REPORTER MURPHY
WINTER 2021
MAKING IT HAPPEN
+ STAYING CONNECTED VIRTUALLY + WHERE HAVE ALL THE NEWSPAPERS GONE?
CONTENTS MURPHY
REPORTER
MAKING IT HAPPEN DURING A PANDEMIC
WINTER 2021
DIRECTOR Elisia Cohen
EDITOR
Amanda Fretheim Gates
DESIGN
Jeanne Schacht
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Katie Dohman, Nick Mathews, Scott Memmel
PROOFREADER Katie Dohman
ALUMNI RECORDS Kaylee Highstrom
2020-2021 HSJMC ALUMNI SOCIETY BOARD MEMBERS Karen Schultz, president Kelli Theiler, vice president Riham Feshir Nicole Garrison Maggie Habashy Mukhtar Ibrahim Allison Kuznia Tim Nelson Jenni Pinkley Michael Schommer Jennifer Sorenson Emme Strauss Tanya Wright
The Murphy Reporter is published semiannually by the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication for alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the school. Send questions or comments to murphrep@ umn.edu or Murphy Reporter, 111 Murphy Hall, 206 SE Church St., Minneapolis, MN 55455 The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This publication is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to murphrep@umn.edu
1 NEWS FROM THE DIRECTOR 2 AROUND MURPHY HALL 5 FEATURES
Making it Happen During a Pandemic................5
Election 2020................................................... 10
Where Have All the Newspapers Gone?.......... 12
14 EVENTS
35th Annual Silha Lecture................................ 14
Where Do We Go From Here?......................... 16
18 TEACH
Trust in News................................................... 18
Faculty News................................................... 20
23 LEARN
Graduate Students........................................... 23
Undergraduate Students................................. 23
Meet a Student................................................ 24
25 ALUMS
Why We Give: Neota and John Bradley........... 25
Alumni Spotlight............................................... 26
Alumni News.................................................... 28
In Memoriam.................................................... 30
31 DONOR REPORT
CONNECT WITH US! facebook.com/umnhsjmc twitter.com/umn_hsjmc instagram.com/umnhsjmc youtube.com/umnhsjmc U of MN Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication Alumni On the cover: A Zoom class
NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
the communication, economic, public health, and political challenges that confront us. These challenges are weighty: the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting economic recession, political polarization, and disinformation and misinformation that has undermined public confidence and trust in institutions. While it is true that these challenges have impacted faculty, staff, and students, I also have great hope that the work that is accomplished in the Hubbard School, at the University of Minnesota, and in higher education, more broadly, may make a difference to offer us a clearer path forward post-pandemic. For nearly 100 years, our School has valued innovation, creativity, excellence and the diversity of thought. These core values help all students learn; empower all faculty to discover different methods of best teaching, research, and practice; and encourage our alumni and friends to collectively engage as lifetime learners. This past fall, the School’s faculty, staff, and students continued to thrive through great adversity. Due to the Governor’s orders to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, many courses were offered online. Continuing to educate students in multimedia journalism in our Murphy Hall classrooms, where possible, was a priority. We used our donated funds and balances reserved for a rainy day to provide an umbrella to keep all students learning and faculty well-supported when teaching remotely. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, we were able to invest in equipment so that all students taking lab classes would be able to record and shoot assignments, whether they worked on campus or were quarantined at home (see page 9). We ensured that 200 students in our core lab classes had access to the Adobe suite of software for remote learning. We ordered thousands of dollars in new safety and equipment for audiovisual kits. I am #UMNProud that none of these added costs were passed on to students. We believe that the digital-first innovations borne of pandemic necessity will have lasting positive impact on our curriculum delivery and student learning. We are learning, for example, what the physical needs of our most advanced multimedia labs are and will likely be for the years ahead, which informs our Murphy Hall lab renovation planning for our 100-year anniversary as a School. Our faculty and students are learning the benefits of flexibility, and what learning can be accomplished in a “flipped” modality where students engage 1
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
in digital discovery before arriving synchronously or in place for shared learning. Such flexibility may become a defining feature of higher education, with more varied modes of learning, short courses, and online programs incorporated into or supplement to the residential college experience. While we miss the propinquity of our in-depth reporting and campaigns classes meeting together, we anticipate journalists and strategic communication professionals will likely continue to flexibly record and deliver work remotely in the years ahead. It is also true that the College of Liberal Arts is planning what could be deep and painful financial We believe that cuts due to the difficulties the University of Minnesota the digital-first system has had this year. We anticipate declining enrollments will create a relatively long tail of financial innovations losses. I can only share that the School is focused borne of on doing its best work—with the greatest reach and pandemic impact. These are difficult times, and the School has necessity will been told not to expect to replace our faculty posihave lasting tions—due to retirements and departures—as quickly positive as we would like. But I am confident in President Gabel’s leadership; she has told the legislature that impact on our the university will not balance its budget on the backs curriculum of the students. It is simply a fact that our School’s delivery and innovations in terms of its enhanced online summer student learning. offerings, model professional MA program in strategic communication, and capacity to use communication strategies to enhance demand for its offerings position it as a leader in the College. We will continue to use our creativity and capacity to effectively and efficiently meet student needs, produce thought-provoking research and insights with practical utility for industry, and engage with the community. The School has a long history at the University, a deep well of alumni and industry support, and programs that are both critical to the state’s workforce and popular with students for this to be a long-term concern for the School post pandemic. I am grateful for all of your support over the past year. The School, its faculty, staff, and students are better off for it, and we will rely on your support in the years ahead to recover and continue to support our students’ professional development as well as their strategic communication, media, and journalistic work. In partnership,
Elisia L. Cohen, Director
PHOTO BY CHRIS COOPER.
I ENTERED THE NEW YEAR IN HOPE THAT 2021 WOULD HELP BRING BETTER SOLUTIONS to
AROUND MURPHY HALL
STEVE WEHRENBERG RETIRES THE HUBBARD SCHOOL’S PROFESSIONAL MASTER’S in
Strategic Communication wouldn’t be the success it is today without the guidance and leadership provided by Steve Wehrenberg. A long-time advertising and PR veteran in the Twin Cities, Wehrenberg had worked on brands like Land O’Lakes, Toro and General Mills. As the director of strategic planning and integration at Campbell Mithun in the early 2000s, Wehrenberg was tapped to help create the Professional Master’s program at the School. He then served as an adjunct instructor with the program from 2004 until 2013, when he left his current role as Campbell Mithun CEO to be a full-time faculty member and Program Director of the Professional Master’s program. During his tenure as program director, Wehrenberg rounded out the program by adding to the curriculum with special topics courses and bringing in high-level, national names to speak at alumni events. As the industry changed, Wehrenberg made sure the program stayed current. He also taught undergraduates, helping them learn campaign strategies with real-world clients like Fox Sports North. He was an important part of the faculty, relating not just to his strategic communication colleagues, but to others as well. “I was honored to sit in faculty committee
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meetings with colleagues who distinguished themselves as journalists,” he said. “Although I pursued a career in advertising, I edited my college newspaper and originally wanted to be a journalist myself. What a treat to be able to get to know these accomplished professionals and see their different perspective on communications, educating and ethics. I think it's one of many things that makes the School special.” Wehrenberg retired at the end of the 2020 summer semester, with the completion of the fourteenth cohort of the master’s program. “One of the greatest joys of my School experience was connecting with our strategic communication program alumni,” Wehrenberg said. “They guest lectured in my classes, recruited new students, presented at events, shared their own case histories and welcomed new cohorts. Never, ever did they say no to my requests. For that I am forever grateful.” The Hubbard School thanks Wehrenberg for his 15 years of services to both graduate and undergraduate students. A new program director will be announced this spring. For more information and updates on the Professional Master’s in Strategic Communication, visit z.umn.edu/StratCommMasters
AROUND MURPHY HALL
ALUM MEDIA ORG EARNS ACCOLADES THE SAHAN JOURNAL, FOUNDED by Mukhtar Ibrahim (B.A. ’11), won a national award for its reporting on Minnesota’s immigrants and refugee communities. The organization was selected as the winner of this year’s “Local That Works” contest, which is sponsored by Current, the nonprofit news service for and about public media in the U.S. The award recognizes innovative and creative local journalism produced by public and nonprofit media organizations. Sahan Journal was also selected to join Facebook Journalism Project’s Sustainability Accelerator Program last fall. This
DANIELLE KILGO EARNS AWARD JOHN & ELIZABETH COWLES Professor
of Journalism, Diversity and Equality Danielle Kilgo was awarded the seventh annual 2020 Early-Career Woman Scholar Award from the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, housed in the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA). The award, given in partnership with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Commission on the Status of Women, honors an early-career woman scholar who demonstrates outstanding research and great potential for future scholarship. Kilgo was presented the Early-Career Woman Scholar Award during the 103rd annual AEJMC 2020 virtual conference last summer. “I am very humbled to have been selected, especially knowing that there are a league of fierce and amazing women that deserve this recognition too,” she said.
is a cohort of 20 news operations that are owned and led by people of color. The six-month Facebook program offers participating newsrooms training and grant support to explore new revenue and audience development strategies. According to Facebook, the program’s aim is to “enhance the long-term growth and sustainability of news organizations that are owned or led by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other people of color. Strengthening these newsrooms is an essential part of creating a more just and equitable media ecosystem and a more just and equitable society.”
REBEKAH NAGLER RECEIVES PROFESSORSHIP REBEKAH NAGLER RECEIVED the Beverly and Richard Fink Professorship in Liberal Arts. The Beverly and Richard Fink Faculty Fund in the Liberal Arts, an endowed chair, is intended to advance extraordinary teaching, research, and creative work of faculty who are making exceptional contributions in their field. The fund helps advance the frontiers of knowledge by enabling Beverly and Richard Fink Professors in Liberal Arts to take intellectual risks, integrate different forms of knowledge, and take on challenging projects that spark and nurture breakthrough discoveries that reshape the understanding of the human condition. The three-year professorship was awarded to Nagler by CLA Dean John Coleman in July 2020. This is the first time a Hubbard School faculty member has received this endowed professorship honor from the College of Liberal Arts. HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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AROUND MURPHY HALL
JOHN FINNEGAN TO RETIRE JOHN FINNEGAN, JR., (M.A. ’78,
Ph.D. ’85), the Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH), and affiliate faculty member with the Hubbard School, will retire in Fall 2021. He served
as Dean for 16 years and was a member of the SPH faculty for 35 years. After joining SPH in 1985, he developed a research focus on health information campaigns and the role of mass media in
SEVAREID LIBRARIAN RETIRES JAN NYBERG WORKED IN the Hubbard School’s Sevareid Library for nearly four decades, helping students, staff and faculty alike find just the tool they were looking for when it came to their work. Nyberg retired in September 2020 with a virtual sendoff that included those from her Hubbard School team, as well as fellow University librarians. Students thanked her on social media for her patience and diligence in helping them succeed. 4
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
health behavior and social change. In recent years, he’s focused his attention on sexual misconduct prevention, gun violence as a public health concern, and diversity and inclusion.
The last 12 months have taken
MAKING IT HAPPEN DURING A PANDEMIC
stamina, creativity, expertise and resilience from Hubbard School students, staff and faculty. It’s taken renewed partnerships from our friends in the community and patience and commitment from parents. From ordering extra webcams to writing national op-eds, every issue and task held importance. No task was too small or too large, and the work continues on. Here are just a few ways the Hubbard School made it happen during COVID-19.
COMPILED BY AMANDA FRETHEIM GATES
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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MAKING IT HAPPEN
HANDLING MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR EMILY VRAGA and Leticia Bode (Georgetown University) published their research “Addressing COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media Preemptively and Responsively” to the Center for Disease Control and Preventions’ Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. They write, “Efforts to address misinformation on social media have special urgency with the emergence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In one effort, the World Health Organization (WHO) designed and publicized shareable infographics to debunk coronavirus myths. We used an experiment to test the efficacy of these infographics, depending on placement and source. We found that exposure to a corrective graphic on social media reduced misperceptions about the science of one false COVID-19 prevention strategy, but did not affect misperceptions about prevention of COVID-19. Lowered misperceptions about the science persisted [more than a] week later. These effects were consistent when the graphic was shared by the WHO or by an anonymous Facebook user and when the graphics were shared preemptively or in response to misinformation. Health organizations can and should create and promote shareable graphics to improve public knowledge.”
COMMUNICATING WITH REFUGEES, IMMIGRANTS AND MIGRANTS IN NOVEMBER, the
University of Minnesota established a National Resources Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) that focuses on COVID19 prevention, control and mitigation. The center was created with the help of $5 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the International Organization for Migration. There’s evidence that the virus has disproportionately hit communities of color and NRC-RIM
hopes to address these disparities. The center seeks advice from many areas of the University. Associate Professor Rebekah Nagler offers her expertise as a health communication advisor, helping the center’s team think through how best to promote vaccine acceptance in RIM communities, which includes understanding current beliefs and misperceptions about vaccination generally and about a COVID-19 vaccine specifically.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS In October, together with alumnus and UMN School of Public Health Dean John Finnegan, faculty members Elisia Cohen, Sarah Gollust, Rebekah Nagler, Emily Vraga and Marco Yzer met with Minnesota Department of Health officials to provide consultative subject matter expertise regarding COVID communication strategies. This Spring term, Adam Saffer’s strategic communication research course will be partnering with the Minnesota Department of Public Health to develop insights into vaccination communication efforts for young adults.
TIP: OUT OF TOWN GUEST SPEAKERS “Using Zoom is very effective for having guest speakers. I had guest speakers from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Kansas City and Portland. These experiences were great for students.” — Mark Jenson
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PARTNERING WITH THE WHO DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE World
Health Organization (WHO) and many scholars saw an infodemic occurring. What is an infodemic? It’s a mashup of “information” and “epidemic” that references a rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information about something, such as a disease. Associate Professor Emily Vraga, who holds the Hubbard School’s Don and Carole Larson Professorship in Health Communication, assisted the WHO with its first Infodemiology conference in July 2020. The conference had several objectives, including understanding the multidisciplinary nature of infodemic management; identifying current examples and tools to understand, measure
and control infodemics; building a public health research agenda to direct focus and investment in this emerging scientific field; and establishing a community of practice and research. Participants included experts from the fields of Epidemiology and Public Health; Applied Math and Data Science; Digital Health and Technology Applications; Social & Behavioral Science; Media Studies & Journalism; Marketing, UX and Design; Risk Communication and Community Engagement; Ethics and Governance and other relevant scientific disciplines and practices, as well as UN agencies and public health authorities. Vraga was a Topic Master on “Which Interventions Work to Protect and Mitigate,” where
she co-hosted four sessions with experts in the field “on what we know and what we need to research in terms of interventions for infodemics.” She concluded by publicly presenting their findings to an international audience in the post-conference on July 21, 2020. Out of her sessions, four topics for new research emerged: Testing critical thinking and literacy theory as interventions to address infodemics; identifying priority populations based on key vulnerabilities; developing a shared public rubric for characterizing misinformation; and developing a shared “living systematic review” for interventions measured in terms of effectiveness on a set range of criteria.
MAKING MATCHES VIRTUALLY HANDS-ON TRAINING IN A PANDEMIC HANDS-ON TRAINING IS CORE
to the School’s mission. Last spring, some courses like Jour 4452: Newscast Producing and Jour 4303: Advanced Visual Storytelling, made do in the spring virtually. However, for fall, courses like Jour 3102: Multimedia Production and Storytelling, got exceptions to take place in person. The School developed the Hubbard School Community Engaged Learning Sunrise Plan to keep students safe while completing this work. The School encouraged instructors and students to consider whether the same educational objectives could be achieved by reducing time typically spent in the field. For example, all preparation work for interviews could be conducted remotely, careful pre-planning occurred for field camera work, and students limited time at outside events/ remote locations to the extent required to meet assignment integrity. Partnering organizations, like the Pioneer Press or APM Reports, which typically engage students in 10 hours of work on-site allowed students to work remotely and limit field production work. Students who needed to report in the field were provided with press credentials from the School.
WITH THE HELP OF THE HUBBARD School Alumni Society
Board and many professional volunteers from around the country, the School’s 35-year alumni mentor program successfully adapted during the pandemic. The School matched 51 students with mentors from organizations like Google, Fallon, MPR News, Colle McVoy, Star Tribune and more. The program kicked off virtually in November and pairs meet regularly over their computers. Mentor Kirsten Swanson, a reporter for KSTP-TV, and her mentee, senior Kathryn Sundquist, created a successful schedule for their time together. “Because most everything these days happens in the virtual world, we’ve adapted,” Swanson said. “Kathryn and I make sure to plan our meetings out ahead of schedule. She is very prepared, with a topic she wants to discuss. During our first couple of meetings, we talked about my work and my process. Recently, we’ve had conversations about what your early career looks like. The preparation and focus is key. It’s not all a work-around though. I find that because I can just hop on the computer, I’m actually spending more time with her than if we were to make plans to meet up in-person. My hope is that benefits her as she finishes out her time at the Hubbard School.” For opportunities to participate, visit z.umn.edu/hsjmcalumni
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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MAKING IT HAPPEN
WRITING FOR THE ARTS WHEN THE ARTS ARE CLOSED DOMINIC PAPATOLA TEACHES JOUR 4171: COVERING THE ARTS. HE REFLECTS ON THE FALL 2020 SEMESTER COURSE:
One of the main ways I adapted the class for this unusual year was to take a look at the final project. Typically, I ask students to create a blog or a longform piece of journalism on an arts topic of their choosing. But with COVID shuttering so many Twin Cities arts organizations, I figured the stories about how those organizations— especially mid-sized groups—planned to survive would be as diverse as the art forms they represent. So I spent time over the summer reaching out to arts organizations in hopes of finding about 20 who were willing to share their plans and processes with my students over the course of the semester. The response was really heartening. I had a surplus of groups —theaters, music ensembles, crafts organizations, museums. They were willing to devote time they probably didn’t have to interviews, open their financial books for examinations, and discuss frankly their hopes and fears about emerging from COVID.
Other elements of the class had to pivot as well. Again, in a typical semester, students in this class are out in the world watching live arts events. While there’s no substitute for being in, as they say in “Hamilton,” “the room where it happens,” we were able to come up with some creative alternatives. We watched a filmed-before-a-live audience version of a Broadway show. I had them do a book review (unusual for me, since the class generally focuses on the performing arts). I also had them review the last Trump-Biden debate... not from a political punditry perspective but rather as an aesthetic event. The students were incredibly game. With the previous experience of distance learning from the last academic year, they quickly found a way to build a sense of community in our virtual classroom through class discussions and liberal use of the chat function. I was impressed with how they engaged with each other, with the material and with me. I learned more from these students than they learned from me, and I’m grateful for their intelligence, their enthusiasm and their diverse passions in the arts.
GIVE TO THE MAX ON NOV. 19, 2020, the Hubbard School raised nearly $5,000 on Give to the Max Day for its student emergency fund for undergraduate and graduate students. The gifts help with any unforeseen financial bumps that come up for students, including scholarships for those who face unexpected financial hardships like food insecurity, job loss, technological needs, money for books, and more. To support the Hubbard School, visit z.umn.edu/hsjmcgive
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
TIP: TEAMBUILDING EARLY “I scheduled more work days at the beginning
LIBRARY RESOURCES BY THE NUMBERS Since March 2020, Hubbard School students, faculty, and staff have used library
of the semester
resources extensively.
and then ran-
LOGINS
domly mixed up the students so they could get to know each other better before assigning teams for the rest of the semester.” — Adam
11,225 to databases 8,735 to online journals 921 to ebooks
TOP 3 ONLINE JOURNALS Journal of Advertising Journal of Communication Journalism Studies
TOP 3 DATABASES
Academic Search Premier Simmons Insights AP Stylebook
Saffer
STUDENTS HONOR IMMIGRANTS LOST Four students in Jour 5131: In-Depth Reporting partnered with the Sahan Journal to write obituaries of immigrants who have died of COVID-19. According to Chris Ison, the instructor, “Finding family members in immigrant communities to tell these stories of their loved ones was not easy reporting, especially during the pandemic, and it certainly got students out of their comfort zones, at times using interpreters to help.” The project is ongoing and can be found at sahanjournal.com
TECH BY THE NUMBERS With students learning—and instructors teaching— remotely, the Hubbard School needed to order and prepare new tech kits for every student in a journalism course that required fieldwork during the 2020-2021 academic year.
ICONS BY VECTEEZY.COM
200 student Adobe Creative Cloud licenses 50 wireless microphone sets 40 sets of headphones 40 equipment cases 34 shotgun microphones 30 camcorders 30 Macbook Pros 30 laptop bags 22 tripods with fluidheads 20 iPad Pros with iPad pencils
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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ELECTION
ELECTION
2020 Assistant Professor BENJAMIN TOFF and John & Elizabeth Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality DANIELLE KILGO both signed on to Media for Democracy’s RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEDIA COVERING THE 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. The report offered suggestions from scholarly experts in politics and media, who drew on research from their fields to offer practical, nonpartisan, evidence-based recommendations to journalists covering the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Recommendations, advice and tips included: Deny a platform to anyone making unfounded claims; put voters and election administrators at the center of elections; develop and use state- and local-level expertise to provide locally-relevant information; distinguish between legitimate, evidence-based challenges to vote counts and illegitimate ones that are intended to delay or call into question accepted procedures; uphold democratic norms, and more. Find the report, plus an update on insurrection and unrest, at mediafordemocracy.org
Associate Professor SID BEDINGFIELD wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post days after the election. The piece, titled “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT ELECTION FRAUD ARE DANGEROUS,” compared President Trump’s fraud claims to elections of the past. Bedingfield wrote, “Trump’s campaign to delegitimize the vote—and the way it has been amplified by media allies and spread across social media—has a familiar ring. It evokes an egregious example of election fraud in the 1890s, when White Democrats in the Deep South complained bitterly of Black voting fraud to cover up their own election rigging.” 10
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How Hubbard School faculty members contributed to the discourse.
In JOUR 4790: POLITICAL ADVERTISING taught by Assistant Professor CHRISTOPHER TERRY, 20 undergraduate students worked collectively to track advertising (as a real-time exercise) on Minnesota TV and radio stations from Sept. 1, 2020, to Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020. Using the FCC Public File Database, students actively monitored public filings and disclosures about election related advertising, tracking the data related to federal elections this year. The course (last offered in the fall of 2018) gave students an opportunity to collect and analyze large quantities of advertising data and to interact with a range of election professionals in a real-world environment as a way to develop the type of analytical skills employers are looking for. Students used the collected data to produce a professional-style ad analysis or a multimedia-style reporting project to include in their professional portfolio after graduation. Combined with the data collected in the 2018 course, students have tracked more than $200 million spent on political advertising over the last two election cycles. As in 2018, data from the project this year was shared in a partnership with MinnPost, and appeared in their reporting during the election cycle. In 2020, the students tracked 152,867 ads for $77,309,942 in total spending on broadcast TV and radio for the 10 federal races. The spending equaled $13.61 for every man, woman and child in the state, and at 30 seconds per ad it equaled nearly 1,274 hours (more than 53 full days) of advertising time.
ELECTION
Assistant Professor BENJAMIN TOFF, Associate Professor MATT CARLSON and Assistant Professor VALERIE BELAIR-GAGNON contributed to “U.S.
ELECTION ANALYSIS 2020: MEDIA, VOTERS AND THE CAMPAIGN,” a report featuring 91 contributions from
more than 115 leading academics. The publication captured the immediate thoughts, reflections and early research insights on the 2020 U.S. presidential election from the best of media and politics research. The three were featured in sections of the report that covered news, journalism and social media. In his contribution, “Forecasting the future of election forecasting,” Toff writes, “I don’t fault [pollsters] for emphasizing how uncertain their predictions actually are. But there is something deeply unsatisfying about this form of prognosticating punditry, which simultaneously claims superior decimal-point precision while humbly insisting that its declarations should only ever be treated impressionistically.” In the piece, “When journalism’s relevance is also on the ballot,” with co-authors Seth Lewis and Sue Robinson, Carlson writes, “Even if traditional journalistic practices remain more-or-less intact, the overall media environment has changed radically in recent times. This is true of the supply of media content, particularly through the right-wing media machine of Fox News, talk radio, and digital news sites like Breitbart and the Daily Wire, but also in the distribution of information generally through social media platforms that operate wholly outside traditional news channels.” In one of her pieces, “Collaboration, connections, and continuity in media innovation,” Belair-Gagnon writes, “When it comes to the 2020 United States Elections, newsrooms will likely see that there is a fine line between news innovation for the election and how the industry is pivoting during the pandemic. With the shift to digital and a shattering of silos across different types of media (e.g., web analytics tools and even products like podcasts to their offering or toolkits), news organizations have been tinkering, developing one-off types of innovation and rethinking how to best position themselves in the media market.” For more, visit electionanalysis.ws/us/
Associate Professor STACEY KANIHAN, PATRICK MEIRICK (Ph.D. ’02) and Assistant Professor CLAIRE SEGIJN published the article “THINKING, KNOWING, OR THINKING YOU KNOW: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MULTISCREENING AND POLITICAL LEARNING” in Sep-
tember 2020 in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. The study, a national survey of the 2016 election campaign, showed multiscreening (using a device like a smartphone while watching TV) may have both beneficial and detrimental consequences for an informed electorate. The results indicate that multiscreening during political TV news and debates is positively related both to thinking about the campaign, and to the confidence people have in their knowledge of the election. However, the research also found that multiscreening was negatively related to learning about political candidates and the campaign. The authors suggest that multiscreening may create a feeling of overconfidence—that people who multiscreen think they know more about politics that they actually do. They conclude by saying that multiscreening is a distraction from the intense cognitive activity of learning, and may be contributing to a less-informed electorate. They suggest that citizens pay increased attention to high-quality election news sources.
Immediately following the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law Director and Professor JANE KIRTLEY, Postdoctoral Scholar SCOTT MEMMEL, and Program Assistant ELAINE HARGROVE compiled an exhaustive report on the incidents during and following that day. “EVENTS SURROUNDING THE U.S. CAPITOL INSUR-
RECTION RAISE SIGNIFICANT MEDIA LAW ISSUES AND QUESTIONS” covers Trump’s anti-press rhetoric and
possible incitement; journalist arrests and violence faced; and the actions of social media companies and platforms. The report in its entirety can be found at silha.umn.edu
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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WHERE HAVE ALL THE NEWSPAPERS GONE?
PHOTO BY LIEU CAP ON UNSPLASH
Ph.D. student Nick Mathews studies local news deserts, an issue that’s only been compounded by the pandemic.
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
NEWS DESERTS
NEWSPAPERS COVER THE BIG EVENTS OF OUR TIME.
Newspaper organizations, both with large daily circulations in metropolitan communities and with weekly editions for small, rural areas, print the first draft of history. Newspapers cover historic national moments, like Joe Biden’s election victory (and later confirmation) or the recent insurrection of the United States Capitol Building. Newspapers also cover moments that are significant only to their individual localities. Newspapers, though, are more than just the big type, big hype and big moments. Newspapers build communities. They give residents pride in their communities. They tell residents where and when to get together with other residents. Newspapers turn hundreds, thousands or millions of individual residents into a community. Unfortunately, more and more communities are losing their newspapers. We’ve seen it across the country, including in Minneapolis. After more than 30 years of service to its area, the Southwest Journal shuttered in late 2020. According to Poynter, it was one of at least 60 newspapers that closed in 2020, financially gutted by the global coronavirus pandemic. Since 2004, more than 2,000 newspapers have shuttered, according to a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina. About 400 of those closures occurred in rural areas. These closures, especially those in rural areas, often lead to “news deserts,” areas of the country without a daily or weekly newspaper. I recently published a research project in Journalism based inside a news desert, interviewing the abandoned former readers of the weekly Caroline Progress in rural Caroline County, Va. The goal of the project was to show the importance of a newspaper through the absence of a newspaper. As a longtime former journalist and current journalism studies researcher, the findings left me both heartbroken and hopeful. The research project demonstrated the dire financial state of the newspaper industry is real. It also showed the desire for the product is real. The findings show residents need their newspaper. It was “the heart and soul of the community,” one person told me. Allow me to tell you one quick story from Caroline County. The 29th annual Harvest Festival packed the streets of county seat Bowling Green on the third Saturday in October 2018. The normal, tranquil community of about 1,100 teemed with nearly 15,000 people. The narrow downtown Main Street overflowed with vendors, exhibits and excitement. For residents of Caroline County, the Harvest Festival is the can’t-miss event of the year.
One resident, though, missed it in 2018, and he blamed the Caroline Progress. Actually, he blamed the lack of the Caroline Progress, which, after 99 years of service to the county, shuttered in March 2018. “I forgot about it,” the 10-year resident of the county told me of the festival. “I had gone in previous years and really enjoyed it. I would have gone. I would have looked “Newspapers build forward to going. But it wasn’t in front communities. They give of me. I didn’t see it in the paper.” Yes, newspapers play a critical residents pride in their function in democracy, providing communities. They tell needed civic information. Yes, they provide the necessary link between residents where and a community’s government and its when to get together residents. But newspapers do much more than that. They remind us of the with other residents. Harvest Festivals of the world. Newspapers turn A newspaper supports, strengthens and breathes life into its hundreds, thousands community. or millions of individual “I think there is a loss of the quality of life, with people not being residents into a as close because you don’t have community.” the paper,” another Caroline County resident told me. Private Facebook groups dedicated to the interests of Caroline County sprouted. But the readers I talked to lamented the lack of control on those pages. There’s no true editor. Really, there is no trust in those pages. And the readers of this rural county newspaper trusted their community newspaper. Without newspaper reporters in town, residents must act as reporters themselves, visiting dozens of different Nick Mathews websites and social media accounts to gather information they need. That takes time, energy and work. “Life is harder in Caroline County without the Caroline Progress,” one person poignantly told me. Life is lonelier without the newspaper, too. Without important event notifications, the community does not come together as it once did, even with some residents missing the biggest events of the year. “I am more isolated now,” a resident said. “I think we all are. I think the newspaper was the one thing that kept us together.” My research was a case study of a small, rural county. It details just one news desert, one community that lost its newspaper. My fear is that this report represents a growing number of communities across the United States. HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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SILHA
INCONVENIENT TRUTHS AND TIGER KINGS: THE VITAL ROLE OF DOCUMENTARIES TODAY The 35th annual Silha Lecture addressed the importance of documentaries and the need for U.S. law to recognize such importance. BY SCOTT MEMMEL ON OCT. 19, 2020, DALE COHEN, THE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER of the UCLA
Documentary Film Legal Clinic and Special Counsel to FRONTLINE, the award-winning PBS documentary series, contended during the 35th Annual Silha Lecture that “documentaries provide a brilliant platform for filmmakers to tell us important stories and give voice to perspectives that are often overlooked. Some of them are straight up news. Some are advocacy. Some are designed primarily to make us laugh or to intrigue or entertain. Whatever form they take, films provide us with a vivid and entertaining medium for understanding our world. It’s time for the law and our institutions to treat documentaries as an essential and equal part of our journalism universe.” Cohen’s lecture, titled “Inconvenient Truths and Tiger Kings: The Vital Role of Documentaries Today,” attracted approximately 200 attendees from a variety of locations in the United States and abroad, marking the first Silha Lecture held in a virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cohen began his lecture by discussing the importance of documentaries in our culture today. He explained that thousands of documentaries are available for streaming and viewing and that in the first half of 2020, Netflix had announced that 150 million viewers worldwide had watched at least one of its documentaries in the last year. Cohen also cited several “powerful documentaries,” in which “documentary filmmakers get to add their skills, their tools, and their talents to enhance and contextualize that footage.” He continued, “They use music, sound, lighting, graphics, effects, and cinematography, and use these tools to grab our attention, to make us think, to tug at your heartstrings just as much as any Hollywood blockbuster does.” Cohen cited several examples, including An Inconvenient Truth—a 2006 documentary film about former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s efforts to inform the 14
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
American public about global warming—and Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness—a 2020 documentary miniseries about the life of zookeeper Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic. Cohen then considered the legal landscape around documentaries in the United States, asserting “the surprising fact that our legal system does not treat doc filmmakers with the same constitutional deference as we provide the journalists operating in other media.” He explained that the U.S. Supreme Court first considered motion pictures in Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio. In this case, the Court held in a 9-0 vote that the free speech protection under the Ohio Constitution did not extend to motion pictures. According to Cohen, the Court provided three main reasons why it did not extend First Amendment protections to motion pictures, including that motion pictures “were capable of causing harm, given their ‘attractiveness and manner of exhibition.’” The second reason was that films, according to the court, were for entertainment, not the conveyance of opinion. The final reason was that films were created
SILHA as part of business to make a profit. of the most effective communications Cohen argued that today we see media and the one that our youngest how wrongheaded these rationales generations have come to rely upon the “Our legal system are for three reasons. First, Cohen most.” does not treat doc said, “the fact that the particular Cohen also cited Ness v. City of media might be utilized for insidious Bloomington, a case pending before filmmakers with the purposes is not a justification for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the same constitutional eliminating protection for all works Eighth Circuit stemming from the conin that media category.” Second, deference as stitutionality of a Bloomington, Minn., Cohen also contended that “the line ordinance prohibiting intentionally taking we provide the between entertainment and opinion a photograph or otherwise recording a journalists operating can’t really be effectively drawn,” citing minor in a city park without the consent the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown of the parent or guardian. Sally Ness, in other media.” v. Electronic Merchants Association, a Bloomington resident, claimed that in which the Court struck down a the law was unconstitutional under the California law that prohibited the sale First Amendment. Cohen asserted that or rental of violent video games to in July 2020, the District of Minnesota minors, declaring video games to be protected speech “dismissed the claim incorrectly, in my view, largely under the First Amendment. Finally, Cohen argued that based on the misunderstanding of First Amendment “that operation for profit has never excluded speech law.” Cohen argued that the trial court misinterpreted from the First Amendment protection.” He cited New First Amendment law because the ordinance is not York Times Co. v. Sullivan, in which the Supreme Court “content-neutral” and “the City Council and the court applied the First Amendment to an advertisement both improperly ignored the constitutionally salient truth published by The New York Times seeking donations that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a for the legal defense of Martin Luther King, Jr. on perjury public park.” charges. The Court ultimately established the “actual Cohen drew a parallel to the “same erroneous malice” standard, which requires proof that defendants judgment that many in the film industry make when they knowingly made false statements or made statements insist that documentary filmmakers must have releases with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity. from everyone who appears in their films.” He explained Cohen next cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bursthat such releases “certify that an interviewee consents tyn, Inc. v. Wilson, in which the Court “reversed course” to an interview and its use in a documentary and may and held that “[i]t cannot be doubted that motion pictures include other provisions, including the release of other are a significant medium for the communication of ideas. tort claims.” They may affect public attitudes and behavior in a variety He added, “Here again documentarians are being of ways, ranging from direct espousal of a political or treated differently than other journalists. The New York social doctrine to the subtle shaping of thought which Times doesn’t ask interviewees to sign a release. And characterizes all artistic expression. The importance their insurance company certainly doesn’t require that. of motion pictures as an organ of public opinion is not ‘60 Minutes’ correspondents and local television news lessened by the fact that they are designed to entertain people do not ask for releases when they interview as well as to inform.. . . [W]e conclude that expression people or when they film them on the street for their by means of motion pictures is included within the free news stories. Why then should documentarians be speech and free press guaranty of the First and Fourexpected to meet this standard? Their interviewees [and teenth Amendments.” people filmed in public] do not have any reasonable Cohen provided examples, including that the expectation of privacy [and] know they’re being filmed Supreme Court “still doesn’t allow [cameras in the and they typically know what the interviewer knows and courtroom] and [that] most courts still disfavor them.” He intends to do with the recording.” explained that “[e]ven in the states that allow cameras, “The First Amendment protects a marketplace of there’s generally a process that requires specific court ideas—opinion and advocacy are welcome,” he said. approval.” Conversely, according to Cohen, there is “And as the Supreme Court has often reminded us, the “no similar process or bias against reporters attending First Amendment protects a robust uninhibited and wide trial and in other situations. In fact, the rules regarding open discussion of matters of public interest.” Cohen cameras are strange, given that the Supreme Court has therefore called for U.S. law and institutions to better emphatically pressed for courts and their proceedings to recognize the importance of documentaries and treat be open to the public, but apparently [not] through one them equally with traditional journalism.
Silha Center activities, including the Silha Lecture, are made possible by a generous endowment from the late Otto and Helen Silha. A link to the video of this lecture is available at silha.umn.edu
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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EVENTS
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The pandemic and other events from 2020 brought many new challenges to the industry. Through its Where Do We Go From Here webinar series, the Hubbard School hosted many industry experts to discuss the year’s impact on different areas of media.
TV & RADIO
In October, Director Cohen welcomed Ginny Morris, Dan Seeman and Kirk Varner, all from Hubbard Broadcasting, to discuss the organization’s response to the pandemic. The group also covered how KSTP covered the social unrest of summer 2020 and what changes the pandemic may bring to workplace culture and the organization’s coverage.
“We’ve seen our streaming numbers go up as people are at home working. So much radial listening typically takes place in the car, so that’s kind of a point of vulnerability that we knew we were going to encounter, and we have, but we've seen our streaming numbers go up pretty considerably.” —Ginny Morris, Hubbard Broadcasting
“We were really adopters with streaming on laptops and on desktops, and we were very early adopters on smart speakers like Alexa. And it’s really paid off. Listening patterns are completely disrupted. We don’t get mom in the car bringing her kids to school every day anymore, or we don't get some of those folks that are driving to work every day. So these digital platforms have been really important.” —Dan Seeman, Hubbard Radio
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
“I don’t think anybody had on their bingo card for 2020 a pandemic, social unrest, and then, you know, all of the day-to-day normal things you have in terms of running a news operation. And, let’s put in an election, which depending on which candidate you want to listen to, the one thing they seem[ed] to agree on is that it [was] the most important election of our time.” —Kirk Varner, KTSP
NONPROFIT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
In November, Assistant Professor Valerie Belair-Gagnon welcomed several leaders from nonprofit news organizations to talk about the funding and future of their entities. Tanner Curl of MinnPost, Meg Martin of MPR News and Sylvia Strobel of TPT talked about challenges, changes and bright spots brought on by the pandemic.
“We’ve seen an increase in philanthropic support from all sources—grant funders individual donors and within individual donors at all levels—which I think again just shows the resonance and the importance of the work directly impacting people's lives.” —Tanner Curl, MinnPost
“It’s really critical that when we’re telling stories of joy and innovation and of change and of science and of solutions, that we're telling those stories from people in communities all across the state.”
“We've had a better reaction from our [event] audience who’ve been able to engage with us during this period —Meg Martin, who might not MPR News have come to a live event. I think that'll be something we're talking about when we can do live events in person again. How do we keep that element of digital connection to be able to have that reach?” —Sylvia Strobel, TPT
EVENTS
RACE AND MEDIA IN THE TWIN CITIES
NEWSROOMS IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
In February, new Hubbard School professor of journalism, diversity and equality Danielle Kilgo brought her research on race and media to a conversation with Omar Jimenez of CNN (Jimenez was arrested in Minneapolis during the unrest of summer 2020) and Kyndell Harkness, assistant managing editor of diversity and community at the Star Tribune. Along with Director Cohen, the group talked about the challenges and experiences of reporting on race and racism in Minneapolis and beyond, and how media organizations can reckon with and build upon lessons from 2020.
In December, Director Cohen talked to Rene Sanchez of the Star Tribune, Lisa Hills of the Minnesota Newspapers Association and Matt McMillian of Press Publications about where newsrooms are headed in the next five years and how the pandemic changed the way newsrooms work.
“I think our challenge has been to cover these enormous stories relentlessly, but to keep up staff morale at a time when people were also sacrificing some of their income and also taking personal safety risks. It’s just been extraordinary to see the commitment to journalism from the staff despite the enormity of those challenges.”
“Immediately we started to work behind the scenes to make sure that newspapers were declared essential services before Governor Walz issued the stay at home order. We've done a lot of lobbying on the federal level to make sure that local journalism issues or local journalism is supported.” —Lisa Hills, MNA
“It’s just amazing how, as people are at home, more have valued this local content and this local journalism and telling the story through local people’s voices. So [the pandemic] has definitely brought us closer to our readers and it's brought us closer to our marketing partners.”
“What I think has to happen is that, this attention to police violence, this attention to police presence, in certain communities and lack of presence in other communities has to be regularly covered before it becomes an event again.”
—Matt McMillian, Press Publications
—Rene Sanchez, Star Tribune
—Danielle Kilgo, Hubbard School
DON’T MISS THESE UPCOMING EVENTS POLITICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION April 15, 3:30 p.m.
The University of Minnesota Spotlight Series is a collaborative partnership between the Institute for Advanced Study, Northrop, and the University Honors Program to present lectures, panel discussions, exhibits, and other events throughout the academic year around timely topics of interest. This final event of the six-part series features Assistant Professor Colin Agur.
SCHOLARSHIP SHOWCASE April 2021
Watch for the Hubbard School’s first-ever virtual Scholarship Showcase. We’ll highlight the 2020-2021 undergraduate and graduate scholarship recipients and scholarship donors. We’ll share remarks, special projects, and anecdotes from School leadership, students and donors as well.
COMMENCEMENT May 2021
After a successful 2020 virtual Commencement, the Hubbard School plans to honor its 2021 graduates again this spring. Watch for speeches, videos and slideshows celebrating the Class of 2021 to appear on hsjmc.umn.edu in early May.
“In the room where we're looking at images and deciding on headlines and picking things out, there were some tough conversations about images we should show. The photographers were talking about making sure that they weren't being stereotypical in the images that they were producing and we were really being fairly conscious about that when we were talking about putting things in print.” — Kyndell Harkness,Star Tribune, talking about the George Floyd events
“Conceptually I think there's this idea of what bias is… Honestly there's not a single reporter out there that does not have bias, and I think finally coming to terms with that realization is something that I think all of us need to get on the same page with. It's just acknowledging the fact that I come from a certain set of backgrounds, I come from a certain set of circumstances that are going to make me inherently view a story in a different lens than someone else.” —Omar Jimenez, CNN
Videos from the Where Do We Go From Here series can be found at hsjmc.umn.edu/where-do-we-go-here HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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RESEARCH
NEW RESEARCH: TRUST IN NEWS Assistant Professor Ben Toff leads the project at Reuters. LAST SUMMER, HUBBARD SCHOOL Assistant Professor Benjamin Toff joined The Trust in News Project at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism as Senior Research Fellow, working with the two principal investigators, Reuters Director Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Research Team Leader Dr Richard Fletcher, and a team of post-doctoral research fellows. The Trust in News Project is a three-year program looking across Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States to understand what digital news sources people trust, why people invest their trust in them, and what publishers and platforms can do to help people make decisions about what news to trust online. It is run by the Reuters Institute and based on a grant from the Facebook Journalism Project. Over the next three years, this independent research project will involve research, industry engagement, and journalist fellowships to help researchers better understand the drivers of trust in different contexts and for different audiences, and identify actionable, evidence-based recommendations for publishers, platforms, and others working on issues around trust and news. The project’s first report was released in December 2020 and summarized some of what is known (and unknown) about trust in news, what is contributing to its decline, and how media organizations are seeking to address it. The report, authored by Toff, Sumitra Badrinathan, Camila Mont’Alverne, Amy Ross Arguedas, Fletcher and Kleis Nielsen, took stock of how those who study journalism and those who practice it think about the subject. It combined an extensive review of nearly 200 publications related to trust in news and 82 interviews on the subject with journalists and other practitioners across the U.S., the U.K., India and Brazil. The interviews included journalists from the most prominent brands in each of these countries as well as additional voices of those working to address challenges in the information environment, both inside and outside of newsrooms. Why is trust in news eroding? How does this decline play out across different contexts and different groups? What might be done about it? These are the questions at the heart of the report. Here’s what Toff and his team discovered so far: 18
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW
There is no single “trust in news” problem. Our research suggests there are rather multiple challenges involving both the supply of news and the public’s demand for information. Grappling with trust in news requires defining what is meant by “trust,” “whose trust,” and “what news” as people hold varying beliefs about how journalism works, sometimes conflicting views about what they expect from it, and differing notions about the true state of the world. Thus, those seeking to regain or retain trust need to be specific in their strategic aims and, ideally, base their work on supporting evidence, as initiatives that work with one part of the public may not work with others. Public understanding of how journalism works is low. Social media isn’t helping. So long as few know what goes into reporting and confirming information, audiences cannot be expected to differentiate between brands using informed assessments about newsgathering practices, which themselves vary considerably in quality. Research on the effectiveness of interventions designed to help people navigate digital media environments shows promise but what works, with whom, and under what circumstances remains murky. As newsrooms seek to communicate commitments to core principles and ethical
RESEARCH
As trust in other civic institutions has fallen, trust in news has typically followed, with partisanship often serving as one of the strongest predictors of distrust. standards, they must contend with reaching distracted users who may encounter their brands only fleetingly in their digital feeds. Some distrust may be rooted in coverage that has chronically stigmatized or ignored segments of the public. Several interviewees highlighted what they saw as news organizations’ past failings in accurately reflecting the diversity of viewpoints in the communities they seek to serve. Many news organizations have sought to address distrust using various engagement initiatives and publicly reckoning with their failings. But focusing on some communities can alienate others. There is a considerable risk here of doing things that look good and/or feel good, or imitating what others are doing on the basis of little or no evidence, which could lead to wasted efforts at best and counterproductive results at worst. Assessments of trust and distrust are deeply intertwined with politics. Ultimately, many attitudes about news may have little to do with newsrooms. As trust in other civic institutions has fallen, trust in news has typically followed, with partisanship often serving as one of the strongest predictors of distrust. As cues about the press are often taken from political leaders, it leaves news organizations in a precarious position as they seek to
carve out roles as independent, impartial arbiters of truth. Efforts to improve trust involve trade-offs in divided and polarized societies and can also be at odds with other important priorities, such as holding power to account.
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
The authors outline four research questions that will shape the work of the Trust in News Project in the years to come. These are the questions: ❚ How are platforms damaging to news organizations’ brand identities? The experience of consuming news online is increasingly mediated by platforms often accused of eroding trust by obscuring differences between information sources. We want to investigate to what extent platforms may be contributing to these problems and/or ways they might be harnessed to improve trust in accurate and reliable news. ❚ Which audience engagement strategies build trust and which may undermine it? Newsroom engagement efforts are often based on intuition, and existing research has typically been too disconnected from practice and too focused on only a handful of countries. ❚ How much is too much transparency and what types matter most? Efforts to present journalists as real, relatable people rather than distant, faceless media figures seem important to improving relationships with audiences, but we know little about the effectiveness of such initiatives or their potential to backfire. ❚ Where do preconceptions about news come from and how can they be changed? Entrenched notions about news are likely based on a combination of factors ranging from personal experiences and identities to popular cultural representations of news. We want to know when, how, and why audiences might be willing to revise their preconceptions. According to Toff, “The Trust in News Project’s first report underscores the complexity of the challenges involved in reversing declines in trust in news worldwide. There is likely no one-size-fits-all approach, but knowing what works, what doesn’t, and why is vital to avoid decisions that might waste already scarce resources.” For more information on the project, visit reutersinstitute. politics.ox.ac.uk/trust-news-project or contact Ben Toff at bjtoff@umn.edu HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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SCHOLARSHIP
FACULTY NEWS SID BEDINGFIELD
is co-editing and contributing chapters to a new book coming out in 2021. The University of Sid Bedingfield Illinois Press has scheduled a fall publication date for Journalism & Jim Crow: The Press and the Making of White Supremacy in the New South, which Bedingfield is co-editing with former Hubbard School faculty member Kathy Roberts Forde. In November, Bedingfield published a column for the Washington Post based on research from the book. He also appeared on a post-election panel sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s History Center. As part of the Norwegian research council grant on mediated disinformation, VALERIE
BELAIR-GAGNON
Valerie Belair-Gagnon
Carlson also presented “Beyond journalistic detachment: Discovering a moral voice for journalism” Matt Carlson at the Ivan L. Preston Symposium: What Now? A Post-Election Symposium on Political Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November 2020.
ELISIA COHEN has joined the UMN's
Center for Translational Science Institute's Communications Work group and Communication Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health (CEARCH) committee. She along with Mickey Eder (PI) and a team of researchers from Mayo have created a variety of social media and Science Cafe educational offerings to improve public understanding of medicine and science. Their work will be featured in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science.
is working on uses of technologies with tech companies, news and fact-checking organizations, including during the 2020 U.S. elections. With colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kristianna University, and OsloMet, she is also working on a Digital Journalism special issue titled “Fighting Fakes: News publishers, fact-checkers, platform companies, and policymaking.”
DIANE CORMANY’s article, “Love is an emergency savings fund: Suze Orman’s advice as affective discipline,” was published online in Communication, Culture & Critique from the International Communication Association.
MATT CARLSON’s chapter “Journalistic critical incidents as boundary making and the making of boundaries around critical incidents” was published in the book Critical Incidents in Journalism.
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO’s last single-authored book, Foreign Correspondents in Action: World War II to the Present, an oral history revealing the practices of U.S. foreign correspondence
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
RUTH DEFOSTER had a paper
accepted by the journal SN Social Sciences titled “Poor and hurting: Media habits and views on drugs,” forthcoming in Spring 2021.
during the last eight decades, has been published in Korean. The translator was Dr. Wooyeol Shin (Ph.D. ’16) who’s now an assistant professor at Kyungnam University in South Korea, and who won a grant to work on the translation.
Ruth DeFoster
GAYLE (G.G.) GOLDEN was one of four
panelists featured on the Oct. 21, 2020 webinar “Behind the headlines: Reporters and news consumers in a 24/7 media world,” a UMN Libraries event co-sponsored by the Hubbard School and the Star Tribune. Giovanna Dell’Orto
Jisu Huh Gayle Golden
JISU HUH edited the Journal of Advertising Special Section “Advances in Computational Advertising.” The collection of five articles included in this journal issue is the fruit of the Computational Advertising Research Thought Leadership Forum (TLF) sponsored by and held at the Hubbard School in October 2019. Huh’s editorial, co-authored with Edward C. Malthouse of Northwestern University, “Advancing computational advertising: Conceptualization of the field and future directions,” has been translated into Chinese as well. Huh won the 2020 Dyason Fellowship awarded by the University of Melbourne in Australia. This fellowship provides funding for a short-term visit by leading international scholars to the University of Melbourne to engage in
Mark Jenson
SCHOLARSHIP
significant and lasting research collaborations with the university’s faculty. With this fellowship funding, Huh will be a visiting scholar at the School of Culture and Communication at the University Melbourne in spring 2021, and engage in research collaboration with their faculty and give lectures to students. In MARK JENSON’s Fall 2020 Jour 4263: Campaigns course, the client was U.S. Bank. Four teams worked since early September and presented their final presentations to the client on Dec. 10. The challenge was to develop a complete IMC plan to help U.S. Bank recruit more digital talent to the organization. The four teams presented to three clients and the feedback was very enthusiastic for the ideas presented and the professionalism of their presentations. The client indicated they will be sharing the ideas with additional departments in the organization.
STACEY KANIHAN, Patrick Meirick and CLAIRE SEGIJN
published the article “Thinking, knowing, or thinking you know: The Relationship between multiscreening Stacey Kanihan and political learning” in September 2020 in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.
SHERRI JEAN KATZ had an article titled “High school youth and e-cigarettes: The influence of modified risk statements and
flavors on e-cigarette packaging” published in the American Journal of Health Behavior. In January, DANIELLE KILGO published “When is the ‘racist’ designation truly applicable? News media’s contribution to the debatability of racism” in a special issue of Television and News Media on Nationalisms and Racisms on Digital Media.
JANE KIRTLEY was interviewed many times about cameras in the courtroom during the upcoming George Floyd trials. She was featured on KSTP-TV, in the Star Tribune and in the Associated Press, to name a few. SCOTT LIBIN presented a session on ethical decision-making in The Radio Television Digital News Association’s September webinar titled “Always-On Ethics: Staying Ethical in an Age of Super-Speed News Cycles.” Over the summer, Libin led training on coverage of race for Altice, which operates News 12 networks in the New York City area and Cheddar, a live-streaming financial news network. REGINA MCCOMBS wrote the lead
article for the July-August issue of News Photographer Magazine, the magazine of the National Press Photographers Association, on how Twin Cities photojournalists handled the protests and riots around the killing of George Floyd titled, “Chaos and Crossfire For Photojournalists Covering Protests of George Floyd’s Death.”
SCOTT MEMMEL successfully
Sherri Jean Katz
defended his dissertation, “Pressing the police and policing the press: The history and law of the
relationship between the news media and law enforcement in the United States,” and started his postdoc assignment with the Hubbard School at the end of August 2020.
REBEKAH NAGLER, MARCO YZER
and their research team published “Americans' perceptions of disparities in COVID-19 mortality: Results from a nationally-representative survey” in Preventive Medicine and “Public perceptions of conflicting information surrounding COVID-19: Results from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults” in PLOS ONE. Both projects were completed using funds from the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research’s COVID rapid response grant program.
Jane Kirtley
Scott Libin
AMY O’CONNOR, along with master’s
students Renee Mitson and Cory Gilbert, presented “Hometown advantage? Exploring the relationship between location, CSR/CSI behaviors, and stakeholders’ activist intentions,” their paper featuring data collected in the Driven to Discover barn at the Minnesota State Fair, at the National Communication Association’s annual conference.
AMELIA REIGSTAD successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “Gender Differences in Communication Styles and their Influence on Workplace Communication and the Practice of Public Relations in the U.S.” Her work was completed through the University of Leicester located in the U.K.
Rebekah Nagler
Amy O’Connor
Hyejoon Rim
HYEJOON RIM and Hubbard School alumni, Keonyoung Park and Hyejin Kim, published “Exploring variations in corporations’ communication after a CA versus CSR crisis: A semantic HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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SCHOLARSHIP
network analysis of sustainability reports” in the International Journal of Business Communication.
ADAM SAFFER had two manuscripts
that were accepted for publication from his research project on the NGO networks that have emerged from the global refugee crisis. The first manuscript, “Standing out in a networked communication context: Toward a network contingency model of public attention,” will be published at New Media & Society. The second manuscript, “The influence of interdependence in networked publics spheres: How community interactions affect the evolution of topics in online discourse,” will be published at Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. He also presented two papers at the National Communication Association’s annual conference. One of those was awarded the top faculty paper in the organizational communication division.
CLAIRE SEGIJN
was awarded the First Place Special Topics Paper Award (topic: Emerging Technologies) of Claire Segijn the Ad Division at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The paper awarded is titled “Am I being watched? The role of perceived surveillance and privacy cynicism in synced advertising effects” and was co-authored by Ph.D. candidate Eunah Kim. In addition, she also won the John E. Hunter Meta-Analysis Award from the Information Systems Division at the annual conference of the International Communication Association for 22
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
her paper “A meta-analysis into multiscreening and advertising effectiveness: Direct effects, moderators, and underlying mechanisms.” This work is published in Journal of Advertising and co-authored by Martin Eisend.
EMILY VRAGA assisted the World
Health Organization with its first Infodemiology conference in July 2020 as a Topic Master on “Which Interventions Work to Protect and Mitigate,” where she co-hosted four sessions with experts in the field what is known and what needs more research in terms of interventions for infodemics. She concluded by publicly presenting the findings to an international audience in the post-conference on July 21, 2020. (For more information, see p. 7.)
MARCO YZER spent his Fall 2020 sabbatical working on various
research projects relating to mental health communication. Several articles Yzer co-authored were published Marco Yzer or accepted for publication, including “Theories of behavior,” in Health Communication Theory; “Advancing health communication research: Issues and controversies in research design and data analysis,” in The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication; “Public perceptions of conflicting information surrounding COVID-19: Results from a nationally representative survey among U.S. adults,” in PLOS ONE; and “Americans’ perceptions of disparities in COVID-19 mortality: Results from a nationally-representative survey,” in Preventive Medicine.
MEET THE 2020-2021 HUBBARD SCHOOL DIVERSITY FELLOWS NITIN DUA, Senior Strategist, Fallon
MARISSA EVANS, Social Issues Reporter, Star Tribune RIHAM FESHIR, Multimedia Reporter, MPR News LIZ FLORES, Photojournalist, Star Tribune CARLOS GONZALEZ, Photojournalist, Star Tribune JERRY HOLT, Staff Photographer, Star Tribune MUKHTAR IBRAHIM, Founder, Sahan Journal JUSTIN MCCRAY, News Photojournalist, FOX 9 MARSHA PITTS-PHILLIPS, Founder, MRPP & Associates Communications LLC ANJULA RAZDAN, Digital Deputy Editor, Experience Life ALEX WEST STEINMAN, Founder, The Coven HEIDI WIGDAHL, Multimedia Journalist, KARE-11 NANCY YANG, Digital Producer, MPR News
LEARNING
GRADUATE STUDENT NEWS JONATHAN ANDERSON and SARAH KAY WILEY won third place at the
2020 National Freedom of Information Coalition Research Competition for their paper “Freedom of the database: Auditing access to structured data.”
LAUREN ERNT successfully defended her M.A. thesis, “Oil pipelines, climate change, and frames: Local news coverage of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project in northern Minnesota,” in Fall 2020. NICK MATHEWS received the Dan Wackman First-Year Graduate Student Research Award for his paper “The community caretaker role: How weekly newspapers shielded their communities while covering the Mississippi ICE raids.” This annual award was established with generous gifts from the Hubbard School’s professor emeritus Dan Wackman and others, to honor a first-year graduate student or small group of graduate students who produce the best research paper for a completed first-year graduate project in Mass Communication. CLARA JUAREZ MIRO published her
Clara Juarez Miro
article “The comment gap: Affective publics and gatekeeping in The New York Times’ comment sections” in Journalism. She was also accepted to attend the European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School, which aims to provide a supportive international setting where doctoral students can present their ongoing work, receive feedback on their Ph.D.-projects from international experts and meet students and academics from other countries, establishing valuable contacts for the future.
ALLISON STEINKE received the Hubbard Allison Steinke
recognizes outstanding graduate achievement for dissertation projects; it is the highest honor that the school gives to graduate students. In addition to this distinction for her work, Allison will be awarded $6,000 to put toward her research. Allison's dissertation, titled “The institutionalization of solutions journalism,” examines the growing field of “solutions journalism” from an institutional perspective. Using a mixed methods approach of gathering interviews, examining practitioners’ communications with one another, and studying news texts, this project tracks how this community creates norms and shared practices around a nascent form of news practice. It promises to contribute to our understanding of how new journalistic practices emerge through the concerted efforts of a scattered community of journalists all intent on improving the impact of news on society.
UNDERGRAD STUDENT NEWS The NATIONAL STUDENT ADVERTISING COMPETITION student group built their team via Zoom. The group co-presidents, GENEVIEVE BENSON, JOHN CRONIN, and MINH PHAN, have been working very hard to make this a successful team effort. Along with project manager MAYLEE MOORE the team has conducted research and begun development of the creative brief for the client this year, Tinder. The team returned for the spring semester and started working on the creative and media parts of the plan. The final book is due in late March and the team will defend their District 8 championship in April.
HEARST JOURNALISM AWARDS NOMINATIONS Several students were nominated for the Hearst Journalism Awards: LIV MARTIN was nominated for feature writing for her Star Tribune story, “College during COVID-19: It's improvising online for students and professors.” BECCA MOST was also nominated in the feature category for her Minnesota Daily article “‘Gunner culture’: In a high-achieving field, medical students worry about seeking mental health help.” Most took home 14th place. HANA IKRAMUDDIN was nominated in the enterprise reporting category for her Minnesota Daily article “For many, federal protections for those with disabilities are not enough.” JASMINE SNOW was also nominated for her Daily story “UMN doctor, medical devices center create new ventilator to help pandemic response.” NUR ADAM was nominated in the photojournalism news and features category for a selection of her photos.
The MINNESOTA DAILY received the Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Award in October 2020.
School’s Ralph D. Casey Dissertation Research Award. The Casey award
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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LEARNING
MEET A STUDENT: GRACIE STOCKTON
A budding journalist and thespian, Gracie loves to tell stories. INTERVIEW BY AMANDA FRETHEIM GATES
Admitted to the College of Science and Engineering as a freshman, Gracie Stockton switched gears and is now a senior majoring in journalism and theater arts. From Lake Forest, Ill., Gracie has interned across industries, making the most of her time at the Hubbard School. Q Why did you decide to pursue your majors? A I’ve been a storyteller since I
was young and found that making work for audiences and embracing creativity were my strengths. I was nominated for a Broadway in Chicago award and realized that storytelling was for me, both on stage and in print.
Q What has been your favorite part of your experience as a journalism major? A There have been so many mem-
orable moments during my time here, but my internship with APM Reports during the 2020 election is absolutely the highlight. Getting to do investigative reporting, writing, video, and radio production during one of the most critical elections in the history of our democracy? I couldn’t have dreamed of a better opportunity, let alone imagined the incredible team I’d get to work with. I grew so much. 24
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
Q How have your internship experiences helped you grow? A I’ve interned in niche business IT
consulting, at APM Reports, MinnPost, and at the Minnesota PGA. I grew up watching golf with my dad, so getting to be on the greens as a photographer during the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine and interviewing Lexi Thompson was pretty surreal. I distinctly remember being near Hannah Green and a guy from the Golf Channel scooting over so I could get a photo, too. Those moments of compassion and little opportunities to grow from strangers in the business are a gift.
Q What minors or other activities are you pursuing outside of your major? A I actually have a minor in Rus-
sian, so I’ve learned some of the language and taken culture courses like Russian cinema and art history. This has given me a new perspective, and not a Western one, which
broadened my mind about art and creativity. I’m now embracing some of those iconic (pun intended) Russian paintings while designing for the BFA/ Guthrie senior show. I’ve also had the opportunity to TA in the theatre department, helping teach basic scenic construction, which was an exercise in patience, leadership, and flexibility as the semester transitioned online. Further, I’ve worked in marketing for the theater and dance department for the past two years, doing everything from social media to launching video production to help us put butts in seats and highlight the many talented people on and off the stage. All of these different perspectives and groups of people I’ve been fortunate to interact with have taught me how to listen better, to understand audiences, to lead, and to think ambitiously and unconventionally.
Q What advice do you have for future journalism students? A Be an advocate for yourself. You are
smart, you are ambitious, and you have the right to be here. Don’t let anyone kick you out of a room just because you don’t have the exact internship/experience they want on paper. Learn how to market yourself and show off your strengths in your writing, production, social media, and interviews. Further, use the amazing professors at the Hubbard School. They want to help you grow. Go to office hours and follow what they do outside of class. Keep those connections alive even after the semester ends.
“All of these different perspectives and groups of people I’ve been fortunate to interact with have taught me how to listen better, to understand audiences, to lead, and to think ambitiously and unconventionally.”
WHY WE GIVE
WHY WE GIVE: NEOTA AND JOHN BRADLEY The Bradleys want to help students achieve their dreams. BY KATIE DOHMAN (B.A. ’03)
NEOTA BRADLEY (B.A. ’74) CAME OF AGE IN JOURNALISM
against the backdrop of Watergate, maybe halcyon days of being a reporter, which came with equal parts danger and respect. She recalled an early professor warning against the wages and sometimes gritty outlook. “He went on and on, and then he asked how many of us would like to proceed,” she said. “Every hand went up.” After a job at the Lutheran Brotherhood in downtown Minneapolis, Bradley packed up her skinny reporter’s notebook and pen and moved to Hibbing, first as a secretary, then as a reporter at the Hibbing Daily Tribune. “It was the only time I was a news reporter,” she said. “About two years on a small daily, so I don’t have the career most people have probably had. But I realized that degree and the years doing it changed or enhanced my entire life. How I see things. How I question things. How I listen. I think everybody should take a journalism class, [because it is] a prerequisite to learning to listen and to look people in the eye. Then write it down and make the connection.” Her career took a variety of vibrant turns: Founding a PR firm, in various roles (but never as reporter) at the San Francisco Chronicle, a copywriter, a travel agent, a tour guide leader, estate sale manager, driver at a Lincoln car dealership, an art gallery manager and director of the San Diego Watercolor Society. But Bradley said the common denominator to her success was her journalism
education. And it felt like there was something more to do with it, to honor it. She was moved after reading the thank-you letters a friend got when he donated to his alma mater. Then her husband, John Bradley, donated to his—“Michigan State, unfortunately,” she joked, while he’s in earshot. That sparked something. “Fifty years “I don’t want to say it sparked joy, because that feels trite and trendy,” she ago, college said. “But I realized I can’t imagine someone was cheaper wanting to do what I did and not being able to do it. Fifty years ago, college was cheaper compared to compared to what you earned. I could afford what you earned. it with a part-time job. I didn’t know anyone who had a loan. You lived in cruddy places or I could afford it at home, but you could do it.” with a part-time She also thought about her childhood dreams of being a writer. “I thought, wouldn’t job. I didn't know that be awful, if since you were eight, you anyone with a wanted to do something, and you get that far and you’re clever enough to do it and you loan.” have the drive and you just can’t do it? Wait a minute!” The Bradleys don’t have children. “We decided someone’s gotta get something when we die, and we should have fun saying who gets it,” she said. Thus, The Neota Johnson Bradley Journalism Scholarship was born, which will provide financial support to journalism students, preferably those pursuing a career in print. It may be renewable depending on the student and their progress toward a degree. Her designating a preference for students who intend to work in print reflects her lifelong engagement with, and love for, the materiality of print, and her belief in its eternal contemporaneity—notwithstanding the rapidly evolving world of digital media. “I believe it will make a comeback,” she said. “It makes me so excited and so happy in the way nothing has for a long time,” she said, especially contrasted against the bleak backdrop of the global pandemic. “I get so excited thinking that someone will have a chance that I took for granted to keep on going because of what it’s meant to me in my life.” Far from done, she said she’s experiencing a revival of writing and editing and creativity, now at the age of 68. “But it’s good to reflect. I think a lot of people who have potential for giving back aren’t thinking about looking back just yet, because none If you're interested in of us are ‘done.’ But you have to consider it supporting the Hubbard should be carried on. I ‘had fun, fun, fun,’ like the Beach Boys sang. And life is good, but School, visit z.umn.edu/ it’s different now. Somebody else out there hsjmcgive should be doing what I got to do. And more.” HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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ALUMNI
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: DYMANH CHHOUN
The first-gen graduate has been on the scene of major city-news flashpoints, bringing the news to televisions everywhere; now he's training the next generation. BY KATIE DOHMAN ON MAY 26, 2020, 31-YEAR-OLD WCCO
photojournalist Dymanh Chhoun (B.A. ’11) found himself waiting out a potential threat of violence and crowd panic in the aftermath of what sounded like a gunshot near the South Minneapolis grocery store Cup Foods, and coincidentally, the home of a former high school football teammate. That morning he had kissed his wife and two kids goodbye, saying, “I love you honey, I think this is going to be big.” Nerves were frayed. The day before, George Floyd had been killed while in custody of Minneapolis police. Community grieving and protests had begun. As he waited, Chhoun struck up a conversation with his former teammate, whose girlfriend was able to give him footage and soundbites from her cell phone. “Many stations didn’t have people out there—it was too scary. They had to make a lot of hard ethical decisions. But I told my news director, ‘This is my place. This is my Target. My Cup Foods. This is history, and I need to be out here capturing this.’” He ended up covering the ensuing events for five days straight before he decided he could take a break. His experiences covering Floyd clearly illustrate the strength and importance of diversity in the newsroom. His upbringing in South Minneapolis familiarized him with the community, the issues, and empathy needed to tell the story. “I played high-school football blocks from Third Precinct,” he said. “Maybe I don’t know all the community members personally, but I understand their anger.” He’s not 26
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
entirely sure what it is about him that allows him to float confidently through protest crowds “almost like a ghost” following a tinderbox story—his first was in the aftermath of the Jamar Clark case—whether it’s because he’s “Asian, short, not a threat?” But he says while adrenaline rushed, he was mostly unafraid. He was fine. He counts on those factors to peacefully and safely uncover a story and share it with an audience. “When I’m out there, overall, I make sure I am not in harm’s way, and then do my job peacefully,” he said. But, a “white reporter would not have gotten that cell phone footage or those interviews. We need to have more minorities in the newsroom.” He continued, “This benefits a company for having people like myself who are not called John or Mike. When the name Dymanh
Chhoun is under the photo, or under the video, people see that at home and feel like, ‘Yes, good job WCCO, I trust them.’” Chhoun said he never had designs on being a photojournalist for a major broadcast outlet. His parents arrived here from Cambodia via a refugee camp in Thailand in 1993 when he and his siblings were small, and getting through school was a struggle. He didn’t know English. He was behind in reading and math. He was bullied with racist taunts, and he was expelled for fighting back. But, he said, it was opportunities like ThreeSixty Journalism that helped boost him and show him he should dream bigger. The program, run by the University of St. Thomas, is an immersive journalism camp that aims to give a diverse set of high schoolers an inside look at the
“It still feels like a dream when I think about who I am and how hard it is it to survive in this life as first-generation with parents with no education, no American relatives, and then how hard it PHOTO BY THAIPHY PHAN-QUANG
industry and provide needed mentorship. He says mentorship from journalists Dave Nimmer and Lynda McDonnell were key to his future success. “I was not even the best in the program, but they saw something in me, you know? They said, ‘This kid could be somebody. This kid could do something.’” Still, he wasn’t sure that bigname journalism would be his end goal. He tenaciously got his associate’s degree from Normandale, but still wondered what he should do upon graduation. He called his mentors from ThreeSixty, who informed him he’d need a bachelor’s degree to be a journalist, and encouraged him to go for it. Nimmer went with Chhoun to apply to the U of M. He was accepted. “The U of M is a great school and I’m happy they got me to where I am,” he says. “It’s a very emotional thing for me. It still feels like a dream when I think about who I am and how hard it is to survive in this life as first-generation with parents with no education, no American relatives, and then how hard it is to stay in the industry.” He was the first college graduate in his family. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with his journalism degree, he was hired as a photojournalist at KTTC-TV NewsCenter, the NBC affiliate station in Rochester, Minn. He earned a 2013 Minnesota AP Broadcast Award in the ‘Spot/Hard News’ category for his ‘Flash Flood Rescue’ report during his time there. And in 2016, he took first place in the Special Project/In-Depth Series category at the SPJ Page One Awards. But this spring, he decided to leave his full-time post at WCCO to assume the role of program manager for the 20-year-old organization that recognized his early, raw talent: ThreeSixty Journalism. One of the big reasons? His coverage of George Floyd. “We
is to stay in the industry.”
First day of the George Floyd protest, May 26, 2020, at Chicago and 38th, where George Floyd died.
need people who have the look and understanding of people around you. If I stay in the WCCO newsroom being a photojournalist, can I help with that? Maybe. But if I continue to use what I experienced during all the protests, and using that experience to help minority kids learn how important it is to have people in the newsroom like me? If I can tell them my story, I can motivate them to say, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’ That’s what I care about.” And that will all add up to a more diverse newsroom. “When I think about what I experienced from ThreeSixty, and now I can teach and
help them the way I got taught? It’s unbelievable.” He said he’s already getting tapped to freelance for a variety of news organizations, so he won’t be leaving the field, either. “I want respect under my name: Dymanh Chhoun.” He said he works hard every day to make sure he earns that respect. “I hope my story could change someone, show someone you can do this and get something out of your life. People should know: I turned my life around and I never looked back.”
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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ALUMNI
ALUMNI NEWS
STUART AASE (B.A. ’80) joined the
Wisconsin State Journal in Madison as a copy editor in May 2017. Prior to that, he was with the Florida TimesUnion in Jacksonville for 23 years as an assistant city editor and copy editor.
HAILEY ALMSTED (B.A. ’19) was promoted to editor of Woodbury Magazine and associate editor of eight other publications at Tiger Oak Media. Previously, she worked as assistant to the managing editor, which started before her graduation in March 2019. REED ANFINSON (B.A. ’77) was
featured in the TIME magazine article, “COVID-19 is Killing Newspapers, Creating an Information Crisis.”
BETH AULWES (B.A. ’07) spent a
decade in nonprofit fundraising in Washington, D.C., before recently joining the TPT team to support their mission that uses the power of media to advance the arts, spur learning, help young people succeed and help adults age vitally.
GRACE BECKER (B.A. ’20) was hired
as a communications specialist with Osseo Area Schools, Minnesota's fifth-largest school district.
DAVID BERKUS (B.A. ’64), after a
45-year career in advertising and marketing, has used his journalism background to become a certified grant proposal writer for charities in Los Angeles.
CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT (B.A. ’06) was promoted to the director of Demand Generation. He now oversees national paid media strategy and social media programs for all four brands at Self Esteem Brands 28
MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
JAKE GROVUM (B.A. ’09) was pro-
moted to deputy off-platform editor at The New York Times.
KATELYN BLOOMQUIST (B.A. ’19) was named the editor of Midwest Home Magazine.
JENNIFER HASS (M.A. ’04) started a part-time, six-month position with Maine Regional School District 21 in Kennebunk, Maine, whose focus is delivering the latest developments in the district related to COVID-19, connecting schools and the community, and working on the district website.
SAMANTHA BORING (B.A. ’20) started
BETSY HELFAND (B.A. ’15), who
(Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, The Bar Method and Basecamp Fitness).
as a reporter at ABC 6 News in Rochester, Minn. She was recently promoted to a morning reporter.
TIM BROWNE (B.A. ’72) and Colleen
Browne's (B.A. ’78) Browne+Browne Marketing’s publishing division, Browne+Browne Books, recently won the 2020 Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Best Book by Youth Author (under 18).
JON COLLINS (B.A. ’08) and Riham Feshir (B.A. ’08) and their team at MPR won a national Edward R. Murrow Award for their reporting on the Mohamed Noor trial. ANGELA DELMEDICO (B.A. ’04),
Elev8 Consulting Group CEO, was accepted into the Forbes Business Council, an invitation-only community of successful business owners and leaders.
CHRISTY DESMITH (B.A. ’98) joined
the Boston Globe in August 2019. As an assistant arts editor, she oversees coverage of visual arts and classical music. She previously worked as an arts editor at the Star Tribune.
SAMIR FERDOWSI (B.A. ’19) landed
the news residency at VICE, one of four chosen out of 700 applicants. He was part of VICE Media’s 2030 Project, which was released last year.
JENNA FRANK (B.A. ’20) is a junior strategist at The Stable.
covers the Minnesota Twins for the Pioneer Press, was voted the Twin Cities chapter Baseball Writers’ Association of America Chairperson for 2021. She becomes just the second female chairperson in chapter history.
JAIME HUNT (B.A. ’99) was named Miami University’s vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. Prior to that, she was the vice chancellor for strategic communications and chief communications and marketing officer at Winston-Salem State University. MUKHTAR IBRAHIM (B.A. ’11), editor
and executive director of the Sahan Journal, announced that the organization was selected to join Facebook Journalism Project’s Sustainability Accelerator Program, in a cohort of 20 news operations that are owned and led by people of color. The six-month Facebook program offers participating newsrooms training and grant support to explore new revenue and audience development strategies.
JULIA KRIEGER (B.A. ’09) was the
regional communications director for Biden for President, and in December 2020 became the senior spokesperson at the Biden Inaugural Committee.
SARAH (THEISEN) MARSHALL (B.A. ’12) and her Milwaukee, Wis.-based
ALUMNI team celebrated the first anniversary of their new consultancy, humanworks, in October. Along with three others, Marshall works with businesses to elevate corporate communications and internal engagement practices, among several other leadership and HR-related efforts.
CHRISTINA MILANOWSKI (B.A. ’06)
joined the team at Life Time in January 2021 as associate director of social media.
KEVIN MORALES (B.A. ’05) has been
appointed as editor-in-chief of the Cayman Compass newspaper, in the Cayman Islands. He spent the previous 10 years at local television station Cayman 27, where he served as news director and operations manager.
EMMA NELSON (B.A. ’14) was
promoted to an editor at the Star Tribune, after more than six years as a reporter. She leads the suburban team.
TYREL NELSON (B.A. ’03) published
his new memoir, Travels and Tribulations, in December 2020.
HOANG UYEN NGUYEN (B.A. ’06), after working at KSTP/KSTC and FOX Sports North/FOX Sports Wisconsin, went back to school to become a certified ophthalmic medical technologist. She works at Northwest Eye/ Unifeye Vision Partners. MICHAEL NORTON (B.A. ’85) won the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance 2020 John N. Cole Award for his nonfiction book, Chasing Maine's Second.
SAM RICHTER (B.A. ’88) was inducted into the National Speakers Association (NSA) Speaker Hall of Fame in August 2020.
New York for The Associated Press. He had previously reported for the Bismarck Tribune and the Rapid City Journal. At AP, he covered the awarding of the Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry, and upon his retirement the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which bestows those prizes, sent him a letter of thanks for his efforts in promoting scientific knowledge and understanding.
JACK RODGERS (B.A. ’20) took home first place for breaking news photography at the Associated Collegiate Press awards in October 2020. BABATUNDE SANTOS (B.A. ’19) was hired as a reporter at FOX 9 in Minneapolis. BEN SAUKKO (B.A. ’97) is the director of communications at Adolfson & Peterson Construction. He previously worked at AmeriPride and Weber Shandwick Worldwide. WILLIAM SOUDER’s (B.A. ’77) fourth
book and third biography, Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck, was published by W. W. Norton in October 2020.
JENNIFER (TRACY) STOLTENOW
(B.A. ’03, M.A. ’09) was promoted to global brand & marketing communications leader at 3M in the Transportation & Electronics Business Group. In this role, she’s focused on building brand foundation and global communications capabilities across six divisions.
ERIC SWANSON (B.A. ’04) was recently promoted to VP Product Management, Practice & Instruction at Renaissance Learning and is working to deliver literacy and math products that will improve academic outcomes for students.
NEW MEMBERS JOIN ALUMNI BOARD The Alumni Society Board welcomed two more members to the team in the fall. MUKHTAR IBRAHIM (B.A. ’11) is the founder of the Sahan Journal, a news organization that reports for and about immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. He’s won recognition as an innovative journalist addressing issues of diversity and equity in media. He received the prestigious leadership fellowship from the St. Paul-based Bush Foundation; a “Great Immigrant” award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Islamic Resource Group's “Building Bridges Award in Media”; and an Above the Fold award, which honors Hubbard School alumni under the age of 40, who have made exceptional contributions to their fields. He's an adjunct fellow at the Hubbard School, where he supports the journalism school's inclusion, equity, and diversity initiative while co-teaching an intermediate reporting course.
EMME STRAUSS (B.A. ’05) is
Head of Production + Creative Operations at Google Brand Studio and has been responsible for helping bring to life some of Google’s biggest brand moments over the past few years, including the Helpfulness brand campaign, Racial Equity, Year in Search, Covid-19 efforts, Google One, Olympics, google. com/about and the Google Store (2015 Webby Award). Prior to Google, Emme worked on the agency side on clients such as Toyota, Nike, Visa, Intel, Bank of America and Merck in roles across account management, production and operations in San Francisco, New York and Minneapolis. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two young daughters.
MALCOLM RITTER (B.A. ’76) retired after 36 years as a science writer in HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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IN MEMORIAM
JOHN C. BUSTERNA
Former Hubbard School faculty member John C. Busterna passed away on Nov. 16, 2020, in Redding, CA. He was 68. A native of San Francisco, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1979. He worked in the research department of the Milwaukee Journal in Wisconsin, and then in the media research department at Carmichael Lynch Advertising Agency in Minneapolis before joining the School faculty, where he taught advertising research and media economics from 1983 to 1995. With Robert G. Picard, he wrote Joint Operating Agreements: The Newspaper Preservation Act and Its Application and numerous scholarly articles about the economics of the newspaper industry.
STEVEN L. KOPPERUD
Steven Kopperud, 69, a newspaper reporter, magazine correspondent and lobbyist, died of natural causes on Oct. 19, 2020. A longtime resident of Washington, D.C., Kopperud took writing and communications skills and used them to win legislative and regulatory wars over a 35-year career representing agriculture, agribusiness, biotechnology, animal welfare, farm policy, trade and ag research. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism and political science, he was a former reporter with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the San Diego Union-Tribune and Washington Bureau Chief with the ABC Publishing Division. He moved to the lobbying side of the policy process and never looked back. He was the former Senior VP with AFIA, and later Executive VP with Policy Directions. Kopperud is survived by spouse, Judith, brother, Dean (Susan), sisters-in-law, Jean and Jill, and was the uncle to several. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Craig and Brian. A Hubbard School scholarship in development will be the designated memorial.
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
FREDERICK W. WEBBER
Frederick W. Webber, 82, of Medina, died Jan. 13, 2021, of COVID-19. Webber grew up in the Victory neighborhood of North Minneapolis and attended St. Bridget’s Grade School, St. Thomas Military Academy and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He majored in journalism, was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and a charter member of Alpha Delta Sigma, professional advertising fraternity. It was in the School of Journalism that he met his wife-to-be, Susan Robbins of St. Louis Park. They were married for 59 years. He was honorably discharged from U.S. Army. After active duty, he served in 360th Psychological Warfare Battalion U.S. Army Reserve. He and Sue lived in South Minneapolis until 1966, then moved to New Hope where they lived for 38 years before moving to Medina in 2005. He held senior account management positions at Martin-Williams, Campbell Mithun and Carmichael-Lynch advertising agencies. He retired from Sable Advertising in 2000, where he was president/ COO. After retirement, he worked part time for more than 13 years as a proofreader at Minnesota Outdoor News. He is a past president of the Northern Deke Alumni Association; past secretary of the Minnesota Sight & Hearing Association; past board member and president of the Advertising Federation of Minnesota; past member and chairman of Robbinsdale Independent School District 281 school board; past member and chairman of Hennepin Technical College school board; past board member Minnesota Masonic Homes, Senior Outreach Services; member of Minnesota Mensa; past board member and president of the Medina Ridge Condominiums homeowners association; and a member of Wördos (grammarians). He was preceded in death by parents, Charles and Mary Ann Webber, and sister, Rose Ann Webber. Survived by wife, Susan, and three children, Charles (Denise) Webber, Lakeville; Ann Webber (Scott Morris), Bethesda, Md.; and David Webber, Fridley. Also survived by four grandsons, Daniel Webber, New York, NY.; Matthew Webber, Fridley; Michael Webber, Chicago, Ill.; and Benjamin Morris, Bethesda, Md. Donations, if inclined, to Minnesota Sight & Hearing Association.
SUBMIT AN OBITUARY If you have news of the death of an HSJMC graduate, please contact murphrep@umn. edu. Please include the name of the deceased, class year, date of death and if possible, the published obituary.
THANK YOU TO HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION DONORS With gratitude, we would like to acknowledge the generosity of the many donors to the Hubbard School. The President’s Club includes donors who have contributed more than $100,000 to the School over a lifetime, and the Heritage Society includes those individuals and organizations that have pledged a future gift to the School. We are grateful to all our lifetime and 2020 donors, all listed on the following pages. The strength of our School and evolving programs depends on your ongoing support.
2020 PRESIDENT’S CLUB MEMBERS ($100,000+)
$10 MILLION+ Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., and the Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation
$1 MILLION+ Elizabeth B.* and John* Cowles Sr. Otto A.* & Helen F.* Silha Don R.* & Carole J. Larson
$500,000-$999,999 Herbert Berridge Elliston Memorial Fund Raymond O.* & Doris B.* Mithun Star Tribune and Star Tribune Foundation Raymond J. Tarleton
$100,000-$499,999 Michael H. Anderson Paul S. Brainerd CBS Corp/CBS Foundation, Inc China Times Cultural Foundation Vicki B. & David C. Cox Duluth News Tribune David D. Floren Freedom Forum Laurie M. & Joel R. Kramer Carol E. Ladwig* Serge E. Logan* Ferne M. Noreen* Jane D.* & Bernard H. Ridder* R. S. & Patricia W. Schuneman Vincent B. Shea* St. Paul Pioneer Press Jean W. Ward* WCCO AM/TV-WLTE FM William D. Wells*
LIFETIME DONORS
$50,000-$99,999 3M Co./3M Foundation Inc Adath Jeshurun Congregation Keith H. Anderson* Kenneth G. Brown* Stan W. Carlson* The Century Council, Inc. Judith K. Conrad & James E. Stai Michael E. Hill & Barbara H. Bink Judith A. & Steven L. Kopperud* Chuck K. Porter Porter Creative Services Inc Jennifer A. & Jim L. Schweigert Muriel L.* & Mark Wexler* William Randolph Hearst Foundation
$25,000-$49,999 Brian E. Anderson* Helen V. Beggs* Phyllis B. Conrad* Ellen R. Costello* Cowles Media Co. Hazel F. Dicken-Garcia* Michael A. Donner* Eastern Enterprises, Inc. Thomas L. & Ann Friedman Herman F. Haeberle* Bette M. Hammel Patricia J. Heikenen* John T.* & Hazel H. Helgeson* Allan A. & Lois J. Hietala* Deborah L. Hopp & Christopher T. Dahl Wendy F. Horn Deborah M. Hudson & Rick S. Pallansch John S. & James L. Knight Foundation Susan S. & Clayton Kaufman* Jacqueline S.* & Joseph C. Kinderwater* Steven P. Krikava & Linda A. Singer Mark R. Kriss
D. J. Leary & Linda L. Wilson Lester A.* & Lorraine K. Malkerson* Elena & Siegfred Mickelson* Midwest Communications, Inc. Sandra M. & C. R. Morris* Michael L. & Betty A. Soffin Solutran, Inc. Star Tribune Media Co. LLC Patrick J. Strother Strother Communications Group Charles B. Sweningsen* Mabel L.* & Willard L. Thompson* Tunheim Partners, Inc. Kris S. Wenker
$10,000-$24,999 ACBL Charity Foundation Corp. American Broadcasting Co., Inc Asian American Journalists Association of Minnesota Linda K. Berg Ann M. Brill Lily T.* & Walter H. Brovald* Jane Y. Burk Robert W. & Virginia D. Carlson Donna M.* & Leon C. Carr* Lynn M. Casey & Michael J. Thornton Richard A.* & Barbara B. Chapman* Comcast Corp. Gus L.* & Shirley G. Cooper* Ddb Needham Worldwide, Inc. Elizabeth D. Edmonds* Fast Horse, Inc. Bruce R. Gefvert Harvey M. & Gail D. Goldberg Willard A.* & Doris A. Greenleaf* Greenleaf Foundation William F.* & Patricia M. Greer* Mark J. Heistad* Henry J. Kaiser Family Fdn Miriam R. Hernandez Mary J.* & Graham B. Hovey* Todd T. & Karli Jo Hunt*
Interpublic Group Jerome Foundation John & Mary R. Markle Foundation John Wiley & Sons Inc KTCA/KTCI-Public T V Sam H. Kaufman* Beverly A. Kees* William H.* & Madoline D. Kelty* Land O’Lakes Inc. Foundation Howard P. & Roberta J. Liszt Leland T. Lynch & Terry T. Saario Scott D. Meyer Mithun Mary N. Mullaney* National Broadcasting Co., Inc. The New York Times Co. Foundation, Inc. NYT Capital, Inc. Janell M. Pepper Photo Marketing Association International Jorg A. & Angela M. Pierach Harold J. Roitenberg* Falsum V. Russell* S.C. Johnson Giving, Inc. Selwoc, Inc. Sigma Delta Chi Foundation Norma B.* & James A. Smutz* Victor N. Stein* Jim M. Sternberg & Marsha E. Sternberg-May* Albert R. Tims & Kathleen A. Hansen Daniel B. & Kathryn Wackman Weber Shandwick John W. Wheeler Dare L.* & William F. White* Milton P. Woodard* Thomas C. & Elizabeth A. Yuzer
*denotes deceased
HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
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HERITAGE SOCIETY MEMBERS
FUTURE GIFTS OF ANY AMOUNT John L. and Neota Johnson Bradley
Daniel and Katherine* Revsbeck
James D. Catalano
Nancy L. Roberts
Harold* and Phyllis* Conrad
Colleen M. Sauber
Roy D. Conradi
Elizabeth P. Shippee
Norma C. and John R.* Finnegan, Sr.
Christine E. Spencer
Sheila M. Gothmann Joan L. Halgren
Mr. and Mrs.* Raymond J. Tarleton
Deborah Hudson and Rick Pallansch
Herbert A. Terry and Diane E. Wille
Clayton Kaufman*
Louis and Colleen Tschudy
Steven P. Krikava
Joy Winkie Viola
Don and Carole Larson
Jean Worrall Ward
Stephen F. and Bonnie T.* Litton
Ellen Wartella and Charles Whitney
Diane Siegel-Lund
William D. Wells
Brad Madson
John W. Wheeler
Carol L. Pine
Tom and Liz Yuzer
Karen and Joe Sullivan
JOIN THE DIRECTOR’S CIR CLE At the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, we transform students’ lives. Your support allows us to train the next generation of journalists, strategic communicators, media innovators and entrepreneurs.
BY GIVING TO THE SCHOOL, YOU HELP STUDENTS BY: ♦ Helping students participate in national competitions through student group activities ♦ Offsetting the costs of producing high-quality journalism and strategic communication training ♦ Embracing high-quality events, research and learning opportunities ♦ Supporting emergency scholarships for students in need ♦ Building a targeted fund, like the library, a scholarship or other opportunities
Recognition is based on total gifts, pledges and matching gifts contributed to the School in a single fiscal year (July 1-June 30). Couples are recognized for the combined total of their household contributions. For more information about our levels of giving, please visit hsjmc.umn.edu/hsjmcgive
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MURPHY REPORTER ❙ Winter 2021
2020 DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE Thank you to these supporters who made a gift between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
PARTNER LEVEL ACBL Charity Fdn Corp John L. & Neota L. Bradley Ann M. Brill Jane Y. & Philip Burk Elizabeth J. & Michael Cooper John R. & Janice M. Finnegan Lisa M. & Thomas F. Fouquette Bruce R. Gefvert Gefvert Gratitude Fund--Morgan Stanley Miriam R. Hernandez Allan & Lois Hietala Giving Michael E. Hill & Barbara H. Bink Deborah L. Hopp & Christopher T. Dahl Judith A. Kopperud Steven P. Krikava & Linda A. Singer KSTP - AM LLC Ashley A. Larson Carole J. Larson Dennis J. Leary D J. Leary & Linda L. Wilson Leland T. Lynch & Terry T. Saario Myrna Meadows Virginia H. Morris Northwestern Mutual Fdn Patricia Newcombe Joan W. & John N. Petroff Robert San Christine E. Spencer Michael L. & Betty A. Soffin Louis A. & Colleen M. Tschudy John W. Wheeler William Randolph Hearst Foundation
BENEFACTOR LEVEL Julie J. Bartsch Benevity Community Impact Fund Jill M. Braaten Lynn M. Casey & Michael J. Thornton Elisia L. Cohen Brian R. Gabrial Kathleen Linehan Jorg A. & Angela M. Pierach Sheldon I. Silberman & Melissa R.
Cohen Silberman Joan M. & Phillip J. Tichenor Kasisomayajula Viswanath Xcel Energy Foundation Thomas C. & Elizabeth A. Yuzer
PATRON LEVEL Stuart P. Aase John Adams & Mary J. Pitzer Daryl R. & Rodney Alexander Scott V. Anderson Joshua D. Anderson Margaret Beier Natalie Bigley & Andrew J. Janocko Paula M. & Steven A. Bilitz Blackbaud Giving Fund Burton H. & Marie A. Boersma Jonathan S. Bream John S. & Mary Beth Bremer* James M. Brice Donald F. Brod Carleton W. & Jean A. Brookins Hannah N. Bullion James S. Butty & Joanne Manswell-Butty Marian & Loren L. Chamberlain CAF America David & Joan L. Conners CP Charitable Fund-BNY Mellon Charity Gift Fund Robert N. Croonquist Deloitte Foundation Mark E. & Jodi M. Derks Gregory L. & Ofra F. Dose Lynn M. & Robert E. Drechsel Raymond D. & Catherine S. Duvall Thomas E. & Sonja A. Eveslage Claire M. Fenimore Paulette M. & Stephen Filing Richard A. Forschler & Kari Breen Eugene C. Frazer & Jacqueline D. Thompson Katherine Friesz Watt & Jason Watt Carolyn J. Ganz Getty Images, Inc Nancy C. Goodman
Darlene A. Gorrill
Robert E. Sheldon
Katherine A. Knudson
Anne L. & Jon A. Greer
Mary J. Smetanka
Robert L. Koepcke
Edward L. & Rachel Gubman
Connie M. Smith
Dale J. Krishef
James B. Gustafson
Paul M. Sponholz
William F. & Mary M. Kuykendall
Michael T. & Michelle Hemmesch
Emme H. Strauss
Lynette Lamb & Robert N. Gerloff
Tracy R. & John B. Hoeft
WeiQun Su
Kim O. Lindahl
Charles B. & Avis J. Holmes
Thomas Suddes
Diane R. & Jeffrey H. Lovich
Mike & Pamela K. Jennings
Paul C. & Elizabeth R. Susie*
James R. & Jerilyn M. Lowe
Janice I. & Russell V. Johnson
Le Ann M. & Thomas J. Talbot
Erika E. Mayerle
Harlan R. Johnson
The Restful Jaw Company LLC
Kayla M. McCombs
Aletha M. & Dean P. Joslin
Christian J. & Peggy Trejbal
Scott K. Memmel
Linda V. Kline
Alexander G. & Marni J. Tselos
Tausha R. Menaquale
Marit Lee L. Kucera
Joy D. Viola
Allen D. Merry
Tina J. Lamb
Robert B. & Emily H. Warden
Sonia Milrod
Philip M. & Frances D. Lewenstein
Jon Weber & Jean Laing-Weber
Todd H. Mixer
Scott Libin
Jodi L. Williamschen & Michael C. Dickens
Steven A. & Valerie S. Morawetz
LPL Financial Foundation
Winnebago Industries
Catherine A. Luther Judith K. Mack Linda & John C. Maher Regina J. McCombs
FRIEND LEVEL Jacob J. Akin
Amy S. O’Connor Steven Pope & Amanda S. Grimm John A. Pribek Evelyn C. Raedler
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Eric J. Meester
Betsy Anderson
Kevin Revering
Philip C. Meyer
Frederick J. & Betty V. Beier
John P. Richards
Melva D. Moline
Paul S. & Jane E. Brissett
Robert J. & Terry Roos
Robert S. Mucklestone & Megan E. Kruse
Lisa A. & Ken Capozzi
Jane H. Ryan
Lita S. Claar
Warren P. Ryan
Kevin G. Coss
Adam Saffer
Walter R. Cruz
Pankaj K. Sarma
Matthew DeLong
Debra R. & David R. Schuh
Eileen M. Everett
Claire Segijn
Elizabeth Fedor
Laura D. Seldon
Joan W. Frey
Ginger L. Sisco
Helen R. Friedlieb
David M. & Valerie M. Smith
Andrew J. Geraets & Anna K. Seiner
Susan B. & Gary M. Soule
Bette M. Hammel
Terri L. Stat
Rebekah H. Nagler Erika Nelson Lacey Nygard Joan O’Fallon Joan E. Ostrin Sarah M. Parsons & Dirk G. DeYoung Jack W. Peters & Bettina M. Luskey Jennifer J. Pinkley & Lynn Brun John D. Prall Duane A. & Edith Rasmussen Hyejoon Rim Sally A. & Charles H. Rix Nancy L. Roberts Anita Ruth & Joan E. Griffith Karen E. Schultz & David Larson John T. & Lisa Shaughnessy
Inna K. Hays Clayton M. Jelinek Mark A. & Jodi Jenson Andrew P. & Katherine K. Johnson Sherri J. Katz Jane E. Kirtley & Stephen J. Cribari
HOW TO GIVE If you have comments, questions, corrections or would like to make your own gift, please contact Peter Rogza at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Office of Institutional Advancement at 612-6242848 or rozga@umn.edu
Barbara J. & Mark Pearson
John S. & Theresa R. McKeon
Randall L. Murray
Note: We made every effort to ensure that this list is accurate and reflects contributions recorded between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
Pamela L. Ramsay
Scott A. Stachowiak Susan S. Suriyapa Gregory C. Turosak Ann M. Waterhouse Matthew S. Weber Donna M. Weispfenning & Robert K. Groger Wells Fargo Foundation YourCause LLC*
We acknowledge all faculty and staff in the Hubbard School who contributed to the University of Minnesota’s Pay Reduction program during 2020 and 2021. Pay reductions allowed the University to save salary costs to help meet budget challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more, see humanresources.umn.edu/ covid-19/furlough
REPORTER MURPHY
Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication College of Liberal Arts University of Minnesota 111 Murphy Hall 206 Church St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455
facebook.com/umnhsjmc twitter.com/umn_hsjmc instagram.com/umnhsjmc youtube.com/umnhsjmc U of MN Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication Alumni
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