The Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau applauds Pulitzer Prize winning writers Alan Miller and Kevin Sack on April 7, 2003. To their right is Washington Bureau Investigations Editor Deborah Nelson. Los Angeles Times photo by Linda Spillers / used with permission.
Links: LA Times 2003 Pulitzer series ...Full list of 2003 winners ... 1997 Seattle Times Pulitzer series
Another Star-Pulitzer connection
A Northern Star almuna's fingerprints are all over another Pulitzer Prize.
Deborah Nelson, '75, is Washington Bureau Investigations Editor for the Los Angeles Times. She was the editor for "The Widow-Maker," a series of stories by Times reporters Alan Miller and Kevin Sack about safety problems with the Marines' vertical-lift Harrier aircraft. The series won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
In 1997, Nelson was one of three Seattle Times reporters to win the Pulitzer for Investivative Reporting, for a series about corruption in the federally sponsored housing program for Native Americans. She moved to the Washington Post in 1999 before joining the LA Times in 2001.
Nelson began her reporting career at the Northern Star. After graduating, she worked as a reporter for the Daily Herald, and then for the Chicago Sun-Times, where she spent 10 years before joining the Seattle Times in 1995. That year, she also was named NIU Journalism Alumnus of the Year.
This marks the third time in the past seven years that NIU alumni have played a key role in Pulitzer-winning journalism. Besides Nelson's two projects, John Schmeltzer was part of the Chicago Tribune reporting team that won the 2001 Pulitzer for Explanatory Reporting. Schmeltzer received his M.A. in journalism from NIU in 1974.
To view all Pulitzer-winning works from this and previous years, see www.pulitzer.org.
Woodruff receives 'Bridge Builder' award
Steve Woodruff, '01, former Northern Star systems manager, was honored at this year's Hall of Fame Banquet with the "Bridge Builder" Alumni of the Year Award.
Woodruff donated his time and expertise throughout the year to help the Star's systems staff with programming issues.
"Steve has always been there for us, even long distance," said Business Adviser Maria Krull. "When we're stuck, our students call him and he has the answer."
Woodruff's new job as a marketing analyst has landed him in Mission Viejo, Calif., but he already has assured the Star he remains on call to help students keep the newspaper running smoothly.
Kadner honored for ethical stand
Phil Kadner, '74, and two other staff members at the Daily Southtown won an Ethics in Journalism Award from the Chicago Headline Club.
The Daily Southtown offered a promotional advertisement supporting U.S. troops, which the staff was free to sign or not. Columnists Kadner and Phil Arvia raised concerns on the grounds of objectivity, arguing that readers would view staffers who signed the ad as patriotic and those who did not as unpatriotic.
Arvia and Kadner took those concerns to managing editor Mike Waters, who then withdrew the invitation for editorial staff members to sign the ad. "They were questioning the editor and that is what they should do, prod the editor to listen to reason," Waters said of Arvia and Kadner.
Although the purpose of the ad was to support American troops, said Waters, "people will read it as supporting military action. That's the problem. Are we taking sides on the issue? If reporters cover an anti-war rally, it might tarnish the appearance of objectivity."
Arvia said many younger staff members declined to sign the ad. He said his "gut feeling" was buttressed when he called the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists, which gave this advice: "If it feels bad, it probably is bad."
In presenting the awards, Dr. Ozar said: "Though the original intent may have been admirable, after more careful thought these journalists concluded that it was better to set the idea aside than risk damaging journalism's ethical commitment to impartiality."
The cases provide "two worthy examples [that] this is a profession that takes ethics seriously," said Dr. David Ozar, director of Loyola University Chicago's Center for Ethics and Social Justice, who presented the awards at the Chicago Headline Club's Peter Lisagor and Ethics in Journalism Awards banquet on April 25.
"It is important for a profession that faces difficult ethical challenges
on a regular basis and that often does so in the full eye of the public
to publicly acknowledge examples of journalists who have reflected carefully
and acted well in the face of such a challenge," Ozar said.
The doctored shot seen 'round the world
Los Angeles Times and former Northern Star photographer Brian Walski was fired April 1 after admitting he combined two digital images from the war in Iraq into one photo. The manipulated photo was published in several newspapers including Times and the Chicago Tribune.
In an interview with Photo District News, Walski talked about his fateful decision. Here are excerpts from that interview:
"I'm not blaming anybody but myself. A lot of people said, 'well, you were under stress.' When I put the pictures together, I knew what I was doing. It looked good. It looked better than what I had, and I said 'wow.' Things happened so fast. …"
"I wasn't debating the ethics of it when I was doing it. I was looking for a better image. It was a 14-hour day and I was tired. It was probably 10 at night. I was looking to make a picture. Why I chose this course is something I'll go over and over in my head for a long time. I certainly wasn't thinking of the ramifications. It's not just me. It's what I've done to my co-workers, to the Times, to other photographers that were there. I feel really bad. …"
"I did a Google search on my name, and it comes up in about 25 languages. Every photographer wants to be known for a picture he's taken. I'll be known for this. It's not something I'm proud of. The photographers who are covering Iraq - I've hurt them in a way. If I could apologize…People should be proud of the work they've done over there. I take responsibility for what I did."
Walski was a Northern Star photographer and photo editor in the late 1970s. After NIU, he worked in newspapers for 24 years, beginning in 1979 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Two Northern Star students are serving this year with U.S. Army units in Iraq.
Sgt. Nate Van Gelder, who works in the Star's advertising production department, is stationed south of Baghdad. He's part of a platoon running checkpoints along main supply routes. Duties include Convoy Escort Security, perimeter security and Enemy Prisoner of War transfer.
In a letter to friends at the Star dated June 12, Nate said the desert temperature had reached 128 degrees the day before - 112 in the shade. Soldiers tend to put the heat out of their minds, he said, until they forget and touch something metal.
He also talked about how resilient the Iraqi people are, and how they don't want to live in fear any more. "From what I can see, it's getting there," he wrote. "That's the part that makes me feel good."
Sgt. Marc Marin, the Star's assistant sports editor, is living more comfortably - in one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces, in fact.
Marc is part of the Army's 318th Press Camp Headquarters. He was stationed in Kuwait City from February through the war's end, and moved to Baghdad after that. During the fighting, the unit set up a Coalition Press Information Center, which accredited media members and handled the embedding process.
One of Marc's jobs was to escort reporters on day trips. He drove a Humvee for the likes of Ted Koppel, Oliver North, Geraldo Rivera and Diane Sawyer.
Marc's public-affairs unit now is attached to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. He hopes to be home in time for NIU's fall semester.
This has been Marc's second tour of duty overseas. He served with peacekeeping forces in Bosnia from October 2000 to April 2001. Again with a public affairs unit, he helped produce a newspaper for U.S. service members in the region.
Iraq has been an altogether different experience than the first.
"The sand is horrible," Marc said. "It gets everywhere. Behind your ears, in your mouth - just everywhere."
Source: Jeff Goluszka, Northern Star reporter
Star's Web site tops in nation
... again
For the second straight year Editor & Publisher has selected the Northern Star Online as Best College Newspaper Online Service.
Earlier this academic year, the Web site also received its second straight Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press. The Pacemaker is considered the Pulitzer Prize for collegiate newspapers.
"It's great to be viewed as being on the cutting edge," said Northern Star Adviser Jim Killam, who credits Online Editor Jeremy Norman for keeping the online edition of the paper out in front of the pack.
The Web staff includes Norman, Cory Ohlendorf and Brant Wynn. The secret to the site's success, Norman said, is always working to ensure that users get what they want - and then some.
When Norman took over as webmaster during his freshman year the site was basically an electronic posting of the news from each of the Star's five weekday editions. The site attracted about 400 hits a day, mostly from alumni.
Today, the site has such a diverse mix of information and features that it more closely resembles something akin to the Yahoo homepage, only with greater emphasis on the campus and the surrounding city of DeKalb, Killam said. The changes were a ringing success. Within a year, the site was attracting 32,000 unique visitors a day, and that number more than doubled, to 86,000 at times this past school year.
While making that transition, Norman ignored the standard templates that many college Web sites utilize and built the site from scratch. He drew his inspiration for the design from the clean, well-organized Web sites operated by the likes of CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post. As for content, he kept an ear to the ground on campus and tried to give his peers what they wanted. The resulting content is an eclectic mix of hundreds of pages, many of them updated daily. They include a daily dose of entertainment news, MP3 files from local bands, local restaurant menus, movie listings for local theaters, residence hall cafeteria menus, bus schedules, an extensive housing guide with information on apartment complexes near campus, and even recipes.
The thing that truly sets the Northern Star Web site apart from its peers, Norman said, is its dedication to providing original special content every day. Most other college papers attempt such things a few times a year, at most.
For instance, in the two months leading up to the war in Iraq, site editors created a collection of informational graphics on topics ranging from the content of leaflets being dropped across Iraq, to how body armor works. The graphics rivaled those put together by many major news agencies. During the war, a special section was created to provide updated information. The section was an instant favorite with students, many of whom made it a regular stop in their daily Web surfing.
Norman is interning this summer at the Washington Post Online, after considering offers from the New York Times, the Boston Globe and CNN, amont others. He has one year left at NIU.
Source: NIU Public Affairs
NSRadio launches this fall on 'net
The Northern Star is getting into the radio business.
NIU has been without student radio since the demise of station WKDI in 2002. This spring, the Northern Star Online began testing the waters by delivering local music and local news via "NSRadio" - first with a downloadable, 45-minute show and then with 24-hour streaming of MP3 music files.
More than 600 listeners a day logged on - a huge audience by Webcast standards. That number is due in part to the wide popularity of the Northern Star Online, which is visited by more than tens of thousands of people a day.
This summer, students are creating a full-fledged studio within the Northern Star offices. By fall, the Star will Webcast more music, news and live shows. Eventually, programming will include coverage of Huskie sports.
"Internet radio will allow the Northern Star to serve two needs, really," said adviser Jim Killam. "First, it will help fill DeKalb's student-radio vacuum, both for listeners and advertisers. It also will provide training for students interested in radio careers - much the same way as the Star prepares students for newspaper careers. It just fits very well with the Star's mission and what our students already are doing."
Bieganski takes reins for fall '03
Mark Bieganski has been elected the Northern Star's editor in chief for fall 2003.
Bieganski, who will be a junior, is double majoring in journalism and communication. He is interning this summer as a reporter for the Rockford Register Star.
"With the addition of NSRadio, the unveiling of the Star's redesign and with a committed staff, this year will undoubtably be an adventure for everyone in the Northern Star family," he said.
Bieganski succeeds Barbara Bystryk, who served as editor in chief for fall 2002 and spring 2003. She is finishing her NIU degree this summer and plans a newspaper reporting career.
"The Star has helped me grow, both personally and as a journalist,"
Bystryk said. "Being editor in chief was stressful at times, but having
a taltented staff helped me keep my sanity."