This oral history project is a collaboration between
the South Dakota Newspaper Association and
South Dakota State University’s Journalism Department.
Teri Finneman, Ph.D.
Department of Journalism & Mass Communication
South Dakota State University
Phone: 605.688.6515
Email: teri.finneman@sdstate.edu
Dr. Teri Finneman is a journalism historian and former reporter who organized this project as an assignment
in her History of Journalism course.
This is Finneman’s third oral history project. She previously has captured oral histories of North Dakota newspaper journalists as well as women journalists who belong to the Journalism and Women’s Symposium. Finneman is chairwoman of the Oral ​
History Committee of the American Journalism Historians Association. She is the author of Press Portrayals of Women Politicians, 1870s-2000s.
​
In 2017, Finneman won third place in Best Practices in Service Learning in Journalism and Mass Communication Teaching
for this South Dakota oral histories project. The award is
from the Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication.
​
​
​
​
Dalton Mogck is a senior at South Dakota State University majoring in journalism who would like to be a live sports broadcaster for either television or radio events. Dalton liked that Dale Blegen was raised on the farm just like him and even though he had a farming background he was able to transition into the journalism field. Dalton learned that in the end being honest with yourself and with your audience is the most important part of being a journalist.
​
Katie Robinson is a senior agricultural leadership major with a journalism minor. She has high hopes to be working as communications director for an agriculture company after graduation. One takeaway she got from the oral histories is how much information is packed into the state of South Dakota. She hopes this project will continue throughout other newspapers as a way to remember it all.
​
​
Sarah McDonald is a junior broadcast journalism major with a minor in Spanish at South Dakota State University. She hopes to one day work in either radio or TV broadcast in South Dakota. Sarah enjoyed learning about journalists’ pasts and learning about their experiences in the field. The most interesting thing she learned during this project was the change in technology from earlier years compared to now. What Sarah can take away from doing this project is knowing that it is important to learn about the past.
​
Nathan Deis is a junior at South Dakota State University studying graphic design who hopes to become a designer for an in-house corporation. Nathan enjoyed learning about Tim’s incredible motivation to achieve success. Nathan thought that learning how to operate the cameras was a fun experience. Nathan learned that excellent communication with your subject is the most valuable thing you can strive for.
​
Danielle Baker
​
Kayla Tschetter is a senior at South Dakota State University studying speech communication and broadcast journalism. Her hopes and plans after college are to start her career in the radio or television industry by having her own talk show. The Oral History Project was her favorite project she has done at South Dakota State. She thought it was a great experience to hear how established individuals in the journalism industry started their success the same exact way that she is now starting her career. She grew a much deeper appreciation for the passion, time, commitment, and love of journalism that the participants withheld during their careers, and still do to this day. Her favorite and also what she thought was most interesting part of the project was just sitting and being able to listen and learn from her interviewee's history, stories, advice, and love of their job. Her biggest takeaway was getting a better picture of all the possibilities the world of journalism obtains and having a more open mindset on possibilities she can take hold of.
​
Olivia Olson
Marco Benassi
​
Kyle Rokeh
Chloe Park
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Amy Nelson is a junior at South Dakota State University studying broadcast journalism and would like to work in radio. Amy enjoyed getting the chance to partake in documenting South Dakota history. Amy found learning about past print making technologies such as the linotype to be most interesting. Learning the necessary skills for interviewing and asking follow-up questions is what Amy will be able to take away from this experience.
​
Renae Dykstra is a sophomore at SDSU majoring in consumer affairs with a minor in journalism. Renae most enjoyed hearing about her subject Wayne's life stories and learning more about his past. The most interesting thing she learned was that her subject had been a war correspondent during the Korean War. She also learned that both of his parents had college degrees, something that she found very impressive for this time period. From this project, she will take away the importance of preserving oral histories and learning more about the older generation.
​
Shaheed Morris is a senior at South Dakota State University, where he is studying journalism. The New Jersey native plans to work in television as an anchor/reporter. The oral history was Shaheed’s first time working on an in-depth oral history. The project taught him the importance of preserving the public record. He loved how Wayne explained how he purchased a newspaper.
​
Amy Nelson
Sarah McDonald
​
Site Title
SDSU students involved in the 2016 project were:
From Left to Right:
Katie Robinson, Dale Blegen, Dalton Mogck
From Left to Right:
Tim Giago, Danielle Baker,
Sarah McDonald, Nathan Deis
From Left to Right:
Kayla Tschetter, Olivia Olson, Marco Benassi
From Left to Right:
Richard Lee, Chloe Park, Kyle Rokeh
From Left to Right:
Shaheed Morris, Wayne Lyford,
Ranae Dykstra, Amy Nelson
From Left to Right:
Amy Nelson, Verlyn Hofer, Sarah McDonald
SDSU students involved in the 2017 project were:
From Left to Right:
Roger Kasa, Andrew Holtan,
Makenzie Huber, Chynna Stevens
​
​
Makenzie Huber is a senior at South Dakota State University majoring in journalism and political science with minors in Spanish and global studies. She plans to become a public affairs reporter. One takeaway Makenzie had from the oral histories project was the importance of preserving the memories and experiences of South Dakota journalists. It's not just their memories recorded on this website, but the history of the state
​
Andrew Holtan is a junior at South Dakota State University majoring in journalism and would like to go into sports writing or sports radio. Andrew liked that Roger was also a sports writer. Andrew learned that you have to be able to admit your mistakes and correct them. He also learned that oral histories are very important for both the listeners and the subjects as well.
​
Chynna Stevens is a fourth-year student at South Dakota State majoring in journalism. She plans on going into print journalism or public relations. What she took away from the project was how important it is to document this history so these memories can be remembered for decades.
​
​
Shaquille Davis is a junior at South Dakota State majoring in journalism who has a strong interest to work for Complex News after he graduates. Complex News is a New York City-based magazine that is for the youth culture. One thing he learned from the oral histories project was that persistence is key to getting by in this field. Anyone looking to hire you will look for that quality because they know you will do what it takes to get a story.
​
Garrett Ammesmaki is a junior at South Dakota State majoring in journalism. He plans to be a freelance journalist/photographer. One thing he took away from this project is there is no set path to becoming a journalist.
​
Jennie Hegge is a junior at South Dakota State University majoring in journalism. She plans to work for a year and then go on to more schooling for a master’s degree. One thing she took away from the project was no matter how set you are in what career path you want to take, you just never know if that is where you will end up; always keep an open mind and never pass up an opportunity.
​
Mariah Kessler is a sophomore agriculture communications major. She has a strong background in agriculture and hopes to someday be working in public affairs in the industry. She liked working with Noel Hamiel because of the diversity of places and positions he held in his life. The biggest thing that resonated with Mariah is that Noel gained most of his successes after college, and that she has a lot of life ahead of her.
​
Kristina Bremmon is a student at South Dakota State University majoring in journalism, hoping to get some form of job so she
can support herself. One takeaway she got from the oral
histories is that she hopes to develop into a decent, good
human being like them.
​
Hailey Kline is a sophomore journalism and pre-law student at South Dakota State University. She hopes to obtain a law degree and further her career after college. One takeaway she had from this experience is that everyone has a story to share, and everyone can learn something from every person they encounter.
​
Corey Korth
From Left to Right:
Garrett Ammesmaki, Shaquille Davis, Noel Hamiel,
Mariah Kessler, Jennie Hegge
From Left to Right:
Jack Marsh, Corey Korth, Hailey Kline, Kristina Bremmon
