I teach journalism at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. Prior to moving to Lindenwood in August, 2013, I taught classes in reporting, writing, editing, media history, and media and society at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. I arrived at WKU in 2006 after working as a journalism teacher at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. Prior to working at NSU, I taught at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. I've been teaching journalism at the college level for more than 20 years.
Also, I've been active as a leader for the Society of Professional Journalists, the country's largest broad-based journalism organization. I have served on the SPJ board of directors as the vice president for campus chapter affairs, and I now serve on the SPJ Education Committee.
My teaching job at Lindenwood allows me to serve as adviser to the student news website, Lindenlink.
As journalism continues its transformation in the 21st century, I stay updated on the changes through conferences, seminars, online training and social media. I am no stranger to "convergence" being that my first college degree was in mass communications where I took classes in reporting, writing, photography and broadcasting. While teaching at NSU, I worked as a freelance sports photographer.
I sometimes speak to high school journalism students at conferences in the region, but much of my work with high school students the last several years has centered on three events -- the Xposure summer workshops at WKU, the MediaNow summer workshops in the St. Louis area, and the Crazy Horse Journalism Workshop near Custer, S.D. Sadly, the Crazy Horse Workshop has ceased operations.
I've earned a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's through the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Reporting at The Ohio State University. My bachelor's degrees are from Northeast Missouri State University, now known as Truman State University.
My research interest centers on First Amendment issues, specifically the free-expression rights of high school and college journalists. My dissertation, completed in 2002, was titled "An Investigation of the Relationships Between High School Environment and the Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Free Expression."
Before beginning my teaching career in 1989, I was a reporter, photographer and editor at newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas, Two of the newspapers were weeklies, two were small dailies and one was a metro, the San Antonio Light. The Light has long since been extinguished, but it was there I learned that Texas politics is always entertaining, federal judges can have a sense of humor, and The Alamo is not as big as people think it is.
I'm married to Janette Ralston, the coordinator of field and clinical experiences in the School of Education at Lindenwood University. We have a daughter and a son who are in their 30s, and we have three grandchildren.
Also, I've been active as a leader for the Society of Professional Journalists, the country's largest broad-based journalism organization. I have served on the SPJ board of directors as the vice president for campus chapter affairs, and I now serve on the SPJ Education Committee.
My teaching job at Lindenwood allows me to serve as adviser to the student news website, Lindenlink.
As journalism continues its transformation in the 21st century, I stay updated on the changes through conferences, seminars, online training and social media. I am no stranger to "convergence" being that my first college degree was in mass communications where I took classes in reporting, writing, photography and broadcasting. While teaching at NSU, I worked as a freelance sports photographer.
I sometimes speak to high school journalism students at conferences in the region, but much of my work with high school students the last several years has centered on three events -- the Xposure summer workshops at WKU, the MediaNow summer workshops in the St. Louis area, and the Crazy Horse Journalism Workshop near Custer, S.D. Sadly, the Crazy Horse Workshop has ceased operations.
I've earned a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's through the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Reporting at The Ohio State University. My bachelor's degrees are from Northeast Missouri State University, now known as Truman State University.
My research interest centers on First Amendment issues, specifically the free-expression rights of high school and college journalists. My dissertation, completed in 2002, was titled "An Investigation of the Relationships Between High School Environment and the Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Free Expression."
Before beginning my teaching career in 1989, I was a reporter, photographer and editor at newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas, Two of the newspapers were weeklies, two were small dailies and one was a metro, the San Antonio Light. The Light has long since been extinguished, but it was there I learned that Texas politics is always entertaining, federal judges can have a sense of humor, and The Alamo is not as big as people think it is.
I'm married to Janette Ralston, the coordinator of field and clinical experiences in the School of Education at Lindenwood University. We have a daughter and a son who are in their 30s, and we have three grandchildren.
