They say those who can't, teach. Well, I can, and I do.
I attended what is now known as the Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute in 1988 and earned my cherub wings. I returned to the program in 1994 as a magazine-week lecturer and served as a full five-week instructor from 2012 to 2016. I am now back to my usual one-week lectures and workshops. I have also lectured at J Camp, a program of the Asian American Journalists Association, and spoken to other college classes.
Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute
When I was a cherub in 1988, I attended one workshop on magazines. That was all. That was not enough. So in 1994, I came back to the program to teach a week of magazine writing and reporting with a curriculum that grew out of on-the-job, real world experience.
Since then, I've added lessons on magazine publishing, online reporting, writing reviews, writing about fashion, working a press conference and covering sports. Whether I am leading the classroom solo or sharing the floor with my colleagues, I hope what I offer students will serve them well even as platforms change and journalism evolves.
For more on MNJI, click here.
Students who have had their trend stories published include:
Amanda Rogers, Cherubs '12: "Ice Breaker: Concussions suffered in girls' soccer," Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition, December 2012 (no longer online).
Alastair Pearson, Cherubs '13: "Dictators in the Classroom," Foreign Policy Journal, Jan. 17, 2014.
Michela Rodriguez, Cherubs '13: "Why the Popularity of Women's Rowing Has Skyrocketed in the Past Two Decades," The Post Game, Feb. 26, 2014.
Lucy Dwyer, Cherubs '14: "When Anxiety Hits at School," The Atlantic, Oct. 3, 2014.
Natalie Swartz, Cherubs '15: "Coming Out While Staying In," Harvard Political Review, May 26, 2017.
Cyn city students in 2016, these amazing cherubs enrolled at medill and returned to the MNJI program in 2018 to be community associates. and here they all are, teaching online reporting. i am a proud journalism instructor! from left: marissa martinez, Amanda rooker, gabby birenbaum, and andrew golden. photo taken at fisk hall, evanston, illinois, july 26, 2018.
Bias Busters
Joe Grimm, Michigan State University School of Journalism’s visiting editor in residence, has been head or co-head instructor of MNJI since 2009. Our friendship, though, pre-dates our summer reunions in Evanston. He’s been a terrific sounding board for academic issues and a valued mentor. So I was thrilled when he asked me to look over an edition of his students’ award-winning Bias Busters series about Generation X, published in 2019. My email to him preceding my notes became the intro. Thank you, Joe!
To order this and other books in the Bias Busters Cultural Competence series, click here.
AAJA J Camp
I joined the Asian American Journalists Association as a student after winning a Washington D.C. chapter scholarship. I attended my first national conference in 1992 and then went on to serve three terms as a New York chapter treasurer and two terms as the national treasurer. Although I graduated from the Executive Leadership Program and got a grounding in management from that experience, the continuing highlight of my membership is serving as a speaker at J Camp, the multicultural high school program.
For more on J Camp, click here.