Baylor University JPR&NM Graduate Program Newsletter-Spring2016

Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media

Spring 2016

GRADUATE QUARTERLY THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR THE BAYLOR DEPARTMENT OF

JOURNALISM, Public relations &

NEW MEDIA GRADUATE PROGRAM

STUDENTS, FACuLtY PRESENT RESEARCH Baylor had a strong presence at this year’s AEJMC Midwinter Conference Feb. 26-27 at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma.

students and faculty members to present at the conference.

Sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the conference provides a platform for presentations and extended discussions in a relaxed setting ideal for graduate students and scholars who want to receive feedback on their work from other scholars, said Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., an associate Kaitlyn Skinner, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor, Graduate Program director and and David Lin, Ph.D. American Studies Program director in Baylor’s Department of Journalism, PR & Moody-Ramirez, David Lin, Ph.D., an New Media. associate professor in the Baylor Department of Computer Science, and Kaitlyn Skinner, a “It is a wonderful conference that allows journalism graduate student, presented, “A participants to share ideas and network critical race analysis of themes that emerged with scholars who share similar research in tweets following the 2015 biker shootout interests,” she added. in Waco, Texas.”

The acceptance rate for conference abstracts ranges from 40 to 60 percent.

“We had an exceptional group of graduate students submit papers for presentation by a panel of peer reviewers,” said MoodyRamirez, who encourages graduate

Moody-Ramirez and Lin also were the copresenters of “Case study: An examination of YouTube comments following President Barack Obama’s 2015 rendition of “Amazing Grace,” with Riva Brown, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Central Arkansas.

Taylor Brady, Karen Rollins and Kaitlyn Skinner

Kaitlyn (Rollins) Skinner

A first-time attendee, Skinner (pictured above right) presented, “One word is all it takes: A case study of celebrity chef Paula Deen,” a paper she coauthored with Emily Evans. Skinner also presented a solo-authored piece titled, “Snapchat: A content analysis of themes in screenshots.”

tonya b. lewis

Tonya B. Lewis (pictured above) presented “The crime that was heard around the world: A feminist critical discourse analysis of media coverage of the New Delhi gang rape.”

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GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS KAPPA TAU ALPHA DEREK BLAINE LIZ FASSIH EARNS MANY ACCOLADES Liz Fassih, a graduate student in the American Studies Program at Baylor, has presented at numerous conferences and co-written several journal articles.

Last year, she was named Top Graduate Student in the Department of Journalism, PR & New Media and the American Studies Program. After graduating from Baylor in May, she will begin the juris doctorate program at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the fall.

She was accepted into law programs at the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia and Duke University.

While attending Baylor University, Liz’s research has primarily focused on Iranian-Americans and how they are depicted in mass media messages.

She serves as the Graduate Student Association (GSA) Representative for Journalism and American Studies, an editorial assistant for the American Studies Association of Texas blog and the Journal of American Studies Association of Texas. The Cleveland native received her bachelor’s degree in social studies education from Bowling Green State University.

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Congratulations to Derek Blaine (left) who was inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha Honor society. Kappa Tau Alpha is a college honor society that recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism and mass communication.

VIRAL

Congratulations to Sawyer Smith on the success of his interview with Taya Kyle posted in January. The post went viral on YouTube and Facebook. In the interview, Taya discussed God, guns, “American Sniper” and much more. Smith has developed a virtual following as a result.

GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

ALUMS RETURN! CARLYE THORNTON Carlye Thornton rejoined the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media this spring as a graduate student, much to the delight of faculty members. She is employed full time as the Digital Design and Communications Coordinator for Baylor University Libraries and Information Technology Services.

YOU CAN COME HOME AGAIN. . . .

Alums who returned to the Department of Journalism, PR & New Media for graduate school last semester were Kaitlyn (Rollins) Skinner, Elizabeth “Elly” Spencer and Ashley Yeaman.

Kaitlyn (Rollins) Skinner Photo credit: Kaitlyn (Rollins) Skinner

Elizabeth “Elly” Spencer

Ashley Yeamen

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GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

COMPANIES MUST ADAPT INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AS DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE, MILLENNIALS ENTER WORKFORCE article “Emerging Issues in Internal Communications: Generational Shifts, Internal Social Media & Engagement,” published in the 2015 Winter Public Relations Journal. It contains research gathered from 32 interviews with executives from companies listed among Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” as well as other reputable companies and organizations.

Marlene Neill, Ph.D. Graduate Faculty Research Spotlight

As baby boomers retire and an increasing number of millennials enter the workforce, internal communicators must adapt to accommodate the shift of generations, the rise of internal social media, and the development of metrics to determine employee engagement, according to a recent Baylor University study.

“Collectively, these issues appear to be strengthening the power and demand for strategic internal communication,” said researcher Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., assistant professor of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.

These changes are highlighted in the

Internal communication was studied within 26 companies and organizations representing 11 states and the District of Columbia.

Neill said a number of trends “indicate a move to a more strategic role for internal communication and more dialogue with employees, rather than one-way communication.”

Those developments include organizational structural changes. For most companies and organizations that participated in the study, a communications or public relations department leads their internal communications, with human resources professionals collaborating closely.

Generational shifts. The loss of baby boomers in the workplace means losing years of experience. Millennials have different communication expectations from their employers, such as mobile

communication and short messages.

Companies and organizations are learning to communicate with brevity and easy access through channels such as internal social media.

Employer branding. Millennials have a reputation for being less loyal to their jobs and more focused on long-term careers. However, core values such as respect, honesty, integrity, humility, character, innovation, workplace safety and customer service seem to be important for millennials seeking employment.

Human resources departments often are in charge of introducing employees to a company brand, while public relations executives reinforce those brand values.

Metrics for measuring employee engagement. Online metrics such as page visits, returning visitors, time spent with content and referring sites are all ways used by participants. Other metrics include attendance at employee meetings and click-through rates for electronic newsletters. More advanced measurement involves routine surveys related to communication and culture, as well as attrition or turnover.

NEW FACULTY MEMBER MAKES THE GRADE Congratulations to Seul Lee (left), who during spring break successfully defended her dissertation titled, “The Effects of Media-Bound Factors on Cause-Related Marketing Audience’s Attitudes and Behavioral Intention.”

Lee joined the Department of Journalism, PR & New Media in fall 2015.

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GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016 FACULTY DUO PRESENTS AT 2016 SOUTHWEST POPULAR/ AMERICAN CULTURE ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN ALBUQUERQUE Drs. Cassy Burleson and Mia MoodyRamirez represented the Baylor University American Studies Program at the 2016 Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference.

Burleson presented “Apples Don’t Fall Far from the Tree: Tracing the Trail to ‘Her Texas: Story, Image, Poem & Song.’”

Moody-Ramirez presented “Discourse Analysis of the Top Rachel Dolezal Cassy Burleson, Ph.D. Internet Memes.”

The 37th Annual Southwest Popular/ American Culture Association Conference was held Feb. 10-13 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The mission of the SWPACA is to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in Humanities and Social Sciences and to celebrate America’s cultural heritages.

Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.

PRESS AWARD “Her Texas” includes the work of 60 contemporary Texas women songsters, poets, creative writers (fiction and nonfiction), artists and photographers. In late March, Texas Press Women awarded the anthology first place in “edited work.” It is now moving up to the National Federation of Press Women competition.

Congratulations to co-editors, Donna Walker-Nixon, Cassy Burleson, Rachel Crawford and Ashley Palmer, publisher Bryce Milligan of Wings Press, and all of the contributors who shared their work in the anthology.

2015 AMERICAN STUDIES OF TEXAS CONFERENCE Drs. Cassy Burleson, Mia Moody-Ramirez, and Liz Fassih, an American Studies Graduate Student, presented the following research papers at the 59th Annual American Studies of America (ASAT) Conference, held at Sam Houston State University Nov. 12-14, 2015.

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Macarena Hernandez Macarena Hernandez, Fred Hartman Distinguished Professor of Journalism, co-authored a paper on Monica Lewinsky’s image restoration tactics with Mia Moody-Ramirez and Liz Fassih.

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“Contextualizing Creative Research” by Burleson “Discourse Analysis of the Top Rachel Dolezal Internet Memes” by MoodyRamirez “The Connotative Differences between Iranians and Persians in the U.S.” by Fassih “Spanning the Decades: An Analysis of Monica Lewinsky’s Image Restoration Strategies during a 2015 TED Talks Appearance” by Moody-Ramirez, Fassih and Macarena Hernandez.

Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D. presents a paper on Rachel Dolezal.

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GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

HATS OFF TO TONYA! Tonya B. Lewis graduated with a Master of Arts degree in journalism in December. Lewis is the assistant director of Media Communications at Baylor University and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Journalism, PR & New Media.

MEET KENDALL Kendall McCullough (right) joined the American Studies program in fall 2016.

He has been an invaluable addition to the program! The Lubbock native serves as a TA for Professor Bob Darden and Dr. Cassy Burleson.

ABOUT US

Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media offers two graduate-level programs for those interested in foreign correspondence, mass media, PR and more.

Application Deadlines: Spring Semester General: Dec. 1 Summer Semester General: May 1 Fall Semester General: Feb. 15 6

kudos to wenjing Congratulations to Wenjing Shi (above), who has been accepted into the Baylor University Management of Information System master’s program! She will graduate with a Master of International Journalism in the spring and begin in the fall.

ONE DEPARTMENT THREE GREAT CHOICES 1. Master of International Journalism 2. Master of Arts in Journalism 3. Master of Arts in American Studies

GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

where are they now?

A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT A FEW OF OUR GRADUATES ARE DOING

Sidney Garcia (AMS) ’14 NYU Press Brooklyn, New York Charis Dietz (MIJ) ’08 Director of Marketing & Media Relations at Buckner International, Dallas, Texas Chelsea (Quackenbush) White (MA) ’11 Electronic media editor at Buckner International Dallas, Texas Kyle Beam (MA) ’14 Marketing Analyst for the Greater Houston Port Bureau Houston, Texas Julie Copenhaver (MA) ’08 Assistant Director of Communications at Baylor University, Career and Professional Development Waco, Texas

Savanah Landerholm (MA) ‘14 Savanah and Scott Landerholm welcomed Ivy Maeve Landerholm into the world on Jan. 23. Savanah is finishing her second year in the Higher Education and Studies in Leadership doctoral program in the School of Education. She was the 2014 Outstanding Journalism Graduate Student.

Poplar Yuan Yi (MIJ) ’14 Poplar graduated with a Master of International Journalism in 2014. Today, she is a PR Specialist at Omni 12, Houston, Texas

ALUM SPOTLIGHT | cATE (WESTENHOVER) BARRETT (MA) ‘14 I work on the operations team at an oil and gas enterprise software company called RigUp. We help companies in the industry get discovered, form relationships, operate efficiently, and be recognized by the merits of their work, all on our online platform. My day-to-day work is a blend of business development and operations and involves communicating with current and potential clients, onboarding users, and making sure they hit metrics with their customers on the website.

I’m the point person for our daily communication to-do list, and I manage a team of interns. Oil and gas is a brand new industry to me, but it’s exciting because we have a real chance to create changes in how companies do business fairly, and continue to operate at a sustainable level even as the price of oil remains low.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! SEND YOUR UPDATES TO BUGRADPROGRAM@GMAIL.COM 7

GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Malory Green (MIJ) ’15

Congratulations to Malory on her recent engagement to Jared Ford. Malory is employed at Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union. Malory’s big date is May 21!

Kelly (Coleman) Juntunen (MIJ) ‘07

Journalism teacher at Allen High School, Allen, Texas. She is a Waco native and former Waco Tribune-Herald reporter who graduated with a Master’s of International Journalism in 2007.

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Meredith Millard (MIJ) ’14

Meredith is the director of Estate Planning and Gift Giving at the American Cancer Society, Houston, Texas.

Danielle (Brown) Kilgo (MA) ‘12

Congratulations to Douglas and Danielle Kilgo on the birth of Alexandar Gabriel on July 20, 2015. The two are pictured above with sister, Hendrix. Kilgo is a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. She was recently named a Fellow for the University of Texas Graduate Continuing Fellowship Program.

GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

(From left) Derek Blaine, Liz Fassih, Wenjing Shi, Ashley Yeaman, Sawyer Smith, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., Kaitlyn Skinner and Kendall McCullough.

CONTACT US Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D. Graduate Program Director Email: Mia_Moody@baylor.edu Telephone: 254-710-7247 Sara Stone, Ph.D. Department Chair Email: Sara_Stone@baylor.edu Telephone: 254-710-6348

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GRADUATE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2016

Graduate Students, Faculty Members Celebrate the Joys of Teaching, Learning at the 2015 New Student Luncheon

(From left) Sawyer Smith, Derek Blaine, Kaitlyn Skinner, Kendall McCullough, Bob Darden, Seul Lee, Maxey Parrish, Sara Stone, Ph.D.; Ashley Yeaman; Liz Bates, Ph.D.; and Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.

Give

to Baylor JPRNM

When you believe in Baylor, it makes sense to give back, allowing future and current Bears to have your Baylor experience. Your gift to the Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media permits students to grow, learn and find their calling while being taught by highlyqualified faculty. • Journalism Endowed Excellence Fund • Public Relations Endowed Excellence Fund

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If you prefer not to make your gift electronically via credit card, you may mail gifts to: University Development One Bear Place #97050 Waco, Texas 76798-7050 You may also call 1-800-BAYLOR-U (1-800-229-5678), option 4, to speak with someone regarding your gift.

Please designate the Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media as the recipient of your donation!

Thank you for your interest and support!

STAY IN TOUCH

What’s going on in your life?

Recently married?

Had a baby?

Recently hired?

Published a paper?

Joined the military?

Let us know!

ALUMNI UPDATE Want to be included in our Graduate Quarterly?

Email your information to bugradprogram@gmail.com

#bujougrad

Baylor Department of Journalism, PR & New Media Faculty and Staff Dr. Clark Baker Dr. Elizabeth Bates Sharon Griff Dr. Cassy Burleson Curtis Callaway Professor Robert Darden Macarena Hernandez Matt MacVeigh

Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez Dr. Seul Lee Dr. Marlene Neill Dr. Brad Owens Maxey Parrish Carol Perry Dr. Sara Stone Kevin Tankersley

Office Manager Coordinator: Margaret Kramer Administrative Associate: Lanisa Tovar

Designed by Carlye Thornton 11

Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media

Spring 2016

GRADUATE QUARTERLY

One Bear Place #97353 Waco, Tx 76798-7142