MURFREESBORO — A longtime visual journalist who expanded her focus
to train others to use mobile media will lead MTSU's nationally recognized
Center for Innovation in Media, university officials have announced.
Val
Hoeppner, who's served since last fall as journalist in residence in the School
of Journalism in MTSU's College of Mass Communication, took the reins July 1 at
the student-focused center, which houses all student media plus the
university's National Public Radio station, WMOT 89.5 FM, under one roof.
"Val
Hoeppner brings a special combination of journalistic experience, digital expertise
and impressive teaching skills to her new role at MTSU," said Ken Paulson,
dean of the College of Mass Communication.
"She'll
build on the foundation of innovation established by our former director,
Stephan Foust, and give our students the kind of skills and experience that
will best prepare them for opportunities in a digital era."
Foust
worked closely with college administrators to open the almost-$700,000 facility
inside the Bragg Mass Communication Building in January 2012 and had directed its
operations since. A veteran broadcast journalist and corporate communications
consultant, Foust is retiring from the university.
“The CIM
job is a dream job, really,” Hoeppner explained, “as I get to spend my days
helping student journalists find their voice and pursue a career as a
storyteller. Our students’ stories may be written, photographed, voiced, filmed
or sung.
“That’s the most unique thing about our College of
Mass Communication and the center itself. We have a traditional newspaper that
is going digital, a radio station that is both on-air and streamed, a
television station using digital technology to broadcast and a record label
using social media to bring attention to its artists.”
The
Associated Press Media Editors lauded the Center for Innovation in Media soon
after it opened 2 ½ years ago for its efforts in “reforming and reshaping its
student media." The center received an honorable mention in the “Innovator
of the Year for College Students” category in the 2012 APME Journalism Excellence
Awards.
The
Center for Innovation in Media combines the newsrooms for Sidelines, the
student newspaper; WMTS-FM, the student-run radio station; Match Records, the
student-run record label; MT10, the student-operated cable television station;
and WMOT-FM, the 100,000-watt public radio station, in a single location.
MTSU’s
center enables students from all media disciplines to hone their real-world
skills by writing stories for print and the Web, creating audio versions of the
same stories for broadcast on radio stations and providing video versions of
those stories for use on MT10 and on the station and center websites.
Before
joining the MTSU staff, Hoeppner served as director of education for the
Freedom Forum Diversity Institute for five years and spent 20 years in
newsrooms as a photojournalist, newsroom leader and multimedia director at The
Indianapolis Star.
“I got
into journalism to make a difference in people’s lives. I was lucky enough to
do just that in a variety of newsroom roles,” Hoeppner said.
“The CIM
is a great sandbox to play in, and every day I find new ways to stretch our
storytelling skills.”
Learn
more about the Center for Innovation in Media at MTSU at its website, http://www.mtsu.edu/innovationinmedia.
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