BY KELLY B. EVERLING

Entering her Brazilianhotel room for anInternational TourismConference, LuAnn Tanzilli(M.A. 1996) was greetedwith exotic flowers andbeautifully wrapped pack-ages. Carefully unwindingthe bright ribbons, sheunmasked a wrapped box ofchocolates. Another pack-age revealed a T-shirt while

yet another basket over-flowed with fresh fruit.

Responsible for Inter-national and Group Salesfor the Indianapolis MotorSpeedway, Tanzilli encoun-ters many interesting peopleon her trips abroad. Butnone, she admits, are aswarm and welcoming as theBrazilians.

“From the moment that Iarrived in Recife, [Brazil] Ifelt right at home,” Tanzilli

said. “The hospitality thatthe Brazilians show isunlike anything I’ve everseen.”

Working for the Indian-apolis Motor Speedway forover 10 years, Tanzilli hashosted many groups, bothinternational and domestic.Although normally accus-tomed to coordinating andhosting groups, Tanzilli

PHOENIXBY BETSY HATCH

Erika Seydel Cheney (B.S.1994) of Indianapolis, a journal-ism and political science graduate,was one of seven graduates toreceive the 2002 Graduate of theLast Decade Award from the BallState Alumni Association.

The GOLD award honorsalumni who have shown personaland professional achievement,community involvement and com-

mitment to Ball State within thefirst 10 years of graduation.Recipients are those who haveestablished their promise andpotential for outstanding endeav-ors by becoming involved in dif-ferent aspects of life after college.

“The idea is to recognize peo-ple who are doing good thingsearly in their careers so they willcontinue to make contributionslater on,” said Ed Shipley, execu-tive director of Alumni Programs.

Cheney, now a stay-at-homemom with her newborn daughter,Dale, had served as director of theoffice of business and legislativerelations for the IndianaDepartment of EnvironmentalManagement since 1998. Prior tothat, Cheney served as specialassistant to both LieutenantGovernors Joe Kernan and FrankO’Bannon. Besides coordinatingvolunteer efforts for the lieutenantgovernor’s office, Cheney has

remained active in the communityby volunteering as a reading tutorat Indianapolis Public Schools 42,serving as a mentor to an eighthgrade student, and serving as amember of the Ball State LegalAssistance Studies AdvisoryCommittee. She is also a memberof the Indianapolis North CentralDelta Zeta Chapter where sheserves as an officer.

BY JENNIFER GRAVEL

Broadcast, print and radio arenot necessarily separate entitiesanymore. The journalism facultyis aware of this and has spent morethan four years researching theindustry’s changing needs andbrainstorming educational ideals tocreate a set of programs reflectingthe merging aspects of the field.The goal is to offer students all theknowledge possible to keep upwith the technological changes.

The new curriculum unveiledthis fall is designed to offer stu-dents practical experience in thevariety of journalistic disciplines.Professionals in the industry rec-ognize a need for professionals tobe more well-rounded than everbefore.

“Most media outlets are lookingat media convergence,” said DanWaechter, faculty adviser andassistant professor of journalism.

Students, as professionals,must be comfortable writing formore than one form of media andable to work with new technologythat has become a part of theindustry.

“Storytelling is what we do,”

Erika Seydel Cheney’s downtown office overlooks theIndiana Capitol Building.

ABOVE: Brian Hayes(M.A. 2002) and TomGayda (B.S. 1998)admire a piece featuredin the art walk. Theevent was sponsored byCollege of Fine Arts andthe Ball State AlumniAssociation.

LEFT: Dawn New (B.S.2002), Amy Ahlersmeyer(M.S. 1980), BrianBlackford (B.S. 2001)and Bridget Bobel (B.S.2002) share dessert anda few laughs at TheAbbey. Photos by DanWaechter

LuAnn Tanzilli poses with fellow conferenceattendees in Recife, Brazil.

INDIANAPOLIS ART WALK

THE CONVERGENCE ISSUE

T H E B A L L S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y D E P A R T M E N T O F J O U R N A L I S M A L U M N I N E W S L E T T E R

The iCommunication program, along with the journalismdepartment’s new curriculum, explore new methods of storytelling using multimedia technologies.

Volume 23, Number 1 Fall 2003

Cheney awarded top honor

Trip to Brazil builds international friendships

Curriculumchanges offer more opportunity

INSIDE

CONVERGENCE NEWS

See Cheney, Page 3

See Curriculum, Page 7

See Tanzilli, Page 2

Daily News stafftakes on multimediaproject. PAGE 6

Department createsDigital Storytellingmaster’s degree.PAGE 7

FACULTY NEWSNew iComm hires share unique professional experiences with students. PAGE 4

DEPARTMENT NEWSUniverCity offersweek-long celebrationof community. PAGE 9

Workshops previewcollege journalismexperience for highschool students. PAGE 10

ALUMNI NEWSButorac takes on high-profile PR clientsin Seattle. PAGE 9

2 FALL 2002 PHOENIX

CLASS OF ’54Donald Charles Lacy: A member of boththe Scottish and York Rites. A representa-tive sampling of his published materialcan be found in his “Collected Works”published by Providence House.

CLASS OF ’60James R. Howard: Retired from GaryPost-Tribune and the Indiana Departmentof Corrections.

CLASS OF ’61Jayne (Decker) Sullivan: Retired afterteaching 37 years in Logansport, Ind., twoyears in Munster, Ind. and one year forCaston Schools in Fulton, Ind. Husband,Dale, is also retiring after working 39years at Logansport High School teaching

art and coaching track and cross-country.

CLASS OF ’62Phil McFarren: Retired from USX (a U.S.Steel Corporation) after 25 years, and isnow owner of The McFarren Group.

CLASS OF ’63Jan Clark: Named the IndianaSportswriter of the Year for 2001 by theIndiana Sportswriters and SportscastersAssociation.

CLASS OF ’67David C. Stout: Retired from Ball Stateafter 34 years. He now works in the newsdepartment for Sabre Radio Group(WLBC, WXFN, WERK, The Max andWHBU) as a newscaster. He anchors an

hour-long daily newscast on WHBUNews/Talk AM 1240 from 5-6 p.m.Monday through Friday, and also doesnews broadcasts for the other Sabre radiostations.

CLASS OF ’79Shawn McGee Kahle: Became presidentof the Detroit Science Center in Apriland still remains a member of the Boardof Directors.

Pete DiPrimio: Won two awards in 2002in the United States Basketball WritersAssociation Contest. Received first placefor Game News Spot Coverage and fourthplace for moderate length feature story.

Craig A. Potter: Returned to sportswrit-

ing after 13 years out of the field.Responsible for four suburban weeklynewspaper sports sections in theRochester, N.Y. area. Started out asstringer in Sept. 2001 and was hired fulltime in December.

CLASS OF ’80Tom McLaughlin: Recently accepted anew position as Great Lakes RegionMarketing Manager – responsible forexecutive marketing and production plansfor Indiana, Michigan, Illinois andWisconsin.

Tracy Warner: Recently won first placefor editorial writing, newspapers of morethan 50,000 circulation, from the IndianaAssociated Press Managing Editors 2002

ALUMNI NOTES

BY JENNIFER GRAVEL

Capturing media attention for Starbucks, adidasand London Fog – that is how Laura Butorac (M.A.1999) spends her days.

After graduating from Ball State with a master’sdegree in public relations, Butorac worked inIndianapolis for a short time before deciding to “gofor it in Seattle.” She applied with three agencies onthe west coast and has been working in Seattle forthree years with Edelman, an international publicrelations agency.

As a senioraccount executive,Butorac has gainedstatus as a mid-levelemployee. Heroffice has 75 to 80people who focus onconsumer productpromotions forSeahawks Stadiumand Microsoft Xbox.

“Working withhigh-profile clientsis exciting and chal-lenging,” said Butorac. She was hired to work withthe Experience Music Project, which involved MTVand VH1. When that project ended, she promotedMicrosoft hardware for a year and a half. Currently,as much as 80 percent of her time is dedicated to pro-motion for Starbuck’s national coffee chain.

As a conduit between her clients and the media,Butorac’s roll is to get media attention for her clients.This includes getting the client’s product discussed inthe pages of magazines, newspapers, television, radioand online outlets.

Butorac said she writes media pitches and plansupcoming PR plans to “garner positive exposure withher clients’ target audiences.”

“Creativity and writing are vital to agency work,”said Butorac. “And understanding your client’s bot-tom line is fundamental.”

The client must see the value in public relationsactivities, and knowing their goals is essential, saidButorac. In terms of consumer products, if the pub-lic is to be part of the upper string, it must have a pos-itive impact on the bottom line.

“Garnering media coverage is definitely a tool,but driving sales, store traffic and other quantifiablesis what really makes an impression,” Butorac said.

BY KATIE ZIMOLZAK

Charlene Mires (B.S. 1979) hasbeen in the news in more waysthan one these days. Her recentlypublished book, “IndependenceHall in American Memory,” hashelped this 1979 graduate expandher horizons in publications fromjournalistic to historical writing.

While earning her bachelor’sdegree as a double-major in jour-nalism and political science, Miressaid she devoted a great deal ofher time to student publications.

“This served me well on thejob,” she said. The job includedwork at various newspapers inMichigan City, Fort Wayne, andPhiladelphia. Mires was a memberof the staff at the Fort WayneNews-Sentinel when it won thePulitzer Prize in 1983 for generallocal reporting.

Mires went on to become anassistant professor of history atVillanova University. When shebegan to pursue the field of histo-ry, she was able to retain the use ofmany of her journalistic skills.

“History and journalisminvolve similar skills,” said Mires.“The best historical writingembodies some of the same char-acteristics of good journalism, likeclarity of expression and attentionto detail.” She also said knowinghow to attract publicity has helpedher to bring the book to the pub-

lic’s attention.Before she could publicize the

book, Mires had to write it“First, I had to identify a rea-

son to do it – what more could wepossibly need to know aboutIndependence Hall? As it turnedout, there was a great deal ofunknown history about the build-ing.”

She found little had been writ-ten about the 19th century historyof the building and went througheight years of research and writingto come to a final product.

The book isn’t the only writingMires has been doing lately.

“As a historian, I have pub-lished articles in two academicjournals: Pennsylvania Historyand The Public Historian,” Miressaid.

In this line of work, she haswon the G. Wesley Johnson Prizefrom the National Council onPublic History for her 1999 articlein The Public Historian.

Mires currently has other proj-ects in the works, including effortsto develop local museums and his-torical sites.

“I have recently been doingresearch on the PennsylvaniaEmancipation Exposition of 1913and the competition amongAmerican cities and towns tobecome the permanent host cityfor the United Nations in 1945-47,” she said.

ALUMNI NEWS

BY JENNY LESSELBAUM AND JENNIFER PEEK

Cheryl Gibbs (M.A. 1995) believed sheneeded a better textbook for her journalismclasses at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.

She felt something was missing from allthe books she had read and used.

This led her and a colleague to write“Getting the Whole Story: Reporting andWriting the News,” published by Guilfordpress in September.

As an assistant professor of journalism,Gibbs said there are a lot of introductoryreporting textbooks that do a great job infocusing on the right news values, such asaccurate news reporting and writing skills. Inher book, Gibbs covers not only these tradi-tional news skills, but also the role of journal-ists in their community.

“We try to rock some of the unquestionedassumptions about journalism,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs said journalists are in a position toincrease or diffuse tension within the commu-nity, depending on how they frame their sto-ries.

“You can be the most skilled story writerwho doesn’t understand the role of journalismin society,” she said.

“What about cooperation and consensusand resolution? Journalists are not mere con-veyers of benign information. They pick andchoose their sources and quotes. They pickwhat information to include or omit. Theydecide how to frame the story.”

Some of the chapters in her book aretitled: The Journalist’s Role in Society,Community as the Context for News,Journalists’ Rights and Responsibilities andFraming News Stories.

According to a news release by EarlhamCollege, Gibbs describes the flaw of the time-honored practice of teaching the reporter toget “both sides” of the story.

It presumes, she said, that there are onlytwo sides to a story.

As a result, Gibbs said stories representonly the most extreme and contrary views onissues.

However, if news reporting can portray themany ways in which people are divided bysuch issues, such as the views from privatecitizens as well as experts, then reporters’ sto-ries will be more thorough.

Gibbs ends search for a ‘better text’

Butoracworks with high-profileclients

Graduate saysjournalism skills useful in new field

enjoyed being the guest in Brazil.“Many of my Brazilian hosts

have visited me in Indianapolis inthe past,” Tanzilli said. “It was agreat experience to visit them intheir own countries and observethem in their own environments.”

Tanzilli said the language barri-er is challenging at times.

“There was a translator at my

booth in Brazil,” Tanzilli said.“She was a delight and a lifesaveron several occasions.”

Tanzilli represents theIndianapolis Motor Speedway andthe city itself with her bright smileand welcoming demeanor.

“The tourism industry offerswonderful opportunities for meet-ing many interesting people,”Tanzilli said. “I’ve learned somuch about other cultures, andI’ve made some great friends dur-ing my time here. Who could askfor anything more?”

TANZILLIContinued from Page 1

“Creativity andwriting are vital toagency work. Andunderstandingyour client’s bottom line is fundamental.”

PHOENIX FALL 2002 3

Awards. She also won first place in editori-al writing for papers with 40,000 circula-tion from the Hoosier State PressAssociation 2001 awards.

CLASS OF ’82Kelly (Thomas) Updike: Recently accept-ed a position with The Leona Group, acharter schools management company withacademics in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana andArizona. Was formerly Media RelationsManager with Lincoln Financial Group,annuities division.

CLASS OF ’83James B. Lee: Vice President and CEO ofM.L. Development in Fishers, Ind.

CLASS OF ’85

Julie (Kelsey) Makarewicz: Continues hercareer as a freelance writer, while at thesame time, enjoying the benefits of beinghome with two young sons.

CLASS OF ’88Emily Reece: Recently accepted the positionof Training Manager for Igniting Ministry,the national television and welcoming min-istry of the United Methodist Church.

CLASS OF ’93Tanya Potts: Led an agency team that won theSilver Anvil award from the Public RelationsSociety of America. The award went toHetrick Communications and its client, Nursesfor a Healthier Tomorrow, a coalition of nearly40 nursing and health organizations that’s help-ing to combat the national nursing shortage.

CLASS OF ’00Rebecca Berfanger: Working as an asso-ciate editor for Massachusetts and RhodeIsland Lawyers Weekly for the last year,doing work in feature writing and editingVerdict and Statement Reports.

Heidi Monroe: Working at Dittoe PublicRelations in Indianapolis.

CLASS OF ’01Tabitha Edwards: Working as marketingassistant for Hills Floral Group.

CLASS OF ’02Dawn New: Joined HetrickCommunications as an account coordina-tor.

Kathryn Furtaw: Working as the editorialassistant at the Million Dollar Round Tablein Park Ridge, Ill.

Matt Mace: Working as a graphic journal-ist at the Carolina Morning News.

Tamara New: Working as project managerat the Creative Department AdvertisingAgency in Cincinnati.

Stacey A. Shannon: Working at TheIndianapolis Star covering business andalso writing a weekly column on downtown.

BY JENNIFER YEADON

In high school, Pete DiPrimio(B.S. 1981) knew he wanted to be awriter. He carried that passion intocollege at Ball State, where hewrote for the Daily News when hewasn’t busy wrestling.

His love of sports coupled withhis love for writing led him tobecome a successful sportswriter at

the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel andthe winner of two awards from theUnited States Basketball WritersAssociation.

DiPrimio won first place forSpot News Game Coverage in theUSBWA contest. The article, writ-ten in March 2001, was about thehiring of Mike Davis as the perma-nent coach of the IndianaUniversity basketball team. He won

fourth place for Moderate LengthFeature with an article detailing themuch-debated firing of IU coachBob Knight. He felt his storiesstood out because of “the topics.”

“Bob Knight remains one of themost compelling figures in sports,”he said. “His firing was rich inintrigue, passion and conflict. All Idid was try not to screw it up.”

The awards for the USBWA

contest are given out every yearduring the Final Four. Winning theawards was quite a surprise toDiPrimio. He did not find out untila journalist from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch told him during one of thegames.

“A lot of people win awards.Sometimes you get lucky.Sometimes inspiration strikes in abig way. But the key is doing it well

all the time,” DiPrimio said.Although he wants to continue

writing news, DiPrimio has anothergoal.

“Like many writers, I would liketo branch out into fiction,” he said.“I have had one short story pub-lished, and am working on a novel.I am certain I will finish the novel.I’m less certain about when or if itwill ever get published.”

BY YASHEKIA SMALLS

Anybody could say computertechnology is the wave of thefuture, but what about those whocan’t see, those who can’t evenmove a mouse? Nicki Washburn(B.S. 1995), a graduate of BallState’s journalism and public rela-tions programs, can attest to hownecessary technology is for suchpeople.

She has retinopathy of prematu-rity – in her case, a condition inwhich an eye abnormality stem-ming from birth complications ledto blindness. Despite her condi-tion, she currently works as a dis-ability resource assistant in MarionCounty.

But she doesn’t see her condi-tion as an obstacle.

“I don’t really think of it asovercoming,” she said. “I had tolearn how to do things differently.It’s just the way things are.”

Part of doing things differently isusing helpful technologies likeZoom Text and closed-circuit televi-sion software, both of which enlargeimages on a computer screen.

She credits Ball State forpreparing her for work with thesetools.

“Going to Ball State certainlyhelped,” she said. “I was intro-duced to a lot of technology andlearned how to use the computerwith adaptive technology.”

Washburn worked for customerservice at Bank One after leavingBall State. When her departmentwas eliminated, she decided to trysomething different – a job whereshe would be able to do morehuman services work. This led toan administrative assistant position

at Goodwill Industries, where shehelped with their newsletter. Shealso met with companies andgroups to introduce services withinWorkOne, an organization thathelps people find jobs.

As a disability resource assis-tant, Washburn trains her staff ondisability awareness and etiquette.She also works directly withMarion County’s WorkOne officesto ensure that all sites are accessi-ble to people with disabilities. In

coping with her visual impairment,she has learned a lot about herself.

“I think I’m still learning,” shesaid. “I don’t think of myself anydifferently than I think of others.”

Washburn said WorkOne serv-ices are valuable to people withdisabilities.

“It’s helpful for people to knowwhat resources are availablearound [their] community,” shesaid. She also said it is important“to not let others’ doubts or mis-

conceptions tell you what you’recapable of because I think every-one is capable of achieving theirgoals.”

Goodwill Industries is an advo-cate for people all over the country,helping them become self-suffi-cient by gaining employment andlearning skills.

Washburn says she believesthey show employers that peoplewith disabilities “really do haveabilities.”

ALUMNI NOTES

ALUMNI NEWS

Graduate finds success with IU coverage

Alumna attributes success to adaptive technologies

As a member of the BallState Legal AssistanceStudies AdvisoryCommittee, Cheney hasinteracted with undergradu-ate students for the last fiveyears and has helped placethem in jobs.

Cheney says she owes alot of her success to BallState. Both the journalismand political science depart-ments pushed Cheney topursue an internship, whichhelped form her career.

“I’m really proud ofwhere I went to school and Ifeel like it’s a big part of whoI am,” she said. “I pickedBall State for a reason, and ithas a lot to do with where Iam today.”

Cheney is currently work-ing on a master’s degree inpublic administration andexploring her options forfreelance work and research.

Cheney, along with otheraward recipients, was hon-ored at Homecoming 2002with a reception and dinnerat the Alumni Center.

The GOLD award hasbeen in existence since 1999and has recognized 24 alum-ni since then. Alumni arenominated by others or self-nominated and then chosenby a panel of volunteeralumni.

CHENEYContinued from Page 1

Nicki Washburn is at work with the hardware that makes her job a little easier. Photo provided

Robert GustafsonAssociate Professor

Published: with Mark Popovich andCliff Fraser, “Seniors’ Perceptions ofSenior Stereotypes Featured in MagazineAdvertisements: A Q Method Analysis,”Proceedings of the 2002 Conference ofthe American Academy of Advertising,May 2002.

Published: with Thomsen, S., McCoy,J., Williams, M. (2002) “Motivations forReading Beauty and Fashion Magazinesand Anorexic Risk in College-ageWomen.” Media Psychology, 4, 113-135.

Published: with Thomsen, S., McCoy,J., Williams, M, (2002) “The RelationshipBetween Beauty and Fashion MagazineReading Frequency and Dieting forWeight Loss Among Female CollegeStudents.” Southwestern MassCommunication Journal, 17 (2), p. 51-61.

Served on Editorial Review Board forJournal of Advertising Education.

Industry Relations Committee Chairfor American Academy of Advertising

Reviewed manuscript for Journal ofConsumer Affairs, 2002.

Book manuscript reviewer for TheCopy Workshop Publishing Company,2002.

Currently writing a high school text-book on advertising and discussing pub-lishing possibilities with The CopyWorkshop Publishing Company.

Michael HanleyInstructorParticipation in Ball State University con-vergence workshops, Summer 2002.

Mark HerronAssistant Professor

Received the Columbia ScholasticPress Association Gold Key, April 2002.

Inducted into the Scholastic JournalismHall of Fame, April 2002.

Received “Outstanding Contribution toCCIM teaching,” August 2002.

Mark MasseAssociate Professor

Published: “Writing Profiles withPersonality Plus,” The Writer, scheduledfor 2003 publication.

In-progress: “Coaching and Editing inthe Classroom: National JournalismEducator Survey Results.”

Submitted: with Mark Popovich“Revising Student Writer Apprehension:A Q Interpretation of the Riffe andStacks’ Writing Apprehension Measure,”AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, Gulfport,MS, March 2002.

Co-coordinator of summer 2002Faculty Convergence TrainingWorkshops.

Appointed to University AssessmentAdvisory Committee, spring 2002.

Drafted the Department of JournalismLearning Outcome Assessment Plan,April 2002.

Principal investigator and co-investiga-tor of two faculty training/convergenceworkshop grants, totaling $49,800.

Pat MillsInstructor

Accepted to “Diversity Across theCurriculum” workshop at the PoynterInstitute for Media Studies, June 2002.

Accepted to Diversity Policy Institutefellowship, project to teach diversityissues, awareness and coverage, at BallState University, 2002-2003 school year.

Mark PopovichProfessor

Elected Treasurer, InternationalSociety for the Scientific Study ofSubjectivity, September 2002.

Published: With Tom Robinson, RobertGustafson and Cliff Fraser, “Seniors’Perceptions of Senior StereotypesFeatured in Magazine Advertisements: AQ Method Analysis,” Proceedings of the2002 Conference of the AmericanAcademy of Advertising, May, 2002, pp.117-127.

Published: “The Press, Privacy andPoliticians,” in Sloan, Wm. David and

BY NOELLE BOWMAN

Michael Hanley (M.A. 1978)joined the journalism department staffthis year as a full-time advertisinginstructor. He previously taught atBall State as an adjunct instructor inthe news-editorial sequence.

Hanley received a bachelor’sdegree from Purdue University invisual design and a master’s degree

in journalism from Ball State. Upongraduation, he worked as a fieldeditor for a magazine and then as aphotographer for two newspa-pers. He then went into corporateadvertising and marketing, includ-ing positions with Fortune 500companies.

Before he joined the journalismdepartment full time, Hanleyowned and operated a communica-

tions consulting firm based inCarmel, Ind. Now his full-timefocus is on teaching, but he contin-ues to operate the company on apart-time basis. He said activelyworking in the advertising fieldallows him to stay current. He usesthe consulting work as “unofficialresearch” to learn new and emerg-ing technologies he can bring to theclassroom as real-world experience.

“This allows me to be on theleading edge of technology insteadof the trailing edge,” Hanley said.

His 20 years of experience in allareas of journalism have made himfit for the journalism department.Hanley has received numerousadvertising and journalism awards,including a Pulitzer Prize as part ofteam coverage of flooding, whileworking for the News-Sentinel.

BY MAUREEN MUSTARD

David Sumner, recipient ofan iCommunication facultysummer fellowship, participat-ed in researching informationfrom three majornews magazines –Time, Newsweek, andU.S. News and WorldReport – in an effortto determine howthese major publica-tions are attractingnew readers throughtheir Web sites.

Barbara StrausReed, RutgersUniversity, arrangedvisits during June2002 with online editors andprint managers from the newsmagazines in New York.

Sumner said the major chal-lenge of digital media hinges onthe news magazine’s ability toattract new readers and becomeprofitable.

“Magazines do not considertheir Web site to be in directcompetition with their maga-zine, but feel they are adding anew source for readers,” hesaid.

Sumner, along with othercolleagues, participated in aseparate three-day tour of TimeInc., Publishers Weekly TradeMagazine and AmericanBusiness Media.

“It was very rewarding to seepeople working behind theprint,” said Sumner. “The expo-

sure to the mecca of magazinepublishing provides more credi-bility as a teacher to be able torelate firsthand experience tothe students.”

The group also visited withthe founding editor ofNew York Review ofBooks. This addition-al tour was to gaininsight in the work-ing aspects of themagazine industryand to develop con-tacts within theindustry for studentinternship opportuni-ties.

Sumner said hisexperience will pro-

vide students with a betterunderstanding of the nuts andbolts issues within the maga-zine industry as well the issuesinvolved in publishing maga-zines.

The contacts Sumner madehave already proven valuablewith students and alumni.

“I had a former student callme asking for informationregarding internships,” he said.“I was able to give the studentthe names of eight editors tocontact.”

Sumner hopes to publishresearch gained from this fel-lowship and has applied for aspecial assigned leave in orderto pursue this endeavor. Thisresearch will build upon severalarticles on 20th centuryAmerican magazine history.

Hanley brings Fortune 500 experience to advertising sequence

BY YAVONDA SMALLS

The goal of Ball State’s newiCommunication program is to pre-pare students for the digital mediarevolution by converging technolo-gy with communications. As part ofthat program the journalism depart-ment received two faculty and twoprofessional staff positions.

Angelita Abrams-Rains receivedher undergraduate degree in specialeducation and a master’s degree inEnglish and technology curriculum.She has worked in instructional tech-nology for the Indiana Universitysystem. Abrams-Rains is now theconvergence workshop coordinatorat Ball State and appreciates thejournalism department’s integrationof technology and communications.

“I love to watch students get excit-ed about using the technology,” shesaid. “I like the size and focus of theuniversity and how it has been support-ive of the whole iComm initiative.”

Larry Dailey earned his bachelorof arts in secondary education in1980, his bachelor of journalism in1982 and his master’s degree in pho-tography in 2000.

In addition to working as a multi-media producer for MSNBC for thethree years, he has worked as a pic-ture editor for The Associated Pressand for United Press International,in Washington D.C. After teachingat Southern Illinois University inEdwardsville, University ofMissouri and Syracuse University,

Dailey is now assistant professor ofjournalism at Ball State and is excit-ed about how committed the depart-ment is to quality.

“They have a vision here for whatnew media can become, and I wantto help them develop it,” Daileysaid.

Lori Demo, assistant professor ofjournalism, received her bachelor’sdegree in journalism from theUniversity of Nebraska in 1976.Originally from Griffith, Ind., she

taught journalism courses at OhioUniversity and the University ofKansas. She has also worked forseveral newspapers, includingFlorida Today, where she served asmanaging editor, and USA Today,where she a was a founding staffmember for the Money section.With her 17 years of newspaperexperience, she hopes to prepare stu-dents to become the next generationof journalists.

“Journalism is a vital part of dem-ocratic society,” Demo said. “I likethe energy in the department. Peoplehere have a vision to prepare stu-dents for the future.”

Jerry Pierce is the IntegratedMedia Lab administrator. He earnedhis bachelor’s degree in telecommu-nications at Ball State in 1988.

Though originally from Muncie,he lived in South Bend for nineyears, where he was a partner at amultimedia company and served atNotre Dame as an Internet manager.

Additionally, he worked atVilling Company in Mishawaka formore than four years, where heserved as director of new media. Henow enjoys implementing technolo-gy at Ball State’s journalism depart-ment.

“Ball State is an excellent meansfor students to get experienced initems pertinent to what they’re goingto school for,” Pierce said. “It’s auniversity where you can come toget a degree and great hands-onexperience.”

FACULTY NOTES

4 FALL 2002 PHOENIX

FACULTY NEWSFellowship helps professor continue summer project

New iComm faculty helpencourage convergence

David Sumner

Lori Demo Photo by JennyLesselbaum

Mike Hanley

Emily Erickson Hoff, eds. ContemporaryMedia Issues, 2nd. Ed. (Vision Press,Northport, AL, 1998), in press.

Presented: with Kim Jana, journalismgraduate student, “An Attitudinal Study ofJob Satisfaction for Full-Time, On-AirFemale Personalities at Commercial RadioStations in Indiana,” presented to the 18thannual conference of the InternationalSociety for the Scientific Study ofSubjectivity, University of Durham, UnitedKingdom, Sept. 22, 2002.

Presented: with Ken Heinen,“Newspaper Photo Editors’ Perceptions ofWomen in Photojournalism,” presented atthe annual conference of the Associationfor Education in Journalism and MassCommunications, Visual CommunicationsDivision, Aug. 7, 2002, Miami Beach, Fla.(chosen Top Faculty Research Paper).

Presented: with Mark Masse,“Revisiting Student Writer Apprehension:A Q Interpretation of the Riffe and Stacks’Writing Apprehension Measure,” AEJMCSoutheast Colloquium, Gulfport, Miss.,

March 2002.Panelist: “Covering Government,”

Bowen Institute on Political Participation,Indianapolis, Ind., April 6, 2002.

Robert PritchardAssistant Professor

Panelist: “Bridging the Gulf from Cubato Afghanistan: U.S. Military PublicAffairs and Its Media Coverage,”Association of Educators in Journalism andMass Communication annual convention,Miami, Fla., Aug. 7-10, 2002.

College of Communication,Information, and Media representative forUniverCity 2002, September 2002.

Conference Programmer andCoordinator, “Digitally Conscious:Effectively Integrating Technology into thePR Classroom,” Oct. 3-5, 2002.

Faculty Advisor for the Public RelationsStudent Society of America.

Chair, Public Relations Society ofAmerica, Educators Academy, “Alliancefor Learning” Committee, 2003-2004.

Subject matter expert and member, BallState University Crisis Management Team.

Expert Trainer, Naval StrategicCommunications Training, Cartegena,Colombia, May 15-16, 2002.

Expert Trainer, General CommandStrategic Communications Training,Bogota, Colombia, Aug. 29-30, 2002.

Expert Trainer, Air Force StrategicCommunications Training, Rio Negro,Colombia, Sept. 11-13, 2002.

Participated in Advisor Resources andTraining program, Aug. – Nov. 2002.

Participated in When All Hell BreaksLoose Webinar, Oct. 2002.

Larry RileyInstructor

Wrote a weekly social-political com-mentary column for The Star Press’sSunday newspaper.

Commentator for an Indiana PublicRadio Delaware County Political candidateforum broadcast on WBST, November2002.

Analyzed election night coverage forWBST and projected results, November2002.

Served on a Freedom of Expressionpanel at the Virginia Ball Center forCreative Inquiry class. Panel session tele-vised on WIPB public television in June2002.

David SumnerProfessor

Published: “Sixty Four Years of LifeMagazine: What Did Its 2,128 CoversCover?,” The Journal of Magazine andNew Media Research, Summer 2002.

Sheryl SwingleyInstructor

Attended: “Reporting With the Internetfor Educators” at the Poynter Institute, St.Petersburg, Fla., May 19-24, 2002.

BY NOELLE BOWMAN

Next semester, MarkMassé, coordinator for thenews-editorial sequence andassociate professor of jour-nalism, will be taking abreak from classes to con-centrate on faith.

During Massé’s sabbati-cal he will finish work on aliterary journalism booktentatively titled “FaithWorks: Dramatic Stories ofReligious Social Activism.”When Massé returns nextfall, he will be able to sharefirst-hand experience withthe type of writing he teach-es to graduate students,which has also been called“narrative journalism” and“immersion reporting.”

The book focuses on 12people of faith and thesocial causes to which theyhave committed themselvessuch as homelessness,unemployment, poverty,neighborhood improvementand environmental protec-tion. The 12 personalitiescome from a variety offaiths and interests includ-ing an Episcopalian minis-ter working to improveseverely blighted neighbor-

hoods in Chicago and aCatholic nun working withmigrant workers in Florida.

“What I hope to show isa unique group of individu-als who share a commonbond of committing to mak-ing a better society,” Massésaid. He said the traditionalmedia often ignore thesepeople.

The profiles extendbeyond biography by focus-ing on the issues each indi-vidual works for and theimpact on society.

Massé got the idea forthe book while he wasteaching at the University ofOregon five years ago. Hemet a Jesuit priest who hadbeen working the streets ofPortland with drug addicts,ex-convicts and poor, disen-franchised people for 30years. Massé spent timewalking the streets with thepriest, observing how heinteracted with people whileinterviewing him.

Massé received aFreedom Forum grantenabling him to expand thebook and cover moreactivists. Tom Price, assis-tant professor of photojour-nalism at Ball State, trav-

eled with Massé to takephotographs for two of thestories. Massé did his ownphotography for the other10.

He spent several dayswith each subject trying tocapture the days in the lifeof each person, what drivesthem and what motivatesthem to do the work.Massé said the subjects rep-resent a range of personalitytypes from humble and self-effacing to ego-driven per-sonalities. He said eventhough the personalities dif-fer, what drives each indi-vidual is a strong faith andstrong spiritual convictions.

“I’m trying to put ahuman face on issues oftentimes the media don’tcover,” Massé said.

Four stories are com-plete. During his time offnext semester, Massé willfinish the research and writethe remaining eight.

He hopes to deliver thebook to Indiana UniversityPress by Sept. 1, 2003. Apublication date has notbeen set for the book, butMassé hopes to have it inprint by the end of nextyear.

FACULTY NOTES

PHOENIX FALL 2002 5

FACULTY NEWS

Massé takes summer to write book

Mark Massé chats with a colleague at UniverCity. Photo by Jenny Lesselbaum

Malaun Willie GA position: Graduate assistant in theintegrated media labHometown: Chicago, Ill.Graduate Program: Public RelationsExpected graduation date: 2004Favorite thing about being a GA: I notonly get to learn new software programs,but I also get to teach them to other stu-dents during workshops.Plans after graduation: I plan to obtain ajob within the news/weather or public rela-tions field.

Tara GerberGA position: Writing Center coach

Hometown: Bluffton, Ind.Graduate program: MerchandisingExpected graduation date: 2004What you like best about being a GA:Meeting new people!Future plans after graduation: Work for aFortune 500 company in marketing ormerchandising.

Amanda StetzelGA position: JournalismHometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.Graduate program: JournalismExpected graduation date: 2003What you like best about being a GA: Myprojects. It’s fun stuff and I’ll be learning alot at the same time.Future plans after graduation: (If I’m notburnt out) obtain my Ph.D.

Beth SinesGA position: Graduate Programs marketerHometown: Valparaiso, Ind.Graduate program: Public RelationsExpected graduation date: May 2004What you like best about being a GA:Developing friendships, helping the jour-nalism department, and having your ownprivate computer lab.Future plans after graduation: Start mycareer.

Jennifer GravelGA position: Graduate assistant for MarkPopovich and Bob GustafsonHometown: Bedford, N.H.Graduate program: Public RelationsExpected graduation date: Spring 2004What you like best about being a GA:

Feeling involved in the departmentFuture plans after graduation: HopefullyI’ll get a job I love with a salary I can livewith, but I want it to be in the Charlotte,N.C. area.

Jennifer PeekGA position: Graduate assistant for SherylSwingley, Jennifer George-Palilonis andTendayi KumbulaHometown: Anderson, Ind.Graduate program: Public RelationsExpected graduation date: 2004What you like best about being a GA: meet-ing the other graduate assistants and workingwith the professors in the department.Future plans after graduation: Get a greatjob!

NEW GRAD ASSISTANTS

BY GERRY APPEL

In the age of convergentmedia, newspapers across thecountry must change just tokeep up. The Daily News is noexception. As a result, the DNis looking to the future foranswers to age-old questions.

Of course the print editionof the DN is not going any-where. However, DN staffersare not only publishing all con-tent from the print edition ontheir Web site “dn now,” butthey are also creating originalcontent at www.basketball-state.com.

Sophomore Meghan Farr isacting as “convergence direc-tor” for the DN and has helpedestablish a bond between theDN and Newscenter 43, a stu-dent-produced nightly news-cast in the Department ofT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s .Newscenter 43 provided theDN with updated content for“dn now” as Newscenter 43promoted “tomorrow’s head-lines today” during theirevening newscasts. Farr saidthe two media outlets learned alot from each other and some-day DN staffers will be videoexperts.

“Convergence and a part-nership are two differentthings,” Farr said. “The part-nership was great; we learneda lot and now have open doorcommunication. But conver-gence is really something wecan do out of the Daily News(newsroom). With all theequipment that we’re getting,we’re going to be able to do itwithout the TV station’s help,

eventually.”DN staffers were inspired

to create interactive multime-dia content after the ChicagoTribune produced a CD ROMdocumenting Sept. 11 events.DNinteractive’s first project is“Basketballstate.”

“We’re taking somethingon campus, taking an issue,and bringing it to the viewersthrough interactivity and mul-timedia storytelling,” Farrsaid.

“Basketballstate” featuresoriginal print stories, photo-graphs and video packages,which has brought the site lotsof attention. DN editor-in-chief Jon Seidel said the sitehad at least 17,000 hits on thefirst day. Seidel has beenimpressed with the staff’s ded-ication and with their early ini-tial work leading to the site’searly success.

“Students have spent entirenights and mornings here. I

would leave at night when thepaper’s done, and then theywould still be here in themorning working,” Seidel

said. “They are working reallyhard on this, and it’s gettingeven better as it goes along.”

Seidel said a redesign to“dn now” is currently under-way.

While DNinteractive isundergoing change with “dnnow” and “Basketballstate,”the print edition of the DN hasalso undergone changes,which includes a majorredesign.

“We took a year of reader-ship surveys, lots of meetings,debating on what to do withthe layout that would be differ-ent from what we had,” Seidelsaid. “We had an award-win-ning design previously, but weall kind of felt it was gettingkind of stale. We felt like itwasn’t working anymore. Wecreated new design conceptssuch as the dog leg and thebillboard on the front page.”

The opinion page has alsobeen restructured. Seidel saidthe opinion page is no longerthe “usual hodgepodge” ofcolumnists who “write a dailydiary.”

“He’s (Opinion Editor JohnKing) gotten a group of colum-nists who are really going toprovoke some thought. We’vehad an overflow of letters (inresponse to the columns)…wehave so many letters peopleare getting upset because theyaren’t getting published assoon as they’d like.”

Both Farr and Seidel hopeDNinteractive will somedayhave its own staff and fallunder the “umbrella” of theDaily News, creating a largermedia conglomerate.

The Magazine Sequence is the onlysequence with its own Web site(www.bsu.edu/magazine). It containsan Indiana-Illinois Magazine Directoryto help students find jobs and intern-ships, links to every Indiana newspa-per, syllabi for all the magazine cours-es and study guides to help studentswith various aspects of writing andediting.

Internet proficiency is integrated into the content ofevery magazine course—magazine writing, editing andproduction. Students are equipped to do investigativereporting and research by learning to tap the vastresources of the Internet and its access to worldwideexperts and resources. Students are also encouraged todevelop their own Web sites and online portfolios.

Students graduate from the sequence knowing thecommunications industry is constantly changing, andthey must become lifelong learners—that means beingprepared to work in magazines, newspapers, web compa-nies, corporate communications and even television orradio.

CONVERGENCE ACROSS THE CURRICULUMMAGAZINE SEQUENCE

6 FALL 2002 PHOENIX

David Sumner

As graphics technologies and soft-ware become more advanced, visualjournalists become capable of translat-ing their print graphics and designskills to other media such as the Weband broadcast.

Several new courses have been cre-ated in the journalism graphicssequence so that we may begin toexplore these concepts and skills.Multimedia Storytelling, which will betaught by Larry Dailey and Pamela

Liedig-Farmen, will expose students to a variety of digi-tal storytelling methods for the Web. Students will studyconcepts related to non-linear storytelling and the naviga-tion abilities that the Web offers to this process. Thiscourse will be offered as an elective for all journalismand telecommunications students.

In addition to this, an advanced graphics course hasbeen added in which students will apply the print skillsthey learn in the introductory graphics course to the con-cepts related to animation and interactivity for broadcaseand Web graphics.

JOURNALISM GRAPHICS SEQUENCE

JenniferGeorge-Palilonis

The News-Editorial sequence hasprepared for convergence by offeringnew classes, integrating news reportingwith the telecommunications depart-ment and training.

Several new core classes were intro-duced this past fall: J102Infogathering, J104 Journalism WritingSkills, NEWS 201 Newswriting, andNEWS 202 News Reporting.

NEWS 201 prepares students from both journalismand telecommunications for reporting and writing in print,broadcast and online formats and is team taught by jour-nalism and telecommunications faculty. Each student hadto complete weekly sessions at print and broadcast cam-pus media.

In NEWS 202 News Reporting students utilize videotechnology to support their assignments.

Coordinator Mark Massé and telecommunications pro-fessor Bob Papper, led 16 faculty and administrators fromthe journalism and telecommunications departments intwo weeks of workshops from late July to early August.Training sessions were held in digital audio acquisitionand editing, video acquisition and editing, Web pagedesign, digital photo processing and writing styles forprint, broadcast and online media.

NEWS-EDITORIAL SEQUENCE

Mark Massé

W H E N W O R L DW H E N W O R L DDN expands its cyber-realm

Waechter said. “Our students have to be com-fortable telling stories in a variety of packages.”

The Internet, radio and television are justsome of the places students can use their writ-ing, photography and technological skills, andthe department wants to give students as manyadvantages as possible.

The development of the new curriculumcame at a time when the department itself wasexperiencing changes.

The new Art and Journalism Building, nowthe department’s home, offered the opportunityfor implementing many of the faculty’s “idealeducational goals.” This includes a room forfocus groups with video and audio recordingequipment, labs for practical work, classroomsbetter aimed at integrated teaching and an inte-grated media lab.

The Integrated Media Lab allows students toproduce news stories for print, broadcast andthe Web from a single workstation. The iLab isa working newsroom with live broadcast capa-bility and a fully automated control room thatcan be run by one or two students.

Video can be digitally edited with Final CutPro or iMovie. Digital video cameras and digi-tal still cameras are available for students tocheck out and use for class projects.

A joint partnership between journalism andtelecommunications was created as well.

“Journalism’s news-editorial sequence and(telecommunication’s) broadcast news optionnow require students to take a number of cours-es together,” Waechter said.

Termed NEWS, this new program is team-taught by professors from both disciplines sostudents can experience as much integration aspossible.

Just as the industry is changing, the new cur-riculum is a “fluid concept,” open to growth andfurther changes as students offer feedback overthe next few years, Waechter said. Internshipswill further determine if students are as pre-pared for the changing world of journalism asthe faculty intends.

CURRICULUMContinued from Page 1

Basketballstate.com is one of the many porjects beingincorporated into Daily News coverage.

Daily News RevampsFeatures Section

The Daily News scrapped itsDiversions section thissemester and replaced it withfive different feature themes; adifferent theme appears eachday. Below is the schedulefor the features page.

Mondays: “Radar”Covers upcoming trendsTuesdays: “Faces”Personality profilesWednesdays: “Tech”Focuses on technologyThursdays: “Rec”Features about recreationFridays: “72 Hours”The weekend scene

BY BETSY HATCH

The Graduate Education Councilapproved the proposal for a master of arts inDigital Storytelling on Nov. 26.

According to Dan Waechter, facultyadviser to the Department of Journalism,the master’s program is an interdisciplinaryprogram between the journalism, commu-nications studies and telecommunicationsdepartments that will be housed in thetelecommunications department.

“The three departments will worktogether to give students a wide exposure tostorytelling experiences,” Waechter said.

Beth Messner, associate professor in theDepartment of Communication Studies,said story is a fundamental and highly com-pelling form of human communication, onethat is common not only to telecommunica-tion, but also journalism, public relations,corporate communications, animation, filmand Web design.

The newly approved master’s programis a revision of a dormant TCOM programthat existed in the 1980s.

“Given the evolution of digital technolo-gies, the old M.A. in telecommunicationswas ripe for transformation into the newmedia arena,” said Messner.

Digital technologies enable storytellersto approach storytelling from a different per-spective and to devise nontraditional storyforms, such as non-linear and interactivenarratives. Given its potential, digital story-telling promises to play a significant role inboth the corporate and creative arenas asso-ciated with telecommunications and relatedfields. Thus, the skills of digital storytellers,whether they are broadcasters, film produc-ers, corporate media consultants, scriptwrit-ers or journalists, will be in great demand.

Few academic institutions offer a mas-ter’s program in digital storytelling.

Therefore, this program places the collegeat the forefront of this digital transforma-tion.

“When we looked at other programs wedidn’t find many of this nature that encom-pass telecommunications, journalism andcommunication studies,” Waechter said. “Ithink there’s a need for this at the master’slevel.”

Messner said that while there are otherdigital media programs being developedacross the nation, the Ball State program isthe only comprehensive academic programthat focuses upon marshalling its featuresfor the purpose of storytelling.

According to Waechter and Messner,students who pursue this degree will be pro-vided with a great deal of flexibility in itsapplication and a wide-range of possibili-ties to market their skills.

Students wanting to enroll in the pro-gram must meet the admission require-ments of the Graduate School and musthave completed the GRE. Applicants mustalso demonstrate proficiency in written,verbal, and visual communication and haverelevant computer skills.

Students may only enter during the fallsemester of each year, and the program hasa target enrollment of about 20 students perentering class, which will give the two-yearprogram a total enrollment of about 40 stu-dents at a time.

Waechter said prospective students startedshowing an interest before the master’s pro-gram was approved by GEC.

The program’s development was fundedthrough the iCommunication grant, andsome of the faculty who will teach theclasses are also funded through the grant.However, Waechter says he hopes that theprogram will become self-sufficient andcapable of supporting itself once studentsstart enrolling.

PHOENIX FALL 2002 7

Because of the unique place ofadvertising within the world of jour-nalism, convergence in the traditionalsense affects the sequence differently.However, the use of new media is oneaspect of convergence that students arebecoming very proficient with. In par-ticular, students are learning moreabout Web site design, writing for the

Web, and managing Web sites. Thereis a great deal of focus on the two uses

of the Internet – as an advertising medium and as a store-front for direct purchase.

ADVERTISING SEQUENCE

Bob Gustafson

The secondary education studentsare being introduced to the topic ofconvergence in a variety of ways.They are learning what the topic is,methods used to teach convergence,and how they can teach their studentsto write for the Web as well as regularprint publications and broadcast.

Secondary education majors facescholastic journalism at an exciting

time but there are still many unanswered questions.Coordinator Mark Herron is currently doing thesis workin how convergence can and will develop in the highschool publications room. This is a topic of great interestbecause many schools have access to the Web, yet rarelyuse it. Lack of use is due to privacy issues that faceschools wishing to use students’ names and pictures.

SECONDARY ED SEQUENCE

Mark Herron

Although, convergence is mainly asubject for the news related sequences,public relations is definitely benefitingfrom the equipment used for conver-gence education. Students have usedthe Parker Vision video broadcastingsystem to develop video news releasesand video presentations for clients.Additionally, they have had the oppor-

tunity to become comfortable usingequipment that they may be using in

the workplace and to practice being on camera in aspokesperson capacity.

The public relations sequence is also planning toincorporate convergence into the media relations andcampaigns classes by planning projects that will enablethem to work on convergence issues and assist organiza-tions in preparing media releases and press kits for a con-vergent media.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SEQUENCE

MelvinSharpe

D S C O N V E R G ED S C O N V E R G ECollege creates newmaster’s degree

Jerry Pierce, Integrated Media Lab administrator, illustrates the use of thedepartment’s new Parker Vision Automated Video Broadcast System. The newsystem will allow journalism students to practice both being on camera and oper-ating robotic cameras. With one camera located in the Daily News newsroom, theParker Vision system will also enable live newscasts to be sent from the newsroomto television stations located in the Ball Building and onto the Web. Photo by JennyLesselbaum

BY BETSY HATCH

The Department of Journalismpublic relations sequence hosted“Digitally Conscious: EffectivelyIntegrating Technology intoToday’s PR Classroom” in earlyOctober. The three-day confer-ence, planned in conjunction withthe 24th annual Vernon C. Schranzdistinguished lectureship, wasbased around the answers to thequestion, “What should we beteaching in public relations classestoday with regard to new mediaand technology?”

Thirteen speakers with a varietyof professional and educationalbackgrounds told participantswhat graduates in public relationsprograms should know regardingthe use of new media and technol-ogy in the practice of public rela-tions and how to better use tech-nology in the classroom.

The keynote speaker was ShelHoltz, author of “Public Relationson the Net,” (recently re-releasedin a second edition), and “Writingfor the Wired World.” Holtz pre-sented “Futurist View of PR on theNet,” where he discussed the com-munications professionals’ loss ofability to control information abouttheir companies due to theincreased use and reach of theInternet. His complete presentationcan be viewed atwww.holtz.com/bsu.

Three other speakers con-tributed to the conference. LarryBurriss, dean of the College ofMass Communication at MiddleTennessee State University, devel-oped one of the nation’s first onlinecourses in 1995.

Jim Parham, vice president ofpublic relations at Hirons &Company and a Ball State alum-nus, spoke on the various technol-ogy tools and trends in public rela-

tions today and offered suggestionson what students should knowabout each.

Neal Linkon, director of com-munications for Aurora HealthCare of Milwaukee, spoke on howthe Internet and current technolo-gies can be used across a variety ofpublic relations competencies toenhance communication andachieve success in public relationsefforts.

Dr. Melvin Sharpe, head of BallState’s public relations sequence,spoke about the partnershipbetween campaigns students atBall State and public relations stu-dents at the Pontifical CatholicUniversity of Rio Grande do Sul inPorto Alegre, Brazil.

The two groups of studentshave been planning campaigns forimplementation in each other’scountries. The students use anInternet-based videoconferencetechnique to communicate withBrazil while working on theseprojects at Ball State. Conferenceparticipants were able to sit in on alive videoconference and talk withstudents in Brazil about their workand the partnership with Ball State.

The syllabi critique section ofthe conference critiqued the syllabiof Ball State public relations class-es suggested by the PublicRelations Society of America foran ideal undergraduate major inpublic relations.

Six conference presenters gavetheir suggestions for what technol-ogy should be covered in thesecourses and what technologyshould be used to teach thesecourses.

A majority of the conferenceevents took place in the Art andJournalism Building. Conferenceparticipants took full advantage ofthe technology available in the newfacility.

BY BETSY HATCH

Ten Ball State faculty members,including CCIM dean Scott Olsonand five journalism department fac-ulty, traveled to South Carolina tosee how another university isapproaching the topic of media con-vergence. The University of SouthCarolina, Columbus, held the two-part conference Nov. 13-16.

The purpose of the conferencewas to provide a scholarly examina-tion of the attributes and implica-tions of the power of integratedinformation systems and the con-solidation of media organizations.It also focused on the realities ofmedia economics that are pro-pelling a new generation of mediaproducts, production processes andinformation services. These trendsare affecting all areas of communi-cation.

Some of the conference eventswere focused around the grandopening of Newsplex. Newsplex isa prototype multiple-media micro-newsroom for demonstration,research and training in next-gener-ation news handling tools and tech-niques. It will provide opportunitiesfor training and research affectingthe next generation of news prac-tices. Newsplex is a joint venture ofthe University of South Carolina,Ifra and South Carolina EducationalTelevision. Construction on the $2million facility began in March2002.

Lori Demo, assistant professorof journalism and fellow for theCenter for Media Design, said thatthe conference gave her the confir-mation that Ball State is on the righttrack.

“We’ve been exploring someresearch projects dealing with con-vergence that will allow us to helpthe industry,” Demo said. “BallState is in a great position to dosome work that is really meaningfulto the industry and to the public.”

Mark Herron, Director ofSecondary Education Services andthe sequence coordinator for jour-nalism secondary education, said hewalked away with new insights andknowledge of convergence.

“I was given the chance to lookat convergence from a higher aca-demia standpoint and see what’sapplicable to the high school mar-ket,” Herron said.

The first part of the conference,“Defining Convergence,” tookplace Nov. 13-14. It was attendedby Olson, Center for Media DesignDirector David Ferguson, journal-ism department Chair MarilynWeaver and journalism facultymembers Demo and Larry Dailey.

Joining Weaver on Nov. 15-16for the second phase of the confer-ence titled, “The Dynamics ofConvergent Media,” were journal-ism professors Mark Herron andJennifer George-Palilonis, andtelecommunications faculty NancyCarlson, Bob Papper and TerryHeifetz

CONVERGENCE NEWS

8 FALL 2002 PHOENIX

Conferenceexploresmedia convergence

Professionals pool ideas at PR conference

BY BETSY HATCH

For the past two terms the publicrelations sequence has been usingtechnology to teach effective inter-national public relations tech-niques through a partnership withthe Pontifical Catholic Universityof Rio Grande do Sul in PortoAlegre, Brazil.

Melvin Sharpe’s campaigns stu-dents and public relations studentsin Brazil have been learningthrough interaction of planningcampaigns for implementation ineach other’s countries. The interac-tion is made possible throughInternet-based videoconferences.

Both groups of students are con-ducting campaigns for the RedCross. Ball State students areworking on a campaign for thePorto Alegre Red Cross chapter inBrazil, and Pontifical CatholicUniversity students are conductinga campaign for the HoosierHeartland chapter in Muncie.

According to Sharpe, this experi-ence has been beneficial to bothgroups of students.

“The greatest learning experiencehas been the two groups of youngprofessionals bouncing ideas offeach other, using each other forresearch and counsel, and explain-ing cultural differences to oneanother,” Sharpe said.

The Internet-based videoconfer-ence technique has taught studentshow to work with Brazilian profes-sionals in collecting and conduct-ing research in planning so thatconcepts and decisions reflect cul-tural needs, show knowledge of

media and government require-ments, and avoid needless verbaland nonverbal errors.

According to senior LeeMorrison, the videoconferencesare held on a weekly basis forabout an hour.

“The videoconferences have givenstudents in the class a direct interna-tional perspective,” Morrison said.“Through this type of communica-tion we’ve learned how differentcultures think and how different cul-tures present information.”

Scheduling the videoconferenceshasn’t always been easy. The two-hour time difference betweenMuncie and Porto Alegre, as wellas the students’ schedules, has

caused some difficulty.Nonetheless, the students havetried to maintain communicationon a regular basis.

Senior Allison Zuber says she hasdeveloped new skills as a result ofthis class.

“I’ve learned how to communi-cate on an international level,which will help me when I enterthe profession,” she said.

Student communication and inter-action is further supported by a Website developed for the class provid-ing information in two languages,international information links, easye-mail exchange, and a chat roomfor group input and interaction.

Ball State students involved in

the project this summer were ableto meet the Pontifical CatholicUniversity students when theBrazilian students traveled toMuncie in June.

Sharpe said he hopes Ball Statestudents will have a chance to travelto Brazil at some point. He also saidhe plans to continue the partnershipfor future campaigns classes.

“We’ve already identified clientsin Muncie and Porto Alegre towork with next year,” Sharpe said.

Due to the different schedule ofseasons between the UnitedStates and Brazil, the partnershipwill be an aspect of campaignsclasses taught during summer andfall term.

Cultural Exchange

In July, Dr. Melvin Sharpe and Brazilian instructor Dr. Helanie Rosa join their students YuichiHasegawa, Julia Osso, Jeff Leitch and Aaron Crone in communicating with Brazil via the video-conferencing system in Ball State’s Art and Journalism Building.