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Southern Miss Photojournalism Student Named Associated Press Intern |
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Friday, February 13, 2009 |
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Contact Angela Kilcrease 601.266.4988
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Eric Shelton, a senior photojournalism major at The University of Southern Mississippi, has been selected as a participant in the Associated Press’ Class of 2009 Photography Intern Program, one of the most competitive internship programs in all of journalism.
Shelton will spend 12 weeks in the summer at the AP Boston bureau. AP photo interns receive individually tailored training designed to further develop their journalistic skills.“Eric is an enormously talented photographer,” said Clarence Williams, photojournalist in residence in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism. “This is a great start to what promises to be an extraordinary career.”
Shelton is from Columbia, Miss. He’s scheduled to graduate in May 2009. During the summer of 2008, he was selected as an intern at the UNITY: Journalists of Color convention in Chicago. He is one of four Southern Miss photojournalism students selected last fall to participate in the Southern Mississippi Photojournalism Project, which was funded by the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
“Eric’s selection for the AP internship is a reflection of recent improvements in the photojournalism program since Clarence Williams arrived in 2006,” said Dr. Chris Campbell, director of the School of Mass Communication and Journalism.
Williams won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. In 2008, two other photographers joined the fulltime School of Mass Communication and Journalism faculty: Gina Gayle, a former San Francisco Chronicle photographer, and Dr. Steve Coleman, who previously served as an adjunct faculty member and freelances for the Associated Press.
“Southern Miss has produced some of the best photojournalists in the country, many of whom studied under (retired professor) Ed Wheeler,” Campbell said. “We’re getting back to those roots, and our photo program has a bright future.”
For more information about the Southern Miss photojournalism program, call the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at 601.266.4258.
About The University of Southern MississippiThe 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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