The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

[ Another in our “Notes From…” series - short notes by volunteers summarizing various events around the school, to help those of us who didn’t/couldn’t attend. Watch for several other “Notes From…” throughout the year. If you have one, send it in! Or let us know in advance that you’d like to do one; or after the event, too. ]

Below, notes from a recent Breakfast with the Deans. Many thanks to volunteer notes-taker Elizabeth McGarr, J2007. Feel free to drop him note or post a comment below (free, one-timeregistration required).

NOTES FROM… Breakfast with the Deans
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
8:15-9:15 a.m., 607B

By Elizabeth McGarr
E-mail: enm2107[at]columbia.edu

The promise of free bagels, pastries, coffee and, of course, a chance to mingle with the deans, convinced a classroom full of students to make it up to the J-School a little earlier than usual. Dean Nicholas Lemann talked about the school’s ongoing projects and improvement efforts, and Deans Klatell, Sreenivasan, and Huff joined him, along with Ernest
Sotomayor, Julie Hartenstein, and Gina Boubion from Career Services.

DEAN LEMANN’S REPORT:
- The M.A. program, in its second year, was the first new professional program introduced to the school since 1934.
- Prof. LynNell Hancock is currently heading a committee to look at how to get
M.A. and M.S. students together. In the future, on J-School
applications, applicants may be able to indicate that they would like to
complete both programs (and this would be considered in the admissions
process).
- In January, the J-School will host an Executive Leadership Program
(kind of a J-School version of what the Business School does).
- We are actively pursuing acquiring the funds to build new student work/study space.
- There is not much we can do right now to add more computer space for students, but that is something we are hoping to add if we are able to build the new student work space.
- We’re thinking about how we might change RWI in the future. Should
multimedia be a part of RWI?
- We’re in the process of acquiring a content management system (CMS)
called FatWire, which is supposed to simplify everything web-based at
the school, including ColumbiaJournalist.org. We have set a deadline to
have ColumbiaJournalist.org running before the November elections.

PROBLEMS: If you have a problem with the computers (especially the
printers!), send an immediate e-mail to trouble@jrn.columbia.edu. For
problems with e-mail, contact consultant@jrn.columbia.edu. If you notice
anything wrong in the building, including in the bathrooms, classrooms,
or student lounge, contact building@jrn.columbia.edu.

MORE CRITICAL ISSUES? Students are interested in creating a forum to hear from professors and classmates about contemporary news coverage. SPJ could certainly set something up that would be similar to book clubs. Anyone could participate. Another idea: for one day out of the
fall semester, RWI professors could rotate so students could hear from
another professor besides their own. One year, students organized a series of casual Sunday brunch gatherings to discuss the news.

POSTING ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET: Don’t forget that Columbia University
offers all students a certain amount of space on its Internet server to
post whatever they would like (i.e. articles). If ColumbiaJournalist.org
is not running or if you just want to get your work on the web, look
into this service. DON’T FORGET to notify your sources that your stories
might be published on the Internet. Be up front so you don’t have to
call them later. The info on your Columbia space is here:
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/webdev/

E-MAIL FORWARDING: Talk to Dean Sreenivasan, Andi Balla or Akisa Omulepu
if you need help with figuring out how to send mail with your Columbia
address from your gmail account.

BROADCAST EQUIPMENT: Prof. Ann Cooper is currently looking into coordinating
equipment scheduling with the broadcast faculty and students to minimize
confusion when students try to check out equipment for a class.

STAPLERS AND PAPER: SPJ is currently working on the stapler issue, and
members have also said they will look into double-sided printing
capabilities in the computer labs. In addition, they will look into more
efficient recycling methods. In the meantime though, please be careful
when you press print. Make sure you really need every page that you send
to the printer.

[10/26/2006 UPDATE FROM CLASS PRESIDENT AKISA OMULEPU: “Due to popular demand a stapler has been attached next to every computer lab printer in the J-School, and will be refilled weekly.”]

M.A. and M.S. STUDENTS: There are no new courses yet that would cater to
both M.A. and M.S. students, but so far, there is cross-enrollment. From
the M.A. students: M.S. students should feel free to talk to M.A.
students about their fields of expertise!

CLASS NOTES: There will be an investigative reporting seminar offered in
the spring for students who are not in the Stabile Program.

PREVIEW OF FALL CLASSES: Don’t forget to attend the preview of fall classes on Tuesday, November 21. It’s a good excuse to wait until Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to go home for Thanksgiving because students can meet with professors and find out more about spring classes. This can be helpful during registration because on certain occasions, professors will be able to choose which students they definitely want in their class (if there are a lot of students registered for that particular class). Don’t worry if you find this confusing. The deans have promised to give us lots of information over the next month. See http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/10/25/memo-spring-prep/

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[ Another in our “Notes From…” series - short notes by volunteers summarizing various events around the school, to help those of us who didn’t/couldn’t attend. Watch for several other “Notes From…” throughout the year. If you have one, send it in! Or let us know in advance that you’d like to do one; or after the event, too. ]

Below, notes from a talk in the J-school World Room by Richard Parsons, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. Many thanks to volunteer notes-taker Elisha Sulai, J2007. Feel free to drop him note or post a comment below (free, one-time registration required).

Notes From… Lunch with Richard Parsons
By Elisha Sulai
E-mail: elishasulai[at]gmail.com

WORLD ROOM, J-SCHOOL, Oct. 18, 2006: Richard Parsons, the chairman and CEO of Time Warner spoke at the Columbia Journalism School today, at a Publisher’s Roundtable, which gives students a chance to meet publishers in an intimate setting. About 15 students got to have lunch with Mr. Parsons, one of the most important executives in the media world. The session was chaired by Dean Nicholas Lemann.

Mr. Parsons praised the journalism profession. But he complained that way too often, journalists sacrifice accuracy in their attempt to get a story.

“It’s more important to get it right than first,” he said. Mr. Parsons predicted that the future of journalism would be on the Internet. “More and more of news will be in online digital form,” he said.

Mr. Parsons also said that bloggers will not overtake the “legitimate media” because bloggers are not “authenticated.” Parsons added that we’re witnessing a move towards opinion journalism, as the market for news is “segmenting.”

He also suggested that consolidation in the news gathering business is inevitable, given the fact that newsgathering costs are rising.

Parson’s sounded a warning to YouTube: Unless YouTube finds a way around its copyright issues, it will be “toast” like Napster.

-

BIO: Richard D. Parsons is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner Inc., whose businesses include filmed entertainment, interactive services, television networks, cable systems and publishing. He became CEO in May 2002 and Chairman of the Board in May 2003.

Since becoming CEO, Mr. Parsons has led Time Warner’s turnaround and set the company on a solid path toward achieving sustainable growth. In the process, he has put in place the industry’s most experienced and successful management team, strengthened the company’s balance sheet and simplified its corporate structure, and carried out a disciplined approach to realigning the company’s portfolio of assets to improve returns. In its January 2005 report on America’s Best CEOs, Institutional Investor magazine named Mr. Parsons the top CEO in the entertainment industry.

Before becoming CEO, Mr. Parsons served as the company’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, overseeing its content businesses-Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Warner Music Group and Time Warner Book Group-as well as two key corporate functions: Legal and People Development.

Mr. Parsons joined Time Warner as its President in February 1995, and has been a member of the company’s Board of Directors since January 1991. As President, he oversaw the company’s filmed entertainment and music businesses, and all corporate staff functions, including financial activities, legal affairs, public affairs and administration.

Before joining Time Warner, Mr. Parsons was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dime Bancorp, Inc., one of the largest thrift institutions in the United States. Previously, he was the managing partner of the New York law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. Prior to that, he held various positions in state and federal government, as counsel for Nelson Rockefeller and as a senior White House aide under President Gerald Ford. Mr. Parsons received his undergraduate education at the University of Hawaii and his legal training at Union University’s Albany Law School.

Mr. Parsons’ civic and non-profit commitments include Co-Chairman of the Mayor’s Commission on Economic Opportunity in New York; Chairman Emeritus of the Partnership for New York City; Chairman of the Apollo Theatre Foundation and service on the boards of Howard University, the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History. He also serves on the boards of Citigroup and Estée Lauder.

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SPRING SEMESTER PREP (updated several times a week)
Here’s the schedule for Spring Semester Prep - events and dates to help you prepare for the Spring Semester. All the information will be available electronically, but you are encouraged to attend any events/briefing sessions you can. Please note we are offering events on a variety of dates and times. All this is subject to change, so please check back often. Most of this is aimed at M.S. students, but others are welcome to attend. M.A. students (who typically have more of a fixed set of courses) will receive their own, specialized briefings.

Dean Klatell’s in-depth Spring Curriculum Guide, with course details and timings is at http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/courses/spring2007/index.asp. If you want to check out evaluations of past spring classes, go to http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/ (please note that the new evaluation system has the evaluations of last spring’s classes.

[The photo below is from our first briefing, on Oct. 30 - about 40 students stopped by.]

• Mon, Oct. 30, 12:30-1:30 p.m., room 601B: Brown Bag Lunch with the Deans - focus on Spring Semester questions and dealing with Fall RWI mid-semester and final evaluations. *Bring your lunch; cookies, chips, soda and water will be served.
• [NON SPRING PREP EVENT: Thurs, Nov. 2, 8:15-9:15 a.m., room 601B: M.S. students learn about the M.A. program]
• Thurs, Nov. 2, 12:30-2 p.m., room 601B: Brown Bag Lunch with the Deans - focus on Spring Semester questions and dealing with Fall RWI mid-semester and final evaluations. *Bring your sandwich; cookies, chips, soda and water will be served.
• Monday, Nov. 6: Spring Curriculum letter live at
  http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/courses/spring2007/index.asp
• Monday, Nov. 6, 6-7 p.m., Lecture Hall: Covering Religion Seminar Briefing . See last year’s class site: http://www.CoveringReligion.org.
  See application info and more details.
• Tues, Nov. 7, 6 p.m., room 601B: Spring Briefing session (aimed at Part-time students, but all are welcome). *Light refreshments served.
• [NON SPRING PREP EVENT - Wed, Nov. 8, 4-5 p.m., 601B: M.A. Tea with the Deans (M.A. students only)]
• Fri, Nov. 10, 8:15 a.m., room 607B:Book Writing Seminar Preview & Application Instruction session with Prof. Sam Freedman. See application instructions.
• Friday, Nov. 10: 11:30-12:15 p.m., room 607B: Producing a Magazine Preview and Application Instruction session with Professors Navasky and Shapiro. See application instructions.
• Fri, Nov. 10, 3 p.m., room 601B: Literary Journalism Preview & Application Instruction session with Prof. Helen Benedict
  See application instructions.
• Monday, Nov. 13, 9 a.m.: Applications due for Covering Religion; Literary Journalism; Personal & Professional Style;
• Tues, Nov. 14, 8:15-9:15, room 601B: Bronx Beat Preview (8:15-8:45) and Covering Education Preview (8:45-9:15). *Light breakfast served.
• Wednesday, Nov. 15, 9 a.m.: Applications due Producing a Magazine A and Producing a Magazine B
• Thurs, Nov. 16, 8:15-9:15 a.m., room 607B: Breakfast with the Deans - focus on Spring Semester questions. *Light breakfast served.
• Thurs, Nov. 16, 6-7 p.m., room 601B: Spring Briefing session (aimed at Part-time students, but all are welcome). *Light refreshments served.
• Friday, Nov. 17: Students notified of MOST application results for Book Writing; Covering Religion; Literary Journalism; Personal & Professional Style; Producing a Magazine A & B
• Tuesday, Nov. 21, 4:30-5:30 p.m., 502: Spring overview of television news magazine with Mel McCray and George Rivera
• Tuesday, Nov. 21, 5:30-6:45 p.m., Lecture Hall: Spring Preview Session - an evening when professors who teach Spring seminars and workshops are invited to present three- or five-minute previews of their classes. Typically, most professors present and all M.S. students gather for this session. Please note that only a handful of classes have individual briefing sessions (as listed above), so it is critical that you attend this large gathering.
• TBA: Spring Ballots go live; close Wednesday, Nov. 29, 10 p.m. at 10 p.m. You can submit ballots any time during that period - NOT first come, first served.
• Wednesday, Nov. 29, 10 p.m.: Spring Ballots close.
• [NON SPRING PREP EVENT - Mon, Dec. 4, 12:30-1:30 p.m., room 601B: Brown Bag Lunch M.A. info session (M.S. students learn about the M.A. program0]
• [ And don’t forget Lucille’s Ball, the annual J-School Holiday Party & Faculty Roast on
  Thursday, Dec. 14. You absolutely have to be there! Details coming from
  Aaron Cahall , SPJ events director. ]

• Late December: Students will be registered for their Spring courses.
• December 22-Jan. 15: Winter Break; work on Master’s Projects for M.S. students (first draft due Tuesday, Jan. 16)
• January 5-January 26: Add/Drop period
• Wednesday, Jan. 17, 9:30-noon: ALL-CLASS EVENT: “Surviving & Thriving in the Spring Semester: Making the Best Use of Your Remaining Months at Columbia” - Mandatory for FULL-TIME M.S. students; others welcome. Presented by DOS Office and Career Services.*Light refreshments served.
• Tuesday, January 16: M.A., and other University classes begin
• Thursday & Friday, Jan. 18 & 19: M.S. Workshops begin
• Monday & Tuesday, Jan. 22 & 23: M.S. Seminars begin
• Wednesday, Jan. 24: M.S. Electives begin

Here are the six classes for which there is an application process:

Book Writing
Covering Religion
Personal & Professional Style
Literary Journalism
Producing a Magazine (sections A & B)

See application instructions.
You will know the results of the application process before the balloting begins.

Also see:

FAQ: How do I switch concentrations?
FAQ: How do I take an outside elective?

TIP: In the Spring semester at J-School, I wish I had… (alumni tips)

Deans Sreenivasan and Huff are available throughout November to discuss your options and help you plan for the Spring, as are your RWI professors, who serve as your advisers the rest of your time here.

FROM: Michael Hoyt, Executive Editor, Columbia Journalism Review

Dear students,

In 2004 Farnaz Fassihi of The Wall Street Journal sent an e-mail to friends and relatives about what it was like to be a journalist in Iraq. Somebody in the chain posted the letter on the Internet and it quickly went around the world. Among journalists the reaction was varied: some worried that an objective reporter had revealed too much; others thought the e-mail was dead on.

Meanwhile, something about the personal nature of the note communicated the reality of what Iraqis call “the situation” more forcefully than yards of standard prose. Here at CJR we wanted more, and for our forty-fifth anniversary issue we interviewed some fifty journalists who have covered the war. Out of their anecdotes and insights we have constructed an oral history of the war, the first of its kind, and we invite you read the issue when it comes out next week.

We also invite you to attend a panel discussion with five journalists who have covered Iraq on Thursday, November 2, from 7 to 9 in the lecture hall. These people have studied “the situation” closely, some of them for four years or more. They are:

Deborah Amos: Foreign correspondent for NPR and ABC News. Author of Lines in the Sand: Desert Storm and the Remaking of the Arab World.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran: Washington Post assistant managing editor, former Baghdad bureau chef, and author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Ali Fadhil: A physician and translator. He has collaborated with journalists from The Financial Times, Time, The Guardian, People, The Observer, The New Yorker and NPR.

Patrick Graham: Canadian freelance journalist who spent a year with the Iraqi resistance in Fallujah. His work has appeared in The London Observer, Harpers and other publications

Chris Hondros: A prizewinning photojournalist whose work has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Newsweek and The Economist, and on the front pages of most major American newspapers.

We hope you can join us.

Mike

Creativity and Personal Mastery

We are pleased to be able to offer our students ,in conjunction with the Creativity and Personal Mastery Institute, the opportunity to take Professor Srikumar S. Rao’s popular course - Creativity and Personal Mastery - this Spring.

The course is given on nine Sundays beginning in January 2007 and includes one full-weekend retreat. The detailed schedule is at http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/students/life/creativity.html.

Enrollment is by application only. Applications are due November 17th. However, early applications are given preference. The application process is explained at http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/students/life/creativity.html.

The course is not-for-credit. Tuition is $2000 for students and $4500 for alumni. This includes all materials, breakfast and lunch on class days and the weekend retreat. It does not include transportation to the retreat center or any lodging expenses.

Dear Students:

Save the Date!

Annual Town Hall on Socially Responsible Investing at Columbia
Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Davis Auditorium - Room 412, Schapiro Engineering Building (CEPSR), 530 West 120th Street, Morningside Campus

Are you concerned about animal welfare, sustainability, human rights and global labor standards, EEO, or any other social or ethical issue confronting Columbia University as an investor of its endowment? Come to the Annual Town Hall of Columbia’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing to share your views on these topics. The Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing was established in March 2000 to deliberate upon issues of corporate social responsibility confronting the University as an investor and to advise the University Trustees. The Advisory Committee invites all members of the Columbia community to share their views on these issues at its Annual Town Hall.

Please read the full text of the official Notice of the Town Hall below:

NOTICE of ANNUAL TOWN HALL

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING

The University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing will hold its annual Town Hall on Tuesday, November 14, 2006, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in the Davis Auditorium, Room 412 CEPSR (Schapiro Engineering Building), 530 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. At this Town Hall, students, faculty, alumni and staff of Columbia University, and other affiliated individuals, are invited to present their views on the University’s ethical and social responsibilities as an investor of its endowment.

The Advisory Committee welcomes comments and looks forward to hearing from all members of the University community. The Town Hall will be conducted as follows:

The Chair of the Committee will preside. Speakers may address the Committee for a maximum of five (5) minutes each. Speakers are asked to focus their comments on the issue(s) of concern and to recommend, in his or her opinion, the action(s) to be taken. Speakers are also invited to submit written materials and questions to the Office of Shareholder Responsibility before or after the Town Hall. Presentations may be followed by a brief period during which Committee members may ask questions of the speakers to elicit additional information or clarify statements made.

*** PLEASE NOTE ***

All students, faculty, alumni and staff of Columbia University and other appropriate individuals who wish to speak during the Town Hall are asked to forward to the Office of Shareholder Responsibility (at the email address provided below) an email specifying his or her University affiliation, if any, and the specific topic(s) that will be addressed, no later than 5 p.m., Monday, November 13, 2006.

Individuals wishing to speak are strongly encouraged to read the Committee’s 2005-2006 Annual Report in order to better understand the work of the Committee and to discover how issues of concern were addressed last season. The Annual Report is available for pick-up in 314 Low Library and for viewing on the Columbia SRI website at: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/secretary/SRI/.

The Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing was established in March 2000 to deliberate upon issues of corporate social responsibility confronting the University as an investor of its endowment and to advise the University Trustees. The final decisions on these matters rest with the University Trustees. To learn more about the Committee and to view the 2005-2006 Annual Report, please visit the Columbia SRI website at: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/secretary/SRI/. A listing of the University endowment’s public equity holdings as of June 30, 2006 is available for pick-up in 314 Low Library by affiliates presenting a valid Columbia University ID.

Shareholder Responsibility
Columbia University
314 Low Library, MC 4328
shareholder@columbia.edu

Dear Students:

As some of you know, one of the top political writers in American journalism
joined the faculty this fall when Tom Edsall, a veteran Washington Post
reporter was named the first Pultizer-Moore professor in Politics and
Journalism (bio below).

To give you an opportunity to see him in action, Prof. Edsall is going to
give a talk on Nov. 1, during the day. Please see the details below and RSVP
for this session. He is one of the most astute and experienced observers of
our political scene - you won’t want to miss this.

Please join Prof. Tom Edsall
Pulitzer-Moore Chair in Politics and Journalism

For a discussion on “Elections 2006″

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Journalism Building, Room 607A
Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP: JODI LIPPER
Limited seating.

BIO: Thomas B. Edsall covered national politics for 25 years at the
Washington Post. He is now a correspondent for The New Republic and
The National Journal. He is also a frequent contributor to such
magazines as The Atlantic, the New York Review of Books, the New
Republic, Harper’s, The American Prospect, the Nation, the Washington
Monthly, and Dissent. His awards include the Carey McWilliams Award
of the American Political Science Association, the Bill Pryor Award of
the Newspaper Guild, a year-long fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars, and five Media Fellowships at the
Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

One of Edsall’s primary interests is the growth and strength of the
conservative coalition and Republican Party over the past four
decades. He is the author of Building Red America: the New
Conservative Coalition and the Drive for Permanent Power, which was
released in August, 2006. A previous book, Chain Reaction: the Impact
of Race, Rights, and Taxes, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for
Nonfiction in 1992. In 1983, he wrote The New Politics on Inequality.
Before joining the Washington Post in 1981, Edsall worked for 14 years
at the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Baltimore Sun, covering a wide
range of local and national beats. In 1965-1966, he served in the
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program, working in East
Baltimore. In 1965, Edsall covered suburban county governments in
South Rhode Island for the Providence Journal-Bulletin. Born in
Cambridge, Mass., Edsall received a B.A. degree in political science
from Boston University. He is married to Mary Deutsch Edsall and they
have one daughter, Alexandra Edsall-Victor, and two grandchildren,
Thomas and Lydia Victor.

Ending the Darfur Crisis and Preventing the Next One
a conversation with
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
and Jonathan Ledgard, Correspondent, The Economist.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006
10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Columbia University Morningside Campus, Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 555, 5th
Floor
Open to the public. RSVP recommended.

Hosted by The Economist and The Earth Institute at Columbia University.
For further information regarding this event, and to register, visit
http://redir.targetx.com/cgi-bin/email/redir.cgi?id=0000351261-59502658

Q: What happens to classes on Election Day or Columbus Day?

A: Even though it’s a University holiday on both Monday, Nov. 6 and Tuesday, Nov. 6, those are working days for J-school M.S. students and we do hold class on those days. M.A. professors may elect not to hold classes those two days.

Columbus Day, Oct. 12, is a working day for all students.

Mark you calendars! We have scheduled two breakfasts and two lunches to share information and receive feedback from students. More events are en route.

Please see http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/10/25/memo-spring-prep/ for events specifically designed for spring registration preparation, you

Critical Issues Feedback Breakfast with Prof. Sam Freedman
Tuesday
October 31
8:15-9:15 a.m.
Room 601B
Bring your comments/compliments/critiques and chat over a cup of coffee and a pastry.
The menu, as described by Columbia Catering:
* Assorted Chilled Juices Consisting of: Orange Juice, Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice
* Assorted Breakfast Bakeries Consisting of: Mini Croissants, Danish, Assorted Muffins, and Bagels, Butter, Preserves, and Cream Cheese
* Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee and Assorted Teas

Breakfast M.A. Info Session with the Deans (M.S. students learn about the M.A. program)
Thursday
November 2
8:15-9:15 a.m.
Room 601B
The menu, as described by Columbia Catering:
* Assorted Chilled Juices Consisting of: Orange Juice, Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice
* Assorted Breakfast Bakeries Consisting of: Mini Croissants, Danish, Assorted Muffins, and Bagels, Butter, Preserves, and Cream Cheese
* Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee and Assorted Teas

M.A. Tea with the Deans (M.A. students only)
Wednesday
November 8
4-5 p.m.
Room 601B
Coffee, Tea, Water
Assorted Baked Goods

Brown Bag Lunch M.A. Info Session (M.S. students learn about the M.A. program)
Monday
December 4
12-1:30 p.m.
Room 601B
Bring your lunch and questions to this overview session on the M.A. program.
We will provide:
Individual bags of Potato Chips, Pretzel & Popcorn
Assorted Home Baked Cookies
Assorted Sodas and Bottled Water

[ Throughout the year, the DOS office organizes informal events for students to interact with various deans. Apart from individual meetings, it’s the best way for us to hear your thoughts and get your feedback. These include: Breakfast with the Deans (we take your questions over breakfast we provide); Brown-Bag Lunch Briefings (questions over lunch you bring; we provide chips, dessert and soda); Nick @ Night (questions over refreshments we provide). Please come to these when you can. No RSVP required. ]

Breakfast with the Deans
Occasional sessions with Dean Lemann and other deans of to discuss
various aspects of the J-school that affect YOU.

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 8:15-9:15 a.m., Room 607B
Bring your comments/compliments/critiques and chat over a cup of coffee
and a pastry.

8:15-8:30 - chance to chat informally with the deans
8:30-9:00 - Q&A with the deans
9:00-9:15 - back to mingling

No agenda - they answer your questions.
No RSVP required, just show up.

The menu, as described by Columbia Catering:

• Assorted Chilled Juices Consisting of: Orange Juice, Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice
• Assorted Breakfast Bakeries Consisting of: Mini Croissants, Danish, Assorted Muffins, and Bagels, Butter, Preserves, and Cream Cheese
• Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee and Assorted Teas

WHY VOTE?

October 21st, 10:30-5pm
Skylight Room, CUNY Graduate Center
34th St and 5th Ave

Against the War on Terror announces a new teach-in in anticipation of the upcoming mid-term elections. Why Vote? will examine what voting means and what it’s worth in an age marked by terror and diminished expectations. How do we think about voting when the options seem so narrow but few alternative forms of political action seem available? Nobody wants to be mistaken for the merely apathetic non-voter, but voting for the ‘least worst’ option is hardly an inspiring use of our ballot. Can one be against voting in the name of real democracy, or is that a substanceless, radical pose that makes a mockery of hard won political rights?

Speakers will include

Stanley Aronowitz professor of sociology at CUNY Grad Center and director of the Grad Center’s Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work,

Dan Cantor Executive Director of the Working Families Party,

Justin Krebs co-founder of Drinking Liberally www.drinkingliberally.org and Cosmopolity

The Editors of Against the War on Terror www.againstwot.com.

Sessions will include :

Are the Democrats An Alternative?
Is This Democracy Worth Your Vote?
Why the War on Terror is The Issue.
and more.

Each session will contain short presentations by two speakers, followed by a period of open discussion from the floor. WHY VOTE? Will be held in conjunction with CUNY Graduate Center’s the Center for the Study of Culture, Technology and Work (http://web.gc.cuny.edu/csctw/), and the Center for Place Culture and Politics (http://web.gc.cuny.edu/pcp/ ) Also, visit Against the War on Terror’s website at www.againstwot.com. This is a FREE event. For more information on the Teach-In including registration information, email the editors at editors@againstwot.com

Dear Students:

The Fall semester officially ends on December 22.

Journalism M.A. classes meet for the last time the week of December 11.

For those students (M.A., Ph.D, some M.S.) students taking classes elsewhere in the University, your classes end the week of December 11 and final exams (when applicable) are held between December 15 and December 22.

For full-time, M.S. students, all classes except for the Master’s Project, end by December 8 (unless your professors set an alternate last class date). You are expected to remain at school working on your Master’s Project until December 22, at your adviser’s discretion.

Part-time classes (except for Law and Critical Issues) run through the week of December 11 (last class meets on 12/16).

“Lucille’s Ball,” the annual holiday event at which students roast faculty and have a big party is scheduled for Thursday, December 14.

Tuesday, January 16: The first draft of the M.S. Master’s Project (for full-time M.S. students and other M.S. students doing academic year

projects) is due. Journalism M.A. classes (and all classes taken elsewhere in the University) begin.

Thursday, January 18: M.S. Workshops begin.

The following week, M.S. Seminars and M.S Electives begin.

From Sreenath Sreenivasan, Dean of Students
Re: E-mail lists and subject lines

The high volume of e-mail messages we send out means that at some point in the fall, some students will start tuning out some messages and miss important items. This is particularly important now that we have several cohorts in the building. (As the #1 e-mail sender in the school, I believe I am especially qualified to speak to the issues of people tuning out particular senders.)

It is crucial that we carefully follow the guidelines below in order to have clarity in our subject lines and our communications. We deliberately control the number of people who are allowed to post to these lists, because we have seen problems in the past with inappropriate messages going out to large groups of students. If you would like to be a sender of information on any of these lists and aren’t set up already to do so, please write to me explaining why you need to be on this. Or if you have a message to be sent out, just send that along and we will send it out.

First, a reminder of the various lists we have for students.

[J_school] = the entire universe of students - including all the full-time MS,
MA, PT students, Knight-Bagehots, PhDs, etc.

[PTclass] = all current PT students, no matter when they graduate.

[MAclass] = all current MA students.

[PhD] = all PhD students.

[INTL] = all current international students.

-

SUBJECT LINES: Here are the subject line headers we should be using.

ACADEMICS: this covers registration, how to apply for classes, changes in
instructors, change in class meeting times, etc.

LOST/FOUND: sent by Robert MacDonald only, along with a reminder that we have a
Lost & Found box in the Mailroom; use sparingly.

CAREERS: for all job-related info; posted by Ernest Sotomayor and his team.

MEMO: for major memos only - eg, Spring Letter from David Klatell or
registration information; use sparingly.

EVENT: this signals a J-School event — anything from lectures to panels to the
holiday party to the First Amendment Breakfasts to special speakers to
Breakfast with the Deans to the duPont events. If it’s a specific speaker,
please list the affiliation in the subject line and the date, if possible.

CAMPUS EVENT: for events not sponsored by the J-School but that we think our
students might be interested in such as the park clean up, university blood
drive, programs at SIPA, SAJA events, etc.

NY EVENT: for events outside the campus; use sparingly.

LIBRARY: for library related items; posted by Deborah Wassertzug.

SPJ: for SPJ items; posted by Prof. June Cross, the faculty adviser and Akisa Omulepu, class president and Rubina Madan, pulblicity director.

FINANCIAL AID: for scholarship and financial aid info; posted by Robert
MacDonald.

LEDE: for issues of The Lede; posted by Barbara Fasciani

REQUEST: for reqests of various kinds — volunteers, book donations, etc.

OFFER: for offers of tickets, unscheduled classes, media tours, etc.

ARTICLE: for articles that students should read; use sparingly.

GRADUATION: this covers all commencement related topics and memos; sent by
Melanie Huff & Barbara Fasciani.

There may be other key words that we decide we need and we can add those later.
There will still be times when you send a message and think none of these key
words are appropriate. In those cases, just put in your own subject.

If your message is intended only for the M.S. students and is going out to the
main [J_School] list, please put a ” - MS students” at the end of the subject
line.

When you type in the subject using key words, it should look like this:

ACADEMICS: Law Exam - MS students
or
EVENT: Lecture by David Remnick, The New Yorker, on Tues, 9/19

Thanks for your cooperation on this.

Sreenath Sreenivasan
Dean of Students

SPJ ELECTIONS RESULTS 2006

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

PRESIDENT:
Akisa Omulepu

VICE PRESIDENT (as runner-up for President):
Ernie Scheyder

EVENTS DIRECTOR-NOMINEE (based on results of vote)
Aaron Cahall

SPEAKERS DIRECTOR:
John Wendle

GENERAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Tina Shah | Sheena Tahilramani | Edward Vega

Appointed Unopposed

• Treasurer
  David Ressel
  
• Publicity Director
  - Rubina Madan
  
• No-Frills Movie Coordinators (one slot available)
  - Kate-Grace Bacheller
  - Lanford Beard
  
  From left: Kate-Grace, Lanford
• Deadline Club & Professional Orgs Liaisons (two slots available)
  - Ellen Gabler
  
• Webmasters(one slot available)
  - Andi Balla
  - Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
  
  From left: Andi, Ahmed

Positions To Be Filled By The Board & Volunteers in Next Two Weeks

Dear students and faculty:

Every year, the University awards Maria Moors Cabot Prizes to the best and brightest Latin American journalists and North American journalists covering Latin America. President Bollinger will be conferring these prizes, the oldest international prizes in journalism, in a formal ceremony at Low Library next Wednesday.

But next Tuesday night (the 10th), this year’s four Cabot medalists will appear at the J. school in a special panel designed for you to ask them questions. Attached are thumbnail sketches of the four winners–Mario Vargas Llosa, Ginger Thompson, Matt Moffet, and José Hamilton Ribeiro.

Especially for those of you considering international reporting, this is a great opportunity to meet two distinguished Latin American journalists and two Americans who have made careers covering Latin America. Politics, government, culture and business are hopping in Latin America and, in my view, the region offers opportunities for young journalists.

The theme of this year’s panel, which I will moderate, is self-censorship– a terrible problem both in Latin America and, increasingly, in the United States. An article on self-censorship is attached.

THIS IS THE ONLY PUBLIC APPEARANCE BY THE CABOT WINNERS.

This event takes place on Tuesday, October 10 on the 3rd Floor of the Journalism School at 7 PM. No RSVP is necessary; make sure to be in the Lecture Hall PROMPTLY at 7 PM.

I hope to see you Tuesday night,

Josh Friedman, Director of Cabot Prize Program

From: Tony Dokoupil, a doctoral student of communications in the J-school, and a freelance journalist who has written for New York Press, Newsweek, and Publisher’s Weekly.

CJAS Monthly — the online sister publication of the Columbia
Journal of American Studies — seeks a NEW EDITOR and EDITORIAL
TEAM. It’s a unique journal — bit of a fixer upper — but
definitely something with great potential. We’re open to creative
redesigns.

HISTORY and MISSION

CJAS exists in the borderland between academia and journalism,
publishing high-quality cultural commentary with a broad audience
in mind. It’s funded by Columbia’s Herbert H. Lehman Center for
American History, and was founded last year as the online
compliment to the decade old print edition of the Columbia Journal
of American Studies — which is peer-reviewed, printed annually, and
distributed through Labyrinth Books and university libraries across
the country.

CONTRIBUTORS

In less than a year, CJAS Monthly has attracted contributions from
journalists, professors, and freelance writers whose work also
appears frequently in The Believer, Commentary, The New York Times,
The New York Observer, Publisher’s Weekly, and TIMEOUT New York.

REACH

— One of three national journals recognized by the American Studies
Association:
http://www.americanquarterly.org/index.php/resources/country/C34/

— Searchable through research library systems across the country,
including the systems at Columbia and Michigan State:
http://er.lib.msu.edu/item.cfm?item=000401

IF INTERESTED, PLEASE SEND A COVER EMAIL WITH A BIT ABOUT YOUR
INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE TO TONY DOKOUPIL at td2158@columbia.edu.

www.CJASmonthly.com AND www.columbia.edu/cu/cjas/

New York and the News: Three Voices
The Bernard and Irene Schwartz
Distinguished Speakers Series
Tuesday, October 10 at 6:30pm

Over the course of the last three centuries, the role of the press has shifted dramatically, from openly advancing partisan politics to idealizing objective reporting. This panel will discuss the evolution of the press
from the 18th century to today and the active role that New York played in the maturation of American journalism.

Eric Burns is the host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Watch” and the author of Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism. Clyde Haberman writes the NYC
column for The New York Times, where he has also served as a foreign correspondent and as an editor in the Week in Review section. Michael Schudson is Professor of Communication in the Graduate School of
Journalism at Columbia University and Distinguished Professor of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. He wrote Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers.

Presented in collaboration with Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism

All Columbia Journalism School students, faculty, adjuncts and staff get to go for free (regular admission is $10 for students & educators)! Just show up with your CUID!

170 Central Park West at 77th Street
New York NY 10024
(212) 873-3400
www.nyhistory.org