Familiar faces are now on display in the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) Newsroom after installation of its Alumni Wall.
Images feature the many students of the SoCJ who have gone on to successful careers in communication and news agencies across the country. These students, along with many more, are a testament to the possibilities for current and future students who choose professions in communication and journalism.
The idea of a newsroom alumni wall was first conceived by Barbara Selvin, who became the first full-time professor of the school in 2007 after helping to design the first School of Journalism in the SUNY system, and what is now the School of Communication and Journalism. Professor Emerita Selvin felt the wall should display something inspirational for the students — not where they are, but where they could end up — and proposed that the black-and-white images of the newsroom from years past be replaced with photos of alumni on the job.
The Alumni Advisory Board agreed, and while it did not happen during her tenure, production supervisor and instructor at the SoCJ, Philip Altiere, made it a reality.
“I’m so happy that Phil made this happen and has done such an extraordinary job, far beyond what I initially envisioned,” said Selvin after getting a look at the new wall. “I’m so proud of our alums and thrilled to see their accomplishments honored in this way.”
Careers in communication and journalism are highly competitive, and it takes perseverance and an impressive portfolio to set oneself apart from the crowd. Professional communicators and journalists not only have to compete with each other but also with the presence of AI and LLMs, and the shrinking size of newsrooms.
The former Stony Brook students featured on the Newsroom Alumni Wall have met the challenges of becoming professionals in their fields and can now be found across the web, on the ground, in the production control room, and behind and in front of the camera.
Raymond Wilson, one of the featured alumni, has become a studio operations director at Newsday. “Being a technical director was not my original career goal when I enrolled in Stony Brook,” shared Wilson, who received his first degree in digital photography in 2005 and returned in 2018 to study journalism. “I never thought about directing until taking Professor Sanders’ extreme weather course, which is where I met Phil Altiere and directed my first show under his instruction.”
Communication and journalism programs at the school are immersive, quickly putting students to work in the newsroom and on the beat to cover university, local and even international subjects through the School’s Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting.
“The newsroom is a place where students spend long hours, sometimes overnight, to complete their classwork and projects,” said Altiere. “Having this wall can give our students the opportunity to see themselves, what can be possible, and remind them that hard work and perseverance can pay off.”
“[Directing my first show] was intense and stressful, but the feeling I got after such a high pressure situation was incredible,” said Wilson. “SoCJ instructors provided me and the others who had a similar drive with an opportunity to produce a weekly news show, which became the Stony Brook Media Group, to further hone the skills we were learning in the classroom.”
“I am so proud of all of our students, past and present,” said SoCJ Dean Laura Lindenfeld. “The Alumni Wall is a great reminder that they can step out of our newsroom and classrooms and step into fulfilling careers, and that is the best gift and inspiration to us all.”
The Stony Brook community will be able to catch current SoCJ students in action on May 2 with Roth Regatta Live!, a full coverage of the annual Stony Brook Roth Regatta. From operating cameras, to creating graphics, to writing up and delivering commentary on the fly, these students will be following in the footsteps of those who are featured on the Newsroom Alumni Wall, and one day may secure a spot on it themselves.
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