It’s a tough world out there for professional communicators. Social media continues to alter the way news is produced and consumed. And our current chaotic political and cultural landscape has provided news editorial, public relations, and visual journalism majors in my Mass Media Ethics classes  with no shortage of topics to grapple with in the 2018-19 academic year.

Our students are embracing the challenges with original and compelling research on a wide range of subjects, from the ethics of vaping and the marketing of Juul to teens. to the ethics of presidential press secretaries and the impact of activist student journalists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on the gun control debate.

I continue to be impressed with the passion, discipline and focus of our students as they chart the gray areas of our shifting media landscape.  We’ve devoted much attention to how journalists report on political leaders who misrepresent the truth, how to ethically and effectively cover climate change and how to report on the Me Too movement, which has revealed sexual misconduct in high places (including the news media.)

Revelations of how easily Russian operatives gamed Facebook in the 2016 election, the mounting evidence that shows how anger drives engagement on social media and the ethics (or lack thereof) of online influencers all have contributed to robust classroom discussion and debate about the new challenges journalists, public relations professionals and the architects of social media platforms all face.

Over at Klipsun magazine, where I serve as writing coach and faculty advisor, our award-winning student editors, photographers, writers and designers continue to produce compelling narrative journalism in print and online. Take a look at  And Then They Came for Your Family, on how local people are providing financial aid and moral support to undocumented members of our community who have been arrested, detained and deported by ICE agents.  Help From Above, profiles mountain search and rescue worker Joe Edmark. Genuinely Good at Soccer traces Andrea Pelogi’s amazing journey from a Brazilian orphanage to being a star athlete at Western.

Finally, a personal note: Reaching back to my professional roots as a writer and editor specializing in religion, ethics and moral issues, I’ve co-authored a new book with scripture scholar Adam Bartholomew: Healing All Creation: Genesis, the Gospel of Mark and the Story of the Universe, will be published in April by Rowman & Littlefield.  Aimed at a general audience, with particular emphasis on millennials, the book popularizes an ongoing conversation between theologians and scientists about the spiritual dimension of evolution and offers fresh insights on how people of good will respond to a wounded world. Find it on Amazon, beginning in April.