Longtime communication lecturer receives grant for student journalism

John Murphy, lecturer of communication at Eastern Connecticut State University, recently received a grant from the Center for Community News (CCN) at the University of Vermont (UVM) as part of the CCN’s Faculty Champions program.

Murphy is part of the third cohort of Faculty Champions, which includes 51 faculty members from 34 states. The $1,000 grant will go toward student-led journalism efforts on campus, which are most often established by faculty members like Murphy.

Murphy, who has taught at Eastern for 41 years, said that he hopes to help Eastern students produce quality work to add to their portfolios. The grant is “not for the money, but for getting them published,” he said.

To Murphy, a quality college education is very important on a résumé, but this education alone would make a recent graduate an incomplete candidate in the professional world.

“If they don’t have a strong portfolio, they’ve limited their ability to use their degree,” he said. Murphy advocates for students building their portfolios by getting hands-on media experience while in college.

Integrating journalism into students’ media experiences serves multiple purposes. “Young people are not consuming news in high numbers,” said Murphy. The approach to the 2024 presidential election highlights this gap in engagement. “Elections bring up the disparity that exists all year.”

In addition to gaining experience in the nuanced fields of reporting and writing, these students will also develop a vehicle by which they can market themselves. In the digital age, “what’s opened up is another universe of the media industry,” said Murphy.

By creating strong bodies of their own work, rising college graduates can “bring media to a whole rainbow of organizations that are starting to become their own media,” said Murphy. Journalistic writing and media work can show organizations that students know how to perform quality research and present key information in an engaging way.

Written by Noel Teter

Categories: Awards and Accolades, Communication, Faculty Research