CAMtastic Spring 2025 Newsletter

From the Dean: Amazing things in the CAMly

Dear CAM alums and friends:

Greetings from the springy Carbondale. I am excited and proud to present the May 2025 issue of CAMtastic, the SIU Carbondale College of Arts and Media’s semiannual electronic newsletter for alums and friends.

This issue briefly glimpses several amazing things happening in the CAMly (namely, the CAM family). You are cordially invited to submit newsworthy items about you and other CAM alums and friends to Mark Stoffel, chair of the CAM Communication Committee, at mstoffel@siu.edu.

Besides the stories you will read in this CAMtastic, I would also like to mention three other recent happenings in the college. CAM relaunched the Big Muddy Film Festival in March in collaboration with The Varsity Center in town. This time, this longstanding festival showcased 85 of the finest works of independent filmmakers and students. CAM alum Robert Dennis (Class of ’84), alongside two other award-winning filmmakers, served as jurors and viewed the films remotely.

In April, the college launched a new CAM Student Professional Development Week, which would invite CAM alums back to campus to speak to our students and provide them with advice on career planning and development. The School of Media Arts spearheaded this idea and hosted successful Media Days. During those three days, about 10 high-caliber alums came from California, North Carolina, Chicago, St. Louis and Louisville to run workshops and panels for media arts students. They were joined by several other alums remotely. These alums’ experience and expertise are amazing, and their enthusiasm and genuine care for our students and college are contagious and touching.

Also in April, the CAM x AI: Innovating Creativity Symposium was successfully held in Morris Library, attracting nearly 100 faculty, students and alums. Funded by an external grant, this one-day symposium featured keynotes, faculty and student flash talks, a student contest and a workshop. While showcasing CAM faculty and students’ AI-related research and creative activity, this symposium helped spark broad interest in AI applications and issues in arts and media and enhance interdisciplinary collaboration within CAM and beyond. I am proud of and grateful for our faculty’s, students’ and alums’ talent, creativity and collaboration.

I want to take this opportunity to thank CAM’s donors and friends for the treasure, talent and time they generously offered our students and programs. During the 2024 SIU Day of Giving, CAM won the “Most Individual Gifts” trophy thanks to its largest number of donor participation. All the gifts from our alums and friends help us provide the top-rate education our students need and deserve. Any amount makes a difference and is welcome. To learn more about giving, contact Lisa Knight at lisak@foundation.siu.edu or Michelle Snyder at michelles@foundation.siu.edu.

Thank you for reading CAMtastic and supporting our remarkable college and this much-needed CAM e-publication. Please take care, keep in touch and come back to visit. I look forward to seeing many of you in person in Carbondale or elsewhere.

Go Dawgs and CAM!

Hong Cheng, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
College of Arts and Media
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Teamwork is key for journalism students covering inauguration

Planning, working together and executing as a team isn’t limited just to competitive sports.

For five students in SIU Carbondale’s School of Journalism and Advertising, the coordination and cohesiveness needed to cover President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 in producing material for the Daily Egyptian and social media were as important as executing a successful double-steal and bunt in softball where all three runners are safe.

For Carly Gist, the DE news editor and junior majoring in journalism and social work from Evansville, Indiana, each moment associated with the trip and coverage was significant. But it was the moments “where our teamwork paid off” that stuck with her, she said. From Gist and Lylee Gibbs talking with people outside the Capital One Arena together; Gist and Enan Chediak covering U.S. Rep. Mike Bost’s reception, or Gist, Dominique Martinez-Powell and Will Elliott going to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial and rally, it was a team effort — from editing photos to sharing quotes from interviews to add to her articles.

“The five of us ended each night exhausted and hungry, but we kept one another motivated and in high spirits as we worked to get our coverage online,” Gist said. “There have been so many times where I’ve worked on a group project or played a team sport and everyone starts to clash when things get stressful. That never happened with us. We had each other’s backs, which I think is the main thing that contributed to our success. It was a great bonding experience, and our teamwork really made it unforgettable.”

Unique hands-on journalism experience

Alee Quick, interim faculty managing editor at the Daily Egyptian, said the experience allowed the students to be on “frontlines of history.”

“That’s an experience few people get,” Quick said. “I certainly hope we can do more immersive reporting experiences, whether a future inauguration or any other major news event.”

The students also learned about “backpack” journalism and filing on deadlines — “invaluable skills that will serve them into their careers no matter where they’re reporting.”

“They learned that backpack reporting means bringing all the necessary gear — cameras, laptops, chargers, phones — and also food,” Quick said. “It's a delicate balance to cover the news while taking care of yourself. They learned that firsthand on this trip. They also got to talk to all kinds of people from all over the world with all different beliefs. Trump supporters, civil rights activists, congressional representatives — they got to talk to everybody. I think their coverage perfectly reflected the variety of people they encountered.”

Important to be adaptable

Among the lessons Gist said she learned was the importance of adaptability. For many of the students, it was the first time to report stories outside of Southern Illinois. Weather in Washington, D.C. meant Trump’s inauguration was moving indoors and the MLK Day march the group planned to cover was canceled, forcing a quick change in plans.

“We had to come up with new plans fast, and I’m really proud of how our work turned out,” Gist said. “The day before the inauguration, we worked through rain, hail and snow – all within an hour — and we had no choice but to keep pushing through.

“In journalism, we don’t get rain checks. We have to work with what we’ve got. Things are constantly changing, and we just have to adapt. Now that the trip is over, I feel more confident about facing new environments in the future. We were also working on tight deadlines, and this was good practice for turning stories around in a timely manner.”

Gist noted that the activity in connection with the National Action Network’s MLK Day Rally and the journalists fighting for the best angles for photographs. After the sermon, the Rev. Al Sharpton answered questions at a press conference. Gist said she got in the room but wasn’t able to ask a question before the news conference ended.

“The first reporter to ask a question introduced herself by saying she worked for USA Today. I don’t think I’d ever felt so intimidated,” Gist said. “Being around so many large news outlets – not to mention a prominent civil rights leader – was so nerve-racking but so rewarding. Just knowing that we’re getting to have the same opportunities as the professionals we look up to makes it all the more exciting.”