The Month in Mayborn - April 2020

Greetings, Mayborn Family!

Projects, exams, final papers, coursework and team projects. Students at UNT's Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism have been working hard and accomplishing much, despite campus closure.

Now we're celebrating their successes. Care to join in the festivities? Visit www.journalism.unt.edu/graduates20 to see our faculty send-off video. Share your congratulatory comments with our class of new graduates at #MaybornGraduates20.

Mayborn Students Launch New PR Agency With Gen-Z Perspective

Selected senior Mayborn Public Relations students developed and launched a full-service public relations agency designed to bring a Gen-Z perspective to companies and organizations.

The agency was announced to the public during a digital launch event on April 29 that included students, family members, Mayborn alumni, PR practitioners and Mayborn faculty.

From understanding social media and popular culture to knowing what's "on-trend" and how to connect with Generation Z, the Mayborn's AGENZ PR can help clients with research, data, content and social media campaigns.

"AGENZ provides PR students an opportunity to apply our PR skills in a professional setting working with real clients," Carol Paiz, Mayborn senior and AGENZ brand manager, said. "In addition to forming the agency, we had the opportunity to learn from working PR mentors and design and implement campaigns that enable our clients to influence and engage Generation Z."

Natalya Yanis, AGENZ's research manager, said, "Our agency is at an advantage because we're backed by research done in-house by our very own research team. What we can bring to clients is something they can't get anywhere else by accessing the Gen-Z perspective."

If you're interested in becoming a client, check out the flyer. To follow AGENZ insights, follow the team on Twitter at @AGENZ_.

Mayborn Students Win Big in Student Competitions

Students at the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism performed well in Spring 2020 student competitions, earning big honors from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) and the Society of Professional Journalism Region 8 "Mark of Excellence" awards.

Congratulations to all for the hard work!

TIPA 2020 Award Winners:

SPJ Region 8 Mark of Excellence Awards:

Mayborn Family Celebrates Pulitzer Wins

The 2020 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced, and two members of the Mayborn family have been recognized.

Mayborn alumna Kalani Gordon (left) received a Pulitzer Finalist honor as part of a reporting team for the Baltimore Sun for "illuminating, impactful reporting on a lucrative, undisclosed financial relationship between the city's mayor and the public hospital system she helped to oversee." This is Kalani's second Pulitzer honor.

Mayborn Adjunct Professor Annette Nevins (right) also was named as a Pulitzer Finalist for her work as part of a Washington Post team reporting on a series of back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Nevins reported on the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

"I spent countless hours knocking on doors to help tell this very sad but important story of how societal influences and prejudices impacted the horrific actions of a young man from the Dallas suburbs," Nevins said. "I am grateful for the great sensitivity and perspective shown by the team of reporters and editors I worked with for this project, which I often share with my students as a teaching tool in the classroom."

Mayborn Announces Outstanding Students

Each year, the Mayborn School recognizes the outstanding student in each of its five academic tracks: Advertising, Broadcast & Digital, Digital & Print, Photojournalism and Public Relations. Congratulations to this year's winners!

Mayborn Broadcast Students Cover COVID-19

Check out the latest programming from Mayborn broadcast students on how COVID-19 is impacting the UNT community. A practicum team led by Abram Gallegos and Caroline Cluiss aggregated of content from Advanced Writing and Reporting for Broadcast and the Web courses.

Mayborn Endowed Chair Thorne Anderson Recognized by NPPA

Associate Professor Thorne Anderson, Mayborn Endowed Chair for Multimedia Storytelling, has received two top quarterly awards from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for individual videos produced as part of his ongoing "Incarceration in Texas" project. Anderson placed first in both the long and short video categories.

To check out his incredible work, visit:

First Place, Multimedia, Individual Long
https://competitions.nppa.org/quarterly-multimedia-contest/individual-long/2019-01-quarter-four/2019-01-quarter-four/53727/

First Place, Multimedia, Individual Short
https://competitions.nppa.org/quarterly-multimedia-contest/short/2019-01-quarter-four/2019-01-quarter-four/53724/

Public Affairs Writing Students Report on COVID-19 for the Denton Record-Chronicle

Students in Adjunct Professor Annette Nevins' public affairs reporting class are profiling people involved in local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the story above, journalists report on fellow Mayborn student Ryan Lochhead, who volunteers to sew protective masks for frontline workers.

The class produced an entire series over the course of the semester for the Record-Chronicle.

Read the full article

Ruchi Shewade, Mayborn Grad Student, Moves on to PhD Program

Congratulations to Ruchi Shewade, Mayborn graduate student, who has been accepted into the UNT interdisciplinary Information Science PhD program with a journalism concentration. Shewade's master's thesis was titled, "Transgender in India: A Semiotic Analysis and a Reception Analysis of Bollywood Movies."

Mayborn Advertising Students Win Top Honors with Ad Concept

For something really fun, check out this award-winning tv spot produced by students in Principal Lecturer Bill Ford's advertising creative class. The students won "Best in Category" from the National Student Show and Congress.

The Mayborn School of Journalism also was named "Best School" in the competition.

Can You Support Our Mayborn Students?

Mayborn students and programs need your support now more than ever. If you believe in the important work we do to train the next generation of journalists and storytellers, visit our giving page. Thank you!

Connect with the Mayborn. Follow our social media - and help us extend our reach to journalists, alums and supporters. Share your news and views with us on how we can continue to prepare the next generation of journalists.