Wednesday Speaker: Jack Womack

Photo courtesy of CNN

Jack Womack, friend and champion to all graphic designers (oh,and by-the-way also happens to be CNN Senior Vice President of domestic news operations and administration) is coming to your classroom this Wednesday, October 14th to talk about CNN and relate his stories to you about his long successful tenure at CNN.
His charm, candor and amazing sense of humor will certainly demonstrate to you exactly why he has not only endured but thrived in the ever-changing world of the “The World's Most Important Network.”
On a personal note, Jack truly did change my professional life in broadcast design not only by his un-yielding support of actually allowing me to do my design work while I was there but also challenged me to change the very visual aesthetics of what people are seeing (and hearing) everyday when they tune in to watch CNN and HLN. Jack was ultimately responsible for me becoming the Director of Broadcast Design for the network. He never second-guessed my intelligence nor my creativity in any of the 21 years that I knew Jack while I was at CNN, CNNHLN,CNN Airport Network or CNN Newsource. He is someone I will also hold in great esteem for his unwaivering support and friendship all those years while I was employed by CNN. I still consider him to be family.

Jack always seemed to have one goal in mind (regardless of whether he was actually anchoring the news or was leading CNN HLN as President) and that was he always wanted the on-air newscast to be authentic, investigative, honest and one that was visually appealing to the viewers.

Don't miss this on Wednesday at 11am and you'll see for yourself just why I hold Jack in such great esteem. You'll be a fan of his as well.

Here is a recent article about his lecture at the University of Montana School of Journalism in Helena,Montana.

Media utilizing social networking sites
Story by Kimball Bennion | April 17, 2009
Montana Kaimin

“We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technology that isn’t here yet,” he said.
The proliferation of social media is too big of a force for old media professionals to ignore.
“We can’t afford to be dismissive about this,” Womack said. “What does old media have to do to keep from becoming stale?” he later asked.
To answer that question, Womack used an example from his own workplace, using the inauguration of Barack Obama. Not only was it an historic day for the country, Womack said, but for the media as well.

CNN partnered with Facebook to let viewers watch the inauguration online and post real-time comments as the events unfolded, re-creating a communal experience through a global network.
The partnership of old and new seemed to work, as CNN.com set the record for the largest audience for a video event in Internet history.

But not everything is so widely digested in the digital age. Womack also addressed the uncertain future that newspapers face and what it may mean to society if their role is diminished.

“Newspapers are vital to democracy,” Womack said.

CNN and other news organizations have taken the lead in working with new media to spread nationwide information almost instantly, Womack said, but the role of local newspapers as community watchdogs and news analysts is important. Womack argued that no new media has been able to supplant that role so far.
Womack didn’t name any specific sites, but he mentioned that many sites sacrifice accuracy for speed.
The most recent example he gave was the coverage of actress Natasha Richardson’s death after a skiing accident in March. According to Womack, some sites reported that she was dead before she actually died.
“Better to be right and first,” Womack said, “and that’s why I think strong and familiar brand names will continue to do well.”
In the meantime, it’s important that journalism schools teach their students how to survive in a changing job market while keeping them grounded in basic skills, he said.
“No matter the platform, the same values taught right here at the School of Journalism apply now more than ever,” Womack said.
Womack is a Helena native who attended the University of Montana and graduated from Montana State University in 1984.
The Dean Stone lecture is an annual event sponsored by the University of Montana School of Journalism and is named after Arthur L. Stone, the first dean of the journalism school.
courtesy:
kimball.bennion@umontana.edu