An NBC Nightly News appearance by a storm-chasing scientist and a New York Times recommendation of a student journalism project numbered among more than 40 national and international news items citing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its faculty, students and research during March 2017.
Adam Houston, Earth and atmospheric sciences, appeared on the NBC news March 29 to talk about the risks of storm chasing in the wake of a traffic accident that killed three storm chasers in Texas.
The New York Times on March 3 include among its recommended reading a student journalism project detailing the problems found in Whiteclay, Nebraska, home to four liquor stores that sell millions of cans of beer each year to residents of the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. “An ambitious reporting project by the students of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications tells the full story,” the Times wrote.
Other highlights of March coverage:
Research by John Benson, School of Natural Resources, about the predator roles played by eastern coyotes and eastern wolves in forests along the Atlantic Coast, appeared in a March 24 story on Eurasia Review.
California magazine, the alumni publication for the University of California Berkeley, published a report March 14 on a talk by Kelsy Burke, sociology, about her research into Christians’ use of online sex advice sites.
A March 14 story on AllAfrica.com discussed a study’s findings that farmers in sub-Saharan Africa won’t be able to meet the region’s grain demands by 2050. Kenneth Cassman and Patricio Grassini, agronomy and horticulture, were part of a international team of scientists who used the Global Yield Gap Atlas to estimate the region’s future crop production potential.
Stabroek News in Guyana published a poem written by Kwame Dawes, English, in memory of Nobel Laureate poet Derek Walcott, who died March 17.
Wheeler Winston Dixon was interviewed March 16 by The Final Cut, a film program on the Australian public radio network, ABC Radio National, about the work of pioneer filmmaker Dorothy Arzner, whose work is being highlighted by Melbourne Cinémathèque film society. Dixon also was quoted in a March 14 article in The Huffington Post about the pros and cons of cancelling cable TV service.
A March 8 Associated Press report on wildfires that killed at least six in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado quoted Denise Gutzmer, National Drought Mitigation Center, about the weather conditions that put the Central Plains at risk for fire. Other stories that mentioned the National Drought Mitigation Center at Nebraska included a March 6 report in the North Andover, Mass., Eagle-Tribune about “ruthless drought” that affected 7 million people across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, a March 15 story in the Golden Gate Xpress about California’s drought coming to an end, several reports in Arkansas publications about drought emerging in that state, and a March 26 story in seacoastonline.com about lingering drought in New Hampshire and Maine.
Alice Henneman, extension, was cited March 5 in an Associated Press story about food waste that appeared in the Bismarck Tribune. An MSN article on March 8 about how to clean and prepare avocados cited an Henneman-authored food guide.
The Fence Post highlighted the high-tech testing conducted at the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab in a March 21 story that quoted Roger Hoy, Brent Sampson and Julie Thomson, biological systems engineering.
Many outlets across the country reported upon the annual agricultural land value survey prepared by Jim Jansen, agricultural economics, which showed that Nebraska agland values declined by 10 percent during the past year. The story originated in the Lincoln Journal Star and was distributed by the Associated Press. The story also was reported by the Omaha World-Herald and several Nebraska broadcasters.
A story about the rising tide of tech companies arriving in Nebraska, thanks in part to business accelerator NMotion, appeared in U.S. News and World Report and dozens of other news outlets. The story, which originated in the Lincoln Journal-Star and was picked up by the Associated Press, quoted NMotion managing director Beth McKeon, NUTech Ventures. NMotion is a partnership between the University, the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development and private companies.
A March 18 story about a possible turn-around in law school enrollment quoted Richard Moberly, law, and mentioned the University of Nebraska College of Law’s big gain in enrollment this year, the second year in which the law college has been declared the best value in the nation by a national publication. The story originated with the Omaha World-Herald and appeared in dozens of outlets across the nation after it was carried by the Associated Press.
Zora Murff, photography graduate student, was featured in a March 28 report on photographers sometimes choosing film over digital technology. The story originated on WOWT in Omaha, but was carried by several other TV stations across the country.
The Daily Caller quoted Wei Niu, chemical and biomolecular engineering, in a March 29 report on her research team’s latest advance in their quest for an HIV vaccine. The Daily Mail in the U.K. published a version of the story on March 30.
A March 17 Kansas City Star story about the national Alpha Chi Omega organization’s decision to allow transgender women to join its sorority chapters included quotes from Savannah Rave, chapter president at Nebraska.
Carol Schwartz, extension educator, was quoted March 16 in a story about how aging baby boomers can get more exercise. The story appeared on broadcasting outlets in Wisconsin, Florida and California.
The High Plains Journal interviewed Carlos Urrea, agronomy and horticulture, about a new chickpea cultivar produced after 10 years of research. The disease-resistant variety gives Panhandle growers a new crop option that doesn’t require multiple applications of fungicide.
James Van Etten, plant pathology, was featured in a March 28 BTN LiveBIG piece on his 50 years of research.
Matt Waite, journalism, was interviewed by the Student Press Law Center for a March 21 story on the FAA’s rules for using drones in journalism and education.
Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged here. If you have additions to this list or suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed, the university’s national news editor, at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.
