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University of Mississippi journalism student selected as SEC/CBS Sports Title IX Ambassador for championship game

Posted on: January 29th, 2023 by ldrucker
Loral Winn stands on a sports field.

Loral Winn stands on a sports field.

A University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media student was recently selected as one of five SEC/CBS Sports Title IX Ambassadors for the SEC Football Championship game, a program that exposes young women to the inner workings of careers in sports journalism, media, and broadcasting.

We asked Loral Winn a few questions about herself and the opportunity before she participated in November and December.

The Dresden, Tennessee native has studied TV and video storytelling while minoring in Spanish. During her fifth year of athletic eligibility, she will work to earn her master’s degree in journalism.

And it’s also worth noting that the School of Journalism and New Media has added a sports journalism emphasis that will be available for incoming students beginning in the fall.

Q. Can you tell us a little about your background?

A. I run cross country and track here at Ole Miss, which is one of the main reasons I even began looking at the university as a potential future college. However, I fell in love with the campus and community on my official visit and was incredibly impressed by how top-tier the journalism program was at Ole Miss. I almost immediately knew it was the place I wanted to spend the next few years of my life as a student and athlete.

Q. For those who don’t understand what this opportunity is, can you explain it? How did you find out about it?

A. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) launched a celebration of Title IX in a campaign called “50 years of Title IX– Creating Opportunities” in February 2022. One of the campaign’s initiatives is the SEC’s partnership with CBS Sports to create a program called the Title IX Ambassadors. The SEC states that this program “was created to expose young women to the inner workings of careers in sports journalism, media, and broadcasting.”

I was fortunate enough with the help of Ravin Gilbert, our director of Social Responsibility and Engagement with the university’s Athletics Department, to be selected by the SEC as one of the five women who (traveled) to Atlanta, Georgia to cover the SEC Football Championship Nov. 30 – Dec. 3.

Ravin does a wonderful job of assisting every student athlete here at Ole Miss in finding exemplary internships and opportunities as well as jobs after graduation. She is exceptional at her position and has helped me to get my foot in the door with the SEC and in finding opportunities as a hopeful future sports broadcaster. I have been able to do some really neat things with her help.

I will be shadowing CBS producers, directors, on-air talent, operation leads and executives while being able to interact with and ask questions about their jobs and positions throughout the day when covering a championship game.

Q.  What did you hope to gain or take away from participating?

A. This is an incredibly unique opportunity for me to be able to meet and converse with individuals who work in television and sports broadcasting, which can be difficult to do as  a student. It is not often that you are given the chance to sit down with CBS Sports producers, directors, and broadcasters and pick their brains. I am most excited to learn from the people I shadow and to have an in-depth, up close look at what goes into covering a major sporting event.

I will spend several days in Atlanta, which means I will follow the same schedule that CBS on-air talent does as they interview coaches and players and prepare for covering the game well. I am truly so excited for the opportunity and plan to soak up all of the knowledge that I possibly can. This is a great stepping stone for the career that I desire to pursue after graduation as a sports reporter and broadcaster.

Remembering Joey Embry: Rebel’s legacy continues with latest scholar

Posted on: February 11th, 2021 by ldrucker

Lillian Lindsey, a University of Mississippi freshman from Water Valley, is the 2020-21 recipient of the Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship, expanding the legacy of a beloved student and football player.

Lindsey is an integrated marketing communications major in the UM School of Journalism and New Media. She hopes to work in the field of social media marketing after receiving her undergraduate degree.

“Since I was a little kid, I have wanted to attend Ole Miss,” she said. “Both of my parents went here, and I grew up so close that it always felt like home,” said Lindsey, a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Ole Miss women’s club volleyball team.

Lillian Lindsey

UM freshman Lillian Lindsey, an integrated marketing communications major from Water Valley, is the 2020-21 recipient of the Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship. Photo by Keli Lindsey Photography

Joey Embry, who the scholarship was named after, was actively involved on the Oxford campus and dedicated to his academic pursuits. He excelled academically, making both the UM Athletic Association and Southeastern Conference academic honor rolls, and left a positive impression on the Ole Miss community through his leadership and commitment on and off the playing field.

Tragically, Embry died in a drowning accident May 19, 1998, just before his fourth season with the Rebels. He was expected to be a major contributor on the offensive line.

The 1998 season was dedicated to Embry, and his teammates memorialized him by wearing his number on their helmets. To have his legacy present at Ole Miss and to keep his spirit alive, the Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to help other UM students.

“I am so thankful to have received this scholarship,” Lindsey said. “I’ve heard my dad speak of Joey Embry in the past and how much he thought of him when they played football together at Ole Miss.”

Stephen Lindsey was a kicker for the Rebels during the 1996 and 1997 football seasons.

“I’ve also known Joey’s brother, Brad, who taught me at Water Valley High School, and I’ve known his parents for years,” Lindsey said. “Knowing them makes this scholarship even more special to me.”

Embry scholars must be from Calhoun and Yalobusha counties – the Mississippi counties in which the Embrys have lived. Students interested in applying for the scholarship should speak with their high school guidance counselor.

Gwen Embry, Joey Embry’s mother, said she and her husband, Bill, know Lindsey and her family through church and are “very proud for her.”

Likewise, Joey Embry would be honored that his legacy is continuing in this way, she said.

“Joey gave everything for there to be this scholarship, and we want to make sure it’s used to the best of its ability – that the students will devote their time and efforts to school and keep their priorities in the right direction.”

The Joey Embry Memorial Scholarship Endowment is open to gifts from individuals and organizations. Checks may be mailed to the University of Mississippi Foundation, with the endowment noted in the memo line, to 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655. Gifts can also be made online by visiting https://give.olemiss.edu.

This story was originally written by Bill Dabney for UM Communications.

Students Invited to Seek Career Advice from Broadcast Professionals at Annual Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Day March 4

Posted on: February 27th, 2020 by ldrucker
University of Mississippi student Torry Rees speaks with radio broadcaster Jeff Covington during a past MAB event.

University of Mississippi student Torry Rees speaks with radio broadcaster Jeff Covington during a past MAB event.

Have your resume critiqued and meet hiring managers

School of Journalism and New Media (SoJNM) students can have their resumes critiqued and seek career advice during the annual Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Day on Wednesday, March 4.

Broadcasters from around the state will visit the Student Media Center inside Bishop Hall on the University of Mississippi campus that day to meet students from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 1-2 p.m.

“Broadcasters want to meet journalism students at Ole Miss to help the students improve,” said professor Nancy McKenzie Dupont, who is leading the event. “They get some benefit, too. They get to see our students’ work first, and many internship and job offers have grown out of this day.”

Dupont said receiving a critique from a professional is key.

“Students get critiqued from professors all the time, but getting your work in front a professional is different,” she said. “They tell you what you need do to get a job or an internship. They can also tell what the job demands are. I hope students will get a real sense about what the working world is like.”

Students are encouraged to bring their laptops to show their work and a resume. Other SoJNM professors will attend, including Debora Wenger, Iveta Imre and Roy Frostenson.

“We hope that we’ll see more than just our journalism students at the event,” Assistant Dean Wenger said. “This is a chance for our integrated marketing communications students to network and explore career opportunities, too.”

Job and internship opportunities are not confined to reporting positions. Students who have participated in MAB Day have gone on to work or learn about sales, sports, digital production or news promotion.

For more details on MAB Day, contact Nancy Dupont at ndpont@olemiss.edu. For more information about our journalism or IMC programs visit jnm.olemiss.edu.

Global communications lead of League of Legends franchise speaks to UM students

Posted on: January 30th, 2020 by ldrucker

Ryan Rigney, the global communications lead of the League of Legends franchise, was the first speaker of the spring semester at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media.

He addressed an audience in the Overby Center auditorium Wednesday, Jan. 29, and was also one of the featured panelists during the 2020 Jobs Conference Thursday, Jan. 30 in Farley Hall.

Ryan Rigney

Ryan Rigney

Rigney, 28, a native of Poplarville, Mississippi, about 30 minutes south of Hattiesburg, said he enrolled in the University of Mississippi in 2010 with dreams of becoming a magazine journalist.

“While still in high school, I landed some gigs writing about video games for – first – websites, and later, small-press magazines like GamePro (R.I.P.),” he said in an interview. “By the time I was in college, I’d worked my way up the ladder of the magazine world enough to write for magazines like PC Gamer, and later WIRED and EDGE.”

Rigney wrote about mobile games, which culminated in the publication of his book Buttonless about iOS games. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to work for a gaming-adjacent startup. About a year later, he landed his first job at Riot Games.

“The past five years have been sort of a blur since then, but over time, I basically converted from a creative/editorial writer into a communications strategist, a.k.a. a PR guy,” he said.

The League of Legends logo.

The League of Legends logo.

Riot Games is the developer and publisher of League of Legends, which, by player count, is the world’s most popular PC game and biggest esport, Rigney said. The company’s annual Worlds championship has drawn about 100 million unique viewers for a couple of years.

Riot Games was founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill with the intent to change the way video games are made and supported for players. In 2009, the company released its debut title League of Legends to worldwide acclaim. The game has since become the most played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Riot Games is headquartered in Los Angeles and has 23 offices worldwide.

“We also do a bunch of insane stuff like music videos that get over 300 million views on YouTube alone,” he said. “The ‘champions’ (characters) from League appear in virtual hip hop groups, in clothing partnerships with brands like Louis Vuitton, and soon in an animated series.”

Rigney said League of Legends is mostly known as a single video game today, but within a few years, people will know it as a series of 10+ games and pop culture media that isn’t limited to any one form.

A still photo from League of Legends showing some of the characters.

A still photo from League of Legends showing some of the characters.

“My job is global communications lead – League of Legends franchise,” he said. “On paper, I’m a people manager. I lead a team that includes our editorial lead and a quartet of senior/mid-level comms strategists who run all communications on three of Riot’s games. I operate at the ‘franchise’ level, which is just a fancy way of saying that they call me whenever we do something that covers more than one game.

“I’m a little unusual in that I also work as an individual contributor. I write a lot of Riot’s messaging directly. I act as a spokesperson for the company on social media (Reddit/Twitter especially), and I guide our overall approach to communications. Mostly, I sit in meetings and help developers figure out how to say stuff to players.”

Rigney predicts the games industry will get bigger and more ambitious. He said college students should consider pursuing it because there are more entry points and viable careers now than ever before.

Ellen Meacham, a professor with the UM School of Journalism and New Media, said Rigney arrived on campus as a student with big ideas and a lot of energy.

“He was a hard worker too,” she said. “In 2012, he won the university’s Gillespie Award for best business plan.”

Inside the Riot Games headquarters.

Inside the Riot Games headquarters.

Rigney, the overall Gillespie winner, was awarded $4,000 for his business plan, Utah Raptor Games. The competition is designed to foster entrepreneurship by encouraging students to develop business ideas.

“I think he will also have a lot to say about what the esports and gaming world is like now, what’s in the future, and how his work in communications will shape and be shaped by that,” she said.

Rigney said writing was one of the most valuable skills he learned at the UM School of Journalism and New Media.

“My j-school professors taught me how to write,” he said. “Which is to say, they taught me how to think clearly, and to structure information in a way that’s digestible for other people. Even though my job doesn’t match the degree I earned from Ole Miss, I think the lessons I learned about writing are 100 percent applicable to my current job.”

Inside the Riot Games headquarters.

Inside the Riot Games headquarters.

Rigney also remembers the professors who encouraged him to pursue his passion.

“I don’t know what sort of encouragement the current crop of Ole Miss students need, but I’d love to listen to their questions and share what limited knowledge I have to help them along their own paths,” he said. “I think sometimes people from Mississippi don’t think they can do the sort of work that successful people in the film industry, or literature, or gaming do. It all seems very distant, when you grew up in the woods, like I did. I would love to help people understand how achievable their goals are, if they’re strategic about their career.”

He said he doesn’t believe in one-size-fits-all advice, but Rigney’s learned a few things about the business world.

“You have to ask for something if you’re going to get it,” he said. “That applies to jobs, and career opportunities, and chances to grow.”

For more information about our journalism or IMC programs visit jnm.olemiss.edu.

This story was written by LaReeca Rucker.

Q & A with UM journalism students interning for 60 Minutes, Fortune magazine

Posted on: November 11th, 2019 by ldrucker

Two University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media students are in New York this semester, taking classes and interning through the Semester in Journalism program operated by a journalism institute at The King’s College in NYC.

60 Minutes intern Matthew Hendley is a junior broadcast journalism major from Madison, Mississippi. He has worked as a NewsWatch Ole Miss anchor, play-by-play announcer for Rebel Radio and local government reporter at the Beat Reporter. In his freshman year, Matthew won first place in the Southeast Journalism Conference TV newscast anchoring competition.

Fortune magazine intern Hadley Hitson is a junior journalism and Spanish double-major from Mountain Brook, Alabama. She has worked as a Daily Mississippian writer and assistant news editor, an intern in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Public Affairs, and with the White House Internship Program in the Communications and Press Office.

The New York City Semester program partners with 37 universities.

Matthew Hendley at 60 Minutes.

Matthew Hendley at 60 Minutes.

Matthew Hendley

Tell us about your internship. What’s a typical day like?

I get in around 10 and take care of my intern duties – distributing papers to correspondents and producers, stocking the kitchen and refilling printers. Then I usually have an assignment once I get settled at my desk. It’s all about forming relationships with the producers. They give you simple tasks, and if you do it well, then they’ll give you more work. Eventually, they trust you with actual reporting – calling courtrooms, getting information, conducting research and aggregation – and you become an essential part of the story production. In my downtime, I work on story pitches and answer phone calls from viewers.

How are you using the skills you learned in your journalism classes and at the Student Media Center? 

Aside from learning to be a student of current events and fluent in news lingo, I use several other reporting tactics and journalistic techniques I learned from the SMC and in the classroom at Ole Miss: Whether it’s calling sources and knowing how to ask for what you want, thinking through and constructing complete story ideas, or simply interpreting news stories and research related to a story being investigated by 60 Minutes – these are all things I learned from working at NewsWatch and deciding to view daily life through a journalistic lens.

What’s the single most exciting or memorable thing that has happened to you so far during your internship?

Probably meeting and chatting with Anderson Cooper. Or getting coffee for Adam Sandler.

Matthew Hendley at 60 Minutes.

What’s been your favorite assignment so far? 

We spent weeks pulling pictures and posts from alleged Russian operative Maria Butina’s Facebook pages. The producers ended up using several of the photos we pulled in the story that went to air. It’s great getting to see how our small, yet tedious work contributed greatly to such a big story.

What do you miss most about Ole Miss while you are away? 

Aside from football season, the community and atmosphere in Oxford, I miss reporting. For student journalists, we’re blessed with the curse of attending a school where there always seems to be something newsworthy happening. I miss being a part of those stories.

What advice would you give other students interested in the Semester in Journalism program? 

If you want to give New York a test run, do this program. You’ll learn from talented former journalists who’ll guide you if you need it. It might seem scary, but it’s really not all that crazy. Ole Miss students have really stood out in this program. Our journalism school puts us above the fold. I’d suggest applying for the internship you want in NYC rather than waiting to be placed in one by NYCJ. That’s how I landed 60 Minutes.

Anything else you’d like to tell us? 

A few days ago, I hopped on a 9-hour bus ride to Buffalo to chase a story for my religion reporting class. And that’s why I love it up here. There’s a gold mine of stories, and they’re all within reach. When it comes to a good story, sometimes you just gotta do it.

Hadley Hitson

Hadley Hitson

Hadley Hitson 

Tell us about your internship. What’s a typical day like?

No two days interning at Fortune Magazine have been the same. Whether I’m sitting in on editorial brainstorms, pitching my own articles to editors, doing research for Fortune‘s famous lists or working on the backend of the website to help publish content, I am getting the opportunity to do real work for a magazine with a readership of nearly 5 million people. So far, I have been published with an individual byline four times online and twice in print.

How are you using the skills you learned in your journalism classes and at the Student Media Center?

Nothing could have better prepared me for this internship than working for The Daily Mississippian. Thinking of creative story angles, writing articles on quick-turnaround deadlines and being able to work well with editors are just a few of the many skills the DM taught me that I use on a daily basis at Fortune.

What’s the single most exciting or memorable thing that has happened to you so far during your internship?

I don’t think anything can compare to the elation I felt seeing my byline printed in Fortune for the first time. The first week I started, I was able to help research and write for Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women International list, which appeared in the October issue of the magazine. Going to the newsstand to buy that issue and being able to retweet the article from Fortune‘s verified Twitter, those were my two favorite moments.

What’s been your favorite assignment so far? 

I was initially nervous about the fact that Fortune is a business magazine, but I have discovered so many business-related topics that I want to learn more about. For the November issue, I pitched an article about the current state of election security one year out from the 2020 vote, and somehow, my editor liked the idea. Writing that article and really digging into what officials and experts still think needs to change before next November was definitely my favorite assignment thus far.

What do you miss most about Ole Miss while you are away? 

Hands down, the two parts of Ole Miss that I miss the most are The Daily Mississippian and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. I love that I’m getting to cover national topics like election security, but I really do miss reporting on Oxford, especially with all of the news that has happened since I’ve been gone.

What advice would you give other students interested in the Semester in Journalism program? 

Apply! Even if you don’t think New York is the city for you, even if you’re worried about missing Oxford and your friends there, you should challenge yourself to learn by experience. The King’s College is almost the exact opposite of the University of Mississippi. It has less than a thousand students. It is located in the most populous city in the United States, and it is a Christian liberal arts school. NYCJ is the chance to experience and grow in this contrasting environment for one semester with the safety net of knowing you can return home to Ole Miss the next.

 

Former Executive Producer of CBS Sports teaches documentary film festival workshop

Posted on: September 23rd, 2019 by ldrucker

A 13-time national Emmy Award-winning sports television producer and television executive will return to the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media this month to lead a 48-Hour Documentary Film Festival workshop.

Terry Ewert, former executive producer of CBS Sports, has won Emmys for writing and documentary filmmaking. He was also the head of production for the coverage of three Olympic games at NBC Sports and the Atlanta Olympic Committee.

“The 48-Hour Documentary Film Festival workshop will begin with a three-hour classroom to go over the rules, techniques and expected outcomes from the student films,” he said. “We want the students to tell us a true story with their projects. Normally, the first hours will be pre-production (planning and writing); the second full day will be production; and the final hours will be post-production (editing).”

This is a picture of Terry Ewert.

Terry Ewert

Ewert, who has been an adjunct instructor of Sports Television Production and Sports TV Reporting several times for the school, said he pitched the workshop to deans.

Debora Wenger, Ph.D., assistant dean for Innovation & External Partnerships, said the school and faculty is proud to welcome Ewert back. “Last year, he launched our first-ever 48-hour documentary competition, and this year, we’re looking forward to even better results,” she said. “He and one of the school’s faculty, Mike Fagans, will be helping students turn out award-winning documentary work in a 48-hour, fast-paced contest. It’s going to be fun!”

Wenger said those interested in participating and possibly winning a $100 gift card should join Ewert in Overby 206 (boardroom) and Prof. Mike Fagans on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m.

Organizers are looking for multiple teams of two to three people to produce mini-documentaries within 48-hours. The videos will premiere in the Overby Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12. Even if you don’t create your own masterpiece, you are invited to view student work.

Participants will receive all the rules at the pre-production meeting on Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Overby 206. First place team members (up to three) receive $100 Visa gift cards each; second-place team members (up to three) receive $50 gift cards each. Last year’s winner also took home a first-place award in the student documentary category from the Associated Press of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Ewert said he hopes past student filmmakers will understand a little more about the world of professional documentary filmmaking and how to tell a true story using the tools they were given while improving their video, audio, lighting, interviewing and editing skills.

“I think telling a true story visually is important in this day and age,” he said. “I feel that understanding how to reach a viewer, a reader, a consumer, a voter with an important fact, editorial, news story is at the heart of all journalism. Our world has become a world of cell phones, streaming, and visual arts. Knowing the skills of video and how to tell a factual story by interviewing, editing, shooting, etc. are important skills to learn.”

For more information, contact Wenger at 662-915-7146 or drwenger@olemiss.edu.

UM School of Journalism and New Media launches new Talbert Fellows program

Posted on: August 25th, 2019 by ldrucker

The University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media is seeking future journalism and communications students in Mississippi and beyond for a unique program designed to provide exclusive opportunities.

Incoming journalism and integrated marketing communication students with great potential and strong work portfolios are encouraged to apply to become Talbert Fellows, an elite cohort within the school. The program launched Aug. 1 and will begin this fall.

Talbert Fellows will be selected based on a portfolio of their best submitted work in print, broadcast, integrated marketing communication, photography, etc. rather than their GPA or ACT scores. Applicants should begin submitting work in the fall of 2019 and follow the UM scholarship application process.

The Talbert Fellows program will offer scholarship opportunities and financial assistance in addition to other funding students might receive, special events, personalized attention and coaching from faculty, reporting trips and a possible travel budget.

“Students have a lot of choices when it comes to finding the right university, and we think the Talbert Fellows program might be just the little extra incentive some need to choose the School of Journalism and New Media,” said Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Journalism Debra Wenger, Ph.D. “From scholarship money to unique experiential learning opportunities to networking options, the students accepted to become Talbert Fellows will find themselves positioned to become future leaders in the fields of journalism and integrated marketing communications.”

Farley Hall. Photo by Clay Patrick.

Assistant Dean and Associate Professor Scott Fiene said the School of Journalism and New Media is pleased to launch a program that offers more than just financial assistance.

“This will also create a unique cohort of students who get opportunities for faculty coaching, reporting trips, possibly special class sections, and a lot more,” he said. “It’s truly a win for students and a milestone in the evolution of our school.”

R.J. Morgan, director of the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association, said there are many high school students across the country who are proving they are skilled thinkers and innovators at a young age.

“Students like that need to be honored, but more than that, they need to be challenged to reach their full potential,” he said. “This program will help us better identify those students from the outset, so that once they arrive on campus, we can focus our best resources on pushing them to an elite level of success.”

The Talbert Fellows program is named after Samuel S. Talbert, Ph.D. The versatile administrator and author wrote three academic books on journalism, several plays and a column published in more than 100 newspapers. He chaired the UM Department of Journalism from 1951 until his death in 1972.

Talbert Fellows selections will follow the university’s annual calendar with new students notified in April and admitted each fall semester. New, transfer and current students are eligible to apply. Awards are renewable for up to four years.

Applicants must submit a link to their online portfolios and the information required through the University of Mississippi scholarship application portal.

To request an interview about the Talbert Fellows program, contact Wenger at 662-915-7912 or drwenger@olemiss.edu.

UM School of Journalism and New Media offers jobs site and career advice

Posted on: August 3rd, 2019 by ldrucker

Landing your first job out of college can be challenging. That’s why the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media has created a jobs website to help, but many people aren’t aware it exists.

Business leaders throughout the state and country are encouraged to submit job, internship, fellowship, scholarship and other opportunities to our jnmjobs.com site. Students are encouraged to take a look at what’s offered.

“We realized we needed one place to post jobs,” said Assistant Dean Scott Fiene. In the past, faculty members were often told about job opportunities, and if they had a student in mind, they would forward the job to them. “We thought, let’s try to build this thing on our own. It’s very informal, and it’s linked to our school website.”


The school website address is jnm.olemiss.edu. The jobs site address is jnmjobs.com.

Fiene said employers from around the country often send job opportunities to faculty and staff, and they are now posted on the jobs site. He wants to promote the site so more people will become aware of it. Visitors can also subscribe to the site and receive newly posted jobs via email.

Bobby Steele, instructional assistant professor of branding and promotions, said the website is like the school’s own LinkedIn.

“I think the website is very important because I had a professor tell me once that 75 percent of the jobs people got in integrated marketing communications (IMC) are word-of-mouth marketing,” he said. “It gives students an opportunity to see jobs that we are not necessarily recommending, but we are letting them know that they are available.”

Amanda Haley

Atlanta native Amanda Haley is a multimedia journalist for WTVA-Tupelo who graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media. Haley said it’s important to think broadly when searching for jobs after college.

“It’s important to set long-term goals,” she said, “but don’t limit yourself when job searching right after school. Apply everywhere that might work for you, and never turn down an interview or phone call with potential employers, even if you don’t see yourself working for them. Getting used to answering questions about your career goals, and getting yourself out there professionally will always be beneficial.”

Many students don’t take advantage of resources at the University of Mississippi that may help them land a job. It’s important to ask questions and reach out to faculty members who may be able to put you in touch with individuals or opportunities who can help you achieve your goals.

Haley said connecting with faculty and meeting and communicating with others in your field is an important part of the job search.

“Any conversation is an important one,” she said, “And when it comes time to look for a job, you’ll have some relationships already made, and they can help guide you or refer you to a job.”

Student selected for Chronicle of Higher Education reporting workshop in D.C.

Posted on: September 13th, 2018 by ldrucker

Devna Bose, journalism major and Daily Mississippian managing editor, was selected by the Chronicle of Higher Education for its reporting workshop in Washington, D.C.

During the workshop on Sept. 6 and 7, Bose networked with talented editors and student journalists from all over the nation, and learned tips for reporting about higher education, like how to find and read college form 990s. The Chronicle paid all expenses for the students selected.

“I applied not only because I was eager to improve my own reporting skills, but also to discover resources to bring back to the Daily Mississippian newsroom,” Bose said. “I learned a multitude of things that will allow me to more efficiently serve the LOU community as a journalist.”

In the photo above, Bose is getting help finding resources for a story from one of the Chronicle editors. The photo below is of all the students participating in the workshop.

Husni and UM School of Journalism and New Media partner to help magazine students with financial needs pursue dreams

Posted on: February 9th, 2018 by ldrucker

For many college students, the idea of working in the magazine industry is a dream, but not a reality. That’s because many can’t afford to work for free and don’t have money to cover expensive housing costs in New York City, even if they were awarded an internship.

Dr. Samir Husni, professor, Hederman Lecturer, and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media, is trying to change that. Husni’s Magazine Innovation Center has teamed with the MPA: Association of Magazine Media to create an endowment to help magazine students with financial needs pursue their dreams.

“We are teaming to start an endowment to help send students on internships and jobs,” Husni said. “We called it the Magazine Innovation Center/MPA Endowment.”

Dr. Samir Husni speaks on stage at the American Magazine Media Conference 2018 on Feb. 6, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for The Association of Magazine Media)

Husni recently shared the idea with magazine executives during the American Magazine Media Conference in New York City Feb. 6. “I was humbled and proud at the same time standing on that stage and talking about the University of Mississippi and our school of journalism,” he said.

The endowment will start with $25,000 from the MPA: Association of Magazine Media Foundation. Husni will also work to raise funds through sponsorships from the ACT Experience, his Magazine Innovation Center’s annual magazine industry event. Part of the sponsorship funds are used to help students.

“It will mainly be aimed at talented magazine media students who are in financial need to go places like New York City or Los Angeles,” he said. “So it will level the playing field among those who have and those who don’t if they share the same love and talent of the magazine media.”

Husni said he’s always felt that some students didn’t have equal access to magazine internships that can be very costly considering all expenses involved.

“I’ve always felt the inequality of the internships, especially today,” he said. “Very few people pay for interns. So not only do the students have to pay to register for the course, they have to pay for their travel. They have to pay their living expenses. So it’s really a lot if you don’t come from a hefty financial background. This is just a little effort in balancing or leveling the playing field.”

Husni has a busy season ahead of him with magazines. He is currently preparing for the ACT 8 Experience, an event organized annually by the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism set for April 17-20 in Oxford. The 2018 theme is Print Proud, Digital Smart.

And Newell Turner, one of Husni’s former University of Mississippi magazine students, who rose to become the Hearst Design Group editorial director, will be presented the Silver Em, the University of Mississippi’s highest award in journalism, at a campus event during the ACT 8 Experience April 18. The event will be held in the Overby Auditorium in Farley Hall on the UM campus at 5:30 p.m.

The Silver Em award dates to 1958, and recipients must be Mississippians with notable journalism careers or journalists with notable careers in Mississippi.

If you are interested in donating to the endowment or learning more about it, contact Husni at 662-915-1414, 662-832-6247 or samir.husni@gmail.com.