Learning the jazz beat

This week, I am stepping out of the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill and spending my afternoons at the music department. I am one of several instructors in the UNC Summer Jazz Workshop. It’s the seventh year that I’m participating in the program. So what does journalism have to do with jazz? I’ll work with students who want to learn…

Q&A with Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football

Nick Underhill is beat writer at NewOrleans.Football, covering the New Orleans Saints. He founded the website in 2020, and he previously covered the team for The Advocate newspaper. In this interview, conducted by email, Underhill discusses his approach to covering the Saints and how his site fits into the sports landscape regionally and nationally. He…

Q&A with CNET copy editor Dawnthea Price Lisco

Dawnthea Price Lisco is a copy editor at CNET, a tech-focused news organization that describes itself as "your guide to a better future." She previously worked at Slate and The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In this interview, conducted by email, Price Lisco discusses her job at CNET and her role in the site's recent…

How I will spend my summer

The spring term at UNC-Chapel Hill is over. Thanks to my students for their hard work this semester. We made it! Here is my agenda for the summer: Lead a week-long residency for our online master’s program in digital communication. About 20 students will get training in video production from my colleague Chad Heartwood and…

Q&A with Meg Kinnard, politics reporter for The Associated Press

Meg Kinnard is an Associated Press politics reporter based in Columbia, South Carolina. A native of Tennessee, she is a graduate of Georgetown University and UNC-Chapel Hill, where she earned a master's degree in digital communication. In this interview, conducted by email, Kinnard talks about her work at the AP, discusses her diagnoses and treatment…

How I will spend spring break

Spring break at UNC-Chapel Hill begins Friday, March 11, at 5 p.m. It's the first proper break of its kind since 2019 thanks to the COVID pandemic. Here are my plans: grade midterm exams and other assignments;review applications for an online master’s program in digital communication;read and give feedback on the draft of a thesis…

‘Shattered Glass’ and the ethics of news

Students at the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill learn the basics of the field in MEJO 153, Writing and Reporting. The course is required, and an introduction to law and ethics is part of it. This week, I am asking my section of J153 to watch "Shattered Glass," a movie about ethical lapses at The…

Q&A with Blockworks reporter Jacquelyn Melinek

Jacquelyn Melinek is a reporter for Blockworks in New York. She covers breaking crypto news and specializes in covering crypto venture capital funding, decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). She has moderated panels in front of over 800 people and has hosted multiple webinars with some of the biggest names in crypto. Before joining…

Book review: ‘Don’t Print That! Giving Teens the Power of the Press’

Donna C. Myrow, "Don’t Print That! Giving Teens the Power of the Press." Palm Springs, California: Sunacumen Press, 2021. pp. 176, $15.00. "Don’t Print That!" is the compelling story of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a print publication called LA Youth. Throughout the newspaper's 25-year run, Southern California teenagers from all…

Q&A with Josh Bergeron, editor of The Salisbury Post

Josh Bergeron is editor of The Salisbury Post in Salisbury, North Carolina. Before taking that position in 2018, he worked as an associate editor and reporter there. He previously worked at newspapers in Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. In this interview, Bergeron discusses his role at the Post, including news judgment and headline writing. Q. Describe…