The Meek School of Journalism and New Media welcomed former student and Fox News chief news anchor Shepard Smith on Friday afternoon in the Overby Center Auditorium as a keynote speaker for the It Starts with (Me)ek campaign.
It Starts with (Me)ek is a five-day campaign of events geared toward overcoming stereotypes in regards to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability and mental illnesses. The goal is to promote diversity and inclusion across campus.
Smith moderated a panel of LGBT Meek School alumni who discussed their experiences as students and later as professionals in the workplace. He also told his personal story in his lecture titled, “My Journey from Farley Hall to Major News Events Around the World.”
Shepard Smith, Fox News chief news anchor, speaks at the Red, Blue and Rainbow Alumni event on Friday in the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. (Photo by: Xinyi Song)
“I’ve seen a lot, millions of miles of travel, and if I get a minute, this is where I want to be. It always has been, and I think it always will be,” Smith said. “This is the place where I’m most comfortable, and it’s my favorite place in the world to show off.”
Smith is a native of Holly Springs, and in his more than 20 years working for Fox News Channel, he has worked around the globe, covering major news stories like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the political and civil unrest in the Middle East.
He discussed milestones in his life, such as how his interest in journalism began while watching coverage of the Vietnam War as a child, his time as a college student and his start in broadcast journalism as a local news reporter for various television stations around the state of Florida.
“I’m sitting in front of TV, and I’m thinking, ‘I’m watching this live.’ We’d never seen this, and I’m like, ‘Now I can actually do this,’” Smith said. “I might be able to get over there and find out what’s happening in Vietnam, and that’s when I decided this is what I wanted to do.”
When asked what was the most difficult event he has ever covered, he talked about his time reporting on the Columbine High School shooting.
“Nothing like this had ever happened. School shootings were new things,” Smith said. “That’s hard to imagine, but they were brand new.”
Shepard Smith, Fox News chief news anchor, speaks at the Red, Blue and Rainbow Alumni event on Friday in the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. Smith moderated the panel, which consisted of LGBT Meek School alumni to discuss their experiences as students and as professionals. The event was a part of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media’s “It Starts with Meek” campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to ask students to just pause before assuming they know a person based solely on that person’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness or other factor. (Photo by: Xinyi Song)
Smith had several familiar faces in the audience, such as his parents.
It Starts with (Me)ek chair and senior lecturer in public relations Robin Street said she has been pleasantly surprised by the positive reception the campaign has had.
“We all get locked in our little daily boxes and stereotypes, and these events have really helped us see that all of us are so much more than just that,” Street said. “We’re more than just the blonde woman or the black guy or the gay guy.”
The campaign is run by Street and a committee of her journalism students. Sponsors include Chick-fil-A, FedEx, the Center for Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement and the William Winter Institute.
Hospitality co-chair and senior broadcast journalism major Dylan Lewis said he has enjoyed the opportunity to work as a team with his peers and see their hard work come together.
“It really warms my heart to know that these people are so passionate in promoting diversity and inclusion not only in our Meek School, but on our campus,” Lewis said. “Sometimes we get caught up and think of all the bad things that people say to us, but there really are people on campus who care, and I’ve been surrounded by them all semester.”
Prior to the campaign, Meek School students were invited to participate in a competition in which they could submit original work about a person or topic related to diversity, stereotypes, inclusion and respect.
Journalism majors were asked to enter a feature story, essay, photo or video package, while IMC majors could create a print advertisement or a Snapchat geofilter using the campaign’s theme color of purple. The winners were announced at the campaign’s opening ceremony.
Senior broadcast journalism major Jessica Moore said she believes the campaign has been very beneficial in creating a more accepting atmosphere in the Meek School.
“I think it’s wonderful because you get to see people’s different perspectives on what diversity is. It ends up teaching you something new and opening up your mind to a side that you didn’t see before,” Moore said.
