Murrow School professor wins educator honors

PULLMAN – John Irby, clinical associate professor and associate director of undergraduate studies in the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, has been selected as the Outstanding Educator of the Year for the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

“Your many achievements as an educator who skillfully prepares journalism students, advances journalism education and promotes students’ career development deserve to be recognized,” said Ann Auman, co-chair of Teaching Standards for the Newspaper Division of the AEJMC, in her note of congratulations to Irby.

“John Irby is so richly deserving of this award,” said Erica Austin, interim director of the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. “He brings to the classroom wonderful depth and real-world experience that can only be gained in the trenches of daily newspapers.”

A faculty member at WSU since 1999, Irby teaches a variety of courses, including news reporting and writing, news editing and public affairs reporting, media ethics, newspaper management, sports reporting and public relations techniques and media. He is a past president of the California Society of Newspaper Editors and the author of “Kill the Editor: The Often Bizarre Relationship with Readers.” The book is based on Irby’s 25 years of newspaper experience from the editor’s chair.

“Anyone who knows John Irby believes, as I do that he embodies the qualities we celebrate when we talk about the Murrow Legacy at WSU,” said Erich Lear, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

“It’s always nice to be noticed and honored,” said Irby. “What is most important to me is the interaction I have with students and helping them become part of the next generation of newspaper reporters and editors who have a clear understanding of the special role the media (and they) will play in society.”

AEJMC awards will be presented during the group’s annual convention in San Francisco on Aug. 3.

In addition to the AEJMC award, Irby is also one of more than 22 professors from across the country who received a fellowship to attend the 2006 Institute for Journalism Excellence in Reston, Va. The program, which ends July 21, is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Each fellowship provides a $5,500 stipend, housing and travel.

The institute is an opportunity for educators who have not worked in a newsroom for several years to sharpen their journalism skills and a chance for newsrooms to learn more about journalism education.

“This is a program that would benefit every journalism teacher,” said Irby. “It’s real-life, hands-on experience working in a newsroom. Students want and need to know what it will be like after college in their professional careers, and this program gives educators a first-hand look. Many journalism professors have spent time in a newsroom, but too many haven’t.”  

“Maintaining strong connections between newsrooms and the educators helping to train journalists of the future is critical,” said Caesar Andrews, executive editor for the Detroit Free Press and chair of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Education for Journalism committee. “This program has an excellent record of doing just that.”