Latest News

Clifford A. Christl & family creates endowed scholarship fund
UW-Oshkosh alumnus Clifford A. Christl and his family established a scholarship for Green Bay East High School graduates who are obtaining a degree from the College of Letters and Science at UW-Oshkosh. A strong preference will be given to applicants who are planning to major in journalism and are the first member of their family to attend college.

Applications are available in the Green Bay East High School guidance office and will be accepted Feb. 1 through March 15.

The scholarship was created to honor Christl's father and grandfather. Christl graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 1970 and went on to become an award-winning sportswriter. In 2009 he received a UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award.

1995 journalism alumnus named to Pulitzer Board
POLITICO Executive Editor Jim VandeHei, a 1995 UW Oshkosh journalism graduate, has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board.

VandeHei, who co-founded POLITICO in early 2007, becomes the first member of the Pulitzer Board from a primarily online news outlet. The print edition of POLITICO is distributed daily in Washington when Congress is in session.

“In many ways, the Pulitzer Board is on the same mission as POLITICO: to embrace new media while fighting to protect the highest standards for writing, reporting and accuracy. I am honored to be a part of this effort," VandeHei said.

Click here to read the entire story.

1972 journalism alumnus named Editor of the Year
Paul Anger, a 1972 UW Oshkosh journalism alumnus and editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, was named the 2009 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award by the National Press Foundation.

Judges cited Anger's contributions to the innovative publishing model in Detroit and noted that it was being developed at the same time the Free Press was pursuing its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- "a great watchdog function of demanding accountability from government," according to judges.

"This is a tremendous honor and reflects Paul's strong leadership in delivering both excellent journalism for our communities and an innovative business model that works," said Craig Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gannett, which owns the Free Press. "We could not be more proud of Paul and the entire team in Detroit."

Anger will receive the award on Feb. 16, 2010 . Click here to read the entire story.

Journalism classes to be offered during summer 2010
The following classes will be offered during the summer 2010 session:

61-221 Writing for the Media - Online, offered for the first four-week session (6/14/10 to 7/9/10)

61-224 Editing - Online, offered for the second four-week session (7/12/10 to 8/6/10)

61-239 Media Photography I - Hybrid, offered for the first four-week session (6/14/10 to 7/9/10)
                                            The first week of class will be in the classroom and the other three
                                            weeks will be online.

Journalism major ties for second place in multimedia contest
Sophomore Jennifer Droese tied for second place in the "I Chose UWO" multimedia contest. Students had to submit an essay, photo gallery or video explaining why they chose to attend UWO.

Alumna talks to advertising students about social media trends
UW-Oshkosh journalism alumna Jaimy Szymanski talks about social media trends and tells students what they need to know about social media to be competitive in today's job market. Syzmanski, a consultant with Blue Door Consulting, spoke to Principles of Advertising students via Skype from her office in Davenport, Iowa. Hear what she had to say at iTunes University.

See UW-O journalism graduate Paul Anger's keynote address at the chancellor's Community Breakfast, Sept. 15, 2009
Paul Anger, editor of the Detroit Free Press and 1979 UW-O graduate, gave the keynote address at the chancellor's Community Breakfast on Sept. 15, 2009. Click here to watch it.

If you don't have iTunes, you can download it for free here.

Magazine created 'for students, by students' is now online, in print
Pursuit magazine was created through collaboration between the College of Business and the Department of Journalism students during the 2008-2009 academic year. The driving force behind the publication was that it was developed for students by students.

Together, 65 students contributed to the publication over the past year. Students enrolled in John Mozingo’s Selling and Sales Management course (both semesters) were required to sell advertising to fund the new publication. Students in Dana Baumgart’s Magazine Editing and Production course (spring semester) developed the editorial and design strategy and were responsible for production. A few of them stuck around after graduation for final production.

At the end of the process, the students gained invaluable, real-world experience. The Journalism students who were involved said they would never look at a magazine the same way again. The publication was printed during the summer and distributed in September 2009. You can also view it online at www.business.uwosh.edu/publications

Department taking H1N1 precautions
The Journalism Department is taking precautions to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu. Hand sanitizers are available in the computer labs and reading room, and computer keyboards will be cleaned regularly. The faculty members are asking students to do their part by washing their hands and keeping their workspaces clean.

Henderson named national faculty adviser for PRSSA
Journalism professor Julie Henderson has been selected to serve a two-year term as the National Faculty Adviser for the 10,000-member Public Relations Student Society of America for 2009-2011. PRSSA includes more than 300 chapters in the United States and Argentina.

Henderson will serve as liaison for all PRSSA faculty advisors across the nation and represent PRSSA at all national conventions. She will vote on chartering of new PRSSA chapters and also participate in ad hoc committees.

As National Faculty Adviser, Henderson also sits on the 14-member PRSSA national executive committee, which has the responsibility of managing the business and affairs of PRSSA. One of the primary responsibilities of Committee members is to serve as a resource for individual chapters and members with special projects and/or problems.

Henderson was named in April after a rigorous application and interview process.

NSAC team wins Gold Addy
The UW-Oshkosh 2008 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team won a Student Gold ADDY® for its NSAC Plans Book. The team received the award at the 2008 ADDY Awards on March 6, 2009, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay. The event is sponsored by the Fox River Ad Club, which is affiliated with the American Advertising Federation. It is a nonprofit professional trade association serving Northeast Wisconsin's advertising and marketing communications community, including agencies, advertisers, the media, vendors and students. The AAF Student ADDY Awards Competition is designed specially for college students.

Members of the 2008 team, who called themselves That “BIG” Agency, were Nycol Block (journalism), Margaret Brill (journalism), Marie Daniel (journalism), Matt Decker (graphic design), Ann DeVillers (journalism), Preston Fayas (marketing), Brittany Harms (journalism), JJ Heber (marketing and radio/TV/film), Tina Hove (journalism), Jessica Malcolm (journalism), Samuel Mark (radio/TV/film), Kelly Meyer (journalism), Jamie Neitzel (marketing), Erin School (journalism), Liz Schulze (marketing), Kelly Shew (journalism), Kirsten Strom (marketing), Ashley Taylor (journalism) and Heather Verhelst (graphic design). Team advisers were Kathy Fredrickson and Dana Baumgart. The 2008 NSAC competition required the teams to create an integrated marketing plan for AOL Instant Messenger and its suite of social media products. In April 2008, the team won the District 8 regional competition.

PRSSA takes 1st in organ donation campaign again
A University of Wisconsin Oshkosh student group is the first competitor to take first place in the National Organ Donor Awareness Campaign competition for two consecutive years.

The Public Relations Student Society of America sponsors an organ donor awareness campaign each spring. The 2008 winning campaign, "Use Your Feet: Keep Your Family Up to Beat," included a one-mile walk/run followed by entertainment by Infinity Theory, plus informational materials distributed throughout the previous week. In informing the chapter that it had placed first again this year, the sponsor, Rowan University, noted, "The campaign's creative shoelace packaging secured a professional, well-executed campaign, surpassing our expectations."

Chairperson of the campaign was Ashley Madaus, Burlington, who graduated last spring. Her father, Mel, is an organ donor recipient.

Other news...
The Journalism Bulletin has been updated and a new New Curriculum Worksheet is available.

About the department
Established in 1968, the department is a nationally accredited program that prepares students for careers in the news media, advertising, public relations and related fields. The eight full-time faculty members are active in a range of scholarly fields, and many of them have extensive professional experience. More...

Journalism Department Fact Sheet [PDF]
Speaker Series on Minorities and Women in Journalism [PDF]