Monica Brady, center, co-owner of The Dub poses with students from JMC 640. | Photo courtesy of Payton Fergus, DMC senior student. 

Students in JMC 640 Campaigns in Digital Marketing, Communications, Advertising and PR, taught by Assistant Professor Judy Watts, recently visited the future location of The Dub to meet with their client, Monica Brady. The Dub, opening summer 2025, will be Kansas City's first sports bar dedicated entirely to women's sports. The students will present their recommendations to develop and enhance The Dub's marketing plans later this semester.

Sign Up to Judge the KSPA State Contest: Please consider judging the Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA) State Contest. State entries will be submitted to judges by April 12, with results due to KSPA by April 18. To participate, review the contest schedule and select your preferred judging categories, keeping in mind the quick turnaround for state entries. You can sign up through the KSPA Judging Interest Form.

The Technology Committee has assembled a list of certifications and badges for students interested in demonstrating communication-related skills to potential employers. This information is available on a canvas course titled “JMC Certification Options” for instructors to import into their courses. If you would like to be added to the canvas course, please email halawrenz@ku.edu. We are also interested in growing the list of certifications/badges. If you have something you would like us to add to our list, please email gberendzen@ku.edu.

JMC 534 students pictured at Just Food. | Photo courtesy of Associate Professor Teri Finneman. 

JMC students visit local non-profit: Students in Associate Professor Teri Finneman’s diversity and media class visited Just Food earlier this month to learn about the nonprofit. Just Food’s mission is to end hunger in the Douglas County community by increasing access to healthy foods, reducing barriers to health and well-being and cultivating self-sufficiency. 

JMC student Courtney Lane had story published in the Kansas City Star. Read the full story, “KC creator won’t stop at comic books. He’s building an anime platform for nerds like him,” here. 

Ph.D. Student Blessing Jona has been awarded the 2025 KU Summer Research Scholarship Award, which will support his dissertation research activities during the summer. 

Become a JMC School Ambassador: The JMC School recruitment team is hiring new student ambassadors for Fall 2025. Student Ambassadors support JMC School outreach efforts, events and give tours to prospective families. If you want to share your love for the JMC School with future students, apply today. Students of any year are encouraged to apply. 

Spanish Media Writing course available in fall: Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your media skills and make an impact in Spanish-language journalism. Enroll now fall Fall 2025. You can find the class with the codes: JMC 500/LAC 602/SPAN 447. 

The submission deadline for the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) Sports Seminar is Tuesday, April 1. If you are interested in attending the seminar on April 23, email Cal Butcher or Sydney Clark. 

Master’s degree students in Professor of the Practice Angie Hendershot’s Marketing Communications Research course delivered a comprehensive report to the Pro Volleyball Federation last week. The team compiled extensive secondary data synthesized with their own primary research study to generate proprietary insights on live sports event attendees' preferences, attitudes and behaviors. The students collected more than 2,000 survey responses nationally and completed more than 20 in-depth interviews. Based on this research, students are currently developing a strategic marketing communications plan as part of their capstone in the Digital and Integrated Marketing Communications master’s program. The PVF debuted in 2024, offering elite women athletes the chance to play professionally in North America. They will hold their second annual championship in Las Vegas in May, with a million-dollar bonus to be awarded to the winning team.

Applications are open for the second annual Iles Award for Research in Editing, sponsored by the Bremner Editing Center. This award of $1,000 is intended to support research pertaining to the teaching or practice of editing written language. Faculty, graduate students, independent scholars and corporate/industry researchers are welcome to apply for the award; projects may involve editing of any professional written content. Deadline for submissions is April 15, 2025. Full eligibility and application information is available here. 

The JMC Colloquium session on local journalism and academic research trends will take place on Friday, April 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Clarkson Gallery. Lunch will be provided. Professor of the Practice Stephen Wolgast will present his research on last year’s police raid of the Marion County Record, while Associate Professor Teri Finneman will share insights from her research and community engagement work in local journalism. Associate Professor Alyssa Appelman will provide an overview of her research on academic job postings and Ph.D. dissertation research trends. 

Stephen Wolgast

Professor of the Practice Patricia Gaston was a guest on the Louisville Public Media Podcast, “On Track” discussing media literacy, why it matters and how to determine which sources are trustworthy. Listen here. 

A study by Associate Professor Hong Vu and his collaborators has been accepted for presentation at the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). Using the concepts of governmentality and biopolitics, the study, "Communication of Population Policy in Vietnam: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Changes," examines shifts in government discourse as population policies transitioned from restricting family size to actively encouraging larger families in response to the challenges posed by Vietnam’s aging population. The conference will be held in Singapore in July 2025.

Assistant professor Steve Bien-Aimé attended the Local Journalism Researchers Workshop at the University of North Carolina where he moderated the Best Practices in Newsroom Journalism panel as part of the AI in Journalism pre-conference and made a presentation — Imperfect Substitution: A Call to Add Flexibility for Measuring Journalistic “Impact” -- with Marisa Porto, the Knight Chair in Local News and Sustainability at the University of North Carolina. View the recording. 

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

DMC hosting discussions for interested students: Are you curious about the world of Digital Marketing Communication, Advertising and Public Relations (DMC)? Are you a current DMC student wondering what your next semester will be like? This is the perfect opportunity for you! Pizza and soft drinks will be provided.  

Meet with faculty in the DMC concentration April 2 and April 3 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Clarkson Gallery for insights on courses, career paths and life as a DMC student. This is your chance to connect, ask questions and learn from DMC faculty. Engage in two thought-provoking discussions: 

April 2, 12 p.m.: "From the Bench to the Marketplace: Why is research important for DMC?"

April 3, 12 p.m.: "Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? Its impact on the classroom, the industry, and users."

Dole Student Advisory Board final meeting is April 1: The meeting will discuss variety of upcoming events and opportunities, including the end-of-year SAB Banquet! The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Dole institute (2350 Petefish Dr.).

Dole Institute of Politics will be continuing its Fort Leavenworth series April 2: The series is in collaboration with U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. Titled, "Preparing for the Unthinkable: The U.S. Navy, SLBMs, and the TRANSIT Satellites”, Dr. Sean Kalic will be continuing the history lecture of Robert Fulton. Attend the series at 3 p.m. at the Dole Institute.

Registration open for media and law seminar: The 37th annual Media and the Law Seminar will feature a panel of legal experts and thought leaders to discuss the implications of a second Trump administration for the news media and the actual-malice standard, current legal strategies for combating disinformation, emerging IT platforms to address disinformation, the potential for legislation or modifications in jurisprudence to help adapt to the surge of disinformation, ethical pitfalls attorneys face in fighting for the truth, and more. The event is hosted by the University of Kansas School of Law and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Media Law Committee. The seminar planning committee includes several proud KU journalism graduates. Students receive complimentary registration for the seminar. More information is available here. 

Calendar

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

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