Professor Albert May, who has taught at SMPA since 1997, will be retiring after this semester. He has played an integral role in the School’s development, leading the charge in journalism education and teaching a variety of news writing and editing courses including advanced reporting, narrative journalism, Washington reporting, and, most recently, reporting in the digital age.
Like any communications professional, Professor May experienced the ever-evolving world of journalism and taught that the best way to succeed in that world is with balance.
“The balance has always been trying to keep up with technological changes that have happened in the media,” he said. “At the same time, trying to preserve the core traditional values of journalism, which are writing and critical thinking.”
When his students spoke, May listened.
“Most of us follow a Socratic approach; I try to engage students by asking them questions, then talking about their answers,” he said.
And when they wrote, he edited.
“Much of my work involves news writing and editing, editing the work that students do, not just grading it,” he said. “And that, to me, is the best approach: to have students write, then to edit their writing, then have them re-write.”
May’s background is in news coverage of government and politics. To some, covering the political beat seems like a gruesome task filled with competition and controversy. To May, it is more important to hone the basic skills of reporting on a subject than the actual subject. Challenges do arise, however, in our changing media landscape.
“There is a shift in the development of new management, where the government is more concerned with managing the news than providing accessibility,” May said. “At the same time, there are new tools, like public availability of data, and other ways that reporters can deal with complex subjects and still do a very good job.”
May served as the director of SMPA's Journalism program when the School consolidated into it’s own building in 2001. Students and programs became housed in one central location along with classrooms and technology studios.
“There have been some really important points in SMPA’s life,” May said. “The consolidation of the School, the advancement of the faculty, and the new facilities. One of the real watershed events of my time at SMPA was the new building.”
Professor May brought 23 years of experience reporting on government and politics to journalism students during a pivotal time at SMPA and his contributions have become a part of our School’s history. For his students, he hopes he has raised the level of what it takes to be a professional, not just a journalist, but any professional.
For May, “They’ve shown me how each generation is different,” he said. “You can’t stay static. You have to adapt to them as much or more than they are adapting to you.”
Thank you, Professor May, for helping build SMPA into what it is today.