UNLV Journalism Students Receive Scholarships
By Kathy Espin
Scholarships were recently awarded to 15 UNLV students in the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies. The awards were announced during a ceremony for the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs on April 17 on the UNLV campus.
Barbara Greenspun Scholarships went to Jennifer Spraul, a broadcast journalism major, and Nick Wideman, majoring in print journalism.
Jennifer Black, a rising senior majoring in advertising received the Greenspun School Scholarship.
The Hank Kovell Scholarship went to print journalism major Beth Owens.
Rhoda Thomka, another print journalism major, received the Tom Keevil Memorial Scholarship.
Two KLAS-TV Step-Up Scholarships went to broadcast journalism majors Anisa Buttar and Sandra Hernandez.
The Ned Day Memorial Scholarship went to broadcast journalism major Deanna Clarin.
April Corbin, print journalism major, received the Mary Hausch Scholarship.
The Maury Stevens Scholarship for graduate students went to Michael Sears, a master’s candidate in media studies.
Print journalism major Denitsa Yotova received the Ruthe Deskin Memorial Scholarship.
Women in Communications Scholarships were awarded to advertising and public relations majors Rachel Diehl, Ryan Foytik, Alicia Portillo and Ana Gutierrez.
The scholarships winners were honored for their academic excellence, dedication to the field of journalism and personal achievement.
UNLV and Israeli Professors to Present Research in Sweden
Contributed by Ardyth Sohn
Professors Larry Mullen, Susanna Priest, Anthony Ferri and Stephen Bates will be presenting three papers at the prestigious International Association for Media and Communication Research Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 21-25.
The four journalism professors have been working with IDC-Herzliya Sammy Ofer School of Communications faculty in Tel Aviv, Israel, on research related to virtual media. Judith Osterman, director of Distance Education, has provided resources and support for the research effort.
The three papers which are jointly authored by the Israeli and U.S. professors are: “Actual Law in Virtual Worlds: Protecting Creative Works on Second Life,” “Virtual Worlds as Public Sphere (Second Life),” and “Social Influence and Persuasion in Virtual Worlds.”
Bates will be the journalism school’s representative at the conference.
"I'm delighted to be attending, and I look forward to meeting and learning from my Israeli colleagues,” Bates said.
Faculty on the Move
By Michael Sears
Three faculty members from the Greenspun School of Journalism will spend some time working away from UNLV either this summer or next fall.
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JMS Instructor Recognized for Excellence in Teaching
 A part-time instructor for the Communications Department and the Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies has been recognized for his work with students.
Charlie Zobell, who has been teaching part-time since 1990, was awarded the Outstanding Teaching by Part-Time Faculty Award during a ceremony on April 17. According to Zobell, he has two goals as a teacher.
“The first is to help students become better, stronger writers, and the second is to help make them more critical consumers of news,” he said.
During his first semester, Zobell taught the News and News Media course, but has since taught News Reporting and Writing every fall and spring semester.
“I tailor the class to meet the career objectives of the students,” he said.
Zobell, who has more than 30 years of newspaper experience and currently is managing editor at the Las Vegas Review Journal, said he tries to make students think from inside the newsroom and expose them to how journalists think.
“I try to make the experience as practical as possible while also encouraging them to challenge what they see and read in the mass media,” he said. “With the methods of delivering news and information changing rapidly, I try to show the students how to prepare for the varied careers that await them when they graduate.”
All in all Zobell said he simply enjoys teaching college students.
“They keep my mind sharp. At the beginning of each semester I look for new ways to stimulate their learning experience,” said Zobell. “I approach each class period as a challenge to capture their attention and motivate them to improve as writers.”
Zobell said he also values his associations with the Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies faculty.
“I appreciate Dr. Sohn and Dr. Borchard for nominating me for this award,” he said.
Internship is the Most Valuable College Experience
By Michael Sears
Senior Samuel McKeown II says that his internship this semester has probably been the most valuable learning experience in his college career.
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JMS Faculty begin work on Global Democratic Dialogue Partnership
Larry Mullen, Susanna Priest and Ardyth Sohn spent the week before classes began visiting with faculty members of the IDC Sammy Ofer School of Communication in Israel to begin work on the Global Democratic Dialogue project—a collaborative research effort between JMS and the IDC.
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KLAS-TV gives Gift to JMS
The School of Journalism and Media Studies received a $50,000 gift from KLAS-TV Channel 8 in support of the School’s civic journalism program. Director Ardyth Sohn says the funds will be used to buy video and audio equipment for student journalists.
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JMS Students Initiated to Kappa Tau Alpha
Professor Emeritus and Founding KTA advisor Barbara Cloud formally welcomed new members to Kappa Tau Alpha, a national honor society recognizing excellence in journalism and mass communication.
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Yahoo Design Manager Visits JMS Classrooms
Guy Schackman, Design Manager for Yahoo News and JMS Alumnus, talked to journalism and media studies students last week about the challenges of designing for Yahoo and staying abreast of changing technology.
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Rob Curley Addresses JMS Students and Faculty
Newspapers have larger newsrooms, more journalists and better resources than most television stations.
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A Topping Off at Greenspun Hall
Brian and Myra Greenspun, UNLV President David Ashley, Dean Martha Watson and a host of hardworking men and women celebrated the halfway mark in the construction of Greenspun Hall with a traditional pouring of the last foot of concrete into the building’s foundation.
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UNLV Breaks Ground on Greenspun Hall
Click here to view groundbreaking video(WMV)
JMS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Article by Stephen Bates in Publication
Stephen Bates’ article, The Day the TV Died, appears in the spring Wilson Quarterly.
The article examines the 2009 shift to digital TV in the context of technology and politics of the past--specifically, the debates over black-and-white TV standards in the 1930s, FM radio standards in the 1940s, and color TV standards in the 1950s.
Notes on the New American Media Project
By Michael Sears and Paul Traudt
New American Media (NAM) is the country's first and largest collaboration of ethnic news media organizations. Essentially, NAM is going across the country, from city to city, trying to uncover all ethnic media outlets. The goal is to organize all these outlets in to a large directory where anyone (from advertisers to government officials) can look up local ethnic media outlets. NAM also sponsors an event where the staffs of the ethnic media outlets can all get together and meet face to face.
Paul Traudt and graduate student Michael Sears met with Wendy Sefsaf of New American Media in March to discuss the possibility of UNLV, specifically the JMS School, assisting NAM in the identification of ethnic media outlets in the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas. Right now, Sears is busy contacting the many outlets so that a directory can be organized. Furthermore, there are plans to host an event (as described above) sometime this fall.
Traudt provided the following insight on the project:
We hear a lot these days about media conglomeration, about how so much of the print and electronic media world is controlled by so few corporations, and how homogenization of media content is the norm. We see it everyday.
However, one of the wonderful and perhaps unexpected outcomes of digital communications is increased opportunities for the production and dissemination of media content by and for previously unrepresented ethnic and religious groups.
We've seen this happen in a big way with ethnic media in Southern Nevada. The last time I checked there were at least 8 locally-owned ethnic or religious newspapers, 7 terrestrial radio, 5 terrestrial television, and over 100 cable or satellite television channels serving at least 7 different ethnic groups in the Las Vegas area.
Today's ethnic media serve to maintain one's sense of identity with their home culture. This wasn't the case 100 years ago, when most immigrant groups who came to this country assimilated into the dominant culture, a transition fueled at least in part by the major English-language media of the day. As such, it's no surprise that many of today's ethnic groups adopt a kind of dualism position when it comes to cultural identity. They pick between mainstream and ethnic media sources and, correspondingly, adapt to some aspects of their new country's culture while at the same time maintaining very strong ties with their homeland.
Ethnic media contribute to that important function in our evolving, mediated society. The New American Media (NAM) project is important because it first serves to recognizing the growth of ethnic media in this country. It helps to link often disparate ethnic media groups so that they can network and share all kinds of resources to better promote their larger cause. The NAM project also provides opportunities for ethnic media to link in consortium efforts and make themselves known to advertisers increasingly intent on targeting their promotional dollars as wisely as possible.
Larson to Attend Scripps-Howard Academic Leadership Academy
Gary Larson has been selected to attend the Scripps-Howard Academic Leadership Academy, located at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
The academy is June 1-5, and all expenses are paid by the Scripps-Howard Foundation.
Between twelve and fifteen people are selected each year to attend, so he says he feels very good about being accepted into this program.
The program is designed for academics who are starting to shoulder more administrative duties within their departments.
“I'm sure I'll be the oldest person in the room,” he said.
Want to help?
Here are a few ways to get involved. Contact Launa Wilson for more information. |
