VCU InSight in action!

It's year six for VCU's student-produced news program, VCU InSight. The show airs four times each month on Richmond PBS affiliate, WCVW, a Community Idea Station.

To see what our team of student anchors, reporters, producers and production personnel accomplished this year, check out this video.



Then check out our blog at vcuinsight.wordpress.com works or watch the show on WCVW, Channel 57 (Richmond Cable Channel 24) on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.

Cutting-edge curriculum introduced to match changing industry

The School of Mass Communications is transforming its curriculum to better meet the needs of changing media industries. Major updates to the advertising, journalism and public relations sequences are scheduled to affect students beginning in fall 2008.

Curriculum changes are designed to create more tailored majors, allow students to determine their sequences and begin taking specialized MASC courses earlier in their college career. Students will enter VCU as MASC majors in the Foundation instead of being classified as “pre-majors.” After three semesters in the Foundation, students will petition for a Sequence.

The curriculum update includes a number of cutting-edge courses; updated names and descriptions, and changes in MASC collateral courses.

The most significant changes are in the advertising curriculum, which faculty members said they “blew up” and rebuilt from the ground up.

“Our new advertising curriculum focused on the attributes of those who perform successfully in a variety of advertising roles,” said Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk, the School’s director. “Our old curriculum focused on the skills we taught in our courses – like courses in copywriting and art direction, for instance. Our new curriculum focused on the attributes copywriters and art directors need to be successful – “Perspicuousness” for copywriting, and “Imagination” for art direction.”

The Mass Comm updates are being introduced at the same time as when VCU is evaluating its core and general-education requirements.

Mass Comm adviser Natasha Long says the School’s new curriculum will offer more choices from a wider variety of courses to better meet the needs of students and the changing media industries.

Should students need guidance or assistance in understanding the curriculum changes, they are encouraged to seek advising either with their University College adviser (for freshmen) or the School’s adviser(s) (for sophomores, transfers and students yet to petition).

Get May '08 graduation details here

You've worked hard, and the time has finally come to graduate!

Get the details you need here:

http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/graduation_details/may2008.html

Mass Comm Director Judy Turk calls Hall of Fame inductees "outstanding communicators in Virginia."

The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame inducted a college professor, a management and lobbying firm founder, two editors and publishers and a public relations firm chairman and chief officer at its 2008 ceremony on April 17.

The selection committee for the Hall of Fame chose Rick Boyko, Peter Easter, John Edwards, J. Malcolm (Jay) Pace, III and Mark Raper to join previous inductees. They make up the 21^st class of the Hall of Fame’s 22 year history and raise the number of honorees to 111.

“We are very excited to honor these individuals who have been outstanding communicators in Virginia,” said Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk, APR, Fellow PRSA, director of VCU’s School of Mass Communications. “Each of these inductees has excelled and truly deserves a spot in this year’s class.”

The induction ceremony and dinner was held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va. This black tie event was hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications.

The Hall of Fame was established in 1986 to honor men and women who have shown exceptional achievement through the years in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertising, public relations, journalism-related organizations or journalism education.

Also honored was the 2008 Virginia Communications Hall of Fame Scholarship winner, Cassie Williams. In recognition of outstanding Virginia communicators, this scholarship was established by the VCU School of Mass Communications faculty in 1992. It is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate student based on merit, need and writing skills.

The Master of Ceremonies was Aaron R. Gilchrist, Jr., Emmy-award-winning morning and news anchor for WWBT NBC-12 Television in Richmond.

View a slide show of the evening's festivities!

Pictured Above: Mark Raper, Peter Easter, Mrs. Jay Pace, John Edwards, Rick Boyko and Dr. Judy Turk.

Advertising Undergrads Count Accomplishments

The School of Mass Communications congratulates its undergraduate creative-advertising students who, after receiving a number of regional Addy awards last month, were recognized again in the higher level of the competition at the Third District Addys.

VCU recent graduates Alyssa Collis and Erin Martin won the Student Best of Show award for their Nutella ads designed as a magazine campaign. The award represents the best work among all student entries.

Student Special Judges Award went to VCU senior Chip Stevens and recent graduate Kyle Asay for their McCanns Oatmeal ads.

The American Advertising Federation District 3 Addy awards recognize student and professional work 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 national award ceremony this year will be in Atlanta, Ga., on Tuesday, June 10.

For more information about the Student Addy Awards, visit AAF Web site.

Related stories: Advertising Students Receive National Recognition.

Through "Skunkworks," VCU undergrads design the future of media

Transforming TV experience by tying Internet and broadcast news, offering free classified ads to newspaper subscribers, and the list goes on.

Creative ideas for media companies to re-engage consumers are shaping up among a group of VCU honor students. They are giving their feedback to a major media company about its business.

The class, creatively called Skunkworks, brings together a diverse group of students to work with professionals from Media General, the conglomerate that owns The Richmond Times-Dispatch among other media. The students come up with new ways for media companies to connect with consumers. The students have developed a number of suggestions, bringing in next-generation views and experiences.

“We let the students explore the problem and solve it for themselves,” said Scott Sherman, assistant professor of strategic advertising, and added that declining numbers of newspaper readers is a threat to the business. “That’s a real problem that big companies are trying to solve.”

Sherman and Jeff South, associate professor of print journalism, lead the class that Sherman referred to as a creativity session. The idea behind it, Sherman explained, was to look at the problems media companies are facing. Students were then encouraged to brainstorm on suggestions for improving the media business, develop their ideas and offer them to Media General.

The innovative class has students of all class levels and a number of different majors and takes them off campus encouraging them to work in professional settings. And students are pleased with the results they have accomplished.

“One thing that’s been cool about the class is to help encourage new ideas,” said creative-advertising senior David Canavan.

To assist and enhance the process, Sherman and South have brought in guest speakers, among them media professional and analysts.

“The guest speakers have been my favorite part of the class,” Canavan said. “To hear industry professionals’ perspective on the way media are changing has been very beneficial.”

Andy Stefanovich, from the Richmond-based innovative company Play, talked to the class about inspiration and generating creativity.

Joe Antle, vice president for sales and strategic marketing at Media General, told students about what is happening in big media companies and how they operate in today’s world.

David Richards, chief executive officer of the Norfolk-based software company Concursive Corp., and Michael Harvey, the company’s executive vice president, discussed interesting and new ways people use media.

One of the ideas that students pitched to Media General is using a TiVo technology to link television to the Internet with something similar to a hyperlink on the TV monitor. It would allow viewers to watch a TV show and use their remote control to link to a Web site on their TV, thus making it more convenient to go from one medium (TV) to another (Web).

Another idea students are developing is for a newspaper Web site that would engage young readers. Sherman said students are not encouraged to redesign a given site, but to design a totally new Web experience tailored specifically to young consumers.

When developing their ideas, the students communicate with professionals from related fields and take into consideration how the idea links to both consumers and experts.

On a daily basis, students have the flexibility to self-direct their work, which for many is a plus that the class offers. John Zhao, creative-advertising senior, said this flexibility is making the class cool and daunting.

“The best aspect of the class is being able to have all the freedom to make decisions,” Zhao said. “We’re following ourselves.”

“There’s no right or wrong answer,” he said. “That’s what’s making it a real interesting class, but also a tough one.”

In the beginning of the semester, students were skeptical, but that changed, Sherman said.

“They didn’t think they’d have an impact,” he said. “Now they all believe in what they’re doing.”

Mass Comm students recognize favorite professors

The Mass Communications Student Advisory Board is accepting nominations for the third annual student-sponsored faculty award to be presented to an outstanding professor at the May'08 graduation ceremony.

The award is a way for students to show their appreciation to professors and recognize their efforts not only as instructors, but also mentors and academic and professional advisers. Students of all majors and class levels are encouraged to nominate their favorite faculty member and share a memory or quote, which illustrates his or her personality. The nomination period ends on April 25, when votes will be counted and one professor will stand out as the students' pick for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Public Relations junior Leah Rullman and freshman Janelle Scott are initiating the process this year.

"I'm excited to take over this opportunity and coordinate such an important student initiative," Rullman said.

The first two recipients of the award were Associate Professor of Broadcast Journalism Deb Wenger in 2006, and Adjunct Professor of Print Journalism Mary Ann Owens in 2007.

An increasing number of students participate each year in the initiative to recognize professors.

"These are people who dedicate themselves to enlightening us, challenging us and preparing us for the world," said Strategic Advertising senior Ian Slinkman, who participated in the process last year and plans to do it again this year. "The student faculty-award program is a great way for students to acknowledge those professors who bring us new perspective and force us to push the envelope of our ability."

Graduating senior in Broadcast Journalism, Brandon Shulleeta said Mass Comm faculty deserve the recognition.

"Some (professors) have gone above and beyond their obligations, to help us become better reporters," he said. "This is just a small way for us to say 'thanks.'"

For more information about the faculty award and submitting your nomination form, contact Leah Rullman.

Download the nomination form now!