Photo by Karl Lopez

Letter from the Department HeadA year ago, the department finally launched a new multimedia center and multimedia program. Thanks to help of faculty and staff, the launch was very successfully and I, personally, believe we did the right thing for our students. Looking back, those years that this department struggled, I didn’t expect to see this happen this soon. As you all know, this made for a really exciting year. There are so many good things I want to share with you all. We hired a “Nieman Fellowship” recipient, Ana Lourdes Cardenas, as our new multimedia professor, we launched Spanish News22 and it became one of the fastest growing programs (Spanish News22 had a contract with Telemundo), we had our first “Alumni Event” in March, along with a multimedia center open house. These are just some of the good things we accomplished this past year.

One thing I want to say here is that our alumni are the most won-derful alumni. At our first alumni night, we all saw how much they really care about this department and how much they are willing to help us. They are all assets and will be big supporters for Jour-nalism and Mass Communications at NMSU. I am really excited to see what comes in 2014-2015. Thank you,Hwiman Chung

Hwiman Chung, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department Head

Journalism and Mass Comm.

New Mexico State University

Table of Contents

Keeping it in the Family..........................10

Life through the Lens........19

They are still here...........8

Alumni Spotlights...............4

Dynamic Curriculum..............6

Me, Myself & Mary Kay...........7

Voice of the Student Union.....14

Creating Stars.................15

Making Waves...................17

A look back at Milton Hall.....18

Intern to Sports Director......22

NMSU Journalism Faculty........24

photo by Justin Bucher

If you would like to support New Mexico State University’s Journalism and Mass Communication program please visit:journalism.nmsu.edu/donation

4 The Scoop

Where are they now?

by Allison McCollister

As Sean McCleneghan walked through Milton Hall with Russell Lewis on his tail, the two appeared to be a very unruly pair. At the time, Mc-Cleneghan was department head, and Lewis was a pro-spective student with long hair and an earring, not typi-cal of students in the 1980s. After seeing the opportunities of working with TV, radio and newspaper media, Lewis was ready to become an Aggie.

Today, Lewis is a morn-ing and afternoon anchor for KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon. He has been a news anchor at this station for 13 years. Since his time as a student at New Mexico State University, Lewis has been a reporter for KTSM-TV in El Paso, KVOA-TV in Tucson, and KTXL-TV in Sac-ramento.

Lewis did not have the gut feeling, as most journalists do, that he was going to be a journalism student. He always enjoyed writing, though it was not until his experience with his high school newspaper that he knew writing was his

niche. Lewis said the single most important quality a jour-nalist must possess is to be a strong writer.

“I always tell students: If you can write well, tell a story in a clear and concise way, you will always be able to find a job in the journalism business. When I come across one, he or she definitely stands out,” Lewis said.

He also said that choosing words carefully and telling stories accurately is crucial in broadcast reporting. At times, it is also important to be ag-gressive when appropriate, and yet compassionate when needed.

Lewis was born and raised in Southern California, so hav-ing his first internship in Truth or Consequences was culture shock. It was his first summer away from California, and it was an interesting experience.

As a reporter, Lewis said if he could choose any story to report on it would have been to have the opportunity to interview Pope Francis as he took over the Vatican.

Lewis said he believes his time at NMSU was unlike any other time in his life. His most important lesson learned was to work hard and to be willing to sacrifice.

He also said that it is im-portant to never pass up a good opportunity to further a career because there are so many people competing to have a job that someone will take the opportunity that you have turned down.

Advertising has its rewards, as one department alumnus has proved. After 33 years, Chris Baker is now publisher of The Taos News, after a long journey from being advertis-ing director at The Round Up.

Baker said he strongly believes that the demise of journalism is greatly over-ex-aggerated, and that journalism is a satisfying career in both the best and worst of times.

Baker has been the pub-lisher of The Taos News for 15 years. The publication was named the best weekly paper in 2012, awarded by the Local Media Association.

Baker is in charge of the overall operations of financial welfare, the five managers, and advertising and circula-tion director. He also manages the hiring and firing of em-ployees, and attends to cus-tomer issues.

Baker, originally from Albu-querque, selected NMSU over the University of New Mexico and became very involved in the campus through ASNMSU and The Round Up. Baker was The Round Up advertising di-rector.

One of the advantages of NMSU over UNM, he said, was the choice of specialties he

could study. He made adver-tising his emphasis.

After his graduation in 1981, Baker went on to work for the El Paso Times, and pur-sued advertising jobs in Ari-zona, California, Kansas, Texas and Carlsbad.

Baker understands how important experience is in college and has personally welcomed more than 25 in-terns from NMSU in the past

15 years, who have spent their summers with The Taos News.

As Bak-er points out, Sean Mc-Cleneghan was a very import-ant part of the internship pro-cess. Baker said

McCleneghan is dedicated to student success and wants them to have internships where they can discover if they will be passionate about the work they will pursue with their major.

Baker said that passion is the key to being successful. He said students need to have a drive and need to learn how to channel their passion.

Baker said the most im-portant lesson he has learned is to not take life too seriously. It is important to laugh, com-pliment one’s self and to un-derstand how to write well.

“Even if a student does not start out as a great writer, it is important to strive to become one, “ Baker said.

Russell Lewis Chris Baker

Spring 2014 5

As a resident of New Jersey, New Mexico State Universi-ty journalism alumnus Peter Kramer said if he had the op-portunity to cover any news sto-ry from the past year, he would have loved to cover the Chris Christie “Bridgegate” scandal. A small, family newspaper un-covered the story initially, and Kramer said that this demon-strates that anyone can seize the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than them-selves.

Kramer currently works for

the digital team at The Journal News in New York’s Lower Hud-son Valley. He writes about the-atre, entertainment and social media. He also writes for The Journal News webpage lohud.com. This website is a 24/7 news site. Kramer is one of the top theatre reviewers/critics in the New York area. Among Peter’s other distinctions, he is a vot-er for the annual Tony Awards, which recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre.

Kramer attended Las Cru-ces High School and received a scholarship to New Mexico State University. He attended NMSU with his brother, John, who was also very involved at the university. Both brothers have become successful jour-nalists and believe that NMSU has helped them to excel in the careers they are pursuing today. Peter was not only involved in academics, but he also served as editor for The Round Up, vice president of ASNMSU, par-ticipated in theater and was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.

Kramer said he was very in-fluenced by his media law class with Steve Pasternack, who he believed was a very tough but fair professor. He remembers Pasternack as a wonderful pro-fessor in the journalism depart-ment, who died suddenly in 2005 of an infection contracted in Rwanda. Kramer also said that Sean McCleneghan’s public relations class and writing for all four years at The Round Up helped to develop him into the journalist he is today.

“Never say no,” Kramer said. He said that flexibility and looking at problems as oppor-tunities is the best attitude for journalists to have. He has worked in news departments of all kinds, ranging from business to sports. He said that coding is a very important skill to have. It will give graduating journal-ists an advantage in the digital world.

Kramer also said that being an early adapter can be a very valuable trait for young jour-

nalists. “Change is a constant part of

life,” he said. Being able to think ahead and to adapt to what the people are asking for creates the most valuable journalists, according to Kramer.

As a journalist who is very involved in the digital side of news, Kramer believes that journalism will never go out of style. Many younger media consumers read their news off of cellphones, while older gen-erations appreciate holding a newspaper and reading their news from that particular medi-um. While different generations choose different platforms, the consensus remains that every person still loves a great story.

The best advice that Kramer gave to NMSU students is al-ways to have fun, and that the Happy Hour at the Holiday Inn (now the Ramada Palms) was the best in the city.

“Journalism is fun,” Kramer said. “But happy hour is more fun.”

John Kramer was not the average New Mexico State University student. By his own admission, academically he was far less than that.

Kramer said he immersed himself in many social activ-ities, but he paid for it when it came time to graduate. The semester he planned on grad-uating, he lived every student’s worst nightmare — registering for a class he remembers as be-ing titled as “Entrepreneurship,” and then completely forgetting about it, a faux pas that forced him to graduate more than a year later than he and his family had expected.

Vowing to turn that fail-ure into an ironic footnote, for the past 21 years Kramer has worked as the vice president for communication at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, where each day he helps entrepreneurs and other indi-viduals plagued by government

meddling in their private lives. “I am able to come to work

and pursue work that fulfills my philosophical beliefs,” Kram-er said. “Perhaps that is good enough for delayed credit in the course more than 20 years ago.”

Originally from New Jersey, Kramer has lived in New York, New Hampshire and New Mex-ico. He currently resides in Vir-ginia.

Kramer, the youngest of nine children, came to NMSU with his brother, Peter, who also studied journalism. Their father died when John and Peter were two and three respectively, leaving their mother, a school-teacher, to raise all nine chil-dren on her own. Both brothers said NMSU provided them with the best education to suit their needs, and they both knew ex-actly what they wanted to study when they arrived.

Kramer was involved in ev-erything from student govern-ment to Theta Chi fraternity and, through that group, a vari-

ety of philanthropic and politi-cal activities.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Kramer directed public rela-tions campaigns for politicians, corporations, educational insti-tutions and nonprofit groups. He said he always felt that nonprofit public relations best suited him because it allowed him to help people through his daily work.

Kramer’s advice for students wanting to thrive in their ca-reers is to learn to write and to write well. He said he believes “the better you write, the bet-ter you think, which will in turn make you more effective in your work.”

He also found a major key to success in college by find-ing a mentor. During his soph-omore year, Sean McCleneghan was his mentor, and it was “Dr. Mac” who insisted that Kramer improve his writing skills. Hav-ing McCleneghan in his corner was essential in leading him to

more competent writing and launched him into a satisfying career.

For students graduating in journalism from NMSU, Kramer said, “Fear not.” He confirms that public relations is trending up-ward and expanding, while tra-ditional journalism will always need strong storytellers, wheth-er in traditional print outlets, television, radio or through so-cial media. John and his brother, Peter, are among the many hun-dred who will echo that senti-ment as alumni of the depart-ment. — A.M.

Peter Kramer

John Kramer

6

Dynamic Curriculum

s the need for information continues to increase, the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at New Mexico State Uni-

versity has entered the world of digital journalism, offering courses in multi-media and computer-assisted report-ing.

N M S U ’ s journalism fac-ulty works to incorporate all forms of media from traditional to digital — and students have the opportunity to write, edit, record, publish and podcast with the de-partment’s new m u l t i m e d i a center.

“The main trend is conver-gence in media, for example, print media is no longer just print,” Hwiman Chung, head of NMSU’s journalism depart-ment said. “There’s online, videogra-phy, photography and the concept of multimedia is converging all those different areas into just one.”

In the fall of 2013, the department added a required multimedia course for all journalism students. Chung said he wants students to gain experience in all media to become well-rounded journalists in the 21st century, and the main goal for faculty is to train stu-dents.

In today’s constant exchange of

information, student journalists essen-tially have the world at their desktop. The idea of digital journalism gives students a wider range of opportuni-ties not only to be more creative but to also get published.

With multimedia courses and on-line publications, it’s much easier for

students to earn a byline. However, learning the concept of multimedia is much more difficult due to the wide range of skills needed to be successful in today’s media.

“Twenty years ago, people writing for print didn’t need to do photogra-phy,” Chung said. “Today, students have to know how to write, take pic-tures, edit, produce and get their stuff published.”

Computer-Assisted News Report-ing is one of the senior-level report-ing classes offered in the department, in which students are required to re-search and collect data for stories via

the Internet, but are also encouraged to seek publication through traditional media outlets.

In the spring of 2015, Comput-er-Assisted News Reporting will be re-named to Advanced Digital Reporting to converge to the concept of multi-media.

Students in the program produce pro-fessional work that can be pub-lished in The Scoop, the stu-dent-run alumni magazine for the department, as well as The Merge, an on-line magazine for students in the program. Students in the course tradition-ally take their stories to The Round Up and to area media outlets.

The faculty continues to make changes to the department with plans to upgrade The Merge into a bigger and better online publication in order for students to publish their work.

“The goal is to publish a profession-al online newspaper for students only if they produce professional writing and videos,” Chung said. “The Merge is like a training tool for students and this newspaper will give students credit for their published work.” Chung said the newspaper, not yet named, will launch in the fall of 2014.

— D.L.

Aby Desiree Lozano

Students adapt to the evolving world of multimedia

ew Mexico State University’s Ad-vertising Federation competition team took third place at the annual National Student Advertising Com-

petition held on April 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

This year, the team captain was a busi-ness major, Kristin Montoya, 22, president of the advertising club at NMSU, who partic-ipated with the rest of the Advertising Fed-eration team members, as part of the NSAC.

“I like to work together with my team. No one works for me — they work with me,” Montoya said. “I figured that it was going to benefit me in the future to join and be part of the Ad Fed Club, and it actually has given me more than that, and it’s more about the experience now.”

The Ad Fed team is comprised of 10 students, who work under the direction of faculty adviser and journalism and mass communications department head, Hwiman Chung. Chung is a member of the American Academy of Advertising and has taught ad-vertising at NMSU since 2002.

The other members of the team were Quinn Krieg, Alma Adriana Aparicio, Anais Gomez, Matthew La Vey, Annalisa Carreon, Chuanren Hong, Michelle Morales, Jimena Antuna and Claudia Zarate.

Chung was in charge of the Ad Fed Club from 2003-2008. Following a brief hiatus, the competition team was revived in 2012.

Chung said of this year’s Colorado Springs presentation, “At the competition, they all did very well, and I expected to win, but unfortunately it did not happen.” In the tradition of the competition, remembered by many alumni over several decades, Chung said he looked forward to the next challenge in 2015.

As part of their ongoing work, Ad Fed has been working for local clients, and have also created campaigns for clients through-out the state.

However, this spring, the group focused entirely on the National Student Advertis-ing Competition. Chung and the 10 students spent much of their free time creating cam-paign ideas and preparing for competition.

Meanwhile, they also created and provided an integrated marketing plan for direct-sell-ing Mary Kay, the national corporation they worked with. The slogan of their campaign was “Me, Myself & Mary Kay.”

Ad Fed is an independent agency under the journalism and mass communications department, where students can actually work for real clients through Ad Fed and get compensations for their work.

“Those who don’t know about advertis-ing and IMC [integrated marketing commu-nications] may not understand how difficult it is to complete a full IMC campaign for a real client while they are working and tak-ing 15 to 18 credits,” Chung said. “I am very lucky to have these 10 students and to work with them since 2012. These students are all die-hard advertising and IMC students.”

Most of this year’s team is on the list for graduation and the 2015 team will be rebuilding for the next competition. Of the 2014 team, Chung said, “I personally believe these students will be successful no matter what they do.” — C.Z.

7

The Ad Fed team at the National Student Advertising Competition in Colorado.

N

Ad Fed places in national competition

by Claudia Zarate

8

In case you were wondering,

They are still here

by Claudia Zarate

wo longtime professors, J. Sean McCleneghan and Frank Thayer, have been working for NMSU and guiding the evolution of the Journalism Depart-

ment since the early 1980s. McCleneghan has been part of the NMSU Journalism

Department for the past 32 years. Dr. Mac, as many call him, has been a full-time professor at NMSU, teaching public relations and many other courses. McCleneghan has been the recipient of many awards and has authored more than 80 refereed scholarly journal articles. He is also in charge of all the paid media internships, assisting 751 journalism majors in earning more than $2.3 million in student internships since 1983.

“After 32 years at NMSU, my observation is that our

students know more things but fewer are aggressive enough to achieve their career goals. They major in journalism, but only a few will work with college media, for example The Round Up, or our departmental me-dia like News22, The Merge, The Scoop, Ad Fed.” Mc-Cleneghan said, following his many years teaching and observing first-hand how education is rapidly changing, “I think the main cause for students’ failure to work with our campus or departmental media could be the terrible state of our local and national economy that most Amer-icans are facing today.”

McCleneghan has been teaching for 46 years, with his college teaching career beginning at the University of North Texas, then the University of Georgia, University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University, Texas Wom-an’s University and finally New Mexico State University.

He first competed in a 1981 national search for a new head of NMSU’s journalism and mass communica-tions department that also carried the title of Director of Broadcasting. In July 1982 he began working at NMSU. He served as the department head for 12 years and re-turned to full-time teaching in 1994.

“...my observation is that our students know more things but fewer are agressive enough to achieve their career goals.”

- Sean McCleneghan

T

9

The other longtime professor, working for 26 years in NMSU’s Department of Journalism and Mass Commu-nications, is Frank Thayer.

Thayer began his career in Toronto, Canada, as a journalism teacher and department head. After 11 years working as a journalism educator in Canada, he almost matches McCleneghan in total journalism educa-tion years, at 39 years. After creating a journalism pro-gram at a new community college in Toronto, Canada, and teaching there for over a decade, Thayer returned to New Mexico, and came to NMSU to continue his ed-ucation and obtain his master’s degree. Thayer earned all three of his degrees at NMSU, making him an alum-nus of the very department he teaches in today.

Thayer served as department head from 2002-2008 and officially retired as professor emeritus in 2012, and now teaches part time with concentrations in news writing, editing, public opinion and propaganda. He has worked as a reporter, photographer, newspaper editor, advertising copy writer and public relations writer.

After many years of teaching and seeing how edu-cation has changed throughout his career, Thayer said, “It does seem to me that too many courses today are ‘easier,’ meaning that it is easier to earn an A or a B, which does not prepare students for the rigorous world they face when they go out to work in their field. It is still possible to find demanding professors, and some majors are still more difficult than others.” Thayer said that journalism is one of those difficult majors.

During his time in education, both at NMSU and in

Canada, Thayer published three journalism textbooks, numerous research articles and many newspaper and magazine articles. He said he is also proud of a book he co-authored in 2012, titled “The Aztec Incident: Re-covery at Hart Canyon,” about a flying saucer recovery in the Four Corners area in 1948. During his teaching career, he was very much involved in curriculum de-velopment leading to the national accreditation of the department, which was held from 1999 through 2010.

Thayer teaches 2-3 classes every semester, and he also performs service activities for the department, and continues to guide the publication of The Scoop, which follows the motto: “produced by students for alumni.”

“I am a New Mexico native; I really want to live in southern New Mexico and have my career here,” Thayer said. “Since my chosen field is journalism and journal-ism education, NMSU is the only game in town, and so I am happy to do what I love, and to live in a place that has first place in my heart.” — C.Z.

“...NMSU is the only game in town, and so I am happy to do what I love, and to live in a place that has first place in my heart.” - Frank Thayer

10

Journalism alumni working at NMSUby Frank Ambriz

11

hen students of a journal-ism program walk on stage during their graduation cer-

emony or receive their degrees in the mail, they often see a future where they work in huge chaotic news-rooms, anchor for a local television station or travel the world covering life-changing stories.

Few probably imagine themselves working from a small office at the school they graduated from, writing press releases, coordinating events or teaching other students. However, that is what many of New Mexico State University’s journalism pro-gram alumni are doing. Graduates from all eras and disciplines of the program now work at various de-partments within the university.

One popular destination for jour-nalism alumni at NMSU is the depart-ment of University Communications. It is a natural fit as these former stu-dents can put their journalistic skills to good use for the university.

Journalism alumni who now work for the department include Justin

Banister, Jocelyn Apodaca, Amanda Bradford and Julie Hughes, a 1995 graduate who has worked her way up the NMSU ladder to the position of Director of Internal Communications and Public Affairs.

Angela Simental and Isabel Ro-driguez, who graduated in 2008 and 2012 respectively, are news writers for University Communications. Simental writes for the Department of Agriculture and Rodriguez for the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I also do a column for the Albu-querque Journal on the economic impact of the research being done on agriculture at NMSU,” said Simental.

“I worked on a story about [the Creative Media Institute] and it turned into one of the coolest stories I worked on,” said Rodriguez.

Their stories are published in a va-riety of NMSU publications and local newspapers, such as the Las Cruces Sun News and Albuquerque Journal.

Outside of University Commu-nications, one former student does communications work for the College

of Engineering. Tracey O’Neil, who graduated in 2009, works as the pro-gram coordinator for the college.

“I coordinate several different events, including homecoming and two robotics competitions for K-12 groups. I also work with the dean’s advisory council and student devel-opment efforts,” O’Neil said.

While some find work relating to their field at NMSU, others work in areas unrelated to journalism as instructors of varied subjects.

Gabriela Moreno, a 1999 graduate, is an assistant professor of Spanish for NMSU’s Department of Language and Linguistics. Moreno was first hired as an adjunct professor in 2002 and returned as an assistant profes-sor in 2012, working specifically in the Spanish for Heritage Learners program.

“My main priority is teaching Spanish courses,” said Moreno. “I also take on an administrative role within the program in which I recruit, advise and mentor students and [teaching assistants].”

From left: Justin Banister, Angela Simental, Amanda Bradford, Jocelyn Apodaca, Julie Hughes, Isabel Rodriguez, Jeany Llorente-Ontiveros, Eddie Morelos

W

Tracey O’Neil

Gabriela Moreno

Isabel Rodriguez

Jacinda Hinkson (right)

12

Also teaching at NMSU is Jacin-da Hinkson, a 2009 graduate of the journalism program. Hinkson is a part-time instructor for the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Extension Education. She started out by filling in for a professor.

“Because of my journalism back-

ground, last semester they asked me to teach an [agriculture] communi-cations class,” said Hinkson. “This se-mester I’m teaching an independent study class where [students] put to-gether a newsletter called the Bull Sheet.”

There are many more former NMSU journalism students working at various departments throughout the university. These include Milen Bartnick in the Registrar’s Office, Michelle Lebsock in Instructional In-novation and Quality and even Frank Thayer, emeritus professor and fo-mer department head for the jour-nalism program.

These journalism alumni have varying reasons for returning to NMSU. For Simental and Rodriguez, working for the University was a natural transition as both previous-ly interned here. In similar fashion, O’Neil interned as an editorial assis-

tant for the dean’s office at the Col-lege of Engineering.

“After a year of working outside the college, a position opened up in the dean’s office where I worked,” O’Neil said.

For Moreno and Hinkson, they returned to NMSU because they saw

opportunities to work in areas they were passionate about.

A former dual-major in Spanish, Gabriela Moreno was already famil-iar with the Heritage Learners pro-gram and wanted to give back to to-day’s Spanish-speaking students.

“I feel an obligation to my stu-dents and to my community to give back,“ said Moreno. “I’m so lucky that I got this far in my education and it’s my turn to help others attain that.”

Hinkson received her master’s de-gree in agriculture and extension ed-ucation, a program her mother also graduated from. She said she has al-ways had a passion for New Mexico agriculture.

“I grew up in an agricultural area and it’s always been a part of my life and passion, so it was a pretty natu-ral fit for me,” Hinkson said.

While these alumni have entered into various disciplines, one thing

they have in common is that they did not imagine themselves working for the university after graduation.

“It wasn’t really part of the plan to come back here, but I saw an op-portunity and I think it will serve me well,” said O’Neil.

The rest of the former students echoed this sentiment, as they all feel NMSU has provided them with a great opportunity.

“I think I was very fortunate to be hired to work for the university,” said Rodriguez. “It’s a really good work environment and I get to learn a variety of different things that I otherwise wouldn’t be, working at a newspaper.”

Regardless of their positions, all of these alumni make good use of what they learned during their time at the journalism department. The communication and writing skills they acquired helped them in their career pursuits.

“In the journalism classes, I was able to develop my language and learn to speak to people and feel free expressing myself, ” said Moreno. “When I came back to interview for this position, I think what sold them was how well I spoke in front of the class.”

“Being able to write under dead-line pressure is probably one of the best skills I got out of the journalism department,” Hinkson said. She cur-rently tries to instill good writing and communication skills to her stu-dents.

For Simental and Rodriguez, working at NMSU has also provided them with the opportunity to learn new skills in addition to what they learned from their journalism class-es.

“We are learning how to do mul-timedia packages for print, online and TV,” said Simental. “We didn’t anticipate doing anything other than print,” Rodriguez said.

The journalism department’s cur-rent emphasis on multimedia is a relatively new effort. Like Rodriguez

“I know a couple of peo-ple who have graduated from the program and I can tell you they aren’t

having as much fun as we are at their jobs.”

- Isabel Rodriguez

13

and Simental, the other alumni were not as exposed to multimedia as to-day’s students.

“Now with how quickly things are changing and with how small budgets are, you pretty much have to be able to do everything. Back then, not as much,” said Hinkson.

“It was something they were try-ing to figure out how to integrate into the curriculum, but it seems like they have come a long way since that start-ed,” said O’Neil.

The program, however, was de-scribed as being varied and offering many disciplines.

“What I really liked about the pro-gram was that you had a lot of op-tions. You could pick and choose the things you were most interested in,” said Hinkson.

“We did a little bit of broadcasting, radio, newspaper, magazine so we can get a broad overview of everything,” O’Neil said.

Working at NMSU has also allowed the alumni to view the university

from a new perspective. Working with students and departments outside of journalism has allowed Simental to learn new things about the university.

“As a student, I was so involved in the journalism department that I didn’t see what was going on at the rest of the university,” she said. “You get to see what is being done at NMSU outside of a student’s lens.”

These alumni shared fond memo-ries of their time with the journalism department, mostly remembering their positive interactions with col-leagues and professors.

“I really enjoyed my time with the journalism program because it was so fun,” said Moreno. “When I got mar-ried, KRWG came and recorded my wedding.”

“Dr. Mac and Dr. Thayer had a big impact on how I went through col-lege and my career choices later,” said Hinkson.

Ultimately, it was the friendly and familiar environment that brought these former journalism students

back to NMSU. Being in Las Cruces, on campus and around familiar faces makes these former students feel at home.

“I’ve always enjoyed the atmo-sphere [of NMSU],” said O’Neil. “When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it because I wanted to be back on campus just for that feel.”

“It’s good to have a place were you can feel comfortable,” said Moreno. “It feels like home.”

These former journalism gradu-ates are unsure of whether they will be working for NMSU in the future. However, they all said they made the right choice and enjoy working for the university.

“If I’m not working here in the fu-ture, I would like to work in an envi-ronment that is very similar to this,” said Rodriguez. “I know a couple of people who have graduated from the program and I can tell you they aren’t having as much fun as we are at their jobs.” — F.A.

Isabel Rodriguez, a 2012 NMSU graduate, and Angela Simental, a 2008 NMSU graduate, working in their office at University Communications.

14

The Round Up has been a student-run newspaper publication on New Mexico State University’s campus since 1907, and is still going strong today.

The publication is unique because it is independent of the university and is 100 percent student run. The staff run their own finances, manage their contract with print-ers, deal with editing, they handle their own public relations and deal with billing; in oth-er words, they are their own business. The funding comes from advertising and work-ing with the Associated Students of New Mexico State University program.

The Round Up has seen changes this spring, with more publications than in 2013, a new design and higher readership.

“It’s important for college newspapers to have creativity and do things that may not be standard newspaper style. People want to see something different every single time,” said Jessica Cervantes, editor-in-chief of The Round Up.

The Round Up recently moved to two pub-lications a week, instead of just once a week, as was the policy in 2012-2013. Tuesday is the Culture Issue and Thursday is the Sports.

“We really did it to cover more interests of the students. We wanted it to be hefty in their hands,” said Cervantes, after getting positive feedback of students wanting more.

The funding for this change hasn’t buried the budget, thanks to newcomer Executive Director Alexandra Von Wolff. NMSU has a contract with a printing company that has a set negotiated price for all NMSU publica-tions. Von Wolff renegotiated a lower price and also changed the format of the newspa-per to be able to fit two publications into the week within the current budget.

“Our budget is in conjunction with ASNM-SU’s currently, but we are soon trying to re-distribute student media’s budget to be inde-pendent of ASNMSU and combine KRUX and The Round Up into one budget without changing the budget as a whole,” said Cer-vantes.

In other words, there is a set budget that is negotiated every year for ASNMSU groups, and The Round Up will now be joining that. The budget will be redistributed so that some groups receive less and some new groups ac-tually receive a budget for the first time.

To keep students involved and interested in the paper and/or working for the paper, The

Round Up has set up schedules so students who do not have time for part-time work, can now work at the Round Up as a work-study program in marketing, journalism, business or another major if the student would like to be a part of the paper. For the future, the Round Up is trying to set it up university credit for others who want to be involved but can only participate if credit can be earned.

“Having a semester or two semesters of work here can mean the difference between getting a job when you graduate or not,” said Von Wolff.

“There’s new technology, like social me-dia, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and there’s so much competitive media. It’s not just college newspapers; it’s going on around the country,” Von Wolff said.

To compete, Von Wolff has said that The Round Up is trying to go against a normal newspaper format to attract people with graphic front pages and visuals to mimic a magazine format.

For future changes, The Round Up may invest in new newspaper bins to be more attractive and available to students so they know where and how to get the paper.

—K.H.

by Kyla Hollister

Voice of the Student Union

From Left: Fernanda Teixeira, Heather Miller, Ana Ayon edit the design for an upcoming edition of The Round Up.

15

by Iris Reilly

Every year, News22 sends some of its top students into the world of broadcasting prepared to further their careers and add prestige to the student-run newscast.

Both former and current stu-dents have taken the skills they have learned at News22 to land jobs anchoring and reporting. Most recently, two graduates of the program and three current students began work at various news stations in El Paso.

Monica Cortez graduated in May 2013 after two years at News22. She has gone on to work at KTSM News Channel 9 as a weekend weather anchor and a multimedia journalist.

“This program introduces you to the world of broadcasting. You learn everything from how to hold a camera to how to edit your own package,” she said.

Mar Gonzalez is currently at-tending NMSU, working on both the Spanish and English side of things at News22. Gonzalez has had various internships and said the skills learned at both News22

and the interships have prepared her for any job that may come her way. She used her skills as a Spanish anchor to become a reporter with “Sin Fronteras,” a weekly show airing on Telemun-do 48.

Josie Ortegon graduated in December 2013 after three years at News22. She is currently at KVIA ABC-7 as a reporter for the New Mexico Mobile Newsroom. When asked about a favorite memory, Ortegon recalled a trip

Josie Ortegon Dan Martinez Monica Cortez

CreatingStars

16

to Denver with the Broadcaster’s Club, where the whole group bonded and became “like a family.”

“That’s what makes News22 so amazing,” she said. “You learn how to work as a team — produc-tion, talent, you’re all working toward the same goal, which is to have an incredible show. Denver reaffirmed that for us, I think. We all support, love and trust one another. You won’t find that any-where else.”

Zach Rael, a 4-year veteran of News22, is still attending NMSU and has already started working at KTSM News Channel 9 as a multimedia journal-ist. His hard work at News22 paid off when he was given the opportunity to intern with KTSM and was later offered a part-time position.

“Without News22 I would not be the journalist or the person I am today. Everything I know about being a reporter came from my experiences at News22,” Rael said. “I’m very thankful to be able to have done so much with News22. I didn’t learn broadcast journalism by sitting in a classroom. I learned it at News22.”

Dan Martinez is a current NMSU student whose skills learned at News22 set him apart from other applicants, and earned him the position as a week-end weather anchor at KVIA ABC-7. Martinez com-

pared his time at News22 to the world of entertain-ment: “It gives you a good platform to expose your talents. It’s a stage for a starving artist to see where they can go,” he said.

Many students, who have been a part of, or are currently involved with the News22, program, share this sentiment.

These students, both former and current, com-mend News22 for preparing them to take on the competitive field of broadcast journalism. The skills learned at News22 are proving to be a great asset to all who pass through the newsroom doors semester after semester. — I.R.

17

RUX, the student run radio station at New Mexico State University, is making big changes. The most sig-

nificant change is the replacement of the automation system used to broadcast at the station. As it stands now, KRUX uses a program called SAM Broadcaster, a broad-casting program that is mostly designed for Internet radio.

In Fall 2013, a bill was passed in the stu-dent senate to provide funding to replace the outdated system KRUX had been using for the past few years.

Once installed, the new system WideOr-bit will make KRUX the most technological-ly advanced radio station in the Las Cruces area. Robert Palacios, the general manager of KRUX, explained the impact this new sys-tem would have on the station.

“I think it’s important because it’s going to allow us to provide a facility to students that’s more applicable to the real world as far as being up to date out in the field af-ter leaving here,” Palacios said. “I’ve been in radio long enough to know if someone leaves here with the applicable experience, odds are they will be able to get a job. It’s real world application and getting the expe-rience you need.”

As well as helping to provide a more up- to-date experience for disc jockeys, WideOr-bit will also make the station itself run more efficiently.

“It’ll be a lot more smooth. This system

allows the DJs to have more control and us (the staff) to have control over program-ming and daily music logs,” Palacios said. “Currently there’s no rhyme or reason about what goes on, and with this new system we will have more control over that.”

Along with the station itself getting up-dated, a member of KRUX staff was nation-ally recognized in October of 2013.

Kylie Arrieta, the music director at KRUX, received the “Best Taste in Music Award” at the 2013 College Music Journal Radio Mara-thon in New York City. While there were only five finalists in contention for the award, Ar-rieta was originally up against the music di-rectors from over 200 radio stations around the country.

“It felt really good,” Arrieta said when

asked about her reaction to winning the award. “Just because my job is a lot to keep up with sometimes and it felt really good to know that people recognize that I am keep-ing up with everything and really want to because I love doing it.”

This award is a great achievement for Arrieta and the station as a whole.

“I think, for the station, it’s a great thing. It shows that the station is on the map,” Ar-rieta said. “We’re a really small station so it’s easy to be overlooked. To be recognized in New York by name promoters is a big deal.”

KRUX continues to be the only alterna-tive radio station in Las Cruces, and with these recent improvements and accolades, the station will only keep growing. — D.S.

Making Wavesby Douglas Scarvie

Robert Palacios, the general manager of KRUX, hosting a show.

New funds lead to updated tech for student-run radio station

K

18

A look backBuilt in 1941, Milton Hall

has seen many changes throughout its 70 years on the New Mexico State Uni-versity campus.

The building, which was once the first student union for the university was named after NMSU’s 12th president, Hugh M. Milton II, and is now home to the Creative Media Institute, the Depart-ment of Journalism and Mass Communications, the Teach-ing Academy, and the radio and television studios for the public broadcasting affiliates, KRWG-FM and KRWG-TV.

“Milton Hall is still the center of the New Mexico State University campus,” said Frank Thayer, professor emeritus in the journalism department. “Few in 2014 know that it was the center of

student life during the presi-dency of Roger B. Corbett.”

Before Corbett Center was built, Milton Hall, in the late 1960s, provided everything that students needed. The cafeteria occupied the entire south side of the main floor, while the downstairs served as the student union, com-plete with a bowling alley. The center of the main floor was the kitchen of the cafe-teria.

The other areas of the main floor were devoted to admin-istrative offices and meeting rooms, similar to what are found currently in Corbett Center.

In the 1970s the darkroom was constructed and the journalism department took over Milton Hall. A dumb-waiter can still be found in

the west hallway of Milton, where supplies were raised and garbage lowered.

The wood-floored auditori-um that now houses KRWG-TV was once a ballroom where all the university’s dances were held. The for-mer ballroom and the patio of Milton Hall were used for student registration.

The NMSU Bookstore was located downstairs where KRWG-FM now broadcasts, and the other stairs led di-rectly to the barber shop and to The Round Up. Milton Hall also housed the ASNM-SU offices and the offices of “The Swastika,” the campus yearbook that was in exis-tence from 1908 to 1983, when the protest of a student shut it down indefinitely.

In 1986, a statue of Milton,

created by artist Duke Sundt, was presented to the univer-sity by the United Veteran’s Council and other organiza-tions. It stands between Mil-ton Hall and Zuhl Library.

Nearly 50 years since the journalism department moved into Milton Hall, not much is left of the past. Many students today are not aware of what Milton Hall used to be. The building has advanced drastically and is still making way for future changes.

Some have suggested that the building be demolished to make way for a new struc-ture. But with its rich history and unique architecture, just as many others say it should be refurbished and remain as a central building of the uni-versity. —S.H.

by Samuel Horstman

at Milton Hall

Photo Courtsey of New Mexico State University Library, Archives and Special Collections

19

Life through the Lens

Milton Hall cafeteria circa late 1950s

Adapting photojournalism to the world of multimedia

by Iris Reilly

photo by Samantha Lewis

20

Black. White. Middle gray. These words have become the mantra of the photojour-nalism program at New Mexico State Univer-sity.

Each semester, the photojournalism pro-gram continues to grow and adapt to the newest ideas in media. Photojournalism pro-fessor Bruce Berman is working to prepare students for the world of photojournalism by teaching the mechanics and business of photography.

“Students have to adjust to the real world of journalism, which is intrusive by nature,” Berman said.

The documentary photojournalism class trains students to capture the world as it appears through a camera lens. The best photos each student takes in this class are uploaded to the class website: nmsu.docu-mentaryshooters.com.

A final project is required of these docu-mentary students. Each student must create a Blurb book that people can buy online.

“They don’t know what they can do until they see that book,” Berman said.

Berman is optimistic about the future of the photojournalism program and has terrific plans for it. He plans to bring in specific part-ners from the professional world to mentor students, put together a summer workshop and have students participate in a major newspaper’s college outreach program.

To ensure that students are ready to take on the ever-changing world of journalism, Berman has his students follow him on Twit-ter. They are required to interact about dif-

ferent photos and use social media as a tool to drive photojournalism. “Social media, journalism and business are linked at the hip,” Berman said.

By teaching students the value of visual communication in journalism, Berman hopes to create photojournalists who are socially aware and conscious of the world around them.

“The mechanics of survival are important to teach,” Berman said.

The world of photography has evolved dramatically. From dark room to digital, the photojournalism program has kept up with the times. For Berman, it is important to still teach the basics of photography with

film and dark room photography. The dark room will be around for as long as possible to keep a bit of nostalgia in a society overrun by technology. It is also noted that modern students are still excited by creating photos in the darkroom — a facility that was estab-lished when journalism first moved into Mil-ton Hall in 1970.

Berman has established the importance of multimedia journalism since he first joined the faculty full-time in 2008. He continues to emphasize that no photojournalist will make it in the field unless he or she knows how to write. Each photojournalism project will have some elements of multimedia jour-nalism, and Berman will continue to push his students in that direction. — I.R.

From Left: Justin Bucher, Tabitha Rossman, Bruce Berman

21

Photo by Douglas Scarvie

Photo by Phillip Sierra

Photo by Samantha Lewis

Photo by Karl Lopez

23

Intern to Sports

Information Director

Any opportunity to give backby Brian Cordova

Opportunities of a lifetime aren’t al-ways clear as day and it often takes some-one to help open a door. That’s exactly what Edward Morelos, assistant director of New Mexico State University athletic media relations, has done for student interns.

Morelos, a native of Lordsburg, is an alumnus of NMSU and graduat-ed in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, along with a minor in English. He wel-comes students from the Department of Journalism each semester into his of-fice to give a rare hands-on experience working live sporting events at NMSU. The interns who choose to practice in Morelos’ office are given the opportuni-ty to conduct their own interviews and write news releases and feature stories for the university’s athletic website.

“I want to give the students the op-portunity to have material in their port-folios and on their resume, where they can go into an interview and be able to say they have experience with this in-ternship,” Morelos said “I know how important it is to gain experience and get articles published.”

Each year an abundance of students search for internship opportunities any-where they are available, with a modest amount actually being able to get a first-hand experience in their field of study. Sean McCleneghan, professor of journal-

ism, introduced Morelos to the staff at the Office of Athletics Media Relations where he landed a paid internship and eventual-ly was offered a full time position.

Morelos said he was unaware of the

opportunities that McCleneghan had just presented to him saying, “I didn’t even know being a Sports Information Direc-tor (SID) even existed until I started my internship here.”

During the Spring 2014 semester, there were seven student writers who

could turn to Morelos at any time for help. Often, students from previous years

stay around in the office because of the insight that Morelos and the staff offer. The students that choose to come back

are welcomed by Morelos and the staff and are right back to work, lending a helping hand when needed.

“Edward has taught me how to write for sports. I was able to sharpen my skills not only as a writer, but also with computer software programs. I have grown so much with the opportunities that this office has presented, and I give a majority of that credit to Edward,” said sophomore student writer Gabri-elle Munoz.

Over the years, Morelos has devel-oped a large contact list of people who passed through his office as student writers or as volunteers.

As Morelos couldn’t put an exact number on how many interns that have worked with him over his 12 years with the Athletic Media Relations office, he believes there have been at least 40 stu-dents.

With iterns from various academ-ic and industry backgrounds, time and personal experience have taught Morelos that occasionally things aren’t always go-ing to go as planned.

Morelos spoke of long-time friend Ed-die Groth, who inspired him when times

Edward Morelos

got tough. Groth, who had been in the SID industry since the mid-1960s, left an impression that stuck with Morelos to this day.

“He knew this industry very well,” Morelos said of Groth. “His sense of hu-mor that he had was unlike any other, and he would always tell me ‘Hey, don’t always take things too serious.’”

The insight and knowledge he was able to take away from talking with Groth has stuck with Morelos to this day. When issues and troubles occur in the office or during a game, Morelos is always there to help and willing to talk one-on-one with an intern to help them better understand a concept. The interns enjoy individual time as they learn new concepts and pro-grams every day, while Morelos gets grat-itude from seeing the students excel in fields they weren’t comfortable with and continue to make progress.

“Edward is there to help me any time an issue arises. He tells me to not get so frustrated and just to not make things more complicated than they need to be,” said senior Ana Campos, who is the only photojournalism student volunteer in the office.

As the student interns promptly find out, the sports overseen by Morelos and his co-workers can quickly become over-whelming. Students often enter the in-ternship with some journalistic skills but no real world experience. For some, it may seem like a very hectic work place, due to deadlines needing to be met and the talkativeness that runs throughout the office, but Morelos is able to stay ground-ed and focused on his work, while helping and lending insight to the interns.

“A student writer came into my office last semester and I could tell he was shy and hesitant because he didn’t want to make a mistake,” Morelos said. “I now see him as a worker. He comes into my office and is eager to ask if I need help. He is now experienced in areas like social me-dia and Photoshop. To see people grow is just awesome.”

Morelos spoke of onetime student in-tern, Stephanie Taylor, who came in with a passion for writing and sports, but with limited experience. During her time as an

intern, Taylor was able to see how More-los handled situations and learned how to manage sports statistics programs. She landed an opportunity to work as a paid intern with the University of Arkansas and is now back at NMSU with a full-time position and is a co-worker of Morelos.

In the big picture, it isn’t only the stu-dent writers who are influenced in the office by Morelos and the other staff. Mo-relos said he is truly inspired by the stu-dents each semester, as he is able to watch students start off their internship with little experience and develop into well-taught, intellectual human beings.

“I get inspired by these students who come into the office that are excited about an opportunity and are hard workers. It inspires me to be better at my job and what I do,” Morelos explained. “It inspires me and lets me know I need to continue

to push and keep learning, myself.” Morelos said he believes anything is

possible in life, given motivation and the right attitude. Student interns are always going to be nervous because, oftentimes, it is their first real shot at showing off their skills, working live sporting events and being able to learn the insights from the veterans in the industry. Morelos said that being able to watch the students grow with experience and actually take away knowledge from the semester-long in-ternship would always bring him joy.

“When I was growing up I wanted to be a teacher, and in a sense I get to be a teacher doing this with the students,” Morelos said. “I get to teach students the necessary skills they would use in the real world. It gives me the feeling of being a teacher by helping students grow.” — B.C.

22

Morelos with members of the NMSU men’s basketball team.

The Scoop Staff

From left: Samuel Horstman, Dana Beasley, Douglas Scarvie, Allison McCollister, Frank Ambriz, Kyla Hollister, Frank Thayer, Claudia Zarate, Iris Reilly

WRITERS:

Brian CordovaKyla HollisterSamuel HorstmanDesiree LozanoIris ReillyDouglas ScarvieClaudia Zarate

EDITOR:

Dana Beasley

ASSISTANT EDITOR:

Allison McCollister

DESIGNER:

Frank Ambriz

FACULTY ADVISER:

Frank Thayer

Credits

New Mexico State UniversityDepartment of Journalismand Mass CommunicationsBox 30001, Dept. 3JLas Cruces, New Mexico 88003

NMSUNon-profit organization

US postage paid-permit #162Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001

24 The Scoop 2014

The Faculty of NMSU Journalism

“The Spanish heritage both here and within the larger community adds a great deal of flavor and has made being here a wonderful experi-

ence.” - Roger Mellen

“I think our journalism and mass communications students are among the best — they are interested in current events, engage in meaningful discussions and produce news stories and images that inform the cam-

pus and community.” - Pamela Porter

“My favorite part of NMSU involves our students. Many of

them are first genera-tion college students. They are not afraid to

compete.”

- Sean McCleneghan

“My favorite part of the university is the environ-

ment of potential that leaves each student with the sense that any achievement

dreamed can be realized.”

- Frank Thayer

I love to see the students walking, biking or skateboarding to their classes. It is simple, but I love it.” - Ana Cardenas

“What is my favorite part

about NMSU? Its cultural diversity

and its weather — WHETHER you

like it or not!”

- Pedro Villagrana

“NMSU students and

faculty are kind and friendly.... I think they are the greatest!”

- Nancy Howell

“My favorite part of NMSU

is working with diverse

students.”

- Hwiman Chung

Bruce Berman

Nick Miller

Mary Lamonica

Chris Faivre

Frank Thayer

Sean McCleneghan

Pamela Porter

Roger Mellen

Ana Cardenas

Hwiman Chung

Nancy HowellPedro Villagrana

Produced by Students for Alumni