Media, faculty join forces to discuss ethics

The daily ethical challenges faced by managers of traditional and social media outlets will be the subject of a Nov. 17 summit at UCCS.

Lauren Brengarth, assistant professor, Department of Communication, will lead a summit to bring academic experts and working journalists together to share the challenges faced in newsrooms across America. Brengarth is a Daniels Fund Ethics fellow and the event is sponsored by the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative in the College of Business.

“Anyone who attends this event will be challenged,” Brengarth said. “Ultimately, media management affects everybody. The ethical decisions that media make – or choose not to make — affect the content we consume and the way we form opinions about the world around us. We’re going to hear some interesting stories to expand our learning experience.”

The daylong event begins with an 8 a.m. roundtable discussion with UCCS faculty in Dwire Hall 204. All UCCS faculty are invited. Prior registration is required. Please respond to here  or contact Elisabeth Moore, emoore@uccs.edu. A student workshop is scheduled for 10:50 a.m. in Osborne Center A327.

Panelists include:

Lee Wilkins, professor, Department of Communication, Wayne State University, and co-author of “Media Ethics: Issues and Cases.” She is also the co-editor of the “Handbook of Mass Media Ethics.” Wilkins is professor emerita from the University of Missouri School of Journalism where she served on the faculty from 1990 to 2013. She is a former newspaper reporter and editor and also served as a panelist on a weekly radio show.

Joanna Bean, editor, Colorado Springs Gazette. Bean was named editor in September. Previously, she was managing editor and is a 25-year employee of the Gazette. She was a key coordinator and motivation behind the Gazette’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning project “Other Than Honorable.”

Andrea Chalfin, news director, KRCC. Chalfin came to KRCC in 2008 and previously worked at a Missouri radio station. As news director, she is responsible for KRCC’s overall news presence, and oversees a cadre of freelancers and students. In 2014, Chalfin earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in journalism for her coverage of the summer flooding in Manitou Springs.

U.S. Air Force Brig. General (retired) Les Kodlick. Kodlick previously was director of public affairs for the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. In that role, he was responsible for developing and executing global communication processes for the Air Force. He provided guidance for 5,500 active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen and civilians in their mission to broadcast internal Air Force information, conduct community and media relations, manage integrated marketing, and execute security review programs.

Misty Montanto, digital content manager, 9News Denver. Montanto is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who supports and teaches others to use and develop social media communities. Since 2009, she has successfully integrated journalism with social media. She works to create social TV where TV, digital and social media all work together to engage the 9NEWS journalists with the audience. She won a regional Emmy in 2013 for her work producing Social TV which brought community members, experts and parents together for a live #SafeKids chat that was integrated into a live newscast.