W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications Story Archives

WVPB Alum Giles Snyder Inducted Into MU Journalism Hall Of Fame

Giles Snyder is one of three Marshall School of Journalism and Mass Communications (SOJMC) graduates who will be inducted into the school's Hall of Fame Friday night in Huntington.

Giles Snyder is one of three Marshall School of Journalism and Mass Communications (SOJMC) graduates who will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame Friday night in Huntington. The other inductees are Kathy Cosco and Patricia Proctor.

“This year’s inductees are exceptional leaders in the field of journalism and mass communications,” Sandy York, interim SOJMC director, said. “It is a privilege to honor them and share their accomplishments.”

The first class was enshrined in 1985, and the latest honorees bring the number of inductees to 81.

“This year’s class of inductees is another perfect example that proves Marshall has one of the best journalism and mass communications programs in the country,” said Chris Dickerson, president of the SOJMC Alumni Advisory Board, which handles the nomination process. “We’re fortunate to have such a rich pool of candidates that represents successes in varied aspects of the field locally, regionally and nationally.”

Snyder, a 1987 SOJMC graduate, is a widely respected newscaster for NPR. Before taking that job in Washington, D.C., he spent 16 years working for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Among his other accomplishments, he joined Beth Vorhees in the creation of the weekly radio news magazine show Inside Appalachia, which launched 20 years ago.

He also has written a humor column for the Martinsburg newspaper, and it has been recognized by the West Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Cosco, a 1988 SOJMC graduate, is director of strategic marketing for Mountain Health Network. Her varied career has seen her work in public relations, marketing and government service. She has worked for several major companies, and she has served as a spokeswoman for a governor and helped with an election campaign for a U.S. senator. She also helped with the push that saw Huntington named as America’s Best Community in 2017.

Proctor, a 1987 SOJMC graduate, is the founding director of the Simon Perry Center for Constitutional Democracy at Marshall University. Following graduation, Proctor went to law school and worked as a law clerk and at various law firms before returning to Marshall in 2011. She has helped the university create a centralized pre-law advisory function. Proctor also has been honored for her legal work by Best Lawyers in America and by Super Lawyers.

Inductees need to have a connection to the SOJMC, such as being a graduate or a faculty member, and should meet at least one of two major criteria to be nominated:

A graduate of Marshall’s JMC program who has contributed to Journalism and Mass Communications as a profession. The nominee has made a contribution to the profession of journalism or has made a positive impact upon the profession.
Contribution(s) to Marshall University’s SOJMC. The nominee, either through talent, treasure or activity, has made an outstanding impact upon the school.

The school has an enshrinement dinner and ceremony each fall to honor the inductees. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday night in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center.

Five Being Inducted into Marshall Journalism Hall of Fame

Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications is inducting five graduates into its Hall of Fame this fall.

The inductees are professor and WMUL-FM faculty manager Charles Bailey, the late sportswriter Mike Cherry, the late sportswriter Jody Jividen, standout quarterback and Rhodes Scholar finalist Chad Pennington and advertising and marketing executive Peter Ruest.

The induction ceremony will be Sept. 23.

Alumni Advisory Council President Chris Dickerson says all five have left their own individual marks on the industry and are “quite deserving” of the honor.

Marshall Professor Keeps Winning Awards for His Storytelling

One professor at Marshall University has a story to tell you….and an award winning story at that. Dan Hollis- a professor in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications has started a tradition, for producing award winning videos.

For the eighth year in a row and the tenth time in the past 11 years, Marshall University associate professor Dan Hollis has received first-place in the Video News category during the Professional Electronic Media Awards and Exhibition. The awards are given each year in conjunction with the National Broadcasting Society’s awards convention for students.

This year’s winning video, “Birthday Vase” is a behind-the-scenes look at Blenko Glass’ creation of a special vase commemorating West Virginia’s 150^th birthday.

Hollis said finding way to tell unique stories is what makes this work interesting to him.

“The stories that I really like doing are the ones that combine great video with what we call great natural sound and great characters, great interviews with people that are interesting,” Hollis said.

Stories like this one- about Irish Road Bowling- or others that show Bridge Day or a Hickory Golf Championship do just that. The former TV journalist always tries to tell a story in a unique way that only someone with no boundaries can.

“I need to exercise that creative part of my brain in that way, it’s something I’ve been doing for a while now and sometimes I just need to get out there and do those types of stories,” Hollis said.

Hollis said each year he tries to do one or two stories. He always has several ideas in the back of his mind that he thinks could make for a unique opportunity. He says sometimes the great stories or characters in those stories are pure coincidence. He says that’s exactly what happened while shooting the Hickory Golf Championship story in Greenbrier County at Oakhurst Links. It’s the oldest golf course designed and built in the United States and players only use wooden clubs.

“I just got lucky in that I’m out there shooting the event and I hear these guys joking around behind me and one of them had a very heavy Scottish accent and he was joking around and it was about old fashioned golf and when I heard him I said I have to talk to this guy and when I talked to him he was a great funny, said things in an interesting character kind of way and when you get a situation like that, man got to milk this, this is great stuff,” Hollis said.

Hollis also uses the videos in his classroom at Marshall.

“Part of the idea to is encouraging these students to always be staying in the game, always be trying new and different things, always be looking for ways to express your creativity,” Hollis said.