Northwestern Student Journalism records subpoenaed

NYTIMES - Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists

Interesting legal battle brewing in Illinois between the student journalists at Northwestern Univerisity, who have been participating in the Medill Innocence Project investigations, and prosecutors from the Cook County state's attorney office.

According to the New York Times article, the students have been gathering witness accounts and evidence in a three-year investigation of Anthony McKinney, who was convicted of fatally shooting a security guard in 1978. The prosecutors "have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students themselves."

They say they want to look into the methods of the students and questions have been raised about whether students thought they would receive better grades if they got witnesses to provide evidence proving McKinney's innocence. The prosecutors are also claiming the students should be considered an "investigative agency" instead of journalists (State law can protect such things as unpublished notes for journalists).

The University is fighting the requests. Should be really interesting to see how this all plays out.

Twice-a-week no more, Huntington News promises new media focus

Two years ago, the Northeastern News (now known as the Huntington News) decided to begin publishing twice a week. As an executive board member of the News at the time, this was a decision I did not agree with. I left the News shortly after then and have watched it make the transition as a reader, including the choice to move off-campus and become independent of the University.

While I believe the quality of much of the paper has suffered since the twice-a-week move (The Sports section actually improved given the opportunity for more timely coverage), I am encouraged by the announcement today that the News has decided to go back to publishing once-a-week and put more of a focus on the new media elements of its coverage.

Editor-in-Chief Maggie Cassidy explains the change in an Editor's Note.

"... in an effort to better distribute news to the Northeastern community, The News will print only on Thursdays while placing a renewed focus on online media. We will debut a total redesign of our website, which is currently in the works; develop our Twitter and Facebook pages beyond linking to content published in the print version; and deliver at least one weekly online-only update in which we experiment in video, audio, photo galleries or other new media."

With the added announcement of the start of an investigative team by News Veterans Kate Augusto and Anne Baker, the Huntington News definitely seems to be taking a step in the right direction. I look forward to seeing the new Web site and these new endeavors into online media. This will provide a great space for experimentation and practice to compliment the new Creative Industries minor offered in the NU School of Journalism.

Regulation: Sex-iled

The Tufts Daily comment boards are exploding over this one:

New rules regulate sexual activity in dormitory rooms

You can also read The Daily Free Press'take here: Staff Edit- Let's not talk about sex.

Free Press news story here.

Swine Flu reaches BU

The Daily Free Press reports: BU dental resident diagnosed with 'probable' case of swine flu, Boston Public Health Commission says

One student definitely had mumps

In today's latest update from Northeastern about the Mumps outbreak, it was confirmed that one of the students did definitively have mumps.

Campus Health Alert, updated April 22, 2009 at 9:17 a.m.
University Health and Counseling Services has not reported any additional suspected mumps cases over the past four days. One of the earlier cases has been confirmed by more definitive testing to be mumps. Further test results are still pending on the other cases. Members of the community are reminded to watch for symptoms -- such as swelling of the neck and jaw -- and to check their immunization records.

I guess this sort of justifies the outpouring of alerts last week, at first the tests were negative announcement seemed a bit over the top.

Times a changing for NU J-School

This letter arrived in my inbox this morning from the head of Northeastern's School of Journalism Stephen Burgard. It seems NU's School of Journalism is getting with the times and going to start offering more focus in the classroom on multimedia and online journalism, long heralded as the future of the industry. These changes are in line with what I wrote about last year, College journalism programs, students’ newspapers fall behind advancing industry: Some see need for a drastic change in curriculum, addition of new media elements throughout coursework

A condensed version of Burgard's letter:

Dear Journalism Students:

The semester is winding to a close and, while the Boston springtime has yet to bloom, many of you are or will be scattering soon. Before that happens, I wanted to take a moment to touch base and bring you up to date on some things.

...

You are hearing a lot nowadays about demands in journalism education because of new technologies and economic changes in our field. We have been doing a lot as a faculty in the past year and a half to address how best to serve your needs in preparation for the new world of journalism, public relations, graduate study or other careers..

Currently we are working to incorporate the best of our program's storied tradition - its sound curriculum in good journalism practice and excellent co-ops and internships - with courses that prepare you for the new digital world. We are looking at the core courses, especially Journalism 2 and Journalism 3, to see where they can or should be adapted. We now also have two new elective courses exclusively designed for students who are well along in our program to learn how to do journalism for new media. These are Prof. Dan Kennedy's Journalism of the Web course and Prof. Liz Matson's Online Journalism course. Both are proving very popular.

I should say that Gladys McKie and Susan Conover have been working with the faculty to update our website and make it more informative and useful. If you haven't visited it recently, have a look at northeastern.edu/journalism, and you can see, for example, something on some of what Prof. Matson's students have been doing.

Additionally, we have been at work with the Creative Industries initiative on a brand new minor for journalism students in interactive media. We are waiting only for final approval from the trustees for Creative Industries' overall program to roll out this minor, and hope we will be able to say more about it very soon. The idea will be to combine the good journalism practices work we currently are doing in our program for the major with new interdisciplinary offerings for students who want to do advanced work in the digital world. Please watch the website for details.

...

Cordially,

Steve

Stephen D. Burgard
Director, School of Journalism

More on MUMPS!

Also received this email with voice message:

=======Emergency Communication Message from NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY=======

Dear Member of NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Community,

You have been sent a new message through the Connect-ED system.

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Message sent - 4/16/2009
Public Health Advisory

==============================

=====================
Message
===================================================

To listen to the message click the link below. If the link is not clickable, copy and paste it into a web browser:

https://www.blackboardconnected.com/messageboxes/186119/1847187.wav
Four Northeastern students were recently treated by University Health and Counseling Services after exhibiting symptoms consistent with the mumps. All four students have been vaccinated against mumps and, thus far, all lab tests are negative. In each of the four cases, the symptoms have diminished in two to three days. University health records indicate that the vast majority of the Northeastern community has been vaccinated against mumps. If you have not been vaccinated, or if you begin to notice symptoms such as swelling around the neck and jaw, please contact University Health and Counseling Services at 617-373-2772.

We have created the following web page (www.northeastern.edu/emergency) where we will post updates regarding this situation.

UPDATE: According to BostonChannel.com, the outbreak stems from students returning from study abroad in Ireland, where there has been a recent outbreak of the virus.

Beware of MUMPS!

Just got a text from the NU Alerts system that "4 NU students treated for mumps-like symptoms. Lab tests neg. If you have swelling around neck/jaw, contact UHCS: x2772."

According to Kids Health (Because they explain it in easy to understand terms):

"Mumps is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva and can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. These glands, which produce saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful.

Because mumps can also involve the brain and its membranes, call the doctor immediately if [you have] any of the following: stiff neck, convulsions (seizures), extreme drowsiness, severe headache, or changes of consciousness. Watch for abdominal pain that can mean involvement of the pancreas in either sex or involvement of the ovaries in girls. In boys, watch for high fever with pain and swelling of the testicles."

Will update if I hear anything further.

BU wins national title, two Huskies join Penguins

So I know I have been a bad blogger and haven't updated since my last euphoric post about Northeastern hockey. Well as I am sure you know NU's post season run pretty much flickered and died as the Huskies lost in the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament and then lost to Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and I didn't feel much like writing about it.

However, the BU Terriers made good on their year long No. 1 ranking and won both the Hockey East Championship and then tonight came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Miami in the NCAA Title game. So our rivals on Commonwealth Ave. are National Champions and let's just say I'm not looking forward to running into any BU fans anytime soon. Although congratulations are in order as BU was truly a forced to be reckoned with all season and the title is, I admit begrudgingly, much deserved. While I was rooting for the underdogs, I was still in awe of BU's two come from behind goals with less than a minute left.

I am sure the Daily Free Press will have much to report on the subject tomorrow. The Boston Globe reports Uncommon wealth: Terriers head home with 5th title after stunning rally.

There has been some good news for the Huskies despite the disappointing losses. Goalie Brad Thiessen was named a Hobey Hat Trick Finalist. Although BU's Matt Gilroy was awarded the Hobey Baker award, Thiessen was named to the first team All-American. Thiessen also signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has joined fellow Husky Joe Vitale in Wilkes-Barre Scranton for the Penguins American Hockey League team. Vitale even scored his first professional goal this week!

While I am sure they will be missed at NU, hopefully great things are to come from these former Huskies. Read the Huntington News report: Northeastern goalie goes pro. Also check out this short video interview with Thiessen and Vitale from back in December. I group produced this show for an NU production course.




College basketball and hockey seasons are now both officially over and I am looking forward to throwing myself into the much less stressful summer of MLB.

Congrats 'Hobey Blogger'!

I would like to extend some congratulations to Northeastern's star goalie (and fellow blogger) Brad Thiessen on earning Hockey East Player of the Year honors tonight. He is the first Husky to earn the award.

In addition, Thiessen, who is also a journalism major and blogs about college hockey at In the Crease with Thiess, was named a Hobey Baker Finalist today. Fan vote counts toward a percentage of the ballot, so show your support and vote online at hobeybaker.com/voting. (BU's Matt Gilroy and Colin Wilson were also named finalists).

Northeastern's Head Coach Greg Cronin was also named coach of the year, and several other NU players were honored.
• Freshman Steve Quailer- Hockey East All-Rookie team.
• Senior Louis Liotti - Hockey East Old Time Hockey Best Defensive
• Captain Joe Vitale - Hockey East Best Defensive Forward
• Senior Ryan Ginand - Second Team All-Star
• Wade MacLeod - Honorable Mention
• Thiessen - ITECH Goaltending Champion, the Three Stars Award, and unanimous First Team All-Star.
Several other players from Boston area schools were also given awards, but I am going to be bias right now because I am so proud of this Northeastern team! Get full details at HockeyEastOnline.com

While the awards have been announced, NU's season is hopefully far from over. The Huskies play in the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament Friday against UMass-Lowell. The Championship game will be the following night. Huntington News Sports Editor Nate Owen has been following the action on his blog, Huskies on the Prowl.

The No. 5/6 ranked Northeastern should also be a lock for the NCAA Tournament later this month.

P.S. - The title for this post refers to a sign I saw displayed at the quarterfinals this past weekend. It made me chuckle.

BC Heights cuts back print pages in economic hard times

Although college newspaper's unique niche market have tended to exclude them from the brunt of the downturn in the newspaper trade. These economic hard times are still having an impact.

The BC Heights has decided to reduce its number of pages from 28 to 20 an edition, with two ten-page sections each Monday and Thursday.

Read Editor-In-Chief Alexi Chi's Letter from the Editor - News for further details.

In order to compensate for decreases in ad sales, we have to change the paper in order to ensure that we can continue printing and, above all, maintain the independence that is inseparable from our role as a fair and unbiased campus voice.
...
The Heights editorial board is using these changes as an opportunity to make The Heights a more concise, readable paper, and to expand its online content. Though you may see some changes to our physical product, our editorial and ethical standards, as well as our commitment to the students of Boston College, remain unchanged.

The print world really is suffering (my hometown paper The Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed its last edition today). The future is online and although no one has figured out a way to make a fully profitable, successful Internet version, I hope college papers start focusing more on that front. Being a college paper allows for more room to experiment and go out on a limb to find an online format that works. Hopefully this cutback at The Heights will allow the paper to put more resources into developing the Web site.

Jimmy Eat World, Guster headline NU Springfest

Sorry, I'm a bit late in posting this.

So after the promise of "one of the biggest shows Matthews has ever seen," CUP's announcement this week leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion. I am glad they tried to go for more of a rock vibe this year, but I won't be going out of my way to get to this spring concert. At least it's not Ben Folds. Read more info here:

Huntington News - CUP plans rockin' show

In addition to Guster and Jimmy Eat World, DJ Diplo will play in between acts.

Northeastern's Springfest lineup to be announced soon

The Huntington News unveiled Northeastern's Springfest superhero theme for this year's week of activities and with it a tease of a rock line-up for this year's concert.

"Students will have to wait just a little longer to find out who’s performing at the final concert. It will begin at 7 p.m. April 4 and will feature two co-headlining acts and a DJ spinning tunes before and in between sets. CUP will release more details about the performers in a future issue of The News.

“Students can expect to get their minds blown [by the concert],” said Nani Stoick, a junior and Springfest concert chair. “The past two years have been rap – everybody was ready for rock. This is going to be one of the biggest shows Matthews has ever seen.”"

Superheros sent to rescue Springfest



Will update when the announcement is made.

Tufts' Big News?

The Tufts Daily Twitter says the paper has some big commencement news to announce tomorrow. Will update what the big story is tomorrow, but work may get in the way. So if you find out first come back here and comment please!

It will be on the Tufts Daily Web site.


UPDATE: So it seems the big news is that Deval Patrick will be this year's commencement speaker. Read the story here.

The Tufts Daily editorial board, Editorial | Patrick the right choice for Class of 2009 , says Patrick was a "relevant" choice, but the students don't seem too enthusiastic.

Ben Folds Concert No. 3

Evidently I spoke to soon about Tufts not having Ben Folds as another spring concert. Evidently the school also has a Jumbo Jam show in the Spring, which will indeed be featuring Ben Folds this year, in addition to the Ludacris headlining show.

The Tufts Daily had this article, Ben Folds to play this year’s Jumbo Jam show, about the March 24 Tufts' students-only concert.

Ben Folds must really be raking in the dough from Boston area colleges this year, he is going to be all around. As previously reported, Folds will be playing the spring concerts of MIT and Boston College.

Maybe it has something to do with the "University A Cappella" album he is releasing of college A Cappella groups singing his songs?