Tune in: Brian Herzlinger on Leno

Park alum Brian Herzlinger -- star of My Date with Drew -- will be on The Tonight Show tonight (Halloween!) doing another correspondent piece. Tune in and cheer for a fellow Parkie.

Remember Ed Cohen? (Of course you do...)

This just in from '05 grad Ed Cohen, the man who could talk his way into just about anything....

Wanted to pass on a bit of news. I am the new play-by-play man for the Manhattan Jaspers, basically a dream job. Every men's game, home and away, plus the women at home, so at least 40 broadcasts on the schedule. The men open at the Meadowlands against Seton Hall. If they win, they could play on the road at Duke, which would be unreal. They play Syracuse at the Dome on November 30th. Games are on the internet, www.gojaspers.com. Also producing part-time for WNBC Sports here in NYC, and have done some fill-in updates on Sirius NFL Radio, which was pretty cool.

I'm really excited to get started. Ithaca truly was an outstanding training ground, and I am hopeful that the learning curve will continue with this next step.


It's great to hear that there is real life -- very successful real life -- after Park, isn't it?

ImPrint: Check it out

If you haven't taken the time to log on to ImPrint, the Park School's newest student publication, you should: It's well written, well designed, and well....worth reading.

Take a look: http://www.imprintmagazine.org/

Park really IS the best...at just about everything!

The news from the National Student Media conference in Kansas City this weekend is amazing, unbelievable, extraordinary -- but hey, we know we're the best. It's just nice when everybody else knows it, too.

ICTV took FIRST PLACE in FIVE (count 'em: FIVE) different categories (the most of any college in the country!), and The Ithacan won a Pacemaker Award -- widely considered the Pulitzer Prize of college media.

Here's the rundown for ICTV:

BEST COMEDY: Jesse Porter '05, Heather Lew, "The Solarium"
BEST DOCUMENTARY/PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Matt Antalek, Dan Shott, Jaime Foster,
Rachel Webster, "Mad Cow Crusaders"
BEST DRAMA: Matt Wiener '05, Andrea Adams, "My Loyal Imposters #3"
BEST PROMO: Rob Edwards '05, "The Ithacan Online"
BEST STUDENT MEDIA WEBSITE: Peter Berg, ICTV.org

The Ithacan also took fourth place in the Best of Show competition, and Chris Baxter won second place in the Story of the Year (News Category) competition.

Congratulations to all of you who work so hard to make the Park student media the standard of excellence across the country. We couldn't be prouder.

'05 Alum promoting 'short, creepy film'

This just in from Peter Tartara, class of 2005: He's working in NYC, loving it, and wants you to watch a creepy movie:

Dean Lynch,

My name is Peter Tatara. I'm presently the Assistant Marketing Manager at Central Park Media, a boutique Japanese animation distributor in NYC. Five months ago, I was a senior graduating from the Park School of Communications. I wanted to write you today with some information I'd like you to post in the Park School blog and potentially in an e-mail mailing. I know from talking to friends still at IC that they're worried about the job market and if four years of studying hard actually equate to getting a job once it's all over.

The short answer is yes. You learn a lot at IC, and my Ithaca education has helped me immensely. However, you've got to push to get into any doors. Ithaca helps, but it is ultimately your responsibility to make calls, post resumes, and search for where you want to go from here.

I started at CPM as an intern while still at IC and continued to speak to them after my internship was over. It turned into a job offer before graduation. I'm very, very happy. The big thing I've been working on at Central Park Media since starting is the domestic release of a short, creepy computer-generated film titled "Kakurenbo" ( www.centralparkmedia.com/kakurenbo/ ). Animated by only a team of four men, it has been compared to big budget studio works like "Appleseed" and won awards including the Exemplary Production Award at the Tokyo International Animation Fair and Best Short Film at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Critics, mesmerized, have called it "brilliant," "beautiful," "timeless," and "flawless."

I wanted to write to you today to let know you "Kakurenbo," on DVD earlier this month, has been picked up for a special pre-Halloween broadcast this weekend at midnight on October 29th on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. We're all very proud of "Kakurenbo" at CPM, and I wanted Park not to miss the special this weekend.

Peter Tatara
Assistant Marketing Manager
Central Park Media
250 W 57th St, Ste. 317
New York, NY 10107
www.centralparkmedia.com
ptatara@teamcpm.com

Professor Loop is a VP!

I've always thought Mead Loop has to be one of the busiest faculty members on campus. And that was before he became the chair of the Journalism Department.

Turns out he's busier than I thought. In addition to everything he does here in Park, Mead is just as active on a larger scale: after many years of service to and leadership in the Society of Professional Journalists, he has just been elected Vice President of SPJ -- which is the largest journalism organization in the country.

As VP, he'll be responsible for campus chapter affairs nationwide, and he'll serve on the executive committee in charge of SPJ finances and policies.

Next time you see him, congratulate him for this national honor...he may be the only VP in the building!

Come get the inside story: NBC'S Chief Investigative Reporter is Coming to Park

Your most trusted source may have a hidden agenda. He or she may be a "cut-out" for someone else. Your "big story" may be a "dangle" coming out of an intelligence agency or a rogue group within such an agency. Someone inside your news organization may have a big mouth, may violate a confidence, and put you and your story in jeopardy. Or, you may get on the air or in print without any of those problems. You are elated and on to your next story when a subpoena arrives inviting you to a grand jury to tell just how you broke that big story and to identify your sources.

Ira Silverman was chief investigative producer for NBC News. He lived in the world of cut outs, dangles, hidden agendas, and newsroom betrayals. He's had his share of subpoenas, but he's agreed to be "cross-examined" at the Park School without one.

THE WORLD OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Confidential Sources, Cut-outs, Dangles,
and the Hunt for the Big Story

Thursday, Nov. 3
7:30 p.m.
Park Auditorium

An Amazing Opportunity: Spend the summer in Korea

Thanks to the amazing efforts and dedication of C&P professor Changee Chun, Ithaca College now has an exchange program in South Korea. The summer curriculum includes a multidisciplinary course in documentary production that will be as valuable to history and science students as it will be to film and television students.

Nice way to spend a summer, eh? Applications are due in February, so you have lots of time to figure out the logistics. (Better start now.)

Here's Chang's summary:

Ithaca College Korean Exchange Program; Summer Study 2006

The Ithaca College Korean Exchange Program is proudly hosted by Hanyang
University in Seoul, South Korea, with an Ithaca College Cross-Cultural
Documentary Research & Production course offering. This program will be
OPEN TO ALL MAJORS.

Academics:
Cross-Cultural Documentary Research & Production in South Korea
Prerequisites: 222-11100 or permission of instructor. Sophomore standing;
recommendation by an instructor in student’s major. 4 credits. (Summer)

A unique aspect of this program is its dual framework. This allows
students of all disciplines to participate in this program: a new variety
away from summer study programs that are open only to specific students in
their respective disciplines. Researchers for this class will be drawn
from all disciplines: natural sciences, social sciences, humanities,
music, theatre, pre-professional students and communications students.
Students who are only interested in research will be assigned
appropriately in their class group. After developing research, students
will have the chance to meet and collaborate with officials and professors
in their field in Korea. This is to be an open, positive learning
experience for every student to grow in his or her field of study. By
offering this class to all students, production students will also benefit
in a way they might have had in the past by experiencing the value of
collaborative effort. Park students will be given access to all
production equipment and facilities at Hanyang University. Ithaca College
students will learn to work with AVID equipment that is not typically
available to them while in regular term. In addition, this course is
geared toward providing a production opportunity to talented students who
do not study TV-R or Cinema and Photography as their major field of study.
Therefore, many TV-R major students at the Park School that are
interested in creative film/video production within their TV-R interest
will be able to participate in this course even though they have not
completed the prerequisites normally required for an Advanced Cinema
Production course. This class can serve as a means to allow students to
explore their interests as producers, directors, assistant directors, and
cinematographers, and so on, to cater to the needs of the production that
they will create. This course will be open to Hanyang University students
as well, to provide a truly cross-cultural experience for all students.

In addition to the Ithaca College coursework, students will participate in
the Hanyang University International Summer School. This summer school
tuition will be included in the Ithaca College exchange program costs. In
the HU Program, all students will reside in dual occupancy rooms with a
Korean national student who is also studying at Hanyang University. Ithaca
College students may have the option to enroll in a Hanyang University
course. Also, students may participate in Korean Cooking, Taekwondo, or
Korean Pottery classes that will be offered throughout the summer term.
The students will embark on various field trips throughout the summer term
to Buddhist temples, palaces, and other famous areas of Korea―expenses
for these field trips is also included in the tuition. Students may elect
to participate in the major field trip to China, a 4-day tour to Beijing
and Harbin. However, if students wish to stay in Korea during this time,
they may stay in the Hanyang University dorm rooms.

Application Process:
Ithaca College students must apply by FEBRUARY 24th, 2006 with the Office
of International Programs (CHS, 2nd floor).

Four's the charm? Ithacan is Pacemaker finalist AGAIN!

The Ithacan has once again achieved national recognition as one of the top student newspapers in the country. The Associated College Press has named the paper a finalist for its 2005 Pacemaker Award -- an honor widely regarded as "the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism." Winners will be announced during the 84th annual National College Media Convention October 27-30 in Kansas City. The paper has won the award twice in the past and has been a finalist three times in the last four years.

Congratulations to the newspaper, to all of the students who work so hard to achieve its excellence, and to adviser Michael Serino.

This time, we're going to bring that Pacemaker home!

You're a writer. You're a thinker. Make a statement. And a difference.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation sponsors an annual essay competition designed to challenge students to think critically and deeply about ethical issues. It's an exercise worth engaging in -- even without a contest to reward the effort.

Here's a brief summary distributed by the Foundation:

Now entering its 17th year, the Prize in Ethics Essay Contest is an annual competition designed to challenge college students to analyze the urgent ethical issues confronting them in today's complex world.
Full-time juniors and seniors at accredited four-year colleges and universities in the US are welcome to enter the Essay Contest and compete for $10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to meet Elie Wiesel in New York City.
Entry forms and additional information about the Contest is available on www.eliewieselfoundation.org.
The postmark deadline for the 2006 Essay Contest is Friday, December 9, 2005.

This year's Suggested Topics are as follows:
Reflect on the most profound moral dilemma that you have encountered and analyze what it has taught you about ethics and yourself.
Examine the ethical aspects or implications of a major literary work, a film or a significant piece of art.
What is the relation between religion and ethics in today's world?
How can ethics transform for the better a community, institution, or nation?
What is the relationship between genocide and ethics?

This is IT: Your ONLY chance to throw a pie at the dean -- for a good cause, anyway

You got it. Pie throwing. At me.

And for a good cause. Friday night is ParkFest, an amazing event of music, food, games, haunted hallways and yes, folks: pie throwing. At the dean. (Who says I don't have a sense of humor? Anybody got a rubber suit?)

It's Friday at 8 pm-ish in the Park School. Bands. Pizza. Games. Pies. The works. $5 admission -- and all the proceeds (everything is donated so it's ALL proceeds) goes to the earthquake relief efforts.

It's the kind of special event we can all be proud of. If I'm willing to be the target of massive amounts of whipped cream and tin pie plates, the least YOU can do is show up....

Right?

Kudos to VIC: There are some amazing things goin' on online....

OK, so all of the student media in Park are amazing. And all of the students who put in the gazillions of hours to make them amazing are....well, amazing.

But once in awhile, certain folks deserve specific praise, and this week -- and maybe last week and next week, while I'm at it -- it's the staffers at 106-VIC.

The station has always been a great place to do radio, but let's face it: no matter how great it was, and no matter how outstanding its staffers were, the universe of potential listeners was...well, let's call it limited.

No more! Thanks to the amazing leadership of Amanda Horning, and with the help of our one-and-only Chris Wheatley, 106-VIC is now streaming on Live365.com -- which means that its audience has expanded exponentially. Like by leaps and bounds. Like now your sister and your mother and your grandmother can log on and listen to VIC any time they want to.

The station's staff deserves a round of applause (hurrah! clap clap clap) and our sincere congratulations for working so hard to make radio at IC that much better.

There are lots (and lots) of people who make VIC what it is, but here's a list of a few of them....Next time you see these guys in the hallway, shake their hand(s), and tell 'em what a great job they're doing:

Amy Buglass
Cody Holyoke
Holly Pietromonaco
Russ Hadaya
Paul Neet
Catie MacBlane
Justin Fuhrmann
Shaun Lang
Ally Mitchell
Brooke Hundley
Adam Trabka
Zach Timm
Rachel Rauch
Pat Johnson

My thanks. The Park School is getting better and better...and it's because of all of you.

Ever write a script? Ever want to?

WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SCREENWRITING IN HOLLYWOOD?

ASK SCREENWRITER ALLAN LOEB, an alum who has made it in the highly competitive screenwriting industry -- but not without a lot of tenacity, luck and talent.

Come here him talk about what it takes to make it in Hollywood.

The details:
Tuesday, October 18
4-6 p.m.
Park 220.

And some more info on him:

Screenwriter Allan Loeb moved to Hollywood in 1993 after attending Ithaca College from 1988-1992.

His first sale was a pitch to DreamWorks in 1997 titled "The Second Time Around." The script was rewritten by a major writer, then that draft was rewritten by another major writer until finally the studio put the project into turnaround. Allan then spent the next six years selling various pitches and scripts to Paramount, United Artists and Fox. After being replaced by other writers on most of those projects, none of the movies were made.

Frustrated and almost broke, Allan considered leaving Hollywood for more conventional work in 2004. He moved to New York City to write a personal story, “The Only Living Boy in New York.” He thought that would probably be his last script.

Sony bought “The Only Living Boy” in March of 2005.

Since then, Allan's career has taken off. He is currently booked till 2007 and has to turn down writing work every day.

Come meet Allan Loeb and find out what it takes to be a screenwriter in Los Angeles.

Prime-Time Queers: A history of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender Americans on television

Greetings,

Dr. Steve Tropiano, director of the LA center, will be on campus in the next few weeks to meet with those of you headed to LA next semester. While he's here, he's offered to teach a one-credit mini-course open to ALL students, inside and outside of Park, on the ways prime-time television has depicted gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender Americans.

Here are the details:

Name of course: Prime Time Queers: A History of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender Americans on Television

1 credit mini-course - open to all students
Instructor: Dr. Stephen Tropiano

Saturday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

To register for this course:
Students can register on Degree Navagator from Oct. 14-21. The course is listed under "Block M" as 224-29201-01-BM Minicourses in Communications. Anyone needing assistance registering can contact Rita Carlson in Park 311.

Walking the Line: High praise, lots of press

Walking the Line, a documentary produced by Park student Jeremy Levine and alum Landon Van Soest (a project from Ben Crane's Doc Research class....) is getting rave reviews and making news at film festivals all over the country.

Here's the latest from the Boston Phoenix. Ben says the overflow crowd filled two theaters to see the film....check out the last paragraph: http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/movies/reviews/documents/05010949.asp


(OK, OK, for those of you who don't have time to do the link thing, here 'tis:

If Our Lady’s has a flaw, it’s lack of balance: no one from the archdiocese gets to give its side. That’s not a problem with Jeremy Levine’s Walking the Line (October 6, 9 pm) — based on what I was able to see, the Best of the Fest. At first the film seems a mockumentary as it follows the wacky members of various vigilante organizations who have taken it upon themselves to halt illegal immigration from Mexico. But other points of view are deftly raised and explored, and by the end the issues unfold with clarity and without comment. Crucial and engrossing, Walking the Line is the kind of film that demands the existence of festivals like this.


And in other Doc Research news, a group of students who have been working on a project on strong men and women (body builders) are headed to Finland to attend the world competition with their subject.

You guys need to explain this to me: Ben says he could handle at least twice as many students in the course as typically enroll. I can never understand why you're not all standing in line to take this course...it's transformative, inspiring, and the most challenging experience you'll ever have as a college student.

What's not to like?

Math: Time to get over it....

Last night's Dean's Advisory Council meeting focused on a wide variety of topics, including the degree to which Park students should be required to take a "core curriculum" of courses outside the Park School.

It appeared that most of the students in attendance agreed about the value of a core curriculum that required students to take a wide variety of liberal arts courses across various disciplines; professional communicators need to be well rounded, well informed and well read.

There was less consensus about the particulars -- such as the question of whether students should be required to take a math course.

After some discussion -- which focused on everything from the importance of knowing how to put together a production budget and the fact that at least some of the folks in the room could be described as "math phobic" -- there was general agreement that math (well, certain KINDS of math, like applied math that was targeted at things communication professionals might need to know....) might be a good idea. Maybe. Perhaps.

The group also talked about plans to renovate the Park lobby; changes in the Organizational Communication, Learning and Design degree (its name, not its curriculum); the possibility of reinstating later hours in the Park School for the last half of the semester; the proposed laptop program (should it be Mac-only?); the CellFlix Festival, which begins Nov. 1; the Twilight Zone conference in April; Ira Silverman -- investigative journalist responsible for great New Yorker reporting on the mob -- and his visit to Park Nov. 2....and the new chairs in the lobby!

If you feel out of the loop on any of those topics, come to the next Advisory Council meeting; we'll fill you in.

Who says the Park lobby can't be cozy?

Hey,

So you're walking through the Park School lobby, and it hits you: There are actually other kids sitting in ....chairs? along the wall? and MORE chairs -- big, soft, comfy, cozy chairs that sit on a soft, cozy rug -- in the corner?

Huh?

Yup, I know, hard to believe. But now we've got wireless, AND we've got a place to settle, put your feet up, and be comfy (watching CNN...or not).

And guess where it all came from? Whose idea was it, anyway?

It was yours. Or, rather, it belonged to your fellow Parkies. Last year, in one of our advisory council meetings, several of you asked why we couldn't figure out a way to make Park more welcoming, more comfortable, more ...cozy.

So we got wireless, and we got comfy chairs, and we got a soft, pretty rug.

And we're STILL trying to figure out how to get food - but that's another story.

The moral of THIS one is that coming to the Advisory Council meetings actually makes a difference. The next meeting is MONDAY night, as in tomorrow night, from 7 to 8 p.m. in Park 279.

You bring ideas, I'll bring pizza.

See you there!

Ally, Ally, Who Wants to be an Ally?

I just got an email from Sarah Johnson to tell me that my name has been added to the list of Ally folks on the college's Ally Web site. That's the good news.

The not-so-good news is that I'm one of FOUR names on the whole page. That's right: FOUR.

Now, come on. It can't possibly be the case that there are only four of us who are willing to put our names to this kind of statement:

"An ally is a member of a dominant group who rejects the dominant ideology and takes action against oppression out of a belief that eliminating oppression benefits everyone...An ally is a person who takes a stand against social injustice directed at target groups. These include:

-- men who speak out against sexism
-- white people who speak out against racism, and
-- heterosexual people who speak out against heterosexism and homophobia.

Take a look at the page: http://www.ithaca.edu/lgbt/ally.html

Want to add your name to the list? Email me at dlynch@ithaca.edu. And Sarah will be in touch.

Dianne

This site's for you....

Trying to keep in touch with other creative artists? Trying to find a way to organize your film shoot, your class presentation, your documentary project? Take a look at Zack Wilson's "nZ Network"; it's a Web site designed to connect you with...well, with everybody else.

It's at http://www.negativezerofilms.com/nznetwork/. Cool, huh?

Ideas? Complaints? Suggestions? Talk to me...

OK, everybody, it's a whole week away, but I want you to mark your calendars now (please):

This month's Dean's Advisory Council meeting will be held next Monday, October 10, at 7 p.m. in Park 279.

That means you can show up, hear what's new and happening in the Park School, and give me feedback about everything from course offerings to the lobby decor -- or anything else that's on your mind.

Bring your friends, and your ideas. We can make Park even better than it is if we do it together....(for example, should we go back to the 1 a.m. closing time we tried at the end of the spring semester?)

I look forward to seeing you.

Dianne