The School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University has opened a state-of-the-art digital media lab for its students.

The new learning space is part of the School’s strategic initiative to further both the School’s and the University’s reputation as the region’s leading innovator in digital and social media education and training.

“We strive to stay on the cutting edge of a technologically explosive media landscape and to offer our students the most up-to-date tools to prepare them to excel,” said Diane L. Borden, director of the School. “The Digital Media Lab, which was designed as a new model for learning, embraces that vision.”

During the spring semester, JMS students are using the lab to create and collaborate in new and exciting ways for the first time. Students participating in the internship seminar developed individual online portfolios in the lab, while seniors in the journalism capstone course used iPads to shoot and edit photos and video that could be used in the course-produced online magazine.

Last fall, the School held its first event in the new lab: a digital and social media boot camp for area high school students. JMS internship coordinator Nicole Vargas organized and facilitated the daylong “DigitalME” event, held on Saturday, Nov. 10. Twelve students from all over San Diego County, including five from Sweetwater Union High School District schools, attended the bootcamp.

“Students were introduced to the latest trends in digital and social media, including mobile apps and live streaming video,” Vargas said. “JMS faculty and students also offered instruction in creating and sharing digital photos; using such social media tools as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube; and using new online tools such as Storify, SoundCloud and Thinglink.”

Among the innovative features of the JMS lab are:

• Twenty iPad tablets containing the latest apps for digital media production
• Five 60-inch LED monitors, with Apple TV, which allow students and faculty to view real-time media content and to “mirror” their iPads on the monitors during lectures and group discussions
• Energy-efficient LED lighting fixtures, flush-mounted throughout the room
• Amplified stereo ceiling components
• Four rolling work stations that may be raised and lowered for student comfort and accessible design
• Colorful, easy-to-maneuver chairs with telescoping tabletops and backpack storage below each chair
• Lightweight, portable whiteboards that may be placed on one of two wall rails in the room and that allow for team project work

“The lab was designed to foster creative communication and collaboration,” Borden said. “We believe that teaching and learning in this team environment will give students the maximum opportunity to hone their writing, editing and production skills on digital platforms.”

In addition to the lecture and activity workspaces, a small sound/TV studio allows students a space to produce multimedia projects, including text, audio and video for digital and mobile platforms.

Primary funding for the lab came from donations to the Friends of Journalism & Media Studies Fund; the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts instructional equipment fund; and Continuing Education Revenue Funds.

The School of Journalism & Media Studies offers instruction in journalism, advertising, public relations, and media studies and is among only 109 such programs nationwide to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

The School partners with the SDSU College of Extended Studies in a professional certificate program in digital and social media. In addition, the School offers a General Education course titled, “Social Media in the Digital Age,” to students from all majors across the University.

The work and legacy of Glen M. Broom, School of Journalism & Media Studies professor emeritus, was honored on Feb. 22, when San Diego State University announced a campaign to raise funds to launch a professional center for public relations in his honor.

Hosted by Elliot Hirshman, SDSU president, and Joyce Gattas, dean of the College of Professional Studies & Fine Arts, the event brought together key donors, public relations alumni and faculty, and community professionals to recognize Dr. Broom and his lasting impact on the PR program and the public relations profession.

The Glen M. Broom Student Center for Professional Development in Public Relations will provide support to administer the internship program, to provide training programs for working professionals and to support research activities for faculty and graduate students.

The Center, which will be housed in JMS, is designed to be a national model for public relations excellence.

“The continued success of the public relations program at SDSU requires that the University maintain the values that Glen Broom outlined many years ago for a program that creates synergies among research, teaching and practice,” said Diane L. Borden, director of JMS. “In addition to providing support for internships and professional development, the Center will honor Glen’s legacy by also supporting the efforts of JMS faculty and graduate students to produce significant scholarly research in the area of public relations.”

Dr. Broom joined the faculty at San Diego State University in 1979 and later served as head of the public relations program and as chair of the Department of Journalism. During his tenure at SDSU, he mentored more than 3,000 public relations students while helping to create one of the premiere public relations programs in the country.

Glen and Betty Broom are pictured above wearing university medallions presented to them by SDSU President Elliot Hirshman on Feb. 5, 2013 in recognition of their philanthropy. Photo courtesy of Glen Broom.

Dr. Arceneaux based his manuscript, “Wireless newspapers: Remote publishing on islands and ships, 1899-1913,” on original archival research. The paper documents the use of wireless telegraphy by newspapers more than a hundred years ago, a time when wireless was truly “new media.” Using terminology very similar to that used today, the publishers of the wireless newspapers boasted that they could be delivered anywhere, at any time, and that the new technology was a great miracle of science.

Sha teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in the School of Journalism & Media Studies, including Principles of Public Relations, the first core public relations class within the specialization.

After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Sha worked as a practitioner, serving as a public affairs officer with the U.S. Census Bureau. Subsequently, she served as visiting faculty at the University of Maryland and the American University of Paris. In 2004, Sha joined the faculty at SDSU.

“SDSU has had a strong public relations program for decades, not only in the research done by our faculty, but also in the relationships built with our students and alumni,” said Sha, who received her award at the organization’s 2012 International Conference in San Francisco on Oct. 16. “I really got a head start compared to public relations faculty at other universities.”

Two other SDSU professors have been named Outstanding Educators by PRSA — Glen Broom in 1991 and David Dozier in 2008.

For her teaching, Sha won the 2007 Outstanding Faculty Award from SDSU and the 2004 Outstanding Faculty Award from the University of Maryland. However, teaching the next generation of PR professionals is not the only part of the job she enjoys.

“I genuinely believe in the value of research-based and theory-driven practice,” Sha said. “Being a professor gives me the chance not only to teach, but also to do research and develop public relations theory.”

Sha’s primary area of research combines theories of mathematical physics with public relations scholarship. Her other research areas include cultural identity, international public relations, activism and gender.

Sha’s scholarly work has been published in “Journal of Public Relations Research,” “Public Relations Review,” “Public Relations Journal,” “Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,” and “Journal of Promotion Management,” as well as various book chapters.

Sha also joined Glen Broom as the co-author of the 11th edition of “Effective Public Relations,” a textbook that has been popular worldwide since it was first introduced in 1952.

Post by Nicole Lee, JMS graduate student. Photo by Rosanna Fiske.

David Dozier, Rebecca Nee, Bey-Ling Sha, Amy Schmitz Weiss, Hongmei Shen and Tim Wulfemeyer participated in the conference, which marked the 100th anniversary of the organization.

Here is a list of the JMS faculty presentations:

Dr. Dozier served as a discussant for a refereed paper research session sponsored by the Public Relations Division. The session was titled, “Crisis communications and public relations.” Hyojung Park, a visiting JMS lecturer, also presented a paper during this session. The paper, co-authored with Hyun Jee Oh of Nanyang Technical University, was titled, “We’re not the only one with a crisis: Exploring situational variables in an extension of situational crisis communication theory.”

At a refereed paper research session sponsored by the Media Management and Economic Division, titled, “Economics, culture and evolving audience behaviors in the digital era,” Dr. Nee presented a paper titled, “Creative destruction: An exploratory study of how digitally native news nonprofits are innovating journalism practices online.”

At a scholar-to-scholar (poster) refereed paper research session, Dr. Nee presented a paper co-authored with Judith Fusco from SRI International Center for Technology in Learning titled, “Tweeting in the dark: A comparative analysis of journalists’ usages of Twitter during a crisis.”

At a refereed paper research session sponsored by the Newspaper and Online News Division, titled, “The business of journalism,” Dr. Nee presented a paper titled, “Social responsibility theory and the digital nonprofits: Should the government aid online news startups?”

Dr. Schmitz Weiss and Dr. Wulfemeyer presented their co-authored papers at a scholar-to-scholar (poster) refereed research session. Dr. Wulfemeyer was first author on their paper titled, “The use of online innovations by large-market television and news radio stations: A content analysis of station homepages.” Dr. Schmitz Weiss was first author on their paper titled, “The online innovations of legacy news media: A content analysis of large-market newspaper and broadcast station websites.”

At another scholar-to-scholar (poster) refereed research session, Dr. Schmitz Weiss presented a paper titled, “Smartphone news consumption: The absence of location-based services within today’s mobile news apps.” She also served as a panelist at a Professional Freedom and Responsibility session co-sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women and the AEJMC Council of Affiliates. The session was titled, “Leading innovation: Women at the forefront of development in media organizations.”

As a 2012 recipient of a Knight Foundation Bridge Grant, Dr. Schmitz Weiss also reported to a panel session about her project, titled, “@SDSU – where’s the news?”

Dr. Sha helped moderate a pre-conference workshop session sponsored by the AEJMC Elected Standing Committee on Teaching titled, “Getting started in teaching journalism: Tips from the vets.” She also served as a panelist for a teaching session co-sponsored by the Public Relations and History divisions titled, “Guns, gangsters, prostitution and porn: 100 years of vice and corporate social responsibility.” She also served as the moderator for a refereed “top-papers” research session sponsored by the Public Relations Division titled, “Keeping it real: Exploring the roles of conversational human voices and source credibility in crisis communication via social media.”

At a refereed paper research session sponsored by the Public Relations Division titled, “Contemporary issues in the practice of public relations,” Dr. Shen presented a paper co-authored with Hua Jiang of Towson University, titled, “What contributes to public relations professionals’ own conflict: Life affecting work.”

AzteCast is a free mobile news app that provides information about campus events to faculty, staff and students at SDSU. The application allows for members of the campus community to contribute to the product, making it a collaborative news experience.

The students created the mobile news application in a special section of JMS 550, Multimedia News Laboratory. Instructors were Amy Schmitz Weiss, assistant professor in the School of Journalism & Media Studies, and Joseph Lewis, lecturer in computer science.

The power behind the app is its ability to “geo-locate” the news events on a Google map, making it easy for users — whether on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, or desktop computers — to find out what is happening on campus and where it is happening.

The mobile app operates on the Ushahidi (http://ushahidi.com/) open-source platform.

A grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helped support the creation of the mobile application. The funding was part of a Knight collaboration with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) called, “Building a Bridge Between the Knight News Challenge and JMC Programs” (http://www.aejmc.org/home/2011/11/2011-12-bridge-grant-recipients/).

Dr. Schmitz Weiss was one of 10 scholars nationally to receive the grant funding.

The app is currently available for download on the iPhone in the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aztecast/id541257765?mt=8

The website version of the app can be accessed here: http://aztecast.com/