SMPA is a pioneering teaching and research leader. Professor Silvio Waisbord is Editor of the International Journal of Press/Politics, an interdisciplinary journal for the analysis and discussion of the role of the press and politics in a globalized world.
Gain access to countless career opportunities
Students at our annual Communications Career Expo network with a CNN recruiter. SMPA helps students pursue rewarding careers in media, journalism, and communications via internships, networking events, and employment workshops.
Collaborate with faculty on research and special projects
Graduate student Rachel Weisel and Professor Kimberly Gross, in partnership with the Project for Excellence in Journalism, studied how the media uses Twitter. Their findings were published in a groundbreaking report that garnered national press coverage.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
Students line up outside GW's Lisner Auditorium before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speak at an event hosted by SMPA. The event was broadcast on CNN.
Learn and operate industry-standard broadcasting equipment and software
SMPA Faculty and staff use the flash studio for live and recorded professional programming.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
Longtime political reporter and broadcaster Gwen Ifill of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer addresses students.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
CNN's Christiane Amanpour and SMPA Director Frank Sesno interview five former U.S. Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III. The free event was sponsored by SMPA.
Study media in heart of Washington, and the world
SMPA is home to Prime Movers Media, an organization that sends student interns and media professionals to public high schools in Washington, D.C. to teach journalism.
Professor Kerric Harvey received three recent honors from GW
Professor Kerric Harvey, recent winner of the Staub Faculty Excellence Award, has been honored twice more by the GW community. She was chosen by the Cherry Tree yearbook as one of GW's Top Ten Professors and will be featured in a full-page spread in the 2009-10 yearbook. Also, see her front and center during the May 15th CCAS convocation -- she will represent ALL faculty from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences as the faculty speaker! She was picked to speak by Dean Peg Barratt from a pool of student nominations. Congrats on your triple wins!
Join SMPA as we team with The Pulitzer Center to present "Telling the Untold Stories"
May 10th 6 p.m. - Jack Morton Auditorium
A screening of winning video submissions to "YouTube: Project Report," the competition for aspiring journalists to uncover underreported issues
Take this opportunity to network with executives, professionals and experts from Sony Vaio, YouTube, Pulitzer, Intel and SMPA at a reception after the event.
Just a reminder -- SMPA students who are participating in next month's May 15 CCAS Graduation Celebration will be part of the 12:00 p.m. event, not the 3:30p.m. event. All SMPA graduating students and their families are invited to a breakfast reception and graduate recognition event that morning from 9:00am-11:00 am in the MPA building beforehand. RSVP for the breakfast to smpa@gwu.edu with the number of people attending. For more information about the noon CCAS event including ticket info, visit http://columbian.gwu.edu/celebration2010.html. For more info on the Commencement on the Mall or other events, visit http://www.commencement.gwu.edu.
By all accounts, the Planet Forward event on Tuesday night was a big success! GW Today was there and published a story:
"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson told School of Media and Public Affairs Director and Planet Forward founder Frank Sesno that the nation now faces “really complex” public policy changes that have raised a number of concerns, including effects on the economy and national security, at “A Time To Act? Next Steps for a Climate Bill” April 20 at GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium." Read the rest of the story...
The Planet Forward team has also put up the first video clip of the event, with more to come soon!
One of the most fascinating things that I have found in my media studies is that life experience and the world around us are consistently and exceedingly relevant. As journalists, we are given permission to be nosy and the freedom to create for an audience, whose validation and reception is of the utmost importance.
EPA Associate Administrator and GW alum Seth Oster visits an SMPA class taught by Professor Pat Phalen
The presence and role of such an audience has been an important focus of my SMPA “Media Organizations and Audiences” class. Taught by Dr. Patricia Phalen, this class works to develop an understanding of how the media industries operate, how media professionals carry out their work, and why we have the kinds of movies and television programs we have.
On April 13, we were lucky enough to have a guest speaker with incredible experience in both the media industry and in the DC political scene. Seth Oster, Associate Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and GWU Class of ‘91 alum, came in for a discussion Read the rest of this entry »
It's hard to believe that Professor Janet Steele has traded the comforts of DC for another overseas trip, but she has - this time to Sudan and Egypt.
Before she left, she wrote to say "I just got my visa to Sudan, with literally two hours to spare. Apparently I'm the first State Dept. speaker to get a visa to Sudan since 2006!"
She is going to Khartoum and Juba to discuss the practice of doing "good journalism" in an age of new media, best practices for election coverage, and the basic principles of press law. Her live audiences will include journalists, students, professors, and members of the Sudanese government, and also has a few TV and radio interviews scheduled with local media.
Before her Sudan trip, Steele also visited Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt to deliver similar talks. Watch this space next week for her report!
Journalists describe the future of investigative reporting in a panel entitled "The New Watchdogs: Investigative Collaborations"
By Lucy McCalmont
JMC/Political Science '10
News editors from around the country met in Washington D.C. to discuss the changes and the future facing the media industry from April 11-14 at the annual American Society of News Editors Conference. As a JMC major, and soon-to-be graduate, it was an interesting opportunity to observe a few panel discussions and hear about the concerns and innovations coming from some of the top members of the media.
Throughout the week, the conference hosted speakers from Arianna Huffington to CEO of Google Eric Schmidt and even Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. On the final day of the conference, I sat in as editors and publishers spoke about innovations in non-profit models and media partnerships. Read the rest of this entry »
The spirit of SMPA was alive and well Monday April 12 when over 70 faculty, students, parents, and alumni gathered together for the annual SMPA Majors Night celebration. The highlight of the event for many was the impressive $85,000 in awards and scholarships that were handed out by Professors Lee Huebner and Steve Roberts to 31 deserving majors.
Prof. Kerric Harvey accepts her Robert and Christine Staub Faculty Excellence award from Director Frank Sesno
The evening began with a reception, and then two SMPA alumni spoke to the collected group, dispensing advice on jobs, and the future of new media and politics. Each alum had the distinction as having managed the online operations of both the Democratic and Republican 2008 National Conventions. Aaron Myers, a 2000 PCM graduate, discussed his start in the field, and how he blended his experiences inside the classroom with on-the-job learning working for the early Al Gore campaign for the White House during and after his senior year. Read the rest of this entry »
The School of Media and Public Affairs has always encouraged its students to take advantage of the resources Washington, D.C. offers, and now, our many partnerships with the Newseum make that easier than ever. Located on Pennsylvania Avenue near GW, it is a museum that "blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits" according to its website.
SMPA has collaborated with the Newseum in at least five different ways this school year, from co-hosting events and classes to producing TV and radio segments at their state-of-the-art television studios.
Director of the Global Media Institute Professor Michael Freedman chose to take his Media History (SMPA 177) class out of the classroom and move it on site at the Newseum each week.
“The Newseum brings to life virtually every element of media history through its artifact-filled exhibits, wonderfully produced films, and the expertise of its instructors and curators,” Freedman said. Read the rest of this entry »
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