One can call journalism a first-hand look at the present,or a glimpse into the past for future generations. At The University of Iowa, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication has been preserving the present for the future to discover in many different forms.
Perhaps one of the most accurate definitions of journalism is embodied in a famous anonymous quote: “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.”
The J-MC School and its students have left a record in many forms: academic journals, The Daily Iowan, the Iowa Journalist, as well as in the now-defunct Iowa Quest and Z Magazine. However, one less traditional form of preservation that has become a tradition is the time capsule.
At the Sept. 30, 2005, grand opening of the Adler Building, the J-MC School will dedicate a time capsule to be opened in 50 years. Three J-MC majors, senior Katherine Murphy from Wayne, Ill., senior Ashley Switalski from Downers Grove, Ill., and senior Kristen Thompson from Tipton, Iowa, are organizing the time capsule project. The project is being completed under the supervision of J-MC School Director Pam Creedon as part of their senior honors projects.
The contents of the time capsule will be decided based on submissions being solicited by the honors project group. Current students, faculty and alumni of the J-MC School will have the opportunity to fill out a memory card.
The memory card provides each person the opportunity to imagine what they will have accomplished by 2055 and what communication and the media will look like in the future. The memory cards will be compiled into a bound memory book to be sealed in the time capsule.
In addition, a submission contest is being sponsored to collect items and images of the present media and society. The submission contest will be open to all current students, faculty and alumni of
the J-MC School.
 The honors project group brainstormed several ideas, including pictures of current technology and the UI campus, famous newspaper headlines and front pages of the past decade and objects to embody pop culture.
Proposals may be submitted to the J-MC School through the Web site, dropped off in the office or sent by mail. Guidelines must account for size, but are otherwise unspecified.
“Essentially, we don’t want to curb creativity by creating any parameters,” Murphy said.
Submissions can include any object, picture, or essay related to contemporary culture, media, the UI and the J-MC School. Tentatively, the Professional Advisory Board will vote on their favorite items to be included in the time capsule. The department of Cinema and Comparative Literature and The Daily Iowan were also invited to submit ideas for the time capsule.
This is not the first time the J-MC School has taken part in compiling a time capsule. In 1953, a time capsule was buried within the then-new Communications Center to be opened in 2053. Dr. George H. Gallup, Sr., who founded the Gallup Poll and whose name is synonymous with public opinion research, spoke at the dedication ceremony on April 14, 1953.
“This country can go so heavily toward entertainment that we may literally ‘kill ourselves laughing,’” Gallup said.
Frank Stanton, the former president of CBS, and Wendell Johnson, the premier speech and hearing pathologist of the time, also contributed essays predicting the future of their respective fields.
“They’ll think of us back in the middle of the 20th century using such clumsy devices as radio receivers the size of shoeboxes and telephones weighing a pound and attached to an electrical cord,” Stanton said.
The 1953 time capsule, however, has remained shrouded with an air of mystery. Its exact whereabouts in the Communications Center are unknown. While it is assumed the time capsule lies below a plaque adjacent to The Daily Iowan’s office, the design plans from the UI Facility Services Group show no evidence of the time capsule’s location. Also, a complete record of the time capsule’s contents is unavailable.
The honors project group plans to keep a detailed record of every item to be sealed in the 2005 time capsule for future generations. In addition, directions for opening the contents will be formalized and set before it is dedicated in the Adler Building.
“This time, we’re going to make sure the plaque marks the exact location of the capsule, “ Thompson said.
The time capsule itself is an aluminum rectangular receptacle. While researching the feasibility of compiling a time capsule, the honors students were surprised to discover the plethora of information that existed about time capsules.
“There are actually companies out there that specifically manufacture time capsules, not to mention institutes dedicated to studying and developing preservation techniques,” Thompson said.
The time capsule contents will be on display in the Adler Building before the grand opening next fall. After the opening ceremony and dedication, the contents will be sealed and the capsule will be buried behind a wall near the rotunda.
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Interested in participating?
• Memory Book
Memory cards will be distributed to students and faculty at the start of the spring 2005 semester.
Any student or faculty member who does not receive a card in class may pick up one at the J-MC School main office.
Cards will be made available to alumni via the J-MC School website. Alumni may also request a card be mailed to them.
All cards must be submitted by March 1, 2005 in order to be included in the Memory Book. They can be dropped off at or mailed to the J-MC School main office.
• Submissions Contest
Entry forms will be available to students and faculty at the start of the spring 2005 semester.
Any student or faculty member who does not receive an entry form in class may pick one up at the J-MC School main office.
Entry forms will be posted on the J-MC School website for alumni to download.
To submit an idea for the contest, one must fill out the entry form, entailing the following information to be used in the judging process:
• brief description of idea
• explanation of pertinence
• contact information
Either the actual submission, a picture or a sketch must also be included with the entry form.
All entry forms must be submitted by March 1, 2005. They can be dropped off at or mailed to the J-MC School main office.
• Contact Information
All mailings may be addressed to:
School of Journalism
& Mass Comm.
Attn: Time Capsule Project
100 Adler Building,
Room E305
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242-2004
J-MC School web address:
http://www.uiowa.edu/jmc
Any questions, comments or requests may be e-mailed to:
ashley-switalski@uiowa.edu
or
pam-creedon@uiowa.edu
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