AU School of Communication and Journalism

The School of Communication and Journalism celebrates this year’s Photojournalism Contest winners 📸

🥇 Marynn Vaith — “Face the Crowd”
Marynn,  a freshman and journalism pre-major from Clanton, Ala., won first place. The photo shows former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman celebrating in front of the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium after scoring a touchdown during the Tigers’ win against Mercer last November. 

🥈 Grace Fountain — “Gymnast Sophia Ball’s Historic Vault”
Grace, a Journalism: Sports Production junior from Destin, Fla., won first runner-up for her photo of the Auburn gymnastics team celebrating after Sophia Bell’s historic Yurchenko Double Pike vault at a meet on January 9th.

🥉 Ashley Massey — “A River of Horns”
Ashley , a senior majoring in journalism from Dallas, Texas, won second runner-up. Her photo shows a group of longhorns being guided down a street as part of the daily cattle drive at the Fort Worth Stockyards in March. 

This is the fourth year for the competition, and the school received a record number of entries. As the first-place winner, Vaith will receive a cash award from the school and her photo will be professional printed and displayed in Tichenor Hall. Congratulations to our students on this amazing accomplishment and War Eagle!!

Award-winning storytelling starts here! 🎬🧡

AU School of Communication and Journalism students Jack Corbett, Gehrig Gesch, Samuel Jones, Micah Farmer and Patrick Bingham recently earned a Student Production Award for Best Sports Program from The EMMY Awards - Southeast for their documentary, “RivAUlry.”

Created in JRSP 4510: Sports Storytelling, the film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Auburn Men's Soccer Team and their rivalry with UA Men’s Club Soccer.

Learn more and watch here: https://aub.ie/4BHlc5

Congratulations to Jennifer Johnson, Terri Knight, Dr. Victoria Ledford, Dr. Autumn Linford, and Dr. Fawad Shah on receiving this year’s Promotion of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETL) Awards.

These faculty members were recognized for outstanding achievements in teaching, advising, community engagement, and research:
🏆  Jennifer Johnson — Online Teaching Award
🏆  Terri Knight — Advising Award
🏆 Dr. Victoria Ledford — Community and Civic Engagement Award
🏆 Dr. Autumn Linford — Summer Research and Humanities Grant
🏆 Dr. Fawad Shah — Interdisciplinary and Team Science Grant

Congratulations to Claire Mellors! Her speech on “The Vietnam Memorial” earned her the Spring 2026 Philip Lutzenkirchen Excellence in Public Speaking Award.

The School of Communication and Journalism proudly congratulates Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah on earning tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. This milestone honors his distinguished record of teaching, impactful research, and dedicated service to the field of journalism. Congratulations, Dr. Shah, on this well-earned achievement and War Eagle!

Six finalists competed in the Spring 2026 Auburn Speaks public speaking competition.

Congratulations to all the finalists!
Abigail Brown
Ella Carlisle
Jackson Cleary
Claire Mellors
Braedn Ross
Joshua Tatro

Thank you to the Lutzenkirchen family for the continued support of this competition and award named in honor of their son and brother.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner of the Philip Lutzenkirchen Excellence in Public Speaking Award!

Celebrate with us as The Oaks Agency has officially been re-affiliated as a PRSSA student-run firm! We’re so proud of the hard work by many students and faculty members that made this possible.

Students, be sure to keep an eye on your inbox! Personalized invitations to join the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society will be sent to students who meet the acceptance requirements.

As part of the Auburn University History Department’s “Revolutionary Legacies” speaker series, Dr. Autumn Linford, assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communication and Journalism, discussed the impact of early printers on American democracy, Dr. Linford  explained how Tory printers and competing viewpoints in colonial newspapers influenced emerging ideas about press freedom that continue to inform journalistic practice today. To read more about Dr. Linford’s discussion, visit our LinkTree in our bio.

The School of Communication and Journalism partnered with the College of Liberal Arts’ Career Services office to bring over 30 students to Atlanta for tours of the Warner Brothers Discovery studios and the _Atlanta Journal Constitution_ newsroom. These Students went on to see the sets for _Inside the NBA_ and TNT Sports’ March Madness, MLB and NHL coverage. They learned first-hand what it is like to create these shows from Auburn alum Morgan Weinbrecht who directs several live productions for TNT Sports. Students also toured the _Atlanta Journal Constitution’s_ state of the art newsroom and video studios in midtown Atlanta. The AJC is one of the largest news organizations in the southeast and students were able to network with many of their award-winning journalists.

Students visited Atlanta on Wednesday, March 18th. The tour was organized by Tasheila Townsend and Addie Roberds from CLA Career Services as well as Dr. Justin Blankenship and Prof. John Mitchell from the School of Communication and Journalism.