Friday, January 29, 2010
Every Little Bit Helps
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Michael Klein and Daily News columnist Dan Gross are possibly the most-read writers in the city. I've had good luck getting La Salle in their columns, but many of those items have little to do with education. Klein once wrote that first person to throw off the mound at Citizens Bank Park was a pitcher for La Salle's baseball team. Gross recently wrote that Phillies 3B coach Sam Perlozzo was coached in high school by none other than Br. Gerry Molyneaux (I've known him for 12 years and not once has he said anything about baseball to me). While neither item featured academics or student achievements, the key point is each one mentioned "La Salle." That's the important thing.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Big Sisters
One of our students, a senior psychology major who is on an athletic scholarship here (and has a 3.6 gpa) has been involved with Big Sisters since she arrived at La Salle. She's been a "buddy" to a student at a nearly elementary school since her freshman year, and a writer with one of the Philly papers is interested in doing a story about her relationship with the "little sister" who's now in 5th grade. In an email between the two, the fifth grader wrote that she was lucky to have someone (her big sister) to care about her. This could appear in print in a few weeks if all goes well. One of the first things I have to do is get the proper OK from the fifth grader's parents, teachers, etc.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
They Still Love Him!
With Haiti being in the news again (more aftershocks), Channel 3 returned to campus to interview Geology Professor Hank Bart.
KYW Newsradio also interviewed Social Work Professor Donna Fiedler, who studies and treats emotional trauma. She discussed how parents can talk to their children about the tragedy and how seeing the devastation and tragedy can affect viewers young and old.
Several people told me that when they watched TV all they saw was coverage of Haiti. That can't be true, but it probably felt like it. What has the coverage been like? I went to Richard Goedkoop, who studies TV news and broadcasting. He had several insightful comments, which made their way into the Inquirer in today's edition. Here's a link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/82230522.html
KYW Newsradio also interviewed Social Work Professor Donna Fiedler, who studies and treats emotional trauma. She discussed how parents can talk to their children about the tragedy and how seeing the devastation and tragedy can affect viewers young and old.
Several people told me that when they watched TV all they saw was coverage of Haiti. That can't be true, but it probably felt like it. What has the coverage been like? I went to Richard Goedkoop, who studies TV news and broadcasting. He had several insightful comments, which made their way into the Inquirer in today's edition. Here's a link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/82230522.html
Friday, January 15, 2010
Above and beyond the call of duty
It's late on a Friday, so that's my excuse for writing "above the call of dity..."
Have a great weekend everyone.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Above and beyond the call of dity
Kudos and thanks to Geology Professor Henry "Hank" Bart; he happened to be in his office the day the Earthquake devastated Haiti, and got a call from Channel 3 asking if he'd go on air for an interview to discuss Earthquakes. Bart was wearing an old shirt and hadn't shaved in a few days, so before the TV cameras showed up he bought a La Salle shirt and razor from the book store and spruced himself up. Channel 3 was so impressed by his commments that they used them on their noon, 4 and 5 pm broadcasts that day.
The local media will be out in force on Monday to cover MLK events around the city and region. There's much going on at the campus, but whether any press shows up depends on factors beyond our control, including weather and attendance. Some of our students are working on a Habitat for Humanity project not far from campus; the University donated a house to the organization, and it's being repaired for a family to move in, sometime in April. If we don't get coverage on Monday, there are additional work days scheduled, so perhaps then we can generate some media.
The local media will be out in force on Monday to cover MLK events around the city and region. There's much going on at the campus, but whether any press shows up depends on factors beyond our control, including weather and attendance. Some of our students are working on a Habitat for Humanity project not far from campus; the University donated a house to the organization, and it's being repaired for a family to move in, sometime in April. If we don't get coverage on Monday, there are additional work days scheduled, so perhaps then we can generate some media.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Taking the Time
Yesterday Ch. 3 in Philly interviewed John Dolan, VP for Enrollment Services at La Salle, for a story on college graduation rates. Ch. 3 isn't sure when the story will air, but they spent close to 20 minutes speaking with Dolan and the max face time he'll get will be 30 seconds (and that's pushing it).
It's easy to get frustrated in that scenario: one professor was interviewed for 45 minutes for a story and one sentence was used with the professor's comments. On many occassions faculty are interviewed for 30 minutes or more and none of their comments are used. This is life in the pr business. I'm lucky to have faculty who are willing to take time to do interviews, and are still willing to do them even after they aren't quoted or broadcast in the segment.
It's easy to get frustrated in that scenario: one professor was interviewed for 45 minutes for a story and one sentence was used with the professor's comments. On many occassions faculty are interviewed for 30 minutes or more and none of their comments are used. This is life in the pr business. I'm lucky to have faculty who are willing to take time to do interviews, and are still willing to do them even after they aren't quoted or broadcast in the segment.
Monday, January 11, 2010
What's in a Name
I'm always surprised (but I shouldn't be) when a media outlet gets our name wrong:
It is La Salle University; note the space between the La and the Salle; sometimes an outlet will close the gap and id us as "LaSalle"; and once in a while we're ID'd as "La Salle College"; we haven't been a college since the 1980s....Go figure.
It is La Salle University; note the space between the La and the Salle; sometimes an outlet will close the gap and id us as "LaSalle"; and once in a while we're ID'd as "La Salle College"; we haven't been a college since the 1980s....Go figure.
Friday, January 8, 2010
WAITING
A few weeks ago a professor sent me a "reflection" written by a student on the course they had taken with the prof. It was very well done, and I called the student and asked if they could flesh it out a little so I could submit it to the Inquirer's OPED page. They agreed, and the piece, in my opinion, is very good. Now, I'm waiting to hear back from the paper's editor....This editor usually emails with a yes/no decision, so I'm watching my emails. But the waiting is tough, and I have to put it out of my mind until the decision is made.
This illustrates a concept endemic to my profession (and it applies to many other experiences) but my opinion doesn't count. I've learned to accept that, but it's harder for some than others. I might think something is news worthy, but I don't have the final say.
Speaking of waiting: Back in November, a writer with CNN.com interviewed Br. Edward Sheehy about the U.S. Philippines War of 1902 and compared it with the Afghan War. The story didn't appear on the site until today.
Heard from Sam Fran Scavuzzo, class of '09 and Collegian editor in chief for his senior year. He also did an internship at the Philadelphia Inquirer and wondered where he found time to sleep. Sam meet weekly with myself and my colleague, Amy Cranston, to share story ideas, talk about upcoming projects, etc. It was helpful to all parties involved, and this year Amy and I meet with Vinny Vella, the paper's features editor. I kept pressing Vinny to do a story on the Masque's tech crew, who do great work, and it resulted in a really nice story. By the way, Vinny is also an editor with the U's literary magazine and has a 4.0 GPA.
This illustrates a concept endemic to my profession (and it applies to many other experiences) but my opinion doesn't count. I've learned to accept that, but it's harder for some than others. I might think something is news worthy, but I don't have the final say.
Speaking of waiting: Back in November, a writer with CNN.com interviewed Br. Edward Sheehy about the U.S. Philippines War of 1902 and compared it with the Afghan War. The story didn't appear on the site until today.
Heard from Sam Fran Scavuzzo, class of '09 and Collegian editor in chief for his senior year. He also did an internship at the Philadelphia Inquirer and wondered where he found time to sleep. Sam meet weekly with myself and my colleague, Amy Cranston, to share story ideas, talk about upcoming projects, etc. It was helpful to all parties involved, and this year Amy and I meet with Vinny Vella, the paper's features editor. I kept pressing Vinny to do a story on the Masque's tech crew, who do great work, and it resulted in a really nice story. By the way, Vinny is also an editor with the U's literary magazine and has a 4.0 GPA.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
COMMING ATTRACTIONS
A few things are coming up.....
Later this month, there is the graduation ceremony for BUSCA, an associate degree program for Spanish dominant students who receive intenstive language instruction while earning college credit. Many grads of this program pursue a BA from La Salle. We've gotten TV coverage for past ceremonies: last year a grandmother finished and this year a married couple are graduating.
Valentine's Day. It does happen every year, and every year the media do stories about it. So, we look for all things love and love related. Last year KYW newsradio interview a prof here who teaches a course on the philosophy of love. In year past, media have published tips from Assoc. Dean of Students Lane Neubauer on what to cope with being single on Valentine's Day. This year, we'll find out if anyone profs can talk about the "business" of love, or Valentine's Day: imagine the cost of all those cards, flowers and dinners....
Washington's birthday. Last year was Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, so that was in the news. I asked History Chair Stuart Leibiger for some little-known facts about Lincoln and he told me on that floored me: Lincoln spoke with a southern accent! It seems you can take the boy out of Kentucky but you can't take the Kentucky out of the boy. Again, KYW newsradio did a spot on that fact with Leibiger. So, this year I'll bug Dr. Leibiger for some little-known facts about our first president.
Holidays, anniversaries and milestones are good opportunities for media coverage. Br. Ed Sheehy wrote an oped on the 50th anniversary of Pres. Truman desegregating the military; he was also interviewed on radio about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. History Professor John Rossi talked about the "real" St. Patrick of St. Patrick's Day (he was born in Italy). I'm sure there will be extensive press on Jan. 20: marking the first year of Pres. Obama's term. I've asked a few faculty to look into that. (BTW, I said this jokingly to Br. Ed, who is a naval/maritime specialist: 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, so I've asked him to start researching that infamous voyage; I'll seriously start to bug him about it in late 2011.)
April Fool's Day is always in the news on April 1, and 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of one of baseball's greatest moments.
A few things are coming up.....
Later this month, there is the graduation ceremony for BUSCA, an associate degree program for Spanish dominant students who receive intenstive language instruction while earning college credit. Many grads of this program pursue a BA from La Salle. We've gotten TV coverage for past ceremonies: last year a grandmother finished and this year a married couple are graduating.
Valentine's Day. It does happen every year, and every year the media do stories about it. So, we look for all things love and love related. Last year KYW newsradio interview a prof here who teaches a course on the philosophy of love. In year past, media have published tips from Assoc. Dean of Students Lane Neubauer on what to cope with being single on Valentine's Day. This year, we'll find out if anyone profs can talk about the "business" of love, or Valentine's Day: imagine the cost of all those cards, flowers and dinners....
Washington's birthday. Last year was Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, so that was in the news. I asked History Chair Stuart Leibiger for some little-known facts about Lincoln and he told me on that floored me: Lincoln spoke with a southern accent! It seems you can take the boy out of Kentucky but you can't take the Kentucky out of the boy. Again, KYW newsradio did a spot on that fact with Leibiger. So, this year I'll bug Dr. Leibiger for some little-known facts about our first president.
Holidays, anniversaries and milestones are good opportunities for media coverage. Br. Ed Sheehy wrote an oped on the 50th anniversary of Pres. Truman desegregating the military; he was also interviewed on radio about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. History Professor John Rossi talked about the "real" St. Patrick of St. Patrick's Day (he was born in Italy). I'm sure there will be extensive press on Jan. 20: marking the first year of Pres. Obama's term. I've asked a few faculty to look into that. (BTW, I said this jokingly to Br. Ed, who is a naval/maritime specialist: 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, so I've asked him to start researching that infamous voyage; I'll seriously start to bug him about it in late 2011.)
April Fool's Day is always in the news on April 1, and 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of one of baseball's greatest moments.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
WHAT IS NEWS?
There are three parameters I consider when looking for a story.
According to a text I had in college, a young reporter went up to a crusty old editor and asked, Sir, what's news? The crusty editor said, when a dog bites a man, that's not news. When a man bites a dog, that's news. A man biting the dog is the out of the ordinary, the unusual, the unexpected. For instance, at college graduation ceremonies the media aren't looking for 21-22 year olds, they're looking for that 62 year old grandmother or 58 year old father: the out of the ordinary.
Number 2: A story must have wide appeal. Both Bill Gates and a truck driver should want to read, listen to or watch the story.
Number 3: And there's no getting around this. News is whatever a journalist says it is. Every day, it seems, I'll pitch an idea to one journalist who will pass on it, then have it accepted by another journalist. It's the same story, but one said yes, the other no. This is why it's important to get to know media types to learn what stories they like to cover.
There are three parameters I consider when looking for a story.
According to a text I had in college, a young reporter went up to a crusty old editor and asked, Sir, what's news? The crusty editor said, when a dog bites a man, that's not news. When a man bites a dog, that's news. A man biting the dog is the out of the ordinary, the unusual, the unexpected. For instance, at college graduation ceremonies the media aren't looking for 21-22 year olds, they're looking for that 62 year old grandmother or 58 year old father: the out of the ordinary.
Number 2: A story must have wide appeal. Both Bill Gates and a truck driver should want to read, listen to or watch the story.
Number 3: And there's no getting around this. News is whatever a journalist says it is. Every day, it seems, I'll pitch an idea to one journalist who will pass on it, then have it accepted by another journalist. It's the same story, but one said yes, the other no. This is why it's important to get to know media types to learn what stories they like to cover.
HOW IT WORKS (SOMETIMES)
While newspapers still exist, there will be something called "the hometowner," and this results in many media mentions.
How does the hometowner work? Here are a few examples:
La Salle student Maria Muscara was the first recipient of a national scholarship from the Public Relations Society of America. She lives in Wilmington, DE, so I sent info to that paper, and they published it in a column for school news, people info, etc.
English professor Stephen Smith received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching last May. He lives in Delaware County, Pa., so I sent info and a pic to "The Delaware County Daily Times" and a story about him appeared.
A hometowner is just that: news about someone who lives in the reader's hometown, or the same geographical area.
Big city newspapers, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Los Angeles Times, do not run these types of stories; their competitors in the suburbs do...Also, a small-town newspaper (such as the Salem Gazette) will publish the info. Items about La Salle students being named the top graduate in their majors appeared in the following papers:
Salisbury (MD) Daily Times; the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle; the Northeast (Philadelphia) Times; the Burlington County (NJ) Times; the (Lehighton, PA) Times-News; the Ridgewood (NY) Times Weekly; the Sewickley (PA) Herald; and the Woonsocket (RI) Call.
Sometimes the hometowner is a full article, sometimes it's a brief mention in a column; if the words "La Salle University" appear, I'm happy.
Oh, another reasong why newspapers publish student news? They know the parents will buy extra copies of the paper.
While newspapers still exist, there will be something called "the hometowner," and this results in many media mentions.
How does the hometowner work? Here are a few examples:
La Salle student Maria Muscara was the first recipient of a national scholarship from the Public Relations Society of America. She lives in Wilmington, DE, so I sent info to that paper, and they published it in a column for school news, people info, etc.
English professor Stephen Smith received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching last May. He lives in Delaware County, Pa., so I sent info and a pic to "The Delaware County Daily Times" and a story about him appeared.
A hometowner is just that: news about someone who lives in the reader's hometown, or the same geographical area.
Big city newspapers, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Los Angeles Times, do not run these types of stories; their competitors in the suburbs do...Also, a small-town newspaper (such as the Salem Gazette) will publish the info. Items about La Salle students being named the top graduate in their majors appeared in the following papers:
Salisbury (MD) Daily Times; the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle; the Northeast (Philadelphia) Times; the Burlington County (NJ) Times; the (Lehighton, PA) Times-News; the Ridgewood (NY) Times Weekly; the Sewickley (PA) Herald; and the Woonsocket (RI) Call.
Sometimes the hometowner is a full article, sometimes it's a brief mention in a column; if the words "La Salle University" appear, I'm happy.
Oh, another reasong why newspapers publish student news? They know the parents will buy extra copies of the paper.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
I always forget something...
On Dec. 23 John Rossi published an oped about Sherlock Holmes in the Inquirer and it was wonderful. Dr. Rossi is a long-time fan of the sleuth, so when I heard the new movie was coming out, I asked him if he'd like to write something. BTW, he enjoyed the movie.
This is third oped piece Dr. Rossi has done this semester at my suggestion; earlier ones were about George Orwell in the Inquirer and one about former Phillies star Dick Allen in the Daily News. I promised him I would not suggest any more opeds for a few more weeks, but there's a book I think he should write.
On Dec. 23 John Rossi published an oped about Sherlock Holmes in the Inquirer and it was wonderful. Dr. Rossi is a long-time fan of the sleuth, so when I heard the new movie was coming out, I asked him if he'd like to write something. BTW, he enjoyed the movie.
This is third oped piece Dr. Rossi has done this semester at my suggestion; earlier ones were about George Orwell in the Inquirer and one about former Phillies star Dick Allen in the Daily News. I promised him I would not suggest any more opeds for a few more weeks, but there's a book I think he should write.
OK, I'm back, this time for the long haul. The social media revolution is way ahead of me, so this is the first of several media I'll be doing.
So, where do we stand since my last post?
Well, a story I always wanted to see published made it into print: La Salle graduate Carmen Superville and her mother-in-law Janet McCall were profiled in the Philadelphia Daily News.
It took me 8.5 years, but I finally got Marjorie Allen (co-director of the LGU program) to do a book review for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is the 30th La Salle person to review for the paper. Here's a link:
I get paid for this? When the Phillies made their post-season run, the local media went "All Phillies, Nearly all the Time." I arranged for John Rossi, La Salle baseball scholar and all-around good guy, to be interviewed, and the Phila. Inquirer published a big story on another La Salle person (and another all-around good guy) John Rooney, who had a near-magical boyhood when it came to baseball.
The Phila. Daily News also did a profile of Rooney who has been at La Salle for 62 years. The "hook" was his receiving the University's John W. Finley Award, given to an alum who has demonstrated outstanding service to La Salle. This was tricky: because the Inquirer did the story on Jack Rooney's childhood, a few media folks thought it was too soon to do another story on him. Fortunately, the Daily News city editor didn't think that and their education writer, Valerie Russ, did a very nice piece about him.
Philadelphia Daily News columnist Dan Gross today (1/5) reported that Education Professor Robert Vogel was one of 15 American scholars invited to study the Holocaust in Israel. Dr. Vogel is there now, so I hope he's checking his email.
Here's a link (ignore the Mariah Carey headline and scroll down):
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100105_Dan_Gross__Mariah_Carey_at_A_C__club.html
Each semester I have an intern from the English department; last semester I had two interns, and I was running on empty when the semester ended. The two were great, it's just that it takes (for me, anyway), a great deal of energy to make sure the interns get a great experience, and I need to recharge my batteries. I still have a few students who are willing to write for me on a free-lance basis, and that should be fun.
That's all for now folks. Look for Facebook and Twitter in the near future.
JC
So, where do we stand since my last post?
Well, a story I always wanted to see published made it into print: La Salle graduate Carmen Superville and her mother-in-law Janet McCall were profiled in the Philadelphia Daily News.
It took me 8.5 years, but I finally got Marjorie Allen (co-director of the LGU program) to do a book review for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is the 30th La Salle person to review for the paper. Here's a link:
I get paid for this? When the Phillies made their post-season run, the local media went "All Phillies, Nearly all the Time." I arranged for John Rossi, La Salle baseball scholar and all-around good guy, to be interviewed, and the Phila. Inquirer published a big story on another La Salle person (and another all-around good guy) John Rooney, who had a near-magical boyhood when it came to baseball.
The Phila. Daily News also did a profile of Rooney who has been at La Salle for 62 years. The "hook" was his receiving the University's John W. Finley Award, given to an alum who has demonstrated outstanding service to La Salle. This was tricky: because the Inquirer did the story on Jack Rooney's childhood, a few media folks thought it was too soon to do another story on him. Fortunately, the Daily News city editor didn't think that and their education writer, Valerie Russ, did a very nice piece about him.
Philadelphia Daily News columnist Dan Gross today (1/5) reported that Education Professor Robert Vogel was one of 15 American scholars invited to study the Holocaust in Israel. Dr. Vogel is there now, so I hope he's checking his email.
Here's a link (ignore the Mariah Carey headline and scroll down):
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100105_Dan_Gross__Mariah_Carey_at_A_C__club.html
Each semester I have an intern from the English department; last semester I had two interns, and I was running on empty when the semester ended. The two were great, it's just that it takes (for me, anyway), a great deal of energy to make sure the interns get a great experience, and I need to recharge my batteries. I still have a few students who are willing to write for me on a free-lance basis, and that should be fun.
That's all for now folks. Look for Facebook and Twitter in the near future.
JC
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