Mass Comm alum joins CBS News

Terrell Brown graduated in May 2009 with a B.S. in Mass Communicaton with a focus in broadcast journalism. While at VCU, Brown was the full-time anchor of the breaking news desk, on WWBT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Richmond. (more)

Grad app deadline is June 26

June 26 is the last day to submit a graduation application for August 2009 graduation. Mass Comm students should email either carol Mawyer or Natasha Long for an appointment to complete the application. Students should bring a completed graduation worksheet (for the year they started at VCU), the graduation application and a current copy of their eServices transcript with them to the appointment.

Students who miss this deadline will have their degrees conferred with the December 2009 graduates.

Emmy Awarded to School of Mass Comm Alumni

Alumna and adjunct instructor Lisa Figueroa and alumnus Jordan Rodericks earned an Emmy Award for a documentary they produced for VCU TV/HD, one of the first student-run operations in the country to produce TV programming in a high-definition format. The two received the award at the 51st Emmy Awards held on June 6 in Washington, D.C.

Learn more now.

VCU student takes first place in Hearst multimedia competition

San Francisco – The top 10 winners in college multimedia were announced on May 13 in the 49th annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program. This was the second annual Multimedia Competition in which 78 entrants from 47 undergraduate journalism programs at colleges and universities across the nation participated.

First Place has been awarded to TRACY KENNEDY, a freshman from Virginia Commonwealth University. She will receive a $2,000 scholarship for her entry “Distracted Delegates” posted on Capital News Service. Virginia Commonwealth University will receive a matching grant, as do the journalism departments of all scholarship winners.

Other scholarship winners are:

TIM HUSSIN, University of Florida, second place, $1,500 scholarship
KRISTA SCHINAGL, Western Kentucky University, third place, $1,000 scholarship
ALI TABATABAI, San Francisco State University, fourth place, $750 scholarship
PHILIP ANDREWS, Western Kentucky University, fifth place, $600 scholarship
ALEX BLACKWELDER, Middle Tennessee State University, sixth place, $500 scholarship
KHARI JOHNSON, San Francisco State University, seventh place, $500 scholarship
McKENNA EWEN, University of Minnesota, eighth place, $500 scholarship
ASHLEY P. LAU, Northwestern University, ninth place, $500 scholarship
MICHAEL CALCAGNO, University of Oregon, tenth place, $500 scholarship

Western Kentucky University was first place in the Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points in this competition. They are followed by: San Francisco State University; University of Florida (tie); Virginia Commonwealth University (tie); Syracuse University; Middle Tennessee State University (tie); Northwestern University (tie); University of Oklahoma; Temple University (tie); University of Minnesota (tie).
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, and fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. It consists of six monthly writing, three photojournalism and four broadcast news competitions and one multimedia competition, with championship finals in all divisions except multimedia. The program awards more than $550,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

Judging the multimedia competition this year were: Arthur S. Brisbane, ASB Consulting, East Dennis, MA; Janet Reeves, Former Senior Editor/Photography and Multimedia, The Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO; Fred Young, Former Senior Vice President of News, Hearst-Argyle Television, New York, NY.

For more information, see the Journalism Awards’ website, http://www.hearstawards.org/.

Whitaker named "Rising Star"

LaTonya Whitaker was presented the 2008 Rising Star Award from the Virginia Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPSVA) at the association’s annual conference Feb. 17 in Charlottesville, Va. The award is given to a marketing professional with less than five years experience in the A/E/C industry who has a demonstrated commitment to the field and industry, and who has shown an aptitude for leadership through their intense involvement and contributions.

Whitaker has been a marketing coordinator at the Richmond, VA, office of Hankins & Anderson for less than two years. Since joining the firm in April 2007, she has assumed several responsibilities both at the firm and in SMPSVA, including serving as coordinator for RichmondVirginia Commonwealth University. region meetings of the Chapter. As the Public Relations Director for SMPSVA, Whitaker revamped the Chapter materials and program flyers, and initiated the organization’s foray into social media. She is a 2005 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University.

“Our Chapter is fortunate to benefit from the energy of many of our ‘younger’ members and competition for the Rising Star Award was tough this year,” said SMPSVA immediate past president Cindy Allen of DJG, Inc. “Among them, LaTonya is a definite stand-out. Her firm and our Chapter are lucky to have her talent; and I predict on her current course, she can rise as far as she likes in the AEC industry.”

SMPS Virginia is the definitive resource for marketing and sales of professional architecture, engineering and construction services for the built and natural environment in the Commonwealth. The Chapter currently has more than 100 members from firms from Roanoke to Charlottesville to Virginia Beach. For more information, visit www.smpsva.org.

Advertising Students Collect Ad Awards

Winners Move on to Regional Competition

Every year, VCU’s undergraduate advertising students enter their work into top creative advertising competitions. The students have been garnering increasingly more recognition in recent years, receiving acknowledgment from some of the top student competitions.

This semester alone, students have won a total of 17 Addy Awards, including Best of Show and four Gold and 12 Silver awards. The work originated as a class assignment in Assistant Professor Bridget Camden’s senior-level classes.

Next, the award-winning students will compete against the local winners of the American Advertising Federation District 3 ADDY winners from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. All entries that receive gold and silver ADDY awards on the district level compete for national recognition, the third and final tier.

Previously, VCU’s advertising students have also been recognized by the New York One Show, the annual Richmond Show and in publications such as CMYK magazine, the top trend-setting advertising publication in the country.

VCU PRSSA Chapter hosts April 18 conference

Public relations plays a vital and diverse role in business, government and other professional organizations in today’s world.

The conference is designed to give students and professionals alike an opportunity to network and learn more about the many areas touched by the profession. Practitioners from the Richmond area and beyond will discuss topics featuring media relations, event planning, crisis communications and non-profit public relations--and how all of these are impacted by the new strategies and tactics of today's digital world of social media and networking.

Students majoring in marketing, communications and business will benefit as they learn more about these careers—and become more aware of where their own interests lie.

Plan now to attend. Go to the VCU PRSSA conference web site to find out more and to register.