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For the fifth time in six years, students from the University of Washington Tacoma and Moscow State University Department of Journalism have teamed up as part of the UWT/MSU Journalism Exchange Program. The program has its roots in very humble beginnings. In the Spring of 2003, myself and then UWT Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Director Bill Richardson, took two students to Moscow to co-produce a journalism project with the students at MSU. Thanks to the award of a Marc Lindberg Center Mobility Grant, we received funding to spend 10 days producing a 20-page newspaper insert. The project was such a success that Professor Maria Lukina, deputy dean at MSU’s department of journalism, suggested we reproduce it in the fall on the UWT campus. And, our program was born. We now regularly travel back and forth between Moscow and Tacoma producing media products that have ranged from newspaper inserts to stand-alone magazines to our most current endeavor, the web publication that you are currently reading. If you would like more information about the exchange program, please contact Dr. Chris Demaske at: cd2.u.washington.edu.
Also, if you would like to send an e-mail concerning the site, its articles, or photography, please fill out our contact form.
Chris Demaske is an assistant professor of communication in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program at the University of Washington Tacoma. She has been involved with the UWT/MSU Journalism Exchange Program since its inception. Her research interests include First Amendment law, feminist studies, and free press theory. She has published articles and essays in The International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, Communication Law and Policy, and The Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Her book, Modern Power and Free Speech: Contemporary Culture and Issues of Equality, is forthcoming from Lexington Books this November.
Dr. Maria Lukina is Associate professor and Deputy Dean at the Moscow State University Journalism Department. Together with Prof. Bill Richardson, the former Chair of Interdisciplinary Arts and Communication Studies, and Dr. Chris Demaske she was one of this project founders. She is in charge of an intensive training program in a study paper “the Journalist”. Since 2002 every year she travels to United States to produce together with Russian and American students an international supplement of a newspaper. She teaches news reporting and writing, but her favorite is interviewing. She published a book “The technology of interview”.
Artyom Galustyan (Russian Editor) is a 21-year-old student of Moscow State University's Department of Journalism, in the International Journalism Department. In his fifth year of five, he specializes in internet-journalism. He has been a correspondent for “TASS-Moscow editorial”, “Kommersant Daily”, «Dow Jones»-Moscow department, Business FM and more. His department rotates media focus (TV, Radio, Newspaper, Internet) over three years.
"It helped us to test ourselves, to look at the profession from different angles," he said. "We have a course of multimedia and convergence in our internet journalism focus."
He is currently writing his graduation paper on newspapers' transformation into an internet medium helping him, he said, expand his research and broaden his knowledge.
Masha Danova (Writer) is a 20-year-old fourth year art-criticism student at Moscow State University's Department of Journalism. This is her first visit to the United States. She has previously visited Norway and Germany. Because Iceland (her dream-country) is currently "in crisis" she is seriously considering Seattle as a place to settle. Her most recent journalistic experience in Moscow was an internship at the local New York Times bureau, which she said was fun. She looks forward to more travelling in the future, because "it’s one of the best ways of life one can possibly choose."
Elena Kornilova (Writer): "Before my study at the Journalism Department, MSU I studied at the Faculty of Foreing languages and Area Study, MSU. Two years I learned foreign languages and to other humanities. After that I spent sometime deciding what I want to do. I took lessons of acting, practiced singing, studied the World history and traveled to the USA for my first time. And after all that experience I began my way in journalism. Now with the help of this internship program I have an opportunity to combine two of my big interests."
Diana Kulchitskaya (Writer) was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. Now she is a 5th year student at Moscow State University's Department of Journalism. She specializes in Print journalism. Diana has been on internships in different media, including the Russian newspapers ‘Argumenty I factu’ (Arguments & Facts), ‘Moskovskaya pravda’ (The Moscow Truth) and the Bulgarian daily ’24 chasa’ (24 Hours),She is interested in travelling and foreign languages.
Helen Potapova (Writer) is a student at MSU.
Daniel Nash (US Editor and web page designer) is a senior in UW Tacoma's Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences program, with a Communications concentration. In March 2008, he travelled to Moscow, Russia with Meagan Murphy Ross and Rachel DeForrest. There, they produced the twenty-page magazine edition of The Journalist. He said he "fell in love with the city and its bizarre mish-mash of Soviet architecture and modern advertising, the absolute crush of people always going places." He is the news editor for the student newspaper The Ledger, and he worked as an interning reporter for the Tacoma Business Examiner, a bi-weekly small business newsletter with a focus on the South Sound. He is ecstatic that the site is finally done.
A 19-year-old Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences student at UWT, Kathleen Burdo (Copy Editor) would prefer if you didn’t call her Kathy, though Kate is ok if you really want to shorten Kathleen. She’s either going to concentrate in Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies or Politics and Values, and she really isn’t sure what she’s going to do after college, other than change the world. Before UWT, she attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and she still frequently uses British spelling and says “eh” (but the correct way).
Kathleen spends her time meta-thinking, making nouns into adjectives and verbs, eating ice cream for two out of three meals, and over-analyzing everything. Her interests include bubbles, fairy tales, Frida Kahlo, tattoos, and making the world a better place. Also, she really wants a kitten.
Ingrid Barrentine (Photographer) is a Washington state based photojournalist specializing in editorial, travel, and sports photography. Ingrid began making images over ten years ago while on a six-week bike tour of England. Since then, she’s lived in Romania and Germany and has labored on Costa Rican coffee farms. Ingrid is currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma.
Sarah Alisdairi (Writer) is a student majoring in Communication at the University of Washington Tacoma. She is currently the A&E Editor of UWT’s student newspaper, the Ledger. Her expertise is fashion. She also writes features and other A&E articles as well. Sarah lives in Tacoma, but she’s been all around the world, including countries such as Saudi Arabia (her home country), Switzerland, and France to name a few. She uses these experiences to bring a unique perspective to everything she does, including her writing.
Rebecca Chambers (Writer) is an IAS student concentrating in Commmunication at the University of Washington Tacoma.
Chelsea Guy (writer) is a UWT student.
Aiya Kenny (Writer) is first and foremost a mom. She concluded her last quarter with the birth of her beautiful daughter, Cadence Elizabeth. Aiya approaches her education with two goals in mind: first, she wants to be a hands on mom and help shape her daughter's positive childhood experience, and second, she wants to enjoy her career. Aiya decided to channel her inexhaustible curiosity about all things into an exciting career path and is studying communications with a focus on journalism. With any luck, she will graduate in December of 2009.
Alex Newman (Writer) is a junior at UWT, majoring in Communications in the Professional Track. She has spent the last two years at Tacoma Community College, where she received her Associate of Arts and Science degree and was twice-published in the annual edition of their competitive literary magazine, Una Voce. In addition to writing, her passions include poetry, acting, Christian apologetics, and directing/filming music videos.
Marisa Petrich (Writer) is a junior at UWT studying Communication, and has recently returned to Tacoma after a semester in Brighton, England. In addition to being a full-time student, Marisa works as a staff reporter at the UWT Ledger and at the campus library. She spends her non-existent spare time exploring music venues in the Seattle area and watching unhealthy amounts of television.
Meagan Murphy Ross (Writer) is a UWT senior in the Global Honors program. Before returning to school she worked in radio as a broadcast journalist. She was one of three UWT students to travel to Moscow over the 2008 spring break, a trip she took while pregnant with her first child. Four months ago, she gave birth to Elisabeth.