Tag: Award

Yan Jin named Kitty O. Locker Outstanding Researcher Award Recipient

Posted on by Dayne Young

Yan Jin, assistant department head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, has been named the recipient of the Kitty O. Locker Outstanding Researcher Award, presented at the annual international Association for Business Communication (ABC) conference October 25, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan.

Jin is also associate director of the Center for Health & Risk Communication, Athletic Association Professor and professor of public relations at Grady College.

“As a public relations scholar, I am honored to receive this international research award in business communication,” said Jin. “It is a rewarding experience to contribute to such a richly interdisciplinary field and the collective commitment to advancing business communication research, education and practice.”

The award, sponsored by McGraw-Hill Education, honors and promotes excellence in business communication research.

“Dr. Jin is richly deserving of this international research award,” said Bryan Reber, department head of Advertising and Public Relations. “She is a leader in the field of public relations research generally and of crisis communication research specifically.  I feel fortunate to have her as a colleague and our students are fortunate to have her as a teacher, mentor and role model.”

Jin’s work serves as a framework for crisis and risk communication in a rapidly evolving media landscape and amidst emotionally charged conflict situations, ranging from organizational crises to disasters and public health emergencies. Jin’s research program in crisis communication, conflict management, and health risk communication contribute to the advancement of strategic communication theory and provide insights for public relations practice.

Jin has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 20 book chapters.  She is the co-editor of the scholarly book Social Media and Crisis Communication. She has presented over 100 refereed papers at leading domestic and international conferences. Jin was named a Top 2 “Most Productive Scholar” in crisis communication research, according to a 2014 refereed article in International Journal of Strategic Communication. She was recently named a Top 27 “Most Cited Public Relations Author” according to a 2019 refereed article in Journal of Public Relations Research.

Jin teaches PR Research, PR Administration, PR Campaigns, AdPR Health, Crisis Communication and Mass Communication Theory. Her PR Campaigns class has collaborated with The Home Depot and eBay, while her AdPR Health class has worked on strategic health communication projects with Amgen and Publicis Health. She also served as faculty advisor for Grady PRSSA Chapter’s Bateman Team from 2016-2018.

Submissions open for 2018 Betty Gage Holland Award

Posted on by Stephanie Moreno

The award recognizes excellence in college journalism

The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is accepting submissions through June 1, 2018, for the Betty Gage Holland Award for excellence in college journalism.

The Holland Award recognizes campus journalists and their publications for distinguished service to honor and protect the integrity of public dialogue on America’s college campuses.

The annual award is co-sponsored by the James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership at Grady College and the Student Press Law Center headquartered in Washington, D.C. It honors the late Betty Gage Holland, long-time friend of journalism education at UGA.

An award of $1,000 is made to the winning journalist(s) and an additional $1,000 to the sponsoring news organization. The prize and winning entry are featured at the annual Management Seminar for College News Editors, which will be held July 22-27, 2018.

Of special importance to judges are news stories, institutional editorials, personal commentaries or columns that single out for public examination any act that results in distortion or pollution of the public discourse. Use of open records or “sunshine” laws is deemed particularly meritorious if the result shows the people’s business being done.

Nominations for the award may be made by or on behalf of any journalist(s) regularly enrolled in a university or college at the time of publication and also by or on behalf of any campus news organization-whether independent or university supported-that published the pertinent material.

Nominations for the 2017-18 academic year must be submitted no later than June 1, and should include an endorsement of no more than 300 words and three (3) links to all news stories and commentary submitted for consideration (or PDF duplicates, if not published online).

Send nominations and supporting materials Stephanie Moreno at s.moreno@uga.edu.

Previous winners and additional information may be found at www.grady.uga.edu/holland-award.

Grady doctoral student receives esteemed Inez Kaiser Award for health communication research

Posted on by Don McClain

Fourth-year doctoral student, Yen-I Lee was recently selected as one of three recipients of the prestigious Inez Kaiser Graduate Student of Color Award. This award is given by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in honor of Inez Kaiser, the first African-American woman to be a member of the Public Relations Society of America. Lee received the award for her research in strategic health communication.

The PRSA Foundation funds this award given by the AEJMC to encourage diversity within the field of public relations. Lee’s achievement is particularly exceptional as there was a large pool of applicants this year. Lee will be honored on Aug. 10 at the AEJMC Conference in Chicago.

Lee has conducted extensive research at Grady and been a part of many different research efforts, however she is especially keen on researching specific topics regarding health public relations, the strategic use of technology, and cultural psychology in health risk and crisis message design.

Her vast research on these subjects have included projects investigating cancer risk perception, advertising and health product brands on Facebook and scale development of health crisis information seeking and sharing. She also has designed and led several of her own research projects, one researching health-related Facebook content and another examining the effectiveness of flu vaccination PSAs.

Lee is an instructor at Grady College. She has taught as a lab instructor for the social media analytics class and will be teaching a public relations research class this upcoming fall.

Lee is honored to have received the award and says that it has encouraged her to continue in her research.

“I would like to thank Grady College for being supportive of students,” she said. “I also would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Yan Jin, and professors who support and guide me regarding my research interests, so I can continue to make quality contributions to the Grady College.”

For more about Lee’s research, visit http://grady.uga.edu/faculty/lee-yen-i/.

EMST students win national short-documentary competition

Posted on by Stephanie Moreno

A short documentary created by EMST students Trey Leonard (producer), Iva Dimitrova (director), Casey Hammons (cinematographer, music supervisor), and Allison Krausman (editor) has won First Place in a national competition.

They completed their film in Spring 2017 as part of the course requirements of EMST 5270, “Documentary Production,” taught by Melissa Jackson.

The filmmaking competition, Stories from the Line, is administered by Impact America in collaboration with the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The film crew will receive $10,000 in scholarship funds for their achievement.

Rickey’s Story from Stories from the Line on Vimeo.

The film portrays Athens, Ga. resident Rickey Morris. After getting sick, losing his long-term trucking job and falling into homelessness, today he’s taking care of his health and working to get back on his feet.

“I can’t be more proud of the crew and the course instructor,” said Dr. Jay Hamilton, Head of the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies. “It’s amazing how they created and produced a short documentary of this quality in the process of learning the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking.”

In addition to documenting how Morris is turning his life around, the student crew also overcame their own challenges in documentary filmmaking. Dimitrova commented on the need for “maintaining flexibility while shooting on location, and crafting a coherent and compelling story arc through the editing process.”

“These students honored their interview subject’s story ethically and journalistically,” said Jackson. “They learned valuable production and life lessons that they will carry into future careers as documentarians.”

Leonard agreed. Morris’s “resilience and determination to get back on his feet was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life, and solidified the kind of stories I want to tell moving forward as a filmmaker.”

Grady Sports Media student wins Associated Press Sports Editors Student Sports Journalism Contest

Posted on by Don McClain

For her powerful stories chronicling the lives of athletes after paralyzing injuries and the integration of Georgia football, among others, rising senior Emily Giambalvo has won the inaugural Associated Press Sports Editors Student Sports Journalism Contest.

“Emily Giambalvo will forever stand as the first winner of the APSE Student Sports Journalism Contest, which reflects well on her and on Grady College and its program,” said Tommy Deas, president of the Associated Press Sports Editors. “Emily’s work was judged against quality entries from various schools across the country and found to be the best. APSE is happy to have given her the platform to receive recognition for her work.”

Each contest entry, reviewed by a group of eight judges, consisted of a feature, breaking news, enterprise, multimedia or video and a wild-card entry. Giambalvo’s winning portfolio included:

One of the judges, Reid Laymance, deputy sports editor at the Houston Chronicle, noted two things that stood out to him about Emily’s work.

“The story on the first African-American players at Georgia was very impressive,” Laymance wrote in an email. “First, it was a good idea, although one that most likely had been done before. But the writing and the organization of the story made it feel very fresh, even [though] I knew their tale. Also, the variety of sources both past and present gave it excellent texture. And while I was judging it primarily on writing, the photos that Emily had of the key figures gave it an extra special touch.

“I also thought the multi-media presentation on recruiting in the state of Georgia was fun, informative and easy to look at. Something all of us need to do more of,” he added.

“It is satisfying to be able to quickly pause and feel proud of some of the stories I’ve written in the last year, but the award also motivates me to continue to challenge myself as a writer and get better.”

–Emily Giambalvo

Giambalvo, who is currently interning at The Seattle Times, will receive a plaque and be recognized at the 2017 APSE Summer Conference in New Orleans June 26-29.

“Winning this award was incredibly exciting, and I am honored to be included in that group of student journalists,” Giambalvo said. “It is satisfying to be able to quickly pause and feel proud of some of the stories I’ve written in the last year, but the award also motivates me to continue to challenge myself as a writer and get better. There have been many editors and professors who have invested time into helping me grow as a journalist, so I hope this is gratifying for them as well.”

One of those professors is Vicki Michaelis, John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism & Society at Grady College and director of the Grady Sports Media program.

“The Associated Press Sports Editors awards are the gold standard in sports journalism,” said Michaelis. “We’re extremely proud of Emily for winning this, competing against the best of the nation’s best. It’s especially fitting that she was recognized for a portfolio of her work, because she strives for excellence in all she does and continually raises the bar.”

The Grady Sports Media program and the guidance of Michaelis and Welch Suggs, associate director of the program, have been essential to her development, according to Giambalvo. But it was her introduction to The Red & Black, the independent student media organization serving the UGA and Athens communities, which sparked in her an initial passion for journalism.

“I have been working at The Red & Black since the first week of my freshman year, and before that, I had never been introduced to journalism. I’m fairly confident I had never even said the word ‘journalism’ until I came to UGA,” Giambalvo joked. “The Red & Black has turned that kid, one whose hands shook when she interviewed someone for the first time, into someone who is embracing the joys and challenges of being a sports writer. I am indebted to the editors who invested in me, and I am endlessly grateful for the talented, hard-working friends who push me to get better every day.”

Rebecca Burns, publisher and editorial adviser at The Red & Black, described Giambalvo as “a tenacious reporter and thoughtful wordsmith.”

“All of us at The Red & Black are so proud of her and so pleased that we published her impressive body of work. But Emily’s achievement extends far beyond individual awards,” Burns said. “As a sports editor at The Red & Black, she has influenced, coached and mentored dozens of her fellow students. The Red & Black has covered Georgia sports since our first issue in 1893, and Emily adds to a legacy of powerhouse sports coverage.”