Reading Peggy Noonan is about as close as it comes to perfection. At least that’s my opinion. After I’m done reading her work, I find that I want to go back and read it again just for the [p]ure pleasure of it.

That describes my response to Peggy Noonan’s work, her art. And as a commentator during Pope Benedict’s prayerful visit to Ground Zero in New York City April 20, she brought grace to EWTN’s television coverage of that event.

There’s another journalist I want to mention, closer to home, who’s been writing for The Troubadour, Franciscan University of Steubenville’s weekly student newspaper. There are and have been many fine journalists writing for “The Troub,” but many times this semester I’ve found myself thinking about and re-reading an editiorial from the February 14, 2008 edition. In my opinion, it’s “Peggy Noonan-class” Journalism.

The background: On February 10, a popular Franciscan University senior, Amanda Pudvah, died suddenly because of complications from pneumonia. The campus community was shocked. That week’s Troubadour carried front-page stories about Amanda and the events following her death. The main article was written by Elizabeth Ela, editor-in-chief. It is a sensitive article which expressed the thoughts of many people as well as the facts of the story.

But what really struck me was the editorial Elizabeth wrote on page 2. Bear with me as I share perhaps too long an excerpt:

When I accepted the position of editor-in-chief for the Troubadour at the end of last semester, I jokingly told my friends that the job shouldn’t be that hard, as long as nothing dramatic happened on campus – the J.C. [student center] didn’t burn down, scandal didn’t erupt in the administration, etc.

I never thought I’d be calling the parents of one of the first friends I made as a freshman three and a half years ago, to ask them to share their thoughts on their daughter’s sudden death. It never crossed my mind that one Monday afternoon I’d be sitting with my advisor, discussing the hardest article I’ve ever had to write – coverage of the memorial Mass and death of Amanda Pudvah.

I was sitting behind Amanda’s household sisters during the Mass Monday night, and I watched, through blurring vision, the Ladies of Light crying and embracing each other in front of me, their bodies forming a natural frame as they leaned toward each other for a comforting embrace. Through their “frame”, Fr. Richard and Fr. Terry stood behind the altar, rearranging chalices and pouring out the wine before beginning the Eucharistic Prayer. It was a powerful moment, personally. There, a pew ahead of me, was suffering meeting the Sacrament. Profound hurt coming – through tears, but in faith – to the source of tremendous  healing. The journalist in me surged and wished I had a camera to capture the image, while the rest of me – the part of me grieving for my friend and those she left behind – asked, what, Lord, do You want me to take away from this?

I felt so, so empty and inadequate to try to convey the events of the past day, but at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more strongly called to offer my gifts, even on the smallest scale, to those who would read the paper as they continued to grieve for their daughter, sister and friend.

Elizabeth Ela is one of many Franciscan University communication arts majors who will be graduating next week, each bringing unique abilities and talents to the communications forum. They’ve been a blessing to our lives.

Disclosure: I’ve waited until the end of the semester when grading’s done to write this. Elizabeth and several other Journalism majors have been students in one of my classes this semester. Their work is among the best I see. Dr. Wayne Lewis, our Communication Arts department chair, directs the journalism concentration – nurturing and mentoring wonderful talent. (And I’m not trying to get bonus points from the boss; our performance reviews were finished weeks ago.)

Attention editors and publishers: If you’re looking for some great young journalists, we’ve got them here.

Jim Coyle     

Later in the evening, Tim posted his first YouTube video on his Pope2008.com blog.

And of course Fr. Henry was also interviewed on the CUA campus by our Franciscan University student media crew following Pope Benedict’s talk. The crew is blogging when they can (which is not too often because we’re keeping them busy).

Jim Coyle

As we videotaped our footage, a crew from Cox Communications, owners of the NBC affiliate TV station in Steubenville, videotaped us and recorded interviews with the students. Their story appeared on the 11:00 news in Steubenville tonight, although I couldn’t view it online.

Members of the team will be blogging about our project this week at Franciscan Papal Initiative, so check there for some of our experiences. We won’t have regular Internet access, but through the students’ gadgets I hope we can post from the midst of Pope Benedict’s visit to the USA. 

Their production will be one of the first professionally produced documentaries to tell the true story of how college students are positively influenced by their religion and how they are moved by the first visit of this pontiff to the United States.

Prior to Pope Benedict’s arrival, the Franciscan University film crew will be granted special access to the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., where the pope will conduct a peace dialogue with leaders of other faiths that will be one of the most significant interfaith discussions of his papacy. The crew will be allowed into the chapel where the pope will pray and receive an in-depth briefing about the preparations and protocol for the pope’s visit.

The production crew will also conduct interviews with college students and young people as they attend other papal events and mingle in Washington, D.C., streets, cafés, and restaurants.

In addition, they will conduct interviews with some of the world’s leading athletes who will be in Washington for the pope’s visit and a meeting of Catholic Athletes for Christ.

The three-part mini-series is a collaborative effort between Capistrano Films, an inspirational and faith-based production company, and the Communication Arts Department of Franciscan University of Steubenville. It will be co-directed by Antonio Soave of Capistrano Films and Dr. Jim Coyle of Franciscan University. The crew, comprised of television and journalism students, will be led by Maria Mitchell and Emma Smits.

Jim Coyle

The interview with Alan Schreck is an excerpt from an episode of Spirit and Life: The Franciscan Conferences Podcast, a bi-weekly podcast from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Information about the music in this edition of the Catholic Media Journal Podcast can be found here. And to be an early subscriber to our free podcasts, just Subscribe Here.

But here’s the most unusual attention [we've received about the blog]: Professor Jim Coyle at Franciscan University of Steubenville has been teaching a course on the use of new media in Catholic communications. He assigned students a paper on Pope2008.com’s blog coverage. Then he interviewed Tim, with the students present, and made the interview available as a podcast on his Catholic Media Journal website.

You can read the whole post here, or in the Register’s next issue.

It’s great exploring and experiencing New Media. We can all have a voice in the new media space – and there are many voices calling for our attention. There’s so much we can learn and share, but we have to stay alert as we seek the Truth.

Jim Coyle

I wanted the students to observe, experience – and share their experiences through written, oral and visual stories. And I was looking forward to again seeing some of the people I’d met in October, 2005, when I first visited these areas 2 months after Katrina had hit. How were they doing? How were their friends and families? How was the recovery going?

We found just about everything – joy and sadness, hope and hopelessness, hearts of gold and hearts crying out to God. Unfortunately, our Media Mission wasn’t part of a class, and when we got back to Steubenville after Spring Break, we were caught up in our classes and projects – and didn’t get all of our stories out. There were several exceptions, including an excellent video documentary produced by Kristen Rainey as her Senior Thesis project, and stories in the University’s Franciscan Way magazine and the student newspaper, The Troubadour. We’ve been able to share our personal stories with our friends and families. And as a demonstration in one of my classes, I produced a short podcast (12-1/2 minutes long) about part of the trip. Here it is:

By the way, The Endless Road Podcast is a very-occasional podcast I produce, often to test new equipment and audio programs. And listening to this 2007 podcast, I’m glad we’re using better equipment now. If you’ve checked the About page of this site or our earliest posts, you know that Catholic Media Journal began as an online diary of a 2005 Catholic Media Tour to Mississippi and Louisiana two months after Hurrican Katrina. It’s good to remember, to pray, and to support the people and the Church, however we’re called.Finally, if you’d like to be an early subscriber to our podcasts, follow this link.

Jim Coyle

Upon returning to Franciscan University, students and faculty attending the “Beijing + 10″ conference shared about their experiences and impact at a live presentation to the University community. The live reports concluded with some of the photos and comments recorded in New York. On this small screen, I invite you to see and hear that closing presentation:

Jim Coyle