THE
Vol. 2016, Issue 1 Spring 2016
O'COLLEAGUE
THE PLACES WE GO Travel remains the lifeblood of the O'Colly experience From the director's chair • Hearst Awards roundup The I-Team • Photo gallery
The Director's Chair Barbara Allen 97 ,'
Editor in Chief, Fall 1996
JUST GET ON THE BUS, GUS. See the world. Fall in love?
little more than a year ago, I stood beside one of my best friends next to Aa lake in Estes Park, Colorado, as he married a wonderful woman he met in Washington, D.C., where he has worked since graduating from Oklahoma State in 1997. When Jim Luetkemeyer and I were juniors in college, our O'Colly adviser Jack Lancaster took us to the national College Media Adviser's conference, which happened to be in D.C. that year. Jim, who grew up in the small western Oklahoma town of Okeene, remembers it as one of the most formative experiences of his life. The sites and experience of that trip forged in him a desire to seek work after graduation in our nation's capital. He is now a senior partner at Finn Partners, a public relations firm based in Washington, D.C. Not too long after his wedding, I stood alongside Jaclyn Cosgrove -- O'Colly alum, Rosalyn Carter Fellowship recipient and Oklahoman health reporter -- as she
married a woman she met at an O'Collyfunded trip to the Poynter Institute. We danced the night away in Oklahoma City, surrounded by friends, family and more than a few other O'Colly alums. So is traveling with the O'Colly the key to finding true love? Possibly. (It's also a great way to guarantee you'll be a bridesmaid well into your 30s). More importantly, students find that there is a great big world of possibilities out there, and the O'Colly helps to show them that. This year, I committed to as much student travel as possible. We sent students to cover football games all over the country. Two up-and-coming sports stars, Dekota Gregory and Chandler Vessels, really did go all over the country when they drove from Stillwater to Morgantown, West Virginia, for a football game. It turns out the state of Illinois won't let 20-year-olds rent hotel rooms, so after 10+ hours of driving, the two were forced to get back into the car and detour to Missouri, where they finally got a few hours of sleep before piling back into the car and racing the Morgantown for kickoff. (We tried to make it up to them by sending them to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. They seemed to like that.) We were on the sidelines for women's soccer games in Norman and Kansas City. We had students near the mats in Iowa for wrestling. But it isn't just sports trips that build memories and provide excellent networking and education for our students. Three sports media majors attended
the College Media Institute's Sports and the Media camp in Nashville, held inside the Tennessee Titan's stadium, where they learned from professionals, including ESPN personalities. A few weeks later, I took three students to the Future of College Media Summit at Vanderbilt University (cover), where we represented Oklahoma State and the O'Colly, making sure we are players in a college media revolution. And just before spring break, we sent the two student members of our investigative team (see next page) to the annual NICAR conference in Denver. Such trips can be game-changers. We might move there, or meet our future spouses. Regardless, O'Colly travel sets the stage for a lifetime of learning, travel and fond memories that originate in the basement of the Paul Miller Building. Because collegiate travel played such an important role in my experience here, I want to know yours! Send me a story about a trip you took on the O'Colly's dime, or shoot me a photo of you and your peers somewhere far from Stillwater. I'll try to include them in the next newsletter. Lastly, I want to thank the many of you who have shown your commitment to the O'Colly with a recent donation. I cannot thank you enough. I'd like to ask those of you who haven't yet to consider doing so (see page 4). You might just be funding true love. -- Barbara Allen, Director of Student Media Oklahoma State University barbara.allen@okstate.edu 405-744-8369
LESS THAN 1/4 US$ 20 MILLION
Jaclyn Cosgrove (right) on her wedding day, with bridesmaid and O'Colly alum Jenny Karn. The O'Colleague | Issue 1 | Vol. 2016
Spent more than Estimated fare for a full Interested in suborbital US$10,000 commercialTotrimake . space 1997 O'Colly editor Jimannually Luetkemeyer with up for his wildtravel ride. across the his D.C. brideon , the former. Megan Skinner. Great Plains, we sent Dekota Gregory to vacations
the Sugar Bowl.
A NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF THE O'COLLY
THE O ' COLLE A GUE AWARDS >
PUBLISHING >
A TALE OF TWO FIRSTS IN THE HEARSTS
s some of you might remember, A O'Colly reporter Cody Stavenhagen placed second last year in the National Writing Championship, presented by the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, after accumulating personal and university points for Oklahoma State. Cody came in clutch for us again, placing first in this year's Sports Writing contest for his excellent story about the football game that took place hours after the Homecoming parade crash that killed four. This marks the first time that any O'Colly staffer has ever won a first-place Hearst category. Additionally, reporter Kaelynn Knoernschild netted a ninth-place win in the Enterprise category for her story questioning the OSU Police Department's habit of redacting certain records. The two wins mean Oklahoma State has accumulated enough points to rank third in the nation in writing. Cody will again compete in San Francisco. If any other Oklahoma State students place in top spots, they could join him. There are several awards left this year yet to enter. The Hearst Awards are often considered the Pulitzer Prizes of the college media world. You can read both of their stories ("And then there was a football game," "Experts say OSU could be violating the Open Records Act") by going ocolly.com and searching their name and part of the headline.
The O'Colleague | Issue 1 | Vol. 2016
HOMECOMING BOOK NOW AVAILABLE or the first time ever, the O'Colly conceived and executed an Oklahoma State University homecoming yearbook. We considered ceasing publication after the parade crash, but went ahead with our plans, donating all the proceeds to the Stillwater Strong fund. The full-color book is almost 200 pages of photos. Order your copy at loyalandtrue.org for just $19.99.
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Homecoming editor Ryan Parker shows his excitement at the yearbooks being delivered.
Kaelynn Knoernschild and Kassie McClung make up the new O'Colly investigative team.
I-TEAM >
FOCUSING ON INVESTIGATIONS he popularity of the Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" has been giving journalists the warm-fuzzies all over the nation. It's fulfilling to see the world respond so positively to the impact journalism can have on a community and powerful institutions. We all know the very hard work that goes into serious investigations. They can be the lifeblood of any newspaper. The O'Colly has a long and storied history of investigative journalism. In the days of Buzzfeed and clickbait, we thought it was important to double down on our historical commitment to
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watchdogging the university. Fall 2015 Editor in Chief Kassie McClung of Broken Arrow and Fall 2015 Managing Editor Kaelynn Knoernschild of Edmond are the first members of the O'Colly's investigative team, or ITeam. Their goal is to produce at least six stories each this semester, a goal that will earn them class credit. They've so far exposed a department head accused of censoring a professor, examined university health code violations, and highlighted OSU's habit of overselling OSU's pricey, saturated parking. We expect more great stories soon!
HOW TO HELP . Print and fill out this pledge card or go to ,
https://secure.osugiving.com/givetoOSUSMSC. Select "Daily O'Collegian Excellence Fund" and enter any amount to get started.
Name: _______________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________ Email: _______________________________________ Address: _____________________________________ City/ State/ZIP _________________________________ Donor name /in honor of: ________________________ I pledge a total of: $ ________________ ✓My donation is enclosed (Make checks payable to OSU Foundation. Write "O'Colly" in the memo line.) ✓ Charge it: oVisa oMastercard oDiscover oAmEx Card No. : ______________________________________ Exp. Date: ____________ 3-digit security code: _______ Signature: ______________________________________ Questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to us! barbara.allen@okstate.edu; 405-385-1345
If you'd rather make a series of monthly contributions, simply go to https://secure.osugiving.com/givetoOSUSMSC. Select "Daily O'Collegian Excellence Fund" and enter any amount to get started. Donations are earmarked for the following initiatives. Please indicate where, if any place, you wish your funds to be targeted. Donations are stewarded carefully. General funds go toward the biggest current needs being faced by the students. ✓ Student travel (conferences, workshops, sports coverage) ✓Equipment (cameras, computers, software and accessories) ✓Outreach (alumni relations, fundraisers, continuing education) ✓ General needs (Varies)
Send your completed pledge card to: Barbara Allen The O'Colly 106 Paul Miller Stillwater, OK 74078
2015-16 O'COLLY TRAVEL PICS
Passing through Memphis, Luke Spencer, Emily Farris and Savannah Evanoff check out Sun Studio.
From left, Chandler Vessels, Dekota Gregory and Jordan Bishop tour the House of Cash in Nashville. Oh, and The Man in Black's the one in the middle. Photo editor Kurt Steiss checks out the competition during a conference in Austin this fall.