Media College eNews

As essential workers and first responders, journalists face increased threats and risks online and in real life as they cover natural disasters, mass shootings, the COVID-19 pandemic, violent extremism, police violence and increased civil unrest in communities. As part of the communities they cover, journalists experience trauma themselves in the course of serving the public.

The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in West Virginia on December 14. As doses are administered, researchers from the West Virginia University Public Interest Communication (PIC) Research Lab are focused on making sure West Virginians get timely, accurate and scientifically sound information related to the vaccine.

What started out as an in-class assignment for one West Virginia University Reed College of Media student has extended beyond the classroom to a collaborative service project to benefit elderly West Virginians.

The number of women admitted to prison in West Virginia is one of the highest in the country, having increased 677.5% since 1989, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Two years ago, West Virginia University Reed College of Media faculty and students embarked on a project to explore this high incarceration rate and to share the stories of formerly incarcerated women and advocate for change.

Managing multiple responsibilities is often the nature of being a student. Reed College of Media Journalism graduate student Lily Hicks has embraced this philosophy more than most by accepting a full-time job as the marketing manager for the West Virginia Department of Commerce while pursuing her degree.  

West Virginia University Reed College of Media alumna Ella Jennings (BSJ, 2019; MSJ, 2019) was recognized nationally with an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Audio Reporting from the Radio Television Digital News Association for a podcast she produced as part of her journalism master’s degree coursework.

Photo Credit: The Daily Athenaeum. Joe Severino, left, sits with Douglas Soule during a production night.

Each year, the West Virginia University Reed College of Media recognizes exemplary accomplishments and support of alumni with four awards. The P.I. Reed Achievement Award, created in 1966, is the most prestigious and recognizes outstanding lifetime achievement in journalism or advertising/public relations. The Friend of the College Award, established in honor of the late Professor Emeritus Paul A. Atkins, recognizes individuals for their exemplary support and commitment to the College of Media. In 2013, the Commitment to Service Award was established in honor of Dr. R. Ivan Pinnell’s more than two decades of service and commitment to the College. The P.I. Reed Young Alumnus/Alumna Award, developed in 2004, is given to an individual who has graduated in the last 10 years and who has demonstrated the ability to excel in his or her field.

The 2020 awardees include Rob Byers (BSJ, 1991), James (BSJ, 1967) and Barbara (BSJ, 1968) Gilkerson, Mike Fulton (BSJ, 1979) and Alex McPherson (BSJ, 2011; MS Data Marketing Communications, 2017). View a full list of previous awardees. 

In 1992, Chuck Scatterday began his career in broadcast production with two degrees in hand from West Virginia University – a master’s degree in Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Almost three decades later, country roads have taken him home to the College of Media where he’s training students in adventure and sports media. Scatterday was named the Shott Professor in Sports and Adventure Media and the executive producer of Mountaineer Playbook.

Before participating in the launch of new national ESPN entities such as ESPN2 and ESPNU, fielding production staff for live college football broadcasts on ESPNU and covering Olympic sporting events, he found his love for journalism and storytelling working as a staff member at U92 FM The Moose, WVU’s independent campus radio station. 

When Robert Byers (BSJ, 1991) arrived on West Virginia University’s campus in 1987 for freshman orientation, he was racing toward his future—literally, down a hallway so he wouldn’t miss signing up for journalism classes.