SJMC Weekly Announcements

Last week, the DMA certificate reached an exciting milestone – its 100th student requested to add the certificate! This achievement is remarkable, especially considering the certificate has existed for less than two semesters. Congratulations to undergraduate adviser Sandra Kubat, assistant professor Sijia Yang and professor Doug McLeod for all their hard work on this certificate!

The judges for the Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics selected five outstanding entries as finalists for the 2024 award from an impressive field of nominations. The Shadid Award honors journalists who exhibit a strong commitment to ethical journalism by acting with integrity, honoring ethical principles in their reporting or resisting pressure to compromise ethical principles. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 12, and honored at an award ceremony in Washington D.C. on Monday, May 6. See the full list of finalists and read their incredible stories.

Lucas's new article, "How to Grow a Transnational Field: A Network Analysis of the Global Fact-Checking Movement," was recently published in New Media & Society. The article explores the global fact-checking movement as a case of deliberate institution-building to consolidate a new transnational field. Read the full article.

While football was the main event for most people during last weekend's Super Bowl, J-School students, faculty and staff know that the real competition happens off the field as the world's top strategic communicators put their best ads forward. In honor of this year's Super Bowl, J-School faculty and staff shared their favorite Super Bowl ads.

One of the key facets of the J-School’s Professional Master’s program is the chance for students to design their degree path around their interests and passions. That’s what drew current professional master’s student Miquéla Thornton to the J-School. Thornton’s reporting focuses on climate change and environmental justice with stories ranging from science and tech to politics and business. She shares more about her work and what she hopes to do after she graduates.

Communications Manager Kara Rheingans and her digital marketing intern, Mai Nguyen, put together some J-School-inspired valentines to send to a fellow J-School lover.

Follow along this month as we honor our SJMC alumni during Black History Month as they have greatly contributed to shaping narratives that amplify diverse voices within the world of journalism and strategic communication. This week, we highlighted Bassey Etim (BA'08), who has had a remarkable career in technology journalism. Bassey has worked at the New York Times as a community editor, CNN as an editorial director and product director for machine learning. Currently, Bassey is the principal product and ML Consultant at Machines on Paper, a consulting company where organizations seek his expertise in addressing complex issues in technology and media.

Associate professor at the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rebekah Nagler will present her talk "Confronting the perennial challenge of conflicting health information" on Monday, Feb. 19 in the Nafziger Room (5055 Vilas Hall). Lunch will be provided.

The SJMC is excited to welcome UW alum and BOV member Andy Katz on Thursday, Feb. 22 for a presentation about dealing with and thriving from adversity in the world of sports media. Andy Katz is a digital reporter, analyst and host for NCAA and Big Ten Network. Light refreshments will be provided. Mark your calendars – you don't want to miss this event!

Join us on Friday, March 8 from 9:30 a.m.–4:15 p.m. for the 2024 Communications Crossroads Conference. Run by graduate students for graduate students, this annual conference provides a friendly environment to practice presenting research, and the opportunity to gain feedback from faculty and peers.

Professor at the School of Information Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at Syracuse University, Jennifer Stromer-Galley will present her talk, "The Big Lie: The Delegitimization of Democracy in the United States," on Monday, March 11 at noon in the Nafziger Room (5055 Vilas Hall). Lunch will be provided.