Experience:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services in Columbus, Ohio, consultant-author-producer-trainer, 2016-2018. Partner in grant to write social media guidelines for covering suicide. Conducted workshops, developed curriculum and website to teach better reporting. Part of a collaborative effort with research team from Nationwide Children's Hospital on research to evaluate newspaper coverage of the suicide deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. 2019 . Published by JAMA Network Open. WOSU Public Media, consultant-scriptwriter-anchor-trainer. 2022. Partner in grant to develop training on best practices for writing the suicide story and self-care for journalists who cover trauma. This two-part training series was livestreamed and allowed for real-time audience participation .
Writer and editor, 2011 to current:
- The Commercial-Dispatch in Columbus, Mississippi, news editor, November 2011 to January 2012
- Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, assistant professor and adviser to the campus newspaper, 2007-2011
- Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, visiting assistant professor, 2004-2007
- Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, visiting assistant professor, 2002-2003
- The Register-Herald in Beckley, West Virginia, general assignment reporter, columnist, editorial writer and special projects director, 1993-2002
- WMTD Radio in Hinton, West Virginia, board operator and traffic manager, 1986-1988, 1989-1990
Education:
- Fellow, Reynolds Journalism Institute, Journalism and Trauma, Columbia, Missouri, 2015.
- Fellow, Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, Phoenix, Arizona, 2014
- Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, Master of Arts in journalism, 1993
- Concord College in Athens, West Virginia, Bachelor of Science in secondary education, 1987
Publications:
- Suicide Reporting Recommendations: Media as Partners in Suicide Prevention by American Association of Suicidology in 2018, co-author
- Underserved Communities and Digital Discourse: Getting Voices Heard by Lexington Books in October 2018. Co-author of Chapter 4: Community Crisis and Coverage: Coping With Newsroom Compassion Fatigue
- Still Captive? History, Law and the Teaching of High School Journalism by New Forums Press in March 2015. Wrote Chapter 7: Post-Hazelwood: The courts debate forum and legitimate educational concerns
- Mass Communication Law in West Virginia, 2nd Edition, by New Forums Press in July 2012, author
- Peek-A-Boo Kitty, by Publish America in November 2011, author
- Journalism Ethics: A Casebook of Professional Conduct for News Media, 4th Edition, by Marion Street Press in 2011, section editor and contributing writer
- Freelance work published by The Athens News, Farm Journal, Blue Ridge Country, WV Inc., Shepherdstown Chronicle, JAMA Network Open (Journal of the American Medical Association online) and Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists
Professional affiliation:
Society of Professional Journalists, 1991 to current: former member of Journalism Education, Ethics and Project Watchdog national committees; former adviser to Shepherd University chapter, current adviser to Ohio University chapter (named outstanding national campus chapter eight times); recipient of David L. Eshelman Outstanding Campus Adviser Award in 2015, recipient of Sigma Delta Chi medal in 2019 for Research in Journalism category
Research interests:
Media law, media ethics, journalism and trauma
Courses taught at OU:
Introduction to Mass Communication, Precision Language, Editing, Mass Media Writing Principles, Business Reporting, Documentary Journalism: Nonfiction Storytelling About the Environment, Journalism and Trauma, Advertising and Public Relations Writing, Multiplatform Reporting and Writing, Foreign Correspondence