Alumni Weekend
April 8-9, 2011
Reunion Agents
1951 Jim Boylan
Phil Scheffler
blazesb@yahoo.com
ps60@mac.com
1956 Arnold Zeitlin
azeitlin@hotmail.com
1961 Rona Parker
Genell Subak-Sharpe
ronaparker@comcast.net
gssharpe@ix.netcom.com
1966 Jim Jaffe
jimjaf@gmail.com
1971 Alex Belida
Pat Reber
abelida@yahoo.com
patriciareber@hotmail.com
1976
Molly Gordy
profgordy@gmail.com
1981 Lynn Walters
waltcom@comcast.net
1986 Valarie D’Elia
nal@travelwithval.com
1991 Keith Goggin
kfgoggin@aol.com
1996 Pam Frederick
ppf5@columbia.edu
2001 Andrew Pergam
Susana Seijas
andrew@andrewpergam.com
susanaseijas@yahoo.com
2006 Liz Bacelar
Nina Gregory
Aziza Jamgerchinova
ebacelar@gmail.com
nina.gregory@gmail.com
aziza@email.com
For the most up-to-date schedule, to register
for Alumni Weekend online and a list of
accommodations, go to:
http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/alumni/weekend2011
Questions?
Contact the Alumni Office at
212-854-3864 or jalumni@columbia.edu
Thursday, April 7, 2011
5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Happy Hour with current students,
faculty and staff
7:00 p.m.
Hearst New Media Lecture
Krishna Bharat, the founder and
engineering head of Google
News and a Google
Distinguished Research Scientist
Journalists. His class in book-writing has
developed more than 50 authors, editors, and
agents, and it has been featured in Publishers
Weekly and the Christian Science Monitor.
12 noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
“Books as a Way of Life” luncheon discussion
with alumni of Prof. Freedman’s Book Seminar,
including Brian McDonald ’97, Leah Hager
Cohen ’91, Greer Kessel Hendricks ’94 and
Liel Leibovitz ’02 (MA ’04, PhD ’05)
12:30 p.m.
Student-Led Tours of Building
Friday, April 8, 2011
10:00 a.m. – 12 noon
How to Develop a Book Proposal
Professor Samuel G. Freedman
Samuel G. Freedman teaches a course on how to
prepare a book proposal, which is celebrating its
20th anniversary in 2011. Freedman is the author
of the six books, most recently “Letters to a Young
Journalist” (2006) and is currently at work on his
seventh, “The Big Game: Football and Freedom
in the Civil Rights South.” Freedman was a staff
reporter for The Times from 1981 through 1987
and currently writes the column “On Religion,”
as well as frequent articles on culture. Freedman
was named the nation’s outstanding journalism
educator in 1997 by the Society of Professional
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Do You Have a Book in You?
Professor Samuel G. Freedman and alumni of
Prof. Freedman’s Book Seminar, including
Alice Sparberg Alexiou ’98
Career Services Workshops
Ten Things to Know About the Industry (30 min)
Workshop on the Secrets of a Winning Resume
(30 min)
Career Services Staff
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Career Services Open House
Meet the staff from the Office of Career
Services, and hear about programs in place to
assist our community of students and graduates.
Pose questions about your career and get a few
pointers about transitioning to a new position or
advancing in your current job.
Reporting Amid Chronic Threat
and Stress
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a
project of the Columbia University Graduate
School of Journalism, provides journalists
around the world with the resources necessary to
produce informed, innovative and ethical news
reporting, drawing on a global network of news
professionals, mental health experts, educators
and researchers.
Entrepreneurship/Intrapreneurship:
Your Own Business
Moderated by Duy Linh Tu ’99 with panelists
Kelly Golnoush Niknejad ’05, MA ’06, founder
and editorial chief at Tehran Bureau; Thomas
Gommes ’06, founder and publisher, The
Periscope Post; Meena Krishnamsetty ’04,
founder, InsiderMonkey.com; Lone Kühlmann
’71, writer; Charlie Sennott ’86, co-founder and
executive editor, GlobalPost; Kelly Senyei ’09,
content producer, Gourmet Live. Michael Stoll
’98, executive director of SF
Public Press; Amy Webb ’01, CEO of
Webbmedia Group.
It’s an entrepreneurial age, and alumni discuss
creating a distinct signature for their work.
Journalism, Then and Now:
Class of ’51 Panel
Moderated by James Boylan, former editor
of Columbia Journalism Review, with panelists
Robert Elegant, Long-time correspondent
in Asia and author; Dr. Bernard Roshco,
Sociologist and public opinion analyst;
Phil Scheffler, former executive editor of
60 Minutes; James Sunshine, Retired deputy
executive editor, Providence Journal; and
Jules Witcover. Washington reporter for
Washington Star, Los Angeles Times and
Baltimore Sun; columnist (with Jack Germond),
“Politics Today,” and author.
Graduates from the Class of 1951 share
their personal and professional experience as
journalists. Open to current students and alumni.
3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Evolution of Journalism:
How Will We Get The News?
Chris Hallowell ’71, professor, CUNY
Journalism; Andrew Pergam ’01, editorial
director, J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive
Journalism; Justin Rocket Silverman ’04,
reporter/producer at The Daily, News Corp’s
iPad publication; Andrea Stone ’81,senior
correspondent, AOL News; Ted Van Dyk ’56,
online columnist.
Alumni discuss what lies ahead for journalism
and whether e-readers, Apps, PDAs, and laptops
are the future of news.
Moderated by Bruce Shapiro, executive director
of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Dean’s Panel
Nicholas Lemann, Arlene Morgan and
Sree Sreenivasan ’93 with current student
leaders (Society of Professional JournalistsColumbia Chapter)
Every day it becomes more obvious that
journalism is undergoing a historic shift and the
Journalism School has a major challenge and a
major opportunity before it. Join the deans as
they deliver a “state of the school” and address
how the School is helping to shape the future
of journalism.
5:00 p.m.
Student-Led Tours of Building
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Alumni Awards Ceremony
in Low Library
Awards presented by Steve Kroft ’75, 60 Minutes
The Alumni Awards are given to alumni of the
Graduate School of Journalism for a distinguished
journalism career in any medium, for an
outstanding single accomplishment in journalism,
for notable contributions to journalism education,
or for achievement in related fields. The 2011
Alumni Award winners are:
HRH Rym Ali ’94
Princess Rym Ali, known as
Rym Brahimi as a Journalism
student
and
CNN
war
correspondent in Iraq, is
currently serving her adopted
country of Jordan by launching
the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) this spring.
The Institute was created to try and fill a gap in
journalism education, not only in Jordan, but also
in the region, by offering a high level, practical
program in Arabic, with an emphasis on digital
media training, all in one year. Its goal is to
offer the best standards of journalistic practice
with an emphasis on the traditional aspects of
journalism such as writing and reporting, ethics
and community issues. Prior to marrying His
Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Ali
worked extensively for international broadcasters,
including CNN, where she began as a producer
in 1998 and later worked as a Baghdad
correspondent from 2001 until 2004. Before
joining the BBC, Ali developed her portfolio
working for Dubai TV, Bloomberg TV, Radio
Monte Carlo, Moyen Orient and United Press
International. She has reported from the region
on the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States,
the war in Kosovo and the bombing of the U.S.S.
Cole in Yemen. Ali has served as the executive
commissioner of the Royal Film Commission in
Jordan since July 2005.
Bruce Brugmann ’58
Since Bruce Brugmann and his
wife, Jean Dibble, founded the
San Francisco Bay Guardian
more than 40 years ago, the feisty
weekly with a slogan of “raising
hell and printing the news” has
never let up on championing the public interest
and challenging the existing power structure in
government, business, and the media itself. One
of the very first alternative papers in the country,
the Bay Guardian recently won its antitrust case
against SF Weekly when the California State
Supreme Court refused to review lower court
rulings ordering the Weekly to pay $21 million in
damages over predatory pricing. The outcome of
the case could still be determined by the ongoing
settlement negotiations. Its battles with the local
electric utility are almost legend. Brugmann has
championed a free and responsible press as a
founder and longtime member of the California
First Amendment Coalition, and is an honored
fellow of the International Press Institute and
an active member of the Board of Directors of
the Inter-American Press Association. He has
demonstrated that with professional and personal
resolve and courage, that there is still room, and a
role, for the little guy.
Rehema Ellis ’77
Rehema Ellis is an Emmy
Award-winning correspondent
for NBC News, which she joined
in 1994. With her trademark
energy, authority and passion,
she reports on all subjects with a
special focus on education for the NBC Nightly
News with Brian Williams, Today, and MSNBC.
She is also a digital journalist, shooting, blogging,
writing and tweeting for NBC on-line. Ellis was
part of the NBC Emmy award-winning coverage
of “The Miracle on the Hudson” (U.S. Airways
Flight 1549) and the 2008 Presidential Election,
and she reported from the steps of the U.S. Capitol
during the historic inauguration of Barack Obama.
Ellis has been an integral part of major stories
including, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the death of
Michael Jackson and the Haiti earthquake. Ellis
traveled to Zaire to report on the mass killings
that left an estimated one million people dead in
Rwanda and, a few years later, she spent a month
in Greece covering the summer Olympics.
Robert Shaw ’66
Bob
Shaw
has
had
a
distinguished career at three
Florida newspapers for the last
four decades, with assignments
in Miami, Tallahassee and
Orlando
and
Washington,
D.C. Since 2000, he has been with the Orlando
Sentinel, where he is currently government and
politics editor. He led the paper’s award-winning
coverage of the Columbia space shuttle disaster
and coverage of the 2000 presidential election
dispute in Florida, along with major investigative
pieces on shortcomings in the nation’s missiledefense program. An investigation of the Dale
Earnhardt auto-facing fatality, controversy
of its autopsy photos and a thorough probe
of NASCAR’s track record of accident
investigations and lack of comprehensive safety
program to protect drivers won the Sentinel a
Scripps First amendment Award and APME
Best Sports Story of the Year. In addition to the
award-winning stories he produced as a reporter
and those he supervised as an editor, Shaw has
been a tireless advocate of broader public access
to government records and meetings as a board
member and president of the Tallahassee-based
First Amendment Foundation. Throughout his
career, Shaw has specialized in journalism that
holds government accountable, preserves the
public’s right to know and protects the interests
of taxpayers, consumers and especially those
less fortunate.
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Awards Reception and Book Signing in
Low Library by Alumni Authors
Books written by alumni authors in 2010 will be
on display and alumni authors will be available to
sign their books from 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
For a complete list of authors, visit:
www.journalism.columbia.edu/alumni/
weekend2011
The Alumni Book Fair has become one
of the most popular events during
Alumni Weekend, with dozens of
graduates participating in the book
signing following the Alumni Awards
ceremony. We invite authors who have
published a book between April 2010
and April 2011 to participate in the
Book Fair on Friday, April 8 from 7:30
p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the Rotunda of Low
Library. Books published by the authors
Saturday, April 9, 2011
8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Social Media Skills for Journalists:
Practical Tips for a Changing
Media Landscape
Professor Sree Sreenivasan ’93,
Dean of Students
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Part 1: Basics of Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Part 2:
Intermediate/Advanced
For two years now, Prof. Sreenivasan has helped
set the standards for teaching social-media
use to journalism students and in newsrooms
around the country via his Social Media Skills
for Journalists course. You will learn how to use it
in four important ways: to get new sources, ideas
and trends; to connect better with audiences; to
bring more attention and eyeballs to your work; to
build and enhance your online brand. In these fun,
fast-paced sessions, you will leave with plenty of
practical, timely, actionable tips and resources. The
full syllabus is at http://bit.ly/socmediaskills; be
sure to follow @sree if you are already on Twitter
(otherwise, you will be by the end of the sessions).
11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Class Photos
11:00 a.m. 1946/51
11:05 a.m. 1956/61
11:10 a.m. 1966
11:15 a.m. 1971
will be on display and for sale during the
reception. Our office will work with the
Columbia University Bookstore to order
copies of your book.
If you would like to participate in the
Alumni Book Fair or if you have any
questions, please contact our office
jalumni@columbia.edu or at 212-8543864 by March 1, 2011, and we will
send you a form to complete.
11:20 a.m. 1976
11:25 a.m. 1981
11:30 a.m. 1986
11:35 a.m. 1991
11:40 a.m. 1996
11:45 a.m. 2001
11:50 a.m. 2006
12 noon
Alumni Luncheon (seated by class)
and Awards Ceremony
Low Library Rotunda
1:00 p.m.
Awarding of Dean’s Medal for
Public Service
Founder’s Award
Joan Konner ’61, dean emerita
and professor emerita of
Columbia Journalism School.
The fifth dean and the first
woman to head the school,
under Joan Konner’s leadership
the school burnished its
reputation as the preeminent graduate
institution in the field. During her nine years
as dean, Konner attracted top faculty, prepared
a Ph.D. program, modernized the curriculum,
created fellowships and a dual degree program
in earth and environmental science journalism,
launched the part-time degree program, and
renovated the school’s historic building. She was
at the forefront of integrating new information
technology in the expanding world of digital
journalism. Konner was also publisher of the
Columbia Journalism Review from 1988 to 1999.
She is a longtime award-winning television
producer, television executive, writer and editor.
She has produced more than 50 documentaries
and many television series, and is the recipient of
16 Emmy Awards, the Peabody and the Alfred
I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for her
producing and writing.
Library E-Resources for Alumni
Keynote Speaker
Journalism and Beyond
Ken Jautz ’79, executive vice
president, CNN
Ken Jautz has managed several
networks for CNN and Turner
Broadcasting in both Europe and
the United States, including HLN,
CNNfn, and n-tv, a German
national news channel. At HLN, Jautz revamped
and re-branded the network formally known as
CNN Headline News and created a prime time
line-up of talk shows that together constituted the
biggest change in format at any TV network in
the CNN group. Under Jautz’s leadership, HLN
has posted record ratings since the programming
overhaul, which included the launch of Nancy
Grace, Joy Behar, ShowBiz Tonight, Issues with
Jane Velez Mitchell and Morning Express with
Robin Meade. Previously, Jautz served as executive
vice president of CNN’s business news operations,
including Lou Dobbs Tonight, the CNNfn
network, and CNN Money, and managing director
of n-tv, a German news and television company
partly owned by Time Warner. He also worked as
a London-based business development executive
at Turner Broadcasting Europe, helping launch
channels in several European markets; served
as CNN’s bureau chief in Germany; and was an
international correspondent for The Associated
Press. Among the stories Jautz covered as a
journalist were the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall
and the subsequent revolutions in East European
countries, the 1991 Gulf War and the dissolution
of both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
2:00 p.m.
Student-Led Tours of Building
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Future Journalist
Professor Sree Sreenivasan ’93 and Jonathan
Dube ’97, senior vice president and general
manager, AOL News and Information.
Professor Sreenivasan and Jon Dube discuss
the changing skills and traits of journalists in a
changing media scape.
with Cristina Ergunay, Journalism
School Librarian
Learn about the wide array of electronic resources
available to alumni.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Joe Seldner ’76, film producer, interviews
graduates who have used their journalism
education to pursue other careers.
Panelists include
William Abrams ’76, president, Trickle Up;
Arlene Dubin ’71, family lawyer;
Keith Goggin ’91, Owner, STR Specialists;
Susan Levine ’81, senior counselor at GYMR
Public Relations; Honorable Dan Maffei ’91,
former member of Congress; David Thorne ’71,
U.S. Ambassador to Italy;
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Covering the Capitol
(in formation) With Suzanne Malveaux ’91,
CNN White House correspondent; James
Rosen ’86, Washington correspondent,
McClatchy Newspapers; Jay Newton-Small ’01,
Congressional correspondent for TIME,
and others.
Join Washington reporters as they share what it’s
like covering the axis of power, the nation’s capital.
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Dean’s Happy Hour For 25th and 50th
Reunion Classes
For members of the classes of 1961 and 1986.
6:30 p.m. – on
Class Socials
Master’s projects for reunion classes,
1964-present, will be available for
browsing in the Journalism Library.
Journalism Library Hours:
Thursday Friday
Saturday Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Alumni Weekend
2011
Questions? 212-854-3864 or
email jalumni@columbia.edu
To register for Alumni Weekend online, go to:
www.jrn.columbia.edu/alumni/weekend 2011
For a list of accommodations, go to:
www.alumni.columbia.edu/visit/s5_4.html