FAMU students honored by Black PR Wire

Matthew Beatty, associate director for Public Affairs for Black PR Wire’s Miami-based company, visited FAMU's School of Journalism and Graphic Communication (SJGC) to honor a group of FAMU students who had been actively involved in writing for the company’s HBCU Writers’ Project initiative.

FAMU was the No. 1 HBCU to submit the most press releases. FAMU students submitted 29 press releases and 25 were published by a variety of media outlets that included the Rattler Nation blog.

Black PR Wire, an online news service, launched the new initiative called the HBCU Writers’ Project in August of last year. The project was specifically designed to encourage students at HBCUs to write news stories with national appeal, submit the stories to Black PR Wire for critical editorial review, and, if approved, gain visibility for their work through publication on the Black PR Wire web site.

The students honored are students in Gina Kinchlow’s class, who is an assistant professor for the public relations sequence in the Division of Journalism.

“For the past three semesters, students in the public relations sequence have been encouraged to submit examples of their writing to the project,” Kinchlow said. “I’m very pleased with what the students have accomplished.”

One student, Jeanine James, had five articles published, more than any other HBCU student in the project.

“It is wonderful to be recognized,” said James, a senior from St. Croix, Virgin Islands. “This accomplishment is something I can add to my portfolio.”