Sunday
Announcement
This blog is no longer active, and I am sorry to say Many of the links no longer work.
I DO NOT have a new blog!
I DO NOT have a new blog!
Saturday
Some favorite stories
Here are a few stories that I enjoyed doing very much.
My personal experience in the 2004 Tsunami that killed a quarter of a million people. It is a favorite because I lived to write it. Tsunami photos
Stories about my return to Sri Lanka after the Tsunami
Here is a travel story about Turkey. (a long story)
My personal experience in the 2004 Tsunami that killed a quarter of a million people. It is a favorite because I lived to write it. Tsunami photos
Stories about my return to Sri Lanka after the Tsunami
Here is a travel story about Turkey. (a long story)
Sunday
Fulbright Program in Uganda
I returned in 2009 to supervise the intern program again.
Here are some pictures taken by the students.
2008 Fulbright Program Story By William Recktenwald
My first contact with African journalism students was in Uganda in 2006.
They were impressive, asking good questions, showing an eagerness to learn, and sharing my passion for journalism.
But the three-day visit was too short. I felt as if I were parachuting in, teaching for a few hours, and moving on. The next year I returned to spend a week; it was then I learned about the Fulbright Senior Specialists program.
In March and June of 2008 I made two visits, teaching at Makerere University in Kampala and at the Islamic University in Uganda at Mbale, near the Kenyan border.
The March visit was busy. I taught a series of short instructional blocks on the subjects of fairness and accuracy, interviewing techniques, Internet research, story structure and writing techniques.
I was struck by the intense interest of the students.
After a week at Makerere, the largest university in Uganda. I traveled to Mbale, a five-hour drive to the east
of Kampala to the main campus of the Islamic University (IUIU).
With fewer students the beautiful little campus of IUIU is a hub of activity. The female students observe a strict dress code and all the students follow Islamic tradition.
I thought I had bombed, but at the break students came to ask questions. The next day I found several students eagerly offering to carry my briefcase and computer to the office.
Walking across campus, I was followed by a sizeable number of students who continued to ask questions for more than an hour.
On my final day I asked if some of the students would like to be in a photo with me. I was mobbed, I felt a bit like a rock star as students maneuvered to be in the picture.
Each day would begin with 90 minutes of classroom
work followed by assignments to students to report, photograph and write news stories. As the stories were finished I would edit them, sitting side-by-side with the student reporter.
Next the stories would be posted on the Internet site for the campus paper.
I saw improvement every day and a special enthusiasm that comes when one sees his or her work published where anyone in the world can read it.
Students learned to use cameras and I passed on what I had learned from working with Chicago Tribune photographers for three decades.
With each day the website looked better and you could feel the pride of the individual students as they saw their work displayed. More and more students were coming up with their own story ideas rather that waiting for assignments.
I probably learned as much from my students as I taught them. I learned that students will share textbooks (if they have just one to start with), and that students with few worldly possessions will use what they have to maximize their education.
On the day I left Kampala, more than a dozen young men and women arrived at my flat to ‘push me to the airport.’ It was a heartwarming gesturer, but just three were able to ride to Entebbe with me in the car.
Only during the ride did I learn one of the students in the taxi would leave Kampala the next day to join his family at a displaced persons camp near the Kenyan border. The family home had been burned in the ethnic violence in Kenya in January and they had fled to Uganda for safety.
As we said goodbye at the airport, the student asked for a favor.
“Sure what can I do,” I asked.
It was a simple and genuine request.
“When you get home, please do not forget us.”
Wednesday
My encounter with the tsunami
Read my personal account of the Tsunami published Jan. 2, 2005 in the Chicago Tribune.Sri Lanka revisited:
In March of 2005 I returned to Sri Lanka to complete a series of reports on its recovery efforts. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published three of those stories on April 17, 2005.
The text of the stories can be read by Clicking Here
B
Photos:
Some of my photographs from Sri Lanka, they can be downloaded. CLICK HERE
I visited the Maldives and Sri Lanka in January 2006 and Uganda and Kenya in June for Journalism training, here is a Blog with some training information from the trip. And for Environmental Reporters this special site.
Saturday
Turkey Travel
In June I visited Turkey for 15 days. The Southern Illinois asked me to write a travel story which ran on Aug. 1, 2004 accompanied by eight of my photographs. Read the story. (It is really long)
In Detroit during a layover, I waited in the airline lounge.
Watching CNN and sipping a cappuccino, I noticed a soldier sit nearby. The army staff sergeant looked smart in his dress green uniform complete with several rows of ribbons and decorations.
I recognized the Combat Infantryman's Badge, airborne wings, and a Bronze Star ribbon with a V device.
His trouser legs were carefully tucked into the top of his highly polished black boots. This was a soldier who had seen combat, and likely a lot of it; the Bronze Star is awarded for valor in combat.
As time passed, folks moved in and out of the lounge. Finally, the announcement came that my flight was boarding, and as I got up to leave, the sergeant stood as well. At the long escalator that takes you to the main terminal, he was just two stairs in front of me. I could see the patch on his shoulder, the screaming eagle of the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, not far from my home.
"You headed home from beautiful Fort Campbell?" I asked with a smile.
"No sir," he said with a sober look on his face, "I have to take one of my men home."
A chill shot through me as I realized what he was doing. He was the military escort for the remains of a soldier who has died while on active duty.
The smile left my face, and the sergeant could see my embarrassment.
The awkwardness of the moment seemed to last forever, but as we stepped off the moving stairs I was able to muster a comment.
"Thank you for your service," I said, looking him in the eye.
"Thank you, sir," he answered, and shook my hand.
I headed off to my flight; he turned to talk to an airline employee.
Walking to my gate, people passed laughing and chatting, children in tow; it was Christmastime and folks were headed home.
I had two eight-hour flights ahead. I spent much of it thinking about the sergeant and how he would be spending his day, would he be met by a family; a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, maybe a wife, perhaps children.
I wondered how this soldier lost his life; combat, a roadside bomb, a car accident at his home base; I never would know these things.
But I do know that for the family it would not be a joyful Christmas.
At Mass on Christmas Day in Kampala, Uganda, I thought about the soldier, whose name I do not know, and the hundreds of thousands of others who serve in remote places on the globe, many in harm's way.
We are a fortunate people, even in our worst of times we live better than most in the world. We should take time to be thankful for those who give so much to assure that our way of life will continue.
William Recktenwald is a senior lecturer and journalist in residence at the SIU School of Journalism.
In June I visited Turkey for 15 days. The Southern Illinois asked me to write a travel story which ran on Aug. 1, 2004 accompanied by eight of my photographs. Read the story. (It is really long)
William Recktenwald: Flight a stark reminder of true service
January 13, 2009 The Southern Illinoisan
Just before Christmas, I was headed to Africa for a holiday.
Using frequent flyer miles, I managed to score a free seat in the
business class Northwest/KLM flight.In Detroit during a layover, I waited in the airline lounge.
Watching CNN and sipping a cappuccino, I noticed a soldier sit nearby. The army staff sergeant looked smart in his dress green uniform complete with several rows of ribbons and decorations.
I recognized the Combat Infantryman's Badge, airborne wings, and a Bronze Star ribbon with a V device.
His trouser legs were carefully tucked into the top of his highly polished black boots. This was a soldier who had seen combat, and likely a lot of it; the Bronze Star is awarded for valor in combat.
As time passed, folks moved in and out of the lounge. Finally, the announcement came that my flight was boarding, and as I got up to leave, the sergeant stood as well. At the long escalator that takes you to the main terminal, he was just two stairs in front of me. I could see the patch on his shoulder, the screaming eagle of the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, not far from my home.
"You headed home from beautiful Fort Campbell?" I asked with a smile.
"No sir," he said with a sober look on his face, "I have to take one of my men home."
A chill shot through me as I realized what he was doing. He was the military escort for the remains of a soldier who has died while on active duty.
The smile left my face, and the sergeant could see my embarrassment.
The awkwardness of the moment seemed to last forever, but as we stepped off the moving stairs I was able to muster a comment.
"Thank you for your service," I said, looking him in the eye.
"Thank you, sir," he answered, and shook my hand.
I headed off to my flight; he turned to talk to an airline employee.
Walking to my gate, people passed laughing and chatting, children in tow; it was Christmastime and folks were headed home.
I had two eight-hour flights ahead. I spent much of it thinking about the sergeant and how he would be spending his day, would he be met by a family; a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, maybe a wife, perhaps children.
I wondered how this soldier lost his life; combat, a roadside bomb, a car accident at his home base; I never would know these things.
But I do know that for the family it would not be a joyful Christmas.
At Mass on Christmas Day in Kampala, Uganda, I thought about the soldier, whose name I do not know, and the hundreds of thousands of others who serve in remote places on the globe, many in harm's way.
We are a fortunate people, even in our worst of times we live better than most in the world. We should take time to be thankful for those who give so much to assure that our way of life will continue.
William Recktenwald is a senior lecturer and journalist in residence at the SIU School of Journalism.
Wednesday
Freedom of Information a look a a pretty good list of FOI resources collected by IIT.
A handy letter generator for the Federal FOI Act
And another letter generator for a request under a State FOI Law. Hey! is this too easy or what?
Text of the ILLINOIS FOIA
A handy letter generator for the Federal FOI Act
And another letter generator for a request under a State FOI Law. Hey! is this too easy or what?
Text of the ILLINOIS FOIA
Monday
Find a phone number
Are you looking for a telephone number? In the US or around the wWorld the University of Texas at Austin has linked some of the best telephone directories right here. If you can't find it in one directory, try another, there are also reverse directories to find out who has a certain number. If you need to know if the number is a cellphone or landline try this site.
For reverse directory of telephone numbers and addresses. Cellphone numbers are hard to locate but you might have luck here for a mobile phone number. Use ONLY the FREE portions of these web pages!
Do you have a drivers licence number? Check it out here.
Wednesday
News Archives
Here is your connection to FREE Newspaper Archives. Background your story from your computer. Or go direct to the archive directory
Here is your connection to FREE Newspaper Archives. Background your story from your computer. Or go direct to the archive directory
Saturday
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, from the US Department of Justice.
The Poynter Institute give great pointers for covering the cop beat.
Get full text of Illinois Laws.
Before you promise to not reveal your news sources name, be sure that you understand the shield law for your state. It may keep you out of the crowbar cottage.
The Poynter Institute give great pointers for covering the cop beat.
Get full text of Illinois Laws.
Before you promise to not reveal your news sources name, be sure that you understand the shield law for your state. It may keep you out of the crowbar cottage.
Southern Illinois NEXRAD weather radar loop
National Weather Service Severe Weather radar for Southern Illinois
(you will need to refresh to make it current)
National Weather Service Severe Weather radar for Southern Illinois
(you will need to refresh to make it current)
Friday
During the first two weeks of June 2003 I arranged a program for mid-career journalists visiting from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and India. The activity, funded by a US State Department grant, included visits to Chicago news media and media outlets in Southern Illinois along with a full helping of Southern Illinois University programs in Carbondale. In Chicago the group had a chance to visit with the Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. This visit is part of a continuing program administered by Journalism School faculty. For more information about this program check this press release.
Sunday
A personal link.
This takes you to a new album of pictures of my home in southern Illinois, have a look.A student of mine, Bobby Samat put this page of photo's together, these are ALL in southern Illinois, a very beautiful place. Great job Bobby!
Monday
Biographic Information
Here is a biographical sketch of myself that will tell you WAY more than you will likely need to know about my background and experience.
William Recktenwald is a senior lecturer and journalist-in-residence for the School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University, he joined the faculty in August 1999. He was elected Faculty Senate president in April 2011.
Recktenwald teaches courses in News Writing and Reporting, Public Affairs Reporting, Feature Writing, Multi-Media Project and Investigative Reporting, and newsroom management. He also works with the staff of the Daily Egyptian, an award-winning student-operated newspaper with a circulation of 7,500 and is faculty adviser to the student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Recktenwald is the regular teacher for Journalism 311, News Writing and Reporting. He has taught the course for 36 semesters. Twice since he came to SIU he has been named the Outstanding Term Faculty Teacher in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.
In June 2006 he was a volunteer trainer for a journalism program in Uganda and Kenya, in 2002-2003 he worked with a team of SIU journalism professors and traveled to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal to conduct training programs for local journalists, and in the summer of 2002 the same team conducted workshops for journalists in Tanzania. The programs were all funded by the U.S. Department of State.
In March and again in July and August 2007 Recktenwald traveled to Uganda to teach as a volunteer at Makerere University and the Islamic University in Uganda, as well as to conduct workshops for news professionals in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy.
In 2008 Recktenwald was selected as a Fulbright Senior Specialist and served in Uganda that year. In 2008 he was also inducted in to the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.
While vacationing in Sri Lanka in 2004, Recktenwald was caught in the waters of the deadly tsunami. He wrote about his experience for the Chicago Tribune (read the first person account) and returned to Sri Lanka in March 2005 to file additional stories for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the recovery efforts. During the March visit he gathered material for a report used by National Public Radio and aired by WSIU and Chicago Public Radio.
He was invited by the U.S. Department of State to conduct a series of training sessions for journalists in Maldives and Sri Lanka as well as a series of public lectures about American journalism during January 2006 as part of the Distinguished Speaker Program.
At SIU he is a University Housing faculty associate and a member of the International Friends Club. He oversees an innovative program for Kellogg Hall a student residence for those studying in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. In this position he coordinates activities to enhance the learning experience for students. In 2007 Recktenwald was selected to receive the University’s Outstanding RSO Adviser Award for his work with the NABJ.
Recktenwald is a co-author of The Illinois Story - The State’s History and Competitive Edge Today, published in 2002 by the Illinois Publishing Group. The 368-page, hardcover book is sponsored by the state of Illinois as a tool for economic promotion. He was the lead instructor for The Shawnee Project a student produced hard cover coffee table type book The Shawnee Forest : Illinois' Hidden Gem.
When Recktenwald retired from the Chicago Tribune he was the deputy Chicago bureau chief and a reporter. There he helped to develop the daily news report for the city and deploy a staff of 50 reporters who work from the Tribune Tower on metropolitan news.
Recktenwald also served as a mentor and supervisor for student interns who worked at the Tribune.
He joined the newspaper staff in March 1978 and worked on many award-winning projects. Recktenwald was a major contributor to the Tribune’s "Killing Our Children" effort in 1993. The series, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, documented the murder of every one of the 65 children slain in the Chicago area that year.
In 1984 he reported and wrote a series of reports about street gangs in Chicago, detailing how they have become increasingly sophisticated and violent. The stories were one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. More importantly, in the year following the series the number of youth homicides in Chicago dropped by 40 percent.
Recktenwald was one of the reporters who worked on "The American Millstone," a 36-part series published in 1985 about a group of people who constitute a special segment of the American underclass. Recktenwald is a co-author of The American Millstone; An examination of the nation’s permanent underclass, published in 1986 by Contemporary Books. The 307-page volume is a collection of the Tribune articles.
The reports found that these people had become hopelessly entrapped in circumstances beyond their control and beyond the control of government. The stories documented that the nation had socially and politically accepted these people as residents in the basement of the American dream.
His first major assignment at the Tribune was an in-depth examination of how the nation treats its elderly. The 14-part series Growing Old in the Nation of the Young was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.
In 1983 Recktenwald received the William H. Jones Investigative Journalism Award for stories about vote fraud that resulted in the convictions of several political workers.
In 1978 he went undercover, working as a guard in the Pontiac State Prison, where a riot three months earlier had led to the deaths of three guards. His chilling reports on prison conditions led to a restructuring of the state prison system and earned Recktenwald the Edward Scott Beck Award, the Chicago Tribune’s highest editorial award. While at the newspaper he contributed to stories that received nominations for the Pulitzer Prize nine times. Four of those were finalists.
Much of Recktenwald’s reporting at the Tribune focused on crime, corruption and violence. He reported extensively on homicide trends, firearm violence, shortcomings in government services to poor neighborhoods, the societal cost of violence and changes in policing methods.
But Recktenwald also wrote about more upbeat subjects. He has done reports for the Chicago Tribune Magazine about a day in the life of the veterinary hospital at the University of Illinois, the Experimental Aircraft Association and Chicago’s effort to win America’s Cup. He covered the Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race for 12 years.
His final undertaking was a Tempo series on the highways and byways of Illinois that introduced Chicago residents to unique people who live across the state.
Before joining the newspaper, Recktenwald worked for the Better Government Association for 12 years, serving as the civic group’s chief investigator for seven of those years.
While at the BGA, Recktenwald directed the 1978 Mirage tavern investigation. Working with the Chicago Sun-Times, the group purchased and ran a tavern for four months to document corruption. (read the entire Mirage series it is here in five PDF links: #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 ) http://themiragetavern.blogspot.com
In 1968, working with Donald Barlett of the Chicago Daily News, Recktenwald’s efforts to expose vote fraud resulted in the first indictments for violating the Federal Voters Rights Act.
In 1972, he directed the BGA effort in tandem with the Chicago Tribune to expose massive vote fraud in Chicago. The project was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
With Chicago Tribune reporter William Jones in 1970, Recktenwald worked for six Chicago ambulance companies to expose inhumane treatment, graft and bribery. The series on their experiences was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and resulted in criminal indictments of numerous ambulance company officials and Chicago police officers, as well as a total restructuring of the Chicago emergency medical services.
During 1975 and 1976, while on leave from the BGA, Recktenwald served as the chief investigator for the subcommittee on Long Term Care of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, which probed waste and fraud in the Medicaid and Medicare systems.
From 1962 until 1966 he served as a criminal investigator for the Office of the Cook County (Illinois) States Attorney.
Recktenwald is a director of the River to River Trail Society, a group that maintains a 160 mile hiking trail through the Shawnee National Forest across the southern tip of Illinois. He was the Hardin County disaster worker for the American Red Cross.
Recktenwald is a power airplane and glider pilot. For years he raced a sailboat on Lake Michigan. He now resides on a 110-acre farm in the Shawnee National Forest.
Reckman @ aol.com
Postal address
Mailcode 6601
1100 Lincoln Drive, Room 1202
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale IL 62901 USA
While vacationing in Sri Lanka in 2004, Recktenwald was caught in the waters of the deadly tsunami. He wrote about his experience for the Chicago Tribune (read the first person account) and returned to Sri Lanka in March 2005 to file additional stories for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the recovery efforts. During the March visit he gathered material for a report used by National Public Radio and aired by WSIU and Chicago Public Radio.
He was invited by the U.S. Department of State to conduct a series of training sessions for journalists in Maldives and Sri Lanka as well as a series of public lectures about American journalism during January 2006 as part of the Distinguished Speaker Program.
At SIU he is a University Housing faculty associate and a member of the International Friends Club. He oversees an innovative program for Kellogg Hall a student residence for those studying in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. In this position he coordinates activities to enhance the learning experience for students. In 2007 Recktenwald was selected to receive the University’s Outstanding RSO Adviser Award for his work with the NABJ.
Recktenwald is a co-author of The Illinois Story - The State’s History and Competitive Edge Today, published in 2002 by the Illinois Publishing Group. The 368-page, hardcover book is sponsored by the state of Illinois as a tool for economic promotion. He was the lead instructor for The Shawnee Project a student produced hard cover coffee table type book The Shawnee Forest : Illinois' Hidden Gem.
When Recktenwald retired from the Chicago Tribune he was the deputy Chicago bureau chief and a reporter. There he helped to develop the daily news report for the city and deploy a staff of 50 reporters who work from the Tribune Tower on metropolitan news.
Recktenwald also served as a mentor and supervisor for student interns who worked at the Tribune.
He joined the newspaper staff in March 1978 and worked on many award-winning projects. Recktenwald was a major contributor to the Tribune’s "Killing Our Children" effort in 1993. The series, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, documented the murder of every one of the 65 children slain in the Chicago area that year.
In 1984 he reported and wrote a series of reports about street gangs in Chicago, detailing how they have become increasingly sophisticated and violent. The stories were one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. More importantly, in the year following the series the number of youth homicides in Chicago dropped by 40 percent.
Recktenwald was one of the reporters who worked on "The American Millstone," a 36-part series published in 1985 about a group of people who constitute a special segment of the American underclass. Recktenwald is a co-author of The American Millstone; An examination of the nation’s permanent underclass, published in 1986 by Contemporary Books. The 307-page volume is a collection of the Tribune articles.
The reports found that these people had become hopelessly entrapped in circumstances beyond their control and beyond the control of government. The stories documented that the nation had socially and politically accepted these people as residents in the basement of the American dream.
His first major assignment at the Tribune was an in-depth examination of how the nation treats its elderly. The 14-part series Growing Old in the Nation of the Young was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.
In 1983 Recktenwald received the William H. Jones Investigative Journalism Award for stories about vote fraud that resulted in the convictions of several political workers.
In 1978 he went undercover, working as a guard in the Pontiac State Prison, where a riot three months earlier had led to the deaths of three guards. His chilling reports on prison conditions led to a restructuring of the state prison system and earned Recktenwald the Edward Scott Beck Award, the Chicago Tribune’s highest editorial award. While at the newspaper he contributed to stories that received nominations for the Pulitzer Prize nine times. Four of those were finalists.
Much of Recktenwald’s reporting at the Tribune focused on crime, corruption and violence. He reported extensively on homicide trends, firearm violence, shortcomings in government services to poor neighborhoods, the societal cost of violence and changes in policing methods.
But Recktenwald also wrote about more upbeat subjects. He has done reports for the Chicago Tribune Magazine about a day in the life of the veterinary hospital at the University of Illinois, the Experimental Aircraft Association and Chicago’s effort to win America’s Cup. He covered the Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race for 12 years.
His final undertaking was a Tempo series on the highways and byways of Illinois that introduced Chicago residents to unique people who live across the state.
Before joining the newspaper, Recktenwald worked for the Better Government Association for 12 years, serving as the civic group’s chief investigator for seven of those years.
While at the BGA, Recktenwald directed the 1978 Mirage tavern investigation. Working with the Chicago Sun-Times, the group purchased and ran a tavern for four months to document corruption. (read the entire Mirage series it is here in five PDF links: #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 ) http://themiragetavern.blogspot.com
In 1968, working with Donald Barlett of the Chicago Daily News, Recktenwald’s efforts to expose vote fraud resulted in the first indictments for violating the Federal Voters Rights Act.
In 1972, he directed the BGA effort in tandem with the Chicago Tribune to expose massive vote fraud in Chicago. The project was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
With Chicago Tribune reporter William Jones in 1970, Recktenwald worked for six Chicago ambulance companies to expose inhumane treatment, graft and bribery. The series on their experiences was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and resulted in criminal indictments of numerous ambulance company officials and Chicago police officers, as well as a total restructuring of the Chicago emergency medical services.
During 1975 and 1976, while on leave from the BGA, Recktenwald served as the chief investigator for the subcommittee on Long Term Care of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, which probed waste and fraud in the Medicaid and Medicare systems.
From 1962 until 1966 he served as a criminal investigator for the Office of the Cook County (Illinois) States Attorney.
Recktenwald is a director of the River to River Trail Society, a group that maintains a 160 mile hiking trail through the Shawnee National Forest across the southern tip of Illinois. He was the Hardin County disaster worker for the American Red Cross.
Recktenwald is a power airplane and glider pilot. For years he raced a sailboat on Lake Michigan. He now resides on a 110-acre farm in the Shawnee National Forest.
Reckman @ aol.com
Postal address
Mailcode 6601
1100 Lincoln Drive, Room 1202
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale IL 62901 USA
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