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Smith Quoted in June Issue of Christianity Today


Dr. Michael Smith

Dr. Michael Ray Smith, chairman of Campbell University’s Department of Mass Communication, was quoted in the June 2004 issue of Christianity Today in an article titled “USA Today for Christians” by Rob Moll. The article reports on the launch of a new Christian newspaper with the look and feel of USA Today.

A journalism historian, Smith is the author of The Jesus Newspaper: The Christian Experiment of 1900 and its Lessons for Today, an exploration of an early attempt to apply Christian principles to journalism; and FeatureWriting.Net, a step-by-step approach to finding and completing an interesting feature story that will be released this fall. He is also the author of over 3,000 articles, which have appeared in numerous newspapers and journals, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The history of Christian newspaper publishing is fraught with perils,” Smith says in the article. “I can’t think of anything more difficult than starting a Christian newspaper.” Many Christian newspaper owners come from a ministry background suggesting they have less experience in running a business, Smith added.

Smith began his teaching career in 1988 and has taught journalism at a private college in Pennsylvania, directed a journalism program in Indiana, and served as chair of a graduate journalism program in Virginia prior to coming to Campbell in 2003. He has also worked for several major newspapers.

Smith received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Maryland in College Park and went on to obtain a master’s degree in communication from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA. He earned a Ph.D. from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA.

Recently Smith received the Archie K. Davis Fellowship from the North Caroliniana Society to study another historical event in journalism, the publication of a pre-Civil War handwritten newspaper by Harnett County resident John McLean Harrington.

The Department of Mass Communication has nearly 150 students studying journalism, television, advertising and public relations. Smith said he is hopeful that these students will make an impact in the 21st century, either writing for ministry publications such as the ones featured in Moll’s article or in mainstream mass media where the need is very great.

Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina’s second largest private institution of higher education and the second largest Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC, just east of the center of the state, Campbell combines academic excellence and Christian commitment.


Bulletin 0169- 05/31/04

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