2025 UCO Media Ethics Conference

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Corey Jones

Corey Jones is a member of Public Service Journalism team at Lee Enterprises based at the Tulsa World where he works on in-depth enterprise projects distributed to all of Lee’s 73 new organizations in 25 states. He recently received one of the biggest awards in Oklahoma journalism with the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation’s Beachy Musselman Award. Jones earned the award for his series about Oklahoma's national ranking for the rate of pursuit-related deaths by law enforcement, spiked by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Jones joined the Tulsa World in May 2014. He first started at the Topeka Capital-Journal in Kansas after graduating from Washburn University.

Brad Luna

Brad has more than 20 years of experience shaping media coverage and raising the visibility of high-profile issues.He previously served as Press Secretary to Rep. Brad Carson, later Undersecretary of Defense, and as Director of Communications for the Human Rights Campaign, where he helped secure passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
As co-founder of LUNA+EISENLA media, Brad has counseled Fortune 50 companies, hospitals, nonprofits, research institutions, and advocacy organizations on the nation’s most pressing public policy issues. He also lectures on political communications and public policy at George Washington University and American University.

Susan Cadot

Susan Cadot is a broadcast journalist with 36 years of experience. She began her career in 1989 at KOCO-TV 5 in Oklahoma City before moving to northeast Tennessee, where she anchored prime-time newscasts for a decade and won a Tennessee Associated Press award for her first documentary. Susan joined OETA, Oklahoma’s PBS station, producing documentaries for the award-winning series Stateline. Her work has earned multiple honors, including five Emmy Awards, a Clarion Award, recognition from the Oklahoma Broadcasters Association, Society of Professional Journalists, and Associated Press, as well as the Governor’s Arts Award in Media. She has also been inducted into the NATAS Heartland Silver Circle and the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. Today, Susan serves as OETA’s Vice President of Production, leading a nationally recognized team of storytellers.

Jerry Bennett

Jerry Bennett is a freelance illustrator and graphic novelist currently drawing
GLAMORELLA'S DAUGHTER for Literati Press Comics, and also writing & illustrating his own graphic novels. Jerry has held art residencies across the state showing comic art and teaching the comic art process through curriculum he designed, and has presented virtual and in-person workshops on the graphic novel process. Jerry won the prestigious SCBWI Narrative Art Award, and is the SCBWI Global U.S. Illustrator Coordinator. He is also a board member of the Oklahoma Comic Arts Foundation, a non-profit designed to spotlight Oklahoma comic creators and the power of comics in culture and education.

Dr .Bill Hickman
Moderator

William Hickman is Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication with over 30 years of experience in journalism and public relations. He has worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oklahoma and Texas, including The Dallas Morning News, and served as a corporate communications specialist for Mutual of Omaha. He also spent 15 years with The Oklahoman as a copy editor, wire editor and headline writer. A member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Society of America, AEJMC, and FOI Oklahoma, Hickman was named a Fulbright Teaching Scholar in 1996. His research interests include media law, newsroom management, military-media relations, and the web as a news source. He holds a J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law, an M.L.A. from Texas Christian University, and a B.A. in Journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University. He is also admitted to practice law in Oklahoma and is an avid marathon runner.

Pascal Guenee

After studying Political Science, Pascal GUENEE became a journalist in the 1980s. In 2000, he transitioned to journalism education by joining the Institut Pratique du Journalisme (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL), which he has led since 2001, strengthening its position as a key institution for journalism training in France. A former President of the Global Network of French-speaking Journalism Schools, he has been leading the Conference of Journalism Schools in France, which represents the country's accredited journalism programs, since 2020. In 2019, he played a central role in organizing the 5th World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC 2019) in Paris. His research interests also include the impact of trauma on journalists, and he is a member of the Journalism Education and Trauma Research Group (JETREG). In August 2025, he was elected Chair of the World Journalism Education Council (WJEC).
In 2009, he was part of the expert group tasked with drafting the new code of ethics for French journalists.

Dr. Elanie Steyn

Elanie Steyn is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. She is an experienced international
trainer/educator with a specialization in gender issues, media leadership and management. She has worked on research and teaching projects on these topics internationally since 2007. Steyn has been the Pl or co-Pl on more than a dozen State Department and other grants involving South Asia. She has worked extensively with students, media professionals and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Burma, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka. Prior to joining OU, Steyn conducted research for media and private sector businesses, government departments, universities and investment corporations in Africa and Europe. Steyn has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and/or chapters in textbooks, has read more than 50 conference papers and serves on review and editorial boards of academic journals. Before joining OU, she was a senior lecturer in the School of Communication Studies at the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus in South Africa.

Dr.Jerry Goodwin
Moderator

Jerry Goodwin, LP.D, MBA, serves as associate professor of mass communication at Tulsa Community College, where he advises the award-winning student newspaper, TCC Connection. He also teaches business as an adjunct professor at Langston University. Beyond academia, Dr. Goodwin contributes as an editor to The Oklahoma Eagle, the state’s oldest African American weekly newspaper and a nationally recognized publication. He is president/CEO of Goodwin and Grant, Oklahoma’s longest-standing minority-owned public relations and diversity communications firm. A leader in professional organizations, he currently presides over the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists Pro Chapter. He is a founding member and treasurer of the Tulsa chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. He is also active in the Public Relations Society of America and its Counselor Academy. Dr. Goodwin earned a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a bachelor’s in political science from Xavier University (Ohio).

Barbara Allen

Barbara  “Bob” Allen has a 25-year track record of improving journalism education and the student journalist experience. At The O'Colly at Oklahoma State University, she covered the Oklahoma City bombing before serving as editor-in-chief. After graduating OSU, she worked for the Tulsa World as the creator and editor of Satellite, a section by, for and about Tulsa area-high school students. After working for almost a decade as the adviser to The O'Colly and director of student media at Oklahoma State, she moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, to serve as the managing editor of the Poynter Institute, where she later was named Director of College Programming. Now based in Los Angeles, she is a trainer, consultant and the founder of CollegeJournalism.org.  She writes a weekly newsletter about journalism education and student media. She loves being outdoors, playing blackjack and listening to live music with her husband, a professional musician.

Dr .Megan Cox
Introduction

Dr. Megan Cox is an assistant professor of strategic and digital communication at the University of Central Oklahoma. Her research interests lie in exploring new digital and social media platforms, especially those gaining global popularity, in order to better reach and engage specific populations.Dr. Cox has worked in many media-related jobs, including several years in Washington D.C. as a public affairs specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. While there, she joined an international task force to report on best practices for communicating statistics to the media and the public. Locally, she has written articles for the Edmond Sun and the Daily Oklahoman.

Sarah McLaughlin

Sarah McLaughlin is Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and author of Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech. She writes regularly about the state of free speech around the world and her work has been featured in outlets including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, MSNBC, and The Los Angeles Times.

Dr.Mark Hanebutt
Introduction

Mark Hanebutt, J.D., a native of Evansville, Indiana, is a former reporter, editor and syndicated writer with The Orlando Sentinel who has covered everything from the Ted Bundy murder trial to the search of Amelia Earhart’s airplane. He is now professor of journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma, a lawyer in Oklahoma City who works in the area of media law, and the author of books on journalism — The Journalist’s Primer: A No-Nonsense Guide to Getting and Reporting the News — and law — Media Law: A Guide to Understanding Mass Communication Law. In 2023, he was named Teacher of the Year by the Oklahoma Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in 2024, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.

Liz Scott

Liz Scott is a multi-business entrepreneur working to bring together technology and accountants through her business, Liz Scott Consulting. She is a member of Intuit Trainer / Writer Network and has authored/taught Master level courses including Advisory Guides and Consulting Tools for Accountants. She also writes QuickBooks knowledge articles for accounting peers which are published weekly in Insightful Accountant.In addition to Liz Scott Consulting, she also owns Accounting Lifeline, a firm to serve small businesses with their financial needs. Liz is a co-host of the Appy Hour helping other accountants learn about the different tools and apps for small business needs.

Jenni Carlson

Jenni Carlson is a sports columnist at The Oklahoman, a job she started in 1999. She's covered everything from Final Fours and Super Bowls to the Thunder's recent run to the NBA title. But the thing she loves most is telling the stories of people who shape, change and love sports in our state.A native of Kansas and a 1997 graduate of the University of Kansas, Jenni has now lived over half of her life in Oklahoma and considers this home. She loves running with friends, going to book club, and being mom to Finch and dog mom to Cookie.

Tiffany Lea Magill

Tiffany Lea Magill is a designer and entrepreneur based in Oklahoma City, where she co-owns Toast Design Studio with her business partner and best friend, Emily Strickler. At Toast, Tiffany specializes in crafting impactful brands, designing stunning print materials, developing strategic marketing solutions, and fostering meaningful client relationships. Over the past decade, Toast has earned numerous local and regional design awards and partnered with incredible clients across diverse industries, with a particular passion for supporting nonprofit organizations and female entrepreneurs

Leslie Briggs

Leslie Briggs is the Reporters Committee's staff attorney in Oklahoma, leading the organization's legal work in the state as part of the Local Legal Initiative.Leslie previously served as the legal director of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit that fights for justice and opportunity for all Oklahomans. At Oklahoma Appleseed, she developed legal strategies challenging the deprivation of constitutional rights for LGBTQ+ public school students, curbing breaches to the separation of church and state by the executive branch, freeing unfairly incarcerated survivors of domestic violence, and reshaping the criminal competency restoration system in the state of Oklahoma. She also worked on legislation reforming the criminal justice system, including the successful passage of SB1835, the Oklahoma Survivors' Act, and co-hosted the Anthem award-winning podcast, Panic Button.Leslie is a homegrown Tulsan, receiving undergraduate degrees in Spanish and history as well as a graduate degree in international studies from Oklahoma State University. She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer to Ethiopia and obtained a graduate degree in political science from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Puebla in Mexico.Leslie attended the University of Tulsa College of Law, serving as president of the Public Interest Board. Since being licensed as an attorney, she's worked in civil rights litigation as an associate at Smolen and Roytman, and as a supervising attorney at the YWCA-Tulsa, where she helped lead a team of legal advocates and worked to resettle Afghan evacuees in the Tulsa area. She lives in Tulsa with her wife and sons.

Jason Collington
Moderator

Jason Collington was the 10th executive editor in the Tulsa World's 120-year history. He took on that role in 2020 after serving as the news organization's deputy managing editor. He started with the Tulsa World in 1999 as a feature writer and then moved to the digital department in the early days of tulsaworld.com. He was promoted to web editor and helped with the Tulsa World's digital initiatives in news, advertising and marketing.
He is a former guest lecturer at Oklahoma State University's School of Media and Strategic Communications, adjunct professor at Tulsa Community College and an instructor for Tulsa Tech at 36 Degrees North, a Tulsa incubator for start-up companies. He is the president of the Tulsa Press Club, a nonprofit focused on building an engaged community through the pursuit and support of ethical journalism.