The Media School at Indiana University

09/04/2026

IU football kicks off tomorrow, and two Media School students are already getting viewers ready for the season. Junior Grace Lesher and sophomore Andrew Garrison joined the FOX59 Morning News team to talk about what it’s like to cover IU football from two different vantage points.

⚪ Grace, who is involved with IUSTV and the Big Ten StudentU program at IU, works as a sideline reporter and spends game days down on the field filming the action. Her dream is to pursue a career as a sideline reporter.

🔴 Andrew covers the games as a writer for The Hoosier Network, spending games in the press box. He’s still deciding whether his future is in play-by-play broadcasting or sports writing.

Watch the interview to hear how Grace and Andrew are gaining real-world sports media experience while covering one of the biggest stories on campus!

IU Media students joined Morning Kickoff to discuss their experienc...

09/03/2026

Assistant professor Laura Marciano is bringing an international research project on digital identity and well-being to Bloomington through the Happiness 2.0 Mask Workshops.

The workshops – a collaboration among The Media School, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University – invite students to explore identity formation, online self-presentation, and the relationship between their online and offline selves. Participants engage in discussions about current research on digital media, take part in guided explorations of museum artworks, and create masks that reflect their own digital identities and experiences.

Learn more about the initiative and sign up for an upcoming workshop, held 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays ⬇️

Happiness 2.0 combines science, art, and lived experience to make research more accessible and encourage meaningful conversations about digital life.

09/03/2026

Charlie Scudder, BAJ’14, has been named IU’s next director of student media, beginning Dec. 14. A former Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief, Scudder returns to IU after building a career in professional journalism, higher education, media innovation, and student mentorship.

As director, he will lead and support the Indiana Daily Student - idsnews, Arbutus, WIUX, and IUSTV and help create new opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and hands-on learning.

“I’m thrilled to be returning to Bloomington to help guide IU Student Media into its next chapter,” Scudder said.

Learn more about Scudder and his return to IU ⬇

A former student media leader, Scudder, BAJ’14, will return to IU on Dec. 14 after building a distinguished career in professional journalism and higher education.

09/02/2026

After two semesters of research, strategy, creativity and preparation, Media School students in Walter Gantz’s MSCH-A480 course took their campaign to the National Student Advertising Competition — and came home with a first-place finish in District 6!

And there was another win to celebrate: Gali Benjamin earned Best Presenter at the competition.

Go behind the scenes as Gali shares details about the work leading up to the competition, the trip, and the moment it all paid off.

Read more about the team’s winning campaign: https://bit.ly/4xsRRI6

08/31/2026

Please join us in welcoming 10 new faculty members to The Media School this semester!

Their backgrounds span journalism, sports media, audio storytelling, film, game design, advertising, and emerging media technologies. Together, they bring a wide range of professional, creative, teaching, and research experience to our students and programs.

⚪ Alex Chambers, clinical lecturer
🔴 Sandra Chapman, visiting journalist-in-residence
⚪ Max Jones, visiting professor of practice
🔴 Talalah Khan, assistant professor
⚪ Eric McEver, assistant professor
🔴 Nathan Mishler, assistant professor
⚪ Philip Nardiello, lecturer
🔴 Kamady Rudd, lecturer
⚪ Nate Wrigley, clinical lecturer
🔴 Nan Zhang, assistant professor

Together, the new faculty add a broad mix of professional, creative, and scholarly perspectives to the school’s teaching and research.

08/27/2026

A $25,000 gift from the Brooks and Joan Fortune Family Foundation made The Media School’s High School Journalism Institute's milestone 80th anniversary celebrations this summer even sweeter, enabling 70 students to attend the program on scholarships.

Delilah Lasen, a junior at Bethpage High School in New York, attended both weeks of HSJI and wanted to explore journalism and broadcasting. She received a scholarship for the first week of the program.

“My favorite part of the week was meeting so many amazing people from around the world. I met Nina, my roommate, and she is one of the nicest people I know,” Lasen said. “It also taught me the rules of news writing and how to make a package.”

The precollege program welcomed 265 high school journalists to IU for two weeklong sessions July 12-22.

08/26/2026

Congratulations to Media School students in Walter Gantz’s MSCH-A480 course who placed first in the National Student Advertising Competition’s District 6 round!

Over two semesters, students researched, analyzed data, and developed a campaign to address a real-world marketing challenge for the NFL, who wanted to reach young audiences to create awareness of its youth programs.

The students spent a full academic year compiling their final campaign for presentation.

08/25/2026

Help us give a warm welcome to our newest Media School students!

Faculty, staff, and students gathered last Friday for coffee, breakfast, and conversation before heading out to explore Franklin Hall, the Radio-Television Building, and the Black Film Center & Archive during The Media School Welcome Reception and Open House.

We're excited to see what our new students will create, discover, and accomplish this semester. Welcome to The Media School!

08/13/2026

The Kinetic Immersion and Extended Reality Lab brings the best and latest in virtual and augmented reality production facilities and equipment to students and faculty across IU.

A new production lab is helping to train the next generation of immersive storytellers.

08/06/2026

Great work that makes a local impact from doctoral student Priscilla Boateng!

This summer, McKinney Climate Fellow Priscilla Boateng has been developing a communications strategy for Lake Monroe Water Fund to promote a new financial assistance program focused on repairing and replacing failed septic systems in the Lake Monroe watershed to reduce pollution.

A PhD student at The Media School at Indiana University , Priscilla's outreach campaign includes fact sheets, flyers, and social media graphics--all aimed at connecting low- to moderate-income homeowners in Monroe, Brown, and Jackson Counties to available resources.

The work funded by the Septic Assistance, Financing, and Education (SAFE) Hoosiers program will:

💧 Decrease the risk of water-borne illness
💧 Reduce the risk of algal blooms in Lake Monroe
💧 Keep low- to moderate-income homeowners in healthy, affordable homes

Great work, Priscilla!