It feels like everywhere I go — conferences, digital spaces, the elevator to the basement at Lumon — professors and professionals alike are talking about the intersection of journalism and social media influence/influencers.

Which begs the question: Who’s going to launch the first influencer journalism major?

There are social media and influencer courses at Cornell, Penn State, Alabama and many others.

The University of Texas San Antonio has a bachelor’s degree in digital media influence, and Arkansas Tech offers a bachelor of arts in social media influencing.

These sound like timely courses and majors. But I’m talking about putting the words “journalism” and “influencer” onto the same diploma.

In my research — and keep in mind, my outie might know more than me — I haven’t been able to find a specific combo of journalism and social media influence in a degree program. 

So who will it be? I know one of you whipsmart people out there has to be working on it, or at least thinking about it.

I’m in D.C. this week for a big family wedding, so I need to go prep for the epic battle of My Hair vs. The Humidity. (Vegas has The Humidity as a 10-point favorite, but I do love pulling for an underdog.) 

Have a great week!

Headlines

Here’s a nice anecdote making the rounds about a student journalist who was able to thank Deion Sanders for a viral moment in 2024. 

Press Forward is giving away almost $23 million in its latest round of donations. College journalism students will benefit in a few areas:

• The New School is getting $1.5 million for its Journalism + Design Lab to “weave community colleges into local news infrastructure and build pathways for more people to share, discuss, and act on the news.”

• University of Colorado Boulder, along with several co-applicants, will share $1.5 million to “provide worker-owned media collaboratives with back-office shared services, lowering their costs and increasing their sustainability.”

• Not a university, but the Voces Internship of Idaho will get $500,000 “to expand coverage for Latino audiences by professionalizing and expanding the Voces internship program across the state of Idaho.”

A hiring spree for Title IX coordinators on campus, and other story ideas as these offices are undergoing rapid change.

The Journalist’s Resource has a story about the transfer difficulties facing community college students. Use it to craft a story assignment to gauge issues at your school.

CNN’s Brian Stelter attempted to predict what life will be like inside public media following its federal defunding by Congress last week. 

From Your First Byline, MSNBC's Lorena Ruiz explains how to write a lower third, or chyron (pronounced KAI-raan, for all us nonbroadcasters).

NextDoor looks to partner with ... the news? (Who are these alleged 3,500 news organizations, though? This reminds me of when we were all directing recent graduates to apply for jobs at Patch.)

Opportunities

ProPublica is offering the Emerging Reporters Program, which gives five students involved in student media a $9,000 stipend, mentoring and free travel to a journalism conference.

Feedback

Ugh, how did it get to be mid-July?! The fall semester will be here before we know it. If you need any help before campus fills up again, I’m here for you!

Book 30 free minutes with me to:

• Brainstorm new directions for your department

• Make sure said department and student media are firing on all cylinders

• Map out a plan to nail the Hearst Awards this year

Or, reply and tell me what you need/like/hate/want to see more of every week in your inbox.

I read every piece of mail and love getting your feedback.

Now go enjoy your July!