Category Archives: Alumni

       
 

Knight Center alum named engagement editor of Lansing State Journal

Matt Hund

Matt Hund


Matt Hund, a 2008 graduate of the Knight Center’s masters program, is the new engagement editor of the Lansing (Michigan) State Journal.
Graduating from MSU—as well as several years working on campus—was a huge benefit to Hund while working toward and developing this opportunity. Time spent at the Knight Center created an editorial voice on important issues and a desire to engage the community in meaningful ways.
Continue reading →

Tipping toward better science communication

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6UROOe4RrU&feature=youtu.be
By David Poulson
Michigan State University alum Sunshine Menezes speaks here about the tipping points of turning scientists into great communicators and journalists into skillful science interpreters.
She is the executive director of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.
This video integrates her talk and power point presentation at the 2015  “Fate of the Earth” conference put on by MSU’s Environmental Science and Policy Program in East Lansing, Michigan.

Dawn of the wolf patrol: How I got the story

Holly Drankhan

Holly Drankhan hiking in the Swiss alps.


Editor’s note: Michigan State University student Holly Drankhan recently landed an interview  with a convicted arsonist and bombmaker for the Knight Center’s Great Lakes Echo.
Rod Coronado in 1992 burned down an MSU laboratory, destroying 32 years of animal research.
Subsequently the animal rights activist spent two years on the lam before serving a 57-month prison sentence. He told Drankhan that he now is a law-abiding advocate for Great Lakes wolves.
Drankhan, 22, of Clarkston, Michigan, took an environmental reporting class at the Knight Center before graduating with a degree in zoology last June. She continued to freelance for Great Lakes Echo through the summer and will enter the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine this fall.
The Knight Center asked her how she developed the story about the controversial activist. Here’s the scoop: Continue reading →

Knight Center alum lands digital gig at Texas newspaper

Rachael Gleason

Rachael Gleason


Michigan State University Knight Center graduate Rachael Gleason recently joined the San Antonio Express-News as senior producer and data visualization journalist for the premium site, ExpressNews.com. http://www.expressnews.com/
Gleason will call on computer-assisted reporting skills she cultivated as a Knight Center student to focus on online interactive mapping, multimedia presentations and data visualization.
The 2011 alum previously worked for the Hearst Corp. sister newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, for three years as online editor, reporter and copy editor. She also freelanced for National Geographic’s Great Energy Challenge blog.
During her time at Michigan State, Gleason was a Knight Center graduate assistant, editor of EJ Magazine, associate producer for EJ Television and reported these stories for Great Lakes Echo.
Follow her on Twitter.