• Now topics are designed to help you as a college student, including mental health, career planning, research sources and academic support.
• Next topics will generate discussion on the issues you will encounter in your career and life, such as globalization, the rise and dominance of AI and the challenges facing journalism in 2025.
• Then means we will be taking a look back to the previous century to understand the different media environment Ernie Pyle encountered when he was walking this campus as an IU student.

NOW Topics

I have invited a number of guest speakers to talk about the NOW subjects to help with your study habits, research strategies and mental health resources. You’ll also hear from a career counselor about free help available to students who will seek jobs when they graduate (pretty much anyone who doesn’t have a trust fund awaiting them).

NEXT Topics

We will also spend a short time at the beginning of class discussing the NEXT readings. These readings are excerpts from bright, provocative writers. Even though they fall under the “NEXT,” category, you are being affected by all the topics now, at least to some degree. I chose readings that inform and challenge your thinking.

THEN Topics

Although we won’t really focus on Ernie as much as the Now and Next topics, I believe it’s important that you learn as much as you can about the man for whom your scholarship is named while you are here. Our THEN instruction will include a field trip to dana, Indiana, to visit Ernie’s childhood home.

Your grade in H110

You will be assessed in three main areas for this class:

Course attendance and class participation (20%)
As the saying goes, “showing up is half the battle,” and your presence — and your participation in class discussions — is required, and part of your final grade.

Responses on the required THEN/NOW/NEXT issue readings (60%)
By Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. you will submit a short, 200-to-300-word response to that week’s assigned text. Your response will begin with a one-paragraph synopsis of the reading and will include one key point the author makes that you will comment on, based on your own perspective. That does not mean you must agree with the author, but you need to support your argument and explain how it ties into your personal experience. Writing quality is important, of course, and will count toward each response grade for the class. (This includes spelling and grammar.)

A final exam on the guest speaker talks and issue readings (20%)
On the last day of class, Oct. 15, you will take a final exam that includes short-answer, multiple-choice and fill-in-the the blank questions. I will give you a written study guide closer to the end of semester.

Advice on What It Takes to Succeed

The old-time melancholy jazz standard above might sound like a love song, but it’s really about failure. The lyrics tick off a list of accomplishments, my favorite being, “I’ve been consulted by Franklin D., and Greta Garbo has had me to tea … but I can’t get started with you.” Despite all the singer’s past success, he’s reached a low point.

I probably do not need to tell you this, but everyone, even the most successful people, have at one time felt that they were being asked to do something they felt unprepared to do. Or unable to finish something they had started. It’s what you do once you reach that impasse that determines your success.

Most importantly, don’t let the "just-do-it" fatigue shut you down and make you avoid classes and withdraw from friends. If you are on the struggle bus, get help! This class will introduce you to a variety of IU resources designed to help you succeed. And my door is always open to you any time you are feeling like you need advice, a pep talk or even just a shoulder to commiserate on.

Another piece of advice related to just-do-it fatigue — be smart about your goals and how to reach them. Bob Geldof (right) was and is the singer in the Boomtown Rats, but he’s best known — and received an OBE — for organizing the Live Aid charity to combat famine in Africa. “Sir Bob” illustrated the smart approach in his fundraising. He said that by getting a tea time with French President Francois Mitterrand and convincing him to lobby for some small piece of financial legislation, he probably made more money for Africa than through all of his Live Aid concerts. Wow — millions of pounds earned in one tea date.

So what might be possible “tea dates”? You might not always recognize opportunities, so keep these two pieces of advice in mind:

Start now doing what you plan to do in your career, even if it affects your grades or finances negatively. It will pay for itself eventually (even if it prompts you to change majors). Join the student public relations society (PRSSA) or work at the IDS, WTIU/FIU, the Herald-Times or any other number of local media jobs that can give you constant and honest feedback. Those professional experiences will trump a better-paid gig at the mall. Employers don’t really care that you are an excellent store clerk, nanny or life guard. The “professional” jobs not only provide clips/portfolio pieces, they unite you with a tribe of like-minded people who, through their own experiences will help guide your career decisions. At first that tribe might seem intimidating and even standoffish, but you will get past that quickly. I tell students they don't need straight As to get a good media job, they need great work samples and they need someone who can vouch for them. Often that's a professor who can write about how hard they worked in class, but not always.

Throughout the next four years, take advantage of meeting professionals and attending guest speakers. IU brings in a number of such guests every semester, and the Media School regularly hosts organized events, like Media Day and the Arnolt Center Symposium, as well as frequent visits from professionals in a wide variety of positions. Events like these are part of your education, so please put them in your calendar.

A survey of college students found that factors they based their choice of a university on actually had little to do with their career path and success once they arrived. Where they ended up was more likely some factor they could not have anticipated — a travel course or an internship or professor who mentored them.

That said, one factor of being at IU that works in your favor is scale. You are attending a large state university that has top-notch facilities, draws fascinating speakers, boasts faculty members specializing in myriad research disciplines … and contains a journalism program with an impressive history. Those graduates before you have established IU’s strong reputation, and some of them will want to hire you. Seek out those people, and take advantage of every opportunity while you are here.