UConn Journalism

10/07/2026

In a visit to Prof. Scott Wallace's Global Press Freedom class on Oct. 6, renowned Bangladeshi photojournalist and activist Dr. Shahidul Alam urged the students to work for a better world rather than pursuing individual honors.
Prof. Wallace will once again be teaching the course, which is cross-listed with Human Rights, in the Spring 2027 semester.

10/05/2026

At the national Society of Professional Journalists conference in Columbus, Ohio this weekend, Kate Farrish, a UConn Journalism assistant professor-in-residence, described the work of the Connecticut Student Journalism Collaborative at a session on academic and newsroom partnerships. With support from Richard Watts, the founder of the Center for Community News in Vermont, she and professors from around the state co-founded the collaborative in 2023 to see the best student journalism produced in their classes published professionally. It is now a nonprofit that publishes student work at CT Community News on Substack. A number of news outlets in the state, including Connecticut Public, the Connecticut Mirror, Hartford Courant, The Day, CTNewsJunkie, WSHU and CT Examiner, regularly republish many of the students' stories.
With Richard Watts. Photo by Cliff Anthony
Video by Todd Franko of the Center for Community News

09/29/2026

Read all about JCrumb, the newest celebrity at UConn, and he doesn't play basketball.
Thaddeus Sawyer's story and photos are the latest to be published at CT Community News as part of the Connecticut Student Journalism Collaborative. It was founded in 2023 by professors Marie Shanahan, Julie Serkosky, Kate Farrish, Harriet Jones and journalism professors around the state to see their best work published.
The collaborative is now a non-profit that accepts donations to keep publishing the strong journalism of students like Thaddeus. See details here: https://buy.stripe.com/3cIbJ11MdeAd2pn3uz08g00

https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/p/meet-jcrumb-the-newest-big-shot-on?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=5480416&post_id=217843773&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=8cgin&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Known for wearing suits and singing karaoke, he’s going viral and even signing autographs for other undergrads at UConn Storrs

09/28/2026

The student-run chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists that is affiliated with the UConn Journalism Department is off to a great start after its first meeting of the semester. They're planning networking events with our alumni and other journalists this fall led by President Katie Servas, front right; Vice President Mikayla Bunnell, front left; Treasurer Samantha Brody, second from right, and social media chair Maleena Muzio.
Photo by Maleena

09/26/2026

The UConn Journalism Department was well-represented by four grads at the state Freedom of Information Commission’s FOI conference on Sept. 25. Prof. Kate Farrish welcomed the crowd of 230 people on behalf of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government. Michael Savino, the political reporter at NBC Connecticut and a CFOG board member, gave the keynote address on how he has used the FOI Act to tell compelling stories, and Russell Blair, the commission’s director of education and communications, was an able master of ceremonies.
Photo of Kate by Marie Shanahan, another grad and professor in the department.

09/24/2026

Fun Field Trip
Dr. Sarah Taylor, UConn’s Biodiversity Collections manager, briefs Associate Prof. Scott Wallace's environmental journalism students during a recent class field trip.
Photo by Scott Wallace

09/20/2026

UConn Journalism graduate Cheyenne Haslett from the Class of 2017 was among the CNN, POLITICO and MS NOW journalists whose press credentials were revoked and who were denied access to the White House.
“We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House," Politico Editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger said in a statement to his newsroom. "We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
We agree with the statement by the Society of Professional Journalists.
"Government officials do not get to decide which legitimate news organizations deserve access based on whether they approve of their reporting. A free press must be able to question those in power, report critically on government actions and serve the public without fear that access will be revoked as punishment for unfavorable coverage."

MS NOW said its journalists were denied access to the White House Saturday morning, a day after President Donald Trump said he would ban the network and two other news outlets from the complex.

09/14/2026

Congratulations to Assistant Prof. Martine Granby on being selected as a jury member at the Camden International Film Festival.
She will serve as a juror for the Cinematic Vision category and for the Harrell Award for best feature-length documentary film at the competition based in Maine.
Prof. Granby is a nonfiction filmmaker whose creative research focuses on interrogating and experimenting with family and collective moving-image archives, as well as exploring the ethical considerations of found-footage use and BIPOC mental health.

09/11/2026

On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the UConn Journalism Department remembers the 2,977 people lost that day and is thinking of their friends and family members.
Reposting this beautifully written piece by Dan Barry from 2016 from Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"On that particular September morning, you could see forever," Dan writes.

The task of recounting what happened to the jetliner on Sept. 11, 2001, falls to Robert Franz at what is now a national park in Pennsylvania. The emotions are never far away.

09/02/2026

The UConn Journalism Department has some exciting news to share. Associate Prof. Marie Shanahan has completed her five-year appointment as department head and has returned to teaching, and Prof. Mike Stanton has taken on the role of interim department head this fall.
Prof. Shanahan provided visionary leadership during her tenure, which was marked by growing enrollment among journalism majors and students and her expansion of the introductory courses to UConn’s regional campuses, so that more students could begin their studies across the state and not just in Storrs.
She also was instrumental in co-founding the Connecticut Student Journalism Collaborative, a partnership between UConn and other college journalism programs across Connecticut. The aim of the nonprofit is to have the best student journalism that emerges from the journalism classes to be published professionally by CT Community News at https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/. The stories, photos and videos are then offered for re-publication by other news outlets, including CT Public, the CT Mirror, the Hartford Courant, WSHU, CTNewsJunkie, The Day and CT Examiner.
Shanahan is teaching the professional portfolio and Newswriting and Reporting II courses this fall. As department head, she instituted a community reporting course at the Hartford campus to cover local news in the city, and she will be teaching the course in the spring semester.
Shanahan also serves as vice president of the collaborative and on the board of the CT Mirror and the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government.
Prof. Stanton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, came to UConn in 2013 from the Providence Journal, where he was an investigative reporter specializing in covering public corruption, politics and government and organized crime.
He is the author of “Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World, (Henry Holt, 2019), a biography of the former undefeated heavyweight boxing champion, and New York Times bestseller “The Prince of Providence,” (Random House, 2003), a widely acclaimed book about Buddy Cianci, the felonious former Providence, Rhode Island mayor.
At the Providence Journal, Prof. Stanton was part of the team that won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for exposing corruption in the Rhode Island court system. He teaches students tried-and-true 'shoe leather' investigative journalism. He hopes students will turn his old-school skill set into new-medium magic. Learn more about Stanton at the "Art of Muckraking."
He also serves as board president of ecori.org, a nonprofit environmental news website based in Rhode Island.