Nicole Kraft
I am a journalist turned journalism professor who teaches reporting, news writing, feature writing, sports writing and media law. I cover the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ohio State Basketball for the Associated Press and horseracing for the Columbus Dispatch. My research is in pedagogy involving mobile technology and journalism, as well as academic use of mobile tech among student-athletes. Apple Distinguished Educator.
Biography
Nicole Kraft spent 25 years as an award-winning reporter, editor and magazine journalist, while working also in public relations for professional sports and government communications. She joined the Ohio State School of Communication in 2010 as an assistant professor of journalism, and her classes include Media Writing and Editing, Sports Media, Magazine Writing, and Media Law and Ethics. Her focus in teaching and research has been in utilizing technology in journalism, as well as the academic use of mobile technology among student-athletes. She is co-director of Ohio State’s Sports & Society Initiative. In 2015 Nicole was named an Apple Distinguished Educator. She is also an active journalist, writing numerous magazine features and covering the NHL, Ohio State basketball and horse racing for the Associated Press and Columbus Dispatch.Education
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BS in Political Science, Temple University, 1991
MA in Communication, Ohio State, 2003
EdD in Educational Leadership, Lamar University, 2018
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Research: Journalism, mobile technology in journalism, academic use of mobile technology among student-athletes, pedagogical communication
Expertise: Educator, journalist, newspaper editor, magazine writer, magazine editor, sports writer, communications directir, press secretary
Personal Interests
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Pedagogy, mobile technology, ice hockey
Websites
Books
Articles
Making Mojos: How iPads Are Enhancing Mobile Journalism Education
Published: Jan 12, 2019 by Journalism & Mass Communication Educator
Authors: Nicole Kraft and Natalee Seely
Subjects:
Education
The development of the iPad and supporting apps has created a “one-stop shop” of journalistic tools that enable students to learn those skills. Students did utilize the iPad and apps to more quickly create publishable-quality journalism assignments, which included effective reporting and use of multimedia and social media.
ACADEMIC USE OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY BY STUDENT ATHLETES AT A LARGE DIVISION I MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY
Published: May 01, 2018 by Proquest
Authors: Nicole Kraft
Subjects:
Education
This grounded theory study examined the process by which student-athletes at a large Division I Midwestern university use mobile technology for academic purposes. The theory that emerged from the data is entitled, “The theory of dependent learning for academic use of mobile technology.” This theory describes how student-athletes are dependent upon formalized instruction in the academic use of technology to stimulate its classroom usage.
News
Nicole Kraft: The Interview
By: Nicole Kraft
Subjects: Education
It’s the day of the interview and I’m scrambling to make sure I’m ready. Is my recorder ready and charged? Yup. Do I have my list of questions? Check. A little mint gum before the interview? It’ll be gone before I start my questions. Extra pens just in case mine dries out? I got ‘em.
A great book about the art of interviewing, Always Get The Name Of The Dog: A Guide To Media Interviewing, once taught me to always show up to an interview at least 10 minutes early. Whether you’re a person who is always late, or just need a few moments to set up, it’s always best to beat your interview subjects to the location. It sets a level of professionalism and lets your subjects know you respect them and their time.
These are all things that you should do in good practice as a writer or journalist. So you can imagine my embarrassment when I arrived to Panera 15 minutes early to find Nicole Kraft, author of said book, sitting at a table, checking emails, sipping coffee, and patiently awaiting my arrival for the interview. But what else would you expect? She quite literally wrote the damn book on interviewing.
“I don’t know who said it, but they said, ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ And I’ve never worked a day in my life.”
Giving Kraft the title of just author is not only disingenuous, it’s a disservice. Beyond publishing her digital interviewing book Always Get The Name Of The Dog in 2013 as well as a lengthier and updated print version set to release in January of 2019, Kraft is a communications and journalism professor at Ohio State. As an Apple Distinguished Educator, she spearheaded the arrival of iPads for freshmen on OSU’s campus. She’s the director of the Sports and Society Initiative. She’s an active writer for The Columbus Dispatch and the Associated Press. She specializes in media law and ethics, and she’s a mother and wife. It might seem like Kraft sleeps standing up with her eyes open so she can be ready for the next task to conquer. But to her, the high workload never feels like a chore because she’s able to do the things she wants to do.