News

Ava Pukatch ’22 didn’t even know she liked audio journalism until she joined Carolina Connection, UNC Hussman’s student-produced radio show and podcast platform. Then, she realized she loved it. She enjoyed the immediacy of the audio format and its smooth fit into Generation Z’s iPhone-always-in-hand habits. “Audio’s so accessible, and you can tell really good stories,” said Pukatch. “You can get really creative and tell stories in interesting ways.” Pukatch is one of about 25 students telling stories at Carolina Connection this semester, where they produce stories weekly that populate the Carolina Connection website, air every Saturday on local station 97.9 The Hill WCHL, and then get expanded on Carolina Connection’s podcast platform.

Autistic people don’t need to be fixed, they need to be included — that was the theme threading through 2014 graduate Eric Garcia’s Jan. 19, 2022, talk at UNC. “Essentially this book is part memoir, part reporting, part manifesto,” Garcia told Emily Jones, a librarian at the Health Sciences Library, during the webinar hosted by UNC’s University Libraries as part of the “Well Read” series, which brings Carolina-connected authors to campus.

Generation Z. South Asian immigrants. Spider-Man. UNC Hussman students discuss these topics and more in the podcast “Can You Hear Us Now: Inclusivity in the Media,” a project produced in the “MEJO 441: Diversity and Communication” course.

The Campaign for Carolina meets its $4.25 billion goal. UNC Hussman, surpassing its $75 million goal, keeps focus on school funding priorites.

A vibrant and collaborative interdisciplinary research culture at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media creates new knowledge, advances scholarship and helps reinvent media.
Doctoral student Autumn Linford recently published two pieces examining journalism history. More details on this study are listed below, along with a list of other recently published or presented scholarship by UNC Hussman faculty, students and alumni.

by Barbara Wiedemann
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media graduate Eileen Mignoni ’09 (M.A.) and 1994 Carolina graduate Ami Vitale have combined forces to develop a woman-led nonprofit called Vital Impacts. The Montana-based organization supports grassroots organizations who are protecting people, wildlife and habitats. Through December 31, 2021, vitalimpacts.org is offering their second annual fine art print sale of works by Jane Goodall and 100 widely respected fine art and nature photographers. 

by Barbara Wiedemann
A media and journalism major with a music minor, Mary King loves journalism — and is passionate about music, too. When she graduates from UNC-Chapel Hill this weekend, this classical soprano with perfect pitch says she’ll be happy as “a writer who can’t stop editing,” with music as her go-to for work/life balance.

Graduating senior Nick Perlin will fulfill one of his childhood dreams when he graduates from UNC-Chapel Hill this weekend. But the journey to Winter Commencement wasn’t an easy one for the future journalist.

Erin Siegal McIntyre knows that building trust in news starts locally and can mean difficult conversations often focused on groups that have been historically underrepresented by traditional media outlets. That’s why this semester the UNC Hussman assistant professor partnered with the national nonprofit Cortico and its Local Voices Network to hold community conversations addressing inequity in her “MEJO 459: Community Journalism” class.

Ever since she was a kid, Carolina alumna Janie Sircey knew she wanted a career with LEGO. Using the skills she first honed at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Sircey has built a career that led to that dream job.