Missouri School of Journalism

06/16/2026

JOB OPENING: General Manager, KOMU 8

The University of Missouri School of Journalism seeks an experienced, forward-looking leader to serve as General Manager of KOMU-TV, a distinctive role at the intersection of public service, commercial success, and hands-on journalism education. KOMU 8 is a full-powered NBC and CW affiliate owned by the University of Missouri, serving the Columbia–Jefferson City DMA.

For more than 70 years, KOMU 8 has launched graduates of the nation’s most renowned journalism program into professional careers while competing successfully for ratings and revenue leadership. The station is part of the Missouri News Network, a collaborative group of community-facing journalism outlets that includes the Columbia Missourian, Vox Magazine, KBIA 91.3 FM (NPR), the Boone County Journal, and Missouri Business Alert. Together, these outlets cover mid-Missouri across platforms while maintaining strong individual brands.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a respected NBC affiliated television station while shaping the future of local journalism and media education. The General Manager is responsible for creating an effective, professional working environment for staff, faculty, and students, and for setting a clear strategy for growth amid rapid change in journalism, technology, audience behavior, and revenue models.

At its core, the role balances three priorities: serving mid-Missouri viewers and communities, growing KOMU’s commercial viability, and advancing the educational mission of the Missouri School of Journalism. The successful candidate will bring strong communication skills, a collaborative leadership style, and an eagerness to innovate, experiment, and adapt.

To learn more, click the link and search for job ID 59610. https://erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/COLUM/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL.

06/14/2026

Congratulations to senior Tanner O'Neal Riley and Tyler White, MA '25, both winners of national Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Riley won Best All-Around Radio Newscast for his work at KBIA 91.3 FM; White won in the Arts/Fashion Journalism category for "In the hands of Columbia, art will survive," which ran in the September/October 2025 issue of Vox Magazine.

Congrats also to Vox Magazine, which was a national finalist for Best Ongoing Student Magazine.

All three won Region 7 awards in April in their respective categories, advancing to nationals to compete against MOE winners from 11 other SPJ regions.

Region 7 winners and finalists:

Best Affiliated Website
Winner: VoxMagazine.com

Best Ongoing Student Magazine
Winner: Vox Magazine

Personality Profile Writing (Large, 10k+ students)
Finalist: "Davis Taylor takes the court to represent the USA" by Davis Wilson, Vox Magazine

Arts/Fashion Journalism
Winner: "In the hands of Columbia, art will survive" by Tyler White, Vox Magazine

Best All-Around Radio Newscast
Winner: Tanner O’Neal Riley, KBIA-FM

Radio Feature
— Winner: "Toaster steak" by Nora Crutcher-McGowan, KBIA-FM
— Finalist: "After tornado, does rebuilding recycling have to cost so much?" by Claire Powell, KBIA-FM

Radio In-Depth Reporting
— Winner: "Longtime Columbia resident deported" by Lilley Halloran, Bella Zielinski, Cassidy Brown, KBIA-FM
— Finalist: "Black at Mizzou" by Lilley Halloran, KBIA-FM
— Finalist: "The chilling effect of ICE," KBIA-FM

Radio News Reporting
Finalist: "Tourism vs. townies: Hermann wrestles with housing issues" by Finnegan Belleau, KBIA-FM

06/11/2026

Claire Rounkles, BJ ’18, PhD ’25, is the first Mizzou student to win the Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize, which recognizes her doctoral dissertation exploring how the Black press in the Midwest covered lynchings and the anti-lynching movement between 1890 and 1940. The work was completed under the guidance of Professor Earnest Perry, the associate dean for graduate studies and research at the J-School.

“This is a major award in the field of journalism history, and Claire’s dissertation is more than deserving,” Perry said. “Her work gives us a stronger understanding of how Black journalists innovated while bringing the truth about racial violence in the Midwest to light.” Mizzou Graduate School

By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 11, 2026) — Claire Rounkles, BJ ’18, PhD ’25, has earned the coveted 2026 Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize from the American Journalism Historians…

06/11/2026

Remembering Ben Holden, BJ '85, who died June 10, 2026, in Columbus, Georgia. He was 63.

Raised in St. Louis, Holden earned a law degree with a master's in business administration from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989. His career included stints as a corporate law attorney, journalist and college professor in California, Georgia, Illinois and Nevada.

Holden was executive editor of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer from 2004-2010. Friends and former colleagues share memories about him in the story below.

He led the L-E’s newsroom for six years.

06/10/2026

Congratulations to William Skipworth, BJ '21, who's the recipient of the 2026 Livingston Award for local reporting. The Livingston Awards recognize the best reporting by journalists under 35.

His investigative series, "A System of Harm," revealed "systemic failures and horrific cases of abuse in New Hampshire’s taxpayer-funded and state-regulated disability care system."

Skipworth produced the three-part series for the New Hampshire Bulletin, an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

While at the J-School, Skipworth served as a city-county government reporter for the Columbia Missourian and a reporter for PolitiFact Missouri.

2026 Livingston Award winners: William Skipworth of The New Hampshire Bulletin, our local winner; Hannah Natanson of The Washington Post, our national winner; Gerardo del Valle, Alejandro Bonilla Suárez, and Edwin Corona Ramos of ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga, and Cazador...

06/10/2026

Landon Burke, BJ '15, returns to Missouri airwaves. The former KOMU 8 morning anchor and J-School adjunct professor joins KSDK News in St. Louis. Congratulations and welcome home.

Landon Burke returns to St. Louis as the new Today in St. Louis co-anchor. Discover how his local roots and diverse media experience make him the perfect fit.

06/09/2026

Rising juniors Bannack Skillen and Andrew Davis are 2026 recipients of the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship. The total value of each scholarship is $45,000. After graduation, recipients spend two years working at a rural Missouri newspaper.

The scholarships are the result of a partnership between the Missouri Press Foundation, the J-School and the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

Skillen, a 2024 graduate of Rock Port High School, wrote for the Columbia Missourian this past semester.

“Throughout my time at Mizzou, I’ve found I truly love this field, and I want to pursue working at a rural newspaper,” Skillen wrote in his application essay. “I enjoy writing, photography and editing, and I would be able to employ all these individual pieces of journalism at once working for a smaller, rural publication.”

Davis has written for the Missourian and Vox Magazine. He's a 2024 graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau.

“Both of these outlets have taught me how to write a wide range of stories, and both have grown my skills within community journalism, which will allow me to excel in rural Missouri,” Davis said.

Alyssa Fitzgerald, a Boonville High School graduate and Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship recipient, graduated from the J-School in May and has accepted a position as digital marketing coordinator with Leader Publications in Jefferson County. She starts July 13.

Read on: https://mopress.com/stories/missouri-press-awards-two-scholarships-for-rural-newspaper-program,39762.

Two students entering their junior year at the University of Missouri School of Journalism have been elected as the 2026 recipients of the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship. The scholarships …

06/08/2026

Congratulations to eight members of the J-School faculty who received promotions, effective Sept. 1, 2026:

— Sungkyoung Lee and Jared Schroeder, who've been promoted to the academic rank of professor with tenure.

— Susan Renoe, who's been promoted to the academic rank of associate professor with tenure.

— Robert Greene and Elizabeth Stephens, who've been promoted to the academic rank of professor, non-tenure track.

— Fred Anklam, Gordon Dickson and Janet Lewis Saidi, who've been promoted to the academic rank of associate professor, non-tenure track.

06/08/2026

Congratulations to J-School alumni Chris W. Allen, PhD ’96, and Scott Buer, BJ ’78, who were both inducted into the Omaha Press Club Hall of Fame on June 6, 2026.

Allen is a professor emeritus in the School of Communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and former general manager of UNO Television and KVNO-FM.

Buer is chief photographer at KETV NewsWatch 7, the ABC affiliate in Omaha, where he’s spent most of his 50-year career. Mizzou Alumni Association Mizzou Omaha - Tigers of the Corn

Scott Buer, KETV’s chief photographer, was honored as part of the Omaha Press Club’s Hall of Fame, recognizing his nearly five-decade career.