A lunch & learn with Jane Singer

Jane Singer (ABJ ‘76) will visit Grady College as a scholar-in-residence for a lunch & learn on Oct. 11 at 12:30 p.m. in Studio 100. Singer is an alumna of The Red & Black and received the Grady College Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award in 2017. She was also involved with honor societies including Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Tau Alpha. 

In addition to her bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Georgia, Singer holds a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MA in liberal studies from New York University. 

She is a Professor Emerita of Journalism Innovation in the Department of Journalism at City, University of London, and winner of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Deutschmann Award for lifetime research contributions, which recognized a body of work spanning over 30 years. She is also a member of the International Communication Association.  

Her previous academic appointments have been at the University of Central Lancashire, the University of Iowa and Colorado State University. At the University of Central Lancashire, she worked with Johnston Press, one of Britain’s largest regional news publishers, to assist journalists in transitioning from the print to digital space.

In addition to her various reporting and editorial roles, Singer has authored or co-authored two books, around 60 competitive journal articles and 38 book chapters, along with various other works. She was the founding news manager of the Prodigy interactive service, one of America’s first online news services. 

Her research interest in journalism ethics, entrepreneurial journalism, evolving media and journalists’ responses to change will guide her lecture. With her experience with print and digital media, she hopes to explore how journalists can instigate change instead of playing catch-up after the fact. 

Following are some ideas on innovation from Singer. 

Singer states that innovation means change. 

“Media professionals have become reactive,” Singer said. “Each new technological change impacts newsrooms, and everyone has to adapt.” 

Similarly, news avoidance is growing. Journalists must be vigilant in maintaining trust with their audiences, such as by offering solutions-journalism for a more optimistic perspective. 

As conversations surrounding artificial intelligence circle, she acknowledges it as an “existential threat” by generating plausible journalist content at an incredible volume. Machine-generated info can be deliberately wrong, so accurate fact-checking and information gathering will be crucial. With that said, investigative and empathetic work will prevail. 

“The value of a journalist’s role will be in their humanity and providing context and understanding,” Singer said. “Go beyond reporting — seek humanistic exploration of issues that matter to people in their community to engage communities.”

Attendees can look forward to hearing about journalists’ response to change over time as well as how journalists can thrive economically given the constant changes in the media industry. 

All Grady College students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend this upcoming Lunch & Learn.