Alumni News 7 | College of Media

Investigative journalist and Media alum Tim Schwab to publish first book

Tim Schwab (MS ’06, journalism), an investigative journalist based in Washington D.C., has written The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire, which will be published in November by Henry Holt (Macmillan).

Schwab’s book investigates Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, “showing how he uses philanthropy to exercise enormous political power without accountability.”

The book has foreign rights/translation deals to be sold in more than a dozen different markets, allowing it to reach readers in the UK, Germany, South Africa, India, China, and beyond.

Schwab was previously honored with an Izzy Award and a Deadline Club Award for his groundbreaking reporting on the Gates Foundation for The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review, and The British Medical Journal.

Advertising alum Georgia Schreiner wins Media Planner of the Year award

Georgia Schreiner (BS ’10, advertising) won the Media Planner of the Year at Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards.

Just one person was chosen for the media planner award, which recognizes candidates who have demonstrated a flair for bringing innovation to media planning, leveraged the vast media offerings in unexpected ways to successfully communicate a brand’s message, and delivered an engaging brand experience in new ways. Entrants were required to show how they made a direct impact on a specific campaign, brand, or product launch.

Schreiner also accepted the Gold Media Agency of the Year award on behalf of Exverus Media, the California ad agency where Schreiner works as associate media director.

The Ad Age Small Agency Awards honor small, independent agencies that are performing well in three important areas: creating amazing and effective work for clients, building a financially healthy business, and cultivating a diverse and rewarding environment for employees.

See the Ad Age article here.

Alum Rick Sallinger inducted into National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle

Rick Sallinger (BS ’71, MS ’72, advertising) was inducted into the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle.

The Silver Circle honors media professionals who have contributed 25 years or more to the television industry, and who also have made a meaningful and significant contribution to broadcasting and/or new media.

Sallinger, who worked at WPGU from 1967-71 as an announcer, music and program director. He was inducted into the Illini Media Hall of Fame in 2022.

After working as a radio reporter in Cleveland and Chicago, Sallinger moved on to television news working at stations in Indianapolis, Denver, and Chicago.

In 1990, Sallinger became a foreign war correspondent for CNN based in London covering events like the Gulf War, the war in Yugoslavia, and the reunification of Germany.

He settled in Colorado, joining KCNC-TV, a CBS affiliate in Denver, in 1993 where he continues to work today. (Update: He retired in December 2023.)

Sallinger has covered nearly every major Colorado story in recent years including the Columbine High School shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing trials, and the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. In 2005, Sallinger won the George Foster Peabody Award for a series he did on Army recruiting.

This video from CBS Denver highlights Sallinger’s career and recent honor:

Kissel leads global advertising company named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions Festival

Dave Kissel (BS ’85, journalism), global business lead at DDB, announced the worldwide advertising company was recognized as Network of the Year at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is held annually in Cannes, France. The global event celebrates creativity, effectiveness, and innovation and is considered the largest gathering of the advertising and creative communications industry.

In addition to the Network of the Year award, DDB Worldwide won one Grand Prix in Film, one titanium, 12 gold, 25 silver, and 50 bronze trophies.

Kissel has been the global business lead for McDonald’s, DDB’s biggest multi-national client, since 2017. Since Kissel began, DDB has won more marketing effectiveness awards for McDonald’s than any other creative agency.

Kissel is a member of DDB Worldwide’s Executive Leadership Team and Omnicom’s Global Client Leaders team. He is also a member of the College of Media Alumni Leadership Council.

Advertising alum Jackson-Smith speaks at Cannes Lions Festival

Dani Jackson-Smith (BS ’06, advertising), founder of the Cre8tors, a creative management agency rooted in culture and social impact, participated in a panel discussion, “REAL TALK: Pushing Creativity Outside Your Lane,” at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held on June 23 in Nice, France. The annual festival is home to the world’s most prestigious advertising awards.

Jackson-Smith, a member of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising’s James Webb Young Advisory Board and a 2021 recipient of ADCOLOR’s “Rockstar” Award, established the Cre8tors in 2019 with a mission to create experiences that unite, transform, and drive change in communities across the globe. The Cannes appearance follows two other Cre8tor launch events in Chicago and New York in June. Learn more.

Jim Schlueter, generous donor and retired Boeing communicator, receives 2023 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award

May 18, 2023 | Kelly Youngblood

When it comes to career accomplishments, Jim Schlueter (BS ’80, journalism) could name a few, but none are quite as important to him as his ability to build up others.

It’s an honorable trait Schlueter has carried with him throughout his life—as an undergraduate student at Illinois, during his 33-year career in corporate communications, and more recently, as a very generous and passionate alum.

“If I think about accomplishments, really, it’s about helping people develop and grow and watching what they do,” Schlueter said.

Thanks to Schlueter’s contributions to the college, as well as his notable career achievements, the college’s leadership team agreed no one was more deserving of the 2023 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award.

“Jim Schlueter has made many investments in the College of Media to benefit students now and in the future,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “We are so grateful for his engagement and for his desire to help make Illinois the number one destination for those who want to be part of the dynamic field of media.”

Schlueter is passionate about ensuring students stay ahead with new innovations and changing trends. In 2019, he and his wife, Amy, gave a generous gift to launch the Media Innovation Fund, which supports a wide range of activities that celebrate faculty excellence, faculty and student research, technology advancements, and cutting-edge pedagogy.

Schlueter said he felt humbled and honored when he learned of his nomination.

“I don’t do what I do to get awards, but to be recognized is a very, very special feeling because of [how I] feel about the University and the College of Media, the students, and the folks who have come before me and after me,” he said.

Schlueter, who grew up in rural Edwardsville, Illinois, and had always loved writing and sports, came to Illinois with a plan to study journalism. He joined the staff at The Daily Illini his sophomore year, covering women’s rugby, women’s cross-country, and men’s track. He became an executive reporter in sports his senior year covering football and basketball, and worked as a local stringer for the Associated Press.

“As much as I was looking forward to [attending the University of Illinois] … it was even better than I thought,” he said. “I met all my best friends there, I got to do experiences and things I couldn’t believe I was able to do, and I really stretched and learned a lot from my fellow students.”

After graduation, Schlueter worked as a reporter at a few newspapers, mostly covering the sports beat, and eventually earned his MBA in marketing from SIU-Edwardsville. In 1985, he went to work for an employee newspaper at McDonnell Douglas, an aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor that eventually merged with Boeing in the late ’90s.

Schlueter said his career offered him a variety of opportunities that allowed him to support different fields within the aircraft industry including international communications, military products, and commercial airplanes. He spent the last six years of his career in Boeing’s corporate office in Chicago as the director of technology communications, finally retiring in 2018.

“I got to do a lot of things at an amazing company, so many different things that I can’t believe, from military programs and products to the space programs. I even worked a few shuttle launches, which is incredible,” he said.

Schlueter gives credit to his experience at Illinois, learning from some of the best professors alongside some of the brightest students, as well as his time at The Daily Illini for helping to shape his future career endeavors. He expressed gratitude for the journalism skills he gained that contributed to his success as a corporate communicator.

“When you’re a communications person at a company like Boeing, it behooves you to be able to write like a journalist writes and edit and dive into complicated questions and issues that really get to the heart of the matter,” he said.

Schlueter currently resides in Iowa with his wife, and they also have an apartment in Champaign. As lifelong season ticket holders, they come back to campus often for football and basketball games, and to visit the college for alumni commitments and events. Schlueter has served on the College of Media Alumni Leadership Council for more than a decade, sharing his professional insights and resources with faculty, staff, and students.

“It’s always been part and parcel of me, I guess, to stay connected and involved,” Schlueter said. “That feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself, and that you belong amongst it, is a big deal to me.”

In addition to kickstarting the Media Innovation Fund, a $50,000 donation from the Schlueters helped build the Media Technology Center, which offers a variety of technology and resources that students can check out or access online. The center opened in Fall 2022.

The couple also created the Schlueter Family Endowed Fund for Internships in Journalism to support students seeking real-world experience. Schlueter hopes their contributions will make a difference for Media students by enriching their education and preparing them to become future leaders in their field.

“I want Illinois to be on the forefront of the people who are coming up with the new ideas, the folks who are going to figure out how to do journalism for this century,” he said. “It’s going to be the students. They’re going to be the ones who figure it out.”

Hollywood executive and alumna Emma Miller honored with 2023 College of Media Emerging Leader Award

May 18, 2023 | Kelly Youngblood

When Emma Miller (BS ’08, media studies) graduated from the University of Illinois she wasn’t sure where her degree would take her.

Now, 15 years later as a Hollywood executive taking on a new leadership role at Netflix, Miller can say she’s exactly where she wants to be.

After eight years as the senior vice president of scripted development and programming at AMC Networks, Miller recently joined Netflix as director of overall deals in the series division.

Miller’s early career accomplishments, along with her continued engagement with the College of Media including serving on the Alumni Leadership Council, have garnered her the honor of being named the 2023 College of Media Emerging Leader Award winner. She is the first media studies graduate and the third recipient of the annual award.

“The College of Media is proud of Emma Miller’s career achievements and we’re thankful for her eagerness to be a resource for students,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Emma has shared advice on how to navigate the film and TV industry that has been helpful and inspiring to students who are interested in making a career in Hollywood.”

Miller, who was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “35 Rising Executives 35 and Under” in 2018, said she was overwhelmed and excited when she received the news that she had won.

“I have a such a love for Illinois so it’s a real honor to be recognized by a place that I care a lot about,” Miller said.

Throughout her career, Miller has helped develop dozens of hit television series including The Walking Dead universe while at AMC, and The Americans on FX while a junior executive at Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Television. More recently, she worked on an AMC project with George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford called Dark Winds, a crime series with a majority Native American cast and crew.

But the Chicago-raised Midwesterner admits when she first set out for Hollywood after college, her path wasn’t very clear.

Miller considered going to law school to pursue a career as an entertainment lawyer but decided to find a job first.

After a lot of persistent if not frenzied effort on her part, Miller said she lucked out and landed her first job as a literary assistant at the talent agency William Morris.

“I just talked to everyone and applied to everything, and I got really lucky through that method, that really chaotic method,” Miller said. “In terms of getting into the industry, my advice is to talk to everyone that you possibly know that could help. Be shameless [about it] and ask for help. That’s how I did it.”

After gaining a couple years of experience as a literary assistant, Miller discovered the concept of development—which she said is similar to being a book editor who supports writers and gives feedback—and realized “there was a place for me here.”

“That’s when everything became way less chaotic and way more focused,” she said.

She has participated in two Media Career Night panels for students, one in 2020 and one in 2022, where she shared her experience and advice. (Recordings of the panels are archived online.) For Miller, it’s important to help students who were once like her and just starting out on their journey to working in Hollywood.

“I want to help Illinois have more of a presence within the industry and I want to help be a resource for [graduates who] come out here,” she said.

Miller originally came to the University of Illinois with plans to study English, but she became intrigued with the idea of working in the entertainment industry after taking a Women in Film course her freshman year. She signed up for more film classes and took advantage of a summer opportunity to work as a set production assistant on a Cartoon Network series produced by her uncle, which ultimately inspired her to switch majors.

“It was the exposure to the industry, and the realization that at Illinois there was a major I could do, that kind of cut me for a potential job in the industry,” Miller said.

She’s incredibly happy where she ended up.

“My life looks like what I thought I wanted, which was just exposure to a lot of interesting things and a sense that I don’t know what the next five years will bring [professionally],” she said. “I like the idea that in theory I don’t know what I’m going to be working on in five years, I don’t know what relationships I’ll have, I don’t know what new experiences I’ll have. And that to me is what I always wanted.”

Finke gives keynote at Senior 100 Honorary for UIUC seniors

College of Media alum Kevin Finke (BS ’92, advertising) was the keynote speaker on May 7 at the Senior 100 Honorary ceremony, which recognizes graduating seniors who exhibit academic success as well as a commitment to campus involvement and community service.

Media students who received the Senior 100 Honorary this year were Zoe Lewis Nielsen and Nate Walinder, both in advertising. Finke, who was named a Senior 100 Honorary 31 years ago and was also the recipient of the UIAA 2022 Comeback Award, spoke to students about facing challenges while staying true to themselves and pursuing his passion, which led him to his current role at Experience Willow, an award-winning consulting firm he founded in 2012 that focuses on making brands, organizations, and lives better.

(Photo by JR Reed.)

Alumna Akouris wins Lisagor Award, Jones-Beck Award for Chicago Tribune work

Tina E. Akouris (BS ’94, journalism), a digital content editor at the Chicago Tribune, won the prestigious Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club for Best Sports Reporting in the large/online print newsroom category. Akouris won the award for coverage of the 50th anniversary of Title IX along with Colleen Kane, Meghan Montemurro, Julia Poe, Kori Rumore, Stacy St. Clair, and Amanda Kaschube. Akouris also won a Jones-Beck Award in April for Outstanding Professional Performance for her work on the Chicago Tribune’s audience team.

Learn more:

MSNBC legal analyst, author, podcast co-host and alumna Jill Wine-Banks to speak at Media Convocation

April 3, 2023 | Kelly Youngblood

Jill Wine-Banks (BS ’64, journalism), MSNBC legal analyst, author, and podcast co-host, is excited to return to the University of Illinois to serve as the alumni speaker at the College of Media Convocation ceremony on Sunday, May 14—marking her first visit back to campus in 44 years.

“Obviously the University has changed a good deal since 1979 and so I’m very much looking forward to seeing the physical campus, walking around to see what’s happened to my sorority house, to the library, Kam’s, and Greg Hall, of course,” Wine-Banks said. “But mostly I remember my friends and professors.”

She also plans to visit Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Alma Mater statue and the Quad, just a few of the many landmarks that come to mind when she recalls her time on campus.

“Those are the kind of things that I think of, but I also think of all the doors that the University opened for me,” Wine-Banks said. “If it hadn’t been for a good education at UIUC, I wouldn’t have gotten into an Ivy League law school, I wouldn’t have become a journalist now, or a lawyer before that. I’m grateful for the education I got.”

Wine-Banks says after graduation, gender discrimination was prevalent in journalism, and she was only offered jobs to write for the “women’s pages,” so she decided to attend the prestigious Columbia Law School in New York to improve her chances of being considered for more hard news opportunities.

“I ended up in law school to get a better job in journalism, and it worked 50 years later,” she said.

Wine-Banks started her notable law career as the first woman to serve as an organized crime prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Less than five years later, she was named one of the three Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutors, and the only woman, for the obstruction of justice trial against President Nixon’s top aides. She became a major player in the Watergate tapes hearing that preceded the trial, cross-examining Rose Mary Woods, President Nixon’s secretary, about the 18 ½-minute gap in a key White House recording.

She also had a couple of female role models who inspired her, including an early pioneer in television journalism, Nancy Hanschman Dickerson, whom she heard speak during her freshman year at the University of Illinois. A couple of years later Wine-Banks represented her sorority Iota Alpha Pi at a national convention in New York and visited the United Nations where she saw UN correspondent Pauline Frederick. Seeing these two women excelling in their exciting careers had a big impact on Wine-Banks.

“I’d have to say that both of those women influenced me, as did [Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and New York Times columnist] Anthony Lewis,” she said.

Her legal career also includes service as the first female General Counsel of the U.S. Army where she helped integrate women into the Regulate Army by eliminating the Women’s Army Corps, and into West Point; as the first Solicitor General of Illinois where she argued in the U.S. Supreme Court and first female Deputy Attorney General; and as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American Bar Association, the only woman to have held that position.

In addition to her post at MSNBC, Wine-Banks is also co-host of two Politicon podcasts: #SistersInLaw with three other MSNBC contributors discussing the hottest legal issues of the week, and iGen Politics with a 21-year-old college junior bringing an intergenerational approach to political issues, interviewing leading politicians, cabinet officers, activists, and journalists.

She describes her podcast iGen Politics as a dream come true because “anybody who I can think of [to interview] I can call, and they say yes.” Some of her most memorable interviewees include former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, along with numerous senators and Congress members.

Wine-Banks is also the author of a memoir, The Watergate Girl, that was optioned by Katie Holmes to become a movie, and is beginning work on a second book that looks at the Trump administration through her pins, a tradition with its own hashtag: #JillsPins.

Wine-Banks wears a different pin that has topical relevance and posts a photo on her website and social media in advance of her appearances on MSNBC.

“I have always loved brooches as accessories. You will see in my high school yearbook, I’m wearing a pin. If you look carefully at the Watergate pictures [taken during the trial], I’m wearing pins,” Wine-Banks said.

During her first appearance on MSNBC to discuss an op-ed piece she wrote, she donned a pin of an eagle holding a shield.

Viewers went to Twitter, which was new to her at the time, to ask about the pin and Wine-Banks realized simply wearing the pin had the power to send a message. Now she finds pins at flea markets, antique shows, Etsy, and frequently receives them as gifts from her followers.

For the Media convocation ceremony, Wine-Banks has already set aside an “Illinois” pin to wear.