Region 4 director Patti Newberry, MU-SPJ president Amanda Schumaker and MU Journalism Program Director Richard Campbell participated in Bill Keller’s public lecture on campus. (Photo by Samantha Kermode)

Bill Keller, the Op-Ed columnist at The New York Times who served as executive editor from 2003-2011, spent part of his Oct. 29-31 trip to campus reporting for a column. Among his interviewees: Profs of Miami grad and veep hopeful Paul Ryan. No telling what he’ll write up for his next column — due to appear Monday, a day before the Big Election — but it’s sure to be political. Students and faculty are both eager to see the fruits of his Oxford reporting.

When he wasn’t off working for The Times, Keller was working for the Miami Journalism Program. He gave a public talk on Monday, fielding questions about Judy Miller, WMDs, Jayson Blair, NSA, Wikileaks and more. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he talked to three classes. In between the visits and the interviews, he dined on shrimp (dinner at the Miami president’s house), noshed pizza (lunch with JRN students) and drank coffee (Starbucks was among his interview venues).

He also posed for LOTS of photos, including a series of grip-n-grins at the presidents’ dinner.

Good sport. Good guest. Gracious, generous — with thoughtful, reflective responses to every question we put to him.

Next big names on campus: First Lady Michelle Obama on Saturday; traveler writer Rick Steves, Nov. 12.

[A Post-Script: Keller's column, with the headline "Republican id," focused on the conservative bent of Miami students with an extended interview with Rich Hart, an econ prof and mentor to Ryan. ]

As times goes by, I’ll figure out how to best post contact info from R4 chapters. In the meantime, thanks to Columbus chapter President Eric Lyttle for sending along a list of his officers and board. I’d love to get all the R4 lists — so send ‘em when you’ve got ‘em!

CENTRAL OHIO PRO CHAPTER (2012-13)

Officers:

President: Eric Lyttle, The Other Paper
First vice president/programming: Beth Gianforcaro, Ohio Consumers’ Counsel
Second vice president/membership: Nicole Kraft, Ohio State University
Treasurer: Philip Rudell, retired
Secretary: Open

Board of Directors: 

Julanne Hohbach, Columbus C.E.O. magazine
Tom Boergerding, WOSU Radio
Dan Caterinicchia, Ohio State University
Jennifer Monnin, Nationwide Insurance
Sharon West, Retired
Karen Kasler, Ohio Public Radio and Television
Doug Haddix, Kipplinger Program in Public Affairs Reporting
Liz Lane, WSYX-ABC TV6
Chuck Nelson, Columbus Dispatch
Rick Rouan, Columbus Business First

Bill Keller will visit Miami University Oct. 29.

The Miami University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will serve as co-host of Bill Keller’s upcoming visit to campus.

Keller, the immediate past editor-in-chief of the New York Times, will present “My Time at the Times” Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. on the Oxford, Ohio, campus. MU-SPJ president Amanda Schumaker will help introduce Mr. Keller, and I will serve as moderator. His visit is supported by Miami’s Diana Stark Journalism Fund and the Times Collegiate Readership Program.

The MU-SPJ chapter earlier this semester attracted about 40 students to a video chat with Cairo-based freelance multi-media journalist Sharif Kouddous. In a Sept. 26 “visit,” students were able to ask Kouddous questions in real time about his coverage of the Arab Spring events of last year and about his current reporting on conflicts in the Arab World. Miami was one of five schools participating in a new project called Face-to-Face: Conversations with Journalists. Created by Florida Gulf Coast University and supported by the Poynter Institute and Robert B. McCormick Foundation, the program is seeking applications for its next guest, Luis Chaparro. Chapparo reports from Ciudad Juárez for El Diario and for the international news agency Efe. Applications are on the Poynter site.

Miami SPJers have also been busy:

• attending the national convention. Amanda Schumaker and treasurer Ariana Williams made the trip with me.
• attending other campus media events. The Miami Lecture Series hosted media personality Jerry Springer Sept. 24, and The Journalism and Mass Communications programs hosted C SPAN’s Oct. 2 visit to campus. (Both Amanda and Ariana were among the students selected to ask questions on C SPAN’s Washington Journal program.)
• updating their own WordPress site!

Next up, journalism students will have the chance to meet social media gurus from the Bush and Obama 2004 campaigns (Oct. 15); chat with journalist David Satter about his coverage of the Putin administration (Oct. 15); and meet travel writer Rick Steves (Nov. 12).

A busy fall for the Miami journalism community! How about you? Send news from your chapter and I’ll be happy to share on the 4th Estate blog!

I began teaching journalism at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1997, after about 15 years in the newspaper world.

Hello Region 4 SPJers:

Good  to meet so many of you at the convention in Fort Lauderdale. I look forward to meeting and chatting with many more of you this spring at the R4 conference. Speaking of which, we should have news on the place and date of that event very soon. Watch for 4th Estate blog updates on that and more in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, please be in touch with your comments or concerns at any time. And thanks for your vote as Region 4 director.

Patti Newberry

PATRICIA GALLAGHER NEWBERRY, Senior Lecturer, Miami University Journalism Program

newberpg@muohio.edu/513.529.5893

Want to know more about my background? Here’s my resume: PGNresume12

The Region 4 Spring Conference “Journalism Rebooted” is fast approaching. The dates are March 23-24 in Lansing, Michigan. The registration Eventbrite site is now open at http://spjmi.eventbrite.com/. The Mid-Michigan pro chapter is doing a great job getting it all together and we have a kick-butt lineup of speakers – with a theme about the changing face of journalism.

Here is the info from the site:

The Mid-Michigan Pro and Michigan State University student chapters invite you to the 2012 SPJ Region 4 Spring Conference, “Journalism Rebooted,” on March 23-24 in East Lansing. Register by March 15 to avoid a $10 late fee. We’re lining up a schedule loaded with journalism innovators and experts to help you be a leader in this changing industry. For details on the conference schedule, visit www.spjmi.org. A limited block of rooms are available at MSU’s Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center at the special rate of $95/night. The Kellogg Center is within walking distance of downtown East Lansing and along the Entertainment Express bus route linking the Lansing and East Lansing downtowns. Book your room online now or call 800-875-5090. Use Group No. PFJ033012. Book your room by Feb. 22 to guarantee this rate. Join us Friday night for an opening reception at Dublin Square in downtown East Lansing. Then the work begins on Saturday, as we fill MSU’s Communication Arts & Sciences Building with student and professional journalists from across Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. And join us for the annual Mark of Excellence Luncheon on Saturday, where we honor the best in college journalism from across the region. Looking for other things do during your trip? Check out the new Greater Lansing mobile app from the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau or find out more about downtown East Lansing here.

Here’s something worth noting: In February, the Ohio University SPJ and RTDNA chapters will hold their first “Sunshine Summit” to bring together student journalists and professionals from Ohio and beyond to discuss press freedom issues confronting student journalists.

At the conference, the two student groups will work to draft a policy to propose to the Ohio Board of Regents and the University System of Ohio, which will aim to standardize open meeting and open record policies in Ohio. The conference will include a series of panels, guest speakers and breakout sessions that will educate journalists throughout Ohio about current laws, university policies and how to protect their rights as student journalists. (I am told SPJ National President Hagit Limor might make an appearance!)

The summit is Feb. 26, 2011, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Walter Hall Rotunda on the campus of Ohio University. For more information, e-mail Taylor Mirfendereski.

The registration is now OPEN for the SPJ Regional Conference, April 1-2, 2011, at the METS Center in Northern Kentucky.

Early bird registration is among the least expensive SPJ regional conferences in the country, with a lineup of rock-star speakers designed to inspire and teach. You can find a link to registration here: http://spj2011.eventbrite.com. Registration is $50 for student SPJ members, and $70 for SPJ pro members. This early bird price is only good through March 4 – so grab your seat fast. You can also find a link to the conference hotel on that same page.

You can find a lengthy description of the conference on the Event Brite site, which will be updated as we continue to line up speakers. We’re excited to announce our keynote speaker, Jonathan Katz, AP International Desk reporter, who will discuss his work in Haiti during the earthquake and subsequent humanitarian crisis.

Students will receive their Mark of Excellence Awards at the conference, which covers seven states: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. We’ll also provide an opportunity for student members to get their work critiqued during the afternoon of Saturday, April 2. We will also be offering newsroom tours of The Cincinnati Enquirer and WCPO-TV, the local ABC affiliate.

Questions? Let us know. We’re here to help.

Contacts:

James Pilcher, Region 4 Director

Cell: 513-378-3203

jpilcher@Kalioinc.com or jpilcher@fuse.net

Robyn Davis Sekula, Louisville Chapter President

812-981-8223 (office/home)

502-608-6125 (cell)

RobynSekula@sbcglobal.net

Region 4 honored regional winners of the 2009 SPJ Mark of Excellence contest on Saturday, April 10, in Cleveland. A full list of winners is available here.

The MOE contest honors the best in journalism among college students. Region 4 first-place winners compete nationally against the winners from SPJ’s 11 other regions.

Region 4 had 473 contest entries this year, more than any other region of SPJ!

We will be mailing certificates to students who were unable to attend the event in Cleveland.

Duplicate certificates can be ordered from SPJ for $2.20 per copy, plus postage, by contacting awards coordinator Lauren Rochester at awards(at)spj(dot)org. You also can contact Regional Director Jeremy Steele at jsteele(at)spj(dot)org.

Dick Hendrickson, a member of the Cleveland chapter and adviser of the John Carroll University chapter, left SPJ’s national convention in Atlanta with two honors.

Region 4 director Jeremy W. Steele awarded Hendrickson the Virginia Frizzi Regional Director’s Award for his work for the region. The honor is named for Ginny Frizzi, a longtime former regional director who created the award to recognize a member whose contributions bettered Region 4. The award was reinstituted in 2007 by then-RD Kevin Smith.

Hendrickson helped lead the charge when the Ohio chapters reorganized their statewide awards program last year. With his leadership and the help of his Ohio SPJ peers, the contest was deemed a success despite numerous obstacles.

He also was honored by SPJ with the Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Professional Member Award. Read SPJ’s press release here.

Two Region 4 chapters have received grants to help put on 2008 Ethics Week programming, during the week of April 21-27.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania SPJ, $450
Program Name: “News Media in Indiana, Pa.: Of Whom, By Whom, Form Whom?”
Description: The program will be a journalism symposium at which local news-media representatives will join a panel to address the title question, discuss issues related to it and answer questions from a moderator and from students and citizens from the campus and surrounding community. The chapter’s objectives are to illuminate the work of professional journalists in the community, to shed light on the pressures they face on the job and to invite citizen appreciation for and constructive criticism of their performance.

Central Ohio Pro, $550
Program Name: “Grey Matter: Working in a freebie culture”
Description: We life in a freebie culture, from free doughnuts to game tickets. Are all gifts to be refused? Is there a grey area? The Central Ohio Act Independently Ethics Program will: Give analysis of real life examples; Provide ethical insight from both journalists and public relations professionals; Encourage group discussion with the panel.

Read about more programs across the country here.