Alumna Tina Turner (B.A. in Communication in News Media ’20) is currently working as the inaugural Jim Lehrer Fellow at PBS NewsHour. The Jim Lehrer Journalism Fellowship program was created in 2020 in honor of Jim Lehrer, co-founder and anchor of PBS NewsHour. The year-long program selects one college graduate each year who is interested in pursuing a career in journalism and provides them with hands-on experience in the areas of broadcast and online editorial and production units.
Turner credits much of her success and preparation for the role to her time at C&IS. “C&IS does an excellent job of providing valuable learning opportunities for students. There are so many news media and journalism jobs offered and I tried to take advantage of as many of them as I could,” she said.
During her time as a student, she participated in a variety of experiential learning opportunities ranging from working as a student reporter at Alabama Public Radio (APR) to working as the station manager at WVUA-FM her senior year.
Turner’s campus involvement and dedication to honing her journalism and reporting skills undoubtedly paid off as she was recently named a top ten finalist in the audio category of the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The program awards students for outstanding work in the journalism field. Turner was recognized for two audio reports she completed during her student internship with APR.
Her advice for those looking to excel in their career is simple. “Put in the time. Put in the work,” Turner said. “You have to devote time to finding out what you want to be great at,” she said.
Click below to view Turner’s two award-winning submissions:
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