DIGITAL JOURNALISM TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR
FACULTY OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES AND HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS
Digital Journalism Workshop participants. Photo credit: Pam Johnson
Digital Journalism Workshop at Western Kentucky University
Fourteen faculty members from Historically Black Colleges and Universities participated in the Digital Journalism Workshop at Western Kentucky University from July 13 to 20.
For the first time in the program’s five-year history, participants were trained in developing news applications.
The #DJNFappclass taught every aspect of the mobile newsroom including writing for mobile, shooting/editing
video and photos, interviewing skills, storyboarding, data visualization, and app development.
A participant in the workshop, Professor Phillip Leblanc of Louisiana Tech University said, “Print has taken the
backseat to digital media in terms of popularity. It’s important that students obtain the digital skill sets that it
takes to be a viable employee in today’s market. Knowing how to design, code and launch an app, website or
any other digital media is an invaluable tool.”
In addition to the goal of providing skill sets faculty can use in the classroom, other goals include (1) train more
than two digital journalists from one school so there can be cross-coaching; (2) develop a national network of
digital faculty from HBCUs and (3) encourage faculty to recruit students to apply to the DJNF Internship Program.
Director: Dr. Pam Johnson, professor, School of Journalism and Broadcasting, Western Kentucky University
Workshop attendees:
Carol Adams-Means, Huston-Tillotson University
Dr. Arthur Chang, Jackson State University
Lona Cobb, Winston-Salem University
Arnold Crump, Xavier University
Sunny Fridge, Jackson State University
Sharron Goodman-Hill, Rust College
William Jiles, Florida A&M University
Milton Kent, Morgan State University
Phillip LeBlanc, Louisiana Tech University
Kareem McMichael, Savannah State University
Austin Roberts, Florida A&M University
Melinda Shelton, Xavier University
Celeste Stein, Tennessee State University
Cassandra Wynn, Johnson C. Smith University