Dr. Pitts and two students attend Miami NATPE meeting

Dr. Greg Pitts, director for the School of Journalism, attended the recent NATPE Conference in January. He is pictured here with student Kristen Gallant and Sheri Beam (right), NATPE Conference intern director.

Greg Pitts, director for the School of Journalism, hosted a group of 36 college professors from around the country participating in this year’s National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) meeting in Miami. Each of the attendees received a fellowship to attend the event, courtesy of the NATPE Educational Foundation.

Pitts also encouraged MTSU College of Media and Entertainment students Kristen Gallant and Maddie Luchsinger to participate in this year’s conference. Gallant is a senior majoring in multimedia journalism with a writing minor, and Luschinger is a recent MTSU School of Journalism alumna who is now a graduate student in the college’s Media and Communication master’s program. NATPE’s highly competitive internship program selected 36 interns to participate in this year’s annual conference in Miami.

As the director of Faculty and Student Programs, Pitts is instrumental in selecting the faculty attendees and student interns, as well as organizing and moderating a day of conference sessions for the professors. He has been actively involved in the NAPTE Education Foundation for more than two decades. The foundation, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, provides educational development to the academic and student community to foster and prepare the next generation of content professionals for television, film or other content providers.

The annual NATPE conference is the premier global business forum for content creators, distributors and buyers across all platforms. With 350 global exhibitors and 1,100 buyers representing 75 countries, NATPE has inspired over five decades worth of content growth across all platforms by providing an annual international marketplace and conference that invites content producers, buyers and distributors to make deals and share knowledge.

MTSU College of Media and Entertainment students Kristen Gallant (middle) and Maddie Luchsinger (right) are pictured along with University of Tennessee Knoxville student Justin Crawford at the NATPE conference in January.