Sweeney excited to be part of Scripps team
Mike Sweeney is eager to start working as a professor at the Scripps School of Journalism.
For the last 13 years, Sweeney has been working at Utah State University as a professor of journalism. He also spent four years as the head of the Department of Journalism and Communications.
Sweeney received his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska, his Master’s degree at the University of North Texas and his PhD at Ohio University. When he saw the opportunity to teach a few journalism classes at OU, he did not have to think twice about applying for the position.“I liked the fit,” Sweeney said. “I was enamored with the university.”
Sweeney became interested in journalism at a young age when he worked as a paperboy for the Washington Star in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s.
“When I delivered the papers, I read them, too,” Sweeney said. “So I became interested in journalism when I was reading about the Vietnam War and Watergate.”
Sweeney said he has done a lot of work with the history of journalism, particularly wartime journalism and censorship. He has published three books about wartime journalism and 10 books overall.
He has also done work with National Geographic, including researching and writing pieces about the sunken ship the Titanic.
Sweeney said that he has always had a great passion for journalism and that the benefits of researching and writing stories for the public are priceless.
“I thought journalism was a good profession because you got to meet interesting people and you got to write about it,” he said. “And on some occasions you get that feeling that you can make a difference through journalism.”
by Alex Moning
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