by Phil Chidester

For one alumnus of the School of Communication, a return to campus for Homecoming 2006 brought university-wide recognition for what has been a stellar career in journalism - and perhaps more importantly, a chance to inspire a new generation of budding reporters.

Carl Hulse, a 1976 graduate of the school who currently serves as chief congressional correspondent for the New York Times, was the featured speaker Oct. 13 at the annual ISU Homecoming Luncheon. The distinguished alum bookmarked those speaking duties with visits to a number of communication classes in Fell Hall, including a pair of introductory journalism courses. The visits offered Hulse an opportunity to share his experiences as a reporter on Capitol Hill and to offer sound advice to students just becoming acquainted with the craft of newswriting.

Hulse recalled his days as a reporter and editor at ISU's campus newspaper, The Vidette, and outlined his gradual rise from reporting duties at a small-town Illinois paper to the halls of Congress as a correspondent for one of the nation's most respected publications. Remembering an era when reporters produced their stories on manual typewriters and sheets of hand-cut newsprint, Hulse noted that technological advancements are among the biggest challenges to today's newsgatherers.

“The industry is really, really changing quickly,” he said. “But I believe there will always be a news business; people have a real demand for news.”

The ISU grad also noted that the wealth of information offered by the Internet - a research tool that was not available during his early years as a reporter - is itself a considerable obstacle to contemporary journalists.

“The Internet in a lot of ways has made people lazy; they don't want to check things out for themselves,” Hulse said. “My advice is to get out there; do some interviews.”

Such efforts at humanizing the story is just one among the many demands that the Internet places on today's reporters, Hulse said. Because audiences have any number of web-based sources of information at their disposal, effective journalists must emphasize both accuracy and creativity in the stories they produce; and because many newspapers make their content available on the Internet, reporters must also shape their stories with international audiences in mind.

“It's like writing a research paper, turning it in and going to bed,” Hulse said of the journalist's craft. “And the next morning, everyone in the world gets to grade it and comment on it.

“There are lots of demands on people's attention out there,” he added. “So a story needs to be not only accurate, but well written. A newspaper needs to be an outlet for creative writing, for analysis - and that's the result of heavy competition from other media.”

The current crop of journalism students in the School of Communication was quick to take advantage of Hulse's expertise and advice during his visit. One student plumbed Hulse's experience with former Florida Rep. Mark Foley and his familiarity with the congressional page program for information to add to a report she was writing for another class. Still others used Hulse's thoughts as motivation for their own efforts toward a career in journalism.

“It helps that he (Hulse) was a student here, because he gives you the idea that you can really make it in journalism,” said Korin Knutson, a junior journalism major from Antioch, Ill., of the alum's visit. “You can go farther than Chicago in this business - and that's awesome. He also helped me to realize that it takes a while to get where you're going as a journalist, and that that's okay.”

“He told us that as long as you're a good writer, you'll do well,” added Ryan Waldeck, a junior public relations/political science major from Farmersville, Ill. “I'm not going into journalism but I do enjoy writing, and he gave me an idea about what I can accomplish as a writer.”

As far as any final words of advice to ISU's next generation of reporters, Hulse was as clear and to the point as the best of newspaper leads.

“I highly recommend starting at a small community paper,” he said. “Get as much practical experience as you can, and make sure that you like the business.”