A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications
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The A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication offers distinguished programs of instruction and research leading to bachelor's and master's degrees in both communication studies and mass communications at
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
. Undergraduates can pursue a science or arts degree in one of four sequences: News and Sports Media, Digital Innovations in Media, Advertising/Public Relations, ''and'' Communication Studies. Emphases include drone journalism, news broadcasting, graphics production, public relations, and advertising. The Miller School teaches drone photography and video in partnership with the K-State Polytechnic Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight and Operations program. The School also offers a doctoral degree in leadership communication in collaboration with Kansas State's Staley School of Leadership and the Department of Agricultural Communications and Journalism. Nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, the School has more than 6,000 living alumni, A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications nearly 400 undergraduate majors, 100 minors, 40 graduate students, and 30 members of faculty and staff. Its operating budget 2018-19 is more than $2 million, with 57 students receiving School scholarships totaling $152,000. The School houses the headquarters of the
Journalism Education Association The US Journalism Education Association (JEA) is a US-based national organization for teachers and advisers of journalism. National organizations of the same name exist in Australia and New Zealand. History JEA is a 501(c)3 organization that in 2 ...
(JEA), the largest national organization of scholastic
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
. It houses three endowed chairs or centers: the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media, R.M. Seaton Chair in Professional Journalism, and Ross Beach Chair in Mass Communications.


History

Kansas State University offered printing classes in 1874 using a sheet-fed press in the basement of Kedzie Hall, the stately limestone building that houses the storied School, making it the first American university to offer a program in newspaper printing. In 1910, Kansas State became the second university in the United States to offer a journalism program (after the University of Missouri, 1908) upon the hiring of Charles J. Dillon, a journalist of
The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...
who set up its journalism curriculum.
Topeka Capitol-Journal
Dillon's curriculum, titled "industrial journalism," required students to take courses in home economics, agriculture, and engineering, in addition to reporting and copy editing. As the scope of the curriculum and its disciplines expanded, "mass communications" was added to the School name in 1971. In 2022 the School of Journalism and Mass Communication merged with the Department of Communication Studies to become the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication. The School is named for distinguished Kansas publisher and editor Alexander Quintella Miller, Sr. (b., February 7, 1874; d., December 29, 1959), whose son, Carl Miller, a Kansas State alumnus, made a financial gift in 1987. For more than 50 years, A.Q. Miller published ''The Belleville Telescope'', a weekly newspaper established 1870 in Belleville, Kansas, the seat of Republic County. He took his first job as a newspaperman at age 17 as a printer's devil with the ''Clifton News'', a daily newspaper published 1889–1923 in Washington and Clay counties of northern Kansas. About his first job, he was quoted to state: "When I first went to work for the ''Clifton News'', I hadn't the vaguest idea what a printer's devil did. I soon found out. My first assigned task was to mail the single wrappers, individual copies of the newspaper. Flour paste was mixed and used to seal the wrappers. I can still vividly recall the odor exuding from the unused paste after the job was completing. The shop took on all the fragrance of a eat-acking plant." A.Q. Miller went to accomplish what the Kansas Editorial Association later recognized as "Distinguished Service in the Field of Journalism" that included several appointments outside of newspapers, such as national counselor to the
United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging ...
, chief clerk of the United States Senate, and division chief of the U.S. Bureau of Internal Revenue. He advocated strongly for the interstate freeway system, which, consequently, was launched in the state of Kansas.


A.Q. Miller School Student Media


Update alumni magazine

The School publishes a bi-annual alumni magazine, Update, that highlights notable alumni achievements, positive stories, important changes in curriculum, and the School's role in the quickly evolving communication and media industries. The magazine is printed at Publication Printers in Denver, Colorado, with a distribution run of nearly 5000.


KSDB Wildcat 91.9

KSDB91.9 is
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
's
campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...
station. A non-commercial
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
located in
Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...
, broadcasting on 91.9 MHz on the FM dial, KSDB is staffed by about 100 student volunteers who gain valuable experience in all areas of radio broadcasting. It plays alternative/independent rock, hip-hop, and jazz. KSDB-FM, which has been on the air since 1949, is the oldest, continuously operating FM station in the state of Kansas.


KKSU-HD TV

K-State's student-run television station includes two weekly shows: Channel 8 News and MHK All Day. Students of any major can be involved with broadcasts beginning their first week on campus. The station is an officially FCC-licensed low-powered television station serving Manhattan and Riley County, Kansas, broadcasting in high-definition. The station is available over-the-air on channel 24 or through the Cox Cable system in Manhattan and surrounding areas on cable channel 8.


The Collegian

The
Kansas State Collegian The ''Kansas State Collegian'' is the official daily student-run newspaper of Kansas State University. Founded in 1896, the ''Collegian'' has a circulation of 4,750. It is owned and published by Collegian Media Group. History The inaugural e ...
is the official daily student-run newspaper of Kansas State University. Founded in 1896, the Collegian has a circulation of 4,750. It is owned and published by Collegian Media Group.


Manhappenin' Magazine

Manhappenin' Magazine is Kansas State University's student-created lifestyle magazine. In 2018, the magazine (which is in its third year of production), won third place in the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention's Pinnacle Award's four-year feature magazine of the year category.


Royal Purple Yearbook

The Royal Purple's mission is to encapsulate student, faculty, and staff memories and history at Kansas State University each year. The 2017 Royal Purple won the Pacemaker Award, which is the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention's award for the best yearbook in the country.


Centennial celebration

After 100 years of operation, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the school celebrated its centennial from Sept. 2-4 2010. Events included the 11th annual Huck Boyd Lecture in Community Media, which was presented by broadcast journalist and K-State alumna Gail Pennybacker, an A.Q. Miller School memorabilia room at the Kansas State University Student Union, a panel on
photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
, a banquet, and more. Throughout the celebration, the school raised money for the Dave MacFarland Tools for Tomorrow Technology Fund, which was created to provide media technology for journalism students.


Notable alumni

* Daniel Biles, '74, justice at the
Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...
*
Craig Bolerjack Bolerjack in 2009. Kyle Craig Bolerjack (born May 16, 1958) is an American sportscaster. He is currently calling Utah Jazz telecasts on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain with Thurl Bailey. He also calls games for CBS, ESPN, and CBS College Sports ...
, '81, voice of the
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
*
Scott Kraft Scott Kraft is an American television writer and executive producer. Early life and career Kraft obtained his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from Antioch University. Kraft co-wrote the 1992 action-drama ''The Si ...
, '77, managing editor of the
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
*
Steve Physioc Steve Physioc () is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, who he had worked with since February of 2012. Early life ...
, voice of the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
*
Pete Souza Peter Joseph Souza (born December 31, 1954) is an American photojournalist, the former Chief Official White House Photographer for Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and the former director of the White House Photogra ...
, Chief
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
Photographer


References

{{authority control Kansas State University colleges and schools Journalism schools in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1910 1910 establishments in Kansas