NEWS

Dr. Judith Roberts is an Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Louisiana Tech University, co-publisher of The Lincoln Parish Journal, and Coordinator of the Tech Masters of Communication Studies program.

In 2005 Roberts received her bachelor’s degree from Tech as a journalism and English major. Upon graduation, Roberts took a position at the Ruston Daily Leader but ultimately decided that academia would be a better fit for her.

After writing articles for Louisiana Tech University Communications for a year as a part-time employee, Roberts would work as a full-time employee for a year before moving into instructing courses for her alma mater in 2008, after acquiring her master’s in Mass Communication from Grambling State University.

She’d then acquire a doctorate from Southern Mississippi University in Hattiesburg.

In her time at Tech, Roberts has published works in Rowman & Littlefield, Lexington Books, and Waterhill Publishing. She has also presented her research, which focuses on religion and politics, internationally.

In her time as a journalism student and assistant professor, Roberts has seen journalism go through many phases.

“When I first started teaching, and when I was coming out of school, journalism was going through an identity crisis,” Roberts said. “You didn’t see as many traditional newspapers, and you still don’t see many today. But there has been a resurgence of community newspapers and reporting. It’s really important to have a diversity of information in a community.”

As a contrast to how journalism and society in general have evolved since Roberts’ time as a student at Tech, she recalls taking a class named “Using Internet for Research” as well as professors refusing to use computers and only giving students feedback via handwritten notes.

“That’s what makes journalism so fun, it’s going to continue to go through exciting changes,” Roberts said. “Nobody wants to stay the same, you want to change, grow, and have some fun otherwise things get stale.”

Journalism will continue to evolve as time goes on, but one thing will remain the same: properly educated journalists will always be a necessity.

Louisiana Tech offers unparalleled, hands-on learning experiences for students to prepare for their future professions in journalism.

“With the changes and advancements that journalism has made in the last five years, it’s a very exciting time to get involved in journalism, especially here at Tech where we have so many faculty who have contacts and resources to get students plugged in, not only at Tech but in the community as well,” Roberts said. “This is a great time to be a Tech journalism student.”

This story is written by communication student Brennan Hilliard.