Hanbo Liu (left) and Samuel Muzhingi (right) pictured above. | Photos by Evan Riggs.

JMC School Doctoral students Hanbo Liu and Samuel Muzhingi were accepted to the 2025-26 cohort of Doctoral Research Fellows with the Institute for Policy & Social Research (IPSR). The cohort is led by Jay T. Johnson, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science. Fellows will meet throughout the academic year to share research progress and experiences. As part of the program, IPSR will offer $500 in support of each of their research.

Academic Welcome Aug. 17 from 1-3 p.m.: The Academic Welcome is an opportunity for new JMC School students to get to know our student organizations, faculty and staff and learn about the resources available within the School. Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend to welcome the next group of students!

23 Faculty and Graduate Students set to present at 2025 AEJMC Conference (Three Association Awards): Twenty-three faculty and students from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications are presenting their research studies, teaching best practices, and creative projects at the 108th annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The AEJMC conference will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on Aug. 7-10, 2025. Their projects cover topics including virtual reality, AI, health communication, queer and transgender identity, social media use among adolescents, and journalism practices. The School’s faculty and students also won three research paper awards. Here is the list of the presentations and awards at the 2025 AEJMC conference.

Graduate Student Bootcamp set: Bootcamp for incoming doctorate and master’s students is set for Aug. 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Dole 2051A. Graduate faculty as well as doctoral and master’s students are also invited to attend the lunch session from 12-1 p.m.

Pop Quiz: Who will be the next undergraduate teaching assistant in JMC 101? 

A. Nellie Bly
B. William Randolph Hearst
C. Ida Tarbell
D. You

If you loved JMC 101, you will love being an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) for the class. Join instructor Eric Thomas for another semester of Media & Society this fall. This time, you will help lead the class writing groups and deliver presentations during class. Apply here. 

It’s not too late to start an application for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program! The KU campus deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 3. 

The Fulbright Program offers opportunities to U.S. citizens who will have a bachelor’s degree by the time their grant starts in 2026-27 to teach English, conduct independent research, or pursue a graduate degree abroad. More information about eligibility and the wide range of programs available is on the Fulbright website. 

Assistant Professor Tamar Wilner has started writing for RQ1, a newsletter that aims to bridge the journalist-academic gap with plain-language summaries of recent research. You can sign up for RQ1 here.

Assistant Professor Elizabeth Cox published an article, “Legacy vs. Leverage: Applying Paracrisis Communication & Situational Crisis Communication Theory to the PGA’s Early Response Strategies to LIV Golf,” in Public Relations Journal. The takeaways emphasized the importance of understanding the legitimacy and power of an accusation/paracrisis and understanding stakeholder perspectives in the face of crisis. 

Tamar Wilner

Recent Doctoral graduate Macy Burkett published a paper, “Generation Z and faith: A thematic analysis of #AsburyRevival TikTok content." The paper was published in the Critical Research on Religion journal. 

Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge joined recent Doctoral graduate, Ayman Alhammad, and Associate Professor in Communication Studies Cameron Piercy, on a study titled "Credibility and organizational reputation perceptions of news releases produced by artificial intelligence" published in Corporate Communications: An International Journal. This research showed that audiences remain hesitant to find AI-written news releases written in a crisis to be credible and they may do some damage to the publishing organization's reputation.

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

Vicky Diaz-Camacho received the 2025 Lenfest Next Generation Award. Diaz-Camacho is one of 10 emerging news professionals to receive the award. She is an investigative journalist, documentary producer, and podcast host from El Paso, Texas now based in Philadelphia. Read more.

BJ Rains was named Sportswriter of the Year in Idaho by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). His father, Rob Rains, who is also a KU alum, was named sportswriter of the year in Missouri.

Patrick Strathman was named the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year by the NSMA. Strathman is the station manager at ESPN Wichita 92.3.

Alumni Job Updates

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William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications
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