Journalism Events to Feature Award-Winning Alumni

Three U of A journalism alumni will return to campus Sept. 23 and  24 to connect with students, share insights from their careers and promote ethics in reporting as part of programming for the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy.

Jennifer Peñate (B.A.'11) of WCVB in Boston, Rachell Sanchez-Smith (B.A.'24) of WBUR in Boston and Josh Pineda (B.A.'22) of KNWA/FOX24 in Fayetteville will participate in a series of events, including classroom visits, a high school journalism program, alumni panel and a roundtable.

"These visits give students at the School of Journalism and Strategic Media the opportunity to learn directly from Arkansans who have built successful careers in a rapidly changing media industry," said Bret Schulte, SJSM director. "Bringing alumni back to campus allows students to see the different paths a journalism degree can lead to and ask questions about what it takes to succeed in the field."

The guests are also graduates of Rogers High School and former participants in the Lemke Journalism Project, a high school media literacy program at the U of A. Each year students from local high schools spend six Saturdays on campus learning about storytelling tools.

"The LJP program turns 25 next year and has helped so many young people find their careers," said Gina Shelton, director of the Lemke Journalism Project and director of the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy. "Jennifer, Josh and Rachell will help recruit future reporters at a time the journalism industry is critically important." 

The three journalists will speak at Rogers High School at 10 a.m. Sept. 24, to a group that will also include middle school students. The three will then join Schulte at 12:30 p.m. in Kimpel Hall 102 for a roundtable talk with about 200 SJSM students about building trust with audiences.

Peñate will also visit campus Wednesday, Sept. 23. At 11:50 a.m. she will be joined in the Sue Walk Burnett Center for Journalism and Student Media by classmates from her time at the U of A for a discussion of the benefits of journalism training. John Thomas (B.A.'11), director of media relations and core communications for the U of A, will participate. Zoom participants will include Jocelyne Pruna (B.A.'11), NBC-Universal, and Jonathan Weaver (B.A.'11), ESPN.

Peñate will be the featured speaker at a joint meeting of the university's chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists at 2 p.m. in the Student Media Center, Kimpel 203.

Sanchez-Smith and Pineda will also speak to other classes that week, including Enterprise Journalism, Media & Society and Performer in Mass Media.

Peñate, a bilingual anchor and three-time Emmy recipient, previously anchored at WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa Bay, where she earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for digital reporting. She also spent three years as an evening anchor at KNWA in Fayetteville.

Sanchez-Smith previously reported for local NPR station KUAF, interned at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette through the Dow Jones News Fund and helped establish the university's chapter of the NAHJ. Her work at WBUR recently won a regional Murrow Award.

Pineda joined KNWA in December 2024 as an evening anchor at FOX24. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist in Springfield, Missouri, at Ozarks First. In addition to anchoring, he produces and hosts CTV shows, both in English and Spanish.

The visits are part of the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy's efforts to connect students with working journalists and timed as part of Hispanic Heritage Month, observed annually Sept. 15-Oct. 15.

About the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy: The mission of the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy at the University of Arkansas is to prepare students for challenges they will face in the real world as creators and consumers of media. The center moves toward its vision of building a generation of ethical and engaged professionals by supplementing classroom training with expert-led programming, collaborating with professors, and pushing for increased access to media ethics and literacy education at the University of Arkansas and beyond.

About the School of Journalism and Strategic Media: The School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Arkansas offers full-time and part-time degree programs for undergraduates as well as a graduate master's degree program. SJSM students major in journalism or advertising and public relations, and they receive instruction, guidance and access to hands-on experience from seasoned, award-winning faculty and staff. The school is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and media literacy. The U of A journalism program was established by Walter J. Lemke in 1930.