Carolina Communicator - Winter 2014

News

jomc.unc.edu/news I mage credit: S ara C owell

for more news:

Nonprofit Org US Postage PA I D Chapel Hill, NC Permit no. 177

Documenting the Heart of the High Country

UNC photojournalism students covered the N.C. mountains for the 10th annual Carolina Photojournalism Workshop (CPJW). They produced the “Heart of the High Country” documentary website, capturing an area boasting tall mountains and taller tales, rich histories, rugged landscapes and people with stories of love, family, faith and hard work.

Experience the High Country at jomc.unc.edu/cpjw13.

reddit co-founder visits UNC

Alexis Ohanian, reddit co-founder and author of the newly released book “Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed,” spoke at the school on Nov. 11. The TED-style talk was followed by a discussion with Zach Clayton — a 2007 UNC graduate, a member of the JOMC Foundation Board and CEO of Three Ships Media in Raleigh. The event included a student-only networking event to connect students with Triangle tech professionals.

Watch Ohanian’s talk at jomc.unc.edu/ohanian.

PR students develop anti-speeding campaign for Raleigh

$19.4 million grant to help UNC study tobacco communication

A digital approach to public data, accountability journalism

Next World Media: How brands envision the future

the university of north carolina at chapel hill campus box 3365, carroll hall chapel hill, nc 27599 -3365

Powering a Nation earns Emmy nomination

The school’s Powering a Nation’s special report, “100 Gallons,” was nominated for a national Emmy in the new approaches to documentary category of the 34th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. It was the only student-produced entry in the category. Other nominees included The New York Times, CNN Digital and The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. J-school alumni were a part of all but one of the Emmy-nominated teams in the category. “100 Gallons” is an experimental interactive film that explores the human connection with water.

jomc.unc.edu/carolinacommunicator

FDA, NIH grant creates Center for Regulatory Research on Tobacco Communications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $19.4 million, five-year grant to fund a center at the University of North Carolina that will study issues related to tobacco prevention communication and regulation. J-school faculty members, including Seth Noar and Laura Ruel, will collaborate with other UNC faculty and lead projects for the center. Noar and a colleague in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health also landed a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the effects of graphic warning labels on tobacco products. A $5,000 seed grant from the J-school helped lead to the successful proposal for the $2 million grant.

Students in the school’s “PR Campaigns” course helped develop Raleigh, N.C.’s “No Need to Speed” campaign. Students researched their audience by collecting more than 1,200 survey responses to shape the messaging for the campaign, which was implemented in October 2013 on five Raleigh streets. “Their research found that this is an issue that resonates regardless of demographic,” said Jayne Kirkpatrick, Raleigh’s public affairs director. “I was extremely impressed with their intense desire to make this campaign succeed.”

Seniors Taalib Cochrane, left, Ryan O’Rorke, center, and Delia D’Ambra broadcast Sports Xtra, the school’s weekly sports highlights, analysis and commentary show. It airs Mondays live at 5 p.m. on Time Warner Cable in central North Carolina.

P hoto credit: morgan ellis

jomc.unc.edu/sportsxtra

An innovative online master’s degree in digital media for working professionals. For program and industry-related updates follow @UNC_MATC on Twitter. Learn more at matc.jomc.unc.edu.

Roote North Carolina UNC J-school and business school students collaborated to develop a nonprofit retail store specializing in local organic, sustainable and natural products.

Profits go back to students in the form of internships, grants and business startups with environmental missions. Left to right, senior Maddy Baldwin, 2013 graduate David Coggins and senior Alex Brusko form Roote’s leadership team. rootenc.com P hoto credit: morgan ellis

winter 2014

•

Storytelling The connective tissue of all media both traditional and emerging is the ability to tell engaging stories.

scratch into a powerhouse attracting ambitious professionals who want to understand the latest communications technology and strategy.

•

Content Marketing Creating and distributing relevant content

Faculty member Ferrel Guillory organizes conversations around emerging N.C. issues between government leaders, scholars and reporters. We are at the center of politics and policy with guests including Budget Director Art Pope, Treasury Secretary Janet Cowell, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Transportation Secretary Tony Tata.

•

To our Ca rolina J-school family and friends:

T

here is so much “new” at UNC and the J-school lately. New chancellor. New provost.

And a new vice chancellor who I am excited to say is one of our own. Joel Curran ’86, is UNC’s first vice chancellor for communications and public affairs. I was on the search committee, and I can tell you Joel did us proud.

As seen on the cover, there is a new business in town. Students took on Burt’s Bees as a client and created a business plan for Roote N.C. Advertising faculty member Dana McMahan brings entrepreneurship to her classes, and she was awarded a grant to support this entrepreneurial activity. That’s the deep immersion and experience that differentiates our school.

Susan King @susking Address corrections:

Meghan Hunt meg_hunt@unc.edu (919) 962-3037 UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication Development and Alumni Affairs Carroll Hall 311, CB 3365 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365

Experience the J-school at youtube.com/uncjschool The UNC J-school is a virtual revolving door of top visiting professionals and scholars coming to share their experiences and tap into the expertise in the school. Check out our YouTube channel to take advantage of the posted events, lectures, conversations, faculty research presentations and more.

We hosted the inaugural Wade Hargrove Colloquium with Hearst TV CEO David Barrett and ABC News president Ben Sherwood discussing the future of TV news. That was just the beginning of the marquee new series for the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. The center is our collaboration with the law school inspired by Hargrove – an alum of both schools. It is directed

by Cathy Packer in the J-school and David Ardia in the law school.

Our innovative online master’s in technology and communication (MATC) graduated its first students. Champagne corks popped when the first MATC student defended her thesis. Senior associate dean Louise Spieler and faculty director Rhonda Gibson have grown the program from

We launched a new course – “The Media Revolution: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg” – that PR faculty member Lois Boynton and I are teaching with guest lectures from J-school faculty stars. Our nearly 300 students are mesmerized by the array of opportunities in our field and the talent in our school. I can say without a doubt that it’s a joy to read the work of smart students who are challenged to think deeply about the world around them. But I’ll also say it’s a big relief to get those final grades in!

A

powerful lineup of advertising and marketing executives representing national brands came to campus in fall 2013 to discuss the next world of media in which students, alumni and faculty will be operating.

The Next World Media Symposium, organized by faculty in the school’s advertising and public relations programs, looked at how brands envision the future — the evolution of ad agencies, advertising after social media, and how brands will tell their stories.

How will advertisers reach consumers in the next world of media?

jomc.unc.edu/nextworldmedia

Big Data and Analytics Advertising and marketing depend

on trends, how to recognize them and how to create new ones. This requires data (clicks, followers, likes, tweets, ratings, dollars, etc.) and a smart way to interpret it.

Humanity As audiences become more tech-savvy, brand

communications, content and experiences need to focus on simple truths of being human. People engage with brands that reflect their own humanity.

In the past, brands could effectively control their message using paid advertising campaigns. That has changed with individuals’ power to communicate instantaneously with vast social media and digital networks.

In the next world of media, brands can’t control the message. They instead must shape it and curate it with content, conversations and experiences that strengthen brand messages.

T

he school’s Journalism Alumni and Friends Association (JAFA) board welcomes six new members to help promote, advise and support the school, its alumni, friends and students.

Stephanie Gunter Carper ’04

Northwestern University Chicago Ian Gordon ’03

Mother Jones San Francisco

John Hashimoto ’82

CNN Digital Atlanta

Anna R. Prince ’06

Capstrat Raleigh

The workplace our graduates enter is evolving; what was “business as usual” is nearly gone. But we are responding in J-school fashion — staying on the cutting edge of practice and scholarship.

Stephen Stock ’83

In this time of transformation, we have established three broad goals for our path forward:

WSOC-TV Charlotte

KNTV NBC Bay Area

P

John T. Kerr Distinguished Professor

ublic data has the power to increase transparency and help reporters and citizens hold governments accountable – but often that data is difficult to access.

Open N.C.

Making public data public

Associate professor Ryan Thornburg is tackling that issue with a pioneering project in North Carolina.

Open-NC.org is a free, online catalog of public data from N.C. state and local governments. It is the first site of its kind to assemble a single state’s public data in one place.

Google recently gave the school $60,000 and the use of its cloud-computing platform to further the datadriven journalism aspects of the site, including an “early warning dashboard” Thornburg is developing to alert reporters to potential stories in the data, such as sudden increases in trends or correlations across data sets.

Users can also search for links to data by topics such as crime, property transactions or restaurant inspections. “It’s useful to be able to compare what’s happening in your county with what’s happening in the next county – or to be able to look for trends bubbling up,” Thornburg said.

He sees the site as a “craigslist list of data sets” where users can find and contribute data – but also request data not currently accessible. He is working with computer science undergraduates to build a prototype for users to collaborate and to crowd-fund data acquisition.

A $275,000 Knight News Challenge grant provided the original funding for the project.

visit open-nc.org

• Immerse all our students in the technologies, culture, methods and principles they will encounter in the workplace • Produce research with impact leading to meaningful change and solutions for professionals • Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration driven by excellence and experimentation Private support for our annual fund helps make these goals a reality and keeps your J-school at the top. We hope you will consider supporting the school by giving online.

Open-NC.org: a digital approach to public data, journalism and government accountability

D ean

Rapid and radical change.

Innovation and collaboration.

Workable solutions and digital transformation. Our school is on the move, and we need you.

Jeremy Spearman ’11

for more info jomc.unc.edu/jafa

Susa n K i n g

With support from the Triad Foundation, the school renovated a cramped classroom space into an advertising and public relations innovation lab. The new lab serves as a headquarters for Heelprint Communications, a student-run creative agency. It is adjacent to the school’s Reese News Lab – creating a hub of student experimentation and innovation.

•

— stories, photos, videos, contests, etc. — to acquire and engage a defined target audience to drive profitable customer action.

JAFA board welcomes new members

jomc.unc.edu/gift

I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard myself say this semester, “Who knew that the J-school had this much talent, this much power, this much sparkle?”

Cathy Hanby-Sikora has joined the school as associate dean for development and alumni affairs.

contact her

919.962.9467 chsikora@live.unc.edu

read more jomc.unc.edu/chs

I certainly didn’t — until my arrival late this summer. I did know the importance of good journalism and communication, the excitement of telling a great story or devising perfect messaging to move a strategy, the school’s strong reputation. And I knew the day we met that Dean Susan King’s vision was something I wanted to help move forward.

But it wasn’t until we began to plan our part of UNC’s next campaign that I came to understand the enormous strength and stature of this faculty, the dedication and talent of our students, the impressive leadership positions held by our alumni, and the commitment in the hearts of our generous supporters.

It is an honor to be here and to have a hand in building on the work of those before us to attract the investments of time, talent and treasure that will take this school to the top.

It’s going to take all of us. I hope you will join me.

•

Storytelling The connective tissue of all media both traditional and emerging is the ability to tell engaging stories.

scratch into a powerhouse attracting ambitious professionals who want to understand the latest communications technology and strategy.

•

Content Marketing Creating and distributing relevant content

Faculty member Ferrel Guillory organizes conversations around emerging N.C. issues between government leaders, scholars and reporters. We are at the center of politics and policy with guests including Budget Director Art Pope, Treasury Secretary Janet Cowell, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Transportation Secretary Tony Tata.

•

To our Ca rolina J-school family and friends:

T

here is so much “new” at UNC and the J-school lately. New chancellor. New provost.

And a new vice chancellor who I am excited to say is one of our own. Joel Curran ’86, is UNC’s first vice chancellor for communications and public affairs. I was on the search committee, and I can tell you Joel did us proud.

As seen on the cover, there is a new business in town. Students took on Burt’s Bees as a client and created a business plan for Roote N.C. Advertising faculty member Dana McMahan brings entrepreneurship to her classes, and she was awarded a grant to support this entrepreneurial activity. That’s the deep immersion and experience that differentiates our school.

Susan King @susking Address corrections:

Meghan Hunt meg_hunt@unc.edu (919) 962-3037 UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication Development and Alumni Affairs Carroll Hall 311, CB 3365 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365

Experience the J-school at youtube.com/uncjschool The UNC J-school is a virtual revolving door of top visiting professionals and scholars coming to share their experiences and tap into the expertise in the school. Check out our YouTube channel to take advantage of the posted events, lectures, conversations, faculty research presentations and more.

We hosted the inaugural Wade Hargrove Colloquium with Hearst TV CEO David Barrett and ABC News president Ben Sherwood discussing the future of TV news. That was just the beginning of the marquee new series for the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. The center is our collaboration with the law school inspired by Hargrove – an alum of both schools. It is directed

by Cathy Packer in the J-school and David Ardia in the law school.

Our innovative online master’s in technology and communication (MATC) graduated its first students. Champagne corks popped when the first MATC student defended her thesis. Senior associate dean Louise Spieler and faculty director Rhonda Gibson have grown the program from

We launched a new course – “The Media Revolution: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg” – that PR faculty member Lois Boynton and I are teaching with guest lectures from J-school faculty stars. Our nearly 300 students are mesmerized by the array of opportunities in our field and the talent in our school. I can say without a doubt that it’s a joy to read the work of smart students who are challenged to think deeply about the world around them. But I’ll also say it’s a big relief to get those final grades in!

A

powerful lineup of advertising and marketing executives representing national brands came to campus in fall 2013 to discuss the next world of media in which students, alumni and faculty will be operating.

The Next World Media Symposium, organized by faculty in the school’s advertising and public relations programs, looked at how brands envision the future — the evolution of ad agencies, advertising after social media, and how brands will tell their stories.

How will advertisers reach consumers in the next world of media?

jomc.unc.edu/nextworldmedia

Big Data and Analytics Advertising and marketing depend

on trends, how to recognize them and how to create new ones. This requires data (clicks, followers, likes, tweets, ratings, dollars, etc.) and a smart way to interpret it.

Humanity As audiences become more tech-savvy, brand

communications, content and experiences need to focus on simple truths of being human. People engage with brands that reflect their own humanity.

In the past, brands could effectively control their message using paid advertising campaigns. That has changed with individuals’ power to communicate instantaneously with vast social media and digital networks.

In the next world of media, brands can’t control the message. They instead must shape it and curate it with content, conversations and experiences that strengthen brand messages.

T

he school’s Journalism Alumni and Friends Association (JAFA) board welcomes six new members to help promote, advise and support the school, its alumni, friends and students.

Stephanie Gunter Carper ’04

Northwestern University Chicago Ian Gordon ’03

Mother Jones San Francisco

John Hashimoto ’82

CNN Digital Atlanta

Anna R. Prince ’06

Capstrat Raleigh

The workplace our graduates enter is evolving; what was “business as usual” is nearly gone. But we are responding in J-school fashion — staying on the cutting edge of practice and scholarship.

Stephen Stock ’83

In this time of transformation, we have established three broad goals for our path forward:

WSOC-TV Charlotte

KNTV NBC Bay Area

P

John T. Kerr Distinguished Professor

ublic data has the power to increase transparency and help reporters and citizens hold governments accountable – but often that data is difficult to access.

Open N.C.

Making public data public

Associate professor Ryan Thornburg is tackling that issue with a pioneering project in North Carolina.

Open-NC.org is a free, online catalog of public data from N.C. state and local governments. It is the first site of its kind to assemble a single state’s public data in one place.

Google recently gave the school $60,000 and the use of its cloud-computing platform to further the datadriven journalism aspects of the site, including an “early warning dashboard” Thornburg is developing to alert reporters to potential stories in the data, such as sudden increases in trends or correlations across data sets.

Users can also search for links to data by topics such as crime, property transactions or restaurant inspections. “It’s useful to be able to compare what’s happening in your county with what’s happening in the next county – or to be able to look for trends bubbling up,” Thornburg said.

He sees the site as a “craigslist list of data sets” where users can find and contribute data – but also request data not currently accessible. He is working with computer science undergraduates to build a prototype for users to collaborate and to crowd-fund data acquisition.

A $275,000 Knight News Challenge grant provided the original funding for the project.

visit open-nc.org

• Immerse all our students in the technologies, culture, methods and principles they will encounter in the workplace • Produce research with impact leading to meaningful change and solutions for professionals • Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration driven by excellence and experimentation Private support for our annual fund helps make these goals a reality and keeps your J-school at the top. We hope you will consider supporting the school by giving online.

Open-NC.org: a digital approach to public data, journalism and government accountability

D ean

Rapid and radical change.

Innovation and collaboration.

Workable solutions and digital transformation. Our school is on the move, and we need you.

Jeremy Spearman ’11

for more info jomc.unc.edu/jafa

Susa n K i n g

With support from the Triad Foundation, the school renovated a cramped classroom space into an advertising and public relations innovation lab. The new lab serves as a headquarters for Heelprint Communications, a student-run creative agency. It is adjacent to the school’s Reese News Lab – creating a hub of student experimentation and innovation.

•

— stories, photos, videos, contests, etc. — to acquire and engage a defined target audience to drive profitable customer action.

JAFA board welcomes new members

jomc.unc.edu/gift

I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard myself say this semester, “Who knew that the J-school had this much talent, this much power, this much sparkle?”

Cathy Hanby-Sikora has joined the school as associate dean for development and alumni affairs.

contact her

919.962.9467 chsikora@live.unc.edu

read more jomc.unc.edu/chs

I certainly didn’t — until my arrival late this summer. I did know the importance of good journalism and communication, the excitement of telling a great story or devising perfect messaging to move a strategy, the school’s strong reputation. And I knew the day we met that Dean Susan King’s vision was something I wanted to help move forward.

But it wasn’t until we began to plan our part of UNC’s next campaign that I came to understand the enormous strength and stature of this faculty, the dedication and talent of our students, the impressive leadership positions held by our alumni, and the commitment in the hearts of our generous supporters.

It is an honor to be here and to have a hand in building on the work of those before us to attract the investments of time, talent and treasure that will take this school to the top.

It’s going to take all of us. I hope you will join me.

•

Storytelling The connective tissue of all media both traditional and emerging is the ability to tell engaging stories.

scratch into a powerhouse attracting ambitious professionals who want to understand the latest communications technology and strategy.

•

Content Marketing Creating and distributing relevant content

Faculty member Ferrel Guillory organizes conversations around emerging N.C. issues between government leaders, scholars and reporters. We are at the center of politics and policy with guests including Budget Director Art Pope, Treasury Secretary Janet Cowell, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Transportation Secretary Tony Tata.

•

To our Ca rolina J-school family and friends:

T

here is so much “new” at UNC and the J-school lately. New chancellor. New provost.

And a new vice chancellor who I am excited to say is one of our own. Joel Curran ’86, is UNC’s first vice chancellor for communications and public affairs. I was on the search committee, and I can tell you Joel did us proud.

As seen on the cover, there is a new business in town. Students took on Burt’s Bees as a client and created a business plan for Roote N.C. Advertising faculty member Dana McMahan brings entrepreneurship to her classes, and she was awarded a grant to support this entrepreneurial activity. That’s the deep immersion and experience that differentiates our school.

Susan King @susking Address corrections:

Meghan Hunt meg_hunt@unc.edu (919) 962-3037 UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication Development and Alumni Affairs Carroll Hall 311, CB 3365 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365

Experience the J-school at youtube.com/uncjschool The UNC J-school is a virtual revolving door of top visiting professionals and scholars coming to share their experiences and tap into the expertise in the school. Check out our YouTube channel to take advantage of the posted events, lectures, conversations, faculty research presentations and more.

We hosted the inaugural Wade Hargrove Colloquium with Hearst TV CEO David Barrett and ABC News president Ben Sherwood discussing the future of TV news. That was just the beginning of the marquee new series for the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. The center is our collaboration with the law school inspired by Hargrove – an alum of both schools. It is directed

by Cathy Packer in the J-school and David Ardia in the law school.

Our innovative online master’s in technology and communication (MATC) graduated its first students. Champagne corks popped when the first MATC student defended her thesis. Senior associate dean Louise Spieler and faculty director Rhonda Gibson have grown the program from

We launched a new course – “The Media Revolution: From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg” – that PR faculty member Lois Boynton and I are teaching with guest lectures from J-school faculty stars. Our nearly 300 students are mesmerized by the array of opportunities in our field and the talent in our school. I can say without a doubt that it’s a joy to read the work of smart students who are challenged to think deeply about the world around them. But I’ll also say it’s a big relief to get those final grades in!

A

powerful lineup of advertising and marketing executives representing national brands came to campus in fall 2013 to discuss the next world of media in which students, alumni and faculty will be operating.

The Next World Media Symposium, organized by faculty in the school’s advertising and public relations programs, looked at how brands envision the future — the evolution of ad agencies, advertising after social media, and how brands will tell their stories.

How will advertisers reach consumers in the next world of media?

jomc.unc.edu/nextworldmedia

Big Data and Analytics Advertising and marketing depend

on trends, how to recognize them and how to create new ones. This requires data (clicks, followers, likes, tweets, ratings, dollars, etc.) and a smart way to interpret it.

Humanity As audiences become more tech-savvy, brand

communications, content and experiences need to focus on simple truths of being human. People engage with brands that reflect their own humanity.

In the past, brands could effectively control their message using paid advertising campaigns. That has changed with individuals’ power to communicate instantaneously with vast social media and digital networks.

In the next world of media, brands can’t control the message. They instead must shape it and curate it with content, conversations and experiences that strengthen brand messages.

T

he school’s Journalism Alumni and Friends Association (JAFA) board welcomes six new members to help promote, advise and support the school, its alumni, friends and students.

Stephanie Gunter Carper ’04

Northwestern University Chicago Ian Gordon ’03

Mother Jones San Francisco

John Hashimoto ’82

CNN Digital Atlanta

Anna R. Prince ’06

Capstrat Raleigh

The workplace our graduates enter is evolving; what was “business as usual” is nearly gone. But we are responding in J-school fashion — staying on the cutting edge of practice and scholarship.

Stephen Stock ’83

In this time of transformation, we have established three broad goals for our path forward:

WSOC-TV Charlotte

KNTV NBC Bay Area

P

John T. Kerr Distinguished Professor

ublic data has the power to increase transparency and help reporters and citizens hold governments accountable – but often that data is difficult to access.

Open N.C.

Making public data public

Associate professor Ryan Thornburg is tackling that issue with a pioneering project in North Carolina.

Open-NC.org is a free, online catalog of public data from N.C. state and local governments. It is the first site of its kind to assemble a single state’s public data in one place.

Google recently gave the school $60,000 and the use of its cloud-computing platform to further the datadriven journalism aspects of the site, including an “early warning dashboard” Thornburg is developing to alert reporters to potential stories in the data, such as sudden increases in trends or correlations across data sets.

Users can also search for links to data by topics such as crime, property transactions or restaurant inspections. “It’s useful to be able to compare what’s happening in your county with what’s happening in the next county – or to be able to look for trends bubbling up,” Thornburg said.

He sees the site as a “craigslist list of data sets” where users can find and contribute data – but also request data not currently accessible. He is working with computer science undergraduates to build a prototype for users to collaborate and to crowd-fund data acquisition.

A $275,000 Knight News Challenge grant provided the original funding for the project.

visit open-nc.org

• Immerse all our students in the technologies, culture, methods and principles they will encounter in the workplace • Produce research with impact leading to meaningful change and solutions for professionals • Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration driven by excellence and experimentation Private support for our annual fund helps make these goals a reality and keeps your J-school at the top. We hope you will consider supporting the school by giving online.

Open-NC.org: a digital approach to public data, journalism and government accountability

D ean

Rapid and radical change.

Innovation and collaboration.

Workable solutions and digital transformation. Our school is on the move, and we need you.

Jeremy Spearman ’11

for more info jomc.unc.edu/jafa

Susa n K i n g

With support from the Triad Foundation, the school renovated a cramped classroom space into an advertising and public relations innovation lab. The new lab serves as a headquarters for Heelprint Communications, a student-run creative agency. It is adjacent to the school’s Reese News Lab – creating a hub of student experimentation and innovation.

•

— stories, photos, videos, contests, etc. — to acquire and engage a defined target audience to drive profitable customer action.

JAFA board welcomes new members

jomc.unc.edu/gift

I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard myself say this semester, “Who knew that the J-school had this much talent, this much power, this much sparkle?”

Cathy Hanby-Sikora has joined the school as associate dean for development and alumni affairs.

contact her

919.962.9467 chsikora@live.unc.edu

read more jomc.unc.edu/chs

I certainly didn’t — until my arrival late this summer. I did know the importance of good journalism and communication, the excitement of telling a great story or devising perfect messaging to move a strategy, the school’s strong reputation. And I knew the day we met that Dean Susan King’s vision was something I wanted to help move forward.

But it wasn’t until we began to plan our part of UNC’s next campaign that I came to understand the enormous strength and stature of this faculty, the dedication and talent of our students, the impressive leadership positions held by our alumni, and the commitment in the hearts of our generous supporters.

It is an honor to be here and to have a hand in building on the work of those before us to attract the investments of time, talent and treasure that will take this school to the top.

It’s going to take all of us. I hope you will join me.

News

jomc.unc.edu/news I mage credit: S ara C owell

for more news:

Nonprofit Org US Postage PA I D Chapel Hill, NC Permit no. 177

Documenting the Heart of the High Country

UNC photojournalism students covered the N.C. mountains for the 10th annual Carolina Photojournalism Workshop (CPJW). They produced the “Heart of the High Country” documentary website, capturing an area boasting tall mountains and taller tales, rich histories, rugged landscapes and people with stories of love, family, faith and hard work.

Experience the High Country at jomc.unc.edu/cpjw13.

reddit co-founder visits UNC

Alexis Ohanian, reddit co-founder and author of the newly released book “Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed,” spoke at the school on Nov. 11. The TED-style talk was followed by a discussion with Zach Clayton — a 2007 UNC graduate, a member of the JOMC Foundation Board and CEO of Three Ships Media in Raleigh. The event included a student-only networking event to connect students with Triangle tech professionals.

Watch Ohanian’s talk at jomc.unc.edu/ohanian.

PR students develop anti-speeding campaign for Raleigh

$19.4 million grant to help UNC study tobacco communication

A digital approach to public data, accountability journalism

Next World Media: How brands envision the future

the university of north carolina at chapel hill campus box 3365, carroll hall chapel hill, nc 27599 -3365

Powering a Nation earns Emmy nomination

The school’s Powering a Nation’s special report, “100 Gallons,” was nominated for a national Emmy in the new approaches to documentary category of the 34th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. It was the only student-produced entry in the category. Other nominees included The New York Times, CNN Digital and The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. J-school alumni were a part of all but one of the Emmy-nominated teams in the category. “100 Gallons” is an experimental interactive film that explores the human connection with water.

jomc.unc.edu/carolinacommunicator

FDA, NIH grant creates Center for Regulatory Research on Tobacco Communications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $19.4 million, five-year grant to fund a center at the University of North Carolina that will study issues related to tobacco prevention communication and regulation. J-school faculty members, including Seth Noar and Laura Ruel, will collaborate with other UNC faculty and lead projects for the center. Noar and a colleague in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health also landed a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the effects of graphic warning labels on tobacco products. A $5,000 seed grant from the J-school helped lead to the successful proposal for the $2 million grant.

Students in the school’s “PR Campaigns” course helped develop Raleigh, N.C.’s “No Need to Speed” campaign. Students researched their audience by collecting more than 1,200 survey responses to shape the messaging for the campaign, which was implemented in October 2013 on five Raleigh streets. “Their research found that this is an issue that resonates regardless of demographic,” said Jayne Kirkpatrick, Raleigh’s public affairs director. “I was extremely impressed with their intense desire to make this campaign succeed.”

Seniors Taalib Cochrane, left, Ryan O’Rorke, center, and Delia D’Ambra broadcast Sports Xtra, the school’s weekly sports highlights, analysis and commentary show. It airs Mondays live at 5 p.m. on Time Warner Cable in central North Carolina.

P hoto credit: morgan ellis

jomc.unc.edu/sportsxtra

An innovative online master’s degree in digital media for working professionals. For program and industry-related updates follow @UNC_MATC on Twitter. Learn more at matc.jomc.unc.edu.

Roote North Carolina UNC J-school and business school students collaborated to develop a nonprofit retail store specializing in local organic, sustainable and natural products.

Profits go back to students in the form of internships, grants and business startups with environmental missions. Left to right, senior Maddy Baldwin, 2013 graduate David Coggins and senior Alex Brusko form Roote’s leadership team. rootenc.com P hoto credit: morgan ellis

winter 2014