Reminder: The Monday Memo will not be published next week during spring break. It will resume March 20.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHT

Deadline to apply for awards is March 8


Attention, J-School seniors! You may be eligible for J-School awards before you graduate. Last year, the School of Journalism and Mass Communications provided over $50,000 in student awards. Although graduating seniors are not eligible for scholarships, they are eligible for these awards. For this application, students must be graduating in the 2023 calendar year with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications. If this applies to you:

  • Go to ku.academicworks.com
  • Complete the General Application
  • Look for the opportunity titled “School of Journalism and Mass Communications Senior Award Application” 
  • Submit the application by March 8.

RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Professor Scott Reinardy and Jenny McKee, Health Education Resource Office associate director, will host a NoFilter Graduate Panel Series conversation titled “Coping with Burnout” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. March 8 in the Marvin Forum, Marvin 216B. The series features “honest talk about life in the academy for grad students.” It is open to the public. Register here.

 

Stephen Wolgast’s white paper looking at how journalists determine who reads education articles and why has been published by the Kansas Press Association. “The Imagined Audience in Kansas: Journalists Describe Readers of Education Beat Reporting” is based on interviews with eight reporters and editors from seven newsrooms that cover K-12 education in Kansas. It shows that while each of the journalists uses digital analytics, when it comes to figuring out who their audience is all of them place more faith in their gut instincts. Wolgast has been invited to present his paper at the Kansas Press Association convention in Mulvane in June.

 

Associate Professor Teri Finneman helped lead a training session March 6 at the Missouri School of Journalism for faculty from assorted campuses interested in creating local media collaborations. Finneman is founder and publisher of The Eudora Times and discussed sustainability and gauging community needs during the workshop.

 

An advanced version of an article co-authored by Assistant Professor Jeff Conlin and colleagues was recently published in the Journal of Media Psychology. The experimental study investigated how narrative political ads interacted with other message strategies in affecting recipients’ ad responses. Results confirmed narrative political ads elicited favorable advertising evaluations via increased transportation and reduced counterarguing. When political ads attacked the competing candidate’s character, the narrative message led to higher levels of empathy and lower levels of counterarguing than the non-narrative message. 

 

Professor Emeritus Chuck Marsh’s article “I’d Like to Pay for the Cat My Mother Ate” appears in the current issue of Kansas Alumni magazine. The article reviews his attempts to speak Italian during a semester-long teaching assignment in Italy.


Assistant Professor Melissa Greene-Blye received a $1,000 grant for "Good Morning Indian Country" via the Faculty Champions Program through the Center for Community News. The Faculty Champions Program supports and encourages more university/college-led student reporting programs where students cover news outside of the campus community and contribute to local news.

Greene-Blye also has written a book chapter titled “A Careful Balance: An Examination of Challenges Facing Native American Journalists in their Work as Advocates, Educators, and Storytellers” that will be featured in the book “Race/Gender/Class/Media: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers (5th edition).”


Associate Professor Mugur Geana was an invited speaker at the February 2023 meeting of the New York Augmented Reality group, attended live by over 50 professionals, investors, researchers and members of the public. A recording of the meeting has been made available to the 2000+ members of NYAR. Dr. Geana presented his research on AR as a learning environment and discussed its benefits and drawbacks when used to promote learners' engagement. The meeting also featured talks by Jeremy Nelson, senior director, XR, Media Design and Production for the Center for Academic Innovation, University of Michigan; Jeferson Araujo, lead AR designer for Disney, Meta and Amazon; and Jonathan-Joseph, creator and CEO of Little Red Fashion publishing house in New York. Dr. Geana also prompted attendees to the online meeting to visit CEHCUP's AR Research Exhibition.

 

The 2023 CEHCUP Research Exhibition showcasing research by faculty, alumni and graduate students on the topic of "COVID-19 and Society" is open online and at the Clarkson Gallery in Stauffer-Flint Hall. Those interested can experience the research posters in augmented reality (AR) by scanning the QR codes posted in the gallery. For those who prefer to see the posters in a web browser or want to experience the AR versions on their own premises, go to the CEHCUP website. The exhibition will run until March 15, 2023.

INSIDE THE SCHOOL

Share your input on Dole renovation


The J-School is renovating its rooms in the Dole Human Development Center into graduate student spaces and an audio/visual/production studio. If you would like to provide input or suggestions on the space usage, please fill out this form.

The J-School is now accepting nominations for three faculty awards:

The new Anne and Jack Bowling Family Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching students and provides a monetary award. Nominees must be full-time faculty members and have worked full-time in the school for a minimum of three years. The deadline is March 9.

Tim Bengtson Mentor Award is given to a faculty member who goes above and beyond the classroom by lending a helping hand to inspire students to reach their full potential. The winner receives a monetary award, their name on a plaque and a memento. The deadline is March 9.

The Katich Award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated creativity in teaching, research, service or a combination of these areas. It was established to honor former J-School Professor John Katich, a dedicated teacher who loved students and inspired them to exceed their own expectations. The deadline is March 31.

STUDENT NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

Graduation edition in the works


Eudora Times staffer Camryn Robbinson worked on the Class of 2023 graduation tab that the news organization is putting together to share with Eudora seniors. The Eudora Times is an award-winning, student-produced online publication serving Eudora, Kansas.

The KU Ad Club will visit Signal Theory, Barkley and Native Digital in Kansas City as part of its annual Ad Crawl on March 24. The group will depart from the Kansas Memorial Union at 8 a.m. and return to Lawrence by 5 p.m. Any KU student is welcome to attend. Please register here by 5 p.m. March 10.

 

Undergraduate students Mishael Jamela, Kyle Mathas and Federico Moreno served as the media for Professor Matt Tidwell’s JMC 840 mock press conference. After a lesson in crisis communication, the graduate students are presented with a scenario in which communication teams must create a crisis communications plan and then address the media.  


The Kansas Association of Broadcasters is accepting entries for its 2023 student broadcast awards. The awards help give high school and college students the opportunity to show off their best work and gain recognition among their peers and from Kansas media. Deadline to submit is March 15. Learn more here.

The KC Ad Club’s 2022-23 Foundation Scholarship application deadline has been extended to March 10. The scholarship has been awarded for over 30 years and helps students set themselves apart from their peers and get involved in the thriving Kansas City advertising community. Student Annabelle Bitner received the scholarship last year and said: “The KC Ad Club has given me so many opportunities! My mentor has guided me in different tracks and careers I could explore, and everyone on the board has been nothing but overly generous to me. Having the experience and connections is more valuable than the scholarship money. To anyone who is interested in applying, I encourage you to do so! The KC Ad Club has made such a difference in my college career.” Learn more and apply.

 

The Inez Y. Kaiser Greater Kansas City-Public Relations Society of America Memorial Student Scholarships portal is open for applications. The deadline is April 14. The scholarships are in recognition of Inez Kaiser’s national legacy as the first Black woman to join PRSA in 1966 and the 75th anniversary of PRSA. Black junior or first-semester seniors enrolled in a public relations or communications program at an accredited college or university are eligible. Apply here.

 

Forterra Pest Control is offering a $1,000 scholarship to support students in their educational pursuits and help them graduate. The scholarship is open to all graduating high school students and any student enrolled in a four-year college program in the United States. Learn more here.

 

The $10,200 Cat Zingano Scholarship will be awarded to a student who is fighting through their own loss of a close family member, legal guardian or loved one, and is in need of financial support for their education as they move forward. Apply here.


The Peter Agris Memorial Scholarship is for students pursuing careers in journalism and communications. Criteria for the $5,000 non-renewable scholarships include:

  • Being of Greek-American decent and a U.S. citizen
  • Current full-time enrollment as a journalism or communications major at the graduate or undergraduate level at an accredited college or university in the United States
  • Active participation in school, community or church organizations
  • A minimum of a 3.0 GPA and demonstrated financial need
  • Deadline is March 31.

Learn more and apply here.

CAREER & OUTREACH CENTER

A successful spring career fair


Twenty-six companies connected with nearly 200 students at the J-School Career Fair on March 2 at Stauffer-Flint Hall. The May 2024 class had the biggest student turnout with 52 students attending, followed by May 2025 with 51. The May 2023 class had 33 representatives, and the May 2026 class had 29. The most popular major/concentration was strategic communication with 108. Journalism (25) and news and information (21) ranked second and third, respectively. Fourteen multimedia students were registered. Other majors and concentrations listed were film, finance, broadcasting/meteorology, business management, media arts and production, atmospheric sciences, sport management and sports media.

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS

Job opportunities

Social media specialist, UMB (Kansas City)


Internships

Digital content producer intern, KOAM (Joplin, Missouri)

Sports journalism intern, KOAM (Joplin, Missouri)

News content producer intern, KOAM (Joplin, Missouri)

Multimedia journalist intern, KOAM (Joplin, Missouri)


Find more job and internship postings on the J-School website.

Cheers to Careers podcast: Photographer Nick Krug


Nick Krug, a photographer for KU Athletics and the Lawrence Journal-World, was a recent guest with Steve Rottinghaus on the Cheers to Careers podcast. Watch on YouTube.

JSCHOOL TECH

Evening labs: Labbies will be in the Resource Center for checkout and help after hours. Evening hours are 5-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.

 

Students can find Heather at the JBar in the Clarkson Gallery. Check the menu board for this week's hours.

 

Learn Adobe skills and build your portfolio with JSchoolTech and make sure to visit the Class Hub.

ALUMNI UPDATE

Mandy Matney, a reporter who is one of the hosts of the "Murdaugh Murders" podcast, was interviewed by Katie Couric last week about the sentencing of Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of killing his wife and son in South Carolina.


Camden Gregory, j'21, was recently was appointed coordinator for international relations at Matsudo City Hall in Matsudo, Japan. See the news post on Dec. 19 on the division’s Facebook page. (Click see translation.) Read his first blog post.

IN MEMORIAM

Mary E. Rupert died Feb. 22 at the age of 68. Read her obituary.

Calendar


March 8: PRSSA meeting, 6 p.m., Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 303

March 13-17: Spring Break

March 24: Faculty and staff meeting, 1-2:30 p.m., Clarkson Gallery

March 31: Digital Marketing Communications, Advertising and Public Relations concentration meeting, 10-11 a.m.

April 5: Technology Committee meeting, 2-3 p.m., Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 312

April 6: Research Colloquium and Graduate Student Appreciation Celebration Week, 2:30-4:30 p.m., Clarkson Gallery

April 14: Digital Marketing Communications, Advertising and Public Relations concentration meeting, 2-3 p.m.

April 15: J-School POV, Prospective Student Welcome, 8:30 a.m., Stauffer-Flint

April 19: Doughnuts with the Dean and Kevin Merida, 9-10:30 a.m., Stauffer-Flint lobby

April 19: Technology Committee meeting, 2-3 p.m., Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 312

April 20: William Allen White Day/Scholarships & Awards Ceremony, 3 p.m. Kansas Union Ballroom

April 28: Graduate Committee meeting, noon-1 p.m., Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 119

May 5: Faculty and staff meeting with lunch afterward, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Clarkson Gallery

May 13: J-School Recognition Ceremony, 8:30 a.m., Lied Center

May 14: KU Commencement, Memorial Stadium

William Allen White School of Journalism

& Mass Communications

Stauffer-Flint Hall

1435 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence, KS 66045

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www.journalism.ku.edu