Just as four distinct states fuse together in the geographically and culturally diverse Four Corners region of the American Southwest, so do the photography, writing and graphic elements of a new online magazine published by students and faculty of the School of Communication.

Titled Corners, this collaborative webzine pairs journalism with a young, artistic presence, melding the skills and talents of faculty and students in journalism, visual communication and photojournalism. The result is a unique blend of written and visual images that serve as social and cultural commentary on the Four Corners area where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet.

“There’s plenty of room in the Southwest for a different kind of magazine about the land and people, and that’s what we set out to create,” said Mark Neumann, professor and director of the School of Communication.

The magazine allows students to employ what they’ve learned in the classroom to real published work. 
“It gave us the chance to really be creative and see our work come to life,” said Michelle Talsma, senior journalism major and feature writer and editor for Corners.

With help from journalism professor Annette McGivney, visual communication assistant professor Patricia Murphey and photojournalism professor Peter Schwepker, students combine feature articles, photos and graphics to bring this online magazine to life. With their three different areas of expertise, each professor enriches this real-world experience in his or her own special way.

“We’ve been wanting to incorporate a magazine component into our curriculum,” McGivney said, adding that a class designed around the production of a magazine provides a completely applied experience with a minimal amount of lecture, giving students a chance to learn how this type of project differs from newspaper publishing. “Since Corners is an online medium, it also allowed the students to learn about how to produce a publication for the web, which is critical for any communication graduate these days,” she said.

This first edition of Corners features stories about everything from alternative house building to local musicians to quirky facts about the region.

One article, “Digging up Delusions of the Southwest,” tackles old legends unique to the area. Another article, “On the Wall,” talks about how public murals and other art have promoted positive change in communities in the Four Corners area.

Students are learning just how much goes into the creation of an original publication. “It was amazing to see things from a non-journalist point of view—so much goes into a magazine in addition to the writing,” Talsma said. “There’s a ton of work and collaboration needed between the photographers, writers and designers. It’s something you can’t learn in a ‘normal’ classroom setting.”

Professors and students are planning to create another online issue during the fall semester.

To take a look at the current edition of Corners, visit www.Cornersmagazine.com.

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