NBC News Reporter Headlines Mass Comm Week

By Tom Gresham

Veteran broadcast journalist Bob Faw will discuss developing stories for television during Virginia Commonwealth University’s annual Mass Communications Week, a program of lectures, presentations, events and workshops scheduled for Oct. 9-13.

Faw, a correspondent for NBC News, headlines a collection of accomplished professionals in journalism, advertising, public relations and other fields who will speak from a diverse range of perspectives on the topic of storytelling, spanning from author Sharon Baldacci’s discussion of creating a fictional story to Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Herring’s view on being part of a story.

Among the other featured speakers during the week are Caroline Little, CEO and publisher of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, and Ofield Dukes, founder of Ofield Dukes & Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm.

All events are free and open to the public.

Faw has been a national correspondent for NBC News since 1994, covering a far-reaching array of issues from his base in Washington, D.C. Prior to taking his current position, Faw worked for 17 years at CBS News. He has received three national Emmy awards and two Overseas Press Club awards for his coverage.

Faw will speak on Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. in Richmond Salon II of the VCU Student Commons about the approach he takes to developing a story. He will discuss the elements of a good story, including how to report it objectively and how to make an audience care about it.

Little, who previously worked for such publications as U.S. News & World Report, the Atlantic Monthly and Fast Company, will deliver the fourth Bill Turpin Lecture in News Management on Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. in Richmond Salons III-IV in the Student Commons. She will offer insight into the burgeoning new media landscape, describing the challenges of the industry and the ways she addresses them in her current position.

Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive features three news sites – washingtonpost.com, Newsweek.com and Slate.com, with a combined monthly audience of 15 million visitors.
Dukes, whose firm has represented such clients as Motown Records, Sony Music Entertainment and RJR Nabisco, will tell the story of his influential career on Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. in Temple Room 1165.

Dukes was an award-winning journalist before taking a position in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. He founded Ofield Dukes & Associates five years later. In addition to his corporate clients, Dukes has represented the Federal Reserve and the Congressional Black Caucus, and he has acted as a communications consultant on every Democratic presidential campaign since 1972.

Other speakers during the week include:

• John Shreves, television group president, Lincoln Financial Media – “Telling Your Community’s Story,” Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. in Richmond Salon II, VCU Student Commons. The local media’s obligation to tell a community’s story.
• Mike Herring, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney – “Living the Story,” Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Engineering Auditorium. An insider’s look at being a central figure in a media story.
• Ryan Eubank, senior producer/director, Henrico County Television – “Stories, Stories Everywhere: The Art of the Documentary,” Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater. The keys to finding and telling the stories around you.
• Jackie Jones, former Washington Post editor; 2007 Virginius Dabney Professor – “The Art of Editing Your Story,” Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. in Richmond Salon II of the Student Commons. How to rewrite and edit a story to make it better.
• Kevin Kearns – “A Super Super Bowl Spot Story,” Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. in the VCU Student Commons Theater. The experience of creating a successful Super Bowl advertisement.
• Sharon Baldacci, author, “Writing the Story: Fiction,” Oct. 11 at noon in the Mass Communications Meeting Room, second floor, Temple Building. Igniting creativity.
• Andy Stefanovich, founder of Play, “”Play!,” Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater. Session on brainstorming and coming up with the big idea.
• Brian Hurewitz, associate creative director, Green Team Advertising, NYC, “Stories Worth Telling: Cause Advertising,” Oct. 13 at noon in the Engineering Building Auditorium. Communications with a conscience.

Mass Comm Week will also feature an internship fair and panel discussions on such topics as graduate school, securing a first job in mass communications and ethics in advertising, journalism and public relations.

For a complete schedule of Mass Comm Week, visit http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/pdf_s/Inside_MASCWeek06_8.pdf.

The School of Mass Communications is one of the largest programs in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences with an enrollment of 1,000 undergraduate students and 130 graduate students. The school offers study in advertising, journalism and public relations.