INTERESTS
Interests of journalists, especially writers who are community journalists or general assignment reporters, can be wide ranging. Sometimes those interests can be so diverse as to defy the imagination. However, this unpredictability and diversity are part of what makes journalism such a rewarding and exciting profession. A range of writing is represented here, and hopefully there will be some content of interest to all those who visit this page. Use the left navigation bar to read further. Among the interests represented:
• Global Journalism - Most beginning journalists dream of covering the international scene and visiting locales around the world to document varying cultural and political climates. Thanks, in part, to the author’s association with Webster University’s international campuses and global journalism program, Don Corrigan has been able to travel and to write about Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the NATO countries of Europe, Russia, and the former republics of the old Soviet Union. A sampling of some of that work is presented here.
• Public Journalism - Public or civic journalism began as a movement in the 1990s and some would argue that it has morphed into something called “citizen journalism.” Don Corrigan has been a vocal critic of all of it. His writing against public journalism was a regular presence in St. Louis Journalism Review (SJR) for several years, and ultimately culminated in his 1999 book by Praeger entitled, “The Public Journalism Movement In America: Evangelists In The Newsroom.” Corrigan believes that some of the public journalists’ critique of traditional journalism is valid, but the so-called public journalism experiments have not always been consistent with the ethics and best practices of the profession of journalism. A sampling of some of his work on public journalism is presented here.
• Environmental Journalism - The idea of environmental journalism as a reporting beat came into its own with the 1979 disaster at the Three Mile Island Nuclear (TMI) Plant in Pennsylvania. Corrigan got a piece of that story with a 6-part series on the TMI rail program to transport the highly radioactive rubble from TMI to the INEL storage facilities in Idaho. The series was funded by a Gannett Award Grant and won several investigative reporting awards. Corrigan continues to write on the nature and the environment with this recently published book, “Show Me... Natural Wonders.” A sampling of some of his environmental writing is presented here, including a 2007 story which won a news writing award and which was posted on CNN, about the overflow of raw sewage and contaminants into St. Louis area creeks and streams. A sampling of some of his work in the field of environmental journalism is presented here.
• Community Journalism - While metro dailies suffer circulation and advertising loss, Corrigan is a firm believer in the future of community journalism. He has been a community newspaper group editor and co-publisher for several decades. He participates in activities with the Missouri Press Association (MPA) and the National Newspaper Association, and has presented papers on community journalism before NNA through the Huck Boyd Center for Community Journalism at Kansas State University. Community journalism succeeds, according to Corrigan, because it is grassroots and covers people where they live. Some of his position and research papers on community journalism are presented here.
• Media Criticism - An active journalism professor inevitably becomes a media critic and author of media analysis and criticism. Professor Corrigan has published hundreds of articles, from criticism of public journalism and media convergence, to articles on the rulings of the FCC and its policies on media regulation. Another area in which he has published many articles involves student free expression and First Amendment issues. A sampling of some of his media criticism work is presented here.
• C-SPAN Activities - According to Corrigan, cable television’s primary redeeming social value is found in its C-SPAN programs from Booknotes to live coverage of Congress to airing of political campaign events. Anybody who wants to be a serious journalist should be familiar with C-SPAN and all it has to offer. As a professor, Corrigan has been a C-SPAN Fellow in Washington, D.C., and he relies on its content often as an important component of his coursework. A sampling of some of his work using C-SPAN material is presented here.
• Times News Stories - Covering local news for community newspapers can be more exciting than beginning journalism students might think. In his years as a weekly newspaper reporter and editor, Corrigan has covered plenty of city council meetings and school boards, but he also has covered U.S. Senate and House election campaigns, local visits by U.S. Presidents and battles over the same social and cultural issues covered in the New York Times or the Washington Post. He also has covered crime stories that have made national headlines. A sampling of some of his work in news writing is presented here.
• Times Feature Stories - There is an old, tired yarn that “those who can’t do, teach.” That is not true of the many Webster University professors who practice what they teach – and preach. Corrigan teaches Feature Writing every fall semester, but he also writes feature stories for his local community newspapers on a weekly basis. Many of those features have been recognized as exemplary by the Missouri Press Association (MPA) and the Independent Free Papers of America (IFPA). A sampling of some of his feature work in journalism is presented here.
• Times Columns - Writing a personal column can be one of the most rewarding activities in journalism, but it also demands a lot in creativity and meeting deadlines. Column writing is awarding because it provides a way to communicate with a readership in a very personal way, and it also elicits reader feedback in letters and e-mails that can be entertaining, informative and educational. Newspapers should provide a venue for community conversation – and columns are a great place to get that conversation started. The book, “Times Columns,” provides a good look at Corrigan’s work. A sampling of some of his work in column writing is also presented here.
• Resumé and Awards - Resumés can be useful to discover each and every academic and professional interest that obsess and consume the resumé holder. Experienced journalists’ resumés tend to be packed with awards from state and national conventions, and Corrigan’s career history is no exception to that rule. Among the awards that Corrigan treasures most are his recognition on several occasions as the state and national College Newspaper Adviser of the Year. His journalism career history is presented here.