2013-2014 Academic Year: Visiting Professionals
Fall 2013
Jim Brown, BSJ 1992, of Muller Bressler
Brown visited with students in
Associate
Professor Bob Basow's JOUR 420:
Strategic Communications II class
about
HIPPO, the healthcare
marketing group in MBB+.
These students
conducted
research and
created recommendations to
help Student Health Services improve
healthcare communication with KU students.
Spring 2014
Paul Steiger, founder of online news source ProPublica and former editor of The
Wall Street Journal, was awarded the William Allen White National Citation Award
on February 7. He attended the ceremony and visited with faculty and students.
On February 12, Tom Schaffner of Schaffner Communications in Chicago spoke to
Lecturer Patty Noland's JOUR 560: Message Development class about public
relations, networking and getting started in a strategic communication career. The
class is team-taught with Lecturer Lisa Loewen and Associate Professor Tim
Bengtson.
Phillip Blanchard, a former Washington Post copy editor and proprietor of the Testy
Copy Editors website, visited Lecturer Lisa McLendon's JOUR 419: Multimedia
Editing class on February 17, and discussed clarity, headlines and skeptical editing.
Mike Swenson, BSJ 1976, president of Crossroads/Barkley, a PR agency based in
Kansas City, guest lectured in Lecturer Patty Noland's JOUR 560: Message
Development, and two sections of JOUR 420: Strategic Communications II on
Wednesday, February 19. Swenson spoke about public relations, the importance of
writing and what he looks for in a potential employee.
Brad Seitter, Vice President of Marketing for TVB, spoke
in Lecturer Michael
Vrabec's JOUR 611: Sales Strategies class February 24. TVB is a non-profit trade
association for America's commercial broadcast television industry.
On February 25, Samih Staitieh, a Lawrence business owner from Overland Park,
will speak to the Visiting Professor Bill
Oates' JOUR 590: International
Journalism class about what journalists need to understand about Islam and
Muslims. Mr. Staitieh has experience on the speaking circuit for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The KU News & Info Club hosted managing editor of DNAInfo New York Mike
Ventura on March 3 in the Clarkson Gallery. He's talked about what it’s like to cover
news, politics, sports and features in a fast-paced digital news organization. He
answered career questions and any general questions students had about the news
business.
Patrick Sturgeon, BSJ 1987, spoke to Lecturer Patty Noland's JOUR 505:
Professional Development class on March 6. Patrick was most recently the director
of ESPN-America in London. He also spoke to Associate Professor Max Utsler's
JOUR 540: Sports, Media and Society class. He spoke about his career and answered
questions from students.
Amy Warren, Director of Sales for FOX 4 Kansas City, spoke in Lecturer Michael
Vrabec's JOUR 611: Sales Strategies class on March 10. Ms. Warren has worked for
several major broadcast groups including Belo, Meredith and now Tribune as a sales
manager.
John James Kennedy, director of the Center for Global & International Studies, was a
guest speaker in Visiting Professor Bill Oates's JOUR 590 class on March 11. His
discussion of China contributed to the class' current focus on Chinese censorship
amid the global expansion of CCTV.
Laura Doody, account executive with the Social Impact Marketing group in
FleishmanHillard Washington, D. C. office, spoke in Assistant Professor Yvonnes
Chen's JOUR 201: Current Issues in Journalism course on March 6. Ms. Doody
shared two government-funded campaigns, including Above the Influence (funded
by the Office of National Drug Control Policy under The White House) and That Guy
(funded by TRICARE Management Activity under the Assistant Secretary of
Defense). She also offered internship tips for Professor Chen's students.
Dale Puckett, BSJ 1966 guest lectured in Assistant Professor Jerry Crawford's
JOUR 636: Documentary class. Mr. Puckett's presentation was entitled "Blocking,
Passing and Tackling Your Way to Better Visual Storytelling." Mr. Puckett began his
media career in Lawrence in radio, and actually helped build a television station
"from the ground up" in Garden City, Kan. He gave examples of how both still
photography and video share the same foundation of understanding. Mr. Puckett
took the students through 48 years of photojournalism tools and techniques, from
his enlisting into the United States Coast Guard during the Vietnam War to his
current project, "Ham Nation," where he has over 136 podcasts. Puckett ended his
lesson by telling the students how stories are all around you. If you are a
photojournalist use what you have to get the job done, "Remember, the best camera
is the one you have with you. If you left your DSLR at home, you can always use your
smartphone. And you can always write!"
Photojournalists Ben Brody and John Moore visited the School of Journalism and
Mass Communications March 26-28 to help launch the opening of The Conflict Zone
exhibit. The exhibit featured photographs from civilian and military journalists in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Brody, a freelance journalist, and Moore, who works for Getty
Images, also met with journalism students and spoke to classes, including Media
Writing, Visual Storytelling and Health Writing.
March guest speakers in Associate Professor Max Utsler's JOUR 512: Principal
Broadcasting in Cable & New Technology included:
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Tim Robisch, General Manager of Great Plains Radio
Richard Ward, CEO of CentraMart
March guest speakers in Associate Professor Max Utsler's JOUR 540: Sports
Media and Society included:
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Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star
Dennis Dodd, CBSsports.com
Steve Wieberg, formerly of USA Today and current member of the College
Football Playoff Committee
Amy Perko, Executive Director of the Knight Commission via Skype
Visiting Professor Bill Oates's JOUR 590 had three guest speakers on April 1:
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Bob Nowell (via Skype), PhD in journalism, Indiana University
Jacob Kipp, PhD in Russian history, Penn State University; adjunct professor,
KU Center of Russian and East European Studies; former director, Foreign
Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Vitaly Chernetsky, PhD in Comparative Literature, University of
Pennsylvania; Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures,
University of Kansas; native of Odessa, Ukraine.
A delegation from Bournemouth University in the UK visited KU April 4. It included
Dr. Ana Adi, who is head of International Development for Bournemouth’s Media
School, where she is a lecturer in Marketing and Corporate Communications. Adi
received the 2011 EUPRERAs Social Media Award for most innovative use of social
media techniques in a communication research project or investigation. She also
works internationally as a public relations consultant and has extensive experience
in teaching and research on social media. At the request of Associate Professor
Mugur Geana, Adi presented on research tools for social media at a research
roundtable and luncheon discussion.
Journalism senior Farzin Vousoughian interviewed NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers
for Good Morning KU. More clips of the interview will be aired on other shows
throughout the spring.
On April 23, students in Associate Professor Bob Basow's JOUR 420: Advanced
Strategic Communications class presented their recommendations to the eightmember Lawrence/Douglas County Health Department management team.
On April 24, at 3 p.m. at the Dole Institute of Vanessa Gezari of the Columbia
University Graduate School of Journalism gave a book talk. The event was cosponsored by the School of Journalism.
James A. Gleaton, founder and CEO of Fresh Start Youth Services in Kansas City, Mo.,
was the client this spring for Associate Professor Tim Bengtson's JOUR 560:
Message Development lab section. Mr. Gleaton visited the class April 7 and April 28
to brief students on the project and to answer questions. He visited for the third
time on May 5, to judge the proposals students have developed for his organization.
Four student teams will make brief presentations outlining their research and
strategic recommendations for the non-profit organization. Teams submitted
written reports and present website ideas, video materials and sales letters in class.
The materials target individuals and organizations with an interest in helping
disadvantaged young people succeed. Lecturer Patty Noland suggested the JOUR
560: Message Development class to help Mr. Gleaton promote his organization.
Travis Jennings Brown, BSJ 2008, spoke via Skype to Associate Professor Carol
Holstead's magazine writing class April 28. Brown was associate editor at Popular
Mechanics and was recently hired as an associate editor at Esquire where he will
edit the iconic front-of- the-book section of the magazine, Man At His Best.
On May 6 Brenna Daldorph, BSJ 2010, spoke in Visiting Professor Bill Oates'
JOUR 590 International Journalism class. Brenna has interned at KCUR public radio
and worked at Le Figaro, France's number one news website. In 2013, she joined
international media group France Médias Monde. She now works for both public
radio service Radio France International (RFI), which broadcasts worldwide in 12
different languages, and international television service FRANCE 24, which
broadcasts in 177 countries worldwide. She is also excited to join FRANCE 24's
Observers team, who work with a network of worldwide citizen journalists.
Assistant Professor Yvonnes Chen's JOUR 201: Special Topics in Journalism
(Social Marketing) students presented their social marketing plan to Headquarters
Counseling Center on Monday, May 12. Fifteen groups of students used a Pecha
Kucha presentation format to inform the client about their approach they took and
promotional materials they designed to address client's pressing issues.
Barnett Helzberg visited with Professor Jimmy Gentry’s Entrepreneurship and
Integrated Marketing Communications class. He discussed his business experiences,
the sale of his business to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and his
commitment to entrepreneurship. Other recent speakers have included Kristin
Kenney and Greg Kratofil of Polsinelli; Lance Lemay of Open Air Equity Partners;
John Couture of Bier Station; and Andrea Schnetzler and Darrell Tindal of Berry
Nutty Farm and Hippie Chow.
Guest speakers in Associate Professor Max Utsler's JOUR 540: Sports, Media and
Society class this semester included:
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Roger Twibell, former ABC Sports Announcer
Danny Clinkscale, sports reporter, WHB 810 Sports
Bob Fescoe, morning talk show host, KCSP 610 Sports
Tom Keegan, sports editor, Lawrence Journal-World
Jim Marchiony, KU associate athletics director
Guest speakers in Associate Professor Max Utsler's JOUR 512: The Business of
Media class this semester included:
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Laura Lombardi, vice president, Textcaster
Jim Jesse, music copyright
attorney
Kent Cornish, executive director of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters
Dan Mulvenon, vice-president of the National Cable Television Cooperative
Brian Bracco, general manager of KSHB-TV