SMC’s Raelee Toye interns with KATV
Updated 10.16.2009
The 2009 School of Mass Communication (SMC) High School Symposium takes place on September 24, 2009 on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) campus. The event is sponsored by the Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) and the School of Mass Communication at UALR. Activities at the symposium include the following:
The ABCs of News Reporting: Kelly Kissel, DSC A
Facts on Freedom: Where Do Student Press Rights Start and Stop?:Jennifer Garner, DSC C
Yearbooks That Wow!:Allen Loibner, DSC D
So, You Think You Need a Web Site?:Lance Turner, Stabler 702
Roll Tape! TV News Production:Dale Zacher and David Weekley, SH 707 (TV Studio)
Column Writing Tips from the Mahatma:Frank Fellone, DSC A
Putting the U in CommUnity JoUrnalism:Malcolm Glover, DSC C
Blogging and Social Networking: Amy O. Barnes, DSC D
So, You Have a Web Site, Now What?:Lance Turner, Stabler 702
Roll Tape! TV News Production: Dale Zacher and David Weekley, SH 707 (TV Studio)
Editors Supersession:Taylor Bradley, Forum executive editor, DSC 201J
Advisers Roundtable:Stabler 705K
Click here for a pdf copy of the program
Little Rock D.J. Tre’ Day hosted his 6th Annual Celebrity Bowling Bash funding scholarships for students majoring in Mass Communication at UALR. In attendance were professional football and basketball players as well area media celebrities. In this UTV Short, Tre’Day explains why the scholarship project is so important.
Ruben Evans won 3rd place with his documentary “Self Segregation” at the 2nd Annual Magnolia Student Video Festival. There were 81 entrants. Rudy Aldor and Ashley Mathis worked together with Ruben on the documentary.
Wally Tucker passed-away on Friday, March 6.2009.
Wally was a great friend to the School of Mass Communication.
He was a lecturer for the Media Management and Media Sales
classes for years, and was a member and former chair of the School’s Professional Advisory Committee. He was the winner of the College of Professional Studies’ Community Faculty Member of the Year award in 2005, and a past winner of the School of Mass Communication Meritorious Service Award.
He was also a past president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Wally was always ready to help wherever and whenever he could. His legacy will live on, not only through his children and
grandchildren, but also through all of the students whose lives he touched here in the School of Mass Communication.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Peg, and his sister, children, and grandchildren.
Spirit is an Alum of SMC. Her play One Ninth is “a powerful exploration of human dignity and racial conflict as seen through the eyes of teenagers,” it is about the playwright’s mother, Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of The Little Rock Nine of 1957. Full Story
Power 92 DJ and UALR alumnus Tré Day celebrated 10 years on the air by broadcasting live from the Donaghey Student Center on Oct. 26.During the celebration, then Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey presented a proclamation declaring Oct. 26 as “Tré Day in the Rock.”
“Students, you take the day off,” he joked on air.
Tré said his Air Force-family childhood inspired him to become a DJ.
“One thing about the Air Force life is you travel too much,” he said. “The one constant thing for me was always listening to the radio; I fell in love with it.”
His father knew Power 92’s Broadway Joe and got Tré a tour of the studio, which turned into an internship. He said his first time on the air was as a fill-in for another DJ.
“The guy who was supposed to be on had gone to the dentist and had some problems; I was brought on the air on the spot,” Tré said. “There was no time for me to be nervous.”
Tré began his degree in RTVF at UALR in 1996 and graduated in 2000. He said he understands how difficult it is for working students to go to school, as he was one.
“I worked as a lifeguard in the morning, school was from 8 a.m. to noon, and my internship was 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” he said.
Tré hosts an annual Celebrity Bowling Bash to benefit the UALR School of Mass Communication and sponsors a special scholarship for students. He said UALR offered him the opportunity to attend in spite of his obstacles, and he wants to give other students the same opportunity.
“I knew I couldn’t afford to go to college, so I worked hard in high school to get my GPA up to 3.0,” he said. “My counselor made me fill out every scholarship application, even the ones I didn’t qualify for. I applied [at UALR] and got a scholarship that had a requirement of 3.25, but they had one spot left over. I felt very fortunate. I wanted to make it possible to help other students who might need it.”
As part of his broadcast, Tré presented Dr. Jamie Byrne, director of the School of Mass Communication, with a check for the $4,000 raised at last year’s Bash. The funds will help build a “state-of-the-art audio production facility” for the department.
“We are grateful to you for setting an example of an alumnus giving back to his school and community,” Dr. Byrne said.
“It feels good to contribute back to something that gave so much to you,” he said.
The Bash is held the weekend of his birthday in July each year.
“The first year we had to really try to get people to come,” he said. “Now people are calling me and asking if they can come and bowl…even President Bill Clinton wanted an invitation. He had a scheduled event, and could not make it, but he sent an autographed bowling pin to be auctioned off.”
Tré feels that as a member of the radio medium, he has a social responsibility to promote positive things. But, he was a bit shocked at Mayor Dailey’s proclamation.
“That’s crazy,” he said. “There are probably plenty of others, other people more deserving. I’m just doing my job.”
Faculty Profile
Amy O.Barnes
After working 10 years at UALR as Executive Director of Public Relations, Amy O. Barnes has finished her first semester of teaching in the School of Mass Communication.
“It was great getting to pass along what I’ve learned to someone else,” said Barnes.
“There was a mental adjustment; there are different deadlines in teaching than in the industry. In the [public relations] industry there’s no time to think before you start the next project. There was no time to read up on the industry. In teaching I like the time to research; I like the time to think,” she said.
Barnes received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Arkansas Tech University and a Master of Arts in Journalism at UALR.
She also has a background in broadcast news, working at local Little Rock stations KATV Channel 7 and KARK Channel 4. She also worked in public relations at Arkansas Childrens’ Hospital.
Once a third-grader who got into trouble for writing stories in class instead of paying attention to the teacher, SMC student Jessica Renard is now an award-winning writer.
Renard won third place for scriptwriting-drama with her script titled “.edu” in the regional competition for the National Broadcasting Society in Dallas.
“I always viewed TV different than just watching for entertainment,” she said.
Renard has also performed in several UALR productions such as “Kindness,” “How I Learned to Drive,” and the “Chekov Project.”
When asked by her friends if she wants to be an actress as well, she tells them, “I’m not a fan of cockroaches,” implying that actors and actresses sometimes have to live in horrible conditions before they succeed.
“Not only does winning an award like this look fantastic on your resume and work to set you apart from the pack, but the critiques of your work that you receive from the judges in many competitions are valuable whether you win or not,” said Dr. Jamie Byrne.