RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Associate Professor Mugur Geana was an invited speaker on two consecutive days at the Curriculum Internationalization Workshop: JCCC/CC/MSI Public Health Symposium, organized by KU Faculty Development in collaboration with KU Area Centers. Dr. Geana presented on "COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Mental Health in Eastern Europe" for the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies (CREES), and about "COVID-19 Pandemic and Indigenous Communities in Latin America" for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS). The presentations reflected Dr. Geana's work and research interests in Europe and South America. They were followed by one hour of open discussions with attendees. Dr. Geana also shared resources that can be used in curriculum development to include these topics in undergraduate instruction. 

Professor of the Practice Angie Hendershot presented at the Midwest Sociological Society’s annual conference in Minneapolis with KU colleague Dr. Kevin McCannon, Sociology, on “Straddling Class Divides: Exploring First-Generation Non-Tenure Track Faculty Sense of Belonging and Mental Health.”

Eric Thomas visited the Journalism Day at the University of Missouri for high school media students from around the state. The conference, hosted by the Missouri Interscholastic Journalism Association, attracted more than 1600 students from dozens of schools. Thomas presented four sessions on interviewing, photographic lighting, photojournalism and typography. 

Stephen Wolgast, Knight Chair for Audience and Community Engagement in News, published his review of "Women Photograph: What We See; Women and Nonbinary Perspectives Through the Lens," in News Photographer in March. The book highlights photojournalism from the perspective of photographers outside the historical mainstream of white men. It was edited by Daniela Zalcman and Sara Ickow and published in London by White Lion. News Photographer is the online magazine of the National Press Photographers Association.

Associate Professor Teri Finneman was a panelist last week for a session about women, journalism and the White House at the White House Historical Association in Washington, D.C. Susan Page of USA Today and Monica Alba of NBC News were also on the panel. Finneman is an expert on first ladies and the media, as well as journalism history.

INSIDE THE SCHOOL

The annual conference of ACES: The Society for Editing was March 23-25 in Columbus, Ohio, and the J-School had a significant KU presence. 

• Students Cate Manning and Elizabeth Walters attended and met some of the more than 500 editors in attendance while learning about various aspects of editing, from research proposals to recipes. 
• University Daily Kansan director Nick Jungman was elected treasurer of the ACES Education Fund after serving several years as the treasurer of ACES.
• Lecturer Gerri Berendzen gave a session on fact-checking beyond the news and helped with the ACES silent auction, which raised more than $6,000 for scholarships.
• Bremner Center director and president of the ACES Education Fund Lisa McLendon gave a session on things that look ungrammatical but aren’t, and she was part of another session about teaching editing.
• J-School alumnus Mark Fagan, a content editor at Burns & McDonnell in Kansas City, also attended the conference.
• The Associated Press Stylebook launched its study guides at the conference, which McLendon worked on along with Andy Bechtel of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Christine Steele of UC San Diego Extended Studies. The study guides, a series of topical quizzes, anchor a new training initiative by the AP Stylebook.

STUDENT NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

KU PRSSA will meet at 6 p.m. April 12 in Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 303.

If you love the J-School, become a student ambassador! The Journalism Student Ambassador Program consists of a select group of students who are committed to the positive promotion of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ambassadors lead tours of the school in Stauffer-Flint Hall. In addition, they represent the school at events and programs sponsored by the school. If you would like to apply, fill out this form or learn more by contacting Leah Kohlman. Learn more about our current ambassadors here.

Undergraduate students are invited to enter the annual Philip Whitcomb Essay Contest. Essays should address “the relationship of knowledge, thought and action in public affairs and public policy.” The author of the winning essay will receive $500 and their name added to a plaque of past winners in Nunemaker Center, the home of the University Honors Program. Deadline is April 14. Learn more here.

CAREER & OUTREACH CENTER

The Career Outreach Office will host a session on “What to Expect in a Remote and Hybrid Work Environment” from 1 to 2 p.m., Wednesday, April 5, in the Clarkson Gallery. It is a great opportunity for students to learn more about working from home and the flexibility of working from home and in an office environment. No registration required. For more information, contact Steve Rottinghaus, career and outreach coordinator, at steve_rottinghaus@ku.edu.

Recruiters from St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press NOW will be at Stauffer-Flint Hall on Wednesday, April 5, interviewing for multimedia journalists and an evening anchor. Interview times are 9:30-11 a.m. and 12:30-2 p.m. in Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 119. To schedule an interview, email Steve Rottinghaus, career and outreach coordinator, at steve_rottinghaus@ku.edu.

VMLY&R is providing a virtual educational experience for college students. During a series of 10 weekly seminars from June 15 to Aug. 16, participants will learn about the different disciplines within VMLY&R, what each does, and the part each plays in creating connected brands. Additionally, it offers valuable interaction with leaders from the organization. Apply here. Deadline is April 20.

The National Sports Media Association’s Sports Media Convergence Summit, featuring more than a dozen seminars and panels presented by some of the top professionals in the sports media industry, is set for June 25-26 at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Marriott. The early-bird fee is $129 (through May 1; $149 after that) and includes a boxed lunch each of the two days. Students may elect to attend the rest of the Awards Weekend & National Convention. Register here.

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS

Job opportunities

▮ Multimedia journalist/producer, KCEC Univision Denver (Denver, Colorado)

▮ Associate editor, T&D World (Hybrid in Overland Park, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; or remote)

▮ Associate copywriter, VLMY&R (Kansas City, Missouri)

▮ Media consultant, Tulsa Radio (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

▮ Director of marketing, PBS Kansas (Wichita, Kansas)

▮ Evening anchor, News-Press TV (St. Joseph, Missouri)

▮ Multimedia journalist, News-Press (St. Joseph, Missouri)

▮ Assistant sports editor, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas)

Internships

▮ Communications intern, VLMY&R (Kansas City, Missouri)

▮ Corporate communications intern, Tyler Technologies (Plano, Texas)

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

ALUMNI UPDATE

Andrew Baker is manager of public and media relations at IMA Financial Group.

Jeff Chaltas, j'99, wrote an eBook titled "The Dictionary of Human Resources and Employment Law Acronyms" that is now available through leading book retailers.

Catherine Ehrich is associate account manager at VML&R.

Anna Lowry is senior product manager at MMGY Global.

Matt Tait, KUsports.com editor and Lawrence Journal-World sports editor, received Top 10 honors for game story and short feature by the Associated Press Sports Editors Awards.

EVENTS

The Dole Institute of Politics presents the final program in its Discussion Group series “Building Democracy in the 21st Century” on April 19. The event features J-School alumnus and 2022 Dole Fellow Jerry Seib moderating a conversation with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and New Mexico’s Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who have both signed The Carter Center’s Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections. Seib will focus the discussion on The Carter Center’s Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections, and how they can help candidates, parties and citizens promote election integrity and confidence in the voting process more broadly.

Journalists and media lawyers are confronted with legal arguments and judicial opinions threatening to turn well-established First Amendment principles upside down. The 35th Annual Media and the Law Seminar will highlight issues in an increasingly gray First Amendment landscape. Register now for the 35th Annual Media and the Law Seminar: “Upside Down: First Amendment in Flux?” in Kansas City on April 20 and 21.

The event is presented by the University of Kansas School of Law and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Media Law Committee.

William Allen White School of Journalism

& Mass Communications

Stauffer-Flint Hall

1435 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence, KS 66045

www.journalism.ku.edu