August 31, 2004

Back-to-school season this year will find three North Jersey Media Group Daily Division staffers at the head of their classes – teaching them, that is.

Scott Muller, news editor of the Herald News, was selected as the company’s Journalist-in-Residence at Rutgers University. Scott will teach an undergraduate journalism course at the New Brunswick campus and select a work-related course tuition-free.

Rod Allee, a veteran senior writer for The Record, was named North Jersey Media Group Visiting Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He will move to Syracuse for the fall semester, and will teach two newswriting and reporting classes for the Newhouse School while also enrolling in a work-related course of his choosing, tuition-free.

Marc Schwarz, editor of “The Mix” section and specialist editor in The Record’s Features Department, was chosen as the inaugural fellow for the company’s new program with Fairleigh Dickinson University.  Marc will teach a news-reporting class twice a week at FDU’s Teaneck campus, and take a free work-related course of his choosing.  

Scott joined the Herald News as an assistant news editor in February 1999 and was promoted to news editor in January 2001.  Prior to joining North Jersey Media Group, Scott was the New Jersey editor for The Express Times in Easton, PA.

The fall term marks the third semester that North Jersey Media Group has participated in the fellowship arrangements with Syracuse and Rutgers universities.  The program with FDU is new this year.  Only the Syracuse fellowship is a full-time position, with the university providing housing for North Jersey Media Group’s Visiting Professor.  In all three programs, North Jersey Media Group continues to pay salary and benefits to its teaching fellows.

Although we’re not the only newspaper company participating in teaching partnerships, it’s still fairly uncommon.  The April issue of American Journalism Review included an article, “Those Who Do, Teach,” reporting that journalism schools were saving money in lean times by borrowing free teaching labor from newsrooms that could provide paid sabbaticals. In the only other example cited, the reporter described a three-year contract between Utah State University, where the journalism department had a budget crisis, and the Salt Lake Tribune.

But in describing North Jersey Media Group’s two early partnerships with Syracuse and Rutgers universities, AJR acknowledged, “It’s not always about money.”  Doug Clancy, AME/Administration for The Record and Herald News who coordinates the fellowship programs, was quoted explaining that the company had broached the colleges, not vice versa, out of a desire to help the journalism schools improve and contribute to the development of the next generation of journalists. For Doug, the fellowships were a natural extension to the annual workshops and internship programs he coordinates for minority students in high school and college who are considering or preparing for journalism careers.

“We’re proud of the programs because we’re able to give something back to the journalism profession. Both the colleges and the students benefit by having working journalists able to impart real career experience in the classroom,” Doug said later.  “Our teaching fellows are also enriched by the experience, both by taking a class of their own and being surrounded by these fresh young viewpoints.”

“Rutgers is delighted to welcome Scott Muller to the campus for the fall 2004 semester.  He is an accomplished journalist and will add much to the learning environment for our students by teaching News Writing and Reporting,” said John V. Pavlik, Professor and Chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  “He will also contribute to the life of the Journalism Resources Institute,” added Pavlik, who directs the Institute.   “We are grateful to the North Jersey Media Group for making this fellowship possible.”