The Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab (IPOL) is a collaborative research group led by Professors Kajsa Dalrymple in Journalism and Mass Communication and Fred Boehmke in Political Science. Members of IPOL will collaborate to study policymaking and public opinion in Iowa.

John Pennington, a 1996 graduate of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, has always had a knack for writing. As a child, Pennington was introduced to newspapers and received his first typewriter from his grandfather at eight-years-old.

In a time of global crisis, namely the COVID-19 pandemic, communication is key. With a massive influx of information being disseminated through numerous outlets on a constant basis, transparency and accuracy are necessary. Cori Zarek, a 2001 graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has built an impressive resume centered on sharing information.

Times of crisis are difficult, anguishing, and maddening. They are also clarifying. Crises present the people involved with an opportunity to affirm who they are and where they stand. Recent events in Minneapolis and elsewhere reveal a crisis for racial justice that stretches back to the founding of the country.

The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) offers many opportunities for students to earn real-world experience before going out into the world.

On May 11, the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communications livestreamed a Zoom virtual panel call hosted by SJMC director David Ryfe. The panel discussed how to look for a career during the pandemic with graduating seniors.

Twenty seniors in Charles Munro’s Advanced Production/Design course worked in four teams on projects of their own choosing during the spring semester. They were tasked at the beginning of the semester to find and tell a news story in a short-form (6-10 minute), professional-level documentary using at least one high end visual production technique. Then came COVID-19.

Last fall, PhD student Tammy Walkner was one of only 25 PhD students selected worldwide to participate in the Journal of Mass Communication Quarterly's (JMCQ) Doctoral Student Reviewer Trainee Program.

On April 22, students from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communications gathered for a Virtual SJMC Student Journalist Q&A Panel.

Angela Looney’s Spring 2020 Multimedia News Production class has been very busy creating news packages that would have aired on Iowa City’s Daily Iowan Television (DITV) if they were producing a daily newscast as usual. However, since COVID-19 has forced social distancing and school to move online, the class has found interesting ways to produce news stories from home.