Students and faculty were honored on Sept. 26 with the college journalism award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. The awards ceremony was at the Newseum in Washington, and D.C. alumni showed up to support the winners. The winning multimedia project focused on University of Mississippi students engaged in service learning work in Belize. Pictured are (left to right): Lee Sanders (Jour ’85), Anna Scott (Jour ’78), Patricia Thompson (director of student media and faculty leader on the winning project), Jesse Holland (Jour ’94 and former Daily Mississippian editor in chief), Margaret Ann Morgan (Jour 2013 and a student on the winning project), Steve Riley (Jour ’80 and a member of the team that won the RFK domestic print award and the grand prize award for a joint project of The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer); student project winners Aubry Killion (Jour ’12), Katie Williamson (current student) and Cain Madden (Jour 2013); Christine Burgeson (Jour ’92), Dennis Moore Jour ’75), John Hall (Jour ’83), John Festervand, director of development. The winners had a wonderful time networking with alumni and with journalists from NBC News, PBS Frontline, CNN and with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner for economics who was awarded the RFK Book Award.
Courtesy of Morris Melvin
Students and faculty who traveled to Washington to accept the award have all been active in student media. They are (left to right): Katie Wiliamson, who graduates in December; Cain Madden, who graduated in May 2013 and is managing editor of a newspaper in southern Virginia; Patricia Thompson, assistant professor and director of student media, holding the bust of Robert F. Kennedy; Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy; Margaret Ann Morgan, May 2013 graduate and former Miss Ole Miss who works as a correspondent for WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg; Aubry Killion, who graduated in 2012 and works as a correspondent for 5News in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Others who helped produce the project but weren’t at the awards ceremony are Meek School grad Jajuan McNeil, and assistant professors Mikki Harris and Darren Sanefski.
Terry Ewert (’73) has had a successful career in media production during the last 40 years. The Emmy Award-winning producer was back in Oxford during September, teaching a five-week sports television production class.
Under his direction, journalism students have partnered with Ole Miss Athletics for the first time, to produce live coverage of the women’s volleyball match against Arkansas. Ewert also worked with Dr. Bradley Schultz, a long-time broadcast journalism professor.
Senior Morgan White, a student in the class, said, “Mr. Ewert has been amazing, and I’ve learned a lot… and I’m going to use it in the future. ”
“Now, I feel like I have a better foundation if I do feel like I want to go into production or even on air. The live webcast of the game was streamed on RebelVision at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.
Ewert answered a few questions about Ole Miss and his career:
What is your favorite memory of your time as a student at Ole Miss?
I had a lot of them. Coming out of high school then coming to a university was bizarre for me. I was in a fraternity, and I have 120 or so automatic friends. Some are friends, some are not friends, but they’re the kind of people who look out for you, and that’s just something that I wasn’t used to.
When I was a freshman, it was Archie Manning’s junior year, his phenomenal year! I think all of us in the class that came in were caught up with the great football and national attention that we were getting with Archie that football season.
I think the fraternity, working at the sorority house and certainly my classwork were my best memories. Oh yeah, and the football season that freshman year.
So, how did you end up at Ole Miss?
When I was in high school looking for a place to go to college, I had been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy. I wasn’t sure at the point that I wanted to be a career officer in the military. I was always a service brat; we moved from place to place; my father was in the Air Force. I promised him that if I got a scholarship to Ole Miss I would take ROTC. Indeed, I did get a scholarship, and I ended up at Ole Miss and took ROTC at least for the first year (laughs).
As an alumnus of the University of Mississippi, what kind of advice would you give to a soon-to-be graduate from the university?
You should explore where you want to be. I think this school of journalism has a very good reputation, and I think the best thing to do is choose your steps wisely and reach out to every different media outlet, newspaper or whatever direction you want to go in. Try to find your niche. If you really want to stay in journalism, the opportunities are there if you really strive and want to get noticed or hired.
How often do you come back and visit?
Not very often, unfortunately. I travel a lot on my job. I have my own production company where we have to do a certain amount of hours and certainly the Big Ten Network keeps me busy as well. I live in the New York area, and I always enjoy coming back. I’m always impressed with how the university has grown and how it’s more diverse. I think that’s the important step this university made years ago, and it continues to this day. I think it’s getting to be what Dr. Robert Khayat called it, “A Great American Public University.”
What advice would you give to Terry Ewert the freshman?
I probably would’ve taken more courses in broadcasting when I was here. I really only took one. My very first job was in broadcasting. I was an on-air anchor and on-air sports director for KALB-TV in Alexandria, La. I should have concentrated more in broadcasting so that the learning curve wouldn’t have been so high. I was a political science major, but I also was in speech and theater. I took Broadcasting 101, and I wish that I had pursued that another semester or even further. There were very rudimentary courses at the time, and eventually that whole system moved to where it is now, a school of journalism. I probably could have gotten a lot more out of Ole Miss at the time in the world of broadcasting.
With working in such a deadline-oriented and sometimes stressful business, how do you balance out your life when you’re not working?
I have a wife and family. My children have always been an inspiration. They’re grown now, but to spend time at home and watch my children grow up was always my recreation — just being a dedicated family man.
Could you describe some of the biggest highlights of your career that were the most exciting to you?
I was a senior production executive for three Olympic games, two for NBC sports and one for the Atlanta Olympics. My former executive producer Don Ohlmeyer said, “If you ever wonder how good you are, do an Olympics,” and I did three of them. The first one was the Olympics in 1988, and I did the broadcast side. In 1992 for Barcelona I did the cable side. Lastly for 1996 I did the overall. I actually worked for the Olympic Committee. I got to experience all sides of Olympic coverage, and I think that was fulfilling, but I think working as an executive producer at CBS sports for six years and doing the Master’s, NCAA basketball tournaments, SEC Championship games, doing a multitude of other things with the NFL and doing the PGA tour were really the highlights of my career.
What was your first job after graduating from Ole Miss in 1973?
It’s funny because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had worked the year before between my junior and senior year at WJTV in Jackson, Miss. I needed a summer job and they had cameramen positions open for those who were on vacation relief, so that is what I first did.
That was kind of the seed, and I went back to the station after I graduated. They had a sister station in Louisiana. As fate would have it, they were looking for a sportscaster. I talked a lot of SEC football with them, and they liked that. They auditioned me, and I got hired. So my first job was being an on-air anchor and sports director at KALB.
Were there any risks that you ever had to take in your career?
Moving to New York. I was at the KALB station for a year, and I also was an actor while I was at Ole Miss. I was into speech and theater as well, so I did a lot of the plays. A group of theater friends were moving to New York, and they asked me to come with them. I quit the job at KALB and, with $600 to my name, moved to New York. That’s all I had. I ended up on the streets of New York. I hated it while I was there because I was struggling, and within three months I got a commercial, and I thought it was easy, and for six months after that I didn’t even get another callback.
That’s when I decided to become an NBC page and from an NBC page, I just worked my way up through NBC to NBC Sports. I was there for 18 years. The biggest risk I took was quitting everything and moving to New York City.
What did you learn at Ole Miss that has helped your career get to where it is today? Was there a specific professor or experience?
The biggest thing most individuals learn in college is how to live with other people. You lived with your family your whole life through high school, and that’s kind of a sheltered existence because there’s someone that’s always looking out for you. When you come to any university or college, you have to get along with other people, and it’s a great social experiment that you don’t even know that you do. You have all this freedom, but you have to go to class. You have to get all your work done. You’ve got to get good grades, and you’ve got to progress through the four years. So, the great social experiment of living with other people and being around other people was the greatest takeaway from this university because this university was very nurturing with the staff and the teachers.
A version of this story was originally published on HottyToddy.com.
Terry Ewert is a 1973 graduate from the University of Mississippi — one who has had a very successful career in media production over the past 40 years. The Emmy Award-winning producer is currently back in Oxford teaching a five-week sports television production class.
Under his direction, journalism students have partnered with Ole Miss Athletics for the first time, to produce live coverage of the women’s volleyball match against Arkansas. Ewert has also been working with Dr. Bradley Schultz, a long-time broadcast journalism professor at the school.
Senior Morgan White is a student in the class.
“Now, I feel like I have a better foundation if I do feel like I want to go into production or even on air. Mr. Ewert has been amazing and I’ve learned a lot. I learned more than I expected in these 5 weeks and I’m going to use it in the future, ” said White.
The live webcast of the game will be streamed on RebelVision at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.
Ewert also sat down with graduate student Brandon Rook to answer a few questions about Ole Miss and his career.
Rook: What was your favorite thing to do as an undergraduate at Ole Miss? what was your favorite memory?
Ewert: You know I had a lot of them, I was in a fraternity and certainly that was a lot of fun. It was bizarre for me coming out of high school and then coming to a university. I joined a fraternity and I have 120 or so automatic friends. Some are friends, some are not friends, but they’re the kind of people that look out for you and that’s just something that I wasn’t used to.
When I came in, it was Archie Manning’s junior year, it was his phenomenal year! I think all of us in the class that came in were all caught up with the great football and national attention that we were getting with Archie that football season. I think the fraternity, working at the sorority house and certainly my classwork were my best memories. Oh yeah, and the football season my freshman year.
Rook: So, how did you end up at Ole Miss?
Ewert: When I was in high school looking for a place to go to college, I had been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy. My father had arranged that appointment and I wasn’t sure at the point that I wanted to be a career officer in the military. I was always a service brat; we moved from place to place; my father was in the Air Force.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make the military my career so I promised him that if I got a scholarship to Ole Miss that I would take ROTC. Indeed I did get a scholarship and I ended up at Ole Miss and took ROTC at least for the first year (laughs).
Rook: As an alumnus of the University of Mississippi, what kind of advice would you give to a soon-to-be graduate from the university?
Ewert: Well I think you should explore were you want to be, I think this school of journalism has a very good reputation and I think the best thing to do is choose your steps wisely and reach out to every different media outlet, newspaper or whatever direction you want to go in.
Try to find your niche because I know it’s out there and if you really want to stay in the world of journalism, I think the opportunities are out there for people who really strive and want to get noticed or hired.
Rook: So, how often do you come back and visit the University of Mississippi?
Ewert: Not very often. Unfortunately, I travel a lot on my job. I have my own production company where we have to do a certain amount of hours and certainly the Big Ten Network keeps me busy as well. I live in the New York area, so I don’t get to visit down there often.
I always enjoy coming back and certainly there are great memories, I’m always impressed with how the university has grown a lot and how it’s more diverse. I think that’s the important step this university made years ago, and it continues to this day. I think it’s getting to be as what Dr. Robert Khayat said, “A Great American Public University.”
Rook: What advice would you give to Terry Ewert the freshman?
Ewert: Well, I probably would’ve taken more courses in broadcasting when I was here because that’s the field that I went into. I really only took one and it happened to be a course in my field of study. I was a political science major, but I was also in speech and theater. I took Broadcasting 101, and I wish that I had pursued that another semester or even further. There were very rudimentary courses at the time, and eventually that whole system moved to where it is now, a school of journalism.
My very first job was in broadcasting, I was an on-air anchor and on-air sports director for KALB-TV in Alexandria, La., so I think I would have probably wanted to concentrate on more of the academic background in broadcasting, so that the learning curve wouldn’t’ t have been so high. I probably could have gotten a lot more out of Ole Miss at the time in the world of broadcasting.
Rook: With working in such a deadline-oriented and sometimes stressful business, how do you balance out your life when you’re not working?
Ewert: Well, I have a wife and family; my children have always been an inspiration. They’re grown now but that was always my recreation, if you will, is to spend time at home and watch my children grow up — ust being a dedicated family man.
Rook: Could you describe some of the biggest highlights of your career that were the most exciting to you?
Ewert: Well, I was a senior production executive for three Olympic games, two for NBC sports and one for the Atlanta Olympics. My former executive producer Don Ohlmeyer said, “If you ever wonder how good you are, do an Olympics,” and I did three of them. The first one was the Olympics in 1988, and I did the broadcast side. In 1992 for Barcelona I did the cable side. Lastly for 1996 I did the overall; I actually worked for the Olympic Committee. I got to experience all sides of Olympic coverage and I think that was fulfilling, but I think working as an executive producer at CBS sports for six years and doing the Master’s, NCAA basketball tournaments, SEC Championship games, doing a multitude of other things with the NFL and doing the PGA tour were really the highlights of my career.
Rook: What was your first job after graduating from Ole Miss in 1973?
Ewert: Well, it’s funny because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had worked the year before between my junior and senior year at WJTV in Jackson, Miss. I needed a summer job and they had cameramen positions open for those who were on vacation relief, so that is what I first did.
That was kind of the seed and I went back to the station after I graduated and they had a sister station in Louisiana and as fate would have it, they were looking for a sportscaster. I talked a lot of SEC football with them and they liked that; they auditioned me and I got hired. So my first job was being an on-air anchor and sports director at KALB.
Rook: Were there any risks that you ever had to take in your career?
Ewert: I think moving to New York. I was at the KALB station for a year, and I was also an actor while I was at Ole Miss. I was into speech and theater as well, so I did a lot of the plays. A group of theater friends were moving to New York and they asked me to come with them, so I quit the job at KALB and with $600 to my name, I moved to New York. That’s all I had. I ended up on the streets of New york. I hated it while I was there because I was struggling and within three months I got a commercial and I thought it was easy, and for six months after that I didn’t even get another callback.
That’s when I decided to become an NBC page and from an NBC page I just worked my way up through NBC to NBC Sports; I was there for 18 years. The biggest risk I took was quitting everything and moving to New York City.
Rook: What did you learn at Ole Miss that has helped your career get to where it is today? Was there a specific professor or experience?
Ewert: I think the biggest thing most individuals learn in college is how to live with other people. You lived with your family your whole life through high school, and that’s kind of a sheltered existence because there’s someone that’s always looking out for you. When you come to any university or college, you have to get along with other people and it’s a great social experiment that you don’t even know that you do. It’s how to get along with other people and how to live with other people. You have all this freedom but you have to go to class; you have to get all your work done; you’ve got to get good grades and you’ve got to progress through the four years. So, the great social experiment of living with other people and being around other people was the greatest takeaway from this university because this university was very nurturing with the staff and the teachers.
A version of this story was originally published on HottyToddy.com.
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Lilly Williamson, 5-years-old, points to a bird in the sky while swinging on the Avent park swings, in Oxford Miss. September 11, 2013.
STUDENT WORK – J375 – Lilly Williamson, 5-years-old, points to a bird in the sky while swinging on the Avent park swings, in Oxford Miss. September 11, 2013. Photo by Giana Leone.
Posted on: September 19th, 2013 by
Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the Meek School, was the keynote speaker at the annual breakfast meeting for the Mexican Magazine Association Revistas Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. His message focused on the need to fall in love with our audiences and not our platforms.
Jan Watten, Program Director, received the 2013 Gerald M. Sass Award, last month at the annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications in Washington, D.C. Sass was an executive with the Gannett Foundation and then the Freedom Forum and is known for his significant contributions to journalism education.
The Hearst Journalism Awards, a program of The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, was begun in 1960, to encourage quality journalism education in colleges and universities. The program awards scholarships to students with matching grants to the students’ schools.
Dr. Douglas Anderson, dean of the College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University, introduced Ms. Watten. She made comments and introduced four winners who have had remarkable careers. Their remarks are not recorded here.
Dean Anderson’s introduction is followed by excerpts of Ms. Watten’s remarks:
“Jan Watten is a splendid choice for the 2013 Gerald M. Sass Award. …
“And there are parallels between Gerry and Jan.
“Both have worked tirelessly for decades for the betterment of journalism education and journalism.
“Both have worked tirelessly for decades for their respective foundations for the betterment of journalism education and journalism.
“And both have been terrific stewards of the resources of their respective foundations for the betterment of journalism education and journalism.
“Gerry worked for the old Gannett Foundation and for The Freedom Forum.
“Jan has worked for the William R. Hearst Foundation.
“The Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program is now entering its 54th year. It is a competition often called ‘the Pulitzers of college journalism.’
“And Jan has served –– literally –– half that time as program director.
“The Hearst contest has grown significantly on her watch. It now has 14 monthly competitions: five in writing, four in multimedia, three in broadcast and two in photo. In recent years, it has received more than 1,000 student entries.
“Jan has overseen the contest for more than a quarter-century with the same energy, enthusiasm, drive and dedication that she possessed on Day One. And not many of us can say that about ourselves.
“By my very rough count, under her watch, more than 15,000 student entries have been processed–and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program has awarded more than $12 million to the country’s journalism students and schools.
“Through the years, she has earned the trust of the Hearst family.
“She has earned the trust of the Hearst Foundation’s board of directors.
“She has earned the trust of the executive directors and vice presidents to whom she has reported.
“And she has earned the trust, respect and admiration of the steering committee members with whom she has worked.
“And she has clearly earned the Gerald M. Sass Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism and Mass Communication.”
The following are excerpts from Ms. Watten’s remarks:
“The Hearst Journalism Awards Program was designed by Randolph A. Hearst –– who with his brother George created the program with the help of ASJMC administrators in the late 1950’s – at that time this organization consisted of 46 accredited schools of journalism. In the early days of the program Randy Hearst’s administrative assistant Helen Mehawk processed the competition entries and filed them in one file cabinet drawer in her office. …
“Since 1960, approximately 36,000 entries in the monthly competitions have come through our office. First as newspaper clippings, and then photographs were included, then boxes of broadcast cassettes and VHS tapes were mailed in – and now the entries are links and multimedia reports viewed on a computer. Regardless of the medium, students have taken a chance and sent their entries for our judges to review. Of the nearly 36,000 entries submitted, more than 10,000 entrants have received an award or certificate of merit. …
“One award winner said that she worked in a bakery in college. Receiving the competition award allowed her to sell fewer donuts and write more. Another award winner said, “The award helped encourage a shy Iowa farm kid to think that it was not screwy to shoot for a career as a journalist,” Dean Mills said that in 1963. Mills is Dean of the College of Journalism at the University of Missouri.
“… I would like to read a few more quotes from some of the early winners of the program to who sum up the experience so well.
“Writing winner Stephen Lynch, from Northwestern said: ‘The Hearst competition really encourages college journalists to push themselves, to use that internship or school newspaper job to produce ambitious feature, news and sport stories. That is the most important legacy: For in this business, it’s not where you went to school or what award you’ve won, it’s your work.’
“Jerry Rankin, Stanford University, the very first winner of the program, who received the trophy from President Kennedy in the Oval Office in 1961. How amazing that must have been!
“He said: ‘… the trip with George and Randy Hearst to the Oval Office for half an hour with JFK sort of made my year, or decade. Long term, the award served as positive proof that real professionals in journalism were telling me that I had what it took to make a career in the field. For an uncertain college student, that vote of confidence was like finding gold.’
“Rena Pederson, University of Texas Austin: ‘Becoming the first woman to win the Hearst National Writing Award in 1969 was definitely an inflection point in my career. It made me realize I could actually compete and win in a room with really talented guys. It gave me more confidence to pursue a career in newspapers –– and what a kick that has been! To this day, I am grateful for the opportunities the Hearst Award opened for me. I used my scholarship to go to graduate school at Columbia and from there to UPI and AP and covering Watergate in Washington. Thank you, Hearst Foundation.’
“I think it would be … interesting for you to hear it from alumni of the program who are here with me today.
“I would like to welcome and introduce:
“Chris Adams, from Iowa State University, who participating in 7 monthly competitions and two championships between 1985 and 1988, and is now National Correspondent for the McClatchy Washington Bureau.
“Amy Kossoff Smith, 1989 championship winner from Northwestern University, is founder and president of her own public relations firm Write Ideas
“Colleen McCain Nelson from the University of Kansas. Colleen received awards in personality-profile, in-depth writing and spot news competitions between 1995 and 1997 and is now a White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Pulitzer Prize winner.
“And Kris Van Cleave, University of Southern California. Participated in two championships in 2001 and 2002 and is now a reporter at WJLA-TV here in D.C.
“But first, another one of our famous alumni couldn’t make it today. Although Larry Kramer, publisher of USA wanted to be here, he could not get away.”
Author Charles Graeber paid a visit to Meek School students this week to discuss his best-selling book “The Good Nurse,” about the serial killer Charles Cullen, the so-called “Angel of Death” who, before his arrest in 2003, murdered as many as 300 patients over the course of a 16-year nursing career.
Graeber explained how his six-year investigation into Cullen — and into the broken health care system that allowed him to continue undetected for so long – all started with the bizarre news clipping he’d been carrying around in his pocket, about a serial killer who wanted to donate a kidney against the wishes of his victims’ families. That clip inspired Graeber to write a letter to Cullen, asking if he would talk with him. Despite having turned away dozens of reporters in the past, Cullen agreed.
“At that point,” Graeber said, “I had the football.”
“It’s a little counter-intuitive to think that good story ideas often come from other news sources – it might seem like that story has already been told,” Graeber told students in Assistant Professor Cynthia Joyce’s JOUR 271 News Reporting classes on Tuesday. “But that’s not always the case – there was another story here that wasn’t being told.”
His initial investigation led to a feature story in New York magazine, “The Tainted Kidney.” That story, in part, launched a book deal, and the book became the basis of a two-part “60 Minutes” segment.
Curious about his reporting techniques, Meek students asked Graeber whether spending so much time with a serial killer required “psychological counseling.”
“In the middle of working on “The Good Nurse,” I was sent by Business Week to write a story about a family in Kamaishi, Japan, who survived the 2011 tsunami,” he said. “This was one month after [the tsunami] – and the fact that I was actually eager to go and sit around a campfire with the survivors was probably a pretty good indication of my mental state.”
Although Graeber is obviously drawn to “big” stories, he emphasized the importance of sweating the small stuff — getting every single fact right, down to the tiniest detail.
“Never mind that for more than 15 years a killer was allowed to work in nine different hospitals — if the guy had been wearing brown shoes, and I’d said they were black, no one was going to believe anything else about the story.”
Graeber will be signing copies of “The Good Nurse” at Square Books on Wednesday, September 18 at 5:00PM
You may have noticed a familiar name while watching your television news last week. The Austin American-Statesman recently announced plans to team up with KVUE to share longtime reporter Tony Plohetski, and he hit the air with his first stories of the new partnership.
Plohetski, 35, has had a key role in building up our investigative coverage over the past couple of years. Before that, he was on the police beat for many years and one of our go-to reporters for big news, from Hurricane Katrina to the plane that was flown into the IRS building in North Austin.
All along the way, Plohetski has occasionally scratched an itch to try out the different medium of television with appearances on “Nancy Grace,” “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” and notably on KVUE, where he earned awards from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters for one report he worked on with the station’s anchor, Tyler Sieswerda, and another he worked on with former KVUE reporter Keli Rabon.
So we finally formalized a loose partnership that allowed Plohetski to go on the air every now and then with KVUE. Now you will see him there regularly.
You’ll also continue to see his investigative work in the pages of the Statesman and on statesman.com. Through this partnership, we hope to do stories that will span print, broadcast and online, and provide you more angles and information on the subjects he’s covering.
It’s a natural for us to look to KVUE as we consider partnerships such as this one. Like the Statesman, they’ve been a strong, steady source of news in the region for decades. They share the same core values we embrace regarding ethics, community and investigative impact.
The partnership should benefit readers, viewers and both media properties.
For the Statesman, it’s yet another opportunity to reach our audience through whatever format the audience wants the news. That means you’ll find us reporting the region’s news in lots of different ways: in newsprint on the breakfast table, through Twitter feeds and text alerts on the smartphone, in an iPad or Android app, on the desktop website, and now on the 6 and 10 p.m. KVUE news.
News consumers are demanding more and more of that broad array of information sources, and we’re working hard to keep up with them.
That doesn’t mean picking up a new platform and abandoning an old one (don’t worry, we’ll still bring you a copy of the news in print every day). What it means is finding ways to use lots of different platforms to provide the news and information. The number of people we reach through all of our platforms is continuing to grow, even at a time when our print edition circulation is seeing some declines.
That’s because we have a newsroom full of smart journalists who, like Plohetski, are evolving to meet that reader demand for the news in different formats.
On MyStatesman, statesman.com and austin360.com you’ll find plenty of videos, databases and social media storytelling alongside the stories and photographs we have always done in print.
But it’s not really about the technology we have available now to reach our audiences. It’s about Plohetski and the other journalists. The work you see in new formats online is being done by the same credible reporters and photojournalists you see in the newspaper, with the same high standards for publication.
The more we experiment and reach out to new audiences, the more we’ll ensure that our business – and the newsroom it funds – will be thriving for a long time. The trick is to keep the journalism at the forefront and listen to what our readers, viewers and community expect and need from us. Let me know what you think we should be doing atdhiott@statesman.com.
