Chris Will enrolled to learn about storytelling in television. Isabella Rivera enrolled in the sports journalism program. Lauren Brensel enrolled to prepare for multiple career choices.
For students at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC), the college’s immersive experiences are the primary reason they enroll. They can choose from multiple educational paths to develop professional skills and personas, leading to successful and fulfilling careers.
“Storytelling in television and being creative and keeping people informed was very appealing. I enrolled in journalism to discover the type of sports storytelling I wanted to do,” said Will.
Will’s path led to a bachelor of science in journalism specializing in sports and media. He graduated in May 2024 and started his first job as a morning reporter at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, later that month.
Among other awards, Will received “Best of Festival” in the Television Hard News category at the 2024 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts competition.
“I hadn’t even thought about journalism until I started college. I’ve been a drama student my whole life, and acting, speaking and presenting were my passions. My parents suggested I combine my dramatic experience with sports journalism. I gave it a try, and it stuck,” Rivera said.
WRUF-FM is the ESPN radio affiliate in Gainesville, Florida, and one of several media properties at the college. Rivera will write articles for the station during the summer of 2024. She is also involved with Noticias WUFT, the college’s Spanish language program, and would like an internship or job with Telemundo.
“The reputation of the student newspaper, The Alligator, helped make my decision. It’s completely student-run and wins awards every year. It is recognized as one of the best student newspapers in the country. I heard the advisors and professors were amazing,” Brensel said.
She will be an intern at the Orlando Sentinel in the summer of 2024 and will focus on a career in newspaper writing.
To attract such outstanding students with diverse educational and career goals, UFCJC offers an equally diverse palette of academic programs, immersive learning environments, student media projects and media properties.
Of these, the Innovation News Center is the students’ primary immersive experience. Within its two-story, 14,000-square-foot facility, students learn reporting and presentation skills for all forms of journalism and communications: newspapers, radio, TV and online platforms. Almost 100 reporters, producers and editors work as a team to create content in English and Spanish for the college’s many media properties.
The Center also includes numerous television and radio editing stations, audio booths and a mini-studio where students can gain experience creating and presenting video content broadcast on the two TV stations and streamed on the many digital platforms.
For students whose dream is sports journalism, UFCJC offers a comprehensive selection of 15 courses, including sports reporting, fundamentals of sports production and sports media and society. In the Sports Capstone portfolio course, seniors prepare a final project and create a portfolio to present to potential employers upon graduation. Students can also graduate with a Sports and Media specialization and obtain a certificate in sports management.
The Innovation News Center is where sports journalism students can apply their coursework. They can report for ESPN 98/1/850 WRUF, anchor and produce sports programming, learn how to produce sports podcasts and create social media content, among other real-world experiences. The combination of classes and immersive experiences is why the sports journalism program is recognized as one of the best in the nation.
Hubert “Hub” Brown has been the College of Journalism and Communications dean since July 2021. He was previously the associate dean for Research, Creativity, International Initiatives and Diversity and an associate professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
He is also very active in the academic and professional journalism community as a member of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications, the Hearst Journalism Awards Steering Committee, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Broadcast Education Association.
Brown wasted no time reinforcing the college’s innovative efforts, establishing a digital media lab to expand research into social media analytics. An environment desk is in development so students can work on environment and climate stories, given the specific effects of climate change in Florida.
He is also very focused on what he believes are the college’s two fundamental responsibilities to students.
“We want to ensure we’re presenting concepts and giving students an understanding of background and history. At the same time, we want them on the beat. We want them in the newsroom. We want them developing their craft as soon as they’re here,” Brown said.
“We want students to be day one ready. They walk into their first professional job on day one, and nothing surprises them — not the pace of the work, not the volume of work and not the types of tools and equipment they may use. We want them to start their careers able to be effective immediately.”
The Brechner Center: Strong advocacy for the First Amendment and freedom of information
Since its founding in 1977, The Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment has been a centerpiece of UFCJC’s broad mission. Through its educational and research efforts, it advocates for First Amendment rights. It also supports journalists and the public in their access to government records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the demand for more transparency at all levels of government.
The Center was named in honor of Joseph L. Brechner (1915–1990), who “was one of the first broadcasters in the country to run on-air editorials and inspire dialogue on issues such as civil rights, political and social extremism and freedom of information.” The college funds the Project and has received decades-long endowments from McClatchy, the Brechner family and the Tampa Bay Times, as well as grants from the Hearst Foundation and the Lumina Foundation.
Dr. David Cuillier is the director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project. Before becoming the director of the Freedom of Information Project in July 2023, Cuillier was an associate professor, director of graduate studies and school director at the University of Arizona School of Journalism for 17 years.
Jane Bambauer became the director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project in August 2023. She is the Brechner Eminent Scholar at UFCJC and teaches at the Levin College of Law. She also researched First Amendment speech and technology issues at the University of Arizona.
Cuillier quickly assumed the mantle of leadership from his outstanding predecessors. The Center became the coordinating organization for national Sunshine Week in March 2024 and a Democracy Fund supported project to determine how to manage the large, burdensome public records requests.
“I feel a huge responsibility for the Brechner Center to help the nonprofit coalitions for open government in approximately 40 states. They do awesome work but lack funding and are primarily volunteer-based while fighting an onslaught of legislation that makes the government more secret. We want to bolster their impact in those states because, frankly, that’s where the bulk of journalism happens — where it hits home in everyday people’s lives,” Cuillier said.
The mission of the Freedom of Information Project is non-partisan, protecting all forms of speech: controversial, politically correct and popular. The Project advances its mission in several ways, including:
As digital technologies continue to intersect with First Amendment rights, the Project”s faculty members emphasize algorithms, artificial intelligence and data gathering as they affect speech and privacy rights, regulation of online social media platforms and fake news in their published content.
Cuillier also values providing extracurricular opportunities for students to participate in the Project. He stated, “An undergraduate student recently presented our research in Brussels, Belgium, related to the impact of newspapers on government transparency. His work revealed that states with a weak newspaper environment have the most secret governments.”
Cuillier has trained more than 11,000 journalists during the past 20 years about how to acquire public records. He is also readily available to answer questions for journalists, provide them with quotes for their articles and offer tips and referrals to other experts.
“We will be creating online training modules and providing online resources for journalists and the public because transparency is becoming worse year after year. Approximately 10 years ago, if you asked for a public record from the federal government, you would receive it approximately half the time. Now it’s 10% to 13% of the time,” Cuillier said.
The intersection of public records requests and investigative reporting
The Brechner Center’s focus on FOIA and accessing public records reinforces the public records course of Ted Bridis, the Michael and Linda Connelly Senior Lecturer in Investigative Reporting, and Fresh Take Florida, a program/news services for college juniors or seniors to report on Florida state government.
Bridis joined the college’s faculty in 2018 after a long tenure as the editor of The Associated Press’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington investigative team. He is recognized as a FOIA expert and has received numerous awards for investigative reporting and editorial leadership.
“My public records course is fundamental to learning how to become an investigative reporter and how to navigate the process. Editors who have hired my students say they’re like mid-career journalists. They hit the ground running. They know how to file their records requests,” Bridis said.
Bridis also teaches an experiential public policy class, which leads to some students being active reporters for Fresh Take Florida. Brensel worked with Bridis on a long-form story about air traffic controllers, which was published in the Orlando Sentinel and other Florida publications.
“My story was on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel. I could never have imagined at the start of the year, I would be published. For that to have happened in such a short time was very exciting,” Brensel said.
Brensel’s experience is one example of why the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications is highly regarded by students, the academic world and the news industry that hires UFCJC students.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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