Department of Communication

 

 

The Department of Communication can help prepare you for a successful future. Just ask some of our graduates.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 

Kevin Anderson 

Graduated in 2002. Production manager for IBN radio Network in Metro-Atlanta.
E-mail: Kevin@ibn.org

Philip Attinger 

Phil, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History, double major (1992), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication (1999). He served as Editor in Chief of The Chanticleer from 1998-99 and as secretary for SPJ. He wrote for the Life & Times section of the Gadsden Times during the summer of 1999, after which, he moved to Florida and worked as reporter/staffwriter for Highlands County News-Sun, a HarborPoint Media newspaper in Sebring, FL, home of the internationally known 12 Hours of Sebring auto race, part of the American Le Mans series. Phil won first place in the Florida Press Association Better Weekly Newspaper awards in the Humor Column category for 1999, third place in Humor Column for 2000, and second place in Environmental Writing for 2003. He married on July 8, 2006, and moved to Winter Haven, FL, (home of historic Cypress Gardens. Since June 15, 2006, he has served as public relations director for the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter. Office (863) 294-5941; Cell (863) 381-3896.
E-mail: phil@attinger.com  or pattinger@polkredcross.org.

Bill Bauman

Bill is the Chief of Video Services for the U.S. Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., and has worked for the government in Florida and Colorado. His current duties expose him to new media, working with AVID Media Composers and using video streaming on web sites. While a communication major at JSU, Bill worked as a DJ at WLJS-92J.
E-mail:BaumanW@SAFETY-EMH1.ARMY.MIL

Kaci Smith Beatty

Kaci is currently the Director of Alumni Affairs at Jacksonville State University. She previously worked for the university as an alumni field representative/admissions counselor before being promoted. She began her career at CNN after completing her internship there and at the time she left, she was a chyron operator in the control room during live broadcasts. Kaci was a member of SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) and a DJ for WLJS-FM radio.
E-mail: kbeatty@jsu.edu
 

Justin Brown

Justin is a former program director at JSU's WLJS, and Q-104, a 100,000 watt FM station in Gadsden, Ala., and is now a DJ at one of Alabama's largest and most popular stations, Magic 96 in Birmingham.
 

Miranda (Bryant) Myrick

Miranda graduated in Summer 2003 with a BA in Communication. She wants to remind others that her last name while and undergrad was Bryant, but she has married since then. She now works in the business management office at Anniston Army Depot and takes graduate courses at night, seeking a Master of Public Administration in Political Science from JSU.
E-mail: jsu2973f@jsu.edu

Chris Capps

Chris, a photographer for the Mimosa and The Chanticleer while at JSU, was with Crawford Communications in Atlanta as a Network Operator for Latin American Pay TV. Currently employed with AOL Time Warner Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta, GA. He is a network operator. He works in WTBS, Cartoon Network, TCM, Boomerang, TNT, and Turner South all networks owned and operated by Mr. Ted Turner. Chris started in broadcasting at WZDX TV Fox-54 in Huntsville as a control operator, then moved to WTTO/WABM TV in Birmingham as a supervisor of master control operations.
E-mail: chris4334@aol.com

Jamie Cole

A former Editor in Chief of The Chanticleer, Jamie is now Multimedia Designer with the new media group at Southern Progress Corporation and Progressive Farmer magazine. He designs and maintains the Progressive Farmer web site, and maintains a personal site as well. He won the John C. Turner award and the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award his senior year at JSU, and won an SPJ National Mark of Excellence Award along with several regional awards for his coverage of the devastating tornado in the Goshen community of Alabama in 1994.
E-mail: jcole@pathfinder.com

Karen Cole

While at JSU, Karen was a member of SPJ and during her senior year she worked as a photojournalist at The Anniston Star. After graduation, Karen worked at WTTO TV21 in Birmingham, Ala., first as a Film Assistant, then as Promption Copywriter, Creative Services Producer and lastly as Promotion Director. She received 14 Emmy nominations and one Emmy for work done in the areas of Topical Promotion and Collaborative Arts-Composing. Karen now works at WBRC Fox 6 in Birmingham as Creative Services Producer. She is also involved with Do Dah Day, Inc., a non-profit, all volunteer organization benefiting homeless and injured animals.
E-mail: kcole@wbrc.com

Jocelyn Connell

Jocelyn was born in Anniston and received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Jacksonville State University in 2002. She's proud to say that she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA. Jocelyn anchored a local cable television show and went to WDSI in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as a reporter. She then went north to Lansing in April 2004 reporting for WILX and WSYM, in addition to anchoring the WSYM weekend news.
Her proudest moment, however, was receiving an Emmy in 2006 (Article + photo) for her reporting on teens driving with cell phones. She's also enjoyed covering stories of national significance such as the state funeral of late President Gerald Ford and the capture of serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph.
When she's not working, Jocelyn loves spending time with her Italian Greyhound she rescued, playing the piano, and learning many new things about the Tri-City area.
E-mail: JConnell@wnem.com

Dana Williams Conley

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Jacksonville State in December 1996, Dana immediately went to work as a news producer at WHNT TV in Huntsville.  In 2000, she took a job as a primetime producer at WAAY TV in Huntsville.  In March 2003, she took a big step and moved back to Jacksonville and got married.  Since then, Dana has worked as a marketing consultant, as well as freelancing in radio, television and the magazine industry. She currently serves as the fill-in producer at TV-24 in Jacksonville and works as a freelance writer/editor for a new entertainment company in Anniston called Envizions. Currently, she is working on her Masters degree at JSU. Her ultimate goal is to teach communication courses at the univesity. During her time at JSU's communication department, Dana worked as a features writer for The Chanticleer, The Mimosa and as a DJ for WLJS radio. 
Email: danaconley4@aol.com

Vicki Chirpe Coward

Vicki is the Community Relations Coordinator for WXIA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta. She completed her internship with WSB-TV in Atlanta, and was a production assistant for the Olympic Games. Vicki also worked at ABC Sports, Atlanta, in 1993, and with CNN Sports in 1992. She was a member of the JSU student chapter of SPJ.
E-mail:vcoward@wxia.gannett.com

Lantz Croft

Lantz was a two-year vice president of SPJ and participated in an SPJ internship with the first TV newscast produced from its national convention. He received the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award in 1998. Lantz also worked with TV Services while at JSU. He completed his senior internship with WBRC Fox 6 News in Birmingham and is now Assignment Manager there. Lantz serves as the director of internships for the station.
E-mail: lcroft@wbrc.com Home email: rcroft@bham.rr.com

Rich Daniel

Rich was station manager, music director, and promotion director for WLJS-FM while at JSU. He was a charter member of JSU's SPJ chapter in 1986. He is now a technical director with the Cable News Network (CNN).
E-mail: richdaniel@mindspring.com

Tracy Morris Fairel

After her 1994 graduation, Tracy remained on campus as a JSU admissions counselor. She later worked as Director of Public Relations and Advertising at the Greater Rome (Georgia) Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is now Director of Tourism and Conventions at the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce
E-mail: TracyF@calhounchamber.com

Jennifer Gaydon

Jennifer was an SPJ member and a DJ for WLJS-FM while at JSU. She was also on the tennis team at JSU. She worked as a technical director in master control at Cable News Network (CNN). Jennifer now works in public relations in Atlanta.
E-mail: jgaydon@bbdoatl.com

Steve Goodman

While at JSU from ’88-’92, Steve was member of the Rifle Shooting team. Steve worked at WLJS 92J, then moved on to work for WJXL radio, WPID radio, and WQEN radio. Steve also worked for WJSU TV-40.  It was there that he realized that he wanted to continue working in TV, and the best place to do that was in my native in New York. He worked for News 12 Long Island, a 24 hour news station, then transferred to News 12 New Jersey to become a full time director. Steve then moved on to the Fox News Channel where he helped launch the network and see it become the #1 station it is today. He stayed on as director for over ten years, working on the prime time shows that included Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fox Report with Sheppard Smith, Hannity and Colmes, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, along with many other shows and
specials. He is currently a freelance director in NYC.

Email:  swgoodman@mac.com

Jamey Graydon

Jamey started his TV career at WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Ala., and is now a producer with the Cable News Network (CNN). Jamey recently helped cover the 1996 Republican Convention in San Diego. He won the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award his senior year at JSU.
 

Shala Spruell Hainer

Shala was a copy editor for The Chanticleer, and a DJ for WLJS-FM while at JSU. She has worked as a copy editor for the Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She is currently in charge of publications in the department of the Municipal Association of South Carolina.
E-mail: shalahainer@yahoo.com

Tim Hanby

Tim is the Photo and TV Operations Manager at Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Ala. He served as photographer for the Mimosa and The Chanticleer while at JSU. Tim also was the public service director and a DJ at WLJS-FM. He was a member of SPJ, and served as video lab assistant for the communication department.
E-mail: Tim.Hanby@TBE.Com

Misti Hayes

E-Mail: PRGirl@aol.com

Heather Hardin

Heather completed her senior internship at The Golf Channel and was hired there. She moved to Birmingham, Ala., where she was an in-house producer for HealthSouth Corporation. She worked at Leo Ticheli Productions in Birmingham as a line producer, and is currently working for O2 Ideas Inc., a Birmingham advertising agency where she is the Broadcast Manager. Heather began her broadcast career as the Promotions Director at WLJS-FM
E-mail:heather@o2ideas.com

Cathy Higgins

Cathy is a features writer for the Albany Herald in Albany, GA, where she covers entertainment, health, and lifestyles issues. Prior to moving to Albany, she worked for the Citizen-Free Press in Pulaski, TN, the Sand Mountain Reporter in Albertville, and the Daily Home in Talladega. While at JSU, Cathy served as a production assistant for Television Services, a DJ for WLJS, and a staff writer and assistant advertising director for The Chanticleer. She also maintained her membership in SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists).
Email:  cathyhiggins51@yahoo.com

Reggie Hubbard 

Reggie is using his DJ experience, from WLJS-FM, at WZGC-FM Z93 now. He serves as a writer/co-producer there on "Blues Sunday", a blues specialty show. He is also a reporter and technical engineer for the variety program, "The Dunham's". Reggie completed his senior internship with WZGC-FM.
E-mail: reggiehubbard@z93.com

Roger Johnson

A former DJ and Music Director at WLJS, Production Coordinator at CBS Television – Black Rock Media, New York, NY 10019. He completed his internship with Late Show with David Letterman.
Email: rajohnson@cbs.com

Melanie Jones

A former editor of The Chanticleer, Melanie Jones is a copy editor with The Mountain Press in Sevierville, Tenn., and is a Tennessee Press Association award winner for humor column writing. She started her career as a reporter at The Outlook in Alexander City, Ala., where she won an Alabama Associated Press Award. Melanie won the John C. Turner award and the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award her senior year at JSU. She was also the recipient of a regional SPJ Mark of Excellence award for a series of articles on rape.
E-mail: mjonestn@earthlink.net

Shane McGriff

A former news editor of The Chanticleer, Shane started his career at CNN and worked with CNN Interactive . He is currently Director of Marketing Services with Stonebridge Technologies. Shane received the John C. Turner award and the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award his senior year at JSU. In October 1998, Shane was named the JSU Young Alumnus of the Year.
E-mail: smcgriff@sbti.com

Mai Martinez

Mai is a former Editor in Chief of The Chanticleer. She also served a two-year term as secretary for the student chapter of SPJ. Mai received the John C. Turner Oustanding Graduate award her senior year. After completing an internship with WBRC Fox 6 News in Birmingham, Mai was hired as a video editor.
E-mail: Maimail2@aol.com

Jim Matthews

Jim works for Sparta, Inc. in Huntsville, Ala., in multimedia design and development, audio/visual production and 3d CAD modeling. Check out some of the web sites he has designed for ZEUS , ITS and for Peter Applebome and his book, Dixie Rising. While at JSU, Jim was the Assistant Station Manager for WLJS-FM, 1993-94, and Station Manager, WLJS-FM, 1994-95.
E-mail:jim@websun.com

Michelle Martin

Michelle is managing editor at Randall Publishing in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She previously worked as a freelance field editor in Seattle, Wash., and was the executive editor at Vulcan Publications in Birmingham, Ala. Michelle served as the features editor and a staff writer with The Chanticleer, and completed her internship at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, Calif.
E-mail:mmartin@randallpub.com

Scott Mince

For the past five years Scott has worked as a sales coordinator for Concord Technology Alliance, an electronic components sales rep firm. Scott was the News Director at WZYP-FM/WVNN-AM/WPZM-FM in Huntsville, Alabama for four and a half years the last two of which were as News Director .While at JSU, he was a DJ at WLJS-FM for three years, and the student station manager from 1988-1989. He now lives in Huntsville with his wife, Liz, and 17-month-old son, Kyle
E-mail:Scott & Liz Mince

Amy Ledford Morgan

Amy was a member of SPJ and graduated with a double major in communication and English. She now resides in Atlanta, Ga., and is Marketing Operations Manager at Internet Security Systems, a leading provider of security management solutions for the Internet.
E-mail: amorgan@iss.net

Craig Morrison 

A former Program Director and Music Director for WLJS, Craig now is part of the top-rated morning show Craig & Sam in the Morning" at WMEE-FM in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Craig and his co-host, Samantha Adams, are one of the few married couples performing a morning show in America. Craig & Sam were hired away from KKCS-FM in Colorado Springs, CO, after being named 2005 Best Morning Show and 2005 Station Entertainers of the Year by the Colorado Broadcaster's Association. Craig was also Assistant PD and Music Director at KMAG-FM in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, after previous stints with KBTN-FM in Joplin, Missouri KKGB-FM in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and others. He previously did contract work for various record companies in Europe, and was a buyer for the Starship Peppermint chains of record stores. In 2004 he was nominated for a Radio Music Award for Best Country Radio Personality.
Email: craigkatcountry@hotmail.com

Miranda Myrick 

Miranda is a former staff writer for The Chanticleer, as well as a former senator in JSU's SGA. She earned a BA in communications with a concentration in print journalism in 2003, as well as a Master of Public Administration with a major in political science in 2006. Her current job is working as a Public Affairs Specialist in the Public Affairs Office at Anniston Army Depot.
Email: Miranda.myrick@us.army.mil

Tonya Morrison Parker

Tonya is a former Features Editor for The Chanticleer and Music Director and air personality at WLJS-FM. She is now a freelance writer for 5 newspapers, The Baton Rouge Advocate, Lake Charles American Press, Houston Chronicle, Lafayette (La.) Advertiser, and Alexandria (La.) Town Talk, in addition to occasional contributions to Rolling Stone and SonicNet. Tonya and her husband, Craig, have a news entertainment wire service, The Star Wire.
E-mail:tpmor@centuryinter.net

Joshua Newton

Employed at Fox 8, Greensboro, NC
E-mail: cameracowboy@bellsouth.net

Kristy Oliver

Kristy is a Production Assistant with Z-Post, a production company in Atlanta. She previously worked at WSB-TV-2 and WAGA-TV Fox 5, both in Atlanta. She is also involved in freelance work at Creativism and other production companies in the Atlanta area. Kristy was a DJ at WLJS-FM while at JSU, and was a member of SPJ.
E-mail:kristy_oliver@hotmail.com

Carla Byram Patterson

Carla is Director of Extended Learning at Floyd College in Rome, GA. While at JSU, Carla was a member of SPJ and received the John C. Turner Outstanding Communication Graduate award. She served as section editor of The Chanticleer.
E-mail: carla_patterson@mail.fc.peachnet.edu
 

Jermelle "Jeh Jeh" Pruitt

Jeh Jeh was a fullback for the 1992 Div. II National Championship football team at JSU, and also served as Sports Editor of The Chanticleer. He is now a sports reporter and photographer for WBRC Fox 6 News in Birmingham, Alabama.

Jeff Randolph

Jeff is currently an Associate Director with Turner Sports. He covers live sports on TNT, TBS, Turner South and sometimes NBC. His work includes traveling and covering NASCAR, NBA and Braves Baseball. He has also worked on the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney on NBC and the1998 Winter Olympic Games on TNT.
E-mail:jeff.randolph@turner.com

Shannon Stevens

Shannon does the morning drive at Magic 96 in Birmingham. She has a legion of fans and is one of the most popular DJs in Alabama.
E-mail: robconrad@mindspring.com

Kandi Street

Kandi is a new Allstate Exclusive Agent who opened her office on March 1, 2007 at 1930 Quintard Avenue in Anniston, Alabama. She has been involved in the Calhoun County Community for over 24 years. Kandi Street graduated from Jacksonville State University in 1987 with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She has been working in the insurance industry for over five years. Currently, she is a member of the Anniston Kiwanis Club, the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, the JSU Alumni Association, and Parker Memorial Baptist Church. She has volunteered with the Knox Concert Series, the Salvation Army, the March of Dimes, and other institutions. Kandi is married to Rob Street from Anniston, Alabama and has six children, two step children, and one grandchild. If you need anything, please call me at 240-7060.
E-mail: a033893@allstate.com

Jason Thompson

A former Editor in Chief of The Chanticleer, Jason Thompson, has served as Political Producer with washingtonpost.com since August 1999. He covered the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia and election night at Gore headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. He writes, packages and produces content for the Washington Post web site. He is now a part-time graduate student at George Washington University seeking a master's degree in Media and Public Affairs. Previously Jason was a producer with CNN Interactive. He won the John C. Turner award and the Outstanding SPJ Graduate award his senior year at JSU. 
E-mail: jason.thompson@wpni.com

Ashley L. Wheeler

Ashley graduated cum laude with special honors, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with public relations concentration in Summer 2004. She was President of PRO while at JSU, while also receiving the Communication department "Character Award," as well as the PRO "Student of the Year" award, both in 2004. She interned at Silver Sands Stores in Destin, FL. She moved back to Gadsden where she was hired as the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lakes Golf Course. Since then she has moved to Atlanta where she currently works as Director of Sales and Promotion for Golf Media Inc./FORE Georgia in Marietta, GA. Fore Georgia is an official publicartion of the Georgia PGA.
E-mail:ashleylw04@yahoo.com

Steve Womble

Steve was a DJ for WLJS-FM for three years. After graduation he began working as a DJ for WGAA-AM in Cedartown, Ga. Steve is now the News Director and Music Director at WGAA. 
E-mail:SWomble@aol.com

Kim Nally Wright

A former section editor of the Mimosa, Kim began her career at the Atlanta ad agency, Donimo & Partners as Traffic Manager/Print Production Assistant. She is currently the Print Production Manager for Freebairn & Company in Atlanta. While at JSU, Kim was also a member of SPJ
E-mail: kwright@freebairn.com

Wendy Ziesel

Wendy is a graphics artist at WDSI-TV Fox 61 in Chattanooga, Tenn. While at JSU. Wendy was a member of SPJ and was a staff writer for The Chanticleer. She completed her internship at Parenting Today at CNN. 
E-mail:wendy1717@yahoo.com
 

 

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