Oct. 24 Experts Panel to Advise Pitt Students on Careers in Advertising, Marketing, Journalism

University of Pittsburgh students seeking internships—and ultimately, careers—in all aspects of the media will hear from a panel of professionals at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Ballroom of the William Pitt Union.

Participants in Media Internships: Charting Your Career Path will share insights, stories, and advice. The event is free and open to the public.

In addition to the panel discussion, the annual Al McDowell Memorial Scholarship, named in memory of the Pittsburgh broadcasting pioneer and 1952 School of Arts and Sciences graduate, will be presented to Brett Murphy, a senior in the English department's nonfiction writing program and an arts and entertainment writer for The Pitt News.

Information on the panelists follows.

Mark Anderson is operations manager at CBS Radio Pittsburgh (KDKA). A Detroit native, Anderson has worked as an on-air personality, program director, and operations manager in Detroit, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. He arrived in Pittsburgh in 2003 as program director and on-air personality for 96.1 KISS. In addition to working at CBS Radio Pittsburgh, he also is program director for 100.7 and Y108.

Paula Bouknight, assistant managing editor for hiring at the Boston Globe, started her career at The Globe in 1986 as a copy editor in the sports department, then worked on the news copy desk, oversaw production of the New Hampshire Weekly, and served as night editor. Now she works closely with the Globe’s departments to attract top employees and provide them with tools to advance their careers.

Cindi Lash, editor of Pittsburgh Magazine since April of this year, was formerly a regional editor for patch.com, launching and managing Patch community news and information Web sites. Prior to that, she served as a reporter and Sunday editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She is a regular instructor at the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s annual Urban Journalism Workshop.

Meredith Matthews (A&S ’06), director of public relations at Chemistry Communications, has built her career through experience at three of the region’s most prestigious advertising and public relations firms, including Brunner, Inc. and Markowitz Communications. She has worked on award-winning campaigns for a vast array of clients.

Steve Pearson, public relations and social media coordinator at Smith Brothers Agency, develops editorial content and reports and manages social media pages and platforms for a number of national brands. Prior to joining Smith Brothers, Pearson spent two years as an account services associate at Markowitz Communications.

Ken Rice, coanchor at KDKA-TV, is a national award-winning journalist. Rice coanchors the weeknight editions of KDKA-TV News at Five and the KDKA Ten O’Clock News on Pittsburgh’s CW. He also cohosts the station’s public affairs program The KD/PG Sunday Edition. Prior to his post at KDKA, Rice spent six years reporting and anchoring at WTAE-TV. A native of the Chicago area, he began his career while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison—reporting and anchoring newscasts of the statewide Wisconsin Public Radio Network—before moving into television at WISC-TV in Madison.

Mark Tavani (A&S ’00) is vice president and executive editor at Ballantine Bantam Dell, a division of Random House. Tavani entered publishing in 2000 and works with bestselling and award-winning authors that include Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, Justin Cronin, Aaron Fisher, and China Mieville.