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HOLLAND
COLLEGE • March 2003
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INSIDE |
Surveyor
. . . 30 years later
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| Award-winning
grads hone craft in St. John’s Barbara Sweet (Class of '87) and Tracy Barron (Class of '89) were part of an award-winning investigative team with the Evening Telegram in St. John’s, Nfld., that probed the province’s Freedom of Information Act in 1999. The series was a seven-month invesigation of the province's Freedom of Information law and how it was being interpreted by the Liberal government. Their stories resulted in the legislation being overhauled. For their efforts, the four-member team won an Atlantic Journalism Award in 2000 and was named a finalist for a Michener Public Service Award, an Investigative Reporters and Editors nomination, losing out to the Fifth Estate. They also won the Associated Press Managing Editors Award, the first win in 30 years for a Canadian newspaper. Individually, Sweet won an award for spot news at the Atlantic Journalism Awards in 2000. She was back again the following year winning for enterprise reporting for a series on oil tanker safety, and she was nominated for a Canadian Association of Journalists computer assisted reporting award for that series. After leaving Holland College, Sweet accepted a two-year Thomson fellowship to Washington, D.C., from 1991-1993. Following that, she spent several years as an editor before returning to the reporting field. Barron, a native of Rawdon, N.S., also won the 1996 Canadian Mental Health Association, Newfoundland Division, media award for a series of stories that was instrumental in getting a mental health crisis centre for St. John's. She spent three years working for three community papers in the Robinson-Blackmore Publishing chain after graduation before becoming editor of the magazine and small publications division at the Halifax Herald. She returned to Newfoundland in 1992 to work at The Telegram where she has worked as desk editor and in "just about every beat," including provincial legislature, city hall, health and arts and entertainment. In 1999, Barron went to Bosnia on a Department of Defence media junket to Canadian forces bases to do stories with Canadian peacekeepers from this Newfoundland. That’s 'Professor’ Dawson: from college diploma to PhD By Sean Peddle Class of ’03 On the way to becoming a university professor one graduate of the Holland College journalism program heard the same comment on her research papers from her professors over and over again. "Your writing is so clear and a pleasure to read," recalled Myrna Dawson, a member of the class of 1985. Her clear writing helped her go far as she started her new job last January as a professor at the University of Guelph. She’s teaching a course in criminal justice and public policy. The instruction she received at Holland College was key in her academic career, she said. During her time at Holland College, journalism instructor Don Cayo impressed upon her the benefits of writing simply and clearly. "Do they still teach you to write to a Grade 10 level?" she asked of her interviewer. "Yes," was the reply. While her university students have good ideas, many have trouble putting proper sentences together, she said. Students are not getting enough education on writing in high schools, she said. Her seven-year journalism career and education at Holland College made her adept at hitting deadlines which helped her academic career, she said. She turned away from the University of Prince Edward Island in her first year because she didn’t like the idea of being tied to it for four years, she said. "I wanted to get off the Island," she said. "It’s not that I didn’t like the Island, I just wanted to see what was out there." Reporting and writing was always an interest and the on-the-job component and the shorter length of the Holland College journalism course appealed to her. After graduation she went to work at community newspapers in New Brunswick, she said. She worked in Doaktown in 1985, then went to work at The Miramichi Leader in 1986, she said. The managing editor of the Leader at the time was Rick MacLean who now is one of the instructors of the Holland College journalism program. She always had an interest in crime and did a number of stories on domestic violence, she said. She was excited when she got to cover her first murder trial. "It was neat, if I can say that about a murder trial," she said. "I was a junior reporter." She left New Brunswick in 1988 to work at the Midland Mirror. They were experimenting with telemedia, a print/broadcast mix she said. She worked her way up to editor but tired of broadcasting. There is more of an art to putting the written word down on paper to entice a person to read through the whole article, she said. She moved to Toronto to try to find work but it was during a period of cutbacks in the industry so she embarked on her academic career at York University, she said. Following graduation she got a masters, then a PhD in Sociology at the University of Toronto. While studying for her PhD she researched social and legal responses to violence. She looked at how the implementation of women’s shelters affected violence rates. She also studied the punishments handed out by the courts for domestic violence. Students in first journalism class find rewarding careers From travel-writing to editing . . . and even writing novels By Laura Bird Class of ’03 Jean Kenny’s journalism career started when she made the front page of the first Surveyor 30 years ago. She can’t believe the Surveyor is still around. "I couldn’t believe 29 years later the Surveyor was still in production, I think it’s great," she said. Today she is editor of the West Prince Graphic but she hasn’t forgotten her days at Holland College. "When the first edition came out I do remember that we were very excited," she said. When Kenny attended the college the program was one year long and instead of having computers her class had typewriters, yellow notepads and telephones. "The program was a whole new idea to the college," she said. After leaving the college she eventually landed a job at the Eastern Graphic in Montague. "I never intended to get a job as a reporter," she said. She eventually became editor of the Western Prince Graphic last spring. She plans to stay here for awhile. "For the time being I’m OK where I’m at," she said. Passion for writing, journalism opens many doors for Corkum By Laura Bird Class of ’03 Holland College prepared former student Blaine Corkum for a world of journalism. "Holland College is a very important part of my life," he said. "My passion is writing and journalism was a good way to achieve that." Corkum worked at the Guardian for about three years before taking the course. He was involved in publishing the first edition of the Surveyor and remembers it took the class a long time. "We were pretty proud of it," he said. He said his classmates were really close. They covered his car with papers and went in one of the parades the city had. After Holland College, Corkum went on to many things, including publishing a children’s book. He’s now preparing to release a book of poems. After graduating he moved to British Columbia where he worked at a weekly newspaper for three years. After he finished there he moved back to Prince Edward Island and worked at the weekly newspaper, County Line Courier. He started a marketing company, Pro-Two, dealing with design and advertising. He’s been running it off and on since 1980. His company led him into advertising at the Journal-Pioneer, eventually making him manager of the advertising department. Four years ago he switched to the printing end of the operation and is now working with Trancontinental in the printing division. He’s also writing a novel on the side. "I plan on staying here but you never know. I’m still working on my novel, but I’m still interested in publishing," he said. Travel writer gets start at Holland College By Laura Bird Class of ’03 When Allan Lynch started applying for journalism courses he received about eight acceptance letters. He chose Holland College because he didn’t know anyone on the Prince Edward Island. Going to college helped him learn some important life lessons. "It helped me to learn to live on my own and gave me great friendships," he said. Lynch doesn’t remember too much about the first edition of the Surveyor except the class had to fight to get it. "Because it was a small school, you had to be more inventive." Lynch learned many things from the program’s instructor Al Holman. He said he never forgot how to write a lead because of the explanation given to him. "He said when you bump into an old friend on the street the first thing out of your mouth is your lead," he said. Originally Lynch wanted to write books and magazines but it took him 17 years to get there. When he left Holland College he got a job with a Nova Scotia paper. He reported for six months and then became the advertising manager. His career continued and he became a publisher for two newspapers, owned his own newspaper, wrote columns and was an editor in Ontario. He finally started doing what he loved when he came home to take care of his ill father. "I turned my passion into my business," he said. Lynch freelances for magazines in the U.S., Canada, and other places around the world. He really enjoys his job. "I like what I do and I don’t see ever stopping until I die," he said. "I have a lot of fun." |
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