ALUMNI NOTES
to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.”
The Freedom Forum is the parent company of the
Newseum.
Jerding has been working for the Newseum since
2006.
As Editorial Director, she oversees a multitude of
projects: fliers, brochures, books, pamphlets and other
material. “If you know how to put information together
accurately, you can work anywhere,” she said.
Also on her agenda is the museum’s advertising
campaign for this year. The Newseum recently
brought the operation in-house, which Jerding calls a
“challenging, but exciting” project to work on. She is
currently developing ideas on how to target audiences
and position the campaign in the marketplace.
The Newseum’s location near the Mall in the nation’s
capital means exposure to 20 million tourists a year,
Jerding said. “eW hope to get a few of them through our
doors.”
Jerding said JMU “gave me the tools I needed
and impressed real-world skills on us.” She noted
Exhibiting leadership: As Editorial Director of the Newseum in
how the program stayed on top of the job market by
Washington, D.C., Christy Mumford Jerding uses her full range of
emphasizing opportunities in all media while focusing on core
media skills to attract millions of visitors each year.
communications skills.
photo: Sam Kittner
Jerding credits professors Alan Neckowitz, Dave eW ndelken,
Newseum Post Fuels Her
and Flip DeLuca for providing her with hands-on training and
valuable experience as editor of The Breeze her senior year.
Jerding said eW ndelken was “forward-looking” in pushing
First Amendment Fervor
for the installation of Macintosh computers, putting The Breeze
in the vanguard of college newspapers switching to total
electronic publishing.
T
he Newseum in aW shington, D.C., features 35,000 historic
newspaper and magazine covers, every Pulitzer Prize-
Jerding advises students to take advantage of all the tech-
winning photograph, 135 interactive exhibits, 15 theaters,
nology to appeal to a broad base of employees in different
two television studios – and one JMU alumnus as Editorial
mediums. “The technology changes every 30 seconds, so when
Director: Christy Mumford Jerding (’93).
you get out of school some of it may already be obsolete,” she
Jerding, a Mass Communication and English graduate,
said. “But JMU always stays on the cutting edge.”
started her career as a writer. However, she quickly discovered
-- Jill Moore
she wanted to branch out. JMU gave her the necessary range of
skills to make this transition in her current job.
The Newseum opened in April 2008 in a gleaming
glass and white limestone building on Pennsylvania
Avenue. The First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution is carved in towering letters on its façade,
within sight of the U.S. Capitol.
“hW at attracted me to the Newseum is that it is
poised to have a unique impact on young people in
terms of their appreciation and understanding of the
First Amendment,” Jerding said.
Her passion for the right to free speech is what
motivates her each day. She says it is exciting to share
something so unique to our nation with visitors from
around the world.
“eW want them to appreciate the importance of
freedom,” she said.
In 1996 she took a job in Arlington, Va., with the
Facing the nation: The Newseum’s facade on Pennsylvania Avenue looks out on
Freedom Forum, a “nonpartisan foundation dedicated
the Capitol and the Mall, with 20 million visitors passing by each year.
3 The School of Media Arts and Design
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24