KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010 / NEWS
LECTURE
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Award-winning journalist raises issues of equality
Schultz spoke to a crowd of 100 at Dole Institute
BY ELLIOT METZ emetz@kansan.com
She was murdered.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Connie Schultz told her audience that it's important to remember that lana Mackey "n't die.
She didn't pass away
Christie and Curt Brungart present at the Dole Institute Wednesday night. Journalist Connie Schultz spoke about women's nights as part of the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series. Mackey, the Brungarts' daughter, was murdered in July 2008.
Howard Ting/KANSAT
prominent women's rights activist who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in July 2008. During the lecture, Schultz empathized
Schultz, a nationally syndicated columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer spoke at the Dole Institute Wednesday night as part of the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series. Mackey was a former KU law student and a
Schultz
with Mackey and her cause.
"Jama was a feminist from the Midwest. I know how that feels," she said.
Schultz alternated between funny stories and serious issues, keeping the rapt attention of the hundred or so people in attendance.
As Schultz went on to tell stories that she heard from Mackey's parents, she summed up Jana with one sentence: "Don't tell me I can't because then I will."
"Connie's speech was awesome," said Curt Brungart, Mackey's father. "She brings up the serious issue of equality and other issues that women still face in our society."
During the speech, she called the young women of the University to action several times. It seemed that they heard her message loud and clear.
"I thought it was really great because she was so passionate and so articulate," said Kathryn Hoven, a freshman from Chester, N.J. "It showed that you can be assertive and still be respectful."
Edited by Sarah Bluvas
Q&A with Connie Schultz
Q: As a senator's wife, you've had to deal with a lot of gender issues in politics. Do you feel like those political stereotypes are propagated more by the world of politics or the world of the media?
A: By the media and the public. I mean, you have political consultants. You have to let them know early and often that you aren't going to feed the stereotypes. But that really flows from the candidate. If the candidate makes it clear that he doesn't want his campaign to stereotype his spouse, it's going to be more effective. I will say, I can't help but judge an elected official, or any man for that matter, by how he treats his wife. If they are dismissive of them or treat them as invisible, then that affects my opinion of them. But to be honest, I don't see a lot of that on the Hill. I love Sherrod, I'm married to
Sherrrod. I'm not a Senate wife. I've never given myself that title.
Q: Would you say that there is a community of so-called "Senate wives?" Are you close with any other wives of congressmen?
A: Not many. When I'm in Washington, I tend to be hanging out with other journalists except for when I'm seeing my husband. And I'm not there every week. He comes home every weekend. When I'm in Washington, I have a pretty busy schedule. I'm usually either there to give a talk or to go to some event with Sherrod that they want spouses to be at that's really important, like the Supreme Court dinner, that kind of thing. But there aren't a lot of those. And I don't do the spouse events, which I'm sure is frustrating for some people. I might do the one for Michelle Obama this year. I just don't tend to do that. Part of it is my comfort level as a journalist, and I also just don't identify myself through my marriage.
Q: You have a reputation as a very well-respected advocacy journalist,
someone who sticks up for the underdog. Would you say that those values have interacted with your husband and his policies in any way?
A: Well in any healthy marriage, you're going to be affecting each other's opinions in some way. But the reason I fell in love with Sherrod was probably because he's been fighting for the people that I come from his entire career. The people I advocate for, in large part, are the people that I come from. I'm the first in my family to go to college. I'm a working class kid, so the hourly wage-earner issue is huge for me. The union issue looms large also. I'm a feminist, so that issue is big for me. Sherrod and I agree on most things. That said, he never sees a column before I turn it in. We never talk about it until it's been turned in and edited. That's to protect both of us. He's never ever asked me not to write about something.
Q: One unique thing about your columns is that you tend not to use euphimisms or dodge the issue. Why is that?
A: I'm pretty direct, mainly because I feel like we don't talk in emuphimis. I
want my columns to read conversationally. I read every column out loud before I turn it in because I want it to sound the way I talk. I want people to feel like they're having a conversation with me. I'm trying to start the conversation, I'm not trying to lecture. I try to close the distance between me and the reader.
Q: How do you maintain an opinion and a stance about something without becoming one of the "extremists" or the talking heads on 24-hour news networks?
A: Well, there will be some who call me that. You can't control how people see you. All you can control is your response. When you start worrying too much about what people think about you, you start changing how you express yourself. And, before you know it, you are no longer authentically you. If you stand for anything, you're going to make enemies. The alternative is to have everyone like you and to stand for nothing. I don't have any interest in that. And, certainly, as a columnist, that's not my job.
CAMPUS
KU alumna changes goal, sees success in online media
BY KIRSTEN KWON kkwon@kansan.com
Ellyn Angelotti dreamed of doing public relations for Major League Baseball while studying journalism at the University. Angelotti, a KU alumna, started her sports broadcasting career by working with her professor, Terry Bryant, on Javawk Sports Talk.
"She was just a tireless worker," Bryant said. "I didn't have to do much. She was an anchor, and she produced the show as well as lined up guests."
But when Angelotti speaks at the Free State Social tonight and Friday, she won't be discussing sports. Instead, she will join other journalists from various backgrounds who will be addressing
the issues of news coverage, blogger outreach and the future of social media, areas that Angelotti is now focused on.
As a 2005 graduate in journalism and political science, she now works as the interactivity editor of Poynter Online and is a teacher at the Poynter Institute. Angelotti, 28, is the one the youngest faculty members at Poynter, and she works to progress multimedia development in the journalism industry through technology.
She said that the way people receive news is constantly changing and that she was determined to help teach the industry how to keep up.
"Journalism is changing. The news cycle is going from passive to more interactivity," Angeloltti said. "It's an infinite loop, and it doesn't just start with a journalist."
That interactivity includes social media. Angelotti said sites
"It's something journalists should pay attention to," she said. "When you see the power of social media to make changes in your society and how you can use those tools to your benefit, you can also identify what the challenges are and how to navigate those land mines."
like Facebook and Twitter already strongly affect the way news is delivered and would continue to do so in the future.
With social media sites, the relationship between the reader and the journalist has evolved. Instead of a reporter simply delivering the news, the reader can become a part of the process. Angelotti said journalists should include the audience in the story-telling process at the earliest stage.
Angelotti said young people who have grown up with social media should take advantage of their knowledge in the workforce. By combining the knowledge of young journalists and the experience of older colleagues, she said better stories could be produced.
"You're building that trust and reputation, which can only help you tell the story. It's a more personal connection, and that person with the byline becomes an actual person," Angelotti said. "There's a better sense of where you're coming from."
"It's a great opportunity for younger people to be leaders in ways that they haven't really been before," she said. "You can be real-
Angelotti has worked as a multimedia producer for the Lawrence Journal-World and as the new media sports editor at the Naples Daily News.
In her Journalism 301 course, Angelotti said she was exposed to all different facets of journalism, which broadened her focus to online and multimedia development.
"I got bored being limited to tell the story in one way. I liked that there were tools to tell my story in different ways," she said.
"Ellyn is one of the three or four people in the country that you call about how to tell a story in a different and better way," Baden said. "She doesn't call me for advice. I call her now."
Larry Baden, one of Angelotti's former professors, said that he saw her becoming one of the first successful female play-by-play broadcasters but that he wasn't surprised by her ability to excel in online journalism.
The forum, hosted by The World Company, starts tonight and continues through Friday at The Oread, 1200 Oread Ave.
ly influential coming out of college if you're willing to use the tools in a thoughtful way to teach people how to use them and that can earn you respect and help others to do better journalism."
Edited by Kate Larrabee
Student Body President-elect Michael Wade Smith was the first person to check out a movie. His choice was "The Blind Side."
"Throughout the campaign, they chalked 'Vote for Big Mike' throughout campus, and I thought I'd rent the movie where the name came from." Smith said.
KUnited opens first DVD rentalkiosk
CAMPUS
"I think students will be excited about it," Smith said. "It's going to be a great thing."
The first kiosk is in the Kansas Union near the ATMs to the south of the main entrance, and the next two will open in Hashinger Hall and in the Underground within the next few weeks. The kiosks offer Blu-rays and video games for rent. Blu-rays cost $1.79 and games $1.99.
KUited completed its first campaign promise Wednesday when it unveiled the first of three DVD Now kiosks on campus.
There will be coupons for a free rental circulating the Kansas Union and campus during the next couple weeks, he said.
— Annie Vangsnes
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