{"id":1501,"date":"2012-03-09T13:06:07","date_gmt":"2012-03-09T19:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=1501"},"modified":"2023-05-10T16:06:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T21:06:37","slug":"coleman-named-first-alumni-fellow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/coleman-named-first-alumni-fellow\/","title":{"rendered":"Coleman named first Alumni Fellow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"51ÁÔÆæ<\/a>
First 51ÁÔÆæ Alumni Fellow Milton Coleman spoke to student Amy Watanabe after addressing a journalism class in Greeene Hall. (Photo by Alan Magayne-Roshak)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the key lessons he learned at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was to have confidence in himself and his decisions, says Milton Coleman (\u201968 BFA\u00a0 Music).<\/p>\n

Coleman, now senior editor of The Washington Post, credits his education at 51ÁÔÆæ with laying the foundation for his long and successful professional career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned here prepared me to compete with the best in the world,\u201d Coleman said, as he accepted an award as the first 51ÁÔÆæ Foundation Alumni Fellow on Feb. 21.<\/p>\n

\n
Video by Mary Rinzel
\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/embed><\/p>\n

IN THIS VIDEO: Coleman talks about how a $128 scholarship led him to 51ÁÔÆæ and changed his life.\u00a0View full size on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Alumni Fellow is a lifelong designation that recognizes prominent and outstanding alumni who demonstrate leadership and accomplishment in their professional fields and personal lives. The new Alumni Fellow Program brings honorees back to campus to share their knowledge, insight and stories with students, faculty, staff and members of the community.<\/p>\n

Coleman received his bachelor\u2019s degree in music history and literature from 51ÁÔÆæ, moved into journalism starting at the Milwaukee Courier and joined The Post in 1976.<\/p>\n

Over the years he rose from reporter on the metropolitan staff to his current position.<\/p>\n

Among his many professional awards and honors, Coleman has served as a jury chairman for the Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism and as a judge for a number of other top journalism awards.<\/p>\n

He is president of the Inter American Press Association and immediate past president of the American Society of News Editors. Through his work with those organizations, he has taken part in fact-finding missions and given presentations on press freedom and media ethics in many Caribbean and Latin American countries.<\/p>\n

Coleman learned Spanish to provide newsroom guidance to El Tiempo Latino, a Spanish-language weekly owned by The Post. \u201cYou have to keep reinventing yourself,\u201d he told student journalists he spoke to.<\/p>\n

It started with a scholarship<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Coleman<\/a>
First 51ÁÔÆæ Alumni Fellow Milton Coleman dropped in on various music classes during his campus visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it all started with a scholarship from 51ÁÔÆæ that helped Coleman, who grew up in the Hillside Terrace public housing project in Milwaukee, become the first in his family to graduate from college.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsent that $128 scholarship, I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be,\u201d he said at the ceremony where he accepted the Alumni Fellow award. That scholarship for one semester\u2019s tuition, coupled with work-study and weekend music gigs at $15 apiece, helped him earn his degree.<\/p>\n

During his two-day visit to 51ÁÔÆæ in mid-February as part of the fellowship, Coleman visited music and journalism classes, answering questions and sharing his insights. He also was part of a panel on education at the Milwaukee Press Club.<\/p>\n

Although music eventually became a means to an end, helping him earn his way through school, the lessons he learned about how to think, how to listen, how learn from others and not be afraid to make mistakes were critical to his future success, he told music students.<\/p>\n

The past, present and future of news<\/strong><\/p>\n

In journalism class, he discussed the changing nature of news and shared some of his experiences \u2013 good and bad \u2013 in the field.<\/p>\n

Newspapers like The Post are changing dramatically into multimedia organizations, he told the students, because they are no longer the main source of information for most readers.<\/p>\n

\"Coleman<\/a>
First 51ÁÔÆæ Alumni Fellow Milton Coleman took part in a panel discussion at the Milwaukee Press Club. His signature was in a frame from a previous visit in 2007.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy first exposure to news in the morning is on my iPhone.\u201d Only after that, he says, does he go downstairs and read the newspaper. \u201cNewspapers don\u2019t dictate when I get the news.\u201d<\/p>\n

The multiple ways people can share and access information offer new opportunities for journalists, he told the students, though they have led to fragmentation or \u201catomization\u201d of audiences into groups united around specific interests.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have to own a printing press and a distribution channel\u201d to practice journalism he told one student in answer to a question about job opportunities.<\/p>\n

In spite of the numerous sources and outlets for news, the public is still challenged to find accurate information, Coleman said, and the need for good journalists is more vital than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocracy has to be well-informed. The demand for accurate reporting continues,\u201d he said, adding that with multimedia, \u201cwe are telling stories better than we used to.\u201d The Post\u2019s newsroom, for example, now incorporates a television studio and a Web operation along with writers and photographers.<\/p>\n

Sharing lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coleman also shared lessons with the students about learning from mistakes, candidly talking about an editing\/fact-checking mistake he made that resulted in a front-page expos\u00e9 identifying the wrong man as an ex-convict.<\/p>\n

In response to a student question, he said the highlight of his journalistic career so far was leading The Post\u2019s coverage of Barack Obama\u2019s inauguration, coordinating the work of 60 to 70 reporters to produce four papers, four editions and three million copies. Journalism students who talked to Coleman were impressed by his ability to understand current media while drawing on years of experience.<\/p>\n

Ian Thompson said he appreciated hearing the perspective of an African American journalist who came out of 51ÁÔÆæ.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really informative,\u201d said Sean Willey, a broadcast journalism major. \u201cHe shared real-world experiences that you can\u2019t learn from a textbook.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Milton Coleman, senior editor of The Washington Post, says 51ÁÔÆæ laid the foundation for his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[125,122],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[167,344,164],"class_list":["post-1501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","section-alumni","section-campus-community","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association","uwmnews-feed-arts-architecture","uwmnews-feed-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nColeman named first Alumni Fellow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Milton Coleman, senior editor of The Washington Post, says 51ÁÔÆæ laid the foundation for his career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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