In celebration of Nelson Poynter’s 100th birthday, the entire Poynter Institute staff gathered for two staff photographs in 2003. The top photos is the traditional. The bottom photos has everyone wearing bow tie, a Nelson Poynter trademark. This photograph probably captures the height of staffing at the Institute. There are about 60 folks in each photograph [a couple are hidden].
Only a couple of folks in the photograph were still at the Institute as of 2001.
How consumers use media has always been an interesting topic. However, it never really got the attention of those at the top of newspaper organizations. One of the better studies was this one:
The Center for Media Design at Ball State University conducted the Middletown Media Studies in 2003-2004. These investigations tracked the ways in which ordinary Americans residing in and around Muncie engage with the many new forms of media available in the twentieth century. More details are available in the CMD Reports and White Papers listing.
Here’s a copy of a paper about the study in the International Digital Media & Arts Association Journalism from Spring 2004.
Here’s a link to Ball State’s documents about the project.
This is an example of the Chicago Tribune’s graphics request form. According to a note attached to this document, “graphics are handled through a full-time graphics editor who works with source editors. The graphics editor works with source editors and reporters in compiling the necessary materials: locator maps, tables, graphics, etc.
An example of the Chicago Tribune’s photo request form used in 1985. Picture assignments were made through the picture assignment desk, either in the main city room or in the suburban Hinsdale, IL, bureau. Assignments were requested by either the reporter working on a story or by the source editor who is handling the story. However, according to note Howard Finberg wrote in 1985, “the picture assignment editor of the picture editor controls photo assignment traffic and determines which story takes precedent when time and manpower are short.“
This is an example of the workload of Chicago Tribune photographers in December, 1985. The Day Picture assignments on December 26, 1985 run from 7:00 am until 3:30. The notes on the disposition column show the photographer and whether the assignment was completed [OK] or didn’t work [NG].
In August 1985 I quit the San Jose Mercury News [that’s a different story] and joined the San Francisco Chronicle as its first Photography and Graphics Editor.
Part of the job switch was a ‘run from’ the Mercury News; part was the undeniable challenge of creating a professional editing process for the Chronicle. I love telling this story:
When I went to the Chronicle, I replaced a box. A wooden box that photographers dumped their prints into; a box that wire photos and graphics were dropped. The news editors pulled what they wanted or needed from the box. After my arrival, we established that an editor would help the news editors get the images that best told the story.
By the way, I took the box with me when I left the Chronicle. It holds bits and pieces of digital equipment.
While I joined the Chronicle in early September, the announcement in Editor and Publisher did not come out until Feb. 22, 1986.
Going to school at San Francisco State University was a great and unusual journalism education. What made it special was not the classroom work, which was good. The real training was in covering the drama in the hallways, the excitement on the campus commons and the turmoil on the streets. My journalism education was attending a college that saw the longest campus strike in United States history. Here’s how the SFSU describes the strike, some forty years later:
…the five-month event defined the University’s core values of equity and social justice, laid the groundwork for establishment of the College of Ethnic Studies, and inspired the establishment of ethnic studies classes and programs at other universities throughout the country.
The Black Student Union and a coalition of other student groups known as the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) led the strike, which began Nov. 6, 1968 and ended March 20, 1969. Clashes between the strikers and San Francisco Police tactical squads made national news. Students, faculty and community activists demanded equal access to public higher education, more senior faculty of color and a new curriculum that would embrace the history and culture of all people including ethnic minorities.
Those clashes between strikers and police were covered by professional and student journalists. For students it was a great training ground, as you could compare your work against the professionals. After the strike, a number of journalism students, most of whom worked on the journalism department’s newspaper Phoenix, wanted to publish a more interpretive look at events.
We decided to publish a magazine or “instant book”. I was the publisher and editor. But one of driving forces was Steve Toomajian. His writing and hard work helped make the concept a reality.
We called the publication “Crisis at SF State.” We got some money from a distributor, found a printer and published in the summer of 1969 [I think]. Actual dates have been lost. The book is still in a few libraries, but the publication mostly lost in the dustbin of history. Here’s Stanford University’s library record:
Cover title: An interpretive look at San Francisco State College crisis… A collection of articles, essays, interviews, and photographs on the student strikes at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969.
I also put a copy in the library at The Poynter Institute. And I’ve posted a copy on this site.
Thanks to the support of the Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA), NewsU was able to create its first online group seminar (OGS). An OGS is a e-learning module that allows for more interaction between faculty and participants and among the participants themselves. Mae Cheng, one of the more forward looking journalists at the association, saw e-learning as an opportunity to provide additional services to AAJA members. Mae asked about the possibility of working with Poynter on e-learning even before Poynter had received the Knight grant for the NewsU project. Here’s her October 2002 email to Paul Pohlman and other members of the faculty. I was the Institute’s Presidential Scholar and wouldn’t join the faculty until January 2003.
—–Original Message—–
From: Mae.Cheng@newsday.com [mailto:Mae.Cheng@newsday.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 11:46 AM
To: paulp@poynter.org
Cc: Evelyn Hsu; Howard Finberg; Chip Scanlan; Al Tompkins
Subject: aajaHi Paul,
I hope this finds you well.
Just wanted to check back with you on two fronts:
The first is that our convention co-chairs and I have gone through your 2003 course offerings, and the following list are the sessions that most intrigue us. Do you think there’s any way we can get a couple of these sessions to San Diego for our convention in August?
1. Poynter leadership for mid-level editors
2. tough choices: doing ethics
3. advanced power reporting for reporters/photojournalists
4. collaboration conference: storytelling partnerships
5. enterprise and investigative reporting for broadcast
6. reporting on race relations.The second thing I wanted to ask you is if there’s been any further
thought at Poynter about partnering with us to offer an online training program. [Bold added –Hif]Thanks.
Mae
I gave keynote speech at European Journalism Centre 20th Anniversary celebration in Maastricht, Netherlands, thanks to the director of the EJC’s director, Wilfried Rutten. The speech [PDF link] gave me an opportunity to build upon remarks I made the previous year at the “Picnic” conference. I was part of a panel that addressed the future of journalism. I also wrote an article for Poynter Online about the topic. I must admit that I love this line: “Journalism education can’t teach its way to the future.”
Here’s the start of the Poynter Online article that captures the spirit of the speech:
As we think about the changes whipping through the media industry, there is a nearby storm about to strike journalism education.
The future of journalism education will be a very different and difficult future, a future that is full of innovation and creative disruption. And, I believe, we will see an evolution and uncoupling between the value of a journalism education and a journalism degree.
When we think about the future, there’s not a single future. The future for a 20-year-old is clearly very different than the future of a 60-year-old. Each will bring a very different perspective.
The future of journalism education is linked to the future of journalism itself. Each is caught within the other’s vortex, both spinning within today’s turmoil of change.
There is a video of the speech on YouTube.
The reaction to both the speech and the article were very good, although it was part of a swirl of postings and speeches about the topic. With the encouragement of my colleague, Vicki Krueger, I decided that this topic needed continued study and that will lead to other reports and writing.