Argonaut named Idaho's best college paper

The Argonaut, the University of Idaho’s twice-weekly student newspaper took first place in the General Excellence category for college newspapers in a competition sponsored by the Idaho Press Club.

Staff members from the Argonaut and BLOT, the student magazine, picked up seven other first-place certificates on their way to collecting more awards than any other college or university in the state for work produced in 2008. The Press Club presented awards in collegiate and professional categories last month at its annual banquet in Boise.

The Argonaut celebrated its 110th anniversary as an independent student newspaper last October. Ryli Hennessy was the 2007-2008 editor-in-chief, and Christina Lords was the 2008-2009 editor. (I was editor in 1974-1975, so I take special pride in this award for Ryli and Christina.)

“The awards are a great way to end the year for our students and especially for our seniors, who have given so much of their college years to Student Media,” said Shawn O’Neal, Student Media advisor. “They’ve set an example that work ethic and leadership really do pay off when the awards are handed out.”

In professional level competition, Julie Scott and Glenn Mosley, faculty members in the School of Journalism and Mass Media, won second place in the Sports News Report category. Their September 2008 story for Northwest Public Radio focused on efforts by UI alumnus and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer to improve retirement benefits for former NFL players.

John Mallory, a December 2008 graduate in Radio-TV-Digital Media production, won first place for the best sports talk show in Idaho for his show on KUOI-FM, the student-run radio station. The category included both students and professional broadcasters.

Here's a list of all of the Press Club awards. To access Argonaut stories and photographs, including issues from 2008, see: www.uiargonaut.com.

Advertising expert/author to visit campus

Advertising expert George Parker will talk about new developments in advertising when he visits the University of Idaho Monday, March 30. (This is one week later than originally scheduled.) Parker will discuss his latest book, “The Ubiquitous Persuaders: A Look at the Evolution of the Advertising Business from the Inside.” The talk begins at 7 p.m. in room 031 of the university's Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).

Parker describes his book as a response to Vance Packard’s 1957 book, “The Hidden Persuaders.” In it, Parker examines how the advertising industry has changed during the past half century. Jim Clark, JAMM adjunct faculty and a retired advertising professional, calls Parker one of the industry’s visionaries.

“George Parker is either a madman or a genius, or both,” Clark said. “Because only a madman or a genius would have the vision and guts to write a book like this. After all, he's ‘been there’ more than most. And ‘done that’ successfully for many years." Read Parker's current commentary on advertising on his blog: AdScam.

Scholarship to honor Haarsager

The School of Journalism and Mass Media has established a scholarship to honor the memory of Sandra Haarsager, a long-time University of Idaho faculty member and administrator who died Oct. 6, 2007. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student who demonstrates Sandra’s intellectual curiosity, interdisciplinary interests and strong writing abilities.

Sandra came to the University in 1979 as director of information services (now University Communications and Marketing) under former President Richard Gibb. After earning a Ph.D. in American Studies at Washington State University, she joined the faculty of the School of Communication in 1988.

From 1999 to 2005, she was associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She returned to the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Media in 2005, teaching courses in Reporting, Feature Writing, Media & Culture, and Media Management & Economics.

Sandra was the author of two books: and Bertha Knight Landes of Seattle: Big-City Mayor, published in 1994, and Organized Womanhood: Cultural Politics in the Pacific Northwest, 1840-1920, published in 1997, both by the University of Oklahoma Press. At the time of her death, she was conducting research for a book about the impact of new media technologies on society and culture.


Contributions may be sent to the Trust and Investments Office, PO Box 3143, Moscow, ID 83844-3143. Checks should be made payable to the University of Idaho Foundation; the memo line should indicate “Sandra Haarsager Scholarship, designation code DE630.” Contributions also may be made through the University’s secure Web site: www.sites.uidaho.edu/gifts/

Words, music celebrate Sandra's life

More than 300 people attended a memorial service for Sandra Haarsager, professor of journalism and mass media, Thursday evening at the University of Idaho’s Administration Building auditorium.

The audience included students, faculty, deans, vice presidents and friends from across the community. Former Idaho Sen. James McClure, a member of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences Advancement Council, also attended.

They heard tributes to Sandra from UI President Timothy White, long-time friend Mindy Cameron, Sandra’s stepdaughter, Jennie Haarsager-Lieske, and the Rev. Kayle Rice, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse.

“Sandra epitomized all that is worthy and right about the University of Idaho, about our community, and about humanity,” President White said in his eulogy. “She did so through her unwavering dedication to students first, to music and the arts, academics, journalism, women’s studies, administration, and relations with our stakeholders, constituents, and friends.”

Music by UI jazz choirs and several instrumental ensembles provided interludes between the verbal remembrances. A highlight was Jon Anderson’s performance of a song,“Take Your Time,” composed by Jon to lyrics written by Sandra. Music before and after the service came from a CD of jazz standards, folk songs and show tunes that Sandra herself had recorded.

Today’s Argonaut includes remembrances of Sandra. In response to suggestions from friends and former colleagues, the JAMM faculty hopes to create a scholarship in her name. Watch for details here.

Journalism Professor Sandra Haarsager dies

Sandra Haarsager, a faculty member at the University of Idaho since 1988 and a cornerstone of the School of Journalism and Mass Media since its founding in 2003, died Saturday, Oct. 6, at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow. Sandra had been hospitalized for two days with a respiratory condition that developed as a result of her treatment for cancer of the esophagus. She was 61.

Although she had been on sabbatical this semester working on a book about new media technology, Sandra had been a regular visitor to campus, most recently a week before she was admitted to the hospital. She had planned to return to a full teaching schedule in the spring of 2008.

Sandra had worked as a reporter for The Idaho Statesman in Boise and a reporter and general manager for the Idahonian, now the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. She also had been director of information services for the University of Idaho under President Richard Gibb.

She became a faculty member of the former School of Communication in 1988 and earned a Ph.D. in American Studies from Washington State University in 1990. From 1999 to 2005, she was associate dean of the UI’s College of Letters and Science, which became the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences in 2003. She played a major role in decisions to reorganize the School of Communication into the School of Journalism and Mass Media.

Sandra’s teaching portfolio included both skills and conceptual courses. Most recently, she had taught Reporting, Public Affairs Reporting, Literary Journalism, Mass Media & Culture, and Media Management & Economics.

A memorial service will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, at the University Auditorium. Sandra was a trusted colleague, valuable mentor and longtime friend. We’ll miss her. I invite her former students to leave comments below.

Another side of journalism: freelancing

Many of our journalism majors land entry-level jobs at newspapers. Others are interested in longer-form journalism. Students in my Public Affairs Reporting class this week gained insights into the transition from daily journalism to magazines and books from guest speakers Andrea Vogt and Ken Olsen.

Andrea completed a political science degree from the University of Idaho; Ken studied forestry as an undergraduate here before earning a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona. Both worked for The Spokesman-Review, Andrea covering higher education on the Palouse and Ken reporting on health and environmental issues in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Now, each works as a freelance writer, pitching story ideas to a variety of magazines – Ken based in Spokane, Andrea dividing her time between Pullman and Bologna, Italy.

Ken says reporters need a sense of history, a sense of skepticism and an eye for detail. He uses a piece he wrote about salmon recovery efforts for High Country News as an example of using numbers without bogging down the flow of a narrative.

Andrea described her months of interviews with the late human-rights activist Bill Wassmuth, which were incorporated into her book Common Courage, published by the University of Idaho Press in 2003. Building trust with her subject was the key to effective interviewing, she said.

Their advice to students interested in writing for magazines: study a foreign language, read fiction to learn creative writing styles, and cultivate relationships with editors.

A postscript to last week’s enrollment report: Using a different list provided by the Registrar’s Office, it looks like we have 450 JAMM majors, two more than the initial report.

JAMM enrollment flat, diversity grows

The University of Idaho released fall enrollment figures this week, based on the 10^th day of the semester (Aug. 31). Overall enrollment on the Moscow campus fell from 10,682 to 10,549, a decline of 1.2 percent. Statewide – including enrollment in Coeur d’Alene, Boise and Idaho Falls– enrollment stands at 11,636 (down nine-tenths of 1 percent).

The School of Journalism and Mass Media’s enrollment was 448, down four from the same day a year ago. This figure breaks down as follows:
Advertising, 136 (down from 152)
Journalism, 125 (up from 105)
Public Relations, 95 (same as last year)
Radio-TV-Digital Media Production, 86 (down from 88)
This list doesn’t include four students who each declared two of our majors within JAMM, which is permitted only under special circumstances. We expect the number of majors to grow in coming weeks as first-year and new transfer students discover that our program more closely aligns with their career goals than those elsewhere on campus.

Some other highlights of the fall 2007 data: We have 90 freshmen, 12 fewer than a year ago. See the accompanying photo of JAMM Assistant Director Marc Skinner (back row, center) with some members of the class of 2011 during New Student Orientation last month. About 54 percent of our majors (243 students) are female.

I’m pleased to see an increase in the number of students from backgrounds traditionally under-represented in higher education. Seventy students (15.6 percent) identify themselves as a member of an ethnic minority, up from 41 a year ago. An additional two students list themselves as “other” (often students of mixed backgrounds) and 24 other students left blank their ethnic/racial identification. The number of Native American students doubled (from 9 to 18) and the number of African-American students went from 2 to 10. Thirteen students list Asian or Pacific Islander backgrounds and 29 students describe themselves as Hispanic of any race.

The growth in minority students reflects several factors: increased recruiting from community colleges in western Washington; the popularity of our summer Scripps Howard workshop for high school students, and efforts to start a student chapter of the Native American Journalists Association. It’s also a healthy sign that as the U.S. population becomes more diverse, the staffs of media outlets serving them will one day reflect that diversity.

Photo by Mandie Schoenberg