The entire SJMC team was busy this month hosting several major events on campus and around town. We started October with the Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association conference on campus. We hosted scholars and popular culture critics for a three-day event that featured several presentations from SJMC faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

During his time as an undergraduate student, SJMC junior Sean Keene has studied abroad three times thus far. Through his podcast "Around the World in 80 Stays," he hopes to share his own experiences, highlight global perspectives and acknowledge how study abroad experiences help to shape character as well as career trajectories; that is, especially in journalism.

SJMC faculty, graduate students, and alumni presented research at the 2025 MPCA/ACA conference hosted at the University of Iowa in early October.

This past summer, numerous SJMC students completed internships; that is, locally, nationally and even internationally. In this piece, 20 SJMC students reflect on their internship experiences, the skills they gained and how these opportunities shaped who they are as storytellers.

The new school year is off to a busy start with several recent and upcoming events in SJMC. We hosted a new majors event and fall picnic, our first professional-in-resident of the year, and a pre-homecoming parade tailgate to celebrate 10 years of the Event Management Program.

Professor David Dowling shares observations and other insights from his 2024 book, News Inc.: Brand and Advocacy Journalism Across Media, an examination of how news companies have branded their narrative pieces through different mediums to reach a wider audience. 

Two SJMC seniors, Liz Schultz and Kayla Smith, recently returned to Iowa City after completing a three-month summer internship with Iowa's News Leader, KCCI 8 News. They reflect on the work they completed, discuss the skills they gained and provide advice for other SJMC students looking to get further involved with internships as well as the J-School.

SJMC students and faculty continued to excel in their professional, creative, and research endeavors this summer.

Stephen Bloom and David Dowling received awards for their recent books at the 2025 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference.

Six SJMC faculty were promoted last year. Brian Ekdale and Tom Oates were promoted to full professor. Joanna Krajewski, Lillian Martell, Charles Munro and Kevin Ripka were promoted to associate professor of instruction.