Meet the Journalists
Professor Nancy Benson
Professor Benson has been called a pioneer in deepening and widening the knowledge and skills of future journalists. In her International Reporting course journalism students take on the role of “foreign correspondent”. Students spend a semester researching story topics while learning how to frame their stories to help listeners, viewers, and readers understand the meaning and impact of these stories, not only on the global stage, but at the local level as well. This means reporting in an international context, as well as reporting on how developments in the country they visit affect the economy, and people, of the United States and Illinois. In 2007, Benson took ten journalism students to China. The student stories were broadcast as a two-hour radio special on WILL-AM, the Public Radio station in Champaign-Urbana. The in-depth radio program was awarded first place by the national Society of Professional Journalists. The class also built a Web site to share daily blog postings with an international audience. The blog and the radio special can be found at: http://will.illinois.edu/chinaBlog/ Benson took another group of journalism students to Peru in 2005. They also produced a two-hour radio program which is still available at: http://www.will.uiuc.edu/news/archives/features2005c.htm (Look for: Assignment:Peru). Before arriving at the University of Illinois, Department of Journalism, Benson spent more than twenty years working as a reporter and anchor at radio and television stations across the country, including WMAQ Radio in Chicago. For the last ten years, she also has trained journalists in developing democracies throughout Southeast Asia, and in Eastern Europe where she served as a Knight Fellow.
Breana Coco
My name is Breana Coco, I am a sophomore in the College of Media. My major is Broadcast journalism with a minor in English and I hope one day to become a news anchor. Currently, I write for the Daily Illini On-Air. I came to U of I from my hometown Scottsdale, Arizona and love traveling to new places. Traveling to Romania will be my first time out of the country, aside from Mexico and Canada While in Romania I hope to learn more about Romanian culture and explore as many places as I can.
My Story: Education
The story I will be developing now and while in Romania is about the education system. To be more specific I will be looking at how schools are implementing education on democracy. Post accession into the European Union Romania still has many ties to communism. In June, Romania is having their elections and I want to find out how prepared and knowledgeable are citizens tied with their government. I am also going to be looking at the Peace Corps efforts in bettering the education system as well as the help received by Italy. I find this topic interesting because Romania is so new to the democratic system and many of its citizens have lived through the government transition.
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Bruce Harrison
Bruce Harrison is a junior in News Editorial Journalism. Though print is his passion, he is currently enrolled in JOUR 435 to gain experience in radio journalism. Outside of the university, he works as a camera operator for Urbana Public Television. Bruce is also a part-time promotions representative at Illini Radio Group (92.5 The Chief, Mix 94.5), where he runs equipment for satellite broadcasts. Someday he would like freelance internationally. Story Idea: My reporting is focused on the Hungarian minority in Romania. Particularly Hungarian-Romanian relations and issues dealing with autonomy. Contact: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) ~ (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jhane Reifsteck
Hello! I'm Jhane, and I'm a senior in Agricultural Communications with a focus in Broadcast Journalism. While being on camera is a lot of fun and reporting is always enlightening, it is production that really gets me excited! And though they've been a lot of work, I've very much enjoyed my Journalism undergrad classes. I hope to someday work in the agriculture industry drumming up press and producing media that highlights the industry.
I've spent most my life around agriculture: growing up in the middle of a cornfield and going to a small town school where most people's jobs are centered around agriculture. I've also spent some time working in the agriculture industry with the Champaign County Farm Bureau. While there I've helped to produce a television show, organize and publicize events, and write articles for the monthly newsletter. It has been great to work with agriculture in my home county!
My Story: Making a Living in Rural Romania
I can't wait to travel to Romania and tell the stories of those living in the rural countryside. While Romania has an abundance of land, they seem to be falling short on EU standards and need more manpower in an agriculture industry that appears to be stuck in the 1940's and 1950's.
You can contact me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)John D. Paul
I am a graduate student at the U-of-I, seeking a master's degree in journalism. I am also a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at the University of Illinois. I teach television newscast production and television reporting classes. I am also a producer at WILL-TV, the PBS affiliate in Urbana, where I produce and host political debates, campaign coverage and other public affairs shows. In the fall of 2008, I co-produced an hour-long television documentary about the history of the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. See: http://www.will.illinois.edu/stadium
Prior to my job at the University, I spent 24 years in a variety of newsroom roles at WCIA-TV (CBS) in Champaign. I was news director at WCIA in 1999 and 2000 as well as a reporter, anchor and producer there. I have also worked at WAIK-AM in Galesburg and at WPGU-FM in Urbana. My undergraduate degree from the University is in Radio-Television.
It’s sometimes said that the way a country eats and drinks says a lot about its culture and heritage. Perhaps that’s the case with Romanian wines.
You can email me at:
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Karis Morrall
Greetings! My name is Karis Morrall, and I'm a junior in the College of Media. I'm originally from Caledonia, a small town near Rockford, Illinois.
I've been in love with journalism for all of my life. When I was a little girl, I would sprawl on my grandparents' carpet, looking at the photos in the newspaper. I couldn't read the actual stories, but I would imagine far-away lands and important events. In third grade, I wrote a poem about journalism (go figure) for the local newspaper. Eventually, they helped me to start a newspaper at my elementary school.
In high school, I practically lived in the journalism classroom-- much to the chagrin of my other teachers. Life in college has been fairly similar. I started working at the Daily Illini on the first day of my freshman year. I've been in the newsroom ever since.
I started as an on-air radio reporter for the Daily Illini. Eventually, I anchored newsbreaks and moved up to assistant newscast editor. My term as Managing-Editor for On-Air is almost over, and I don't know what I will do once I leave!
Romania will be my first overseas adventure. I have always wanted to travel abroad, and I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity. I still have those tourist-jitters, though. I'm worried about getting lost, losing my luggage, pickpockets, et cetera.
My topic:
Since Romania's 2007 admission to the European Union, Romanians have been pouring out of the country to work abroad. I will focus on the children whom they leave behind. An estimated 170 thousand Romanian children have one or both parents working abroad. Many of the immigrants are from rural towns; in some villages, grandparents and children are the only remaining inhabitants. What does this do to Romanian society? What are the psychological effects of a broken family? I hope to speak to children, their caretakers and parents who are working in Rome.
Please feel free to contact me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Kirstin I. Skurka
My name is Kirstin Skurka and I am a graduating senior! After 4 years of blood, sweat and tears, I will soon have a degree in Broadcast Journalism. TV is my passion, and I have had the opportunity to work in four different newsrooms as an intern. I started my broadcasting career as a student reporter for WPGU. Waking up at 5am for the morning news was so fun! From there, I interned for both CBS and WGN news in Chicago. But my most hands on experience has been at WCIA-Channel 3 in Champaign, where I’ve learned the ins and outs of TV production. I hope to find a job as a news-producer upon returning from Romania. I’ve wanted to go on this International Reporting trip ever since I heard about the China journey. As a reporter, my goal is to tell people’s story. That is challenging enough when you speak the same language. So to travel overseas and try to uncover what Romania’s issues really are, where the language barrier is an obstacle, seems like one the biggest challenges I can take.
My topic: Americans love to travel to Europe, yet you don’t hear of many people visiting Romania. After joining the European Union, tourism increased for Romania by several million people. However, with the global economy in a state of collapse, tourism has declined once again. I will be investigating what Romania needs to do to become more attractive to the European tourist. Romania’s service standards are different than ours, their roads can be dangerous, and they still are working on shedding the communist image that they’ve held for so long. Comparisons will also be made between Romania and Rome, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Please feel free to contact me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Luke Cleary
My name is Luke Cleary. I'm a 22-year old Broadcast Journalism major hailing from a small central-Illinois town called Chenoa. While my Illinois roots run deep, travel and adventure is my true calling. After six months of studies and an internship in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, I returned to Champaign-Urbana to kick off my senior year last August. That's when I became acquainted with the magic of video production. It's hard to quantify my excitement for our departure this may. The opportunity in Romania to combine international travel with television journalism has the hair standing on the back of my neck. Since my return from South Africa, I've made short ventures to Mexico and India. I have aspirations to work abroad after graduation this year. (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Pamela Nisivaco
Hello! I'm Pam and I am a junior in news-editorial journalism in the College of Media. I was born and raised in a residential area of Chicago, which makes the exciting, fast-paced world of journalism the perfect environment for me. I began working as a reporter for the Daily Illini during the second semester of my freshman year and worked my way to online content editor. My position ended in March and I have left the Daily Illini for my last year of college to pursue other journalistic interests, including my work in Romania. As the journalism industry continues to change how it presents information, I am gaining as much experience as possible in all areas of the profession, including broadcasting and multimedia. Over the past semester I took a digital newsroom class where I was dedicated to creating multimedia projects that were published on the News-Gazette's Web site, which has been one of the best learning experiences. I am so excited to continue learning through my research and eventual story about healthcare in Romania.
My Topic: Healthcare in Romania
I will be exploring the Romanian healthcare system post-Communism and the problems Romania faces with doctors going abroad to work in other EU countries. I want to address the issue of variances in education and how the EU maintains standards of excellence in healthcare when there are differences in the education doctors are receiving in various EU countries. Healthcare is a global issue that affects all countries and I want to report on the steps Romania is taking to create a better healthcare system and keep its doctors inside its borders.
Please contact me at: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Shaina Humphries
Hello!
I’m Shaina.
I am a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Spanish at the University of Illinois. I chose to major in Broadcast Journalism after getting a small (very small, I found out!) taste of TV news production in High School. Since beginning my college career, I have worked at the Daily Illini On-Air, reporting and anchoring on the radio, but my life goal is to end up with a television career very similar to Lisa Ling’s. She’s great!
I am extremely excited to report on Romania. My focus- the Roma people. Their social situation as an oppressed ethnic minority- and the way they are trying to distance themselves from it- is very similar to the social reality that our own country once had. I am intrigued by the thought of giving a voice to the voiceless, and nervous about doing it the right way! When it’s all said and done, I will have a story for everyone- that they’ve never heard before. Whether it be Romanians or Americans, I want listeners/readers to experience an what it’s like to live the life of the Roma. I want people to see it from the inside-looking-out, from the Roma perspective.
You can email me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Terrell J. Starr
I love Eastern Europe. I've been to Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and lived in Georgia as a Peace Corps Volunteer for two years. So this Romania trip is my next great Eastern European adventure. I earned my bachelors degree in English from Philander Smith College back in 2002. Have a masters degree in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies from the U of I and am currently working on a second masters degree in Journalism at Illinois. As you can tell from my academic background, I'm a bit of a Eastern Europe junkie! So Romania will be my new high!
My Topic:
My story topic for Romania will be how hip hop (another passion of mine) is received there. I hope to meet some acts there so they can tell me how a genre, that originally started in the South Bronx back in the 70's, reached this former Communist nation that spent so much of its history closed off to the rest of the world.
You can reach me at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
