Celebrations began with the dedication of a plaque honoring the late Mal Deans, continued with a tour of the remodeled Campus Press newsroom and ended with a panel on new media. (Photo/Logan Brown)

Sue Deans (MA '75) with her son, Jeff Foss, and her father, Russell Schlaufman. (Photo/Cliff Grassmick)

Tim Coy ('80), a creative services graphic designer and writer for Denver Newspaper Agency, and YourHub.com Managing Editor Fairlight Baer ('03). (Photo/Logan Brown)

Maria and Mike Cote ('MA 89), Boulder Daily Camera city editor. (Photo/Cliff Grassmick)

John Herzog ('61), his wife, Leslie, center, and Michelle P. Fulcher ('78), SJMC instructor and Campus Press adviser. (Photo/Logan Brown)

By Kimberli Turner

A tour of the renovated Campus Press newsroom, a memorial unveiled in tribute to Malcolm "Mal" Deans and a standing-room-only discussion of the future of journalism highlighted SJMC 2006 homecoming events in October.

Deans, who died in December 2005, taught at the School from 1976 through 1987 and was the first faculty adviser for the Campus Press. This semester, Campus Press went from a weekly newspaper to an online daily. His wife, Sue Deans (MA '75), unveiled the plaque honoring her late husband.

 "He made this cool experience a real-life experience," Deans said. "He got (his students) writing news stories, not just papers." But as much as Mal Deans loved newspapers, he loved the advance of new media, she said.

Before Mal Deans came to CU, he was a reporter and editor for 30 years at newspapers including the Los Angeles Mirror and the Philadelphia Bulletin. The memorial displays pictures of Deans and the first Campus Press flag.

The former editor of the Boulder Daily Camera, Sue Deans has also created an endowment that enhances a memorial fund established by various donors, most importantly Nonie Lann ('48) (see related story). That fund supports the Campus Press newsroom.

Following the tour and memorial, SJMC alums Fairlight Baer ('03), Doug Conarroe ('83), Michael Noe ('93) and Dan Pacheco ('94) were the panelists for "New Media. New Audiences. New Journalism?"

Baer is the managing editor at YourHub.com, launched by the Rocky Mountain News in the spring of 2005. It has more than 22,000 registered users on the site.

Conarroe is the multimedia producer at DenverPost.com. He described how a fairly new feature, Get Real Denver.com, allows users to post comments about the MTV show "Real World Denver." The site is also a place to post photos, feedback and chat. Conarroe said that when the show ends, DenverPost.com hopes to expand the blog to a more comprehensive entertainment Web site.

Noe is interactive media editor at RockyMountainNews.com. He said the site's goal is to come up with fresh stories and not simply regurgitate what their readers see in the print edition. He noted that the site offered a Web cam that allowed time-lapse viewing of the new wing of the Denver Art Museum being built over the past three years.

Pacheco, who lives and works in Broomfield, is the senior manager of Digital Products, The Bakersfield Californian's New Products Group. He also came up with the concept of Bakotopia.com in which bloggers add to its content with stories and opinion pieces. Local bands promote gigs there, and users can listen to those bands' music.

But is this really journalism?

Conarroe said that being able to post on these sites allows the readers instant gratification, similar to the constant availability of text messages and cell phones.

Pacheco said online sites provide a new way to meet people's needs because the community can come to the journalist.

Noe said he thinks online Web sites such as rockymountainnews.com complement what the newspapers are doing.