Alumni News
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Advertising News
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… Read More
Journalism News
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… Read More
Journalism News
Nicole Anderson Cobb (MS '16, journalism) will co-present an interactive experience titled “unsettled: An African American Reflection on the Potawatomi Trail of Death,” to a sold-out audience on April 15 at the Allerton Park & Retreat Center in Monticello.
Theatre makers Nicole Anderson Cobb… Read More
Journalism News
The Illini Media Company will honor 10 inductees into the Illini Media Hall of Fame Class of 2023 during a ceremony on Saturday, April 29, in Chicago. Five of the inductees are journalism alumni from the College of Media. Illini Media, which oversees The Daily Illini student newspaper, WPGU 107.1… Read More
Journalism News
After a 24-year career at the Charlotte Observer, journalism alum Rogelio Aranda has become assistant news editor with the American Heart Association. He will continue to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In his new editorial role, Aranda will help to raise awareness around heart disease and… Read More
Journalism News
Update March 7, 2023:
Anderson Cobb facilitates workshop on her play about insurrection
Nicole Anderson Cobb (MS '16, journalism) recently facilitated a community workshop about her play Homegrown: An Insurrection Play, following a free screening at the First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana… Read More
Journalism News
Award-winning alumna Demetria Kalodimos (MS ’83, journalism) has released a nine-part true crime podcast about a 1975 cold case murder.
Carol’s Last Christmas examines the murder of Carol Rofstad at Illinois State University in 1975. The podcast, which was produced by Kalodimos’ company, Genuine… Read More
College News
Kevin Finke (BS '92, advertising) received a University of Illinois Alumni Association Comeback Award, given to prominent and accomplished alumni who are invited to participate in various activities during Homecoming Weekend, with a focus on providing opportunities for honorees to interact with… Read More
ICR News
Institute of Communications Research alumnus Klaus Krippendorff (PhD '67), one of the most prominent researchers and scholars in the field of communications, passed away in early October at the age of 90. Krippendorff was an emeritus professor of communication who had taught at the University of… Read More
Journalism News
Melissa Wagner (BS '18, journalism), a public relations senior at Zebra Technologies, was recently recognized as a "Rising Star" in PRNEWS' Top Women Awards program.
Some of her accomplishments at Zebra include launching the company's first-ever Global Week of Service during the pandemic, which… Read More
Journalism News
After 43 years as a journalist, Bill Hill (BS '75, journalism) teaches sports reporting to graduate students at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He previously served as assistant managing editor at MLB.com, directing coverage of 10 West… Read More
Journalism News
Sal Nudo (MS '16, journalism) has released a new book on Amazon in which he recounts his experiences in graduate school in journalism at the College of Media: Learning Journalism Where Writers Rise: Four Enlightening Years in Graduate School at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Nudo… Read More
College News
The Illini Media Company, which oversees The Daily Illini student newspaper, WPGU 107.1 FM radio station, and the Illio yearbook, inducted 20 people into its Class of 2022 Hall of Fame at a ceremony on April 9, 2022. Fourteen were College of Media alumni, including:
the late Nelson Algren (BS '… Read More
Journalism News
Charlie Meyerson (BS '77, MS '78, journalism), who creates ChicagoPublicSquare.com was named in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago edition for “Best free daily roundup in your inbox.”
“Square reflects all facets of Meyerson’s rich personality, his ear for news, his eye for finding interesting… Read More
Advertising News
Andrea Campos (BS '12, advertising) has teamed up with Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez for her debut picture book. Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure, which was co-authored by Fallon and Lopez, centers around a bilingual chicken, which was brought to life by Campos's illustrations. Con Pollo… Read More
Advertising News
College of Media master's and doctoral degree alumna Shizue Kishi (MS '79, advertising; PhD '83, ICR) received the 41st Shirakawa Shinobu Award from the Tokyo Advertising Association for distinguished contributions to the advertising industry.
Kishi is the first female honoree to win this award,… Read More
Advertising News
Advertising alum Patrick Burke (BS '95), executive creative director of the Chicago-based ad agency Highdive, has once again topped the charts with award-winning Super Bowl ads. His team created both the Rocket Mortgage commercial and the Lay's potato chip commercial, earning the #1 and #6 spots on… Read More
Journalism News
Sandy Murillo (BS '12, journalism) produces and hosts "The Disability Minute," a weekly segment that debuted on Chicago's WBBM Newsradio in August 2021.
"This is an exciting venture that helps us spread awareness about disabilities to an even wider audience," Murillo said. "Best of all, the… Read More
Journalism News
Sarah Min (BS '93, journalism) has been appointed by President Biden as one of the commissioners to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can… Read More
Journalism News
Alison Marcotte (BS '15, journalism) will have her first children's picture book, Seeking Best Friend, published on January 25, 2022, by Beaming Books.
"After graduating, I continued to pursue my passion for storytelling and started a career as a children's book author," Marcotte said. "The… Read More