Covering the 2024 Campaign

Newhouse School students covered two of the biggest events of the 2024 presidential campaign, reporting and writing stories from the nominating conventions for media outlets across the country. 

Nine students traveled to Milwaukee in July to cover the Republican National Convention, while 10 students visited Chicago the following month to cover the Democratic National Convention. 

Led by Joel Kaplan, associate dean of graduate programs at Newhouse and a former political and investigative reporter, the students gained invaluable experience working side-by-side with political journalists from around the country. They built up their résumés while providing or supplementing content for local media outlets by writing and reporting stories for broadcast, social media and news platforms. Students also created packages for airing and conducted interviews.

The Newhouse contingent was even featured in a CBS News Chicago story about the DNC. Among those interviewed was Luke Radel, a junior broadcast and digital journalism major who produced stories from both conventions for WKTV NewsChannel 2 in his hometown of Utica, New York. 

“[I was] pulling back from the national picture and finding local stories that matter to people in my community, my hometown and my friends and neighbors,” Radel told CBS News Chicago. “It’s been really cool to hear from them about what it means to have someone on a national stage talking about issues that matter to them.” 

Newhouse Advisory Board

Donor Honor Roll

The Newhouse School gratefully acknowledges the alumni, parents, employees, organizations, students and friends who supported the school each year. The following list recognizes those who have contributed between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. We have respectfully removed those donors who asked to remain anonymous.

Class Notes

60s 

Dan Schlossberg ’69 authored the book “Home Run King: The Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron.”

70s

Genie Abrams ’70, G’71 published a poetry book, “Pretty Nearly All Natural.”

Jan Hickman ’71 has retired after a long career in newspaper and corporate communications.

Larry Elin’s ’73 book “The Cinder Drop: Murder in the Steel City” was featured in the July issue of Kirkus Reviews magazine.

John G. Clemons ’76, G’14 was named Southeast District director for 2024-25 of the Public Relations Society of America National Board of Directors.

Thomas Fensch Ph.D. ’77 published his 47th book, “Between Author and Editor: Exceptional Collaborations During the Golden Age of American Book Publishing.”

Dave Bohman ’79 is celebrating 45 years in television news and his fifth year as an investigative reporter at WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida.

80s 

Tom Coffey’s ’80 new novel, “Special Victim,” was published in November.

Irene Keene ’81 is a professional actor whose credits include “The Gilded Age,” “Manifest” and “Full Frontal.”

Fred Sternburg ’81 was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Ellen J. Meany ’82 was named executive director of the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation. 

Lisa Fontenelli ’86 was the Whitman School of Management Class of 2024 convocation speaker. 

Adam Zand ’87 launched the PR and marketing agency SharpOrange.

Brian Levine ’88 is the chief executive officer of Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors. 

90s 

Steven Latham ’91 is creator and producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series “Shelter Me,” which aired its latest season in 2024.

Samantha Critchell ’93 is head of corporate communications at e.l.f. Beauty.

R. Lance Holbert G’93 has been named research professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication and director of the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics.

Mitch Messinger G’93 launched the PR consultancy Messinger Media Management. 

Ada Agrait ’94 was honored with an Alumni Award at Syracuse University’s Coming Back Together reunion.

Suzanne Ayello ’94 is a managing partner at McCann New York, leading the L’Oréal U.S. business. 

Josh Barnett ’94 was named managing director for editorial at Sports Business Journal. 

Cheryll Ocampo Forsatz ’94 is U.S. chief client officer at Ketchum. 

Tom Scheck ’96 was selected as a fellow for the Poynter Institute Public Media Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative.

Andrew Siciliano ’96 is the play-by-play announcer for the University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network.

Pia Rogers ’98 gave the keynote address at the 2024 Maxwell School master of public administration convocation ceremony.

Sari Hitchins ’99 has been promoted to senior news editor for the publication Parents.

00s

Gina Laughlin ’00 was promoted to vice president and head of global communications at Delta Air Lines.

Kelly Clements ’02 joined the board of directors of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. 

Allyson Mandelbaum ’03 started the hat company Shady Lady.

Adam Ritchie ’03 owns Adam Ritchie Brand Direction, which was the PR agency for the Masters of Scale Summit, whose speakers included Bill Gates, Tyra Banks and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Amanda Raus ’04 is media relations coordinator for Bridgeport Hospital.  

Brian Goldman ’05, CEO of Big Blue Bug Solutions, won the Rhode Island Small Business Person of the Year award.

JaNeika James G’05 was honored with an Alumni Award at Syracuse University’s Coming Back Together reunion.

Weijia Jiang G’06 delivered the keynote speech at the Newhouse School’s 2024 convocation ceremony.

Karen Ryan ’06 was a producer for “Nimona,” which was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards.

Jane Khodos ’07, vice president of communications at Early Warning Services, was named to the 2024 PRWeek 40 Under 40 list. 

Liza Robbins ’07 became the creative operations lead at Crocs, Inc. 

Christine Giarrizzo G’08 launched the podcast “Momming as a Millennial.” 

Kevin Kane G’09 was a 2024 inductee into the PRSA College of Fellows.

10s 

Justin Sondel G’10 is a public safety reporter at The Buffalo News. 

Kevin Brown ’11 extended his contract as the play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles’ television broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Sadé Muhammad ’12 was honored with the Young Alumni Award at Syracuse University’s Coming Back Together reunion.

Kelundra Smith G’12 was named director of publishing for TCG Books and American Theatre magazine. 

Nick Brown ’13 served as senior features producer for the League of Legends Worlds Final broadcast that earned a 2024 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage.

Rachel Fawkes ’13 was honored with an NYC TV Week 40 Under 40 award.

Amanda Quick ’14 was honored with the Generation Orange Award at Syracuse University’s 2024 Alumni Awards Celebration.

Rachel Somerstein Ph.D. ’14 published her first book, “Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Cesarean Section.”

Patrick Hosken G’15 was named Rochester City Magazine’s new arts writer. 

Lis Webber ’15 is the founder and executive director of Syracuse Community Fridge.

Ted Gioia ’16 was promoted to director of sports and portfolio programming at NBCUniversal. 

Jordan Horowitz ’16 won an Up Next award in Variety magazine’s 2024 Legal Impact Report. 

Alex Kline ’16 is the new general manager of the Syracuse University men’s basketball program.

Julia Naftulin ’16 is an editor for Business Insider’s special projects division.

Caroline Soss ’16 was named manager at Artists First management and production company. 

Brooke Taylor ’17 joined Fox News as a national news correspondent. 

Kaitlin Pearson ’18 is the co-anchor of “Today in Central New York” on WSTM (NBC3) in Syracuse.

Jerald Pierce G’18 was named managing editor for American Theatre magazine. 

Kayla Burton G’19 joined NBC Sports Boston as a multiplatform host and reporter. 

Noah Eagle ’19 won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent.

20s

James Corrigan G’21 is a reporter at WPMT-FOX43 in York, Pennsylvania. 

Samantha Croston G’21 was named sports director at CNY Central. 

Hattie Lindert ’21 took on the role of news editor at electronic music publication Resident Advisor. 

Chris Bennett’s G’22 short film “Level One” was selected to screen at over 20 film festivals and won at the Cayuga Film Festival.

Miles Hood G’22 is a reporter for WVEC News Now in Norfolk, Virginia. 

Lea-Ann O’Hare Germinder G’23 is a second-year doctoral student at the University of Missouri.  

Gannon Nolan ’23 is a technical associate for PGA Tour Entertainment.  

Alexandra Siambekos ’23 won the Best First Time Director, Documentary award at the Berlin Indie Film Festival’s January 2024 competition. 

Nicole Aponte ’24 won a 2024 Edward R. Murrow Award for her 2023 story “Beating the Odds, Taking the Reins.”

Marlana Bianchi ’24 and senior Molly Egan won a Future Lions Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Zachary Goldman ’24 is a PR and communications associate with the Windy City Bulls.

Adam Lewis ’24 joined NFL Films as a seasonal producer.  

Peyton Spellacy ’24 joined KOAT as a reporter for Action 7 News in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. 

Ireland Walker ’24 is a news reporter for WTEN-TV in Albany, New York. 

An Enduring Mission

The origins of the Newhouse School trace back to a conversation at the Hotel Syracuse in the late 1950s.

There, during a half-hour meeting that began at 7:30 a.m., publisher Samuel I. Newhouse committed $15 million to then-Chancellor William P. Tolley to help Syracuse University fund the building of a premier journalism school. Newhouse 1 opened its doors in 1964.

Six decades later, the founding mission of providing the best journalism education in the country endures. 

“I can think of no better way to honor the extraordinary vision of  S.I. Newhouse and his family for the Newhouse School’s 60th anniversary than to recommit ourselves to excellence in journalism education,” Dean Mark J. Lodato said. 

Headwinds face newsrooms. Technology continues to change the way news is reported and consumed. The industry is seemingly in constant churn and reinventing itself.

The Newhouse School embraces these challenges. 

Faculty maintain close ties to the industry to keep tabs on the latest trends and help students build career connections, while the school continues to invest in the latest equipment and technology.

“Our goal as a faculty is to help our driven journalism students move seamlessly into newsrooms after graduation,” said Anthony Adornato, associate professor and chair of the broadcast and digital journalism department. “As the industry evolves, Newhouse will evolve with it to ensure our graduates are prepared to work and lead from Day 1.” 

One of the school’s latest efforts is a reenvisioned journalism curriculum, beginning in fall 2025, which puts emphasis on ensuring students are skilled in the art of storytelling across multiple platforms. It’s the result of years of discussion among faculty and school leadership. 

The bachelor’s in journalism program formalizes in writing what professors had already been doing in the classroom: training aspiring journalists to meet audiences wherever they get their news, whether on their phone, a social platform or their favorite podcast. 

Students will still be able to select a track in either broadcast and digital journalism or magazine, news and digital journalism, allowing them to focus on a specialty.

“Teaching the core fundamentals of reporting, writing, communications law and ethics will never go away,” said Greg Munno, associate professor and interim chair of magazine, news and digital journalism. 

“What the new curriculum does is equip all journalism students with the skills to tell stories across multiple media formats and prepare them for tomorrow’s newsrooms,” Munno said.

Among the school’s other journalism initiatives or priorities: 

• Continuing to recruit, develop and encourage students who will work in newsrooms seeking to ensure that the diversity of their staff and leadership reflects the communities they serve. This commitment traces back to 1994 and the start of the Newhouse Diversity News Fellowship.
• Applying for grants that foster partnerships with journalism organizations to fill news deserts, and collaborating with media outlets to find ways to keep local communities informed, especially in rural areas. An example is how Newhouse students cover Central New York news for public radio station WAER.
• The Newhouse Sports Media Center’s newly expanded home in Newhouse 3 serves as a hub for students pursuing sports journalism as a focus within the broadcast or magazine, news and digital journalism tracks. 
• Working to strengthen trust in news media, governance and society through the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC), the partnership initiative with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The opening of the new University center in Washington, D.C., also allows for expansion of the Newhouse DC program and related internship and experiential learning opportunities.

Additionally, Newhouse is committed to leading the way in the research and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence in reporting the news, as well as collaborating with the news industry and educating students to root out misinformation.

Perhaps most importantly, the success of the Newhouse School is embodied in the generations of alumni who have graduated with journalism degrees and gone on to write, report, edit, produce and lead newsrooms across the country. 

At the school’s 60th anniversary celebration, S.I. Newhouse’s son, Donald Newhouse, recalled how his father beamed with pride when Newhouse 1 formally opened its doors on Aug. 5, 1964. 

“My father expressed his vision that day … ‘In the end, it is the quality of persons who choose to make media a career that counts. We hope … that the brightest possible young men and women will be found at this school,’” Donald Newhouse said. 

“In the 60 years since that dedication, through unprecedented upheaval in the media field, the Newhouse School has carried out that vision and mission that he and [Chancellor Tolley] agreed to during the memorable half-hour meeting at the Hotel Syracuse.”

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The Long View

Claudia Strong and Ken Harper, members of the visual communications faculty, curated the photo galleries that adorn the walls of Newhouse this year in honor of the school’s 60th anniversary. Here, Strong recounts the work behind assembling the commemorative exhibits. 

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I’m not sure I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I agreed in the spring to contribute to the 60th celebration in the form of exhibits, but Ken Harper and I knew it would be a tough climb, especially given that the bulk of the work would occur during the summer while I worked abroad and Ken tackled his new post as the graduate program director for visual communications.

After reviewing thousands of images provided by various departments, our strategy was to lean into vintage visuals while weaving disparate images into meaningful stories that reveal a relevant but mostly unknown history to the people now benefiting from it—whether student, faculty or staff. We sought to engage them with imagery that felt at once familiar and not quite so.

This decision led quickly to four of the eight exhibits: one for the dedication of Newhouse 1; one for the school’s pre-Newhouse history; one for the construction, remodeling and dedication of each of the three Newhouse buildings; and one that recounts the history of the television, radio and film department and Newhouse 2.

We pinpointed ideal spaces for exhibits based on size and editorial relevance, also accounting for traffic patterns, celebration plans and the official Newhouse tour route. Still there was additional content to display and, significantly, a few prominent spaces to fill.

Most pressing was how to populate the school’s official gallery on the second floor of Newhouse 1. I dubbed this space, which includes the digital alumni wall, the “People Gallery” for easy reference.

It is a large space with high traffic, and we had little idea of what to put there. Then, I remembered we had staff and faculty photos from the past couple decades. We also had a beautiful vintage catalog from the 1950s of Newhouse faculty that was perfect for the overall concept, but, as you might imagine, it did not feature a diverse group of people, and I hesitated to use it without other content for balance. Many of the more recent staff and faculty pictures were of people who’d come and gone and who’d each left an indelible mark on the school and the people in it, so combining these “Newhousers” and legacies—separated by decades and seismic societal shifts—seemed like a solid solution for the space and a way to honor both their contributions and our progress as a school.

To round out this gallery space, anchored by four beloved Newhouse deans, we included an exhibit of books published by Newhouse faculty and staff. To round out the exhibits in the complex overall, we added a mural of candid images from throughout the school’s history as well as a visual timeline of milestones.

Upon my return to town and after I’d finished most of the exhibit designs, Ken and I spent the final two weeks leading up to the Aug. 28 anniversary event in a mad dash to usher these as-yet pixel-only exhibits into their real-world destinies. It was time to print and install. This required that we first prepare all the final images for printing, which involved meticulously checking and setting file sizes, resolutions and color profiles for each of the more than 350 images now on display.

Given that many of the files we received were too small to print at target size, Ken dove into the brave new world of artificial intelligence-driven image upsizing, which in most cases worked quite well. Meanwhile, I finished the exhibit designs, wrote copy, created signage and recruited helpers for the installation phase.

Ken worked full days at Light Work to print the largest images, 60- and 42-inch prints, while I tackled the remainder on the smaller-format printer in the Steele Center long into the nights at Newhouse 1. We managed to print enough after the first week to begin the surprisingly time-consuming process of installing an adhesive exhibit, made trickier by the enormous size of some panels that would have been ever trickier without help from a cadre of mostly tall volunteers.

Now on the other side of deadline, having experienced the response to the exhibits and hearing about the happiness it brought to the Newhouse family, what once seemed like an insurmountable task has become a moment of joy that I get to experience daily as I see students, faculty and staff engage with the school’s story as they help write the next chapter.  

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A special thank you to the following Newhouse faculty and students for their invaluable assistance with installing the galleries.

Faculty:  Dennis Kinsey, Bruce Strong and Jason Webb 

Students: Jacob Bergh, Rio Harper, Matt Hoffman, Tyler Slavicek, Surya Vaidy, Maxine Wallace and Joati Zobayer 

University Unveils Newhouse Family Plaza

Donald Newhouse smiled as he gestured toward the metallic letters, now permanently attached to a wall outside the Newhouse School, that recognize his family for the generosity that has helped Syracuse University educate generations of students.

The renaming of the plaza that serves as a formal entryway for the Newhouse complex and gathering space for students was a small act of gratitude during the school’s 60th anniversary celebration.

“I am fortunate to have the chance, in the same month that I celebrate my 95th birthday, to look back with overwhelming pride at the record of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. It is one of the great joys of my life,” Donald Newhouse said at the Aug. 28 event on the steps leading up to what is now known as the Newhouse Family Plaza.

The podium from which Newhouse spoke was situated not far from where his father, Samuel I. Newhouse, delivered his own remarks for the dedication ceremony of the Newhouse 1 building on Aug. 5, 1964. On that day, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered the keynote address.

“For me personally, this was a day I would never forget, for besides [it] being my 35th birthday, my 4-year-old son was sitting on my lap, threatening to take the microphone away from the president,” Donald Newhouse recalled at the 60th anniversary celebration.

Six decades later, that 4-year-old son, Michael Newhouse, was among the crowd of hundreds gathered on the Einhorn Family Walk to celebrate another school milestone. His older brother, Steven Newhouse, sat nearby, as did other distinguished members of the Newhouse family. 

As the owner of Advance Publications, which was founded by S.I. Newhouse in 1922, Donald Newhouse is the patriarch of one of the first families of American publishing. The dedication of Newhouse 1 in 1964 set the foundation for the establishment of the Newhouse School as one of the preeminent communications schools in the country.

Today, the Newhouse family is one of the largest-ever donors to Syracuse University. The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation’s $75 million pledge to the school in 2020 was the single largest gift in the University’s history. 

“There are so many amazing alumni of this school that I’ve met all over the world—editors, broadcasters, leaders in print, cable news and network newsrooms. They’ve founded and led radio stations, PR agencies, advertising firms, countless ventures in the business, digital music and entertainment industries,” Chancellor Kent Syverud said before unveiling the plaza’s new name.

“All of them amazing people, all made possible because of the transformational gifts of Donald Newhouse and the Newhouse Foundation,” Syverud added. “You’ve really, in a meaningful sense, shaped the trajectory of the University, the Newhouse School and, most importantly, the careers of tens of thousands of our students and our graduates and faculty.”

The 60th anniversary festivities included a celebratory luncheon and a special tour of the school for the Newhouse family. They walked through what has grown into a three-building complex on a busy midweek afternoon during the first week of class.

They surprised students with a stopover at a COM 107 class, toured the Newhouse Sports Media Center’s new home in the Newhouse 3 building and took in new photo galleries looking back at the school’s history that will adorn the walls of Newhouse in 2024-25.

The visit culminated with the ceremony and reception as students, faculty, staff, alumni and University leaders and trustees celebrated with the Newhouse family on the newly named plaza. 

In thanking the University, Steven Newhouse shared with the audience that he, too, was at the 1964 dedication ceremony, at age 7.

“I’m really excited by the naming of the Newhouse Family Plaza for two reasons. First of all, beyond S.I. Newhouse—my grandfather— and Donald Newhouse and his brother, Si Newhouse, it’s the entire Newhouse family who are proud of the amazing record of this school,” Steven Newhouse said. 

“And second, the Newhouse School is like a family itself. It looks after recent graduates as they make their way in the work world and as they advance their careers. So, on behalf of the extended family of the Newhouse School, thank you so much.”

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