Feb/march 2001

Veteran journalist - NT alum reflects on career

By September L. McIntyre

Keith Shelton
Keith Shelton interviews Gov. John Connally at Love Field, Dallas, on April 27, 1963, seven months before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Shelton covered politics for the Dallas Times Herald,and was in the presidential motorcade the day Kennedy was shot. Connally was injured by the gunman.
A journalist's story can be interesting, especially if that journalist is NT alumnus Keith Shelton.

A native of Altus, Okla., Shelton moved to Texas for college and never looked back. Following in his older brother's footsteps, he entered the field of journalism.

Shelton knew that a career in journalism would be hard work, but he believed that it would allow him opportunities otherwise unavailable.

"Journalism has provided a seat on the front row of history and has allowed me to cover interesting and historical figures," he said.

Some of those historical figures include Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. Shelton also covered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Presidents Kennedy and Johnson were both fun to cover for the Dallas Times Herald, as Kennedy was glamorous and Johnson was an "unpredictable character" who was always making news.

Shelton's biggest story was that of President Kennedy's assassination. Shelton was in the president's motorcade a half block away when he heard the shots.

"Among the biggest stories a reporter ever covers is a presidential assassination because it doesn't happen very often," he said.

The turbulent '60s were exciting years for Dallas journalists, Shelton said, because of the competitive atmosphere fostered by an old-fashioned "newspaper war" between the Dallas Times Herald and the Dallas Morning News.

"At one point, the Times Herald sold more papers in Dallas than the Dallas Morning News," Shelton said. The Times Herald ceased publication in 1989.

While serving as editor at the Denton Record-Chronicle, Shelton was approached by C.E. Shuford to teach a journalism lab at NT. He enjoyed it, and when the newspaper adviser and basic reporting position opened up, he took it.

"I had been on newspapers for 13 years," Shelton said. "I thought I would enjoy teaching and was ready for more time off and a little less pressure than working in a newsroom."

He joined the faculty in 1969, but left in 1978 to return to the Record-Chronicle as managing editor. While working at NT, Shelton also earned his master of arts in journalism.

He rejoined the NT faculty in 1988 as journalist-in-residence. Much of his 22 years on the NT faculty were spent as adviser to The North Texas Daily.

"By far, the greatest part of being at NT has been the relationship with students. It's gratifying to see students go out and do well in the professional world. I've learned as much from them as they have from me."

Shelton said that the main change he has noticed during his years at NT has been the number of journalism students.

"We have many times more students now than when I started," Shelton said.

"That makes it more difficult to have close relationships with individual students, and it has forced us to cut back on some requirements, so students don't graduate with as much experience as they formerly did."

Overall Shelton has enjoyed both his newspaper and teaching career. As far as his career is concerned, Shelton is a man with no regrets.

"If I had to do it all over again I would do it the exact same way," Shelton said.

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Mayborn guest lecturer joins NT Unity Rally

NT Unity Rally Pius Njawe (center), Mayborn guest lecturer from Cameroon, Africa, joined members of the NT family at the Unity Rally Feb. 7. The rally was organized by the Student Government Association, the NT chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and university administration in response to recent alleged racist behavior by some members of the community. Photo by Mae Beth Watkins

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Student Profile: Denton becomes home for international student Lei Zhang

By Elizabeth Clark

Anyone who has taken classes with Lei Zhang or worked with her on the NT Daily is aware of her drive for precision, punctuality and thoroughness. Her upbringing and early education have a lot to do with that drive, she said.

"My parents have always been very proud of me and trust that I make good decisions. When I told them that I wanted to go to America to study, their first response was, 'That is a dangerous country.' But they are very supportive of my decision, both financially and emotionally."

Zhang, whose undergraduate work in China was in English language and literature, is a research assistant for Dr. Jacque Lambiase and works 10 hours a week at the NT Daily as a copy assistant. She is also a Mayborn scholarship recipient. In her home country, she explained, it's difficult to get admitted to a university.

"Students work awfully hard in middle and high schools. I didn't have many weekends off when I was in high school. The pressure to get into a university was huge."

Once Zhang completes her news-editorial internship this summer and graduates in August, she'll enter the American job market.

As a bilingual journalist who is willing to relocate, she may have a competitive edge over some of her colleagues.

"I'm open to any type of job that's related to my field, anywhere in the States," she said. "I hope to find a job with a news organization, either as an editor or a writer."

At NT, Zhang has observed American students as "creative thinkers who are better at expressing their opinions in class than Chinese students."

American students are also more involved in classroom discussions, she said.

"The journalism program at NT is excellent," she said. "I learned so much in the past 1 1/2 years. The professors are very friendly and helpful. I am very grateful for all the help I received in the past years, and I would like to thank them all."

Zhang's decision to become a journalist was influenced by changes in her home country.

"When I was in college (in China), I made some trips to minority areas that were considered backward and undeveloped. These people fought against the harsh environment and worked very hard to make a living. I had never read any stories about them in the mainstream media. These trips sparked my interest to write about common people. Communication is the key to breaking stereotypes," she said.

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Student Profile: Edward Perez, Renaissance man

By Lei Zhang

Edward Perez After working as a music teacher in Alabama, New York and Dallas for several years, Edward Perez realized that his dream job was to take movie critic Roger Ebert's place when he retires.

It didn't take Perez long to discover that the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism is the best place to help him achieve his career goal. He joined the program last fall and was selected as a Mayborn scholarship recipient.

"It turned out that the Mayborn was the perfect fit for what I want to do."

The first semester's experience was rewarding. He had the opportunity to learn many journalism skills, such as broadcasting, film making and news writing.

He worked for NTTV as entertainment co-anchor for the first half of the semester, and news producer for the second half.

This semester he is working with Dr. Mitch Land on a documentary film featuring Clint Grant, a retired photographer from The Dallas Morning News. He hopes to create a 40-minute video on Grant's life.

He has loved music since he was a child and plays all the brass instruments, but mainly the trombone.

His love for music launched him in a music program at Baylor University. Afterward, he pursued a master's in music composition and conducting at the University of Denver and graduated in 1996.

His music background and love for writing inspired him to be an arts reviewer.

"As a musician, I understand what it takes to be a performer. I feel that my experience and knowledge in the art helps me be a better writer."

Besides being a full-time student, Perez has been writing movie reviews for Denton Online and The North Texas Daily.

Perez likes to work on several things at one time. During the winter break, he finished two plays he had been writing. He hopes these two plays will be performed in Denton. He is also working on three other plays.

Perez also writes poems, movie reviews and composes music. He experiments with words and musical notes, writes about his feelings and explores emotions in various ways. As a writer, he said he is trying to find his voice and style.

"I always like creative thinking and creating things," he said. "I like figuring out how to use words and write creatively so it has some life."

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Summer study abroad: Photojournalism heads to Spain

Study Abroad Spend a month in Spain with Susan Zavoina and earn six credit hours touring Madrid, Salamanca and Santander.

The primary focus of both classes, JOUR 4720 Digital Photography and JOUR 4750 Picture Editing, will be to plan and execute photoessays of Salamanca, Spain.

Contact the Study Abroad Center, Kendall Hall 146 or Susan Zavoina at zavoina@po7.cas.unt.edu for more information.

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Student Profile: Across the miles

By Elizabeth Clark

Ellen Kuehner Ward and son Derek
Kuehner
Ellen Kuehner Ward's 10-year-old son thinks it's just great that his mom is in college.

In fact, Derek told her to go ahead and complete the masters program but to add a doctorate, too, she said.

"He said it would be cool to call me 'Dr. Mom,' and that he could tell his friends his mom's a doctor," she said.

She'll be satisfied with a master's degree, "thank you very much," said Kuehner Ward. But who knows where an NT degree will take this hard-working, ambitious single mom?

Now, she works for ClubCorp USA, Inc., as the membership technical coordinator for the corporate membership department and she's steadily working toward her degree in public relations.

"I hope to finish by May 2003. I don't plan on working toward a doctorate," she said. So Derek has a couple of years to work on his argument.

"Derek is extremely intelligent," Kuehner Ward said proudly. "He makes straight As and maintained perfect attendance for three years. There have been times I've offered to take him on trips, but he wouldn't go because it meant he'd miss a day of school."

Kuehner Ward's interest in NT's journalism program developed after she earned a bachelor's degree in the hospitality and merchandising program.

"The size of that program is much like this one, where everyone is family. It's not so big that you're lost in the shuffle."

As a returning student, she has a greater appreciation for education than she did as a student just out of high school. And, she's more serious this time around, she said.

"I know that I'm here to learn, not just to get the degree on the wall and go. I have a genuine interest in bettering myself for the sake of supporting my son."

Commuting from her home in Paradise, which is 55 miles southwest of Denton, to work and school became routine four years ago when she returned to NT.

Asked how she balances family life, work and school, she answered: "Very carefully."

"I know I couldn't have done it without the help of my parents, who live next door. I really have everything scheduled out, and my employer is very supportive of my school responsibilities as well as much-needed time with my son," she said.

"I decided to get my degree knowing I had to work two jobs to make ends meet. I made up my mind to do it, and I have," she said. "There wasn't any thinking that I would 'try to see if I could do it,' but that I just would."

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Journalism faculty makes us proud

Dr. Jacque Lambiase has authored a chapter for the book "Alternative rhetorics: Challenges to the rhetorical tradition" to be published this spring by the SUNY. Her chapter title is, "Like a cyborg Cassandra: Hacking into the Internet's misbegotten rhetorical situation" (L. Gray-Rosendale and S. Gruber, editors)

Dr. Roy Busby's recent survey of students at three Texas universities has been in the news. The study polled students' recognition of advertising slogans and familiarity with political science facts. Busby completed the research with the help of Mayborn Scholar and research assistant Leslie Carter.

Pius Njawe, Mayborn Guest Lecturer from Cameroon, Africa, will discuss press freedom with fourth and fifth graders on Feb. 27 during Multicultural Week at Parkway Elementary School, Lewisville.

Njawe will also address the NT sponsored Public Policy Forum in Dallas Feb. 13. He will also give the keynote speech at the Dallas Chapter of the Freedom of Information retreat Feb. 22.

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Journalism students excel in writing

Alison Peterson will present her paper "Lesbian Chic Images in Advertsing: Interpretations and Insights," co-written by Dr. Tom Reichert, at the American Academy of Advertising Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in March.

Dr. Tom Reichert's political communication course resulted in several student papers acceptance for presentation and publication at the International Association of Business Disciplines conference in Orlando, April 5, 01. The student papers are:

  • "Does 'Democrat' Spell Defeat?: An Analysis of a Local Race For Denton County Commissioner, Pct. 1," by Daniel Bartel and Brent Baker.

  • "A Tough Congressional Race in Texas' 5th District: Pete Sessions Versus Regina Montoya-Coggins," by Kisty Hoffman, Tom Reichert, and Karon High.

  • "Historical Showdown in Indiana: GOP's Golden Boy Challenges Popular Democratic Governor," by Tamara Burke and Kenna Sloan.

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