Nancy L. Roberts This is Me

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1. 1. www.scrippsjschool.org

   www.scrippsjschool.org/about/j - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/2/2008   Last Visited: 2/2/2008

   Nancy Roberts, SUNY-Albany

2. 2. The Oneida Daily Dispatch - News - 04/20/2005 - Utopians spread religious beliefs in publications

   www.capitalcentral.com/site/ne - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/20/2005   Last Visited: 4/21/2005

   In the 1800s the local religious group's well-edited publications conveyed a clear vision of their message and their society, said Nancy L. Roberts, professor at SUNY Albany, on Tuesday.
   
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   By developing mailing or subscription lists, they were able to reach a larger population outside their own small community, Roberts said, and thus export their ideas and values and stem some of the criticism.
   
   They even produced short papers that covered world news from their unique religious perspective. And their daily papers or journals have provided great fodder for researchers seeking accurate records of that era, she said.
   
   Roberts delivered the first lecture in a four-part series titled "In the Public Eye: The Oneida Community from utopian experiment to modern corporation" to an audience at the Mansion House in Kenwood.
   
   Roberts, who has done extensive research on the community, said that "it's very awe-inspiring" to speak at the Mansion House. She has been part of the communications department and journalism program in Albany since 2004. Before that she was a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
   ...
   Roberts said that evidence showed that publishing, a way to connect with the outside world, resulted in a more positive understanding of what the Community was doing. Negative commentary often came from those who had little or no personal contact with the Community.
   
   She showed several slides of the Community's newspapers from the 1800s. Circulars and articles at that time became tools to help pave the way for God's kingdom, in the community's view, and to promote positive public opinion.
   
   "I think this must have been a really fun place to be at times," Roberts said of life in the Oneida Community from the 1840s through the 1870s.
   
   She said one goal they sought was: "Let us be disciples of joy."
   
   Their concept of ideal journalism included such qualities as "lively, fresh, entertaining, and bold." Roberts said they preferred "upbeat and punchy journalism," and they wanted to emphasize good over the negative in their papers. Their quick, punchy humor was used to get the attention of the outside world.
   
   Roberts noted that the community was looking to report and print more than just event-centered news, and instead preferred process-centered material. They sought more of a journalistic discussion of silent, interior events that mold character.
   
   The community believed that religion ought to take the lead in journalism, Roberts said. They thought that religion ought to ascend from the pulpit to the daily press.
   
   While they used the press to promote their religious beliefs, they also printed circulars to give outsiders a view of their daily activities. Roberts gave specific examples of their circulars that were used to inform of spring work activities, almost like public relations releases. The community was one of the earlier groups that grasped the notion of changing public opinion through the press, she said.
   
   Before the Civil War, people were more open to utopian communities, Roberts said.

3. 3. James P. Lenfestey- URBAN COYOTE, The TOOTHED AND CLEVER WORLD, A CARTLOAD OF SCROLLS: Han-Shan, SAYING GRACE

   www.coyotepoet.com/home_review - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/17/2007   Last Visited: 1/24/2008

   Reviewed by Nancy Roberts, Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota.