WRAL.com's John Clark to lead digital news project at UNC journalism school

John Clark, WRAL.com general manager, is joining the faculty at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media on July 1 to lead the school's Reese Felts digital news and audience research project.

Clark helped build WRAL.com into one of the most successful local news websites in the nation, growing traffic to more than 1 billion page views last year. He deployed a mobile news strategy and established a strong social media presence for the site, which has won the Edward R. Murrow Award for best broadcast-affiliated website, the Editor & Publisher award for best local TV-affiliated website and a regional Emmy for continuing coverage, among other awards under Clark's leadership.

He takes over a signature program of the UNC journalism school's push into the digital media environment - funded by a $4.1 million estate gift by Carolina alumnus Reese Felts. The Felts digital news project’s mission is to help industries, companies and entrepreneurs create innovative solutions for content, advertising and marketing through student-based research and experimentation. The project's news site, reesenews.org, launched in November 2010 and has drawn national recognition including the best online sports reporting award from the Society of Professional Journalists for its "Staying in Bounds" interactive game that helped explain the intricacies of NCAA compliance rules for student-athletes.

Jean Folkerts, dean of the school, said Clark's leadership is a significant boost to the journalism school's digital mission. "He understands the critical importance of audience research to the news industry, and he will build a powerful research infrastructure for reesenews.org," said Folkerts. "He knows where technology is taking us, and his students are going to shape the future of the mobile news platform."

"I'm excited to be a part of such a critical project for our industry," said Clark. "As the Web matures and the mobile world explodes, students in the digital newsroom will develop theories and test them in a practical, real-world environment - and report the findings back to the industry."

"John has always had a passion for teaching, and there is not a better position in the world for a person with his background and experience," said Jimmy Goodmon, vice president and general manager of the CBC New Media Group that operates WRAL.com. "There is not a better person than John to bring a real world digital newsroom experience to the students of today and our colleagues of tomorrow. UNC and its students will be well served by his experience, his knowledge, his kindness and his passion for helping others grow and learn."