Eastern Illinois University Journalism

Congratulations to Eastern Illinois University journalism rising sophomore Olivia Bennett, who's been selected for a summer fellowship with Gray Television!

She'll be spending the summer at WOIO-TV in Cleveland.

The Howard Z. Price chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha inducted three new members this week: Nicholas Bays, Harrison Belsanti and Amayah Farley. The chapter also awarded this year's Top Scholar honor to Nicholas Bays, and members recognized 2023 inductee John Wills, who attended his induction remotely while studying abroad.

Looking forward to hosting another great Journalism Camp at Eastern Illinois University for high school students who have finished their freshman year. It is completely free for those selected to attend. The camp is a week long residential camp on the EIU campus. Please share with anyone who might be interested! Any questions, let me know. This is always a great week and the past attendees still keep in touch with each other.

Eastern Illinois University :: Journalism - Workshops The IPF/EIU High School Journalism Workshop is a two-­‐week residential program that provides students an intimate look at journalism as a career.

Three months out from graduation, and journalism alum Jenna Minor has been covering Iowa's Caitlin Clark at the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis

Bill Ruthhart, Class of 2002, was honored Friday (Oct. 6, 2023) as the journalism division’s alumnus of the year.

Ruthhart is now a writing coach and editor for the New York Times’ careers team, but he worked for numerous years at the Chicago Tribune and the Indianapolis Star.

“We’re very proud of your success and thankful for the support you’ve given our students,” said Joe Gisondi, Eastern’s student publications director and chair of the division’s outreach committee, when introducing Ruthhart to the group gathered for the annual alumnus of the year luncheon in Booth Library’s Edgar Room. The journalism division is part of the School of Communication and Journalism at Eastern.

Ruthhart said he initially looked at Eastern because his mother, Debbie, told him he should look at state schools, and his dad, Roger, longtime managing editor of the Dispatch-Argus in the Quad Cities, told him if he was interested in journalism, he should consider attending Southern Illinois University-Carbondale or Eastern.

He visited Southern, but he said he was not thrilled to learn that only selected students were hired to work at the Daily Egyptian. Plus, he said, it was a long drive from home. And then he visited Eastern.

“I met Dr. Reed, and he was just like this ball of energy, and all these things were going on, he was like, ‘You want to write sports? We’ve got a volleyball game tonight. You could probably cover it if you wanted to,” Ruthhart said. “It was very clear that I could get the experience that I would want right away.”

Ruthhart, who spent most of the week leading up to Homecoming as the journalism division’s Fox-Thornburgh visiting professional, said a lot of students asked him how he planned his career so he went from Eastern to The New York Times.

“The truth is The New York Times was never on the Bingo card, right?” he said. “It was never an aspiration of mine. It was not even something I considered possible. What I did do was focus day-to-day on the assignment or the story in front of me.”

Ruthhart said he has three questions “that kind of remained my North Star” that he has asked himself throughout his career:
“Am I having fun? Do I love this work? That was always an easy ‘yes,’ because I just love journalism.”
“Am I making a difference? Am I having an impact? And most of the time, that was ‘yes.’ Government officials are having to change their behavior. I was uncovering the truth. I was keeping the public informed.”
“Am I getting better? Can I continue to grow in this job?”

He said the first two questions are the ones he has most frequently asked himself, while the third is one that others have more frequently asked of him, and that has been his trigger to consider changing jobs.

Thinking about making the jump from reporting to being a writing coach and editor whose job is to nurture and mentor younger journalists at the Times forced him to consider that third question again.

“The Times to me was this new challenge, new opportunity to test myself in a different way,” he said. “It was certainly a risk to walk away from reporting that I’d done for 20 years and to move my family halfway across the country, leave the best city in the world, Chicago, which I remind New Yorkers of constantly, but it’s been really rewarding and the right choice.”

He noted that the Times is investing in its newsroom and in local newsrooms around the country, and things are going well with nearly 10 million digital subscribers and 1,700 journalists working out of 32 bureaus worldwide to publish about 180 stories a day.

“And that’s all great, but the perspective that I continue to hold is that outside of that really glitzy newsroom on Eighth Avenue, these remain difficult and dark days for journalism in America. And as a leader in the industry, we have a responsibility to give back and to do our part to sustain the future of journalism.”

To that end, he said, the Times has invested more than $7 million in programs that Ruthhart helps run: local investigation fellowships, editing residencies, a fellowship program to improve diversity in newsrooms, a career guidance program for collegiate journalists. Eastern has a student, Cam’ron Hardy, the news editor at The Daily Eastern News, who was just accepted into the program.

Ruthhart thanked the faculty members who taught him: Pete Voelz, James Tidwell, Bill Lair, Howard Price, Doug Lawhead and Brian Poulter. He also thanked current members of the faculty and staff.

“And lastly, I have to thank J.R. (John Ryan) and (David) Reed and my parents,” he said. “Without your support, guidance, tough love and encouragement, there’s no way I could have embarked on this career, and there’s no way I’d be in this position to give back to the university that I love.”

He then quoted some familiar words.

“And I will end with the motto of The Daily Eastern News and words that ring especially true today: ‘Tell the truth and don’t be afraid.”

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The New York Times selected DEN news editor, Cam’Ron Hardy, a junior, to be part of its second cohort in its talent-pipeline mentorship program for undergraduates. Hardy will receive guidance from NY Times journalists over a multiyear period.
More details on the link below.

Introducing New Times Corps Members | The New York Times Company A second cohort, of 19 students, is joining our talent-pipeline mentorship program for undergraduates and will receive guidance from Times journalists over a multiyear period. Read more in this note from Monica Drake, Ted Kim and Carla Correa.

Job opening at EIU if anyone is looking:

Program Assistant - Social Media Coordinator | Eastern Illinois University Listing of open positions at Eastern Illinois University.

The Daily Eastern News student newspaper captured five firsts and 19 total awards while the Warbler yearbook took first in five of the six categories of the Society for Collegiate Journalists national college media contest, which was announced Sunday.

The DEN took first place for continuing coverage of mental health on campus, for an editorial on what students want in a new college president, for a column written on the K*K by Corryn Brock and for both news photography and feature photography by Rob Le Cates.

The DEN also captured seven second-place awards, four thirds and three honorable mentions.

The student newspaper, which earned multiple awards in several categories, placed second for both General Excellence and Online News Website.

The Warbler, meanwhile, nearly swept every category, taking first place in General Excellence, Coverage of the Year, Design, Writing and Photography. The book finished second for book concept in judging that assessed the overall quality of publications and did not not include individual awards categories.

Once again, the students working for EIU’s student publications proved they are among the best in the nation. They report well on topics important to our community and provide solid news daily on our digital platforms. Plus, they continue to develop more creative and innovative ways to deliver news to our audiences both on and off campuses.

The Daily Eastern News captured seven firsts and 28 total awards during the Illinois College Press Association conference in February for its 2022 coverage. Last fall, the DEN also captured first place in the Associated Collegiate Press Best of Show competition for schools nationally with enrollments 15,000 or fewer at the national college media conference in Washington, D.C.

DAILY EASTERN NEWS
1st place – Continuing Coverage (Rob Le Cates, Corryn Brock, Cam’Ron Hardy, Drew Coffey)
1st place – Editorial Writing (editorial board, What Eastern needs in its next president)
1st place – Column Writing (Corryn Brock, What I learned from interviewing the Ku Klux Klan)
1st place – News Photography (Rob Le Cates, Instagram coverage of elections)
1st place – Feature Photography (Rob Le Cates, Holi celebration)
2nd place – Overall Excellence
2nd place – Online News Website Overall Excellence
2nd place – Continuing Coverage (Madelyn Kidd, EIU-UPI contract negotiations)
2nd place – Enterprise Series (Luke Taylor, Madelyn Kidd, Cam’Ron Hardy, Rob Le Cates, accessibility coverage on campus
2nd place – Newspaper front page design (Luke Taylor, Arts cover)
2nd place – Sports Feature Writing (Kate Stevens, Wilkerson’s return home is already making a difference)
2nd place – News Photography (Rob Le Cates, gun rally at the square)
3rd place – Enterprise Series (Madelyn Kidd, Lauren Frick, Crime in Coles County)
3rd place – Social Media Presence
3rd place – Breaking News, Unofficial coverage, Madelynn Kidd and Madelyn Kidd
3rd place – Podcast (Cam’Ron Hardy and Drew Coffey, Review of Jeepers Creepers)
Honorable Mention – Editorial Writing (DEN editorial board, Students with disabilities should not have to fend for themselves)
Honorable Mention – Feature Photo (Rob Le Cates, Eastern graduation class of 2022)
Honorable Mention – Sports Photography (Rob Le Cates, Tour de Charleston)

WARBLER
1st place – General Excellence, schools over 7,000 students
1st place – Coverage of the Year
1st place – Overall writing quality
1st place – Display (layout, graphics, design)
1st place – Overall photography
2nd place – Concept of the book

Lovely shoutout to WEIU-TV and Eastern Illinois University Journalism!

The People Behind Your News: Marine Glisovic It’s hard to find a reporter as seasoned as Marine Glisovic.Glisovic is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Senior Political Reporter for

The Daily Eastern News captured 28 awards in the Illinois College Press Association competition held in Chicago this afternoon, taking first place seven times: news website, investigative reporting, opinion section, feature photo, photo essay, news photo and front page design.

The DEN staffers won or placed across all categories — writing/reporting, photo, podcasts, multimedia, design, news, sports and opinions. Will unpack more details later. Very proud of this group.

In total, the News received seven firsts, five seconds, six thirds and 10 honorable mentions.

(The attached photo by Ashanti Thomas took first for news photography.)

Important chapters of Black History in EIU media:

It's been a snowy week at Eastern Illinois University, and our advanced broadcasting students headed out into the elements to practice their live shot skills. (Thanks to Rob LeCates for the photos!)

Several people have asked for the text of commencement speaker Ted Gregory’s speech. WEIU-TV livestreamed the morning graduation ceremony, and the video is at this link. The president introduces Ted at about the 52-minute mark.

EIU 2022 Fall Commencement 10AM Eastern Illinois University 2022 Fall Commencement 10AMLumpkin College of Business and Technology and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Professor emeritus Dave Reed greets Ted Gregory, Class of ‘81, who is the featured speaker for Eastern’s fall 2022 commencement Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, in the Student Rec Center.

Congratulations to Matt Mansfield! Matt was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for News Design in 2020, but he is being recognized for it now, and it is only fitting that we add our congratulations to Matt as well!! Bravo!

2020 SND Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Matt Mansfield To Be Celebrated at SND Honors – Society for News Design https://i0.wp.com/snd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Award_Matt_Mansfield_710x400.png?fit=710%2C400&ssl=1 710 400 Society for News Design Society for News Design https://i0.wp.com/snd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Award_Matt_Mansfield_710x400.png?fit=710%2C400&ssl=1 September 22, 2022 September 22,...

Congratulations to Chet Piotrowski Jr. for being chosen the Alumnus of the Year! Thank you for all your service, Chet!

Congratulations to journalism majors Jenna Minor and Tristan Thomas, as well as all who work at News Watch, for this recognition. Bravo!

Time for a News Watch shout out! We got some pretty cool hardware delivered over the weekend! The Illinois News Broadcasters Association recently handed out the student television awards and News Watch took top honors for Best Newscast, Sports Reporting (Student Jenna Minor) and Television News Photography (Student Tristan Thomas). Congratulations!

Eastern Illinois University

The Howard Z. Price chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha inducted three new students this week: Lauren Frick, Caitlin Craig and Elizabeth Wood. Lauren (in green) and Caitlin (in black) were inducted during a breakfast reception with faculty Tuesday, and Elizabeth took her pledge in the student lounge Friday. Congratulations to these three dedicated students for this honor!

Congratulations to the 17 staff members from News Watch, HitMix 88.9 FM, The Daily Eastern News and the Warbler yearbook who were inducted into the Society for Collegiate Journalists Thursday, April 14, in the Buzzard Auditorium: Michelle Bravo, Corryn Brock, Troy Clark II, Mark Codo, Drew Coffey, Cam'ron Hardy, Madelyn Kidd, Rob Le Cates, Jade Maxwell, Regénte Myers, Leah Piescinski, Will Simmons, Chandler Smith, Kate Stevens, Imani Tapley, Christian Taylor and Megan Thompson.

Lifetime SCJ members Kelly Goodwin, news director at WEIU, and Lola Burnham, journalism professor emerita, helped conduct the ceremony.

Also inducting the new members were Lizzy Wood, Stephen Elmore, Jenna Minor, Tristan Thomas, Sofia Turek and Luke Taylor, who posed in the picture with the new members.

SCJ, formerly Pi Delta Epsilon, has been on campus since 1949.

Senior journalism major Lizzy Wood received the John M. Ryan Chapter Award.

Thank you to Dominic M Baima for taking this picture of presenters and participants at the annual Student Research and Creative Activity Conference Friday, April 1, 2022, in 2020 Lumpkin.

Front row from left: Lauren Frick, Heather Vosburgh, Kate Stevens, Jenna Minor;
Second row: Sally Renaud, Betsy Jewell, Joe Astrouski, Ensung Kim, Matt Gill

1-1:50 PM | WOMEN REPORTING WWII - JOURNALISM PANEL, LUMPKIN HALL 2020
“Reporting the war: The female correspondents of World War II”
Heather Vosburgh, Kate Stevens, & Lauren Frick
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sally Renaud, School of Communication and Journalism

2-2:50 PM | MAKING JOURNALISM EXCELLENT: RESEARCH AS A KEY ELEMENT OF JOURNALISM - PANEL, LUMPKIN HALL 2020
Jenna Minor & Kate Stevens
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ensung Kim, Journalism, School of Communication & Journalism

Student Research and Creative Activity Conference The Student Research and Creative Activity Conference was held on April 1, 2022, on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. (Dominic Baima)

Dancing Maher!

I’ve been practicing my dance moves for weeks to represent ABC 7 Chicago in Dancing with Chicago Celebrities on March 25!

The event raises thousands of dollars for breast cancer treatment/research.

I’d be incredibly thankful if you can help out at all: https://sna.etapestry.com/fundraiser/DancingWithChicagoCelebrities_1/2022Celebrity/individual.do?participationRef=228.0.1314299999

Congratulations to Cody Delmendo (center) on his new gig as a member of the content team for CHGO Sports and co-host of its Chicago Cubs and Sports Betting podcast. https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports

Congratulations to Matt Daniels, Scott Richey and their colleagues at the Champaign News-Gazette as their Sunday sports section was named one of the top 10 in the 2021 Associated Press Sports Editors contest in their division.

DIVISION B SUNDAY SECTIONS
TOP 10
The Champaign News-Gazette
IndyStar (Indianapolis)
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Buffalo News
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)
The Scranton Times-Tribune
The Villages Daily Sun
Omaha World-Herald
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
The Salt Lake Tribune

A nice memory shared by the PAR program today!

Two years ago today, PAR director Jason Piscia visited Eastern Illinois University to meet with prospective students, including JJ Bullock, who joined the PAR Class of 2021 and is now government and business reporter for the Peoria Journal Star.

Learn more about the 10-month PAR master’s degree program during a virtual Q&A with Jason and current students at noon Tuesday. Register at https://www.uis.edu/grad-week.

We thought you might enjoy these shots of students in our new drone storytelling class taking their first flights!