2 Missouri Journalism Students Selected for the Student Newsroom at the Online News Association’s National Conference
2 Alumni Will Serve as Professional Mentors; Google to Cover Expenses
Columbia, Mo. (July 17, 2014) — Two Missouri School of Journalism students – master’s student Stephanie Ebbs, BJ ’13, and senior Katie Yaeger – have been chosen from more than 100 applicants to produce digital media content in the Student Newsroom at the Online News Association‘s conference Sept. 25-27 in Chicago.
They are among the 20 promising digital journalists from around the country who will also attend sessions led by experts and network with professionals. This is the second year in a row that two Missouri Journalism students have earned this honor.
During the conference, Ebbs, Yaeger and the other students will receive personal guidance from professional mentors, two of whom are graduates of the School. They are David Barreda, MA ’09, visual editor for ChinaFile, and Charles Minshew, MA ’13, a multimedia artist for the Orlando Sentinel in Florida. Minshew was a part of the Denver Post news staff that won a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for its breaking news coverage of the Aurora, Colorado, movie theatre massacre.
Google provides scholarship monies to cover the students’ registration, travel and lodging expenses.
“Not only will they have the opportunity to rub shoulders with and learn from some of the world’s biggest names in digital journalism, they’ll have a chance to build a network among young journalists from across the country,” said Amy Simons, assistant professor and ONA Mizzou adviser. “Then, they’ll bring those lessons back to campus to share with the other members of ONA Mizzou.”
Ebbs works as assistant director of community outreach at the Columbia Missourian, where she has held multiple positions over the last three years. She has also held internships at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Thomson Reuters, Missouri Digital News and works as a writing tutor at the University of Missouri Writing Center.
As an undergraduate at MU, Ebbs studied print and digital news, earned a minor in political science and a multicultural certificate. From Carbondale, Illinois, she was a member of the Honors College. Ebbs’ master’s work is focused on investigative reporting and audience engagement. She will complete her professional project in Washington, D.C., in spring 2015.
Yaeger is studying news editing and earning minors in business and psychology. A member of the Honors College, she will also finish a multicultural certificate before graduation with her bachelor’s degree in spring 2015.
Yaeger, from Atlanta, has studied abroad at the University of Manchester in England. She has held several copy editing internships, including serving as a Dow Jones News Fund intern at the Kansas City Star. She has also edited at the Missourian, Orange County Register in California and Newsy. On campus, Yaeger served in a variety of editor positions at The Maneater and volunteered at Investigative Reporters and Editors.
ONA is a nonprofit membership organization for digital journalists, connecting journalism, technology and innovation. Its more than 2,000 members are the producers, content editors, news directors, reporters, bloggers, technologists, designers, academics and newsroom decision-makers who create and refine the online medium at breakneck speed.
Updated: July 27, 2020