Cain named NIU's J-alum of the year
Lonny Cain, managing editor of the Ottawa Daily Times and a former Northern
Star editor, was selected by the NIU journalism program to be the Donald
R. Grubb Journalism Alum of the Year for 2000.
When Cain attended NIU working on a B.S. degree in journalism education,
graduating in 1970, Grubb was the journalism department chair, having founded
the department a few years before.
The award was presented April 14 to Cain by Ruby Grubb of DeKalb. She joined
her husband in those early years helping create the journalism department's
camaraderie.
Star editors sue Board of Trustees
Northern Star editors Joe Biesk and Kevin Wendt filed suit this spring
against several NIU officials for what the editors believe were violations
of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
The suit involves the presidential search committee, which chose John Peters
as NIU's new president this year. Biesk and Wendt contend that, as an advisory
committee to a public body -- the NIU Board of Trustees -- the committee
should have been subject to the open meetings law.
Despite several requests from Star reporters, no meeting notices nor agendas
were made public. Also, committee members were required to sign a confidentiality
agreement that prohibits them from talking publicly about the search process.
The editors are challenging the legality of that agreement as well.
Former Northern Star editor Jerry Huston, now an attorney with Lord, Bissell
and Brook of Chicago, is representing Biesk and Wendt. Illinois Press Association
attorney Don Craven is serving as co-counsel.
NIU cops confiscate Star photographer's film
A roll of film confiscated by NIU police as "evidence" was
returned to the Northern Star undamaged about two hours later.
The May 3 incident occurred in the King Memorial Commons. Star photo editor
Kevin Slattery photographed a student who had removed all of her clothes
to protest the statements of a religious speaker. As university police approached
the area, the protester fled.
Police officers demanded that Slattery hand over his film or be arrested.
In a week filled with tests and studying for finals, he complied.
Editors, after learning what happened, immediately contacted police chief
John Pickens, NIU legal counsel George Shur and Mark Goodman of the Student
Press Law Center in suburban Washington, D.C.
Goodman faxed a copy of the First Amendment Privacy Protection Act, the
federal law that generally prohibits government employees from searching
or confiscating items such as film or notes from journalists.
After receiving the fax, plus an opinion from DeKalb County State's Attorney
Tim Johnson, Shur advised Police Chief John Pickens to return the film,
undeveloped. Pickens did.
The Star reported the incident in the next day's paper, the last of the
spring semester, and published a discreet photo of the student protester.
The Chicago Tribune and DeKalb Daily Chronicle also did stories several
days later.
Meetings will take place this summer between Star editors and NIU police
and administrators, in hopes of avoiding a similar situation.
Centennial magazine copies still available
Didn't get your copy of the Star's award-winning centennial magazine?
Don't worry. We made extras. Call Jim Killam at (815) 753-4239, or Maria
Krull at (815) 753-0707, and we'll send you a free copy.
The 40-page magazine looks at the parallel histories of NIU and the Northern
Star, and was published on the 100th anniversary of the first issue of the
"Northern Illinois," the paper's name until 1954.
The project earned a first place for special supplements from the Illinois
College Press Association. And, that day's issue scored a fifth place for
Best of Show at the National College Media Convention last November in Atlanta.
1999-2000 grads hit the ground running
A look at where Fall 1999 and Spring 2000 Northern Star NIU grads have
landed:
News: Christy Arnold, reporter, The Sun Herald, Port Charlotte,
Fla. Joe Biesk, graduate student, University of Illinois-Springfield Public
Affairs Reporting program. Wade Duerkes, sales coordinator / electronic
prepress associate, Castle PrinTech, DeKalb. Tracy Keane, designer, The
Times of Northwest Indiana. Seth Loy, reporter, Freeport Journal-Standard.
Joe Menard, intern reporter, The Detroit News. Kara Pipitone, reporter,
Freeport Journal-Standard. Dan Videtich, photographer, Rock Island Argus
/ Moline Dispatch. Kevin Wendt, designer, San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News.
Advertising / business office: Kristina Aiello, seventh-grade math
teacher, Sandwich (Ill.) school district. Matt Bute, account representative,
Chicago Tribune, Oak Brook. Jen Haney, sales representative, American Hotel
Register, Vernon Hills. Sean Kearney, sales representative, AllAdvantage.com,
Chicago. Greg Kenner, sales representative, Platinum Communication Group.
Tony Martino, loan officer, Standard Bank & Trust, Tinley Park. Heather
Muir, client service representative, Orient Overseas Container Line, Chicago.
Michelle Peck, human resources, City of Lake Forest. Justin Steinecker,
sales representative, Platinum Communications Group. Christina Wiech, sales
assistant - radio, Katz Communication, Chicago. Aaron Washburn, consultant,
MarchFirst Inc., Chicago.
Star ranks among nation's top 12 college dailies
The Northern Star was one of 12 four-year daily college newspapers named
as finalists for a 1998-99 Pacemaker Award by the Associated College Press
and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation. The awards were announced
Oct. 30, 1999, at the National College Media Convention in Atlanta.
The five winners were: Ball State Daily News, Daily Illini (Univ. of Illinois),
Indiana Daily Student (Indiana Univ.), Kentucky Kernel (Univ. of Kentucky),
Cavalier Daily (Univ. of Virginia) and the Chronicle (Duke Univ.).
Other finalists were the Oracle (Univ. of South Florida), Daily Reveille
(Louisiana State Univ.), Oregon Daily Emerald (Univ. of Oregon), Daily Collegian
(Penn State Univ.) and the Daily Pennsylvanian (Univ. of Pennsylvania).
The Star also claimed five other national awards at the convention, including
fifth place for Best of Show in the daily tabloid division. Cartoonists
Aaron Johnson won first place for best stand-alone cartoon, with Jason Kotecki
taking third. Jay Verzal took second place for best editorial cartoon. And,
the Star's Web site earned third place for content.
The Web site also won a Bronze Medal Award for general excellence from College
Press Network.
Impeached S.A. prez punches editor
An altercation in a DeKalb bar May 12 left a Northern Star editor with
eye injuries and the deposed Student Association president charged with
battery.
Kevin Wendt was struck near the left eye by Andrew Anderson, police reports
said. Wendt said one of Anderson's friends held him while Anderson threw
the punch.
Anderson was impeached by the S.A. Senate last fall after investigations
by Star reporters, including Wendt, revealed his unethical and possibly
illegal behavior as president. Anderson ran for president again this spring,
but was soundly defeated.
Wendt graduated a day later. Anderson faced a late-July court date on the
battery charge.
Carnahan wins first Kathy Orr scholarship
Whitney Carnahan, a Northern Star reporter and soon to be campus editor,
has won the first annual Kathy Orr-McDonald Memorial Award for Editorial
Excellence.
Kathy Orr-McDonald, a former Northern Star editor, died in 1997 at age 34.
She had been a reporter for the Daily Southtown and won numerous journalism
awards during her brief career.
Carnahan will be an NIU senior this fall and is working this summer as a
reporting intern at the Rock Island Argus.
The $500 award, to be given annually, represents several years of fund-raising
work by Star alums including Mark Bonne, Mary Butler, Sharyl Holtzman, Phil
Jurik, Jim Nash, Sheila Sachs and Dennis Spaeth. For more about Kathy Orr-McDonald
and the award, see www.dennisspaeth.com.
Campbell-Thompson prize goes to Westphal
Incoming Star editor in chief Melissa Westphal has won the second annual
Campbell-Thompson Northern Star Alumni Scholarship.
The $3,000 award honors two legendary Northern Star advisers, Roy G. Campbell
and Jerry Thompson. It's made possible by a donation from former Star reporter
Henry deFiebre and his wife, Karen Rothe.
Westphal, who will be a junior this fall, is working this summer as an intern
reporter for the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Paper to buy new business software
The Star finally is replacing its advertising / business software.
The Synaptic Microsolutions package was acquired in 1986, and with a few
upgrades it has served us well. We are looking to replace it with a Windows
NT-compatible program that, in addition to the traditional advertising and
billing functions, will provide our advertising staff with efficient, easy-to-use
sales management tools.
We have reviewed several possibilities and favor one that offers all of
the above, plus integrated classified and display/layout functions. We hope
to receive quick approval from the NIU procurement department and have the
new system in operation by Aug. 1.
Anyone know anything about Alice Crosby?
Alice Crosby was the first editor of the Northern Illinois, the Northern
Star's predecessor, in 1899-1900. Unfortunately, that's about all we know
about her.
Her senior class yearbook offers the only other clues: "Good in languages.
Falls in love easily. Active in Y.W.C.A. Will study in Germany."
So, if you like mysteries, or if you've ever fallen in love with a German
at the Y.W.C.A., here's your chance. We're looking for any information about
Crosby, where she ended up, her descendants and whether the family retained
any ties to NIU or the Star.
There's no reward, other than knowing you contributed a key missing piece
to the Northern Star's history.
Leary publishes collection of columns
If you've wondered what Sean Leary's been up to over the past decade,
help is here.
"Sean Leary's Greatest Hits: A Collection of Selected Columns 1990-1999,"
spans Leary's career from the Northern Star to his current job as entertainment
editor of The (Moline) Dispatch, Rock Island Argus and The Leader in the
Quad-Cities area.
The book can be ordered from online sellers under the ISBN number 0967536405.