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A grant from the Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation will support The University of Southern Mississippi School of Mass Communication and Journalism’s efforts to prepare its students for technological changes in the field.
The $10,000 grant will fund equipment such as digital still and video cameras necessary to prepare students to use video, audio slide shows and the Internet to produce multi-media journalism projects. It will also allow MPA member newspapers learn more about new media technology through workshops directed by Southern Miss Mass Communication and Journalism faculty. Dr. Chris Campbell, director of the school, said the popularity of the Internet has forced newspapers to rethink the delivery of content on the Web and journalism schools to reconsider their course offerings to better prepare students for “convergent” media. “The grant will help us address the technological changes that are having a profound effect on journalism, helping us prepare students for a new world that includes the Internet, video, audio slide shows, among other technology,” Campbell said. “We have some excellent journalism faculty members here whose students will make great use of the equipment, and we should also be able to help out some of the MPA member newspapers that are trying to adapt to this new technology.” Judith “Skippy” Haik, president and publisher of the Hattiesburg American and a member of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Press Association, and Patsy Speights, editor of the Prentiss Headlight and a member of the MPA Education Foundation Board of Directors, presented the grant on behalf of the MPA to Campbell Friday. “The foundation is happy to make this award to the Southern Miss School of Mass Communication and Journalism,” said Speights. “Our job is to advance journalism education, and this is one of the best ways we can think of to do that.”
Dr. Chris Campbell, left, director of the Southern Miss School of Mass Communication and Journalism, accepts a check for $10,000 from the Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation from Patsy Speights, center, editor of the Prentiss Headlight, and Judith “Skippy” Haik, president and publisher of the Hattiesburg American. The donation will help fund multimedia training at the school. (Southern Miss Marketing and Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu.
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