For all those people who think college journalism professors get to spend their summers relaxing by the pool, think again.
Leigh Landini Wright, assistant professor of journalism at Murray State, spent much of July as an “intern” for WTVF Newschannel 5 in Nashville, Tenn. Wright received a faculty development fellowship from the National Association of Television Production Executives Educational Foundation to spend three weeks in a television newsroom.
During her summer immersion, Wright followed news crews and multimedia journalists in the field, studied social media trends with the web editors, shadowed web editors and shadowed producers.
The immersion proved helpful for revamping course assignments in the multimedia writing class and the journalism capstone. As the academic year continues, Wright plans to add new assignments based on her observations of a top 25 market.
The fellowship provides Wright with an opportunity to attend the NATPE conference in Miami in mid-January.
