Blugold Reporting: Devroy Detail

Frank Pellegrino accepting the Ann Devroy Fellowship and thanking his family, Spectator staff members and others who encouraged him to achieve his journalistic aspirations. He also thanked Devroy for setting the precedent for young journalists and for leaving a legacy of great work.

E.J. Dionne explained the differences between old and new media, how the journalism field is changing and what Ann Devroy would think about journalism and the media today in his speech tonight at the annual Ann Devroy Memorial Forum.

“What would she make of the conflict between the so-called 'old media,' or so-called 'mainstream media' and the 'new media,'” he said. “There is some hostility between these two breeds of communication.”

Dionne said he believes that this hostility, though perhaps prevalent in society, is less present in Washington. He believes that the two can coexist in the journalism field.

“These two forms can complement each other and can be good for our democracy,” Dionne said.

Paige Severson, a junior Public Relations major questioned whether 'new media' such as social media and blogging can be considered legitimate news sources.

“I agree that old and new media are connected, but I believe that young journalists and news consumers need to be cautious about drawing the line between truth and opinion.”

Dionne said there remains a divide between the search for accurate and honest information, and the search for engagement. 

Frank Pellegrino received the 2011 Devroy Fellowship at tonight’s Ann Devroy Memorial Forum.  Pellegrino is a journalism student and the Editor-in-Chief of the student-run school newspaper, The Spectator.

Former Fellow, Breann Schossow, presented the award to Pellegrino and commented on his strong journalistic skills.

“This student is a phenomenal writer, has better interviewing skills than I do, which I am very jealous of, and is such a credit to the journalism program here at Eau Claire and to journalism in the future.”

The Fellowship, presented every year to a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student, includes a scholarship, a three-week residency at The Washington Post and a paid summer internship at a daily Wisconsin newspaper.

Pellegrino's comments included the benefits of winning the Fellowship and how much it will affect his future.

The annual Ann Devroy Memorial Forum will take place tonight on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus in Schofield Auditorium at 8 p.m. The 2011 speaker is E.J. Dionne Jr., a columnist for The Washington Post. His speech will focus on the media and journalism, and what the future looks like for these ever-so-changing fields.

Dionne is not only a veteran journalist, but also a professor at Georgetown University and a critically acclaimed author of four books.

In addition to Dionne’s presentation, a UW-Eau Claire student will receive the 2011 Ann Devroy Fellowship which awards the student a three-week residency at The Washington Post and a paid summer internship at a Wisconsin daily newspaper.  

Mara Pearson, an Organizational Communication major at UW-Eau Claire, says that she will be attending the event tonight and is excited to hear what Dionne has to say about the journalism field.

"I think that the topic will be informative and it will be good to hear how the changing journalism field will affect me as a communication major," she said. "Students and others outside of the journalism field will also be interested in the topic, mainly because the media affects so many different parts of our society."

The Devroy Forum is dedicated to the late Ann Devroy, who passed away from cancer in 1997.  Devroy, a UW-Eau Claire alumna and a former Washington Post journalist, left a legacy of excellent journalistic work, which the Forum is meant to recognize.