On September 6, the SB School of Journalism announced the appointment of Emmy Award-winning journalist Marcy McGinnis as its new Associate Dean. McGinnis brings with her over thirty years of experience at CBS.
McGinnis joined the faculty last year as Director of the Broadcast Journalism program, a position that she will continue to hold. Through this position, McGinnis works to ‘put in place the tools, the faculty, and curriculum that will train broadcast journalists and video journalists of the future.’
Her work has included managing coverage of breaking news events, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. ‘I bring with me an enormous amount in terms of understanding the news business-how it works and what journalists need to know in order to do their jobs,’ McGinnis said. ‘The experience and knowledge that I have of the industry is very valuable and will be very valuable to students as we build the program.’
With impressive credentials, and a reputation as one of the nation’s most respected broadcast journalists, one might wonder why McGinnis chose to work at Stony Brook. She states her choice in coming here had a lot to do with the leadership of Howard Schneider, dean of the School of Journalism.’ McGinnis said, ‘Howard Schneider is a man with a vision that is compatible with mine, an energy that is equal-if not more-than mine, and certainly just the drive to do something for the future of journalism. He was the driving force behind me coming here.’
The School of Journalism is also unique in that it offers the only undergraduate school of journalism in all of New York State’s public universities.
In regards to what ways the School of Journalism hopes to develop in the coming years, McGinnis says, ‘We hope to increase our enrollment of majors and minors in the program. We hope to increase the types of courses that we’re offering.’
As the journalism program grows, the school hopes that the number students interested in the field grow with it, ‘The students should choose Stony Brook because Howard Schneider, myself, and the entire faculty all come from the industry. We all are working journalists, former working journalists and I think that there is almost no better way for students to learn about the jobs of the future and how to learn to be good journalist than to learn it from former journalists.’
McGinnis goes on to explain that while some members of the faculty teach at the school in a full time capacity, some are still working in the industry, adding that ‘No one likes to call themselves a ‘former’ journalist.’
‘Students will benefit from the faculty and the tools that we have no been able to put in place and that we are going to continue to put in place,’ McGinnis adds. Some of these tools put into place include the state-of-the-art ‘Newsroom of the Future’ that is fully equipped and ready to serve in the capacity of a classroom, lab, and newsroom.’ A formal opening of the new Newsroom will be held tomorrow evening at the Melville library.
The School of Journalism also has developed its News Literacy course, which it intends to teach to over 10,000 students over the course of four years.
With her experience in Broadcast journalism, McGinnis reassures those interested in that particular branch of journalism, ‘We’re looking to build up the broadcast side of things. We’re going to rehab the studio in the EEC building.’
McGinnis believes that the already rapidly developing program will only continue to grow, ‘I see it growing quite quickly the way it already grew just within one year.’
