Director's Note

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of summer. May was a busy month in SJMC so we’re looking forward to the quiet of summer.

We started the month with the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications’ (ACEJMC) council meeting in Washington, DC. At the meeting, we received a unanimous vote for full reaccreditation. Our site team found us in compliance on all 8 standards during their visit in November 2023 and that recommendation was accepted by the ACEJMC committee in March 2024. The Council vote was the final step in the reaccreditation process. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this important moment. While in DC, we joined alumni and friends for taco night at the National Press Club. It was a great to celebrate the successful reaccreditation.

Alumni Event at the National Press Club, Washington, DC

SJMC students participated in graduate and undergraduate celebrations and commencement ceremonies as they capped off their time at Iowa. We inducted several undergraduate students into the Kappa Tau Alpha honor society. Five doctoral students, Katy Biddle, Patrick Johnson, Mir Ashfaquzzaman, Michael Davis and Frankline Matanji received their degrees (left to right). Congratulations to all SJMC grads! We look forward to seeing what you do next.

Spring 2024 doctoral student graduates

Finally, we hosted a workshop on news-academic partnerships and community news in collaboration with the Center for Community News and the Daily Iowan. The event brought together faculty, student media leaders, and industry leaders from around the U.S. to discuss the potential for news collaborations to serve both students and communities.

Community News workshop

This will be our last e-newsletter of the 2023-2024 year. You’ll be hearing from us again in the fall. In the meantime, stay up to date by following us on social media and look for a print newsletter in your mailbox this summer. If necessary, please update your mailing address and other contact information so we can keep in touch.

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

Melissa Tully, Director

Research News

Graduate student Munachim Amah published Journalistic Storytelling for Social Justice: A CDA of Global News Coverage of the Otodo Gbame Forced Evictions in Nigeria in African Journalism Studies.

Professor David Dowling co-edited the recently released The Art of Fact in the Digital Age: An Anthology of New Literary Journalism. This collection charts the evolution of digital longform journalism through its greatest achievements and transitions. This is David’s second book of 2024 that examines narrative journalism in the digital age.

Graduate student Frankline Matanji and Professor Melissa Tully published Stakeholder perceptions of regulatory responses to misinformation in Kenya and Senegal in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism.

Several SJMC faculty members and graduate students will present research at the upcoming International Communication Association annual conference in Gold Coast, Australia.

Undergraduate News

Grace Smith was selected to compete in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Photojournalism Championships in June. Smith qualified by winning a Hearst Photojournalism Picture Story/Series Competition earlier in the year. The University of Iowa placed first overall in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the two photo competitions.

Chris Meglio joined the MinnPost as a summer 2024 intern as part of a new internship partnership with the nonprofit newsroom. Chris jumped right in covering the Minnesota Timberwolves playoff run. He’ll provide sports and election coverage this summer.

Students in Photo Storytelling spent two days photographing sustainability initiatives in Dubuque as part of their collaborative project with Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC). Three capstone courses taught by Alex Scott, Kylah Hedding, Jason Brummond, and Zack Kucharski partnered with the IISC to produce news and strategic communication plans related to sustainability efforts in Dubuque. The student-produced news stories and photography will be published by the Telegraph Herald this summer.

Students in Jeff Grisamore’s Social Media Marketing class worked with the Vaughan Institute to develop a social media marketing plan for the institute that highlights opportunities in the risk and insurance industries. They presented their final projects to Jim Lewis, Executive Director of the Vaughan Institute.

Cheryl Miller, Johnson County Clean Energy District board member, visited Frank Durham's Strategic Communication Writing class to celebrate the work they did for the organization this semester.

Women's Basketball Book

Have you ordered your copy of More Than a Moment: Elevating the Game with Iowa Women’s Basketball? This book features photos taken by Daily Iowan photographers (from games, practices and behind-the-scenes with the team), essays from campus and national experts and thought-leaders in women’s athletics, and stories written by journalism students about this significant moment in Iowa athletics and women’s basketball. Proceeds from the book will support hands-on learning experiences and travel opportunities for University of Iowa students, which are central to the mission of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and The Daily Iowan.