James Kates is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He earned a BA in journalism at Michigan State University, an MA in American history at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in mass communication history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has 25 years of experience as an editor at major daily newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His book, Planning a Wilderness, was published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2001. At Whitewater, he teaches courses in writing, reporting, editing, and mass communication history and law.