Journalism | DEV College of Media

College of Media faculty, staff lead workshops for high schoolers at Illini Summer Academies

high school participants at Media summer academy

July 7, 2026 | Kelly Youngblood

Several faculty and staff members from the College of Media led workshops for high-school-aged youth in Illinois during Illini Summer Academies, held June 21-25, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Illini Summer Academies, which is presented by Illinois 4-H, the youth development program of University of Illinois Extension, partners with various departments and colleges across campus every summer to give high school students an opportunity to experience college life and explore a career of their choice.

Twelve students from across Illinois registered for the College of Media program, which marked the college’s first year of participation in the 4-H Summer Academies.

“As the coordinator for the program as well as one of its instructors, I think it went great,” said Jason P. Chambers, professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and associate dean for access and engagement.

“I think that the program helped build student awareness about the majors available in the college and the types of jobs they can get with an education in the College of Media.”

Chambers led the workshop “Exploring Public Service Advertising,” which gave students an overview of the ad industry, including discussions about the different types of advertising, tools, and approaches used to attract an audience.

summer workshop at Richmond Studio — (Photo of broadcast workshop by Disha Rai, youth photographer)

Students developed a public service advertising campaign on a topic of their choice, such as excess phone usage among teens, distracted driving, and voting.

“I think the big things that students get from these workshops are [learning] that there is an entire industry that works to produce all the advertising that they see [and] that it takes a lot of time and work to create an average advertisement, let alone one that really engages an audience and gets them to pay attention,” Chambers said.

Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer in the Sandage Department of Advertising, led “Create, Connect, and Think: Discovering Your Voice on Social Media,” where students explored how social media shapes identity, creativity, and communication.

Peacock said the workshop was designed to connect participants with college life and future careers, encourage collaboration and peer learning, and build students’ confidence and agency as creators, innovators, and problem-solvers—not just consumers of information.

“It was really fun, and I was impressed by the thoughtful responses from students and admired their understanding of how technology, creativity, and problem-solving can be applied to real-world challenges and future opportunities,” Peacock said.

Other Media faculty and staff who participated in Illini Summer Academies were Angela Aguayo, associate professor in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies; Daniel Almanza, assistant director of Media Career Services; Ken Erdey, instructor and technical coordinator for broadcast operations in the Department of Journalism; and Mike Yao, professor in the Sandage Department of Advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research. Cassie Arner, executive senior associate director of athletics, sport administration at Illinois Athletics, helped organize a workshop that focused on sports media.

Share on social

Media faculty, students present research at 2026 International Communication Association conference

June 25, 2026

Faculty and graduate students from the College of Media co-presented various topics of research at the 76^th annual International Communication Association Conference—the largest academic conference for communication scholars—on June 4-8, 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa. The ICA aims to advance the scholarly study of human communication by encouraging and facilitating excellence in academic research worldwide.

This year’s conference theme addressed “Communication and Inequalities in Context.” College of Media presenters included faculty in the Institute of Communications Research and the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising; graduate students in the MS advertising program; and doctoral students in the Institute of Communications Research PhD program.

College of Media research presenters and presentations are listed below in bold.

Pre-Conference: A Causal Inference Institute in Communication Studies
Organizers

Shuning Lu, U of Maryland, College Park, USA
Ewa Maslowska, Associate Professor, Advertising
Harsh Taneja, Associate Professor, Advertising

When Communication Makes the Difference: From Signals to Relational Dynamics
Human-Machine Communication
“Reconsidering Gender: A Computational Examination of Conversational Dynamics between Human and Gendered AI”

Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising

Human-Machine Care: Well-Being and Vulnerability
Human-Machine Communication
“Emotionally Vulnerable Subtype of Internet Gaming Disorder: Measuring and Exploring the Pathology of Problematic Generative AI Use”

Di Wu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Guoming Yu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising

Top Papers in Human-Machine Communication
Human-Machine Communication
“Ontological Reflexivity in Human–AI Communication Research: Toward an Integration Approach Based on Theory-Ontology Alignment”

Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising
Jiyeon Chang, Student, ICR
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA

Persuasion and Consumer Behavior
Information Systems
“The Brand Transparency Paradox: Consumer Reactions to Explicit Mentions of Artificial Intelligence”

Viviana Zambrano Rodriguez, U of South Carolina, USA
Louvins Pierre, Assistant Professor, Advertising

“Exploring How Attitudes toward AI and Disclosure Influence Purchase Intention of AI-Integrated Products through Hedonic, Social, and Epistemic Value”

Louvins Pierre, Assistant Professor, Advertising
Viviana C. Zambrano Rodriguez, U of South Carolina, USA
Yanbo Li, Student, ICR

AI in News Production and Consumption
Information Systems
“Audience Perceptions of AI Newscasters: Social Presence, Trust, and Emotional Responses”

Haochen Ji, Student, ICR
Jiayi Wang, Student, MS Advertising
Kevin Wise, Professor, Advertising
Xiaoyu Xu, State U of New York at Cortland, USA

AI Taking Over: Promises and Pitfalls of AI Use in Research, Journalism, and Society
Computational Methods
“When Machines Start Writing: Assessing the Impact of Generative AI on Journalism Labor Markets”

Sakshi Bhalla, Student, ICR
Jennifer Henrichsen, Washington State U, USA
Benjamin Toff, U of Minnesota, USA

Cognitive and Emotional Processing
Information Systems
“Algorithmic Temporality and Parasocial Connection: How Feed Chronology and Gaze Shape Influencer Perception”

Veranika Paltaratskaya, Student, ICR
Alice Ji, Student, ICR
Kevin Wise, Professor, Advertising

Editorial Board Meeting: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC)

Chair: Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising

MIAU-steerable AI: Trust, Adoption, Dependency, and Behavioral Regulation in Generative Tech Ecosystems
Communication and Technology
“Social Media Exit and Platform Loyalty: Generational Differences in Platform Abandonment”

Margaret Yee Man Ng, Associate Professor, Journalism
Ewa Maslowska, Associate Professor, Advertising

Computational Methods Research Escalator
Computational Methods
“When AI Imagines Consumers: A Computational Analysis of Representational Bias in Generative AI Brand Imagery”

Haochen Ji, Student, ICR

Co-Constructing Trust in HMC
Human-Machine Communication
“Revisiting Trust in the Era of Generative AI: Factorial Structure and Latent Profiles”

Haocan Sun, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Weizi Liu, Texas Christian U, USA
Di Wu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Guoming Yu, Beijing Normal U, CHINA
Mike Yao, Professor, Advertising

Growing up with AI: Children’s and Adolescents’ Understanding, Trust, and Risk
Children, Adolescents, and Media
“Children and AI Mind Attribution: Reasoning and Learning with ChatGPT through Social Learning Theory”

Boram Cho, Student, MS Advertising
Jiyeon Chang, Student, ICR
Michelle Nelson, Professor, Advertising

Top Papers Session
Information Systems
“Following the News: Polarization and the Networked Structure of Attention”

Sakshi Bhalla, Student, ICR

Perception, Trust, and Bias of Artificial Intelligence
Information Systems
“Emotional and Social Drivers of Artificial Intelligence Pessimism Aversion: Extending the Appraisal Tendency Framework to AI Environments”

Heng Zhang, Chongqing U, CHINA
Nansong Zhou, Student, ICR
Jer Shyuan Ng, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, AUSTRALIA
Shiyi Zhang, Chongqing U, CHINA

Masculinities, Femininities in Digital Communication
Feminist Scholarship
“Masculine Anxiety and the Making of Racialized Nationalism in China: A Qualitative Investigation Into Sunxiaochuan Bar”

Nini Zhou, Student, ICR
JungHwan Yang, U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

(Photos by Boram Cho.)

Giuliana Means

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Giuliana Means is a Class of 2028 journalism major.

Why did you decide to major in journalism?

During my freshman year of high school, I walked into the 96.1 KJTZ radio station, and that experience set my goal in stone that I wanted to be a journalist. For the next four years of high school, I was a radio host. I also did freelance work with local bands. When it finally came time for college applications, I saw that Illinois is considered one of the best broadcast journalism schools.

What project are you most proud of?

Last year, I was a senior reporter for Illinois Public Media, and I did my first feature-length story on homelessness in Champaign-Urbana. At the time, the only low-barrier shelter was at risk of closing due to a lack of funding. If that happened, it would leave around 60 people on the streets in the dead of winter. I wanted to talk to somebody experiencing homelessness and get a new perspective for IPM. I’m really proud of myself for getting that perspective and amplifying the voice of an unhoused person. The College of Media decided to submit my project to the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, and I placed in the top 20 out of roughly 100 submissions. That was the first big project I did by myself, so I’m proud that I made it to begin with, but also, knowing that my work is being appreciated is heartwarming to know.

What classes have been the most beneficial?

As a hands-on learner, I have learned a lot from the IPM section of JOUR 400: Newsroom Experience. I was able to get real-world experience by going out, producing stories, and working with an actual editor.

I’m currently in JOUR 360: Working with the Press for my public relations minor, and it has been really helpful for learning more tools for interviewing people. In that class, you learn how to understand, manage, and build relations with the media. The most interesting part is learning how to work with people who are PR-trained and working together to create stories.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming journalism students?

Try everything! When I first arrived, I got involved with so many RSOs to see what I did and didn’t like. Most people say, “say no to everything,” but I would say the opposite. At first, it might seem like a lot is on your plate, but when your time is filled, and your resume is heavy, which is especially important, you’ll thank yourself later.

I would also recommend utilizing your admission counselor. I love mine. She helped me navigate studying abroad and so much more. She gives me a lot of guidance on how to maximize my time on campus while also ensuring that I have a good experience.

—Interview by Qyler Bowie, New Voices Intern

Media alumni at ‘Chicago Tribune’ win 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting

June 4, 2026

Five College of Media alumni have won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for their contributions to a Chicago Tribune piece on immigration.

Angie Leventis Lourgos (BS ’03, journalism), Dan Petrella (BS ’06, journalism; BA ’06, LAS; MS ’10, journalism), Marianne Mather (BS ’96, media studies), Bob McCoppin (BS ’85, journalism), and John J. Kim (BS ’97, advertising) were part of a team that produced the winning work, cited as “powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance.”

The coverage was also recognized as a 2026 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Public Service.

Kim previously won a Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for Local Reporting for his photography in multiple Chicago Sun-Times’ articles that documented violence in Chicago neighborhoods.

Chicago Tribune newsroom staff — *Chicago Tribune* newsroom staff; not pictured is John J. Kim, who was out on assignment. (Photo courtesy of the *Chicago Tribune.)*

Share on social

Journalism alum Karina Anglada selected as winner of 2026 College of Media Emerging Leader Award

May 21, 2026 | Kelly Youngblood

Karina Anglada (BS ’10, journalism; MS ’12, iSchool) has leveraged her broadcast journalism degree to tell compelling stories about iconic professional sports teams, earning nine Regional EMMY® Awards over a five-year period as a media producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors.

After transitioning from sports to the tech industry, Anglada now helps others shape their narratives as a senior strategic development manager for video at Adobe.

“I made the jump to the tech world and that’s been an incredible career opportunity for me,” she said. “Now I get to meet with customers across the globe who are using Adobe software to help tell their company’s and their brand’s stories.” Her portfolio includes customers across media and entertainment brands, news and sports broadcasting, and marketing, advertising, and content teams for corporate and enterprise organizations.

Anglada’s career trajectory, along with her dedication to the College of Media, led to her being named the 2026 College of Media Emerging Leader Award recipient.

“The College of Media is pleased to honor Karina Anglada as this year’s Emerging Leader Alumni Award winner,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Her eagerness to share her technical and creative knowledge, her award-winning career in sports media and digital media, and her engagement with Illinois overall make her an exemplary recipient.”

Anglada, who grew up in Chicago and now lives in Georgia, never expected to build a career in the tech industry. In hindsight, she recognizes how well her journalism education prepared her for the transition.

Working on a global team with colleagues across Australia, Europe, and Latin America, Anglada supports customers using Adobe Video, while also gathering feedback that helps shape new implementations and inform product strategy. She frequently presents at large events, showcasing the software’s capabilities.

Anglada likens her presentations to being “on-air” talent—requiring her to be engaging, understand audience needs, and translate complex ideas into clear, accessible language.

“I feel like I did that in my journalism classes. You take these stories that have a lot of information, and you condense them down into bite-sized pieces so that people can understand them,” she said. “Looking back, it’s like I was built for this [job] because I had so much of the foundation [already]. A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.”

A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.

Karina Anglada

Senior Strategic Development Manager for Video at Adobe

Anglada said her journalism classes, as well as her internship at Fighting Illini Productions, were a catalyst for her future in sports media. The hands-on experience allowed her to put into practice what she learned in the classroom, whether it was shooting, editing, directing, live video production, or post-production work, for a variety of Illinois sports including football, women’s basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my career kind of taking off,” she said.

Following graduation, Anglada worked as a producer and editor for the Detroit Pistons, and then at Auburn University where she worked as assistant director of video services.

In 2017, she moved to California to take a job as a producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors. Most of her job focused on post-production editing for video boards, social media, and documentary-style television shows that aired on the regional sports network.

One of her favorite projects—and one that garnered her a Regional EMMY® Award—was a video she helped produce featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Warriors’ former home city of Oakland, California, and a young African American girl who shares the same hometown. The video’s underlying theme centers around the widespread impact Harris had on Black female youth while making history as the 49^th vice president of the U.S.

“To have that honor bestowed on our team, and to have my skill set and my craft of editing be recognized by my peers was an incredible, incredible thing,” she said.

As an alum, Anglada has stayed engaged with the College of Media, participating in alumni panels, serving as a keynote speaker at University of Illinois Web Conference in 2023, and mentoring Media students.

In addition to offering advice about the current industry, Anglada emphasizes the opportunities a journalism education can offer.

“There are the standard jobs, like on-air talent, producer, director, newsroom-type-focused careers. But there are so many other fields that you can go into with a journalism degree, and I’m a testament to that. I worked for three different sports organizations, and now I’m in tech,” she said.

Anglada speaks often at professional events about the use of AI in today’s media landscape and can appreciate both the power and challenges it presents.

Anglada says she’s excited about the innovations the Adobe Research teams have been working on to help creatives and video editors across the industry, including Project TurnStyle, Project SoundStager, Project FrameForward, and Project CleanTake.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing some of these features in our tools down the road.”

Share on social

Highlights of student-produced work from Spring 2026

May 18, 2026

See a selection of College of Media student-produced work created this spring, including broadcasts, documentaries, short films, advertising brand systems, and more.

Advertising

In ADV 498: The Sandage Project, students integrate the concepts, experiences, and skills that have been learned throughout the advertising curriculum with a service-learning project. See a project students created for Lincoln250, for the clients Lincoln Group of DC and the Abraham Lincoln Association, to expand the reach of Lincoln250.org.

In ADV 290: Advertising Design and Direction, students created a brand system for a fictional business and designed a 12-page annual report. See an example for White Lotus by Bella Chasen, junior in advertising.

Advertising Design and Direction annual report cover

Journalism

Oskees Live Pre-Show Coverage

UI7 Newsroom went live from the Orange Carpet for the 2026 Oskees on April 27 as Fighting Illini Athletics celebrated more than just performance on the field, but also highlighted the student-athletes behind the success. The team of UI7 reporters spoke with players and coaches to capture what this event truly means to the Illini community.

Illinois in Session

Watch a broadcast by UI7 Newsroom journalism students Nathan Gonzalez and Mary Piacente, featuring interviews with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Republican nominee Darren Bailey. This is the first time UI7 students have conducted an interview with a sitting governor, said Kenneth Erdey, journalism instructor and technical coordinator for Richmond Studio. They also spoke with the two nominees for Illinois comptroller.

Prairie Fire

Students in JOUR 440: Advanced Documentary Storytelling and Production produced segments to air on Illinois Public Media’s magazine show, Prairie Fire, premiering on May 21:

“The Space” – produced by Amelia Benson, Jonathan Mathew, and Tristan Starzec
“Live at the Mirror” – produced by Wilson Tripp Nichols, Adam Edwards, and Jude Panlilio
“Skeuwep” – produced by Ethan Ashley-Ferguson, Elissa Eaton, and Mike Rock
“Central Illinois Aikikai” – produced by Florence Lin, Paige Whiteside, and Sophia Alvarez
“Orange Krush Senior Night” – produced by Sam Yohnka, Brandon Hood, and Isaiah Adeleke

Media & Cinema Studies

Illinois Student Film Festival

Watch the Illinois Student Film Festival, produced by students in MACS 366: Film Festivals, featuring work by students across the University of Illinois campus.

Program 1

Program 2

MACS Student Showcase

Watch the MACS Student Showcase, a faculty-curated selection of student work from media and cinema studies courses throughout the academic year. See program credits with timestamps.

Share on social

Take 5 with Media Alumni: Alex Hedlund

May 15, 2026

Los Angeles-based film and television producer Alex Hedlund (BS ’05, media studies; MS ’06, journalism) knew he wanted to make movies at a young age. When he was just 10 years old, he wrote a letter to Stephen King’s publisher seeking the famed author’s autograph. Hedlund still has his signed copy of Needful Things to this day.

Hedlund has three major projects set to premiere this year, including a 10-episode remake of Cape Fear for Apple TV starring Javier Bardem and Amy Adams; a feature adaptation of Verity starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett; and the independent horror film River.

Learn more about this College of Media alum who has empowered writers and directors for the last two decades, and find out which film or TV show he will champion next.

1. What first drew you to filmmaking and production, and how did that evolve into your current role today?

Ever since I was a kid, I told people, “I want to make movies,” before I even knew what that meant or how that would even be possible. All I knew is that I craved escapism through movies, TV, novels, and video games, and for my 10th birthday, I only wanted one thing—Stephen King’s autograph. I wrote a letter to his publisher with this request and received a hard copy of Needful Things signed by the man himself! (I still have and cherish it.) That moment subconsciously unlocked something for me that became a big part of my career, which is identifying uncompromising stories and reaching out to connect with world-class storytellers. As a career producer, I’m constantly looking to empower writers and directors who have a story to tell.

2. What do you consider your biggest career accomplishment? Is there one project that has felt especially meaningful to you?

I’m celebrating 20 years in Los Angeles this year, so I consider my survival in this industry a tremendous accomplishment as a baseline. Project-wise, 2026 is a very meaningful year for me with the premiere of three projects I produced (all of which are seven long years in the making!). The first is a 10-episode series reimagining of Cape Fear for Apple TV in June that stars Javier Bardem and Amy Adams. As a fan of the novel and having seen the Martin Scorsese film as a child (long before I should have!), being a producer on this one was a full-circle moment for me. I also have a feature adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling erotic thriller Verity that drops in theaters October 2. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, all of whom are fantastic in the film and incredible to work with personally. That’s a big-budget studio film, whereas my next film River is a low-budget indie debut from a writer-director that I discovered and championed. The horror film will premiere this fall, and I couldn’t be prouder.

3. In addition to two degrees at Illinois, you then earned your MFA in the producers program at UCLA. What advice would you give to students who want to break into directing or production but don’t know where to start?

I used to say you absolutely need to move to Los Angeles, though I don’t believe that’s essential anymore. YouTube, MasterClass, Zoom, and social media has democratized everything so you can make a lot of connections and gain knowledge that way. If you want to be a director, you can now shoot a film on your iPhone and upload it online for the world to see. Just create something and get it out there! Or try to get an entry-level job on set or intern at a production company. No matter what, check your ego at the door and be unabashed about your desire for mentorship.

4. The media landscape is constantly changing—how do you keep your work both current and true to your vision?

I always internalize that the only certainty in entertainment is uncertainty, and not to stress about external factors that I cannot control. What I can control though is my taste and what I want to see. If I’m not first in line for a film on its opening night, I know that I’m not the right producer to advocate for it. I think it’s a huge mistake to try and “chase the market” or pursue something for cynical, surface-level reasons—for me, it has to be love at first sight. I need to lose sleep thinking about a project. I’m constantly gut-checking myself to see if this is something my 10-year-old self would have wanted to see—and most likely have to beg my parents to let me see it!

5. What’s one dream project you’d love to direct or produce in the future?

Too many to name, though one of my “white whales” I actually just set up as a feature at Netflix! It’s an adaptation of an award-winning graphic novel called Torso by the brilliant artists Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko. It’s a true story about Elliott Ness hunting America’s first serial killer in the 1930s. You might say it’s The Untouchables meets Zodiac. [It’s an] incredible, stranger-than-fiction story that was first published decades ago and I’ve been tracking it ever since. I always thought it would make an amazing film, so I’m pinching myself that I was finally able to get my arms around it and hopefully champion it into finally getting made!

Share on social

CU-CitizenAccess team wins two Lisagor Awards

May 14, 2026

CU-CitizenAccess, a community online news and information project overseen by Professor Brant Houston, the Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting in the Department of Journalism, was part of a team that won two Lisagor Awards for exemplary journalism from the Chicago Headline Club on May 8.

The team received both “Best Reporting on Race and Diversity” and “Best Reporting on Crime and Justice” in the student category for their submission titled “At Illinois public universities, campus cops pull over Black drivers at higher rates.”

The student team included Maia McDonald, Nicole Jeanine Johnson, Khadija Ahmed, Isabelle Senechal, Amilia Estrada; Investigative Project on Race and Equity, Chicago Public Media, WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times, CU-CitizenAccess, Saluki Local Reporting Lab, and The Daily Egyptian.

University of Illinois students who contributed to the project through CU-CitizenAccess included Molly Hughes (MS ’25, journalism), Jordan Butler (BS ’25, journalism), and Courtney Dillon (BS ’25, journalism; BA ’25, LAS).

“Managing editor Dylan Tiger (BS ’19, journalism; MS ’20, iSchool) did an excellent job wrangling difficult data and interviews with local officials and helping to coordinate our part,” said Houston. “It was a great experience for students to be involved in the collaboration.”

CU-CitizenAccess is devoted to investigative and enterprise coverage of social, justice, and economic issues in east central Illinois.

The Lisagor Award entries were judged by an impartial Society of Professional Journalists chapter outside Illinois.

Share on social

Rikkie Gunawan

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Rikkie Gunawan is a class of 2027 journalism major.

What excites you most about being a journalism major at the University of Illinois?

The most exciting part is how many opportunities there are as a journalism major. Students can get involved in The Daily Illini, WPGU 107.1, UI7 Newsroom, and even Illinois Public Media. Since it’s a small college, you end up getting to know other journalism students and your professors. I like that and the fact that I’ve gotten to meet several of the upperclassmen in journalism and connect with others who have similar interests as myself, which has made my time here at Illinois a great experience.

What sets the journalism program here apart from other schools?

After doing lots of research on schools, I decided to apply to Illinois because their journalism program is versatile. Illinois is inclusive and offers more options of paths to take in the industry. I originally only wanted to do print, but after taking some of the more broadcast-focused classes offered here, I realized broadcast could be pretty fun as well and I could also see a future in that area.

How early on did you realize journalism was the general career path you wanted to take?

My older sister was working for my high school’s newspaper, and they were in need of graphic artists. She knew I liked drawing and encouraged me to join the newspaper team, so I was involved for all four years.

In the beginning I knew I liked writing and drawing, but I didn’t know much about newspaper writing, or really journalism in general. I ended up taking a journalism course in high school and became an editor for the newspaper, and the intersection between reporting and visuals was really fascinating to me. I know a lot of people take in information visually, so that aspect of journalism always really interested me.

What goals have you already accomplished or hope to accomplish at Illinois?

I had this really cool opportunity last year to do an independent study with associate professor of journalism Charles “Stretch” Ledford. He did a global documentary trip to Sierra Leone, West Africa. Although I didn’t go on the trip, I was able to work alongside him to produce a comic for it.

I adapted the story they had already shot into a comic form that focused on the topic of period poverty. Professor Ledford sent me pictures of girls from Sierra Leone holding my comic, and it was just one of the coolest things I’ve been able to do.

What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

It’s important to put yourself out there. There are so many opportunities at this school to take advantage of. At the same time, don’t always say yes to everything, as it’s very important to set those boundaries and figure out how to manage your time and prioritize what you really want to do. Some things just come your way and it’s important to take the chance.

—Interview by Jaedynn Clark, New Voices Intern

Share on social

Journalism and advertising students amplify female head porters’ stories through global course experience in Ghana

April 29, 2026 | Giuliana Means, Communications Intern

Through the course “Globally Focused Advanced Documentary Filmmaking,” five journalism students and three advertising students explored the lives of female head porters, called kayayei, in a faculty-led trip to Accra, Ghana, over spring break.

Group of journalism students and faculty in Ghana

“I know from my experience that traveling and working abroad, especially in Africa, can be an inflection point in one’s life and globally contextualize values,” said Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism, who has visited more than 55 countries throughout his career. “It was incredibly gratifying to be in a position to provide students this kind of opportunity.”

The course focuses on the labor of the kayayei, young women and girls—some barely in their teens—who migrate from Ghana’s rural north to the country’s urban centers, primarily Accra and Kumasi, in search of work. That work consists of carrying loads that can exceed their own body weight through the city’s sprawling markets, earning the equivalent of less than a dollar per load while exposing themselves to exploitation, musculoskeletal injury, chronic anxiety and depression, and other health and wellness risks.

Focusing on Accra’s Kantamanto used clothing market, the class is producing a documentary focusing on three narratives about kayayei who work there: a day in the life of Sahada Shehabu, a 22-year-old kayayoo; the risks of the work, described by Muhammad Salifu, founder and director of the Kayayei Youth Association; and the role the kayayei play within the market’s economy, explained by Edward Atobrah, deputy general secretary of the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association.

You’re dealing with something that has a real impact, and you’re seeing change happen and immersing yourself in a community that you may not have had an opportunity to [otherwise visit].

Tomi Dugbo

Senior in Advertising

The journalism students will also create a 360º-immersive video, photo essays, an audio segment, and social-media friendly short vertical videos. They are sharing their initial work at the campus Undergraduate Research Symposium on Thursday, April 30, in a poster presentation titled “They Want to Go Home: Ghana’s Kayayei.”

Kaitlyn Devitt, a senior in journalism who worked primarily on the documentary film and 360º-immersive video, says the team worked an average of six hours a day over seven shooting days in three locations.

Devitt wants to pursue international journalism after she graduates, especially after this project, because of how rewarding it was.

“This project was perfect to get my feet wet,” Devitt said. “The topic itself was interesting because these women are my age, and who’s to say this couldn’t be me if I hadn’t had the privilege of growing up in America?”

During the trip, the advertising students worked with the Kayayei Youth Association to amplify their mission. They also communicated the journalism students’ reporting processes on social media and documented their experience through a blog site.

“This experience taught me the importance of collaboration where you’re not only working with advertising students, but journalism students,” said Tomi Dugbo, a senior in advertising. “You’re dealing with something that has a real impact, and you’re seeing change happen and immersing yourself in a community that you may not have had an opportunity to [otherwise visit].”

Advertising students with Marisa Peacock outside Innova DDB Ghana

Advertising students also spent time visiting global ad agencies, such as Innova DDB and Ogilvy Africa Ghana, to analyze cross-cultural campaign approaches. They also plan to develop strategic communications campaigns for partner NGOs.

For all the students, it was their first time producing journalism and strategic communications in a foreign country.

“Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good,” advised Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer of advertising. “There’s always time to refine, edit, and evolve it, but you can’t let the perfect shot stand in the way of getting the work done.”

With only a week to conduct interviews, collect footage, and produce the strategic communications deliverables, the team persevered in an environment that demanded that they adapt quickly.

Adelyn Mui, a senior in journalism, dove headfirst into the project to capture an authentic representation of the women’s stories and overcome the challenges of not having the connections she does when reporting on campus.

“Doing global journalism taught me a lot about journalism in general because those same skills I learned in Ghana, I can apply here locally on campus; they were just amplified since I was in a different country,” Mui said.

Students from Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and the University of Media, Arts and Communication in Ghana were partners in the project under the umbrella of the Illinois Partnership for African Women’s Health Narratives, spearheaded by Ledford. It is a continuation of his 2023 collaboration with Dr. Francis Sowa, Dean of Faculty of Communication, Media and Information Studies at Fourah Bay College, and new collaborator, Dr. Stephen Tindi, a lecturer at University of Media, Arts and Communication in Accra.

Alison Davis, senior lecturer of journalism, said the Illinois students naturally fell into the role of technological mentors for their West African peers.

“Students from the other countries were able to pick up our equipment and run with it; that’s the collaboration I like to see,” Davis said. “People are not that much different. You get a group of college students together, and they’re all similar. I love that.”

This course continues a broad focus on global women’s health narratives. Ledford and Davis have previously led students to report on local solutions to period poverty in Sierra Leone.

Next year, Ledford hopes to continue the story with reporting in Ghana’s Northern Region, examining how climate change may be accelerating the “push” of young women from Ghana’s rural and relatively poor north to work as kayayei in the country’s more developed south.

See more photos

Major funding was provided by the University of Illinois through the BRIDGE Program, Vision 2030 Global Strategy Implementation Grant, Campus Research Board, Illinois Global Institute, Department of Journalism, the College of Media, and the Karin and Folke Dovring Endowment Fund, with additional support from Lisle International and Sony Electronics.

Photos by and courtesy of Charles “Stretch” Ledford and Marisa Peacock.

Share on social