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Olivia Natan | Phoenix Staff

War News Radio’s journalist-in-residence Jim MacMillan, who joined the group after full-time journalist Abdulla Mizead had to leave due to recent budget cuts from the President’s Office, watches as students work in WNR’s office.

BY JACQUELINE SMALL

In print | Published September 2, 2010

Jim MacMillan, the new journalist mentor of War News Radio, has big shoes to fill. While his predecessor, Abdulla Mizead, worked full time, recent budget cuts have halved hours from 35 to 17. Mizead left in August to take a full-time job elsewhere.

MacMillan has previously worked in the Middle East for the Associated Press where he and his colleagues won a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2005, has been following WNR for about five years and applied for the first time several years ago. He said that he was drawn to the program partially because of its quality, and also because he is “excited about various forms of new and independent radio” and “WNR leverages every new media opportunity.”

This is a great time for journalism, for communicating important news.”

His primary goal during his tenure as journalist-in-residence is to increase the audience size of War News Radio. “This is really a truly exceptional news organization that provides a service that is seldom seen. It’s important journalism, and it is done very well … I’ve seen inferior content that gets a greater deal of attention because of its positioning online, and I like to hope that we can take this to a larger audience,” he said. He added that he hopes every student journalist on staff will “have the best experience possible.”

Anjali Cadambi ’13, a WNR staff reporter, said that the student journalists are still evaluating what they want their goals to be as they get to know MacMillan and collaborate with him.

Mizead’s role was extremely important, according to the students who worked with him closely. Marina Tucktuck ’13, a WNR staff reporter who worked alongside him during the summer, said in an e-mail, “[Mizead helped us by] guiding us through every step of the production process, from sharing his story ideas, to answering our questions, to editing scripts, to chatting with us about his experiences in Iraq. He was our source for any concerns we had about the show. He always tried to give us control over what we are doing by encouraging us and checking up on us every now and then. I really enjoyed working with him.”

MacMillan will also be teaching a weekly graduate class at NYU, occasionally leading journalism events at Temple University, and doing instructional consulting on the side.

“I do have lots of irons in the fire right now, but I’m going to devote about half of my waking hours to War News Radio,” he said. “It’s my priority.”

Since its inception, War News Radio has always been funded with money from presidential discretionary funds. These are normally used to support one-time or short-term opportunities rather than long-term programs, so the need for cuts was not surprising.

“In this case the funding was extended a long time beyond what is normal,” Maurice Eldridge ’61, vice president of the college and executive assistant to the president, who oversaw the budget cuts, said in an e-mail.

The operating budget for WNR remains untouched, which means the amount of money available for its other usual yearly expenses, such as phone cards, is the same as in the past.

“We are really grateful for the college’s level of support during these hard financial times,” Cadambi said.

Eldridge hopes that WNR will be able to find grant money to support itself after the money for even a part-time professional journalist runs out. He explained that cutting the hours was a necessary step in saving money. “There were no other really viable options given the financial constraints, even though we discussed with students their sense of being able to continue without professional support. I believe we have found a good and workable compromise,” he said.

The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility also lent support to War News Radio by allowing them to apply for Summer Social Action Awards, also known as S2A2, which provided funds to keep the program operating with Mizead’s help over the summer.

Moreover, an intern from the Lang Center will work with WNR this semester.

“We’re still working to determine exactly what the role of the Lang intern will be, but we think that it will probably involve publicity and outreach,” Cadambi said.

Eldridge is pleased with the state of the program. “War News Radio is highly regarded … and has been and continues to be a valuable experience for the students and for listeners. We are happy to have been able to make a decision to continue the program with a part-time professional journalist,” he said.

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