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“Good words, good spirits, good friends make for a good life.”

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Malcolm Gibson, journalist

      I came to the University of Kansas in August 1996 to begin my new career as a full-time professor of journalism after 34 years as a reporter and editor at newspapers and The Associated Press. (If you don't really want to know more, that's OK, you can skip the next seven or eight paragraphs. But, please, after skipping the PR, read what's left. It's mildly important. But some words of advice: It's nice to know a bit about the person who'll be preaching the “gospel of journalism” to you, so read on.)  Or if you'd like to read another short biography, read “Ode to garlic and etaoin shrdlu” or head to my blog, “Going over Sixty.” I also write essays, most recently for the Virginian-Pilot, which I delivered as a kid in my hometown of Norfolk, Va. You can find my efforts here.

Photo taken in 2011

“It's impossible to teach anyone to be a journalist because most of the skills necessary to be a good journalist — an insatiable curiosity, a tenacity for the truth and a love of words — must be developed within. Those of us who have chosen to teach journalism don't really teach; we merely light the way.”

    Professional: I began my professional career as a reporter in the U.S. Army and, later, as a stringer for the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune. I have worked as a reporter, editor or news executive for a number of news organizations, including The Miami Herald, The Tampa Tribune, The Associated Press and The New York Times Co. For most of my 18 years with the Times Company, I was an executive editor — at The Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C., and, later, The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun. I was a longtime active member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and I continue to be an active member of several professional organizations, including the Inland Press Association, Kansas Collegiate Media, College Media Advisers, Associated Collegiate Press and American Copy Editors Society, of which I am a charter member. In 2001, I was the keynote speaker at the ACES national convention in Long Beach, Calif., and, in 2002, was the closing speaker at the New England Society of Newspaper Editors annual meeting. I am past president of the Kansas Collegiate Media, the statewide organization that represents college media in Kansas.

    The University Daily Kansan: In late December 2001, I was named general manager and news adviser to the nationally-recognized student-run daily, The University Daily Kansan. I replaced good friend Tom Eblen, the former managing editor of The Kansas City Star who held the reins at the Kansan for 15 years.

    Professional interests: Other than writing and editing, I am interested in the African and African-American media. For example, I'm analyzing work by African-American war correspondents in World War II, and working with another journalism veteran, Jackie Thomas, on an anthology of the best African-American journalism in its long and storied history. I also conduct workshops at newspapers on reporting, writing, editing and newsroom management. And, as noted above, I write essays for Virginia's largest newspaper, the Virginian-Pilot, which I delivered as a kid growing up in Norfolk, Va.

     Africa: I am an Africanist, and I have traveled extensively throughout the world as a journalist, much of it in Africa. While there, I hitchhiked most places and, among other interesting adventures, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, where you can freeze your butt off even though you're just a few degrees south of the Equator. I have interviewed many interesting personalities, including Nelson Mandela. (Want some evidence? Click here for photo. We sat around and drank beer for three hours at a home in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1993.)  My recent interest is in China. I administered a grant for KU that took me (and my wife) several times to China to identify and recruit emerging journalists to come to KU.

   Teaching: It's what I love to do, which is why I gave up the big bucks as a news executive to move into teaching, which, in retirement, I continue to do. In addition to a number of teaching awards, the class of '03 recognized my effort by selecting me as a candidate for the H.O.P.E. award, which is given to the top teacher at KU as voted by the senior class.

     Africa and academia: I earned a B.A. in African Studies in 1977 (the first one granted by the University of Florida) and my master's in mass communication (with an emphasis on international journalism) in 1994, both from UF, home of the “Fightin' Gators.” My graduate thesis was “Gatekeeping, AIDS, and the African Press: Watu waache kutangatanga (People should stop playing around).” During my studies, I taught reporting and media management at UF. Earlier, while executive editor of a North Carolina newspaper, I also taught reporting at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.  And for five years, I was a member of the Journalism Advisory Council at UF.

      Call me “Professor Gramps”: I have been married for more than four decades. (Joyce and I were married in 1971). We have two children. Jennifer, who was born in 1972, is a certified pharmacy technician. She lives in Nashua, N.H., with her husband and our first (and, so far, only) grandchild, Adam, who was born a few days from my birthday in 1998. Our son, Ian, who was born in 1978, attended KU and graduated from Washburn University with a degree in finance. He's a Pike (Pi Kappa Alpha), plays pickup basketball as often as he can and likes to play golf with me. A short time after graduation in 2002, he followed his then-girlfriend, a KU alumna, to the wonderful mountain town of Tsuyama, Japan, where she was teaching English. Ian also picked up a job teaching English and picked up a lot of the Japanese language, too. Ian now works in San Jose, CA, with his California-born and -bred companion, Andrea, whom he met while they were working in Australia about five years ago.

      Bowties and parachutes: And, yes, as you'll likely hear, I am mildly proficient in Swahili, love baseball, golf, old movies, books and music (everything from good ol' rock 'n' roll to opera), relish Ethiopian food, have jumped out of perfectly good airplanes (as part of my job in the Army as a reporter and columnist covering skydiving for the post newspaper), drove a '79 MGB roadster virtually every day (until I traded it in recently for a safer and more reliable Mazda Miata GT, which we drive, top down, all over the country), officiated at many weddings (most for former students with my 18th in August, and two more in spring), believe the practice of journalism should be fun, and once taught an entire newsroom, as well as the occasional New York Times visiting editor, how to juggle and tie bow ties (not at the same time). And for Christmas one year at my newspaper in North Carolina, my staff gave me a unicycle, which I still have.

© “Blondie,” May 19, 2005 / © “Frank and Ernest,” July 18, 2008

     My goal: Silliness aside, I take my role here — as I did in my newsrooms — seriously. My specific goal is to assist students in developing the skills necessary for successful, productive and, yes, profitable careers, as well as to build passion for something meaningful in their lives.
     To do so, I will attempt to convince you that the only way to succeed is to become a truly literate person. That ultimate goal can be realized, I believe, by practicing my basic philosophy, summed up so eloquently by Goethe (1749-1832), the German philosopher: