New Talon Editor in Chief Announced
July 7, 2014
UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications
UT Tyler Patriot Talon Announces New Editor in Chief
July 7, 2014
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)
July 7, 2014
Nizia Alam of Tyler, a junior mass communication major at The University of Texas at Tyler, has been named editor in chief of the Patriot Talon, Kevin Dilley, Talon adviser, announced.
The UT Tyler Student Media Advisory Board supported Alam as the best candidate for the 2014-15 academic year. Alam replaces Morgan Jones of Chandler.
“I’m excited to take on this leadership role,” Alam said. “I want to keep raising the bar of excellence and push hard for more of a 24/7 media outlet approach for reporting.”
Alam has worked as a writer on the Talon editorial staff since 2013 and served as the campus editor last year. In high school, Alam was also the co-editor for the online publication, Southern Accent, at Tyler’s Robert E. Lee High School for two years. While there, she was responsible for reviving the publication, which had gone dormant years earlier.
“I’m very excited about the media board’s decision to approve Nizia as editor in chief for the coming school year,” Dilley said. “Nizia not only brings journalism experience to the job, but she has a unique blend of ebullient optimism and pragmatism that will serve the Talon and the community well this coming year.”
Under Alam’s direction, the Talon is publishing its summer newspaper issue on Tuesday, July 22. She is also managing a 24/7 newsroom reporting on campus and community news this summer and into the fall semester.
The Patriot Talon includes a bi-monthly newspaper with a daily online platform, an annual magazine called Patriot Pulse and Patriot Press, a bi-monthly online-broadcasting outlet. Over the summer, the Talon will be launching an updated mobile platform.
“Nizia has some strong goals for the year such as continuing to change the newsroom culture to a 24/7 mentality to cover news as it happens,” Dilley said. “She also wants to focus heavily on accurate and compelling storytelling journalism across all of our platforms – newspaper, magazine, online and now mobile – to really connect with the audience where they are.”
The award-winning PatriotTalon may be found online at www.patriottalon.com and also on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
For more information, contact Dilley, 903.566.6120 or kdilley@uttyler.edu.
One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 7,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.