Dr. Ed Caudill, a professor in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media was recently interviewed by Amy Blakely for a CCI Spotlight titled Faculty Trailblazers. Read the following interview for a peek at Dr. Caudill's story and his most recent achievement of receiving a Choice Award for 2014. 

Journalism Professor Ed Caudill doesn’t believe everything he reads. And he wants the aspiring journalists he teaches to be just as skeptical. Caudill spent seven years in the newspaper business before moving into academia. He’s been at UT for thirty years.

“It’s easy to write a story that has two sides—the good guys and the bad guys. Nuance is tough to write about,” he said. As a result, he said, “the media warp the way we perceive people and ideas.” From creationism vs Darwinism to the history of Sherman’s Civil War march, Caudill has spent his career studying the way popular opinion is shaped in the media—how people’s beliefs are swayed by what’s written, whether or not it’s actually true. And he tries to teach his students that a good story isn’t always true and a true story isn’t always good. 

One senior from the School of Journalism and Electronic Media had the opportunity of a lifetime to cover President Obama's visit to Knoxville on Friday, January 9th. Read Rilwan Balogun's fascinating story and how he refused to let any obstacle in the way stop him from achieving his goal. 

Rilwan first heard that Obama was coming to Knoxville the Sunday before classes began and immediately sent a text to faculty member Mike Wiseman asking what he had to do to get there. "The next thing I know," said Rilwan, "Mike sent an email back saying 'I emailed the White House Press Secretary,' and I said okay!" Rilwan also takes classes part time at Pellissippi State Community College where he found out was the location where the President would be speaking, and while waiting for a reply from the Press Secretary, he discovered Pellissippi student tickets could be purchased to the event. That Tuesday he called but ran into a problem when the college told him only full time students could receive tickets. Never discouraged, Rilwan asked how he could get a press pass since he was with The Volunteer Channel here at UT, and the response was that the White House would have to send one. Rilwan got in touch with a friend that works at WBIR locally and they forwarded him the email containing the press pass application, which he filled out and again waited for a response.