Regina's Blog

Dulaney Scholarship Launches History Graduate Studies at UT Arlington

11/10/2021

From Journalism to African American History in Texas

UTA Professor Emeritus Dr. William Dulaney presented me with his family's scholarship, Aug. 17, 2021, at the African American Museum of Dallas. The scholarship is for fall 2021 history graduate courses at UTA. Photo by Melinda Knott.

I am proud to announce I was awarded a scholarship from the Dulaney Family Fund for my fall 2021 graduate studies in history at the University of Texas at Arlington. I received the scholarship in August 2021 from UTA Professor Emeritus William Dulaney, Ph.D., who is also Deputy Director/COO of the African American Museum of Dallas.

I earned a perfect score on my Caribbean history map quiz, thanks to lots of studying, tutoring, and backup map review from friends Melinda and John Knott. See the quiz in the link below. Photo taken 10.26.21 by BreAna Whiting,

Download my map quiz here.

Currently, I am enrolled part-time in the master’s in history program at UTA. My long-term goal is to earn a doctorate degree specializing in African American history in Texas. I decided to follow the advice of my former Abilene Christian University Communication Law Professor Dr. Charles Marler, who encouraged me to pursue becoming an African American historian. He said there aren't enough Black historians and that I had the wherewithal to become one. Wow! He shared that advice after I told him about two of my Texas Highways magazine stories.

I listened and am almost finished with my first semester. Returning to graduate school was definitely the right step. The courses are intellectually satisfying and I am well-suited to part-time graduate work.

Image of Dr. Charles Marler, from The Portal to Texas History, https://bit.ly/3C7lYal

Watch video of Dr. Marler discussing libel.

Narrative: The heart of history and journalism

Just like in journalism, the narrative or story is at the heart of a history thesis or argument. And, as importantly, I use my award-winning journalism expertise in fascinating new ways in my history courses. For example, I recently posted two summaries of two history book reviews on a discussion board. I wrote several historiography papers that analyzed various themes. In each instance, my journalism background served me well in synthesizing complex information.

One of the reasons Dr. Marler advised me to consider graduate work in history is because he had studied "journalism and Black history at the University of Missouri-Columbia," which he wrote about in my recommendation letter. I was so impressed that he had studied Black history in graduate school. He also shared that well-known axiom, "Journalism is the first rough draft of history."

When I graduated with my M.A. in Journalism Administration degree from the University of Memphis, I sensed I would return to a university to learn more about the art and craft of the narrative. This time, I am aiming for a doctorate in history because of the abundant overlooked, underreported, and forgotten African American history in Texas content yet to be discovered, researched, and published. I look forward to one day researching, writing and teaching that history on all platforms, in and outside of academia. Meanwhile, I keep helping organizations and clients tell important stories while enjoying a new take on a familiar ride.

Learn More:
Read my other UTA graduate school recommendations:

Dr. Lewis V. Baldwin
Matt Joyce
Dr. Dan Lattimore
Listen to Dr. Leonard Moore, who is the author of "Teaching Black History to White People" and also the George Littlefield Professor of American History at UT-Austin, speaking on KERA Radio 11.08.21.

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Celebrating the Legacy of WFAA's John McCaa

3/1/2019

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Thankful for the opportunity to work with a great journalist and leader, John McCaa, during the Dallas police ambush coverage. Photo taken in August 2016.

Now that WFAA-TV news anchor John McCaa has signed off for the last time on March 1, 2019, his history-making tenure will be remembered. McCaa told D Magazine’s Tim Rogers that he’s a “pretty emotional guy" and his farewell was indeed, emotional. That's understandable, after all, he worked at WFAA for 35 years, bringing good journalism to North Texas.

I had the privilege of working with McCaa during a series of contract gigs at Channel 8 that involved the assignment desk. The best description of what working on the assignment desk is comes from one of my esteemed Abilene Christian University journalism professors, Dr. Charles Marler—it’s “like an octopus.” For example, the Desk:
• Manages day-to-day and breaking news assignments for TV news crews.
• Navigates Twitter and Facebook for updates.
• Vets information across a host of databases.
• Provides research support by phone.

My most-memorable-McCaa moment was during WFAA’s coverage of the Dallas police ambush in the summer of 2016. This tragic event brought the newsroom to a collective heartfelt loss, for all those who were killed and injured. There were other emotions that elevated us: admiration and respect for the videographers and reporters who were on the scene that fateful day, July 7, 2016. In the midst of handling logistics, gathering details of funeral arrangements and verifying other information for producers, I witnessed McCaa’s calm leadership during our team briefings.

Having worked in journalism for a variety of news organizations such as: KRBC-TV in Abilene, WPTY-TV, WLOK and WGKX radio stations in Memphis, FayObserver.com in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as well as The Associated Press in Jackson, Mississippi, and Dallas, (not to mention a wealth of freelance gigs), by far the Dallas police ambush story was the toughest to cover.

McCaa brought experience gained from other challenging assignments in his long career to this tragic event in Dallas.

He writes that retiring from television news after more than 42 years is “not easy.” However, he sensed that God “decided it was time” and he’s being obedient.

I am thrilled that my career dovetailed with his and that I gained so much from being in the newsroom during his tenure. His TV news experience, his depth of knowledge and his caring spirit elevated the environment and the newscast. Every time.

Thank you for your service. #ThanksJohn

Pausing in between newscasts, John McCaa graciously took time for a photo with me on Feb. 27, 2019.

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Dulaney Scholarship Launches History Graduate Studies at UT Arlington

From Journalism to African American History in Texas

Download my map quiz here.

Watch video of Dr. Marler discussing libel.

Narrative: The heart of history and journalism

Celebrating the Legacy of WFAA's John McCaa

(c) March 2019 Harvest Reapers Communications. All Rights Reserved.

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Dulaney Scholarship Launches History Graduate Studies at UT Arlington

​From Journalism to African American History in Texas

Download my map quiz here.

Watch video of Dr. Marler discussing libel.

Narrative: The heart of history and journalism

Celebrating the Legacy of WFAA's John McCaa

(c) March 2019 Harvest Reapers Communications. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author:

Categories

Archives

From Journalism to African American History in Texas