E-mail: lksmith@sc.edu

Office:
Phone: 803.777.6272
Fax: 803.777.4103
Room: Coliseum 4011B

Hours:
Tuesdays: 11am-1pm, Wednesdays: 10 am-Noon, or by appointment

Spring 2007 Syllabi:
Posted on Blackboard

Laura K. Smith
Assistant Professor
Electronic and Print Journalism Sequence

B.A., University of Florida
M.A., University of Florida
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Laura Smith joined the USC faculty in the Fall of 2004.  Her specialty is television news.

Smith worked in the industry for more than 12 years, mostly in local newsrooms – including executive producer at WVEC in Norfolk, Va., special projects manager at WTLV in Jacksonville, Fla., and newscast “line” producer for WFLA in Tampa Bay, Fla.

Throughout her career, she worked for several media corporations, including Belo, Gannett, and Media General. Her industry experience also includes two jobs outside local news: a two-year public relations stint in Gainesville, Fla., where she was producer/coordinator for the University of Florida's Department of News & Public Affairs. She also spent a year in Nashville, Tenn., field producing longer-form stories for the program Freedom Speaks, which aired on 120 PBS stations nationwide.

During her career, Smith has received many industry accolades for her work, including two Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Smith holds a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a Doctoral Portfolio in Women and Gender Studies from University of Texas at Austin and is a faculty affiliate in the Women's Studies program (in USC's College of Liberal Arts.)

Smith's research interests include women in the media workforce, non-dominant group representation in and on the news, effects of media coverage, and the impact of media conglomeration/consolidation on television news content.

At USC, she currently teaches two sections of Television Production (JOUR 326), one of several classes in our broadcast news sequence. The course is designed to help undergraduate students master the basics of TV news writing and field production.