Class of 2020 Commencement events to be held Sept. 17-19

Syracuse University will host a Commencement ceremony—delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and other celebratory events for the Class of 2020 during the weekend of Sept. 17–19.  

Commencement will be held Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Stadium. This University-wide ceremony, where Syracuse University Chancellor and President Kent Syverud will formally confer degrees, is for all undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates. Doors open at 8 a.m.

Following Commencement, all 2020 Newhouse graduates and their families are invited to join Dean Mark J. Lodato and the faculty and staff for a celebratory reception. The event will include a dean’s welcome, recognition of participating graduates and an opportunity to reconnect with faculty. A precise time and location will be announced soon; stay tuned for details.

For more information about Commencement activities for the Class of 2020, see the event listing.

Coming Up for Air

Andy Berrell headshot
Andy Berrell

Living in LA goes hand in hand with doing LA things, and perhaps the most LA thing someone can do is go to a film premiere. Thankfully, Mike Dillon’s Classical Hollywood Cinema course gives Newhouse LA students that opportunity in abundance. As a member of Mike’s class, you will be able to attend red-carpet premieres and private screenings of new film releases. My favorite premiere experience thus far has to be for the new film “Air,” directed by Ben Affleck. While the film is great for many reasons, the experience itself of going to the very first premiere of a Hollywood film is what captivated me. Just the fact of knowing that the theater you are in is the first place where this film will ever be seen by a real audience is difficult to wrap your head around. Between listening to Ben Affleck’s heartfelt opening remarks, and sitting directly behind the bald head of LA Rams football legend Andrew Whitworth, attending the premiere of “Air” ranks among my best LA experiences.

Andy Berrell is a senior in the television, radio and film program at the Newhouse School.

Dominiqué Patrick G’18

Emmy Award-winning alumna Dominiqué Patrick graduated from the Newhouse School with a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism with a sports emphasis. The lessons she learned at Newhouse—mental toughness, communication, balancing multiple tasks—come in handy every day in her role as a segment producer at MLB Network and a freelance color commentator for college basketball.

What is your current position title and how did you obtain it?

I’m a segment producer at MLB Network and a freelance color commentator for college basketball. I became a segment producer after working at MLBN for four years. MLBN traveled to Newhouse for a recruiting trip, and I was able to interview and get offered a job as a broadcast associate before graduation. In those four years at the company, I’ve been promoted three times (broadcast associate, associate producer, segment producer).

What’s an average day like for you on the job?

At MLB Network, my daily duties can change from day to day. As a segment producer, I can do anything from supervising our daily shows such as “MLB Tonight,” “High Heat” and “MLB Central,” to helping supervise a team of broadcast associates, making sure social media requests are handle for all 30 MLB clubs and our NHL and MLBN social team. I also have had the opportunity to create a countdown show from start to finish. I was in charge of writing scripts for talent and using a team of associate producers to help put together an hour-long show. This season, I am supervising social media distribution and editing “Snapchat Discover —Must See Moments of the Week.”

During basketball season, I’m a color commentator. I’m usually at the arena two hours before game time so I can set up my area. I review with my partner, and we go over what the storylines are for the night. After calling the game we usually have a post-game interview or attend the post-game conference.

How do you feel Newhouse prepared you for your current position?

Newhouse just down right taught me how to be mentally tough. How to balance multiple things at once and how to make deadlines. The program made me realize that this industry is what you make it. It forced me out of my comfort zone and to not be shy when it comes to interviewing others or pitching my ideas for the broadcast. I got really good at communicating with my producer and talent during my time at Syracuse and it is definitely helpful now. Script writing has come in handy as well. I have to write scripts and shot sheets for talent, and it helps me when I need them for myself as well.

An underrated skill I also learned during my time at Newhouse was voice inflection. I think my voice carries well, but I had to learn to be “loud” without screaming and change the tone of my voice throughout the broadcast. That helped me sound better on air.

Did Newhouse open your eyes to new professions or aspects of your field you may have not considered when applying?

Absolutely. Before attending Newhouse, I thought being on-air was the only path I could take. I took a few production classes and realized that I loved working behind the scenes as well. I was able to produce a live volleyball game at Syracuse and get experience creating commercials and editing long-form features for class. I fell in love with it and was set on taking an opportunity where I could be both a producer and on-air. It kept me from limiting myself, and being able to do both makes me versatile in this field.

What moments in your career have been most exciting or defining thus far?

My most exciting moment in my career was winning an Emmy. I won it as an associate producer on MLB Tonight for Outstanding Studio Show.

What advice do you have for current or incoming students?

  1. As cliché as it sounds, “be yourself.” Being uniquely you makes you stand out in this field. People love the genuine feeling of working with someone who is confident in being yourself.
  2. Don’t limit yourself!! I always said in undergrad and at Newhouse that I wanted to learn everything so I would always have a job. Knowing how to do multiple things will always get you far and make you stand out.
  3. WHO you know will get you in rooms, WHAT you know will make you stand out! Knowing multiple people who can get you in rooms and open up doors for you are great. It is necessary. But preparedness and knowledge of the field you are trying to work in just makes you stand out more. It makes people remember you. I have done my fair share of recruiting with MLBN and it is a very rewarding experience. I’ve learned a lot in my five years of being in this field. I’ve learned that being in rooms and not knowing how to network wastes your time. You want to make those people remember you and think about you when opportunities arise. Make sure you hone in on networking skills. I personally think it’s a lost art, and those who do it well, I remember forever.

Newhouse Faculty/Staff and IDEA Office Awards

It’s awards season at Syracuse University!

After celebrating the accomplishments of students at a May 1 event, the Newhouse School recognized the work, scholarship, service and achievements of faculty and staff at two separate gatherings later in the week.

The Faculty/Staff Awards Ceremony took place May 2, while the school’s Office for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) honored faculty and staff for their contributions at a ceremony two days later. It was the first time that each event was held.

Newhouse Faculty/Staff Awards

IDEA Award 

Distinguished Service Award

Staff Member of the Year Award

Rising Star Award

Teaching Excellence Awards (three categories)

Adjunct Teaching

Ongoing Performance

Early Performance

Newhouse Impact Scholar Award

Literary Achievement Award

Newhouse IDEA Office Awards

Women’s History Makers

IDEA Committee Outstanding Service

IDEA Distinguished Service

Attending events and meeting Howie Mandel

Alex Bisignani (right) takes a selfie with Howie Mandel (left)
Alex Bisignani (right) and Howie Mandel (left)

One of the many reasons I came to Syracuse in the first place was to take advantage of the Newhouse LA program, and it has lived up to every expectation. The environment, classes and not having to trudge to class through snow are all incredible, but the opportunities provided to us are unmatched. There are new opportunities and events to attend nearly every week, from film premieres to Dodgers baseball games. I especially enjoy the live show tapings and have so far seen “Jeopardy,” “The Masked Singer” and “Celebrity Family Feud.” But none compare to attending the show I grew up watching every Sunday night with my family: “America’s Got Talent.” Bob Boden (one of the many incredible Newhouse LA professors) brought our class to a live taping and even introduced us to Howie Mandel. I even managed to grab a selfie with him! It was like living my childhood dream and is a memory I’ll never forget. 

Alex Bisignani is a senior in the television, radio and film program at the Newhouse School.

2023 Newhouse Awards

Each spring, the Newhouse School recognizes those students whose dedication, ingenuity, academic excellence and creativity exhibit extraordinary talent and effort. Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Undergraduate Awards

Advertising Awards

Deborah Fink Green Award

Harry D. Meyers Memorial Prize in Advertising

Most Promising Advertising Student

Newhouse Advertising Department Award for Academic Excellence

Newhouse Advertising Student of the Year

Bandier Program Awards

Bandier Leadership Award

Bandier Innovator/Operator Award

Broadcast and Digital Journalism Awards

Don Edwards Broadcast Journalism Award

The Radio-TV-News Power Producer Award

Magazine, News and Digital Journalism Awards

Henry J. Leader Memorial Prize in Editing

Henry J. Wolff Prize

The Samuel V. Kennedy III Award for Newspaper Editing

William Glavin Award for Excellence in Magazine Writing

The John Mitchell Award for Sports Reporting

All Journalism Awards

Bob Heisler Award for Excellence

Photography and Graphic Design Awards

Bertram J. Davis Scholar Award

Dr. Frank Meola Photography Prize

Jeff Licata Photography Award

Kodak Professional Photo Scholarship

Society for News Design/Marshall Matlock Designer of the Year

The Visual Communications Department Prize in Graphic Design

The Visual Communications Department Prize in Immersive Media

The Visual Communications Department Prize in Motion Graphics

The Visual Communications Department Prize Video Production

Public Relations Awards

Julie Mendez Diversity and Inclusion Award in Public Relations

The Public Relations Department Chair Award for Leadership

The Public Relations Public Service Award

The William P. Ehling Award

Television, Radio and Film Awards

Edward L. Hersh Award

Glenn Steinfast Award for Excellence in Documentary Film Production

Gordon J. Alderman Memorial Prize

Irene M. Sholkin Prize in Script Writing

Oscar Micheaux Filmmaking Award

Stan Alten Excellence in Audio Award

The Zach Trifone Love of Life and Music Award

All Undergraduate Majors

Dean’s Service Award

The Beth Mowins ’90 Award in Sports Media

Excellence in Web Development and Coding Award

Mary Zoretski Award

Newhouse First-Year Achievement Award

George Plavocos Award

David Rubin 1st Amendment Prize

Class Marshals

Newhouse Scholars

Graduate Awards

Graduate School Master’s Prize

A. William Bluem Award

Armando Doreste Award

Catherine L. Covert Research Award

Charnice Milton Award for Community Journalism

Oh, The Places You’ll Go Award

Public Relations Certificate of Achievement

The Magazine, News and Digital Journalism Graduate Achievement Award

The William Doescher Outstanding Public Relations Master’s Degree Student

A look at new faculty members joining Newhouse in the fall

Meet some of the faculty members joining the Newhouse School in fall 2023.

Communications and
Magazine, News and Digital Journalism

Joshua P. Darr
Associate Professor

Headshot of Joshua Darr
Joshua Darr

Darr will teach classes in political communication. He arrives from Louisiana State University, where he was associate dean of research and strategic initiatives and an associate professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication. Darr’s research focuses on campaign strategy, political knowledge, partisan polarization and local news. In 2022, he received the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship for “Partnering with Local News to Reduce Polarization,” a project that investigated ways newsrooms can earn back trust and reduce political polarization through coverage of local and national politics. In 2015, Darr earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Public Relations

Kuande Hall ’10
Professor of Practice

Headshot of Kuande Hall
Kuande Hall

Hall will teach classes in writing and digital content optimization. Prior to joining Newhouse, Hall managed the Social Media Training Office for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Meade, Maryland. He developed instructional plans and provided instruction for public affairs officers on communication and social media strategy and public relations engagement. Hall served in the Marine Corps from 2001 to 2015, including duties as a public affairs supervisor, web content chief/managing editor and social media chief. Hall is an alumnus of Newhouse’s military visual journalism program.

Youngji Seo
Assistant Professor

Headshot of Youngji Seo
Youngji Seo

Seo will teach classes in social media and society, and public relations research and campaigns. She arrives from Temple University, where she was an assistant professor of instruction in the Klein College of Media and Communication. Seo also taught at the University of Georgia and worked as a public relations officer at a nonprofit organization under the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Her research interests involve psychological perspectives on strategic communication, with a focus on crisis recovery, information processing and building resilience. Seo holds Ph.D. in mass communication and journalism from the University of Georgia.

Television, Radio and Film

G. Douglas Barrett
Assistant Professor

Photo of G. Douglas Barrett
G. Douglas Barrett

Barrett will teach classes related to audio, including production, post-production, sound design and sound for picture. He previously taught at New Jersey City University and Salisbury University, teaching audio production, digital media and sound design at both institutions. An award-winning sound artist, Barrett describes his research as focusing on how to make audio technologies “more human,” including becoming more social, diverse and inclusive. His record of scholarly and creative work will support Syracuse University’s commitment to research excellence. Barrett has a Ph.D. in music composition from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Benjamin Frahm
Assistant Professor

Headshot of Benjamin Frahm
Benjamin Frahm

Frahm, who will teach screenwriting, moves into a tenure-track faculty role after having served as a visiting assistant teaching professor at Newhouse since 2017. His creative work includes projects developed for Imagine Entertainment, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures. Through his industry relationships, Frahm has developed a class at the Newhouse School called The Writers’ Room, where students write spec screenplays for Hulu, under the development deal of writer, director and producer Jeremy Garelick at American High. Frahm is also the co-creator of the first ever BIPOC Filmmaking Award at Newhouse.

Taylor Vaughn Lasley
Assistant Professor

Headshot of Taylor Vaughn Lasley
Taylor Vaughn Lasley

Lasley will teach screenwriting at Newhouse. Before joining Syracuse, Lasley was a writer and creator for various development partners including Netflix’s “Family Reunion” and Marvel’s “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.” She is developing, or has developed, projects with Disney+, HBOMax, CBS, NBC and Funny or Die.

Visual Communications

Jason Webb G ’17
Assistant Professor

Photo of Jason Webb
Jason Webb

Webb previously worked at Syracuse University as an online learning analyst and served as an adjunct professor at Newhouse and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. He will teach classes covering subjects including motion design, character animation and augmented and virtual reality. Webb’s research focuses on extended reality in education, and his work looks to push the boundaries of technology in storytelling. Currently completing his doctorate at Syracuse University’s School of Education, Webb earned a master’s degree in television, radio and film from Newhouse. 

Scripps Howard Fund program at Newhouse to tackle diversity, equity and inclusion, other key issues facing newsrooms and higher ed  

While research shows that newsrooms are growing more diverse, a majority of journalists feel their staffs don’t accurately reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the populations they serve.   

Those findings from two recent studies show the urgent need to emphasize diversity and inclusivity in newsrooms and accelerate the incremental progress being made within the industry.  

“Diversity is more than race, it’s more than gender, it’s all of the things,” said Keonte Coleman, assistant professor of broadcast and digital journalism at the Newhouse School. He also serves as the director of assessment and program review. 

Keonte Coleman headshot
Keonte Coleman

“We just have to do better and all of us can do better,” said Coleman, who teaches courses in broadcast journalism, sports media and diversity, equity and inclusion in media. 

More than half of journalists feel their newsrooms do not have enough racial and ethnic diversity, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. It also found that female journalists or journalists  aged 18-29 were more likely to notice a lack of diversity in newsrooms than men or older journalists.   

According to a separate study — the 2022 American Journalist Study — the number of minorities in the newsroom has risen from almost 11% in 2013 to 18% in 2022, with women holding 54% of all minority journalism positions in the country. The study is conducted by the American Journalist Project, which is housed at the Newhouse School.  

The report suggests that efforts by media organizations to hire minorities over the past few years have been somewhat successful because about one-third of journalists with less than five years’ experience are minorities.   

Shared responsibility

Responsibility also rests with journalism schools and higher education leaders.   

Newhouse has partnered with the Scripps Howard Fund to launch the Scripps Howard Leadership Academy at Newhouse. The weeklong intensive training program, to be held in July 2023, is designed for leaders in higher education, including deans, associate deans, department chairs and faculty, as well as experienced journalists.    

The program’s goal is to educate and prepare attendees to pursue and succeed in leadership roles at journalism and mass communications schools. Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility practices, and the connection between academia and industry, is a focus area of the program. 

The Leadership Academy will bring together ideas and best practices for journalism and mass communications leaders to set the example for fostering diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible environments, and to help their newsrooms flourish. Topics will focus on how leaders can build programs that reflect the communities they serve.   

Building trust

Journalism can’t be successful without a strong level of trust by the audience, said Mike Canan, director of journalism strategies for the Scripps Howard Fund.  

“To build that trust, newsrooms and newsroom leadership must reflect the communities being served. We need all perspectives playing active roles in newsrooms,” Canan said.  

“Fixing journalism’s diversity problem starts with the pipeline,” he added. “And there’s no better way to address that pipeline than making sure the next generation of journalism school leaders are prepared to make sure all are recruited, developed and encouraged.” 

Other key topics covered during the Leadership Academy include fundraising and budgeting, faculty relations and academic affairs and institutional leadership. Coleman, a graduate of the program when it was previously held at Louisiana State University, said the experience allowed him to gain firsthand knowledge from leaders about their roles and how they navigated unexpected challenges. 

“It also allowed me to create a network of current and future leaders to lean on to discuss potential scenarios,” added Coleman, who aspires to be a dean of a journalism and communications school. He plans to teach a session and serve as a panelist at the Leadership Academy at Newhouse. 

“Everything I’ve worked on and have done has been about making the media world more diverse and inclusive,” Coleman said. “I’ve always gravitated toward looking at what are the leaders doing, because all the research talks about how it has to be a top-down approach for it to work.” 

He’s encouraged when he sees the upward trends found in the American Journalist Study, though he warns the numbers may be more related to responses to heated cultural touchstone issues of the last few years, including the 2020 murder of George Floyd, pandemic-related violence against Asians and the #MeToo movement.     

“The local mass media should be representative of the markets,” Coleman said, “because they tend to be the ones that people naturally turn to, and that matters.”    

Newhouse School reaccredited, praised as one of “very best schools” of communications

The Newhouse School has been lauded as one of the “very best schools” of mass communications in a report from the oversight organization that approved the school’s reaccreditation.

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) formally reaccredited Newhouse at a meeting on Friday in Chicago. Accredited institutions provide an assurance of quality to students, parents and the public, with the performance of a school or college measured against national standards.

Newhouse, first accredited by the council in 1948, was once again praised for the top-notch education delivered to students. The accreditation recommendation is the result of a comprehensive review of areas including curriculum, diversity and inclusion, career placement, the quality of the faculty and the student experience.  

“The Newhouse School remains one of our very best schools of mass communication,” the 89-page ACEJMC accreditation report said.

“Outstanding students, faculty, leadership, facilities, financial stability and a deep curriculum combine for an outstanding student experience and well-prepared future media professionals,” the report said.

An ACEJMC committee came to the Syracuse University campus to visit the Newhouse School this past fall. The accreditation process includes a voluntary self-study, with one site-team member describing the analysis as a “work of art.”

Said Newhouse dean Mark J. Lodato: “Having served on several ACEJMC site teams myself, I had great confidence in the Newhouse School’s position as we entered reaccreditation. Now that the process is complete, I am even prouder of what we accomplished.”

ACEJMC currently has 119 accredited programs. The council does not rank or compare programs individually with one another, but rather measures the program’s compliance with basic standards and how well it achieves its mission.

“The Newhouse School has long had a reputation for excellence, so it’s not a surprise that the reaccreditation report was highly complementary,” said Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor provost and chief academic officer of the university.  

“Given the talent and dedication of the faculty and staff and the strong leadership of Dean Lodato, I am confident that the school will continue to flourish as it attracts and trains the best communications students,” Ritter added.

Newhouse was previously reaccredited in 2016.

For the love of the romantic comedy: Newhouse student creates “Rom Con” convention to celebrate genre

Joyelle Ronan headshot
Joyelle Ronan. Photo courtesy of Joyelle Ronan.

Joyelle Ronan loved romantic comedies so much that she wanted to find a way to create an experience with others who share her affinity for the genre.

The Newhouse graduate student came up with the idea of a romantic comedy convention, but wondered how she might be able to pull off such an event. Ronan emailed Sean Branagan, director of the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, for help.

The idea blossomed into Rom Con 2023. Sponsored by Orange Television Network (OTN), the convention will take place Saturday at Shemin Auditorium.  

Ronan said the convention is also the result of research she did on romantic comedies while a student at Roanoke College.

Standing in front of TVs, Ronan (left) speaks to a group of students about romantic comedies in the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
Ronan speaks about romantic comedies at Newhouse’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in April 2023. Photo courtesy of Joyelle Ronan.

“Rom Con is celebrating and innovating the genre,” said Ronan, a student in the Goldring arts journalism and communications program and a social media producer at OTN. “All genres have a lot of tropes but when it comes to a (romantic comedy) they are seen as predictable or a cliché. But, for some reason when these tropes happen in an action movie they are seen as really cool.”

Her current favorite romantic comedy is the 1999 film “10 Things I Hate About You.”

“At almost 20 years old, it has aged incredibly well,” Ronan said. “It’s very cleverly based on Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ and the chemistry between Julia Stiles and Health Ledger is amazing.” She even discussed the film on a recent episode of OTN’s The Review Crew, a weekly multi-camera show dedicated to discussing television shows and new and old films. 

Standing in front of TVs, Ronan (left) speaks about romantic comedies with Bob Thompson (right), director of Newhouse's Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture
Ronan (left) speaks about romantic comedies with Bob Thompson (right), director of Newhouse’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in April 2023. Photo courtesy of Joyelle Ronan.

Ronan said she also created Rom Con with the intent to reflect on the genre while promoting the idea that everybody deserves to see themselves represented within a love story. She looked at the genre from a feminist perspective, while also presenting more diverse stories. 

“So, I think now that the genre is having this comeback, people really want to see diverse love stories that represent everyone,” she said.

Ronan appreciated Branagan’s guidance and how she was able to use the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship’s Startup Garage as a collaborative space to work on convention plans.

Rom Con 2023
Rom Con 2023 promotional poster

For Branagan, Ronan is another example of the type of entrepreneurial student with whom the center seeks to help turn innovative ideas into reality, whether it’s an event or a business. He said students seek out the center because they want to make an impact.

Branagan created the center in 2011, taking his past experiences in entrepreneurship and using them to teach and support students as they turn their business dreams into reality. He founded the marketing firm Communimigration, working with startups.

Now, his connections within the industry are helping Newhouse students. He hopes to bring more students to the center through a concentration planning to be introduced for television, radio and film majors that will focus on entrepreneurship and media innovation. 

He said the center can be an avenue to stimulate the ambition and hard work of students.

“I want to get good people who want to improve the world,” he said.

Alix Berman is a first-year student in the magazine, news and digital journalism program at the Newhouse School.

MSNBC anchor Katy Tur, CBS co-host Tony Dokoupil to serve as masters of ceremony for Newhouse School’s Mirror Awards

Broadcast journalists and anchors Katy Tur and Tony Dokoupil will serve as masters of ceremony when the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications celebrates the Mirror Awards on Monday, June 12 in New York City.

MSNBC anchor Tur and “CBS Mornings” co-host Dokoupil were married after meeting during the 2016 presidential campaign and live in New York City with their children.

Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the Mirror Awards honor the reporters, editors and writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. Finalists for the competition were announced earlier this month.

Katy Tur

Katy Tur. Photo: Virginia Sherwood/MSNBC

Katy Tur anchors “Katy Tur Reports” weekdays at 3 p.m. ET. An award-winning journalist, Tur emerged as a breakout broadcaster in 2016 while covering the entirety of the Trump campaign across all platforms for NBC News and MSNBC. 

Tur is a New York Times bestselling author of “Rough Draft: A Memoir,” released June 2022 and “Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History” in September 2017. 

An award-winning journalist, Tur received a 2022 Edward R. Murrow Award for Breaking News Coverage of the January 6th insurrection. In her 18 months covering the 2016 presidential election, Tur conducted multiple in-depth interviews with then-candidate Donald Trump. While on the road, she set foot in over 40 states and logged nearly 4,000 live television appearances. In 2017, she received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism for her reporting on the 2016 election. 

Prior to joining the 2016 political team, Tur was a foreign correspondent based in London for NBC News. She joined the network in 2012 and was initially based in New York. Before that Tur reported for WNBC, The Weather Channel, WPIX and News12 Brooklyn. 

Tur is a native of Los Angeles and graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Follow Tur on Twitter at @KatyTurNBC.

Tony Dokoupil

Tony Dokoupil. Photos: Michele Crowe/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Dokoupil was named co-host of “CBS Mornings” in 2019. Previously, he was a CBS News correspondent and a “CBS Sunday Morning” contributor, with his reporting appearing across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. At “CBS Mornings,” Dokoupil has handled numerous high-profile, on-the-ground and anchoring assignments from New York and around the world.

In 2016, Dokoupil joined CBS News after three years at NBC News, where he was a correspondent for MSNBC. He was the network’s lead reporter on high-profile stories like the Paris climate agreement and the Flint water crisis, and also covered the 2016 presidential primaries.

From 2007 to 2013, Dokoupil was a senior writer at Newsweek and The Daily Beast, where his reporting landed him on NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “20/20” and NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross.”

Dokoupil is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, “The Last Pirate: A Father, His Son and the Golden Age of Marijuana,” a memoir in which he documented his father’s exploits smuggling marijuana during the 1970s and ‘80s.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

About the Mirror Awards

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for honoring excellence in media industry reporting. The 2023 Mirror Awards ceremony will be held Monday, June 12, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato will preside over the ceremony, which includes the presentation of five juried journalism awards. For more information, please email mirrorawards@syr.edu.