DIGITAL REVOLT: Submit now!

This just in from Park student Santi Vernetti:

On April 16th at 8:00 PM, I will be hosting the DIGITAL RE:VOLT FESTIVAL in the Park Auditorium. This is a festival that will explore, celebrate and attempt to further the development of the digital aesthetic. This is a chance for all Ithaca students (especially Park ones) to show the vast array of digital art being made in and outside of classes.

We are looking for work that doesn't just use digital imaging as a means to an end, but rather as a progressive force that will provide the grounds for a new generation of artists. We will accept any submissions of any form: cinematic, photographic, performance, musical, installation, or any other category of art as long as it explores the possibilities of the digital medium.

Submissions will be accepted for review until Wednesday APRIL 12th. However, last minute and late submission will be encouraged, but notguaranteed for either review or screening.

You can reach Santi at his IC email address.

Ana Liss will be on CBS Early Show on Monday

Ana Liss, a junior in the Park School, has been named one of 15 recipients to receive a 2006 New York Women in Communications scholarship -- and she gets to help do the morning weather report on the CBS Early Show on Monday as part of her prize.

Ana and her fellow recipients also will be honored guests Monday afternoon at the 2006 Matrix Awards, sponsored by the Oxygen Network and hosted by Ellen Degeneres. Among some of the presenters are Katie Couric, Susan Sarandon, Bill Moyers and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (nice company she'll be keeping, eh?).

We'll have the Morning Show on in the lobby Monday morning, so our early risers will get a chance to see Ana on national television.

Congratulations to Ana for this major honor, and hurrah! for the Park School: our students continue to prove that they are the best of the best.

Park does it again!

It's amazing, no matter how many times it happens.

Some of our outstanding student media and student meddia makers picked up more honors this week, reconfirming yet again that nobody does it better than we do.

Today's announcements:

ICTV, WICB and The Ithacan are finalists for Mark of Excellence Awards to be presented at the SPJ Northeast Region at their conference at Rutgers March 31-April 1.

The Ithacan is a finalist for Best Non-Daily Newspaper.

ICTV's Newswatch 16 is a finalist for Best Newscast.

And the Staff of WICB is a finalist for Radio Sports Reporting

In addition, several of our students are in the running for top honors for their individual work:

Emily Liu ’05, for Feature Writing
Marie Luby ’08 & Lindsey Knox ’07, for Television News Reporting
Colin Bonzey ’07 and Nathan Lindberg ’06, for Television Sports Reporting
Anthony Sabato ’06 and Colin Bonzey ’07, for Best Television Sports Photography

Winners will go on to compete against the 11 other SPJ regional winners for the national awards in their categories.

In addition:

The Ithacan has been named a Gold Medalist for the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 semesters in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's annual College Newspaper Critique.

Each year the CSPA uses more than 150 criteria to judge member papers based on overall content, news, depth of reporting, features, opinion/editorial, sports, arts/entertainment, editorial/headline writing and design/graphic. The paper earned 981 points on a 1,000-point scale for the Fall 2004 semester and 972 points for Spring 2005.

Hurrah!

Have you seen this?

Have you all taken a look at Imprint lately? http://www.imprintmagazine.org/*

For those of you who have taken a bit of a break from the college's (relatively) new online magazine, it's time to go back and take another look. It looks GREAT: great stories, great graphics, great design.

When a small group of students came up to me in the fall of 2004 -- about 15 minutes after I arrived on campus -- and told me they wanted to start an online magazine, I said what I always say when students suggest taking on a really exciting, incredibly demanding initiative: Go for it! I offered to do what I could to help, and to incorporate the new publication into 'official' Park student media if it was still around after a year.

We're working on two....and it has never looked better.

Congratulations to the magazine's staff, its writers, its editors, its chief editor (Chris Baxter, who has been the driver behind this project from the beginning) and to its faculty adviser, Kim Gregson.

It's just another example of what can happen when really smart people get together to do something important.

Something important happens.

PS Sorry the link isn't live. Blogger has this really stupid issue with embedding live links from its interface on Macs....

Diversity of opinion in the Park School...

Greetings,

A few of you have been in touch in the past few days to talk about the fact that we seem to be bringing speakers in over the past few months who have a decidedly liberal or progressive point of view.

Your question -- appropriately -- has been whether we plan to bring to campus speakers who may have a more conservative perspective.

The answer to that question has two parts.

The first is yes, I've asked a couple of faculty to submit recommendations for conservative media representatives; Jon Stossel's name is already on the table. I would welcome recommendations or suggestions from students as well.

The second part is more a point of information. Many of the speakers who come to the Park School are here because they have offered to come, they are in town on other business and are willing to speak with students, or -- as in the case of Al Franken -- there is a local business that is bringing the person to Ithaca and has asked us to participate. Our decisions in those situations have far less to do with a speaker's particular political perspective than with our interest in whether he or she has something to teach our students about media, in all of its forms. And we are very happy to offer students the opportunity to interact with the greatest number of speakers possible.

That said, we understand and recognize that diversity of opinion is essential to an open and informed debate on any subject, and we're committed to ensuring that we contribute to an intellectual climate on campus that celebrates and engages that kind of diversity.

Just fyi, here's a list of some of the speakers we have invited to Park this year, including our 'major' speakers; as you'll see, there isn't a particular perspective that we're either promoting or supporting:

Jessica Savitch Distinguished Lecturer Series
The annual Jessica Savitch Distinguished Lecture Series brings in a high-profile personality in the broadcast journalism profession to honor alumna Jessica Savitch. Past distinguished lecturers include:
• Steve Capus, President of NBC News (2006)
• Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National Public Radio (2005)
• Dawn Fratangelo, news correspondent for Dateline NBC and substitute anchor on the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News with Tom Browkaw (2004).

The Park Distinguished Visitor
Each year, the Roy H. Park School of Communications hosts an individual representing one or more of the significant professions associated with the communications industry for a three-day residency. Leading figures in print and broadcast journalism are the primary focus. Past distinguished visitors include:
• Bill Moyers, broadcast journalist (2005)
• John Seely Brown, author, humanistic technologist, former chief scientist and director of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC, Inc.) (2004)
• Michael Eric Dyson, author and cultural critic (2003)

Skip Landen Professional in Residence Program
This program focuses on bringing successful alumni of our communications program to campus for a three-day residency. During this time, they visit or lecture in classes, teach master classes, provide a public lecture, and participate in various social functions involving students, faculty, and staff. Past visitors include:
• Sharon Otterman '91, vice president of media strategy at ESPN (2005)
• Jay Linden '72, executive vice president of NBC's Strategic Partnership Group (2004)
• Bill D'Elia '69, television director, executive producer, and writer (2003)

Other guest speakers who have visited Ithaca College in the past year include:
• Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter
• Ira Silverman, former chief investigative producer for the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
• Gary Kebbel, founding editor of USA Today.com and Newsweek.com.
• Jonathan L. Meyers, senior project manager for America Online News
• Lynn Johnson, award-winning photojournalist
• Allan Loeb, screenwriter who recently sold “The Only Living Boy” to Sony
• Michael Kaplan, vice president at Grey Direct
• Ernest Adams, video game designer


Have suggestions for speakers you'd like to see on campus? We're in the process of selecting a Park Distinguished Speaker for next year, and I'd love to hear your suggestions.

cheers,
Dianne

Al Franken's coming to IC...to broadcast live from Emerson!

Nationally syndicated radio talk show host Al Franken will broadcast his show live from Emerson on Wednesday, April 26, from noon to 3 p.m.

Franken is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, and bestselling author. His program, 'The Al Franken Show,' airs on Air America, broadcast by progressive talk 1470-WNYY radio in Ithaca. His appearance at IC is co-sponsored by the Park School and WNYY.

Admission to the show will be free, but tickets will be required. Watch the blog for details on where you can get them.

Internship at Atlantic Records....

This just in from John Fracchia over in Career Services. Sounds pretty cool....


I am writing to alert you to a summer internship opportunity that may be of interest to you. Ithaca alum, Ashley Kaiser, called me today to tell me that her company, Atlantic Records, is looking for interns in their Radio Promotions Department.

If you are interested in this opportunity, she will need a resume and cover letter from you ASAP. The internship is located in New York City and is unpaid but with somewhat flexible hours (i.e. could be full-time or part-time). You will be serving in an administrative capacity which includes supporting full time staff, assisting with mailings, working on special projects and interacting with radio stations. She describes this as a good opportunity for someone who is interested in a music promotions career, A&R or the business side of the music industry.

To apply send her your resume and cover letter at:
ashley.keiser@atlanticrecords.com

Very cool...the big guys are blogging our bloggers

In Kim Gregson's Audience Research class, students are required to blog for five weeks. A few of them contacted some of the pro bloggers in the field -- Steve Rubel (micropersuasion.com, just got bought by Edelman) and Joseph Jaffe (jaffejuice.com, author of The Death of the 30-Second Spot").

Both Rubel and Jaffe mentioned our students in their blogs. Very cool.

Check it out
http://www.jaffejuice.com/2006/03/bloggers_of_the.html

War is Complex: Information and ideas, not politics and polarization

This week, Buzzsaw Haircut is making an enormous gift to Ithaca College. After months of planning and fundraising, the magazine will present 'War is Complex," a series of special events designed to engage us in a thoughtful and substantive conversation about war.

The events are specifically designed to present a wide range of opinions and to grapple with the complicated nature of modern war. It will also be a time for students to discuss the role of a college campus in the national dialogue on the Iraq War.

“The series will create an opportunity for our campus community to reinvigorate debates that have too often been pushed to the back of our minds or relegated to simplistic and polarizing rhetoric,” said Matthew Corley, a senior politics major and news editor of Buzzsaw Haircut.


The events are co-sponsored by the Provost’s Office, the Roy H. Park School of Communications, the School of Humanities and Sciences, the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Journalism, the Department of Cinema and Photography, the Student Government Association, the Residence Hall Association, Amnesty International and Students for a Just Peace.

Events include:

Monday, March 20

Panel discussion on veterans’ issues
7 p.m.
Textor 101

Tuesday, March 21
Author, blogger and Iraq War veteran Colby Buzzell will speak at a brown bag lunch with students
Noon
Park 220

Buzzell’s public lecture on his book, My War
7 p.m.
Textor 101

Wednesday, March 22
Screening of Occupation: Dreamland
7 p.m.
Park Auditorium.

Thursday, March 23
Student forum on the Iraq War (features students from a range of backgrounds and opinions on the war as well as audience participation)
7 p.m.
Textor 101

For more information or to set up interviews with the speakers, please contact Kate Sheppard by phone at (607) 339-9723 or by e-mail at buzzsawhaircut@gmail.com.

Park does it again!

We know we're the best, but it sure is nice when the rest of the world recognizes it, too.

The good news is, it happens all the time. And no, we never get tired of hearing it.

This weekend, ICTV and The Ithacan have once again taken "Best in Show" awards at the national College Media convention in New York. The awards are given in recognition of a particular issue and broadcast presented since March 2005.

Congratulations to Beth Quill, editor of the Ithacan, and to Matt Antalek, station manager of ICTV; to Michael Serino and Eloise Greene, advisers to the newspaper and television station; and to all of the students who work so hard -- every single day -- to make our student media the best in the country.

Hurrah!

MSNBC Internship? You got it.

This just in from Professor Kim Gregson:

I got a message today from Brian Colton at MSNBC (he's the manager of
technical operations)

and he wants to encourage students from IC to apply for internshps at
MSNBC in NYC. They have some that would be great for IMC folks - including
audience research, marketing, media relations. They have internships in
the newsroom and with Imus. THey have audio and video production jobs and
graphics. Somthing for just about everybody.

here's the website with more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3342438/

interested students can contact Jodi Richard, at 201.583.5784 - the
overall internship coordinator.

Sounds like a great way to spend the summer....

Congratulations!

I know, I know: We ALWAYS win awards. But that doesn't make it less special and wonderful, each and every time it happens. Congratulations to the following students, who have been selected to receive Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards by the Society for Professional Journalists. The actual place awarded will be announced at the award's ceremony.

* Colin Bonzey & Nathan Lindberg, TV Sports Reporting, "The Cortaca Jug"
* Marie Luby & Lindsey Knox, TV Breaking News Reporting, "St. Pat's Four Trial"
* Staff, Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper, "The Ithacan"

Internship? Paid? at a progressive/independent media organization? Where do I sign up?

Greetings,

As some of you may recall, we offered last summer ten paid ($2500) internships at some of the best and most important progressive media sites in the country.

The program was such a success that we're repeating -- and expanding -- it this summer.

At this point, we're in the final stages of identifying the sites we'll be working with -- many of those we partnered with last summer will be back, and we're working on four or five new ones.

Among those that will be available this summer include:

MediaChannel.org/Globalvision
Workign Films
Vision TV
Free Press
Democracy Now
Center for Public Integrity (2 interns)
The Center for Media Integrity

At least two of the sites have asked for more than one intern, and we'll do our best to accommodate them.

I'm going to be supervising and advising the Progressive Media Internships this summer. We'll have the application forms and all the details available to you when you return from spring break. In the meantime, watch this space; I'll update the details as they become available.

Dianne

In the "practice makes perfect" category....

Got Mock? Career Services is pleased to announce Mock Interview Day Spring 2006! That's right, we want to mock you and we think you'll thank us for it!

Mock Interview Day affords you the opportunity to hone your interview skills in a simulated environment. Human Resource professionals from around the community will be on hand to conduct the interviews and to provide you with feedback and tips for a successful interview.

When: March 22, 2006 9:00a.m. to 4:30p.m.
Where: Emerson Suites C


You can sign up for interviews by stopping into Career Services on the first floor of Gannett Center or by calling us at 274-3365. Interviews will last approximately 30 minutes, you should bring a resume (or preferably provide us with one in advance) and dress professionally.