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Fall 2011 Internship Newsletter now online
Click to download Insight From the Interns, the Fall 2011 newsletter created by the students in the Professional Journalism Internship class. Read tips from pros at Euro RSCG Worldwide, learn about the do's and don'ts of creating an online presence and more.

See video highlights of journalism 2011 Homecoming Reunion
Here's your chance to see some of the events that occurred at the October 2011 Homecoming Reunion. Click to view video clips from the alumni panel discussion and open house presentation, or to see a Soundslides presentation of the Department past and present.

Click here to see a video of the Alumni Award winners — three from the journalism department — who reflect on the university's growth and the impact their UW-Oshkosh education had on their lives. Or hear about the Social Media Tweet-up that the Journalism Department hosted, presented by journalism alumnus Troy Janisch

In addition, here are links to two documents that were handed out. One is a history of the evolution of the department from 1966 to present. The other is a fund-raising initiative for the department that was unveiled at the open house. The letter explains the initiative and the committee that is heading the fund-raising drive, and a list of journalism funds and scholarships where donations can be directed. Also, read Your Lead, Our Story comments sent in by alumni. Or, if you're an alumni, add your lead now.

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Public Relations program only one in state to have CEPR designation
The UW Oshkosh Department of Journalism’s public relations program was informed Sept. 9, 2011, that its application for Certification in Public Relations was approved. UW Oshkosh becomes the first university in Wisconsin and only one of 28 universities in the world with this designation.

The work toward certification began in summer 2010 when Dr. Julie Henderson submitted a preliminary report. Once a determination was made that the program was eligible for review, the CEPR review team spent four intensive days in April 2011 meeting with faculty, staff, students and alumni. In addition, the reviewers spoke with employers, intern supervisors and local PRSSA and PRSA chapter members and other professionals about the UW Oshkosh program, both during the site visit and in separate conversations. In all, the reviewers conducted more than 45 interviews.

Next, three levels of voting took place to approve the certification. The site team reviewers, the Educational Affairs Committee, and the Public Relations Society of America Board of Directors all voted for the CEPR designation at UW Oshkosh.

The reviewers included high praise for public relations students, noting: “Professionals and professors interviewed think highly of UW Oshkosh students. They shared that students are well-educated, well-rounded, hard-working, want to make a difference, choose projects that make an impact, think big, are devoted to public service and honor their professors and the local public relations community. They are also described by local professionals as being ‘quietly confident, with no arrogance.’ ”

Journalism Department now in Sage Hall
If you're looking for the Journalism Department in Clow, you're quickly find it's no longer there. The Department is now located on the third floor of the newly constructed Sage Hall. Click on the faculty link to find out where the journalism professors' new offices are located.

Three journalism alumni receive UW Oshkosh top awards
Three journalism alumni received top honors from their alma mater Oct. 21. Pat Stiegman '88 received the UW Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award, while Michael Fredrick ’97 and Lori Kraus ’02 were two of the three graduates being named UW Oshkosh Outstanding Young Alumni. All three were honored during Homecoming 2011.

Stiegman is currently VP/Editor in Chief of ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in May 2004 as senior director and executive editor for Insider, SportsNation and editorial integration. He ws named vice president in 2006 and added executive producer responsibilities in 2007, overseeing all daily online sports content.

Fredrick is the creative director at Bader Rutter, the largest advertising agency in Wisconsin, and for the past 10 years, has led a group of associate creative directors, art directors and copywriters working with top Fortune 500 clients. He has also put his creativity to use by helping Milwaukee area nonprofit organizations with their advertising needs. In addition, each semester, Fredrick comes back to UW Oshkosh to work with advertising classes.

Kraus currently serves as CNN’s senior promotion placement coordinator for on-air promotion. Her role is to strategically place promos for the CNN brand and all CNN programs on its television networks. In addition, Kraus and the on-air promotion team cross-promote CNN’s sister networks under the Turner Broadcasting umbrella, which includes TBS, TNT, TruTV and Cartoon Network.

Click to view complete stories on Fredrick or Kraus.

1987 journalism alumnus receives award from Civil War Trust
The Civil War Trust awarded their “Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award” to UW Oshkosh alumnus Jeff Griffith for his work to stop a casino from being licensed ½ mile from the Gettysburg National Military Park.

Griffith, a journalism major who graduated in 1987 from UW Oshkosh, lives in New York City where he is a creative director for Rodale Publishing on Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines.

Last May, Griffith, a lifelong history buff, discovered the grassroots group No Casino Gettysburg after their ad appeared on his Facebook page. Within minutes, Griffith contacted chairwoman Susan Star Paddock and offered to write, design and produce their multimedia advertising and graphics for free. In July, he lined up filmmaker Ken Burns, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, actors Sam Waterson, Matthew Broderick, Stephan Lang, President Eisenhower’s granddaughter Susan Eisenhower and Medal of Honor recipient Paul W. Bucha to speak on camera about saving Gettysburg.

The 9-minute video entitled “Legacy” was shown by No Casino Gettysburg as their testimony to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last August. In addition, he also completed other videos for the group. Click on the alumni tab above to see more of his work to save Gettysburg. Click here to view the complete press release.

Magazine Editing and Production class publishes Insider Magazine
Looking for something to do in Oshkosh this summer with your family and friends? Then look no farther than Insider Magazine, published by the Journalism Department's Magazine Editing & Production class. The magazine features 15 activities that cost less than $15. Or discover seven summer snacks, complete with recipes, or learn about music and other festivals. Take a look at the magazine at http://oshkoshmag.wordpress.com/ and let us know what you think by rating the articles and leaving comments. You can also follow on Twitter (@OshkoshInsider) and like on Facebook (Oshkosh Insider).

Social Media Club talks to Amanda Baldauf via Skype
Amanda Baldauf, social media director at SMM Ad Agency, recently talked to the UW Oshkosh Social Media Club via Skype. Learn what she had to has about the industry and her job in this iTunes University podcast.

New scholarship honors journalism alumnus
The Dave Engels Journalism Scholarship was established in 2010 by friends and fellow journalism alumni David ’78 and Terry ’78 Backmann. It acknowledges Engels’ passion and commitment to the field of newspaper reporting. To learn more about this scholarship, including how to help contribute, please visit our scholarships page.

USA Today College links to journalism student blog
Tom Hanaway, the journalism department's social media intern and a blogger for the Reeve Connectors, made the news himself. His blog on how you can help the relief effort in Japan as a student was linked by USA Today College. Click here to read his blog.

Department announces new strategic plan
The Department of Journalism has created a new strategic plan to guide the department in completing its goals for the future, including the goal of "graduating students who, having received a classical liberal arts education, are intellectually curious, possess skills to compete in the global marketplace, and are able to react and adapt to changes in the industry while maintaining the highest ethical standards of fairness, truth and accuracy." Read the entire strategic plan here.

Advance-Titan wins first place in NCMC's Best of Show competition
The Advance-Titan, the official weekly newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, won first place in the Best of Show competition at the Oct. 29-31 National College Media Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The contest, which was tiered by divisions, received more than 300 entries. The A-T placed first in the 4-year school, weekly broadsheet division.

"This award validates what we knew already," adviser Vince Filak said. "Hard work yields great results. The students put a lot of effort into that edition and it was great to see them honored in this way."

The awards were presented by the Associated Collegiate Press, which oversees the annual Best of Show and Pacemaker competitions. These awards are viewed as the pinnacle of college journalism.

"The students were overjoyed by this win," Filak said. "I've really never seen that level of pure joy from students regarding any award or any accomplishment. I think they really realized what is possible when they put their best effort into this product."

This was the first Gold Cup for excellence the A-T has received and the first major national award the paper has earned in more than five years.

Learning by Doing: Go Grand
As part of a class project, two groups of journalism students at UW Oshkosh were given a real-life client — the Grand Opera House — during the 2009-10 school year. Their task? Figure out how to attract college students to the restored Victorian theater in downtown Oshkosh. Read about their success and see a video about the project here.

Alumnus blogs on future of advertising, experience with working with UWO students
UW-Oshkosh journalism alumnus Mike Fredrick of Bader Rutter writes about the future of advertising and his time spent with UWO advertising students on a class project. His overall conclusion: The future is bright. You can read his blog here.

Program Assistant Judy Schultz retires after 43 years of service
Judy Schultz has been synonomous with the UW Oshkosh journalism department from the beginning. But in May, Schultz retired after 43 years of service. Click here to read the story on her retirement.

Commencement class speaker is journalism student
Class speaker Melanie Stepanek, a journalism major, emphasized that graduation is only one of many victories in store for the class of 2010 during the May 15 commencement ceremony. Click here to see a transcript of her speech.

Journalism students recognized in magazine
Three journalism students were recognized by Photographer's Forum magazine. Lisa Wilke placed as an honorable mention, and Katie Holliday and Michael Neumann placed as finalists in the 30th Annual College Photography Contest, sponsored by Photographer’s Forum. This is the ninth straight year journalism students have placed in the national contest.

PR students receive national honorable mention for Census campaign
The PRSSA Bateman Team has been awarded a national honorable mention for its U.S. Census campaign.

According to PRSSA national headquarters, 68 entries were judged by a panel of nationally recognized public relations experts, including professionals and professors. All 68 entries were judged together; there are no geographical districts or divisions based on size of chapter or campus.

T eam members include Shane Arman, Tina Babler, Jessica Gordon, Melanie Stepanek, and Patrick (PJ) Terry, all graduating seniors. Dr. Julie Henderson, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the faculty adviser. She noted that being recognized at the national level is always impressive for a chapter this size, but this year even more so as the team had to overcome early negative reactions to its campaign.

Department launches Social Media Initiative
The department has recently created the Social Media Initiative to engage students with the rapidly changing media landscape. By developing and maintaining a Facebook, Twitter and blog, it is the department's hope that UW Oshkosh Journalism students will begin to practice professional social networking skills not only with each other, but also with alumni and the community as a whole. It will serve as a conduit of information pertaining directly to on-campus activities, a way to get students used to interacting professionally online and also a means to connect talented students with the resources they need to be successful. Click on the links to start connecting with the Journalism Department.

Journalism graduate mixes writing and pastry arts
Rebekah Peppler, who graduated from UWO in 2008, combined her love of writing with her love of pastry arts to start a career in New York City. Read more here.

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.

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]