A Day in the Life of USF

Brant Ward's photojournalism class has put together an audio slideshow. Are we good or are we good?

job: full-time reporter-blogger at TPMmuckraker.com

if i didn't already have a job, i'd beg, borrow, and steal to get this one. to me, talkingpointsmemo is one of the best and most important american outlets for journalism and blogging. apparently they're hiring a full-time reporter-blogger to work at TPMmuckraker.com. i predict millions will apply for this job - one of the applications could be yours.

For Final Day, the Ethics Class Created a Survey, Which We Sent to Alumni and 'Friends of the Class' Who Are in the Business

Since I am not a paying customer of Survey Monkey, only 10 questions are allowed per "page."

http://surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=pE3mttJxzoCN0UDHt4jtoeUcHbGJa22ILnskEwTUTDs%3d

http://surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=b5yatGGGjKkG8JsCckoxRlWi3MISWGP45H5kEiH7mAU%3d

http://surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=hhZ0cWizjPWNJtRSB9iAE0rn7NaXVtGlsWrsUUfVuhE%3d

Full disclosure: The survey had too few people and those few from too great a variety of backgrounds to have “validity,” but some of the patterns in the answers are suggestive. I was interested that:

· so many people wouldn’t laugh at lame jokes in the service of a good interview – though one respondent when questioned more closely said she would “smile, of course”

· as I’ve always thought, “off the record” means different things to different people

· asking journalists what objectivity means is very nearly a party game

· some folk do feel that there are certain people and/or topics they would refuse to write about. I would have thought the more hateful the topic, the greater the challenge and, thus, the greater the appeal of the topic

· nobody respects sportswriting “the most”

· just how often does one have an ethical dilemma? Not that often…?

Now if we just had a bigger sample collected more “scientifically” – and if I were willing to pay Survey Monkey so that I could tease out correlations between (let us say) age and certain attitudes or current job category and certain attitudes – well, this would be more than cocktail chatter. But it is pretty good cocktail chatter.

Ethics class: You are cheeky monkeys, but I liked you very much. (Oh. I made the mistake of blind copying some of your sources and thus discovered I don’t have a full list of those I sent it to. Forward it to your “professional” sources if you wish.)

Those who filled out the surveys: I like you very much, too.

Check Out Katier Crozier Posting for Pay for Joe Biden

I believe her first blog was right here at USF. But now she "lives" at:

(www.joebiden.com)

USF Alum Working for Biden in Iowa Becomes Blog Warrior

Hi everyone,

Things are still going well in Iowa! We're getting closer and closer to caucus night and I have good feelings about what will take place!

Something exciting happened the other day: Biden's online communication team was reading my blog and contacted me to see if I would be interested writing for the campaign's official blog, as well, over these last few weeks. They thought readers would be interested in hearing about the campaign from my perspective, working directly with supporters and at the senator's events. Considering my love for both writing and politics, I couldn't have been more excited (or complimented) with such a request.

So, if you go to Joe's official website (www.joebiden.com) you will be able to read the blog, as it is one of the links on the site's main menu. I have yet to post anything as of this morning, but will hopefully be doing so today. Be sure to check back throughout the next few weeks, as they've asked me to write as much as I can and just post at my convenience-- including pictures, too!

Hope all is going well in sunny CA!

Katie

USF in Iowa

Katie Crozier writes:

I thought you would like hearing some exciting news about what I'm going to be doing for the next few weeks. I got a call from Senator Joe Biden's office the other day and they offered me a paid position at his Iowa headquarters, helping out on his presidential campaign through the New Year, up until the caucus voting takes place!

If Biden does well and moves forward, Katie will be moving forward with him.

Sunny Lin is Alive and Well and on the Move

She's moving to Beijing with a *very dear friend*. She writes:


Leaving London was a hard task as I was so much in love with that city. Full of unpredictable surprises, parties, culture, and etc etc.
Madrid has been all about growing pains. After years of working at a full time job, I decided to become a freelance at the beginning of 2006. It was the best decision ever as I had the opportunity to work on my own and going from project to project. I didn't have to clock in and clock out. I just had to finish the job. I worked in various industries: fashion, film, and music. It was great because I never got bored. I met random people and the most important thing was - I loved the work. It was hard as I had to prove myself everytime I crossed over to another industry. But pretty much, my work was down to production and logistics. I loved it. It was chaotic but it motivated me. I worked long hours but I didn't mind. I remember when I was working at MetroRock Festival - I worked 12-14hrs daily and 7 days a week. It was a month of hard work but at the same time very rewarding at the end. And now as a TV Presenter/Host I work about 10-15 hours a week and hating the free time. I guess I am a workalcoholic.

FYI: Her email is kiwiblondy@hotmail.com

Blowing Bubbles at the Future

This little song sums up some of the challenges of training the next generation -- or maybe the next six or eight generations -- of journalists.

Professor Andrew Goodwin is Published -- At Length -- in Slate

In Slate, the online magazine, he writes about Led Zeppelin, the subject of a course he taught this semester in our own beautiful department of Media Studies.

Kudos, Andrew.

A Loyal Alum

• Kent German
• 1 comment

A few weeks ago I returned to my alma mater, the University of San Francisco, to participate in an alumni panel for current journalism students. At the end of the evening a student called Robert Lee introduced himself and told me about a story he wrote in 2005 for USF's student newspaper, the San Francisco Foghorn. With the aim to find the cell phone carrier with the best coverage on USF's campus, Lee and his colleagues conducted a study to test the reception and call quality of the five national carriers (Sprint and Nextel were still separate at that time) plus Metro PCS. Over the course of three weeks they studied 15 locations around the campus to identify the places with the best reception and the worst dead zones. Then, they compiled the results (PDF) and published them in the paper.

No, the study was not completely scientific but I love the idea. Cell phone users relish such useful information and I think Lee showed some great foresight in planning and conducting the test. He even got responses (PDF) from some of the carriers. I only wish I could organize enough people to do a similar test across the whole country. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the study found that Verizon Wireless had the best coverage at USF followed by (in order) Nextel, Sprint, Metro PCS, AT&T (then Cingular), and T-Mobile.

Posted in: Phones

Tags: cell phones, coverage, carriers, San Francisco

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USFtv: When You Go to Youtube, Ask for It by Name

Gavin Newsom on campus, and Campion is gutted.

Playing for Kicks: USF falls short against UCLA.


As all you Youtube users know, you can subscribe to feeds and never lose a moment of USFtv, which also features "people" interviews and entertainment news.

An Even Better Shot of the Panel

Courtesy of Daniel McKeown

Kent German Advising USF Students

Image courtesy of David Silver

More From Tiff

The "Eats" Beat

Meanwhile, Teresa Rochester has just interview Newt Gingrich but refuses to link! Well, we'll see about that.

USF Alumni Journalism Panel Gets Four Stars

Here's some pix.


And Tiffany's account from eweek.com


Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:01 PM/EST

Back in my day...

A couple nights ago, I sat on a "Journalism in the 21st Century" panel at my alma mater, the University of San Francisco. Myself, and seven other alums faced roughly 30 bright-eyed, aspired student journalists, hungry to be the next bulldog reporters, scooping, analyzing, and shaping the content of their (and our) generations.

Ok, so they actually looked kinda bored, and in hindsight, it's probably because we were telling them a lot of what they already knew.

Yes, we dared to stress the importance of tech savvy on kids practically nursed on webcasts, podcasts, blogs, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. etc.

Now that I think about it, the kids are the ones who should have been seated on the panel, and us fogies should have been listening to them, letting them school us on the meaning of media in the 21st century.

Instead, we rattled on about being oh, so versatile in this tech-driven world. Even print journalists should be comfortable in front of cameras. Be podcast and webcast savvy. Know how to post online. We explained the significance of blogs likening it to the importance of brushing their teeth after meals and looking both ways before crossing the street.

Though not a single one of us had yet cracked 40, to these kids, we were dinosaurs; the equivalent of a mimeograph machine and Betamax.

As if these kids didn't host their own regular podcasts or already have footage posted on YouTube. Now some of them did raise their eyebrows when the validity of Wikipedia was challenged, but I digress.

Honestly, it only became heir apparent to me just how much that 21st century media, an enormous and voracious confluence of content, is pushing old-timers like me, in their 30s, to dramatically reshape our views on how media and information works. We're the ones racing to keep up, while they simply take the wild ride in stride.

A few days later I was chatting with Taylor, a hip young lady majoring in art history at USF, nearly 10 years her senior, telling her how myself and a few colleagues lamely explained the significance of technology to 20-somethings (possibly even 18 and 19-somethings).

Her response was interesting.

Though I expected her to laugh, she said the she and her pals tend to take that stuff for granted, you know, the fact that they have all these advantages at their fingertips, tools that essentially can launch their careers right now. Unlike me, who left college without even a proper resume, Taylor and her peers will leave college with blogs, short movies, online portfolios, or heck, even new start-ups to shop around. And heavens knows the number of social networking sights available, keep these newbies tightly aligned with one another, giving all new meaning and depth to the age-old mantra of "it's not what you know, it's who you know."

In fact, what really seemed to be missing from their media edification was the art of story telling. One young lady had no idea what a "nut graph" was. For all you non-journalists, it's the single most important paragraph a story can have; the who, what, when, where, and why.

They perked up when Jennifer Jolly, a veteran broadcaster on CNN and KTVU talked about being held at gunpoint her first few months on the job, or how I managed to engage the wrath of an entire police department after publishing a piece lambasting them for racial profiling practices. Or the day I sat with an elderly schizophrenic in her assisted-living room, as part of a pilot project that attempted to at once build independence and companionship for her and people like her.

Funny, they have the most sophisticated tools at their fingertips for building the most intelligent content, and to do so immediately, yet, still need to nudge of knowing how knowing how to tell it and what to tell.

So we were their premature grandparents, regaling them with stories that took place back in the day, and most likely exaggerating and romanticizing some of the circumstances. It's not the worst role in the world to have. It was kind of fun, and maybe it means I can retire early and get my Bingo club on Facebook.

George Sanchez is through with Chemotherapy

This is a beautiful post describing how precious the time spent with his parents was during the ordeal.

A Gathering of Eagles

Do USF Graduates Have a Future

in

21^st Century Journalism?

Tuesday, October 16 7:30 Mingle with alumni journalists 8:00 Panel Discussion Maier Room in Fromm Hall

A panel of USF alumni, most of whom attended the university within the last ten years, will explain how much credit the university deserves for their success in newspapers, Internet magazines, television news and freelance writing as well as in post-journalism careers.

They will encourage. They will warn. They will speak the truth.

The San Francisco Chronicle, KRON-TV, NBC-11, the San Francisco Examiner and CNET will be represented by USF alumni.

Sponsored by the Journalism Minor in the Department of Media Studies.

7:30 Mingle with Alumni

8:00 Panel Discussion

A Little Bit of Beautiful USFTV.

From Our New York Outpost

A college newspaper needs a quote. Why not from USF's own Jen Bayley, who's in NYC doing PR for The Limited. What's interesting is that Jen went to the heartland, i.e., Columbus, Ohio, and that was her path to the big time.

The Harry Potter Books are a Gateway to the Occult

Quite an interesting discussion going on over at the blog for the journalism ethics class.

The Game Has a Name: It's "Internships"

This is Katherine Harwood! I wanted to thank you for writing me that letter of recommendation. It was very helpful. I am going to intern with ABC during the spring semester. Until then, I am actually interning with KRON so everything worked out well!

George over at The Cancer Blogs

Looking good, and the chemo is working.

Nicole Zaloumis *USF Grad*

Spotted on the sidelines. Identity confirmed via Google.

2007 CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL
Final Non-Conference Game: Saturday, September 15; 3:30 p.m. (PT)
#8 California (2-0) vs. Louisiana Tech (1-1)
Berkeley, Calif. - California Memorial Stadium

Live Coverage
TV: Comcast Sports Net (Jim Kozimor, Mike Pawlawski, Nicole Zaloumis). CSN can be found on a variety of channels in the Northern California area. Be sure to confirm with your cable provider that you have CSN in your area of service.

Good Job for a A Young Reporter

This note from Maureen O'Sullivan in USF's Psychology Department:


Hi Michael,

An acquaintance, Jim Kravets, who is the editor of a weekly trying to compete with the Point Reyes Light, is looking for a news editor/reporter. Obviously, it is in Point Reyes, for a start-up paper, and the pay may not be great, but Jim is a wonderful fellow. And you might know of someone suitable.

If so, let me know.

Maureen

David Silver in Utah

David Silver was in Salt Lake City for the September Project, which he helped begin, and was interviewed in a local publication.

News from an "Alumnus" Prof

Remember Rhonda Parker? She and husband Mark Calegari moved south about five years ago, where she became Communication Department chair at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama. They adopted, and everyone relaxed and ....

Christian Carter Calegari arrived last Wednesday. Connor inspects his new brother.

Professor David Silver Gave a Public Lecture Yesterday

A Challenge to USF Photographers

Newly minted USF grad Whitney Fry, who works in marketing at 7x7 magazine, presents us with a challenge. Brant Ward's photojournalism class has already accepted.

Keeping Up with George Sanchez

You should check out The Cancer Blogs where George -- distinguished journalist; distinguished alumnus; wicked vocalist -- is doing some strong writing and some even stronger living.

my attitude is the only one I can conceive as possible and appropriate. from the beginning I was not a victim, but already a survivor. that's the only way, at least how I see it, to move through cancer and gain insight on what is happening to oneself.

if you don't, as far as I can tell, you let yourself become devoured by the cancer.

i don't think war analogies are appropriate either. and certainly my cancer, in comparison to other experiences, is no way similar to a war or conquest.

so along with fighting against positioning myself physically and psychologically as a victim, I have also tried not to get caught up in a 'george versus his cancer' frame of mind. I still don't have the appropriate words to explain why, other than the fact the cancer, welcome or not, is still a part of me and it is a change in my body that will affect my future growth. accepted or not, it is present within me right now. of course, this is much harder to realize than it is said.

I Call Her La Gioconda Because She's a Renaissance Women

Tiffany Maleshefski pauses to say:

I am employed as a tech journalist at eWEEK.com where I review laptops, notebooks, and various other office softare. We podcast, create eVideos for the world to view.

I also publish a bar column every Friday in the SF Examiner, Meet Your Mixologist where I interview different bartenders throughout the city and taste-test cocktails. I also publish weekly art reviews for the Examiner.

I am a regular contributor to the SF Weekly's Sucka Free City Column, and am launching a new column after Labor day on www.sfist.com called Slum of the Week, and it's devoted to my various visits to apartments listed for rent on craig's list and what shitholes they tend to be for astronomical prices.

I am a freelance food and drink writer for Sonoma Magazine. And I also write theater reviews for www.theatermania.com

It's Hard ... But Not as Hard as Moore's Class

Stephanie Luu writes from D.C., where she is spending a semester doing a journalism intensive:

All of the networks here want interns with web and blogging skills. It's kind of strange on how creating a website is now a requirement for journalism. The Journalism Program seems pretty challenging, but nothing compared to Professor Moore's course.



I wish I took Digital Journalism last semester. I got offered two internships at WTTG Fox News and Frontline with Hedrick Smith. I have yet to hear back from MSNBC/Dateline. I can't decide between the two internships. Next week, Bob Schieffer is coming to our class so we can talk and interview him, so that should be exciting. Our professor taught us how to write in third person today for our news stories. I guess a lot of the kids come into the journalism program and write stories in first person.

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Ariela Edelson is alive and well in the land of the cod and the bean.

I graduated last year from Northeastern University with a Master’s in Journalism.... Since then I have been freelancing for a Boston-based newspaper in Spanish called El Planeta (www.elplaneta.com). I am also working full time as a communications associate at a non-profit called Screening for Mental Health, where I mainly write press releases about depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, and PTSD.

In fact, USF is one of our clients. They implement our CollegeResponse program!

I am now married and we are starting our 4^th year living in Boston this September! I really like it here but only during the summer -- so who knows, maybe one day I’ll move back to beautiful San Francisco…

A Toan Lam Bulletin

If any of you are planning to drive into SF this weekend via the surrounding bridges this Labor day weekend, stay away! It's going to be criggity craaaazy!

Check out my story (update) at www.kron4.com There's a video box under the freeway cam on the left of the screen. Click on Officials say Bay Bridge Project Will Finish On Time.

The Eight Pillars of Wisdom

The Young Talent

A Pat Bhoolsuwan Link

This may allow us to check her out on the job.

A Kim Delmore Update

Broker-in-Charge

Delmore Realty (Self-employed)

(Self-Employed; 11-50 employees; Real Estate industry)

August 2006 – Present (1 year 1 month)

I represent buyer and sellers in real estate transactions in Hawaii. Specializing in residential sales on the island of Oahu, including condominiums and single family homes in Waikiki, Honolulu and other parts of the island for use as vacation rentals, second homes, investments and primary residences. Delmore Realty's main office is on the island of Maui and I can refer clients to our agents there, as well as agents on the Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai. Surf www.delmore.net for all MLS listings in Hawaii!

Real Estate Salesperson

Kahala Associates

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Real Estate industry)

November 2004 – August 2006 (1 year 10 months)

Residential real estate sales on Oahu, Hawaii.

Real Estate Salesperson

Delmore Realty

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Real Estate industry)

July 2002 – November 2004 (2 years 5 months)

Residential real estate sales on the island of Maui, Hawaii

Facilities Manager

Docent, Inc.

(Public Company; 51-200 employees; E-Learning industry)

July 2000 – February 2002 (1 year 8 months)

Identify office space for facility expansion and oversee leasing process. Manage vendors providing services for corporate and remote facilities.

Facilities Manager

Achieva

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; E-Learning industry)

June 1998 – June 2000 (2 years 1 month)

Identify office space for company headquarters and smaller centers, oversee vendors for office services.

Education

University of San Francisco

BA, Communication, journalism, 1994 – 1998

Activities and Societies: School Newspaper, Cross Country, Hui O Hawaii

A Jamie Starling Update

Experience

Sales Promotion Manager

Stone Bridge Press

(Publishing industry)

Currently holds this position

Recommend Jaime’s work at Stone Bridge Press

Education

University of San Francisco

1994 – 1998

A Viva Chan Update

Licensed Agent

New York Life Company

(Privately Held; 10,001 or more employees; Financial Services industry)

May 2007 – Present ( 4 months)

Personal planning for: life insurance needs, mortgage protection, estate conservation, college funding, IRA funding, retirement planning, charitable giving

Business planning for: buy-sell funding, deferred compensation, executive bonus, key person protection, voluntary payroll deduction programs, qualified plan funding: SEPs, Keoghs, 401(k)s, pensions

Products offered: Individual life insurance, fixed immediate & deferred annuities*, long term care insurance, health insurance**, disability income insurance**

*Certain annuities issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation
**Products available through one or more carriers not affiliated with New York Life, dependent on carrier authorization and product availability in your state or locality

Recommend Viva’s work at New York Life Company

Licensed Personal Risk Consultant

State Farm Insurance & Financial Services

(Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Insurance industry)

April 2005 – May 2007 (2 years 2 months)

Recommend Viva’s work at State Farm Insurance & Financial Services

Account Manager

PepsiCo Western Sales Division

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Food & Beverages industry)

August 2002 – March 2005 (2 years 8 months)

Recommend Viva’s work at PepsiCo Western Sales Division

Staff Writer & Research Director

American City Business Journals

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Newspapers industry)

May 1999 – August 2002 (3 years 4 months)

Recommend Viva’s work at American City Business Journals

Education

University of San Francisco

BA, Media, 1993 – 1996

Activities and Societies: Poynter Institute, Flori

• 
  

A Pat Bhoolsuwan Update

• • General Assignment Reporter/Fill-in Anchor at KTVN, CBS Affiliate Reno Nevada
• Past
• • Anchor/Reporter at KRCR TV ABC Affiliate Redding, California
  • News Writer/Producer at KRON-TV, Former NBC Affiliate, San Francisco, Calfiornia
• Education
• • University of San Francisco
• Connections

• 42 connections

• Industry

• Broadcast Media

• Websites
• • My Company
  • Asian American Journalists
• Public Profile
• http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/8a3/153

Experience

General Assignment Reporter/Fill-in Anchor

KTVN, CBS Affiliate Reno Nevada

(Broadcast Media industry)

July 2007 – Present ( 2 months)

Reporter and Fill in Anchor for 2 hour morning show, multiple live shots daily. Cover variety of stories and breaking news including wildfires, crimes, and politics. Put together package for prime time news shows daily.

Recommend Patranya’s work at KTVN, CBS Affiliate Reno Nevada

Anchor/Reporter

KRCR TV ABC Affiliate Redding, California

(Broadcast Media industry)

April 2005 – June 2007 (2 years 3 months)

Anchor top rated morning show. Write, shoot, and edit stories for prime time news shows.

Recommend Patranya’s work at KRCR TV ABC Affiliate Redding, California

News Writer/Producer

KRON-TV, Former NBC Affiliate, San Francisco, Calfiornia

(Broadcast Media industry)

June 1999 – June 2005 (6 years 1 month)

News Writer for KRON-TV Prime Time Newscasts. Producer, Editor, and Update Anchor for CNN/MSNBC Cable News Updates.

Recommend Patranya’s work at KRON-TV, Former NBC Affiliate, San Francisco, Calfiornia

Education

University of San Francisco

Bachelor's Degree, Journalism and Poltical Science, 1994 – 1998

Graduated Cum Laude. International Student Scholar. Completed TV News Internships All 4 Years of College.

Activities and Societies: Student Government, Campus Newspaper, Honor Society

Top USF Journalism Grad in Recent Merger

By which I mean NBC11 newsperson Vicky Nguyen (USF 2000) has married Brian Dennis (USF 2001). She's a lovely bride, and he's a lovely groom.

KRON-TV's Toan Lam, also a USF journalism grad, was also in attendance. Perhaps, he will provide a play-by-play, never forgetting the inverted pyramid?

A Foghorn Testimonial

Robertson and Silver at the Major/Minor Fair

kate elston on the front page of the seattle pi

USF journalism student kate elston has a front page story in today's seattle pi. the story is called: "How do panhandlers spend your money?"


congratulations, kate!

The Onion Makes Us Wince

Media Landscape Redefined By 24-Second News Cycle

ATLANTA, GA—Media critics have argued that segments lasting less than four seconds are missing out on some of the nuance and context the old 45-second pieces provided.

media studies senior dinner

last week, media studies faculty and graduating seniors met at assab's, an eritrean restaurant located a few blocks from campus, for dinner and drinks to celebrate the end of the year.


as a first year professor, i have not had the opportunity to get to know and work with all of our seniors. but from all indications, this year's graduating seniors are smart, creative, and engaged.

to all graduating seniors: congratulations!

A Flash Advert for the Journalism Minor

New Links from Old Friends

Jessica Dryden-Cook has her own personal blog where we may find images from her new job. James Sleeman, who passed through Reporting One without suffering permanent harm, is part of the core over at moli.com

Just to remind those of you who haven't been following the "master narrative" of journalism in the Media Studies department: We are putting together a new course to be offered in Spring 2008. It will be called something like "Field Reporting in the Digital Age." Back in the day, I would have called it a broadcast journalism course.

I am encouraging journalism minors who are also Media Studies majors to combine the two programs so that they take audio production and video production for credit in the major -- and, of course, reporting and advanced reporting in the minor, thus creating a "mini" multimedia journalism emphasis. I'll post more about this during the summer.

Best News I've Heard Today

For the essays in Journalism Ethics, I require that the students interview at least three working journalists no matter what the topic. I like the students to compare the clear liquid of theory that I decant in the classroom to the murky water in which reporters and editors swim.

It works well. Some of the working journalists are surprisingly fine and pure. They are also in surprisingly responsive to the questing youth.

This today from young Jacob Marx:

By the way, it's scary how fast some of those chronicle guys reply to emails.

Goodonya, Chronicle reporters. Good on you.

Take This Job and Get It

This is from Myra Sandoval who went from city magazines to copywriting for the Gap and thought it a wise move. Now she’s moving to another job “under the Gap umbrella” …

Soo... was wondering if any of your students would be interested in an entry-level fashion copywriting job. The team is amazing and tons of fun to work with. Here's the job description: http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=54895&page=1

The position is such that you can get as much or as little as you want from it. If anyone is interested, tell them to email me. I'll pass them on to my director. Or, if they have any Q's, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

Does This Seem Fair?

Suggestions for emailing faculty asking for interviews

· My advice to faculty who ask me what form cooperation with student journalists should take is that they should refuse to answer your questions by email but should offer you the opportunity to talk with them face to face or by telephone.

· Therefore, my advice to you is always to begin by requesting a time when you may meet with them or telephone them. Offer to buy them coffee at Crossroads. Never behave as if you assume that an email exchange is sufficient. If that is the mode of communication they choose, so be it. But you always want to make human contact so that you can respond immediately to their responses to your questions.

· Always say something like, “Would tomorrow work or would sometime Monday or Tuesday be better?” That is, assume your source will talk with you and that all you are doing is negotiating when that conversation will occur.

· Always have questions! Don’t just say you want to talk without saying what you want to talk about. At this stage of your research, you should have a clear idea of where your story is going. That should make it possible for you in your email to pose 3-5 specific questions. For instance, you might say, “Dean X says USF students have gotten much better over the past five years. The Dean also says that teaching at USF has become much easier for faculty as a result. I’d like to talk with your for 15 minutes to get your opinion about those statements.” You will, of course, have a list of follow-up questions so that no matter what your source responds, you can move the interview forward.

· Among other things, you are trying to convince the faculty member you want to interview that you are working on a story idea that would be stimulating to discuss and that you have some fresh information that will make the conversation interesting to them.

· If they refuse to talk with you, email them back thanking them for considering your request and saying that in your story you will simply say that they “declined to comment.” Such a statement is permissible only if your faculty source understands exactly what your story is about and exactly what some of the questions you want to ask them are. Copy the email to me.

· Faculty are busy, and sometimes they do not have time for even a five-minute “walk and talk” conversation. However, speaking for myself, I usually do have the time – if I clearly understand the reason for the request and if the request is made in a respectful manner. If you behave in a professional manner with a clear notion of what specific information or insight you hope to gain from the interview, you need not feel apologetic or that you are abusing the student-faculty relationship. You owe us your courtesy and your patience and, I like to think, your gratitude. You are not automatically “entitled” to our attention on your demand, at your convenience. However, I think we owe you a reasonable fraction of our time even if we do not have you as a student in one of our classes.