An intern covers war! New faculty! New special courses! Read all about it below!

Rush hour has started! We are now less than two weeks from the start of the fall term. Students are checking in, faculty are stopping by. The staff and I are busier than ever.

John Hudson, the Fall 2007 State News multimedia reporter, is now covering the conflict between Georgia and Russia as an NPR intern. Check out the store he file in Salon: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/12/georgia/.

John was also the winner of the Walter and Syrena Howell Essay Contest as a freshman in Fall 2006. NPR is now working with the State Department to get John safely out of the country and back to the U.S. He will have some amazing stories to tell on his return to campus this fall.

Then there’s Joey Nowak, another State News staffer currently interning with the Columbus Post Dispatch this summer. Joey was this year’s recipient of one of the PGA of America Journalism Scholarships. In that role, the East Grand Rapids native was a special guest of the PGA at the Oakland Hills Country Club last week. Joey is one of an elite group of 6 journalism students nationwide to win this prestigious scholarship. For more information contact J-School intern coordinator, Lori Anne Dickerson (dicker22@msu.edu) or visit http://www.pgamediaguide.com/scholarships_detail.cfm?sch_id=1

We have three new faces joining us in the fall

Dr. Michael Stamm is joining the J-School faculty on shared appointment with the History Department. Stamm, who earned his doctorate degree in history from the University of Chicago, will be teaching the History of Journalism course (JRN 325) in the fall term. Among his research areas of interest are the early days of radio and its evolution.

Nancy Hanus, former director of New Media for The Detroit News, is our two year visiting online multiplatform producer/editor-in-residence. Hanus, an Ohio native, earned her B.A. from Ohio State. She’s worked in a number of positions at the News including director of photography, features editor and Metrolife editor. She was also editor-in-chief of ican.com. Between stints as features editor and director of photography, she was editor-in-chief of www.ican.com. She planned, designed and maintained the website for an about people with disabilities. She will be teaching two sections of JRN 200 this fall, help us expand the multiplatform content in our reporting courses and develop a new course in the future of journalism and news in the 21^st Century.

Joe Grimm, formerly recruiting and development editor for the Detroit Free Press, is our one year visitor for recruiting and placement and online reporting. Grimm, a Michigan native, earned his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Michigan, but has proven his Spartan loyalties by footing tuition bills for his two sons at MSU. A nationally known recruiter, Joe is well known and well-networked at large and small media companies. He will be teaching two sections of JRN 300, recruiting students to the J-School from high schools around the country and helping place our students in jobs. He will also run workshops for students on resume building, interviewing and other career related efforts. Grimm has been nationally recognized for his leadership in improving diversity in the new industry. He’s also authored books on recruiting and job placement.

We are also offering three unique courses this fall. Right now enrollments are low for these courses, so please consider them.

The three courses are:

JRN 308, Sec 701- Polling the 2008 Presidential Race (1 credit). Class will meet for the first night at the AP Bureau in Lansing, MI. This five week, short course meets from September 3-October 25, 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday nights. Kathy Barks Hoffman, AP Lansing bureau chief and longtime politics reporter is the instructor. Get an inside look as press coverage of this historic race for the presidency.

JRN 408, Sec 740-Topic: Tandem Community Journalism (3 credits). (A hybrid class blends online instruction with regular scheduled classroom time or required for scheduled in person contact, including exams, labs, etc.) Students in this course will be beta testing a unique experiment in citizen and community grass roots journalism in Detroit. Non-MSU students must complete a Lifelong Education application at: http://www.reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/EnrReg/LifelongEducation.asp. The Class will meet instructor Jonathan Morgan, multiplatform editor at The Detroit News in his office in downtown Detroit. Journalism students from University of Michigan Dearborn, Oakland University, University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University are especially encouraged to enroll.

JRN 471, Sec 001 Investigative Team Reporting (3 credits). Semester Long Analysis Project on One Environmental Project. Prerequisite: JRN 300 or JRN 306. Honors option. Email Dave Poulson, associate director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism for more info. His email is poulson@msu.edu.