Alumni Q&A: Kristen Conner, Anchor and Reporter for WHNT News 19

Kristen Conner is an anchor/reporter for WHNT News 19 in northern Alabama. In 2017, she received the Edward R. Murrow Award for her work on the 30 min. documentary A Rescue Mission. She graduated from Rowan University in 2012 with a B.A. in Communications and Journalism and a Minor in Political Science. You can follow Conner on Twitter at KConnerWHNT

Can you describe your job at WHNT News 19 and what you do on a day-to-day basis?

As Sunday anchor, I am part of a weekend team with limited supervision and a smaller staff. I act as a manager often, assigning reporters stories and sending out crews on the news of the day as it breaks.

My typical day in this role begins in the afternoon. I come in, work with the producer to read through the shows, make suggestions as needed, and research stories and make calls in order to decide how to handle news happening throughout the day. Then, I get up in the chair and anchor the show with the meteorologist and sports anchor. We typically do two shows on Sundays.

During the week, I shift back into a reporter role. I come into the afternoon meeting with researched and vetted pitch ideas. After I’m assigned, I’ll grab my gear and head out.

As a multimedia journalist, I set up, shoot, interview, write, edit and then present my own stories on multiple deadlines. We have a 4pm, 6pm and 10 p.m. newscast. It’s a busy day, but you’re always doing something different, new, and often exciting!

Watch Conner’s Story: Tennessee Valley Marvel fans react to death of Stan Lee

Dr. Hausman Wins Independent Publisher Book Award

Rowan University journalism professor Dr. Carl Hausman won an Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for his book Write Like a Pro: Ten Techniques for Getting Your Point Across at Work (and in Life).

Write Like a Pro provides readers with the practical instruction and techniques needed to develop their writing skills. Hausman earned the top award in the Writing/Publishing category.

For more of Hausman’s work, check out his podcast Arsenal of the Articulate or visit his web site.

Student Spotlight: Senior Cody Decker Ends Run as Voice of Rowan Sports

By Stephen Huff

Over the last four years, senior journalism major Cody Decker has spent hundreds of honing his skills as a sports broadcaster.

Decker has called hockey games for four years and football for three years. He is the president of the Rowan Television Network, where he anchored shows like All Access. And he has specialized in broadcast journalism and will graduate with an undergraduate certificate in sports media.

Decker said he thrives on the pace of calling a live sporting event, but also broadcasting in general.

“I love mostly talking about sports,” said Decker. “But just broadcast news in general, I just feel it’s a fun field. Every day is very different in the news business.”

Eventually, Decker hopes to land a job with a sports network such as ESPN, Fox Sports or Comcast Sportsnet.

“The dream is to hit those major markets in New York or maybe Los Angeles and who knows, maybe covering Olympics,” Decker said. “If I get to travel and call some sports that I love or maybe just some sports that I’d have to learn about, I’d take every opportunity that I can get.”

Alumni Q&A with Renée Ernst, Producer of Social Publishing at CNN

Photo courtesy of CNN

Renée Ernst is a Producer of Social Publishing at CNN. Ernst graduated from Rowan University in 2008 with her B.A. in Journalism. Previously, she managed social media at the Huffington Post and The Record. Follow her on Twitter at @renee_ernst

Can you describe your role at CNN and what you do?

I am part of a large dynamic team that focuses on pulling key moments from CNN on TV, finding viral content that is being shared on every social media platform, running the accounts of the show pages (like AC360) and publishing the content to CNN’s main social media accounts. We also plan social strategy and look for new platforms to use. I help oversee what gets published to the main CNN social accounts.

I understand you took a break from journalism for a few years. What did you do? And what made you want to come back?

I begrudgingly left the media in the first place. Journalism has been running through my veins since I was in high school, so the decision to leave was not made lightly. I was young. I learned a hard life lesson at the first newspaper where I worked full-time as a breaking news reporter. The resulting takeaway was not to give up, especially when someone senior to you says you can’t hack it. During my two-year hiatus, I worked on my master’s degree and worked for the government, but I found myself missing journalism more and more every day. When the opportunity to return presented itself, I did not hesitate to come back.

Can you talk about the process of building the social media presence at The Record?

It was daunting at first. When you work at a company whose priority (at the time) was print then digital, it can be quite a mountain to climb. The Record was just starting to acknowledge how important the web site was when I took over the paltry social accounts that existed. So, I was not even on the radar of those running the newspaper at the time. I had an incredible boss, who believed in me and supported my campaign to make social media matter in the newsroom. I got reporters involved, and then we had the biggest story of the year: Governor Christie’s staff orchestrating traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge.

Student Spotlight: Lauren Kubiak Discovers Passion for Journalism at Rowan

By Stephen Huff

When she first transferred from community college to Rowan University, Lauren Kubiak saw herself as a fiction writer. But after a few journalism courses, she discovered a new passion.

“I was initially a Writing Arts major when I transferred to Rowan, but quickly changed to Journalism because of my interest in the different career options,” said Kubiak. “I’ve really just fallen in love with the field.”

Kubiak, a 23-year-old senior from Mantua, NJ, quickly translated what she was learning in the journalism classroom into freelancing and internships. Kubiak currently freelances for The Retrospect and writes a commuter column for The Whit. She interned for the Delaware River Port Authority and Del Val Media and recently landed an internship at Philadelphia Magazine.

“I love the city so much so it’s been really fun for me to go in and meet all of these people with great ideas that want to see the interns succeed,” said Kubiak.

At Philadelphia Magazine, Kubiak has contributed to the publication by reporting at Philadelphia University and requesting records from the courthouse.

“I feel like it’s definitely broken me out of my shell because there’s a lot of fact checking, talking on the phone with a lot of different people, and pitching my own story ideas to editors,” she said.

Kubiak admits it’s a challenge to balance all of activities, but says that doing what she loves makes it worthwhile.

“I wasn’t sure about balancing my time between freelancing, having an internship, classes and writing for the school paper, but I made it work because I knew it would only help in the future,” she said.

Rowan University Hosts Spring Career and Graduate School Fair on Feb. 21

Rowan University will host its Spring Career and Graduate School Fair on Wednesday, February 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Recreation Center. Over 150 employers and graduate school representatives will attend. Employers such as the Philadelphia Eagles, WHYY Inc., WMCN-TV and The Wyanoke Group may be of particular interest to College of Communications and Creative Arts students. For more information, visit the Career Fairs website.

Sports Broadcaster, Teacher and Author Fulfills Super Bowl Dreams

In recent weeks, Ed Benkin, a sports anchor for KYW and WIP Radio, has seen the fulfillment of two Super Bowl dreams.

The first is the publication of his new book, The First 50 Super Bowls: How Football’s Championships Were Won, which came out at the end of December 2017. Benkin, who teaches a sports broadcasting course at Rowan University and is an almnus, said vintage footage from the 1970s and 80s inspired him to dig deeper into the history of the big game.

The second is that Benkin will travel to Minnesota to cover his first Super Bowl in person. Even though he expects to be working nearly 24/7 in the week leading up to the game, he plans to “soak in the atmosphere” of one of the biggest days of his career.

“It’s kind of hard to top the Super Bowl in almost anything,” said Benkin. “It’s so much more than a football game.”

Follow Benkin’s Eagles Super Bowl coverage on KYW1060, 94WIP and on Twitter @EdBenkin

Rowan alumnus Trymaine Lee named MSNBC correspondent

Congratulations to Rowan alumnus Trymaine Lee (2003), who was recently named as a correspondent at MSNBC. Lee has worked at The New York Times, Huffington Post, and most recently as a national reporter for MSNBC.

Lee was one of several members of The Times-Picayune newspaper to win the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News reporting in 2006 for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

To find out more about Lee, read a Rowan University profile and follow him on Twitter @trymainelee