journalism
![Zaria Johnson](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article_thumbnail/zaria2_0.jpg?VersionId=0Cb1zvhPC7m1u3CL9smV67uh9KFyei_I&h=4a7d1ed4&itok=GGcSoWdB)
![Emily Metzgar photo with Jargon overlay](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/academic-group/metzgar5_0.jpg?VersionId=_W1PToQKWiyHqpeoRcX33Alzn5SaYbwG&h=e16b5344&itok=cfLCOKte)
The argument for studying journalism has never been stronger. Just a quick glance at the news makes the case. We鈥檙e training students who will graduate equipped with strong writing skills 鈥 still the number one most important skill set according to all employers with whom I interact; technical skills to communicate using whatever equipment, software and tools are available; and the ethical decision-making skills necessary to function in a world where decisions are rarely cut and dry.
![Anna Huntsman interviews Cleveland Clinic ICU physicians](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/ahuntsman.jpg?VersionId=.LX.N1HrLOAx4OgJoJ5d2QXzse2ENENC&h=4a7d1ed4&itok=ozwKEYG1)
For recent journalism graduates, the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped their entry into the news industry. Young MDJ alumni have focused much of their professional careers on the pandemic, mostly with a Northeast Ohio angle 鈥 not just on case numbers or other statistics, but also on the effects on the economy, businesses and the healthcare industry.
![Jacquie Marino](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/jmarino-header.jpg?VersionId=uatPQWIu5D0WTB5.uXSwxCnQSmbybQfw&h=4a7d1ed4&itok=Mq4QJCuc)
![Two First Place Winners](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/Media%20and%20Movements_1.jpg?VersionId=ipGTeFpNw9HAfyKLeAHQlHL_BHJTwXAX&h=4a7d1ed4&itok=HHHv4jyQ)
![Photo of Steve Wright](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/SteveWrightWeb_0.jpg?VersionId=EjGFAoTREWy8.XKre6dBs05xvj4GNnIU&h=e6f36a9c&itok=Ww8dm7G5)
When I walked into Taylor Hall as an 18-year-old freshman in 1983, I had no idea that the foundation for my professional and personal life would take place there.
While earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Journalism in 1987, I was a section editor at the Daily 抖M女仆r 鈥 in a newsroom packed with future journalism giants whose achievements are too numerous to mention.
![Photo of student taking photo](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/page/Nicole_alone_2.jpg?VersionId=HxbunyshGu__FCsgvoYOD6HizeXkozbU&h=e6f36a9c&itok=aLlrs56Q)
The School of Media and Journalism organized a project called the Collaborative NewsLab to provide students with real world work experience, while newsrooms, hit with unprecedented financial challenges, were resorting to layoffs and furloughs early in the pandemic.
![Collage of students working](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/Media%20and%20Movements_0.jpg?VersionId=4bgZrND1qWLG.sTRXah.kCvpcz5xMumQ&h=e6f36a9c&itok=XOkwkX0b)
The CCI course Media and Movements explores social movements of our time through storytelling, strategy and advocacy. Fall 2021's seminar, themed 鈥淏uilding a Better World,鈥 required students to select a specific human rights or human dignity issue that impacts their 抖M女仆 peers and reimagine a better future based on research.
![Jeff Johnson headshot. Text reads: Jeff Johnson, 09, Alumni Spotlight, Senior Producer, MSNBC](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/Jeff-JohnsonWeb.png?VersionId=j1ekwSHw.fAehT6O0NC9BHKAc9Y9Qa2i&h=e6f36a9c&itok=xTdaInAY)
![Visiting Journalist in front of Franklin Hall](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/ruslanas%20toned-web.jpg?VersionId=Pe5eM2vJqydUY9.DDlIbAhOXgGn59tBL&h=ec98a0f6&itok=48wwuczO)
Since the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s, Russia has launched several misinformation campaigns to regain lost satellite countries, specifically in the Baltic regions. Journalists such as Ruslanas 滨谤啪颈办别惫颈膷颈耻蝉 stand at the front to combat these campaigns to preserve democracy and his country鈥檚 independence.
He recently visited 抖M女仆's School of Media and Journalism.