The Next Adventure

At the end of June, I joined the faculty of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. They brought me on board as director of the 21st Century News Laboratory and a lecturer. I’ll also be working closely with the Center for Media Innovation and Research.

I’m looking forward to the things coming up for this gig and the school. In the next 12 months we’ll:

• Finish design, start construction and open a brand-new converged newsroom. This two-story renovation/addition of the building will have nearly 20,000 square-feet of new and renovated space. We’re hoping to be in for the start of Fall ‘12 semster. Going to be an awesome space (although it makes me wish I took a class in reading construction documents, as this is my second major construction project in three years)
• Redevelop and launch of a new WUFT.org, the online home for the public radio and television stations. I’m expecting us to build a robust local news ecosystem around this site. A lot of potential, and going to be a major focus of mine in the coming semester.
• With any hope, launch of a professional master’s degree.

Oh, and it looks like my first course will be an in-depth, multimedia capstone experience. My students will follow what it takes to move a major SEC for home and away games. Fun, fun…