Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

faculty

It seems that there have been a number of changes lately at my alma mater, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

The Arizona Republic today reported that former CNN anchor Aaron Brown has taken a short-term teaching position with ASU. The story came as a surprise to me only because I thought I’d read several months ago that he was already teaching at ASU. Regardless, I’m sure he’ll be a great asset to the school and its students — particularly the broadcast majors. (Link found via Romenesko.)

While I was checking to see if the Cronkite School Web site had been updated to mention the Brown hiring, I noticed a much more sad notice: Paul Schatt, a former professor of mine, died late last year, a few weeks after undergoing heart surgery. (The Arizona Republic, where he worked, also published an obituary.) Schatt taught “Reporting Public Affairs,” a class about covering (among other things) the courts, local government and school boards. I remember he would constantly rattle off the names of authors and books during class, and I would scribble them down in the margins of my notes. It was through him that I first discovered the work of Hunter S. Thompson, by way of Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail.