Center Partners With Russian Journalists

The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training is working with the Russian Union of Journalists to host representatives from 25 to 30 Russian news organizations on improving media management skills in a workshop scheduled for June 8.
The workshop, which will take place in the Samara region of Russia, will utilize the skills of Drs. Lee Becker and Ann Hollifield director of the Cox Center and department head of telecommunications in Grady College, respectively, and two Russian trainers in working with the journalists. The two Russian specialists are Nadezhda Azhgikhina, executive secretary of the RUJ, and Vladimir Kasyutin, secretary of the same organization.
“It’s not only about teaching, it’s a learning experience,” said Tudor Vlad, associate director of the Cox Center, of the programs benefits. Vlad said that the dangers facing Russian journalists provide valuable lessons to any reporter. He cited statistics that show of the 260 journalists killed in Russia last year less than 20 percent have reached courts.
Vlad said that the help that the Cox Center provides will help Russian journalists feel less isolated. He quoted Azhgikhina on her belief that connecting with reporters of other nationalities is crucial to making Russians feel they are a part of the larger world. By pairing this goal of connectivity with the program’s main function of improving management skills the Cox Center hopes that Russia will serve as a launching pad for a successful and financially independent media.

Athens Reporter Feels Stress, Not Worried

Adam Thompson, a reporter for the Athens Banner-Herald, spoke at the University of Georgia Monday about his optimism for news writing despite staff and salary cutbacks across the industry.
Thompson said that while cuts have increased work for him and fellow reporters at the Banner-Herald the staff has embraced these new challenges. Along with obstacles the changing face of the media offers new possibilities.
“Online [content] brings a lot of great tools,” Thompson said referring to the ability to link to relevant materials from a news story. But despite these new advantages he did admit that the changing face of newspapers has its fair share of trade-offs.
“It’s just not possible to do the same job with less resources and people,” he said. Thompson himself recently picked up coverage Madison County, which is an example of smaller staffs forced to cover more news. But even with these difficulties, Thompson reiterated the importance of news.
When asked by a student what advice he would offer to aspiring journalists he was very optimistic about a future in newspapers. “There’s always going to be a place for [journalism],” he said. “The need for what newspapers do will still exist whether or not the New York Times comes to your door every day in Athens.”

Link Service Sparks Controversy

Discussion of a grant for the Link transit service raised old concerns of urban renewal at an Athens-Clarke County agenda-setting meeting Thursday evening.
“Promises have been made to people years ago and they still have not been fulfilled,” said Commissioner George Maxwell of citizens of the county who have no means of transportation. The grant would allow for an extension of transit services to give transportation to the citizens that Maxwell mentioned.
“There is a history in this town of people being moved to the edges of the county,” said Commissioner Ed Robinson in his endorsement of a grant for the Link Transit system. He suggested that there be an expansion of services to give transit to those lying outside
“It’s very easy to break promises in a democracy,” said Robinson. “But when we all took our oath we made a promise to serve the people in Athens.”
In addition to a t grant proposal for The Link there were several other items addressed at the agenda-setting meeting. These included:
-Proposed text amendments regarding lighting and glare standards.
-Funding recommendations for Community Development Block Grant.
-The choice of preferred developer for a new parking deck downtown.
-A proposed addition to the Tri Delta sorority house on Milledge Avenue.

Deputy Manager Snipes Honored by Commission

The Athens-Clarke County commission named a water resources facility in honor of deputy manager, Bobby M. Snipes, at an agenda setting meeting Thursday for his involvement in securing the county’s water resources.
Mayor Heidi Davidson lauded Snipes for his work in the Athens-Clarke County area, listing his contributions, specifically his contribution to water-related causes. She discussed his 33 years of experience working as a traffic engineer and his heading of local water rights groups in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
“He has been very much involved in the protection of our water resources,” said Davidson. In particular, Davidson emphasized Snipes’ role in the creation of the Bear Creek Reservoir which provides water to Clarke, Barrow, Jackson, and Oconee Counties.
The water facility itself, called the Bobby M. Snipes Water Resources Center, has been upgraded with new laboratories and equipped to serve students. The naming of the center was opposed by only two members of the commission, who sated they dissented only because of the tradition of naming facilities after retired or deceased public servants.

Deputy Manager Snipes Honored by Commission

The Athens-Clarke County commission named a water resources facility in honor of deputy manager, Bobby M. Snipes, at an agenda setting meeting Thursday for his involvement in securing the county’s water resources.
Mayor Heidi Davidson lauded Snipes for his work in the Athens-Clarke County area, listing his contributions, specifically his contribution to water-related causes. She discussed his 33 years of experience working as a traffic engineer and his heading of local water rights groups in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
“He has been very much involved in the protection of our water resources,” said Davidson. In particular, Davidson emphasized Snipes’ role in the creation of the Bear Creek Reservoir which provides water to Clarke, Barrow, Jackson, and Oconee Counties.
The water facility itself, called the Bobby M. Snipes Water Resources Center, has been upgraded with new laboratories and equipped to serve students. The naming of the center was opposed by only two members of the commission, who sated they dissented only because of the tradition of naming facilities after retired or deceased public servants.

Head of Market Developement Discusses Innovation, Technology

Johan Vos, the 57-year-old director of market development at the University of Amsterdam, spoke at the University of Georgia Monday about universities selling intellectual property rights to encourage technological innovation.
Vos’ discussed the differences in how American and European universities handle intellectual property rights and research. “U.S. universities have always been keen on patenting and selling,” Vos said. Conversely, Vos characterized European universities as having only recently begun to integrate research with the sale of intellectual property.
Vos and others interested in his field are looking for better ways of using research to create innovation. Building a relationship between intellectual property rights and research departments is seen by Vos as necessary for innovation and positive change.
“Families change, organizations change,” Vos said. “It’s the survival of those who are able to adapt most efficiently to the changes the environment.”

Prize-Winning Author, Veteran Journalist Speaks at UGA

Hank Klibanoff, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author and experienced journalist, stressed clear and thorough news writing to a throng of UGA journalism students today.“Embrace the gray,” Klibanoff said of good reporting. “It’s in the that gray that you can find the best stories.”

Blogs!

I have set this blog up for my news writing class at UGA. I will be posting my news stories that I work on this semester here. I look forward to getting my work on the internet, but until then this will have to do.