Traveling through time with Barbara Colegrove

Barbara Colegove

Barbara Colegrove's eyes sparkle behind large-frame glasses as she reminisces about a journalism career that began 50 years ago.

"I had it in my mind I wanted to attend Columbia University from the time I was 12 years old," Colegrove said. "I knew I wanted to write."

This former NT adjunct professor earned her bachelor's degree in journalism at Stetson University in 1951. Several universities had accepted her for their master's programs, but she had not heard from her top choice: Columbia.

Her trunk was packed and ready for the trip to Iowa State when a letter arrived from Columbia with good news. Within 24 hours her itinerary changed, and she boarded a train for New York City.

At Columbia, Colegrove joined 11 other women in a class of 65 students. Her instructor for copy editing, Frank Adams of The New York Times, also taught investigative reporting and assigned topics that, to Colegrove, seemed intimidating.

"They were assignments like investigating City Hall or the Boxing Commission," Colegrove said.

One day she told Adams how much his class terrified her. He seemed appalled that anyone could feel that way. So he assigned her to scrutinize New York's gossip columnists. She found that much more to her liking and interviewed Frank Ferrell at the New York World Telegram. Ferrel revealed that the art of gossip writing depended entirely on trustworthy sources. If a source misinformed him even once, he dropped that person.

"He was the only gossip columnist who agreed to meet with me," Colegrove said. "So I wrote the whole paper on him. I got an A."

Time magazine hired her directly from the graduate program. Back then, women researched and substantially wrote the first drafts of stories, and male counterparts crafted the final articles. Time didn't hire women to write with bylines, Colegrove said.

The pressure at Time was incredible, she recalled. On Sunday nights, they put that week's issue to bed. It went to press immediately and hit the stands on Tuesday.

Right after deadline, the editors set up a bar with refreshments so the editorial staff could have a few sips and decompress from the stress. The company picked up the tab for cab fare home which, in those days, amounted to $1.25. They did this every night, not just on Sundays, she said.

Colegrove worked as a floating researcher and served in the Sports, Business, Radio and Television, National Affairs and Hemisphere sections. She covered Crown Prince Olaf of Norway when he came to race in a regatta on Long Island Sound in August 1953. That same week, Time put Colegrove's name on its masthead.

Colegrove continued to pursue interesting story assignments. She covered a luncheon at the Waldrof Astoria Hotel when England's Queen Mother Elizabeth addressed the English Speaking Union there.

She also covered golf pros Sam Sneed and Ben Hogan the week they were Time's cover story. And she interviewed Phil Silvers, who delighted her with his personality. Silvers played Master Sergeant Ernie Bilko in the popular television series "You'll Never Get Rich." He also starred in the film version of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

Publisher Henry Luce edited Time one week out of the year. The editors dreaded it, Colegrove said. It took three times as long to put the magazine together with Luce editing.

"You quaked when Mr. Luce called to ask you something," Colegrove grimaced. "He expected you to always know the answer."

Colegrove left Time in 1957 to marry her high school sweetheart, Don, in what she describes as an act of rescue. Later, they moved to Dallas and From 1959 to 1960, she worked for Time at its Dallas bureau.

Beginning in 1961, Colegrove taught at NT as an adjunct professor of journalism. She left in 1972 to become an assistant professor of journalism at Southern Methodist University and returned to NT in the mid-'80s as a visiting adjunct professor.

Knowing the financial struggles of students, she and her husband created an endowment of $100,000 in 1998 to fund undergraduate journalism scholarships.

Colegrove reflected on her life's companion, who died recently. "I lost Don to Lou Gehrigs disease," she said softly. "He was a Korean War veteran and was buried with full military honors as his Boy Scout troop stood at attention. I still cry when I talk about him."

Looking back on her career, Colegrove said that she had two inspirations. The first was Marguerite Higgins, a Columbia graduate who served as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. The second was archy of "archy and mehitabel," the famous cockroach in Don Marquis' serial in the New York Sun.

Colegrove adores this quote of archy's: "I never think at all when I write. No one can do two things at the same time and do them both well."

"That's going on my tombstone," Colegrove said serenely. "I've already arranged to have it carved."

Mayborn Career Development Specialist Nancy Eanes will help place graduates in journalism jobs of the future.

Before joining the NT staff, Eanes served as executive director of the North Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She planned fundraising and public relations activities, and volunteer recruitment.

Eanes helped the public realize everyone can make a difference by not driving drunk. During her years at MADD, many offenders were compelled by the court to fulfill service hours by working for the group. They had such positive experiences that many volunteered for social work beyond their required hours.

"I enjoyed working with people who have been personally touched by the tragedy," she said. "When you interface with people who have gone through trauma and then come out stronger, it's an incredible feeling to know you were part of that."

"A sign of success is that people realize the value of the organization," she said, flashing a big smile.

Eanes has also worked for the American Cancer Society, first as district executive director, then as public education director. She also did contract work for Garrett Speakers International, where she participated in meeting management.

At the American Cancer Society, Eanes learned the importance of setting up positive media relationships.

"Media are wonderful tools for nonprofit organizations," she said. "The success of an organization depends on how effectively it can get the media's attention."

In her new role, Eanes will also organize career workshops, special events, and write and edit informational and educational materials to promote career placement.

She says the biggest challenge of her new position is to keep up with the vast amount of information concerning jobs for Mayborn graduates, and to make sure students know what's out there.

She hopes to develop a rapport with a variety of companies and organizations so that they'll come to rely on her office as a resource for highly skilled professionals who will contribute to the success of journalism-related businesses and organizations.

After three years of graduate study at NT, Michelle Mire hopes to enter the advertising world when she graduates in May and replace what she calls "hideous car and lawyer commercials.

The day she could use "work" and "creative" in the same sentence has been a long time coming, she said.

After graduating in 1994 with a history degree from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, she began work in a gift shop.

History was Mire's passion until advertising came along. She said the two concepts, history and advertising, merged in 1998 when she entered the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism.

She then took a job in Dallas at a corporate office proofreading direct mail insurance orders. A colleague, a journalism graduate student at NT, suggested she enroll.

The day before her wedding shower, she filled out the Mayborn scholarship application. On the day she returned from her honeymoon, she found an acceptance letter that included a $10,000 scholarship for a year of full-time study.

But the timing was off, Mire said.

"I was shocked, but at the same time you don't just get married and then two months later, change the whole strategic plan."

Mire declined the award but still enrolled. She couldn't afford to exchange her full-time salary for a heavy course load. For two years, she worked and commuted before committing to full time study.

"I started grad school because I wanted the credentials to move ahead," she said, "and how many schools have $10,000 scholarships?"

In 10 years, she hopes to be a successful ad copywriter. Her current internship at TLP, Tracy-Locke Partnership, an advertising agency in Dallas, should help since she designs advertising campaigns.

If there is a mold for the typical graduate journalism student, Marty Newman surely escaped it long ago. Newman, executive director of public affairs administration at NT, keeps her journalism skills sharpened by pursuing a master's degree at the Mayborn Graduate Institute. Although Newman has no plans to leave her current position, she isn't satisfied with simply learning on the job.

"I think it's really a missed opportunity to be here and pass up attending school," Newman said. "Plus, taking journalism classes helps me do my job better."

She said she's learned things from her graduate classes that can be applied every day to her job.

"For instance, I'm writing a new crisis plan for our office," Newman said. "It was something I learned about in a public relations class with Dr. (Roy) Busby."

Busby brought in a speaker who introduced basic information to the class on crisis plans. Eventually, she proposed a special problems course to develop a crisis plan for the university.

Newman grew up in the small town of Clinton, Pa., about 20 miles west of Pittsburgh. Neither of her parents went to college, but Newman and her four sisters earned college degrees.

"None of us remembers being told we should go to college," she said, "but somehow our parents got the point across; a love of learning was instilled in all of us."

Newman graduated in 1986 with a journalism degree from the University of Colorado. She began her graduate work at NT in the spring of 1998.

"It's taking forever," she lamented. "I'm taking only one or two classes at a time, and I'm not taking anything in the summer."

Studying consumes a good deal of her free time, but her husband, Darrell Dodds, travels quite a bit, leaving her with some discretion over than free time. When he's home, they enjoy horseback riding and gardening. They live with their two dogs and four horses on an eight-acre ranch in Krum.

Newman hopes to finish her master's degree by December.

"After that, I'll probably take a break," she said. "But not too long. I think I'll get a Ph.D in higher education administration."

Graduation is just around the corner for Jenny Beutler, a student of the Mayborn Graduate Institute.

Beutler earned an advertising degree from Michigan State University in May 1993. She began work on her masters in public relations in 1994 at MSU. It has been a long and sometimes difficult road to achieve a master's degree, she said.

Prior to studying at the Mayborn, Beutler worked in Dallas as an account executive at Brinker Communications, where she developed an interest in public relations.

"I really enjoyed working. I has the opportunity to work as the regional public relations manager for a company names Comcast out of Michigan and do a lot of the public relations planning for the region," Beutler said.

Beutler decided she wanted to further pursue her newfound interest in public relations, so she quit her job at Brinker to attend grad school full time.

"Writing is a large part of public relations, and I wanted the opportunity to strengthen what I have learned in the working world over the past several years," Beutler said.

She discovered the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism on the Internet.

"I began searching for a university that offered a strong writing program, but would also offer me the opportunity to focus on my public relations interest," Beutler said.

"I really appreciate how the Mayborn has various concentrations that overlap. I'm getting a lot of exposure in other areas of journalism all at one time."

Beutler said her mother always valued education.

"My mom always instilled in me the importance of getting a good education because she never went to college," she said.

"My dad has been a great role model for me too," she said. "He got all of his degrees, including his master's, while he was working and had a family of his own."

Beutler said the Mayborn Graduate Institute is making it possible to be successful and achieve her goals.

Perseverance, persistence, and learning how to write well. These phrases represent key themes of the 2001 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Region Seven conference in San Antonio.

NT chapter members, accompanied by Nancy Eanes, career development specialist for the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, attended the event.

Panel discussions, educational workshops and energetic speakers covered all aspects of the journalism profession, with "marketing yourself for success" as the focus. "This is a competitive and aggressive field and you have got to know your stuff," said Stephanie Durden, NT chapter member and conference participant.

Keynote speakers included NT alumnus Bob Ray Sanders, columnists for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and George Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine.

Michelle Smith of Ketchum Public Relations moderated a panel on career changes and spoke about moving from Journalism to public relations.

Coming from a hard news background she said she felt unprepared in adapting for her new career in public relations, but added that she learned the craft by reading everything she could get her hands on about public relations.

"This shows how important it is to have a solid journalism base to propel you into other careers," Eanes said.

Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe is a regular contributor of visual arts reviews to Gallery Watch running on Saturdays in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Bill Hornaday served as a panelist for the NABJ NT chapter discussing challenges to freedom of expression in Africa and America.

Doug Pils has been named sports assigning editor for the Arlington Morning News bureau of the Dallas Morning News. Pils is also in charge of the new Southwest Morning News sports bureau, which handles Desoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill and Lancaster.

Faculty

Susan Zavoina served as a judge in February for the annual Pictures of the Year international competition at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. The awards committee selects one educator each year to serve with five other judges chosen from the photojournalism profession. Other judges on the committee were from National Geographic, the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Visiting Mayborn guest lecturer Pius Njawe of Cameroon has been on the lecture circuit this semester, speaking about press freedom to students of all ages at schools in Lewisville and Denton as well as at NT. He also served as keynote speaker for the Dallas Community Foundation, and spoke at a recent meeting of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Njawe also served as a panelist for the NABJ NT chapter discussing challenges to freedom of expression in Africa and America. Press coverage of Njawe has been in the NT Daily, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Morning News, Denton Record-Chronicle and Lewisville News.

Jim Mueller and Keith Shelton represented NT in recruiting journalism students during Career Day at Hillcrest High School in Dallas in February.

Dick Wells will work in the Pentagon with the Navy's Public Affairs Office during May before retiring June 1 from the Naval Reserve after 33 years of service. Wells will continue at NT as Mayborn Professor of Journalism and director of the Center for Community and Environmental Journalism. He was also recently elected first vice president of the Texas Public Relations Association for 2001.

Mitch Land, along with Dr. Joseph Oppong, associate professor of geography, will represent NT in April at the Nairobi, Kenya, follow-up meeting to the Cape Town Symposium of February 2000, organized by the United States Council of Graduate Schools. Also, on March 2, Land served on an Ethics Panel in Dallas at the annual convention of the Texas Public Relations Association.