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Journalism and Community

A Case Study of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

M.A. Thesis • Herbert Lowe • Marquette U. • May '14

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'Lake Effect' Features My Thesis

6/3/2014

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"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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    This blog is part of a microsite devoted to my thesis. Feel free to download a printable version (see above) – click on any of these five buttons below to take you to the full site. Enjoy.
    Thesis Home
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