Monday, February 27, 2017

Instructor Maggie Cogar Receives National Research Grant

Maggie Cogar, professional instructor of journalism and digital media, was recently awarded a national research grant in the amount of $4,700. The grant, funded by the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), will cover the cost of her
dissertation research beginning next fall. That research, which examines levels of self-censorship among student journalists in relation to the amount of administrative censorship they face, supports the mission statement of JEA to support “free and responsible scholastic journalism.”

Cogar is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Communication and Information with a focus in mass media from Kent State University. She is active in the world of scholastic journalism and serves as an executive board member for the Ohio Scholastic Media Association as well as the state director for the national Journalism Education Association

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Chris Snow promoted at Ashland Times-Gazette

Digital Media Journalism senior Chris Snow was recently promoted to a full-time position with the Ashland Times-Gazette newspaper. While still in college, Chris has demonstrated that hard work can pay off to great job in the media business. Chris shares his experience with A Blog Converged in the following paragraph.

I started at the Ashland Times-Gazette in March 2016 as the Sports Agate Clerk. It was a part-time position. In January 2017 I was hired full-time as a Sports Reporter. I was prepared for this position by the work that I did as the agate clerk and also by writing for The Collegian at Ashland University. My primary responsibility as a reporter is going out and covering games and then writing s story about what took place. I also have to write feature stories about different events, teams or players. There are many other things that I do at the TG, but those are the main things I do. Working in the industry is much different than writing for the school paper. There is a nightly deadline, and most of the time I am expected to turn out a story in less than an hour. However, I was prepared for this by writing an ample amount of stories for The Collegian. This allowed me to develop my writing style and produce quality work.

A Blog Converged credits current JDM journalism professor Maggie Cogar and former journalism professor Matt Tullis for mentoring Chris Snow. Their work has produced the next great JDM journalist.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Collegian Earns Second Place in Best Website at ONA Conference

Yesterday members of The Collegian staff and students from the Journalism & Digital Media Department attended the Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA) Conference where they placed second for best website (B division).  The best website category is judged based on content, ease of navigation, layout, design, and advertising, according to the ONA collegiate competition guidelines.  This information is rated during random visits to the website in the months leading up to the Conference, which speaks to the consistency of the quality delivered by The Collegian website. 

Collegian Staff Members and JDM Students (L-R)
  Connor Dunwoodie, Breaking News Reporter; Renee Borcas, Student;   
 Kate Siefert, Managing  and Features Editor; Rebekah Hunter, Student;
Noah Cloonan, Sports Editor                                                                  
     
Not pictured: Maggie Cogar, Faculty Advisor; Callan Pugh, News Editor                                 
Congratulations, Collegian Staff and JDM Students,
on your excellent work!


Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Dr. McCoy Promoted to Associate Professor, Receives Tenure

Dr. David McCoy joined the AU faculty in 2011 and he has taught journalism, film, digital media production and education courses for more than 25 years, including his specialty areas of new media aesthetics, scriptwriting and historical documentary.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications, a M.Ed. in Educational Technology and a Ph.D. in the cultural foundations of education from Kent State University. 

McCoy has created numerous award-winning documentaries and public affairs programs for Western Reserve Public Media/WNEO and WEAO PBS Channels 45 and 49. His primary research area is the impact of social media technologies on learning, and his teaching areas include video/audio aesthetics, the global impact of social media, media writing and digital media technologies. He has authored articles in a variety of journals and written chapters for two books.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

AUTV 20 plans for increased programming in 2017

Ashland's only television station, the award-winning AUTV 20, is making large scale plans for 2017. Coming off the most productive year in the station's history, AUTV 20 is deep in the coverage of both Men's and Women's Basketball home basketball games. Featuring the on-air talents of Derek Wood, Kate Siefert and Noah Cloonan, the production expertise of producer-director John Skrada and the dedicated production work of a veteran JDM crew, the broadcast games are a main stable of station programming.

Returning to the airwaves will be long-time programs such as News Update and Sports Update. Both of these shows will have a new graphic look and expanded lengths. Also returning will be News Break and Sports Break, both of which debuted in 2016. However, AUTV 20 producers Sean Honaker, Ingrid Schmidt, Renee Borcas and Bex Hunter are increasing the amount of weekly telecasts of each show from two to three. This change will provide a fresher coverage of late breaking news, sports and weather.

The JDM 213 Professional Practice-Television class is producing three different public affairs shows for the station. Mainstreet, which is produced by five Ashland city natives who are JDM majors, will focus on issues that concern Ashland city and Ashland county. Eagle's Eye will center on areas of interest to Ashland University students, faculty, staff and administrators. AU Global, a highly successful program created by JDM alum Martina Baca, will continue to explore the wealth of experiences of AU's international students. Finally, The AUTV 20 Earth Day series will return in April and a new program that examines politics will make its debut in March.

AUTV 20 is a partnership of the department of Journalism and Digital Media, the College of Arts and Sciences and Armstrong Cable. It can be found at Channel 20 on Armstrong Cable or by clicking on the AUTV 20 tab located in the JDM page on the AU website.