“Chatting with professionals in our industries matters,” said Chloe Priatko, current JAMS student graduating in May 2025. “Not everyone was hiring, but it felt good to get my name out there..”

Priatko is just one of over 80 students who attended the event to meet with the likes of CBS58, WISN-12, Cramer Krasselt and more. The JAMS Program at 51ÁÔĆć notoriously has students who start in their respective fields right after college.

The JAMS Program hosts two major events every academic year: The Internship & Networking Fair in spring and Networking Night in fall. The program also hosts a variety of guest speakers in various classes each semester.

JAMS students interested in internships should check out the resources available on Canvas (“JAMS Program Announcements”), bulletin boards in the Bolton 510 lounge and program social media channels. Additionally, information on earning credit for internships can be found on the JAMS website.

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This change means that instead of third-party moderating systems, the more than three-billion users will now be responsible.

Zuckerberg broke the news in a video posted to Instagram which has since garnered more than 200,000 likes.

“So, we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said. “The reality is that this is a tradeoff. It means we’re going to catch less bad stuff, but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts that we accidentally take down.”

Now Meta will adopt a system similar to the Community Notes on X — run by Elon Musk — which allows users to point out what is real and what is not.

“I think community notes is multi-billion-dollar platforms getting audiences to do their work for them,” said Michael Mirer, an assistant professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. “And so, one way to look at this is that Facebook is that that is just surrendering rather than trying to fight the fight against misinformation.”

However, Mirer added that it’s not fully clear as to how this will actually help prevent the misinformation spread.

“If the actual move toward a free expression platform is that there’s no moderation, you know, I don’t think that that necessarily is conducive to like, being a welcoming space,” Mirer said.

In the video, Zuckerberg noted the election played a major influence on Meta’s decision, and that the company will work with the Trump administration to promote free speech worldwide.

“It really comes down to the math problem of trying to figure out what you’re going to allow, what you’re going to throttle, what you’re going to encourage on your platform,” Mirer said.

The announcement also comes as Facebook is moving its trust and safety and content moderation teams from California to Texas.

Zuckerberg noted that as Meta works on free expression, he believes the move “will help us build trust to do this work in places where there’s less concern about the bias of our teams.”

This story was originally published

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Over 20 local professionals visited the 51ÁÔĆć JAMS Program on November 12 for the first official JAMS Program Networking Night – formerly Portfolio Night – to meet with current JAMS students.

Students had the chance to have their resumes or portfolios reviewed, speed network (think speed dating, but for meeting career specialist) and get a professional headshot taken.

“It’s nice to be able to connect,” said Anna Oleniczak, JAMS student and a leader in the JAMS Program’s Prowl Radio organization. “I especially like seeing how many women there are in the field. It’s inspiring.”

The professionals who attended consisted of recent JAMS alumni, as well as people with over a decade of experience in journalism, advertising, public relations and communications.

“I’m really grateful that this was put together,” said David Go, JAMS student and 51ÁÔĆć Post Editor.

Oleniczak and Go were just two of over 50 students who attended the event in hopes of making impactful connections with industry leaders.

The JAMS Program holds an iteration of Networking Night nearly every fall semester to encourage students to start networking now. This is only the second Networking Night since 2020, but the event continues to grow.

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But the internet might think differently. The Brookfield resident who sells insurance in Waukesha has become known as the man with the very specific plan, an agenda outlining talking points for his weekly check-in with his buddies at the bar.

The “board meetings” ― so named because they look impressive at 4 p.m. Friday in a work calendar ― have been going on for years at Bullwinkle’s in Brookfield, with Enright bringing the talking points.

The discussions hit on a number of sports topics — an Aug. 16 agenda included “Packers training camp,” “Predictions on Packers season record,” and, of course, “Snoop.” It also included “Dangers of Hiking,” “Donating blood” and “Sick of political ads yet?”

“I hate to say it, I don’t even make an agenda for my clients much,” said Enright, 63, a senior benefits consultant at R&R Insurance in Waukesha.

“Whenever someone is like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m sure this is the most organized person alive,’ on Twitter, I’m like … ‘Oh my God, the opposite of,” said Riley’s daughter Kenzi, 31, an alumna of UW-Milwaukee and Divine Savior Holy Angels now living in Los Angeles. “I say that with love because I’m the same way.”

During a holiday visit to Wisconsin in late 2022, Kenzi accepted an invitation to a board meeting, a group that includes her father; neighbor Jim Hohl, 70; Riley’s longtime work friend, Mike Kenna, 67; and high-school buddy Laird Myrold, 63.

They’ve known each other for three decades — and thanks to Kenzi’s inclusion at one of their gatherings, the rest of the world kind of knows them, too.

The Dec. 1, 2022, agenda only included five items, starting with “Jordan Love” before weaving toward “After Christmas party with the boys” and then, of course, “General Discussion.” Thanks to , it now lives forever.

“I thought it was so funny and cute and wholesome … The funniest thing is, they don’t do it for anyone but themselves,” Kenzi said. “Someone asked Jim Hohl, ‘How do you feel about being internet-famous?’ and he sincerely said, ‘I don’t care.’

“Let me tell you, they could not care less. I thought a couple friends would get a kick out of it, so I put it on Twitter, posted it and went home from the board meeting. An hour later, three people are calling me, (telling me) ‘You have half a million likes on Twitter right now.’ I was like, ‘On what?’ I didn’t even know what they’re referring to. It just took off from there.”

The weekly agenda lights up the internet, via Kenzi’s social-media accounts

Every week, Kenzi, who works in marketing for comedy streaming service Dropout (née CollegeHumor), posts the new agenda on social media. And each week, hundreds of people like the post. Many commenters have even expressed that the posts remind them of their own fathers, some of whom have passed away.

“It’s become this amazing thing that I think has not only been a wholesome piece of the internet, but a lot of other people have started to use it, which is really cool,” she said.

Riley grew up in Green Bay, attended UW-Oshkosh and has lived in Brookfield for 27 years. The Friday hangouts have always been therapeutic, but Riley said he found the group slowly “kind of getting cranky,” often complaining about work. He said one friend even stopped coming to the gatherings because of the bad vibes.

Then, Laird flipped over a Miller Lite coaster at their table and found some inspiration.

“There was this tiny little writing on there,” Riley said. “Laird said, ‘We should have an agenda.’ I don’t know why, but I just started making an agenda.”

The result? Conversation that wasn’t patterned around the game on TV and a reason for sustained face-to-face discussion.

“You usually just sit there doing the bar look (staring up at a) TV,” Riley said. “We just decided we’re going to do this.”

None of the four dabble much in social media, which makes the whole experience a strange trip, indeed. During one board meeting, Riley said he was approached by someone from Iowa who had been in the area and wanted to visit the bar on the off chance they’d run into the group. The board spent the evening drinking with the Iowans.

This summer, Kenzi’s visit to Wisconsin included a trip to see the Milwaukee Brewers game at American Family Field, and she captured the occasion in a sponsored social-media post for U.S. Cellular.

“It’s not easy when it’s four men over 60 (that you’re filming),” Kenzi said with a laugh. “There’s a lot of slo-mo footage because I needed everyone looking at me at the same time.”

Riley insists he doesn’t care if anyone is sponsoring the venture, or even if the outside curiosity wanes:

“We’re going to do it long after (the internet fame) dies.”

This story was originally published on JSOnline

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RACINE, WI — This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a news runner intern for at the (RNC) in Milwaukee and the (DNC) in Chicago.

I begin my senior year this week at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a journalism and public relations major. When my professor presented the opportunity with CNN to my class in the spring, I knew it was something I had to do because it would be a great next step in pursuing my journalism career.

Running for CNN

Here are some of my observations about the venue, connections, crowds, and more at each convention while working for CNN.

Getting my steps in each day

One of my main jobs as a runner was to escort guests, talent, and anchors around the grounds of each convention, so I became very familiar with both Fiserv Forum (RNC) and the United Center (DNC).

The layout of Fiserv Forum for the convention was compact and felt more intuitive, so finding my way around was easier. The building itself is newer, built in 2016, and the hallways around the seating area are bright because of all the windows.

Inside the venue was decked out for the convention with the Republican logo and photos of Donald Trump and popular Republican slogans everywhere you turned.

The United Center is a much older and bigger building, built in 1994. The interior is also much darker because it lacks natural light except at the entrances/exits.

It took me a bit longer to learn the layout, and the key places I needed to be were much more spread out. I got around 15,000 to 20,000 in a day working for CNN at the DNC!

Unlike the RNC, there were not as many photos of the Democratic logo or Kamala Harris around the venue. Because of the low ceilings in the hallway and where CNN was located plus the United Center being older, the DNC felt slightly less organized and a bit more jumbled for me than the RNC.

Energy and crowds

As I was logging all those steps as part of my job with CNN at the conventions, I noted Delegates, staff, volunteers and media professionals all seemed to be equally as excited to attend both the RNC and the DNC. If you see clips from the RNC and the DNC, it is obvious the delegates were all enthused to represent their state for the party they support and elect their candidate for president.

I definitely feel like it’s a tie about the energy represented by crowds.

Diversity

One difference I did notice about the crowds at each convention centered around diversity.

While the RNC did have some diversity in age and race, the delegates and the individuals I could see in the general admission seats were mainly middle-aged white men and women.

The DNC had a wider range of race, age and gender representation. Gender neutral bathrooms were also provided at the United Center.

Media presence

As one can imagine, there was an insane number of media professionals at both the RNC and the DNC. In addition to CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and a host of foreign correspondents were present as well.

I was, indeed, internally fangirling at all of the famous journalists I saw around the conventions.

At the RNC, all media staff were provided with yellow lanyards to wear with their credentials. This was helpful at times because there were specific entrances and elevators designated for media staff, and you needed a yellow lanyard to use them.

Everyone else present had a different colored lanyard so it was obvious if you were a media worker or not.

At the DNC, this was not the case. There was no specific lanyard for media workers to stick out, and everyone blended in together. Some people had blue DNC lanyards but most had a simple black lanyard.

The only badge uniformity were the bright yellow media badges issued by the Secret Service at both conventions. But, because those badges were often behind the other badges media had to wear, it wasn’t as easy to identify media at the DNC as it was at the RNC.

Protests

I live in Milwaukee, and during the time leading up to the RNC I noticed flyers around town near campus and on social media posts about a, “March the RNC” protest. It took place on the first day of the convention.

Thousands of people showed up in Milwaukee largely to show their support for abortion and immigrant rights and to end the war in Gaza. Many protesters held signs that stated, “Stop Trump and racist Republicans,” “Stand with Palestine,” and, “We can no longer afford the rich.” As I was inside the barricade of the convention working, I could also hear protesters chanting “F*** Trump.”

Thousands of protesters alson gathered in Chicago to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The group marched to the United Center, most of them peacefully, but a few dozen split off and tore down a piece of the security fence. They were detained by the police.

Inside the convention, I noticed some people wearing keffiyehs in support of Palestine. At times, there would be a group of them gathered together inside the barricades.

Impact on host cities 

Fiserv Forum is located in downtown Milwaukee near lots of restaurants, businesses, and apartment buildings. The feeling I and many others got leading up to the RNC was that it was going to be great for business. Some bars in the area even extended their closing times to 4 a.m.

This was not the case. As I walked to my car every night after my shift, I could see that restaurants and bars were empty, and the streets were quiet. I even heard that many locals decided to go on vacation or visit relatives during the convention so they did not have to deal with all of the street closures.

Chicago is a much bigger city than Milwaukee, and the United Center is located near the west side of Chicago away from downtown and many businesses. As a result, I don’t think it had much of an impact on the regular day-to-day life in Chicago.

Final thoughts

Overall, I had a great experience working both of the conventions for CNN. Politics is and always will be a huge part of journalism.

Getting my foot in the door at these conventions provided me with the opportunity to meet and connect with many accomplished politicians and journalists. It was an honor to witness these historical events and learn how a national news source operates.

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A JAMS Program alumni will return to her Rockford roots via morning news broadcasts later this month. Maggie Polsean will join Andy Gannon and Aaron Wilson on 23 WIFR.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented and dynamic team,” Polsean said in a news release. “From starting my journalism career at WIFR as an intern to now being an anchor, it is a full-circle moment that I am incredibly thankful for.”

Polsean, who spent nearly three years as a morning anchor with 13 WREX, starts as a morning anchor with WIFR News this Morning on June 17.

Polsean was raised in Rockford and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of the Arts in Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies. She started in television news career in 2017 as an intern for 23 WIFR before being hired full-time as a multimedia journalist and producer. She was then with WREX from late 2019 through fall 2022 before joining the marketing group Chartwell Agency.

“Maggie’s knowledge and love of the Rockford region, her passion for journalism and her enthusiastic spirit are a welcome addition to the WIFR news team,” Maggie Hradecky, WIFR news director, said in a news release. “I couldn’t think of a better choice to join Andy and Aaron in the mornings.”

Polsean lives Rockford region with her husband, Ben.

WIFR is part of Gray Television, a subsidiary of Gray Media Group, which operates 180 stations across 114 markets in the U.S.

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JAMS student Grace Pagel is the winner of a in the Audio/Podcast (Narrative) category.

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WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) — With a potential TikTok ban on the horizon, many business owners who benefit from the app hope it is not permanently deleted from people’s smart devices.

This week, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on legislation outlining changes the government wants to see on the app. Some lawmakers are concerned about its safety because a foreign company owns it.

But some people, like Maricela Cuevas, think banning TikTok is bad for business. Cuevas opened Paw Perfecta on 6123 West Mitchell Street in West Allis a year and a half ago, hoping to reach more Latino dog owners.

“There’s not a lot of bilingual pet groomers in the area,” Cuevas explained. “I’m the only groomer here, so I basically do everything on the dog.”

Since opening, Cuevas and her husband, Tonny Romero, have worked to grow the brand.

“Right now, Paw Perfecta has a 2,000-person waitlist,” Romero said.

Their success is no accident as they have over, just one of the social media platforms they use as a marketing tool at no cost.

“We can make a video, post it, and potentially go viral,” Romero explained.

TikTok has helped many reach unprecedented heights of success since it launched.

“It really is, I think, useful for business owners,” UW-Milwaukee Assistant Professor of Communications Michael Mirer said. “It’s sort of optimized for virality, which is one of the things that people like, because messages can travel great distances.”

But TikTok could soon be out of time, as a bill giving it nine months to be sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance or risk its U.S. operations being shut down, is headed to the U.S. Senate.

“I think there is a lot of concern about what Chinese companies are doing with data,” Mirer explained. “I think some people have been concerned that they could alter the algorithm to sort of change the way political discussion occurs in the United States.”

The company has said it will take legal action if the bill passes.

“I think TikTok, when it goes to court, is going to argue that shutting down this platform is going to deny a lot of people their free speech rights,” Mirer explained.

As for Paw Perfecta, they would lose more than just exposure to potential clients. The pet salon is preparing to launch a line of dog treats that they plan to sell mainly on TikTok Shop, so they hope the U.S. government and the company can strike an agreement.

“Not just me, but so many people around the world, [TikTok] could be their only source of income,” Cuevas said.

For more information on Paw Perfecta, visit their .

This article was written by Stephanie Rodriguez and

Professor Michael Mirer is member of the Communication Department at 51ÁÔĆć, where he currently teaches JAMS 201: Media Writing and JAMS 559: Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age.

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As a Wisconsin native who was raised on Packers football,  is working in the heart of enemy territory.

Sharkey is a sports reporter and anchor for  in Chicago. Her primary beat? Covering the Chicago Bears football team, in addition to reporting on other Chicago sports news. And there is a lot of news: Chicago is home to the Cubs and White Sox, the Blackhawks in the NHL and Bulls in the NBA, plus numerous college teams. As soon as one sports season is done, another one begins.

The hectic schedule keeps Sharkey busy, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She began her journalism career immediately after she graduated from UW-Milwaukee, and has loved every minute of covering professional sports.

Sharkey sat down on a rare day off to talk about her career, how to be a good sports journalist, and which football team she’s rooting for these days.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first. You were raised in Wisconsin. You now cover the Chicago Bears. What is it like going behind enemy lines?

It’s been fun! There’s no better rivalry in sports than Packers/Bears. I get a lot of heat from my family and friends, especially the week when they’re playing each other. Of course, growing up in Wisconsin, I was a Packers fan, but then I started covering the Packers. The fandom goes out the door when you start covering teams. It’s your job to report what’s working and what’s not working well. My job isn’t to be a cheerleader or a fan for these teams, but you do build relationships with these players, and as a human being, you want success for them. You want to see their happy moments and share those moments.

How did you arrive at WGN?

I graduated from 51ÁÔĆć in 2013 in May, and then I took my first job as a sports reporter at the CBS affiliate WSAW in Wausau in August. I worked there for 16 months and then I went to WBAY, which is the ABC affiliate in Green Bay. I spent two years there and then went to Fox6 in Milwaukee and spent three years there. I moved to Chicago in 2020 and took a job at Fox 32 here in Chicago and was there two years. In June (2022), the longtime legend  retired, so there was an opening at WGN and I applied. My role is kind of a hybrid, which I think is awesome. I am the Bears beat reporter. I travel with the team and I’m at all practices and games during football season. I also cover all the other sports, and then two to three times a week, I co-host the WGN Sports show. We’re the only channel in town that does a whole 30-minute sports show seven days a week.

What does it take to be a good sports journalist?

I think it takes persistence and determination to find the facts, tell the story, and be fair in your storytelling. For me, it’s going in and building relationships with athletes, coaches and the teams you cover. It’s being fair – good, bad and ugly. Sometimes you’re covering teams that are winning all the time and that’s easy to report on, but then I came down to Chicago and started covering teams that were losing a lot more. But you have to be just as fair (when the team is losing). It’s persistence to get the information that you need and find that balance of being fair and respectful and understanding how to deliver the story in an authentic, entertaining way.

°Âłó˛šłŮĚýťĺ´ÇĚýyou do when teams are losing?

It’s rough. I think it’s made me a better journalist, honestly. I tell people that all the time. It’s easy to interview football players after they win a lot. They’re just in a better mood. But then I came to Chicago, where they (the Bears) only won three games last year. It’s a different experience doing post-game interviews after a loss.

What do you have to keep in mind doing sports journalism versus “regular” news?

It’s still a story, whether it’s a game or a practice or an athlete you’re interviewing. You could be covering the same team every day, but every day there are different stories. Even if you’re just covering a game, your job is to boil it all down and say OK, what happened here and what were the highlights and what was the reaction? Obviously, you have a passion and a knowledge of sports. That’s what guides you in sports reporting. But at the end of the day, we’re all still storytellers. Like, you’re at a basketball game. There’s a story where there was a game-defining moment or player, or an injury – those are still the big parts of the story.

Do you have any stories that you’ve covered that you’re particularly proud of?

I sometimes covered high school athletes, and there was a soccer player in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, who was battling cancer, and she kept going out there and playing. It’s the stories of … athletes who are overcoming adversity that are the most important for me to tell. (I try) to make sure that I’m giving it space and respect and care. A lot of times, we look at athletes and coaches as robots, in a sense. To me, my favorite stories and the ones that have impacted my life the most are stories where I … get to give them a platform. That’s the stuff that inspires me.

Now that football season is over, what’s next for you?

There’s no off-season here. The Bulls are in full swing. We cover the Blackhawks and college basketball and in February, (I was) right back on the NFL Combine. April is the (NFL) draft, and then football season starts all over again. The situation that the Bears are in means it’s going to be very a busy offseason once again, with the No. 1 (draft) pick.

It sounds like you’re having an amazing time as a sports journalist. How did 51ÁÔĆć help get you to where you are today?

I always loved watching the news with my mom. I was kind of a nerd like that. I loved being in forensics in high school. Once I got to 51ÁÔĆć, I knew my track should be journalism. Mark Zoromski was the head of the journalism program when I was there. He and Jane Hampden left such an impression on me. I think 51ÁÔĆć does such a great job of maximizing our resources. I had great hands-on experience. I know how 51ÁÔĆć in the hierarchy in colleges sometimes in Wisconsin, and I don’t think it gets enough credit. There are wonderful people that I know I wouldn’t be where I’m at without them and the resources and attention that I received at 51ÁÔĆć in journalism. I’m grateful for that. Don’t be sleeping on 51ÁÔĆć; it’s such a fun place and a great school.

The original story was written and posted here!

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