SJSU Journalism Students Welcome Intrepid CBS ’60 Minutes’ Global Correspondent

Professor Bob Rucker and Journalism graduate students at the Unique Lives lecture series featuring Lara Logan.

As part of the Unique Lives lecture series in Campbell, Chris Di Salvo, School of Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC), who moonlights as an associate producer of the series invited Bob Rucker, JMC, and Journalism graduate students to attend the third lecture featuring Lara Logan, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, 60 minutes.

Halima Kazem, JMC, did a superb job interviewing the award-winning journalist on stage before hundreds of people gathered at the Heritage Theater. They shared experiences covering war torn Afghanistan and other international hot spots. For more than an hour, Logan spoke eloquently and candidly to the audience about her personal life and challenges growing up in South Africa, the wisdom and encouragement from her mother, and the bold news reporting she did on the operation to take back Mosul from ISIS, the little known victims of the Holocaust of World War II, and her touching stories from the front lines of the Ebola crisis in the forests of central Africa.

The most moving interaction came when Logan described in horrifying detail how she was almost killed in Tahrir Square in Egypt. In 2011, Logan was violently sexually assaulted and beaten by a mob of some 300 men while reporting a story for 60 Minutes on the Egyptian Revolution. She eventually broke her silence about the brutal attack on 60 Minutes to draw attention to the plight of men and women, as well as female journalists covering war zones.

Click here to see that revealing 60 Minutes report.

After the two hour community presentation, a small group of SJSU faculty, students and guests were invited on stage to meet Logan including journalism major Salvatore Maxwell from the JMC School Spartan Media, Joseph Di Salvo, spouse of Chris Di Salvo, and Bob Rucker. Rucker invited Lara Logan to come visit San José State University in the future. She welcomed the idea!

Left to right: Devin Fehely, KPIX 5; Ben Corrales, Bob Rucker’s husband; Lara Logan, 60 minutes Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent; Bob Rucker, Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communications

News Around CASA

Sandy Hirsh, School of Information, is featured in SJSU’s Research Foundation Annual Report for her work in preparing veterans for careers in library and information sciences. Click here to access the content.

Greg Woods, Justice Studies, was interviewed for a story about the YouTube shooter for the San Jose Mercury News. Click here for the San Jose Mercury News story.

Peter Young, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, was selected as a national Emmy® Award judge for the field of Television News & Documentary for the 39th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. The work includes reviewing submissions from the television arena as well as re-purposed Internet streaming and 360/virtual reality broadcasting.

Nisha Garud-Patkar, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, has been voted PhD student of the year by the graduate committee at E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. The award was given at a banquet on the evening of April 17. E.W.Scripps is one of the top 10 journalism schools in the United States. Congratulations Nisha!

School of Journalism and Mass Communications Faculty Comment on Facebook Dilemma Regarding Leaked Data to Cambridge Analytica

Matt Cabot commented about crisis communications after Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, testified to the United States Congress on Tuesday, April 10. Cabot did an outstanding job with both interviews.

He appeared on both ABC 7 and KTVU 2. Here are the news clips:

ABC7-TV

KTVU-TV Plus

In addition, Larry Sokoloff  was interviewed on both ABC7 and NBC Bay Area  on Tuesday, April 10, about Facebook’s new stance on the California Consumer Privacy Act. Here are the news clips:

ABC7-TV

NBC Bay Area-TV

With the news that Cambridge Analytica may have compromised many Facebook users data, Peter Young and Matt Cabot commented on local news stations.

Click here for a link to KPIX-TV’s story March 24 about increasing pressure on Facebook. Peter Young was interviewed for the story. This story also aired on KCAL-TV in Los Angeles.

Click here for a link to the additional interview with Peter Young on March 26 with KTVU-TV.  It was a live Skype interview about Facebook.

Here are two stories about Cambridge Analytica using Facebook user data. Peter Young was interviewed in both stories.

NBC Bay Area

KPIX-TV

Matt Cabot was interviewed by KGO-TV on March 21 about how Facebook is responding to the public relations crisis it is facing because of Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook user data. Watch the news clip here:

KGO-TV.

OT Students Bowl to Raise Funds for Research

Occupational Therapy graduate students at San José State University held a spring bowling event in the newly renovated Bowling Center on campus. Hosted by Pi Theta Epsilon chapter members and funded by SJSU Associated Students, the event celebrated the student and faculty efforts in The American Occupational Therapy Foundation St. Catherine Challenge fundraiser and provided an opportunity for some friendly competition between students and faculty.

As of March 1st, the students have raised $6,260 for Occupational Therapy research grants, this is the most they have ever raised for this challenge. Top student fundraisers in each year of the graduate program received a spot on a bowling team, or could nominate another student to bowl in their place. The two student teams played against each other and the winning team advanced to compete against the faculty team. Both students and faculty enjoyed a fun evening participating together in the leisure occupation of bowling.

“The friendly competition created camaraderie between students and faculty outside the classroom,” says Winifred Schultz-Krohn, Chair, Occupational Therapy.  “Additionally, this event helped promote greater awareness to the campus community about the graduate program and Occupational Therapy profession. The students and faculty plan to make this an annual event.”

 

SJSU Advertising Program Sweeps the Silicon Valley American Advertising Awards

Award season is officially open and that means one thing – it’s time for the ADDYs. “The American Advertising Awards, to give them their official title, are the Advertising industry’s equivalent of the Oscars,” says John Delacruz, Assistant Professor, Advertising. Opening a varied award season every year, the best professional and student work is rewarded and celebrated at an event that showcases homegrown talent.

“For students, this is the first step on the ladder of advertising award shows and is one where their creativity is rewarded alongside the best our industry has to offer. They are judged alongside their professional counterparts – and that’s a big deal,” says Delacruz.

This year’s event was held at Deluxe Eatery and Drinkery, San José, a hip watering hole at the heart of San José’s creative district. Student members of the American Advertising Federation’s Silicon Valley Ad Club volunteered and reaped the rewards. Since 2013, SJSU’s Advertising Program’s participation in this competition has increased. This year, there were 21 student entries across a number of categories that included Art Direction to Copywriting to Cinematography. In all, SJSU students received 16 Awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories, plus a coveted ADDY and a Judges’ Pick.

The Gold Award, and subsequent ADDY went to Arabela Espinoza and Talia Nakhjiri for a Social Media and Print based campaign for the 2017 ADDYs Call For Entries. The campaign, “Make Mama Proud,” was a call to action for advertising creatives to enter the competition so their mothers could be proud of them once more.

A Silver Award and Judges’ Pick went to Noel Shiu and Cullan McChesney for Burger King. This campaign, edgy and racy, showcased their creativity in terms of Copywriting, Art Direction and Strategy.

Brocoli’s Agency – a team consisting of Michael Brown, Hieu Tran, Aurelia Faudot, Peter Babakhan and Antina Chen won three Silver Awards for a rebranding and communications campaign for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. The campaign, “Dive Deeper,” revealed the breadth of craft skills the students learn in the advertising program. They designed a new brand identity and created an app as well as a social media and print campaign to announce the refreshed new look. “They also created a range of merchandising products too,” says Delacruz.

Brandon Torres, a talented advertising photographer, won two Silvers for a photography exhibition he also promoted via a website and a series of short videos. “De Mi Tierra” celebrated his Colombian heritage and showcased his photographic talent.

Jesse Santos won two Silvers and a Bronze award. One of the Silver awards was received in collaboration with Alyssa Sotelo for an awareness campaign for Patagonia’s Long Root Ale – a beer produced using sustainable agricultural methods. He also won a Silver in Cinematography for a series of bumper videos promoting Peace One Day. The Bronze was also in Cinematography for a commercial promoting HydroFlask as the perfect container for cold beer.

Eva Germer received a Silver award for an environmental sticker campaigns promoting sustainability on campus. These stickers decorate the rims of all the trash cans on campus, reminding users of their environmental responsibilities.

Adrianna Benyat swept the floor with an Awards haul winning two Silvers for Peace One Day and a Bronze for Home Depot, “Toys to Tools.” Adrianna Benyat, together with Saul Manriquez, also won a Silver Award for PetChatz, an ingenious product helping owners maintain video contact with their pets throughout the day, and a Bronze Award or a rebrand of Totally Awesome cleaning products.

Finally, a Bronze went home to Annie Coleman, Lexi Kruger and Dani Ogier for their Burger King, Because Fire is Better campaign. The work they entered was copy-driven and evocative, as well as reflecting Burger King’s edgy tone-of-voice.

“This was a fantastic event where students networked with industry professionals, hustling for internships and where previous students returned having been rewarded with jobs in agencies across Silicon Valley and beyond,” says Delacruz. “Let’s see how much better next year’s ADDYs can be!”