Photo courtesy of Undergraduate Recruitment Coordinator Leah Kohlman

JMC faculty, staff, students and alumni represented the JMC School in Kansas City at the JEA/NSPA Convention. The JMC School booth featured recruiting materials and activities for high school advisors and students from across the country attending the convention. Chris Etheridge, Stephen Wolgast, Heather Lawrenz, Frances Lyons, Alex Treaster, Matt Tidwell and Steve Rottinghaus as well as current students and alumni were featured speakers throughout the weekend.

The JMC School partnered with KU Admissions to host an advisor luncheon, which gave the school the opportunity to connect with high school advisors from across the country in an intimate setting.

JMC School faculty members Gerri Berendzen, Nick Jungman and Lisa McLendon, along with students Jubliee Chandra, Courtney Lane and Erik Overgaard, attended the annual conference of ACES: The Society for Editing in San Diego. Berendzen presented a session on fact-checking tools and McLendon presented a session on cliches in writing. McLendon and Jungman are officers of the ACES Education Fund, which raised several thousand dollars for scholarships through a silent auction and spelling bee at the conference. All three students are editors on the University Daily Kansan.

Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge talked to KMBC in Kansas City and KWCH in Wichita about how the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs could improve their public messaging strategy about stadium construction plans.  

From left to right: Kerry Navinskey, Ricky Smith, Abrielle Zuniga, Lisa McLendon, Geri Berendzen, Himée Kamatuka and Trenae Stokes gather in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall to watch Monday's solar eclipse. 

The Eudora Times, the news desert publication run out of the JMC School, is referenced in a recent Associated Press story about journalism schools helping to save local news. 

The Advisor of the Year nomination site is open through April 19 at this link. The Advisor of the Year recognizes one academic advisor who creates a caring and inclusive environment, exhibits knowledge and insight into academic programs and university policy and effectively engages students with campus resources and opportunities. The Rising Star Award and The Larry Draper Outstanding Office/Liaison Award are also open for nomination.

JMC School to host Eric Meyer, Marion County Record Staff for William Allen White Day: Meyer, the editor of the Record, will accept the award on behalf of the Marion County Record in person on Thursday, April 11, at 3 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Memorial Union. It is the first time the William Allen White Foundation Board of Trustees is presenting its National Citation to an organization rather than an individual. This family owned, small-town newspaper is known for fearless and independent journalism. That reputation served it well when, in Aug. 2023, city police officers raided the Marion County Record newsroom and the home of its owner and publisher with a search warrant to seize computers and cell phones. The raid came in response to reporting the award-winning staff was doing on a local business owners and others in the community. 

Photo courtesy of Eric Meyer (pictured). 

Storytelling Festival Comes to Downtown Lawrence April 18-20: Interested in storytelling, digital platforms, community organizing, and adventures? Join us at the “Stories for All Festival: Sharing Community Stories in a Digital World,” taking place in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas, on April 18-20. The festival invites dozens of community partners representing a diverse array of traditions, and a keynote panel will feature storytelling projects and scholarship on Black history, Native American space, mapping queer culture, and feminist technology (check out the full program). The festival is free and open to all. There will be food, film screenings, performances, exhibitions, networking sessions and other opportunities of engagement. Please register here.

JMC School Celebrates 10-year anniversary of Ph.D. program: Below is a description of panel sessions with faculty, alumni, and graduate students on Friday, April 12 that are held as part of the School’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Ph.D. program. The panel sessions will from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 12 in Room 303, Stauffer-Flint Hall. Lunch will be provided. 

Panel 1: Looking Back (Ph.D. Alumni & Former Director Panel)

Panel 2: Looking Forward (Faculty and Ph.D. Student Panel)

The U.S. State Department and Sherman Smith, the executive director of the Kansas Reflector, are hosting seven journalists from around the world on Friday, April 12, to discuss the raid on the Marion County Record. The reporters, editors and producers are traveling from Albania, Croatia, Ghana, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. A short reception in the Clarkson Gallery at 4 p.m. will follow the event, to which students, staff and faculty are invited. If you have questions, visit with Professor Stephen Wolgast in 207C or wolgast@ku.edu.

KU Animators is hosting a presentation with George LaHood, a film student with a focus on virtual production with Unreal Engine, on Tuesday 9th from 3-4:30 p.m. in the FMS Soundstage (Summerfield 125B). George is an Undergraduate Research Award recipient and currently working on a short film using Unreal. George will explain how he uses Unreal to create his scenes, how to make your own film, how to apply for film festivals and answer additional questions at the end. Everyone is welcome.

Associate Professor Genelle Belmas gave a virtual guest lecture on media representation of law enforcement on Tuesday April 2, for Ph.D. candidate Mauryne Abwao's LSU's media representation class. View the materials and resources here.

Professor of the Practice Angie Hendershot was an invited panelist last week at the Midwest Sociological Society’s conference in Des Moines presenting on mentoring first-generation working class students for life beyond college. She presented with Dr. Jennifer Haylett of the University of Iowa and Nailah McDowell, AVP of Career Readiness at Livingstone College. Panelists discussed using community cultural wealth to help students navigate social class mobility.

Steve Rottinghaus, career and outreach coordinator, judged business ethics at the Future Business Leaders of America state leadership conference on Thursday in Topeka, Kansas.

Cheers to Careers podcasts: JMC alums Alison Young, investigative reporter and author of “Pandora’s Gamble,” and Jose Montoya, assistant athletic director at Eastern New Mexico, were recent guests on the Cheers to Careers podcast.

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

Work with us in the JMC School: The JMC School is hiring a student media and technology assistant. For more information and to apply scan the QR code in the graphic or click here. 

Tracy Dower died March 31 at age 54. Read his obituary.

Calendar

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

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