Cole Campbell, Dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism and someone I admired as much as anyone involved in journalism, died this morning in a car crash. In addition to being the dean, Cole was the chief architect behind the graduate program I am in right now. I could be wrong, but as I see it, this program is his baby.
It’s only been a few hours since the accident, so it’s very difficult to grasp right now. My initial thoughts when I heard the news went to his family. His wife and young son deserve to be in everyone’s hearts tonight. Think of them for me, will you?
My own relationship with Cole is one I’ll never forget. The last conversation we had was as inspiring as any I’ve ever had in the context of blogging, citizen journalism, and my own work in the area. What he told me made me want to do so much more than I have. It also made me think I’m completely capable of doing it. I suppose that’s the role of an educator. He gave me confidence. If Cole Campbell liked what I was doing, then I was probably doing it right. If I take nothing else away from his life, then I think I’ll have taken what he thought I should. Thanks for that, Cole.
In his honor, I guess it’s time I sit down and really focus my attention on a good book. He’d have liked that, too.
Others talking about Cole
RGJ
Josh Kenzer
Nevada Alumni Association
Ed Cone
John Robinson
Allen Johnson
PJNet Today
Jim Buie
Francis Slay (Mayor of St. Loius)
New York Times
Comments
Kristin wrote:
Ryan, it is very unbelievable that Cole is gone. I cannot imagine what the cohort is going through right now – and his absense in this upcoming semester is going to be very difficult. This program was his vision, he would want the group to finish and finish strong. He was so excited that the j school was going to have an entire group of grad students graduating in one semester, all together. Take care.
Jan 6, 05:38 PM
Abbey Smith wrote:
Ryan,
Thank you for writing this. It is heart felt and simple. Cole inspired me too. I agree that the program was his baby. I am honored to be part of the cohort and I am so thankful that he brought us all together. I just wanted to share my last conversation with him:
I was walking down the stairs from the grad lab. We passed at the second floor landing and he stopped me to ask if I was really happy with the program. He watched my eyes. I told him yes as thoroughly and convincingly as I could, but I felt that I hadn’t reached him on the level from which he had reached out to me. I keep thinking that he always told me he wanted me to be excited each day I came to school. So now, I want to say in his honor, and in wishing that I had told him more often, that I really, really am excited each day that I am part of the cohort.
I hope each of us can give next semseter all that we can. Thank you Cole for believing that things can change for the better.
Jan 6, 05:57 PM
vchighlands wrote:
I sincerely believe that good can come out of bad and that things usually happen for a reason. Good luck to the program and prayers to the family.
Jan 8, 05:26 AM
Frank X. Mullen wrote:
Cole Campbell spent his career as a newspaperman, scholar and educator.
But at the Reynolds School of Journalism he was in the inspiration business.
Ryan, Kristin and Abbey are right that the new RSJ master’s program was Cole’s baby. If you read his writings and the interviews he gave during the last decade you’ll see the program was his vision of journalism’s future come to life.
He once said that journalists thought he was too much of an academic and academics thought he was too much of a working journalist. That was Cole. He had the ink-stained experience in the trenches of newsrooms, the brilliance and imagination to see what could be improved, and the daring to put those ideas into action.
In an industry beset by sagging revenues and dwindling circulation and whose importance seems to diminish by the day, Cole was full of hope. He saw journalists and citizens as partners in democracy and the profession as a calling dedicated to making people’s lives better.
“I am optimistic that people of good will inside and outside of newsrooms will find increasingly effective ways of engaging ideas and information to help one another better understand what’s happening in the world and what might be done about it,†he told the PJNet Website interviewer in 2004.
He wasn’t blind to the pressures affecting media organizations, but he believed that we journalists must take responsibility for making things better and more relevant to citizens.
“I’m pessimistic about the current professionalized culture of news organizations, which seems to shift all responsibility for the shortcomings of news onto a public that doesn’t demand better journalism, beancounters who won’t pay for better journalism or miscreants like Jayson Blair or Jack Kelly who don’t value better journalism,â€
he said. “All three contribute to some of our issues, but the fundamental issue is whether we see journalism as the partner of the people we serve — or as a guardian profession that knows better than the people we serve.â€
Cole cared about people and believed that journalism should serve them not just as a spotlight on problems but as a facilitator for problem-solving. He believed the new media technologies were the toolbox we need to put the theory into practice.
“The point,†Cole told the Press Think Website interviewer in 2003, “is to develop a more thoughtful and practical approach to journalism that pays off for the people who use journalism — ordinary people trying to make decisions in their own lives and hoping to see progress against persistent social and economic problems in the community.â€
Can that be done? Cole thought so, and with the fervor of an evangelist he inspired us to believe it. He was our leader, mentor and partner. He is gone but his vision remains. It’s up to us to make that vision a reality. And he will still help us. Now, in thinking about journalism’s future, I hear his voice in my head.
I think I always will.
Jan 9, 06:11 AM
Melissa Voigtmann wrote:
Thanks for this fitting tribute to Cole. It will be difficult to move on in this program without him, but I know its the only true way to truly honor him. I hope his spirit of innovation will live on in the group of fellows he worked so hard to mold into the “cohort” we are today.
I was fortunate enough to have several meetings with Cole last week. I happened to mention how far I’d come since the beginning of the program. I told Cole how at first I despised the Yankelovich book he quoted so frequently. But with Cole’s help I came to see Yankelovich and his ideas in an entirely different light. Like Ryan, I too would recommend it as a good book.
Most recently Cole came to my aid as I encountered some challenges with my final masters project. He didn’t see them as problems, but rather as opportunities to learn and think about journalism and collaboration in a whole new way. His advice to me was to overturn tables and throw things if I had to, in order to fight for what I believe. As far as I can tell Cole was able to do this was such grace and conviction no one ever noticed that he was overturning tables. Even if you didn’t agree with Cole’s ideas, you never doubted the thought and conviction behind it. I told him I wasn’t quite ready to overturn any tables myself. He gave me one of his famous smiles and said when I was ready he’d be behind me. I have faith that he still will be.
News 4’s Billy Churchwell did I nice piece about Cole. You can watch the video at KRNV.com.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of Cole’s family and friends. It truly is a tragedy to lose such a wonderful man.
Jan 9, 03:07 PM
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Ryan Jerz is an all-around good guy who shoots photos and video, builds websites, and works in athletics at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received a Masters Degree in 2007 from the University of Nevada, Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism.