Writing and Reporting for Digital Media

Dr. Raul Reis is as dean of the School of Communication and professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College.  Previously, he was the dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Prior to FIU, he was a professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at California State University Long Beach, where he also served as department chair.

A native of Brazil, Reis holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Oregon. He worked for many years as a reporter and editor in Brazil and in the United States. He embraced new digital media technologies in the late 1990s, making them a significant part of his teaching and research.

Reis has published extensively in academic journals and books on topics such as the digital media revolution, impact of mass media on traditional communities, journalism education, and science and the environment. His academic articles have appeared in the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Science Communication, World Communication Journal, Environmental Communication and the Journal of Intercultural Communication, among others.

He's co-authored Mass Communication: Producers and Consumers and Writing & Reporting for Digital Media through Kendall Hunt Publishing.

Katherine MacMillin is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Florida International University (FIU). A 40-year TV veteran, she began her career with Westinghouse Broadcasting as a film editor in their WBZ-TV news department. She later worked as a producer, writer and director in New York City and Chicago for cable, network and public television. In 2014, she produced the award-winning documentary South Florida’s Rising Seas, which aired on WPBT2, with an abbreviated version airing on the PBS NewsHour. The 2012-2015 Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education grant was awarded to MacMillin and three other SJMC colleagues to conduct community-engaged journalism about the threats of sea-level rise in South Florida. As part of this challenge, MacMillin became the executive producer of South Florida’s Rising Seas: Impact, a student-produced documentary. Prior to her research on sea-level rise, MacMillin worked in another area of grave interest to South Floridians—HIV/AIDS. In 2009, she co-executive produced the documentary Lessons from South Africa and the student-produced Web series The Stigma Stops with Me. This two-year AIDS initiative culminated in a one-hour TV special, Tell Somebody: The New Face of AIDS. MacMillin has a B.A. from Boston University and a master’s degree in English Literature from Simmons College in Boston.

Michael Scott Sheerin is the associate dean of graduate programs and research, the director of SJMC Online, and an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Florida International University (FIU). He has worked as a professional in the broadcast and new media industry for over 20 years as a designer, animator, art director, creative director, commercial director and producer for such clients as ABC, U.S. Armed Forces, DirecTV, J. Walter Thompson, Discovery and Nickelodeon. He also has developed interactive TV prototypes for Disney. His research topics include media convergence, online learning, digital studies and the state of the post-production industry. He has written for Post magazine and published works on the history of TV and on the field of digital photography and imaging. He has received numerous awards for his fine art photography and won the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s national contest for Best Web Design for his design of the SJMC website. He has taught online and web-assisted courses at both FIU and the Art Institute Online since 2001, and continues to bring real-life experiences to the classroom.