MEDIA ARTS DEPARTMENT DEBUTS NEW BLOG

WELCOME TO THE MEDIA ARTS & JOURNALISM NEWS BLOG! This site has been created for all faculty and staff in the Media Arts and Journalism programs at Tulane University School of Continuing Studies.

Since most of you are adjunct faculty members, I decided it would be a good idea for you to have one central place to come where you can find out what's new in your department and in the Tulane community.

This blog will serve two purposes: First, it will keep you informed about the basics -- academic calendars, syllabus requirements, important deadlines and dates, class schedules, changes or updates to University rules, requirements, etc.. Second, the blog will be used to keep you informed of news in your industries. If you are a Public Relations instructor, for example, and I find blogs or web sites that may help you stay current in the field, I will post those under the "Sites You Should Know About" section in the right hand column. Also at right, you will see a section titled "Where the Pros Go," which is an evolving list of professional organizations for individuals in our line of work.

I hope you will visit this blog at least once a week to stay current on Tulane happenings and updates. If you have any suggestions for content that would make this blog more useful, please drop me a line anytime.

Over time, I hope this blog becomes a community where we can all interact and keep each other informed. Thanks for stopping by, and please come by often!

Paul A. Greenberg
Program Director - Media Arts/Journalism
Tulane University School of Continuing Studies
504-247-1672

DO NEWSPAPERS HAVE A FUTURE?

The big question on the minds of media professionals these days has to do with the future of traditional newspapers. Just this morning it was announced that the Congressional Quarterly is for sale, due to declining revenues and waning circulation. The New York Times was recently forced to accept a $250 million investment from a Mexican billionairre, who may or may not want an editorial voice. Stay tuned. The infusion of cash came just before the Times reported its Q4 profits fell 48%. Newspapers coast to coast are cutting staff, trimming the size of their product and increasingly turning to digital media. Can newspapers survive? Recently three former newspaper editors offered CNN reporter Howard Kurtz their views on the industry. How do you see the future of print media?

TULANE APPLICATIONS REACH RECORD HIGH FOR FALL SEMESTER

By Mike Strecker
From NEW WAVE
(Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Nearly 40,000 high school seniors from around the country have applied to be part of Tulane University’s 1,400-member fall 2009 freshman class, shattering last year’s record-breaking number of 34,125 applicants.

Interest in Tulane University is at an all-time high, with applications for undergraduate admission soaring to new levels.

The number of applicants reveals a renewed, sustained interest in Tulane just three and a half years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 70 percent of its campus and inflicted more than $650 million in damages. Based on the latest figures, Tulane’s applications have now more than doubled since Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to breaking its own application record of last year, the academic quality of Tulane’s applicant pool is at an all-time high. Hence, the university anticipates setting another academic quality record for its fall 2009 entering class, as it did in the fall of 2008.
“At this time last year we had 33,756 applications and we thought that was an amazing number,” Tulane University President Scott Cowen says. “This year’s applicants, both in terms of numbers (39,763 and counting) and quality, are nothing short of phenomenal.”

Tulane also was named one the “Hottest Schools in America” by Newsweek magazine in 2008, the second time it received that recognition in the last six years.