At Kent State, journalism students learn how to cover real stories that make a difference. Whether using a camera, a microphone, a smartphone or a laptop, you’ll develop critical skills to tell stories in all forms. Students graduate prepared to continue as journalists or apply these skills to other professions that value critical thinking, information gathering and the ability to make sense of it for others.
Journalists are reporters, watchdogs, storytellers. Gaining critical skills that equip them for storytelling in all its forms, journalism students will practice their craft in Kent State’s award-winning student media.
Working with these outlets, students will learn how to engage audiences where they “live,” on TV, radio, online, social media and in print. Journalism students will produce news and feature content on visual, digital and emerging platforms, and they’ll apply what they’ve learned as part of the required professional internship. Students work collaboratively every day in our multimedia student newsroom, television studio, magazine offices, radio station and business office. Students also have access to video editing suites with virtual reality capabilities, sound editing and recording labs and a fully stocked equipment check-out room/training lab.
Ten distinct media partners make up the engine that drives Kent State Student Media forward: a news website, television station, radio station, magazines and more. Starting "Day One" of freshman year, students can work for these independent, nationally recognized, nationally award-winning student media outlets. In doing so, students gain relevant exposure to the communication industry, strong peer and faculty relationships and opportunities to launch meaningful careers.
Our impressive standings in national and international competitions demonstrate our commitment to building media and communication leaders. Journalism students have placed in the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence Awards and more in recent years.
With a grounding in ethics and an understanding of media’s role in democratic society, students graduate prepared to continue as journalists or apply their skills to other professions that value critical thinking, information gathering and the ability to make sense of it for others.
"(My favorite memory at Kent State is) my experience with TV2 News. I wouldn't be anywhere near the journalist I am today without it. ... The School of Media and Journalism here at Kent is like no other and truly prepared me for the next steps in my career."
Melissa Meyers, '21, Multimedia Journalist, WBTW News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
While completing a two-month journalism fellowship in Arizona the summer after her college graduation, Anna Huntsman, ’19, found herself nostalgic for Ohio.
“I was around a lot of people from all across the country,” she remembers. “They would ask me, ‘What’s so special about Ohio?’ and I would have this answer about the camaraderie, the sports, the work ethic. I just found myself having these answers of really missing my home.”
Huntsman, who majored in journalism and was a member of Kent State’s Honors College, landed a job at Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland a few short months later. Four years later, she hasn’t looked back.
As a Producer for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kent State alumna Crystal Smith, ’18, never imagined the career path she is currently on and the opportunities it would lead to. But through networking and stepping out of her comfort zone, she says she’s discovered new passions and interests.
After graduation, she worked for Babcox Media first as an associate editor and then, a multimedia producer. While working in this role, she engaged in a networking opportunity that led her to become a freelance video editor for a popular YouTube content creator from Kent State. This sparked a new passion and interest in freelance video editing and producing, leading her to work for different clients.
Kent State University alumna Jeannette Reyes, ’12, uses TikTok for fun outside of her television anchor responsibilities at FOX 5 Washington, D.C. Last October, Reyes posted a video with her husband using their “anchor talk” voices to decide on choices for dinner. She never expected her video to gain so much momentum.
“This video got 5 million views on Twitter and gained attraction from Jimmy Kimmel and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez commenting and retweeting,” Reyes said. “At that time, I probably had 25,000 followers on TikTok, and since then, it's grown to almost 700,000. After eight months, I definitely underestimated the power of that video and how funny the anchor voice sounds outside of the newsroom environment.”
Reyes is a newscaster for FOX 5 Morning and Good Day D.C. She said that creating content and anchoring can be overwhelming at times, but she finds a nice balance between juggling both duties.
Jinae West, '10, was always committed to searching for big and bold opportunities, which pushed her to step outside of her comfort zone when it came to gaining journalism experience.
Jinae got her start in audio storytelling as an intern at NPR. That internship led to a full-time position, and she spent eight-and-a-half years working for well-known shows like All Things Considered and TED Radio Hour, covering key events like the 2016 presidential campaigns and election and the Pulse Nightclub shootings. After a brief stint at National Geographic working on podcasting in 2019, she returned to NPR as senior producer for the news/pop culture podcast/radio show, "It's Been A Minute".
