High school students gather for the opening of the Kansas Press Association Fall Conference in the Kansas Memorial Union. | Photo courtesy of Dean Ann M. Brill.  

High school students from across Kansas traveled to the University of Kansas for the 2024 Kansas Press Association Fall Conference. The Fall Conferences, which include stops at Wichita State and Fort Hays State, are a KSPA tradition, inspiring student journalists across the state for the beginning of their year on their publication staff or at the start of their journalism classes. The conference featured breakout sessions hosted by KU School of Journalism and Mass Communications students, faculty and staff. 

Students - How is your overall health and well-being? Taking care of your physical and mental health is an important piece of your academic success. The demands of mid-term projects and exams, balancing multiple responsibilities and managing your stress level is not easy. KU students can find support and care through Watkins Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), both located in the Watkins Memorial Health Center (located by the Student Rec center and Capitol Federal Hall).

The doctors and nurses at Watkins provide student healthcare and a variety of services such as immunizations, general medicine, and a walk-in clinic. CAPS provides mental health services and resources in the form of individual appointments, therapy groups, workshops, and psychological assessments. CAPS also partners with the Telus Student Support Program, connecting students to a counselor in real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and all for free.

Jayhawk Finances is hosting another workshop to help students understand their financial situation. Join them on Wed., Oct. 16 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. for the Managing Debt and Credit Workshop in the Pine Room of the Kansas Union.

Want to participate in the Faces of the JMC School Instagram video series? Students, faculty and staff are all welcome! Email jschool@ku.edu for your chance to be featured on the JMC School Instagram. 

Media entrepreneurs Melody Alexander and Topher Enneking of STATSdraft joined Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge's Audience Experience class (JMC 345) last week to talk audience segmenting.

Kansas Newspaper and Photojournalism Hall of Fame announced: Congratulations to five Jayhawks on being inducted into the 2024 Kansas Newspaper and Photojournalism Hall of Fame Class. Jayhawks inducted include: Dean Ann M. Brill, Ben Marshall (retired editor-publisher, Sterling Bulletin), Eric Meyer (editor and publisher, Marion County Record), Sally Buzbee (former national news, wire service editor) and Barbara Kinney (USA Today, White House photographer). The induction ceremony will be Nov. 15 in Topeka. 

Stanley Danzey Jr. pictured with KU JMC students. 

KCTV-5 Producer visits JMC School: Stanley Danzey Jr., the morning executive producer for KCTV-5, visited JMC 626 (Advanced Sports Multimedia Reporting) and JMC 201 (Media Coverage of Celebrity-Athlete Relationships) classes on Monday.

University Daily Kansan Director of Strategy Nick Jungman’s JMC 551 class and Professor of the Practice Lisa McLendon’s JMC 553 class met together on Monday for a panel discussion with guest speakers Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU director of news and media relations; Misty Chandler, assistant vice provost of academic success; and Jennifer Wamelink, associate vice provost for student affairs. The speakers discussed the best ways for student journalists to get information from the KU administration, which department has what kinds of information, and when information has to remain confidential.

Author Sarah Henning spoke with students in JMC 304 last Thursday about the launch of her latest novel, The lies We conjure (Tor Teen, September 2024). She highlighted her KU journalism degree and experience as a sports reporter with newspapers and the Associated Press as helping her career as an award-winning novelist. She is the author of several books for young adults, including The Lies We Conjure, plus the Indies Introduce/Indies Next selection and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Sea Witch and its sequel, Sea Witch Rising.

Photo of Sarah Henning courtesy of Professor of the Practice Patricia Gaston. 

Sports Media Club to host playoff watch party: The KU Sports Media Club will be hosting a watch party for the Royals-Yankees playoff game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Stauffer-Flint lobby. Pizza and beverages will be provided.

Students invited to networking event: The KU Alumni Association and University Career Center will host a Mocktails & Mingle program titled Classroom to C-Suite at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. The casual networking event helps students connect with alumni for networking and career exploration. Learn more

Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge discussed the Kansas City Royals' possible next steps after Diamond Sports Group announced they were not broadcasting games in 2025 with FOX 4 in Kansas City.

Assistant Professor Melissa Greene-Blye was a guest on Native America Calling today to discuss the issue of Native representation. Native America Calling is a live call-in program heard on nearly 90 public, community and tribal radio stations in the United States in Canada. The program is a production of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, a Native-operated media center in Anchorage, Alaska.

Full Professor Mugur Geana and Lecturer David Day were among the 12 University of Kansas faculty and staff selected as IRISE fellows. Read the full KU Today release.

JMC lecturer Gerri Berendzen was invited to speak to the Christian Science Monitor’s copy desk Oct. 1 as part of the CSM’s lunch and learn program. Berendzen presented a session on fact-checking and critiqued some copy desk work.

Assistant Professor Steve Bien-Aime, Professor of the Practice Lisa McLendon, Assistant Professor of the Practice Alex Treaster and Associate Professor Doug Ward (Associate Director, Center for Teaching Excellence) presented a JMC Colloquium session on student engagement on Oct. 4. The discussion focused on ways to increase engagement at all levels of the curriculum through active learning and other research-based practices.

The Career and Outreach Office will host “How to Make the Most from Your Career Fair Experience” at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Clarkson Gallery. The session is designed to provide tips on proper attire, what to bring and how to interact with employers at the Oct. 17 Career Fair. Students are encouraged to drop off their resumes for review on Wednesday.

Cheers to Careers podcast: JMC alum Melissa Lacey, a marketing manager at Ascension Via Christi in Wichita, Kansas, was a recent guest on the Cheers to Careers podcast.

The Seattle Times will host a Zoom Q&A for prospective interns at 2 p.m., CST, on Friday, Oct. 11, to discuss their Summer 2025 internship program. The Times has openings for copy editors, business reporters, features writers, graphic designers, news producers and photojournalists. Here is the link to the Zoom session.  Apply for internships today here. 

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

Submit your work to the Student Showcase: Want to show off your skills and have your work featured on the JSchool Tech Instagram page? DM us your work or tag us. Follow the Instagram page for the latest scheduling information, helpful tutorials and memes about the creative world.

Join the Creative Challenge: Looking for projects to put in your portfolio? Twice a month, JSchool Tech presents creative brief challenges where you can test your skills and design mockups for fictional companies! Interested? Look for the pinned post on the JSchool Tech Instagram page. To submit, tag or DM us your work.

Join Future Creatives: Want to create stuff in the future? Then your future starts today! Join Future Creatives, a collective of creatives that get together to develop unique projects, network and strengthen their skills. Interested? Join us Wednesdays at 2 and Friday at 1 (Also available on Zoom). Fill out the form today to join.  

Calendar

William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications
journalism.ku.edu

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).

The University of Kansas is a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.