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Two student journalists from NewsWatch place first in Southeast Journalism Conference competitions

Posted on: March 1st, 2019 by ldrucker

Congratulations to Matthew Hendley and Madison Scarpino for winning first-place awards in Southeast Journalism Conference competitions.

Hendley, a NewsWatch Ole Miss anchor and correspondent, won first place in the SEJC onsite anchoring competition. Judges said the entries were unusually strong this year, and Hendley, a sophomore, came out on top.

Scarpino, a junior, was named Best TV Hard News Reporter for packages that aired on NewsWatch Ole Miss last year about Hurricane Michael and the Journalism and New Media forum after Ed Meek’s Facebook post. Scarpino was social media producer for NewsWatch last semester.

JNM Professor Nancy Dupont is NewsWatch adviser and has worked with both students.

“They’re both incredibly talented student journalists,” Dupont said. “I’m not surprised that Madison took first place in reporting because she’s an excellent storyteller. Matthew is the one of the best at interpreting the news, but I’m so proud of him for taking first place in anchoring, which is a really competitive category.”

The SEJC conference was Feb. 14-16 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro near Nashville. For the anchoring onsite category, Hendley was given about 10 minutes to read the script, and then he went on the air for about five minutes reading the script and doing a sign-off in a virtual newsroom. It was a mini-newscast with four or five local Tennessee stories, requiring him to switch from one camera to another after the anchor intro.

“It was neat to see another school’s newsroom,” Hendley said, “though I was not a fan of the virtual newsroom…of everything being painted green! But it was another great experience and an honor that I will always remember.”

Abbie McIntosh, NewsWatch Ole Miss student manager, shared a second-place award with Scarpino in the onsite TV reporting team category.

“Having Madison take home the top prize for Best TV Hard News Reporter made me so happy because I know how hard Madison works on her projects,” McIntosh said. “I was able to witness the work that was put into the packages we submitted for SEJC, and I was beaming with pride, not only as her friend, but as her student manager,” McIntosh said. “And having Matthew take home Best TV Anchor made me grin from ear to ear. Matthew is such a character on the desk and I’m so glad everyone else realized that, too.”

Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Day speakers offer advice

Posted on: March 6th, 2017 by ldrucker

A journalism or integrated marketing communications degree can lead to a job in public relations, marketing, sports promotion, creative services and many other categories.

That’s why the University of Mississippi annually hosts the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Day. It will be held Tuesday, March 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nancy McKenzie Dupont, Ph.D., is a professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media and coordinator of the event that will be held in the Overby Center in Farley Hall on the UM campus.

“This event is for students to learn how to succeed in broadcast journalism and in marketing jobs at broadcasting stations,” Dupont said. “The day consists of portfolio critiques in the morning, a meeting with faculty, and small group discussions in the afternoon. The public is not invited to any of the events. It’s just for students and faculty.”

She said 15-20 broadcasters will attend.

“Broadcasters want to come to the Meek School because they believe it’s the best program in the state,” she said. “They want to help students during their time here. It would be a mistake for students to miss this opportunity to get a professional critique of their work and advice on how to land the job they want.”

Dupont said many students start out with the goal of becoming newspaper and broadcast reporters, but so many journalism jobs have changed, and there are many more career options for students.

“I hope students will learn what skills they need to be developing right now to make themselves ready for careers at broadcasting stations,” she said.

Her advice: Develop as many skills as you can—writing, video shooting, editing, social media, etc.—and intern as much as you can to gain experience.

For more information, contact Dupont at ndupont@olemiss.edu.

Story by LaReeca Rucker, adjunct journalism instructor