The Department of Languages and Communications hosted a lecture Thursday by Lorraine Branham, director of the School of Journalism and the G.B. Dealey Regents Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
The lecture, the second in a four part series hosted by the department this semester, began with an introduction and was followed by a power point presentation on the University of Texas School of Journalism.
Branham informed students of the misrepresentation of ethnicity due to the lack of African Americans in the field of journalism, the importance of graduate school, and the necessity of gaining ample experience.
“A lot of people go to graduate school [in journalism] because they do not think they have enough experience to enter the work force,” Branham said.
Branham said it is not necessary to get a graduate education in every situation since a master’s degree in journalism does not guarantee a master salary.
“If you can get a job, get a job,” Branham said. “If you have an undergraduate degree in communications, it might be a good idea to maybe get an MBA in order to diversify yourself,” Branham said to those interested in public relations careers.
Branham spoke of her personal philosophy as well as her desire to get more African Americans into the field.
Branham is the first black and the first female to head the School of Journalism at UT-Austin. She was appointed to the position in August 2002 after 25 years as a newspaper editor, editorial writer and reporter.
Branham then expressed her desire to continue in her hope to change the world through her efforts.
“If you want to save the world, journalism is a good start,” said Branham.
Although Branham’s initial intentions were to speak about the UT graduate school, students were also able to gain insight into the experiences of a professional journalist.
Sadia Coleman, a sophomore communications major, said, “I really wanted to hear her experiences more than about the school. I really liked that she is trying to diversify her program.”
“I enjoyed the speaker and understood where she was coming from,” said Candace Michele Culmer a junior mass communications and Spanish major.
“I would just like to see more African Americans in leadership positions and trying to make a difference and build underdeveloped programs into something more accredited rather than going to predominantly white universities that have already established themselves.”
The third guest lecture will be held on Nov. 1 from 3:20 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the auditorium of the Juvenile Justice and Psychology building. The speaker will be Cory Clark, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News daily newspaper.