News and Events

NORMAN, Okla. -- Cassie Chance has been named assistant director of media relations in the University of Oklahoma Athletics Department. She comes to OU from Mississippi State, where she served in a similar capacity.

Chance will work directly with the sports of volleyball and softball in her new position.

"Cassie is one of the rising stars in our business," said Kenny Mossman,senior associate athletics director for communications. "She has done a nice job of building great experiences in the early stages of her career and will do a fantastic job promoting these nationally-ranked programs."

The 2006 Mississippi State graduate was responsible for the publicity relative women's basketball at her alma mater. She joined the MSU staff on a full-time basis shortly after her graduation. There she worked with numerous sports, including volleyball.

Prior to that, Chance served as an intern at MSU and with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, where she gained experience at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Chance replaces Jessica Summers, who is now the Director of Special Events and Suite Operations for the OU Athletics Department.

... OU ...

Cassie Chance
(662) 617-4644
http:/www.sportsismylife87.blogspot.com

STARKVILLE, MISS.—Lab Rats Comedy will present "Inside the Improvvers Studio" on April 27, 2007, at the McComas Hall Lab Theater. These last two shows of the year are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday night.

"Inside the Improvvers Studio" will be themed after James Lipton's popular television show, Inside the Actors Studio. The audience can expect to enjoy short form improv, long form improv, and sketch comedy. Not only are these the final shows of the year, but some of the improvvers will be performing for their last time as Lab Rats.

Admission is $5 for all who attend. A ticket reservation system is available at labratscomedy.com.

For more information, contact info@labratscomedy.com or visit labratscomedy.com. .

The Reflector, Mississippi State University's student newspaper, was named the Best College Newspaper in the South during the Jan. 25-27 convention of the Southeast Journalism Conference in Birmingham, Ala.

This is just one of 16 awards The Reflector and its staff received at the convention. The Reflector team also placed third in the on-site competition and several students won individual awards.

About 30 colleges and universities from seven states in the South participated in the Best of the South contest and the on-site competitions held by the SEJC. Schools in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida participated.

The Best of the South contest is based on entries submitted in November. Members of the USA Today staff judged the contest. In addition to the The Reflector being ranked as No. 1 in the Best College Newspaper category, nine of its staff members were selected as winners in individual categories of the Best of the South competition.

Award winners are:

• Best Opinion-Editorial Writer - No. 1, Jed Pressgrove
• Best Feature Writer - No. 1, Aaron Burdette
• College Journalist of the Year - No. 3, Tyler Stewart
• Best News-Editorial Artist/Illustrator - No. 4, Lindsey Young
• Best Arts and Entertainment Writer - No. 4, Gabe Smith
• Best News Reporter - No. 5, C.J. LeMaster
• Best Newspaper Page Layout - No. 7, Sara McAdory
• Best Sports Writer - No. 10, R.J. Morgan
• Best Press Photographer - No. 10, Jay Webb

The Reflector staff also did well this year in the SEJC on-site competition, placing as the No. 3 team. In this competition, students write stories, take photos, design pages and perform other journalistic activities on a tight deadline. The overall winners are based on rankings of individual students in the different categories.

The Reflector's individual winners in the on-site competition are:

• Photography - No. 1, Tyler Stewart
• Opinion Writing - No. 2, Jed Pressgrove
• Page Design - No. 2, Sara McAdory
• Entertainment Writing - No. 2, Aaron Burdette
• Sports Writing - No. 3, R.J. Morgan

The Reflector, a twice-weekly full-size newspaper, is managed by a student staff that is responsible for creating content and making decisions about all content to be included. Many of the students involved in producing the newspaper are communication majors, but the staff includes students from other majors also.

Communication instructor Frances McDavid serves as adviser to The Reflector.

JACKSON, Miss. -- A longtime Mississippi editor and publisher has been named the first new director in over two decades for the state's newspaper association.

Layne Bruce, 34, of Madison, was named executive director of the Mississippi Press Association, the trade organization for over 100 member newspapers in the state. He succeeds Carolyn Wilson, 60, of Sandy Hook, who announced in January her retirement after 25 years with the association.

The transition took effect Thursday and was announced by MPA President Marcus Bowers, publisher and editor of the Rankin County News in Brandon.

Bruce has been serving the past year as director of marketing for the press association and managed its advertising business unit, Mississippi Press Services. In his new capacity, Bruce will assume management responsibilities for the two organizations, as well as the non-profit MPA Education Foundation.

Prior to joining MPA, Bruce was publisher of the DeSoto County Tribune in Olive Branch and The Star-Herald in Kosciusko. He is a former editor and general manager of his hometown newspaper, the Daily Times Leader in West Point. He has also served as editor and general manager of the Glasgow (Ky.) Daily Times.

He served as a reporter for the Starkville Daily News and the Webster Progress-Times in Eupora while studying communications and journalism at Mississippi State.

"Layne is well known to our members for his longtime involvement with the association and his work as the marketing director over the past year," Bowers said. "He is a great advocate for newspapers and believes passionately in our future as an industry and the importance of the fourth estate to the communities we serve. Carolyn, I and the board could not be more pleased to have a long-time member of our newspaper family take this important leadership role."

He began his newspaper career nearly 20 years ago in the Times Leader's production department. His father, Roy "Spanky" Bruce, served as the paper's editor and publisher for many years before his death in 1993.

A Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International, Bruce is a former member of the boards of directors of the Kosciusko-Attala Chamber of Commerce and Clay County Economic Development Corp. He is a former president of the Kosciusko Main Street Association and a past board member for the MPA Education Foundation.

He is an annual volunteer for United Way and a former board member for the Red Cross.

"It is an honor to take the leadership role with MPA," Bruce said. "I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many talented newspaper professionals and represent their newspapers to the best of my ability.

"I am also indebted to Carolyn Wilson for her years of service and the support and counsel she has given to me through my career."

Wilson joined the association in 1982 when it was a two-person organization. She served as its office manager and advertising director before being named executive director in 1985.

When asked about someone to take the reins and proceed to grow the association and its affiliate organizations, my response was an easy one to make. "I have known Layne Bruce since he began his career in the newspaper industry, and have watched him mature into one of the finest young newspaper executives I've had the pleasure to know", Wilson said. Not only is he knowledgeable about newspapers and related technology, but he has experience from being in the trenches at community newspapers of all sizes and frequencies, including top level management roles.

In retirement, Wilson will continue as a management consultant for the association and sister organizations. Bowers praised her for her efforts to strengthen the role of the state's press and improve the position of the association.

"It has been a pleasure to work with her over these years to help grow the association and its related organizations into an operation that is vital to us and something we can all be proud of," Bowers said. "We are pleased to say Carolyn will continue as a consultant for our organizations, providing valuable insight and perspective as needed in the months to come."

Under her leadership, the organization grew to a peak of a dozen employees and handled over $5 million in advertising business for its member papers. During her tenure, she has worked on behalf of MPA newspapers on such cornerstone issues as open records and sunshine laws, as well as internships for journalism students and continuing education for member employees.

Bowers said Wilson will be honored for her two-and-a-half decades of service to MPA during the organization's 141st annual convention this summer in Biloxi.

Established in 1866, MPA is the sixth-oldest operating association of its kind in the nation, representing over 100 member newspapers in the state. MPS, founded in 1978, serves as an advertising representative for the state's newspapers and handles ad placement services as well as cooperative ad networks. MPAEF administers journalism internships, grants for services and education programs for aspiring journalists.

Kristin Clemmer (center), a senior Communication major with a Public Relations concentration, was recently inducted into the Society of Scholars in the Arts & Sciences. The requirements of the honor society are among the highest at the university.