Birmingham Broadcaster to Discuss Journalism Ethics in UA’s Mills Lecture

Sherri Jackson
Sherri Jackson

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sherri Jackson, an award-winning broadcaster and news anchor for CBS 42 in Birmingham, will present the Helen Crow Mills and John Carroll Mills Lecture on Friday, April 26 at 11 a.m. in room 120 of Farrah Hall on The University of Alabama campus.

It is free and open to the public.

Her lecture “TV or Not TV: Is that the question? Why Ethics Must Cross Platforms for Journalists,” will address the evolving nature of how journalists approach reporting the news. She will address questions of both personal and professional ethics in journalists’ use of social media in their reporting.

Jackson came to CBS 42 in 1998 after working for WGXA-TV in Macon, Ga.; WSAV-TV in Savannah, Ga.; and WSAZ-TV in Charleston, SC. and Huntington, W.Va. She is a graduate of Morehead State University, and she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Radio Television Digital News Association, and the National Association of Black Journalists. She currently serves as vice president of broadcast for the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists.

Voted “Best News Anchor” in Alabama by the Alabama Broadcasters Association, Jackson has also received recognition for her work covering AIDS in the city of Birmingham. Her piece “AIDS from Alabama to Africa” received a national award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

She has also received the Stand Up to Cancer Alabama Broadcaster Association’s ABBY 2009, the “Continuing the Dream” RTDNA/UNITY Award 2011, and the 2010 Friend of Children Children’s Advocacy Award from Childcare Resources. Jackson also works with area schools to help CBS 42 spotlight talented youth in the annual CBS 42 Black History Month Vignettes.

Jackson has served on several boards with non-profit organizations that serve women and children including Childcare Resources, The Foundry, and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. She previously served on the board for the Children’s Aid Society and Red Cross Blood Services.

The Mills lectureship was established and endowed in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences by Mrs. Helen Mills Pittman and her late husband, Dr. John Mills of Birmingham, to bring successful and distinguished alumni and citizens to campus to speak as a way to motivate and inspire students.

Helen Mills received a bachelor’s degree from the College of Human and Environmental Sciences at UA in 1959. She is president of Crow Real Estate and Insurance Co. in Birmingham and a longtime member of the Leadership Board of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The late John Mills received his bachelor’s degree in pre-dental studies from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1955 and a dentistry degree from UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham in 1958. He practiced endodontics for 29 years and was a diplomat of the American Board of Endodontics. Mills was a pioneer in endodontics in Alabama and the only board certified endodontist in private practice in Alabama for many years. After leaving private practice, Mills became director of the endodontic program at UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.

Contact

Kelli Wright, communications specialist, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539, khwright@as.ua.edu