The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the number of working journalists will decline by 9% between 2016 and 2026 (*internal screaming*). Where are we going? As the industry evolves, many of us are moving to journalism-adjacent professions, including PR, communications and education. How does one transition smoothly and find a job that allows them to use their well-honed reporting skills? These panelists will talk about how they made that transition work for them and discuss what resources available for recovering reporters and editors.
Moderator: Will Sutton
Panelists: Warren Bell, Keith Brannon, Dr. Sonya Duhé, Sadie Wilks
WARREN BELL is a New Orleans native with a long-established presence in broadcast journalism and media as a TV & Radio news anchor, news manager and talk show host. The Yale University graduate became New Orleans’ first black weekday prime-time TV news anchor. And fifty (50) years later, you could still hear “WB” every morning delivering the news breaks at WBOK-1230-AM talk radio until June 2018. With all of this success, he’s had parallel careers in higher education and media consulting for over three decades. He’s been in the classroom at Dillard University, he’s served as associate vice president for university and media relations at Xavier University and he was the director of the Honoré Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement (CUSA) at Southern University. He runs his own consulting firm, Warren Bell & Associates LLC, a DBE-certified and specializing in communications management, community engagement and media relations. He is a longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists, served on the national board and was the founding president of the New Orleans NABJ chapter.
KEITH BRANNON is associate director of public relations with Tulane University communications and marketing. The university’s award-winning media team tells the institution’s story about its world-leading research, cross-disciplinary scholarship, life-changing public service, remarkable personalities and unforgettable events. Brannon helps administrators, faculty and staff stand apart by facilitating strategic and compelling communications plans that promote and embody the spirit of Tulane. That includes communications audits and assessments; brand strategy development and implementation; coordinated digital, print and experiential storytelling and positioning; ad campaigns, including TV, digital and print communication. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Brannon worked as a reporter for more than a decade before joining Tulane in 2007. He uses that experience to make it easy for journalists to discover Tulane’s wealth of resources and story opportunities. Twitter: @Khbrannon
SONYA DUHÉ serves as director and professor in the School of Communication and Design at Loyola University in New Orleans. Duhé began her tenure at Loyola in August 2009, returning to her home state. An award-winning television news reporter and anchor, she is nationally recognized as a leader in strategic communications training for public and private sectors. Before joining Loyola, Duhé served as a communications assistant to the University of South Carolina president, associate vice president in the Office of Research and Health Sciences and special assistant to the provost for strategic directions and initiatives. Duhé was a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the School of the Environment at USC. Duhé earned her bachelor of arts in journalism in 1983 from Louisiana State University and her master of science in journalism in 1984 from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. After working for several years in TV news as a reporter, anchor and public affairs show host, Duhé received her Ph.D. in journalism in 1993 from the University of Missouri. At Missouri, she served as an instructor and chief faculty editor and anchor at the university-owned NBC affiliate. She is immediate past president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). Twitter: @sonyaduhe
WILL SUTTON is a veteran journalist who ventured into the worlds of higher education, communications and marketing with Hampton University, Grambling State University and Northeast Delta Human Services Authority, among others. After 10 years as a reporter, Sutton spent the next couple of decades as an editor. He worked at Gannett’s Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ; Knight Ridder’s the Philadelphia Inquirer; Knight Ridder’s Post-Tribune in Gary, IN and McClatchy’s The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC. A graduate of Hampton University in Virginia, Sutton he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He is a member of several journalism and media organizations, including the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Online News Association (ONA) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). He is a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). As public information director at Northeast Delta HSA, he is responsible for internal and external communications, including media relations, social media, strategic communications and marketing. IG: @editorwillsutton…Twitter: @willsutton LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/willsutton
SADIE WILKS joined the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA in August 2015. She has served as vice president of communication at Louisiana State Medical Society. Her experience includes an extensive background in communication and public relations, including special event planning, website and social media management, strategic planning, volunteer recruitment, and fundraising. She also served as managing editor for the Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society, a scientific, peer-reviewed medical journal. During her career, she has worked in several industries, including insurance, environment and natural resources, arts, health care and education. Wilks completed her B.A. in mass communication at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication in 1998. She achieved her accreditation in public relations (APR) in 2009 by the Universal Accreditation Board and the Public Relations Society of America. Recently, she was honored with a Tiger Athletic Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award and a 2019 Happy Award from LSU’s Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership. She received the First Circle Award from the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana in 2012, and the Senior Practitioner Award from the Southern Public Relations Federation in 2013. Instagram: @prwmn