Contact Information: E-mail: neil.ralston@wku.edu Office: 225 Mass Media and Technology Hall Phone: (270) 745-5841

Teaching Areas

media and society, media writing, American press history, publications design, news editing, advanced reporting, feature writing.

Research Interests

free-speech theory and First Amendment rights of student journalists

Professional Experience

• Assistant professor, School of Journalism and Broadcasting, Western Kentucky University, 2006-present.
• Freelance photographer, 2004-present.
• Associate/assistant professor of journalism, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, 1999-2005.
• Reporter and sports copyeditor, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, through a six-week summer program sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 2003.
• Assistant professor/instructor of journalism, Truman State (Mo.) University, 1989-1999.
• Editor, Weekend magazine, School of Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1995.
• General assignment/federal courthouse reporter, San Antonio Light, 1985-1989.
• Education reporter/photographer, Montgomery County (Texas) Courier, 1983-1984.
• Education reporter/photographer, The Daily Star, Hammond, La., 1982-1983.
• Sports editor/photographer, Galva (Ill.) News and WROVA (Ill.) Reporter, 1981-1982.
• Assistant editor/photographer, The Media, Kahoka, Mo., 1978-1981.

Education

• American Press Institute for Journalism Excellence, 2003.
• Ph.D., journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002, (Dissertation: 'An Investigation of the Relationships Between High School Environment and the Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Free Expression').
• Master of Arts, journalism, The Ohio State University, 1985.
• Bachelor of Arts, communication, and Bachelor of Science, industrial technology, Northeast Missouri State University, 1978.

Selected Professional Activities and Awards

• Serving on national board of directors for the Society of Professional Journalists, 2004-present.
• Serving on Education and Legal Defense Fund committees, Society of Professional Journalists, 2006-present.
• Attended the East Asia Journalists Forum, Seoul, South Korea, 2004.
• Named the David L. Eshelman Outstanding Campus Advisor, the Society of Professional Journalists, 1998-99.
• Awarded a fellowship in the Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Reporting, The Ohio State University, 1984-1985.
• Winner of reporting awards, Louisiana Association of Educators, 1982, 1983.
• Winner of first-place award for feature photography, Illinois Press Association, 1981.

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Contributor to the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment, CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
• Wrote 'Learning to Appreciate the First Amendment' for Adviser Update, a newsletter published by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, Inc., spring 2005.
• Made presentations at national conventions of the Society of Professional Journalists, 2004 and 2005.
• Presented 'Speaking Up in Class: A Quantitative Analysis of High School Environments and Student Attitudes About Free Expression' at the national convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2004.
• Wrote articles for The Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists, 2001 and 2002.

Professional Memberships

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 1989-present
• Society of Professional Journalists, 1979 and 1989-present
• National Association of Black Journalists, 2000-present
• National Press Photographers Association, 2002-2006
• College Media Advisers, 2000-2003