Read all about it: Jou covers Milwaukee du
Contents Feature Stories Journalism grad covers Milwaukee during COVID
p.2
UWM receives grant To increase diversity in science
p.4
Social media and the concession speech
p.5
Math student researches NBA home-court advantage
p.6
Dunn awarded AAAS fellowship
p.7
Econ grad examines a wage gap
p.8
Columns
It’s no newsroom, but Tony Atkins’ living room has been serving as a fine replacement for the bright lights of the TMJ4 television studio. Like all news reporters, Atkins, a news correspondent for channel TMJ4, has had to adapt to the changing landscape of Milwaukee during the COVID-19 pandemic. That means wearing masks while he’s out on assignments, working from home when he’s putting together news packages, and, yes, shooting segments from his living room.
People in Print
p.10
This new way of doing news is a challenge, but it’s one Atkins has embraced. He loves covering his hometown.
Laurels and Accolades
p.11
From Milwaukee and back again
Alumni Accomplishments
p.11
Upcoming Events
p.12
Atkins was born and raised on Milwaukee’s northwest side. He attended UWM and chose journalism as his major. “I had so many interests – marine biology, sociology, politics, sports,” he recalled. “I wanted a career path that would allow me to do a little bit of everything. Journalism drew me in.” And, he added, UWM made it easy. Atkins remembers walking into the offices of the UWM Post, the campus newspaper, and asking for a job. The editors let him take his pick – Atkins chose to cover sports – and he became the paper’s sports editor shortly thereafter.
Published College the
the first
Tuesday
of Letters and
University
Contact
of
of each month by the
Science
at
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
us at let-sci@uwm.edu
L&S Dean: Scott Gronert In Focus Editor: Deanna Alba
Find us at UWMLetSci
2 • IN FOCUS • December, 2020
“I didn’t know anything about it, but it allowed me to gain life skills,” Atkins said. “Outside of the classes, the resources that the university had are the starting point of some of my best memories there.” Those experiences also gave him the skills he needed to land a job right after he graduated in 2013. Atkins accepted a fellowship with the Cox Media Group working on an app for a Texas newspaper called the Austin American Statesman. Atkins worked on marketing, sales, and development, but something was missing. So, “I started writing for the paper in their features section, and I also picked up a camera and tailed their video team and shot my own videos to learn that trade, which got me to my next job in Pittsburgh,” Atkins said. In Pennsylvania, he wrote, shot, and edited his own stories for the digital platforms of WXPI, Pittsburgh’s NBCaffiliate channel. From there, he accepted an on-air role at Fox 13 in Memphis, Tennessee. “But after five years on the road, I wanted to come home,” he said. “And then I got the job at TMJ4 (in 2019), so it all worked.”
