Alcorn’s Mass Communications Department held its annual Media Day on Tuesday, March 28th in the Dr. Clinton Bristow Jr. Dining Facilities’ Gold Room from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
As the theme of this year’s media day was “Working Locally, Thinking Globally,” a number of panelists were present to assist in speaking on the theme. A few guest panelists who were brought in to speak were Dr. George Daniels, Broadcast Education Association’s Inaugural Faculty Fellow of Diversity and Inclusion, Malcolm Innis, Owner of WTYJ and WMIS radio stations in Natchez, Mississippi, Keith Honoree, News Operation Manager of WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi, Stephen Crews, Talent Acquisition Specialist at Gray Television, Pat Peterson, News Director at WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi, A.C. Barker, Weekend Morning Anchor and Producer at WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi, Danielle Oropeza, Morning News Anchor at WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi and Amanda Fontaine, Mississippi Association of Broadcasters.
With Mass Communications students flooding into the Gold Room, the program began with a welcome by Senior Mass Communications major MeKiyla Brown, and greeting from Dr. Anne-Marie Obilade, Department Chair of English, Languages and Mass Communications.
Over the years the Media Day program has been hosted in an effort to show Mass Communications students opportunities in the real world. Successful people in the field are often brought in to speak with the students and offer some insightful and supportive words. This year’s Keynote Speaker was Ray Coleman Jr., Director of Communications at Mississippi Veterans Affairs. He spoke on how important it is to make opportunities for yourself. His message, as told to the audience of students, was to stay vigilant and prepared at all times. He informed them to keep in contact with the panelists and have them, who combined have a plethora of experience, to look over their material (news stories, reels, etc.) and let them critique it so that they can get better.
“Believe in yourself, first and foremost. If no one believes in you or your goals you make certain that you believe in yourself. That way you will always have that drive to succeed,” stated Coleman, Jr.
“Being that this was my first Media Day I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. I learned an enormous amount of information from the panelists which will remain with me for a lifetime,” stated Quashondra Addison, a Freshman Mass Communications major from McComb, Mississippi.
Special recognition was given to the guest panelists after a number of questions presented by the students were answered and later in the program four students were inducted into Lambda Pi Eta which is the National Communication Association’s Official Honor Society within Mass Communications. Those students were Charlie Bal, Dejah Harris, Christeanna Story-Davis and Joy Thornton.