McGill Fellows named for 2022

Twelve students have been named 2022 McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The class, selected by a faculty committee for their strengths in academics, practical experience and leadership, includes 11 journalism majors and one graduate student.

The 2022 McGill Fellows are:

  • Matthew Brown, journalism, Guyton, Georgia
  • Sydney Fordice, journalism, Franklin, Tennessee
  • Ashley Galanti, journalism, Duluth, Georgia
  • Reeves Jackson, journalism,  Milton, Georgia
  • Kyra Posey, graduate student,  Duluth, Georgia
  • Kathryn Skeean, journalism, Dacula, Georgia
  • Brieanna Smith, journalism, Colbert, Georgia
  • Delaney Tarr, journalism, Coral Springs, Florida
  • Palmer Thombs, journalism, Nashville, Tennessee
  • DonA Traylor-Askew, journalism, Barnesville, Georgia
  • Julia Walkup, journalism, Trinity, Florida
  • Janelle Ward, journalism, Milledgeville, Georgia

The McGill Fellows were responsible for researching nominees and selecting the recipient of the 2021 McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage, Omar Jimenez, who was announced last month.

The McGill Fellows will participate in the McGill Symposium on February 16, 2022, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. Jimenez will deliver the McGill Lecture and will accept the McGill Medal following the McGill Symposium.

This is the fifteenth class of McGill Fellows. The first class was selected in 2007.

The Grady College faculty selection committee consisted of Dodie Cantrell, Keith Herndon, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson, Vicki Michaelis and Diane Murray, who directs the McGill program for Journalistic Courage.

The McGill program for journalistic courage grew out of the McGill Lecture which for more than 40 years has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor.

McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

The McGill Program is funded in part by the McGill Lecture Endowment.

2018 McGill Fellows, Symposium participants named

The McGill program for journalistic courage is pleased to announce its 2018 McGill Fellows and symposium journalists and experts who will participate in a day-long exploration of courage in journalism.

The twelfth-annual McGill symposium will be presented by Grady College on Nov. 8, 2018.

Thirteen undergraduate journalism students have been named 2018 McGill Fellows. They were selected by a faculty committee “for their strength in academics, practical experience and leadership,” said Diane Murray, public service faculty and director of the McGill Program for Journalistic Courage, who chaired the committee.

The McGill Fellows are:

  • Kristen Adaway (Covington, Georgia)
  • Nicki Brown (Buford, Georgia)
  • Miranda Daniel (Woodland, Georgia)
  • John Durham (Alpharetta, Georgia)
  • Christina Matacotta (Marietta, Georgia)
  • Jed May (Colbert, Georgia)
  • Danny McArthur (McRae, Georgia)
  • Charlotte Norsworthy (Midway, Georgia)
  • Maddie Ray (Columbus, Georgia)
  • Casey Rose (Snellville, Georgia)
  • Erin Schilling (Peachtree City, Georgia)
  • Alex Soderstrom (Woodstock, Georgia)
  • Becca Wright (Savannah, Georgia)

The McGill Fellows will participate in the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists and experts to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors.

Professionals participating it the 2018 McGill Symposium including the following:

  • Ivan Maisel, senior writer, ESPN, will discuss “When reporting becomes personal.”
  • Alice Li and Whitney Shefte, video journalists with the Washington Post, will talk about their coverage of the Parkland, Florida, shooting, “When the Storytellers Become the Story.”
  • Max Blau (MFA ’18), a freelance journalist, leads the talk about his work covering the opioid crisis, “Telling the story of addiction.”
  • Marshall Shepherd, director of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Georgia, will discuss climate change and science deniers, “Defending science in an era of division.”

The day concludes with the McGill Lecture, featuring Marina Walker Guevera, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who serves as deputy director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Guevera will discuss “Trust, technology and teamwork can reveal a global truth.” The lecture is part of the University’s Signature Lecture Series and will be held at 4 p.m. in Studio 100 at Grady College.

While the McGill Lecture at 4 p.m. is open to the public, the symposium is reserved for Fellows and select classes of Grady College students.

Following the Symposium, the McGill Fellows will help select the recipient of the McGill Medal, awarded annually to a U.S. journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage. They will conclude their fellowship with a one-hour independent study on journalistic courage, to be taught by Murray in the spring.

Joining Murray on the selection committee were Grady faculty Keith Herndon, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson and Vicki Michaelis.

For 40 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help us honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor. McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

Established in 1978, this University of Georgia annual lecture series addresses major issues impacting the American press.

The McGill Symposium is funded by the McGill Lecture Endowment.

Journalism students named 2017 McGill Fellows

Twelve undergraduate and graduate students have been named McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

They were selected by a faculty committee “for their strength in academics, practical experience and leadership,” said Diane Murray, public service faculty and director of the McGill Program in Journalistic Courage, who chaired the committee.

The McGill Fellows are:

Sara Katherine Bowen (Tifton, Georgia) senior, journalism and finance

Kristin Bradshaw (Buford, Georgia) senior, journalism and international affairs

Mary Carol Butterfield (Greer, South Carolina) senior, journalism and political science

Lindsey Conway (Alpharetta, Georgia) senior, journalism

Emily Giambalvo (Easley, South Carolina) senior, management information systems, Grady Sports Media certificate

Zach Hansen (Cataula, Georgia) senior, journalism

Noelle Lashley (Cartersville, Georgia) senior, journalism

Saleen Martin (Norfolk, Virginia) graduate student, health and medical journalism

Nicolle Sartain (Lawrenceville, Georgia) senior, journalism

Maureen Sheeran (Atlanta) senior, journalism

Mollie Simon (North Druid Hills, Georgia) senior, journalism

Sammy Smith (West Point, Georgia) senior, journalism

The McGill Fellows will:

  • Participate in the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. The McGill Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. November 15, 2017, in the Peyton Anderson Forum at Grady College.
  • Later Wednesday, the McGill Fellows will attend and be introduced at the McGill Lecture, which will be presented by Souad Mekhennet, correspondent for The Washington Post’s national security desk and author of “I Was Told to Come Alone.” The lecture is part of the University’s Signature Lecture Series and will be held at 4 p.m. in Studio 100 at Grady College.
  • The McGill Fellows also will help select the ninth recipient of the McGill Medal, awarded annually to a U.S. journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage.
  • Finally, the McGill Fellows have first priority to enroll in a one-hour independent study on journalistic courage, to be taught by Murray in the spring.

This is the eleventh class of McGill Fellows. The first class was selected in 2007.

Joining Murray on the selection committee were Grady faculty Keith Herndon, Barry Hollander, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson and Vicki Michaelis.

For nearly 40 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help us honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor.

McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

Established in 1978, this University of Georgia annual lecture series addresses major issues impacting the American press.

The McGill Symposium is funded by the McGill Lecture Endowment.