In touch - Saint Joseph's College of Maine

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F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T Saint Joseph’s C O L L E G E M A G A Z I N E Dear Members of the Saint Joseph’s College Community, W e all know that great teaching is a key ingredient to a great college. Our cover story in this issue speaks to how our online professors establish a strong connection with students, despite never seeing them face-to-face. You will see they care about their students as people and make them feel part of an online “classroom.” I am happy to announce a $500,000 federal grant received by the Maine Milfoil Consortium, of which we are a proud member. Honoring our location on Sebago Lake, we will help to lead the fight against this invasive aquatic plant that threatens the ecology of lakes and the economy so dependent upon their health and beauty. Although milfoil has invaded just one cove of Sebago Lake far from campus, our staff helped to write the grant proposal, will administer the federal grant, and will be home to the consortium efforts. We continue to shape the Strategic Plan and are in the process of finalizing it with input from faculty, staff and Board members. The spring issue of the magazine will present this dynamic vision of the future in greater detail. We congratulate theologian Steve Bridge, who earned a faculty development grant to spend two months in Jerusalem next spring following in the steps of the Apostle Paul. Professor Bridge hopes to publish a book based on his research there and on subsequent trips to Greece and Rome. We also congratulate business professor Beth Richardson, who created outstanding real-world opportunities for her human resource management students by pairing them up with corporations needing research on key corporate issues. Also of note in this issue is the story about James Gott ’90, a senior product developer at L.L. Bean, who stays extremely busy masterminding new looks in the men’s apparel line for the nationally known company. I want to let you know how proud we are of our fall sports teams. The men’s soccer team won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship, our first ever GNAC title. Their trip to the NCAA tournament was the first in men’s soccer program history. Our field hockey team was undefeated in conference play, and our women’s soccer team made it to the GNAC semifinals. All three teams did an outstanding job, and I want to congratulate the dedicated players, coaches and parents. You will also find an interview with Andrew Wasowski ’11, an Iraq veteran who is now a nursing student on campus, thanks in part to the Justin Williams Scholarship from the college. Your donations make our scholarships possible, so please keep the Annual Fund in your thoughts as the year ends. Alumni and other donors help us all to flourish, and as we celebrate the accomplishments of the last semester, we celebrate with you as well. I wish you a blessed holiday season with many joys. Sincerely, A Catholic college in the Mercy tradition Saint Joseph’s College Magazine is published three times a year by the Marketing & Public Relations Office at Saint Joseph’s College. We welcome your comments, correspondence, story ideas and photos. Opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors, not necessarily of Saint Joseph’s College. EDITOR Charmaine Daniels DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS William McCarthy PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR Renee LeBrun ’70 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Georgia Brown PHOTOGRAPHY William McCarthy, Director of Photography David Bates, Charmaine Daniels, Brian DeCandia ’10, Fred Field, Susan Johnson, John McKeith, Don Perkins, Heather Plati, Travis Soule, Steve Walsh ’08 CLASS NOTES EDITOR Kristina Foley Green ’04 CONTRIBUTORS Kristina Green ’04, Susan Johnson, Renee LeBrun ’70, Heather Plati, Travis Soule, Brent Wooten PROOFREADERS Sadie Fenton ’10, Susan Johnson, Renee LeBrun ’70 Changes to name, address, phone & e-mail: alumni@sjcme.edu (207) 893-7890 or (877) SJC-ALUM To contact editor: Charmaine Daniels Marketing & Public Relations Saint Joseph’s College 278 Whites Bridge Road Standish, Maine 04084 cdaniels@sjcme.edu (207) 893-7723 www.sjcme.edu/magazine Joseph Lee, Ph. D. President 2 S A I N T J O S E P H ’ S C O L L E G E M A G A Z I N E
S O U N D B I T E S Thoughts on the new journalism Based on a conversation with professor William Yates by Charmaine Daniels As the mass media fundamentally shift toward countless choices and louder voices, something gets lost, according to communications professor William Yates. In that atmosphere, he says, very important information gets treated the same as superficial information. “Britney Spears’ medical records take on the same weight as national health care reform.” There’s a place for traditional journalists, even though newspapers haven’t figured out how to make money in journalism’s new era. “It will be painful, but they’ll figure out how to operate less expensively,” he says. “Maybe journalists will be independent contractors.” The broad array of television channels and Internet news sites creates silos of information. That puts more responsibility on the consumer to check multiple sources and determine the truth. “I’m not sure we have time to do that.” According to Yates, when the town crier shouted out the news from the street corners in the Middle Ages, pockets of gossip were broadcast along with the news. By the mid-1800s, communicating news stories passed to large daily newspapers that espoused the truth, in part to please advertisers and avoid being sued. “We’re now back to people-sharing communication,” he says. However, we lack the face-to-face controls in place during the town crier era. Without that set of controls, there’s not as much effort to be civil. When Rush Limbaugh poked fun at Michael J. Fox’s tremors (Fox has Parkinson’s disease), he crossed the line. “We’ve gotten good at talking at each other. We’re losing the ability to talk with each other.” When television broadcasts consisted entirely of programs produced by the top three networks of ABC, NBC and CBS, they created a centrist flow of information, but civility was not uncommon and profits were plentiful. With the rise of cable television in the 1980s, competition for advertising dollars stiffened and the atmosphere became more combative. “Now is the wild west of media – and whoever has the biggest shotgun wins. At some point, we’ll figure out who is worth listening to.” A perfect example of how delivery of the news has changed is to consider the tale of Neda, a teenage girl killed on the streets of Tehran, Iran, during a prodemocracy protest in June. Her shocking death was captured on video, and posted to Facebook. “The world knew instantly.” Communications professor William Yates gets his news from six to eight sources per day, which he says is necessary for good citizenship. Though he likes a lot of online sources, he also still enjoys holding a newspaper in his hand. Whatever the source, he points to the journalism gold standard of “Get it first, but first get it right.” Backpack journalists can now shoot footage and send it back to the station or newsroom via laptop. Before long the technology will produce a small unit that will combine stills, video and audio – making journalism more accessible and cheaper. The downside of decentralized journalism could be a lack of responsibility. “Media law and ethics are more important than ever now.” The pace of media transformation over the last 10 years is dizzying compared to the relatively long reign of radio and television. “I’m envious of those who teach Plato.” The media pendulum will shift and “the ranters” will collapse under their own weight. “There will always be people committed to telling stories accurately. You have to trust and believe someone.” A U T U M N 2 0 0 9 3
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Page 11 and 12: Getting into game day by Sadie Fent
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Page 21 and 22: Judy Michaud ’07 appreciates that
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Page 25 and 26: softball 1. Alumna Dee Regan ’04
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Page 35 and 36: 97 years ago the Sisters of Mercy c

In touch - Saint Joseph's College of Maine

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