TMU 5(27) --October 28, 2008

Regional Broadcasting Conference
UNO Students Host NBS AERho

School of Communication students hosted the National Broadcasting Society Region 5 Conference Oct. 24-25 at the Redick Plaza Hotel.

Amy Adams (WOWT), Joe Radske (KPTM), Tom Stanton (KFAB) and Jake Buckingham

Student Jake Buckingham moderated a panel on the future of broadcasting, which included alumna Amy Adams, the news director at WOWT-TV. About 70 people participated in the conference.

Maureen Kaufman and Cody Cheshier

Student Chase Moffitt, Omaha Buzz correspondent, participated in a session on entertainment reporting and production. Buckingham, a WOWT news photographer, and student Maureen Kaufman, newscast director at Channel 6, spoke at the keynote event.

KFAB's Tom Stanton speaks with UNO students

Other sessions featured KFAB talk show host Tom Becka, WOWT special projects producer and photographer Roger Hamer, an alumnus and part-time instructor, and retired photographer and instructor Dave Hamer.

Buckingham is the UNO chapter president. Chris Allen advises the group.


UNO Students Prep For Live Election Night Coverage
Convergence Effort Features Radio, TV And The Web

About 50 School of Communication students, along with UNO faculty and UNO-TV staff, will collaborate to cover election results on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The Omaha News: Vote 2008 will air live election coverage Nov. 4, beginning at 7 p.m., on The Knowledge Network (available to viewers with both Cox and Qwest video services, channels 17 and 74, respectively). Coverage will include reports on the presidential election, the Terry-Esch race, the Johanns-Kleeb race and Initiative 424 (the Affirmative Action ban). Reporters will provide live coverage from the Terry, Esch, Johanns and Kleeb headquarters.

In The Omaha News studio on the UNO campus (inside the College of Public Affairs and Community Service Building), commentary will be provided by UNO faculty members Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Gail F. Baker, Barbara Pickering, Hugh Reilly, Lynette Leonard, Doug Paterson, as well as representatives from Nebraska's Democratic and Republican parties. A live feed of the broadcast will also be available at www.theomahanews.com.

Radio students will provide election coverage on Classical 90.7 KVNO.

Public Affairs Reporting students will blog about election results on The Omaha News Web site, while News Editing and Computer Mediated Communication students will assist with editing and provide technical support for the bloggers: http://www.unomaha.edu/theomahanews/

Earlier this year, the School of Communication received a donation from Verizon Wireless to use two dozen cell phones and several laptop computer wireless cards for their broadcast. Albers Communications Group in Omaha facilitated the project by working with Verizon Wireless to secure the use of the equipment.

School of Communication faculty stress to UNO students that The Omaha News is not a student production, but a public service to Omaha residents, Executive Producer Chris Allen said.

“The School of Communication appreciates community support in helping to educate our broadcasting students on the latest convergence journalism techniques,” Director Jeremy Lipschultz said. “We depend upon engagement with the Omaha community to train the next generation of media professionals."

Omaha World-Herald Internships
Communication Students Compete

The Omaha World-Herald interviewed several UNO students Oct 23 for summer 2009 newsroom internships.

Gateway editor Scott Stewart, who will participate in the School’s election night blog project, was one of those interviewing for the internship.

Sherrie Wilson coordinated the School of Communication visit.

The World-Herald's summer internship program is highly competitive and requires that applicants have published clips and, preferably, prior internships. Class work is not enough. The internship includes a scholarship for fall 2009.

Virtual Visit
Online Expert Talks To Doctoral Students

Steve Jones, a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago who pioneered virtual culture studies about the Internet during the 1990s, spoke to the Communication & Technology class Oct. 22 using online technologies.

Steve Jones

Jones lectured to doctoral students in Information Technology via a Skype video conference. One of the students in Jeremy Lipschultz’s class was seen on a second computer in the Reading Room, as she attended from her office at Chadron State.

Jones also briefly visited the School’s classroom in Second Life.

Students are learning about diffusion of new communication technologies, cyberculture and related issues.

Of Note
Excellence In Action

Karen Kangas Dwyer spoke Oct. 22 on the Creighton campus on an assessment project. Dwyer’s public speaking fundamentals assessment of oral communication is considered a model program. The effort has been ongoing for about a decade.

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More than 300 UNO students along with students from Omaha North High School worked together at two youth center facilities in the Metro area.

During UNO’s fall break, the students worked at the Social Settlement building, 4860 Q St., painting, creating a mural, working in the garden and working on light indoor construction in an effort to promote Social Settlement’s Kids Can program. Nearly 100 UNO and North High students volunteered at the Viking Ship community center at 2582 Redick Ave. They spruced up the outside landscaping of the building.

Additionally, a group that included Dave Ogden traveled to Red Cloud, Neb. for a fall break service project working on the exterior of Willa Cather’s childhood home. They also worked on improvements to the Red Cloud Opera House.

Three Days of Service is offered through UNO’s Service Learning Academy and is an opportunity for students in the Omaha area to get involved with their community. This marks the fourth year of Three Days of Service. Past community partners include Girls Inc. of Omaha and the Malcolm X Foundation.

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Gary Repair, UNO Television executive producer, is teaching advanced television production by producing three arts magazine programs called Inside Arts. The first program aired Oct. 17 on The Knowledge Network. The students produced features about glass blowing, the El Museo Latino in South Omaha, the UNO Marching Band, creating music electronically, the choreography of the Maverick dance team and three aspects of the UNO Theatre Department, including building set pieces and props and stage make up and special effects.

Did You Know?
People In The News

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) raised a record $5,860 from the Italian Night dinner at the Durham Museum. Students sold dinner tickets, accepted donations and held a silent auction. Eleven students and adviser Karen Weber attended the national PRSSA conference in Detroit, and the students made a presentation. Speech instructor Kate Rempfer consulted the student presenters as part of their extensive preparation for this important event.

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Bruce Johansen will debate UNO Chemistry Professor Robert Smith on global warming at the Omaha Press Club Nov. 20. Hugh Cowdin is organizing the event.

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Alumna LeAnne Moorman is WOWT’s first “backpack journalist” – a television reporter that develops story ideas, reports, writes, shoots video and edits packages without a team by using smaller professional equipment that fits in a single bag. She recently sought out UNO students to start Twitter social networking accounts online. The station is working on a project to assess the value of the online space.

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CNN News Services is making available their Newsource feed material for The Omaha News election coverage Nov. 4. The live program begins at 7 p.m. on The Knowledge Network (TKN, Cox 17/Qwest 74). Verizon Wireless is providing two dozen telephones and several wireless cards for laptop computers to enable video feeds from the field.

Footnotes
Evidence Of Excellence

1. Alumnus Sterling Smith has been featured regularly on Chicago’s local Fox television station about the stock market collapse. He was interviewed twice last week.

Sterling Smith

2. Kathe Oleson of the Service-Learning Academy and Maria Knudtson, an instructor in the Department of English and leader of the Newspapers in Curricula program spoke at the Oct. 22 School of Communication meeting. The School is active in both programs. Dave Ogden is an award-winning pioneer in service-learning, and Ana Cruz has taught using service-learning. Shereen Bingham also completed a service-learning course. Teresa Lamsam and Jerilyn Kamm have been active in NIC.

Kathe Oleson

Maria Knudtson

The Week In Photos
Images From Around The School

Paige Toller brings Owen to campus

Michelle Thies gets to know Owen Toller

Student bloggers prepare for election night

Warren Buffett enjoys Jeremy Lipschultz's "product placement"

Dates & Times
Mark Calendars For Interesting Events

October
30 – Thursday, Oct. 30 Halloween Bake Sale first floor ASH 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

November
4 – The Omaha News election special, TKN Cox 17/Qwest 74, 7 p.m.

7 – Tenured Faculty, ASH 107i, 10 a.m.

15 & 16 – UNO Forensics @ Doane College.

20 - Thursday, Nov. 20 Thanksgiving Bake Sale first floor ASH 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

December

5 – Nebraska Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy will officiate at the Certified Public Manager (CPM)
graduation on Dec. 5 at the new CPACS Collaborating Commons on campus at UNO, 4 -6 p.m.

CFAM college meeting, Thompson Alumni Center, 3 p.m.
CFAM college Holiday Party, Thompson Alumni Center, 4 p.m.

10 – School of Communication Holiday Party, Arts and Sciences Hall 140, 11:30 a.m.

2009
January
15 - High School Journalism Dinner, 6-9 p.m. at the MBSC Chancellor’s Room.

February
12 - Thursday, Feb. 12 Valentine's Day Bake Sale first floor ASH 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

26 - Thursday, Feb. 26, MBSC Nebraska Room Bateman team campaign event for National Banking Association College Program 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

March
12 - Thursday, March 12, MBSC Nebraska Room One-Five-0 and in Control Alcohol Awareness event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

31 - Thursday, March 31, MBSC Dodge Room Communication Career Development Workshop 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

April
23 - High School Journalism Workshop, 12 p.m. at the MBSC Ballroom.
28 - PRSSA Presentations, 4 p.m. at the MBSC Chancellor’s Room.
30 - 10 a.m. Scholarship Breakfast at the MBSC Chancellor’s Room; 5th Annual Alumni Panel at 1 p.m. at the MBSC Dodge Rooms); 54th Annual Awards Banquet, 6 p.m. at the Thompson Alumni Center.

May
8 - Friday, May 8, at the MBSC Ballroom School of Communication Graduation Breakfast 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.