Check out A (as in Awesome) speakers and looming deadlines

As we roll into April and the final weeks of the spring term, we have some A-list speakers coming to campus and some important deadlines.

Students who will complete 56 credits by the end of this term, must complete an application to apply for Admission to the J-School. If you haven’t done it by now, you need to get it done by April 1!!! This is the J-School, and we believe in deadlines.

This Thursday, Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez will be giving the annual Mary Gardner Lecture at 3 p.m. in 145 CAS. Her lecture is titled New Political Realities in Latin America and the Challenges for Press Coverage. Her experience covering Latin and South America for the Post makes her an expert on the region. With Venezuela and its oil reserves, the politics of the region are more important than ever. Don’t miss her!

Also Friday, April 4 is the deadline for undergraduate students who will be seniors in the 2008-9 academic year to apply for the Mary Adelaide Gardner Scholarship. Winning this full tuition scholarship would make life a lot easier next year! Qualifications are as follows:
Must be a journalism major who has completed 90 credits by the end of the current semester.

Must have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher

Must be planning a career in print journalism (reporting or photography)

The Application Package Must Contain:

Resume: Attach a resume listing media-related employment{,} including work for college newspapers, internships, other school activities and other work experience.

Essay: In a 500-word essay discuss your career thus far as well as your goals and ambitions for your future career in print journalism.

Sample Clips: Newspaper or magazine articles that demonstrate your work as a journalist. The clips (3 to 5) must be dated with the publication listed. Photocopies are acceptable.

Next week, Dr. Dianne Lynch, the dean at the Roy Park School of Communications at Ithaca College and the first executive director of the Online News Association will be on campus on April 10 & 11 to talk about the digital revolution in news and what skills you need to learn to snare top paying jobs in this evolving era.

Updates on all the latest--read all about it!

Reaccreditation--the Home stretch

The J-School is in the home stretch of its reaccreditation. Saturday, the National Committee of the Accrediting Council of Journalism and Mass Communications, unanimously voted to recommend reaccreditation of the J-School to the Council itself in May. (Two members of the committee, both MSU alumni, recused themselves from the vote as required by the groups procedures.) The reaccreditation process involved an intense self study by the J-School faculty, a site visit in October and the meeting this weekend in Chicago.

Speakers

Busy week. Monday, we welcomed U-C Berkley professor Jane Stevens to talk about Science Journalism in a Web-centric World. Wednesday, AP senior managing editor Mike Silverman will be on campus to meet students in classes and give the annual Siebert Lecture on the future of news coverage on how the AP is addressing the tsunami of changes.

Awards

Scripps Howard Foundation
Junior Amanda Peterka was one of nine students nationwide selected by the Scripps Howard Foundation for a 13-day journalism study trip to Japan and South Korea in its annual Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition.

The competition, established in 1984 in cooperation with the Indiana University School of Journalism, honors the memory of the journalist who led Scripps Howard Newspapers from 1922-1953 and United Press International from 1912-1920.

Amanda is also studying Asian studies. She is managing editor of SpartanEdge.com, an alternative online publication. She also is a contributing writer to the university's environmental, international studies and independent online publications.

Society of Professional Journalists Region 4

MSU J-School students and the independent newspapers that serves the camps, The State News, were also big winners in The Society of Professional Journalists' Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards.

The honorees were awarded certificates on March 15 during the Region 4 Spring Conference held in Pittsburgh. First place regional winners will advance to the national round of judging, which takes place next month. National winners will be announced in mid May.

J-School winners were:

Breaking News Reporting
•Third Place: Lindsay Machak, Michigan State University, “Owosso blaze kills 1; 4 hurt”

In-Depth Reporting
• Second Place: Kristen M. Daum, Michigan State University, “Beyond the divide”

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper (published at least four times per week)
• First Place: Staff, Michigan State University, “The State News”

Magazine Non-Fiction Article
• First Place: Jessica A. Knoblauch, Michigan State University, “Have it your (the sustainable) way”
Best Student Magazine
• First Place: Staff, Michigan State University, “EJ Magazine”

Television In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Ben Phillips, Kathy Pence & Kevin Wilt, Michigan State University, “Dying to be heard”

Online Feature Reporting • First Place: Claire Cummings, Michigan State University, “Bowling in Detroit”

Online In-Depth Reporting • First Place: Andy Belaskovitz, John Allison & Ian Walker, Michigan State University, “Pine River Superfund site”

Congrats to one and all. What a great place this is to learn the business!