Some things don't change over time...

Last year I asked History Professor Charles Desnoyers to write an oped for the Philadelphia Inquirer about a topic he knew quite well: He translated a journal by a Chinese diplomat who was sent by the government to attend the world's fair then being held in Philadelphia, the highlight being the 100th anniversary of the United States, July 4, 1876.

It didn't quite work out, but the beauty of a story like this is that nothing has changed since last year: the focus of the piece, Philadelphia on July 4, 1876, is the same. Well, the Inqurier is scheduled -- repeat, scheduled -- to run Dr. Desnoyers' piece on Monday, July 4, 2011.

That said, two other anniversary stories probably won't come through:

The first is Dr. Richard Goedkoop talking about the Battle of Gettysburg (which was fought from July 1 to July 3 in 1863); he's a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Park, and knows everything about what happened. I asked him to put together a list of Gettysburg facts; some of them are that it was the largest battle every fought in the Americas; more than 52,000 casualties; it was the only time Gen. Robert E. Lee lost to a Union General. KYW newsradio interviewed Goedkoop and I sent the info to the Associated Press (for their Pennsylvania wire) and to TV stations in Lancaster, PA, where Goedkoop lives.

The second is on the topic of "Thomas Jefferson and the unknown Delaware Man Who Got Him Elected President"; John Schropp graduated from La Salle's graduate history program as the top student; his thesis was on John Bayard, a Delaware politician who did some behind-the-scenes Maneuvering to help Jefferson with the presidential election of 1800. I sent this info to the Wilmington News-Journal and a Wilmington news radio stations. (This was pegged to July 4 because not only was that the day Jefferson's declaration was made, and that he died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the piece).

Well, today, a rare copy of the Declaration of Independance is on display in Bucks County; that's what's going to get the media attention today and this weekend. Oh well, the good thing is that whatever Goedkoop and Schropp had to say will still be relevant next year (in Goedkoop's case, the story might be more suited to run on July 1, 2013, the 150th anniversary of the contest).

Battle of Gettysburg

The largest battle fought in North America was the three-day slugfest at Gettysburg from July 1-3 in 1863. Communication Professor Richard Goedkoop is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at the Gettysburg National Military Park, so he knows a great deal about it. I've pitched this to several media folks and they're interested. I asked Rich for some lesser-known tidbits of the battle; here are some:

Seven million bullets and 60,000 rounds of artillery were fired; When Gen. Robert E. Lee retreated there was a wagon train 17 miles long carrying 8,000 wounded Confederate soldiers; 51-52,000 soldiers on both sides died; one civilian was killed: he was 69 and a veteran of the war of 1812; at the dedication ceremony, President Abraham Lincoln was not the featured speaker!

The Waiting Game

I just emailed a reporter a story idea pegged to July 4th and they wrote back said they were "thinking" about it. The temptation is to call them back and say, Think harder and faster! But, I have to put this out of my mind and not let it distract me.

Student internships

People frequently ask me if I get the summer off (like faculty). No, I continue to work full-time, as news never stops. One chore I do each summer is try to publicize La Salle students who are working at internships. This summer, La Salle students are interning at the Philadelphia Zoo, a wildlife preserve in Alaska, Moody's Financial, The Philadephia Museum of Art, and many other institutions. The Doylestown Intelligencer reported on the Alaskan one.

Emily Heath, a junior, received a fellowship through the National Science Foundation to study at a program at Kent State University. So far, her hometown paper, the Meridean Journal and the Webpage for the Hartford Courant, have reported about her.

Also, four students are working on research project with four SAS faculty members. Hometowners will be done on them.

Everyone's a Critic

A few weeks ago, Psych prof Dave Falcone published a book review for the Inqurier, his first. Falcone is also a singer, songwriter and guitarist, so I thought he'd be a natural to review a book about creativity. After he sent me the review I forwarded it to the Inquirer and added a bit about his songwriting, etc. at the end. I forgot to include his La Salle email address. Many of the La Salle faculty who have reviewed books for the paper have heard from friends, former students, etc. Well, Falcone did get one email about his review: the author wrote to him and thanked him!

I hope this is the first of many reviews he'll write.

Class of 2011

Coverage of La Salle’s commencement exercises included coverage by TV stations WCAU (Channel 10), KYW (Channel 3), CWU (Channel 57), WPHL (Channel 17) and WPVI (Channel 6) (5/15); KYW Newsradio interviewed nursing graduate Eileen Baughan about switching her careers; (5/15) Philadelphia Daily News columnist Dan Gross reported local talk show host Dom Giordano’s son, Luke, was named the top mathematics student and how Andrea Casella, the top accounting student, interned with the Philadelphia Eagles; the Philadelphia Daily News published an op-ed by nursing graduate Shayla Morales Robinson about the challenges she faced and overcame while earning her degree in the BSN-Achieve program; the Capitol (Annapolis, MD) Gazette reported how senior Patrick Terranova delivered the commencement address and will attend graduate school at Georgia Tech University; the Norristown Times-Herald’s Web page posted a story on mother-daughter graduates Eileen and Mary Behr; the Brooklyn (MN) Sun-Post did story on Megan Weiss, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA

The last placement took several tries. I had sent the paper notices about Megan's accomplishments but nothing was published. This time I asked Megan's parents to contact the paper: which they did and the paper returned their call. BTW, Megan plans to volunteer to teach at a Christian Brothers school in Yakima, WA begining this fall. I hope to get the Yakima HErald to do a story on her!

The oped piece by Shayla Robinson started when one of her nursing professors sent me a letter Shayla had written to the faculty of the school of nursing and health sciences. I contacted her and changed the letter into an oped; the Daily News' editor, Pat McLoon, a La Salle grad, emailed me and told me he loved the piece.

My secret weapon

One of the most accomplished graduates this year is Megan Weiss, who had a 4.0 GPA, was the top student in both education and foreign languages, co-delivered an academic paper in South America with a professor, did a great deal of community and plans to volunteer to teach for a year at a Christian Brothers school in Yakima, WA. For year I had sent info about her accomplishments to her hometown paper back in Minnesota but I never heard back from them nor saw any coverage on Mega. So, this year, I unveiled my secret weapon: Megan's mom! She called the paper and left a message and Megan's father spoke to the editor. Initially the editor said he might mention Megan in a community news column, but I pushed for a full story. I sent a release and photo of Megan. I'm curious to see what they print. If it's not enough, I hope Megan's mom makes another call!