Category Archives: Speakers

Knight Center associate discusses MSU visit with Russian colleagues

Julia Balashova

Julia Balashova


Professor Julia Balashova, who was affiliated with the Knight Center as a Fulbright Scholar while doing research at MSU during the past academic year, was the main speaker at a recent workshop called “Communication Education in the Leading USA Universities and Possibilities of the Fulbright Program.”
The workshop took place at St. Petersburg State University (Russia) where she heads the master’s program in popular science journalism.
Focusing on the MSU School of Journalism, Balashova described the life of American students and campus life such as university sports, learning and leisure activities. She also spoke about differences between Russian and American educational programs, educational processes, the evaluation system and interaction with the educational environment.

Water art: photographer chases storms, ice to document changing planet's beauty

Camille Seaman

Camille Seaman


By Kate Habrel
Environmental photographer Camille Seaman saw the sky rotating when she worked as a storm chaser.
“It was so visceral,” she said. “I looked up and for a second, I was no longer on the planet. Suddenly it was like I was in a nebula watching a star being formed. And as soon as I felt that, I was back.”
This deep connection to nature has been present Seaman’s entire life. Her heritage as a Shinnecock Indian informs and inspires her photography in a powerful way.
Seaman recently visited Michigan State University, where her exhibition “All My Relations: An Indigenous Perspective on Landscape” is displayed at the MSU Museum until September. It features photographs from two of her extended projects, “Melting Away” and “The Big Cloud.”
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Two high schools win journalism-environmental science grants from the Knight Center

The Knight Center is awarding $2,000 grants to two Michigan high schools for collaboration between journalism and environmental science classes.
The winning projects were selected in the center’s second statewide competition.
The Knight Center also has matched the schools with professional journalism mentors to work with the students and teachers for guidance and advice on the projects.
The grants go to:
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Veteran journalists visit Knight Center

By Kate Habrel and Ian Wendrow
Longtime journalists John Hughes of Bloomberg News in Washington and Margie Bauman of the Cordova Times in Alaska and Fisherman’s News spoke with Knight Center students on recent visits to MSU.

John Hughes of Bloomberg News in Washington

John Hughes of Bloomberg News in Washington


Hughes, of Bloomberg First Word breaking-news desk in Washington, shared his experiences working in journalism, where he’s covered a broad range of events from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to the “Miracle on the Hudson” airplane landing in New York City
His career included a stint at the Associated Press, when he spent two years in Detroit covering the auto industry and other topics and two years in Washington, where his beat included such natural resources issues as salmon and forestry.
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