Uhls Over America

Proving that the life of a Washington Post reporter is never dull, Anna Uhls ’07 took to the air with Air National Guard Lt. Colonel John Klatt to preview the air show at Andrews Airport Base this weekend. She got it all on video in "Parachute? Check. Vomit bag? Check."

A New Role for Rob Bluey

Former editor in chief Rob Bluey ’01 is leading a new journalism project at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. After spending the past three years developing the organization’s online strategy, Bluey shifted paths in March when the redesigned Heritage.org launched. His reporting will complement Heritage’s policy research by focusing on storytelling and investigative journalism. Politico and the Washington Examiner recently published two of his stories.

Tricia Nadolny Awarded Pulliam Fellowship

Tricia Nadolny ’09 has been awarded a prestigious Pulliam Journalism Fellowship for summer 2010. She will be spending two months working at the Indianapolis Star as a paid member of the newsroom staff, as well as attending writing workshops and other mentoring opportunities with the Star's seasoned reporters and editors.
Previous Ithacan staff members to receive the Pulliam include Jeff Selingo ’95, now editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Adam Ellick ’99, now a reporter with the New York Times.

Here Comes the Bride

Bride-to-be Liz Crowley ’04 and bridesmaid-to-be Kelli Grant ’04 were recently featured in a New York Times story, "Brides Magazine Hosts a Newlywed Nest." The wedding is scheduled for the end of October.

Anne and Roger Return to Ithaca

Former editor in chief Anne Walters Custer ’05 and husband Roger Custer ’04 came to town Wednesday night and stopped by the Ithacan office to meet the current crew. In addition to meeting students, Anne also got to meet some of the journalism faculty who have come on board since she graduated. Roger was here to spend time with politics professor Marty Brownstein before his retirement at the end of the semester. Anne is a reporter and editor with Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Washington, D.C., and Roger is a conference director with Young America's Foundation.

Treasures from Overseas

Our own Adam Ellick ’99 was featured in a "Talk of the Town" piece in the April 19 issue of The New Yorker magazine. "Show-and-Tell" described a "Tchotchke Night" meeting of the Overseas Press Club of America, during which members shared items they've brought back from war zones. Ellick, who is a New York Times reporter, brought a "burka bottle cover" from Afghanistan: "a miniature green burka, about the size of a fifth of vodka." Another correspondent countered that what Ellick had was not a bottle cover at all, but a burka for a Barbie.

Design Across a Decade

Former Ithacan design editor (and later managing editor) Melissa Bluey ’00 (left) stopped in the office Saturday to sit down with current design editor Michelle Barrie ’10 to discuss magazine work and careers. Missy is assistant art director at The Atlantic magazine. She and her husband, former Ithacan editor in chief Rob Bluey ’01, were in town along with 1-year-old baby Ben so Rob could attend the college Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting.

Ithaca College in the Times

Check out this article from yesterday's New York Times, "At Upstate Campus, Saving Energy is Part of Dorm Life," which quotes Ithacan sustainability blogger Becky Webster, among others. Apparently we're "a campus known for its embrace of all things sustainable."

Libby Sile ’11 Named Ithacan Editor in Chief

The Ithaca College Board of Student Publications has selected Libby Sile ’11 to serve as the 2010–11 editor in chief of The Ithacan. The board met Tuesday night and conducted the candidate interview with Sile, who is currently studying in Dublin, via Skype.

Sile, a Park Scholar, is a junior with a double major in journalism and politics. She has worked as an Ithacan reporter, assistant news editor, news editor and opinion editor. In addition, she has interned at the Hartford (Conn.) Courant and the Ithaca Journal, and has been awarded a prestigious American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) internship for summer 2010. She was recently named a winner of the 2010 Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition.

Ithacan Named Best in the Northeast

The Society of Professional Journalists has named The Ithacan the Best Non-Daily Newspaper in the Northeast region for 2009.

The paper received the First Place Mark of Excellence Award on April 10 at the SPJ's Region 1 spring conference at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York. It now goes on to compete against the winners in the other 11 SPJ regions for the national Mark of Excellence award, which will be announced at SPJ's national conference October 3–5 in Las Vegas.

This is the third year in a row The Ithacan has been named best in the Northeast by SPJ; two years ago the paper was ranked number two in the country.

In addition, the following students received awards for work published in The Ithacan in 2009:

Allison Wassink ”09: Second place, sports photography

Andy Swift ’09: Third place, feature story

Allison Usavage ’11: Third place, photo illustration

Shown in photo (from left): Ithacan Editor in Chief Lindsey Hollenbaugh ’10 and Ithaca College SPJ Chapter President Jackie Palochko ’11 with the award certificate.

Behind the Scenes with Vanessa at the Times

Vanessa Schneider ’07 made her New York Times video debut in today's segment of "Times Cast," the Times Web site's feature offering an look inside the newsroom and some of the stories being covered. Vanessa is a Social Media News Assistant at the Times. She comes in around minute 4:50, discussing reader reaction to a leaked video showing an American helicopter firing on Iraqi civilians.

Gleason Comments Quoted by Times

Former Ithacan photo editor Connor Gleason ’08 was quoted yesterday in the follow-up to a New York Times story on the problems professional photographers are facing as the newspaper and magazine businesses decline. “Pros and Amateurs Debate: Is Photography in Trouble?” included comments by five photographers, including Connor. You can find his new Web site here.

Ithacan Named Online Pacemaker Finalist

The Ithacan Online — The Ithacan's daily Web site — has been named a finalist for the 2010 Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Award.

 The winners of the award — widely regarded as "the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism” — will be announced at the fall ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, at the end of October.

The Associated Collegiate Press is the oldest and largest national membership organization for college journalists in the country. The contest was judged by a panel of professionals with extensive online media experience. Judges noted that the most successful sites displayed excellence in multimedia storytelling, writing and editing, site design, in-depth and complete coverage, interactivity, and graphics and photography.

The Ithacan won the Online Pacemaker Award in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and was a finalist in 2009.

Diane Gayeski Named Dean of Park School

Interim Dean Diane Gayeski has been named dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications. Read the official announcement here.

Ithacan Named Best College Newspaper in State by the New York Press Association

The Ithacan has been named the Best College Newspaper in New York State for 2009 by the New York Press Association. This is the ninth time in the past 11 years that the paper has received the award.

The paper was also awarded:

• First Place for General Excellence
• First Place for Design
• Third Place for Editorial
• Third Place for Sports Coverage

In addition, the following individuals won awards for their work in The Ithacan in 2009:

• Erin Geismar ’09, First Place, News Writing
• Byard Duncan ’09, Second Place, News Writing
• Allison Wassink ’09, First Place, Photography
• Allison Wassink ’09, Third Place, Photography
• Lilly Miller ’13, Second Place, Column Writing

The awards were for work published during the 2009 calendar year. The editor in chief for Spring 2009 was Erin Geismar ’09; the editor in chief for Fall 2009 was Lindsey Hollenbaugh ’10. The awards were presented at the NYPA’s 2010 Convention on March 27 at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Both editors were in attendance at the convention, Hollenbaugh representing The Ithacan and Geismar representing the Easthampton (N.Y.) Press, where she currently works as a reporter. Accent Editor Michelle Skowronek ’11 and adviser Michael Serino also represented the paper at the convention.

Photos: Top: Michelle Skowronek, Lindsey Hollenbaugh and Erin Geismar with the Ithacan's awards; bottom: Lindsey and Erin with the Best Newspaper award.

Aaron Edwards to Attend New York Times Student Journalism Institute

Ithacan assistant news editor Aaron Edwards has been accepted to attend this summer’s New York Times Student Journalism Institute, to be held May 16–31 at Dillard University in New Orleans.
The institute offers student journalists an opportunity to work with prominent professionals in a newsroom environment. All expenses are paid, including transportation, and the student receives a stipend. Edwards, a sophomore journalism major, is the third Ithacan editor in as many years to be accepted to the institute. Nic Barajas ’08 and Erin Geismar ’09 were previous attendees.

Ithacan Named Finalist for SPJ Award

The Society of Professional Journalists has named The Ithacan a finalist for the Mark of Excellence Award for Best Non-Daily Newspaper in the Northeast region. The paper is consistently ranked among the top three papers in the Northeast, and two years ago was ranked number two in the country by SPJ.
In addition, three students were named finalists in their respective categories for work published in The Ithacan in 2009: Andy Swift ’09 (feature story), junior Allison Usagave (photo illustration) and Allison Wassink ”09 (sports photography).
The winners will be announced at the SPJ Region 1 Spring Conference in New York City, April 9–10. First-place winners from SPJ's 12 regions go on to compete for the national Mark of Excellence Award in their categories.

Mellman Goes to Philly.com

Josh Mellman ’09 has accepted a position as a web producer intern at Philly.com in Philadelphia. He'll be updating stories, photos and other content, as well as developing pages and projects for the site.

Tricia Nadolny Wins Award for Young Writers

Tricia Nadolny ’09 has been named the recipient of the Walter Spearman Award for young writers for her work at the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record during an internship last summer. The award, which recognizes outstanding writing by a journalist with two years or less experience on daily newspapers, is named for a longtime journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was announced last night at the North Carolina Press Association winter meeting in Chapel Hill.

Look at the Size of This Thing

Construction on the college's new A&E center is moving ahead. If you haven't been to campus lately, you've missed the steady growth of this structure, which fills the space between the Gardens and Boothroyd. Here's the view from behind the East Tower.

Current Students Meet NY Alums

New York Ithacan alumni met with current staff members Monday night at our annual dinner gathering, held in conjunction with the spring National College Media Convention. The evening always proves to be a great networking opportunity, and this year was no exception. Professional contacts and job referrals were made, and at least one internship offer came across the table. Current students Lindsey Hollenbaugh ’10 (Editor in Chief), Aaron Edwards ’12 (Assistant News Editor), Michelle Skowronek ’11 (Accent Editor), Whitney Faber ’12 (Assistant Accent Editor), Casey Musarra ’11 (Sports Editor) and Colleen Lowery ’12 (Assistant Design Editor), Melanie Breault ’11 (Staff Writer) shared a meal and conversation with alumni Paul Colombo ’00, James Sigman ’98, Emily Paulsen ’05, Laura Bauman Shalem ’06, Deepa Shah ’06, Vanessa Schneider ’07 and Andy Swift ’09 at the Heartland Chophouse on E. 43rd St.. We also had a chance to see former Editor in Chief Erin Geismar ’09 while we were in town.
Top photo: Andy Swift, Melanie Breault and Whitney Faber; bottom: Stacey Coburn and Emily Paulsen, with Vanessa Schneider in the background.

Libby Again!

This has been quite a year for junior Libby Sile. Last spring she received the Park Scholar Rising Junior Award. Last semester she served as Ithacan opinion editor before going off to study in Dublin this spring. Earlier this month she was awarded an ASME internship.
And now she has been selected as a winner of the Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition, which comes with a nine-day international study tour of Japan. This is the second consecutive year an Ithacan staffer has won: Last year Tricia Nadolny ”09 toured Korea and Japan as a competition winner.
Libby has an exciting summer ahead of her. We look forward to her return to The Ithacan in the fall.

Ithacan Wins Best in Show

The Ithacan finished the 2010 Spring National College Media Convention in New York March 16 by winning the Apple Award for Best in Show. This is the seventh time in the nine years the award has been presented, and the fifth consecutive year, that the paper has won the award in its category.
Shown above: 2009–10 editor in chief Linsdsey Hollenbaugh with the award at the convention.

Ithacan Wins Second CSPA Online Gold Crown

For the second consecutive year, The Ithacan Online, the Ithacan’s Web site, has been awarded an Online Gold Crown Award for overall excellence by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or online medium. The CSPA has recognized excellence in journalism with Gold and Silver Crown Awards for student newspapers, magazines and yearbooks since the early 1980s. The award for online publications was added last year.
The award was presented March 14 at the spring National College Media Convention in New York City. Only five college newspaper Web sites in the country received 2010 Gold Crowns. The other four were the Indiana Daily Student (Indiana University), the Iowa State Daily (Iowa State University), OUDaily.com (University of Oklahoma) and The Daily Pennsylvanian (University of Pennsylvania).

Libby Sile Awarded ASME Internship

Libby Sile ’11 has been awarded an American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) internship for summer 2010. Libby has served as a reporter, assistant news editor, news editor and opinion editor at The Ithacan, and last spring was awarded the Park Scholar Rising Junior Award. This semester she is studying in Dublin.
ASME interns are placed at prestigious magazines in New York or Washington. Previous Ithacan editors to be awarded the internship include Kelli Grant ’04 (Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine), Michelle Theis Cuthrell ’04 (Smithsonian Magazine), Elizabeth Quill ’06 (National Geographic), Vanessa Schneider ’07 (InStyle) and Erin Geismar ’09 (Smart Money).

Where's Alex?

After graduating from Ithaca College in 2002, Alex Morrison spent three years in Hollywood working in the art department for "The Island," at a major advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day and as a salesman at Alan Gordon Enterprises. Since beginning graduate work at American University he has won awards for filmmaking including Best Documentary Storytelling, Best Environmental Film, a Gold Peer Award for Best Non-Dramatic Student Production, and is currently screening a film on public television called "Ecoviews: Reclaiming the Bay."
Currently Morrison is a Fellow at the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning, and has created a Social Networking site for environmentalists called "DIY: What Can I Do?" (www.diywcid.com) which encourages users to post videos and photos sharing the good news of environmental activism on popular media sharing sites.

Class of 2009 Update

Here's what some of last year's graduating class is up to:

Former editor in chief Erin Geismar writes, “After graduation I enjoyed a summer on Long Island with family and friends. In September, I was hired as a reporter by The East Hampton Press (www.27east.com) and in February will move to the swankiest small town in the world. One of two reporters, I'm constantly writing. I cover village government and the school board and am responsible for most of the paper's feature stories.

Former managing editor Joshua Mellman is writing web content and blogging for a law office, interning at a monthly magazine, and freelance writing for publications and companies — all in the South Jersey region.

Former online media editor Andy Swift is the weekend editor at Bonnie Fuller's new celebrity/entertainment news site HollywoodLife.com in New York. He has full control over the site on Saturdays and Sundays, and goes in during the week on scattered days for writing/reporting.

Emma Strachman, who was an assistant photo editor and online media editor, writes, “I'm currently working as a makeup artist for Bobbi Brown. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but I love it! I'm being creative in a very different light. I'm also co-producing an independent film that is projected to start shooting in February. We'll be entering the film into festivals and screening it in the greater Albany area.”

Former chief proofreader Tahleen Ovian is starting graduate school at Simmons College. She'll be working toward a master's degree in library and information science, with a concentration in Youth Services. She’s also still working at Barnes & Noble part time.

Farewell to Erica Hendry

Got together with Aaron Munzer ’08, Kara Cusolito ’08 and Byard Duncan ’09 over break to say goodbye to Erica Hendry, who, having completed her journalism degree in May, has just completed her music degree. She leaves Ithaca with those degrees, extensive experience in both print and multimedia journalism, a couple of great internships under her belt (USA Today, Chronicle of Higher Education), and experience as one of the best editors in chief (2007–08) the Ithacan has seen. In short, she leaves well prepared for the world of journalism. Her first step is to Washington, D.C., where she'll spend the next six months writing for Smithsonian magazine. We'll miss her.

The Party's Over Once Again

The Ithacan wrapped up another academic year with the traditional Ithacan Banquet. About 75 staffers attended the April 30 event, along with guests Dean Dianne Lynch, Associate Dean Virginia Mansfield-Richardson, faculty members Vadim Isakov, Matt Mogekwu, Adam “Iron Man” Peruta and Todd Schack, as well as Associate Director of Media Relations Dave Maley.
There was plenty to celebrate this year, including being named the #2 weekly in the country by SPJ, winning the ACP Pacemaker and Online Pacemaker, the CSPA Silver Crown and Online Gold Crown, and numerous other honors.
In an updating of a decades-old Ithacan tradition, instead of producing an end-of-banquet slideshow, Online Media Editor Andy Swift ’09 produced a video of interviews with graduating seniors. It’s called “Senior Moments,” appropriately enough, and you can watch it on YouTube. It’s a nice way to get a look at some of the people who made the paper so great over the past four years.
And last but not least, we actually had entertainment at this year’s event. Aaron Edwards, our incoming assistant Accent editor, and Casey Musarra, our incoming sports editor (shown in photo above), performed “Anyone Else But the Ithacan,” with lyrics by Casey written to the tune of “Anyone
Else But You” from the film “Juno,” accompanied by former editor in chief Erica R. Hendry on the tuba. (No, I’m not kidding. You had to see it to believe it. It was hilarious.) Sadly, there’s no video record of the performance, but we may get them to recreate it someday.
In any case, we had a great year and are saying goodbye to an incredibly talented group of seniors, who now become part of our vast network of Ithacan alumni.

Nevins Wins National SPJ Award for Feature Writing

Senior journalism major Jen Nevins' story "That's How They Roll" has been awarded third place in the country for feature writing in the Society of Professional Journalists' annual Mark of Excellence competition.
The story, which profiled The SufferJets, an area women's roller derby team, appeared in the October 23, 2008, issue of The Ithacan.

Diane Gayeski Named Interim Park School Dean

Diane Gayeski has been named interim dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, succeeding Dianne Lynch, who leaves at the end of May to take over the presidency at Stephens College. Gayeski will serve in the position for the 2009–10 academic year while a search is conducted for a permanent dean. An excellent choice by the provost, and good news for Park.
You can read the official college announcement here.

A New Daughter for the Loops

Journalism professor Mead Loop and his wife Jill became the proud parents of a baby girl last Friday morning. Cassandra Anne arrived four weeks early at 6 lbs., 7 oz. This is the third daughter for Mead. Congratulations to Mead and Jill.

Ithacan Wins SPJ Best in Northeast Region

The Ithacan has once again been named the best non-daily student newspaper in the Northeast by the Society of Professional Journalist. SPJ, the largest professional organization of reporters and editors in the country, presented the paper with the First Place Mark of Excellence Award at its Region 1 conference on April 25 in Philadelphia.
The paper now goes on to compete against the first-place winners in the other 11 regions in SPJ’s national competition, the results of which will be announced at the SPJ national convention in Indianapolis, August 27–30. The Ithacan placed second nationally in last year’s competition.
In addition, senior Jennifer Nevins’ story, “That’s How They Roll,” on a local roller derby team, won the First Place Mark of Excellence Award in the Feature Writing category, and will go on to compete in the national competition as well. Senior Erica R. Hendry’s “Jazz Man,” a profile of recently retired music professor Steve Brown, took second place in the Feature Writing category. The stories appeared in the October 23, 2008, and April 24, 2008, issues of The Ithacan, respectively.
Above: Jackie Palochko ’11, next year's Ithacan news editor, and Allison Musante ’10, next year's Ithacan managing editor, with the awards at the convention.

Byard Duncan's Ithacan Story on CommonDreams.org

Senior Byard Duncan's front-page story on gas drilling from this week's paper was picked up by CommonDreams.org. That's the second Ithacan story they've picked up this semester.

Dianne Lynch Leaving Ithaca College

In case you haven't heard yet, Dean Dianne Lynch is leaving the Park School — for real this time — to be president of Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. Read the Ithacan story.

New Ithacan Editor

Lindsey Hollenbaugh, a junior journalism major and politics minor, has been selected as the 2009–10 Ithacan editor in chief. A Downsville, N.Y., native (the name should be familiar to those of you who make the NYC-to-Ithaca trip on Route 17), she is currently the paper's opinion editor.

Baby Bluey Arrives

Benjamin Thomas Bluey, son of Melissa (Bloomrose) Bluey ’00 and Rob Bluey ’01,was born at 5:39 a.m. this morning, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz., and 21 inches long. Mother and son are resting comfortably.
Congratulations to Rob and Missy and the extended Bluey family!

Ithacan: The Next Generation

Michelle (Theis) Cuthrell ’04 and her husband Matt are now the proud parents of a second son, Joel Joseph Cuthrell, born the 4th of April — 9 days early, on his older brother Connor’s third birthday. Talk about sibling rivalry! If J.J. is half as much fun as C.J., the Cuthrell home is going to be a lively place for the next couple of decades.
It’s definitely baby season. Rob (’01) and Missy (’00) Bluey’s forthcoming child is due April 11. And IC President Tom Rochon and his wife Amber have a baby coming next month as well.
(Photo above: Michelle holding J.J. for the first time.)

More Awards

The Ithacan has won first place for Design and second place for Sports Coverage in this year's New York Press Association Better College Newspaper Competition. In addition, Jen Nevins, Tom Eschen, Connor Gleason and Diana Cowdery have won individual awards in their respective categories.
The awards are for work published during the 2008 calendar year. Both winning feature stories were sports fronts from the same month — pretty impressive. The list of winners is below. Congratulations to everyone involved.

First Place, Design
(Spring 2008 Editor: Lena Yue ’10; Fall 2008 Editor: Alexis McNutt ’11)

Second Place, Best Sports Coverage
(Spring 2008 Editor: Andrew Lovell ’08; Fall 2008 Editor: Cory Francer ’10)

Second Place, Feature Story
Jen Nevins ’09, "That's How They Roll," roller derby feature (Sports, Oct. 23, 2008)

Third Place, Feature Story
Tom Eschen ’11, "Built on Determination," a profile of Jared Azuma (Sports, Oct. 9, 2008)

Second Place, Photography
Connor Gleason ’08, lead photo for "Rise in the East, Response in the West," (News, March 27, 2008)

Third Place, Photography
Diana Cowdery ’09, photo of didgeridoo player in "Fun Down Under" (This I See, Aug. 29, 2008)

Ithacan's Izzy Awards Story Gets National Attention

Our coverage of the first annual Izzy Awards, presented by the Park School's Center for Independent Media to Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald Tuesday night, has been bringing a lot of readers to our site. In addition, the story (by Assistant News Editor Becca Burns) has been picked up by Michael Moore and commondreams.org, among others.

We're on Twitter

You can now follow The Ithacan on Twitter. To sign up, click here.

Informal Alumni Weekend

Maybe it's the fact that it's (kind of) spring, or maybe it's just a coincidence, but there were a lot of alumni around this weekend.
On Friday afternoon, former Accent editor James Sigman ’98 and former news editor Brian Chambala dropped by the office. They were getting ready to go to the 10th anniversary party for Buzzsaw (originally Buzzsaw Haircut), which they help create a decade ago.
Also around this weekend were 2008 grads Nic Barajas, Lydia Dimitriadis, Bill Earl, Connor Gleason and Andrew Lovell, who were back in town to visit friends.

More Ithacan News

A number of our alumni have expressed a desire to hear more about what's going on here at the paper, so in addition to posting updates about alumni activities I'm going to be posting more news about what's going on at The Ithacan these days. I hope you find it interesting.

On the Road

March 20 was a big travel day for Ithacan writers and editors. Editor in Chief Erin Geismar, Senior Writer Jen Nevins, Special Projects Manager Tricia Nadolny (shown above, left to right) and I traveled to Boston for the annual Nieman Narrative Journalism conference. We attended three days of workshops and talks by prominent narrative journalists and editors, including the New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson, Washington Post multimedia journalist Jennifer Crandall (who produces their “onBeing” video project) and PBS journalist Gwen Ifill.


The same day, News Editor Libby Sile and Opinion Editor Lindsey Hollenbaugh went to New York for the New York Times Student News Editors Workshop, where they met with Times reporters and editors and discussed developments in the profession. The workshop is organized by the Council of Independent Colleges.

Spring Gathering in New York

Ithacan alumni spanning the past decade got together with current students when we traveled to New York for the spring College Media Convention earlier this month. We gathered, as always, at the Heartland Brewery on W. 43rd St. for an evening of food and conversation.
Alumni in attendance included James Sigman ’98, Mike Cagnazzi ’98, Adam Ellick ’99, Cole Louison ’00, Lisa Boyars ’01, Sean Fennessey ’03, Kelli Grant ’04, Deepa Shah ’06, Vanessa Schneider ’07 and Nic Barajas ’08.
Current students included seniors Erin Geismar, editor in chief, and Andy Swift, online media editor; junior Michelle Barrie, assistant design editor; sophomore Jackie Palochko, assistant news editor, and freshman Allison Usavage, assistant photo editor.
Shown above, from left: Kelli Grant, Deepa Shah and Sean Fennessey.

Ithacan Wins Best in Show

After picking up two CSPA Crown Awards at the National College Media Convention in New York, The Ithacan was then presented with an Apple Award for Best in Show during the convention's closing session. This is the fourth consecutive year the paper has won the Apple Award in its category, and the sixth time it has won the award in the eight years it has been presented.
Above: Editor in Chief Erin Geismar with the Apple Award at the convention.

Ithacan Wins CSPA Crown Awards

The Ithacan Online, the Ithacan’s Web site, has been awarded a 2009 Gold Crown Award for overall excellence by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or online medium.
Following on the heels of the Ithacan’s third consecutive Online Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press in November, CSPA’s newly created Online Crown Award solidifies The Ithacan Online’s standing as a leader in college multimedia journalism.
In addition, The Ithacan newspaper was awarded the organization’s Silver Crown Award for papers produced during the Spring 2008 semester.
The award was presented March 15 at the spring National College Media Convention in New York City. The CSPA has recognized excellence in journalism with Gold and Silver Crown Awards for student newspapers, magazines and yearbooks since the early 1980s. The award for online publications was added this year.
Shown above from left: Online Media Editor Andy Swift, holding the Gold Crown; Assistant Design Editor Michelle Barrie; Assistant Photo Editor Allison Usavage, holding the Silver Crown; and Assistant News Editor Jackie Palochko.

Hawver's Return

After graduating, Jim Hawver ’07 spent a year as a metro reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, his hometown. He left the paper last August to attend the Olympics in Beijing and to travel and freelance in China, Thailand and Nepal. Jim is now back in Rochester, hoping to land a newsroom job soon. He visited Ithaca recently and spent some time in the Ithacan office. Watch this space for a video conversation with Jim, to be posted soon (I hope).

Advice for Future Journalists

Chris Baxter ’08 recently returned to Ithaca and met with students to discuss changes in the journalism industry, as well as internships, jobs and how best to prepare to apply for them.
An Ithacan news reporter and special projects manager while at IC, Baxter also founded the online student magazine iMPrint and reported for the radio station. He interned at the Concord Monitor, Allentown Morning Call, Virginian-Pilot and, upon graduation, the Boston Globe. He is now back at the Morning Call as a reporter. You can find his samples of his work at his website.

Update on the Blue House

Last month the New York Times published 2000 grad Cole Louison's follow-up to "Tangled Up in Blue," his 2007 piece on a mysterious blue house in Ozone Park, Queens. The new story, "Her Blue Heaven," continues the story following the death of the home's owner.
Cole has been busy, as usual — working at GQ, freelancing for the Times, Outside Magazine and scribd.com, which sent him to Washington to cover the Inauguration.

Editor Erin Geismar Selected for New York Times Institute

Ithacan editor in chief Erin Geismar has been selected for this year’s New York Times Student Journalism Institute, to be held during winter break in Miami.
The institute offers student journalists an opportunity to work with prominent professionals in a newsroom environment. All expenses for students are paid, including transportation, and the students receive a stipend.
Nic Barajas ’08 attended last year’s institute. Now he’s designing pages for the Times.

Alumni Come to Town

Last weekend’s Park Scholar Alumni Board meeting brought a number of former Ithacan editors to town. We got to see Joe Geraghty ’04 and his wife Brenda (Ludwig) ’03; Katie Maslanka ’06, who is now doing campus ministry work in Denver; and Michelle (Theis) Cuthrell ’04.
Perhaps best of all, we finally got to meet Michelle’s 2-year-old son, Connor (shown with Michelle above), who was excited about his new baby brother or sister scheduled to arrive in April.
We also had dinner with Nic Barajas ’08, who happened to be in town as well. And they tell us the legendary Bill Earl ’08 was also around, but we didn’t get to see him.

Ithacan Ranked as Gold Medalist

The Ithacan has been named a gold medalist for the fall 2007 and spring 2008 semesters in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s annual college newspaper critique.
Each year the CSPA evaluates member papers on overall content, news, depth reporting, features, opinion/editorial, sports, arts/entertainment, editing/headline writing and design/graphics on the basis of more than 150 specific criteria.
This year the newspaper’s scores on the critique’s 1,000 point scale were 948 for fall and 948 for spring.
The CSPA consistently ranks The Ithacan as a gold medalist, its highest category.

Meeting the New President

On November 19, Washington, D.C. alumni gathered at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on Pennsylvania Ave. to meet new Ithaca College President Tom Rochon. The event attracted a number of former Ithacan editors and staff members. Above (left to right): Steve Chaggaris ’94, Kelly Rohrer ’94, Jeff Selingo ’94, Kristin Muenzen ’00, Tom Rochon, Rob Bluey ’01, Melissa Bluey ’00, Melissa Bloomrose ’02, Anna Uhls ’07, Michael Bloomrose ’02, Joe Geraghty ’04, Nate Weixel ’08, senior Tristan Fowler and Anne Walters Custer ’05. Photo courtesy of Rob Bluey ’01.

Vanessa Schneider and Anna Uhls Visit Digital Journalism

It’s been a good semester for Digital Journalism. We brought in two alums — Vanessa Schneider and Anna Uhls, both class of 2007 — to share their experiences with our current students. Vanessa is working for newyorktimes.com, and Anna for washingtonpost.com.
Vanessa came October 7, and discussed her work with the Interactive unit at the Times. She supervises a staff of 13 comments moderators and works to develop new ways to involve readers with the Times site.
[Video courtesy of Erica Hendry. The volume is low, so turn it way up.]



She visited with Wes Siler, a blogger for jalopnik.com (his title is Road Test Editor, which has to be the coolest job ever — he road-tests cars and motorcycles and then reviews them) and creator/editor of hellforleathermagazine.com, a Web site for motorcycle enthusiasts. He talked about building a career as an online journalist and blogger. They both did double-duty in the class and as guest speakers for an evening SPJ evening meeting.

Anna Uhls (right in photo below) came to the class November 18 and talked about her work as a producer and video journalist at washingtonpost.com.


Part of her job was covering both national party conventions and other campaign events for the Post. She spoke in two sections of Wenmouth Williams’ Media and Society course, Jeff Cohen’s Covering the Election and then in Digital Journalism, as well as meeting with students in an SPJ evening session.
We’re fortunate to have alums like these willing to share their experience and stay involved with the program.

More Pacemakers for The Ithacan

The Ithacan’s status as one of the best college newspapers in the country was reaffirmed this weekend when the paper was awarded the 2008 Pacemaker and Online Pacemaker awards — widely regarded as “the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism — by the Associated College Press. The 2008 award is for work published during the 2007–08 academic year (Erica R. Hendry, editor in chief).

The Pacemaker recognizes excellence in college and university print publications; the Online Pacemaker is awarded to outstanding collegiate Web sites. This is the third time The Ithacan has won the Pacemaker in the past four years, and the third year in a row it has won the Online Pacemaker.

The awards were presented at the 87th annual National College Media Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Associated Collegiate Press is the oldest and largest national membership organization for college journalists in the country. This year's competition was judged by the staff of the St. Petersburg Times.

Shown above (front to back): Editor in chief Erin Geismar, news editor Libby Sile and former editor in chief Erica Hendry.

Liz and Kelli Come to Town

Liz Crowley (left) and Kelli Grant, both class of 2004, came to town for the Apple Harvest Festival earlier this month. Stephanie and I, along with this year’s editor in chief Erin Geismar and last year’s EIC Erica Hendry joined them for lunch at the Lost Dog. Kelli is a former Ithacan news editor and special projects manager; Liz was chief copy editor and managing editor. Here’s what they’re up to:

Kelli celebrated her third year at SmartMoney.com in June, and was recently promoted to senior consumer reporter. Her “Deal of the Day” column continues to be the most-read column on the site. “Writing about personal finance in this crazy economy has been challenging (lots of late-night calls with my editors to dump the next day's story for one addressing breaking news), but it's nice to know that our advice on cutting grocery bills or finding the best bank deals is actually making a difference in readers' day-to-day finances.”
She’s also appearing frequently on television. In addition to her weekly SmartMoney TV “3 Tips” videos, she’s a regular guest on CNN Headline News, CBS Up to the Minute, NBC Weekend Today in New York and the local CBS weekend morning show. On the freelance side of things, she has regular gigs with Good Housekeeping and Family Circle, as well as a few trade magazines.
“The big news, though, is something I hope to have wrapped up soon. I've been working on a book proposal about personal finance for recent college grads. Several editors have already expressed interest, and I'm just tweaking the sample chapters before sending everything out the door. In other words, I'm still crazy-busy. Business as usual.”

As for Liz, she’s in her second year as a proofreader and copywriter for Facts On File, a reference publishing company in Midtown Manhattan.
“I’m happy to say that my nerdy grammar knowledge is appreciated. I moved to New York City after graduation to earn a master’s in world history from New York University (’06), and I hope to teach all subway conductors that ‘last and final stop’ is redundant. Kelli and I are slowly making our way to restaurants where former Top Chef contestants now cook.”

The Latest on Lovell

I asked Andrew Lovell what he's been up to since he graduate in May, and here's what he had to say:

"I am working as a sports writer/sports copy editor for the New Britain Herald in New Britain, Conn. When I'm not in the office laying out pages, editing stories, etc., I'm out covering local sports. New Britain is only 10-15 minutes from the Hartford area, so there is actually quite a bit going in our coverage area.
"I have covered everything from little league baseball games this summer, to high school football games, to a professional hockey camp run by a local physical trainer. I am working on a feature on a former local football player that is now in his fifth season in the NFL. They have also given me a weekly column of sorts, in that every week I report on a handful of kids playing college sports that used to play at high schools in our coverage area."
So there's hope, people: There are still jobs out there for those of you who have the talent and the drive. Andrew did a great job last year improving the writing and the overall quality of the sports section. The Herald is lucky to have him.

Margie is a Mom

Margie (Obreza) Chetney ’99, former Ithacan sports editor, and her husband Matt welcomed their first child, a daughter, on Sept. 7, 2008. Haylee Ann Chetney was 8 pounds, 10 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Matt and Margie live in Syracuse, where Margie has worked for The Post-Standard newspaper for 9 years, since graduating from IC. After 4 years as a sports copy editor, Margie was promoted to assistant features editor and now oversees the production duties and copy desk for the features/entertainment/CNY department. She can be reached at mobreza1@hotmail.com.

Ithacan Named Number Two in the Country by SPJ and Pacemaker Finalists by ACP

The Ithacan has been named the number two non-daily student newspaper in the country for 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists.
The paper was presented with the Second Place National Mark of Excellence Award at SPJ’s 2008 National Convention and Journalism Conference on Sept. 5 in Atlanta. Erica R. Hendry ’09, the paper’s 2007-08 editor in chief and current special projects manager, accepted the award on behalf of the paper.
The Society of Professional Journalists is the largest organization of professional reporters and editors in the country. Each year SPJ presents the Mark of Excellence awards to recognize outstanding work among college and university newspapers. The Ithacan was awarded the First Place Mark of Excellence Award for Best Non-Daily Newspaper in the Northeast Region (SPJ Region 1) in April, and then went on to compete against the 11 other regional winners in the national competition. George Washington University’s GW Hatchet ended up taking the top prize.
In addition, the paper has been named a Pacemaker Finalist and The Ithacan Online has been named an Online Pacemaker Finalist for 2008 by the Associated Collegiate Press. The winners of the award — widely regarded as “the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism” — will be announced at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Kansas City on October 31.
The Associated Collegiate Press is the oldest and largest national membership organization for college journalists in the country. The Ithacan last won the Online Pacemaker Award in 2007, and won both the Pacemaker and the Online Pacemaker in 2006. This year’s competition was judged by the staff of the St. Petersburg Times.

The Newsbeat Goes On

The latest issue of Fuse, the college's student-written admissions magazine, features a piece by last year's Ithacan editor in chief, Erica Hendry, recounting her experiences in the job. "The Newsbeat Goes On" can be found here.

Future Ithacan Editor in Chief Visits Office

Cate Cagnazzi, five-month-old daughter of Mike (’98) and Cristin Cagnazzi, stopped by Park for a visit last month. If she comes to Ithaca she'll be a freshman around 2026, which means she'd be editor in chief by 2029. It's nice to have that taken care of.
Cate was born April 4. Congratulations Mike and Cristin!

More Bluey, Now in the Washington Post

Rob Bluey ’01 was recently included among a group of conservatives featured in a Washington Post story on young Republicans' concerns about the future of the party. Bluey is director for the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation.