Associate Professor Alyssa Appelman (left) and Assistant Professor Steve Bien-Aimé (right) pictured above. 

Congratulations to Associate Professor Alyssa Appelman and Assistant Professor Steve Bien-Aimé, winners of the second annual Iles Award for Research in Editing. Their project, “Rendered obsolete? Media consumers’ perceptions of human editors vs. AI,” will explore readers’ attitudes toward the use of AI in editing, particularly in terms of the perceived value of editing and audiences’ expectations of the quality of editing work.  

The Iles Award is intended to support research pertaining to the teaching or practice of editing written language. It is made possible by a generous gift from an alumna to the Bremner Fund at the University of Kansas and honors the legacy of John Bremner, editing professor and author of “Words on Words” and “HTK.” Faculty, graduate students, independent scholars and corporate/professional researchers are welcome to apply for the annual $1,000 award.

Students in JMC 640 pose for a photo. | Photo courtesy of Alex Treaster. 

Campaigns students present final project: Students in Assistant Professor of the Practice Alex Treaster’s JMC 640 Campaigns class presented to their client, KU’s Student Engagement Center, earlier today. Campaigns students’ recommendations for the Center included creating a new brand identity, increasing awareness and establishing a variety of new touchpoints for engaging and empowering KU students. 

Barb Tholen, incoming director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, was honored with the Jackie Engle Award by the organization at their KSPA state adviser brunch on May 3. 

Relax with food, drinks and games ahead of finals week: Students – Do you need a break before moving into finals week? We have you covered! Stop by the Stauffer-Flint Hall lobby, Monday through Thursday this week. We will have grab-and-go drinks and snacks, study break activities and some fun lawn games outside.

LandaJob owner Suzanne (Frenzer) Wolff and brand specialist Yolanda Villegas talked to the students in JMC 430 about the job hunt from having a plan, to resume tips to networking strategies and follow-up. They answered all the questions soon-to-be college graduates have about navigating their search for full-time, meaningful work. 

National sports summit on June 30: JMC students are welcome to participate in the National Sports Media Association Convergence Summit on Monday, June 30 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina, or virtually. The event is 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. In-person attendees are encouraged to bring their demo real or clips. The cost is $81.88 for the in-person portion of the summit and $39.99 for the virtual portion. For more information, contact dgoren@nationalsportsmedia.org or call 336-655-2976.

Sports Media and Society Club officers for 2025-2026: If you are interested in being part of the KU Sports Media and Society Club executive team in 2025-2026, please contact Steve Rottinghaus, club adviser, at steve_rottinghaus@ku.edu

Seniors: Share your Graduation photos with us on Instagram by tagging @kujschool to be featured on our story. Follow our senior spotlight series on Instagram. 

When ten JMC students went to Washington, D.C., to spend spring break as reporters at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, they chose human trafficking and corruption in Thailand as their topic. Over the week they interviewed experts and collaborated with the center’s producers. Their journalism went live on May 2.

You can find the reporting package here. The article and design were created by Kenna McNally, Arien Roman Rojas and Bella Waters. Preparing the video package were Caleb Beasley, Allison Muzzy and Aminah Syed. Data research and visualizations were undertaken by Abbie Clements and Cuyler Dunn, while Taylor Doyle and Grace Hills produced the podcast. Interested in what it was like to work as journalists in Washington on an international story? Find out here.

10 JMC students pose for a photo in Washington, D.C. | Photo courtesy of Professor of the Practice Stephen Wolgast.

Undergrads: Would you like to learn how to discuss controversial news stories with friends and family? And would you like to earn $50? If so, please sign up for this research study being co-led by Assistant Professor Tamar Wilner. The study will take place on the Lawrence campus, and will take about two hours. To participate, you must be at least 18 years old and an undergrad at KU. If you’re interested, complete this survey. 

Any questions, please reach out to Wilner at tamar.wilner@ku.edu. And if you have any other questions about your rights as a research participant, you may call (785) 864-7429 or email irb@ku.edu.

Lacy C. Haynes Professor Patricia (Weems) Gaston served as a 2025 Pulitzer Prize juror. She previously served as a 2024 juror. The Pulitzer Prize is regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievement, and musical composition. Gaston was part of the International Reporting Jury that met at Columbia University in late February. The jury made three nominations and sent them to the Pulitzer Board which selects the winner. The winners and nominated finalists were announced on May 5. Gaston was co-editor of the Dallas Morning News' 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning series that looked at the universality of violence against women.

Gaston

Associate Professor Teri Finneman was a featured speaker discussing first ladies on the White House Historical Association's "White House History Live" show. 

Senior Digital Media Trainer Heather Lawrenz presented Portfolio 101 to Business School students to help them build and develop their portfolios on April 21.

Senior Digital Media Trainer Heather Lawrenz was one of two U.S. based Adobe experts invited to train at Adobe Education Institute for European higher education institutions. She will present "Create Accessible PDFs" in Adobe Express via Zoom on May 7 to an expected 500 professors and teaching staff from Europe. 

Associate professor Alyssa Appelman, assistant professor Steve Bien-Aimé and master's student Olga Morales recently had their study “'Said' or 'told the reporter'? The effects of quote-attribution style on content and source perceptions," published in News Research Journal. The School's Rapid Response Fund supported this study.

Assistant Professor Judy Watts was recently selected to participate in the Early Career Interdisciplinary Scholars Fellowship Program with the Society for Research in Child Development The purpose of the fellowship is to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations between developmental psychology and related fields. More information about the fellowship is available here. Watts attended the SRCD Biannual Meeting in early May to discuss her upcoming research on media tropes and racial identity with adolescent audiences.  

Assistant professor Steve Bien-Aimé was featured in the Office of Research's "I am Striving" series.  

Cheers to Careers podcasts: JMC alums Ryan Colaianni, chief communications officer at BPD, and Leslie Escareno Smith, digital experience manager at MMGY Global, were recent guests.

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

New features, career resources and exciting Express updates. Check out our May newsletter.

Drop in and get help on portfolios and JMC 300 infographics. 

Portfolio
May 5: 2-4 p.m.
May 6: 8-11 a.m.
May 8: 10-12 a.m.
May 12: 8-11 a.m.
May 13: 2-5 p.m.
May 14 8 a.m.-12 p.m. 

JMC 300 Infographics
May 5: 8-12 a.m.
May 6: 2-5 p.m.
May 8: 8-10 a.m.
May 12: 1-4 p.m.
May 13: 8 a.m.-11 a.m.

Abbey Lord, news reporter for WSAZ -TV in Huntington, West Virginia, recently won West Virginia Broadcasters Association Television Emerging Journalist for a large market.

Claudia Close is social media manager for Clear 28 Agency.

Calendar

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

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