Tag Archives: The Meter

Tennessean Names Conference Room in Honor of Late Reporter and TSU Professor

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The Tennessean newspaper has named a conference room in honor of the late award-winning business reporter and TSU adjunct professor Getahn Ward, who died in 2016. He was 45.

The Meter staffers visit the Getahn Ward Conference Room in The Tennessean new office building. Pictured are, from left, staff writer Brianna Sparrow, Editor-in-Chief KaBria Kirkham, and staff writer Nyah Peebles. (Courtesy photo)

The Getahn Ward Conference Room, in the newspaper’s new office building, includes a table with four chairs, a cabinet displaying awards Ward won while he worked there, as well as a white board for writing ideas. The multimedia room in the TSU Department of Communications is also named in honor of the fallen professor.

An active member of the Nashville chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he chaired the scholarship committee, Ward was an adjunct in the Communications Department at TSU, teaching an introductory course in journalism for many years.

Former students and staffers of The Meter, the TSU student newspaper, which Ward headed as editor-in-chief while a student at TSU, visited the Getahn Ward Conference Room recently. The experience, one said, “was very moving.”

Three visiting Meter staffers sit in on the morning editorial staff meeting at The Tennessean. (Courtesy Photo)

“Although I did not know him personally, but as soon as I saw his picture I felt an immediate connection …seeing his accomplishments and the remarkable person he was,” said KaBria Kirkham, editor-in-chief of The Meter, who came to TSU the year after Ward’s death.

She said as an aspiring journalist, she was inspired by Ward’s dedication to excellence and how he went about his work.

“I was just amazed to see something so important dedicated to him in recognition of his work and contribution to his community and individuals he came across,” Kirkham added.

During visit to the Getahn Ward Conference Room, The Meter staffers had an opportunity to interact with their counterparts at The Tennessean. (Courtesy Photo)

Meter staff writers Brianna Sparrow and Nyah Peebles accompanied Kirkham during the visit to The Tennessean. The group also toured the newspaper’s elaborate facility at its new 1801 West End Avenue location, and sat in on the paper’s morning editorial meeting, where the plan for the day’s coverage is discussed.

Following Ward’s death, TSU, The Tennessean, the Gannett Foundation and NABJ partnered to create a scholarship in Ward’s name to benefit aspiring journalists. The new scholarship is the first endowed scholarship in the history of the TSU Department of Communications.

“At a time when our majors are working multiple jobs to offset the cost of a college education, this (scholarship) will go a long way in helping some of our best and brightest students,” Dr. Tameka Winston, chair of the TSU Department of Communications, said during the launching of the scholarship.  “This scholarship represents a man who devoted much of his life to the field of journalism and to the education and success of students at Tennessee State University.”

Ward, who previously worked at the Nashville Banner before it closed in 1997, had a passion for teaching students and advocating for black journalists. He earned two degrees at TSU, where he was a proud alum.

To contribute to the Getahn Ward Endowed Scholarship Fund, visit https://bit.ly/35kPUjK

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 38 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

New Tennessean Editor, Pulitzer Prize Winner Talks Journalism to TSU Students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – A Pulitzer Prize-winning editor recently visited Tennessee State University journalism students and encouraged them to be a “voice for people who cannot speak for themselves.”

Michael Anastasi, vice president and executive editor of The Tennessean, spoke to the students and the staff of The Meter, TSU’s student newspaper, at a gathering in the Learning Resource Center Auditorium on March 28.

A journalist for nearly 30 years, Anastasi came to The Tennessean from the Los Angeles News Group, one of the nation’s largest news organizations, where he was the senior vice president and executive editor for nearly four years.

Under his leadership, The Daily Breeze, one of the papers owned by the Los Angeles News Group, won the Pulitzer in 2015 for local reporting for an investigation into the Centinela Valley (Calif.) Union High School District, which exposed the superintendent’s excessive salary and annual perks.

“As journalists, we must always be at the forefront in the performance of our duty,” said Anastasi, who started at The Tennessean in November. “Lots of people don’t like us because of our fight against the ills of society. As journalists, we can effect change in how we do our work and in many cases becoming the voice for people who cannot speak for themselves.”

Anastasi urged students to keep up with new technology, saying digital media is fast becoming the way of the future in reporting the news.

“Digital journalism is how you stay ahead,” he said. “Fundamentals like currency will never change, but how we report the news is changing fast.”

Shayla Simmons is a freshman Journalism major and a writer for The Meter. Next year she will become the newspaper’s digital editor.

“The speaker was right on point,” Simmons said. “I expect us to take full advantage of the digital age and engage students across multiple platforms.”

Delvakio Brown, a senior communications major, said Anastasi was inspiring.

“Listening to him share his stories of accomplishments was worth my time and effort,” Brown said. “He shared with us his story of how he accomplished more than writing but how he changed lives through it.”

Dr. Karen Dunlap, former president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and an adjunct professor of journalism at TSU, said it was important to have someone like Anastasi speak to the students.

“This is so important for students to see what’s happening in the media today, to hear from a senior executive and even just hear about investigative reporting,” Dunlap said. “I am glad the students were here to hear him.”

Meter adviser Sandra Long Weaver agreed.

“I wanted the students to hear what it takes to do that and to know the kinds of people he hires,” Weaver said. “And I think they benefitted from what he talked about today.”

Anastasi said his visit was also about building a relationship with TSU, and seeing how The Tennessean can best work with the university and the administration.

“It is extremely important for The Tennessean, and me personally, to have a meaningful relationship with all of our local universities,” he said. “I think we have a vital role to play in having that relationship with administration to understand what their mission is, and what their strategic priorities are to see where we can work together as partners.”

TSU Assistant Vice President  for Student Affairs, Dr. Cheryl Green, welcomed Anastasi on behalf of President Glenda Glover.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

TSU Meter Advisor wins Journalism Educator of the Year honor

Harriet Vaughan-Wallace
Harriet Vaughan-Wallace

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The advisor for the TSU student newspaper, The Meter, has won the 2014-2015 Journalism Educator of the Year, an honor presented by the Southeast Journalism Conference.  Harriet Vaughan-Wallace, an adjunct teaching in the Department of Communications, received the award during the conference Friday, Feb. 27, held at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

“Winning, is never about the person who won, but about how they touched others with their work,” said Vaughan-Wallace. “I am beyond humbled and thankful for this honor. A lot of work goes in to teaching our students and overseeing the newspaper. I dedicate and sacrifice a lot to do so. The fact that my students thought enough of me to nominate me, means absolutely everything to me.

‪”My mother, Dr. Verla Vaughan, a former tenured professor at Tennessee State University in the nursing department, always tried to get me to leave journalism for teaching. I fought it for many years. She taught me how to teach. She always had a laptop with her and was always meeting with her students. I guess mother knows best,” she said.

Vaughan-Wallace joined TSU in January 2012 as advisor to The Meter while teaching several classes including Print/Online 1, Print/Online II, Multimedia Reporting and Feature Writing. An award-winning, multimedia journalist, Vaughan-Wallace worked for various television stations and newspapers throughout the country and provided special event reporting for FOX and CBS network news. She now manages WTNTribune Radio where she is the lead host of the popular radio show, Pumps & Politics.

Anastasia Williams, senior Mass Communication student and Meter Managing Editor, said Vaughan-Wallace has changed her life in several of ways, and is a leader she can look up to and follow in her footsteps.

“Being a member of her class has allowed me to experience real-life situations,” said Williams. “My classmates and I have experienced the opportunity of a lifetime from being in her class.”

Senior mass communication student, Chantell Copeland, also praised Vaughan-Wallace, saying “this woman has taken educating students to another level.”

“Instead of just giving us assignments and readings to try to teach us the material, she takes on a hands-on approach,” said Copeland. “By doing this, it prepares us for what is to come, and what will be expected of us once we graduate. She cuts us no slack and turns our average classroom into an actual newsroom.”

According to Dr. Terry Likes, Chair of the Department of Communications, Vaughan-Wallace has done a “terrific” job changing the culture of the Meter. “She has changed The Meter into an uplifting place to work, creating the best product seen in several years,” added Likes. “She is following industry best practices by producing news content across multiple media platforms and turning all of this into an award-winning product.”

The Southeast Journalism Conference is a vibrant learning community of journalists honing their craft through professional development and the Best of the South Collegiate Journalism Competition. An organization comprised of more than 45 member colleges and universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, SEJC was created to encourage greater interest in student journalism and to form closer ties among journalism schools in the Southeast United States.

 

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Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 42 undergraduate, 24 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.