- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/arkansas-pro-chapter-of-the-society-of-professional-journalists/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Tue, 05 Jul 2022 19:27:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Hibblen, Breen Take Home Diamond Journalism Awards for K��Vlog��ýR /news-archive/2022/07/05/kuar-awards/ Tue, 05 Jul 2022 19:27:18 +0000 /news/?p=81831 ...]]> Shining through as finalists were K��Vlog��ýR’s News Director Michael Hibblen and local Morning Edition Host and Reporter Daniel Breen, and featured the following stories: Category: Explanatory Reporting- Radio/Audio Title: Credit: Michael Hibblen The interview aired on K��Vlog��ýR’s Not Necessarily Nashville on June 28, 2021. Category: Politics- Radio/Audio & TV/Video Title: Credit: Daniel Breen Breen’s story aired nationwide on NPR’s All Things Considered on May 7, 2021. Category: Politics- Radio/Audio & TV/Video Title: Credit: Michael Hibblen The report aired on K��Vlog��ýR on Sept. 7, 2021.]]> Arkansas Press Association names Rhodes 2020 Educator of the Year /news-archive/2020/09/29/rhodes-2020-educator-of-the-year/ Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:50:34 +0000 /news/?p=77463 ...]]> Rhodes is a veteran newspaper reporter and editor with a quarter-century of experience at newspapers like the Pine Bluff Commercial, Log Cabin Democrat, Arkansas Democrat, Arkansas Gazette, and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He previously freelanced for AY Magazine and Bloomberg News. “Having been a reporter and editor for a long time gives me some credit with the students,” Rhodes said. “If they are in a reporting class, I know some of the challenges they are facing, and I can relate to them and help them overcome some challenges by relating some of the real-world experiences I had.” Though Rhodes earned a bachelor’s degree in education, he was a hardcore journalist who hadn’t considered teaching as a full-time career. In 1990, Jay Friedlander, then chair of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s journalism department, asked Rhodes to take a leave of absence from the Arkansas Democrat to fill a 9-month teaching role for the school year. “I applied back in 1990 to teach a night course in journalism,” Rhodes said. “It just so happened they were in need for somebody to teach full time. I fancied the idea of teaching, but I never thought of being more than an adjunct. I was surprised my boss let me have a leave of absence. I really fell in love with teaching and wanted to come back. Nine years later, a full-time position opened.” Now entering his third decade of teaching, Rhodes said his communication and listening skills along with a friendly attitude have helped him create a good rapport with his students. “I think these skills are vitally important in teaching and in journalism,” Rhodes said. “These are all skills that I was able to hone during many interviews over the years. It’s all about establishing relationships. You have to teach every student as an individual, get to know that student, build a rapport, and show them that you are someone who they can trust to be looking out for their best interests.” His colleague, Tim Edwards, interim director of the School of Mass Communication, said Rhodes is a popular and well-respected teacher because of his efforts to help students succeed. “Professor Rhodes is one of the most caring individuals I know,” Edwards said. “He cares about the success of his students and goes above and beyond the call of duty to assist them. I can’t count the number of students he has helped get a scholarship, an internship, or a job through his letters of recommendation and industry contacts. He shares his knowledge and experience freely, and continues to stay current in an ever-changing media environment. He is not just a teacher to his student but a mentor and friend.” An active member of the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Rhodes begins each of his courses with an ethics section based on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. This training is especially important since so many untrained people report the news through social media and websites. Since technology and skills are continually changing for journalists, Rhodes instills the value of lifelong education into his students. “One piece of advice I try to instill in all my students is that education is a lifelong experience,” said Rhodes, adding that he would offer the same advice to new professors. “They should be prepared to continually change the way they do things and be open to new styles of teaching and learning. The technology is such that students are continually coming into the job field with different skill sets and expectations.” A native of Pine Bluff, Rhodes graduated from Watson Chapel High School and also has a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi. He lives in North Little Rock with his wife, Julie. He has three children and two grandchildren.]]> Graduating student journalist selected for internship with Arkansas Newspaper Foundation /news-archive/2020/05/22/kolton-rutherford-commencement-2020-2/ Fri, 22 May 2020 15:47:25 +0000 /news/?p=76984 ...]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock spring graduate with a passion for storytelling has been selected for a competitive summer internship that will serve as the next step in his promising career as a journalist.�� Kolton Rutherford, of Maumelle, has graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and a minor in sports management. Following graduation, Rutherford has been selected for a summer internship with the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation, which sponsors college journalists to work as interns in newspapers who are members of the Arkansas Press Association. Rutherford will spend the summer working at the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway.�� In the fall, Rutherford has been accepted into ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s graduate program in professional and technical writing. After earning his master’s degree, he plans to work as a reporter or in sports communication, though his love of journalism began long ago. “I’ve been interested in journalism for most of my life,” he said. “I loved sports growing up. While I played sports until I was 14, I wasn’t very good at playing, but I knew a lot about sports. I come from a family who has done a lot of writing. First, I got into sports writing. Being a sports writer one day was my plan coming into school, but now I’ve grown to love all kinds of journalism.” Just as Rutherford always knew he would become a journalist, he was just as certain that he would one day join the Trojan family. “I knew from the ninth grade on that ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was the school for me,” he said. “It was close to my home, and I had heard good things about its mass communication program. After speaking to the professors when I was in the 11th grade, that is when I made the choice.” He came to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on a Chancellor’s Leadership Corps scholarship with a goal to gain as much experience as possible. He’s stayed true to that goal, serving as sports editor of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s student newspaper, The Forum, an athletics communication intern for Little Rock Athletics, and a news intern for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Public Radio. “The most important thing I’ve learned in college is to learn as much as possible,” Rutherford said. “I worked at The Forum for four years. I’ve done two internships. I’ve learned new skills. I’ve really worked hard to become a well-rounded journalist. I have experience in multiple fields now, and I’m not closing the door on any path.”�� Rutherford is thankful to several of the professors and journalists who have guided him during his time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “I would say two of my favorite professors were Sonny Rhodes and Chris Etheridge in the mass communication department,” he said. “Sonny’s been my advisor for the past four years. He’s been a great help. I really look up to him. Last May, I met Professor Etheridge. He was my internship advisor, and he helped me to understand how much I could learn by going to K��Vlog��ýR. The staff at K��Vlog��ýR, including Michael Hibblen, Sarah Kellogg, and Daniel Breen, has been a great help this past semester during my internship.” Rutherford is an award-winning college journalist who’s received honors in feature writing, sports writing, and outstanding reporting from the Arkansas College Media Association and the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. As a freelance journalist, he’s been published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Daily Record, and the Lewiston Sun-Journal on stories covering local news, sports, education, and government affairs. “On the academic side, my internship with K��Vlog��ýR was by far my favorite experience. A close second was working for our campus newspaper,” he said. “Outside of that, I met my soon-to-be wife at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Katie Kornreich graduated last year. She was an American sign language interpreting major, and we met in a science class. We were supposed to get married this August, but we’ve now moved it to August 2021.” His advice for new students to be successful is to take advantage of all available opportunities to gain as much experience as possible. “I would tell new students to try to learn as much as you can in many different areas,” Rutherford said. “It will pay off if you can do multiple things, and you can do them well. When I first came to school, I thought I would just be a writer. I’ve now learned how to use cameras and work for a radio station. I’ve learned so much more than I ever imagined.”]]> K��Vlog��ýR, Arkansas Public Media reporters bring home SPJ Diamond Journalism Awards /news-archive/2018/11/07/diamond-journalism-awards/ Wed, 07 Nov 2018 14:13:33 +0000 /news/?p=72574 ...]]> Reporters from, one of two University of Arkansas at Little Rock public radio stations, and Arkansas Public Media, also based at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, won several ��The awards program is��a regional annual competition sponsored by the.�� The awards, which were presented Oct. 25 at Little Rock’s Flying Saucer, recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The awards honor work published or broadcast between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018. Karen Steward, former content development director for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Public Radio, won three awards for her outstanding reporting. She took home first place for the radio/podcasts documentary/investigative reporting category for her story, “.” Judge Ginny Frizzi described the story as one that needed to be told and will hopefully be heard by many people. “This expose of a physician who easily prescribes opioids — and in large quantities — is a story that needs to be told … and fortunately this entry tells it well,” Frizzi said. “Solid reporting explores the current situation completely … from his prescription practices to how the state medical board ineffectively deals with it.” Steward took home another first place award in the radio/podcasts feature category for her story, “.” Her final award was second place in the radio/podcasts news category for her story, “Startling stats on bullying, suicide and sexual assault give Arkansas school safety panel huge task.” Michael Hibblen, news director of K��Vlog��ýR, won second place in the radio/podcasts feature category for his story . Reporters from Arkansas Public Media also won four Diamond Journalism Awards. Bobby Ampezzan, former managing editor for Arkansas Public Media, won two awards. First, he received third place in the radio/podcasts documentary/investigative reporting category for his story on . The judges described the story as an “informative look at the medical marijuana situation in Arkansas and how people are traveling to nearby states for their medical marijuana because it is not available at home.” Ampezzan also received third place in the radio/podcasts – news category for his story, “” Jacqueline Froelich, who is based at partner station K��Vlog��ýF in Fayetteville, won first place in the radio/podcasts news category for her story, “.” Ann Kendra, who is based at partner station KASU in Jonesboro, took third place in the radio/podcasts feature category for her story, “.” The story covered Arkansas beef being sold in China following a ban related to mad cow disease.]]> K��Vlog��ýR reporters, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student bring home Diamond Journalism Awards /news-archive/2017/11/17/kuar-diamond-journalism-awards-2/ Fri, 17 Nov 2017 14:22:53 +0000 /news/?p=68606 ...]]> Reporters from, University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s public radio station, won nine Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored by the.�� Additionally, one ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student, Jackson Carter, a graduate student in the School of Mass Communication, received first place in the multimedia project category for his work, “Forgotten-An In-Depth Investigation into the Arkansas Foster Care System.” The awards, which were announced Nov. 14, recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. This year’s competition was judged by journalists from the Florida Pro Chapter of SPJ. The awards honor work published or broadcast between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017. Jacob Kauffman, K��Vlog��ýR reporter and anchor, earned second place in the Outstanding New Journalist competition. He also earned second place in the photo slideshow competition for his work, “Women’s March in Little Rock,” and first place in the documentary/investigative reporting category for his coverage of executions in Arkansas. Chris Hickey, K��Vlog��ýR reporter and anchor, along with Kauffman received first place in sports reporting for “College football gets Arkansas to change its new gun law.” Hickey also earned first and second place in feature reporting for his stories, “Research explores political attitudes in Little Rock’s religious,” and “Dealing with influx, Little Rock Mexican consulate expands legal services.” A full list of K��Vlog��ýR winners include:

�� Jacob Kauffman and Chris Hickey, first place, sports reporting, “College football gets Arkansas to change its new gun law”
�� Jacob Kauffman, first place, documentary/investigative reporting, “Execution Series”
�� Chris Hickey, first place, feature reporting, “Research explores political attitudes of Little Rock’s religious”
�� Darcy Hagood, second place, feature, “Photography exhibit explores Arkansas family’s grief”
�� Chris Hickey, second place, feature reporting, “Dealing with influx, Little Rock Mexican consulate expands legal services”
�� Jacob Kauffman, second place, photo slideshow, “Women’s March in Little Rock”
�� Jacob Kauffman, second place, Outstanding New Journalist
�� Karen Steward, third place, documentary/investigative reporting, “In-depth interview: Execution drugs and double executions”
�� K��Vlog��ýR Public Radio and Arkansas Public Media staff, third place, community service, coverage of Arkansas’ executions

]]> K��Vlog��ýR reporters, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student nominated for Diamond Journalism Awards /news-archive/2017/11/03/kuar-diamond-journalism-awards/ Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:21:23 +0000 /news/?p=68419 ...]]> Reporters from, University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s public radio station, have been nominated for eight Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.�� Additionally, one ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student, Jackson Carter, a graduate student in the School of Mass Communication, was selected as a finalist in the Multimedia Project category. The awards recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Jacob Kauffman, K��Vlog��ýR reporter and anchor, was nominated as a finalist for the Outstanding New Journalist award as well as awards in the Photo Slideshow, Documentary/Investigative Reporting, and Sports Reporting categories. The entire staff at K��Vlog��ýR Public Radio and Arkansas Public Media was nominated for the Community Service award. Additional K��Vlog��ýR nominees include:

�� Karen Steward, content development director, Documentary/Investigative Reporting
�� Chris Hickey, reporter and anchor, Feature Reporting
�� Darcy Hagood, reporter and anchor, Feature

The awards will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 15.]]>