News Bites
New advisory board member
Public relations veteran Al Golin (DHL ’12), founder and chairman of GolinHarris, has joined the Dean’s Advisory Council. The council consists of distinguished leaders in journalism, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, new media and higher education who bring an experienced and pragmatic perspective to help guide the College of Communication.
DePaul PRSSA presents
DePaul’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) presented at the PRSSA National Conference in October in San Francisco. This is the third straight year that DePaul’s chapter has been selected to lead a seminar. This year’s presentation, “What Not to Do: The Internship Edition,” was a takeoff of TLC’s “What Not to Wear” makeover show and involved videos of scenes, live interviews, and interaction on stage, according to Dan Azzaro, DePaul PRSSA faculty adviser. Ten students attended the conference, and all were part of the presentation, either on stage or in the video.
College receives grant
The College of Communication received a $120,000 grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation as part of its Why News Matters initiative, which aims to enhance news literacy skills and programs in Chicago. “We feel that greater awareness of news and information will lead to more civic engagement and thus a stronger democracy,” says Clark Bell, director of the McCormick Foundation’s journalism program. Journalism and Latino media & communication faculty, along with Chicago-area professional journalists, will collaborate to expand the “Pasos al Futuro” summer program for students from Latino-dominant high schools. “It is a real show of support for our goals as a communication school to be engaged with communities, particularly communities that are underserved,” says Lou Rutigliano, assistant professor of journalism. This two-year program includes symposia, summer workshops and ongoing training for high school students and teachers focused on determining the credibility and reliability of news in today’s digitally connected society.
Creating opportunities for PR students
Bob Kornecki, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council and campaign co-chair, funded the Reach for Excellence Award in Public Relations to provide promising students with the chance to participate in professional development opportunities. “I want to do this as a way of recognizing those students who truly stand out and are passionate about pursuing careers in public relations,” says Kornecki. “They have demonstrated that through their performance in the classroom, and this [award] is just another way of enhancing their development.” To be eligible, students must be juniors or seniors, possess a 3.5 GPA and be an active member of PRSSA.
Communicators in election season
Alumni and friends gathered on Oct. 18 for a panel discussion of the role of a communication professional during the election season. The discussion was moderated by Avis LaVelle, founder of A. LaVelle Consulting Services, who previously served as press secretary for Mayor Richard M. Daley, press secretary for President Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, and assistant secretary for public affairs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The panel featured alumni Lars Weborg (M.A. ’11) of Serafin & Associates and Tiffany Boncan (B.A./M.A. ’11), a Fox Chicago News Web producer; journalism faculty members Mike Conklin and Jason Martin; and Teresa Mastin of the public relations and advertising program.
Training high school students
Lourdes Duarte (B.A. ’99), co-anchor of WGN-TV’s “News at Five,” was a guest speaker during the Chicago Latino High School Journalism Summer Workshop in June. The one-week workshop— sponsored by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and hosted by the College of Communication—provided students with the opportunity to develop critical-thinking skills to assess credible news sources and learn to be responsible producers and consumers of news. They learned the basics of television news, reporting, writing, field photography, video editing and on-air delivery. In addition, the workshop focused on the philosophical and ethical aspects of broadcast journalism.
Online Journalism Award winner
The Red Line Project won first place for its NATO summit coverage and preview at the prestigious Online News Association’s (ONA) Online Journalism Awards on Sept. 22 in San Francisco. Students in the spring 2012 Reporting for Converged Newsrooms and Online Journalism II courses produced stories, photos, videos and audio slideshows during the May summit at McCormick Place. Online Journalism I students contributed preview stories and interactive maps. “The ONA awards carry a lot of clout in the journalism industry,” says Instructor Mike Reilley, who oversaw the coverage. “This is great exposure for our students and gives them not only great experience and clips, but the credibility of winning an ONA award.”
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Golin
Duarte with high school students
Brittney Payton (B.A. ’08), co-host of WGN-TV’s “Chicago’s Best,” returned to campus as a guest speaker during DePaul’s Welcome Week in September. She spoke to students about her student experiences at the university and in the College of Communication and how they launched her career.