Student's Research Finds TV Focus on JoePa

Don’t be surprised if Joe Paterno appears on your television screen 100 times or more during his football team’s Capital One Bowl game against LSU in Orlando, Fla., on New Year's Day.

According to research by College of Communications student Alex Bippus, during TV bowl coverage from 1970 to 2006, face time for the Nittany Lion head coach grew fourfold while the number of times he was shown on screen increased six times.

During the 1970 Orange Bowl, television cameras showed Paterno 22 times for three minutes and 46.5 seconds.

More than 300 victories by Paterno and two national championships later, in network coverage of the 2006 Orange Bowl he was shown on screen 133 times for a total of 18 minutes and 12 seconds.

In 1970, Paterno comprised only 2.45 percent of the telecast; by 2006, coverage of him increased to 8.18 percent. The 133 televised shots of Paterno in 2006 far exceeded the 37 in the 1983 Sugar Bowl and the 60 in the 1995 Rose Bowl.

Bippus’ findings were part of a semester-long research project for “Joe Paterno, Communications and The Media,” a 400-level course in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, housed in the College of Communications. Bippus, a junior telecommunications major from State College, Pa., analyzed network television coverage of five Penn State bowl games from 1970 to 2006.

“Alex’s unbiased approach and careful analysis showed through the 1980s and 1990s, and especially into this decade as Joe neared 80, when Penn State football is on network television, its legendary coach is a key storyline,” said Mike Poorman, the course’s instructor and a senior lecturer in the college.

Bippus’ research was one of several semester-long projects by students in the course investigating the media’s coverage and relationship with Paterno, dating to 1944, when he first appeared in The New York Times as a high school football player at Brooklyn Prep.

Samples of some other projects for the course are available at http://comm.psu.edu/sports/paternoclass online.

They include an analysis of the Twitter activity of assistant coach Jay Paterno, USC coach Pete Carroll and LSU coach Les Miles; historic perspectives of Joe Paterno’s five most successful media strategies; and The New York Times' coverage of Penn State during Paterno’s 44-year tenure as Nittany Lion head coach.

For his content analysis, Bippus focused on five bowl games, one from each decade of Paterno’s career--1970 Orange Bowl, 1974 Orange Bowl, 1983 Sugar Bowl, 1995 Rose Bowl, 2006 Orange Bowl. He produced a 23-minute DVD with clips and samples from each of the games and found the the coach’s presence in broadcasts has increased dramatically through the decades.

In 1970, the coach was shown on camera 22 times during the game for an average of 10.3 seconds and his name was mentioned 11 times. His presence represented 2.45 percent of the broadcast.

In subsequent bowl games, the numbers changed as follows:
-- 1974 Orange Bowl (20 times on camera, 10.3-second average, 16 mentions, 2.56 percent);
-- 1983 Sugar Bowl (37 times on camera, 15.0-second average, 21 mentions, 4.81 percent);
-- 1995 Rose Bowl (60 times on camera, 10.3-second average, 16 mentions, 5.98 percent); and
-- 2006 Orange Bowl (133 times on camera, 8.2-second average, 51 mentions, 8.18 percent).

Poorman has taught the popular Paterno class each of the past two fall semesters.

The Curley Center, at http://comm.psu.edu/sports online, was established in 2003 and is one of the few centers of its kind in the United States. The center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research.

Grants Available for Ethics, Communications

An annual competition for grants for the study of integrity in public communication, conducted by the Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State, has begun, with proposals for the grants, worth from $1,000 to $25,000, accepted until March 5, 2010.

The Page Center will award up to $75,000 in grants to support scholars and professionals making important contributions to knowledge, practice or public understanding of ethics and responsibility in public communication.

The themes for this year’s call for proposals are:

• Ethics in financial communication and investor relations;
• How company credos and codes of ethics affect corporate behavior. Do they positively influence the way that some corporations respond to ethical dilemmas or matters of public importance? If so, why? Are they largely window dressing for other companies? Why? What accounts for the differences, and what are the implications?
• Role of public relations in fostering corporate responsibility;
• Curriculum development in and pedagogical approaches to ethics in public relations;
• Other topics in ethics in public communication; and
• Other areas of Page’s or Johnson’s legacy, including political communication, public opinion formation and attitude change, history of public relations, health communication, and international broadcasting.

The grants are awarded in the name of Arthur W. Page and Robert Wood Johnson. Page, the longtime vice president for public relations at AT&T, often is regarded as the founder of the modern practice of corporate public relations. He was the first person in a public relations position to serve as an officer and director of a major corporation and, in that capacity, was widely known for management according to the Page Principles, for his guidelines for ethical and effective communication with the public and for responsible corporate behavior.

Johnson built Johnson & Johnson from a small family business into the world’s largest health and medical care product company and one known for its high standards of social responsibility. He wrote the Johnson & Johnson Credo, probably the most widely-known and widely-regarded statement of ethics in the corporate world.

The Center seeks to foster a modern understanding and application of the Page Principles and the Johnson & Johnson Credo by supporting innovative research, educational, or public service projects in a wide variety of academic disciplines and professional fields. Last year, 14 academics and professionals were awarded a total of $48,800 in grants.

The Center was established in 2004 through a leadership gift from Lawrence G. Foster, a distinguished Penn State alumnus and retired corporate vice president for public relations at Johnson & Johnson. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust also are major contributors to Center’s work in ethics in public communications and the role of public relations in advancing corporate responsibility, including support for the Legacy Scholar program.

For more information on the Legacy Scholar competition, contact Cinda Kostyak, associate director of the Page Center by e-mail at csk2@psu.edu or phone at 814-863-6307. Information about the Page Center may be found at http://pagecenter.comm.psu.edu/ online.

Faculty Member a Panelist for FCC in D.C.

Krishna Jayakar, an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications, will serve as an invited panelist Thursday during a workshop conducted by the Federal Communications Committee in Washington, D.C.

The panel will address reform of Video Relay Service (VRS), a videotelecommunications service that allows deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired individuals to communicate with hearing people in real time by using a sign language interpreter.

The panel -- open to the public at the FCC’s headquarters at 445 12th Street NW in Washington, D.C. -- will address issues such as fraud and abuse, and compensation for the service.

Jayakar teaches courses on telecommunications management and media economics. His research interests include telecommunications policy, intellectual property rights and media economics.

Faculty Film Available on DVD

The locally produced feature film "Chasing Butterflies" will be released on DVD on Dec. 22. It will be available for purchase or rental from major Internet outlets such as Amazon and Netflix, as well as online at Target, Sears, Hollywood Video and others.

The DVD includes bonus features such as deleted scenes, case interviews and outtakes.

"We're thrilled the film will finally be able to reach a larger audience," said producer Maura Shea, a senior lecturer of film-video in the College of Communications. The film was produced by Shea and her husband and fellow senior lecturer Rod Bingaman. It is the third feature produced by the husband-and-wife tandem through their company, Ma & Pa Pictures.

"Chasing Butterflies" follows Nina (Amy Brienes) as she runs away from her wedding. Her mother (Maria Cellario) marries the groom (Gabriel Vaughan) in her place, and the two hit the road to search for the absentee bride. They soon become convinced that Nina has turned to crime due to a misunderstanding with a joyriding teenager (Zach Myers).

Meanwhile, a pair of criminals in love (Eric Walton and Mandy Brown) and a well-known radio personality (Matt Loney) wind up in the mix, and all parties eventually cross paths at a remote motel.

The high definition feature was shot in 2006 in State College and Lewistown, making good use of the locations and local talent. Bingaman and Shea formed their company to produce feature films while providing opportunities for students and professionals to interact in a working environment.

The crew of "Chasing Butterflies" was comprised entirely of Penn State alumni and students.

Alum Activated by NFL Team

Alumnus Jordan Norwood ('08 Adv/PR), a record-setting wide receiver at Penn State, was placed on the active roster by the Philadelphia Eagles this week and might play in his first NFL game this Sunday.

Norwood entered the NFL as an undrafted signee with the Cleveland Browns and later joined the Eagles. He had been on the Eagles' practice squad until he was moved to the active roster this week.

As an active NFL player, Norwood joins his fellow receivers from Penn State -- Deon Butler of the Seattle Seahawks and Derrick Williams of the Detroit Lions -- on active rosters this week. Butler (who took several communications classes his final year at the University) and Williams have been playing all season for their respective teams.

Faculty Member Presents at Vatican

Just one week of classes remain in the fall semester and both faculty and students in the College of Communications are busy.

Some were busy during the Thanksgiving break, too. Specifically, Curt Chandler, a senior lecturer in the Department of Journalism who formerly served as editor for online innovation and director of photography for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, conducted a four-day multimedia workshop in Rome in late November.

The session was for members of the Vatican press corps, including reporters from the Catholic News Service, the United Nations, the International Herald Tribune and representatives of aid agencies, among them Caritas Internationalis and the Jesuit Refugee Service.

His opportunity to conduct the workshop arose as a result of the Keystone Multimedia Workshop that he and fellow faculty member John Beale coordinated on campus this summer.

'Conversation,' WPSU-TV Debut for Film

"No. 4 Street of Our Lady" -- the award-winning documentary produced by three faculty members of the College of Communications that tells the remarkable story of Francisca Halamajowa, a Polish-Catholic woman who rescued 16 of her Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust by cleverly passing herself off as a Nazi sympathizer -- will debut on WPSU-TV (Channel 3) at 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.

Since its debut on March 1, 2009, at the State Theatre in State College, the film has been widely acclaimed on the festival circuit. The film was produced and directed by Barbara Bird, an associate professor in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies; Judy Maltz, a senior lecturer in the Department of Journalism; and Richie Sherman, an assistant professor in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.

The film tells the tragic, yet triumphant story of Maltz's family during the Holocaust. It was based on 139 pages of journal entries by Maltz's grandfather.

Following the film, WPSU host Patty Satalia will sit down with Maltz, as part of a special edition of "Conversations from Penn State," a program that offers thoughtful, in-depth exchanges with a broad range of remarkable people. In many cases, their trailblazing work has advanced their field and drawn national and worldwide attention.

The special edition of "Conversations from Penn State" (film and follow-up) will air on WPSU-TV at 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The regular edition of "Conversations" with Maltz will be shown on the Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 and again at 1 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.

The show also can be viewed at http://conversations.psu.edu online.

Panel: Entrepreneurship in the Internet Age

A panel of recent Penn State alumni entrepreneurs and faculty members will address “Entrepreneurship in the Internet Age,” focusing on emerging opportunities for young media professionals, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in 104 Thomas Building on the University Park campus.

During the free public session, scheduled to last about 90 minutes, alumni panelists will discuss how they started their successful companies—and the joys and challenges they encountered along the way.

Communications faculty members on the panel will outline the experience and skills necessary to survive as a small media entrepreneur or free lancer.

The session will be moderated by John O’Keefe, a Penn State senior majoring in telecommunications, and will include time for questions and answers from the audience.

Panelists include:
-- Jason Brewer, a 2005 graduate with a degree in film-video and the founder/owner of Brolik (www.brolik.com);
-- Curt Chandler, a senior lecturer who focuses on new media journalism and who previously served as editor for online innovation and director of photography for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette;
-- Justin Goldman, a 2005 graduate with a degree in letters, arts and science who was co-founder of the company that created LionMenus.com, and left that company earlier this year before founding Three Screen Games, a social gaming company that created www.FanGamb.com;
-- John Dillon, a senior lecturer who previously taught at Virginia Commonwealth University and served as deputy managing editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch;
-- Linda Feltman, instructor of media entrepreneurship and a senior business consultant with the Penn State Small Business Development Center; and
-- Davis Shaver, a sophomore in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State who founded www.Onwardstate.com, a blog about the University.

The panel, presented by the College of Communications and the Small Business Development Center at Penn State, is part of the University’s celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week.