FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 21 November 2005
Chicago, IL -- Columbia College Chicago's student-operated television station, Frequency TV, has joined the ranks of video podcasting by offering original, scripted, entertainment programming through the iTunes Music Store announced, Michael Niederman, chair of the college's television department.
The award-winning flagship sketch comedy "Out On A Limb" was the first program to debut on October 28. Since then six additional programs have become available for download via desktop computers or iPods.
The downloads are free and there is no cost to the college to place the episodes in the iTunes Music Store. Frequency TV is currently in the process of formatting all of its programs for iTunes. To subscribe to Frequency TV podcasts, go to www.itunes.com and search "Frequency TV."
Columbia College Chicago, an urban institution committed to access, opportunity, and excellence in higher education, provides innovative practice and education in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to 11,000 students in more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs. Founded in 1890 as a communications school for women, Columbia was revisioned in 1963 as a liberal arts college with a "hands-on, minds-on" approach to arts and media education and a progressive social agenda. Under the modern leadership of President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Columbia is aggressively pursuing its mission to bring a richness of vision and a multiplicity of voices to the creation of culture through the diversity of its students and graduates. For further information visit www.colum.edu.
For Immediate Release
November 21, 2005
Photo of Brownlee available digitally.
Chicago, IL --Famed Chicago journalist Les Brownlee (90) died during the early morning hours of November 21 after a long battle with cancer. Priscilla MacDougall, his wife of many years, was by his side.
As a journalism professor at Columbia College Chicago, Brownlee's focus was Urban Affairs reporting, though he taught across the curriculum.
Colleague Jim Sulski noted that "Brownlee was a amazing teacher, inspiring more than one generation of journalists --ranging from John Kass at the Chicago Tribune to Anita Padilla at NBC-TV." Sulski himself was a student of Brownlee's at Columbia. He is a full-time professor at the arts and media college and serves as adviser to the award winning student newspaper, The Columbia Chronicle.
In 2002, Brownlee was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Chicago Headline Club, a chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brownlee was the first African American inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists and was honored, along with six other Chicago newspeople, for their contributions to local media.
Brownlee retired on July 1, 2004 and was named Professor Emeritus in a ceremony on October 16 of that year. Columbia President Warrick L. Carter praised him as a "pioneering journalist who broke barriers in previously segregated newsrooms and in organizations such as the Society of Professional Journalists.
"Les was an outstanding journalist and a caring and committed teacher who inspired his students with his passion and his ethics," said Carter. "He helped shape the vision of a generation of Columbia students and his contributions will continue to effect journalism for years to come."
During his more than a half-century as a professional journalist, Brownlee worked in newsrooms at the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Defender, WLS-TV, WGN-TV and WBEZ radio. He was the first African-American reporter for the Daily News and the first on-air black reporter for WLS. He was entered into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993.
Media contact: Micki Leventhal, 312.344.7383, mleventhal@colum.edu
For Immediate Release: November 1, 2005
Media Contact: Micki Leventhal 312-344-7383
A Seat at the Drum Documents the Challenges of Preserving Tribal Identity
Native American Filmmakers Examine the Lives of 21st Century Urban Native Americans
WHAT: Preview of A Seat at the Drum segment of the Native American Public Telecommunications and Adanvdo Vision series Indian Country Diaries -- Screening and discussion
In Indian Country Diaries: A Seat at the Drum, which will air nationally in Spring or Fall of 2006, journalist and playwright Mark Anthony Rolo (Bad River Objiwe tribe) seeks to learn how Native American communities in 21st century urban neighborhoods honor their cultures, survive economically and cope with the pressures of assimilation in a challenging metropolis.
A panel discussion, moderated by Jeff Spitz, Coordinator of Documentary at Columbia College Chicago, and featuring Frank Blythe, Executive In Charge of Production and Executive Director of Native American Public Telecommunications; Ernest Whiteman, Coordinator of the First Nation's Film & Video Festival and Native staff members from Chicago's American Indian Center, will follow the screening. Spitz calls Indian Country Diaries "a groundbreaking new public television series by Native Americans and about Native Americans." A Seat at the Drum itself is "unique in its portrayal of Native Americans in urban settings rather than the traditional view of reservation life."
This screening of A Seat at the Drum is a Doc Week event sponsored by Columbia College Chicago, American Indian Center, First Nations Film & Video Festival and Native American Public Telecommunications. Funding for Indian Country Diaries is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Public Broadcasting Service, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Independent Television Service and Native American Public Telecommunications.
WHEN: Thursday, November 17, 6-9 p.m., screening begins at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Columbia College Film Row Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., 8th Floor
HOW MUCH: Free and open to the public; space is limited; please RSVP to ensure a seat.
RSVP: 312-344-6725
MORE INFO: Call Jeff Spitz at 312-344-6725 or e-mail at jspitz@colum.edu
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