Stay awhile:
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I
am a PhD student in journalism/
mass communications at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, where I teach a range of undergraduate journalism courses. Prior to grad school, I was a reporter at The Vindicator, the daily newspaper in Youngstown Ohio.
My hobbies include winemaking and working on my classic VW Dormobile camper. Once in a great while I write a book review.
Inside you can find:
Ancient story about me in Cleveland Jewish News
Pictures of my cats Sally and Daisy.
Instructions to make your own wine
Tips for beating a speeding ticket
Contact me:
10 Herrold Ave.
Athens, OH 45701
(330) 647-4298
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Web site for J233 Infogathering
AEJMC SCHEDULE: I'm scheduled to present three papers at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications national conference Aug. 9-11 in Washington, D.C.:
Other conference events I'm planning for include:
BREAKING NEWS: HS Journalism Workshop: I'm pleased to be leading a workshop on information gathering at the 62st annual E.W. Scripps High School Journalism Workshop on Friday, June 22. Links for the workshop are here.
Lecture on 19C newspaper economics: PowerPoint of lecture for Richard Vedder's Economic History of America is here.
2006 AEJMC update: I'll be in San Francisco in August to present three papers at the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communications national conference:
7/6 On the road: Thanks to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism for a grant to continue research into Time-Life publisher Henry Luce at the Library of Congress this summer. Looks like I'll be at the library in D.C. from Aug. 13 to 19. This project is an outgrowth of a paper I presented at the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium in March 2006 called "Time, Life and the Diffusion of LSD." 4/1 Cool conference: The Institute of Applied and Professional Ethics is putting on a neat conference on Blogging ethics in Athens this weekend. I'm presenting a paper, “Credibility: Blogging Ethics from the Consumer’s Perspective,” at the 9 a.m. Saturday session. 1/1/06 A new year: One quarter of coursework done, only five (or so) more to go ... 8/8 Pickets, writes and leaves: The nine-month strike against the Youngstown Vindicator ended Wednesday, when our union narrowly approved a contract not so different from ones we rejected in December and February. Writing for the strike paper, The Valley Voice, Harold Gwin observed, "When it was over they [the strikers] had mixed reactions, but little jubilation." The final issue of the Valley Voice was pulled off the press as part of the settlement deal. The
following day, I packed my life into a 17-foot U-Haul and said goodbye to
Youngstown and The Vindicator. I finished moving into my awesome 2-bedroom
house in Athens today.
7/18 Another award: My stories on the insurance mess in Trumbull County won second place for government coverage in this year's Ohio Society of Professional Journalists contest. My co-editor at the strike paper, Norm Leigh, won first place for best use of a public record for his stories about credit card misuse by Columbiana County officials. That makes two awards for striking Vindicator reporters; scab reporters, zero.
7/11
Bigger and better things: WYTV Channel
33 will announce on its 6 I'm also leaving The Vindicator - or, rather, the strike against The Vindicator - to take a fellowship to study and teach at Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism. Peggy and I are just putting the finishing touches on our first screen play, which we're calling "The Bureau." I'll post the first act here soon.
12/13: Another idea: A makeover store at the mall. A makeover expert takes customers from the beauty salon to the clothing store to the make-up counter ... you get the idea. Sell gift certificates for the holidays.
I've taken on co-editing the weekly strike newspaper, The Valley Voice, and also administer and design www.valleyvoiceonline.com.
9/9: What the world really needs: is two new products, sold on TV and made in China: the "Mow-Joe" an insulated beverage holder that clamps onto your lawn mower's handle; and "Protector TP", a plastic shield that guards toilet paper rolls from cat claws. (Cats - and not just mine - go for toilet paper. Don't know why.)
2/10: Off the air: The Youngstown Report, a PBS show where my friend and coworker Peggy Sinkovich and I appeared as pundits, is on hiatus due to financial problems. So next fund drive give early and give often.
11/15: Next project ? A self improvement essay based on rebuilding a VW engine. Possible chapters: "The sledge hammer is your friend" and "If it don't fit, don't force it."
PLACES: BOYNE CITY, Mich. -- If the National Mushroom Hunting Championship were televised, pre-game interviews would take place on five school buses, rumbling in a convoy through unmarked woods 250 miles north of Detroit. "I'm here for the national notoriety," Ray Liking, a bearded welder from Mineral City, W.Va., said before the contest last year. (FULL STORY) NEW YORK -- From behind bags of trash, a dozen cat eyes gleam in the weak beam of a sweeping flashlight. Though a locked steel gate blocks the abandoned railroad tunnel in Manhattan's Riverside Park, someone had slipped seven pie plates, now empty, through the rusty bars. An eighth plate was full of kibble. (FULL STORY) MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart, 1980. If you like this kind of stuff, a great, funny movie about that scene is 24 Hour Party People.
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The Investigations:
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p.m. newscast tonight that my friend and collaborator, Peggy Sinkovich,
is coming on board as an on-air reporter.
12/03:
On strike: The Youngstown Newspaper Guild strike against the my paper,
The Vindicator, enters its third week. Here's to hoping it will
end soon and we'll all be back to work. You can read general news about the strike 
