Media College eNews

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. 

Chelsea Fuller (BSJ, 2011) was twelve years old when she met civil rights icon John Lewis at Paschal’s restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, the unofficial headquarters of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Fuller had been traveling with her mother, Marjorie, and a group of students from Knox College to landmarks throughout the south to learn about and celebrate Black history in America.

“Representative Lewis spoke individually to every person in the room,” Fuller said. “I was a budding writer who loved my people, my history and my culture. He told me ‘there's nothing more powerful than telling stories and there's nothing more powerful than loving and being committed to your people.’”

West Virginia University Reed College of Media students and faculty were recognized in two national competitions this month.

EcoCAR Mobility Challenge awards

A new fully online bachelor’s degree program at West Virginia University will give students complementary business and communications skills suitable for careers in the marketing, advertising and public relations fields.

The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications degree is an interdisciplinary program where students will take courses in marketing through the internationally accredited John Chambers College of Business and Economics and courses in advertising and public relations through the Reed College of Media, home of the nationally renowned M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications.

West Virginia University Reed College of Media students are gaining valuable, hands-on experience reporting, producing podcasts and creating marketing and promotional materials from home this summer, thanks to a new partnership with local businesses and generous sponsorships from College alumni and friends.

The Coronavirus pandemic forced many companies to rescind in-person summer internship opportunities for College of Media students. In response, the College was able to offer a limited number of virtual internships to returning seniors.

West Virginia University Reed College of Media students and faculty won five Telly Awards this year in categories that included storytelling in online commercials, non-broadcast social issues, social media video, and immersive and mixed reality.

Telly Awards are the international, premier honor for outstanding local, regional and cable productions. The 2020 competition had more than 13,000 entries, which were judged by hundreds of industry experts. Now in its 41st year, the Telly Awards recently added categories in immersive and mixed reality, diversity and inclusion, and social impact. Silver and Bronze Telly Awards, respectively, are the most prestigious honors given.