Kathy Simon lives and breathes newspapers.
“I never liked anything but newspapers. I’ve been in newspapers since
high school,” she said.
Simon, Student Publications assistant director, addressed staff, faculty
and the media Thursday in a public forum as part of the interviewing process
for the director of Student Publications position, which oversees CM LIFE,
the Chippewa Yearbook and Framework, the campus literary magazine.
Director of Student Publications Jim Wojcik announced his retirement earlier
this semester after working in the department for nearly 30 years. He
is currently filling the position until a finalist is selected and is
serving as a temporary associate professor for the journalism department
for the academic year.
Simon said if she is selected for the position she will try to connect
with and provide guidance to CM LIFE’s student staff.
“I don’t see that being any different. While Wojcik has 30 years of extensive
contacts, I’ve been in the business as well, and I think I can work with
the students and find where they want to go,” she said.
Simon said as far as changes to the paper go, she would like the student
staff members to voice their opinions and be an integral part of the process.
“Changing the look of the newspaper is still up to the students because
it’s their paper. It also has to be approved by their (Student Media)
Board of Directors.
“I’m open to suggestions and feedback and it’s an educational process
for all of us as we grow and change,” she said.
New initiatives that Simon would like to implement include reaching out
to the surrounding media community.
“I want to work with more students at the high-school level to get young
writers in the newspaper business.”
And Simon likes to “think out of the box” when she focuses on CM LIFE’s
future.
“I think we’ll take CM LIFE as the campus wants it to grow. We’ve looked
at more publication dates for the paper, but we need to conduct a feasibility
study to see if we have enough businesses to warrant that and do we have
enough students?
“And we’ll also continue to develop the (CM LIFE) Web site into its own
product so that you’ll get more breaking stories or more in-depth stories,”
she said.
Simon said it’s also wise to maintain a healthy relationship with the
journalism department, and in the event that either entity needs to relocate
because of space constraints, the two stay physically close.
“It’s convenient for students to pop in and ask questions, so I think
it’s important for the two to stay together, maybe on the edge of campus
to give us more flexibility.
“The fact is, we do need to stay on campus; that is our market and we
need to be accessible to our customers,” she said.
If Simon were selected for the position, she would focus on the paper’s
finances, while a new assistant director would be more involved as an
editorial adviser to CM LIFE.
“We would need to bring in someone with a strong editorial background
to be an adviser to the students on a daily basis and I would oversee
the financial aspects of the paper,” she said.
The most important facet of the director, Simon said, is to build and
maintain relationships.
“It’s the students’ product and I think it’s important to build a relationship
with the student editor and (the) Public Relations (department).”
If selected, Simon said she could never replace Wojcik and the work he
did while at CMU.
“It’s impossible to replace Wojcik; he was my mentor. All we can do is
build on what he’s created,” she said.
If she isn’t selected, Simon said she will continue to work in her current
position for the department.
Simon attended CMU from 1977-81, and received her bachelor’s degree in
journalism with a minor in marketing. She worked at CM LIFE as a reporter
for one year in 1978, then moved into the publication’s advertising section
until her graduation. She also served as student ad manager for the last
semester of her senior year.
Her professional experience includes serving as the advertising director
for Morning Sun from 1995-98, and as sales and marketing director for
Central Michigan Newspapers Inc., both located at 711 W. Pickard St.
As part of the selection process, Simon will meet with Provost Richard
Davenport and University President Michael Rao from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Monday in the President’s Office Warriner Hall 106; and have lunch with
Associate Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing Bill Jenkins
at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday.
The other finalists for the position and the times of their public forums
are:

• Mark Ranzenberger, managing editor of the Isabella County Herald
  and temporary journalism instructor for CMU, from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday
  in the Bovee University Center’s Lake Michigan Room;
• David Alexander, business editor of the Muskegon Chronicle, from
  9 to 9:50 a.m. Monday in the BUC Lake Huron Room;
• Neil Hopp, managing editor for training and development of the Northwest
  Herald in Crystal Lake, Ill., from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the
  BUC Terrace A Room.

E-mail the author: Sarah LeachLIFE News Editor