Fall Semester Moody Magazine 2022

The Modern Journalist

Written by Logan Dubel Illustrated by Alex Roeder

The evolution of the media industry and the skills students need for life after Moody

Nearly four decades ago, a young journalist and UT alum named John Schwartz entered the doors of Newsweek in New York City, ready to embark on one of his greatest professional experiences as a writer. His success would later lead to reporting roles at The Washington Post and The New York Times, covering nearly every beat in the newsroom. From the start of Schwartz’s first major gig to his retirement in 2021, his title of reporter remained the same. But his job description could not have changed more.

The explosion of digital news products and social media platforms changed the field of journalism dramatically, requiring journalists to have more in their pocket than just a notebook.

Now a Moody Professor of Practice in Journalism and Associate Director of The University of Texas’ Global Sustainability Leadership Institute, Schwartz uses his decades of varied experience to teach students, who he says will undeniably face future industry evolutions.

“When I started, reporters typed - that’s all we did. Over time, journalists had to do all sorts of other things. They had to become comfortable with audio, data visualization, and more, whether they did it themselves or they worked with other people who were better at it,” Schwartz said. “We had to be ready to learn new ways of presenting information. It was super exciting to be part of the overall effort and very different from sitting down to write a story, which I was doing every day of the week before.”

Although Schwartz and others continue to emphasize the importance of writing, industry insiders agree that multimedia journalism is now the name of the game. From video production to podcasting and graphic design, journalists today require far more than an understanding of a nut graf.

Reya Mosby, a journalism sophomore and The Daily Texan Life and Arts editor, said she feels the weight of the exciting, yet nonetheless overwhelming changes.

“The profession has shifted to a multimedia industry, which I think is amazing. I love doing multimedia projects. At The Daily Texan, I encourage people to do multimedia work because I think that audio and video can enhance stories,” Mosby said. “But I feel like I’ve always considered myself just a writer. And I feel like now because of how multimedia-focused the industry is, you have to know how to do everything and be able to report across all different types of mediums.”

Even as newsrooms expect more from staff, the industry itself is not growing. Between 2008 and 2020, newsroom employment fell 26%, according to a Pew Research study.

Many of the cuts stem from cost-cutting. But a small, yet growing, faction of journalists are leaving the industry altogether due to burnout. This worries students such as Mosby, who is preparing to enter the field.

“We tell other people’s stories and make their voices heard. So much of what we do is for other people, but sometimes, we need to put the well-being of journalists themselves first,” Mosby said.

The Moody curriculum addresses these concerns, equipping journalists with the skills to succeed soon after leaving the Forty Acres. Journalism students agree that the value of connections, media literacy and diversity in reporting are all hallmarks of their Moody education, which they believe will serve them well in future interviews and, eventually, in their lifelong careers.

“I think that one of the most important skills is the ability to make connections because they can drive your career. Connections can help you gain new opportunities,” said Luna Reichert, a journalism freshman. “I also know Moody has a lot of great resources to help prepare students for their future careers, so I look forward to getting to explore those more throughout college.”

Following in the footsteps of Schwartz and other modern journalists, Moody students of today are not only preparing for the changes to come but seeking their own ways to change the world.

Changes to senate of college councils

Written by Sarah McIntosh Illustrated by Anna Herbst

Students can participate in student government and represent their peers at UT in a number of ways. Every college has a council, and each council has a seat in the university’s senate, called The Senate of College Councils. UT Senate handles student governing issues related mainly to academic policy, while UT Student Government—a separate body—handles student-life related policies. These student organizations amplify different per- spectives from around campus by hosting events, passing legislation, and offering platforms for students to push for changes they believe would benefit UT. Recently, the Dean of Students Office changed the structure of UT Senate and greatly reduced the amount of members that can participate in the organization. The changes will increase the workload for each college council and raises questions about Senate’s capacity to effect change in the future.

What are the changes to the UT Senate?

One of the benefits of the UT Senate is that anyone at UT can join. It is the perfect opportunity to advocate for students on campus, regardless of major or year. However, starting next year, the Dean of Students will remove any UT Senate members who are not an active member of a college council (such as Communication Council, Natural Sciences Council, etc.),effectively eliminating the organization’s internal structure. The general assembly body of the Senate is currently made up of its internal members and an additional three delegates from each college council. The delegates are typically each council’s president, vice president/policy committee chair, and financial director.

The Dean of Students has suggested that two or three members of each council step up to join the Senate and compensate for this loss of membership. They are also requesting that the presidents, vice presidents, and financial directors of each council lead committees within the internal Senate. This entails a huge time commitment, which officers may not be able to fulfill in addition to their pre-existing responsibilities within each council.

“My main obligation is to my own council,” said Nickoli Benkert, president of Communication Council. “I didn’t sign up to also be a co-chair of this committee…I’m focused on my organization.”

Any UT student can write policy and present it to the UT Senate, who then votes on the legislation and presents it to UT administration if passed. Benkert, who was a Senate Representative last semester, shared insight into what made the Dean of Students re-examine the structure of the Senate of College Councils.

“Originally, it was a piece of legislation that the Palestinian Solidarity Committee wanted to present” Benkert said. “They presented a draft presentation expressing their interest in reading legislation to not adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Anti-Semitism that student government, which is separate from Senate, had adopted last year.”

The purpose of the bill was to raise concerns about the definition, which contained a section about a line that defined anti-semitism as “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” Concerns were raised by some students who saw this as a political attempt to restrict the speech of Palestinian advocates.

The Palestinian Solidarity Committee planned to present the bill to Student Government, but once word got out about the bill in question, the next assembly was met with protests from students who supported the bill and students who opposed the legislation. Benkert said the committee never ended up getting the opportunity to bring their legislation forward. After the protests at the assembly, the Dean of Students announced that joint resolutions between Senate and Student Government would no longer be allowed.

This occurred at one of the last assemblies for the spring semester, but over the summer, the Senate president and vice president received a new Senate constitution from the Dean of Students with the changes that they were expected to enforce. Benkert said many people in the Senate and col lege councils think the Dean of Students potentially fears losing funding from the state if students pass legislation deemed “too radical” or controversial. The protests at the general assembly may have been viewed as a sign that UT’s student activism was becoming too high-profile, which could bring negative press attention. These new changes would scale back the scope of Senate’s work and decrease the amount of activism that students are allowed to officially participate in. What do these changes mean for the future of student involvement in leadership?

“It’s unclear where to go from this,” Benkert said, “but the main thing is that it’s just very sad and frustrating to see that democratic process just completely overwritten.”

Benkert and the other presidents of the college councils are trying to figure out ways to bring the councils closer and stay up to date with what each group is doing. Members of different council’s leadership teams have begun attending each other’s meetings and sharing knowledge to support their shared efforts. Along with this, Communication Council intends to become more proactive in Senate by allowing as many of their general members as possible to serve as Senate representatives.

The Dean of Students has not given any indication that they will reverse their new requirementsfor UT Senate’s future. The councils are currently trying to follow the guidelines as best as they can while also serving the interests of their general members. Benkert said the most important action that councils can take right now is continuing to educate members about how the Senate of College Councils functions and encouraging continued involvement in the legislative process.

Even now, many newer members of councils do not fully understand how the Senate and Student Government operate, so it is important to stay aware of other opportunities. The Communication Council, and every other council, will continue to exist even beyond the Senate because each coun cil will still report to their respective college’s dean, and those deans in return report to the provost.

“We can still focus on making Moody better and building our relationship internally with Moody,”Benkert said.

While power within the UT Senate and UT Student Government might shift and present challenges to enacting policy, members of each group plan on remaining active within the UT community. The purpose behind these organizations is representation, and students will advocate for themselves regardless of constitutional changes.

Why are these changes happening?

In focus: The faces of texas student media

Written by Logan Dubel

Moody College consistently earns praise on the national stage as one of the premiere places for a communications-based education. For many of its students, though, a few classes each week do not satisfy their itch to jump into their careers. That’s where Texas Student Media (TSM) comes in, bringing students the chance to gain hands-on experience and produce professional-grade work.

Texas Student Media includes The Daily Texan newspaper, the satirical magazine Texas Travesty, the Cactus yearbook, KVRX 91.7 FM, alternative news outlet Burnt X and Texas Student Television (TSTV). The university supports the organization, though it operates as a separate entity, allowing students the editorial freedom to report and comment on the news.

In recent years, the organization has also begun supporting UT’s popular podcasting hub, The Drag, as well as Bevo Video Productions.

As students explore new forms of media in a changing industry landscape, people across TSM opened up to Moody Magazine about their work this semester and what the future holds.

Emily Cohen Advertising Manager Texas Student Media

Emily Cohen is at the forefront of ensuring that TSM remains a viable program for students to gain experience and perfect their craft. Cohen, who is also a Longhorn alum, joined the TSM team in 2016. Ever since, she’s supported students in their media endeavors while also innovating TSM to operate as an agency for groups across campus and beyond.

To survive in the media marketplace, TSM partners with programs and events through the Office of the Dean of Students. It plans to support an upcoming podcast festival and even sells advertising for the Texas A&M newspaper.

While much of her work focuses on the “Benjamins,” Cohen emphasizes that her favorite part of the job is connecting students with others who share similar passions.

“Roughly 50% of the students that participate in Texas Student Media are in Moody College and on the path to becoming professional journalists. The others are involved because they’re in other majors and just want a creative outlet. They want to meet new people and have new friends,” she said. “When we talk to our alumni, so many of them tell us that their experience defined their time at UT and that they have lifelong friends as a result of it, or that they got their job straight out of school because of the experience that they had here. Hearing those success stories is why I continue to do it every day.”

There are seven profane words students on-air at TSTV must avoid at all costs, but that’s not the case at other college television stations. Why? TSTV is the only FCC-licensed college television station in the country. Cameron Rudin, a radio, television and film senior, serves as the station manager, overseeing the multitude of news, narrative, entertainment and sports programs airing across the network.

Amid the pandemic, TSTV lost much of its collaborative nature. However, the organization has since redeveloped into one of the largest groups on campus, with 350 current members.

Rudin said he feels proud of the strides the station made.

“I want my legacy to be staying the course post-COVID because we’re in

Fiza Kuzhiyil, Managing Editor

The Daily Texan

The Daily Texan

Every day is a whirlwind when you’re a journalist. Imagine being a college student while overseeing a staff of 300 and operating a biweekly newspaper. That’s the reality for Fiza Kuzhiyil, who feels proud of the work produced by The Daily Texan, the most-awarded college newspaper in the nation.

The Daily Texan still prints a physical paper, an enormous feat considering many other college newspapers, including The Battalion at Texas A&M, have faced threats of losing their print enterprise entirely. The Texan previously printed daily but scaled down production due to pandemic budget cuts. Nonetheless, Kuzhiyil said she thinks print is worth the investment.

“I get phone calls sometimes asking if people can get subscriptions to The Daily Texan,” she said. “It’s enough for me to think that there’s an audience who wants to read print.”

Kuzhiyil said the workplace experience at the Texan could be better for her staff, who are mostly unpaid volunteers. But that would require more funding.

“An experience where we’re more funded means we’re getting paid at least minimum wage, or we’re getting paid enough to sustain this as a job, because a lot of people can’t afford to put in the time here and also have a job separate from this,” she said.

Still, the Texan finds itself in a better place today than a decade ago, when its future was uncertain, Kuzhiyil said. Since then, the paper has removed its own printing press and created new digital departments to broaden its reach with sustainability in mind.

As for her legacy, Kuzhiyil, a journalism and government junior, hopes her focus on building a newsroom community after COVID-19 will live on. More importantly, she remains passionate about righting some of the wrongs committed by the newspaper in its more than 120-year history.

“I want to set up this place to have a positive impact because, let’s be honest, any organization that’s been here since 1900 has negatively affected a previously marginalized group at some point,” she said. “There’s no way around it and we’ve done it up until recently. We have owned up to it. But there are still things to do.”

“The Texan has been on campus for nearly twice the amount of time that Black students have been allowed on campus. We need to increase the diversity here, and I’m hoping that I was a part of doing that,” she said. “I just hope when I leave, people think I made this place a little bit better.”

Check out the latest work from Fiza and her team at thedailytexan.com.

cameronrudin , station manager,tstv

our first normal year, and I want to build the station back up. Currently, we have more shows than we’ve ever had,” Rudin said. “I want to ensure we have a working environment that will outlast me, and build collaboration. … It’s been a joy working in an industry I love.”

On the technical side, Rudin said he hopes for camera and studio upgrades, as well as the ability to host more TSTV events, promoting collaborations across the station.

Students can check out TSTV by visiting watchTSTV.com.

turning 21

Written by Sarah Xu illustrated by Alex Roeder

Taylor Swift’s dad was wrong. As I (and clearly Taylor) have experienced, it’s not actually that fun, turning 21.

Everyone older than you says to enjoy life while you’re young, yet every year we go from kids, to teens, to almost adults, and we are glad for it. How could life get worse when you have more freedom, money, opportunities? It’s not until you hit that age that it finally makes sense. It’s not that I’d rather be stuck at 12, 16, or 18. But at 21, you reach a turning point in your mental schema of life that puts time into a different perspective — and with it, the time you have left to “make it” in this world.

Turning 21 looks very different for our generation than it did for our parents. Less than a lifetime before us, people our age were getting married and having kids, pushed into adulthood with no option to second-guess or wander into another path. Today, the pressure of social media shows us what people younger, the same age and older are doing with their lives — and how successful they already are. We are offered a plethora of options and opportunities, but we still feel set on an unchangeable path, as if deviating from where we’re headed seems too late, too out of reach, or too irresponsible.

I know many of us can relate to crying on a birthday. I couldn’t remember a birthday I hadn’t cried on for any number of (reasonable and unreasonable) reasons. But the day I turned 21, I didn’t cry. I felt a different wave of emotion I couldn’t put my finger on until I sat through over three days of deep depression post-birthday. I felt grief. I felt pressure. I had felt paralyzingly stuck in my youth and now I was paralyzingly frightened in my adulthood. It’s as if every year that passes is a year I should be doing something spectacular or life-changing. There’s no more childhood to live, and that was scary. It felt like from here, it’s sink or swim, and as a classic child-bred overachiever, I thought that as a now-adult, I should maybe have my life more together - or at least not be struggling this much.

From what I can tell, this wave of grief doesn’t leave you after this celebration of adulthood. It’s like you stop counting up until 21 and, from there, you start counting down — counting down the years to 30, when it’s “too late” to turn it around. In “The Defining Decade,” psychologist Meg Jay said that while us twentysomethings ask with relenting uncertainty, “will things work out for me?”, our difficult actions are “so possible and so necessary. It’s unsettling to not know the future and, in a way, even more daunting to consider that what we are doing with our twentysomething lives might be determining it.” But she also reminded us that “the future isn’t written in the stars. There are no guarantees. So claim your adulthood. Be intentional.”

Our 20s aren’t meant to be lived in a debilitating fear of failure or restraint from what might make us deviate from a path we’ve deemed is the right one. So to hell with the pressures of a life all figured out from the lens of social media. To hell with parents who believe we should be in a relationship with the intention to get married in the next x years. To hell with trying to keep up with your friends — who party it up six days a week — and to hell with forcing yourself to act social when all you really want to do is be alone, content, and in your own right — happy. Your 20s isn’t a time to be “successful.” It’s a time to be intentional, whatever that looks like for you.

I guess Taylor’s dad’s age-old wisdom had truth in it — it’s supposed to be fun, turning 21.

Recipe Moody Magazine’s

Written and Illustrated by Purvi Mujumdar

lemon blueberry olive oil cake

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

90g white sugar

60ml olive oil 80ml milk

2 juiced lemons

105g flour

Ingredients Directions

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup of blueberries Lemon slice (optional)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, white sugar and olive oil until well combined.

Once mixed, add in lemon juice and milk. Be sure to whisk this quickly before the milk curdles!

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda. Fold the wet into the dry mixture gently.

In two or one greased cake tins, pour the batter until it is 3/4 filled. Spread blueberries out on top of the batter. (They will sink into the cake!)