Jenna Drenten '07, assistant professor of marketing at Loyola University, Chicago,
is one of two headliners for the event. On Oct. 1, she will deliver a talk on "Emojis and YouTube and Memes, Oh My! The Power
of Visual Social Media in Cultural Communications" (9:30 a.m., Whitton Auditorium)
and also meet groups of students throughout the afternoon. On Oct. 2, headliner Michelle Lipkin, executive director, National Association for
Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), will participate in the department's National News
Engagement Day activities (9:30 a.m., Black Box Theatre). 
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University's Department of Mass Communication will celebrate its 28th annual Mass Communication Week during Oct. 1-3.
Jenna Drenten '07, assistant professor of marketing at Loyola University, Chicago, is one of two headliners
for the event. An integrated mass communication graduate, she is the department's
Distinguished Alum of the Year.
Jumping straight into a Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia after graduating
from Winthrop, Drenten teaches marketing and integrated marketing communication courses.
Her research focuses on understanding identity in the context of social media, namely
how consumers self-present through technology and how brands are managed in the social
media environment.
On Oct. 1, she will deliver a talk on "Emojis and YouTube and Memes, Oh My! The Power of Visual Social Media in Cultural
Communications" (9:30 a.m., Whitton Auditorium) and also meet groups of students throughout the afternoon.
On Oct. 2, headliner Michelle Lipkin, executive director, National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), will
participate in the department's National News Engagement Day activities (9:30 a.m., Johnson Studie Theatre). Lipkin launched the first Media Literacy
Week in the U.S., and has helped NAMLE build strategic partnerships with media companies
such as Participant Media, Nickelodeon and Twitter.
At 11 a.m., she will also take part in a Fake News panel discussion in the News Literacy and Future of Journalism Series (Dina's Place). Other panelists include Amanda Hiner, associate professor of English, and Bill Schulte, associate professor of mass communication. Aimee Meader, assistant professor of mass communication, will moderate.
A presentation by Bert Hesse, CEO of Studio South Holdings, (Oct. 1, 12.30 p.m., 101 Owens Hall) rounds off speakers
for the week. Hesse's studio management firm is building a Global Media Park in Greenville
to attract movie production to the Carolinas.
Concluding events include an alumni panel (Oct. 2, 3:30 p.m. Johnson Studio Theatre) and a Professional Portfolio Photo session led by Mass Communication Professors Mark Nortz and Emmanuel Nwachukwu (Oct. 3, 2 p.m, Johnson Lobby).
For more information on activities and speakers, contact Department Chair Guy Reel at reelg@winthrop.edu or 803/323-4531.
