Otto accepts VA Lottery position, leaves VCU

By Suzanne Hoyle and Gergana Bobeva
Capital News Service

RICHMOND – The Virginia Lottery, which donates all of its profits to Virginia public schools, will welcome a new executive director Feb. 1. Paula Otto, associate director of the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University and part of the lottery’s starter team, accepted the position Friday.

“I’m very excited to be going back to the lottery,” she said. “I was part of the group that helped create it.” Otto started her work with the lottery in 1987 as its first director of public affairs, working to ensure a good public image for the agency. While working at VCU, she continued to contribute her time and effort to the lottery.

The Virginia Lottery provides about seven percent of the annual state funding of Virginia Public Schools. Since 1999, the agency has donated $3.4 billion to the K-12 education system. The lottery’s Web site states in 2007 the agency generated $1.3 billion from sales, which contributed $437.1 million or about 32 percent to education. Prizes for the players totaled 57.4 percent of the revenue. Retailers, who sell lottery tickets, received 5.6 percent. Five percent of the revenue covered operational expenses.

Otto will oversee all of the lottery’s operations, including ticket sales, retailers, the finance department and the information systems department. She is rejoining the lottery during its 20th anniversary for raising money in Virginia. Some of Otto’s colleagues at the School of Mass Communications received the news with mixed feelings. In a staff e-mail, Director Judy Turk stated the new position is a “terrific career move” for Otto.

“But of course, her departure from VCU and the School of Mass Communications leaves a void that will be impossible to fill,” Turk stated in the e-mail. “Nevertheless, we will do our best to absorb her responsibilities and contributions as she departs.”

Otto has been working with Turk to make the transition easier. “She and I have been working closely as to how my duties will be given out,” Otto said. “We’re lucky that the school has such a devoted, hard worker who will be able to make things work, even though she’s losing an employee.”

In a press release, Gov. Tim Kaine stated he “can’t think of another person more qualified for this position.” “I am very happy that Paula Otto has agreed to take on this important job,” Kaine said. “She was with the lottery at its beginning and has more than 20 years experience in public service.”

Otto, who has been working for VCU for more than 10 years, said she will miss her students and colleagues, but accepts the new position with pride.

“It’s certainly an honor to be asked by the governor to serve in any capacity,” Otto said. “It’s going to be great to be associated and go back and lead a very talented group of employees who have created one of the best lotteries in the country.”

Jump-start your job search with the University Career Center Spring 2008 Career Fair

Finding a job just got a little easier, thanks to the University Career Center. During their 2008 Career Fair events, students can get help preparing their resumes, get interviewing advice, and meet face-to-face with more than 50 potential employers.

Prep week events will occur Tuesday, January 9 – Monday, February 4. The career fair will be held Wednesday, February 6 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Employers will be recruiting for internships as well as full-time jobs, and they are looking for candidates from a variety of majors, including mass communications.

Download the list of participating employers now.

“Consider talking to any organization you may be interested in, whether they are recruiting for your major or not,” says Alicia Aroche, associate director of the University Career Center.

“Recruiters at the career fair can offer great inside information into an organization.”

The University Career Center encourages students to register with them before attending the career fair. To register, visit the Career Center in the Student Commons in Room 143. Registration is not required for any of the Prep Week events.

Learn more about Prep Week events now.

Virginia Association of Broadcasters offers scholarships and paid internships

Attention Broadcast Students!

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters offers both scholarships and paid internships. The VAB chooses 32 students each summer for its summer intern program.

To qualify, students must be entering their junior or senior year in the fall of 2008. The deadline for both scholarships and the internship program is February 15, 2008.

See Prof. Deb Wenger for more details, or visit the VAB Web site at http://www.vabonline.com/education/intern.aspx.

School starts early for Capital News Service students

The semester started early for 30 students who are participating in Capital News Service. CNS students cover Virginia’s legislature and write stories for 60 newspapers and Web sites across the state. The General Assembly convened on January 9.

“It’s a fast-paced environment,” said senior Stacey Hamman. “It really gives us a taste of the real world.”

CNS is taught by Prof. Jeff South and adjunct instructor Mary Ann Owens. “It’s not just a class,” South said. “It’s really a public service to the citizens of Virginia. We are their watchdog.”


Profs. Mary Ann Owens and Jeff South work with CNS student copy editors Rebecca Landau (left) and Stacey Hamman (right).

School of Mass Comm to host Virginia Urban Journalism Workshop this summer

VCU's School of Mass Communications has been selected by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund as one of 26 sites across the country to host a journalism workshop for high school students this summer. VCU's Virginia Urban Journalism Workshop is scheduled for June 15 - 27, 2008.

In the upcoming weeks, high school journalism teachers throughout central Virginia will receive information regarding the student application process. Twelve aspiring journalists will be selected to produce the 2008 Urban Reporter.

For more information contact the VUJW's Associate Director, Bonnie Davis, at bndavis@vcu.edu.

See the paper that last year's UJW students produced.

Maria Carrillo addresses graduates regarding the impact of journalists

Maria Carrillo, managing editor of The Virginian-Pilot, told graduating seniors Saturday, December 8 that journalism is more important now than ever. "Today, everyone has loads of information at their fingertips. On the Web, you can find hundreds of references to almost any subject, from bulimia to beer pong. Problem is that so much of it isn’t true. Or it’s misleading or confusing or spun."

Carrillo said that the most Americans get their news from media companies and that the public seeks credible information. "That’s why I can’t imagine journalists being replaced by blogs or Google or MySpace or You Tube or Wikipedia," Carrillo said at ceremonies for the School of Mass Communications.

The 1985 graduate of the school quoted Bill Keller, the editor of The New York Times, who said recently that "the civic labor performed by journalists on the ground cannot be replicated by legions of bloggers sitting hunched over their computer screens...It cannot be replaced by a search engine. It cannot be supplanted by shouting heads or satirical television shows."

“The truth is,” Keller said, “people crave more than raw information. What they crave, and need, is independent judgment, someone they can trust to vouch for the information, dig behind it, and make sense of it. The more discerning readers want depth, they want skepticism, they want context, they want the material laid out in a way that honors their intelligence, they might even welcome a little wit and grace and style.”

Carrillo discussed some of the Pilot's coverage that has had impact, including a series on suicide showing that far more people die of suicide than homicide. "We told the stories of surviving family members what what a toll those deaths took. We pointed out that most of those who contemplate suicide wouldn't go through with it if they gave themselves one more day. We touched a nerve."

The Pilot also ran stories about a local development company that fraudulently obtained loans to buy properties in low-income neighborhoods, for substantial profit. Those stories resulted in an FBI investigation.Carrillo told students, "As you look to the future, I’d encourage you to remember the past. This is a great democracy and part of the ideal is that there will always be people like you and me who seek to keep everyone else in line." The Pilot is Virginia's largest circulation daily newspaper.

Carrillo, who joined The Pilot in 1998, is former deputy managing editor for enterprise and led the newspaper's narrative team. Three serial narratives that she edited for the paper have been expanded and published as books. She and the staff gained recognition as a Pulitzer finalist in 2007 for explanatory reporting. Carrillo has been a Pulitzer juror, and a speaker at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies and the Nieman Narrative Journalism conference at Harvard. She is a former reporter and editor for the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.

Read Carrillo's entire speech now.

Current's Inaugural Video Scavenger Hunt

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12th. CURRENT's INAUGURAL VIDEO SCAVENGER HUNT

Current and The Branching Films want YOU to "SHOW ME YOUR Richmond!"

The first 20 people who RSVP to RVAscavenger@current.com and show up at high noon (12PM) on December 12 @ Shafer court at VCU will receive a FlipCam (easy to use video camera) and their Video Scavenger Hunt Instructions.

The best participant footage will be shown at our FREE party the following night @ Gallery 5, on Current.com. and maybe Current TV!


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13th. EAT! DRINK! BE RICHMOND!

On December 13th, 6PM-9PM, join the Current crew @ Gallery 5 FOR COMPLIMENTARY DRINKS, FOOD, MUSIC AND INTERACTIVE GAMES AND PRIZES, including highlights from the Video Scavenger Hunt!

Where: Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St., Richmond, VA 23220
When: Thursday, December 13th 6:00-9:00pm
Why? Free drinks and food?! Why not!?

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That's TWO Current Events for the price of NONE! You officially have NO excuses now.

We're looking forward to seeing the good folks of Richmond show us what their Richmond is all about!