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IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURED STORIES Winning Ways 3 Faculty and students in the Mass Comm Department take top prizes and campus and state competitions. Visiting Lecture 5 Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Public Affairs visits Delaware State University to speak with students about possible job opportunities in the Department of State, Public Affairs Office. Highlights from the 10th Annual Mass Comm Day 7 Mass Comm Day brings together alumni, professionals and students to discuss the state of the mass media, careers and more. Dorian McDonald and Christian Perry bring you insight from the annual event. Dr. German travels to Hungary 8 Department Chair, Myna German travels to Hungary to learn about religion/ethnicity in media and the arts at Central European University (CEU). In the Right Place at the Right Time 9 Mass Comm students attend a PR Boot Camp and make connections with industry movers and shakers. ON THE COVER

Volume 5 April, 20113

Dr. Marcia Taylor has a passion for writing that is certain to take the Hornet Newspaper to new heights. Shes also passionate about helping Mass Comm students to make their mark on the world. (page 4)

NEWS AND INFORMATION Mass Comm Student Athlete Receives Academic Honors .... 8 Mass Comm Beauty Queen. 9 Lambda Pi Eta Inductions .. 11

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

WINNING WAYS
Accolades for the Mass Communications Message
The Delaware Press Association awarded the Mass Communications Message the 2013 award for Advisor/Student Publication of the Year. We were truly impress with the publication; its content and the fact that students do all of the writing and that you have a student editor, said Katherine Ward, Executive Director. Student Editor, Tomi Canty said I couldnt believe it. I was walking down the hall [in the ETV] and saw the announcement on Dr. Edwards board. Im just glad that I have the opportunity to do this. Canty some day hopes to work for a major magazine and is currently a writer for the Hornet Newpaper. Contributors to the December 2012 issues include Tomi Canty, Danielle Harvey, Felicia Houston, Shanice Justice, Precious Latimore, Desiree Murray, Nafis Nelson, Isis Overton, Danielle Williams, and Danasha Wise. Staff Writer

Eric Brown Wins 3rd Place in Campus Speech Tournament

Each year, the DSU College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Law Studies Program, and the Office of Student Affairs host a speech tournament. This years theme was African-American History or Civil Rights. Students presented threeminute speeches and were evaluated on deliver and content. Mass Communication majors Eric Brown and Donnice Peterson competed in this Eric Brown and 1st Place Winner Matt Jones years tournament. Eric presented a speech entitled H.B.C.U. and talked about the history of land grant institutions and their cultural significance. Eric placed third in the competition. Both he and Donnice said it was a great experience and they were inspired by their peers. Evena Adams

DSU Bateman Case Study Competition Team Received Honorable Mention

PRSSA Headquarters received 68 entries for the PRSSA 2013 Bateman Case Study Competition. Of these submissions, 16 entries received honorable mention and three were chosen as finalists to present their campaigns via Skype to a panel of judges in May. The DSU Team was one of the 16 honorable mentions in this years competition. This was an amazing opportunity for the PR students; engaging in actual PR research, planning and execution of a campaign. What better way to prepare yourself for the real world. said PRSSA advisor, Dr. Francine Edwards. Although this is a competition, the main purpose is to provide a learning opportunity, says Amy Ovsiew, Manager of Student Program for PRSSA. The team spent months working on an anti bullying campaign entitled The Bully Free Bus Zone. They created a public service announcement, conducted assemblies at schools and completed the research component of the competition. View their PSA at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWiXdxQmzVU
Staff Writer

The DSU Bateman Case Study Team Dr. Francine Edwards (faculty advisor), Michelle Rolsal (alternate), Ayanna Williams, Christian Perry (Alternate), Donnice Peterson (Team Lead), David Skocik (Professional Advisor), NOT PICTURED: Eric Brown and Nafis Nelson

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

DR. MARCIA TAYLORS RETURN TO DSU

Queen of the Hornet: Dr. Marcia Taylor
In life, we all posses characteristics that enable us to express ourselves; whether it be through song, fashion, or any other means of creativity. The way Dr. Taylor, visiting assistant professor and adviser of the Hornet Newspaper, expresses herself is through writing. Dr. Taylor initially became interested in writing when she was in the fourth grade. A medical publishing company came to her elementary school and asked the students, if they could do something to change the world, what would they do? Young Dr. Taylor had an excerpt taken from her essay and had it published. I was one of four who were selected from my school and was the only fourth grader, the others were fifth graders, she said excitedly. Dr. Taylor then went on to complete her undergraduate studies here at Delaware State University where she received her BA in English. Hungry to gain more knowledge, Dr. Taylor then completed her masters program at the University of South Carolina and lastly her doctorate at Wilmington University where she studied leadership and innovation. When Dr. Taylor came back to her alma mater to be a professor, her colleagues discovered that she was the former editor of the Hornet Newspaper when she was a student. She then decided to take on the role as the adviser for the paper. When putting together her team of writers, she explains that the writers just emerge, but she does look for creativity and experience in writing. Every writer has been placed on a probationary period where they dont get paid, because I need to see that they have proven themselves and are passionate about the paper, said Dr. Taylor. Being the adviser, Dr. Taylor has many plans for the Hornet, one being to move it online. Print newspapers are now accessible online, [if we do this as well] our studen ts can be more competitive, Dr. Taylor explains. She currently has students working on a model for the newspaper to appear online. When asked about her ultimate goal for her students, she said, I just want them to understand the importance of their education and to take it very seriously. In regard to her staff writers, she wants to push the standard and quality of the paper. I see our writers winning national awards because this group is just so talented, Dr. Taylor expressed. Throughout her many years of experience in writing, Dr. Taylors greatest accomplishment was the research she did for her dissertation on the March on Washington as well as her book offers. Though Dr. Taylor doesnt plan on retiring for a while, she says that she wants to give African Americans in PR their due because they havent been talked about in PR books, yet they have contributed so much. Dr. Taylor encourages aspiring writers to attend the Hornet Newspaper meetings held every Tuesday and Thursday during common hour on the third floor of the MLK.
Tomi Canty

Dr. Taylor, always focused on students

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

CAREER SERVICES VISITING LECTURE

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Public Affairs, Lectures in the School of Business and the Department of Mass Communications
On March 26, 2012 Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Public Affairs came to Delaware State University to speak with students about possible job opportunities in the Department of State, Public Affairs Office. Before joining the Department of State, Benton accrued more than twenty years of political and public affairs experience and expertise. Her job at The Bureau of Public Affairs carries out the Secretary's mandate to help Americans and our foreign audiences understand the foreign policy priorities of President Barack Obama and the Secretary of State. She leads the Departments strategic planning effort, including utilizing various assets within the State Department to connect with national and international media outlets. Benton talked about different endeavors and resources such as careerstate.gov where you can use interactive tools to explore your compatibility at it relates to various government jobs; learn about various career tracks within the Foreign Service; discover the roles played by the Foreign Service in world affairs; and see where you best fit in. One career path that she spoke highly of was becoming a Foreign Service Officer. This career path allows potential employees the option of travelling and engaging in different cultures. In the role of Foreign Services Officer, employees do public services oversee and learn a foreign language. She stated that if the students were passionate about public service and wants to represent the U.S. around the world this was an ideal career path. Senior, Michelle Rolsal stated that with my graduation approaching in May I liked the fact that she gave us an abundance of job opportunities that we could possibly explore once we graduate.
Donnice Peterson

Cheryl Benton was invited to spend the day at DSU as a part of Career Services effort to connect students with seasoned pro fessionals. Benton lectured to the PR Management and Campaigns Class and the Organizational Communications Class

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

Images from Mass Comm Day 2013

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

The State of the Mass Media: Opportunities and Challenges Persist

Mass Comm Day Brings Together Alumni, Professionals and students
Alumni, Celebrities and Students Come Together to Discuss the State of the Mass Media The 10th Annual Mass Communications Day Symposium On Thursday April 12th 2013, The Department of Mass Communications hosted its 10th Annual Mass Communications Day Symposium. This years theme The State of the Mass Media: Opportunities and Challenges Persist garnered a great deal of dialogue between the expert panelists, alumni, faculty and students. We chose this theme as a result of many of the challenges that popular journalists are facing in the field, said Dr. Marcia Taylor coordinator of this years symposium, Seasoned professionals are being demoted or not having their contracts renewed and its having a direct impact on minorities in the field. Dr. Taylor and the rest of the Mass Comm faculty worked together to bring professionals from television, radio, print journalism, public relations and film together for a day of workshops, a career fair and a student film festival. The day began with a guest lecture by feature film producer and production expert Ashley Benton Johnson. Johnson talked about his experience in the military and what lead him to Los Angeles where he started his film production career. The main thing I got from Mr. Johnson is that theres no way to get to the top without starting from the bottom and you have to know the history about the job, said TV/Radio/Film major Brian Juma. Johnson told students that you have to know where you want to go and never sell yourself short in the process of trying to get there. Christopher "Play" Martin was the celebrity guest for the afternoon session and talked about having passion for your career and being humble on your journey to success. After his panel discussion, Martin spent oneon-one time with students giving them helpful career advice. The afternoon session was complimented by a luncheon to honor student leaders in the department and 15 student were inducted into the Lambda Pi eta Honors Society. For the second year in a row Mrs. Ava Perrine coordinated the career fair. Companies included WDDE Radio, CSPAN, CNN, the News Journal and HBCU radio network. The afternoon was filled with workshops on everything from breaking into the film industry to careers in public relations and advertising, creating a professional demo reel and digital portfolios. "I didn't even know what a digital portfolio was until I went to the workshop with the alumni. Now I'm working on converting my paper portfolio in a digital one." said PR major Evena Adams. Each year Mass Comm Day grows and more students have the opportunity to connect with alumni and seasoned professionals in the mass communications industry. "For me the best part of Mass Comm Day is being able to interact with all of the alumni that come back. They really care about us and always have great career advice." said Mass Comm student Ngozi Best. Overall students walked away from Mass Comm Day better prepared for internships and job opportunities while others anticipate an even greater opportunity to engage with industry professionals at next years event.

Dorian McDonald & Christian Perry

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

CAREER WATCH
Mass Comm Chair, Dr. Myna German Travels to Hungary
Dr. Myna German, recently returned from Hungary, where she attended a symposium on topics related to her interest in Religion/Ethnicity in Media and the Arts at Central European University (CEU). Dr. German has a passion for studying the history of communication through art and literature. The second part of the conference was on the history of migration along the Danube, where Budapest is located, and the extent that artifacts reflect that migration pattern. Dr. German published a book last year with Dr. Nina Banerjee in Psychology on migration and communication. Dr. German also had the opportunity to learn more about life in a former Communist country while visiting CEU, which was a university that was started by American Financier George Soros, after the downfall of Communism. Part of CEUs mission is to study the transition of closed-societies (such as those which exists in Eastern Europe) that have now developed into more open, democratic nations. One of the talks at the conference was on Propaganda and Poetry. Under the Communist Regime, scholars always had to discern the difference between the party line and what was considered genuine art. As a result of freedom and more political equality, there is a creative and artistic fervor in the nation and genuine communication can thrive.
Evena Adams

Dr. Edwards: Tenured Professor, AEF Fellow and More

In 2007, Dr. Francine Edwards joined the DSU faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Mass Communications Department at Delaware State. After submitting an extensive portfolio of her teaching, service, and research, she was granted tenure in March 2013. So what does tenure mean? It means that as a professor you meet the research, teaching and other requirements of your respective university and are offered a permanent teaching position. For me, the most important part about this honor [and it is an honor] is that my contribution to scholarly research in my field and my teaching ability has been acknowledge as something beneficial to this university and the students that I interact with, said Dr. Edwards. Dr. Edwards will spend two weeks in New York as a part of the Advertising Educational Foundations (AEF) visiting professor program. The purpose of the two-week fellowship is to expose professors to the day-to-day operations of an advertising agency, marketing or media company; and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between academia and industry. The prestigious Deutsch Agency will serve as her host agency while in New York. Dr. Edwards will wrap up her summer by attending the first annual Untested Ideas Research Conference where she is the editor of the Communications research conference book, Empirical Communications Research: Letting the Data Speak for Themselves. Christian Perry

Morgan Woodruff named to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All Academic Team

Senior Mass Comm major Morgan Woodruff was recently named to the MidEastern Athletic Conference All Academic Team for the second year in a row. I take academics seriously and always find a way to balance sports and school work, says Woodruff. In additional to this honor, Morgan has the privilege of being the first DSU female athlete to graduate in three years. She is looking forward to a promising graduate career and has applied to the University of Miami.
Dr. German at lecture in Budapest

Staff Writer

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

IN THE NEWS...
In the Right Place at the Right Time
PR Majors Travel to NYC to Participate in a Public Relations Boot Camp
Being in the right place at the right time, was something that CEO and Founder of 135th Street Agency Shante Bacon said as she acknowledge the DSU students attending the PR Boot Camp hosted by the Black Public Relations Society, New York Chapter. When we arrived at the entertainment PR Boot Camp event, we noticed that many of those in attendance were freelance publicists or individuals interested in making a career transition to the field of public relations. It was a bit intimidating at first because these people had years of experience but when we introduced ourselves they were completely impressed with our savvy and hunger for knowledge. Everyone took immediate interest in us because we were the only college students on hand and the offers for internships and mentorship opportunities were overwhelming. We worked the room, getting contacts, networking and hearing first hand how competitive this business can be. This was such an amazing experience because we were able to engage with the panelists about entertainment public relations and marketing; something that each of us is extremely interested in pursing after graduation. During the panel discussion, Michelle Huff, Publicist and CEO of Huff Events and PR said, Going to the Grammys and Oscars is only ten percent of what a real publicist in entertainment does. As a great publicist you have to be a visionary. She was our favorite speaker because she was real and let us know the ins and outs of entertainment public relations. Shante Bacon, Tanya Hayre, Media Relations Specialist, and Simone Smalls, Founder and CEO of Simone Smalls Public Relations INC, also gave us great insight during the panelist discussion. The biggest take away from the event is that you have to stay current in order to make it in this business and that starting to hone your craft in college is the best way to chart a path to success. Christian Perry and Michelle Rolsal

Convergence Journalism Major Wears a Crown

Jamila Mustafa isnt an ordinary student. Shes a talented Mass Communications major, who has made her mark in the world of pageantry. On February 9 th 2013 she was crowned as Miss Middletown after competing in one of the preliminary pageants to the Miss Delaware State Pageant. I competed in the Miss Dover pageant and was 1st runner up. I was determined to walk away with a title and competed two more times before I was crowned. Towin a title is very humbling and means a lot to me. Jamila is excited about being a part of the Miss America program because it includes a community service element. My platform is Ready, Set, GoAwareness About Juvenile Diabetes. I hope to shed light on this growing health epidemic as well as raise money for the Childrens Miracle Network which is the charity that the Miss America organization supports. As Miss Middletown, Jamila was awarded an academic scholarship and hopes to represent Delaware in the nationally televised Miss America Pageant. Donnice Peterson
Jamila Mustafa, Miss Middletown 2013 will compete for the title of Miss Delaware in June 2013

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

GLOBAL STUDENTS MAKING THEIR MARK

Ronee Thompson Travels to Europe
I had the opportunity to spend part of the spring 2013 semester on a backpacking tour to Europe. I visited Switzerland, Austria, Lichtenstein, and Germany. During my stay in Europe I learned much of the history of the places visited. Within 10 days I experienced the Christmas town of Rothenburg known for its year round Christmas shops, as well as markplatz. The next stop on the tour was the bustling city of Munich and a visit to the first Nazi concentration camp Dachau. We also visited castles and palaces such as Nymphenburg palace, and Neuschwanstein castle which to my surprise had an abundance of beautiful hand painted artwork consisting of medieval figures in history, Jesus Christ and the 12 decibels, and most impressive black men and woman dripping with gold and other gems. I later found out that these figures included the moors and queens to some of the European kings. There were many other historical sites, monuments, and exhibitions visited such as the BMW museum, the Black Forest, Innsbruck, Heidelberg, and Lucerne Switzerland. Overall my experience was life changing and inspiring. I acquired a magnitude of knowledge and education pertaining to political, social, educational, and religious history.
Ronee Thompson

Images from Ronees 10 Day trip to Europe

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Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

LAMBDA PI ETA HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTIONS

Promoting High Academic and Leadership Standards in the Field of Communication
Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) is the National Communication Associations official honor society at four -year colleges and universities. As an accredited member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), Lambda Pi Eta has active chapters at four-year colleges and universities worldwide. Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) has over 400 active chapters at four-year colleges and universities worldwide. LPH was founded in 1985 at the University of Arkansas. It became a part of the National Communication Association in 1988 and the associations official honor society in July 1995. The DSU chapter has been actively involved in rewarding scholastic achievement in communication since its charter in 2009. I am looking forward to bringing a lot more professionals to campus to talk to students, says incoming president, Chelsea Reid. Its a part of the LPH mission to promote professional development and interaction between students and professionals and to create avenues for career or graduate school advancement. Fifteen students were honored at a luncheon as a part of the Mass Communications Day Symposium and inducted into the society.
Dr, Fran Edwards

2013 Inductees: (Standing) Kayla Morrison-Williams, Roland DeVries, Raymond Smith, Adrian Sutton, Chelsea Reid, Sean Walker, Zachary Exume, Dorian McDonald, Krystal Francis, Chabria Hill, (Seated) Jazmyn Duncan, Alexis Anderson, Sajel Mehra, Andrea Griffith, Scheniqua Earle

Mass Communications Message Volume 5 April, 20113

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A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Editors Message
Social networks seem to be the new wave for this generation, but they dont have to be primarily used for personal satisfaction. Many professors in the Department of Mass Communications encourages its students to use all of their resources to boost their career while in college. Having a personal account for social networks is fine, but also create an account to promote yourself in a professional manner. By doing this, students can build a brand for themselves and promote their talents. At the 10th Annual Mass Comm Day Symposium, many of the panelists talked about creating a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a social network that is geared towards people in professional occupations and allows them to network and find potential job opportunities. There are several career boosters, but one of the most popular ones is blogging. An active blog can create a cyber buzz for the individual and depending on the focus or purpose of the blog this can increase your marketability and also looks great on rsums. Also, if students have not participated in internships, now is the time to do so. Internships not only give you experience in your field, but they also create connections in the work force.

Tomi Canty Mass Communications Major Convergence Journalism

Not sure where to begin? Start with the Mass Communications Message. We encourage all students to get involved in the department, whether it be writing for the magazine or the Hornet Newspaper or working at the radio or TV station. These opportunities in the department allow students to enhance oral and written communication skills as well as develop creative ways to approach the delivery of news. Any student interested in writing for our upcoming issues can submit stories (and story ideas) to Tomi Canty at tccanty10@students.desu.edu. Sincerely,

Tomi Canty Student Editor

DO YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAGAZINE?

Student interested in writing for our upcoming issues can submit stories (and story ideas) to Tomi Canty, student editor at tccanty10@students.desu.edu or Dr. Fran Edwards, faculty advisor at fedwards@desu.edu.

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