News Releases: September 2003

September 2003

Sept. 4, 2003: The Missouri School of Journalism Welcomes Nine New Faculty Members The Missouri School of Journalism welcomes nine new faculty members: Elizabeth Brixey, Scott Swafford, Brian Wallstin, Margaret Walter, Jennifer Reeves, Randy Reeves, Berkley Hudson and Earnest Perry. Four will join the staff of the Columbia Missourian, the community's daily morning newspaper. [More]

Sept. 5, 2003: Journalism Researchers Propose New Model for Receiving Spam According to the International Data Corporation, more than one trillion unsolicited e-mail messages, commonly referred to as "spam," will be sent in 2003. Brightmail, an anti-spam technology company, estimated that 41 percent of all e-mail messages sent daily are spam. Most people find dealing with this new form of advertising annoying and time-consuming. However, researchers at the Missouri School of Journalism have found a model that might satisfy customers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and advertisers. [More]

Sept. 8, 2003: Mass Media Damaging African-American Women's Body Esteem, MU Journalism Studies Find Media images of stereotypically thin, attractive women confront women of all colors. While previous research says these images cause Caucasian women to practice unhealthy behaviors and become extremely dissatisfied with their body image, African-American women supposedly are less concerned with weight. However, two new studies by a Missouri School of Journalism researcher found that although African-American women are not affected by images of Caucasian women, they experience body dissatisfaction when viewing media images of African-American women. [More]

Sept. 10, 2003: New Book by Missouri Journalism Professor Focuses on the Benefits of GIS in Journalism Mapping the News: Case Studies in GIS and Journalism, a new book by Missouri School of Journalism assistant professor David Herzog, details how geographic information systems (GIS) technology guides journalists to where news is happening as they strive to bring information to the world. Herzog specializes in using geographic information systems (GIS) tools to report the news and uses his expertise to educate and inform students and professionals alike. [More]

Sept. 15, 2003: Walter Williams Honored With Bust A forest green shroud flapped in the light Sept. breeze. The stern lines of a bronze sculpture could just barely be made out beneath the cloak. More than 60 people gathered on Sunday in front of Boonville's City Hall as the green sheet was pulled away, revealing a bust of Walter Williams. [More]

Sept. 22, 2003: New Advertising Department Chair Named Margaret Duffy, PhD, has been named chair of the Advertising Department. She succeeds Steve Kopcha who has returned to full-time teaching. As chair, Duffy will oversee administrative activities of the department and serve as the liaison between other faculty, students, and the dean. Her colleagues nominated her for the position. [More]

Sept. 22, 2003: Washington Program Gives Students Experience Reporting From Nation's Capital At 23 years old, Missouri School of Journalism student Matt Keeney is already producing television stories in the news capital of the world. And at 21, so is Christine Maddela. Both are students in the school's unique Washington Program. They are the first of a new era of Missouri students videotaping and reporting with state-of-the-art television news equipment recently installed at the school's bureau in the National Press Club Building. [More]