Journalism school gets fresh blood
The staff come from cities across the nation, including Chicago, St. Louis and New York.
Published Oct. 22, 2010
This year, 11 new professors were welcomed into the MU School of Journalism.
Barbara Cochran
While attending Swarthmore College to pursue a major in English Literature, Cochran joined the school’s paper and soon became editor.
“My college advisor said maybe I ought to think about the fact that I was spending twice as much time working on the college newspaper as I was on my academic classes,” Cochran said. “That might be a sign of where my true interests lay.”
She changed her career plans from English teacher to journalist and earned her masters degree in journalism from Columbia University. She then began writing for The Washington Star.
As the head of the news department at National Public Radio, Cochran lead her 30 staff members in creating Morning Edition.
Cochran said she is excited to work with MU journalism students in shaping their careers in the changing world of journalism today.
“One of the things I’ve been telling students is that you do sometimes hear from more veteran journalists that they’re worried about the future of the profession,” Cochran said. “There’s no question that it is changing, but I also think it is a very exciting time.”
Frank Corridori
After New York native Corridori earned a degree in strategic communication from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., he began a career as an art director and designer.
He has served most recently as vice president of design and associate creative director at PURE in Columbia.
Corridori said, so far, teaching has been one of the most memorable periods from his career.
“This is a new experience for me so this really sticks out in what I’ve done professionally,” Corridori said. “I always wanted to teach or thought about teaching because I’ve wanted to kind of give back to a career path that I think has given me so much professionally and personally.”
This semester Corridori is teaching the courses strategic design and visuals one and two.
“Design doesn’t stop in the classroom,” Corridori said. “It’s about personal growth, experience, experimentation and exploration.”
Mike Jenner
Originally from St. Louis County, Jenner graduated from MU in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Since then he has worked at more than five newspapers. His most recent position was at The Bakersfield Californian where he spent 17 years, 11 of those as top editor.
“We did a lot of things out in Bakersfield,” Jenner said. “Our owner really prized innovation and wanted us to take risks and create new things. So we did that. We’d create new things and if it didn’t work we’d say ‘OK, that didn’t work,’ and we’d figure something else out.”
Jenner is very excited to be back at MU and to be able to influence the program in a positive and innovative way.
“The focus is on innovation, and I think that is vital for our industry,” Jenner said. “We have to innovate our way out of the ditch here. The need for quality journalism has not diminished.”
This semester, Jenner is teaching the News course.
Amy Simons
After graduating from MU in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Simons returned to Chicago, her home city, where she worked for CLTV News and most recently as digital news editor for The Chicago Tribune.
Simons said when she saw the opportunity to take a teaching position at MU, it felt natural to take it.
“I have this philosophy that as journalists we all have had people in our careers who gave us a leg up,” Simons said. “We had teachers and internships supervisors and editors and mentors who took the time to teach everything we know.“
This semester Simons is teaching fundamentals of multimedia journalism, convergence reporting and convergence editing and producing.
“My goals for this year are to get to know my students and teach them well,” Simons said. “So far, I can tell you, they’re a sharp, brave group, but they have a long road ahead of them. I’m excited to help lead them.”