News

“Barriers,” an interactive media project produced by UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media students recently earned top honors at the Horizon Interactive Awards.
The international competition recognizes the world’s best websites, videos, online advertising, print media and mobile applications.
“Barriers,” produced by students in Professor Pat Davison’s spring 2020 “MEJO 584: International Projects” class, documents citizens of the Central American country of Belize confronting climate change, pollution and development as they work to preserve their culture and natural environment, which includes the world’s second-largest barrier reef.

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media recognized outstanding faculty and staff contributions to the school this year with awards presented Friday, May 7, 2021, in a virtual school-wide meeting. Award nominations are sought and reviewed by a committee of former winners of each award, and the committees forward their recommendations to the dean. The awards have grown in recent years from two longstanding teaching awards to now four faculty awards recognizing innovation, teaching, service and commitment to students — and two staff excellence awards. Eight faculty and staff members were recognized this year, and all received a monetary award along with the honor.

by Barbara Wiedemann
The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s Dean Susan King announced today that global communications powerhouse Donald A. (Don) Baer, one of the world’s most experienced strategic leaders across the media and communications industries, will serve as the inaugural Frank A. Daniels Jr. Executive-in-Residence at UNC Hussman during the 2021 fall semester. He brings four decades of leadership experience to his residency at UNC Hussman. A senior partner at global critical issues firm Brunswick Group and the longest-serving board chair in PBS’ 50-year history, Baer will lead UNC Hussman students in a semester-long course entitled “The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) Of the American Media” (MEJO 490.2), leveraging his unparalleled network across journalism, the media business, government, politics and non-profit sectors. Baer will also host the first-ever Frank A. Daniels Jr. Lecture, a capstone fall 2021 event open to the UNC-Chapel Hill community at large to discuss emerging issues at the intersection of media, politics and public discourse. Baer’s special guest will be Thomas Friedman, internationally renowned three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and the author of bestselling books including “The World is Flat” and “From Beirut to Jerusalem.” Details of the Tuesday, September 28, conversation between Baer and Friedman at Carolina are forthcoming.

Students in “MEJO 463: Creating Tomorrow’s News Products” recently used their collective brain power to pitch innovative news ideas at Pitch Day, the annual event that culminates the course taught by Teaching Associate Professor Kate Sheppard.

 
Lights. Camera. Virtual memories.
Students, here is your chance to memorialize your hard work and effort alongside your classmates during 2020-21.
Take part in UNC Hussman’s 2021 virtual yearbook by submitting your photos (both headshots and candids) featuring UNC Hussman 2021 graduates.
Pictured at right: Photos from the 2020 UNC Hussman virtual yearbook.

A vibrant and collaborative interdisciplinary research culture at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media creates new knowledge, advances scholarship and helps reinvent media.

Olivia Herrera ’21 recently won top honors for her role in the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), the nation’s premier college advertising competitions that challenges students to create strategic advertising, media and marketing campaigns for corporate clients. Herrera won “Best Presenter” in District 3 of the NSAC competition, which involved schools from South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. More than 3,000 students in 15 districts across the nation took part in the competition this year. Yearly, more than 150 universities and colleges take on the NSAC challenge, according to the AAF website. Overall, the UNC Hussman team of 19 students placed third in the competition. The competition is the focus of the capstone course “MEJO 690: Advanced Advertising Campaign Planning,” taught by Associate Professor Joe Bob Hester.

by Barbara Wiedemann
On Wednesday, April 21, UNC Hussman alumna Brooke Baldwin ’01—freshly into a book launch of “Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power” and less than a week from bidding her longtime CNN “Newsroom” audience and CNN colleagues farewell—joined UNC Libraries’ Suchi Mohanty ’02 (MSLS) virtually to talk about her book and about her plans for the future. The book, Baldwin’s first, is a blend of journalism and personal narrative. UNC Libraries described it as, “A fascinating look at how women are not only adding seats at the table to make change but are building a whole new table at which all can play a role.”

Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most honored college honorary society, has inducted four UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media students as new members: Ally Dunavant ’21, Ramishah Maruf ’21, Casey Quam ’21 and Maeve Sheehey ’21.

The NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame inducted five game-changing industry leaders at its annual gala event on Friday, April 9, 2021, in an event held virtually for the first time in its history. Rebecca Darwin ’75, Peter Gammons ’69, Nikole Hannah-Jones ’03 (M.A.), Torod Neptune and Judy Woodruff were honored at the event, which included musical performances by North Carolina artists Mandolin Orange and Steep Canyon Rangers and a silent auction for lunches with the honorees.