C&IS Researchers Study Gulf Coast Severe Weather Communication

• June 1st, 2022
• in CIS News, Research

A new study by a team of professors from the College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) will examine the effectiveness of public risk messaging to help residents along the Gulf Coast stay safe during hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

Drs. Cory Armstrong, professor of journalism and creative media, Matthew VanDyke, associate professor of advertising and public relations, and Brian Britt, associate professor of advertising and public relations, are supported by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium for the project.

They will analyze social media discussions and conduct interviews and surveys to understand the information channels, tools and resources that coastal emergency managers, community leaders and residents use for short-term and long-term decision-making when preparing and going through severe weather.

“We’re not weather experts, but we’re communication experts,” Armstrong said. “What we can bring to this project, and what’s appealing to the Sea Grant folks, is that we can understand communication and distribution of these messages and how to measure that, how to understand it and how to then give recommendations for how these experts get their messages out.”

Understanding how the public receives and acts upon severe weather alerts and warnings can help emergency managers craft the most effective messages to save lives. The team will focus on the three southern-most emergency management areas of Mississippi and the two southern-most areas in Alabama.

The study will take place during three phases over the course of two years. The first phase will consist of analyzing conversation patterns on social media. By searching keywords, hashtags and specific date ranges on those platforms, the team can evaluate how people seek and relay information and concerns before, during and after extreme weather events.

“Before these tools were available, you’d have to rely on survey data and retrospective-type stuff that would be harder to get a full and perhaps accurate picture of how things played out,” said VanDyke. “This is an exciting new application for the theory, but to also get a more valid snapshot of what public discussion looks like in these areas.”

The second phase has an engagement plan where the team will interview decision-makers, such as emergency managers and city officials, to understand when they decide to start preparing before a storm arrives, what tools they use in making those decisions and how they process risk factors to their areas.

“Decision-makers may or may not have the technical background and understanding to be able to decipher the meaning of uncertainty,” VanDyke said. “What scientists mean by uncertainty might be different than how we in the general public interpret uncertainty, so being able to marry both public and decision-maker needs is really important.”

Focus groups will also be conducted with community members and public opinion leaders to see how they evaluate official messages and how they’re going to make choices during these storms.

“Comprehension and terminology are the big issues,” said Armstrong. “I can see the need for training and awareness of what watches, warnings and these types of terms mean, or maybe coming up with some more uniform terms to talk about coastal issues.”

The third phase will use large-scale sample surveys to determine the differences in information processing and tools, with a specific focus on comparing underserved, urban and rural populations.

“People who live in urban areas have this belief that it’s not going to happen to them or not going to be that big of a deal,” Armstrong said. “Then there’s the people in rural areas that live in flood plains. Every time a huge storm comes in, they’re getting flooded, and it may be that they’re more prepared than others because it happens so frequently.”

Armstrong said taking all this information and coming up with a mitigation plan, especially in underserved areas, is one of the key goals of this study.

“We’re talking about people with limited resources who don’t have ways to evacuate,” she said. “Hurricane Katrina proved sometimes you just can’t leave. What kind of plans can we make for these people who can’t or won’t evacuate? I’m always concerned about that.”

The team will be providing their findings after each phase so decision-makers can continuously analyze and update their plans as the project progresses. A summary of the entire study will be made available to the academic and practitioner communities at the end of the two-year period.

“Here at Alabama, there’s a big push to get more resources built, more information pooled, more accurate forecasts, and it’s just marrying that with where people actually are,” said VanDyke. “In a lot of cases, it’s not an information problem as much as it is an infrastructure problem, or as much as it is values or personal experience or whatever that barrier is that prevents people from using that information.”

UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences faculty and students conduct cutting-edge research that creates knowledge and provides solutions to global issues across the full communication and information spectrum. To learn more about the College’s research initiatives, visit cis.ua.edu/research.

This story originally appeared on UA News Center.

From Tennis Pro to CEO: Brad Friedman

• May 31st, 2022
• in CIS News

When C&IS alumnus Brad Friedman (Public Relations ‘03) graduated from The University of Alabama nearly two decades ago, he wasn’t exactly sure what his first post-graduate plans would be. He was seeking a career that would bring both fulfillment and excitement, but pinpointing an opportunity that would satisfy those criteria was harder than it seemed.

As a member of the University’s tennis team during his undergraduate career, he had multiple professional tennis opportunities looming. He also knew that working for his family’s business would always be an option as well.

After some deliberation, Friedman set out to pursue his tennis career. However, after three years of working as a head tennis professional at country clubs in Calabasas, California, and Atlanta, Georgia, he decided it was time for a change. Friedman felt a calling to return to Birmingham, Alabama, and begin working for the family business, City Paper Company, as a vice president.

Founded in 1897, City Paper Company isn’t just like every other longtime, family-owned business. It’s a company built upon decades of history, tradition and hard work.

The company was founded by Friedman’s great grandfather, who emigrated from Poland to Ellis Island, and later found his way to Birmingham in the late 1800s. When the company originated, it was focused solely on providing industrial packaging. But over the years, both the company’s offerings and leadership began to change.

After the death of his great grandfather, Friedman’s grandfather assumed ownership of the company in the 1940s and expanded its offerings to include school supply packaging and retail packaging. He diligently led and managed the company until he was 87 years old and passed the torch to Friedman’s father and uncle.

According to Friedman, the company’s resiliency can be evidenced in how much it has overcome throughout the decades. “City Paper Company has survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and most recently, a global pandemic,” Friedman said.

And, despite all of these challenges, the company continues to thrive.

Today, Friedman is the CEO and president of the company after purchasing it from his father and uncle in 2019. Under his and his wife’s leadership the company has continued to grow and offer the unique products and unmatched service his grandfather sought to provide from the very beginning.

“Over the decades, we’ve morphed as a company and we’ve followed paths where we can excel,” Friedman said.

While maintaining its tradition of offering retail packaging, the company now offers promotional marketing items such as apparel, drinkware, signage and more. It has also built an impressive client list boasting with household names such as Harley Davidson, Carnival Cruise Lines, Hallmark and Cracker Barrel.

Although the company’s recent abundance of success makes the company’s journey and evolution over the years look easy, Friedman’s family has worked hard to beat the odds every step of the way. As Friedman explains, “only two percent of family-owned businesses ever make it past the second generation.” With City Paper Company’s 125^th anniversary approaching this July, it’s clear that the company has not only beaten the odds, but it has thrived while becoming a fourth-generation business.

The recipe for success isn’t always clear cut when it comes to working for a family business but, over the years, Friedman has focused on two keys to success that can be applied to almost any career path or personal endeavor: flexibility and optimism.

“Don’t be set on what you want to be doing 20 years from now,” Friedman said. Sometimes it’s the unlikely paths and an open mind that will lead you to decades of success.

C&IS Students Travel to France to Produce Joie de Vivre Magazine

• May 25th, 2022
• in CIS News

The College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) strives to provide students with experiential learning opportunities that allow them to experience the world outside of Reese Phifer Hall.

As part of one of the College’s international travel courses, C&IS students had the opportunity to visit France during spring break to plan and produce Joie de Vivre, an online magazine.

The trip was part of the mass communication course International Storytelling led by Dr. Kim Bissell, associate dean for research and director of the Institute for Communication and Information Research. Students undergo an application process to take the course, and this semester, undergraduate and graduate students from several majors within the College were selected.

Leading up to spring break, the class met every Tuesday for three hours to plan out the magazine, the stories they wanted to write, and the places in France they wanted to visit. Once in France, students gathered content for their stories. When they returned home, they assembled the content and began finalizing the magazine.

Amelia McGowan, a graduating senior and accelerated master’s student, served as editor of Joie de Vivre. She first heard about the course while meeting with Dr. Bissell and was eager to learn more about the opportunity to study abroad. Previously, McGowan had never been able to fit a full study abroad program into her schedule. However, she found Bissell’s course to be the perfect opportunity as it allowed her to pursue her interest and gain leadership skills that she will take with her in her future endeavors.

“It sounds so cliche, but I think my biggest takeaways would be trust the process and trust yourself. When Dr. Bissell made me editor, I was flattered but also very nervous because I had never had that kind of responsibility before and I wasn’t sure I was ready,” McGowan said. “As I started to lean into my role and work with my team, I started to gain more confidence in my skills and trust myself to not only get the job done, but to do it well. I learned so much about what it takes to be a successful leader and be of service to those around me.”

McGowan said the trip and class was extremely beneficial and allowed her to gained ample writing and editing experience. It also gave her the opportunity to learn more about creative media careers, such as photography and film, that she hadn’t learned in her previous courses.

“I cannot recommend this class enough. One of the first things Dr. Bissell told us was ‘I want this to be something that you guys are proud of. I want you to produce things that you can use in your portfolios and showcase in interviews,’ and that really made me think that this was an actual program that would benefit me in the future,” McGowan said. “Going into this class, I didn’t know anyone, so I was a little nervous starting out. But as the semester went on, we all started to become closer. Once we were in France together, we had the best time and became really good friends! I think that’s been my favorite part about this whole experience; getting to know people outside of my major and watching them grow in their craft has been truly rewarding.”

Joie de Vivre is a magazine written, produced and designed by students at The University of Alabama. It contains content that was collected during their trip to Paris, France in March 2022. View the magazine here.

Five C&IS Students Win Silver Pencil Award at The Young Ones Award Show

• May 24th, 2022
• in CIS News

A team of five students from The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) has been awarded a Silver Pencil from the Young Ones annual student award show.

Erin Brown, Morgan Egan, Ginger Ellis, Matthias Meyer and Miles Neto, who comprised the winning team, are all students in Minerva, the creative advertising portfolio program housed within C&IS.

The Young Ones is a highly competitive, international creative advertising competition hosted by The One Club for Creativity in New York City each year. A pencil award from The One Club is one of the most prestigious awards given in the advertising industry, and the team’s Silver Pencil is the highest award that has even been earned by students at The University of Alabama who have participated in the competition.

“Winning a Silver Pencil is incredible because it means that others in the advertising industry agree with what we are doing,” said Morgan Egan.

This year’s competition required students to respond to a creative brief from one of four sponsoring brands including Call of Duty: Warzone, Bang & Olufsen, DoorDash and Spotify.

The team’s winning submission, entitled “The Backbone Awards,” was both a response to a creative brief for Call of Duty: Warzone and an innovative approach to changing the trajectory of advertising awards.

According to Mark Barry, director of the Minerva program, the students’ submission addressed The One Club “flipping their principles faster than the coins they are chasing.” In turn, the students created a brand-new award, The Backbone Awards, in order to highlight and celebrate work and advertising professionals who do more than just simply sell products and build brands. The Backbone Awards will allow students to award both people and projects in the industry for work that shows the powerful and positive impacts that advertising can have on the industry.

“We’ve won pencils in the past, but this one is extra special,” Barry said. “These five students’ bravery to stand up and call out the organization hosting the awards competition is admirable. And, their submission, The Backbone Awards, is something that will continue to grow and get better over time.”

To learn more about the backbone awards, click here: https://backboneawards.com

To view the team’s winning Young Ones submission, click here: https://vimeo.com/695920123

C&IS Faculty Elected to AEJMC Leadership Positions

• May 23rd, 2022
• in CIS News

Three C&IS faculty members received elected positions within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals.

AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to cultivate the widest possible range of communication research, to encourage the implementation of a multi-cultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice and a better informed public.

Congratulations to the three C&IS faculty members:

Dr. Suzanne Horsley

Horsley, Assistant Dean of Assessment, Accreditation and Diversity, was elected Accrediting Council Representative. Horsley will serve in the position for a three-year term and will work with the Executive Director to schedule sessions. Additionally, she will work with other representatives to issue written reports to the AEJMC Board of Directors following each meeting, which may also be published in the AEJMC newsletter.

Dr. George Daniels

Daniels, associate professor of journalism and creative media, was elected to the Professional Freedom & Responsibility Committee. In this position, he will serve as liaison to two or three divisions, working most closely with division chairs. The committee also works to sponsor a Resolutions Hearing.

Dr. Chris Roberts

Roberts, associate professor of journalism and creative media, was elected to the Teaching Committee. In this position, he will serve as liaison and maintain contact with assigned division and interest group teaching standards chairs. Roberts will also prepare a list of potential programming activities for division and interest group teaching chairs, provide divisions with goals that may be applicable to teaching standards, plan an AEJMC plenary once every three years, plan workshops and other teaching activities, and review papers submitted for Teaching Committee paper competitions when sponsored.

PRSSA Wins Four Alabama PRSA Student Awards

• May 20th, 2022
• in CIS News

The University of Alabama’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was recently awarded four Alabama PRSA Student Awards during the professional chapter’s monthly meeting in April.

The PRSA Student Awards are open to all PRSSA chapters within the state, and nine awards were given this year. The UA chapter won the awards for Outstanding Chapter, University Service and Chapter Newsletter. Additionally, Claire Dubreuil, a junior public relations major, was awarded the Wordsmith award.

Tracy Sims, senior instructor of advertising and public relations, has served as UA PRSSA chapter faculty adviser since 2008. She said that the opportunity for PRSSA chapters to receive recognition strengthens the value of what they do.

“I truly appreciate that PRSA Alabama created this opportunity for PRSSA chapters across the state to have their yearly chapter activities and successes to be recognized,” Sims said. “Such recognition reinforces the value of what they do for their chapter members, their universities and communities, and the public relations profession.”

Sims also said the most rewarding part of her role has been witnessing the chapter grow into a nationally award-winning organization and developing ethical leadership in the public relations field by providing career advice to PRSSA members.

“Over the years, our chapter leadership has focused on ways to increase involvement of our members beyond attending our monthly professional development meetings,” Sims said. “Members now can serve on various chapter committees, helping to create content for our social media accounts, writing for the chapter blog and participating in University and community service projects, for example. The chapter also has strengthened our diversity and inclusion initiatives, electing our first VP of diversity & inclusion in 2017-2018 and developing D&I pillars to guide our chapter activities in 2020-2021.”

Dubreuil, who first joined PRSSA as a freshman in 2019, said being involved with the organization has played a major role in expanding her knowledge of the PR industry and her skillset.

“We are constantly bringing in industry professionals who really want to form relationships with students and also bring internship offers with them as well,” Dubreuil said. “The meetings cover a variety of topics, so there’s really something for everyone and ample opportunities to learn about every area of PR. I think that college students should be taking every opportunity we have to learn while we’re still here, and PRSSA meetings are an easy and fun way to do that.”

Twelve UA PRSSA students have earned national PRSSA/PRSA Foundation individual scholarships since 2014, and since 2012, the UA PRSSA chapter and its PRSSA nationally affiliated student-run firm, Capstone Agency, have earned 22 total chapter awards at the PRSSA national level.

The University of Alabama PRSSA Chapter was founded in 1970 and currently boasts over 180 members. It is a leading pre-professional organization for students interested in public relations, communications and other related fields.

Dr. George Daniels Selected for Fulbright Award

• May 16th, 2022
• in CIS News

Dr. George Daniels, associate professor in the department of journalism and creative media, was one of three UA faculty members selected for Fulbright awards for educators.

Daniels will participate in the pilot cohort of the Global Challenges Teaching Award through the US-UK Fulbright Commission and American Council on Education. This award is the first of its kind that provides an opportunity for universities in the U.S. and United Kingdom to partner in a virtual international exchange using the Collaborative Online International Learning, or COIL, method of teaching.

The award will promote digital innovation and democratize international exchange by bringing together classrooms on both sides of the Atlantic to address current global challenges. This year’s cohort will focus on three pressing issues: pandemics, climate change and racial justice, with the unique opportunity to share and compare knowledge across nations, widen their perspectives, and build all important transatlantic links that will help tackle these challenges collectively.

Daniels and Dr. Amal Abu-Bakare from the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, were selected to collaborate and connect their respective classes focused on racial justice. The goal of the virtual international exchange between UA and Liverpool is to share and compare knowledge across nations, widen students’ perspectives and build vitally important trans-Atlantic links that will help tackle global challenges such as racial injustice collectively.

“It is quite an honor to be the first winner of the Global Challenge Teaching Award for Racial Justice in the U.S.,” said Daniels. “I am looking forward to learning new ways to globalize learning for our students and expanding my own horizons in the area of international education. I believe what I learn about virtual exchanges and collaborative online international learning can benefit others here in The University of Alabama community.”

As part of the virtual exchange, both will not only connect their classes online but also travel to each other’s campuses during the fall semester to engage in person with students from the other campus. Daniels will focus on race, gender and media, while Abu-Bakare will teach about the politics of race and marginalization.

The Fulbright U.S. scholars program offers over 400 awards in more than 130 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. Learn more about the program here.

This story originally appeared on UA News Center.

AFC Finishes Tournament Season Strong with Eight National Championships

• May 12th, 2022
• in CIS News

The Alabama Forensic Council (AFC) recently competed in four national tournaments and brought home a team national championship and seven individual national championships among other awards. During March and April, AFC attended the Pi Kappa Delta Biennial Convention and Tournament, the Asynchronous Speech Championship national tournament, the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament and the National Forensic Association National Championship Tournament

The team had an incredible finish to its tournament season and received more than 100 awards across the four tournaments. Notably, AFC won the national championship for team sweepstakes at the National Forensic Association National Championship Tournament.

Additionally, four students – Alex Brewbaker, Anna Kutbay, Ja’Quacy Minter and Garrett Reynolds – collectively won seven individual national championships this tournament season.

At the Pi Kappa Delta Biennial Convention and Tournament, Alex Brewbaker and Ja’Quacy Minter won the national championship in Duo Interpretation, Minter won the national championship in Poetry Interpretation and Garrett Reynolds won the national championship in After Dinner Speaking. At the Asynchronous Speech Championship, Anna Kutbay won the national championship in Persuasive Speaking, and at the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament, Kutbay won the national championships in Impromptu Speaking and Informative Speaking. She was also named the individual sweepstakes national champion for the second consecutive year, and Minter was named the individual sweepstakes national runner-up.

Read below for the full list of awards received by UA students at each of the four tournaments.

Pi Kappa Delta Biennial Convention and Tournament

Asynchronous Speech Championship National Tournament

American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament

National Forensic Association National Championship Tournament

The Alabama Forensic Council is The University of Alabama’s competitive speech team. As the oldest co-curricular organization on campus, the program aims to respect and build upon the successes of alumni and forge a path for current and future students. AFC provides students with skills and resources to engage in intellectual discovery, enable professional development, strengthen and utilize their unique voices, construct compelling messages, engage in interpersonal and rhetorical exploration and foster community through advocacy and argumentation.

Phillip Weaver Honors Retired Faculty Members through New C&IS Scholarships

• May 10th, 2022
• in CIS News

College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) alumnus Phillip Weaver recently funded two scholarships in honor of former C&IS faculty members who made a lasting impact on his time as a student within the College.

Weaver earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981, and he credits retired C&IS faculty members Dr. Jim Stovall and Camille Elebash with encouraging him to complete his degree.

“These two professors worked with me and saw something in me, and it meant a lot,” Weaver said. “It has weighed on my heart what Jim Stovall and Camille Elebash did for me, and I wanted to do something to honor that.”

Weaver’s scholarships will support students who are working while attending C&IS. He believes that the hard work and commitment of students who have jobs while in college should be recognized, and he hopes that his gift will be able to relieve some of the burden of tuition from them.

“I have a lot of respect for students that are working while they’re in school, and while it can be done, it takes time and commitment. I always tell students who work while in school that they are supporting themselves and controlling their own destiny and that they will be stronger for it,” Weaver said. “A lot of students are doing it so that they don’t have to borrow money, so I hope that this can take some of the weight off of them.”

During his time as a student in C&IS, Weaver began his career as a businessman in Tuscaloosa. The companies that he founded while completing his degree from the College remain well-known Tuscaloosa businesses today. Weaver is the co-founder and owner of Buffalo Phil’s, one of the longest-running restaurants in Tuscaloosa. He is also the founder of Campus Party Store and Gallette’s, and is the founder and owner of Weaver Rentals.

In addition to funding scholarships for C&IS students, Weaver has also generously hosted past C&IS alumni events in New York City. This year, he plans to host a reception on May 11 for alumni who live in the city and students who will be visiting New York for Industry Immersion – an experiential learning program that allows C&IS students to visit cities across the country to meet with professionals and learn more about the communication industry.

“I’m looking forward to the event because it is a good way to bring the UA community together. New York is a unique place with a lot going on and a lot of job opportunities,” Weaver said.

Weaver believes the event will give both students and alumni an opportunity to network and build new relationships.

“The event is a meet & greet and I think that is special. Networking is huge in our fields, and it is amazing what knowing someone can do for you,” Weaver said. “I’m excited for our Industry Immersion students to get that experience while in New York and for our alumni to connect with each other too.”

Experiential learning opportunities and student scholarships are funding priorities for C&IS as part of the Rising Tide Capital Campaign. The Rising Tide Capital Campaign is a University-wide effort to raise a minimum of $1.5 billion in philanthropic support for strategic priorities over a 10-year period. For more information, visit risingtide.ua.edu.

SLIS donates a record $38,300 in new, free books to School Libraries in the Black Belt and Beyond

• April 28th, 2022
• in CIS News

During March and April, The University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) awarded a record $38,300 in new, free books to elementary, middle and high school libraries in Alabama via the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt & Beyond Program.

School librarians in the Black Belt region were asked to apply for the book give-away program in February 2022. SLIS received applications from 15 highly deserving schools. The judges chose three school libraries in the Black Belt Region of the state to receive on average $6,700 each in brand new children’s and young adult books. The judging of the applications was rigorous, as every school exemplified a significant need.

SLIS also selected three Book Bonanza Beyond winners. The Beyond winner is a low-income private school in the Black Belt Region of the state, or a public school demonstrating significant economic need in an area of the state outside of the Black Belt. The purpose of this award is to give an equally deserving school library, that is not eligible to be a Book Bonanza for the Black Belt Winner, a one-time opportunity to address literacy needs in their school community. Each of these schools will receive on average $6000 in brand new children’s and young adult books.

Please join SLIS in congratulating the following winning school libraries.

2022 Book Bonanza Black Belt Winners

• Gordo High School, serving grades 7-12 (Pickens County), Librarian Heather Perrigin
• Highland Home School, serving grades PreK-12 (Crenshaw County), Librarian Amy Campbell
• Phenix City Intermediate, serving grades 6-7 (Russell County), Librarian Jessica Pittman

2022 Book Bonanza Beyond Winners

• Saraland Elementary School, serving grades 2-5 (Mobile County), Librarian Cindy Wilson
• Stapleton School, serving grades PreK-6 (Baldwin County), Librarian Lisa Comer
• Woodland Elementary School, serving grades PreK-6 (Randolph County), Librarian Earnestine Fincher

Established in 2009 by Dr. Jamie Campbell Naidoo, the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt (& Beyond) is an annual program that provides new, free books to school libraries in the Black Belt region of the state. For additional information about the program, please contact Dr. Jamie C. Naidoo at jcnaidoo@slis.ua.edu or visit the program website here.