November 6, 2025 Carlye Wisel (BS ’09, journalism) was a lifestyle reporter interviewing famous musicians and celebrities like Mick Jagger and Kim Kardashian before a bachelorette trip to Disney World changed her career trajectory. Now, as a freelance journalist covering Disney and Universal theme parks, Wisel has contributed to magazines like Travel + Leisure, Glamour, […]
September 29, 2025 Jason Kim (BS ’13, media and cinema studies) is a director of photography and editor at Omnicom Studios in New York as well as director and executive producer of his own production company, House Productions LLC. Kim has earned numerous awards for his film work including a 2018 Telly Award for “General […]
August 14, 2025 Annie Crawley (BS ’90, journalism) was one of two recipients to win the University of Illinois Alumni Association’s 2025 Illini Comeback Award. Crawley, a.k.a. “Ocean Annie,” is a pioneering underwater filmmaker, environmental photojournalist, author, and ocean advocate whose career spans more than three decades. She has become a driving force for […]
July 16, 2025 Sean Evans (BS ’08, journalism) was featured in the inaugural TIME100 Creators list: The Most Influential Digital Voices of 2025. Evans is the host of the Emmy Award-nominated Hot Ones, the YouTube series launched in 2015 in which celebrities are interviewed while eating progressively spicy chicken wings. The show, which is most known for […]
June 5, 2025 Will Leitch (BS ’98, journalism), author, sportswriter, contributing editor for New York magazine, and podcast co-host, will serve as an executive producer of the movie adaptation of his latest novel Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride. Lionsgate purchased the rights to the novel, published by Harper in May, which focuses on Lloyd McNeil, a beat cop in […]
May 21, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood For his outstanding career accomplishments and generous monetary support of advertising students, Murray Kalis (BS ’61) was recognized by the College of Media with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. Kalis, whose work has taken him across the world and back, heading his own agency, and serving as chair of […]
May 21, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood Stephanie Lulay’s (BS ’08, journalism) start-up venture, Block Club Chicago—whose mission is to deliver reliable, nonpartisan, and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods—has become a news staple for readers throughout the city since its founding in 2018. Lulay serves as executive editor and co-founder of the award-winning newsroom, which […]
April 11, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood Netflix director Emma Miller (BS ’08, media studies) says returning to campus to speak at the 2025 College of Media Convocation ceremony feels like a full-circle moment for her. As a Media student at Illinois, she remembers renting DVDs through Netflix’s mail subscription service for her film classes. “I […]
March 19, 2025 Helen Katz (MS ’86, advertising; PhD ’88, ICR), EVP of Research at Publicis Media, has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Erwin Ephron Demystification Award. This lifetime achievement award honors industry leaders who are exceptional communicators and excel in making complex subjects accessible, embodying the spirit of legendary advertising research guru Erwin Ephron. […]
March 19, 2025 Armando Sanchez-Monsivais (BS ’19, advertising), integrated marketing manager at Discord, received the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Rising Star Award for 2025. The Most Promising Rising Star Award recognizes alumni who have made notable contributions to the advertising industry within five to eight years of graduating from the Most Promising program. This accolade […]