4/4/97

The following Ohio University professors are available for insightful interviews on topics in the news. Please contact Dwight Woodward at 614/593-1886 to arrange an interview.

APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH:
Ohio University Journalism Professor Mel Helitzer founded the first humor writing course at a college or university. Students' final grades in the course hinge on their stand-up comedy routine. Helitzer, author of Comedy Writing Secrets: How to Think Funny, Write Funny, Act Funny, and Get Paid For It, has studied the history of comedy (the first joke started with Adam and Eve), and is a member of the New York City Friars Club. He can talk about the various forms of humor, why jokes travel so quickly and how to spot humor in any situation.

FOOD POISONING MORE FREQUENT THAN REPORTED:
Every once in a while, food poisoning grabs the headlines when a commercial product such as strawberries or meat threatens to sicken hundreds of people. But those cases are but a fraction of food poisoning incidents, according to Ohio University Food Service Education Coordinator Richard Neumann. He says most food poisoning is not reported, usually because it's difficult to distinguish from the flu. Except for e-coli, which can cause death, Neumann says few food poisonings are serious.

SUPREME COURT STUDY:
E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Professor Dru Riley Evarts spent her faculty leave fall and winter quarters in Washington studying the U.S. Supreme Court and the press corps that covers it. Evarts interviewed reporters covering the Supreme Court to determine how reporters' backgrounds influence coverage of the court. The Supreme Court's press corps is particularly important because the Supreme Court justices rarely talk to the media about their views, according to Evarts. "The Supreme Court is the only branch of government where the justices themselves don't express their views except once in a while at commencement addresses," Evarts said.