Faculty and staff
Full Time Faculty
Lori Baker-Schena , Assistant Professor, B.A. 1980, CSUN; M.B.A. 1988, CSUN. Baker-Schena has served as a part-time instructor in the Department of Journalism at California State University, Northridge, since 1990, and as a full-time instructor since 2005 . She joined the full-time Journalism faculty in 2007. Since 1987, Baker-Schena has also served as president of Baker Schena Communications, a firm specializing in medical public relations and marketing. She has held communications positions at National Medical Enterprises, Inc. (now Tenet HealthCare) and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, as well as working as a copy editor with the Los Angeles Daily News.. She has more than 25 years experience in the communications field. Baker-Schena is currently earning her doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne.
José Luis Benavides, associate professor, earned his MA and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Benavides teaches in CSUN's Journalism Department, where he has developed the curriculum for an interdisciplinary minor in Spanish-Language Journalism. His research interests include journalism and diversity, Spanish-language journalism in the U.S., the coverage of Latino communities, and journalism writing. Some of his recent work includes: the second edition of Escribir en prensa, the second edition of Aventuras, and a special edition issue of California History on the first Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles, El Clamor Público.
David Blumenkrantz, Assistant Professor. B.A. 1985, Cal State Northridge; M.A. 2003, Cal State Northridge. Prof. Blumenkrantz has professional experience ranging from documentary work and freelancing in Africa, where he traveled extensively, to working for the Los Angeles Times. He has teaching experience in the CSUN Art Department, Valley College and for the Cultural Affairs department of the city of Los Angeles. Came to CSUN in 2003.
Linda Bowen, Assistant Professor. M.A., B.A. Professor Bowen has extensive reporting and editing experience at several California newspapers, including the Tahoe Daily Tribune and the Santa Barbara News-Press. She has won numerous California Newspaper Publishers Association awards for her editing work. Professor Bowen, who has taught at Santa Barbara City College and the University of California, Santa Barbara, serves as adviser of the CSUN chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She teaches the journalism skills classes, including Writing, Reporting and Ethics I, II, and III, and the Media Mentors senior tutorial. Professor Bowen is an alumna of the California State University system. Her research focuses on news media literacy and civic engagement. She is serving as the Faculty Fellow for the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Learning. The California Journalism Education Coalition named her as the 2007 Journalism Educator of the Year at the four-year college level.
Marcella De Veaux, Assistant Professor, is a communication and media specialist, with acknowledged expertise in developing and executing strategic media relations and community outreach campaigns targeting ethnically diverse audiences. Following a distinguished career in corporate communications and media relations for Public Television, she formed DVG Communications in 1993, which services non-profit, women-owned and entertainment entities. Her prior experience includes working for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), KQED-TV an NPR affiliate in San Francisco, and WGBH-TV in Boston as a public relations practitioner. De Veaux earned an M.A. from Pacifica Graduate Institute, an M.S. from Lesley College, and a B.A. from Bradford College.
Susan Henry, Professor. B.A. 1969, Univ. of Connecticut; M.S. 1970, Univ. of Illinois; Ph.D. 1976, Syracuse Univ. Public Information at the Univ. of Connecticut, State University of New York-Stony Brook, New York Institute of Technology. National Endowment for the Humanities grants to study quantitative history, 1980, and family history, 1985. Former editor, Journalism History. Areas of teaching and research are mass media and society and women and media. Came to CSUN in 1976.
Jim Hill, Assistant Professor. B.A. 1975, San Diego State University. Prof. Hill brings 25 years of broadcasting experience to the Department and most recently was a CNN correspondent based in New York and Los Angeles. He teaches beginning and advanced reporting and broadcast news classes. Came to CSUN in 2002.
Amani Ismail, Assistant Professor, B.A. 2000, Iowa State University; M.S. 2002 Ohio University; Ph.D. 2006, University of Iowa. Prof. Ismail has professional experience as the former metro editor of The Daily Iowan and as a reporter for the Arab Times in Kuwait. She has experience in a variety of subjects such as media and terrorism, social scientific foundations of communication, media and consumers and mass communication. Came to CSUN in 2006.
Kent Kirkton, Professor and department chair; director of the Center for Photojournalism and Visual History. B.S. 1972, So. Illinois Univ.; M.S. 1975, So. Illinois Univ.; Ph.D. 1987, Univ of Iowa. Prof. Kirkton teaches photojournalism, graphic design, and graduate seminars. He has held positions with United Press International (UPI) and Southern Illinoisian. He has photographs in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the George Eastman. Prof. Kirkton has been at CSUN since 1983.
Rick Marks, Associate Professor. B.A. 1965, Univ. of Southern Calif.; M.A. 1997, CSUN. He brings his extensive professional background as a writer and producer KNBC, NBC News , KTLA News and other such positions into the classroom, teaching beginning and advanced reporting and broadcast news classes. Came to CSUN in 1991.
Melissa Wall, Associate Professor. B.A. 1984, Univ. of Virginia; M.A. 1995, Univ. of Washington; Ph.D. 2001, Univ. of Washington. She has worked as a newspaper reporter at The Charlotte Observer and other papers; as a volunteer reporter with a homeless newspaper in Seattle; and with a student radio collective affiliated with Indy Media on Air at KPFK. She teaches courses in news writing, international news and graduate research methods, and has also taught journalism in Ethiopia. She has presented more than two dozen research papers on international news, blogs, and social movements and the Internet at national and international conferences, and was selected to be a Fellow at the Berglund Institute, the Poynter Institute teaching workshop, and the National Press Foundation. Her research has been published in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, Journalism Studies, Media, Culture & Society, New Media & Society, International Communication Gazette, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Journal of Middle East Media, Popular Communication, Javnost, Journal of Development Communication and several edited volumes.