Making An Impact Beyond the Classroom May 14, 2021
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By Claire Garza, Spring 2021 Advanced PR Student
At the mention of his name, colleagues, students and alumni beam with joy and express their fondness for Maxey Parrish and his impact on their lives. And his colleagues say that in his 17 years of teaching in JPR&NM, he’s brought a wealth of knowledge, experience, positive change, and deep kindness and dedication to the department.
Parrish’s original career plan didn’t lead to him teaching. He grew up as most boys do, playing little league baseball, football and eventually running track in high school. His love for sports went beyond the field, so he began reading the newspaper’s sports pages. He got the nickname “Sportswriter” when he started writing sports for his high school’s newspaper.
When he was a Baylor senior of the journalism department, he needed three random journalism hours to finish his degree. Parrish took an internship elective that introduced him to sports PR, which ended up being his career of choice for 25 years.
He began that part of his career at Southern Methodist University before coming back to Baylor to work in the athletic department for 20 years. He then worked for a sports internet company called Rivals.com before the company shut down due to a tech bust. Parrish joined the journalism department as a full-time teacher in 2001, not knowing the legacy he would create in the coming years.
Parrish described the culture of the department as “nurturing and full of instructors who want to see their students succeed in life” – and he’s set the bar on that, according to his colleague, Senior Lecturer Cassy Burleson.
Parrish said his “favorite part is contributing in some small way to the eventual career success of students. To see somebody graduate from here, further their education, develop skills, get married, have a family, just go live a good life – to look back and say, ‘Well, OK, I was maybe a little bit a part of that’ – that really to me is the greatest thing of all.”
And Parrish’s impact goes beyond the classroom.
After reading a student’s memoir about a mission trip to Armenia that influenced her, he wanted to get involved with student mission trips during his summers off. And after Parrish had led mission trips for 10 years, Baylor started pushing study abroad programs.
“[Baylor] wanted to look at these things holistically and not just take a Baylor class and box it up and move it some place, but really engage the students in another country, in the culture and everything about it,” Parrish said.
Interested in the program, Parrish applied for a position in the Baylor in Maastricht program, where he went to teach basic journalism classes for a semester in the spring of 2009.
After seeing the study abroad program in action, he wanted to create a program specifically for the journalism department. He, alongside the department chair, the College of Arts and Sciences and an organization now known as Center for Global Engagement, a summer study abroad program was created in Florence, Italy. After five years in Florence, they decided to go somewhere other than Eastern Europe, where most of Baylor’s study abroad trips took place.
“We started to look at different places. I did some research. As it turned out, Budapest was perfect,” Parrish said. “I’d been there before on a mission trip in 1987 … so I knew Budapest a little bit. I thought, ‘Well, this will be a good place. It’s different, but it’s still modern.’”
After a site visit to Budapest, the department decided to partner with an organization there called Council on International Education Exchange. According to Parrish, “everything fell into place,” and they found that Budapest truly was a great fit for the program because of its unique, vibrant culture. On every trip, Parrish said they try to do something different, keeping it new and exciting for him, which benefits students because they feed off his enthusiasm.
Students left with advanced journalism skills because of writing assignments they published through Baylor’s Bundle magazine in “real time” and gained a higher appreciation for the culture. Guest lecturers spoke about Hungarian culture, and activities forced students out of their comfort zones as they went into the city and immersed themselves.
“I try to emphasize cultural awareness, cultural literacy. We are in a very different country, I want us to embrace it, I want us to learn from it. I don’t necessarily care if you are an expert on Hungarian culture … but I do want you to come away knowing that there are very different cultures in this world. People behave differently. People have different perspectives,”
Parrish said. “Our challenge as global citizens is to understand … that people … are different, [but] their motivations are just as sincere and honest as yours…. You don’t have to necessarily agree, but you do need to recognize … and be able to live with those differences.”
Parrish’s goals were achieved. Baylor in Budapest became a hallmark of the department. Students who have gone say the trip is more than learning about journalism. It’s about learning the culture and becoming a part of it. Clara Ruth West, South Carolina 2018 graduate, said one of her favorite parts of the trip in 2017 was getting to explore Hungary and familiarize herself with the culture.
“Honestly, Maxey Parrish was a huge, huge, huge piece of that as well because he had been there before. He had done it. It wasn’t new to him, so he was able to give us a lot of direction and guidance…. He encouraged us to step out of our boxes and do things that were unfamiliar but were also going to be really fun,” West said.
His impact on students lasts long after graduation. Annie Wilson Tam, 2004 English, French and Public Relations major, said, “Maxey probably never realized what an impact he had on me. He was one of the reasons I became a teacher shortly after graduation. He taught me that teaching is much more than talking about a subject you enjoy to a bunch of kids. It’s about believing in those kids and fighting for them. He also taught me that the mission field doesn’t have to be in a foreign country. It’s in the classroom.”
Parrish is admired by his colleagues as much as he is by his students, since he’s been a mentor to many other instructors and helped shaped the department into what it is today.
“Maxey’s important impact in our department cannot be overstated. He’s such a great colleague and mentor to many in this department,” Kevin Tankersley, senior lecturer, said.
Beloved Office Manager Retires May 14, 2021
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After 33 years of employment by Baylor University, JPR&NM Office Manager Margaret Kramer retired May 31.
“We are sincerely going to miss Ms. Kramer,” Chair Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., said. “We thank her for all that she has done for Baylor University and for our department.”
During her 33 years at Baylor, Kramer worked for several administrators in different departments, including English and FDM/Communications.
“Margaret was my go-to person for EVERYTHING!” Baylor Director of Student Media Bruce Gietzen said. “If she didn’t already know the answer, she always connected me with the right person to find what I needed. Plus, every time she had the department’s best interests in mind!”
Kramer is known for her caring personality, quick wit and bowl of chocolate that she constantly replenished for students, faculty and staff.
“We are thankful for the laughter, the hard work, and the extremely good chocolate,” Moody-Ramirez said.
Kramer always treated everyone the same.
Her favorite quote was: “whether time, money, possessions, or words of faith and encouragement, we all have something to give that might just be the difference in the way someone else’s day — even someone else’s life — goes.”
“I had a sign over my office door that I could see from my desk. I put it there on purpose because I could read it and most people never noticed it,” she said. “It was a good reminder to me. I tried to treat others the way I would want someone to treat the people I care about and love.”
In in a fun-filled send off, the department sponsored a celebration for Kramer at the Baylor Club, where she was showered with an outpouring of love, gifts and tributes.
“Ms. Kramer was a ray of sunshine in the Journalism department and our biggest cheerleader,” Administrative Associate Lanisa Tovar said. “I wish her all the happiness and blessings in her retirement.”
Senior Lecturer Cassy Burleson remembers her as having a “listening heart.”
“Margaret, who never minded if I called her “MK” for short, solved problems pragmatically, often with a sense of humor,” she said. “She did kind deeds behind the scenes for faculty, staff and students. She’s way too young to be retiring, but it will be fun to see the mischief she gets into. I’m glad she’s my neighbor in Lorena and that our friendship will continue.”
–Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.
Graduate Program Director Presents at International Conference May 14, 2021
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Dr. Marlene Neill, APR, presented at this year’s International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC) and won a top paper award. Here are the details:
“Employee Perceptions of Ethical Listening in U.S. Organizations” – International Public Relations Research Conference, March 4-6, 2021, Virtual Conference – Marlene S. Neill, Baylor University; Shannon Bowen, University of South Carolina. Acceptance rate 45%. Received University of Florida Employee Communication Research Award.
Neill also had a paper accepted for ICA:
“Barriers to PR Women’s Leadership Advancement: Current Situation and Anticipated Changes,” International Communication Association Conference, May 27-31, 2021, Virtual Conference – Juan Meng, University of Georgia; Marlene S. Neill, Baylor University.
Alumnus Employed by New York Herald has Passed Away May 14, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBaylor Journalism alumnus Jonathan Lee Fulbright, 64, of Pecos, Texas, passed away on May 11, 2021.
Jonathan was a journalist employed by the New York Herald Tribune. Following in his dad’s footsteps, he earned a degree in journalism from Baylor University.
He went to work for The Pecos Enterprise in 1981 and remained there for 40 years. He became an integral and well-loved part of the community. Jonathan was known for writing on all aspects of the news, but he focused on the sports teams in the Pecos area. He was respected and loved by coaches and players alike.
He was preceded in death by his parents; 11 uncles; ten aunts; and one cousin.
He is survived by 14 Fulbright cousins and their families living in Texas, California, Colorado and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, along with a host of loved ones and friends.
Congratulations Class of 2021 May 13, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentThe Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media is excited to honor this year’s graduating seniors.
Congratulations class of 2021.
Robert F. Darden Honored as 2021 Piper Professor for State of Texas May 12, 2021
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May 12, 2021
Award-winning journalism professor, founder of Black Gospel Music Restoration Project recognized for teaching excellence
WACO, Texas (May 12, 2021) – Robert F. Darden III, B.S.Ed. ’76, M.J., professor of journalism, public relations and new media, Master Teacher and founder of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University, has been honored as a Piper Professor of 2021 for the state of Texas by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.
The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation honors 10 professors per academic year across the state for their dedication to the teaching profession and for their outstanding academic, scientific and scholarly achievement. Each Piper Professor receives a certificate of merit, a gold pin and a $5,000 honorarium.
“To be nominated by the Baylor administration for this extraordinary award was, in itself, an incredibly humbling honor. But to be mentioned in the same breath as Baylor’s earlier Piper Professors – Rachel Moore, Bob Baird, Ray Cannon and Kent Gilbreath – is just a little this side of overwhelming,” Darden said. “I have been incredibly blessed to have had wonderful, life-changing teachers at Baylor. If I have been able to pass along even a little of their compassion and insight to my students through the years, then I have been truly blessed.”
Darden is an award-winning teacher, researcher and author, who has been widely cited, quoted and interviewed on a variety of topics in the international and national media. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including “Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume II: Black Sacred Music from Sit-Ins to Resurrection City” (Penn State University Press, 2016) and “Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume I: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement” (Penn State Press, 2014).
Darden has received nearly all of the University’s teaching and research awards, including Outstanding Teacher, College of Arts & Sciences; Diversity Award (individually and with the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project); Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year award; Outstanding Researcher, College of Arts & Sciences; and the Master Teacher designation, Baylor’s highest honor for teaching excellence.
In recent years, the former newspaper journalist has been interviewed and featured by the BBC, several NPR programs, the PBS series “The Black Church: This is My Story, This is My Song” with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., and in numerous national media outlets. His essays, features, editorials and columns have appeared in The New York Times, The Oxford American, Christianity Today, The Dallas Morning News, Huffington Post and hundreds of others.
Darden was gospel music editor for Billboard Magazine from 1984 to 1998. He also was senior editor of The Wittenburg Door from 1988 to 2008.
He is the founder of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor, the world’s largest initiative to identify, acquire, scan, digitize, catalog and make accessible America’s fast-vanishing legacy of vinyl from gospel music’s “Golden Age.” The BGMRP provides the gospel music for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C.
Past Baylor faculty who have been recognized as Piper Professors include Charles G. Smith, 1960; Cornelia M. Smith, 1966; Daniel Sternberg, 1968; Glenn R. Capp, 1972; William J. Boswell, 1975; Robert L. Reid, 1978; Calvin A. Kent, 1988; Robert M. Baird, 1994; Raymond J. Cannon, 1997; Rachel H. Moore, 2003; and Larry Kent Gilbreath, 2007.
In Memory of Bill Hartman May 12, 2021
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I was working at The Houston Post in the summer of 1961 when Baylor approached me about teaching. As the discussions continued, someone suggested that I visit Fred Hartman to talk about the situation.
Hartman was the editor and publisher of The Baytown Sun. He was the leader of a group of journalists who had studied under Dr. Charles Johnson at Baylor in the late 1920s and early ’30s. He continued to be involved in the journalism program.
On a Friday, I made the trek from Houston to Baytown to meet with Hartman. He was delightful and our meeting went well. As noon approached, he asked the managing editor to take me to lunch.
The managing editor was James Hale, a Baylor journalism graduate and later the publisher of several major newspapers. Hale brought a young man along with us. His name was Bill Hartman.
Turns out that Bill was the incoming editor of The Baylor Lariat. The job Baylor was talking with me about included being the adviser to The Lariat.
Until then, no faculty member had ever been in that position.
Bill and I talked that day about what that arrangement entailed.
I told him I wouldn’t read copy or censor anything. He said my advice would be welcomed. What a wonderful way to start a relationship!
And that’s the way it was during my first year at Baylor, 1961-62.
My success at Baylor in the 1960s can be attributed to the way that Bill accepted me and the way we worked together. He set an example for others to follow.
By the way, at our first meeting, I was just about to turn 29, and he was just about to turn 21.
And we became friends. Not just casual friends, but real friends.
At some point, Carmage Walls had moved from Alabama and bought The Baytown Sun. He was very fond of Bill, and when Bill graduated, Walls bought a weekly newspaper in LaPorte for Bill to run. He also bought him a horse.
The Jefferson Standard, primarily an insurance company, bought The Beaumont Enterprise. These were two newspapers, morning and afternoon. They asked Walls to help them find an editor and publisher.
Walls suggested Bill Hartman. He was not yet 30. No one from the Jefferson Standard actually saw Bill in person. Until, that is, the first company meeting in Charlotte several months later. The Beaumont Enterprise was doing quite well, but the bigwigs at the insurance company were surprised at how young their editor was.
Eventually, Bill left Beaumont and bought a newspaper in Richmond/Rosenberg, The Fort Bend Herald. Then, one by one, he bought more papers, until the number reached 12. When Bill’s sons, Fred and Lee, came of age, they joined the operation.
Fred, like his dad, was editor of The Baylor Lariat. Lee played golf. After a while, their sister, Elizabeth, joined them until she went into real estate.
Bill loved life and lived it fully. For years, he took the family to The Masters, even rented a house for them. He was president of the Houston chapter of the major league baseball writers. He attended Colt .45s/Astros games from the inception of the team in 1962 until the Covid-19 pandemic.
And he owned horses until age caught up with him.
Bill broke his leg in early 2020. It was a leg he had first had trouble with when he was in high school. It didn’t heal in spite of two operations.
Then he fell again, and they discovered he had other problems. He was in an assisted living facility in Sugar Land when he got pneumonia. He died on May 3. He would have been 80 this coming July.
For the last 20 years, we had lunch together as often as we could.
He never let me pay. At my birthday party a few years ago, Bill sneaked out and tried to pay for the whole thing. Luckily, that had already been taken care of.
He was a wonderful talker and a great storyteller. We enjoyed each other’s company. What started in the fall of 1961 lasted until 2021.
I am happy for our long friendship, but sad that it has come to an end.
Bill did leave an important gift to Baylor. Mr. Walls and he financed the Fred Hartman Chair in journalism, designed to bring a veteran journalist to teach and paying for them. It will be a legacy that lives on.
As will his memory.
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A footnote: Bill graduated from Baylor in three years with a double major in business and journalism. That last summer, 1962, he needed a class in journalism the same time as a business class he had to take. In those days you simply wrote on a form; no computers to check you. So, I agreed to teach him editing by conference. We met every day for lunch at George’s. George’s was a restaurant across from the Baylor press on eighth street.
At the end of the summer, I gave him a “B” in the course. I don’t know why. Perhaps I had a reason at the time. He was surprised.
About 10 years ago, Bill was invited to speak to the faculty of the journalism department. He started by saying that he was there to complain about the grade I had given him 50 years earlier.
In Memory of Louise Wood May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy David McHam
Louise Wood was a joyful, inspiring, whirlwind of activity and ideas, said friends from her variety of careers and clubs packed into her 75 years that came to an end on March 29 because of COVID-19.
Wood, born Louise Later on Oct. 10, 1946, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, grew up in Mission, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, where she graduated as valedictorian of her class, her husband, Rush Wood, said. Rush Wood, who is recovering from COVID-19, was Cassy Burleson’s classmate in journalism at Sam Houston State.
In her varied career, Louise Wood began her newspapering days at the Waco Tribune-Herald in 1966 while attending Baylor University, where she graduated in 1971 with a degree in journalism.
She also served as “amusements editor” at the Austin American-Statesman before arriving at the Beaumont Enterprise in April 1972 to cover just about every news beat available before earning promotion to city editor,
And one day, she decided she’d had enough daily newspaper combat and quietly slipped out of the newsroom, emerging as her own boss in an advertising agency, working for another and landing again at Lamar University’s public relations office.
That’s where she retired a few years ago.
In Memory of Harry Marsh May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy David McHam
Harry Marsh, Ph.D. was a very special person and one of the best people I had the opportunity to work with during my career.
He joined the Baylor journalism faculty in the 1960s and with Dave Chevens, Reba Campbell, Mike Stricklin and Ed Kelton helped make Baylor journalism one of the best programs in the nation.
No one brought the kind of experience that Harry had. After graduating from Baylor, he worked, among other places, for the legendary Hodding Carter in Greenville, Mississippi.
He attended graduate school for journalism at Columbia and worked at both the New York Herald Tribune and The Daily News.
While at Baylor, he got his Ph.D. at the University of Texas. He and I worked together writing headlines at The Waco News-Tribune.
Marsh was a terrific teacher who left his mark on every student he met.
The words below are his obituary and how he wanted his life to be celebrated.
****************************************************************
Harry Dean Marsh, Ph.D., died at the family home in Gallatin, Tennessee, April 4, 2021, age 93.
Marsh spent his childhood in the Big Bend desert of West Texas, born in the adobe parsonage of the Marfa Baptist Church and baptized by his father in Comanche Springs, Fort Stockton.
He earned university degrees from Baylor, Columbia and Texas at Austin. He served as a U.S. Army Signal Corps technician in West Germany during the Korean War.
Marsh pursued a career in journalism for 50 years. He reported, photographed and edited on newspaper staffs for 17 years, first on two small Texas papers, the Hillsboro Mirror and the Andrews County News, then on The Delta Democrat-Times at Greenville, Mississippi and the Birmingham News, and finally on two New York City papers, the Herald Tribune and the Daily News.
For the remainder of his career, he taught journalism at universities – Baylor, Arkansas and Kansas State, heading the departments at the latter two. He published books, monographs and articles in the field of mass communication. Immediately after retirement he taught part time at the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
Marsh said that the best thing he ever did was marry Ellie Bruton of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their two children and spouses are William and Jennifer Marsh of Leesburg, Virginia, and Marti and Jason Kastner of Gallatin. They have four grandchildren: Isabelle, Daniel, Ellie and Josie.
Marsh volunteered at Sumner Regional Medical Center for ten years. He has been active in the Sumner County Democratic Party, serving as an assistant chairman, and he has been a trustee of First Presbyterian Church. He described the church as a loving fellowship supporting his faith and hope. As a continuation of his journalistic activity, he has submitted and had published about 50 letters to the editor in recent years.
Parrish Wins a “Betsy” May 12, 2021
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Each year, Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences presents “Betsy” awards — named in honor of retired Associate Dean Elizabeth Vardaman. The award is given to Baylor faculty members who excel in mentoring undergraduate students. This year, the College selected Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Senior Lecturer Maxey Parrish as one of its honorees.
The award carries with it a $1,000 cash prize and trophy.
“Maxey is an outstanding mentor who works tirelessly,” said Baylor Journalism, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor and chair.” He advises students, provides career counseling, and meets with prospective students and their parents on a regular basis. He has an open-door policy and is always available to work with students.”
Parrish serves on the College of Arts & Sciences committee headed by Lynn Wisely to recruit high-achieving high school students interested in studying topics related to climate change. He has helped recruit students during a virtual recruiting for several years.
Andy Hogue, Ph.D., associate Dean for Engaged Learning College of Arts & Sciences, who congratulated Parrish in an email, noted it is a privilege to call him a colleague.
His colleagues in the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media concur. They recognize and value his dedication to students.
“Maxey has been one of the most beloved, most respected professors at Baylor, virtually since his arrival on campus,” Professor Bob Darden said. “Parrish is known among students, faculty and staff as being an uncommonly compassionate, caring individual. His classes are popular and engaging — sprinkled with anecdotes from his long career in public relations. He’s quick to volunteer, eager to learn the new technologies, and a joy to be around.”
“Maxey has a servant’s heart as evidenced by his many contributions,” said Senior Lecturer Cassy Burleson.
Parrish holds several positions within the JPRNM department. He currently chairs the department’s Internships and Jobs Committee. He provides academic advising for senior students and is also collaborating with the entire department to provide materials for our upcoming accreditation site visit.
“In sum, Maxey has served faithfully on Baylor’s Faculty Senate and makes everyone he knows feel better for having known him,” Burleson added.
Parrish was humbled and honored to receive the prestigious award.
“Betsy Vardaman has always been an inspiration for the way she so passionately worked with students,” he said. “To have my name associated with hers means more than I can say.”
Journalism Chair Mia Moody-Ramirez Honored as Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year May 12, 2021
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May 5, 2021
WACO, Texas (May 5, 2021)
Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor and chair of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor University and a nationally recognized author and expert on race and culture, has been named the 2021 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year.
The Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award recognizes a Baylor faculty member who makes a superlative contribution to the learning environment at Baylor through:
- Teaching, which is judged to be of the highest order of intellectual acumen and pedagogical effectiveness.
- Research and creative activity, which is recognized as outstanding by the national and/or international as well as local community of scholars.
- Service, which is regarded as exemplary in building the character of intellectual community at Baylor.
“The Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year award is given to a professor who fosters a positive learning environment at Baylor through teaching, research and service. I am overjoyed that my colleagues saw fit to highlight my contributions to Baylor and to nominate me for this prestigious award. As we deal with social injustices and the pandemic, this is a monumental year to receive the award,” Moody-Ramirez said.
Moody-Ramirez’s research emphasizes mass media representations of women, minorities and other underrepresented groups, and her expertise on these topics has been featured in local, national and international media outlets. In the classroom, she teaches courses in public relations, research methods, and gender, race and media studies.
Moody-Ramirez’s published works include “From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics & Gender,” “Race, Gender, and Image Repair Theory: How Digital Media Change the Landscape,” “Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: A Historical Perspective” and “The Obamas and Mass Media: Race, Gender, Religion, and Politics.” She has been published in several journals, including Public Relations Review, Journalism Educator and the Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. Her writing about media as an academic comes as a veteran of the media industry, having worked as a writer and columnist for the Waco Tribune-Herald and as an editor and publisher for two magazines and a publishing company.
Beyond her rigorous teaching, research and mentoring students, she is active in her church and community organizations and participates in numerous University activities and committees, including most recently as a member of the Committee on Historic Campus Representations. She also has served as an officer for three divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), was awarded the AEJMC’s Lionel Barrow Jr. Award for Distinguished Achievement in Diversity Research and Education and was selected as one of nine fellows of the Institute for Diverse Leadership (IDL) in Journalism and Communication, also an AEJMC program.
Selection committee chair and Vice Provost James Bennighof, Ph.D., said Moody-Ramirez has achieved tremendous recognition from students and departmental peers in her teaching, research and service, which related to one another in a new and different way.
“I think it might be most revealing for us to observe how clearly Dr. Moody-Ramirez has been engaged in service through research and teaching,” he said. “Perhaps of greatest note, our honoree’s research and writing have been very directly and overtly oriented toward clarifying for all of us issues and situations that strike at the very core of our relationships with one another. She has written or co-written four books and about 30 articles, with the most distinctive element of the work addressing the ways that race is and has been depicted for widespread audiences in the media. All of this should make clear how the excellent work of Dr. Moody-Ramirez is obviously and crucially relevant to issues that stare all of us in the face on a daily basis, and thus provide an incalculable service.”
About Dr. Cornelia Marschall Smith
The Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year honor was inaugurated in 2004 by the Office of the Provost and is named for Cornelia Marschall Smith, Ph.D., a 1918 Baylor biology graduate who earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1925 and her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1928. She was a professor of biology at Baylor from 1940 to 1967, chair of the biology department from 1943 to 1967 and director of Strecker Museum from 1943 to 1967. She retired in 1967 but maintained an office in Armstrong Browning Library to assist charitable causes. In 1980, Baylor honored Smith with an endowed chair known as The Cornelia Marschall Smith Professorship in Biology. She was celebrated among her colleagues, students and alumni for fine teaching, generous mentoring and her many interdisciplinary interests. She was a lively and continuing contributor to the Baylor intellectual community until her death on Aug. 27, 1997, at age 101.
Past recipients of the award are D. Thomas Hanks (2004, English), Robert M. Baird (2005, Philosophy), Kevin Pinney (2006, Chemistry), Ann Rushing (2007, Biology), Wallace L. Daniel (2008, History), William D. Hillis (2009, Biology), Joyce Jones (2010, Music), Robert F. Darden (2011, Journalism), Roger E. Kirk (2012, Psychology and Neuroscience), William H. Bellinger Jr. (2013, Religion), Joseph A. McKinney (2014, Economics), David L. Jeffrey (2015, Great Texts); Johnny L. Henderson (2016, Mathematics), Alden Smith (2017, Classics), C. Stephen Evans (2018, Philosophy and Humanities), Gaynor I. Yancey (2019, Social Work) and Andrea Dixon (2020, Marketing).
This year’s selection committee included Vanessa A. Castleberry, Ph.D., senior lecturer of chemistry and biochemistry; Sandi Cooper, Ph.D., professor of curriculum and instruction and coordinator of the mathematics education program; Ann McGlashan, Ph.D., associate professor and division director of German and Russian languages; and Mark Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor of biology.
Baylor Distinguished Alumna Reflects on Baylor’s Impact on Her Life May 12, 2021
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By all accounts, Baylor journalism alumna Ella Wall Prichard is a pioneer. She is an outstanding writer, philanthropist, businesswoman and historian.
In this interview with Baylor Journalism, Public, Relations & New Media Chair Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., Prichard discusses changes in journalism over the past 50 years, the importance of the Baylor alumni network, and how her degree prepared her for life.
Born in New Orleans in 1941, she grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas. With the encouragement of her English/journalism teacher and the local newspaper editor, she enrolled at Baylor University in 1959, where she served as editor of The Baylor Lariat in 1962. She graduated from Baylor University in 1963 with a degree in journalism. She had hoped to become a journalist; however, she abandoned those plans when she met Lev while working as a summer intern reporter at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in 1962.
She has excelled in life partly because she is not afraid to take chances. She married her husband, Lev, five months after meeting him. She became the president of Prichard Oil Company after her husband passed away.
Over the years, she has found a myriad of ways to share her talent through church and community service: writing Sunday School curriculum for the Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School Board (now LifeWay), and writing, editing and producing promotional materials for for-profit and nonprofit campaigns.
She later wrote Reclaiming Joy: A Primer for Widows—inspired by the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The idea for a book to help other widows in their journey from grief to joy began to germinate during a trip to Nantucket in August 2013. The book was published by 1845 Books, an imprint of the Baylor University Press, in September 2018.
She served on the Board of Regents from 1992-2001. Just this year, she was named a 2021 Distinguished alumna of Baylor University.
Prichard has two children, Lev IV and Peggy, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“No question about it,” she said. “My family is the chief source of my joy. I count myself so lucky to live long adult to watch all the grandchildren reach adulthood. It’s a great time for me.”
Reflections on Baylor Journalism Alumna Who Covered Derby Day May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy Louis Moore
Just recently, a female reporter on horseback with microphone in hand interviewed jockey Johnny Velasquez, a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, minutes after the horse he was riding, Medina Spirit, crossed the finish line ahead of the 18 other horses in the race.
I imagine the young woman had no idea that 51 years ago, another woman, my wife, Kay Wheeler Moore, Baylor Journalism, broke the gender barrier in the Derby’s sacrosanct all-male press room at Churchill Downs.
Kay, then a reporter for United Press International’s Louisville bureau, was drafted to be the first female reporter when she was granted press credentials to cover the 1970 Kentucky Derby. That was the first race in which another woman, Diane Crump, broke the gender barrier as the first female jockey ever in the Derby.
For a few breathtaking moments today, when Mandaloun, who came in second place, appeared to be overtaking Medina Spirit for first place, we thought history might be repeating itself. In 1970, underrated Dust Commander came from behind and took the Derby crown much to the astonishment of the crowd.
When Kay entered the hallowed press room for the first time and received her press credentials, it marked the end of nearly a century of white male dominance in the Derby press corps.
Amazing now how a seed that was planted 51 years ago has taken root and seems so natural today with female reporters darting everywhere at this year’s 147th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Below are a few photos documenting Kay’s journey.
We visited the Churchill Downs museum in August 2019 where I took this picture of Kay in front of the picture of Diane Crump, the first female jockey ever in the Kentucky Derby. Because of Diane, Kay was drafted by UPI to break the gender barrier in the all-male Churchill Downs Press Box for the 1970 Kentucky Derby.
Unimaginable in 1970, the video of the 1970 Kentucky Derby is online today and easily accessible to the public. Our granddaughter texted just before the Derby today that she had called up the 1970 Derby video to see what Kay and I had personally witnessed 51 years ago.
Our friend Karin Wiseman of Karinwisemancollection in downtown Garland used Kay’s memorabilia of that long ago Derby to fashion this beautiful necklace, which Kay wears every Derby Day.
This unidentified NBC TV reporter, left, probably never realized that the gender barrier in the all-male press corps at the Kentucky Derby was broken 51 years ago by retired Garland journalist Kay Moore, paving the way for dozens of female reporters today in the Derby press corps.
I snapped this photo of Kay in front of our TV today on which we watched the 147th Kentucky Derby. Kay remarked, “You realize they had not even celebrated their 100th Derby when we were there.” Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the 100th Derby.
Alumna Shares Messages of Hope for Teen Foster Children on TikTok May 12, 2021
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By Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.
Brittany Burcham launched her first video on teen foster care in April, and she has since blown up on TikTok.
“TikTok is cool…sixty seconds is the longest you can effectively share a message, so you have to be creative,” said Burcham, who graduated from Baylor in 2007 with a degree in public relations and a minor in political science and world affairs. She is now a senior manager of franchise communications at Marriott.
Burcham became an emergency care foster parent in Alabama two years ago. She uses her social media skills to organize donations for emergency supplies for foster parents to give to children and to raise funds for movie days.
She became interested in focusing on teens after noticing that she was constantly getting calls asking her to take in teen girls for a night or two. People are more open to adopting or fostering babies, but not so much for teens, she said.
“Teens come into the office with trash bags,” she said. “This series provides insight into why you should foster teens instead of babies.”
Burcham’s informational videos on TikTok include adoption photo listings. “Foster the Teens” focuses on encouraging foster parents to foster teens. She says TikTok provides a cool opportunity to educate people.
“TikTok is a new medium for me,” she said. “Within about a week, one of my videos had 1.3 million views.”
Burcham had more than 17,000 followers in a little over a month.
Burcham has long been interested in helping others who are less fortunate. Amanda Sturgill, Ph.D., of Elon University, remembers taking Burcham and other students to Kenya on a Baylor vocational mission trips in the early 2000s.
“She used her journalism skills to, among other things, tell the stories of an orphanage for babies and toddlers orphaned by HIV/AIDS,” Sturgill said.
“TikTok is an incredible medium for more than goofy dancing. It has a powerful way of bringing people in than just pictures. It plays with ability to connect with people,” Burcham said.
The link to Burcham’s TikTok profile is https://www.tiktok.com/@fostertheteens
Recent Alumni Publish Books May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy Grace Casper, JOU/FDM Spring 2021 Student
Susan Duty, Grace Valentine and Lauren Kinney want you to find your best self and have published books to help you do that.
Duty published “Consider the Damn Lily” in 2018. A Film & Digital Media major and now a teacher, Duty said she’s “loved writing ever since first grade.” She got caught up “in the wrong things” in high school and became a drug addict. “Through my sobriety, having a daughter and finding God again, I decided to go to Baylor. The book was made from a mass collection of writing … pulled from all sorts of places and then organized into a book,” Duty said.
Duty, known for her quirky humor, added, “I was raised southern Baptist, so I was raised thinking that God loved people who wore nice sweaters and didn’t do drugs.” She realized part of the process of becoming sober was finding a higher power.
“Then I realized there are many people who think these two things are exclusive, the gutter and God,” Duty said. She encourages people to share their truth with the world, whatever it may be. “It may be scary, but it’s what we’re created to do.”
Senior Lecturer Cassy Burleson met Duty as a student, and they have remained friends. “From the first piece she wrote in that JOU/FDM 3372 class – a mesmerizing flash memoir – I knew Susan had the soul of a great writer.”
Baylor 2018 graduate Grace Valentine has published two books through HarperCollins, the first titled, “Am I Enough?” in 2019, and then “Is It Just Me?” in 2021, despite the pandemic — “or maybe because of it,” she joked. In her video to Burleson’s Advanced Public Relations class, Valentine said some students erroneously think professional life begins AFTER college, adding, “It all starts now! Don’t let anyone stop you.”
Burleson said Valentine’s internship site in Advanced PR was at Harper Collins – marketing her own book. “I was a little worried about that, but it turned out OK,” Burleson said.
Valentine, who was on a busy speaking circuit both before and after graduation in 2018 to university and church groups before COVID-19 hit, said reaching long-term goals requires small steps every day, not giving up, and realizing everything counts. When posting on her Instagram as an influencer, she said her first thought is: “Would someone feel comfortable sharing this on THEIR Instagram story?”
Valentine said not stopping at “no” — going back to argue her case time and again — was the secret to landing a big-name publisher. Her first book has now sold 40,000 copies – and her second book (released in 2021) already has sold “about 10,000 copies.”
Baylor December 2020 Marketing graduate Lauren Kinney also published her book during the pandemic. Kinney said she wrote “Unshakeable” because her college experience didn’t go the way she had hoped.
“I really felt afraid to be different. I felt like I was wearing this mask all the time and really … needed to conform to that pressure to be perfect,” Kinney said.
Bob Goff’s Dream Big Framework three-day workshop at the end of her freshman year inspired “a sense of excitement about writing my book.” She published “Unshakable” her junior year – well before graduation – proving Valentine’s admonition that one’s career can begin while in college.
“I hope people learn they can take a pickaxe to their fear and start living in the freedom of who God has always created them to be,” Kinney said.
Alumnus Elected to Texas Institute of Letters May 12, 2021
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Award-winning author Preston Lewis, ’72, Baylor journalism, has been elected to the Texas Institute of Letters, which was established during the state’s 1936 Centennial to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. Lewis is one of 14 new members inducted in the class of 2021.
Lewis is the author of 36 western, historical and juvenile novels. His historical novel “Blood of Texas” on the Texas Revolution received a Spur Award from Western Writers of America. He also won a Spur for his “True West” article on the Battle of Yellowhouse Canyon. His comic western “Bluster’s Last Stand” on the Battle of Little Bighorn earned a Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award for written western humor, the first of his three Will Rogers Gold Medallions, including two for short stories.
Lewis is past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association, which has presented him three Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative works on West Texas. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Baylor, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in history from Angelo State University.
Baylor University’s Smaller Departments Became Greater During the Pandemic May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy Joshua McSwain
Many of Baylor University’s smaller departments took on more responsibilities during the pandemic. Robbie Rogers, director of photography, had to adapt to the quickly changing campus environment.
“My two favorite words in photojournalism are intentional and intimate,” Rogers said. “How are you intimate when you’re 6 feet away from people? The faces and that intimacy of people being together are what brings the story together.”
Rogers said that although the pandemic removed a level of intimacy from the photos, his photography team was still responsible to produce the same amount of content, if not more. Alongside COVID-19 restrictions, large events such as the Final Four were not accessible to Baylor photographers.
“Typically, any other year, we would have been in Indianapolis,” Rogers said. “This year, we didn’t only because access has been so restricted.”
However, these restrictions were also imposed on Baylor’s own turf. In a normal year, Rogers extensively covered individual athletes and had field access to each game, but was denied access numerous times this year.
“While I had field access, we didn’t go onto the field at all,” Rogers said. “No contact with student athletes. As a matter of fact, if the ball were to touch us, they would take them out of play. It was difficult to see the team going out on the field, and I couldn’t do the same.”
With the position of being the director of photography, Rogers is tasked with being the “eyes” of the university and to show how COVID-19 is being dealt with around campus. Early in the school year, Rogers said most of his work revolved around showing what 6 feet looks like, utilizing different creative outlets to convey these themes including multiple photoshoots with Baylor President Linda Livingstone.
However, according to Rogers, the commentary has slowly changed at the university. Early in the pandemic, any photo where a student was mask-less without social distancing could not be used.
“If you went back to six or eight months ago and watched social media of somebody without a mask on, you’d see an outcry,” Rogers said. “I don’t think we’re relaxing things because that wouldn’t be fair, but I think the commentary has changed.”
Regarding normalcy, when asked about what he looks forward to the most, he said the people.
“I’m absolutely a believer in science and I’m a supporter of wearing masks,” Rogers said. “But there’s something to capture about that physical intimacy and emotion. Seeing people close again, physical touch, contact, and to document that because that’s part of who we are. We need that contact.”
Though the year had so many ups and downs, Rogers said he is optimistic for Baylor Photography in the years to come.
“We truly are looking at reinventing everything again,” Rogers said. “It might be next spring, or it might even be another year from now, but when that time does come, we want to see it all from that new perspective again.”
Catching up with Baylor Alumna Sarah Dodd May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.
JPR&NM is excited to welcome Baylor communications alumna Sarah Dodd to the Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Advisory Board in the fall. Dodd is an expert public affairs strategist and award-winning former journalist.
Here’s a look at what she has been doing since she graduated from Baylor University.
Spending more than a decade uncovering stories as a television news reporter, Dodd has been around the world interviewing elected officials, four-star generals and corporate executives. In 2007, she started Dodd Communications, specializing in media strategy, crisis communications, public affairs and community relations.
As a journalist, Dodd covered local, state and national politics. She worked as a television anchor/reporter in Dallas for seven years, and during that time she broke some of the most significant stories in the city. Her investigative work led to one of the largest federal corruption investigations in the history of Dallas politics.
“I am very proud to be part of the Baylor alumni network,” Dodd said. “I never imagined where my career would take me. The foundations my degree gave me prepared me for many professional career options.”
Dodd also discussed the dramatic changes in the journalism industry over the past 25 years.
“Email was a new thing when I graduated,” she said. “Facebook hadn’t been invented yet. Social media has changed many things.”
Dodd’s long-term relationships with media, elected officials and community leaders give her a unique insider’s advantage in developing unconventional strategies for public affairs and crisis communications issues.
Her advice to future journalists is to be prepared for any options at arise and to have an open mind.
“I started my career in journalism at 22,” she said. “It is different from where I am at 47. Now, I have owned my own business. Be open to where the road may lead you.”
Baylor’s UPI Connection May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a commentBy David McHam
Editorial
In the 1960s and ’70s, more people from Baylor were working at United Press International than from any university. Ed DeLong was the first, and his success helped pave the way for other alumni to follow.
Our accomplishments were such that when we had the dedication of the Castellaw building in 1974, the head of UPI, H.L. Stevenson, was a speaker.
People worked at The Associated Press also. Dave Cheavens, the journalism chair, had been head of the AP bureau in Austin for a quarter century.
Ed DeLong lives in Australia now. Here’s his account of how our connection with UPI started:
I had two Scripps Howard internships. The first, between my sophomore and junior years, was at the Houston Press where Ed Ray was managing editor. The second, the following summer, was at the Memphis Press Scimitar where Ed Ray had gone to again serve, as I recall, as managing editor. In any event, I left Memphis that summer with an offer of a job with Scripps Howard in Memphis upon my graduation. Meanwhile, back at Baylor, Dave Cheavens had approached me about going to work for the Associated Press. I thought my job future looked pretty settled, although I had some qualms about having heard that at AP it took forever to climb the corporate ladder.
Then came the Kennedy assassination.
(Note: Ed covered the assassination for The Lariat. The story won first place the next year in the Society of Journalism contests.)
Several months after the assassination, SDX held a meeting in Fort Worth, where UPI Southwest Division News Editor John Fallon spoke about UPI’s coverage of the assassination including the way Merriman Smith got the drop on everyone by grabbing the only phone in the presidential motorcade pool car and dictating all the way to the hospital while beating off efforts by his AP opposition to get the phone.
After the meeting, you took me up to meet Fallon and, out of the blue and completely to my surprise, said “Ed wants to go to work for UPI.” Fallon invited me to come for a job interview in Dallas, which I did as quickly as I could, and he hired me on the spot. I started out with UPI in the Southwest Division headquarters in Dallas (DA), where word got around that I had covered the assassination for the Lariat.
I worked DA from June 1965 to February 1966, when I was promoted to be bureau manager (and bureau janitor) of the one-person UPI bureau in Lubbock (LU). Because it was easy for division headquarters in Dallas to take care of LU coverage in my absence, I was sent to UPI’s bureau at the Manned Spacecraft Center south of Houston (LX) as part of the team assembled to cover Gemini spaceflights starting with Gemini 8 in March 1966.
Between Gemini 10 in July 1966 and the flight of Gemini 11 in September the manager of the LX bureau, Al Webb, was transferred to Saigon to cover the way. Nothing was said during the flight about who the next manager of LX might be, so just before we went home, I pulled aside UPI’s senior person on the coverage team (probably the then Southwest Division news editor, Jeff Grigsby) and said I’d like to be considered for the job. I thought my request was a long shot, but to my surprise I was notified in October 1966 that the job was mine.
So, in a nutshell:
February or March 1965 – SDX meeting
June 1965 – Started UPI Dallas (DA, after its location)
February 1966 – Bureau Manager UPI Lubbock (LU, after its location)
October 1966 – Bureau Manager UPI Space Center (LX, for Lunar Exploration)
I made no secret that the training I got at Baylor prepared me for my rapid ascent from an unknown to a byline printed around the world, though I must acknowledge there was a lot of being the right place at the right time and seizing opportunities as they were presented to me. Not long after I was made manager at LX, I met UPI Editor HL Stevenson and the two of us hit it off, with me being invited several times to stay at his house. I began lobbying Stevenson and others in UPI to have at least one other person who also had spaceflight expertise. My choice was Paul Harral, and UPI went along with it. Meanwhile, you were doing your own bridge building with UPI and before long there was an acknowledged “Baylor Mafia” at UPI.
As the song says, “Those were the days, my friend ….”
After DeLong, these Baylor people worked at UPI: Paul Harral, Preston Kirk, Tommy Miller, Larry Surratt, Ron Littlepage, Kay Brown, Tom Belden, Mike Kennedy, Kay Moore, Paul Parsons and Rowland Stiteler.
Note: Delong later covered the Pentagon for UPI and later was a vice president of UPI. Others, after UPI, went on to careers mostly in newspapers and magazines.
Thanks to Dave Cheavens, these people worked at the AP: Bob Gassaway, Yvonne Baskin, Paul Parsons (after UPI) and Sharon Herbaugh.
Note: Gassaway was assigned to Vietnam during the war, and for a year, his was the daily byline summarizing the events in Vietnam. Sharon Herbaugh died in 1993 in a helicopter crash in Pakistan, where she was the AP bureau chief.
Are Journalists Fully Prepared for the New Age of Protest? May 12, 2021
Posted by Mia Moody-Ramirez in : Uncategorized , add a comment
Editorial
At 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
As darkness fell and anger swelled, all hell was about to break loose across the nation. Why would it be any different in Houston, then the seventh largest U.S. city?
I had joined United Press International right out of Baylor a mere 10 weeks earlier and was now entering the third hour of my 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift. Whether it was a “Bulletin” or a “Flash,” five bells or 10 bells on the teletype machine that historic evening, I was smart enough to call my boss to strategize coverage. Fortunately, Bureau Chief Darrell Mack advised the newbie to “Stay put!” in our Houston Chronicle building office while he headed into the potentially volatile Fifth Ward with two friendly reporters from African American weeklies.
Whether it is karma, pure luck or coincidence, in my 50-plus years as a reporter, editor, PR-marketing. consultant, the most memorable protest I ever covered (or arranged) was a bra burning on South Main in Houston about 1970.
The severe maltreatment of journalists by law enforcement from coast to coast this past year raises the question of adequate training for frontline reporters. Not wartime correspondents, but domestic reporters covering civil unrest and protests. This link will give you a snapshot of the harshness – pummeling, gassing, arrests, cavity search, booking, etc. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/us/daunte-wright-minnesota-shooting-sunday/index.html
Such confrontations between law enforcement and the media, including attacks on reporters by the protesters and political convention or rally attendees, is unconscionable and troubling and possibly avoidable. Surely this is a teachable moment for both law enforcement groups, newsrooms and journalism schools around the nation as the reporting profession works to regain its respect, as well as reinforce its integrity and its necessity in a free society.
Four years of constant verbal attacks by politicians and social media influencers has ingrained the “media as enemy” of the people — the same citizens who seem to forget that the exposure of wrongdoing and corruption by badge holders leads to change.
A letter and an apology are totally inadequate. In Minnesota, there was humiliation, injury, pain, suffering, interruption of productivity, racial profiling/bias and invasion of privacy! Suspensions and firings of officers are in order as well as their arrests for assaults. The pursuit of monetary damages is justifiable.
The employers of assaulted journalists should not merely stick a “were-gritty” publicity feather in their pointy hats in the safety of their executive suites while the reporter/photographer works through personal recovery. Forceful litigation gets the attention of city leaders, police administrators and taxpayers who must foot the bill with hard dollars that could have been applied to community relations/policing and re-training. A painful le$$on is warranted, overdue and should be widely pursued to curtail such abuse.
Is it necessary to remind the heads of the news organizations that constitutional rights were violated? Journalists in the field, clearly distinguishable, with credentials, declaring their affiliation and purpose and not interfering otherwise in the protest cannot and should not be the target of blue aggression, or any other color of law enforcement uniform. That incident — and all the other preceding assaults on journalists covering rightful assemblies, peaceful OR violent protests, must be prosecuted.
Both law enforcement and public reaction to bona fide media and their coverage should be addressed by the employers with on-the-job training to prevent injuries and litigation. News organizations and journalism schools should consider adequate training on ways to protect those dedicated men and women deployed to events that can turn violent, even deadly, during a routine assignment.
Should such reporters be equipped with eye wash, body armor, helmets, speed dial connections to lawyers or merely instructed on techniques for building relationships with local law enforcement and military police well before critical events unfold? Do frontline reporters deserve hazard pay?
Perhaps, the nation’s schools of journalism should consider an eye-opening course on preparing “frontline” reporters on how to work effectively in a hot zone. This would not be intended to alarm future reporters but to expose the realities of being sent to dangerous events on short notice.
It might include:
Advance introductions and friendly meetings with upper, middle and line law enforcement officials.
Obtaining or confirming proper press credentials.
How to firmly assert First Amendment, Open Meetings and Open Records rights.
Appropriate protective clothing and gear.
When to carry and display conspicuous I.D.
How/when to work from the edge of or the center of an unpredictable event.
Methods to avoid serious injury if attacked.
When to surrender equipment.
The fastest way to get first aid, legal assistance or distance from attackers.
Discussion of the latent physical and mental effects of covering such intense or violent headline-making events.
“Combat reporting” is no longer limited to revolutions, war zones and military actions. It has essentially come to the streets of our own nation. Being “on the scene” — planned or spontaneous — is not a Hemingwayesque adventure fraught with excitement, adrenaline and glory.
Covering protests, mob violence and even political gatherings requires a clear mindset, personal conviction and strategic and extensive preparation in these tumultuous times. No more, “Hey, Fred!” or “Hey, Louise! It’s your turn to hit the streets and get the story!”
Preston F. Kirk, APR
Baylor ‘68
Alumna to Join State Newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina May 12, 2021
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After two years of covering sports for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Baylor Journalism, Public Relations & New Media alumna Alexis Cubit will soon join The State Newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, where she will cover Clemson Athletics.
“Starting on June 1, I’ll be covering Clemson athletics for The State newspaper, which is based in Columbia, South Carolina,” she said.
Cubit is an alumna of the Baylor journalism, public relations and new media program. She started at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 2019 and cover high school sports for Lone Star Varsity as well as Texas Tech women’s basketball.
Before that, she was the sports editor of the Plainview Herald and has worked in Minnesota and California, her home state.
She graduated from Baylor University in 2014 with a degree in journalism and minor in film & digital media. While there, she cultivated my love for sports journalism.
“She was an outstanding leader who chartered the university’s chapter of NABJ,” Chair Mia Moody-Ramirez said. “She always loved sports writing. I am proud of her.”
Cubit said she is looking forward to focusing on the Tigers’ football, softball, track and field; men’s and women’s basketball; men’s and women’s soccer, among other sports.
Here is a link to her final column for the AJ. Good luck, Alexis!