Lure of Adventure Leads Journalist to Algeria, China
Fuller spent two years under a contract with
the U.S. Department of State to work with Alger-
ian journalists, helping raise their publications to
international standards. By the end, Fuller had
been smitten with the excitement of learning
about a new culture, seeing Islam up close and
constantly surf the Internet
to see what ‘netizens’ are
posting about life in
In American journalism, with mostly one-news- paper towns and noncompete clauses in
broadcast contracts, moving up usually means
moving on. Annette Minda Fuller ’ 80 had followed such a mobile career path, with reporting
and editing jobs at the Winston-Salem Journal,
The State-Times in Baton-Rouge, La., and The
Indianapolis Star. She eventually landed in
COURTESY ANNETTE FULLER ’ 80
Texas, as a senior reporter for The Dallas Morning News and then managing editor at its sister
paper, the Denton Record-Chronicle.
But for her next job, she didn’t just move.
China,” Fuller says. “Many
of the stories are based on
announcements and releases from the government, but I have been surprised that not all of
the stories are flattering to the government. For
example, one announcement reported a government audit that found more than 4 billion yuan
[almost $600 million] had been misappropriated, lost or wasted in 2008.”
She took a leap of faith.
“I had a 27-year career in journalism,” Fuller
says. “In 2007, my two daughters were grown
and gone to college, and I saw an advertisement
in journalismjobs.com for a media consulting
position in Algeria. My decision to apply was
mostly impulsive. I thought I didn’t stand a
chance. When I was contacted, I was floored. I
had to decide: Can I leave the comfort of my
American home — with iced tea and Law &
Annette Minda Fuller ’ 80 gave up the everyday familiarity of
American life to “be a living example of the global society that
we all like to talk about so much.” She recently moved to
Beijing to work for the English-language China Daily.
Order on TV — and go to Algeria? I decided to go
for it and be a living example of the global society that we all like to talk about so much.”
— Susan Simone
profile
Fuller says her recent experiences correspond to the beginnings of her career at UNC.
“At Carolina, my brain stretched in ways it
never had before. I learned that boredom
comes from inside of you and not from external
circumstances. I became comfortable with
being uncomfortable and intensely challenged,”
she says. “I still believe that journalism helps a
country find its backbone. Good stories and surveys of issues remind us to care deeply about
what’s going on around us. Everybody wins.”
translating world events into real people. When
she heard about an opening this year for a senior
copy editor and media trainer at the English-language China Daily in Beijing
( www.chinadaily.com.cn), she jumped on it.
Fuller is impressed with Chinese reporters’
efforts, despite their newspapers being govern-ment-owned, to address issues. “Reporters here
UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass
Communication is changing
to deal with the new media
landscape facing the latest
generation of journalists.
Read all about it, page 36.
Hard Copy
the Life of a Top Gun Dental Team, at the Florida
National Dental Conference 2009. This was the first
time the dentist and dental assistant perspectives
had been offered in the same presentation during a
national dental conference. u Debra Pickrel (’ 80
ABJO) of New York has been invited by the government of Queensland, Australia, to visit its state to
research and report on the work of HEAT, a consortium of architects expert in sustainable design for
tropical and subtropical climates. Pickrel will write
about HEAT for American publications and Web
sites.
’ 81 J. Daniel Fitz II (’ 81 AB, ’ 85 JD) of Lon- don has been named chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel, an
organization that serves lawyers who practice in the
legal departments of corporations, associations and
other private-sector organizations around the globe.
u Dr. James Elbert Manning (’ 81 AB, ’ 85 MD) of
Chapel Hill and Dr. Lawrence Katz have received a
grant of $475,000 from the Naval Medical Research
Center to assess HBOC-201 with nitroglycerin for the
treatment of hemorrhagic shock. Manning is an
associate professor and vice chair of emergency
medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. u Charles
Inglesby Stewart (’ 81 BSBA) of Charlotte has been
named executive vice president and Charlotte market president for Park Sterling Bank.
; obituary
Sherwood Foster Lapping (’ 81 JD), 83, of Carthage;
July 31, 2008. Lapping was a lawyer in Carthage. He
spent 32 years in the Air Force, retiring as a colonel,
after which he attended law school. In WWII, he flew
B-29s; he also served in the Vietnam War. He served
on the Carthage Town Board of Commissioners. u
Stephen L. Streater (’ 81), 51, of Sylva; June 19,
2009. Streater played baseball one year at UNC, but
was best known as a football player, helping lead the
Tar Heels to the 1980 ACC title. He is the only player
in ACC history to earn all-conference honors at two
positions, safety and punter. He was paralyzed in a
car wreck shortly after signing a free-agent contract
with the Washington Redskins in 1981. Story, page
87.
’ 82 Linda Brown Douglas (’ 82 ABJO) of Cary has been elected an at-large director, 2009-12, on the board of the Association of Junior Leagues International. Douglas is director of community relations for the UNC Development
Office. u Prudence Tyndall Frederick (’ 82 BSBA) of
Raleigh has been named vice president and director of marketing for Capital Bank. u James Charles
Jackson (’ 82 MBA) of Arlington, Va., has been
named head of branch distribution for Capital One
Bank. u Marilyn Jacobs Preyer (’ 82 AB) of Hillsborough has been named to the honorary board of the
Conservation Trust for North Carolina, an organization that provides support to 24 local land trusts
and works with direct land protection along the Blue
Ridge Parkway. u Dr. Robert Samuel Sandler (’ 82
MPH) of Chapel Hill attended the White House Physician Forum on Health Reform. Sandler is chief of the
division of gastroenterology and hepatology at UNC
Hospitals, professor of cancer epidemiology, cancer
prevention and control at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and president of the
American Gastroenterological Association.
; marriage
Valerie Journeane Ford (’ 82 AB) and Alphonso
Robinson of Durham. Ford has been named human
resources director of the N.C. Department of
Correction in Raleigh.
; obituary
Walter Shepherd Barge (’ 82 PhD), 74, of Buies Creek;
June 7, 2009. Barge was professor emeritus of history at Campbell University, which he also served as
dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The university honored him by creating the Walter S. Barge
Honors Colloquium student lecture series. For 20
years, he served in the Army, including in the Korean
and Vietnam wars, and received the Legion of Merit.
’ 83 Karen Denise Boyd (’ 83 BSIR) of Pitts- burgh has been named dean of student affairs for Carnegie Mellon University. u
Walter Veal Bridgeman (’ 83, ’ 84 AB) of Charlotte
has been elected to the board of trustees at Providence Day School in Charlotte. Bridgeman is senior
treasury management officer for RBC Bank USA. u
Martha Denning Moore (’ 83 JD) of Auburn Hills,
Mich., an associate professor at Cooley Law School,
has been promoted to assistant dean of the newly
expanded Auburn Hills campus.
; obituaries
George Elbert Burke (’ 83), 48, of Charlotte; April 11,
2009. Burke was an optometrist in Knoxville, Tenn.,
before returning to North Carolina and establishing a
practice in Gastonia. He played football at UNC. u
Ralph James “Chip” Gossett III (’ 83 BSBA), 47, of
