Ozarks Hosts Newsweek's Eleanor Clift

Eleanor Clift in Backpack Journalism
with Susan Edens

Well-known journalist Eleanor Clift was on campus last week as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, sponsored by the Walton Arts and Ideas Series. While at Ozarks, Clift delivered two public presentations; on Monday, Sep. 10, she spoke about the 2012 presidential campaign, and on Tuesday, Sep. 11, she was part of a panel that discussed end of life issues. RTV students shot both presentations and made them available on the university's Ustream channel.

Clift also spoke to Susan Edens' Backpack Journalism class on Wed., Sep. 12. She told the students what it takes to get and keep a White House press pass, and she discussed the current campaign coverage. She also told the students about her own career path, moving from a secretary for Newsweek to a reporter and columnist for the magazine. However, Clift also turned the table on the students and asked each of them to talk about their story assignments for the class.

"It was a one-time experience to interact with a figure directly plugged in to the field we spend class time studying about," said Corey Pintado. "It brought all the material we discuss to life with her insight and stories."

"I found Miss Clift's life story inspiring because she made it in journalism at a time when it was hard for a woman to get a job in that field," Kourtney Risher said. "She also didn't start with a background in journalism. It's amazing how successful she has become.

"She was also very cordial and is a great listener as well as a great speaker," Risher added.

Anaeli Rodas and Eleanor Clift

Cory Snyder said, "It was a great opportunity to hear about the experiences and perspective of a highly-regarded political journalist. It's not the kind of chance you always get."

KUOZ has posted both of Clift's public presentations to the university Ustream channel.



Assessment Day at Ozarks

Today was the semi-annual Assessment Day at Ozarks, on which we focus all our attention on the process of evaluating whether students are learning what we say we are teaching them.

The Communication department met with students this afternoon to administer a survey and report on last year's assessment results, followed by a viewing of the documentary "Mashed Media."

Part of the feedback loop for assessment is reporting results to interested constituencies. If you're interested, here's a brief run-down of the results of assessment of the Strategic Communication major for 2011-12.

Three assessment instruments were evaluated for last year: a career goal essay, the capstone exam, and the senior portfolio. Six career essays from the Strategic Communication Planning class were read and evaluated by an external evaluator. All the essays were judged to be either "Proficient" or "Highly Proficient" on the dimensions of goal-setting and planning to achieve the goal. Although the essays were judged to be weak on the dimension of career awareness, that may be a result of a mismatch between the Intended Student Outcome in the assessment plan and the assignment from the SCP class.

Nine seniors took the capstone exam, which covers terminology and concepts from the major's core classes. The average score on the exam was 80 percent, which was below the target score of 85 percent.

This year was the first year for the rotating assessment of the senior portfolios, which are now evaluated every three years. All the portfolios for the past three years were collected and a random sample of 10 portfolios were submitted to a PR professional with more than 10 years of experience in the field. The portfolios consisted of four items: a press release, a planning document, an example of promotional copy, and a recording of a presentation.  For each of the items, the majority of student work was judged to be either "Proficient" or "Highly Proficient"; press releases, 70 percent; planning documents, 60 percent; promotional copy, 80 percent, and presentations, 100 percent. The main weaknesses the evaluator noted were the need for more detail and additional information, especially in the press releases and planning documents; some errors in using AP style, and a few grammatical errors. However, the evaluator also was very complimentary of some of the documents and presentations.

The RTV assessment report is still in progress. We'll publish results from that report when they are available.

Eagle Exhibit!

Every year, the Ozarks Student Life office sponsors the Eagle Exhibit in which student organizations can let new (and returning) students know the kinds of extracurricular opportunities available on campus.  The Communication department is represented by SCM Studio (the organization for Strategic Communication majors) and by KUOZ Channel 6/KUOZ 100.5.

SCM Officers for 2012-13 take a break to pose for the camera.

KUOZ staff is ready to answer questions.

Both KUOZ and SCM Studio will be having a number of activities this year, and we hope students will take the opportunity to be involved.

KUOZ - Another Great Year Ahead!

Students met this afternoon for the organizational meeting for KUOZ Channel 6 and KUOZ 110.5. Here's a report from Susan Edens, Director of Broadcasting:

We had a great meeting this afternoon, led by Corey Snyder. It was kind of an “all call” for students interested in working on radio or television production projects this fall and we had ten new students there as well as several veterans.

Corey talked to them about all of the planned events we have coming up, including high school football, the WAIS Lecture series, his sports show, radio opportunities, and opportunities for them to create their own programs. He emphasized the importance of gathering material leading up to our election night coverage, saying,  “I want us to get together with SCM and Poli Sci majors to put together something ongoing, leading up to the election.”

Corey also pointed out the opportunities available to freshman or new students: “We want to use these show concepts as a way of introducing you to the program and the equipment.”

Here's a short clip from the meeting:

As Susan said, it's going to be a great year!

New Year, New Faces

Some of the top events for orientation today were the "Professional Preparation" meetings, in which students can check out their interest in a particular field of study. We had 15 or so new freshmen at the meeting for Communication, along with several current students. The session gives students an overview of the two majors, as well as a glimpse into the type of activities they may have the opportunity to be part of - "paraprofessional" activities, as Susan Edens called them.

Welcome to our new students! Here's hoping we all have a great year!  

The Customer is (Almost) Always Right

(This is the first of a series of guest posts written by students in the PR Writing and Design class this semester. Today's guest is Zach Doty, a senior Marketing and Strategic Communication major who will be graduating in about three weeks. Zach is pursuing leads on three positions with different advertising agencies. For a look at his internships and other experiences, visit his portfolio site at zldoty.com .) 

Recently, I approached a local small business for an opportunity to redesign their website. During the site building process, the client and I had a few instances where we disagreed on design of the site. In this experience, I learned firsthand a lesson taught at my advertising agency internships. The customer is almost always right. Allow me to explain myself before blatantly going against a customer service adage.

As a marketing or communications professional, you’re often faced with a challenge the client cannot do, or is unable to do themselves. For example, a local small business needs a new website. However, they do not have the expertise to make a new one. Keep that in mind as a professional. When working with a client, make sure it is a partnership, not a benevolent dictatorship (this goes both ways).

If the client doesn’t know about what they’re getting themselves into, educate them. If you don’t understand what it’s like to run their business, dive in. Like communicating to a consumer, the client relationship should be a level playing field based on mutual transactions. In a roundabout way, if a client asks for falling snowflakes on their website, politely say no. Just make sure to explain why and drive deeper into what they want out of a website.

To sum up, the customer is not always right. However, always make sure the client’s needs are addressed, but in the most suitable manner.

We're Back!

I'm sure it seems pretty ironic that someone who teaches about social media and effective communication hasn't posted anything since October. It's not that I haven't had anything to say - quite the opposite! We've had a lot of exciting things going on in the Communication department since October. Here are a few highlights:

• The RTV program purchased a TriCaster 300, a portable 13-channel HD live production system which makes it possible to stream video on the web. The TriCaster arrived on campus at the end of January, and its first job was a simulcast of an interview with the gospel blues band Brick Fields live on air and as an internet video stream through UStream.
• Dr. John Dailey was hired as Assistant Professor of Radio/Television/Video. Dr. Dailey has taught in the multimedia program at Ball State University in Indiana and brings expertise in web design for television to our program. He will begin teaching at Ozarks in the fall.
• Two Strategic Communication students, Hidenobu Kameya and Naima Lopez, were part of the presentation team that won the regional competition for the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization in March. The team will now go to the national competition in May.
• Communication students and faculty joined together for a Mardi Gras-style luncheon on Assessment Day in February. Faculty members provided the food, including a pair of king cakes, complete with plastic baby.

There's more excitement to come in the weeks ahead. Of course, everyone has a lot of projects to finish between now and finals week. Plans are in the works for a celebration/awards dinner April 24. Graduation is May 12, and we have our largest group of Strategic Communication graduates ever. Then Monday, May 14, summer school begins, with three unique offerings from the Communication department.

I promise to do a better job keeping everyone up to date with what's going on!

Here's a picture of the virgin run of the Tricaster:

And a shot from our Mardi Gras luncheon:

We'll be back later in the week with a series of guest posts written by students in the PR Writing and Design class - look for them!