Jacque Smith, an award-winning journalist with a 17-year career at CNN, will be coming to the School of Journalism and Strategic Media this week as a visiting professional in the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy.

She will speak to about 350 students, faculty, staff and local professionals over the course of the week. This includes two public events, training sessions for student media and local journalists and multiple class presentations.

Smith's career at CNN started in 2008 as an associate producer with the interactive features team. She worked as a digital writer for CNN's medical unit before joining the digital video team, where she most recently served as vice president until her retirement in July 2025. In her role as vice president, Smith led a team of more than 50 producers who shot and edited video for all of CNN's digital platforms.

"With digital media, we have more ways to connect to audiences than we ever did before," Smith said. "Journalists have an opportunity right now to fundamentally change how we tell stories and engage with news consumers. I'm looking forward to talking about those opportunities with the next generation of journalists at the University of Arkansas."

The first public event is a roundtable session on digital storytelling moderated by Bret Schulte, director of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. The roundtable, featuring local journalists, will be at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Kimpel 102, and is co-sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists.

"Jacque's incredible launch from a national reporter and editor to managing CNN's global digital video production team shows that anything is possible in this field when you have the talent and the determination," said Schulte. "She is an excellent example for our students who are training to work in a field that demands skills, hard work and adaptability."

The second public event is a Q&A at the Honors College in Gearhart 258. Smith will discuss how to connect with audiences and combat misinformation as a professional journalist. It will take place at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2.

"We're looking forward to connecting students, faculty and alumni with Jacque, who has extensive experience in digital journalism. The week is packed with training sessions and roundtables," said Gina Shelton, director of the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy. "Our event in the Honors College, 'Building Trust in the Age of Fake News,' is a great opportunity for anyone who cares about media literacy."

Smith will also lead three workshop sessions as part of her visit, two with student media and the third with local journalists. She will provide insight on how to use digital tools and data-driven techniques to drive engagement and how to build audiences across platforms. 

"Members of student media are thrilled to gain insights from Jacque into how to connect with our audience and grow as journalists," said Cooper Gant, editor-in-chief of The Arkansas Traveler and president of the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. "Journalism is becoming increasingly digital by the day, so having an opportunity like this to better prepare us for our careers is invaluable." 

The workshop with local journalists will be hosted at KUAF, 9 School Ave., at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2.

Throughout the week, Smith will guest lecture in classes including Multimedia Journalism, Media & Society, Storytelling for Today's Media, Foundations for Video News, Ethics in Journalism and Enterprise Journalism.