The 2025 Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media has been awarded to Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon for her project titled Rosalynn Carter’s Caring Call: How Former United States First Lady’s Historic Compassionate Legacy Has Transformed Mental Health Journalism and Continues to Transform Newsrooms.
Rosalynn Carter’s Caring Call focuses on how Mrs. Carter’s compassionate legacy is transforming newsrooms. This multimedia audio mini-series, airing on The Compassionate Newsroom podcast, explores Mrs. Carter’s significant impact on mental health journalism. Through historical perspectives and contemporary interviews, the series examines how Mrs. Carter’s empathetic leadership and her establishment of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism have fundamentally reshaped the coverage of behavioral health issues.
Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon is an associate professor of Journalism and Communications and Chair of the Department of Communication Art, & Design at Gardner-Webb University. Dr. Lemon is a former news director and television reporter turned happiness scholar, TEDx speaker, and Transformational Trainer. Fueled by her passion to support the news industry, she is a sought-after speaker training journalists on workplace well-being. Dr. Lemon is host and executive producer of The Compassionate Newsroom podcast. The podcast targets news leaders to discover vital insights and strategies for fostering resilience, happiness, and compassion within the media industry. Mrs. Carter appointed her to serve on the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism Advisory Board.
The Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media is made possible thanks to an endowment from Leibner Cooper Family Foundation. Annually, a $2,500 grant will be awarded to a faculty member who is producing a documentary, news story, multimedia project or sports production focused on historical issues, figures and/or events related to media. Each year the recipient will be recognized at the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation Giants of Broadcasting Luncheon and at BEA’s annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas. To find out more about The Compassionate Newsroom visit www.thecompassionatenewsroom.com.
About the BEA Convention – BEA’s annual convention is held in conjunction with NAB Show in Las Vegas every spring. BEA’s annual convention attracts 1,300 educators and students with 250 sessions, events, research panels, technology workshops and an exhibit hall, making BEA the largest conference partner of NAB Show.
About the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) – BEA is the professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises. There are currently more than 2,500 individual and institutional members worldwide. Visit www.beaweb.org for more information.
About LABF – LABF serves the philanthropic arm of the Library of American Broadcasting, the nation’s most extensive collection of broadcast history, policy and tradition, including historical documents, professional papers, oral and video histories, books, scripts and photographs preserved at the University of Maryland. In addition, the LABF presents the Annual Giants of Broadcasting Event, which pays tribute to trailblazers in the radio and television industry. For more information, please visit www.tvradiolibrary.org.