2002 Drake Grad Becomes Executive Editor of Advertising Age

Congratulations, Abbey!

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Advertising Age today named Abbey Klaassen as its new executive editor, in charge of all editorial operations for the brand. She replaces Jonah Bloom, who is leaving Ad Age to become CEO and editor-in-chief of B2B blog network Breaking Media.

Abbey Klaassen

Ms. Klaassen, currently digital editor for Ad Age, joined the publication five years ago, and has developed a number of successful new products for Ad Age, including the annual Digital Issue and companion Ad Age Digital Conference, the DigitalNext blog and her twice-weekly newsletter. Her experience at Ad Age before that includes coverage of TV, radio and out-of-home advertising.

Before joining Ad Age, she was assistant editor in Minneapolis at Mpls-St. Paul Magazine, and wrote for the Twin Cities Business Monthly. Read the entire story here.

Social Media for Freelancers

How many of you have blogs? How many are on Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? I suspect most of you are on most of the social media sites.

But why?

What’s your goal for your Facebook account? Your blog? What do you hope to get out of it? Is it truly only social, or do you see the professional potential?

Social media used strategically can be a boon to the freelancer.

We’re not always so good at strategic thinking, though. When we decide to go on a trip, we check with Mapquest to see the best route to assure we get to our destination efficiently and successfully. Do we use that same strategy in life? Not so much.

We might know that, if we’re going to Minneapolis, there’s a good road to get there, but we’re not entirely sure when or how to get on that road and how long to plan for the trip.

Social media can be your freelancing Mapquest, helping link you with editors, sources, research materials, and tools for organization and promotion that can get you from a wannabe to a published writer.

Let’s look at how to use social media strategically:

PLANNING

A blog can be an excellent planning tool for a writer. I have three blogs:

This one, PEP Talks (the PEP refers to my initials, which is how I signed notes to students), for Drake students and alums.

Magazine Masters, which is a company Sammye Johnson (my co-author on The Magazine from Cover to Cover and I started for our magazine consulting business.

And Positives About Negative, a breast cancer blog I created to help women understand and deal with hormone-receptor negative breast cancer, a form I had not even heard of when I was diagnosed with it almost four years ago.

I use these blogs as my “notes” for two books I have in the works—one on breast cancer and the third edition of The Magazine from Cover to Cover. When I come across news, I put it on my blog, so it is there for easy reference. This is especially true with the cancer blog, a I not only have the information, but the data I need for a citation.

I use the blogs as journals to throw out thoughts and get reactions to them. And even if nobody responds, I still have found a way to express myself that will come in handy eventually in some way—maybe I will pick an entire graf from the blog for a book, maybe I will never look at it again, but the act of having written it helps me get me head around a concept. My Life in Cemeteries,for example, was something I enjoyed writing, and I like having it on my blog, but it will never go anywhere other than this.

However, articles on breast recurrence statistics are some of my most searched topics. I realized this, in looking at Sitemeter, which tells me what topics people searched. When I put the label TRIPLE NEGATIVE RECURRENCE on posts, it upped my page views significantly.

So, in writing my breast cancer book, I use this information to assure that I cover the topics women are most concerned about. And I get letters almost daily in which women ask me specific questions, giving me additional information on what they need to know.

RESEARCH

If you’re researching a difficult topic, ask your FB friends for help. I have seen people asking for sources, for names of editors at specific publications, and doing simple surveys.

Experts now say that Facebook might replace Google as a research tool. Why? Because we can ask targeted questions of specific people and know we can trust the answers. When I was planning to cover this topic, I asked my Facebook friends what I should cover.

Some answers from my friends:

We all like to work with people we know, like, and trust. However, we don't always remember to use the people we know, like, and trust when we get the chance. Social media is a way to keep yourself on the minds of your friends and family so they'll think of you when they need your services.

The only drawbacks I see in social media sites generally are privacy and needing to invest time to manage your online profile -- particularly if you have a common name where you could be confused with professionals in other industries.

I am on LinkedIn, Plaxo and Facebook. Each of them allows me to stay connected with colleagues/friends and makes me visible to others I may not know yet. I have been contacted a handful of times by people in my career field that I have never met who wanted to know more about me, or tell me about themselves, because of the public profiles I've posted.So far, two of them have told me about potential openings within their company and asked me to apply. Although neither position was right for me, I would not have know about the openings without the social networking sites I was a member of.

PUBLISHING

Of course, a blog gives you the chance to get published quickly, but that doesn’t mean much unless you publish something worthwhile. In fact, it can be problematic because once something is online, who knows where it might go.

Publish something of quality, and who knows what might happen. Stories of blogs becoming movies and books abound—Julie and Julia being the most recent.

My cancer blog was one reason I got a book contract. It showed the editors that I was qualified to write such a technical book, and the fact that I was already online on the topic meant they had a built-in audience and means of promotion.

Likewise, I was recently asked to be on the board of directors of another cancer organization and I am negotiating to blog regularly on still another cancer site. When they called to talk to me about blogging, they called me an expert in the field. I got there by writing about the topic, largely on my blog.

PROMOTION

Promoting your work on Facebook and Twitter, and cross-promoting it on your blog drives readers to your site, it reminds readers that you’re out there writing things worth reading, and it helps build your reputation as a professional. That's why this post has so many links to my other sites.

But strategy is essential here. Your Facebook friends should include people who can help your professionally. It’s great that Mom is impressed, but professionally, she's really not that much help.

CONNECTION

Connecting with people with similar interests around the world allows a writer to develop a global perspection and to build friendships with like-minded folks you would otherwise not have met. I have regular readers from Indonesia, Sweden, Japan, England, Australia California, Massachusets and most of the 50 states. When I check who is reading me, the global mix is startling and greatly rewarding. Even more rewarding are the letters I receive from these readers. One was titled, "I my darkest hour, I found your blog." Wow. Some examples:

I am devouring your blog and am so happy to have found you!

I found your site a couple of months ago and I feel so "privileged." You are an inspiration.

I found your Positives about Negative blog this morning and have spent the last hour or so completely engrossed. THANK YOU so much for your amazing, educational, helpful, reassuring, thorough blog. i have sent the link to all my TN friends.

Those comments alone are worth the effort.

Scientific American Names first Woman EIC

After 164 years of publishing, one of America's oldest magazines--it was started as a newspaper in 1845—has finally put a woman at the helm. (Sigh. Such a milestone for the 21st Century!) From the news release:

Longtime science journalist Mariette DiChristina has been named the first female editor-in-chief of Scientific American in the magazine's 164-year history.

DiChristina, who joined the magazine in 2001 as executive editor, has been serving as acting editor-in-chief since her predecessor, John Rennie, left in June. Although she admits to feeling a sense of responsibility as the venerable mag's first female leader, DiChristina seemed humbled by our sense of awe in her accomplishments.

"I have two young daughters; one of them wants to be a scientist, and the other one wants to be the editor of Scientific American," she told FishbowlNY. "I think anybody who is a position of leadership should feel a sense of responsibility. And I don't know if mine is any greater or less because I'm a first for the magazine. I know I'm very honored and grateful."

Read more here.

Another Flair Magazine Redo Published

Ivy Baer Sherman saw Flair magazine for the first time in 2003 at an exhibit at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery. Six years later, she has started Vintage magazine, a reprisal of the iconic 1950s magazine. Vintage is published twice a year and has the artsy fold-outs and special inserts that made Flair such a fun read.

According to Folio magazine, the magazine’s revenue source is still unclear.

One huge difference between Vintage and its 1950’s inspiration? Vintage is on Facebook and Twitter. Had she had the chance, you can be sure Fleur Cowles—who died earlier this year—would have been a huge online presence.

Flair was published by Des Moines-based Cowles Publishing and lasted exactly a year, 1950. Fleur wa

s married to Gardner (Mike) Cowles, who bankrolled the project, reputedly losing $2.5 million on it. Let’s wish Ms. Sherman better luck.

Flaunt magazine, another Flair look-alike, has embossed, die-cut covers ad lots of production tricks; it has lasted more than 100 issues. The E.T. Center for Magazine Studies at Drake University has a full run of Flair, plus Fleur Cowles’ book, The Best of Flair and a good selection of Flaunt magazines. Or check my book, The Magazine from Cover to Cover, for a history of Flair.

Metropolitan Home to Close

Metropolitan Home magazine, which started life as Better Homes and Gardens Apartment Ideas magazine, is the latest casualty of the recession. It will cease publication with its December issue, according to a Hachette Filipacchi announcement this morning. Met Home has been published under that title for 26 years. Ad pages for the third quarter were down 35.7 percent from the same period of 2008. The company plans to focus its energies on ELLE Decor.

On another blog, I share an article I published in 1995 about the magazine's history. Read it here.

Drake magazine wins another Pacemaker

From a Drake University news release.

The Associated Collegiate Press has awarded Drake University's student-produced Drake Magazine the ACP Pacemaker Award for Magazine Excellence.

In addition, Drake graduate Brittainey Sieren placed third in the magazine spread design category, and current student Danny Akright received honorable mention in the feature photography category.

Winners were announced at the 88th ACP and Annual College Media Association's National Convention in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 31.

"The Pacemaker Award is the most prestigious award in student publishing," said Lori Blachford, the Peggy Fisher and Larry Stelter chair of magazine journalism at Drake. "We are competing against schools all across the nation, so to receive recognition as outstanding magazine of the year from that organization is a real honor."

"This is a national award that puts the Drake student magazine at the top of the pack for student publications," said Kathleen Richardson, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. "Almost all of the other finalists were from bigger schools."

The staff of San Francisco's Wired magazine judged the publications in the magazine excellence category on:

• Art, photography, and graphics
  
• Content
  
• Layout and design
  
• Overall concept or theme
  
• Quality of writing and editing

"The students who work on Drake Magazine gain real-life experience in magazine production," Blachford said. "They start each semester with a collection of blank pages and make all the decisions required to arrive at the end of the semester with a magazine that represents their best work."

Tara Richards, a senior magazine major from Indianola, Iowa, served as the publication's 2008-09 editor in chief.

"I loved working for Drake Magazine," Richards said. "The whole staff was extremely dedicated to the project and we gave our all to make sure the publication was the best it could be."

When asked about her future career, Richards said, "I would love to work as an editor for a magazine or Web site. The experiences I've had at Drake have been invaluable in preparing me for the real world of journalism."

Congratulations to Last Year's Drake Magazine Staff!

Alums on camera: Joe Wiesenfelder

It's always a kick when I turn on the TV and see an alum being interviewed as an expert. Tonight, it was Joe Wiesenfelder (89) of cars.com. Joe was interviewed on the CBS Evening News—this is the third time I have seen him there. This time, the story was about Ford's emergence as a serious competitor in the current car market.

Joe said:

"They [Ford] have to convince the consumers that they make good reliable cars and that is, in some ways, harder than making good, reliable cars," said Joe Wiesenfelder with Cars.com. "It takes a long time."

See the entire story here.

Twenty Tweetable Truths About Magazines

Here's a lively pitch for the industry.  It's an emphasis on the positives about magazines:

Readers love them

Teens love them

Advertisers love them

They do good work

Go magazines!

Musings on the Death of Gourmet

My husband loves to cook and is good at it. Our pantry is full of cookbooks and cooking magazines. Taking up increasing amounts of space, though, are loose sheets of paper—recipes he has printed off the Internet. Why dig through a stack of magazines looking for sweet potato enchiladas (yum!) when all he has to do is Google it?

That is one simplistic explanation for the death this week of Gourmet, after 68 years of publishing. (The magazine was even older than me!) Gourmet was a lush publication offering foodies a major shot of recipes, menus, back stories, and escape from normalcy.

Normalcy, though, has become a fight for many Americans. Just keeping up with mortgage, insurance, and day-to-day costs keeps readers in this recession-stunned country focused on more banal issues than lunch at Berkeley, California’s Chez Panisse. We now eat at Chez Ramen Noodles.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that one of the restaurants featured in Gourmet’s October cover story, The French Laundry in Yountville, California http://www.frenchlaundry.com/, will cause serious damage to your budget--$264 for dinner for one, a single drink, and a tip.

Still, 978,000 print readers remained loyal to Gourmet. I would argue that, in this recession, the only access most readers have to such pricey dining is through their magazines. Magazines have long provided a fantasy function for readers.

Why kill a magazine that still has enough readers to create their own sizable city? Advertisers. Conde Nast has lost 8,000 ad pages so far this year.

So, we have several problems here, all part of a cockamamie magazine business model:

1. Publishers remain dependent on advertisers who really could care less about a title beyond its reputed appeal to buyers of their products rather than on readers of the magazine who are committed and loyal.

Early in their history, magazines were supported entirely by readers—advertising was a byproduct of the industrial revolution. Perhaps it is time for more daring publishers to ask readers to pay more, thus allowing them to get off the advertising dole. Well, it’s been time for that for a few decades.

2. Publishers who give away valuable content on the Internet. That cat is so far out of the bag that getting him back is going to cause of few folks to get their editorial hands seriously scratched. It might be time, though, to suffer a few wounds rather than cutting their hands off completely. Check out Gourmet's free recipes online.

3. Out-of-control executive pay and profit margins. As in other industries, the multi-million dollar salaries of CEOs and publishers continues, while the worker bees face job losses and pay cuts.

Update on Jobs

Reports continue to be mixed on the job front. Some magazines and websites are hiring--or at least searching. Some, most recently Conde Nast, are cutting. Those searching include:

Minonline has a couple new editorial jobs open.

As does mediabistro.

And monster.com.

Also, alum Lexi Walters sends word that familyfun.com has relaunched.

Send me your good news. We're all tired of the bad.

Alum Update: Jennie Dorris

Jennie Dorris shares her experience and knowledge about individual health insurance, for Denver's 5280 magazine. It's especially current, given today's health care debate.

Alum Update: Mike Mettler

Earlier this summer, Mike Mettler and his magazine, Sound & Vision, moved across town—from Hachette Filipacci to Bonnier Corporation. As part of the move, he redesigned the magazine, making it perfect-bound and giving it a new logo. Mike talks about the redesign to Folio.

ReadyMade's Take on Apartment Life

Alum Rachel DeSchepper sent me this article on Apartment Life magazine, a wonderful icon of the 1970s. Many of you sat through my discussions of that magazine, so you might be interested in ReadyMade's look back at the publication. And for those of you in Des Moines, stop by the E.T. Meredith Center for Magazine Studies, 111 Meredith Hall on the Drake campus, and look at old copies of Apartment Life, Metropolitan Home, and Mother Earth News.

Drake Magazine Alumni Update: Abbey Klaassen, Kelly Roberson, John August

Abbey Klaassen, digital editor of Ad Age, explains how the PR community can best work with Ad Age.

Kelly Roberson, freelance writer and editor, just sent her son off to kindergarten; her letter to Theo was published on The New York Times' Motherlode blog.

Screenwriter John August is writing the big-screen version of Preacher.  He also gives advice on screening writing on his site,  johnaugust.com.  (Full disclosure:  John graduated from Drake's J-School, but not in magazines.  I list him here because he was editor of Drake magazine.)

Helpful site for freelancers

Freelancers, check out:

AbsoluteWrite, with some good ideas on markets and how to approach them.  It's a handy little site in which freelancers help one another. 

 

Job seekers: Post your resume

Looking for a job?  Post your resume free at:

 Minonline

Mediabistro

Careerbuilder

Monster

Tina Brown: Fear for the future of the content, not just the medium

Tina Brown says our concern should not be just with the future of magazines or newspapers, but the future of journalistic integrity, which is increasingly diminished when content is free.  Brown spoke to Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal. Read it here.  

Magazine Ad Revenue Will Remain Dicey Even When Economy Rebounds

Ad age says magazines need to focus on "subs, apps, events and innovations" to be profitable in the future. Key points:

• ad pages in the monthlies in September were down 22 percent.

• this can't be blamed entirely on the recession.

• magazines can't depend on advertisers to return once the economy recovers.

• readers still want magazines--more than 189 million U.S. adults read a magazine in the past 30 days, according to Mediamark Research and Intelligence. And consumers still trust magazine advertising more than advertising on the web, radio, or TV.

Read the entire article here.

Despite Recession, Foodies Love Their Magazine

Advertising Age says this about Food Network magazine: 

The popular cable network made a risky foray into publishing in 2009, the most challenging year the magazine industry has seen in decades, and came out swinging. Since switching from quarterly to every-other-month frequency in the spring, the title announced it will see its rate base expand from 400,000 at launch to 1 million by January 2010 -- some six months ahead of schedule, according to its publishers at Hearst.

Top 20 Magazine Websites

24/7 has done a list of the top 20 magazine websites.  Check it out here.  Their criteria:

The sites were rated “A” though “F” based on: 1) strength of content; 2) ease of use and navigation; 3) use of new technology and online tools including comment sections, message boards, and multimedia; 4) layout; 5) presence of a strong set of advertisers;  and 6) size of audience based on unique visitor data from June measurements by Compete.com.  Each listing shows Compete data for June 2009 and in brackets the figures for the same month a year ago. Some of these figures are likely to be affected because several of the magazines on the list, Time and Newsweek , share their content with news portals including CNN.com and MSNBC.com.  The traffic numbers may be skewed by that. Two organizations had more than one publication in the Top Twenty: AAA and AARP. The on-line publications owned by these organizations were grouped under their parent organizations.

Drake's Magazines Win More Awards

New awards for the talented Drake students in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's Magazine contest:

Think magazine won first place for general excellence; first place, design; and second place, editorial excellence.  Emma Barker was editor-in-chief. 

Drake Magazine won second place for design (junior Annie Fuhrman designed both Think and Drake Mag); third place, editorial; and third place, service article (by Tara Richards et al). Tara Richards was editor in chief.

DrakeMag Online won 2nd place for online magazines. Matt McGuire was online editor. 

I've included judges comments on the design award below.  I selected these to highlight because I love it when Drake magazines win both first and second places.

Single Issue of an Ongoing Magazine—Design 

Judge: Bob Gray, design consultant for aarp.org and former design editor at National 

Geographic 

 

First Place 

Think  

Why It Won: Great use of strong imagery along with a solid design brings Think up from 

last year’s second place to the winner’s spot. The results show the design team was 

thinking on many levels to meet the challenge of creating a controlled underlying structure 

that allowed them to orchestrate weighty and sobering stories in a surprising and visually 

engaging way.  

Highlights: 

• Use of provocative imagery with typographic design in a supporting role. 

• Use of color-coding for organization of departments. Nicely sets them apart from 

the features.  

• Controlled typography. Good, readable text type, but needed a little more attention 

to widows and character/word spacing when using justified setting.  

• Effective use of the 7 5/8-inch x10-inch trim size especially with images.  

• Use of infographics, sidebars, timelines as additional entry points throughout the 

magazine. 

Second Place 

Drake  

Why It Won: Deft integration of engaging photography with creative typographic 

treatments kept me turning the pages. This magazine consistently makes the top three 

so I congratulate not only the students, but the program directors as well. The design is 

consistently well organized with good margin space, column widths and solid 

typesetting. The photography is well-played on the pages and the use of periodic design 

devices create a pleasing visual structure.  

Cover: Unfortunately the weakest component of this issue, though still following 

enough rules to stay solid. I wish the concept (which is good) had been further 

explored. 

Front and Back of the Book: Strong, yet underplayed graphics help readers know 

where they are throughout the magazine. The controlled design allows for breakouts on 

departments without sacrificing consistency. Again, the conceptual photography and 

design solutions on are excellent.  

Highlights: 

• Concept, photography, design, white space, and color choice of “In Transition” 

feature. Beautiful! 

• Contents page 

• Design and photography in Spare Change department 

New Job Posting: Managing Editor

Lexicon Consulting, a Des Moines media firm, is looking for a managing editor.   The person will replace Julie Collins (Drake -05).  Check it out here.

Des Moines Freelance Summit July 18

iowa society of professional journalists 

freelance summit 2009

who: Editors from local publications including Meredith Corp. and The Des Moines 

Register will be available to talk about their work and how you can get involved 

in writing, copy editing, photography, graphic design and web development. 

Come learn about possible opportunities in Greater Des Moines, network with 

editors and discover best practices to running your freelance business. 

what: Activities include roundtable networking, where editors and freelancers will 

meet in small groups, and a panel discussion featuring both seasoned editors and 

freelancers who can answer your questions. A complete list of editors and itiner- 

ary will be published here in June. 

when: Saturday, July 18, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Registration begins at 9) 

where: Des Moines Social Club, 1408 Locust St., Des Moines 

fee: Before July 3: $20 for members and $30 for nonmembers 

        July 3 and after: $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers 

        *Includes roundtables, light breakfast and lunch. 

For more information, e-mail iowaspj@gmail.com 

Newsweeklies trying to follow The Economist--finally

The Atlantic has an excellent article evaluating why The Economist continues to gain readers and advertisers while Time and Newsweek shrink into irrelevance.  Newsweek's recent redesign follows The Economist's lead--but, as the article says, it's about ten years too late.   Yes, the economy is hurting the media, but the media are also hurting themselves, and have been for decades.  In this article, Michael Hirschorn explains some of the many ways American magazines miss the mark—and miss their audience's needs.  Good reading.

Flair Magazine Founding Editor Dies

Fleur Cowles, who started one of the most graphically innovative magazines ever—Flair magazine, published for the full year of 1950—has died in London.  Fleur visited Drake in the 1990s and offered her inimitable insight.  In preparation for the book I was writing, I asked her what magazine she would read  if she could choose only one.  "I would start my own," she said.

Fleur motivated The Telegraph of London to run an unusually cheeky and entertaining obituary. Read it here.

Rest in high fashion, Fleur. (Her name was actually Florence, and she preferred to think she was 92, not 101.)

DEAR PEP: How do I dress for a job interview?

DEAR PEP: I just landed a job interview at a magazine for early next week, but I'm not sure what to wear. Are suits necessary at magazine/newspaper/publishing jobs? If not, what is the typical outfit for the perfect interview? Obviously I want to show that I'm a serious candidate, but I thought a suit might be too stuffy for the job. Any help would be greatly appreciated!—New Grad.

DEAR GRAD: No, a suit is not necessary is you are applying on the creative side—as a writer or designer. You might get a little more formal if you are applying for the business side or are headed to a trade publication for a button-down field such as law or business. For writers and designers, in general, you just need to wear your best duds, but you can go slightly casual. Make sure everything is clean, pressed, and clear of lint, dog hair, or any other tacky embellishments. Make sure your shoes are clean and nicely polished.

Some suggestions:

FOR WOMEN:

• Your best slacks or a skirt that is at least knee length. It’s nice that you have great gams, but this is not the time to show them off.

•A top that fits you well and is cut so it covers your breasts. Again, this is no time to show off, so keep your busty beauty to yourself.  

•A casual jacket would work well and will come in handy for meetings and other occasions once you get the job.

• Appropriate shoes. If you don’t wear stilettos (good for you, your feet will thank you in 20 years), this is no place to start. Heels are fine if you have them, but nice flats work just as well. Avoid nun shoes. And wear socks just this once—you can find comfy-knee highs and thigh-highs. I would avoid open toes here, especially because they look really dorky with socks. If you must show off your toes, go commando, but do your nails.

FOR MEN:

• Your best slacks and a good belt. If your belt is showing wear, invest in a new one. Make sure the pants just hit the top of your shoes.  

• A clean, pressed shirt tucked in neatly. A dressy, long-sleeved button-up is best.

• A tie. Just this once. It won’t kill you.

• A sports jacket. No need for the full suit, but a sports coat is a nice touch and will come in handy later.

• Appropriate shoes. Nothing athletic at this point. Good leather, or faux leather.

Julie Collins Shares Writing Wisdom

Alum Julie Collins (o6)  has started a blog about her adventures as a freelance writer.  She offers solid  advice and perspective at Julie Tries Writing.   

Alums on the tube

Wendy Naugle ('96) has become a Today Show favorite.  She was on May 11, talking about personal hygiene.  Should you walk barefoot in the gym?  Pick food up from the floor?  Wendy tells you when things  are bad for you and which are "filthy but fine."  It's tied to a "How Grody are You?" feature in Glamour, where Wendy is deputy editor. 

And watch for Joe Weisenfelder ('89) on the evening news as an expert on stories related to the auto industry.  He was most recently on the CBS Evening News Friday, May 8.  "If I'm wearing a suit at the office, everyone knows that something, somewhere, has gone wrong in the industry," Joe says. 

Think Magazine: Spring 09

Think magazine, started in 2007 as the capstone project for Drake magazine and news-Internet majors, will launch its third issue May 1.  Meanwhile, the online magazine is quite impressive. Check it out!

Drake students win more awards

Guess who won first, second AND third places in the Best Student Magazines category in the Society of Professional Journalist's regional awards last weekend?  It starts with a "D", ends with an "e" and it's not Duke. Check out the winning Drake magazines here.  

Class of 1999: Janeen Levine

I moved back to the East Coast in 1999 and settled in suburban Philadelphia, where I continue to live and work.  In 2004, I earned my M.Ed. degree and PA certification in Elementary Education.  I spent six years working for Knowledge Learning Corporation as a kindergarten teacher and program specialist.  Currently, I work for Creative Beginnings, which is the preschool that serves the children of Fox Chase Cancer Center employees.  After many years of casting about, I found a niche that integrates everything I love best—while challenging me to grow as an educator, an administrator, a trainer, and an advocate.  My snappy title is “Learning and Behavioral Specialist,” and my role encompasses a myriad of responsibilities.  As an onsite trainer, much of my time is spent writing and delivering responsive training workshops for our teachers and administrators.  The main focus of my job, however, is to support the identification, referral, and inclusion of children with learning differences.  I am fortunate to collaborate with five other administrators who share the same level of passion, ambition, and commitment to the field.  And I still firmly believe that my background in writing has served my career as an educator very well.
 
In 2007, I edited seven nursing textbooks in the Incredibly Easy series published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.  It was an interesting gig that taught me a lot about positioning myself as a freelance editor and believing in both my skills and pedigree as a Drake-educated writer.  My fellow 515 pioneers may be surprised to learn that I earned a lofty photo credit for a clinical photo shoot I completed in 2007, as well. Additionally, I hold a position on the leadership team for ETS (Educational Testing Service), the publishers of the national Praxis teacher certification exams.  I continue to serve as a freelance test question developer and respondent for ETS in the division of Education of Young Children.  When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my 4-year-old niece, traveling, reading, and attending live theatre.   

Ten Years Later: Drake Magazine grads of 1999

They started 515, won tons of awards, and then went off to make their own way in the world.  I have asked for updates on the grads of 1999.  Here's a start.

Amanda (Bradford) Cortright:  Goodness, 10 years ago I would have never thought I'd dive into the newspaper industry, but here I am. After Drake, I started at a small paper on the southwest coast of Florida as a copy editor and designer. About a year later, I moved to Daytona Beach where I started out again as a copy editor and designer. Over the past nine years here I've moved around within the newspaper, being promoted at points. I started designing 1A on a regular basis, then was moved into the Features department where I was their primary designer. Now I'm the Assitant Features Editor here (the Daytona Beach News-Journal) mainly designing still, but working with reporters/photographers on developing the packages. Fun stuff most days, tho the newspaper industry definitely has its drawbacks lately.

Nicholas Fonseca left Entertainment Weekly on in April; he and his partner Ben are moving to Australia.  Here’s his farewell note to EW: I’m grateful for all of the opportunities that I have had at EW. I’ve wanted to work here since I was 12 years old, and in fact, it’s the reason I went into journalism in the first place. I was blessed enough to get a job here, and it’s a job that has been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. But it’s time to move on and figure out what else I want in life. Ben and I have both been wanting to try out Australia for a few years, and we want to do it while we are young. New York City is always going to be home, and I have no doubt that I’ll be coming back. But why not give something else a try? We will be traveling all over Australia for about six months, participating in a program called WWOOF (wwoof.com.au), through which we’ll join people on their farms/homesteads and helping them out with everything from picking avocados to shearing sheep to regenerating farmland to...you name it. Essentially, we’re going to be living off the land for the rest of the year. It’s a big leap (and a long way from my seat at the Oscars a few years ago), but I’m thrilled to be trying it out. We’ll settle in Sydney around Dec./Jan., and figure out what we want to do next. I’ve got some magazine contacts down under that I’m hoping to utilize. Or maybe I’ll finally become the yoga teacher that I always said I wanted to be.

Jason Oswald: I earned an MBA at Butler University and, in late 2006, Securian Financial Group offered me the opportunity to take a position in the parent company, and I moved to St. Paul in early 2007. I work in mergers and acquisitions, across all of our divisions and businesses, at the enterprise level. Our group also works on corporate strategy, strategic partnerships, and other development activities. I love it! Plus, I still get to use my writing and communications skills. For a while, I had been concerned I was  'losing my edge' - I wasn't excited about the work I was doing and not being able to use anything I had learned. This new position has really re-energized me.

Amanda, Nicholas, and Jason are all on Facebook, as am I.

I would love to hear from more 1999 alums.

Des Moines' ED2010 WIns National Award

The Des Moines ED2010 has won the national group’s first-ever Chapter of the Year award.  This recognition was based on the fact that the group has been active since its inception in 2001 and regularly holds events, including happy hours and discussions of publishing trends.  And the judges in the Ed2010 national chapter also appreciated the group’s connection to Drake’s Ed on Campus group.

ED2010 in Des Moines is headed by Drake grad Renee Freemon Mulvihill (’96), one of the founders of the national group.

DEAR PEP: Should I Go To Grad School?

I am planning on going to graduate school to make me more qualified (and desirable) in such abysmal times. I have also thought about teaching journalism at college one day as well. Regardless, I am interested in attending a graduate school that will advance my skills, boost my resume, and prepare me for the future.

In all honesty, is a Master’s in Communications a truly beneficial addition formy career in magazine journalism--or is it not needed?

I would appreciate a realistic list of graduate schools I should apply for. I would also just like to discuss the preparation needed for the GRE and applying to schools in general. It seems like most deadlines for application are next winter.                     —Drake junior

DEAR JUNIOR 

Realistically, a graduate degree seldom helps you unless it is in something that expands your B.A.  (Or if you have a B.A. in sociology or something similar and want to get up to speed.) You could make important contacts in graduate school, which could help your job prospects. Still, you could get the same from an entry level job.  Employers will hire you for what you can do for them, not for the degree you hold.

As for suggestions, you have a great many excellent schools to choose from. For master’s that offer additional journalism preparation, I would start with Columbia, Berkeley and Northwestern.The M.S. At Columbia is highlypractical and has some great opportunities in new media work, but much of it repeats what we do at Drake.  And Northwestern's graduate program is also sort of redundant of what you will already have done at Drake, especially in magazines, but their Integrated Marketing Communications program does provide you with a difference perspective and could broaden your horizons. Berkeley is also very pragmatic.  

If, however, you want to teach, I would suggest biting the bullet and getting a Ph.D.  I am not convinced good teachers need a Ph.D., but many schools require it. Fortunately, Drake does not.

For a Ph.D., I would consider some of the biggies:The University of North Carolina, Stanford, Columbia, Ohio State, the University of Illinois. Missouri offers an integrated Ph.D/law program that is sort of intriguing.

Application deadlines vary, but most are in the winter.  The best prep for the GRE is to sleep well the night before.  There are preparation programs, some online, but I doubt you need that. You might revisit some math problems, as that is what usually kills journalism students.

I repeat, though, if you want to be a practicing journalist, grad school is not really the route to take.  There will be entry level jobs for you out there.  The field will be competitive in this economy, but a Drake education will prepare you well.

Don't head to grad school out of fear.