September 2020 College News

JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION Advertising, Digital Media Innovation, Electronic Media , Mass Communication, Journalism, & Public Relations FACULTY ACCOLADES Journalism Program Coordinator Kym Fox had a column published in the Investigative Reporters and Editors Journal , third quarter, entitled “Teaching journalism during a pandemic: Compassion goes a long way in academia.” [ 1 ] It features interviews with Texas State journalism majors. This issue of the journal focused on the mental health of journalists working during the pandemic. Dr. Amber Hinsley received the Grand Prize award in the Great Ideas for Teaching (GIFT) competition at the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in August 2020. Her submission was selected by a panel of judges for its applicability in teaching journalism students to engage in Twitter data analysis and create infographics to present best practices based on their findings. More information about the assignment can be found on her website. Dr. Kelly Kaufhold presented research and moderated a panel at the virtual annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Kaufhold co-authored “What’s Wrong with Newspapers’ Digital Readership? An Empirical Analysis of the Top 50 U.S. Newspapers’ Online Metrics with the Multidimensional Web Investigative Reporters and Editors Journal , which includes Kym Fox's published column Cydney Tindal anchoring the first inaugural production of the Bobcat Update newscast Part of the communications campaign for HP developed by Jenny Buschhorn and Jennifer Scharlach's Capstone Campaigns classes 10 | September | College News 1 2 3 Attention Model” and moderated the panel “Getting Your Research Published: A Conversation with Editors and Authors,” a pre-conference presentation of the Media Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship Division. Dr. Judy Oskam was part of a virtual roundtable panel session entitled “Current Issues: Lessons Learned from our COVID-19 Responses” at the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference on August 6. Panelists discussed university responses to the pandemic and changes in higher education. SCHOOL ACCOLADES The TV News class just finished its first Bobcat Update newscast, of the fall semester while still working under pandemic restrictions. Student Cydney Tindal anchored the inaugural production with stories related to how COVID-19 has affected campus life. [ 2 ] Many contributed to this newscast by shooting video with their phones and editing at home on their computers. The Hewlett Packard (HP) Accessories and Monitors Division reached out to faculty at Texas State University with a challenge: could Advertising and Public Relations students create outside of the box integrated communications campaigns including research, strategy, creative content and evaluation? Over the past 6 years, students have pitched their research and ideas to HP. This partnership has been a win-win for HP and Texas State. HP has hired students, funded and utilized projectable research data gathering, utilized portions of campaigns and helped students build marketing skills and quality resumes. In the spring 2020 semester, Advertising and Public Relations professors Jenny Buschhorn and Jennifer Scharlach had their Capstone Campaigns classes work together to produce an integrated communications campaign for HP. [ 3] Students gave virtual presentations to HP employees in Taiwan, London, Houston and Los Angeles about their research and campaign. The research is being used as a benchmark for programs being implemented including the pilot program: The HP D&A Sustainability Visionaire Program (an internal micro influencer campaign designed by Texas State students). This pilot program is the first time that HP has implemented a full campaign presented by Texas State students. Kym Klass (SWTSU '02, and 1994-95 The University Star editor) spent 20 years in the newspaper business and then left the field to focus on mental health advocacy following the 2015 suicide of her sister. She authored a book, One More Day: a powerful true story of suicide, loss, and a woman's newfound faith , in 2018, and serves as a voice in Alabama through her work with the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Alabama, and the Samaritan Counseling Center. In 2020, she received the Advocate of the Year award through NAMI Alabama. The organization also awarded her the statewide Media of the Year award in 2017 for her mental health coverage while a reporter at the Montgomery (Al) Advertiser . #ALUMNISPOTLIGHT College of Fine Arts and Communication | 11