Special Lead Story

“I love journalism. I do. Real journalism is here to stay,” Lillian Dunlap said with enthusiasm, in the opening of her “(Un)Covering Race and Gender: Lessons from the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign” presentation.
Lillian Dunlap was the key speaker in this years’ Friel Lecture series. It was primarily sponsored by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
“The Friel Lecture is a series we try to present every few years,” Dean and Professor of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Erica W. Austin, said. “It is paid for by an endowment from the Friel family. They want to honor the memory of their daughter who was a trailblazer in broadcasting.”
The lecture was held in the CUB Auditorium on the evening of Oct. 16. “There was a miscommunication and the event happened on the same night as the forum for the University District so we had a small turnout,” Dean Austin said.
There were approximately 25 people in attendance, 15 appeared to be students.
“I was really surprised there weren’t more students there. I was really impressed by the lecture content and it’s an exciting topic,” Rachel A. McElwee, a junior at Washington State University, said.
Lillian Dunlap, who works as a professor in Leadership and Management at the Poynter Institute, also taught a workshop for WSU faculty titled “Teaching Diversity Across the Curriculum.” Approximately 15 faculty and staff attended the workshop.
“The workshop addressed how to naturally bring diversity into the classroom. She also discussed what makes excellent and ethical reporting,” Dean Austin said. “It received rave reviews.”
According to Dean Austin more people attended the last lecture series. She also said the event will be reviewed and it will be discussed what went well and what could be done differently in the future.

Frontline Response

1. Steven Smith felt it was important to differentiate between whether West had or had not engaged in these acts because he felt that it was the community's right to know if he was having relations with underage boys. Smith said if he was not engaging in activities with underage boys or abusing public office then there was no story.

2. Bill Morlin and The Spokesman-Review hired a consultant to post a profile on-line. They made the profile for an 18-year-old student and then started communicating with the mayor. Morlin felt it was not ethical for himself to engage in conversation with the mayor, but did feel it was appropriate to hire a consultant to do so.

3. The Spokesman-Review published so many articles on West's inproprieties because they broke the story and it was linked to past crimes. It centered on a public figure and affected the whole community. Also, the story developed over time so follow-up stories were important in continuing to keep the community informed.

4. I think West was hurt the most from the stories. The Spokesman-Review benefited by gaining notoriety for invesitgative journalism. This was a major story they broke that made national news. It also benefited the community because voters deserve to know that public officials are being held accountable and honoring public office. If public office is being abused it is the responsibility of the media to keep them honest.

5. I do not think there are ethical problems in reporting in the story. The newspaper is not making major accusations, rather raising suspicions and presenting facts. It is the media's responsbility to hold public officials accountable. If there were no facts to support the accusations then the paper would not print the story and the person accused would most likely not take unexpalined sick leave.

Special Leads

Question Lead:

PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) -- There is a big question that hangs over this presidential campaign: Will a majority of voters give their support to the presidential candidate who is the intellectual in the contest?

http://http//www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/10/zelizer.intellectual/index.html

Narrative Lead:

Oprah has always said that mothers have the most difficult job on earth, and actress Jenny McCarthy is one mom who has never backed down from a challenge.

Jenny has been an outspoken advocate for parents of children with autism since her son was diagnosed with the disease two and a half years ago.
In her new book, "Mother Warriors," Jenny tells the story of other moms fighting for their special-needs kids.
So when Oprah heard about Monica, another mom fighting for her children, she thought Jenny would be just the person to get this mother warrior's story.
After going through a painful divorce, Monica met Tony when she least expected it. Monica already had a 9-year-old daughter, but soon after she and Tony got engaged, they were thrilled to be expecting another bundle of joy.

http://http//www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/10/10/o.warrior.mother.jenny.mccarthy/index.html

In spite of police efforts, the where-abouts of the 4-year old girl who went missing from her crib on Saturday evening remains unknown.
Maria L. Norton, mother of the missing Angela Melissa Norton, made a public plea urging anyone with information in regards to the location or abuduction of her child to come forward.
Police have knocked on every door within a six-block radius of the child's home. They have also began questioning the babysitter and the parents.

Palouse Ridge Golf Club: Success or Failure?

The Palouse Ridge Golf Club was booked to full capacity for the Washington State University Homecoming weekend.
Due to a harsh winter the course opened Aug. 29, approximately a month after the desired start date.
“The course gets about 100 players a day which is right at our expectations and our sales merchandise is doing better than expected,” the general manager of the Palouse Ridge Golf Club, Bruce Perisho said.
The club has hosted few events which Perisho said is due to a lack of aggressive marketing. However, the Palouse Ridge Golf Club will be hosting next year’s Washington State Amateur Championship.
Tammy Lewis, the executive director of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce said that the golf course will be excellent for Pullman’s growing tourism industry.
According to a study conducted by Dean Runyan Associates, Whitman County’s tourism revenue has increased from $22.8 million in 1991 to $50.8 million in 2006.
“Forty-percent of the golfers are from out of town,” Perisho said.
Lewis said the golf course can be used in a vacation package with other courses in Eastern Washington. “I am excited because the golf course will bring business to town in the summer months when Pullman is much slower because school is out of session,” Lewis said.
According to Lewis Pullman has not yet seen an increase in business or a noticeable difference in local hotel occupancy.
“Because of the late opening of the course we missed out on primary vacation months so hopefully next year the Pullman economy will get a bigger boost from the course,” Lewis said.
Aside from bringing tourists to the area Perisho said the course will attract better Pullman faculty, more businesses, and retain employees in the area.
The Palouse Ridge Golf Club employs approximately 60 Washington State University students, Perisho said. The employment is entirely seasonal and only a few permanent employees will be kept on staff through the winter months.
Although the golf course is owned by WSU it is managed by CourseCo Inc., a private company based out of California. The company manages 16 golf courses in the United States. The $12.3 million course was built from unrestricted donations Perisho said.
“Most of the Pullman community has a positive attitude about the golf course, but there are those that were not in favor of it,” Lewis said.
The expansion of the golf course has been a long process, it has been in the works for 20 to 30 years, Perisho said.

"Feeding the Beast" 10/1/08

1. The "beast" is the news cycle. By deciding what stories you will run you are deciding what will dominate the news and what the general public will see.

2. The news outlet such as a tv production or newspaper needs to feed the news cycle so that audience remains sastisfied. If one news source is not providing juicy and captivating stories than the audience will in fact change where they get their news.

3. The news can be compromised when operating in the 24-hour news cycle. There is a quick turn around so the reporter may not have the time to get adequate sources. Also the story may not be completely developed, as in the case of the two dead babies. Authorities still did not have all the details and the journalist was trying to form a story because news source wanted to be the first to break the news.