STUDENT JOURNALISTS BALANCE FINALS WEEK WITH NEWSPAPER DUTIES

Tuesday night in the Volante newsroom at the Al Neubarth Media Center. It’s print night, and you can tell; student journalists are running in and out of the room, conferring over In Design windows, making last-minute phone calls for follow-up questions. 

It feels like every other print night, and yet somehow it’s different. In the corner, an editor is poring over a Biology textbook, looking up every now and then to survey her design editor’s work on the office computer. Another student journalist is soundlessly mouthing Calculus formulas to himself, his head propped up on his hand, occasionally scratching his nose absentmindedly with the back of a pencil. 

Amidst the usual hum of activity, there is a quiet concentration among the staffers. There is no idle small talk, no streaming of silly YouTube videos. No one seems to be wasting a single minute. 

“No time to chit-chat,” someone says half-jokingly.

No time to chit-chat, indeed. It’s finals week at the University of South Dakota, and for the journalists of The Volante— who have an entire student-produced newspaper to work on alongside their own final tests and projects — there is quite literally no time to lose. 

“It’s like having an additional final project that has to be extremely excellent, because soon everyone in the community will have access to it,” photo editor Malachi Petersen said.

Petersen and his co-workers say the newspaper is at the front of their finals week worries, and that it generally cuts their study time in half. 

“It’s much harder than people would think,” said editor in chief Emily Niebrugge. “It’s literally a daily thing, not just a Tuesday thing before it comes out on Wednesday. You have to plan ahead at least two weeks in advance — putting together a budget, planning a layout, assigning stories, following up with reporters.”

An added element of stress is the level of quality for which the publication strives. The Volante is an award-winning newspaper. It was established in 1889 and has been helmed by individuals like Al Neubarth, the late founder of USA Today. Niebrugge says this legacy pushes staff to provide good content in spite of added tensions. 

“We never abandon our pursuit of quality,” Niebrugge said. “Even with unexpected complications, or ten minutes from deadline, or in this case with finals week. Sometimes things do slip through the cracks, but we never make a conscious decision of ‘forget it.’”

Petersen agreed, calling the week “stressful” but adding that everyone on staff deals with it, even functioning on much less sleep than usual. 

Senior editor Megan Card finds solace in the generous amount of time journalists are allotted to work on their stories.

“We have more time to work on our projects, and we’re not having to wait around for tests, “ Card said. “You just have to learn to balance it with all the other obligations you have.”

This delicate balancing act is not always possible. Student journalists varied on prioritizing their own schoolwork over newspaper duties, and vice versa.

“My schoolwork is much more important to me,” Card said. “I’m here to get an education, get my bachelor’s degree, get a job. It’s important to be involved with student  media, but at the same time if I’m not doing well in classes it’s a damper on my life.”

Others felt the hands-on experience was more important than bookwork. 

“I know they always say that school comes first because that’s what you’re here for, but that doesn’t always ring true,” Niebrugge admitted. “My work as a journalist takes precedence. Our program stresses a lot of our portfolios and resume packets, and you put your experience first. This is where I’m able to apply everything I’ve learned.”

Petersen, with a slightly guilty smile, said he agrees more with Card but finds himself prioritizing the newspaper nonetheless.

“It shouldn’t be this way, but the paper does take precedence over my schoolwork,” he said. “It should be the other way around.” 

When it all gets to be too much, student journalists have unique ways of coping with the stressful week. Niebrugge indulges in chocolate; Card takes time out to watch old Saturday Night Live clips online. Petersen orders his signature small hot chocolate with extra whipped cream from the campus coffee shop. News design editor Austin Ashlock said his coping methods have changed over the years.

“It used to be food,” he said. “Now’s it’s drinking. We’ll see what’s next.” 

YOUND PROFESSOR SPEARHEADS USD MEDIA PSYCH LAB

USD professor Brandon Nutting in the university's COMPARE research lab, located in the basement of the Al Neuharth Media Center. 

The Al Neuharth Media at the University of South Dakota center houses all the facilities expected of an accredited media & journalism department. Newspaper stands. Computer labs. A student newsroom. An underground psycho-physiology laboratory.
Wait, what?
Yep, you read right. 
A selection of professors and students have joined forces to conduct research on people's media consumption and habits, and their physiological reactions thereto - and they're willing to quite literally go underground to do so.
Since 2013, the basement of the building has been home to the COMPARE (Communication, Media Psychology and Related Effects) Lab. 
Brandon Nutting, an adjunct professor in the M&J department, has spearheaded the concept since his arrival at the university in 2012. Nutting uses the lab to conduct research quantifying involuntary physiological responses to different forms of media.
"I don't like things you can't measure," he said. "And in this field, a lot of the stuff we do is on intuition, where you can't count or measure it. So this allows you to count and measure things that you ordinarily wouldn't be able to, which is fascinating to me because you get an answer - real, hard answers."
If a psycho-physiology lab in the basement of a media building sounds complex or even slightly creepy, rest assured that the actual research is absolutely harmless, and about as uncomplicated as your typical Tuesday night - with a few extra wires involved. Subjects must simply sit in a cushy recliner and take in the researchers' media of choice while hooked up to the lab's equipment. 
Also, know that those who choose to have their media-addled minds picked are in good hands. Nutting has an extensive background in both communications and psychology, having received his Ph.D. in mass communications with a cognate in psychology from research-heavy Texas Tech University in 2012.
Nutting says he ultimately hopes the research (and the increasingly fruitful results thereof) will put USD on "the map," so to speak, in an increasingly competitive academic world.
"It's a unique selling position for us," he said. "The hope is to bring money to the department.... [We envision] us being a leader in media research for the entire state."

OCTOBER 9, 2014

Dusk at the University of South Dakota on the eve of the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media. As the day — crisp autumn air, glorious blue skies, rays of sunlight streaming through half-bare branches dotted with clusters of red, orange, yellow — draws to a close, people move toward the smart brick building on the northwestern corner of campus for an event that feels, paradoxically, the same as every year and profoundly different than ever before.

A pleasant hum of conversation and the occasional tinkering laugh sounds among attendees, who are bustling in the foyer over bottles of imported beer, glasses of unspectacular wine, and assorted appetizers. A speech is made. Someone is thanked. People smile, nod, laugh. Eventually guests are ushered into the conference room — imported beer and unspectacular wine in hand—and seated around a small stage. Everyone is still smiling, and the room is filled to the brim, but something feels wrong — someone is missing. 

The namesake. The founder. The self-professed S.O.B., in a bright red suit with side-swept grey curls and a cheeky grin on his face. 

Al Neuharth is missing. 

"Gone, but not forgotten. Forever missed," 2014 award recipient Peter Prichard gruffly utters, attempting to control the emotion in his voice as he touches on Neuharth's passing in his acceptance speech (see below).

Prichard, Neuharth's USA Today editor in chief from 1988 to 1995, was awarded the 25th annual Neuharth Award on Thursday, Oct. 9, almost eighteen months after Neuharth's death at 89 in 2013. It is the first award on campus not handed out by Neuharth himself. 

The building, the award being given within its walls — they all carry his name, and his absence is glaringly obvious. Throughout the course of the ceremony, various other speakers take turns at the microphone: Mr. Neuharth's daughter, Jan; university president Jim Abbott; Freedom Forum president James Duff. Although the speeches range in content, it seems that each person on stage cannot help but return to the subject of Mr. Neuharth and his tremendous impact in the world and on USD. 

From smattered laughs by the audience at recollections of Neuharth's seemingly endless quirks to tears shed by his daughter on stage, it is unquestionably an evening of heightened emotions. The tipsy camaraderie of the modest audience; the undeniable sense of loss, the quiet grief that accompanies it; the comforting continuation of the tradition despite such immense change; and the spirit of Al — present in everything from his living descendants to the plaque on the award perched on stage. 

Mr. Prichard was right — Al Neuharth may be gone, but he will not be forgotten. 

See Peter Prichard summarize Al Neuharth's life, career, and legacy above. 

On Obama's ISIS Strategy

Photo by Chuck Kennedy (Official White House photo)

President Barack Obama on Wednesday evening outlined a military plan including the authorization of airstrikes in Syria in order to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the terrorist group ISIS.

In a televised address to the nation, President Obama, who has repeatedly refrained from intervening in Syria since the country descended into civil war three years ago, expressed a belief that in light of ISIS' recent violence against American citizens — notably the beheading of two journalists — there was no alternative to military intervention. 

Obama's reluctance regarding Syrian involvement can be partially attributed to his previously strong anti-war stance. One of his main campaign premises was withdrawing troops from Iraq — something accomplished less than three years ago. It seemed Obama was well aware of this; in his speech, he strongly emphasized that the planned action would draw less parallels with the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more with strategies that have been "successfully pursued" 

Obama's hesitation could also be chalked up to the inherently unstable relationship between the United States and Syria. The two countries have a history of rocky relations, as chronicled on the website of the U.S. Department of State. Since the U.S. first recognized Syria as an independent state in 1944, it has maintained an on again/off again consular presence in the country. Diplomatic relations were completely severed between 1967 and 1974 due to the countries' opposing declarations of support in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Reestablished relations have been considerably strained; Syria's tendency of providing what the DOS deems "continuing support and safe haven for terrorist organizations" has guaranteed the country a spot on a U.S. list of states that actively "sponsor" terrorism since the inception of said list in 1979. 

This tension with regard to terrorism seems to have reached a boiling point with ISIS — the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. ISIS was created in 2006; it aims to create a fully Islamic state led by a strict interpretation of Sharia law. In what could be considered a meteoric rise to infamy worldwide, with three separate beheadings of foreign hostages American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines — ISIS has become a household name and a fixture on the daily news circuit. 

Reactions to Obama's proposal were mixed, with criticism from the right and praise from the left, as was to be expected. 

Republican House Speaker John Boehner called Obama's arguments for action "compelling" but questioned the vagueness of the plan itself, stating that "many questions remain about the way in which the president intends to act." 

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Obama's plan "strong and decisive" and called on Democrats and Republicans to come together "in a strong show of support" to grant the Obama administration the congressional authority to arm and train Syrian troops in order to effectively combat ISIS. 

Obama urged both sides to come together for the greater good of the nation, calling ISIS "a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East — including American citizens, personnel and facilities."

¡Bienvenido!

¡Bienvenido! Bienvenue! Wilkommen! 

Welcome! Take your shoes off - maybe even your pants, if you're in the privacy of your own home and you prefer to be pants-less when lounging. (I know I do. I was born free and pants-less and if all goes according to plan that's how I'll go,too.) Either way, settle in. The kind of nonsense that is likely to be published on this little slice of the Internet is probably best enjoyed from a comfortable seated position.

I'll be honest: I'm not entirely sure what Blog Hard 3: Blog Another Day (henceforth BH3) is yet. I don't know what the content will be about, other than the occasional piece of unbiased print-to-blog news story conversion. (Hi, Janet!) I do know what I'd like to accomplish with this uniquely flexible and relatively newfangled medium. My ultimate goal for BH3 is, obviously, utter enlightenment, preferably accompanied by total euphoria. Also,I would like a passing grade for my Mass Communications class, which inspired (read: required) me to start a blog in order to learn how to properly tell news stories using multiple platforms. 

So that's about all I can tell you so far. I do feel that you should be rewarded simply for being here, so here's a quote from the patron saint of BH3, Bill Murray:

"I made a lot of mistakes and realized I had to let them go. Don't think about your errors or failures, otherwise you'll never do a thing."