TMU 6(15) -- June 30, 2009

NOMA launches blog
Community partnership plans news coverage

The North Omaha Media Alliance (NOMA) has launched a blog to share community news beginning this fall.

NOMA met in July

The blog is located here.

Assistant Professor Lynnette Leonard convened a summer meeting June 22 with Girls Inc. participants of NOMA in the UNO Arts and Sciences 183 lab.

NOMA plans to post stories, photographs and video highlighting a more comprehensive view of North Omaha than is provided by mainstream media.

Leonard, graduate student Angel Martin and alumna Nicole Baxley joined Deborah Smith-Howell and Barb Pickering in Baltimore to present NOMA and DebateWatch work at a national service-learning conference.

Smith-Howell, Pickering, Baxley, Leonard & Martin

“We each found inspiration from the presentations we attended,” Leonard said. “It was exciting to hear about how social media is crucial for the future of civic participation and realizing that NOMA is already there.”

“An added benefit was learning how special UNO is as an institution,” Leonard said. “We have support from administration that is lacking at many schools and most do not receive the vital support provided by the Service-Learning Academy – It is fabulous to have programs that make our work possible.”


Childhood obesity campaign
Radio students go online

Assistant Professor Bob Franklin, KVNO-FM general manager, coordinated a public service campaign addressing the problems of childhood obesity. His students created a facebook link.

Radio I students

A student audio report can be heard at this site.

Click on "Healthy Habits for a Healthy Future" to hear the clip. Mavchannel promoted a three-minute audio sample of the longer program.

Of note
Excellence in print & action

Kayser Professor Bruce E. Johansen published, "Native American Ideas of Governance and the United States Constitution.” EJournalUSA (U.S. State Department) June, 2009, 12-15. Published in five languages other than English (Farsi, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese) and circulated through U.S. embassies world-wide.

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Reilly Professor Karen Dwyer has published: Dwyer, K. (2009). "The Multidimensional Model for Selecting Interventions." Book chapter in J. A. Daly, J. C. McCroskey, J. Ayres, T. Hopf, and D. Ayres (Eds.), Avoiding Communication: Shyness, Reticence, and Communication Apprehension (pp. 359-375). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Dwyer

This book is the preeminent academic book about the dominant theories and programs of research on communication anxieties and avoidance for the 21st century. “The first edition of this book was my greatest resource for information and scholarly work while writing my dissertation and early research on communication apprehension,” Dwyer said. “It is a special honor for me to be included as one of the chapter authors in this new book.” UNO Communication researchers also published, Bingham, S., Carlson, R., M., Dwyer, K., K., & Prisbell, M, (2009). "Student Misbehaviors, Instructor Responses, and Connected Classroom Climate: Implications for the Basic Course." Basic Communication Course Annual 21, 30-68; Prisbell, M, Dwyer, K., K., Carlson, R., M., Bingham, S., & Cruz, A. (2009). "Connected Classroom Climate and Communication in the Basic Course: Associations with Learning." Basic Communication Course Annual 21, 161-172.

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Alumna Sally Buck has accepted at position at Bellevue University. She will be a creative writer in the College of Distributed Learning.

Did you know?
People in the news

Alumnus Chris Machian is in the current issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine, page 32, for a story in the Sandhills/Niobrara region.

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Alumnus Jeff Koterba was a winner at the newest regional journalism competition. The Omaha World-Herald cartoonist took a first-place award in editorial cartooning at the Great Plains Journalism Competition for a June 3, 2008, cartoon. Koterba also was named a finalist in narrative story-writing.

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Alumna Cindy Gonzalez, an Omaha World-Herald reporter, won a Nebraska Associated Press newspaper first place awards in April for a feature story.

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Mary Anna Kidd has been hired on a tenure-track line at University of Texas at Tyler. Kidd taught in the School of Communication in a one-year appointment during 2008-09.

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The current UNO Alum has an excellent article on Galen Lillethorup -- it was written by Warren Francke with photographs by Chris Machian.

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Associate Professor Chris W. Allen has been accepted to attend the Poynter Institute’s Multimedia Journalism for Educators seminar July 20-23 in St. Petersburg, FL.

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Assistant Professor Adam Tyma was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald regarding social networking technologies and Michael Jackson's death.

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Wendy Townley put together an audio interview about UNO forensics.


Footnotes
Evidence of excellence

1. Two UNO Communication undergraduate interns guided the Omaha Police Department in launching a newspaper designed to “help nab criminals.” According to a KPTM story, “University of Nebraska-Omaha students Taylor Muller, and Queno Martinez did most of the work.”

"The Crime Stopper" is “another way to communicate with people we serve, and take some people off the street that need to be."

"It's been fun, and I've learned a lot about the newspaper industry," said Muller.

2. Jeremy Lipschultz was invited to participate in a recent New Media Academic Summit at Georgetown University.

Lipschultz

He also produced this video from a Washington, D.C. workshop at the offices of Edelman – an international public relations firm.

The week in photos
Images from around the School

Bruce Johansen has two new volumes
on global warming

Bill Dickson was featured in the
Nebraska Broadcasters Assn. newsletter

Student Dustin Koca is playing outfield for
the Evansville Otters at historic Bosse Field

Around town
Omaha happenings

Alumni Pam Walsh (left) and Maureen Kaufman (right)
at the Summer Arts Festival with
Anchor/Reporter Jaime McCutcheon

Chris McCarty plays the Summer Arts Festival

Fireworks at Rosenblatt

Dates & times
Upcoming events

July 21 – Communication Alumni Board, Alumni Center, 6 p.m.

August 15 – Part-time faculty workshop, ASH 110, 9 a.m.
Faculty reception, Alumni Center, 2-4 p.m.

August 18 – Welcome Week 2009, Tuesday is designated as Academic Department Day, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.