Director's Note

April in SJMC is always filled with visitors and events and this year was no exception.

Munachim Amah, Javie Ssozi, and David Dowling hosted the State of Critical and Cultural Studies Media Symposium on April 7. The virtual event brought together scholars for a lively discussion about the role of critical and cultural media studies in contemporary society. The symposium kicked off a week of special events.

Dr. Todd Boyd visited as an Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor presenting to faculty and graduate students in SJMC and Communication Studies and giving a public lecture on sport and the media.

Students in the Event Management Certificate program organized a live storytelling event fundraiser for Investigate Midwest. Jake Mayer and Ty Rushing participated as storytellers.

We held our annual Storytelling Across Media exhibition and scholarship/awards reception on April 9. The exhibition included student work from across the school and provided an opportunity to celebrate student success. We recognized scholarship recipients and the winners of the Outstanding Achievement in Writing Award: Alice Cruse (first place), Jami Martin-Trainor (second place) and Emily Nyberg (third place). We also had several honorable mentions: Julianne Altenbern, Kennedy Lein, and McKenna Roering.

Storytelling Across Media exhibition and scholarship/awards reception

The celebration continued on Friday with the 2025 SJMC Hall of Fame luncheon and induction ceremony. Isaiah Scales and Tim Vos were inducted into the Hall of Fame as recognition of their excellence, integrity, and accomplishments in their fields.

Hall of Fame Inductees, Tim Vos and Isaiah Scales

We wrapped up the month with our spring picnic and a performance by SJ⚡MC, the school’s newly constituted faculty band.

SJ⚡MC

If you have a story to share, please send it to sjmc@uiowa.edu.

Melissa Tully, Director

Faculty News

Bingbing Zhang received a Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant from the Page Center at Penn State. She will use this grant to examine the impact of transparency and community notes on voters’ trust and perception of AI-generated political advertising.

David Dowling visited the College of Media at University of Illinois to speak as part of their Harry J. Skornia Distinguished Lectureship in Public Broadcasting series. He presented Podcasting for Public Media: State-of-the-Art Exemplars & Cautionary Tales in a Volatile Digital Publishing Industry.

David Dowling speaking at the Harry J. Skornia Distinguished Lectureship in Public Broadcasting series

Erin Goss, Jake Mayer, and Michelle Sillman attended the Journalism Education Association conference in Seattle Washington. This convention supports free and responsible scholastic journalism by providing resources and educational opportunities to high schools across the country.

Michelle Sillman and Jake Mayer at JEA

Bingbing Zhang co-authored Effects of state-sponsored political posts on perceived credibility and persuasion in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.

Frank Durham and Tom Oates read from their new book, Forming the Public: A Critical History of Journalism in the United States at Prairie Lights.

Graduate Student News

Munachim Amah received the Carl J. Nelson Research Award.

Jenny Xu received the John F. Murray Outstanding Doctoral Teaching Award.

Munachim Amah received the John F. Murray Outstanding Doctoral Research Award.

Undergraduate News

Sofie Nettleton andd Mackenzie Fenwick with Kate Martin and Jan Jensen

DITV won Best College Newscast at the 2025 Upper Midwest Emmys. This is the second year in a row they have received the award.

Event Management Workshop students planned two successful events as part of their final projects. One group planned a Fan Fest for the Iowa Heartlanders and the other hosted an Open House at Kinnick Stadium spotlighting the venue’s private rooms and press box as locations for community and private events.

Hoop Dreams director Steve James visited campus and participated in a Q&A for students hosted by Travis Vogan and Adam Kempenaar. SJMC co-sponsored a screening of Hoop Dreams at Film Scene featuring a Q&A with James.

Hoop Dreams Director Steve James

Students in the Adler Agency held their first live event for Robert Cargill and Bible & Archeology at The James Theater. Students produced the marketing materials, scouted the venue and staffed the sold-out event. The event was sponsored by the UI Office of Innovation.