Join us at the State Capitol in Lansing for a rally on press rights Wednesday

Show your support for the Constitution, the First Amendment and press rights by attending a rally on the steps of the State Capitol from 4-6 p.m., Wednesday, September 17. The event, co-sponsored by the J-School, the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, and the Detroit and mid-Michigan chapters of the Society for Professional Journalists will be a terrific way to support free speech and free press.

This is a really important effort to drum up support for student press rights. Freedom of press is a huge issue for high school students and some college students around the state. Speaking at tomorrow’s event are Mary Beth Tinker from the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Tinker v. Des Moines; and Utica native Katy Dean, the plaintiff in the Dean v. Utica Community Schools case.

This could be a terrific extra credit assignment for students!

Hope to see you at the Capitol tomorrow afternoon. To get there from campus, just go west on Michigan Avenue and you will run into the Capitol Building. Six parking ramps surround the area, so come early or take the CATA bus.

For more information, visit the MIPA website.

Check out decades of doodles

With two weeks under our belts, we had a College wide meeting today to welcome new faculty and staff, honor and salute the achievements of departing Dean Chuck Salmon and find out the process for searching for and selecting a new dean.

MSU Provost Kim Wilcox was positive and upbeat. This will be an exciting and significant year of change for the College, and the J-School is sure to feel the impact.

Our three new faculty (Joe Grimm, Nancy Hanus and Michael Stamm) are adjusting well to MSU, our students and their classes. They are welcome additions to a very strong staff.

Be sure to check out info graphics guru and all time great MSU faculty member Karl Gude’s decades of doodles. Karl doodled through staff meetings at UPI, AP, Newsweek among other places—and still doodles through meetings here. Enjoy!

Also check out Joe Grimm’s latest Poynter column on changes in the news industry and how to cope with lay-offs and buyouts. Joe writes a regular column for Poynter and has a phenomenal network that will help students find the best jobs.

The Spartans play at home this weekend. Go Green!