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Opinion 4A
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXV, No. 84
©2006 The Michigan Daily
'U' probes
finances of
radio,
TV
stations
AP PHOTO
Producers Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman accept the Oscar after the film "Crash" won best motion picture of the year at the 78th Academy Awards
yesterday in Los Angeles.
rise best picture winner 'Cra
reveals Academy 's identity crisis
Michigan Public Media
director, Michigan Radio
development director
have resigned recently
By Farayha Arrine
Daily Staff Reporter
The University is conducting an
internal financial investigation of
its Michigan Public Media program
after the sudden resignation of the
organization's director last week.
Donovan Reynolds resigned from
his position on March 1. Reynolds
oversaw Michigan Radio, Michigan
Television and Michigan Channel,
the three units that make up Michi-
gan Public Media.
University spokeswoman Kelly
Cunningham said the investigation
of Michigan Public Media would be
of a financial nature.
The radio station is an affiliate of
National Public Radio that features
news programs by local journalists like
Jack Lessenberry and nationallyhsyndi-
cated news shows such as "All Things
Considered" and "Talk of the Nation."
The internal financial review is
separate from a Department of Pub-
lic Safety investigation initiated by
the University last year.
DPS will continue the review of
Michigan Radio that it started in
November - the same month the
station lost development director
Justin Ebright.
DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown
said the investigation to see if there
has been any criminal wrongdoing
at the station is in progress.
It won't deal with personnel issues
such as resignations. Brown the said
University administration - not the
police force - would conduct any
review of personnel matters. She
added that there is some coordina-
tion between the two investigations.
DPS investigations take different
forms depending on the reported
activity, but can include interviews
with relevant subjects or examina-
tion of financial records.
University representatives said
they could not comment on the
It didn't have to be this way.
To be sure, the Oscars had its
fair share of surprises, but they
derived primarily from Charlize
Theron's dress and a sincere concern
for the unfortunate creature that died
on it. There was the predictable win
for George Clooney and the even
more predictable speech (following
in the footsteps of fellow Holly-
wood leftist Tim Robbins, Clooney
kept his thanks cordial and classy).
Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell were
appropriately inspired in their abil-
ity to combine comedy and brevity,
while Ben Stiller's overlong gag
was more of a goof. There were too
many montages, too many speeches,
Fast facts
Details about the
investigation
Investigation will focus on
Michigan Radio, a nationally
recognized NPR affiliate
Centers on internal finances
of the station
Separate from a Depart-
ment of Public Safety review
initiated by University last year
Renowned Michigan Public
Media director resigned last
week
Radio development director
resigned last November
too many cuts to Jack Nicholson
making a skittish starlet - Keira
Knightley this year
- look just a little bit
uncomfortable. Even the
Dick Cheney gun jokeA
came out early.
Oh, it was Oscar
night.
Every year, hundreds
of millions of people
around the world sit
riveted to the trade
awards of the world's
most alluring industry.
There's a certain egali-
tarianism to the entire
ponent of the filmmaking process in
equal consideration. At the end of
the night, the undiscrim-
inating statue goes home
with Colleen Atwood,
costume designer for
"Memoirs of a Geisha,"
and yet decidedly not
with Steven Spielberg.
But that provocative
idea - transcending the
hierarchies created by
celebrity culture - gets
profoundly distorted the
NDA moment the telecast hits
LADE the TV screen in living
rooms the world over.
In the sober light of the next day's
For a list of Oscar winners In
major categories, see page 8A
reflection, the fact is that not many
people care about best costume.
Accordingly, the victory of
"Brokeback Mountain" for best score
(over legendary composer John Wil-
liams and his outstanding score for
"Memoirs of a Geisha") was a sur-
prise ... to people who, say, follow
movies, read Entertainment Weekly
or maybe just logged enough hours
watching pre-show pundits debate the
night's more esoteric honors. The vic-
tory of "Crash" for best picture, how-
ever, was a revelation to everyone.
See OSCARS, page 7A
details of the investigations.
An interim director will be named
in the next four to six weeks, and then
a national search will be conducted
to find a permanent replacement.
Michigan Radio manager Jon
Hoban said Reynolds was a good
friend and boss.
"This organization is worse off
because he has moved on to other
opportunities," Hoban said in a
written statement. "Donovan had
the vision to know that the station
needed an overhaul and put the news
format into place."
Under Reynolds's 10-year tenure
at Michigan Public Media, Michigan
Radio switched to a news format and
enjoyed a threefold audience increase.
The station has also won more than
80 awards in the last seven years.
The station, which operates as
WUOM 91.7 in Ann Arbor, was
named Public Broadcasting Station
of the Year last year by the Michigan
Association of Broadcasters.
Michigan Public Media is ,a unit
of the University's Office of Con-
munications and reports directly to
the University's Office of the Presi-
dent.
AMA
ANDR
concept, which honors every com-
Thanks to alum,
'U'has
piece ofjournalism history
Television journalist Mike
Wallace provides scholars insight
into a storied broadcasting
career with donated papers
By Nell Tambe
Daily Staff Reporter
Media scholars are drooling over 50 new filing cabi-
nets in the University's Bentley Historical Library.
They contain more than 150 linear feet of journalism
history - notes, transcripts and research from legendary
CBS correspondent Mike Wallace, who graduated from
the University in 1939.
Wallace, 88, was one of the founders of CBS's "60
Minutes," and has made a hefty donation of documents
and notes from his work with CBS News and "60 Min-
utes" to the Bentley. The collection includes transcripts
from the shows, notes from interviews, background
research and viewer correspondence.
"This is all the paperwork," Wallace said.
Videotapes of original program broadcasts will remain
with CBS.
CBS attorneys had to greenlight the donation of the
materials, but Wallace said the documents in the collec-
tion are uncensored. He said the documents would pro-
vide good insight into what happened behind the scenes
in television news. The materials include outlines of sto-
ries that were dropped or never aired.
Wallace has covered several of the biggest news sto-
ries in the past decades, including an influential story
on Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan euthanasia doctor, and
an exclusive interview with Kofi Annan after he was the
only reporter to accompany him on a mission to prevent
war between Saddam Hussein and the United States in
1998. Wallace has interviewed eight U.S. presidents,
many foreign heads of state and a slew of celebrities.
Wallace has donated to the Bentley in the past. He said
he has been working off and on for several years to make
this donation.
"These papers reconstruct the thinking that lay behind
groundbreaking television journalism," Bentley Library
Director Francis Blouin said in a written statement. "His
See WALLACE, page 7A
Armed robbers
strike 5 victims
near campus
Police are investigating
whether three robberies over
break are connected
By Drew Philp
Daily Staff Reporter
Three armed robberies occurred near campus over spring
break. Police said similarities between the incidents have
led them to believe the robberies may be connected.
The string of robberies started at about 9 p.m. Wednes-
day on the 1000 block of Oakland Street, the Department
of Public Safety reported. Two men threatened a lone man
with a handgun and demanded money. The robbers took
the victim's wallet, but the he was not injured.
Two more armed robberies occurred early yesterday
morning within nine minutes of each other.
The first incident took place on the 600 block of Monroe
Street at 12:45 a.m. A student was walking down the street
when two men approached him. One of the men produced
a handgun. The suspects demanded money, and the student
surrendered a cell phone. The suspects then fled in a dark-
colored car.
The second robbery happened just minutes later on the
FILE PHOTO
CBS journalist Mike Wallace at a luncheon on campus in 1997.
Wallace has donated documents from his reporting career.
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