member slain in Gould Hall."
Posted 6.2.08
Awards recognize student excellence
Judges chose Kassra Oskooii, who spoke on “Closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center” as the winner of this year’s Jody Deering Nyquist Awards for Excellence in Public Speaking. Other finalists who spoke at the Department of Communication Undergraduate Excellence in Communication awards May 29 were Mike Foote (second place) and Archita Taylor (third place).
Public speaking contest judges were alumni:
- Glenn Kuper, communications directors at the Washington state Office of Financial Management
- Greg Lane, president of TVW
- Jeannine Blue Lupton, assistant regional director for public affairs for U.S. Department of Labor
The Jody Deering Nyquist Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research went to:
- Political Communication: Jessica Ackley, Alex King, Jessica Smith
- Technology and Society: Courtney Hampson, Kathryn Pursch, Katie Silva
- Social Interaction: Mary Gilmer
- Media Institutions, Organization and Structure: Jessie Culbert, Eric Fitzgerald
- International Communication: Karina Seyler, Shu Shen
- Rhetoric and Critical Studies: Camille Elmore, Sharon Kim, Erica Waliser
Pioneer Newspapers Excellence in Journalism Awards went to:
- Diversity: Chantal Anderson
- Community: Erica Metzler
- Features: Anna Norman
- Design: Holly Gordon
- Legislative: Yekaterina Yefimova
- Politics: Will Mari
- Politics: Devon Mills
- Global Health: Molly Talbert
Judges for the Pioneer Awards were:
- Mike Gugliotto, COO, Pioneer Newspapers
- Suki Dardarian, managing editor of The Seattle Times
- Eleanor Lee, editor of NW Asian Weekly
- Wayne Lynch, news director, NW Cable News Network
- Tom Koenninger, journalist, Columbian, retired
- Carol Vu, editor at Microsoft
- Marian Liu, reporter at The Seattle Times
Posted 6.2.08
Communication graduate students present spring conference
Graduate students will present their research on Saturday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The schedule:
Panel 1: News, Discourse & Representation
10-11:15 a.m.
Presenters:
- Teri Whitney, "Hurricane Katrina: How the Print Media Frame Reality Through Storytelling”
- Manoucheka Celeste, "Picturing Hugo Chàvez Frias: A Visual Analysis of Venezuela’s President”
- Amanda Ballantyne, “Specters of Scarcity and Flood: Can Crude Discourse Save the Planet?”
Panel 2: Media, Politics & Social Movements
11:25 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
Presenters:
- Amoshaun Toft, “Constructing Collectivity in Social Movement Networks: Discourses, Technologies and Repertoires of Action,”
- Colin Lingle, “Strategic Truths: The Political Blogosphere and ABC’s ‘The Path to 9/11,’”
- Brian Cozen, “Representing Your Representative: Signification and MadTV’s ‘Obama’ Skit”
Panel 3: Race, Culture & Communication
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Presenters:
- Tabitha Hart, “Challenging Orientalism in John Jeffcoat’s ‘Outsourced’”
- Li Liu, “Language Usage and Topic Selection in Multi-Cultural Organizational Setting:
Exploring Influence from Societal Culture” - Rebecca Clark, “White Hegemony in Third Wave Feminism: Interrogating the Postmodern
Discourses of Contradiction, Difference, and Hybridity” - Vanessa Au, “’Miso Pretty’: A case for reconsidering post-modern post-race celebrations of
kitsch”
Reception
3-4 p.m.
Undergraduates, faculty and other departments are welcome.
Posted 5.29.08
Students receive scholarships
The Department of Communication awarded 30 scholarships to undergraduate recipients on May 8 in Kane Hall, Walker Ames Room. Among the presenters were alums Don Kraft, Beth Erickson, and Robert Philip, as well as The Seattle Times' Will Blethen, Sally Hanson of the Northwest Automotive Press Association and George Riddell of Ad Club Seattle. The Northwest Asian Weekly published an article on the event. See photos from the event and find out more about the scholarship recipients.
Posted: 5.9.08
Students release webzine on media and international relations
Volume 2, Issue 1 of Communications and International Relations has hit the newsstands. Written by the students in COM321/POLS330, this online magazine explores a range of topics related to the roles of media in international affairs. Issues 2 and 3 will be out later this year. Check it out.
Posted: 5.7.08
SeattlePoliticore
A group of 16 journalism students are working in teams, in a class by Professor David Domke, to cover the 2008 presidential campaign. The students have been writing for their blog, www.seattlepoliticore.org, and for the Seattle Times, the Idaho Statesman, and online news site huffingtonpost.com. On Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, the students went to Idaho to cover a Democratic Party caucus in Coeur d’Alene (there are no Republican caucuses in Idaho), and in the following days covered the presidential campaign as it came to Washington state. On Feb. 9, students covered Democratic and Republican caucuses at several locations in King County and the results from the headquarters of both parties. On Feb. 19, students covered the primaries in Washington state.
The students have received University support to travel to Texas to cover the state’s primary and caucuses on March 4. Students will be reporting live from Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and surrounding areas Feb. 29 through March 5 - as the campaigns head toward what might be the defining moment for both Democrats and Republicans. In this coverage, the UW students will partner with University of Texas students who write for the Daily Texan, and will spend time in some UT journalism courses, talking about their experiences. Upon returning, students will take on their final task for the quarter - turning their online content into an offline publication.
Here's a piece by David Domke in crosscut.com about this project.
Here’s a short video one of the students made about the trip and coverage in Idaho.
Here’s a short video by students of their coverage of a caucus in the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle - a caucus attended by Washington governor Christine Gregoire, who the students interviewed.
Here’s a blog post by one student on her voting experience on primary day.
Here’s some reflections by two students (here and here) on covering the campaigns as they came to Seattle.
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