/news-archive/tag/log-cabin-democrat/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:50:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2020/09/29/rhodes-2020-educator-of-the-year/ Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:50:34 +0000 /news/?p=77463 ... Arkansas Press Association names Rhodes 2020 Educator of the Year]]> 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. 鈥淗aving been a reporter and editor for a long time gives me some credit with the students,鈥� Rhodes said. 鈥淚f 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.鈥� Though Rhodes earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in education, he was a hardcore journalist who hadn鈥檛 considered teaching as a full-time career. In 1990, Jay Friedlander, then chair of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 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. 鈥淚 applied back in 1990 to teach a night course in journalism,鈥� Rhodes said. 鈥淚t 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.鈥� 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. 鈥淚 think these skills are vitally important in teaching and in journalism,鈥� Rhodes said. 鈥淭hese are all skills that I was able to hone during many interviews over the years. It鈥檚 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.鈥� 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. 鈥淧rofessor Rhodes is one of the most caring individuals I know,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淗e 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.鈥� 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. 鈥淥ne piece of advice I try to instill in all my students is that education is a lifelong experience,鈥� said Rhodes, adding that he would offer the same advice to new professors. 鈥淭hey 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.鈥� A native of Pine Bluff, Rhodes graduated from Watson Chapel High School and also has a master鈥檚 degree from the University of Mississippi. He lives in North Little Rock with his wife, Julie. He has three children and two grandchildren.]]> /news-archive/2020/05/22/kolton-rutherford-commencement-2020-2/ Fri, 22 May 2020 15:47:25 +0000 /news/?p=76984 ... Graduating student journalist selected for internship with Arkansas Newspaper Foundation]]> 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.听 Kolton Rutherford, of Maumelle, has graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor鈥檚 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.听 In the fall, Rutherford has been accepted into 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 graduate program in professional and technical writing. After earning his master鈥檚 degree, he plans to work as a reporter or in sports communication, though his love of journalism began long ago. 鈥淚鈥檝e been interested in journalism for most of my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 loved sports growing up. While I played sports until I was 14, I wasn鈥檛 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鈥檝e grown to love all kinds of journalism.鈥� Just as Rutherford always knew he would become a journalist, he was just as certain that he would one day join the Trojan family. 鈥淚 knew from the ninth grade on that 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the school for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t 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.鈥� He came to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock on a Chancellor鈥檚 Leadership Corps scholarship with a goal to gain as much experience as possible. He鈥檚 stayed true to that goal, serving as sports editor of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 student newspaper, The Forum, an athletics communication intern for Little Rock Athletics, and a news intern for 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Public Radio. 鈥淭he most important thing I鈥檝e learned in college is to learn as much as possible,鈥� Rutherford said. 鈥淚 worked at The Forum for four years. I鈥檝e done two internships. I鈥檝e learned new skills. I鈥檝e really worked hard to become a well-rounded journalist. I have experience in multiple fields now, and I鈥檓 not closing the door on any path.鈥�听 Rutherford is thankful to several of the professors and journalists who have guided him during his time at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淚 would say two of my favorite professors were Sonny Rhodes and Chris Etheridge in the mass communication department,鈥� he said. 鈥淪onny鈥檚 been my advisor for the past four years. He鈥檚 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糖心Vlog传媒R. The staff at K糖心Vlog传媒R, including Michael Hibblen, Sarah Kellogg, and Daniel Breen, has been a great help this past semester during my internship.鈥� Rutherford is an award-winning college journalist who鈥檚 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鈥檚 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. 鈥淥n the academic side, my internship with K糖心Vlog传媒R was by far my favorite experience. A close second was working for our campus newspaper,鈥� he said. 鈥淥utside of that, I met my soon-to-be wife at 糖心Vlog传媒 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鈥檝e now moved it to August 2021.鈥� His advice for new students to be successful is to take advantage of all available opportunities to gain as much experience as possible. 鈥淚 would tell new students to try to learn as much as you can in many different areas,鈥� Rutherford said. 鈥淚t 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鈥檝e now learned how to use cameras and work for a radio station. I鈥檝e learned so much more than I ever imagined.鈥�]]>