Lewis to be sworn in as president-elect of College Media Association

Scripps College of Communication Director of Student Media Andrea Lewis will be sworn in as the president-elect of the College Media Association (CMA) on Friday, Nov. 1.

The ceremony will happen at the CMA-ACP (Associated Collegiate Press) Fall National Convention in New Orleans.

“I am truly honored to have been selected,” said Lewis. “I am very active in the organization because I believe in its mission and feel that it is important to be involved in organizations that relate to our roles here on campus that extend beyond our zip code.”

Lewis has served as director of student media for the Scripps College since June of 2021. She works with 25 student media organizations and experiential learning units to teach leadership, mentor students and provide back-end support, logistics and training in revenue generation. Lewis interacts with hundreds of students each week across different disciplines.

“Andrea has been an incredible resource for student organizations affiliated with the Scripps College of Communication,” said Scripps College Dean Scott Titsworth. “Her commitment to students and strategic planning skills are key attributes that have allowed Andrea to have broad positive impact across the college. We are so proud of her for being elected to this office and being such a tremendous ambassador of the Scripps College and Ohio University.”

“Andrea is a tireless and enthusiastic advocate for our journalism students as they take on their important role in maintaining our democracy,” said E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Director Eddith Dashiell. “Since 1954, the College Media Association has represented people like Andrea who advise the nation's collegiate media. Her election as the next CMA president underscores her national reputation as an adviser who is highly respected by her students, her peer advisers, and her colleagues in the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism.  I am honored to have her as a colleague."

Lewis says her new role with the CMA will allow her to make more connections and bring back useful information to students on campus.

“I think having informed and engaged campus administrators that are connected to resources is always beneficial to our students. Through the connections I have made through membership in the organization and participating in webinars and events, I have already been able to connect with people and professionals in a way that expands my own network. It has been helpful on more than one occasion when students needed advice prior to publishing articles that they wanted reviewed by an outside source due to legal concerns, when I have needed to connect with individuals on First Amendment issues, and when students have been threatened by legal retaliation for published work,” said Lewis. “In short, the networks we build, and those connections are our strength. They become a source of support and training to help us serve our students better, and we each have something to offer from our campuses.”

For the last several years, Lewis has organized student trips to CMA conferences. This year is no different.  She will take 11 students from “The Post” and “The New Political” to the conference in New Orleans.

“The purpose of this trip is to support professional development in our student newsrooms. On campus they operate like independent newsrooms and being able to have some opportunities for trainings off campus specifically geared for student media, not from an academic perspective but an operational one, is valuable to them,” said Lewis. “We know that taking part in these activities on campus is about more than building their portfolios, it’s about preparing our students to be ready to work in a fast-paced, ever-changing field.” 

The CMA conference typically has 800 or more attendees, and the student attendees come from different kinds of colleges, ranging from very small community colleges to large universities. Students can select sessions to attend that reflect their areas of interest. They could also choose to attend sessions presented by Lewis.

“I will be part of presenting two sessions at the convention. I will co-present ‘From Anxiety to Action: Approaching Sales without Fear,’ with Moira Fudge, who is one of the sales representatives at ‘The Post,’” said Lewis. “The second session is ‘Unlock your LinkedIn Potential: Ditch the Ordinary,’ where I will talk to students about how we need to change our voice depending on which platform we are presenting ourselves on, just like we model our behavior in the workplace and casual settings. LinkedIn is a place that is professionally focused for networking opportunities. So, we will discuss as a group how establishing your personal brand is different when you use this to engage recruiters, seek internships and future employment.”