School of Journalism & Media

An Important Message

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May 31, 2020

Dear UTK Journalism and Electronic Media students and alumni,

This has been another gut-wrenching week for black Americans and a tragic reminder of the inequalities and racism that persist in our nation. On our TV screens and social media feeds we have witnessed, first, the devastating image of the death of yet another unarmed black man, this time George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, and, second, footage of the latest round of protests that have erupted around the country. Amid the devastating death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the injustices and brutalities of … Read more “An Important Message”

Students Move News Program Online

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UT Today - 2020 Team

When spring semester classes moved online after spring break, School of Journalism and Electronic Media lecturer Melissa Greene-Blye was not sure about the future of UT Today.

The student-led weekly TV news program is produced by Greene-Blye’s advanced multimedia reporting class. From on-camera roles to operating the teleprompter, the course gives students who want to be anchors and reporters an opportunity to run a full news program in the Communication Building’s broadcast studio.

“How do you take an in-studio class virtual?” Greene-Blye asked. “Students in this class are getting anchoring experience for their highlight reel. The students were adamant … Read more “Students Move News Program Online”

Geidner: ‘Goodnight with Dolly’ Off to Great Start

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Goodnight Dolly

With Dolly Parton’s new 10-week bedtime-story series Goodnight with Dolly under way, the honorary UT alumna is doing her part to comfort kids all over the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to Associate Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media Nick Geidner, who produced and directed the documentary film The Library That Dolly Built.

“My one-and-a-half-year-old, Sam, who makes some cameos in the film, loved the first episode, especially at the end when Dolly sang ‘I Believe in You,’” Geidner said. “He loved the woo-woo-woos in the song, but I also think he loved it because it is … Read more “Geidner: ‘Goodnight with Dolly’ Off to Great Start”

John Jackson Miller: From Daily Beacon Editor to Star Fantasy Writer

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John Jackson Miller Feature

After graduating from the University of Tennessee where he served as editor of The Daily Beacon, John Jackson Miller (JEM ’90) set his sights on the stars.

Specifically, the stars in a galaxy far, far away and the ones in the far-flung future where no man has gone before.

Miller turned his lifelong passion for comic books and science fiction into a career, evolving from a trade publication editor to a creator. Today, he is a New York Times bestselling novelist and comic writer for Star Wars, Star Trek, and many other fantasy licenses and original works in between. … Read more “John Jackson Miller: From Daily Beacon Editor to Star Fantasy Writer”

Dolly Parton Film by Land Grant Films to Debut Nationally April 2

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The Library That Dolly Built, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, student-driven film and documentary about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, will premiere April 2 in New York City and be screened in theaters across the nation.

Associate Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media Nick Geidner is the director and producer of the film, which was crewed by 15 student members of Land Grant Films, an Emmy-nominated documentary production program housed in UT’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media. JEM video production specialist Clinton Elmore served as the film’s editor.

Parton will be in attendance at the premiere event in New … Read more “Dolly Parton Film by Land Grant Films to Debut Nationally April 2”

Robin Lloyd to Give 28th Annual Hill Lecture

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Event Canceled

Please note this event and all campus events are canceled March 16 to April 5. To find the most updated campus information, please see utk.edu/coronavirus.

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Robin Lloyd, a writer and editor for Scientific American and adjunct professor of science writing at New York University, will talk about “The End of Investigative Science Writing?” when she delivers the 28th annual Alfred and Julia Hill Lecture at the University of Tennessee. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Tuesday, March 31, at 8 p.m. in the College of Nursing Auditorium … Read more “Robin Lloyd to Give 28th Annual Hill Lecture”

JEM Students Place Second at SEJC Competition

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SEJC Awards Team

A student team from the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media placed second among 26 schools in the onsite, deadline-driven team competition at the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC), which was held Feb. 13-15 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The Tennessee team earned two individual wins in the onsite competition: senior Gabriela Szymanowska in news and feature photography and senior Will Backus in sports writing.

Senior Kenneth Richmond took second in sports photography, and sophomore Allie Justis placed third in copyediting. Additional Tennessee representatives in the onsite competition included: Ainsley Kelso in arts and culture writing, … Read more “JEM Students Place Second at SEJC Competition”

Successful Alumni: Sharrie Williams’ goals led her from Tennessee to Philadelphia, the number four broadcast market in America

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By Lisa Byerley Gary
Instructor, JEM 414, Fall 2014

When Sharrie Williams began her first full-time job in television after graduating from UT, a news job with a small station in Jackson, Tennessee, she also waited tables to make ends meet.

“It paid that poorly,” she said.

But Williams had goals. She wanted to learn everything there was to learn about television news in exactly one year. Then she would move on to a bigger market.

Today Williams is a reporter and anchor at ABC-owned WPLY-TV in Philadelphia, the fourth largest television market in America. Her journey from a … Read more “Successful Alumni: Sharrie Williams’ goals led her from Tennessee to Philadelphia, the number four broadcast market in America”

A Message to Freshmen: Alumnus Kendall Downing Gives Advice to Journalism Students on how to Reach their Goals Post-Graduation

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By Kelsey French
JEM 414 Fall 2018

 

Kendall Downing has worked in various markets:  WYMD-TV in Hazard, Kentucky, WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky, WXIN-TV in Indianapolis, and back to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee at WMC Action News 5.

For Downing, it was always a childhood dream to work in news. It’s no wonder he started setting himself apart from his peers as soon as he started college.

“The first thing I did was try to get myself in front of people that would get me as much experience as possible” Downing said.

Downing became heavily involved on campus, both … Read more “A Message to Freshmen: Alumnus Kendall Downing Gives Advice to Journalism Students on how to Reach their Goals Post-Graduation”

Successful Alumni: Jordan Lawson’s experience at UT led him to work as a web content editor in Atlanta

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By John Vandergriff
Jem 414, Fall 2018

Jordan Lawson is a content editor for Discovery. Photo Courtesy of Jordan Lawson

A journalism major opens many doors, not just those to hard news. Just ask Jordan Lawson, a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media, and an online editor for Discovery.

Lawson grew up around Knoxville, so the decision to go to the University of Tennessee was easy. There, he decided to pursue a major in journalism and got involved with The Tennessee Journalist, TNJN.com, the official news website for the School of Journalism and Electronic … Read more “Successful Alumni: Jordan Lawson’s experience at UT led him to work as a web content editor in Atlanta”