News

The UNC Hussman Spring Commencement address will come from someone with a unique perspective on how the school has innovated and grown this year: Walter E. Hussman Jr. ’68.

by Barbara Wiedemann
Nine months ago, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media photojournalist Jason Armond ’19 was a ”30-something” student on his first trip ever to New York City. Fast forward to February and drive 2,879 miles west, to the offices of the Los Angeles Times. Here, Armond has found his niche. A passionate photographer from childhood, he’d tried community college, freelancing, and starting his own photography business in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. Hungry for more, he returned to school for an education at UNC Hussman while working to put himself through school. Not long after the Miami Herald’s legendary Jacqueline Charles’ commencement spring 2019 address to the j-school and tossing his graduation cap in the air at Carolina, Armond rolled into Los Angeles and reported to his dream job at the L.A. Times.

 

by Barbara Wiedemann
Students in UNC Hussman School of Media and Journalism faculty members Daniel Kreiss and Joe Czabovsky’s “Undergraduate Research in Political Communication” course had the opportunity to experience firsthand what will arguably become the most newsworthy Iowa caucuses in recent history.
Immediately upon arriving in Iowa late last week ahead of the Monday, Feb. 3 caucuses, ten Hussman seniors travelled across the state attending rallies; hearing stump speeches; and interviewing candidates, press, voters, volunteers and campaign strategists, from Council Bluffs to the capital city of Des Moines to Cedar Rapids; even being interviewed themselves by over a dozen media outlets.

Why does YouTube seem to know just what you want to watch?How can Google fill in your search questions before you even finish them?Where does Facebook find out what ads it thinks you’d like?
One word: algorithms.
They’re ubiquitous in our tech-drenched world, but do people understand how these computational sets of instructions influence the internet content we see, from cat videos to political ads?

This month, one of the most universally beloved members of the UNC community is retiring after serving UNC Hussman, Carolina students and Chapel Hill for more than 40 years. Jan Johnson Yopp '70 is retiring effective Feb. 1 from her posts as a faculty member at UNC Hussman and dean of the UNC Summer School. She will be missed by everyone in Carroll Hall and on the UNC campus.

UNC Research's Endeavors (which tells stories powered by research) spoke with Hussman PhD student Alex Kresovich. A successful music producer, Kresovich came to UNC to study how popular music with references to mental health affects populations with mental health disorders.

UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alumna, faculty member and longtime board member Merrill Rose died January 28, 2020 in New York City.

by Barbara Wiedemann
UNC Hussman lecturer David Francis’ students heard from Ran Northam, a public information officer with the Town of Chapel Hill, bright and early on Tuesday, January 28, in their 8 a.m. “Writing and Reporting” class in Carroll Hall. Northam, an Appalachian State graduate with previous experience as a studio producer and news and sports director at Chapel Hill radio station WCHL, has been working with the Chapel Hill police department and fire rescue teams since 2014 and currently acts as community safety communications specialist, the first non-sworn P.I.O. working in conjunction with the town’s police and fire departments.

The NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame will induct five game-changing industry leaders at the group’s annual gala on Friday, April 3, 2020, at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill.