Kim Kozlowski started out in print-led journalism, but like other journalists she’s well aware of the impact of social media.
Stafford arrived to find the family
crying and grieving, yet it was her job to get details and reaction regarding the crime. “It was a really tough story and a scary
place to be,” Stafford recalls. “People were angry. But Carol always told us to never forget: Te people you are interviewing are people. Be empathetic. “Even just saying, ‘I’m sorry for your
loss,’ even that little thing can mean the world. Tat lesson really stays with me.”
KIM KOZLOWSKI (BS90), HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTER, THE DETROIT NEWS
Kozlowski, a 1990 graduate of Eastern,
is a veteran news reporter. Unlike Bomey, Stafford and Rogers, she worked years at traditional, single-deadline daily newspapers before having to master online skills on her beat, for which she covers all colleges—public, private and community—in Michigan. “We have to always keep up on
breaking news while juggling enterprise stories,” she says of working at the major metro paper. “Breaking news is a lot more important now. We now write stories the second we get them. We used to spend all day writing stories.” Despite the complex topics she covers, Kozlowski promotes her stories via
“WE NOW WRITE STORIES THE SECOND WE GET THEM. WE USED TO SPEND ALL DAY WRITING STORIES.”
Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. From live events, such as meetings of the EMU Board of Regents, she will do live tweeting or even video, if visual elements such as a protest call for visual treatment. “It’s a skill, and it’s certainly
essential,” Kozlowski says of multimedia journalism. “It requires us to react more quickly. Sometimes it can be very exciting, and sometimes it can be stressful. But journalism is always fun, no matter what platform you are working on.” Aſter graduation, Kozlowski worked
at the now-defunct Ypsilanti Press for three years, followed by stints at papers in upstate New York, and Grand Forks, N.D., as well as the Kansas City Star. She came to Te Detroit News in 1999, and made the adjustment as the paper began
to direct time and resources to its digital product. Kozlowski applies a veteran reporter’s
experience and sensitivity to her online efforts, mining information from social media and developing sources. For instance, Te Detroit News was
the first to report about a Virginia Tech researcher, Marc Edwards, who led the way in investigating problems with Flint’s water supply. Te tip came from a reader on Twitter, who asked why an out-of- town researcher and not someone local was looking at the problem. Kozlowski notes that the skills
imbedded in the new world of journalism can be beneficial away from the job, and not just to reporters. For instance, social media facilitated her own civic project— collaborating with others in establishing 150 Little Free Libraries around Detroit. “It helped me reach people, and can
be enormously helpful,” Kozlowski says. “And you can make noise about a lot of things, even if you are not media.”
Geoff Larcom. EMU’s executive director for media relations, is a former editor and reporter for Te Ann Arbor News.
EASTERN MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2016 | 27
PHOTO BY ED BALLOTTS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48