school of communications

Students from the BYU School of Communications and the Department of Design competed in an event hosted by one of the most prestigious graphic design and advertising organizations in the world BYU design and advertising students dominated at The One Club for Creativity competition held each year in New York City — considered to be one of the top international award competitions for advertising and graphic design students. While the categories for these awards are vast, recognition in even one category showcases excellence in creativity and is a high honor. Collectively, BYU took home a new school record of awards during this year’s One Club for Creativity competition. Six advertising students and one graphic design student received gold for their portfolio submissions — more than any other university. To win a portfolio award, students must submit their best pieces in a portfolio as a single unit, which the judges — approximately 10 industry leaders from various artistic specialities — will look at collectively. This year, The One Club for Creativity reported that there were 8,751 portfolios submitted from designers in 45 different countries. From these submissions, the judges chose 14 gold winners from diverse disciplines, half of which were BYU students. “The portfolio competition in particular is held in such high esteem because they are not just recognizing one piece in your portfolio, but your entire body of work,” said Alexa Spiroff, an advertising student. “To be a portfolio winner means the judges are acknowledging that every piece of work in your book is award-winning.” Cam Tribe and Sara McLaws won for advertising. Connor Dean, Jedediah Thunell, Bentley Rawle and Alexa Spiroff won for film and TV commercials. Laura McNeill won for graphic design. In addition to the seven golds won by BYU students for portfolios, four individual advertising projects won gold, three won silver and one won bronze. They also won five gold cubes, two silver cubes and one bronze cube in the ADC Awards category. In the One Show category, BYU advertising students won one gold pencil, one silver pencil and three merit awards. McCall Keller, another BYU graphic design student, won a bronze cube for his redesign of King Kong Magazine. Nineteen advertising and graphic design projects were merit winners — all contributing to the competition’s ultimate ranking of BYU as the #2 program in the world. BYU advertising professor Jeff Sheets, who is a board member and judge for the One Club for Creativity, was asked to present the portfolio awards and give students their awards on stage. “It was a very fulfilling moment for me personally to be able to present so many awards to our very own BYU students,” said Sheets. “I had witnessed first-hand all of their hard work and creative determination.” Winning such a prestigious award can help students put their names out there and launch their professional careers after they leave BYU. “The One Club is really well known across the graphic design and advertising communities, so to be able to have that on my resume would really help with validating my work,” said McNeill. “I think even the networking that can happen from it is valuable.”

Students and faculty from BYU’s School of Communications hope the release of their recently produced documentary will reignite the public’s interest in solving the cold case of Rosie Tapia — a six-year-old girl who was abducted from her Salt Lake City apartment, sexually assaulted and murdered in August of 1995. The debut of the documentary is met with much emotion, especially in the wake of a sketch of the suspect given to police earlier this year by a former neighbor of the Tapia family. “Murderers Living Among Us: Who Killed Rosie Tapia?” not only covers the events of the tragedy but also explores different issues tied to the abduction and murder of Tapia, the impact it has had on her family and the cultural phenomena of true crime as entertainment. The film is the result of a year-long student and faculty-mentored project. Garofalo and the other documentary producers worked closely with the Utah Cold Case Coalition and members of the Tapia family to tell a story that was both factual and emotional. “I really wanted to bring awareness back to this story,” said Garofalo. “The case didn’t get the attention it deserved 24 years ago — it got shoved under the rug. At the end of the day, her killer still hasn’t been found.” Read the full story at comms.byu.edu.

School of Communications professor Dale Cressman was elected as the vice president of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) on April 26. Cressman has worked with the organization since 2011 and appreciates the ethics it emphasizes in the specific fields of study. “ACEJMC is a great champion for free speech and diversity,” said Cressman. “It practices what it preaches, operating under the same values it expects of academic units.” ACEJMC accreditation is regarded as the premier standard of program quality in the discipline. Currently, 115 journalism and mass communications programs at universities throughout the United States, Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have full accreditation status. The BYU School of Communications has been ACEJMC accredited since 1984. “Accreditation is a rigorous process,” said Cressman, who started in ACEJMC as a site team member. “It is time consuming, but well worth being accredited, as it tells students, parents, administrators and peers that we meet common standards in our discipline.” Read the full story at comms.byu.edu.

Norawong will speak at the School of Communications Convocation at 9 a.m. on April 26

Communications graduate students Kylie Brooks and Sara Bezdjian May took second place in the communications division of the Arthur W. Page Society Case Study Competition, which features original cases studies from students across the U.S. This is the third year in a row that graduate students from the School of Communications placed in the competition. Read more on the School of Communications website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKZDTmGU9A0&=&feature=youtu.be BYU School of Communications Professor Kevin Kelly's new film 'I Saw the Hosts of the Dead' will air Sunday, April 7 at 9 a.m. on BYUtv before “Music and the Spoken Word.” The film is a documentary — mixed with a little live action — that explores Joseph F. Smith’s vision and the background behind it. To read more about the inspiration behind the film and what it took to create it, visit the School of Communications website.

School of Communications professor Adam Durfee was recently recognized as the social media innovator of the year by The Social Shake-Up. The organization holds an annual conference featuring cutting-edge social media techniques and the people behind them. To read more about Durfee's work and the award, visit the School of Communications website.

Communications professor Jessica Zurcher recently shared her research on pornography at a School of Communications Beckham Lecture. “It’s scary sometimes to jump into these topics, but I have felt the Spirit and the guidance of my Heavenly Father to be able to accomplish this work,” said Zurcher. Read more about Zurcher's lecture and research on the School of Communications website.

Some majors direct their student into a specific career path, but that isn’t the case for those who pursue a degree in communications. BYU School of Communications alumna Siovhan Johnson is learning this lesson as she makes the transition from broadcast news to strategic communications. Read Johnson's full story on the School of Communications website.

School of Communications Professor Kevin John used eye tracking technology to map how men process body image differently than women. Read more about his research here.

Raymond E. Beckham, one of BYU’s most distinguished former professors, will be honored with a Pillar of the Valley Award. The award honors individuals whose extraordinary contributions have improved the business, civic, social, educational and cultural climate of Utah Valley. During his lifetime, innovative improvements followed Beckham wherever he went. Things like the Young Ambassadors, BYU Education Week and the Aspen Grove Family Camp can all be traced back to him. He also served on the board of numerous charities, such as Boy Scouts of America and the Red Cross. To learn more about Beckham’s legacy and the award, continue reading at The Daily Herald.

Last September, the Eagle Mountain and Pole Creek wildfires raged across Utah Valley in September. While firefighters were fighting to contain the fires, BYU’s YDigital Lab Managing Director Adam Durfee was fighting another dangerous force: misinformation. To read more about how Durfee worked with the public information officers and students to contain the spread of fake news and subsequent fear during the fires, continue reading at The Daily Universe.

BYU advertising alum Brandon Barkdull and his brother Blake, a BYU neuroscience student, started their business, Penguin Brothers, while Blake was still in high school. The business started out in a light pink food truck where the brothers learned the in’s and out’s of the food industry. Eventually, they were able to build up their skills and save up enough to purchase a storefront location on Canyon Road and Bulldog. To learn more about the brothers’ journey to success, read more here.

Scott Church presented on media and politics to the National Communications Association.

Vai Sikahema discusses his journey from rejection to the Alumni Achievement Award in the School of Communications.

The College of Fine Arts and Communications will feature NBC morning news anchor Vai Sikahema on October 11 at 11 a.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. His lecture is titled “Denied Admission to Alum of the Year: My BYU Journey”. Vai Sikahema played football at BYU and graduated in Broadcast Journalism before becoming the first Tongan drafted into the NFL. Sikahema, former running back and kick returner, ranks first among the NFL’s all-time career leaders in number of punt returns and second in return yardage after his time with the Cardinals, Packers and Eagles. Sikahema has since worked as a morning news anchor at NBC. He has earned three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards for his work in local television and is featured in the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers’ Hall of Fame. Sikahema’s influence in the Philadelphia area was instrumental in helping The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints get the Philadelphia Temple approved. Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018 Time: 11 a.m. Location: Madsen Recital Hall HFAC Admission: Free, open to the public

BYU students have set up an online information hub, organizing the flood of information on two major wildfires that have chased more than 6,000 Utah residents from their homes in recent days. Less than 24 hours after its creation, the Utah County Fire Relief Website had received more than 15,000 visitors. That’s about one new visitor every second. Y Digital Agency Manager Adam Durfee teamed up with BYU students and local volunteers to build a central hub for real-time updates on the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires burning just outside Spanish Fork, Utah. Finish reading 'New Y Digital website streamlines Utah wildfire information' at universe.byu.edu.

In their recent 'Build it Like Beckham' article, BYU Magazine featured former communications professor and associate dean of The College of Fine Arts and Communications, Raymond E. Beckham. Beckham, who worked at BYU for 42 years and passed away last October, will be recognized at the 2018 BYU Homecoming as the honored founder. To read more click here.