From Ghana to Ireland, and everywhere in between, students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) study and work around the world. The work done abroad can translate into new partnerships for Kent State University and JMC.
When the International Storytelling course visited Dankook University in Seoul, South Korea in 2015, they created a partnership that brought six South Korean students to JMC this month to work on projects centered around U.S. presidential election and journalism education.
“We went there to do a journalism project, and in a way, they are doing our project in reverse,” Mitch McKenney, JMC associate professor, said.
Specifically, the South Korean students explored political and digital journalism. While in Ohio, they visited WAKR Radio in Akron, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Portage County Democratic party headquarters and WKYC in Cleveland. At each stop, JMC emeritus professor Gary Hanson helped the students effectively record interviews for their project.
“ [JMC] is a practically oriented program where students really get to practice the craft, and I think that was of some value to our international friends,” Hanson said.
The students spent their last day in Kent visiting the Franklin Hall student newsroom, interviewing JMC professors and meeting with Kent’s Korean Culture Club.
“It’s not just the information that you get, but it’s the relationships,” Hanson said.
JMC’s relationship with the South Korean university created opportunities for Kent’s International Storytelling course, the six South Korean students who visited and future classes within JMC. McKenney plans to use the interviews conducted by the South Korean students in the online Media, Power and Culture course in JMC.
“We’ll get benefit beyond amplifying our friendship,” McKenney said.