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For future filmmakers and video production professionals, there’s almost nothing like being immersed in the film industry in Los Angeles: the creative energy, the professional connections and the buzz of activity.

During summer 2023, that dream learning environment came to life for four ����ɫ��ҹ Media and Journalism students who interned in Los Angeles at 1895 Films, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning film and documentary company co-founded by alumnus Tom Jennings, ‘85.  

����ɫ��ҹ student journalists will continue to report on the aftermath of the Feb. 3 East Palestine train derailment disaster, with support from a grant from Grist and the Center for Rural Strategies. The organizations recently awarded $100,000 to newsrooms and freelance journalists around the country to carry out rural reporting projects, and ����ɫ��ҹ’s Collaborative NewsLab was one of 15 recipients.

As a new academic year begins, the School of Media and Journalism is pleased to welcome two new faculty members. Meet Peter Bobkowski and Andrea Lorenz! Bobkowski joins the faculty as the new Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism and Professor. He is an expert on scholastic journalism and most recently was professor at the University of Kansas. He will be teaching Media, Power and Culture during Fall 2023. Lorenz joins as Assistant Professor. She researches interactions between media and democracy.

����ɫ��ҹ junior Anthony Scilla was on his way across campus Dec. 2, 2022, when he followed a cloud of smoke downtown to capture photos of a massive fire that had broken out at Star of the West Milling Co. building on N. Water Street in Kent. The Society of Professional Journalists recently recognized one of his photos from the historic mill fire as the best in the nation for 2022

As television news professionals from the region gathered for the Central Great Lakes Regional Emmy Awards gala over the summer, ����ɫ��ҹ Media and Journalism (MDJ) students “ran the show” behind the scenes. MDJ adjunct instructor Sam Angello, who teaches Production Fundamentals and Digital Video Editing, has been involved with the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (which produces the Emmys) for many years, and in 2023, trained ����ɫ��ҹ students to run the backstage stream of the regional awards gala.

In Spring 2023, the School of Media and Journalism hosted visits from multiple television stations and news organizations, all of whom were in search of qualified students to engage as summer interns or full-time employees following graduation. We were delighted to have a chance to show off!

More than 40 years after her college graduation, alumna Delores Jones, ’76, has never wavered in her support of ����ɫ��ҹ School of Media and Journalism students.

As a student, she was a journalism major with a concentration in public relations and became very involved in the public relations curriculum, serving as vice president of ����ɫ��ҹ’s Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).

Assistant Professor Kaatie Cooper, Ph.D., envisions a world where journalists and scientists work together to better inform the public about environmental issues. She’s working toward that vision through her research, which examines how mass media affects environmental issues, especially in documentary work.

Recent graduate Dakota Varney, ‘23, spent the spring 2023 semester practicing his photography and multimedia skills in one of Northeast Ohio’s treasures: the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).

Varney, a journalism major with a photojournalism minor, was in an elective class on recreational parks when he learned of the opportunity to work at CVNP.

Students in the School of Media and Journalism are exposed to hands-on class experiences that give them the opportunity to explore their identities through storytelling.

Recent graduates Gabby Jonas, ’23, and Reegan Saunders, ’23, both had the opportunity to craft and share deeply personal stories during their college careers.