Profiles

Journalism Alumni
4/18/2021
Mike Vainisi (BS ’08, journalism) is head of original content at ATTN:. In Spring 2022, he was part of a Media Career Night alumni panel that discussed working in entertainment and Hollywood. (Watch the recording.)
How did you go about picking journalism as your major?
As someone who… Read More

Journalism Student
Get to know some of our College of Media students! Jackson Janes is a Class of 2023 journalism major. Jackson and his roommates Jack Joshi (aerospace engineering) and Adam Aaronson (computer science), co-wrote a crossword puzzle that was published in the New York Times on February 8, 2022. Jackson… Read More

Journalism Student
Get to know some of our College of Media students! JJ Kim is a Class of 2022 journalism major. He was editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini during the second semester of his sophomore year.
What excited you about majoring in journalism here at Illinois?
When I attended Mediapalooza, I got to meet… Read More

Journalism Student
Get to know some of our College of Media students! Emily Richie is a Class of 2025 journalism major.
What made you decide on majoring in journalism?
Journalism here at Illinois is an outstanding program and has amazing professors. When I got here, I was excited to get more hands-on experiences… Read More

Journalism Student
Q&A with Amanda Brennan, Journalism Student
President of Society of Professional Journalists
What makes the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) different from other RSOs?
We connect with alumni all the time, every meeting. That’s kind of my goal, to connect us with people in the field… Read More

Journalism Alumni
As part of Illini Days in Chicago, the College of Media invites you to attend a panel featuring University of Illinois alumnae working in media and a journalism faculty member, moderated by Niala Boodhoo, host of Illinois Public Media’s The 21st.“Women in Media” will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 13., 6… Read More

Journalism Faculty
Education
PhD in Communication, University of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 2011
MA in Communication, University of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 2010
AB in History (magna cum laude), Harvard University, 2004… Read More

Journalism Faculty
Leon DeCosta Dash, Jr., born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, grew up in Harlem and the Bronx. He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Political Science in 1968. Before graduating, he held an internship as a newsroom copy boy for The Washington Post in… Read More