Dec. 14, 2005

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:

National Coverage

6 Journalism Schools Will Play Host to 100 Foreign Reporters as Part of U.S. Public-Diplomacy Program
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice helped inaugurate a program on Tuesday that will bring about 100 young reporters from around the world to six American journalism schools in order to study journalistic practices in the United States. ...The six journalism schools are at the Universities of Kentucky, Minnesota-Twin Cities, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Oklahoma, Southern California, and Texas at Austin.
U.S. Department of State Transcript: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57989.htm

Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus'
"Fresh Air Today," National Public Radio
Bart Ehrman, the chairman of the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, was featured on today's edition of "Fresh Air." Scholar Ehrman's new book explores how scribes -- through both omission and intention -- changed the Bible. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the result of years of reading the texts in their original languages. Ehrman says the modern Bible was shaped by mistakes and intentional alterations that were made by early scribes who copied the texts. In the introduction to Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman writes that when he came to understand this process 30 years ago, it shifted his way of thinking about the Bible. He had been raised as an Evangelical Christian.

'Targeted' cancer treatment effective in older patients
USA Today
Patients over 50 make up the bulk of those diagnosed with cancer. ...Doctors didn't compare the new treatments with other therapies, so they can't say that the new strategies are superior, says Thomas Shea, director of bone-marrow transplantation at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, who did not work on the study.

Need Therapy? Check Your In Box
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Can the Internet help save the life of a suicidal student? Researchers at Emory University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are seeking an answer to that very question. ...In the study at Emory and Chapel Hill, the depression-screening survey prompted more than 100 previously reluctant students to seek treatment. Of 8,488 students at Chapel Hill who received the survey via e-mail between January 2004 and April 2005, 431 responded to a series of 16 questions about how frequently they felt sad, used drugs, and considered harming themselves.

Dino-Era Wading-Bird Fossil Found in China
The National Geographic
The fossil of a previously unknown water bird that lived some 125 million years ago has been discovered in China. ...The discovery "will go a long way toward clarifying what has been a murky picture of the avian past," bird evolution expert Alan Feduccia wrote in an accompanying article. Feduccia, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, noted that the fossil "shows skeletal features that indicate a shore-dwelling habitat."

Fighting Anorexia
"On Point," WBUR (Boston)
Cynthia Bulik, Director of the Eating Disorders Program at The University of North Carolina and co-author of "Runaway Eating: The 8-Point Plan to Conquer Adult Food and Weight Obsessions" was featured on today's edition of "On Point." Anorexia is on the rise, now afflicting younger girls and boys. Host and guests explore the subtle causes and treatments that can save lives.

Regional Coverage

States’ ability to protect homeowners from predatory lenders threatened (Opinion-editorial column)
The Associated Press (S.C.)
If some in Congress get their way, borrowers in South Carolina and other states that passed strong anti-predatory lending laws would be placed back at the mercy of unscrupulous lenders. ...A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found that the number of predatory loans in North Carolina has dropped, but home buyers and borrowers with low credit scores still can get loans. There has been no significant increase in the cost of loans.

Gift-worthy cookbooks span globe
The Charleston Post and Courier
These books should give you something for any food lover on your list. Don't be shy about tucking a few for yourself under the tree. There are definitely some keepers. ..."Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South." This fascinating history is the work of Marcie Cohen Ferris, associate director for the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies and assistant professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina. She focuses on Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/jslecture090705.htm

State & Local Coverage

Rice launches program to bring foreign journalists to U.S.
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday launched a program to bring foreign journalists to the United States so they can learn how to "tell the story of democracy" to their countries. Rice called the program a partnership between the U.S. government and the media. The foreign journalists will attend seminars at a number of American universities, including the University of North Carolina, and observe American journalists at work across the country.
U.S. Department of State Transcript: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57989.htm

Program includes UNC journalism
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC is one of six schools of journalism across the nation joining a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of State in the Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program. The program will bring up to 100 upcoming leaders in the field of journalism from around the world to examine journalistic practices in the United States.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/377675.html

New hope for heart patients
The Chapel Hill News
For the first time in a long while, Marilyn Lassiter believes her husband, Charley, is going to live. ...UNC Hospitals is one of 11 medical centers nationwide involved in the trial, to test how well the $75,000 device works in patients awaiting transplants. Medicare and many insurance companies will pay for the device for these patients.

Acid could be seeping into blood (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
How is perfluorooctanoic acid getting into our blood? I've touched on this in earlier columns, examining questions about the role fumes from nonstick cookware may play in putting perfluorooctanoic acid -- PFOA, for short -- in almost every American's blood. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Christmas, colorful characters and confrontation (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill News
"Just one column, D.G. Please. One a week is about all our readers will put up with." ...Speaking of the university, the John Locke Foundation's John Hood recently commented on John Edwards' position at its law school, referring to UNC as "University for Nesting Candidates."

Marchers draw attention to Uganda (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
Last Saturday night, a group of people in orange shirts were marching around campus and town with signs reading "We walk so they don't have to" and "Silence is shameful." This group consisted of nine children and about 60 UNC students and other adults.

Four counties sign historic agreement creating Kerr-Tar Hub
The Henderson Daily Dispatch
The Kerr-Tar Hub, as some might say, is a done deal. ...It's a concept born nearly five years ago when the Research Triangle Regional Partnership asked Luger's business development program at UNC-Chapel Hill to do a study.

Issues & Trends

Money game: State's ACC schools see basketball as a slam dunk for revenue
The Triad Business Journal
Looking for a ticket for a Wake Forest men's basketball game this season? Don't bother calling the ticket office. ... Wake Forest basketball, like other rival ACC programs, including UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Duke University, is significantly profitable.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

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