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'Lake Effect' Features My Thesis

6/15/2014

"Lake Effect," the daily magazine program broadcast by WUWM-FM and the NPR affiliate in Milwaukee, today aired two segments involving the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS). The first part featured NNS reporter Brendan O'Brien discussing his series on what it's like to live in poverty on the city's north side. Next, according to the "Lake Effect" webpage presenting the entire package, "the news service itself is the focus of an academic study on journalism and community building." That, of course, would be my graduate school thesis.

NNS Editor-in-Chief Sharon McGowan and John Pauly – the new chairman of both the journalism and media studies department at Marquette University and my thesis committee – and I recently joined "Lake Effect" Executive Producer Mitch Teich in the station's studio to discuss the news service's success to date and its opportunities and challenges going forward.

The 16-minute segment concludes with Teich offering the disclaimer that he was interviewed for the thesis. Here's what I wrote in the thesis about "Lake Effect" and the news service:

(WUWM-FM) has given great exposure to the news service’s work after McGowan and NNS publisher Tony Shields appeared on the station’s local public affairs show on April 18, 2011, to promote the launching. The show’s host, Mitch Teich, invited NNS reporters into the “Lake Effect” studio 11 times between September 2012 and December 2013 to discuss their stories for its audience, which is more than 25,000 radio listeners a week and many more via online (live streaming or podcasts). The first time was for Ong’s special report, “Family Day Care Providers Squeezed by Low Ratings, New Rules.” Other news service stories featured on “Lake Effect” ranged from a new program to keep incarcerated juveniles close to home to city nonprofit organizations shying away from the ongoing residency debate to motorcyclists calling for awareness about an increase in crashes.

Teich wrote (in) an email that having NNS reporters share their work on “Lake Effect” is “an ideal situation for us” because “as a daily newsmagazine, our aim is to open a window on things happening across the community to our listeners.” With WUWM also having a small staff, “relationships like this are really vital” for the station to feature “news happening at the neighborhood level.” He added: "It quickly became evident that NNS reporters were doing admirable work in bringing issues to the fore that may not have been on the radar screen for many of our listeners. Almost to a person, the reporters had authentic, interested voices that helped make the stories come alive in a 'reporter’s notebook' fashion. The stories we featured were typically pitched to us through NNS’ editorial staff – a situation that worked well." Teich said more NNS-related “Lake Effect” segments could occur on a “regular, predictable basis,” so long as “they’re timely and strong,” and not just to fill 10 minutes.

This was my second time on "Lake Effect." The previous time occurred in 2011, when my faculty colleague Danielle Beverly joined Teich and me to discuss the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and our connections to that memorable day. Here's hoping for a third time soon.

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'Ready to Kill This Presentation'

5/7/2014

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Click the image to be taken to another page on this website where you can watch a video recording of my thesis defense.

Brooke Miller, my trusted student assistant, sent me a text message about 30 minutes before the big event on April 8, hoping I was "ready to kill this presentation." My reaction: I just hoped this presentation didn't kill me – or at least have me embarrass myself, her or anyone else.

More than three dozen people – including a honors research methods class from another college at Marquette – came to a large conference room in Johnston Hall to watch me defend my master's degree thesis, "Journalism and Community: A Case Study of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service." I had witnessed about five or six thesis defenses in the Diederich College of Communication since entering graduate school in fall 2010. But I was beyond nervous or anxious. The outcome would mark my biggest watershed day in about 11 years.

Sure, the only three people I really had to worry about were my thesis committee: John Pauly, Ph.D., the chairman; Ana Garner, Ph.D. and Erik Ugland, Ph.D., who was listening via speakerphone given he is in the Czech Republic on a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship. But my wife was also taking it in telephonically from Atlanta – and Editor-in-Chief Sharon McGowan and several others invested in the news service were in the room. Otherwise, no pressure at all.

"This a bigger group than we usually have for thesis defenses," Dr. Pauly told the audience just before introducing me, "and this is in part because this is a community-based project. And so as the university looks ahead to more forms of community engagement, I think this is an interesting example for us of some things that we're probably going to be thinking about in the future, perhaps, (and we) wanted to give a chance to people who were touched by this project or involved in it one or another to be here and to hear a little bit about it."

Dr. Pauly set the ground rules: My initial presentation was to be about 15 to 20 minutes, with up to 20 more for questions of me from the audience. He would then ask the visitors to leave the room so the committee could continue the thesis examination with me alone. Well, my presentation lasted a bit longer than 20 minutes, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. I appreciated the audience's thoughtful and caring questions about the thesis and, more importantly, the news service's outcomes and future. One in particular, from Tim Cigelske, the university's director of social media, asked to what extent others not present would get to see my research. (Thanks to the video skills of another student, Arthur Jones, my defense is here in its entirety.)

"My chairman and I come from different places on this," I said. "No we don't," Dr. Pauly interjected, to everyone's amusement. He insisted the only difference is "the thesis comes first" – that is, abiding by time-honored rituals associated with earning a master's degree. Yes, sir, I replied, but as I told those assembled, while appreciating the opportunities for having my work published in academic journals – see this blog post, "Moving Closer to the Academic Light" – my hope is to transform my thesis from a PDF to an eBook that can be accessed via iTunes.

Truly supportive of my post-thesis ambitions, Dr. Pauly told Cigelske that with respect to "what we (in academe) do with theses and dissertations, I think there are pieces of those projects that we could make more visible to other people, so maybe this would be a good test case."

Time will surely tell about all of that. In a text afterward, Brooke assured me that I did not embarrass her. For my part, I woke up the next morning ready to defend my thesis again.

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My Graduate Thesis Is DONE!

4/17/2014

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This email this morning from Sherri Lex, assistant director for student records for Marquette University's Graduate School, delighted me very much:

Dear Herbert Lowe,

Congratulations. Your submission, 10772 has cleared all of the necessary checks and will soon be delivered to ProQuest/UMI for publishing.

Translation: My graduate school thesis is DONE! Finally. After 16 months – DONE! No more getting out of bed at 3 a.m. to work on "Journalism and Community: A Case Study of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS)." Hallelujah!

Much more on this website about my never-ending staircase into the depths of research and scholarship, including full acknowledgments and the penultimate hurdle – my thesis defense last week – soon. For now, John Pauly, Ph.D., my thesis committee chairman, will always have my deepest gratitude. The final result is much more than I ever thought it could be. Hopefully, it is close to what Dr. Pauly believes it should be. Thanks also to the my other committee members: Ana Garner, Ph.D. (“Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!”) and Erik Ugland, Ph.D. Their guidance, support, patience and understanding during this long process means a lot to me.

Thanks also to my thesis informants: NNS Editor-in-Chief Sharon McGowan; NNS reporters Edgar Mendez and Andrea Waxman; Karen Slattery, Ph.D., chairwoman of the college’s journalism and media studies department; and former NNS intern Heather Ronaldson, already one of my favorite former students. And to Lori Bergen, Ph.D., whose foresight as the Diederich College dean helped bring both me and the news service to Marquette; my other journalism and media studies faculty colleagues for their support; and my wife, Mira, whose editing and love knows no bounds, even when tested by the likes of this new scholar.

Have become accustomed to soaking it in during these many months, I asked Dr. Pauly if he had any wisdom for me now that this glorious day has come. Here's his reply:

Wisdom. Hmmm. Take time to savor this moment and enjoy it. Once that’s done, don’t treat the thesis as a requirement that you checked off or something to put on the shelf; rather consider it a life accomplishment on which you can build in the months and years ahead.

Also, think about what you learned about being a student from doing this project. How might your experience of completing a thesis be helpful to you in your own work with students? How are you going to inspire students to take on a big challenge and work much harder than they thought themselves capable of? That’s all I got for now. Campus is dead, which means it’s just me and my notes and my book manuscript. Fantastic!

"Savor the moment and enjoy it." Check and check! As for the rest of his advice? Well, I'm not trying to hear all that right now. (OK, given I also have become accustomed to resisting his advice in the afternoon, only to awake at 3 a.m. and do everything he told me to do, I'm sure I will tend to his questions and inspirations soon enough.) For now, it's time for golf!

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Chasing Three Elusive Credits

12/14/2012

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It seems like forever since I began pursuing the independent study needed to complete my quest for a graduate certificate in digital storytelling from the Diederich College of Communication. Mercifully, today my faculty advisor told me I had done enough to earn those elusive three credits. A recap of "Becoming a Digital Leader and Educator":

My primary goal was to improve my Internet presence so that it better brands me as a journalism educator. In other words, redoing this website. Mission accomplished. I amended the main navigation so that my blog is now the home page, and so my biography, curriculum vitae and teaching emphasis are more accessible.
#loweclass was born! Thanks to inspiration from the Poynter Institute's News University – and Jennifer Lee Reeves in particular – my journalism classes have a combined home on this site and on Facebook, as well as a brand attracting students and educators elsewhere. #loweclass even trended on Twitter once this fall.
Speaking of students elsewhere, I enjoyed interacting with three young women who sought my help in better branding themselves as future or new journalists. Meet Erika J. Glover, a graduate of Penn State University, Taylor Shaw of The Triangle Tribune and Kouki Collier of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
I had two journalism-education articles published on Poynter's website. In July, I wrote a blog about how to make your #twesume count on Twitter. It was so well received that several weeks later the institute allowed me to extend it into a much longer article that was tweeted more than 600 times from its site. Also in July, Poynter published my piece on teaching journalism students to live tweet campus events.
Yes, live tweeting. That article – and my promoting the concept at major gatherings of journalism educators in July and August – spawned many questions my way about live tweeting and or using Storify. So I created three related blog posts – namely, "Storination: New Tool to the Rescue," "Great Tips on Conference Tweeting" and "Live Tweeting Without a Smartphone" – as well as a new blogroll for all of my live tweeting-related posts.
I learned some things along the way that have or will be used in the classroom. A blog post, "I Joined Pinterest and Survived," impressed some students while worrying others that I might create a related class assignment (maybe next semester.) Meanwhile, please read "loweclass Live Blogs on Election Day" to see how and why I hurriedly learned to use CoveritLive. Also, some of my students created interactive timelines for class presentations after I showed them my first one, a Dipity.com focusing on my NABJ presidency.
Two other blogs deserve mention: "Four Words She Can Brand By," about my conversation with Sophia Nelson, a friend and award-winning author; and "Focusing on My Digital Stamp," an endorsement of "Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence," the book which inspired this independent study.

I had aspired to do even more as part of this study, including creating a sophisticated story using Final Cut Pro X that involves narration, video and images. (I hope to share just such a story – using the video editing software – by early next month.) That said, here's hoping you will agree that I have earned my three credits.

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Focusing on My Digital Stamp

12/7/2012

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A year ago, I gave my wife a new self-help book as a Christmas present that she concluded was really for me. It took 50 weeks, but I have finally finished reading "Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence," by Erik Qualman, the best-selling author of "Socioeconomics" and one of today's most respected social media experts. I can state without any reservation that it was definitely worthwhile.

I will submit to my faculty advisor a six-page personal assessment that's based on Qualman's book and part of my independent study focusing on my becoming a digital leader and educator. For now, I recommend the book to anyone seeking to lead others in today's digital world. The author focuses on what he calls "five powerful truths" to establishing a leadership or digital "stamp": Simple, True, Act, Map and People. Along the way, he helps us to see how digital titans (for example, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.), fictional characters (Forrest Gump) and others all found their way to success.

If you need to set laughable goals, or wish to know how to unclutter your email, or could use 20 tips for digital video stardom, or want to more proactively promote your personal brand – then rush to buy your spouse or significant other Qualman's "Digital Leader" as a holiday gift. I'm looking for my wife's next book.

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First Sushi – And Now Pinterest

8/22/2012

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OK! I have resisted for months, thinking it wasn't for me, but I just went ahead and did it. I joined Pinterest. My students introduced me in February to the fast-growing social network in which people use virtual online "pinboards" to share images and videos they find interesting. My wife, Mira Lowe, also joined the network's millions of new members around the same time – and my university colleague, Tim Cigelske, raved about its potential at the Social Media @Marquette event where I shared ideas on digital branding for university staff and administrators.

I love social media and enjoy learning with my students how to use it for journalism. But Pinterest seemed, frankly, to be a "girl thing." That's because most things I saw "pinned" on the network had great appeal to women – fashion, jewelry, cats, flowers, celebrities, etc. Clearly I wasn't alone. See "125 Reasons Why Guys Are Scared of Pinterest," "Guys on #Pinterest? Do They Need to Turn In Their 'Man Cards?'" and "A Guy's Guide to Pinterest."

I once thought real men don't eat sushi. That changed when Mira stuffed one in my mouth early in our relationship – another reason I should have known she was trouble, but let's not digress. Mira – whose pinboards are varied and impressive, I must admit – said Pinterest would help me share with others which 53 North American cities I have spent at least two consecutive nights. (She no doubt would prefer the pinboards to my using so much wall space in my home library to display coffee mugs from each city.) We agreed that other possibilities included pinning baseball, basketball and football venues where I have attended pro sporting events. You know, guy things :-)

Seriously, my independent study focusing on becoming a digital educator and digital leader offered another reason to join Pinterest. I look forward to joining my fellow educators in finding ways to use it in our respective classrooms and teaching our students how to use it as journalists – see "How Educators Use Pinterest for Curation."

In any event, figured I would quietly create an account late one night, just to see how it felt. (It didn't hurt, and actually matched my passion for organization and presentation.) It surprised me just how quickly others saw what I had done. One student tweeted that she did a new dance for the occasion. Gee Ekachai, my Diederich College of Communication colleague and renowned social media guru, weighed in via email as only she could: "FINALLY!"

"Your Twitter friend @herbertlowe just joined Pinterest." *hits cat-daddy*
— Marissa Evans (@marissaaevans) August 21, 2012

@herbertlowe has repinned one of my pins on @pinterest. Think he is ready to 'own' this! #SocialMedia
— Mira Lowe (@miralowe) August 21, 2012

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Four Words She Can Brand By

7/27/2012

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Sophia A. Nelson always has much to say – no different during our 100-minute telephone chat yesterday. But amid all the back-and-forth chiding, supporting, defending, reflecting, dreaming, etc., four words she said – transparent, authentic, prescriptive, universal – had the most meaning for us both. These words defined how Nelson is extending her personal brand via social media and into Corporate America, she said. They also challenged me to consider what words might best describe my desired brand as a digital journalism educator.

We first met in the mid-1990s; I was still a newspaper reporter and covering her bid for elected office in New Jersey. These days, Nelson is – as stated on the website for her award-winning book, "Black Woman Redefined" – "an accomplished woman on the move. She is a much-sought-after speaker, media/political commentator, national columnist and first-time author who is 'redefining' the rules for 21st-century living and success."

Anyway, our conversation began with me commenting on the merits of Nelson, in my opinion, incessantly and publicly airing her emotions on Twitter. She replied that social media is leading people to become more transparent when dealing with anger, relationships, sex, religion, friendships, politics, etc. "That is what we do now," she said.

A couple years ago, Nelson aspired to political punditry in this presidential election cycle. She doesn't talk about politics anymore on Twitter, however, after noting that it typically cost her followers when she did. Nelson is developing a "very good following" via her 30-minute Twitter chats each Saturday, in which she aims to "take my personal and connect with others who are disconnected in ways that matter." Though her book is soon to be re-released as a paperback, Nelson said is broadening her brand from Black Women Redefined to Life Redefined.

"People want me to be inspirational. People want me to be prescriptive. They want me to help them make their life better. That's the girl I want to be – where people say, 'I don't know what Sophia's talking about today, but I know I don't want to miss what she's talking about.' I'm trying to be the Oprah of my generation. That's what I want to be."

Nelson offered Melinda Emerson, Marshawn Evans and Tera Carissa Hodges as exemplars of using social media and personal websites to promote their brands universally. I met Emerson about the same time as Nelson and admire her success. Looking forward to learning more about Evans and Hodges. Also will consider the idea about leading Twitter chats. First, as I said, I must determine what words uniquely channel my core competencies and the approach that best suits my brand. Would be happy to know your thoughts, everyone.

RT: Humbled by this blog by my good friend of over 16 years @herbertlowe ow.ly/cHso5 onhow I have harnessed the power of Twitter!
— BlackWomanRedefined (@blkwmnredefined) August 2, 2012

.@herbertlowe highlights in new blog post @sophiaredefined as someone who successfully found her brand: bit.ly/MTy4dA Great read.
— Marissa Evans (@marissaaevans) August 2, 2012

Enjoyed @herbertlowe's blog post: "Four Words She Can Brand By," featuring @sophiarefined herblowe.com/1/post/2012/07…
— Ameena Rasheed (@AmeenaRasheed) August 2, 2012

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Touched By a Graduate's Email

7/6/2012

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Very pleased with how @ErikaJGlover is using her Twitter profile and activity to promote her journalism and personality.

I recently wrote about my wonderful opportunity to speak about blogging, digital portfolios and social media profiles to dozens of aspiring journalists at the NABJ Convention and Career in New Orleans. Well, one of those attendees wrote me an email a couple of hours afterward that touched me as much as it surprised me.

"The workshop you facilitated this afternoon was amazing. So amazing that it inspired me to instantly enhance my website," wrote Erika J. Glover of South Carolina, who graduated from Penn State University in May after studying broadcast journalism and international studies. "Of course, I understood the importance of utilizing social media and other software to expand my scope and influence. Yet, it was not until I heard you speak that I realized its actual significance." Erika also said "my dream, rather, my destiny is to become an international reporter." She added: "My hope is that I can maintain contact with you throughout my career" and "currently, my focus is on my job hunt."

So what surprised me? I remembered this young woman seeming inattentive during the NABJ session. I asked why upon calling Erika without warning on Tuesday. She said she was contemplating what she had and had not learned at Penn State. No worries, I said. What matters is what happened henceforth. "I am prepared to invest in you 100 percent," I told her, if she was prepared to invest in me the same. Erika replied matter-of-factly, "I am."

The next day, July 4, we spoke for two hours! We discussed everything from what she learned at the convention to her creating a LinkedIn profile to her using the same portrait across social media platforms to tweeting smartly with hashtags and by the one-third rule: 33 percent information, 33 percent news and 33 percent personal. We also focused on her "twesume" – that is, the 160 characters (maximum) that make up her Twitter bio. (Here's more about what makes a good twesume.) We also talked about the importance of using AP style and correct grammar, spelling and punctuation in her tweets, so she demonstrates that she can write effectively.

Erika also shared that she was shadowing reporters at a television station in Columbia. She was happy to be alongside professionals daily and getting help with her resume tape. We spoke about creating a digital portfolio that could best present her aspirations, experience and potential to news directors and recruiters. I'm looking forward to our interaction and hope it becomes part of my independent study for graduate school. More importantly, I'm eager to learn that Erika has found her first reporting job. It will touch me, no doubt. It certainly will not surprise me.

@herbertlowe Words cannot adequately express my appreciation for all of your feedback today. Enjoy the remainder of your holiday!
— Erika Glover (@ErikaJGlover) July 4, 2012

Look what I found on my desk this evening. A gift from @timberlakegirl, thanks mom! #APStylebook #partylikeajournalist twitter.com/ErikaJGlover/s…
— Erika Glover (@ErikaJGlover) July 5, 2012

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Inching Closer to My Degree

7/4/2012

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This week begins the second summer session at Marquette University. As a graduate student inching closer to a master of arts degree in communication, I hope during the next six weeks to complete a three-credit independent study that would serve as the capstone course and end my quest for a 15-credit graduate certificate in digital storytelling offered by the Diederich College of Communication. My four other courses for the certificate include Emerging Media, Journalism in Literature, Craft of Digital Storytelling and Storytelling in Public Life.

As part of the independent study, titled "Becoming a Digital Leader and Educator," I hope to:

Create an enhanced Internet presence that better or more completely brands me as a journalism educator.
Create a sophisticated story using Final Cut Pro X that involves narration, video and images.
Live tweet and Storify an event to demonstrate my understanding of social media and curating digital assets.
Blog at least once weekly about matters involving digital storytelling and or emerging media.
Read and review of "The Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence," by Erik Qualman.
Write a final paper that captures the scope and breath of all these efforts and their relationship to one another.

If all goes well, finishing the independent study would leave me six credits short of my master's degree, which would feature a specialization in digital storytelling. The fall semester would likely find me in an advanced qualitative methods course and for the final three credits I plan on creating a professional project – one in which I would combine theory and practice to produce something to benefit journalism educators and students everywhere.

Pursuing an advanced degree has consumed much of my life since fall 2010, but I have learned so much from each course and each instructor and my classmates. It has all definitely enhanced my teaching; indeed, I wonder if I would have begun blogging if not a weekly requirement in Emerging Media. Well, two things continue to push me forward: 1) knowing that a master's degree is essential given my ambitions, and 2) marching across the stage next May to receive my degree at the same time my first students – "the originals" – do the same to get theirs.

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'Lake Effect' Features My Thesis

'Ready to Kill This Presentation'

My Graduate Thesis Is DONE!

Chasing Three Elusive Credits

Focusing on My Digital Stamp

First Sushi – And Now Pinterest

Four Words She Can Brand By

Touched By a Graduate's Email

Inching Closer to My Degree

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