Skills, Versatility at Center of Journalism Symposium

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 26, 2012) — The challenges and opportunities facing multi-platform journalists in a shifting media landscape will take center stage in the 10th annual Richard G. Wilson Journalism Alumni Symposium, to be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, in the University of Kentucky's William T. Young Library auditorium.

"Industry changes mean that today's journalists have to be more versatile than ever before," said Beth Barnes, director of the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunication. "This group of panelists will give our current students insight into a wide range of career possibilities within journalism. I'm looking forward to hearing about their experiences, and I'm sure our students are as well."
 

Clay Bell is a 2009 journalism graduate. During the summer after graduation, he was hired as sports editor at his hometown newspaper, The Harrodsburg Herald. About six months later, an application he had sent to ESPN paid off, and he was hired as an associate producer. He worked behind the scenes supporting the network's news programs and produced highlights for air. He left Connecticut about 6 months later. After spending a few months working as a video editor at WTVQ-36 in Lexington, he was hired as a morning show producer at WHAS in Louisville. He cut his teeth with his first real hands-on producing experience for about six months in the Derby City. He’s been the producer of LEX 18 News at Sunrise since August of 2011.

[IMAGE5]Drew Bewley White, a native of Glasgow, graduated in 2009. She was a varsity cheerleader for UK’s national championship squad.  She combined her passion for cheerleading with her degree in journalism and started a national publication called The Cheer Leader Magazine.  The magazine has a following of more than 62,000 fans online and subscribers in all 50 states and 10 countries.  Drew and her husband Travis reside in Bowling Green, Ky. 

[IMAGE4]Sean Evans graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Journalism in the spring of '09. His job search after graduation landed him in Hazard, Ky., working for WYMT-TV as a general assignment reporter. After a year and a half of wearing many hats at WYMT, he returned to Lexington to work for sister station WKYT, again as a general assignment reporter.

[IMAGE3]Jon Hale graduated from the School of Journalism and Telecommunications in 2009 and earned his master's degree in communication in 2011. He worked as a graduate assistant for the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues while pursing his graduate studies. He began working at KyForward as the website's sports editor in May 2011. A native of Langley, Ky., he has been an active freelancer for news organizations, including the Montgomery Advertiser, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Associated Press. While at UK, Jon interned for the Lexington Legends, was sports feature writer and columnist for The Kentucky Kernel and founded BluGrassBaseball.com, a website devoted to covering baseball in Kentucky, now a part of KyForward.com

[IMAGE2]Ben Jones is a 2011 graduate. He served an internship after graduation in the sports department of The Indianapolis Star, where he covered the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400, the WNBA, Triple A baseball and other area sporting events. He returned to Lexington in August after accepting a job with CatsIllustrated.com, an affiliate of Rivals.com, covering University of Kentucky sports. He primarily covers UK football but has also covered men's and women's basketball, baseball, recruiting, and news within the athletic department. He was a Kernel sports editor and columnist.

[IMAGE1]Kristin Sherrard, a 2009 graduate in journalism and business administration, was hired as a staff writer/photographer by The News-Democrat in Carrollton. Six months later, she was promoted to news editor. She is responsible for about half of the news content and photography and all of the sports coverage. She also designs the front page and corresponds with the weekly’s freelancers. During her time at UK, she was active on the staff of The Kernel. After graduation, she had a photo internship with the United States Army Leaders Training Course and worked for the public affairs office.

MEDIA CONTACT: Keith Hautala, (859) 323-2396; keith.hautala@uky.edu