Mary Tolan
Assistant Professor
Journalism
School of Communication, Room 341
(928) 523-0465
Mary.Tolan@nau.edu
Brief description of research and teaching interests:
Convergent journalism: how journalists and journalism students are moving into multi-media platform reporting instead of working in just one format (print, online TV news, etc.); journalism ethics – in particular how does a journalist fulfill the sometimes adverse ethical tenants of the profession; ranching families in northern Arizona.
Courses offered:
JLS 131 Media Writing and Reporting
JLS 231 Advanced Reporting
JLS 330 Feature Writing
JLS 431C Critical and Analytical Reporting
Representative Research and Creative Activity:
"Facing Newsroom Convergence: The killing Fields," by Mary M. Tolan and Gloria G. Horning, presented at the WSSA 2004 spring conference in Salt Lake City.
"Media Blackout of a Prison Hostage Scenario: A Test of Journalists' Ethical Codes," by Mary Tolan, presented at the WSSA 2005 spring conference in Albuquerque.
"Saving Lives or Selling out? Quill magazine, January/February, 2005.
"Self-Imposed Media Blackout: A Case Study," by Mary Tolan, published in "Journal of Mass Media Ethics," Fall 2006.
"Media Convergence: In the newsrooom, in the classroom," by Mary M. Tolan and Gloria G. Horning, published in "Southwestern Mass Communication Journal,"
Fall 2006.
Ranching women story to be published in "Arizona Highways" in 2007 or 2008.
Links of interes:
poynter.org (The Poynter Institute)
ire.org (Investigative Reporters and Editors)
spj.org (The Society of Professional Journalists)
Education:
Master’s degree in English (Creative Writing emphasis) University of Wisconsin-Milwuakee, 1980.
Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, 1975
