News

by Barbara Wiedemann
”Race Night” is an award-winning 2021 short documentary about flat-track motorcycle racing written, directed and produced by 2006–10 Carolina lacrosse player and UNC Hussman graduate Sean Jackson ’10. “It’s about what we do in our lives that gives us agency,” says Jackson of his first filmmaking endeavor. “What nobody can take away from us when we have nothing.”

By Beth Hatcher
A group of UNC Hussman students visited Washington, D.C., over fall break, getting a close look at the political communications industry thanks to an itinerary packed with visits with alumni and other communications professionals working in the nation’s capital.

by Barbara Wiedemann
Hugh Morton Distinguished Professor Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, current senior associate dean for graduate studies in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, will become the school’s interim dean on January 1, 2022. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert A. Blouin announced today that Hennink-Kaminski will serve as interim dean until a new dean is appointed. Susan King, dean of the school and John Thomas Kerr Distinguished Professor since January 1, 2012, announced in August that she would step down after a decade as dean. King expects to return to the faculty to teach.

What do a tale about a mermaid, a violent parody of capitalism and a beat-the-odds story of defying gender norms have in common? They represent a sampling of Asia’s highest-grossing films and television shows and content up for study in Associate Professor Joe Czabovsky’s “MEJO 490: Asian Entertainment Media and Marketing” course this semester.

You might see them leading tours through Carroll Hall, listing off facts and history tidbits of the school for groups of prospective students. Or you might spot them assisting at events like New Student Orientation. Who are they? They are the Hussman School Ambassadors, members of a student initiative created in 2012 to help future and current students best navigate and succeed in the school.

by Barbara Wiedemann
Covenant Scholar Anwar Boutayba ’23 spent his first seven years in Casablanca, Morocco, speaking Berber and French. Today, the Carolina junior is studying advertising and public relations at UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and getting a second major in global studies. He’s a Campus Y Bonner Leader, co-associate-EIC of Coulture magazine, a public relations fellow with Reese Innovation Lab and has had internships with L’Oreal and NBCUniversal. He plans to spend a semester at Sciences Po’s Paris campus this spring.

Creating immersive, explanatory storytelling is expensive, but cloud computing can help by allowing creators to take advantage of the power of dozens of computers at one time. Spencer Barnes, associate professor in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, plans to prove that.

by Barbara Wiedemann
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media graduate Spencer Bakalar ’13 is a senior video producer at Time magazine, where she has the opportunity to film world leaders and newsmakers on a regular basis. She and her twin sister, Madison, were Covenant Scholars at Carolina. Both have found their way to successful storytelling careers, in part thanks to the path towards a debt-free graduation that was paved by the signature scholarship program.

Don Shaw '59, '60 (M.A.) — alumnus, professor, eminent communication historian and theorist, retired U.S. Army Reserve officer and writer — passed away Oct. 19, 2021. Shaw taught at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for 46 years. He was the Kenan Professor Emeritus at the school.

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media is hosting eight media professionals and academics from Asia as part of its Visiting International Scholars (VIS) program. The scholars spend one year learning about the American media landscape and performing their own research. UNC Hussman Associate Professor Suman Lee is the program’s faculty adviser.