I’m delighted to introduce myself as the new director of the Journalism Program. Since 2016, I’ve had the privilege of teaching multimedia journalism at Wake Forest, and I now look forward to helping guide a community that honors tradition while embracing curiosity and change.

In many ways, our program remains what it has always been. Since its beginning, we have sought to prepare thoughtful, responsible journalists — people with the skills to tell powerful stories across media, the curiosity to pursue truth with an open mind, and the ability to bring light to voices and stories that might otherwise go unheard. We teach our students to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the universal in the particular.

As always, our core fundamentals endure: rigorous reporting, clear and accurate writing, dynamic storytelling through writing, photography, audio, video, and emerging technologies, and above all, critical and empathetic thinking about the world.

Yet the context in which journalism exists is changing rapidly. AI, misinformation, the rise of independent and innovative news outlets, and a volatile cultural moment are reshaping the way we tell stories — and even what counts as news. These forces can feel overwhelming, but they also open up space for creativity, rigor, and authenticity. If there’s one ideal I hope to bring to the program, it is this: to maintain our integrity while embracing change.

Our task is to prepare students not just to practice journalism but to understand it — to become discerning news consumers as well as thoughtful storytellers. In a time when the “story” itself can feel elusive, we aim to equip them with the tools to see clearly, report deeply, and speak authentically.

I look forward to leading this dynamic program and supporting our students as they grow into the next generation of storytellers and story-breakers, fact-finders and risk-takers, visionaries and truth-tellers — dedicated to capturing life in all its complexity.

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I want to take a moment to recognize the team that has brought me and the Program to this point.

My predecessor, Professor Phoebe Zerwick, has been both a mentor and a friend for almost 10 years. She left an indelible mark on the Program and instilled in me many values that I hope to carry forward. 

I’m also grateful to Professor Justin Catanoso, who directed the Program before Professor Zerwick and has been an invaluable advisor during this transition.

I want to extend best wishes to our departing core faculty members — Maria Henson, Mark Rabil, and Woody Hood — who guided the program through a period of both growth and challenge. Professor Henson also recently retired as editor of Wake Magazine, and I wish her every success in her next chapter. I’m delighted, however, that both she and Professor Zerwick will continue teaching journalism as adjunct faculty.

At the same time, I’m thrilled to welcome new core faculty members in Journalism: Chris Meazell (Law), Francisco Gallegos (Philosophy), Cagney Gentry (Communication), and Jay Curley (Art). I’m equally glad to welcome back Cara Pilson (Documentary Film), whose longstanding contributions and institutional knowledge continue to enrich our work. As an interdisciplinary program, we depend on the perspectives of faculty across campus to help us shape a curriculum that makes the most of the Journalism minor, and I look forward to working with this team to build on that mission.

I also want to recognize our extraordinary adjunct faculty — Barry Yeoman, Lisa Sorg, Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, and others — who, like my predecessors, I see as essential to the life of the Program. Their professional expertise, distinctive approaches, and real-world insights make our classrooms immeasurably stronger. Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to our program coordinator, Caroline Livesay, whose efforts are essential to the success of the program.

Together, we will continue to cultivate our journalistic community during this pivotal moment of possibility and change.

Ivan Weiss, Director of Journalism