by Colleen Casner | Jun 12, 2014 | News Slider
Every summer since 2000, high school students from middle and west Tennessee have ventured to Lipscomb’s campus for a three-day journalism camp. From Sunday evening to Wednesday morning, eleven campers took part in journalism classes taught by Lipscomb faculty and students, enjoyed mixers and wrote and photographed their own news stories, the best of which was published on Lumination Network. The camp is co-hosted by Lipscomb’s Department of Communication and Journalism and the Tennessee High School Press Association and is directed by Jimmy McCollum, an associate professor in the department and the head of the THSPA. Unique to this year’s camp, the campers gained their hands-on experience at writing and photographing a news story by covering Lipscomb’s BisonBot Robotics Camp for students in fourth through sixth grades. McCollum came up with the idea to take the camp beyond simply having the campers interview and write stories about each other and instead giving campers a real story to work on that could potentially be published on Lumination. “Now, they can show the fruits of their labor to their friends and family back home and say, ‘Hey, I was a reporter. Here’s my article. Here’s my news story. Here’s my newscast for all the world to see,’” McCollum said. In addition to covering the robotics camp, campers attended the different classes that were geared to the aspects of journalism that interest campers the most. Jai Cosey, a rising junior, especially enjoyed McCollum’s newswriting class. “Mr. Jimmy’s fun,” she said. Cosey originally discovered through poetry that she enjoyed writing and is now interested in newswriting, as well as possibly working on her...
by Hunter Patterson | Nov 7, 2011 | News Slider
Bad news travels fast — especially when one of your own gets arrested downtown. That was the case on Oct. 29 when Brett Flener was arrested along with 26 others at Legislative Plaza as a part of Occupy Nashville. One of the others arrested was Nashville Scene reporter Jonathan Meador. Meador was on the scene covering the protests, an assignment given to him by his editor. Once the Tennessee Highway Patrol started approaching, they did not recognize Meador as a member of the media…even though he was exclaiming the fact as they pushed him to the ground before cuffing his wrists. You’ve heard that story, though. Everyone in Nashville has. When the Middle Tennessee Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists learned of the story, they decided to take action against the governor and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. On Saturday, SPJ learned of his arrest, prompting a chain of emails sent by the society’s president Deb Fisher and the other 11 members on the board. One of those members is Lipscomb Associate Professor of Communication Dr. Jimmy McCollum. “The deck was stacked against [Meador],” McCollum said. “It was dark, there were people all around and the troopers probably lumped everyone together.” McCollum says the board feels that the troopers should have paused when Meador said he was a member of the media and tried to verify that. The reports say that Meador never produced any press credentials during the time of his arrest. However, the THP never asked for credentials either, sparking outrage from the journalism community. The THP’s report says they smelled alcohol on...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 23, 2011 | Sports
Ever since Lipscomb and Belmont played their first basketball game in 1953, they’ve been rivals. With the two schools being on the same street just a couple miles away, it was practically inevitable. However, looking back over the history of Lipscomb athletics, you’ll find more than just Lipscomb-Belmont. They were instead, other schools in town. “In the 1950s, East Tennessee State was a huge rival for David Lipscomb College,” said Andy Lane, associate athletic director. In those games, the team would actually get on a train and head to east Tennessee to play. Now, both teams are in the Atlantic Sun, so the fire is still there, but Lane says it was a lot different then. What most students don’t know is that the Trevecca Nazarene game was that game to be at. Known as the “Bleacher Creatures” during the ’80s, Lipscomb fans would pack both McQuiddy and Trevecca’s Trojan Field House so much that actions had to be taken to prevent from breaking any laws. “In McQuiddy, the fans were right on top of you,” Lady Bisons head coach Frank Bennett says. “Those games were as intense as any we have ever had,” Lane says. Communications professor Jimmy McCollum recalls one game where the fire marshal forced Lipscomb to shut the doors on the gym because it had reached maximum capacity. “We had what I believe was a perfect storm for rivalries,” McCollum said. “We had a small gym, we had an excellent team consistently ranked in the top 5 or 10 across the nation in the NAIA and we had not only one but two local rivals...
by Emily Snell | Feb 23, 2011 | News Slider
The Contributor is not just a street newspaper. For three Lipscomb seniors, it’s on-the-job training. Students in Dr. Jimmy McCollum’s Capstone in Journalism class are working with The Contributor, Nashville’s street newspaper, this semester. Funds generated by the newspaper help Nashville’s homeless and formerly homeless citizens. The three students—David Adams, Julie Williams and Allison Woods—attend staff meetings and produce written content for the printed version, as well as photography and video for the organization’s website. “It’s nice to be helping The Contributor,” said Williams, a multimedia production major from Anniston, Ala. “It’s a good cause. We’re helping put original content into The Contributor, which I know they appreciate.” Andrew Krinks, editor for the paper, said that his staff contacted several Nashville universities looking for students who might be interested in working with The Contributor. Starting with the March issue, he said that students from Lipscomb and TSU will be producing content for the paper. David Adams, a mass communications major from Memphis, said initially he wasn’t sure what the experience would be like, but has already learned from it. “After writing the first article, my interest in homelessness and poverty has really piqued,” Adams said. “These are people who have been successful. How easily their lives can change with a downfall in their life. It’s just crazy. It gives you a sense of thanksgiving and gratitude because you see how fortunate you are.” The Contributor, which is part of the North American Street Newspaper Association, sells about 100,000 copies per month, more than any other street newspaper in the country. The paper’s vendors can be found on sidewalks throughout...
