FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 16, 2005

Journalist-educator Mencher to speak about reporting, writing and ethics

ISU SPJ

            Melvin Mencher, whose “News Reporting and Writing” is a standard textbook in journalism schools across the country, will talk with the ISU Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Thursday, Sept. 22.

            The Columbia University professor emeritus, who will also meet with the Iowa State Daily and Greenlee students on Sept. 21-22, plans to discuss reporting, writing and ethics. The lecture to SPJ begins at 6:30 p.m. in Hamilton Hall 172. The public is invited.

            The veteran journalist was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1952-53 and worked for United Press International, Albuquerque Journal, Fresno Bee and the Christian Science Monitor. In addition to teaching at Columbia, Mencher was a professor at the University of Kansas and the University of South Dakota. He has also lectured at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.

            “Mencher literally wrote the news writing book,” said Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School. “He has been a force in journalism ever since I can remember.”

            His textbook “News Reporting and Writing,” published by McGraw-Hill, first came out in 1977 and is now in its 10^th edition. It includes an interactive compact disc.

            Mencher, 78, is not just known for his textbook but also for being an outstanding teacher. He was named distinguished educator in 2002 by the Newspaper Division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

            “I think he will give students a hell of a education,” said Mark Witherspoon, adviser to the Iowa State Daily and a Greenlee lecturer.

            Mencher began his career in 1947, making $1 an hour for UPI. He is known as a demanding teacher, but Witherspoon said there’s no reason to be afraid of the Columbia professor emeritus.

            “I think students need to learn this stuff,” Witherspoon said. “He’s interested in truth, in finding the truth and providing it to the public in a fair and complete manner.”

            Mencher, who plans to discuss reporting, writing and ethics, is looking forward to his visit to Ames.

            “I am delighted to be meeting with the Greenlee classes and the Daily staff,” Mencher said.

            The New York native said he wants to teach Greenlee students how to be effective reporters by getting them to see for themselves and to gather background information. Mencher wants their writing to be clear, interesting and accurate.

            In addition, Mencher calls ethics “the morality of journalism” and said he will talk about a journalist’s “responsibility to his/her profession and to the community.”

            “You don’t get crusty old city editors like him anymore, the kind who don’t give a shit, that just want results,” Witherspoon said.

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