John Harris – Faculty Update – Western Journalism Alumni

John Harris, PhD

Associate Professor

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Redemption in '64

Dr. John Harris Updates

Winter 2025 Update

I’ve always enjoyed track and field, even though I’ve never been good at it. When I moved to Eugene, Oregon, in 1978 I found myself in America’s mecca for the sport. Over the years I attended meets at the old Hayward Field, and I continued to go when the renovated, world-class stadium opened in 2022. Last summer I had the opportunity to compete there in the Hayward Classic, a meet for masters athletes. I won a silver medal in the shot put, finishing second out of two in my age group (men 70-74). The man who beat me, also from Bellingham, was the only person I beat in the 100 meters. Now, as I’m about to retire, I’m hoping to compete in more meets, if I can stay healthy. As the saying goes for masters athletes, “The best ability is availability.”

John Harris dons his silver medal from the Hayward Classic meet in 2024.

Over the previous winter break I spent a week with friends hiking in Death Valley. We plan to head for Escalante in May. Am I glad to be retiring? Yes, for the opportunity to see more of the world. Will I miss my job as professor? Not the work, but the people, absolutely. That’s always been the best part of the job — watching young people learn and grow. Thank you for the opportunity.
Spring 2024 Update

John Harris during his presentation at VisComm 37 in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on June 22, 2023. // Photo by Joe Gosen

Professor Joe Gosen and I attended VisComm 37 in Mammoth Lakes, California in June. VisComm is a gathering of visual journalism educators who share their projects and ideas. It was officially summer, but Mammoth was still digging out from a historic snowfall. We hiked to a cabin with snow up to the roof, and to a waterfall with huge chunks of ice roaring down into a lake. The conference was OK, but hanging out in Mammoth was a highlight of the summer. But not the highlight.

Joe and I headed out early on our last day for the three-hour drive to Reno and our flight home. I received a text that my daughter-in-law, Maria, was in labor, and had been since midnight. We stopped at Mono Lake along the way, and then Joe took me on a tour of Reno, where he’d worked as a shooter for the Reno Gazette Journal. We also had lunch with his nephew, an aspiring physician. But the entire time I was distracted, checking updates on Maria’s progress.

Noon. Three o’clock. Six o’clock. Eight o’clock. Still in labor. Joe and I boarded our flight to Seattle, arriving about 10 o’clock. Still no baby.

We took the last leg home to Bellingham, landing about midnight. I turned on my phone. Liliana Sofia Harris-Gonzalez had arrived at 11:05 p.m. The day’s suspense and tension flowed from me in tears of joy. I think Joe shed a tear, too.
Winter 2023 Update

I’m the reigning USATF Northwest Region Masters shot put champion in the 65-69 age group. My winning throw at last summer’s meet in West Seattle was 8.82 meters. No one else came close in my age group because no one else competed in the shot. After the meet, a friend looked at the gold hanging from my neck and said, “Nice participation medal.” Less impressive was finishing last out of six in the 100 meters, more than 2 seconds behind the fifth-place runner.

I can’t contend with elite masters athletes, but I love competing and am constantly amazed by what others can achieve. Daphne Scott, a math professor here at Western, set the world record in the decathlon for women ages 60-64 last summer. I wrote a story about her achievement for Geezer Jock, a website dedicated to, well, just what it says. I’ve included the link to my story in case you happened to miss that issue of Geezer Jock.

Another highlight of the past year was writing a story about the photography team of Darius and Tabitha Kinsey for the Seattle Times’ Pacific NW Magazine. I knew a bit about Darius Kinsey, and my interest in Tabitha was piqued while hiking with a journalism professor from Chile. She was researching museums and was introduced to the Kinseys at the Whatcom Museum of History. She related what she’d learned on our hike, and I decided to explore further. It turned into a magazine story.

Just as gratifying as those bylines was seeing a story by one of my 207 students in Cascadia Daily News. Lily Luna Cruz wrote about the BT Cowboy, a student who practiced his roping skills outside Buchanan Towers, attracting much attention. A student in Scott Terrell’s photo J class, Nico Murch, happened to photograph the cowboy for an assignment. The two students’ work made an excellent package in CDN.

I realized I wanted to pursue teaching full time when I was an adjunct professor and saw one of my student’s bylines. I was more excited seeing hers than my own. That still holds true for this geezer.
Winter 2022 Update

When I started teaching as an adjunct more than 20 years ago I’d trek from the Herald up to campus. By the time I arrived in the classroom I was sweating profusely from exertion and high anxiety. Winter quarter this year I found myself once again in the classroom with my heart racing and my palms sweating. It was a good sign. I was told early on that if you’re not nervous on the first day of class something’s wrong. Returning after nearly two years because of COVID-19 felt like those early days again. I understand remote teaching and learning is best for some people, but for me there’s no substitute for being in the classroom with our amazing students. Their work ethic and eagerness to learn is energizing and gives me hope for the future. After all these years, and despite the damn epidemic, that hasn’t changed.

I’m getting to be that old-timer who calls into the newspaper to nag. Three times in the past year I’ve emailed The Seattle Times, once to complain about a photograph and twice about a sportswriter’s too simplistic ledes. The editors didn’t respond, but I felt better. And I’m still carrying the flag for correct usage of lay and lie, though I realize it’s a losing battle. Oh well. I’m going to lay my computer aside now and go lie down.
Winter 2021 Update

I used to pride myself on not teaching online. Classroom interaction was essential to the educational experience — for me and hopefully for the students. Old school. Hello COVID-19. The end of winter quarter 2020 evolved overnight from spring break to asynchronous, a word I’d never heard.

I’m only teaching two quarters each year now. I took fall quarter off and spent much of my time tromping around the Chuckanuts and Blanchard Mountain. I’ve always hiked the high country, and did this fall, but discovering the woods out the back door was a revelation.

Now it’s winter quarter and I’m back to teaching online. My students have inspired me to bend with the virus. They’ve adapted, often under much more difficult circumstances than I’ve faced. I’m doing my best, which I concede probably isn’t always the best, but the students lift me up with their effort, their talent and their perseverance. Some things never change.
Winter 2020 Update

I continue to follow my new semi-retirement routine: Take the fall off and teach winter and spring quarters only. I did fill in for a couple of weeks in the fall for Don Shelton, recently retired executive editor of the Seattle Times, who taught 207. My task was easy, because Don had two great guest speakers: Asia Fields, a 2018 grad and now a reporter for the Times; and Greg Bishop, senior writer for Sports Illustrated. Asia’s presentation served to showcase the quality of students our program produces, while Greg related what it’s like to work at journalism’s top echelon. The class was inspired by both their talks, and I was, too — inspired to get back to teaching.

In the spring I was invited to Columbus, Ohio, to participate in the Ohioana Book Festival. I sold some copies of my book about the Cleveland Browns, “Redemption in ’64,” and served on a panel about sports books, along with four other authors. The moderator kept referring to the guy beside me as “John,” which made it a bit confusing, but all in all it was an honor to return to my home state as a published author.

The past year was rewarding financially, relatively. I wrote a piece on the photography of the Battle of Antietam for a Spanish journal — the editor translated my English — and it paid 150 Euros. And I received about $300 in royalties for my book on the Browns. Still, I think I’ll stay semi-retired for the time being.
Winter 2019 Update

I’m writing this on the same day I’m about to teach a class — two actually — for the first time in six months. I’m easing into retirement, teaching two quarters each year, following the precedent set by Carolyn Dale and Tim Pilgrim. I’ll teach winter and spring quarters only, and I plan to do it indefinitely. By the time you read this I’ll be back in the swing of things, but today I’m a bit stunned.

The past year saw the publication of a magazine article I wrote on the World War II photographer George Strock, for which I still haven’t been paid more than a year later. The magazine, which will remain unnamed, explained it’s in the midst of restructuring its business model and doesn’t have money to pay its contributors — ah, the joys of freelancing. A chapter on Vietnam War photography I wrote was published in “The Palgrave Handbook of Artistic and Cultural Responses to War since 1914” — apparently, they couldn’t come up with a less sexy title. And my book on the 1964 NFL champion Cleveland Browns, “Redemption in ’64,” came out in October.It’s already selling in the dozens. The best part has been reconnecting with old friends, who heard about and/or read the book. I also received an email from a person in the UK who wrote that he laughed out loud at the line: “Groza’s older brother Frank kicked for the high school team, and Lou went along and shagged.” If you’ve watched the “Austin Powers” movies you know that in England shagged has a different meaning than it does in America. Oh, behave!
Winter 2018 Update

The past year has been busy and rewarding in terms of writing projects. A story I wrote about World War II combat photographer George Strock was published in America in WWII magazine; the book I wrote about the Cleveland Browns is at the copy editor and scheduled for publication in the fall (Scott Terrell took my photo for the back cover); and as I write this I’m finishing up a chapter for a book on war photography. I’m focusing on three images from the Vietnam War, and in the process of researching them had the chance to talk with Nick Ut, who took the iconic “Terror of War” photo showing a girl burned by napalm.

I believe it’s important to continue working as a journalist to keep my teaching effective and relevant. I don’t want to be a dotty old professor in a coffee-stained sweater wandering around reminiscing about the old days. Of course, that could be me, and I just don’t know it.