Mass Comm News & Events

Spring registration schedule & advising

2011-10-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Student Advising is now going on Oct. 24 - Nov. 4 for all Mass Comm students. To make an appointment come down to the department and sign up on your adviser's door. If you don;t know who your adviser is, contact Virginia at the front desk - 282-3295 or masscomm@isu.edu.

Spring registration schedule is:

Seniors (90+ credits) Monday, November 7th at 12:01am
Juniors (58-89 credits) Wednesday, November 9th at 12:01am
Sophomores (26-57 credits) Friday, November 11th at 12:01am
Freshman (0-25 credits) Monday, November 14th at 12:01am

Mass Comm Alum features Idaho’s Hell’s Canyon in Xcorps Action Sports TV

2011-07-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

Mass Comm Alum features Idaho’s Hell’s Canyon in Xcorps Action Sports TV - July 2011

New Hells Canyon Idaho adventure video published online:
“WHITEBIRD” an Idaho Adventure – Xcorps Action Sports show episode featuring show host Jason Lazo adventure camping in the remotely rugged Hells Canyon Idaho.

http://youtu.be/SFCQB1un9v0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFCQB1un9v0

Xcorps #53.) WHITE BIRD -seg.3 HD - The wild adventure continues with the Xcams following show host and adventurer Jason Lazo behind the wheel rolling into the wild Hells Canyon area of western Idaho rocketing up class 4 rapids in a 600 HP twin jet custom Benz river boat. This is a return trip to roll with our friends at Killgore Adventure river outfitters where in a previous XC episode Jason caught a 9 foot 250 pound monster Sturgeon fish on the river called The Snake!

The wild clean big outdoors fills the big screen in this show with the Xcams going wide to catch a gorge 2000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon cut out by one of the longest and remote U.S. rivers all captured on HD tape for the XC viewer!
Follow Jason as he drives into Whitebird Idaho-pop.150- dropping down to Pittsburg Landing in the Hells Canyon National Recreation area to meet with Katie Marek and Kurt Killgore skipper of the boat Happy Hour! Killgore Adventures provides jet boat river tours, hunting and fishing on the Snake and Salmon Rivers. This is wild outdoor adventures Xcorps style!

Killer super scenic shots here with our super fish Xcams pulling in the the Snake towered by 8000 foot mountains!

Just another day on the Xcorps! Music from David Huber the Haida series
http://51bpm.com/

Thanks to Killgore adventures and the Idaho Tourism Board for production assistance in this show. See The Action Hear The Music Join The Xcorps! Closed Captioned. 7/11 J.S.Edmondson
©2011 TheXcorps
http://www.xcorpstv.com/
Killgore Adventures: http://killgoreadventures.com/

College offers scholarship for Twitter 'essay'

2011-07-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Link to the original article here - http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-07-12-university-iowa-tweet-scholarship_n.htm

By Luke Kerr-Dineen and Natalie DiBlasio, USA
TODAY

At the University of Iowa, a good tweet is worth $37,000.

That's the price of a full scholarship, and that's exactly what a student hopeful can win in a contest the university has dreamed up that takes electronic communication to a new level. The university is asking prospective students to submit a 140-character tweet in place of a second essay.

The University of Iowa is joining several others in its attempt to make students get to the point quickly and to improve their social media skills — two qualities that today's Twitter-savvy marketplace demands.

•Kentucky Fried Chicken offers a Colonel's Scholars Twitter scholarship for $20,000 over four years based on a tweet responding to "tell us in 140 characters why you deserve a $20,000 scholarship." The competition received 2,800 applications last year, says Rick Maynard, KFC spokesman.

•Scholarship.com, an organization to help students find money for college, offers the Short and Tweet Scholarship, which asks
applicants to sum up their college experience in a tweet to win $1,000 or a Kindle.

•The 140 Scholarship, presented by College Scholarships.org, a website to help students search for funding, looks for a tweet
highlighting how to use Twitter to improve the world. The winner receives $1,400, and the first and second runners-up receive
$140, according to the website.

At the University of Iowa, the person with the best tweet by the July 28 deadline will receive a full scholarship to the university's
business school.

Applicant Seth Goldstein of Columbus, Ohio, submitted his tweet last week and said he was excited for the "fun, unique challenge."

"It is something different and out of the box," Goldstein said. "No other MBA schools I have applied to have anything like this."

Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto, says he doesn't support the idea.

"They're devaluing their future, because they're identifying themselves with a fad rather than something more long term,"

Lanier says. "It comes off as a school trying so hard to be cool."

Jodi Schafer, the University of Iowa's director of MBA admissions and financial aid, says that application essays were becoming
unoriginal and often highly edited.

"We're hoping that incorporating social media in the process will help bring back some of that creativity," Schafer says.

Students are encouraged to link to their blogs, videos, Facebook accounts or anything else that may help answer the
question: "What makes you an exceptional Tippie Full-time MBA candidate and future MBA hire?"

University of Iowa alum Kinzie Dekkenga has considered going back to school for a few years, but "life got in the way," and it wasn't until she saw the scholarship offer on Facebook that she decided it was time to apply.

"I saw it and I thought, 'Oh my gosh! Why not?'" Dekkenga said. "Taking the burden off the 800-word-essay was a huge incentive. I am on social media almost every day, so it's more comfortable to tweet than to write an essay."

Dekkenga worked on the tweet for five days.

"It turns out … having to simplify your thoughts down was much harder than I thought," Dekkenga said. "I sat on the Twitter
page and just kept typing things, but I was always 100 or 200 characters over."

ISU Mass Comm graduates receive Idaho Press Club awards

2011-06-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Released by Idaho State University June 2, 2011
Contact Tom Hallaq, 282-6453

ISU graduates receive Idaho Press Club awards

POCATELLO – Idaho State University graduates Jenny Hopkins and Vanessa Grieve have received 2010 Idaho Press Club awards for their contributions to the Idaho State Journal. Both women graduated from the Department of Mass Communication and have won multiple awards.
Hopkins won a total of five awards for her online contributions to the ISJ website including general excellence, special purposes for jhub.com, yesteryear.idahostatejournal.com, and pocatelloparents.com, and the Online Only program for “ISJ Reports.”
Grieve won two awards and has only been on the ISJ staff for one year. She received awards for her contributions to the Online Only program and to the Rookie of the Year- Daily Print.
These two women’s awards were among the 28 awarded to the ISJ by the 2010 Idaho Press Club this year.

###

Looking for Local Artists and Photographers

2011-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Looking for Local Artists and Photographers

Vivid Concepts Magazine is looking for artists to feature in our future issues of Pocatello Magazine and The Bannock Alternative. Any medium or specialty is acceptable and we are currently booking out the remainder of our 2011 issues.

We are also always accepting submissions for cover photos and cover art for both publications.

If you are interested in being featured in an upcoming issue or submitting cover art, please email jen@vividconcepts.info with your contact information.

Thank you,
Jennifer Ford

Art Director
Vivid Concepts Magazine
845 W. Center Suite 108
Pocatello, ID 83204
208-233-2485

www.TheBannockAlternative.com
www.PocatelloMag.com

MC summer courses

2011-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

The following are the summer Mass Comm courses:

MC 2215 Graphic Design L8(6/13/11-8/5/11) 9-12 M-R

MC 2230 Intro to Photo E8(5/16/11-7/8/11) 4-7 M-R

MC 2260 Photo & Graphic Design L8(6/13/11-8/5/11) 12:30-3:30 M-R

Consider taking a summer class to save room in your busy school year schedule for upper division courses. Sixty percent enrollment is required so register soon.

--
Virginia Roberts
Administrative Assistant
Department of Mass Communication
Idaho State University

2011-03-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Kari Rands, who won the Simplot Games poster design, is being featured on the homepage as one of ISU's Brightest & Best.

Kari's poster design won first prize in the 2011 Simplot Games Poster award competition. It was used internationally to promote the event. The Simplot Games, North America's premier high school indoor track and field event, are held at Idaho State University's Holt Arena in February. More than 2,000 athletes from the United States and Canada compete.

For more information, see the link below.
http://www.isu.edu/brightest/students/rands-kari.shtml

2011 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - International Radio & Television Society Foundation

2010-11-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

International Radio & Television Society Foundation, Inc. | irts.org

2011 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Date: June 5 - August 6, 2011
Where: New York, New York

The IRTS Summer Fellowship Program teaches up-and-coming communicators the realities of the media industry and business world through a nine-week , expense-paid fellowship, which includes practical experience and career-planning advice. Fellows gain full-time, "real world" experience at New York-based media companies. In addition, the Fellowship provides the opportunity to network with industry professionals, take related field trips, and attend panels, lectures and group discussions.

ELIGIBILITY:
The Summer Fellowship Program is competitive. Students must be college juniors, seniors or graduate students at the time of application. For detailed eligibility information, log on to our website www.irts.org and follow the link to "College Programs."
http:// www.irts.org/programs/sfp/sfp.html

COST: Travel, housing and living allowance included.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 1, 2010

Information can also be found on the IRTS Broadcast Sales Associate Program, which is held in tandem with the Summer Fellowship Program. This diversity initiative is designed to give graduating seniors a jumpstart on the management track by providing customized sales training, in addition to the regular features of the Fellowship Program.

The IRTS Foundation is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which brings together the wisdom and power of today's leaders to train and educate the next generation of media and communication professionals. Our programs and diversity initiatives help ensure that the business responsible for informing, entertaining, and educating the public reaches its highest potential in this exciting digital age.

This is a commercial message.

Hollywood Camera Operator Comes to ISU

2010-10-22T13:19:00.001-07:00

Mark Van Loon worked in Hollywood for 20 years as a camera operator on many major films including Windtalkers, The Firm, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and many more.

On Monday Oct. 25, Van Loon will visit the MC 3300 class and conduct a workshop on lighting for film. The workshop is open to all Mass Communication Students, but will be of most interest to those in the TV Broadcasting sequence.

Van Loon attended college at Middle Tennessee State University, graduating in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in Film & Television. Currently he lives in Montana after retiring from Hollywood in 2005.

For more information about the workshop, contact Tom Hallaq at halltom@isu.edu

Think Marketing, Not Advertising

2010-10-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Think Marketing, Not Advertising
By Mary Collins
TVNewsCheck, October 8, 2010 6:14 AM EDT
http://tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/10/08/45991/think-marketing-not-advertising

Do you remember the metaphor that contrasts dropping a frog in a pot of boiling water as opposed to placing it in lukewarm water and then gradually bringing it to a boil? While the frog will quickly jump out of the boiling water, the story goes, it will allow itself to cook to death if the water temperature increases by just a few degrees at a time.

I heard someone cite that scenario when I was in New York last month. It’s certainly a fitting allegory to describe what Magna Global’s Brian Weiser posed as one of the possible ways technology can impact the advertising products we now offer.

With the online world’s ability to cater to “name your own price” business models, traditional media’s supply-driven business models could seem like asking new media marketers to jump into a boiling cauldron. On the other hand, if traditional media outlets fail to assess the impact of conforming to new media’s pricing metrics, they could experience irreparable harm to the market value of their broad reach and high levels of audience engagement before realizing what happened.

However, Weiser’s description of the changes we are experiencing in the marketplace can be very helpful in making us more aware of their incremental impact. This should help us keep our cool and remain focused on growing our businesses no matter how torrid and turbulent it gets around us.

That process begins with understanding the shifts that are occurring as a result of technology’s impact on media consumption. Weiser points out that these shifts include the replacement of non-ad-supported activities that once occurred offline with online ad-supported activities that can grow advertising. Examples include the shift from board games to video games, which now feature online and dynamic advertising opportunities.

In addition, lower value ad-supported behavior that occurred offline, like phone directories, may be replaced with higher value, ad-supported behavior that’s available via online and mobile search engines. These instances of higher value ad-supported behavior online may in turn be replaced with lower value ad-supported behavior online, such as the shift from reaching customers via Yahoo to using Facebook.

As we see with the Yahoo versus Facebook comparison, these new technologies fragment audiences. Weiser reminds us that this fragmentation can reduce the value of a medium to large advertisers. However, the lower media price points for fragmented media allows for the use of a medium by smaller advertisers. Fragmented audiences technology can deliver a higher value per unit of media.This, in turn, allows advertisers to achieve their objectives through smaller ad budgets. And if we’re not careful, smaller ad budgets can result in turning up the heat.

Another change that can threaten traditional advertising models is the impact of advertising systems on ad revenues. At the organization design level, Weiser observes, an advertiser’s corporate structures can pre-define marketing choices. In this scenario, reach and frequency becomes a proxy for the organization’s marketing objectives. For advertisers that use the R&F paradigm, traditional media choices represent a rational decision.

Meanwhile, there are developments that Weiser describes as “universe changes” that affect the advertising marketplace. The advertiser universe itself is not fixed. The types of businesses operating in different countries change over time, affecting who is buying media and what they want their buys to accomplish.

Twenty-five years ago, cell phones were luxury products not sold with television or radio spots. The earliest national commercial I could find for Apple aired in 1984. Think about the last time you saw an ad for a long-distance telephone carrier and compare that to the last smart phone commercial you saw or heard. These new mass market categories are critical to the growth of total advertising and they demonstrate the shifts that have occurred among advertisers over the past decade.

Another change that has occurred among mature advertisers, according to Weiser, is that they are shifting the focus of their budgets away from buying media and more toward marketing. We are also experiencing the creation of “endemic ecosystems,” which he views as a key source of growth for the media business.

We must also be aware of the operational friction that is being created by ad systems. Contrary to the build-it-and-they-will-come approach, Weiser points out that the mere presence of a medium is insufficient to enable advertising. And, a medium offering limited distribution will be considered insufficient for advertisers that require reach. Weiser also reminds us that large advertisers have many operational requirements that are competing for a finite quantity of financial resources.

Taken in total, these changes illustrate the role of technology as a catalyst for potential. Rather than becoming distracted by the disruption it creates, we can focus on where we can incorporate these areas of potential into our business models. Reach still matters, as does frequency, especially as new businesses seek to achieve the recognition and interest that are precursors to engagement and relationship marketing.

What is the media outlook for 2011? As Brian Weiser reminds us, the answer depends only in part on what the market projections may be for a particular form of advertising, such as spot or online. The station or company that turns the potential created by these technology-driven opportunities into smart, 360 marketing campaigns with a predictable ROI for its advertisers will have the best outlook for 2011.

It’s also the best way to ensure we’re not like that frog who didn’t notice how the changes in his surroundings were leading to his demise.

ISBA awards scholarship to ISU student

2010-07-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

ISU Mass Communication student Christopher Crampton was been awarded a $750 scholarship from the Idaho State Broadcasters Association in May 2010. Chris is one of only a few broadcast students from throughout the state who has been recognized by the ISBA.

Chris will be a senior at ISU this fall and is majoring in television broadcasting. In order to apply for the scholarship, students must be sponsored by a local broadcast company. KIFI-TV (ABC) sponsored Chris’ application.

The ISBA is a professional organization for all television and radio broadcasters in the state of Idaho. The organization is chaired by Peter Morrill, General Manager of Idaho Public Television.

Chris and all other scholarship recipients will be recognized at the ISBA “Best in Broadcasting” Awards Celebration held July 24 in Sun Valley.

For more information about the Idaho State Broadcasters Association, contact Connie Searles in the ISBA offices at 208 345-3072 or at isba@qwestoffice.net.

'Time' Magazine: The Last Of The Big Newsweeklies

2010-06-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Read the story here

ABC NEWS ADVISORY SENT TO STATIONS FEB 22, 2010

2010-02-24T10:33:00.001-08:00

Over the past several years, we’ve seen a lot of changes -- changes at ABC News and in the news industry overall. I’m proud of the way we’ve responded both to unexpected transitions in our programs and to the economic realities of our business. We’ve adapted quickly and effectively and – above all – put our audiences first. Our programs are stronger today than they were ten years ago. This is a credit first and foremost to the men and women at ABC News.

But all of us are good reporters. We can see that our entire society is in the middle of a revolution -- a revolution in the ways that people get their news and information. The digital age makes our business more competitive than ever before. It also presents us with opportunities we couldn’t have imagined to gather, produce, and distribute the news. We can have great success in the new world – but only if we embrace what is new, rather than being overwhelmed by it.

The time has come to anticipate change, rather than respond to it. We have a rare opportunity to get in front of what’s coming, to ensure that ABC News has a sound journalistic and financial footing for many years to come, and to serve our audiences even better. But we must move boldly and promptly. In the past, we’ve sought out less expensive ways to replicate what we’ve always done. The time has come to re-think how we do what we are doing.

To that end, we anticipate that between now and the end of the year ABC News will undergo a fundamental transformation that will ultimately affect every corner of the enterprise. We will be guided by one central principle: In everything, we will ensure that we put our audiences first – providing them with first-rate journalism covering the things that matter the most to them in ways no one else does. And, we will do it with a business model that ensures we will be here for our audiences for many years to come.

The transformation will have six basic components:

1. In newsgathering, we intend to dramatically expand our use of digital journalists. We have proven that this model works at various locations around the world. We believe we can take it much further;

2. In production, we will take the example set by Nightline of editorial staff who shoot and edit their own material and follow it throughout all of our programs, while recognizing that we will continue to rely upon our ENG crews and editors for most of our work;

3. In structure, we will combine our weekday and weekend operations for both Good Morning America and World News;

4. In special events, we will rely upon our program staff through the day and night to cover unexpected events and marshal personnel from across the division to cover scheduled events;

5. In newsmagazines and long-form programming, we will move to a more flexible blend of staff and freelancers so that we can respond to varying demand for hours through the year; and

6. Overall, we will eliminate redundancies wherever possible.

An essential part of this intended transformation will be extensive training in the new technology – whether in the field or in-house. This is an extension of the digital bullpen training we’ve undertaken already, but it will be on a scale that we have not seen before. This training program and changes it will make possible in all of our operations will make ABC News the place to work in the digital age. We won’t just be preparing people for the new world; we will be living in it.

When we are finished, many job descriptions will be different, different skill sets may be required, and, yes, we will likely have substantially fewer people on staff at ABC News. To ease the transition, we are offering a voluntary separation package to all full-time, U.S.-based, non-union, non-contract employees. Information and details of the program will be sent to your home address in the next few days. The response to this voluntary program will determine the extent to which we will need to make further reductions. I encourage everyone to talk with their supervisor if they have any questions.

Any voluntary separation offers for union-represented employees will be in accordance with our obligations under the applicable labor agreement. Whatever changes we make overseas will be done in compliance with local laws and, where required, include management consultation in advance.

Throughout this process, I will keep you informed of where we are and where we are going with the transformation. Tomorrow, I will discuss this on the 9:30 call, and we will be holding meetings with various groups of staff in New York. Kate O’Brian and I will be in Washington next week to explain what we are planning in person and to take questions. Either Kate or David Reiter will be travelling to the bureaus in the coming days to do the same.

I won’t pretend that all of this will be easy. But I do truly believe that it will be good for ABC News. I believe in this institution. I believe in its mission and in its future. As always, I will need your help in making sure that we are as strong as we can be for many years to come.

Thank you.

David Westin
President of ABC News