Heads Up!

Hey journalism students! This sounds like a great way to make your work make you some extra cash:

WIN $500 in Student Writing Contest!
This contest is open to CU Students only and is free to enter. You have nothing to lose! The best part? You may have already written something to submit! We accept papers and projects from classes! $500 prizes for first place in each category. Entries are due by 5 pm on Monday, March 19. Get the complete rules and more information here.

And, if you're up for some nitty gritty environmental justice/climate change talk:

2/23 @ 3:30-4:30pm "Making the Case for Climate Justice" (Gugg. 205)
Maxine Burkett, University of Colorado, School of Law
For almost two decades, the environmental justice movement has been committed to the pressing issues facing low-income and/or communities of color that suffer a disproportionate share of environmental risks. The effects of climate change, which are also predicted to unevenly impact communities of color both in the U.S. and internationally, will compound these conditions. In "Making the Case for Climate Justice" Professor Burkett considers the theoretical and practical implications of climate change, climate policy and litigation on poor and of-color communities in the U.S. and argues for a new environmental justice effort wholly concerned with fashioning preventive and adaptive measures for these communities.

Tomorrow: CPA Job Fair

From the Colorado Press Association via Alan Kirkpatrick: "This popular event allows newspaper representatives to meet prospective entry-level employees. Publishers, editors and human resource directors will interview seniors (and grad students nearing graduation) in Colorado's college journalism programs."

When: 2 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 22
Where: Onyx Room of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver

Campus Events

Here are some events around campus that you might interest you.

2/22 @ 9-11:30 am Gary Hart Opens the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit (Glenn Miller Ballroom)
Gary Hart and a plenary panel of the Rocky Mountain Region's campus leaders will address the challenges of climate change as well as the opportunities for action. Hart will present the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit's opening keynote entitled "The New Security in the 21st Century." The keynote will set the stage for the plenary panel "Campus Leadership for Climate Action." Free for CU-Boulder students.
Contact: CU Environmental Center, ecenter@colorado.edu, 303-492-8308

2/22 @ 6-7:45 pm Hunter Lovins and Davis Orr talk "Cutting Edge Sustainability" (Glenn Miller Ballroom)
Come eavesdrop on a "living room conversation" between two of the most innovative thinkers in the sustainability movement when Hunter Lovins and David Orr present the RMSS Thursday evening keynote. Lovins is president and founder of Natural Capitalism, Inc. and co-creator of the Natural Capitalism concept. Orr is known for his work on environmental literacy in higher education and more recently in ecological design.
Contact: CU Environmental Center, ecenter@colorado.edu, 303-492-8308

2/23 @10 am-4 pm 2007 Green Products Expo (UMC 235)
In conjunction with the 2007 Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit, CU will host a Green
Products Expo. The Expo, organized by CU-Boulder's Environmental Center, will introduce a variety of environmentally responsible products and service options geared toward institutional applications, but also of great interest to the public. The Expo will have featured representatives from industries including lighting, carpeting, furniture, paper, clean energy and more.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Contact: CU Environmental Center, ecenter@colorado.edu, 303-492-8308

2/22 @ 12-1 pm Lunch Series at the University of Colorado Museum (Paleontology Hall)
Join us as student recipients of the Walker Van Riper and William H. Burt Funds update us on their projects. Lunch provided. Mark Mitchell: "Technological Change in Nineteenth Century Mandan and Hidatsa Pottery," Chris McGuire: "Indicators of Environmental Change: Climate and the Grasshoppers of Colorado," Carey Sheerer: "Aventurando: Exploring Gar-funa Migration to New York City."
Contact: University of Colorado Museum, 303-492-6892

2/28-3/2 2nd Annual Sustainable Opportunities Summit (Sheraton Four Points Hotel, Denver)
The Leeds School's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship will co-host the 2nd Annual Sustainable Opportunities Summit Feb. 28-Mar. 2, at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, Denver. The Summit brings together corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from various industries to offer practical advice and suggestions to make "green" companies profitable. Speakers include Chancellor Peterson and representatives from Toyota and Nike. More information and a full speaker schedule visit http://www.sosummit.org.
Contact: Patty Graff, patty.graff@colorado.edu, 303-735-4970
Additional information: http://leeds.colorado.edu/entrep/interior.aspx?id=295,411,484,2216

March Law School for Journalists

When: Tuesday, March 13, 8:30-10 a.m.
Where: Colorado Bar Association, 1900 Grant St., 9th floor, Denver
Topic: Water with Justice Gregory Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court and other water law experts.
For more info: Check out this Web site.

The New Newsletter

At last! It took a while, but all of the Connections and News & Views articles from years past have been transfered to this blog.

The blog is one of two that the Center for Environmental Journalism puts out. It is intended as a forum for students, faculty and members of the CEJ community. Our other blog, Environmental Journalism Now, is a bit more public and will deal with the larger issues of covering the environment.

We welcome your input!

ABC Producer Wonbo Woo talks Ethics

Wonbo Woo, a producer with ABC's World News with Charles Gibson, spoke in my Media Ethics class this morning. Woo is visiting the J-school as part of the Hearst Professional-in-Residence program.

"Good news is subjective," Woo said. He strives for balance, fairness and accuracy in his daily work. But, he said, it's difficult to know what makes for a balanced story.

He wondered, for example, if a soundbite from a pro-choice advocate should be included in a story about a mother and daughter who spoke out against abortion for religious reasons. From his perspective, the focus of the piece would switch from the lives of these two women to the abortion debate if he included the opposing viewpoint.

When he has just 2 minutes to tell the story, he must be extremely selective about what makes it into the final piece. Pitting someone shouting "Yea" against someone shouting "Nay" may be an effective way of catching the audience's attention, but Woo said it isn't an appropriate way to accomplish his goal.

"Part of my mandate is to help people understand each other better," he said. He especially enjoys working on tight focus pieces that are about characters. He said that they humanize people.

In a time when ratings are as important for news shows as they are for sitcoms, Woo said that some level of idealism is necessary in the business. He hopes that novice journalists hold on to that idealism so they can fight for the stories that may not increase ratings or please advertisers, but are important to tell.

One disturbing trend he's seen is entertainment that resembles news such as ABC's made-for-TV movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" and the controversial docudrama "Path to 9/11". He worries that the average viewer doesn't make much distinction between news and entertainment.

This sounds oddly reminiscent of the Halloween 1938 "The War of the Worlds" broadcast.

--Felicia Russell