UNL Depth-Reporting Students to Tackle France, Franco-U.S. Relations

With the goal of shedding light rather than heat on the status of the relationship between the United States and its oldest ally, students and faculty members from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications will leave for France this week on an 11-day depth-reporting mission.

"The United States and France have had an interesting and special relationship since the birth of our country. France is the only major power in the world that we haven't been at war with, but now there are some ruptures in that relationship," said Joe Starita, associate professor of news-editorial and one of the participating faculty members.

Those ruptures were largely caused by the U.S. decision to invade Iraq and France's vocal opposition to the war. One result seems to have been intensification on both sides of the Atlantic of the stereotypes of rude, loud Americans and effete, snotty French.

"We want to analyze and blow up these stereotypes," Starita said. "It's a very ambitious and broad project designed to give our students a chance to conduct journalism on a global scale."

The team, which has been meeting weekly since February to plan the trip, will leave Lincoln Sept. 2 and return Sept. 12. The students will examine French culture, politics and economics from a wide variety of angles, all with an eye to the larger issue of the U.S.-French relationship.

After their return to the UNL campus, the students will produce a documentary film and a magazine that will analyze their findings and impressions, much as an earlier group of students did after a trip to Cuba in January 2003. The Cuba trip resulted in a documentary, "Cuba: Illogical Temple," that won a Student Academy Award earlier this year, and a magazine, "Cuba: An Elusive Truth," that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

"This is a project crossing the three disciplines in the college -- students from advertising, broadcasting and news-editorial are all represented," said Will Norton, dean of the college. "It is an effort to apply in our projects the reality of convergence of media."

Following is an alphabetical list of student depth reporters with their hometown, academic sequence and assignments.

Kevin Abourezk, Lincoln, graduate student, news-editorial -- "Indian Love Affair: Tracking the century-plus French interest in Native Americans"; "Indian Soldiers in France: A look at Native Americans fighting in world wars"; "Indianists: French people who dress and adopt American Indian customs"; "Eurodisney: Using Natives in the Magic Kingdom."

Dirk Chatelain, Columbus, news-editorial -- opening essay to set the tone for the project; "D-Day: Significance of this event to both France and the United States"; "Immigration: The status of immigration issues in France today."

Casey Griffith, Gardner, Kan., advertising -- advertising research will focus on the differences and similarities between French and American advertisements and will include work at the Museum of Advertising at the Louvre as well as visits to advertising agencies, and the International Herald Tribune and Le Monde newspapers.

Kristen Hansen, Sioux City, Iowa, and Carrie Johnson, Murdock, broadcasting, will work jointly on several stories: a profile of former Nebraska basketball player Leroy Chalk, who lives and coaches in Paris; contrasting a brother and sister who live respectively in the United States and Paris; the growth of companies like McDonald's and Starbucks and what Parisians think about the Americanization of French culture; and a profile of a musician in Paris who has his own recording studio and the musical culture of Paris. Johnson and Hansen will go to all other interviews to supplement the print project.

Erin Hilsabeck, Lincoln, news-editorial -- "Tourism: How has 9/11 affected tourism in France?"; "France as a European Power: Will it lead a stronger Europe to counter the United States?"; "Paris: How and why did the city become a cultural mecca?"; "SUVs: Why has Paris banned them and what does it all mean?"

Erica Rogers, Lincoln, news-editorial -- "Health Care Crisis: From heat waves to a strapped social welfare system"; "Preserving Culture Through Cuisine: How is this the case in France?"; "Anti-Bush/Pro-American: The French may hate Bush but not necessarily the United States"; "French vs. U.S. Media: How Iraq is reported differently in the press."

Rachael Seravalli, Lincoln, news-editorial -- "Space: Historical overview of French-U.S. space collaboration"; "TV: The effect of TV on French and American lives"; "Americans in Paris: A comparison of before and after 9/11."

Laura Schreier, Omaha, broadcasting -- "French Work Ethic: What is it and how does it differ from America's?"; "American Cultural Influence: How big is it and how are French coping?"; "American-French Stereotypes: How we see each other before and after 9/11"; "Shakespeare and Co.: A profile of the legendary bookstore."

Alyssa Schukar, Lincoln, news-editorial -- still photographer and photo editor on the completed projects.

Patti Vannoy, Lincoln, news-editorial -- "Status of Women: A comparison of women's issues in France vs. U.S."; "New Religious Law: Impetus behind banning Muslim veils in public schools"; "Historical Overview: The unique relationship between the two countries."

In addition to Starita, faculty members on the trip will be Richard Alloway, assistant professor of broadcasting (radio); Norton; Jerry Renaud, associate professor of broadcasting (television); and Amy Struthers, assistant professor advertising. During its trip to France, the depth-reporting team plans to post regular updates in the form of stories, still photographs and audio clips on the College of Journalism and Mass Communications' NewsNetNebraska Web site.

CONTACT: Marilyn Hahn, Journalism & Mass Communications, (402) 472-0876