September 2009 e-news index

From the Chair: Meet the Hall of Fame alumni

The Department of Communication's Hall of Fame honors alumni who have made a significant positive difference in people's lives. This October, we will induct six new members—H. Stewart Elway, Joanne Harrell, Bruce Johansen, George Sundborg (posthumous), Maggie Walker, and Harold (Hal) Zimmerman—whose accomplishments range from analyzing public opinion to co-authoring a state constitution to making philanthropy a 24/7 job. Read more from David Domke.

Foreign Intrigue Reporting Internship: Notes from Cambodia

Sizzling meat on the street-side grills and zooming motorbikes that stop for no pedestrian are just a few of the many sounds in Phnom Penh. I ride on the back of a moto to the Cambodia Daily's office every Sunday through Thursday passing by these food vendors, the sweet smell of plumeria on Russian Boulevard, and busy streets full of lots of people.

I knew that my 10-week reporting internship at an English language newspaper in Cambodia, through the Department of Communication Foreign Intrigue Scholarship, would be full of meeting new people, writing stories about unfamiliar topics, and learning about myself. This has been the case, as I have had to interview government officials that hang up on me, talked to NGO (non-government organization) workers, and have taken a trip to a rural town where I met many friendly high school students who wanted to know everything about Seattle. Read more from Kristin Okinaka.

A Voice for the Military

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq formed the bookends of my UW graduate experience. Since graduating, I have served as a communicator at the Pentagon, in Iraq, in Okinawa, Japan and currently I am deployed for six months to the southern Philippines as the PAO for the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force here.

Each of these environments has presented unique communication challenges, in terms of cultural, political, and media dynamics. Imagine trying to convey to Okinawan journalists and politicians that the U.S. military is there to defend Japan and to serve as a stabilizing force in the region while they make it clear that they care more about a quiet peaceful existence than being part of their government’s national security agenda. Picture having to earnestly explain to a Filipino reporter in Mindanao that U.S. forces are not in fact searching for Yamashita’s gold (Google it) but are primarily interested helping the Philippine military eliminate common enemies. Read more from John Hutcheson '03.

Olympia Legislative Reporting Internship Seeking Sponsors

The Department's Olympia Legislature-coverage program has been part of the journalism curriculum since the early 1970s, matching UW journalism students with host news organizations. As recently as 2007, Communications faculty had little trouble each year finding 10 or 12 host sponsors willing to pay the $2,500 required to support an intern for 10 weeks. But because of a poor economy for news organizations, host sponsors have become scarce. A vigorous effort to identify new participants was launched in July 2009. Read more.