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

Transfer Student Spotlight on Payton Dhooge

John Hill — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 13:16:08 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock is highlighting some of its outstanding transfer students in celebration of , Oct. 18-22. Payton Dhooge is a mass communication major at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. What is your hometown? I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tell us about yourself. From the ages of 6-14, I grew up in central Africa (Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda) since my mother worked for Land O’ Lakes international development. Why did you decide to transfer to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock? I transferred schools because I wanted to pursue my specific degree and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has really good transfer scholarships. What is your major, and what do you plan to do after graduation? My major is Mass Communication and Journalism. I plan to work in the digital news space. What is special about being a transfer college student? As a transfer student, I’ve met all different kinds of people especially since I transferred from a community college. Why did you choose ��Vlog��ý Little Rock? I transferred to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock because it was not too far from my mom’s house so I feel like I still have support after moving out. What opportunities have you gotten through ��Vlog��ý Little Rock that you might not have had otherwise? I have had the opportunity to work for The Forum, the school newspaper, which has been an amazing experience.

KATV Reporter Uses Law Degree to Advocate for Arkansans

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 17:20:07 +0000

A KATV reporter is using the skills and knowledge she learned at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law to serve as a better advocate for Arkansans.�� Janelle Lilley Cline, a 34-year-old weekend anchor who lives in Little Rock, will graduate with a Juris Doctor during ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s fall commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Jack Stephens Center.�� As a journalist who covers the Arkansas legislature, Cline feared her gap in legal knowledge was impacting her ability to accurately report complex issues to the public.�� “I’d ask different legislators about a bill, and I would get completely different answers about how the law would affect Arkansans,” she said. “As a journalist, you want to fact check what people are telling you, but I couldn’t do that with the law. I wanted to understand the law better and how proposed laws would affect Arkansans.” On Nov. 7, 2014, Cline searched the internet on “how to go to law school” and learned she needed to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) to apply. She took the test four weeks later and entered Bowen’s part-time law school program, the only program of its kind in the state, on a full ride in August 2015. “Bowen is the only law school I applied to, and they offered me a full scholarship,” Cline recalled. “I love my job, and I didn’t want to leave it. I decided to go to law school even if it meant working and going to school at the same time. It was worth it.” During law school, Cline had some life-changing experiences; she got engaged and married fellow Bowen law student, Jason Cline, a member of the Arkansas National Guard, in January 2017. The birth of their son, Luke, caused Cline to miss a final exam. “I had my son during the first day of exams in April 2018,” Cline said. “I missed my insurance law exam because I was having a baby. I had to call my professor and tell her I wouldn’t make it, but I was able to take the exam the next week. I have a funny picture of me in the hospital studying insurance law in between contractions.” Cline counts Bowen professors Lindsey Gustafson, André Douglas Pond Cummings, and Michael Flannery as her mentors. Gustafson recalls Cline as an active student who made class discussions interesting. “Despite her busy life and the demands on her time, Janelle was always prepared to engage in and raise the level of discussion in class,” Gustafson said. “She is incredibly hard working, curious, and detailed in her learning. Beyond that, she is a kind, generous human being. She was a joy and will do great things in the world, and by that I mean great things for the world.” Cummings described Cline as a gifted law student and talented news anchor who inspired his own son to study broadcast journalism in college. “I fully expect that Janelle will become an important and consequential legal reporter and news anchor that could very well successfully practice entertainment law or First Amendment law if she so chooses,” Cummings said. “When I mentioned to Janelle that my teenage son was interested in a career in broadcast journalism, she immediately set him up with a two-week internship at KATV, which my son completed this summer. My son loved the experience.” At Bowen, Cline was able to gain practical legal knowledge through work opportunities. She served as a law clerk for Steel, Wright, & Collier and completed externships with Chief Judge Rita Gruber in the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Judge Carlton Jones in the Eighth South Judicial Circuit, and the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. She’s especially grateful for the experience she gained working for Judge Gruber.�� “I will cherish my externship with Judge Rita Gruber for as long as I live,” Cline said. “Judge Gruber is everything I hoped a judge would be. She is thoughtful and serious about her job and was open to my recommendations in the memoranda I would write for her. It was memorable and so rewarding. I learned so much working in the actual court. It’s completely different than covering it as a reporter.”�� Cline says she fell in love with journalism completely by accident while attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “As an undergrad, I was a double major in political science and communication studies,” Cline said. “I had to do an internship that satisfied the requirements for both, and I thought, ‘What’s better than NPR?’ That’s communication and politics all in one.” On her first day at NPR, Cline hit the ground running. Her new boss handed her a sheet with directions from MapQuest, a press release, and an audio recorder with instruction to complete her first assignment. “I called my mom and cried because I didn’t know how to be a journalist,” she said. “I was never planning on being a journalist. I overreported, but they helped me craft a story. That night, I heard my story on the radio, and I knew I had to do this for the rest of my life. From then on out, it was journalism forever.” As for her goal of being a better journalist, Cline’s legal knowledge has been especially helpful in reporting complex issues including legislation, court cases, and crimes. She recalls broadcasting for 10 hours straight in 2017 when reporting on the eight executions originally scheduled in Arkansas for April 2017, four of which were carried out. “During the executions, you had dozens of court cases making their way through the system with appeal after appeal,” Cline said. “I was able to explain to viewers why each appeal was happening, who was making the decision, and condense the legal arguments for the viewers. I never would have been able to do that without going to law school.” Earlier this year, Cline was part of a group of KATV journalists who won a Mid-America Emmy for their news special, “Arkansas Growing: The Journey from Legalization to Cultivation,” covering Arkansas’s legalization of medical marijuana and its impact on employment law. “I came to Bowen because I saw this deficiency in myself and my reporting, and I’m walking away feeling so much more confident in my ability to understand the law,” Cline said. “Being in law school has made me a better reporter. The questions I ask are sharper, and I know more going into interviews. I’m a little sad to graduate because it was such a good experience. I love learning, and I’ll be sad not to engage in my legal education every day.”

Steve Stephens and Belinda Shults endow ��Vlog��ýLR Golden Mike Award

Shanna Fitzgerald — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 18:40:39 +0000

Legendary television and radio personality Steve Stephens and Belinda Shults recently established an endowment for the Steve Stephens Golden Mike Award in the Department of Mass Communications at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Stephens funded this annual award for more than a decade and recently pledged an additional $25,000 to create a permanent endowment for the Golden Mike Scholarship.

Steve Stephens and Belinda Shults

“Belinda and I are happy to continue to support the Golden Mike Scholarship Award,” Stephens said. “Hopefully, it will encourage students in the ��Vlog��ýLR School of Mass Communication to pursue careers in broadcast journalism.” Director of the School of Mass Communications Olaf Hoerschelmann lauded the donation and generosity of Stephens and Shults. “The Golden Mike Award scholarship has been very helpful for broadcasting students to stay in school and ultimately complete their degrees,” Hoerschelmann said. “Many past award winners have followed in Steve Stephens’ footsteps and have gone on to pursue their careers in the field of broadcasting. Mr. Stephens and Ms. Shults’ gift to endow the award will ensure that their history of supporting aspiring broadcasters will continue for a long time to come.” For more information on private philanthropy to ��Vlog��ýLR, contact the Office of Alumni and Development at 501.569.8429.

‘Dean of the Capitol press corp’ honored with endowed scholarship

Shanna Fitzgerald — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 18:33:39 +0000

In the mid-1980s, the current and former living governors of Arkansas gathered to honor George Douthit, the “dean of the Capitol press corp.” The distinguished guest list included Sid McMath, Orval Faubus, Win Paul Rockefeller, son of the late Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Frank White, and Bill Clinton. About 800 people attended. Had he been alive, though, Douthit probably would not have been among them. In fact, Douthit would have been “horrified” that all those people gathered on his account, said his daughter Lana Bethune. It’s not that Douthit wasn’t in favor of raising money to help future journalists — mentoring inexperienced reporters was one of his passions. Douthit just thought journalists should remain behind the scenes. “He was very professional,” Bethune said. “He would not accept a cup of coffee. He was really just there to write a story.” Douthit’s former colleagues honored that legacy of professionalism when they established the George C. Douthit Scholarship Trust for journalism students attending Arkansas colleges and universities in the 1980s. They made Bethune, Douthit’s only child, a trustee, and held other fundraisers through the years. Recently, the remaining funds of that trust — more than $75,000 — were donated to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create the George C. Douthit Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will support ��Vlog��ýLR College of Social Sciences and Communication student participation in an internship or graduate fellowship with any news outlet in central Arkansas, said Christian O’Neal, ��Vlog��ýLR vice chancellor for advancement. “This is just terrific,” O’Neal said. “Central Arkansas is the best place in Arkansas for future journalists to receive hands-on experience at state-level news organizations that will help them be job-ready when they graduate. This endowed scholarship will enable ��Vlog��ýLR to educate journalists who will be the news leaders of tomorrow.” One of the outlets where future journalists might work is the newly launched — a statewide multi-platform news collaboration that includes K��Vlog��ýR at ��Vlog��ýLR. The funds will support hands-on applied teaching and learning that is already a feature of the College of Social Sciences and Communication, said Lisa Bond-Maupin, founding dean of the college. Helping students get experience with a news organization such as Arkansas Public Media, which is connected to NPR and PBS, is an especially exciting aspect of the donation, Bond-Maupin said. “It involves new voices in public radio and promotes dedication to writing about issues of concern to Arkansans,” Bond-Maupin said. “We are proud to partner with the donors to honor Mr. Douthit’s service to the state and his incredible career in this way.”

George Douthit’s developing journalism career

Douthit got his start in journalism as a teenager, covering sports for the San Antonio Express. He later moved to the Texarkana Gazette as a sports editor, worked for the Associated Press in Fort Smith and Hot Springs, and then joined the Arkansas Democrat.

Artist caricature of George Douthit

During World War II, he served in Europe under General Patton in the Army. Following the war, he became convinced that photography — previously featured infrequently by newspapers — was as important as reporting with words and could greatly enhance storytelling. Douthit decided to teach himself how to take photographs. “He used me as a Guinea pig,” his daughter said, recalling that her father created family Christmas cards as he experimented. Douthit had an eye for beauty and was observant — qualities that served him well as a photographer and reporter, Bethune said. During the later part of his 40-year career, Douthit started his own news service, the State News Bureau, providing issue-based coverage of the Arkansas Legislature to small weekly publications throughout the state that otherwise wouldn’t have regular contact with their lawmakers.

Family and politics

Bethune was 9 years old when Douthit married her mother. She really admired the man she calls both Dad and George. She said the two of them probably worked harder on their relationship than they would have had they been related by blood. Douthit smoked cigars, usually while sporting long-sleeved shirts and ties. Bethune recalls thinking her dad wore his pants too high. “His pants always seemed to be above the waist,” she said. Douthit had a knack for being in the thick of where the news was happening. “It was an interesting ride for me growing up, and I learned a lot about politics,” Bethune said. “Not much happened that he didn’t know about.” Thanks to Douthit’s passion for photography, Bethune also had the opportunity to meet stars such as Gene Autry, Dick Powell, and June Allyson, as well as President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “He always got a story, and he always got the picture,” Bethune said.

Tough questions

Douthit was soft-hearted with Bethune and other family members, but he was notorious for being a tough interviewer. “Everyone knew him,” she said, “and many feared him because he always had the most difficult questions.” Making politicians ill at ease was a point of pride for Douthit: He saw probing questions as an important part of the job. Douthit also was known for giving reporters new to the Capitol beat a hard time — but then he took them under his wing. As someone who skipped college and started in the journalism business at the age of 16, Douthit could relate to the inexperienced but determined. “I think that’s why he was so interested in helping people who came into the business,” said Bethune, who met her husband, Ed, a former U.S. representative from the 2nd District, while attending Little Rock Junior College, which later became ��Vlog��ýLR. Douthit often exhorted young reporters to “get the facts and get them straight.” “To him, that was the whole ballgame,” Bethune said. Douthit was so respected that after he died in 1985, his colleagues and the people he used to make squirm during interviews held a memorial for him on the Capitol steps. His photograph still hangs in the Capitol press room. Bethune remembers and admires the well-known journalist, but she also fondly recalls the kind-hearted man who became her adopted father. “I loved him very much.”

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