Deborah Wenger: the teacher behind the text

As co-author of a textbook that
has been adopted by four universities
around the country since its release in
early November, Deborah Wenger is
in charge as of ensuring VCU’s mass
communications students are equipped
to excel after graduation.

Wenger, associate professor of
convergence and news media, said she
has spent the past couple of semesters
producing the textbook, titled “Advancing
the Story: Broadcast Journalism
in a Multimedia World,” designed to
prepare students for convergence, or
the merging of mass media, in America’s
newsrooms.

“What I’m hoping to do is at least
expose students in our advance broadcast-
writing classes to the tools and
the skills they need to produce content
for the Web as well as for television,”
Wenger said.

Before accepting a teaching position
at VCU in 2001, Wenger was involved
in local news. Her previous job before
coming to VCU was assistant news
director for a station in Tampa, Fla.

After spending years working with
the multimedia side of news, Wenger
said she was ready for a break from the
hectic reality of television news.

“I very much enjoyed teaching, and
when I felt like I needed an extended
break from the newsroom in mid-2001, I
thought I’d like to try teaching full-time,”
Wenger said.

Wenger also said that while balancing
being a mother, wife, professor – and
now author – was a difficult task, the
School of Mass Communications was a
big help in the process.

Judy Turk, director of the School of
Mass Communications, allows faculty
who are working on major projects to
request a course reduction.

“It would have been nearly impossible
to (write the book) . without
that extra time that was given to me
by the university,” Wenger said.

One of the classes Wenger is assigned
to teach is VCU Insight, a student-run
news magazine show that airs on a PBS
affiliate station. Tinisha Mason-Nolan is
a senior mass communications major
and is enrolled in Wenger’s class. Mason-
Nolan said she has learned a great deal
from her.

“She’s been very helpful in teaching
me the basics of journalism,” Mason-
Nolan said. “She makes the classroom
feel like a real newsroom.”

Adjunct professor Mary Ann Owens
said she has known Wenger for about
a year and a half. Owens said she’s very
impressed with Wenger as a professor
and as a person.

“I think she’s great,” Owens said.
“Smart, talented – I don’t know how
she does all that she does.”

Wenger said she’s still learning how
to be more effective in the classroom
and instill a passion for TV news, as
well as multimedia, in her students.