Another side of journalism: freelancing

Many of our journalism majors land entry-level jobs at newspapers. Others are interested in longer-form journalism. Students in my Public Affairs Reporting class this week gained insights into the transition from daily journalism to magazines and books from guest speakers Andrea Vogt and Ken Olsen.

Andrea completed a political science degree from the University of Idaho; Ken studied forestry as an undergraduate here before earning a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona. Both worked for The Spokesman-Review, Andrea covering higher education on the Palouse and Ken reporting on health and environmental issues in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Now, each works as a freelance writer, pitching story ideas to a variety of magazines – Ken based in Spokane, Andrea dividing her time between Pullman and Bologna, Italy.

Ken says reporters need a sense of history, a sense of skepticism and an eye for detail. He uses a piece he wrote about salmon recovery efforts for High Country News as an example of using numbers without bogging down the flow of a narrative.

Andrea described her months of interviews with the late human-rights activist Bill Wassmuth, which were incorporated into her book Common Courage, published by the University of Idaho Press in 2003. Building trust with her subject was the key to effective interviewing, she said.

Their advice to students interested in writing for magazines: study a foreign language, read fiction to learn creative writing styles, and cultivate relationships with editors.

A postscript to last week’s enrollment report: Using a different list provided by the Registrar’s Office, it looks like we have 450 JAMM majors, two more than the initial report.

JAMM enrollment flat, diversity grows

The University of Idaho released fall enrollment figures this week, based on the 10^th day of the semester (Aug. 31). Overall enrollment on the Moscow campus fell from 10,682 to 10,549, a decline of 1.2 percent. Statewide – including enrollment in Coeur d’Alene, Boise and Idaho Falls– enrollment stands at 11,636 (down nine-tenths of 1 percent).

The School of Journalism and Mass Media’s enrollment was 448, down four from the same day a year ago. This figure breaks down as follows:
Advertising, 136 (down from 152)
Journalism, 125 (up from 105)
Public Relations, 95 (same as last year)
Radio-TV-Digital Media Production, 86 (down from 88)
This list doesn’t include four students who each declared two of our majors within JAMM, which is permitted only under special circumstances. We expect the number of majors to grow in coming weeks as first-year and new transfer students discover that our program more closely aligns with their career goals than those elsewhere on campus.

Some other highlights of the fall 2007 data: We have 90 freshmen, 12 fewer than a year ago. See the accompanying photo of JAMM Assistant Director Marc Skinner (back row, center) with some members of the class of 2011 during New Student Orientation last month. About 54 percent of our majors (243 students) are female.

I’m pleased to see an increase in the number of students from backgrounds traditionally under-represented in higher education. Seventy students (15.6 percent) identify themselves as a member of an ethnic minority, up from 41 a year ago. An additional two students list themselves as “other” (often students of mixed backgrounds) and 24 other students left blank their ethnic/racial identification. The number of Native American students doubled (from 9 to 18) and the number of African-American students went from 2 to 10. Thirteen students list Asian or Pacific Islander backgrounds and 29 students describe themselves as Hispanic of any race.

The growth in minority students reflects several factors: increased recruiting from community colleges in western Washington; the popularity of our summer Scripps Howard workshop for high school students, and efforts to start a student chapter of the Native American Journalists Association. It’s also a healthy sign that as the U.S. population becomes more diverse, the staffs of media outlets serving them will one day reflect that diversity.

Photo by Mandie Schoenberg