Another semester ends...

December 17th, the last day of finals for the Fall, 2010 semester. Can't believe it's gone, or that I've taken this long to post another blog.

Had some notable successes these past few months: several faculty published oped in the Inquirer, on topics ranging from college and minorities to madam bovary to the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy being elected president. Last weekend KYW Newsradio interviewed Prof. John Hymers about the philosophy of food as it pertains to the holidays. This is the 19th media placement I've obtained for the department, and I take a silly pride in it because anyone can get historians, psychologists, political scientists and economics in the media, but how many can get a philosopher???

Michael Boyle, a 1998 La Salle graduate (I knew him when he was a student here) joined the poli sci faculty and was quoted in a cnn.com story about Afghanistan. He's just as brilliant and likeable as he was when he was a student! In fact, Mike gave the commencement address at the 1998 graduation exercises, my first at La Salle.

I have a few more things "in the works" for January and February. Now that the Phillies have signed Cliff Lee, maybe I can get Jack Roosi and Jack Rooney to talk about him (in the press, of course) when spring training begins in February.

I wish all of you a happy and safe holiday season.

Like clockwork....

Today La Salle hosted its annual Thanksgiving Day dinner for police and firefighters at the 35th police district headquarters. Several TV stations sent cameras to cover the event. Since I've been at La Salle, TV has covered this dinner every year but one....in 2001. I'm still trying to figure out that one....

For those of you who were born before personal computers were a part of our daily lives, and whenwriters worked on something called a typewriter, it took a good deal of time to do several versions of a press release. For instance, La Salle is honoring someone for their charitable work. I'm doing three releases: one for a general audience, one for her hometown newspaper, and one for the paper that covers the city where the charity is based. Thank God for word processors. This way it's possible to get three media hits for one story with a minimum of typing!

The waiting game

A journalist in Philadelphia is interested in doing a story on a La Salle project that involves our students tutoring at a city middle school. The program is held on Wednesdays, and there are 3 more until the end of the semester (after which our students in the program take a break to get ready for finals). This journalist is pretty busy and said they can probably make the last Wednesday; I have no problem with that, but if something comes up and it falls through, then I'll have to wait another six to eight weeks before the journalist can visit the site again. Such are the hazards of this profession.

I just learned that a story in Philadelphia Metro about our MA program in Psychology was published; it was written by Rachel Vigoda, daughter of the late Ralph Vigoda, who was an Inquirer reporter. Ralph died several years ago at 53, and I will always be grateful for his professionalism and assistance. If I pitched a story to Ralph, he'd listen and if he liked it, fine, and if he didn't, he didn't wavering for days and days. If he thought another writer at the paper would be interested in doing that, he would tell me who to approach. I don't think I'm going overboard here, but the Inquirer and its readers lost something special when he died.

Once again coming up with a trio...

Tuesday, Nov. 4 was a pretty good day: the Philadelphia Inquirer posted three La Salle stories:

One was a book review by Br. Ed Sheehy; the second was an oped by Jack Rossi on the 1960 presidential election, and the third was an item about Bob Vogel being honored for his "Writer's Matter" program, done in 12 schools throughout the area. I knew the review would be published that day (the author was in town and the paper likes to publish a review when its author is speaking locally), but the other two could have run at any time.

When it's not Halloween

For the first time in 13 years, TV did not come to campus to film the kids from our daycare center trick or treating. It's possible TV crews didn't show because they tricked and treated on the Friday BEFORE Halloween, as opposed to doing it on Halloween (which was on a Sunday this year). Well, next year Halloween should be on a Monday; if I'm lucky, the Eagles will have had a bye week then and the airwaves won't be saturated with football, football and more football.

I still love Halloween

but not for the candy...

It's a good opportunity for media coverage, everything from how the holiday started to how much candy should kids eat to why adults like dressing up in costumes more than kids. Also, the children from La Salle's Building Blocks Daycare Center go trick-or-treating through the campus and local TV has covered it just about every year they've done it.

Many thanks to Marti Hottenstein, who shared her personal story of losing her son and the changes in her life since to Daily News columnist Jen Armstrong. My colleague Amy Cranston came across Marti's story (she's a grad student in psychology) and pitched it to the paper. Jen did the story very quickly. Here's a link:

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/jenice_armstrong/20101020_Jenice_Armstrong__Mom_scarred_by_tragedy_helps_addicts_in_their_struggle.html

Here's where luck plays a part in this business: including the above column by Jen Armstrong, ther ewere three La Salle items in the Oct. 20 issue of the Philadelphia Daily News. All three were submitted at different times but it just happened that they all ran on the same date. The other two were a column by Jack Rooney on his favorite Philadelphia baseball team and an item by columnist Dan Gross on how five La Salle alums have published books recently and will appear on campus to talk about them.

Next up are the mid-term elections: the media will be looking for pre and post analysis, so I'm asking the faculty for any and all opinions.

Deadlines....

Many thanks to Kale Beers of the Athletics Dept. here at La Salle: The BBC's Washington office called me today wanted to talk to John Rossi about American baseball (he's written three books on the topic) tomorrow morning, but the network had specific technical needs that Athletics has and Kale is nice enough to take the time to help out with the interview tomorrow morning.

As the Phillies progress through the playoffs and, we hope, to the World Series, I expect more media will be interested in speaking to Prof. Rossi

And speaking of thanks, I'd like to thank Dr. Luis Gomez, director of La Salle's Hispanic Institute, for taking out of a very busy day to speak with an Inquirer reporter (on deadline) about Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa receiving the Nobel Prize for literature. Several comments from him were published in the story. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/books/20101008_Mario_Vargas_Llosa__visiting_professor_at_Princeton__wins_Nobel_Prize_in_literature.html

In less than an hour there will be a candlelight vigil on the main quad in remembrance of the Hatian Earthquake and those who still need help; La Salle's gospel choir is scheduled to perform. This is an ideal event for TV to cover, as it's visual and will have sound, but I wonder about the odds of the stations being here because the Earthquake has been out of the news and the public's attention for a while (hence the need for a vigil). Frankly, I hope it's dark enough at 6:30 for the candlelight to have a dark background.

Speaking of baseball....several years ago English Professor James Butler told me a story about how he and his brothers had jobs under the grandstand of Forbes Field, the long-gone baseball stadium where the Pittsburgh Pirates played. 50 years ago the Bucs defeated the Yankees in the 1960 World Series and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is doing a year-long celebration of the victory and all things Pirates. Prof. Butler penned a wonderful memoir about his job and the newspaper published it. Here's a link:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10260/1088129-294.stm

Incidentally, Prof. Butler got many emails from Pittsburghers about his piece.

An Oldie But Goodie

I just told this tale to a student who got a good laugh from it, so I thought I'd post it....

Back in February, with Abraham Lincoln's birthday approaching, I went to History Chairman Stuart Leibiger and asked him, Tell me some little-known facts about Lincoln.

"He spoke with a southern accent," said Leibiger.

I was floored. Leibiger reminded me that Lincoln was born in Kentucky and never lost his twang.

So all those movies and TV shows in which actors in deep tones said, "Four Score and Seven Years Ago..." should have said, "Fah scah and sevin yahrs ago...." John Ostapkovich of KYW Newsradio did read a part of the Gettysburg Address with a twang, and Leibiger went on to explain that you can take the boy out of the south but you can't take the south out of the boy. He also told Ostapkovich that Mary Todd Lincoln had seven brothers and brothers-in-law who fought for the Confederacy, which didn't make her popular in Washington.

For Mom and Dad

In the newspaper business there is a story referred to as the "hometowner" -- this is a story about a person that is geared towards their hometown newspaper. For instance, The Bridgewater (NJ) Courier-News did a story about Management Professor James Smither receiving the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching because Smither lives in the paper's circulation area. His "hometown" is part of the paper's coverage. By far, the most hometowners we do are for students. Oh, and let me state for the record, these are mid-sized city, suburban, rural or weekly newspapers; many have regular columns for school/students news. Big city papers, like the Inquirer, will do a story on a student if they receive a patent or find a cure for a disease. It has to be really extraordinary. But for a hometowner about students, the story has to be interesting, or tells about an accomplishment. La Salle has an honor society, the Alpha Epsiolon Society, which recognizes high scholarship with community service. The following newspaper printed items about student who were inductedinto this society:

The Reading (PA) Eagle; the Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer; the Harrisburg Patriot-News; the Warwick (NY) Advertiser; the Pottstown Mercury; the (South Jersey) Courier-Post; the South Philadelphia Review; the Modesto (CA) Bee; the West Chester Daily Local News; the Tewksbury (MA) Advocate; Catonsville (MD) Times; the Chestnut Hill Local; the Ridgefield Press; the Rocky Hill (CT) Post; the Northeast (Philadelphia) Times; the Bucks County Herald, the Glenside (PA) News; the Jenkintown (PA) Chronicle; and web pages of the Hartford Courant; the Rockville (NY) Centre-Herald; and the Wilmington News-Journal.

So why do paper publish items on students being selected to an honor socieity: because they know mom and dad will buy extra copies of the paper!

Intelligent speculation

I spoke with a new faculty member and discussed media, and I used a phrase that's been helpful to me: Intelligent speculation.

Something that made my job easier was the collapse of Enron. I don't mean to sound flip, because many people suffered by that, but it helped me in this sense: the media knew that Enron was broke, but aside from that, nobody knew anything. Yet the media needed to report on this story. So, instead of hard analysis, they looked for intelligent speculation. Here, the experts speculated on the causes and affects of the collapse; later, when hard facts and details emerged, then the experts could comment on those items.

But intelligent speculation goes much further than that: as this faculty member pointed out, there are often no answers to questions, so in lieu of an answer, an expert's intelligent speculation can fill in the gaps and keep the public informed (to a degree).

If there's one field where intelligent speculation thrives, it's politics. Primary season ends in May, and the elections are in November. In addition to the day-to-day happening, readers/viewers want to know who'll win; there's no answer to that, so intelligent speculation is plied.

This isn't to say that "IS" can be used in every case; often experts are asked for their opinions ("Is this a good policy" or "will this boost the economy" or "will this trade make the Phillies a contender"), but again, those opinions are based on their expertise.

This is the life I have chosen

When I started this blog I had two goals: to keep it positive and educate people about the media business: I'm going to do the later but not the former in this post.

A married couple, who met at La Salle's foodcourt, were profiled today in a regional newspaper. It was a long, long story, but one fact was missing: how they met! If you write a story about a married pair, you have to -- MUST -- tell the reader how and where they met. This is Reporting 101 or Editing 101. Now, it's possible that the writer included this in their draft of the story and it was edited out for space reasons, but still, someone at some point should have read the story and asked, "Hey, how did these two meet?"

Too often the media will showcase a faculty member, student or alum and not identify them as being connected to La Salle. Here's why it hurts: if it weren't for me, the media would have never made contact with the La Salle person. Sure, the media might have several sources in a story, and other college PR departments have suggested sources. But today's episode really hurts because:

The story would not have existed without me!

I called an editor at the paper who was unaware of this couple. They assigned a freelance writer to do the article. The writer got the story because the editor knew about the couple. I'm not asking for a kickback, because this writer will be paid, but my currency is "La Salle" and they're getting a check in the mail because of my effort. I was all set to contact the parties involved and write, Hey, did any of you go to journalism school or "common sense 101," but as a wise friend told me, never do anything when you're angry. So, the writer and editor will not hear from me, even though I made the editor's job a little easier by alerting them to a good story and the writer who's getting paid for their efforts.

I keep reminding myself of a saying from a movie; it might have come from "The Godfather," but it was defiinitely a gangster pic:

"This is the life I have chosen."

The Alligator and the River

I have a vague memory/recollection about how a female alligator gives birth to many babies, and has to get them to a river very quickly; well, with all the dangers that lurk in the wilds, if 2 or 3 babies get to the water, that's a good number. Why the alligators don't birth at the river is a mystery, but the point I'm trying to make here is that if several La Salle stories are distributed and only one, two or three make it, then, well, we're as good as the alligators.

It could also illustrate how many steps this process takes: first, I have to make contact with the media; then they have to like what I give them; when they write their story or conduct a tv/radio interview, they have to include the La Salle mention in their content; then that person turns over the material to an editor or producer, who for a variety of reasons (space, time available for the broadcast, etc) could decide to trim the story and the La Salle reference, and then finally, the story has to be in the media: some stories are written but then are rejected when completed again for a variety of reasons. So, like those baby alligators, getting to the river (or airwaves) the La Salle material has challenges to overcome....

So far, batting .500

In my last post I wrote that four reporters said they would call La Salle faculty members to use as sources in their stories. Well, so far, one called and one didn't, so I'm batting .500. Even though some media members seek sources nationwide, they'll often use "hometown" sources, such as a reporter in Cleveland quoting a Case Western professor or a Wilmington (DE) News-Journal quoting someone from the University of Delaware. But, reporters will also like to use out-of-area sources to add new insights or seek a roundup of ideas from around the country.

So why would a reporter tell me they'll call a La Salle professor and then not follow up? If I knew the answer to that, I'd keep it to myself and get La Salle mentions around the world. Just kidding. Sometimes another source comes along that bumps the La Salle prof, or they try to reach the prof, can't, and because of deadline pressures will use someone else. Like all human endeavors this is a subjective process, but if a professor isn't called today, the media beast needs constant feeding and opportunities happen every day.

"I'll call them...."

"I'll give them a call...."

When I email the media info about a faculty member who could be a good source for their stories, I sometimes hear back from them with a note that says they'll call the professor. Well, this is like dating: you wait for that call...and wait, and wait....sometimes they call, sometimes they don't. Four reporters have told me this past week that they'll call La Salle faculty. Out of the four, well, if one follows up, that's ok; two is great; three is phenomenal and if four call back I'll retire. Still, even if they call the faculty member that's no guarantee the faculty member's comments will be used. When that happens I say to myself, if you fail 2/3 times in baseball, you're in the hall of fame.

You never know where you'll find a good story

Riding in the shuttle bus one day I chatted with Carla Johnson, a senior who was about 50 years old. She told me she had gone back to school after her children were grown, and planned to volunteer with AmeriCorprs for a year after graduation. I made a note to do something about her at graduation. Well, Carla and I exchanged a few emails about her story, but when I asked her why she wanted to volunteer, she told me it was to honor those who had helped, including her fiance, Roland, who had been retired but started working again to Carla wouldn't have to to work while completing her degree. That last bit of info put Carla's story in the "A" category. I sent her info to Phila. Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall, who immediately wrote about them. Here's a link to her column:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20100615_Annette_John-Hall__Couple_has_a_love_that_never_retires.html#axzz0qx9ywtLC

I was lucky I took the shuttle that day!

Press still has some power

A few weeks ago Philadelphia Daily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczky Polaneczky wrote about Mareeda Perry, a La Salle employee who has overcome much in her 24 years to earn her BA from the University. Since then, Mareeda has received many letters and emails from people who say they found inspiration for themselves through her story; one person offered to help her navigate the world of grants and fellowships to finance her graduate studies; there were even some job offers!

This all started back in March when I sent a campus-wide email asking folks for interesting and unusual graduation stories. Joan Ulmer, who works with Mareeda in the Nonprofit Center, sent me some info and the rest took care of itself. This proves that you never know where a good story will come from.

Commencement 2010

It's rainy and cold as I write this, but I don't care....on Sunday, it was gorgeous, perfect weather for La Salle's commencement exercises. And never underestimate how important good weather is for that day.

The last person to walk across the stage and receive his diploma from Br. Michael was Bill Deputy, who's 81. Long story short: Bill went to night school at La Salle in the 1950s, but his job and family came first, so Bill stoped his education; he had enough credits for a junior. 50 years later on a trip to Ireland he met two La Salle grads; he told them his story, they told the university and asked if anything could be done; La Salle said he has enough credits for an Associate's Degree. It was a big thrill for Bill and his family. As he walked across the stage, hundreds of folks cheered him. Michael Klein of the Inqurier ran a story and photo of him (and his wife), and a few tv stations showed up to speak with him.

The Lindback recipient for distinguished teaching was Jim Smither of the management department. Jim has won several other awards from La Salle, so I assumed he'd already won this one, but he's a very deserving candidate.

After commencement I ask several grads to come by the center of campus for some additonal photos that I try to get published; in addition to Bill Deputy the photos we took featured:

a husband-wife who were named the top students in their graduate programs, twin brother and sister who chose La Salle independent of each other; Tori Grise, who had three tv station internships while attending classes full-time, and Mareeda Perry and her family; Mareeda was the subject of a Phila. Daily News story a few days prior to commencement (she told me she got plenty of text messages and emails and calls about it).

After the ceremony I spied a man in a cap and gown who at first I thought was Bill Deputy; turns out it was Bill Francour, who's 65 and received his MBA, something he said he always wanted to do.

During the ceremony I always look for clever or funny or interesting messages students write on their graduation hats. My favorite was two guys who put "Go Flyers" and the Flyers insignia on their caps. Now I have to get those pics and send them to their hometown papers. A few others included "I Love You Mom and Dad," "I Did It" and "Amber the Bear" (it was a student's nickname).

GOOGLE Puts Him First

If you go to the Google search box and types in these words, "Robin Hood" and "expert" the first info you see is this: Kevin Harty, chair of our English Dept. and one of the world's leading scholars on film versions of Robin Hood (and other medival figures, such as Joan of Arc). On May 14 a new "Robin Hood" starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchet opens and the media have already started asking for sources about Robin Hood, such as why the character is do enduring. Harty has already been interviewed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the topic and I hope to keep him busy up to and after the film's release. (BTW, the Plain Dealer reporter told me she was going to the library to get Dr. Harty's book, "The Reel Middle Ages: American, Western and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Asian Films about Medieval Europe.")

Dr. Harty has also presented papers at international conferences on film or medieval studies in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Utrecht, Cardiff, Bangor, Leeds, Nottingham, London (Ontario), Vancouver, and London (England).

Graduates wtih a story

Everyone has a story....some stories are unique, some interesting, some triumphant. Those are the stories that the media will be looking for in this graduation season. Among the La Salle grads are:

A wife and husband who were named the top students in their programs!

A man who lost almost everything to a gambling addiction went to La Salle and is now an addictions counselor.

An 83-year old man is receiving an associate's degree.

Here's a story that was deemed "not unique" by a newspaper: this student, a senior with a double major, was named the top student in both programs, wrote an application that resulted in a $20,000 grant from Nike; was the first student two win a new national award from a national trade group in their field, won numerous other awards and had a GPA of 3.9 plus....That was not unique enough to merit a story about them. Best I can hope for is a few lines in a column. I know the rules are different when it comes to graduates and their stories: the three stories above would all trump the "younger" student story.

How many chances out of four?

The commencement address for the University will be given by Hannah Datz, a marketing major from Brimfield, Mass. When I told her I would do a release about her and send it to her hometown newspaper(s), she then told her father, who immediately emailed her the email address for FOUR local papers that circulate in Brimfield. I wonder how many of the four -- IF any of the four -- publish something????

Where did the last two weeks go?

I can't believe I let 13 days pass without writing an entry.

Anyway....

This is the last week of classes, which means it's the last week I have to get a reporter at both the Inqurier and Daily News to do a program-centered story. If they pass or can't do it, well, I have to wait until next semester to pitch it again. What happens too often is that a reporter will be interested in a story, but with newspapers cutting back on staff, many reporters (the good ones, that is) have too much to do and have a hard enough task writing the stories they need to write, let alone an "extra" such as these two programs.

One of the nicer graduating stories is that we have a couple being named the best student in their graduage programs! I won't give it out any details until a release is completed, but this could be a fun story. One of the problems: contacting them! Between work and school and the end of the school year I guess they're pretty busy.

Something that I still enjoy after all these years is when parents will call/email, etc. when a release about their child is done. They're so grateful and appreciative. Of course, the reason newspapers print stories about student achievements is that they feel the parents will buy extra copies of the paper that day!

Chemistry professor Mike Prushan is making "ice cream" on Wed. afternoon following/during a seminar. That has TV potential. I was told he's done this before. I wonder what flavor he makes???

Finally!

Today's issue of the Phila. Daily News has a story and several photos on Kara Harpel, who's been a big sister to Anisah Mullen for the past four years. It was done by columnist Jen Armstrong, who also included a good deal about the BigBrother/BigSister program (and that made it a better story than if she had just focused on Kara and Anisah). Here's a link to the article:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100413_Jenice_Armstrong__Sisterly_bond__La_Salle_senior_and_fifth-grader_connect_through_Big_Brother-Big_Sister.html

The story took several months to arrange: Jen was busy, the photographer was switched to different assignments at the last minute.....but all's well that ends well.

147 Years and Counting

La Salle's "birthday" is March 20, when the state of Pennsylvania granted the University its charter (the year was 1863). The "charter" dinner -- or heritage dinner -- has faculty and staff serve dinner (and dessert!) to students. Channel 6 stopped by to film it, and got a great picture of the "Birthday Cake." The notion of faculty/staff serving the students is the appeal; TV has covered this in the past, and, I hope, in the future.

Getting closer...

After several weeks, Daily News columnist Jen Armstrong met with La Salle student Kara Harpel and a student at Logan Elementary School who have been bigsister/littlesister for four years. I'd mention the elementary student's name, but I probably would have to get permission to do that, so I'm going to hold off givin her name: but if she's reading this, I promise I'll post it!

Jen talked to the two students for about an hour. I normally don't stick around when a reporter meets the La Salle subject, but I'm glad I did because Jen asked a question that I didn't think to ask: did either of them have sisters? The answer is no, and perhaps that's one reason the two bonded. In more than two years of talking to Kara, I never thought to ask her that question!

Jen is looking into having a photographer take their pictures, and you know what that means: more permission forms, probably. But it will be worth it. (By the way, I was in the principal's office, and got a call from Jen saying she was on her way, when I was told that a permission slip was not filled it. I saw my life flash before my eyes.....)

Patience is required...

OK, the story with the student/3rd party will have to wait for at least two weeks (spring break). All the parties want to see this story in print, it's just getting everyone on the same page. The good news is the journalist is still interested in pursuing it. I'm not complaining but I stay a few hours after work one night in case I got an important phone call (I had to be in the office when I got the call, which, by the way, didn't resolve anything). Wednesday night I made a call and learned the story could not be done this past week. This is why people in my profession die young! No, only kidding....

Space is tight!

Again, I'm not complaining, but yesterday a newspaper published a list of La Salle student who were inducted into the University's Alpha Epsilon Society, which recognizes academic achievement with community service. I sent the info to the paper in January! But that's the reality of the business.

Always go through channels

I have a reporter scheduled to interview one of our students and a non-student for a story, and then I remembered: I forgot to go through channels and get a third party to OK the story because of the non-student factor. How do you spell stupid in Italian -- stunad???

I preach going through channels. I'm not going to give the specifics here, but students at another university, on their own, set up a memorial for a professor and, again I'm being deliberately vauge, when the media learned of this memorial it became a media storm. It was overblown (pun intended) coverage, but it was out there for a while until the school administration took several steps, which included an acknowledgement of the professor. If the students had gone through channels, both they and their school would have experienced a great deal less angst.

I can't imagine the 3rd party won't give an OK to this, but this is going to nag at me until I see the story in print.

On February 18, the Philadelphia Daily News published an oped by senior Kayleigh Reed on what she had learned and experienced from her course in and work on community journalism. This took some time: first, one editor passed on it, then another said let me think about it; they then thought it was OK but it needed some editing and additions, which Kayleigh was amenable too. Let's see if I can find a link for it:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/84678732.html

More updates: watched "A Man for All Season" in Br. Gerry Molyneaux's class on film and law. Alum Tim O'Toole did a great job in leading a class discussion afterwards. The Pennsylvania Law Journal is scheduled to do a story with photos in an upcoming issue, and, cross your fingers, KYW Newsradio will interview one of the lawyers participating for a story on March 3. If there's no more snow, it might have a chance to make it on the air.

Thanks to Kevin Grauke, assist. prof. of English at La Salle. At the Inquirer's request, he did a quick read and writing of a book review (and it was very good). Again, let's see if I can find a link to it:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/85476592.html

This is the third review he has done for the paper.

A film for all seasons

Tomorrow I have to watch a great film for work. Well, someone has to do it! Br. Gerry Molyneaux is teaching a course called "Film and Law" in which students will watch a film with a legal angle and then discuss it with a "real" lawyer afterwards. A reporter with the Pennsylvania Law Journal is coming to do a story on it, and I'm picking him up from the subway and taking him to the comm ctr. The movie is "A Man for All Seasons" which is about the trials of Sir Thomas Moore; it won Oscars for best picture, actor and director.

The "real" lawyer discussing it is Tim O'Toole, and I have a present for him. In 2006 Tim received an honorary degree from La Salle (he was graduated from the U in 1977). His acceptance speech was so good the Phila. Inquirer published it. But Tim hasn't seen it, so I'll give him some copies.

Last week the Inquirer published an oped by Dr. Marc Moreau, chair of the Philosophy Dept., on Darwin and Genesis. He wrote it last year to commemorate the 200th birthday of Darwin, but the paper didn't publish it. Since nothing has changed except the 200th part, I resubmitted it and the paper ran it. So far, Dr. Moreau says he's received about 80 emails from readers, mostly positive.

I tell students that the main thing for newspaper coverage is that it contain the words "La Salle"; last week I sent a reporter in California some comments from Br. Gerry. The reporter used th comments but attributed them to me! The kicker is that Br. Gerry used to work in that area and read that paper!! I've asked (nicely) for a correction.

What to do when a big storm is coming?

What do you do, you contact Donna Tonrey, a professor of social work here who studies and treats emotional trauma. She's given me a good soundbite, so let's see if anyone picks it up.

Next week we could have two opeds written by La Salle folks appear in both city newspapers...or we could have zero opeds appear next week. As I wrote earlier, all we can do is wait.

DON'T Let it snow

Yesterday an electronic media outlet did an interview for a La Salle story ... and then we woke up to some snow...just enough to get the traffic reports expanded, etc., so I think the La Salle story will never be broadcast....

What's Love Got to do with It?

Less than two weeks before Valentine's Day, and I'm working on every angle I can think of: what happens to our brains when we fall in love (that's one for the biology dept.), and what's the history of love? I've contacted Philosophy and English profs and my colleague Amy Cranston is trying to figure out when giving a rose became a Valentine's Day tradition. Last year one of professors who teaches a course on the philosophy of love was interivewed by KYW Newsradio. The first writer in English (or an early form of it) to write about romantic love was Geoffrey Chauder (this fact courtesy of Kevin Harty, chair of La Salle's English dept.). Then again, there's the 'business' of love; I've heard that restaurants do more business on Valentine's Day than any other day of the year, including Mother's Day. Amy is looking for some business profs to discuss that angle.

In the meantime, a British film crew is coming to town tomorrow to film Matthew Quick, a La Salle alum whose novel, "The Silver Linings Playbook" will be featured on an English TV program (akin to Oprah's book club). Inquirer columnist Mike Klein has something about the film crew in his column today, and the Courier-Post is interested (Quick lives in South Jersey).

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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