By William H. Kelly III
(JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University senior Acie Lewis is the newest news reporting intern at WTOK News in Meridian, Mississippi. Lewis’ internship began in May.
For 29 hours throughout the week, Lewis engages in professional development by editing his own television packages and stand-ups, creating his own stories, and on-the-scene experience, making for first-hand experience as a reporter. The Jackson, Mississippi, native eagerly commutes an hour and a half to his internship in Meridian, Mississippi, during the week.
“I’m looking forward to the experience and hopefully producing a good enough story to air on live TV. I got to see my first newsroom outside of school, and watching them go live was really nice,” said Lewis.
The media production major discovered the internship during the National Association of Black Journalists Region III Conference hosted at Jackson State University on April 14-15, 2023. There, he met Emily Erikson, a news director at WTOK, who saw promise in Lewis and encouraged him to apply for the internship.
“The environment has been very open and amicable. The staff is warm and close with each other and welcoming [to the new interns],” said Lewis. “They trained and showed us the camera equipment, and we were able to go out on the scene with two different reporters, which was also very nice.”
As a queer-identifying man, Lewis expresses that he is flexible regarding the stories he wants to tell. Still, he is passionate about telling Black stories, covering women and LGBTQ+ rights and activism.
“A lot of people here [in Mississippi] are not as educated as they could be on certain topics, so I had to take it upon myself to learn certain things and look deeper on topics to spread that knowledge onto others,” said Lewis. “With reporting, I can still reach a broader audience beyond my local communities.”
Lewis was raised by and with Black women and watched their resilience.
“It’s very inspiring, and I just always wanted to be able to give back and let them know that I am here supporting them even if they feel like everybody else has given up on them,” he added.
Assistant Professor and Faculty Director in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Don Spann, is the current faculty advisor for JSU’s on-campus student news outlet, Tiger Reports. He has also taught and advised Lewis.
“The Department of Journalism and Media Studies challenges our students to be the best in and outside the classroom. Acie Lewis has the potential to become a great storyteller. I recognized that in him from his ability to take constructive criticism,” said Spann. “He used it as a tool to continue to improve on each video assignment and accepted every challenge presented to him within the confines of media production: writing, editing, videography, and being in front of the camera as a reporter and anchor.”
Lewis affirms that professors like Spann prepared him for his internship by providing discipline and healthy challenges.
“Being able to get the camera and go around the school to record our stories and interview people gives you more practice so that when you do go out into the real world, you know what to do or what not to do,” said Lewis, who also has experience with video editing in Adobe Premiere. “I think that prepared me a lot.”
Lewis has been an active member of Tiger Reports since his sophomore year at JSU and a member of the JSU Cheerleading squad, the JSU Chapter of NABJ, a JSU Blue Ambassador, and a member of Men of Excellence.
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Media contact: William H. Kelly III, william.h.kelly@jsums.edu