Zack Lemon lands job at The Blade

Journalism and Digital Media 2016 graduate Zack Lemon is a busy guy. Zack, the former managing editor of The Collegian, began his professional journalism career months before his May graduation. He worked as reporter for the Mansfield News Journal while still writing for The Collegian and finishing his Ashland University coursework.

Recently, Zack moved to the Toledo Blade as a general assignment reporter. He covers local issues of interest with the same dedication and craftsmanship he demonstrated as an award-winning student journalist at AU.

JDM students view conference on media and social justice

Ashland University Journalism and Digital Media students intently watched and listened to numerous presenters at the September 22nd Poynter KSU Media Ethics Workshop. While none of them were in the First Energy Classroom at Kent State University, all of them were engaged as they viewed a live video stream shown in the JDM Converged Newsroom. The day-long event focused on media roles and social justice--important concepts for future media professionals. The JDM session was coordinated by professional instructor Maggie Cogar.

JDM produces AU football games for Sports Time Ohio

As the summer turns to fall, AU football games are one of the successful traditions of the university. To build upon that tradition, the university signed a broadcast contract to air all home games with Sports Time Ohio, a regional sports powerhouse. The Journalism and Digital Media department was then contracted to produce both game coverage and content. The JDM crew was helmed by Operations Manager John Skrada, Skrada formed an expert team of professionals, led by Cleveland Cavaliers Director Dan Sevic, JDM adjunct instructor Paul Ditchey and announcer Brandon Wells, and veteran JDM production majors. Seniors Kate Siefert (sideline reporter) and Derek Wood (color analyst) were part of the announcing team.

The game one ratings drew a .5 (40,000 viewers) rating in the Cleveland market. This number is significant because the AU football telecast beat out Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, ESPN-2,NASCAR on NBCSportschannel, and Cleveland TV stations WUAB and WBNX. The game two ratings grew even higher (.59) as the game broadcast out rated FS-1 (Major League Soccer), ESPN (MLB Sunday Night Baseball), ESPN-2 (Sportscenter) and TBS.

Tune in on Sunday nights to see AU shine. The Findlay game will be re-played on Sept.18 at 6 pm, while the Oct. 9 and Nov. 6 games against Northwood and Walsh will air at a time to be determined.

JDM produces AU home football games

Once again, the department of Journalism and Digital Media is producing all Ashland University home football games for web streaming and broadcast. Home games can be viewed live on the JDM Streaming channel while delayed broadcasts can seen both on Sports Time Ohio and AUTV 20.

JDM Operations Manager John Skrada is the Producer of the telecasts while Cleveland Cavaliers Director Dan Sevic serves as the game Director. The production crew is a blend of veteran JDM majors and a few true freshmen majors. Senior Derek Wood is the color analyst and senior Kate Siefert handles the sideline reporting duties.

The JDM department is Ohio's premiere small college/university converged media program.

Michelle Shi interns with China's Xinhua News Agency

Journalism and Digital Media senior Michelle Shi returned home to China this summer and landed an internship with the Xinhua News Agency's Yunnan branch. Michelle worked as an assistant editor for the rapidly growing online division. She started researching local stories of interest and provided them to her supervisor. The chief editor was so impressed with Michelle's work that the opportunity to write and edit articles for the site was presented to her. Michelle crafted numerous articles during the remainder of her internship. She felt that the experience was invaluable and it would help her as a staff writer for The Collegian. Her goal is to work professionally as a journalist and someday return to China, as JDM's next international storyteller.

Tyler Lance interns with 90.3 WCPN Ideastream

JDM junior Tyler Lance spent the summer working on his craft and his passion. For Tyler, the two areas mean the same thing, as he interned at the Cleveland, Ohio public radio station WCPN. He began by shadowing veteran, award-winning news reporters and by the end of the summer Tyler covered stories on his own. He credits this trust to his determination and adaptability. He wrote news stories, edited video for WCPN's Ideastream social media, and read live news over the air.

According to Tyler,"I appreciated the producers' faith in my reporting ability and I feel that I rewarded their faith. I was surprised to discover how patient and supportive everyone was with me. It made me feel like I was back working at WRDL."

Now that Tyler is back on campus, he is excited to bring his new found professional experiences and skills to WRDL. As one of the hosts of The Early Bird's Word, he feels that he will be able to tell stories in new ways and better connect with his listeners. More importantly, he will continue working on his craft and enjoying his passion.