The University of North Dakota

Communicators Days set for Oct. 20-21
Communicators Days is set for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21. The schedule follows.

Friday, Oct. 20
* 6 to 7 p.m., reception hosted by President Kupchella. SCOMM students, Communicators’ Days panelists and moderators, the media, and members of the School of Communication community are invited. This is an informal opportunity for people to get to know one another. There will be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.
* 7 to 9:30 p.m., political discussions. These will give students an opportunity to engage in conversations with people in government, to learn how important issues of governance are to them as future journalists and, even more important, future societal leaders. This event is open to students, media, the public, and the University community. Confirmed participants include Bill Brudvik, Democratic candidate for attorney general; Dwight Grotberg, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate; Kristin Hedger, Democratic candidate for secretary of state; North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger; and Matt Mechtel, Republican candidate for U. S. House of Representatives. Moderators: Dave Thompson, news director, North Dakota Public Radio; Jack Zaleski, opinion page editor, The Forum.

Saturday, Oct. 21
* 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., continental breakfast with assorted muffins, fresh fruit, breakfast bars, coffee, pop, bottled water, and bottled juices. Time for networking. Professional associations may wish to use this time for meetings.
* 8:45 to 10:15 a.m.- FOI/Open Records/Open Meetings. This panel will discuss aspects of this important area of open governance and democracy, particularly as it relates to the media’s role as societal freedom watchdog. There will be emphasis on North Dakota interpretation and application of the law. Moderator: Jack McDonald, attorney, Wheeler Wolf, and legal counsel, NDBA, NDNA. Panelists include Peggy Bellows, editor, The Forum; Mike Brue, assigning editor, Grand Forks Herald; Mike Morken, managing editor, news, KXJB; and Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota attorney general.
* 10:30 to 11:50 a.m., What Is News? This panel will explore the question of what is news, probing such facets as: Does the media still produce news? Does it engage in synthesis and analysis? Or do too many journalists settle for simply recording and replaying? How do journalists determine what to cover and what not? Moderator: Susan Mickelson, managing partner, SimmonsFlint, lifelong media consumer, connoisseur, and utilizer. Panelists are Darrell Dorgan, director, North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame; Jerry Fiskum, Red River Farm Network; Bob Kerr, general manager, WDAZ; Jaime DeLage, assigning editor, Grand Forks Herald; Jim Pumarlo, newspaper consultant/former editor of Red Wing Republican Eagle.
* Noon to 1 p.m., lunch (plated) with a choice of half a sandwich (roast beef, turkey, or veggie) and a cup of soup (same soup for all). Beverage (coffee, tea, milk) is included. Dessert will be a celebratory photo cake (photos of Communicators’ Days workers, staff, faculty) from Hugo’s.
* 1 to 2:30 p.m., The Effects of Covering Trauma on Journalists. Everyone who practices journalism for any length of time will have experiences with covering trauma: untimely deaths after prolonged battles with illness; violent accidents; violent crimes; the results of disasters. This is true whether the journalists work for large dailies, small weeklies, large broadcast markets or small, and everything in between. What effect does this have on the journalists, those with whom they work, and their media organizations? Moderator: Rosanne McBride, clinical psychologist and assistant professor, School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Panelists are Cecile Wehrman, news editor, The (Crosby) Journal; Kevin Grinde, managing editor, Grand Forks Herald; Janel Klein, freelance broadcast journalist; Stephen J. Lee, reporter covering region/police/courts, Grand Forks Herald; and John Stennes, photo chief, Grand Forks Herald.

For more information contact Jacqui Lowman at 777-2581 or jacquelyn.lowman@und.edu. Registration is $30, and available at the door. The event is hosted by the School of Communication. All events take place at the accessible Hilton Garden Inn, which is contiguous to UND, just off 42nd Street, next to the Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center.