Jennifer Thomas | Howard Profiles

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Faculty

Jennifer C Thomas, Director, Annenberg Honors Program

Associate Professor

jennifer.thomas@Howard.edu

Download CV

https://www.jennifercthomas.com

Department/Office

Media, Journalism, Film & Communication

School/College

School of Communications

Additional Positions

Director

Annenberg Honors Program

Biography

JENNIFER C. THOMAS is Director of the Annenberg Honors Program in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications and an associate professor in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at her alma mater, Howard University. She earned a Master of Arts Degree in Journalism from Columbia University. A Fulbright Specialist Scholar (Eastern Cape of South Africa) and international speaker, her creative works and published research include the dissection of current practices and pedagogies in journalism, the transition from professional to professor, and the complex facets of women, media, and images. She is grounded in the belief that journalists are the defenders of democracy, freedom fighters of the First Amendment, and savvy and sophisticated storytellers. Her recent travels include Tanzania, Africa where she participated as a guest of the U.S. Embassy for World Press Freedom week activities, Lithuania where she met with independent Russian journalists and Belarusian journalists in exile, South Africa during Media Freedom Week, and Lagos, Nigeria, as keynote speaker for World Press Freedom Week. She is also a member of the Howard University Initiative on Public Opinion, an interdisciplinary team of scholars that conducts national polls on issues relevant to African American and Latinx communities.

Named the Scripps Howard Foundation AEJMC Teacher of the Year, she is dedicated to ensuring her students have a successful transition from classroom to newsroom. She is an award-winning broadcast journalist with more than 25 years of experience, most recently as an Executive Producer with CNN, where she served as the 9am show producer during the September 11 Terror Attacks. She is also the founder of MediaReady Consulting, LLC, which specializes in media training and consulting. At Howard, she has produced live election specials for PBS’s WHUT TV, supervised coverage of the 2024 and 2016 Democratic National Convention, and multiple award-winning news broadcasts, and reported from the U.S. Mexico border with the U.S. Border Patrol. A former Miss Howard, she remains committed to her students' success. Her current and former student scholars include Emmy, Hearst, and National Association of Black Journalists award winners.

Education

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Journalism
Columbia University
2011

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Journalism
Howard University
1988

Academics

Journalism Ethics

Journalism: Practicum

Journalism Capstone: NewsVision Lab

Multimedia Storytelling

Public Affairs Reporting

Broadcast Journalism II

Broadcast Journalism I

Research

Funding

2024 $6,347: The U.S. Embassy Tanzania/U.S. Dept. of State Media Speaker Program: Dar Es Salaam, Dodoma, Zanzibar, Tanzania April 27- May 9, 2024

2023 $3,198: The U.S. Embassy Lithuania/Vilnius, U.S. Dept. of State Media Speaker Program: Lithuania, September 18-23, 2023

2023: $10,00 Fulbright Specialist Program, Rhodes University. U.S. Department of State Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Fulbright foreign scholarship Board, FULBRIGHT SPECIALIST GRANT under the provisions of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act. July 10- August 20, 2023

Accomplishments

Joe Manns Black Wall Street Award, 2025

The "Black Wall Street Awards" honors Black entrepreneurs and community leaders, inspired by the historic Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These awards recognize indivduals who are driving economic growth and community impact, embodying the spirit of resilience and success of the original Black Wall Street.

Fulbright Scholar, Specialist Program

Research Award to Rhodes University in Makhanda, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

2020 Scripps Howard Foundation/ AEJMC Teacher of the Year

The Scripps Howard Foundation in partnership with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) announced Howard University Associate Professor Jennifer Thomas as a “Teacher of the Year” honoree.

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Read: WUSA9 | From DC college student to VP candidate: A look back at Sen. Kamala Harris' years at Howard University

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Publications and Presentations

Pageantry & Politics

Pageantry & Politics: Miss Howard University from Civil Rights to Black Power

This article, written by a former Miss Howard, examines the embedded traditions, historical significance and controversies of this iconic position from the Civil Rights Era through the black Power Movement, to argue that an in-depth analysis of the Queen's role over these tumultuous years reveals a little-known, yet important narrative in the trajectory of Howard University.

Women Behind Bars

Women Behind Bars: Dissecting Social Constructs Mediated by News and Reality TV

This chapter examines the ways in which the watchdog role of the news media oftentimes collides with the bottom-line objective of entertainment media when it comes to stories of women behind bars and notably of their children left behind. These inmates’ true stories are sometimes shadowed behind distorted notions of so-called reality entertainment; their real-life stories become skewed behind the storylines, confusing the viewer with a warped sense of reality. This paper provides an in-depth look at several examples of how traditional and new media, including reality television, profile incarcerated women and their children, and debates the media’s role in the social construction of reality.

Reassessing Journalistic Pedagogy

Reassessing Journalistic Pedagogy: Howard University’s Broadcast Coverage during the 2014 Midterm Election

This commentary examines the challenges and practical and instructional opportunities for broadcast journalism students of Howard University’s Department of Media, Journalism and Film, while covering the 2014 US Midterm Election. The author explains how her individual experience as a veteran news industry professional-turned journalism academic, influenced and informed processes, practices and outcomes for student journalists who lacked experience and in some cases interest in the political process.