2009 Schuneman Symposium

Folks,

This is a phenomenal opportunity available to anyone on campus next Thursday. While not directly affiliated with OU SPJ, it is an incredible opportunity for those who can attend. It also features our OU SPJ advsier, Cary Frith in the afternoon panel!

The 2008 election brought monumental change to the Presidency but it also marked significant changes in how campaigns are run and how they are covered by the media.
The impact of the Internet and “new media” changed the face of the electoral politics and election coverage forever. It is this changing political and media landscape that will be examined, in detail, on April 9th at the first Schuneman Symposium on Photojournalism and New Media sponsored by the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism and alumni R. Smith Schuneman and Patricia W. Schuneman.

The day-long event will consist of three panels held in Baker University Center Rooms 240-242 and two major keynote addresses in Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now will speak to the community at 5 p.m. in the Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium and. Steve Hildebrand, one of the masterminds behind the successful Obama campaign, will also speak there at 7 p.m. He will talk about how the Obama campaign used “new media.”

Leading off the morning will be a panel of photojournalists talking about the changing nature of how they visually capture and document campaigns. The panel will feature noted photographers from the School of Visual Communication and major news publications. That panel will be from 9-10:30 a.m.

A second panel will examine the election from the media side. It is titled New Media v. Traditional Journalism. National “new media” experts Bob Benz and Peter Shaplen will join advertising specialist Gary Moneysmith and international expert Dr. Bernhard Debatin to dissect the changing media climate.

In the afternoon (3 to 4:30 p.m.) a panel of political experts headed by professor and author Albert L May from George Washington University and alumnus and AP White House correspondent Phil Elliott will focus on Political New Media. May authored an article “Campaign 2008: It’s on UTube.” Elliott is the youngest reporter ever to be assigned to the White House by AP.

The day will be topped off by the keynote addresses by Goodman and Hildebrand.
All sessions are open and the public is cordially invited to attend.

This impressive Symposium is made possible by the generosity and dedication of the Schunemans. As the director of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, I personally express my appreciation to them for making this possible.

Read more here.

Hope to see you all there!