St. Louis Journalism Review Presents: OURNALISMOURNALISM REVIEWREVIEW Inside this issue: Trials and tribulations of a Freelance journalists political cartoonist cover global hot spots by Jeff Danziger Page 7 by Jackie Spinner Page 8 Ebola reminds us National media s perception is reality overkill d r a by Benjamin Lyons by Patty Louise w Page 12 Page 22 d E e v e t S 2015 • Volume 45 Number 336 • $8 Page 1 © St. Louis Journalism Review Presents: Contributors OURNALISM REVIEW Publisher Editor Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani Patty Lousie William H. Freivogel William A. Babcock Doctoral student within the Mass A 1984 (Newhouse) and 2001 Publisher of Gateway Journalism Editor of Gateway Journalism Re- Communication & Media Arts Col- (Whitman) graduate of Syracuse Review. He is a former editorial view. He is media ethics professor lege at the Southern Illinois Uni- University. Her journalism career page deputy editor for the St. Louis of the SIUC School of Journalism. versity. She is interested in political has included six years at the Syra- Post-Dispatch and now contributes He is former senior international communication, culture and social cuse Post-Standard, including three to St. Louis Public Radio. He is a news editor and writing coach for change studies. years as a sports editor heading up member of the Missouri Bar. the Christian Science Monitor. coverage of SU sports. She lives in Sarah Gardner upstate New York, where she is a Managing Editor Business Director Senior from Eureka, Ill. studying publisher of a community weekly Lu Fan Zachary Sapienza photojournalism and photography newspaper and teaches journalism at Southern Illinois University Car- at Utica College. Managing editor of Gateway Jour- A Ph.D. student in the SIUC Col- bondale. She is the editor-in-chief nalism Review. She is a master’s stu- lege of Mass Communication & of the student-run newspaper, the Jackie Spinner dent in SIUC College of Mass Com- Media Arts. Previously, he was the Daily Egyptian. Assistant professor of journalism at munications and Media Arts. education advertising manager for Columbia College Chicago. She was the Chicago Sun-Times and debate Benjamin Lyons a staff writer for the Washington coach at Washington University in Staff Writer & Graduate Former managing editor of GJR. He Post for 14 years and covered the St. Louis. Assistant is a doctoral student in the SIUC wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maggie Moseley Snelling College of Mass Communications A staff writer and graduate assistant Creative Director and Media Arts. Katerina Sirinyok-Dolgaryova Sarah Marie Shelton for the Gateway Journalism Review. Assistant professor at Journalism She has an M.S. in media manage- The creative director of Gateway Jay Bruce Department of Zaporizhzhya Na- ment with a concentration in New Journalism Review. She received A 1993 graduate from SIU Carbon- tional University, Ukraine. Media. her M.S. in media management dale’s visual communications B.A. from SIUC in 2014 with a concen- program, he is pursuing a media Richard Dudman Terry Ganey tration in graphic design, illustra- management M.S. degree from the Retired chief Washington corre- tion and web development. The St. Louis editor of Gateway College of Mass Communications spondent for the St. Louis Post- and Media Arts. Dispatch, now living in Ellsworth, Journalism Review. He has more Charles Klotzer than 40 years’ experience as an in- Maine. Charles Klotzer is the founder of St. vestigative reporter and political Scott Lambert Louis Journalism Review. correspondent, and worked with Journalism professor at Millikin John Jarvis University. Former managing editor of Gate- the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jeff Danziger way Journalism Review. The 27- Mike Colombo Jeff Danziger is a syndicated po- Steve Edwards year print journalist is a publica- litical cartoonist with the NY Times Colombo is an investigative report- Professional artisit, Steve Edwards tions editor for Southern Illinois Syndicate. er at KMOV-TV in St. Louis. Studio. University Carbondale’s University Communications group. To Subscribe: Published by 618-453-0122 School of Journalism College of gatewayjr.org/subscribe Mass Communication and Media Arts Subscription rates: Dafna Lemish: dean $20 -- one year Uche Onyebadi: School of Journalism director $35 -- two years $45 -- three years Board of Advisers: Roy Malone, Jim Kirchherr, Foreign subscriptions higher depending upon country. Lisa Bedian, Ed Bishop, Tammy Merrett, Don Corrigan, Rita Csapo-Sweet, Steve Perron, Eileen Duggan, Michael D. Sorkin, David P. Garino, Rick POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: Gateway Journalism Review Stoff, Ted Gest, Fred Sweet, William Greenblatt, Lynn Venhaus, Daniel William Freivogel - School of Journalism Hellinger, Robert A. Cohn, Michael E. Kahn, John P. Dubinsky, Gerald 1100 Lincoln Drive, Mail Code 6601 Early, Paul Schoomer, Moisy Shopper, Ray Hartmann, Ken Solomon, Avis Carbondale, IL 62901. Meyer, Tom Engelhardt Periodical postage paid at Carbondale, IL and additional mailing offices. Please enclose stamped, self-addressed envelope with manuscript. The Gateway Journalism Review GJR (USPS 738-450 ISSN: 0036-2972) is published Copyrigtht © 2015 by the Gatway Journalism Review. Indexed quarterly, by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Journalism, College of in the Alternative Press Index. Allow one month for address Mass Communication and Media Arts, a non-profit entity. The office of publication is changes. SIUC School of Journalism, 1100 Lincoln Drive, Mail Code 6601, Carbondale, IL 62901 Editor’s Note: The deadline dilemma by William A. Babcock Damnably difficult deadlines are the scourge of journalism. Maggie Moseley Snelling, Gateway’s assistant managing editor and its Fri- day Newsletter editor, graduated with an M.S. in MCMA’s professional me- This reality was most recently brought home to Gateway Journalism Re- dia management program with a concentration in New Media. view with the Jan. 7 shootings at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Zachary Sapienza, Gateway’s business manager, is a Ph.D. student in which eight journalists and four others were murdered by Muslim terror- MCMA. He previously was education advertising manager for the Chicago ists. While such a media-related story constitutes the very essence of what Sun-Times and debate coach at Washington University in St. Louis. a journalism review is about, our quarterly print deadlines made it impos- sible for us to discuss this earlier. Sarah Shelton, Gateway’s creative director, received her M.S. in media man- agement from SIUC in 2014 with a concentration in graphic design, illus- However, we dealt with the media’s coverage of the Paris shootings in our tration and web Friday Newsletter on Jan. 23. But that still was less than timely. development. “Demanding that Nor is this the first time breaking news has stymied GJR. The August 2014 The fall GJR edition has a Ferguson, Mo., shooting and riots came as we were going to print with the creative people be creative magazine, and to accommodate this event occurring in our own back- yard, we delayed publication of the summer GJR to include media- related stories of the event. As a result, the magazine you now hold on deadline can be debilitating.” in your hands – the fall edition – is by extension also woefully late, arriving in February. mix of items – everything from media updates on Ferguson’s aftermath to regional, national and international issues touching on the media. In par- Deadlines befuddle the entire news industry. How far and when can they ticular, this GJR is rich with international stories, as global media issues be pushed? How do new, online media help and hinder this process? were plentiful during the past few months. While our “hub” focus continues to be St. Louis and an expanded Midwest, that does not mean we cover only As an example, the Christian Science Monitor, once a respected daily print items from Missouri or Illinois. Rather, GJR editors constantly ask them- newspaper, regularly reported on news that was some three days old, as it selves what media issues would interest our readers, many of whom are was mail delivered. A few years ago the Monitor morphed into a weekly located in this two-state area. While we think Ferguson-related media news print publication and a daily online product. Will the now-struggling week- interests our readers, as evidenced by the summer GJR focusing on this ly print Monitor in the end succumb to its own daily web incarnation, and if topic, our coverage – and the interests of our readers – is not confined by so, how long will its web product likely survive and in what form? events occurring only near the banks of the Mississippi River. The deadline dilemma is dreadful. And while new social media and Twitter What’s more, GJR is not print-only, by any means. Nearly five times as and 24/7 Internet can help, the added pressure they exert on print media many eyes see our online Friday Newsletter as subscribe to the print maga- has in no small part contributed to the downsizing and demise of much zine. The Newsletter’s ever-expanding readership is increasingly younger legacy media. and more geographically diverse than that of the print magazine. Speaking of pressure, for years, new media practitioners have shown high So in dealing with the omnipresent deadline dilemma, we know we will be levels of alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, depression and suicide. Demand- successful in keeping online readers informed each week on media-related ing that creative people be creative on deadline can be debilitating, and issues with a combination of original and aggregated items. Furthermore, such demands take their toll as the tension and pressure deadlines induce we know our quarterly magazine will successfully introduce subscribers to can be deadly. an array of on-going major media issues. In dealing with its own nasty deadlines this fall, GJR was fortunate to have Our success will in large-part be predicated on our ability to be agile, flex- an exceptionally talented staff of students.