2022 Extend the Reach: Increasing Diversity in the Newsroom & the News
Watch now! Journalism at Texas A&M’s third annual Journalism Seminar
The March 25 journalism seminar allowed both high school and college journalism students to meet award-winning journalists, including keynote speaker Erin Ailworth, reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Others featured during the live broadcast included sports media professionals and standout graduates of the Texas A&M Journalism program.
This year’s full event can be viewed above. A follow-up campus visit and tour at Texas A&M University is an option for interested high school journalism programs. Email Angelique Gammon at agammon@tamu.edu for more information.
Keynote Speaker Erin Ailworth
Reporter
The Wall Street Journal
Erin Ailworth is the keynote speaker for this year’s conference and is a Chicago-based reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She often can be found covering hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and traumas nationwide. She was part of the team named Pulitzer finalists for the Journal’s coverage of PG&E and the wildfires in California. Erin also helped chronicle the spread of Covid-19 via cruise ships at the start of the pandemic. She then helped lead the Journal’s coverage of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, and the protests and violence that followed. She was previously on the Journal’s energy team in Houston. Erin is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School and a lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, where she served four years on the national board. Prior to the Journal, she worked at the Boston Globe, the Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. She is an alum of METPRO and the Medill Cherubs program.
Featured Speakers
Mariano Castillo
Senior Editor
The Row, CNN
Patricia Lowry
Coordinating Producer II
ESPN
Mariano Castillo is a senior editor on The Row, CNN’s story-vetting and editorial oversight team. Mariano, Texas A&M University Class of ’02, joined CNN in 2009 as a digital journalist, focusing on Latin America. From Atlanta, Mariano covered stories including the rescue of the Chilean miners, the genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt and how the US immigration court system handles unaccompanied minors. Mariano studied at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, but you’re more likely to see him wearing the colors of his other alma mater, Texas A&M.
Patricia Lowry oversees the production of women’s college basketball across ESPN networks, including the NCAA tournament, and oversees men’s basketball for SEC Network and Longhorn Network. A Mt. Juliet, Tennessee native, Lowry graduated from Texas A&M University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism.
Prior to joining ESPN, Lowry served as an executive producer for the Portland Trail Blazers (1998-2002) and that role included producing NBA Games, Seahawks NFL games, along with WNBA games. From 1989 to 1997, she worked on the television support contract at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a producer/director and vice president for StellaCom and Taft Broadcasting. In 2016, Lowry was part of the team that won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Transmedia Sports Coverage of the College Football Playoff National Championship Megacast. Lowry won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Open/Tease for the World Figure Skating Championships on ESPN in 2005 and in 2006; she won a Sports Emmy Award in the same category for the NBA Finals on ABC. Lowry has won 10 Regional Emmy Awards, including a Lone Star Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement for Rowing on Longhorn Network.
Featured Speakers
Justin Argo
Director of Broadcasts
12th Man Productions
Fallon Appleton
Event MC, Anchor/Reporter
KBTX
As broadcast production manager at Texas A&M’s 12th Man Productions, Justin Argo is the primary contact for the SEC Network and manages live broadcast events at Texas A&M. Argo, Texas A&M Class of 2008, returned to Aggieland in 2017 with more than 15 years of live television and post-production experience, including over 800 live events. Argo has trained producers, directors, editors, and on-air talent for televised broadcasts and he has won 8 Emmy awards. As a student at Texas A&M, Argo worked at 12th Man Productions before earning his degree in Telecommunication Media Studies with a minor in business.
Texas born and raised, Fallon graduated from Texas A&M University both in 2017, with her Bachelors of Science degree in University Studies-Leadership Studies, with double minors in Business Administration and Agricultural Communications and Journalism and in 2019 with a Masters of Science degree in Sport Management.
Fallon first fell in love with broadcast television when she worked for CBS Sports on the PGA TOUR as a spotter covering events like the PGA Championship, AT&T Byron Nelson, and Fort Worth Invitational. Her love for sports television only grew from there, as she worked for the SEC on CBS as a sideline assistant and nationwide for ESPN as a productions and operation assistant.
While at A&M, Fallon worked for 12th Man Productions, within Texas A&M athletics, as the on-camera student reporter and host and post-production intern. She covered a variety of Aggie sports, serving as a videographer, editor, content producer, and worked on various broadcast crews to televise A&M sporting events on the ESPN family of networks. Her work has been featured nationwide on the SEC Network, regionally on Fox Sports Southwest, and on Texas A&M social media platforms.
Host of Student Panel Richard Zane
Managing Editor
TexAgs
Richard Zane graduated from Texas A&M in December of 2019 with a degree in Telecommunication Media Studies and minor in journalism. Since beginning at TexAgs, the Flower Mound native has worked as reporter, publisher and radio personality. Zane is a diehard Dodgers and Red Wings fan, and he also currently serves as the treasurer of Hot Dog City.
Former Student Panel
Ryan Faulkner, Texas A&M Class of ’21, is a summer ’22 ESPN intern before attending the UT School of Law in fall 2022.
Hannah Falcon, Texas A&M Class of ’21, is a multimedia reporter for the ABC 17 News Team in Columbia, Missouri.
Alex Miller, Texas A&M Class of ’20, is digital content coordinator and a reporter for The Bryan College Station Eagle.
Current Student Panel
Jose Benjamin Figueroa is a senior journalism major and currently works as a Technical Director for News Univision 41 in San Antonio.
Senior Jennifer Streeter is a former sports editor for The Battalion currently deciding between Mizzou and Columbia University for her post-graduate journalism studies.
Brady Stone will graduate in May and served as the editor-in-chief of The Battalion. He currently is an Audience Engagement Fellow for The Texas Tribune.
Emma Wright will graduate in May and is a former reporter for The Battalion. She is a member of the Corps of Cadets.
Read more about Journalism at Texas A&M
Unique Opportunities, Customized Paths Attract Students to COMM, JOUR degrees
Journalism at Texas A&M: Redefining the Mission for the Next Generation