photo by steven king
A PUBLICATION OF THE SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL mj.unc.edu/carolinacommunicator
The school hung banners in Carroll Hall this year to celebrate national leadership in both undergraduate and graduate student success. The MJ-school repeated as Hearst national champions in collegiate journalism in 2016 for its sixth overall championship — more than any other school. Our doctoral students have won the nation’s top award for a mass communication research dissertation eight times — also more than any other school.
SUMMER 2016
TO OUR ALUMNI, DONORS AND FRIENDS: I’m so proud of the momentum and trajectory of our school. I feel extremely humbled and proud to be renewed for another five years to see the school to an even stronger phase. Achieving balance at such a high level of excellence in both professional work and scholarship is not easy — but we are committed to that here in Chapel Hill. I believe it is that balance that sets us apart from many other top schools in the nation for media and journalism.
SUSAN KING @susking ADDRESS CORRECTIONS: Robin Jackson Director of Alumni Affairs and Donor Relations (919) 843-2026 rhjackson@unc.edu UNC School of Media and Journalism Office of Development and Alumni Affairs 311 Carroll Hall, CB 3365 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365
Just look at how our students and faculty are recognized time and again with top national honors. While awards are not ends unto themselves, they are a clear measure of our success in the context of our peers and an affirmation that the excellence of this school spans research, creative work, teaching and public service across disciplines. All of this is fueled by a deeply committed faculty, a tireless staff, a supportive alumni and donor base — and of course, our talented, creative and inspiring students. I often talk about our value proposition as a school: preparing graduates to “ignite the public conversation.” At our foundation is the belief that our students and faculty play an essential role in the public issues of our time with a responsibility to be ethical, evidence based and audience focused.
practice at our school directly help to understand and uncover perceptions about important social, political, scientific and health issues. We help make sense of big, complicated issues. We are needed now more than ever. This year, we welcome four new faculty members to our ranks. Lucinda Austin, Livis Freeman, Kate O’Brian and Carol Wolf are all stars in their fields and bring new insights and experiences that will further strengthen the school. The fall semester always breeds the excitement of the new. This year is no exception. We have a couple of major studies underway that you can expect to read about, and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media will debut its website for both the industry and researchers very soon. With an election year underway, there will also be much for our faculty and students to observe and write about. I hope you are reading our monthly e-newsletters and interacting with us on our various social media platforms so that you can keep up with all that is going on at your school — and so that we can keep up with you. You are our legacy and a major part of today’s MJ-school story. My thanks go to all who have made our first year as the School of Media and Journalism truly a banner year.
Communicators are on the front lines of the effort to keep democracies strong. Research and
Carolyn Van Houten ’14
San Antonio Express-News
Justin Lyons ’06 change.org
Rochelle Riley ’81 Detroit Free Press
Brooke Baldwin ’01 CNN
Jeff Mittelstadt ’12 (M.A.) WildSides
N. Hannah-Jones ’03 (M.A.), The N.Y. Times
Brad Hamm ’96 (Ph.D.) Northwestern University
Aaron Dodson ’15 The Undefeated
This podcast highlights the meaning behind the school's Start Here / Never Stop tagline through conversations with influential alumni. MJ.U N C .E D U/S H NS PO D CAST
IMMERSIVE STUDENT EXPERIENCES
photo credit: casey toth
Among the school’s top priorities is providing students with immersive realworld learning experiences that enrich their education beyond the classroom and prepare them to be successful immediately in their careers.
The school’s “Media Hub” capstone course drew star students from each specialization within the school to find, produce and market stories with state, regional or national appeal. The teams covered stories collectively, putting together integrated packages involving elements of each specialty.
Highlights from student experiences in 2016 include:
(Pictured) A team of students led by faculty and professional coaches documented the health of coral reefs in Panama featuring bi-lingual storytelling using 360-degree video, short documentary video, longform text, data journalism, design, information graphics and more. Undercurrent360.com
mediahub.unc.edu
Sports communication students formed teams that developed and pitched strategies to top Miami Heat executives for how to attract millennials to the American Airlines Arena.
For the 13th annual Carolina Photojournalism Workshop, students and faculty embedded for a week with the people and culture of Jackson County, North Carolina, to produce the innovative documentary website “Mountain Lore.” carolinaphotojournalism. org/cpjw/2016
Public relations students created and implemented a campaign to educate the campus community about the growing population of military veterans who attend UNC — earning honors in the prestigious national Bateman Competition for PR students. mj.unc.edu/bateman
Business journalism students faced off with crisis communications students for the 12th year in a mock press conference scenario in which the students do their respective jobs related to organizations in crisis mode. This year involved crisis situations with Bill Cosby, Chipotle, the NFL, the Olympic Committee and the Republican Party.
INAUGURAL JANE BROWN RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM, RESEARCH CAFÉ: JUDGING MESSAGE POTENTIAL IN HEALTH COMMUNICATION Professor Seth Noar is organizing a lecture and scholarly conversation for Friday, Sept. 30, on how to judge the potential effectiveness of health messages before they are used in large-scale campaigns. Marco Yzer from the University of Minnesota will headline the event. Health communicators devote significant resources to disseminating messages, so it is critical to understand what messages will have the most impact. Yzer’s lecture is the inaugural Jane Brown Research Colloquium, honoring the retired eminent scholar at the school. Brown developed the interdisciplinary health communication program at UNC — now led by Noar and Joan Cates — that has become a hub for thought leadership. A research café will follow the lecture. Doctoral alumna and MJ-school Foundation Board member Rachel Davis Mersey established funding for research cafés designed to encourage conversations and collaborations around research interests and ideas. mj.unc.edu/browncolloquium2016
IGNITING THE PUBLIC CONVERSATION: ELECTION 2016 The school’s faculty features top scholars and practitioners with expertise in areas that are germane in the 2016 elections. MJ-school alumni work on communication teams for candidates and parties on both sides of the aisle. Countless graduates are covering the races on every media platform. Associate Professor Daniel Kreiss has emerged as a leading scholar on the role of technology, digital media, data and analytics in contemporary political campaigning. His book — “Prototype Politics” — explains differences in the technological capacities of the parties. Professor of the Practice Ferrel Guillory is an established expert on Southern demographics and trends that shape the electorate. He is a frequent source for reporters covering races in North Carolina and the Southeast. Guillory has teamed up with Assistant Professor Joe Cabosky, publisher of Cabpolitical.com, to produce the Purple Carolina podcast on 2016 election-related topics. Cabosky specializes in public relations data analytics and examines social media and diverse publics.
RECENT Sampling of recent honors for the school’s students, faculty and alumni 2016 Hearst collegiate journalism national championship CB Cotton ’16 2016 Hearst National Television Broadcast News Championship Seth Noar, faculty 2016 National Communication Association Outstanding Health Communication Scholar Award Emily Rhyne ’16 2016 Hearst National Multimedia Championship Jesse Abdenour ’15 Ph.D. Karen McIntyre ’15 Ph.D. 2016 AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division Top Faculty Paper Award Adam Saffer, faculty 2016 International Communication Association Top Faculty Paper in Public Relations Carolina Connection 2016 Society of Professional Journalists Best All-Around Radio Newscast Kylah Hedding ’16 Ph.D. 2016 McCombs Shaw Award for Best Student Paper in Political Communication Jordy Whichard ’79 2016 UNC General Alumni Association Distinguished Service Medal Nikole Hannah-Jones ’03 M.A. 2016 Peabody Award
Andrew Dye ’12 2016 NC Press Photographers Association Cumulative Photographer of the Year Dillon Deaton ’16 2016 NC Press Photographers Association Student Photographer of the Year Wei Zhou ’17 2016 Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar Award Isabella Bartolucci ’15 2016 White House News Photographers Association Student Video Photographer of the Year Penny Muse Abernathy, JoAnn Sciarrino, faculty 2016 Tanner Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Jessica Myrick ’13 Ph.D. 2016 AEJMC Emerging Scholar Award Carolyn Van Houten ’14 2015 Pictures of the Year International (POYi) Newspaper Photographer of the Year Meredith Clark ’14 Ph.D. 2015 AEJMC Mass Communication & Society Division Outstanding Dissertation Award W. Wat Hopkins ’87 Ph.D. 2015 Dorothy Bowles Public Service Award Diane Francis ’16 Ph.D. 2015 Lee Barrow Minority Student Scholarship
DEVELOPMENT
ALUMNI AFFAIRS
DONOR SPOTLIGHTS
New fund supports cutting edge technology for storytelling
Endowment gift creates fashion industry-focused media program With an endowment gift from Bill ’82 and Leigh ’88 Goodwyn, the school is creating a fashion industry-focused media program — FashionMash — that intends to build UNC’s reputation as the premier public university for students interested in fashion and lifestyle brands. Fashion is a multi-trillion dollar global industry in which there is high student interest.
MJ-school and Lenovo launch innovative global internship program MJ-school students contributed this spring to a record-breaking public relations and social media campaign around Lenovo’s signature technology showcase event, Tech World. Lenovo contributed $50,000 to pay travel, lodging and stipends for 10 interns, in addition to compensation for the paid internships. Alumnus and board member Jeff Shafer ’93 — Lenovo’s VP for global communications — worked with Dean King to bring the program to life after it was inspired by a meeting between Chancellor Folt and Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang.
Anonymous donor enables students to cover Rio Olympics An anonymous donor gave $50,000 to help the school send 29 students to Brazil for nearly a month to cover the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio in partnership with the Olympic News Service and the University of Memphis. UNC and Memphis are the only two universities in the world that worked directly with the ONS in Rio. Most students interned with the ONS to assist in coverage from the press center and sport venues. Four others reported on the Olympics for state media partners. Alumnus bequest strengthens scholarship for students A $25,000 bequest from the estate of David Jordan Whichard II ’48 expands a scholarship fund established in his honor in 2008 by his daughter Virginia Whichard Caudill ’82. Whichard, the former president and co-publisher of The Daily Reflector in Greenville, North Carolina, passed away in August 2015. Additional contributions from family members, friends and others have built a scholarship that provides a powerful annual award for students, and commemorates Whichard’s lifelong commitment to public service and the advancement of journalism.
Fred ’71 and Nancy ’72 Hutchinson established a fund to enable the school to provide cutting edge media tools for students and faculty to experiment with emerging technologies for storytelling. The new equipment includes gear for capturing 360-degree video and virtual reality headsets and displays. The equipment comes in as the school creates its first virtual reality lab in Carroll Hall.
MEDIA AND JOURNALISM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (MJAA) Leaders of the former Journalism Alumni and Friends Association have established a new alumni association to expand its role in programming, networking and mentoring. And if you’re a grad, you’re a member! Learn more at mj.unc.edu/MJAA.
ANNUAL FUND Join the growing family of supporters who make annually occurring, unrestricted gifts to the MJ-school. Your investment will help make sure our students and faculty have the resources they need to ignite, fuel and lead public conversations around the globe. Your gift — at any level — is crucial. Make a gift online at mj.unc.edu/gift or mail your check to: UNC Office of University Development P.O. Box 309, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Prefer to make a gift of stock, cash, wire transfer or credit by mail? Contact Jill Ullman at (919) 843-8296 or jullman@unc.edu.
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CALENDAR
mj.unc.edu/events
Sept. 20
A Conversation with NPR’s Nina Totenberg: The Supreme Court and the Presidency
Sept. 22
Reed Sarratt Lecture with Weber Shandwick CEO Andy Polansky
Sept. 27
First Amendment Day
Sept. 30
Jane Brown Research Colloquium with Marco Yzer
Oct. 13
Junck Research Colloquium with Brooke Fisher Liu
Oct. 19-24
Fall Break networking trip to New York City
Oct. 27
Public lecture with New York Times health and science writer Pam Belluck
Nov. 4
Homecoming alumni reception
Nov. 17
Junck Research Colloquium with Phil Napoli
While the UNC School of Media and Journalism celebrated its 65th birthday in the 2015-16 academic year, several of its programs marked their own milestone anniversaries with campus events. From top left, clockwise: Nubia Murray delivers the keynote speech during the Sports as Entertainment Conference on April 16 — the signature event of the Carolina Association of Black Journalists’ 25th anniversary event series. • Dean Susan King and Professor Emeritus Donald Shaw share a laugh at the Ph.D. program’s 50th anniversary Spring Research Colloquium reception and dinner on April 21. • Chuck Stone Program scholar Hanna Wondmagegn takes notes while listening to Barry Saunders, columnist at The News & Observer. The Chuck Stone Program celebrated its 10th anniversary and kicked off its 2016 program with a keynote speech by Saunders and a reception on July 10 in the Freedom Forum Conference Center. • After 75 years of service to high school media, the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association continues to celebrate and to champion scholastic journalism through regional workshops, statewide media contests, the N.C. Scholastic Media Institute (pictured), the Carolina Sports Journalism Camp (which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016), the Graduate Journalism Education Fellowship and more.