This fall, the College of Media announces a faculty investiture, two Dean’s Fellows, two faculty promotions, and three leadership appointments.
Craft appointed as the Karin and Folke Dovring Professor in Journalism and Democratic Society
Stephanie Craft, a professor in the Department of Journalism with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, and associate dean for academic and faculty affairs, was named the Karin and Folke Dovring Professor in Journalism and Democratic Society. The professorship supports a distinguished faculty member whose research advances our understanding of journalism and democratic society.
The Dovring Professorship was initially established by Karin and Folke Dovring in 2001. Karin was a foreign correspondent, an internationally recognized communication analyst, and the author of English as Lingua Franca: Double Talk in Global Persuasion (1997) and The Road of Propaganda (1959). Her husband, Folke, was a distinguished professor of land economics who taught at the University of Illinois from 1960 to 1987.
Craft, whose research focuses on news literacy, misinformation, and journalism ethics—particularly how people evaluate and understand news—joined the University of Illinois in 2013. She is best known for her efforts to build news literacy theory by uniting scholars around shared definitions and measures of important concepts (such as “Defining and Conceptualizing News Literacy” and “Developing and Validating a 15-Item True/False Measure of News Literacy Knowledge”) and for her research on the ethical obligations of journalism that arise from its democratic functions and the resulting tension between independence and accountability (such as a special edition of Mass Communication and Society addressing “Media and the Future of Democracy”).
She is the co-author of a widely used introductory textbook, Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction (2025), now in its 4th edition, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Media Ethics, Journalism Practice, and Journalism & Communication Monographs. Craft is also a former head of the Journalism Studies Division of the International Communication Association and of the Media Ethics Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
King and Maslowska appointed as Dean’s Fellows focusing on AI
Colleen King, clinical associate professor in the Department of Journalism and director of the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media, and Ewa Maslowska, associate professor in the Chales H. Sandage Department of Advertising with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, will serve as Dean’s Fellows for the 2026–27 academic year, with a focus on artificial intelligence.
King will concentrate primarily on AI in curriculum and instruction, while Maslowska will focus on AI in media research and innovation. Both will work to convene discussions across departments and units as the College of Media collectively navigates the perils and possibilities of the AI era.
The Dean’s Fellows Program provides faculty in the College of Media with academic leadership experience through mentoring opportunities, collaboration with colleagues within and beyond the College, and leadership roles on key strategic initiatives and projects.
Faculty Promotions
In the Department of Journalism, Christopher Ball, who has an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, has been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure, and Colleen King has been promoted to clinical associate professor.
Leadership Appointments
Jenny Oyallon-Koloski, associate professor in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, will serve as the new director of the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies.
Leona Yi-Fan Su, associate professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, will serve as the new director of the Institute of Communications Research.
Kevin Wise, professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising with an appointment in the Institute of Communications Research, will serve as Advertising’s associate head of graduate studies.
Several College of Media students, including a recent graduate, expanded their skills, learned more about the industries, and gained valuable professional experience through various internship opportunities this summer. Read about a few of our students’ experiences below in these Q&As.
Felicity Abbott, senior in journalism
CBS Chicago | News Intern | Chicago, Illinois
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many Illinois alumni working at CBS Chicago and they have welcomed me with open arms. This experience was a great demonstration of how strong the Illini family is and reinforced my decision to study at the University of Illinois.”
What she did: As the newsroom intern, I spent 10 weeks rotating through a variety of positions and roles, expanding a plethora of my journalistic skills. I served as a field producer several times, including for CBS Chicago’s annual “Party at the Pier,” where I coordinated live talent, interviews, a camera crew, and transportation. I also had the opportunity to help with social media coverage of the Obama Presidential Center. I spent several weeks working alongside the CBS Chicago Investigative team, completing research, tagging along on interviews, and practicing script writing. With the producers, I wrote copy for the daily newscasts, sourced VO (voice-over) stories, edited videos, and created graphics. Alongside the digital team, I worked to clip stories, publish them to the CBS Chicago website and wrote digital stories to accompany clips. With reporters, I attended press conferences with city and state officials, practiced standups, and learned how to be efficient with quick deadlines.
What she enjoyed: I really enjoyed the flexibility I was given to move through the different roles in a newsroom. I developed many skills I wouldn’t have if I had only stuck with what I knew. Plus, this allowed me to meet and get to know lots of people, both inside and outside of the newsroom.
What she learned: I learned about how many roles there are in a newsroom of this size and how to effectively communicate between them all. Additionally, I got a lot of good insight into the type of role I can see myself going into post-grad.
What helped her prepare: My extracurricular activities like UI7 Newsroom really helped prepare me for this internship. I had a lot of experience I was able to reference during my interview and had a really solid understanding of TV news right off the bat, which gave me a lot of confidence as I started.
Abbottreceived funding from the College of MediaNancy Ronald and Ronald L. Hartshorn Internship Fund to support this internship.
Said Bravo, (BS ’26, journalism)
The Commercial Appeal | Sports Intern | Memphis, Tennessee
What he did: I interned at The Commercial Appeal, a legacy newspaper in Memphis. I was the sports intern through the Sports Journalism Institute.
What he enjoyed: I enjoyed the little moments in between assignments where I got to hang out with the sports staff and pick their brains. The best part about it was doing original reporting and working on enterprise stories. Over the summer, I had over 50 bylines and some vertical videos.
What he learned: I learned you must take initiative to succeed in print. You must seek out stories; oftentimes the best stories won’t fall on your lap. I also learned details matter a lot. The more granular you can go with a story, the better.
What helped him prepare: The Sports Journalism Institute prepared my cohort and me with a five-day sports journalism bootcamp at Arizona State University. They put me in a unique position to succeed in starting my career. I have been hired as a full-time sports reporter at Shaw Local in Kankakee, Illinois, where I will be covering high school sports.
Ruiyao Chao, graduate student in advertising
TikTok | Talent Acquisition Partner | San Jose, California
“Overall, this internship was a great learning experience. It helped me connect what I learned in class with real work. I also learned more about the career path I want to pursue. I am very grateful to my mentors and teammates for their support.”
What she did: We supported several technical teams, including AI Research, Search & Recommendation, E-commerce Algorithm, and Intelligent Creation. My work included sourcing candidates, talent mapping, conference recruiting, and supporting hiring managers.
What she enjoyed: I really enjoyed talking with candidates and talent mapping, which helped me understand how different companies and teams are structured. I also learned what skills companies are looking for.
What she learned: I learned that recruiting is not just about filling open roles. Recruiters also need to understand the business and the talent market. They need to know what the team needs and where to find the right people. Building strong relationships with candidates is also very important.
What helped her prepare: My classes at the University of Illinois helped me improve my communication and research skills, understand workplace communication, teamwork, and how technology affects the way people work. These skills were useful when I worked with recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates.
Nathan Gonzalez, senior in journalism
NBC News | Intern at Justice and National Security Unit | Washington, D.C.
I’m eternally grateful for the lecturers, professors, and staff at the College of Media. Because of them, I’ve landed an internship every summer, two of them in Washington, D.C., and been accepted into some of the most prestigious programs in political journalism. Thanks to the College of Media, I’m a multiskilled journalist who’s prepared for graduation and ready to start my professional career.
What he did: During my internship, I focused on national security reporting, learning how to navigate procedures, understand documents, conduct research, and investigate the operations of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, CIA, FBI, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection. I also learned how to properly report on U.S. federal courts. I was frequently sent to cover rulings and hearings at the U.S. District Courts in Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., as well as a week of Supreme Court opinions, where I sat in the courtroom and reported quotes from the justices back to the bureau. I booked and conducted interviews with immigration advocates and legal counsel on deportation cases. I was published multiple times as a reporter and researcher on the NBC News website and have my own author page. I learned how to conduct background checks, geographic tracking, and conflict-of-interest research using open-source intelligence.
I also led data processing and analysis for the unit on defense contracts, ICE deportation statistics, and FEC filings. I also led national security research for the July 4th celebrations in Washington, where I broke the news of an evacuation order to the bureau which ended up airing on our network.
What he enjoyed: I enjoyed being back in Washington, learning more about political reporting, and getting to work at my dream network, NBC News.
What helped him prepare: JOUR 400: Newsroom Experience and my work at UI7 Newsroom in general prepared me a great deal, helping me build my politics show Illinois in Session.
Gonzalezreceived funding from the College of MediaNancy Ronald and Ronald L. Hartshorn Internship Fund to support this internship.
Zijie Wang, senior in media and cinema studies
OpenQQuantify | Media Intern | Remote Work Opportunity
“This internship made me sure of my interest in media production, documentary development, and research-based content creation. It not only helped me accumulate portfolio-building and professional development experience but also made me more aware that I want to continue to explore technology storytelling and educational media direction in the future.”
What he did: As part of OpenQQuantify’s technology documentary initiative, which focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, fintech, and other emerging technologies, I assisted in documentary research, organizing and editing digital media assets, content publishing, and social media outreach. I also helped with interviews, media coordination, creative brainstorming, and online community engagement. My goal was to transform technical information into content that is clearer and more suitable for public understanding.
What he enjoyed: My favorite thing is that this internship combined research and creative media production. This internship made me see that a professional documentary project requires a lot of preliminary research and fact-checking. I especially liked the process of documentary theme research and content conception, because I was able to help the audience understand complex scientific and technological topics.
What he learned: Through this experience, I learned that media production is not just about shooting, editing, or publishing content. A good media project requires accurate information, clear narrative structure, and cooperation between teams; especially technology-focused media production, which requires both creative and analytical skills. Through the internship, I also learned a lot about documentary research, digital storytelling, social media communication, video editing, technology journalism, and innovation reporting.
What helped him prepare: My courses related to digital media, content creation, and media writing helped me prepare for this internship. These courses taught me how to organize information, analyze the audience, tell a good story, and express the content clearly.
Several faculty and staff members from the College of Media led workshops for high-school-aged youth in Illinois during Illini Summer Academies, held June 21-25, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
(Photo of Media attendees by Lark Runkle, youth photographer)
Illini Summer Academies, which is presented by Illinois 4-H, the youth development program of University of Illinois Extension, partners with various departments and colleges across campus every summer to give high school students an opportunity to experience college life and explore a career of their choice.
Twelve students from across Illinois registered for the College of Media program, which marked the college’s first year of participation in the 4-H Summer Academies.
“As the coordinator for the program as well as one of its instructors, I think it went great,” said Jason P. Chambers, professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and associate dean for access and engagement.
“I think that the program helped build student awareness about the majors available in the college and the types of jobs they can get with an education in the College of Media.”
Chambers led the workshop “Exploring Public Service Advertising,” which gave students an overview of the ad industry, including discussions about the different types of advertising, tools, and approaches used to attract an audience.
(Photo of broadcast workshop by Disha Rai, youth photographer)
Students developed a public service advertising campaign on a topic of their choice, such as excess phone usage among teens, distracted driving, and voting.
“I think the big things that students get from these workshops are [learning] that there is an entire industry that works to produce all the advertising that they see [and] that it takes a lot of time and work to create an average advertisement, let alone one that really engages an audience and gets them to pay attention,” Chambers said.
Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer in the Sandage Department of Advertising, led “Create, Connect, and Think: Discovering Your Voice on Social Media,” where students explored how social media shapes identity, creativity, and communication.
Peacock said the workshop was designed to connect participants with college life and future careers, encourage collaboration and peer learning, and build students’ confidence and agency as creators, innovators, and problem-solvers—not just consumers of information.
“It was really fun, and I was impressed by the thoughtful responses from students and admired their understanding of how technology, creativity, and problem-solving can be applied to real-world challenges and future opportunities,” Peacock said.
Other Media faculty and staff who participated in Illini Summer Academies were Angela Aguayo, associate professor in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies; Daniel Almanza, assistant director of Media Career Services; Ken Erdey, instructor and technical coordinator for broadcast operations in the Department of Journalism; and Mike Yao, professor in the Sandage Department of Advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research. Cassie Arner, executive senior associate director of athletics, sport administration at Illinois Athletics, helped organize a workshop that focused on sports media.
Angie Leventis Lourgos (BS ’03, journalism), Dan Petrella (BS ’06, journalism; BA ’06, LAS; MS ’10, journalism), Marianne Mather (BS ’96, media studies), Bob McCoppin (BS ’85, journalism), and John J. Kim (BS ’97, advertising) were part of a team that produced the winning work, cited as “powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance.”
Kim previously won a Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for Local Reporting for his photography in multiple Chicago Sun-Times’ articles that documented violence in Chicago neighborhoods.
Chicago Tribune newsroom staff; not pictured is John J. Kim, who was out on assignment. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.)
Veteran producer and executive Stephen Feder’s (BS ’02, media studies) career ranges from working alongside both independent and major studios spanning television, film, and global franchises, with a recent move up to senior vice president of production at Disney Live Action.
Feder’s impressive career achievements, along with his continued engagement with the college, have earned him the 2026 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award.
“Stephen Feder has had an illustrative career and has been closely connected to the College of Media, from sharing advice with students at Media Career Night panels to inspiring graduates at our Media Convocation ceremony to participating as a film guest at Roger Ebert’s Film Festival,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “He is most deserving of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award.”
In his new role, Feder will bring his breadth of experience to Disney’s live action film slate.
“I really feel very lucky and very happy to be here. The mentality of Disney is to create experiences for audiences and ultimately to make them feel good when they go into a theater. Just knowing that I get to be a part of that culture is such a blessing, especially at this time in my life,” said Feder, who has a young son.
Feder has always appreciated film, theater, and the arts, even participating in the Illini Union Board musicals when he attended Illinois. But he realized early on his greatest contribution to the field was in supporting and understanding how the creative process works.
“I really have dedicated much of my life, whether it’s being a producer on a particular project or an executive who oversees a slate of projects, to really championing and creating an environment for the artist to succeed in,” he said.
Feder began his career in Chicago, after earning his master’s degree at the London School of Economics. His first job was working as a producer on the Jerry Springer Show, a popular 1990s tabloid-style, daytime talk show known for its altercations between guests. Despite the raucous environment, Feder said he learned about the power of telling a story.
I really have dedicated much of my life, whether it’s being a producer on a particular project or an executive who oversees a slate of projects, to really championing and creating an environment for the artist to succeed in.
Stephen Feder
Senior Vice President of Production at Disney Live Action
After a year, he moved on to Towers Productions in Chicago as a series producer on the NBC docu-comedy series Sports Action Team, which was a comedy show shot like a documentary, before he decided to try his luck in Los Angeles.
He got his break after connecting with actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on the making of Brüno, which became a pivotal moment in Feder’s career trajectory. The experience introduced him to people who became his network as he built his career.
“A lot of other opportunities led from that particular one, which is kind of how it works. Once you get going you start to build this network of people and advocates,” Feder said.
Feder has managed to excel on a variety of film projects with success across independent and large-scale motion picture companies.
Feder was a founding member of Annapurna Pictures, overseeing development and production on acclaimed projects like Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!, Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster, and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers.
From 2016 to 2019, he served as vice president of film development at Lucasfilm, managing production for films like Solo: A Star Wars Story. Following his post at Lucasfilm, Feder joined Rian Johnson’s T-Street Productions team, along with producer Kiri Hart, known for her work on the Star Wars franchise. Feder and Hart also launched a new production label Counterculture, producing projects like Rock Springs, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2026.
Feder was executive producer on Kumaré, which received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2011. Two years later, the film was shown at Ebertfest, which was a great honor for Feder who always admired Roger Ebert and recognized the impact Ebert had on his career.
“His love of movies permeated society, and his spirited way that he would talk about [movies], and the conviction of his opinions around movies is really what drove me to [realize] that a single story could spark such a debate. That alone opened my mind to how important that medium is,” he said.
Feder, who served as the alumni speaker at the college’s 2022 convocation, believes his education at the College of Media laid a foundation for him to understand the power of a story, whether that’s in the form of an ad, an article, or a film.
“I think there’s elements of ethics that you learn, like how you need to understand that the words that you’re putting out into the world matter, how they’re going to be interpreted. It’s not only understanding your audience but understanding the power behind the story that you’re telling,” he said.
“Film is a very powerful medium because it can reach so many people, if you’re so lucky.”
Karina Anglada (BS ’10, journalism; MS ’12, iSchool) has leveraged her broadcast journalism degree to tell compelling stories about iconic professional sports teams, earning nine Regional EMMY® Awards over a five-year period as a media producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors.
After transitioning from sports to the tech industry, Anglada now helps others shape their narratives as a senior strategic development manager for video at Adobe.
“I made the jump to the tech world and that’s been an incredible career opportunity for me,” she said. “Now I get to meet with customers across the globe who are using Adobe software to help tell their company’s and their brand’s stories.” Her portfolio includes customers across media and entertainment brands, news and sports broadcasting, and marketing, advertising, and content teams for corporate and enterprise organizations.
Anglada’s career trajectory, along with her dedication to the College of Media, led to her being named the 2026 College of Media Emerging Leader Award recipient.
“The College of Media is pleased to honor Karina Anglada as this year’s Emerging Leader Alumni Award winner,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Her eagerness to share her technical and creative knowledge, her award-winning career in sports media and digital media, and her engagement with Illinois overall make her an exemplary recipient.”
Anglada, who grew up in Chicago and now lives in Georgia, never expected to build a career in the tech industry. In hindsight, she recognizes how well her journalism education prepared her for the transition.
Working on a global team with colleagues across Australia, Europe, and Latin America, Anglada supports customers using Adobe Video, while also gathering feedback that helps shape new implementations and inform product strategy. She frequently presents at large events, showcasing the software’s capabilities.
Anglada likens her presentations to being “on-air” talent—requiring her to be engaging, understand audience needs, and translate complex ideas into clear, accessible language.
“I feel like I did that in my journalism classes. You take these stories that have a lot of information, and you condense them down into bite-sized pieces so that people can understand them,” she said. “Looking back, it’s like I was built for this [job] because I had so much of the foundation [already]. A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.”
A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.
Karina Anglada
Senior Strategic Development Manager for Video at Adobe
Anglada said her journalism classes, as well as her internship at Fighting Illini Productions, were a catalyst for her future in sports media. The hands-on experience allowed her to put into practice what she learned in the classroom, whether it was shooting, editing, directing, live video production, or post-production work, for a variety of Illinois sports including football, women’s basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my career kind of taking off,” she said.
Following graduation, Anglada worked as a producer and editor for the Detroit Pistons, and then at Auburn University where she worked as assistant director of video services.
In 2017, she moved to California to take a job as a producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors. Most of her job focused on post-production editing for video boards, social media, and documentary-style television shows that aired on the regional sports network.
One of her favorite projects—and one that garnered her a Regional EMMY® Award—was a video she helped produce featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Warriors’ former home city of Oakland, California, and a young African American girl who shares the same hometown. The video’s underlying theme centers around the widespread impact Harris had on Black female youth while making history as the 49th vice president of the U.S.
“To have that honor bestowed on our team, and to have my skill set and my craft of editing be recognized by my peers was an incredible, incredible thing,” she said.
As an alum, Anglada has stayed engaged with the College of Media, participating in alumni panels, serving as a keynote speaker at University of Illinois Web Conference in 2023, and mentoring Media students.
In addition to offering advice about the current industry, Anglada emphasizes the opportunities a journalism education can offer.
“There are the standard jobs, like on-air talent, producer, director, newsroom-type-focused careers. But there are so many other fields that you can go into with a journalism degree, and I’m a testament to that. I worked for three different sports organizations, and now I’m in tech,” she said.
Anglada speaks often at professional events about the use of AI in today’s media landscape and can appreciate both the power and challenges it presents.
See a selection of College of Media student-produced work created this spring, including broadcasts, documentaries, short films, advertising brand systems, and more.
Advertising
In ADV 498: The Sandage Project, students integrate the concepts, experiences, and skills that have been learned throughout the advertising curriculum with a service-learning project. See a project students created for Lincoln250, for the clients Lincoln Group of DC and the Abraham Lincoln Association, to expand the reach of Lincoln250.org.
In ADV 290: Advertising Design and Direction, students created a brand system for a fictional business and designed a 12-page annual report. See an example for White Lotus by Bella Chasen, junior in advertising.
UI7 Newsroom went live from the Orange Carpet for the 2026 Oskees on April 27 as Fighting Illini Athletics celebrated more than just performance on the field, but also highlighted the student-athletes behind the success. The team of UI7 reporters spoke with players and coaches to capture what this event truly means to the Illini community.
Watch a broadcast by UI7 Newsroom journalism students Nathan Gonzalez and Mary Piacente, featuring interviews with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Republican nominee Darren Bailey. This is the first time UI7 students have conducted an interview with a sitting governor, said Kenneth Erdey, journalism instructor and technical coordinator for Richmond Studio. They also spoke with the two nominees for Illinois comptroller.
Students in JOUR 440: Advanced Documentary Storytelling and Production produced segments to air on Illinois Public Media’s magazine show, Prairie Fire, premiering on May 21:
“The Space” – produced by Amelia Benson, Jonathan Mathew, and Tristan Starzec
“Live at the Mirror” – produced by Wilson Tripp Nichols, Adam Edwards, and Jude Panlilio
“Skeuwep” – produced by Ethan Ashley-Ferguson, Elissa Eaton, and Mike Rock
“Central Illinois Aikikai” – produced by Florence Lin, Paige Whiteside, and Sophia Alvarez
“Orange Krush Senior Night” – produced by Sam Yohnka, Brandon Hood, and Isaiah Adeleke
Watch the Illinois Student Film Festival, produced by students in MACS 366: Film Festivals, featuring work by students across the University of Illinois campus.
Watch the MACS Student Showcase, a faculty-curated selection of student work from media and cinema studies courses throughout the academic year. See program credits with timestamps.
April 29, 2026 | Giuliana Means, Communications Intern
Through the course “Globally Focused Advanced Documentary Filmmaking,” five journalism students and three advertising students explored the lives of female head porters, called kayayei, in a faculty-led trip to Accra, Ghana, over spring break.
“I know from my experience that traveling and working abroad, especially in Africa, can be an inflection point in one’s life and globally contextualize values,” said Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism, who has visited more than 55 countries throughout his career. “It was incredibly gratifying to be in a position to provide students this kind of opportunity.”
The course focuses on the labor of the kayayei, young women and girls—some barely in their teens—who migrate from Ghana’s rural north to the country’s urban centers, primarily Accra and Kumasi, in search of work. That work consists of carrying loads that can exceed their own body weight through the city’s sprawling markets, earning the equivalent of less than a dollar per load while exposing themselves to exploitation, musculoskeletal injury, chronic anxiety and depression, and other health and wellness risks.
Focusing on Accra’s Kantamanto used clothing market, the class is producing a documentary focusing on three narratives about kayayei who work there: a day in the life of Sahada Shehabu, a 22-year-old kayayoo; the risks of the work, described by Muhammad Salifu, founder and director of the Kayayei Youth Association; and the role the kayayei play within the market’s economy, explained by Edward Atobrah, deputy general secretary of the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association.
You’re dealing with something that has a real impact, and you’re seeing change happen and immersing yourself in a community that you may not have had an opportunity to [otherwise visit].
Tomi Dugbo
Senior in Advertising
The journalism students will also create a 360º-immersive video, photo essays, an audio segment, and social-media friendly short vertical videos. They are sharing their initial work at the campus Undergraduate Research Symposium on Thursday, April 30, in a poster presentation titled “They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei.”
Kaitlyn Devitt, a senior in journalism who worked primarily on the documentary film and 360º-immersive video, says the team worked an average of six hours a day over seven shooting days in three locations.
Devitt wants to pursue international journalism after she graduates, especially after this project, because of how rewarding it was.
“This project was perfect to get my feet wet,” Devitt said. “The topic itself was interesting because these women are my age, and who’s to say this couldn’t be me if I hadn’t had the privilege of growing up in America?”
During the trip, the advertising students worked with the Kayayei Youth Association to amplify their mission. They also communicated the journalism students’ reporting processes on social media and documented their experience through a blog site.
“This experience taught me the importance of collaboration where you’re not only working with advertising students, but journalism students,” said Tomi Dugbo, a senior in advertising. “You’re dealing with something that has a real impact, and you’re seeing change happen and immersing yourself in a community that you may not have had an opportunity to [otherwise visit].”
Advertising students also spent time visiting global ad agencies, such as Innova DDB and Ogilvy Africa Ghana, to analyze cross-cultural campaign approaches. They also plan to develop strategic communications campaigns for partner NGOs.
For all the students, it was their first time producing journalism and strategic communications in a foreign country.
“Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good,” advised Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer of advertising. “There’s always time to refine, edit, and evolve it, but you can’t let the perfect shot stand in the way of getting the work done.”
With only a week to conduct interviews, collect footage, and produce the strategic communications deliverables, the team persevered in an environment that demanded that they adapt quickly.
Adelyn Mui, a senior in journalism, dove headfirst into the project to capture an authentic representation of the women’s stories and overcome the challenges of not having the connections she does when reporting on campus.
“Doing global journalism taught me a lot about journalism in general because those same skills I learned in Ghana, I can apply here locally on campus; they were just amplified since I was in a different country,” Mui said.
Students from Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and the University of Media, Arts and Communication in Ghana were partners in the project under the umbrella of the Illinois Partnership for African Women’s Health Narratives, spearheaded by Ledford. It is a continuation of his 2023 collaboration with Dr. Francis Sowa, Dean of Faculty of Communication, Media and Information Studies at Fourah Bay College, and new collaborator, Dr. Stephen Tindi, a lecturer at University of Media, Arts and Communication in Accra.
Alison Davis, senior lecturer of journalism, said the Illinois students naturally fell into the role of technological mentors for their West African peers.
“Students from the other countries were able to pick up our equipment and run with it; that’s the collaboration I like to see,” Davis said. “People are not that much different. You get a group of college students together, and they’re all similar. I love that.”
Next year, Ledford hopes to continue the story with reporting in Ghana’s Northern Region, examining how climate change may be accelerating the “push” of young women from Ghana’s rural and relatively poor north to work as kayayei in the country’s more developed south.
Major funding was provided by the University of Illinois through the BRIDGE Program, Vision 2030 Global Strategy Implementation Grant, Campus Research Board, Illinois Global Institute, Department of Journalism, the College of Media, and the Karin and Folke Dovring Endowment Fund, with additional support from Lisle International and Sony Electronics.
Photos by and courtesy of Charles “Stretch” Ledford and Marisa Peacock.
Illinois Public Media won four Crystal Mic Awards from the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.
Photo: Courtesy of Illinois News Broadcast Association
Radio and television stations from across Illinois entered the contest. Winners were tiered by whether the station is in a small or large market. The judges considered material produced between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
Illinois Public Media is a not-for-profit public media service of the College of Media; IPM is the NPR and PBS member stations licensed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The station was honored with the following:
INBA Crystal Mic Award:Best Small Market Radio Station
INBA Crystal Mic Award: Best Small Market Radio – Podcasting
INBA Crystal Mic Award: Best Small Market Radio – Breaking News
INBA Crystal Mic Award: Best Small Market Radio – Political Report
Best Small Market Radio – Podcasting
What We Brought is a limited series exploring the Asian American experience in Central Illinois. Through voices from seven Asian American communities, it shares powerful stories of identity, resilience, and the things carried between countries—be it food, memories, language, or the weight of the past. It was reported and produced by Nidhi Shastri with assistance and editing by Kulsoom Khan, Arielle Raveney, and Arjun Thakkar.
Best Small Market Radio – Breaking News
On October 30, 2024, Illinois Public Media journalist Jim Meadows and meteorologist Andrew Pritchard broke into programming on WILL-AM 580 and WILL-FM 90.9 to report on a fast-moving fire on dried-out farmland in eastern Champaign County. The intense flames and massive smoke decreased visibility, closing Interstate 74 for hours.
Best Small Market Radio – Political Report
In the spring of 2025, 11 people competed in the election to fill five open seats on the Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education. Education reporter Emily Hays created an innovative way to explain the candidates’ positions to the public. She asked the members to answer a questionnaire. In addition to on-air reporting, she created an interactive digital story. Users hovered above the board members’ faces as their quotes about particular issues popped up on the screen.
Best Small Market Radio Station
This entry represents a compilation of spot news, features from an in-depth series before the start of the second Trump administration, and excerpts from our new podcast focused on weather and climate as well as our statewide talk show that aired on six NPR member stations at the time. We also included a feature produced with the Illinois Student Newsroom, which is a unique partnership with the Department of Journalism in the College of Media at the University of Illinois. At least 10 students each semester help us with local reporting, including spots and features. Veteran public radio editor Christine Herman edits them.
Students from all majors in the College of Media will participate in the annual University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Week, held April 26-May 2.
Update June 2, 2026: The team of journalism students who presented “They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei” received an Outstanding Poster Presentation Award.
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At the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the signature event held on Thursday, April 30, at the Illini Union, students across campus will present their research.
Below is a list of Media student presentations as well as acknowledgements of Media graduate students and faculty who have mentored students presenting at Undergraduate Research Week.
Queering the Dorm: Tracing Allen Hall’s LGBTQ History Through Oral History Jenny Lin, Senior, Journalism (Research Mentor: Siobhan Somerville, Gender & Women’s Studies)
Analyzing Intersectional Discrimination
Film Study on How 1990s Western-centric Narratives Impact the Representation of Chinese Characters Yidan Hu, Sophomore, Media & Cinema Studies (Research Mentor: Carrie Wilson-Brown, Media & Cinema Studies and Advertising)
Poster Presentations
Social Science & Human Behavior
An Analysis of Marketing Strategies and Best Practices in Agritourism Businesses Hailey Kotowski, Senior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Renata Endres, Recreation, Sport & Tourism)
Learning & Human Development
From Screen to Shopping Cart: Consumer Responses to “As-Seen-In” Shoppable Ads in Streaming Television Abby Wilson, Junior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Michelle Nelson, Advertising)
BTW 250 Ideas Expo
Identifying a Refined Mission for the Union Courtyard Café Katie Fedorski, Sophomore, Undeclared, EXP George Lefebvre, Sophomore, Environmental Social Sciences, ACES Case Rosenfeld, Freshman, Business Undeclared, BUS Ally Szarek, Sophomore, Advertising
Effect of Lithium Salt Concentration on Ion Motion in PEO-Based Polymer Electrolytes
Yueming Gong, Sophomore, Media & Cinema Studies (Research Mentors: Varun Nelavoy, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering & Christy Landes, Chemistry)
Data & Information
An EEG-Based Computational Pipeline for Affective Measurement of Consumer Sentiment Alexia Rendon, Senior, Computer Science + Advertising Ocean Ng, Sophomore, Computer Science, ENG Aditi Cherukuri, Sophomore, Brain & Cognitive Science, LAS Zaynab Ahmad, Junior, Neuroscience, LAS Bilal Arif, Freshman, Computer Science, ENG (Research Mentor: Marisa Peacock, Advertising)
Nature, Life & Environment
Genetic Disorders in Domestic Cats: Inheritance Patterns and Ethical Breeding Implications Ziyi Wang, Sophomore, Advertising Taoran LI, Freshman, Comparative & World Literature, LAS (Research Mentor: Alicia Schneider, Animal Sciences)
Social Issues & Policy
They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei—Outstanding Poster Presentation Award Adelyn Mui, Senior, Journalism Prayse Odomes, Senior, Journalism Samuel Rink, Junior, Journalism Samuel Yohnka, Junior, Journalism Kaitlyn Devitt, Senior, Journalism (Research Mentors: Alison Davis, Journalism & Charles “Stretch” Ledford, Journalism)
Social Science & Human Behavior
Algorithmic Temporality and Parasocial Connection in Influencers Cody Drake, Junior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Veranika Paltaratskaya, Institute of Communications Research)
Food Systems
Bridging Research and Public Understanding: Inclusive Digital Engagement for Agrifood and Climate Data Ektarit Nophaket, Sophomore, Computer Science + Advertising Christina Chen, Senior, Advertising Zhuoyi Wu, Senior, Advertising (Research Mentor: Marisa Peacock, Advertising)
Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program 2026 Cohort
The Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program offers undergrads with little or no research experience the opportunity to work with graduate students and post-doctoral scholars on their research projects, explore the culture and process of research, and build on their existing abilities within a community of scholars. Running each Spring semester, the program consists of a one-on-one research experience with their research mentor, and the Introduction to Research course, designed to complement the research mentoring experience, orienting undergraduate mentees to broader topics in the research process.
Creating an Inclusive IT Learning Space: Understanding Media Literacy and Technology Access for Retired Older Adults Maaike Niekerk, Senior, English, LAS (Research Mentor: Stephanie Craft, Journalism)
The Impermanence Problem: Building Durable Student Advocacy at the University of Illinois Hunter Farnham, Senior, CS + Economics, LAS (Research Mentor: Matthew Ehrlich, Journalism)
Social Science & Human Behavior | 3:45 – 5:00 PM, Ballroom (2nd Floor)
Mindless Scrolling, Cognitive Control, and Psychological Well-Being: Correlational Evidence from a Stroop-Based Study Pushti Vora, Senior, Brain & Cognitive Science, LAS (Research Mentor: Kevin Wise, Advertising)
