Team Wins at Royal Invitational
Arden, Minn., October 2007--Loyola's Debating Society took top honors at the Royal Invitational at Bethel University, Arden Hill, Minn. October 27th. All three Loyola teams entered in the tournament advanced to the elimination rounds. Junior Jesse Wahlen was named the top speaker at the event and the team of William Baldwin (senior) and Matt Muir (sophomore) went undefeated to win the tournament.

First Amendment Rights in Times of War
Chicago, October, 2007—Journalists historically have faced obstacles in providing accurate war coverage, but the debate surrounding free speech, freedom of the press and national defense has never been so intense.  These issues will be examined at a panel discussion titled First Amendment Rights in Times of War, on Thursday, November 1 at Loyola University Chicago.

William J. Bauer, senior judge U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, will moderate a panel on the topic beginning at 12pm in Beane Hall, 13^th floor, Lewis Towers.  Panelists will include Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Howlett Jr., professor in residence, Loyola University Law School; Debbie Berman, first amendment attorney at Jenner & Block law firm; James Ferg Cadima of the American Civil Liberties Union; Nancy Hague and Mary Dempsey from the Chicago Public Library ;  Thomas Roeser. WLS –AM talk show host; and Kenan Heise, author and retired Chicago Tribune reporter.

Sponsors are the Chicago Journalists Association, The Chicago Headline Club, the International Press Club of Chicago, the Loyola University Journalism program and Loyola’s student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The event is free including a box lunch for the first 75 people who attend. For further information contact John Slania at 312 915-6524 or jslania@luc.edu. 

Anthony and Dan both received their bachelors’ degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., and graduate degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and credit portions of their success in broadcast journalism to their strong coursework.

“The classes that forced me to be on deadline and were tough on grammar gave me the most valuable experience in order to prepare me for broadcast,” Dan said. “It is important to take these courses and put yourself on that deadline because once you have that reporting job the news doesn’t wait for you.  The six o’clock evening news is at six not at 6:04.”

Many students were concerned about what it was like reporting in front of a camera the first few times and the stress that might go along with that pressure.

“Instead of talking to the camera lens I picture a friendly face or two to make me feel more comfortable because in the end all reporting is storytelling,” Anthony said.

Dan was not too far behind to add his surprise, when he first began reporting, to discover how different it was to move from a low priority market into the booming market of Chicago. “I was amazed at how competitive the news business was in Chicago compared to the Indiana market. It took me a little longer than I expected to get used to the pace and being in front of the camera,” he said. 

Phil Ponce brought the evening to a close with a piece of advice to all the aspiring journalists in the audience as a way to ease many nerves in the room about first time reporting skills.

“Don’t go out and get your first reporting job and try to hit a home-run,” he said.  “There is no need to dazzle anyone just make contact with the ball; hit a single or even a double, but don’t try to hit it home on the first segment.  Make sure you have mastered the structure first and just make contact.”

—Nicole Roberto

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Debate Team Hosts British National Touring Team
Chicago, September 2007—The Loyola University Debating Society will host the British National Touring Team on November 15th at 4:30 p.m. in room 142 of the Life Science Building.

Two members of the Debating Society will engage the British team in a parliamentary style debate lasting approximately one hour. The debate is free and open to the public. A reception for alumni, debating society members, and faculty will follow. 

Debating for the British National Touring Team will be Alex Just, a senior studying history and politics at Oxford University, Oxford, England; and Alistair Cormack, a recent honors graduate in history and politics from the University of Durham, Durham, England.

For more information on the British team go to the Debate Team News page.

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SPJ Chapter Takes Excellence Award for Second Year
Chicago, September 2007--The Loyola student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists was awarded the Mark of Excellence Award for a year of hard work, which included panels and discussions on the future of the industry, as the best student chapter in Region 5 for the second year in a row.    

SPJ Regional Director Richard Roth applauded Loyola's repeat performance, “Last year's Region 5 Chapter of the Year defended its title with energy and dedication. The chapter held a lot of solid programs, involving many students and professionals in considering how students consume news, where students get news, etc…A repeat winner."

Faculty adviser, Beth Konrad and SPJ President, Elizabeth Lisican, a graduating senior submitted a comprehensive to report for the national competition in May. The report detailed a year’s worth of events including forums, a tour of the Chicago Tribune and a panel on “Newspapers and the Future.”  The panel featured a study conducted by SPJ members and Journalism students on where students got their news and presentations on the industry’s future by Chicago Sun-Times General Manager John Barron and Features Editor Christine Lebetter.

As a member of Region 5, Loyola was up against some tough competition for the award. Region 5 features colleges and universities from Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky including Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Indiana University and Western Kentucky University.

President Patrycja Malinowska, senior, and Vice President, Alysse Dalessandro, sophomore, will attend the SPJ National Convention & Journalism Conference on October 5-7 in Washington to accept the award.  The chapter is also in the running for the National Mark of Excellence Award along with the winners of ten other SPJ regions. Results from that will also be presented at the National Convention.

—Alysse Dalessandro

Family Secrets: Phil, Dan and Anthony Ponce on Careers in Broadcasting.
Chicago, August 2007— Join veteran journalist Phil Ponce and his two sons, Dan and Anthony, as they share their secrets on how to develop a successful career in broadcast journalism. They will be appearing together at a free panel discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Loyola University Chicago. The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. at Beane Hall on the 13th floor of Lewis Towers, 820 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

Phil Ponce has had a long and distinguished career as a broadcast journalist, including his current position as co-anchor and managing editor of "Chicago Tonight" on public television WTTW- Channel 11. He also teaches broadcast courses as a Professional in Residence at Loyola University Chicago.

Now he finds his two sons following in his footsteps. Dan Ponce is a general assignment reporter with ABC-owned WLS-TV Channel 7. And Anthony Ponce is a general assignment reporter at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV Channel 5.

This event is being co-sponsored by Loyola’s Journalism Program, the Loyola Student Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Chicago Headline Club.

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Journalism Majors Learn in Sun-Times City Newsroom
Chicago, August 2007—This summer, six journalism majors participated in a six-week field-study program at the Chicago Sun-Times. In the city newsroom, under the direction Assistant City Editor and Loyola part-time faculty member Bob Herguth, students Karen Benetatos, Heather El-Khoury, Meaghan Glennan, Linsey Glosier, Barrett Newell, and Jill Parikh received hands-on experience working at a major city daily.

The students wrote news briefs, conducted interviews, and worked with staff reporters on stories; for Parikh that meant getting her byline on the front page. Parikh worked with Sun-Times staff reporters Norman Parish and Annie Sweeney on a story about Chicago paramedics rescuing a newborn, headlined Dramatic Baby Rescue, which appeared on the paper’s front page on July 1st. 

When students were not working on assignments, they were encouraged to do some research and generate their own story ideas. Glennan’s story, which went in to the features section, Gallery Gives Showcase to Iraqi Art was one example.

I thought the practicum was wonderful experience because it put to use all of the knowledge and theory that I had learned in class,” said recent graduate, El-Khoury. “It was challenging and intense but at the end of the work day, whether I was out on time or a couple hours late, I felt proud of my work that day.” 

Newell felt his work at the Sun-Times was a valuable experience. He said, “I never hesitated to ask questions, but I liked the professional expectations I was given.” He added “I never got praise without knowing what I could do better.”

This fall, the Journalism program and Chicago Sun-Times will once again afford students of junior or senior standing, a similar opportunity. Any interested student who fulfills the requirements of an internship is encouraged to apply for one of three openings available. Students must submit a cover letter, featuring their qualifications; a resume and two clips to John Slania, journalism program director. Applications can be dropped off at Lewis Tower 900 or emailed to jslania@luc.edu.